Reform lost 6 by elections this week 🎉

No. There are two million people who haven't been reassessed. So you can't say whether they are still sick or not. The backlog dates from well before July 2024. That's the knock on effect of not staffing and funding public services properly.

Well progress happens. And we already have automated trains in a lot of places. We don't always have a driver and a guard.

You’re assuming passengers want automated trains. I don’t. I want a human being who can think.

Who? The Conservatives need to sorr themselves out? Agree but I think Kemi is making a good start. She did say she wanted time to work out principles and policies and so she's now revealing them. Theres now at least a choice and not a uni party.

Reform are right wing so obviously if the Conservatives were gone I would vote for a right wing party not a left wing one. And reform are mainstream and share a lot (not all obviously) of policies with Conservatives.

And yes..splitting the vote is a great concern.

Then they need to sort themselves out. I have no idea what they stand for, I suspect they're too weakened to stand for anything atm.

Something I find odd is the way Conservative supporters rush to the defence of Reform. Even the very obvious misogynist, racist and criminal Reform members. Do they not realise that they're helping split the Conservative vote?

There are 2 million people on sickness benefits who aren't apparently sick.

What do people do usually?

What will happen to people when you strip benefits?

I don't recall Reform or the Tories explain that?

Don't be rude, Blossom. Its just a statement of fact.

Benefits need to be reduced as we can't afford this lifestyle

Also

AI will replace jobs. And we don't know what the plan is.

Both things can be true at the same time. Try thinking a bit yourself.

Yes train driving will end up being a pretend sort of job subsidised by the state. Like ploughing a field with a horse and plough. Everyone knows it could be automated but that would mean less clients in the client state so the government will keep them.

Its an interesting and concerning issue. What is the government's plan for AI and the great job replacement? Does anyone know our strategy? Do we have one? Or children are still tricked into paying fortunes to try and go for professions like law and accountancy, professions where the head count is likely to significantly shrink. The jobs won't be there for them.

You can see why the Tories made such a mess if that’s the quality of the thinking.

So we can't afford benefits but you want to make more people reliant on benefits by either not paying them enough or making them redundant?

Re train drivers...automation obviously. Which the unions are resisting.

You expect turkeys to vote for Christmas? I resist it as well, I want my life to be in the hands of a human being, thanks.

Yes we need to cut benefits because we can't afford them. The next budget apparently will raise taxes in order to pay for increased borrowing costs. Madness. Imagine if that was your own finances..you clearly couldn't afford your current lifestyle ans if you wanted to avoid bankruptcy yould have to earn more or cut your spending.

The public sector will be perfectly fine. Thats the one area where Labour are clearly continuing to pour money.

They lose their job

And you want to cut benefits?

Where has Reform's support drifted off to?

Women. Or rather the lack of them. There is only so much testosterone a girl can take.

They lose their job. Thats progress. Don't worry...AI will decimate white collar jobs too and there will be nothing we can do about it. You can't hold up progress. And yes obviously that is shit.

Elon Musk did a scary interview when he anticipated that the population will end up not working and get instead a payment for just living.

Automation

And what happens to the people that replaces?

Labour have only been in power 2 years. With two PMs already. Give them time....

PM Cameron gave us austerity, trans and Brexit madness.
PM May lost the Tories their majority.
PM Johnson was an incompetent liar who broke the social contract.
PM Truss destroyed our economy.
PM Sunak was unable to get the UK back on track following the catastrophic failures of his predecessors.

5 PMs in 8 years. Each new PM got the job after a public fight that divided the party further until it was ruined. Each PM came with different priorities bringing disruption and ending up not getting much done.

The losers of the leadership races used Tory resources to get elected then defected to Reform.

I wasn't keen on Labour replacing Starmer, but it was done pretty cleanly and the party seem happy with their choice.

As soon as KS got in he threw a load of cash at very well paid train drivers; money we dont have. The aim of this type of payment is to ensure the recipients vote Labour. Public sector workers rely on the largesse of the government. Same as benefit recipients. Fairly obvious strategy. Hence why it will be a numbers game. Those who rely on the taxpayer v those producing the wealth.

And yes its ridiculous that things are getting so polarised. Where I am about 60% of workers live off the state in one form or another. Thats dead money circling round the country. Which is why the area is so poor. And why they vote Labour. Although it will be interesting in 2029 as to whether they vote Reform as they seem to be popular and we haven't had that tested yet.

Re train drivers...automation obviously. Which the unions are resisting.

You can’t have good public services without public sector workers. I’m not sure what increase in work or improvement in standards you think train drivers could deliver beyond trains running on time. Which on the whole they do.

This is such an interesting result. Where has Reform's support drifted off to? Some to Restore but what about the rest? Are they going to Labour? Or just not voting at all?

A good bounce for Labour, but the Badenoch bounce is absent.

Public sector workers. The ones that got huge pay rises with no corresponding rise in standards or increase in work. Train drivers for example.

You don’t use public services?

That is not what I said