Wipeout for Labour in Hartlepool

People wont vote for you if you hate them. Telling people they're thick isn't a vote winner.

There's another thread about this in Chat:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/a4238228-Anyone-in-Hartlepool-what-on-earth-is-going-on

Reading through the comments about how the Tories fucked up the response to Covid makes me think that some people have picked up a narrative and are holding onto it. For many people they see that the Tories messed up, as did the leadership in most countries, but then they did engage with the problem and made things better, for example testing infrastructure and vaccination. Non-political people seem to live more in the present and to be more forward looking than people having firm political views.

Margaret Thatcher was a woman, so no, I dont feel any better about a Tory woman getting elected in Hartlepool as I find Tory policies mainly heartless and repulsive. I understand that many felt let down by local Labour councils who had maybe been in too long and may have been affected by cronyism but also, were forced to make appalling cuts due to central government policy. Brexit had a huge impact on the last election as we all know. And I agree that patronising people or calling them stupid is not a good way to get votes. I believe many of Corbyns policies in terms of nationalisation and supporting public services plus increasing taxation on the wealthy were popular. Unfortunately, he managed to fuck up in other ways.

Boris Johnson came to power because of the red wall seats turning blue. Hartlepool voters have similar ambitions to press ahead with Brexit and view Britain in a positive light. This is another reason why the self flagellation involved in US cultural politics isn't playing well with voters. I didn't support Brexit, but it's happened and endless virtual shouting at each other isn't going to achieve much.

I saw a Twitter post, in passing, by Labour Party Youth Sage Owen Jones which I completely agree with. He was commenting on a absence of any clear, coherent vision for the country on the part of Labour. Can't argue with that.

Didn't know about the brexit thing; that sounds like the main reason why.

The green candidate is v pro women though, and great, if anyone there wishes to vote for her in the future.

I don't know much about the Tory who got in, but being a woman does make me feel better about it.

Mind currently boggling at some of the leftist types on social media who think the answer to swathes of voters backing the Conservative party is a return to Corbynism. Side eyes Momentum.

For those that really don't get what is going on can I recommend ‘Despised: Why the Modern Left Loathes the Working Class’ by Paul Embery.

*People aren’t even allowed to discuss what’s staring them in the face.
*
The left in the uk has outsourced its thinking on cultural matters to the US and as a result is an increasing irrelevance to key voters in the UK. Plus it's hard to win hearts and minds if you've convinced yourself those voters are loathsome because you've... (see above) All these activists who waste their time on various witch burnings and cause celebres all the while ignoring the needs of people out in the constituencies because their heads are so far up their own behinds. I'm embarrassed for Labour.

I have just been looking at some tweets from Labour folk and their response has been to call the voters thick, racist/xenophobic, uneducated etc. Not one seemed to consider that perhaps it was a Labour Party issue at all.

If I am reading correctly, only 42% of voters turned out and half voted Tory. Where are the other 58% of voters? Perhaps, like me, they couldn't face voting for Labour anymore but couldn't bring themselves to vote Tory and sat at home in silent fury for not having a party to vote for in the history of their adult lives.

Well things certainly seem to have changed in Hartlepool, and for Clay Cross council from what I've just been reading. In fact it sounds as if a lot of Labour voters there have gone further than spoiling their ballots - but carry on scolding Mumsnetters if it makes you feel better.

When you aren't even allowed to discuss, in most self-styled 'Left-leaning' circles, the issues that are alienating voters, what hope is there right now? In my field, just following JKR on Twitter and, on Facebook, condemning the death and rape threats against her, lost me Labour activist 'friends'. I haven't even dared to tweet or like anything obviously 'GC' - I seriously think it would affect my employment, in the current climate. That's fucking Orwellian but here we are.

whatever has happened, the talk on here this week was all about how to spoil ballot papers.

keep doing that and nothing will ever change.

I was reading the Guardian politics live blog earlier, with comments on Newest First. Over and over again, comments appeared saying wokeism was the problem with Labour, and several singled out the focus on trans or other minority rights above all else, which is also patronising to those being ‘helped’. Every time the page refreshed, those comments had been zapped. “This comment was removed by a moderator because it did not meet community standards” etc.

People aren’t even allowed to discuss what’s staring them in the face.

Well, I suppose nobody will ever know why the left is failing, then.

Interesting that the Tories brought in self ID, but are now benefiting from Labour's stance on the issue.

't Steve Reed, the party's shadow secretary for communities and local government, said the results showed Labour needed to "rebuild the shattered trust" of the nation.'

No shit. Maybe try asking people why they've not voted Labour, instead of sneering at them, calling them bigots, etc? Revolutionary, I know, but insulting the electorate isn't really going so well as a strategy, as far as I can see.

People aren’t even allowed to discuss what’s staring them in the face.

Labour is doomed if it doesn’t take a long hard look at itself now. It’s not like they even walk the walk to match their woke talk. Which party has had female leaders and has the most diverse front bench? The Tories. Meanwhile, Labour just bickers about which dudebro to anoint next. As a lifelong leftie, I could not feel more let down.

This. The Tories only got onboard the trans train because they wanted a progressive issue to jump onto to allay the 'nasty party'
thing and they thought it would be an easy win. They really dont
care that much either way

I wish this was true, but watching the Women & Equalities Committee hearings the Tory MPs there seemed completely signed up to the ideology.

And look at the way the government fought tooth and nail to keep "mother/woman" out of that Ministerial Maternity Bill. Why?

Even my woke dcs have had enough of the wokeness. The cancelling/pronouns malarkey has turned even them off.

But the last Labour Party manifesto did pledge to maintain sex-based rights.

My problem is, I genuinely don't know what they mean by this, I suspect they mean 'yes we will keep sex based rights, but men can identify into them'.

Bloody Labour!