I wouldn’t be banking on it being that easy.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer says his party is heading for Downing Street after the Tories were hammered in local elections across England.
They weren’t however, hammered by Labour. Labour only gained half the amount the Tories lost. At this point with a lame duck government that is deeply unpopular, they should have cleaned up, but they didn’t. What we are looking at is a hung parliament on this performance. Maybe Starmer will have the biggest party, but I suspect not a majority, so expect a Lib/Lab coalition.
Oh, joy.
I agree LR, poor showing for Labour, seems most of the protest votes from Con went to Lib Dems instead of Reform. My biggest concern however is the doubling of the green councillors, which goes to show just how effective the climate brain washing continues to be.
That bothers me as well. I’m hoping that Reform will have a better showing at the general election.
https://youtu.be/5rxr05kMG1Y
Our Conservative local council does a pretty decent job really. Unfortunately, a vote for them will be seen as an endorsement of the national government. Our local elections offered no other choices than liblabcon, I didn’t even bother to go and spoil the ballot this time.
Same here. I’ve lost all impetus for voting or even spoiling my ballot paper.
I’ve voted since I was old enough to do so. Felt obligated.
No more.
I was the same until recently. But whatever you vote for, you get the same, so what is the point? That said, come the GE, I’ll give Reform a punt.
Democracies have come and gone for over two millennia – they are not necessarily inherently stable.
If we are really at a point where the only useful thing a voter can do with his or her vote is withhold it, then our democracy, at a local level at least. Is in serious trouble.
(The figures aren’t out yet, but an initial news trawl suggests turnouts around 30-40%, with one Manchester ward clocking up 18.6%).
I didn’t even get Lab – just Lib/Con. Oh and the F’ingGreens
There was not a good show but most standing were independent, we had two candidates elected, highest was my neighbour who was independent, good chap, does a lot for the community, and Labour. Conservatives came last. But is it a protest vote or like me vote for someone we know will do a good job locally.
Kweer has to say that, it’s part of the programming. Similarly ricin arsecrack and the limp dumps. Red, blue, yellow.
Labels attached to the colours doesn’t even matter. In the states, the red and blue labels are the other way round.
It’s like one of those coloured wheels spin it fast enough and it appears white.
I think what the tories have graphically illustrated in the last few years is how utterly and totally a vote for either of the three “main parties” is pointless.
A huge majority, a clear goal (free us from the quicksand that is toytown Austria-Hungary) and, if not exactly goodwill, at least a tolerance and understanding that compromises may be necessary to tolerably achieve.
And what did they do?
And who is surprised?
(I’m certainly not. I did vote tory, but absolutely never again. In the circumstances, I felt I had to. One last time, just in case – and I do think they were the least worst practical option)
I’ve come to the conclusion that pretty well any vote is pointless (although I will give mine to reform) because the decay the political class have brought about (almost certainly without understanding what they have actually done, fixated as they are on keeping snouts in troughs) may be irreversible, at least in the context of the current political system.
I should just say fuck them all and everything and spend my remaining years trying to screw all and sundry for personal gain.
But I just can’t because I’m the product of what was (I think the good people that can still be found in local politics are the same). I feel little affinity with what is. As for what is to come, well with luck I won’t see it.
But look at the “youth” of today and ask yourself who they are going to turn on when we are all gone.
The decay is not irreversible Mark, but the disease is now so very serious that I’m afraid the cure will need to be drastic. Extreme.
I say in all seriousness we a need a cure for democracy, in all its forms, and the only alternative I can see that would fix things is a dictator, because an awful lot of people need to be executed for treason for us to get on our feet again, and other nations need to know not to fuck with us, particularly the French, Germans and USA.
It would be interesting to observe, but, never gonna happen. We’re fucked.
It’s this sheep, dogs and wolves thing. I, like most in any civic society am a sheep, and am happy to be. The wolves were that section of ne’r do well that the prope dogs – law, order, civic society – can easily keep in line.
Now, the wolves are infantilised sheep, taking orders from the dogs who are also infantilised sheep taking orders from the global genocidolists.
The sheep are getting restless.
No, never say never, but some sort of reset is coming, but not the one the globo-filth imagine.
It’s interesting that in the star trek universe (and others), the peaceful and productive society imagined always seems to come about after global chaos in the general first half of the 21st century timeline.
Yes, I have always thought that democracy was very overrated (or at least VERY misunderstood): to wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner.
Well, the “wolves” seem to be vegan these days!
O/t LR, but the new commenting format is much better. I tend to scroll with my left hand, so was previously constantly hitting the reply button by accident.
Labour had gained control of 17 councils, and the Liberal Democrats seven… so a bigger chance of people noticing that “the alternatives are no better, and maybe worse”.
Will the realisation strike before the next General Election, or do we have to have a national awakening?
Until the Conservatives ditch the green crap and start sending the dinghy vermin back then they have lost my vote for ever.
After the disgraceful way they treated Boris they deserve everything they get.
Sir Kneel might think he’s a shoe in for the next occupant at number 10, but I’m not so sure. Like Ed Miliband he’s tainted with that smarmy, know-it-all personae that seems to be the mark of Labour leaders since John Smith died, so that’s 30 years, near enough.
I smell another coalition in the wind, either Lab/Lib or Labour minority with SNP confidence and supply (only an idiot would go into full coalition with the SNP and even Sir Kneel ain’t that stupid).
Maybe the Tories will remember what it is to be Conservative again during their period of convalescence in the wilderness of opposition.
Then again, maybe a genuinely Centre Right party will emerge from the wreckage. All I do know is that none of these bastards are worth voting for.
Any coalition with the SNP would be an outrage. That bunch of national socialist bastards ruling over the English would be beyond the pale.
I agree. But if Labour have no majority (likely) and the demands from the Lib/Dems are too high (also likely) then the SNP providing “Confidence and Supply” might be the only deal on offer.
Sir Kneel is a vain idiot who is desperate to get the keys to number 10. Not at any price perhaps, but he’ll do things that sensible politicians wouldn’t, simply because he’s not really a politician, just a legal bureaucrat who fell into politics.
I believe he would do a deal with the SNP if that was the only deal on the table.
Still a few years to go yet but already the majority want a change, they don’t have anyone to vote for though atm. Soon though many won’t care and so it won’t be long before the next Hitler comes along and I’ll be voting for him. Of course he won’t tell us the long term goals of his policies but he will focus on all the things we want changed now so he will get in.
The antisemitism wouldn’t fly now electorally.
Scratch any Labour lefty and you’ll find an antisemite.
Sure, they cover it with the usual caveat of “I have no problem with Jews, just the government of Israel”, but we all know that’s cant.
Their final solution to the problem of “The Government of Israel” is to support the Palestinians and Hamas in pushing the entire Jewish population into the sea.
Sounds pretty antisemitic to me.
That’s okay because reasons, or Zionism or something…
Reform won’t be trusted after the Brexit Party debacle almost on the eve of the last election, anything to do with Tice and Farage is forever tainted.
There’s literally no one for whole swathes of us to vote for.
I think you will find that they have learned from that one. Come the GE, I’ll give them a punt because they are fielding candidates in every seat and because there needs to be a decent pushback. If they weren’t standing, then I’d do as I’ve just done and stay away.
I just gave my vote in the locals to Reform and it didn’t move the needle. Council moved from Con to Lab which is a real kick in the teeth, especially as I know the leader of the local Labs who is a true red trot.
If Reform are going to get anywhere they need a new leader who can gain traction in the media. Richard has done a good job in making the party somewhere approaching respectible, but doesn’t have the gravitas or likeability required to be a party leader.