Thread 41 How many more MPs will Sunak lose?

[BIossomtoes]

New thread. I took the liberty - the old one was at 999!

Thanks for the new thread.

Thanks for the new thread, checking in with cat. Has anyone seen the latest leak of another gret Tory plan? https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/14/leak-reveals-tory-plan-to-cut-cold-weather-cash-for-disabled-people

Thank you @BIossomtoes.

Thanks Blossom

That article is depressing but will play well amongst a certain section of Tory voters. Heaven forbid we make anything straight forward for the disabled.

Cats helping me to continue MN in bed stopping me getting up

Too late to call a May election: ds thinks it will be July (I think - I’ll check with him this evening). He and his colleagues have been encouraged to take their holidays now so that they’re around for the election campaign, whenever it is (he works for a public affairs agency).

prettybird gorgeous cats!

Thanks for setting up the thread @BIossomtoes

Is July quite an unusual time for a GE? I was hoping for June.

Thankyou.

And my dose of looking at beautiful cats

I’ve just remembered more accurately what ds had said - that it would probably be timed to fuck up the party conferences (so probably September?).

He said that the other parties (Labour, SNP, LibDems) depend on their conferences to fundraise - whereas the Conservatives don’t have the same reliance on their own conference.

Anyway, he’s coming over tonight so I’ll ask him to explain again.

Morning.

Thanks for new thread.

Sadly, I think they’ll cling on as long as possible since they know they are going to lose.

Thanks for the new thread. I think the GE will be called for Sept/Oct/Nov (nearly as vague as Rishi!)

I think that the cats in Downing Street should be featured, but I don't have a recent photo of any of them.

As for the date of an election, July seems one where students may find it more difficult to vote or be away, so plausible.

Thank you for the new thread Blossom & as ever all contributors.
cat photographs are lovely, flowers from me.

Morning all - checking in. No cat pic this time - as he is wearing the cone of shame (bad cut). But here is a picture that my son took. He visited a games show yesterday and they displayed figures of Conservative PMs as Davros. It made me chuckle. Enjoy!

@BIossomtoes thabks for the new thread.

Thank you!

I too think they are holding on for as long as they can. Not to win, but to muck us up even further so that Labour has an impossible task. It'll be their strategy for the next election.

I was just about to ask where Truss was, then twigged. Love it!

Excellent- particularly like the lettuce 🥬

From today’s Times.

James Bagge looks like a Tory. The retired army officer, barrister and former high sheriff of Norfolk sounds like a Tory. He cheerfully confirms that he is a Tory and he drives a deeply Tory car, a beaten-up silver Volvo A70 with 160,000 miles on the clock and a quietly farting golden retriever recumbent on the back seat. His great-great-grandfather was a Tory MP. But at the next general election Bagge, 71, wants to destroy the Conservative Party.

He is standing as an independent candidate in rural South West Norfolk, the seat where blink-and-you-missed-her ex-prime ministerial disaster zone Liz Truss commanded a majority of 26,195 votes in 2019.

Usually independents are beleaguered axe-grinding no-hopers involved in some sort of bitter dispute with a magistrate. Bagge is not like that.

He has amassed 100 volunteers, and built a surprisingly slick digital operation while appointing a treasurer and an agent. Bagge says that since January he has met 800 voters in the constituency at meetings in Downham Market, Swaffham and Thetford. “About five said they were voting for Truss”.

September would also cause problems for students - especially new ones - as they would only just have arrived at uni/FE and may not yet have got round to getting themselves on the electoral register but haven’t organised a postal vote for their “home” address

Or, if the semester only starts late September or early October, they may be away on holiday prior to term starting (which is what I used to: work the summer and then spend a month inter-railing although that was a long time ago )

Thanks Blossom

From the Mirror

https://x.com/mikeysmith/status/1779186056442638708

STORY

The Tories have suspended Lee Anderson's wife - a prominent councillor - after he tweeted a picture appearing to show her campaigning for Reform

Lee Anderson posted the picture last Saturday while campaigning for Reform's East Mids Mayor candidate Alan Graves.

A few days later, he announced a non-aggression pact with Ben Bradle, Tory MP ...who is also standing to be East Mids Mayor.

Ben Bradley is also leader of Nottinghamshire County Council...which made him Sinead Anderson's boss.

Approached for comment on this story, Mr Anderson did not deny the photo was of his wife. Instead, he repeatedly asked "how do you know it's her?" before saying we should go ahead and publish the story and he would "have some fun" with us next week.

Later, a Conservative Party spokesperson said: "Mrs Anderson has been suspended pending investigation."

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/tories-suspend-lee-andersons-wife-32580360

I guess Anderson's wife was easier to suspend than Ben Bradley

Wild guess but I don't think Nick O'Farrell will be invited back any time soon....

https://x.com/Haggis_UK/status/1779432243171057739

#bbclaurak: How have Labour handled the Angela Rayner story?

John O’Farrell(Author): "I think this is such a ridiculous non-story... for the BBC to keep spending time on this... because the Mail has pushed & pushed & pushed... it's not a story just because the mail says so.."

You’ve got my number!

That certainly didn’t make Laura happy, did it? 😂

Pinched from twitter

#bbclaurak editorial meet this morning.

‘Wragg sent dic pics and MPs personal data.

Donelan spent £35k of taxpayers money on a libel case.

Tory donor avoids £500m in tax.’

Laura K: ‘Right, week 3 of Angela Rayner it is’.