Thread 43 Sunak - Seriously Scapegoating

[DuncinToffee]

Buckle up for the local elections 🍿

Previous thread here
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5059786-thread-42-sunak-ping-pong-with-the-enemies-of-the-people?page=40

@fabio12 - I have lived all over London in my time but Bromley is something else! Many people would say it's a nice area but the attitudes can be interesting. It is the least progressive part of London I have experienced too; some overt racism against Khan and in general jn the last year. Why I couldn't tell you, but v different from other boroughs

Oh, those ferrets! Sweet little darlings. 😍

They really hate being Londoners. There aren't enough electrons in the known universe to document how much. Which kind of underpins their stuck-in-the-past mentality about all sort of things.

There is a similar - but hopefully dying with old people - sort of vibe around Sandwell being created. Certainly 20 years ago it was a topic that popped up weekly on Radio WM.

When I started at Uni, a friend came from Sutton Coldfield. They semi joked about making sure I never called it "Birmingham" if I visited,

Of course coming from a city 30 miles wide and 20 high, it's hard to take such parochial pride seriously. Solihull ? Wolverhampton ? Ignorant Londoners would say "all the same to me". And given there are 9,000,000 of them, you'll be perpetually outnumbered.

Back to Susan Hall ....

BBC are reporting there are 2000 votes in the West Mids race one way or the other.
Hold onto your hats, it may be a bumpy ride.

Awwww the ferrets - bright eyed and inquisitive. Bet they thought the beach smells were amazing!

This is appalling https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/tories-accused-wasting-police-time-32715395

It’s their latest dirty trick, isn’t it? I reckon there will be a fair bit of that once we get an election date.

More parts of the West Mids have declared than I realised.

https://www.wmcaelects.co.uk/results/

Which puts Street ahead by 8384, but Chris Mason on the BBC seems to be saying that Street is slightly behind.

When I was telling for Labour at a polling station many, many years ago, the brother of someone I know saw me sat there with my big red rosette on and his jaw clanked to the floor. As if it offended his very being that he could possibly know a Labour supporter.

Last I heard of him he'd moved to Bromley!

They were a bit shy at first but absolutely loved it after a while, walked around, did a lot of digging, happy to have people pet them. It was a lovely day out, defo doing it again.

https://twitter.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/1786806323096514765?t=UjVTrQcWOarkTTBFCanIfw&s=19

Dudley Result for West Midlands Mayor:

Street: 49.4% (-13.9)
Parker: 32.8% (+5.4)

West Midlands so Far (5/7 Declared):

Street: 39.5% (-11.3)
Parker: 35.0% (-2.8)
Yakoob: 12.8% (New)
RFM: 5.7% (+3.7)
GRN: 5.2% (-0.5)
LDM: 1.8% (-1.9)

A 4.25% swing to Parker - he needs 4.5%

Waiting for Sandwell & Coventry.

DS just told me his friend in Coventry voted for Andy Street . This is Disgusting Behaviour. The lad is a known Lib Dem but voted Nadine out here by voting Labour. Madness.

No worries Fabio I say the same, my saving grace is I live in the grittier part of Bromley Borough& have a Labour MP, but the constituency is being redrawn at the next election & will find myself in blue rosette territory the present incumbent is a convicted racist who is retiring, the Labour candidate is extremely active & is working really hard out canvassing every weekend so I shall live in hope or move.

They really are

Andrew Mitchell declares that Andy Street has 'either won, or nearly won and either way that's an excellent result'.

I wonder whether the Tories have yet noticed that the performative cruelty tactic doesn't quite seem to have worked the magic with the voters?

Am I permitted to declare that Andrew Mitchell is stupid or nearly stupid?

One of their brighter ministers has been doing the media round saying that Sunak just needs to stick to the plan.
I am not sure they had any idea what the plan was.

So much drama in West Mids!

The ferrets are gorgeous @pointythings

Chris Riddell has Rishi Sunak pinned like a butterfly this week in the Observer;

www.theguardian.com/politics/commentisfree/picture/2024/may/04/chris-riddell-on-rishi-sunak-sitting-in-no-chance-saloon-after-local-elections-drubbing-cartoon#img-1

Is the Sun stirring?:

BREAKING

They have found hundreds more votes for Andy Street at the West Midlands count, sources tell me

This could go down to the wire.

There could just be a few hundred votes in it.

Around 3 million Brits are eligible to vote in the election.

https://x.com/kateferguson4/status/1786818044074873050

Presumably these are already counted votes ?

Otherwise how do we know who they were for ?

Coventry Result for West Midlands Mayor:

Parker: 46.4% (+2.8)
Street: 32.9% (-9.3)

Swing: 6.05% (Parker needs 4.5%)

ElectionMapsUK

Only Sandwell left