Thread 47 Sunak : The Ship of Fools sails on

[DuncinToffee]

The countdown to the General Election continues

Previous thread https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5082182-thread-46-sunak-dont-rain-on-our-parade?page=40&reply=135651872

Still, the polls. I cling on to the polls.

You're right to. Any debate threads are going to be heavily 'sponsored' - but if you look deeper at political discussion on MN, the picture is very different. Even on threads started by single issue voters you get a majority of people coming out saying they will vote Labour because they feel the bigger picture is more important.

YouGov snap poll, who performed better

Sunak 51 per cent
Starmer 49 per cent

So very much a draw

How is it a draw? Sunak was awful!

GP Appointments
Social Care
NHS
High streets empty
Renters and house prices
Public sector cuts
Schools having fewer qualified teachers

So much that could have been talked about. So many issues to fix.

I couldn't face watching.

Why was Sunak angry? What does he have to to be angry about? Seems a strange tactic!

He was angry about being challenged. And not being allowed to take up all the bandwidth. Actually I think what he’s really angry about are the polls and the electorate not genuflecting at his Adidas Sambas.

The impression I got from comments is that Starmer was too polite and didn't get his point across enough whilst Sunak kept talking and used soundbites

It doesn't sound like this 'win' has helped Sunak.

Oooh, apparently Starmed called Sunak a prick, anyone catch that?

I doubt it…
I watched with a friend (virtually watched - she’s in Wigan) and I’m sure one up of us would have caught it.

No but now I’m deeply disappointed

im waiting for TIce’s interview now. I’ll be watching for signs that he isn’t completely happy with Farage’s takeover…

He might have muttered it under his breath during one of Sunak’s diatribes. Nobody would blame him. I didn’t hear it anyway.

It’s mild compared to what I called him out loud. Hope the neighbours aren’t too disturbed…
Definitely wouldn’t blame him.

Interestingly, after the poll results saying Sunak had 'won' (51% in Sunak's favour), You Gov have now released further info showing the category of 'all debate viewers' preferred Starmer on almost every headline measure, barring tax and immigration. Soooo... who the fuck knows.

YouGov

Who did better on...

Cost of living: Sunak 38% / Starmer 51%
NHS: Sunak 28% / Starmer 61%
Education: Sunak 31% / Starmer 52%
Tax: Sunak 53% / Starmer 32%
Immigration: Sunak 45% / Starmer 42%
Climate change: Sunak 24% / Starmer 48%

That's the one! To be fair, afterwards I turned to my DP and said 'fuck, I think he won that'. In the sense that Trump won his debates by behaving badly.

I suspect people felt Sunak 'performed better' in terms of being more aggressive and getting more airtime, whereas Starmer performed better on the actual 'issues'. Same YouGov poll also suggests viewers found Starmer more trustworthy and in touch.

I only watched a bit. I think Starmer is trying not to be rude and was waiting his turn, I think Sunak is desperate not to let him speak so he can say "he has no plan". It was so painful I couldn't watch it all.

I don't think it will change things though because Sunak can't avoid the fact everything happened on the Tories watch.

I did enjoy Starmer reminding everyone about the pledges though. But he'd have done better with on of our "halve growth, stop the NHS" jokes...

Immigration percentages closer than some would have us believe

Sky headline misleading:-

I wonder if this was influenced by the heavy posting by a few individuals...

x.com/mumsnettowers/status/1798119283773636696?s=46&t=Uw4lJNwxFZFnX0Xs3doHYg

Starmer needs to maybesuppress the barrister in him and get a bit tougher and maybe a wee bit more aggressive.

I think I am going to mainly stick with this thread going forward. The other threads are too confusing and infuriating now in terms of who is genuine and who joined MN a couple of days ago.

This is so funny. Tory minister Gillian Keegan went to Winchester to launch the campaign of the local Conservative candidate, only to realize she showed up 24 hours early, so the local paper just took a photo of her. The Thick of It is a documentary.

x.com/brianklaas/status/1798063575606722775?s=46&t=Uw4lJNwxFZFnX0Xs3doHYg

Yes - a surprising amount of very new posters.

I think it’s a synopsis cobbled together in haste by an intern. I followed that thread in real time and it doesn’t reflect my impression of it.

At least somebody is doing some fact checking - should be done during the debates really.

Lots of fact-checking on @BBCNews tonight.

• Sunak £2k tax claim based on political advisor assumptions
• Small boats crossings down in 2023, but up so far in 2024
• Taxes overall are up
• NHS waiting lists up in England too, but fell a bit recently

x.com/nickeardleybbc/status/1798114912922939403?s=46&t=Uw4lJNwxFZFnX0Xs3doHYg

Literally here for the cats