To think that the next election will be Reform v Greens and we need hard hats to survive?

Great if they want to make a mockery of democracy.

Not all the country voted. People do vote differently in Council elections.
Labour got a bloody nose. But they didn’t get in with a massive amount of the electorate voting for them anyway.
If Reform do win the next election there will be fast and significant buyers remorse. Anyone considering voting Reform needs to ask about detail in regard to their proposals. How will health based insurance work ? How expensive would it be for your family. Who would own the company.
How would they get rid of the state pension ( they intend to have an Australian style- where if you have assets ( but not declared how much ) you don’t get one.
Things like this need to be clear and transparent.
How would they stop the boats. Without annoying the French so much they stop buying our goods ?
Nationalism can become very ugly very fast.And always people assume that by supporting it those in power will like them in turn. And look after them. Nothing like that is guaranteed.

If you're happy to wait a while, Streeting will ensure you don't have to. Another shot in the foot for a joke party.

What about a Lib/Lab election pact, with both parties committing to a referendum on rejoining the EU? Making it the best of 3.

Actually, quick correction, it wasn't an article it was a submission in the letters to the editor in which she claimed that racism experienced by those who are black is experienced 24/7 and compares the discrimination faced by Jews as in the same category as redheads.

www.theguardian.com/theobserver/commentisfree/2023/apr/23/success-for-women-not-same-as-for-men-letters?hl=en-GB

She lost the whip a few years ago for an article she wrote in the Observer that claimed that Jews don't experience racism.

Time to get an Irish passport and go live in the EU?

Probably when she said that antisemitism wasn't as bad as racism per se because Jews aren't visibly Jewish. She quite rightly received a backlash for it.

Can you be more specific as to what you are referring to?

I agree and think that both Reform and the Greens success probably peaked at the recent local elections. All sorts of things are coming out now about both parties as the media has scented blood.

It's still at least a couple of years until the GE, plenty of time for more analysis of the more extremist element/policies of both Reform and the Green party. In the end, the British public always seem to prefer their PMs to revert to the centre and be not too left wing, not too right wing.

Yep agree with that which is why hiding behind 'anti' zionism is allowed to continue. The hypocrites would throw the book at any other form of blatant racism.

Like Diane Abbott?

Some people don't see antisemitism as the sort of racism that is really concerning - because of who it mostly affects.

Reform have peaked. The corruption and racism will put off the more centrist voters they still need. The Tories seem to be coming back to split the vote for them.

I actually think it's far too early to write off Labour or even the Tories, although it does look likely neither of them will get a majority so the possible outcomes are Reform minority government; Reform-Tory coalition; Labour-Green-LibDem coalition.

The Greens will likely increase considerably from their current 5 MPs but they are nowhere near a majority or even being the major party in coalition.

Reform are flavour of the month but their poll ratings have dropped considerably over the last year, and there's three years to go.

As an aside, one possible silver lining of all this instability is that we may get PR if Labour under Burnham sign up to it to get the Greens onside. And then have actual representative democracy rather than the farce we have currently.

I'm not sure why you're so worried about Labour. They're not in civil war they're just about to have a leadership contest. And Burnham is hardly a radical; they'll likely proceed in much the same way afterwards but with a bit more decisiveness and different branding.

Exactly. It's quite puzzling when people say they detest Reform because of its misogyny and racism yet will give their support to a party who holds both those traits and more. Putting a gay Jewish bloke right up on their platform was a genius move which only the deluded can't see through.

It won’t happen because the average person doesn’t understand basic economics and has no concept of the problems or what’s needed to fix it. The rot set in when people voted for George Osbourn Tory austerity. There was no investment in infrastructure, only harm done to the UK’s long term prospects.

In your opinion.

In my opinion Labour haven't been as bad as the Tories were when they were in power and they were allowed by the electorate to continue well past their sell by date.

Though I do think the Conservatives are probably more likely to get in at the next General Election than Labour (horrific as they were last time they were in power). I think Kemi is a good leader for them and Labour seem to be struggling on the leadership front.

I have a hunch that a lot of people who voted in the recent elections just wanted a change, any change, so voted for whoever wasn't in power. My London borough, which has been Labour since the dawn of time, now has a Green Mayor and a vast majority of Green councillors. In other places it was Reform who benefited. Interesting that in your council it was the sitting Greens who were chucked out.

If I'm being optimistic, I think that by the time of the next General Election, which is over three years off still, people will have had time to see how these protest votes have worked out. People who voted Reform in some misguided belief that their local council could somehow stop the boats when in fact they should have been voting for whoever would best sort out potholes and bin collections might perhaps find that the inexperienced councillors have not done a great job locally, so why trust them to try to sort out the country?

If I'm being pessimistic, maybe people will continue to vote on soundbites and in response to fact-free campaigns on social media.

Ĺabour will be getting nowhere near power again. This is the end of the party as we know it.

@TwinklyGoldPeeryep! Will never get behind a party or MP who pretends to all for human rights but never calls out HAMAS or the depraved sexual violence that happened on 7th October. As a woman and a mother of a daughter they will never have my vote - bunch of hypocrites

YABU - the next General Election will not be Reform v Greens.

Yes they did well in the local elections, more so Reform than Green party candidates, but that won't necessarily translate to a GE. People are more likely to give "protest" votes against the establishment at local elections.

Labour aren't helping themselves with their current infighting but I still think the next government will be either Conservative or Labour - possibly with a Lib Dem coalition.

In our Local Authority Council election, all the seats previously held by the Green Party were taken by Lib Dems. We have no Green Party councillors now.

Which is why they are colloquially known as the Gaza party.

Sorry but Greens won’t be part of the contest at all. I hate Reform they are so toxic and Greens are toxic but on the far left! The cracks in Green Party are starting to show - they are a show pony party that has pandered to Pro Palestine movement to get votes.