Thread 53 Sunak: Superminority!

[RishisLeavingDo]

https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/election?iso=20240502T00&p0=136&msg=UK+general+election&font=sanserif

I had a 4 and a 2, almost, year old when Labour won in 1997. Stayed for the Portillo moment and we then went to bed. Opened the bubbly at 12am.

Up after 3 hours sleep to get the eldest to school and ex off to work. Best part of the day was the toddler group when we combined drinking wine with coffee, not mixed 😄

Slept well Friday evening as the two went to sleep. I worked over the weekend.

@MerchantOfMenace - very interesting, thank you.

@mibbelucieachwell - and what's with the change of name for your constituency???

Got out of work early - went in early yesterday!

Home and caught up.

Ready to leave in a bit to cast my vote with ds who is voting in GE for the first time. Then taking him down to swim training.

There is likely no chance I'll be up for anything coming in as we get up at 4am! But my bladder will ensure I'm up enough in the night to have a quick nosy as we go along 😂🤦‍♀️

Only problem is, I'm late thirties, and old enough to remember them going into collation with the tories.... for me you vote Lib Dem you get Tory from that point onwards, something myself and my DF has instilled in my DC... the Lib Dem's have a long way to go I think

If my constituency turns Labour, I'm going out to bang on my pan. Not called until 5am.

I've voted. No queues here in a small rural town divided into two wards. There was a steady trickle of voters coming in though.

I’m old enough to understand that they were between a rock and a hard place. It was a real sliding doors moment, things could have been very different if they’d turned left instead of right. I think they helped temper some of the Cameron government’s worst excesses and probably don’t get enough credit for that. I also think they’ve paid the price and completely understand that decision has cost them dear. It would be wonderful if they were the official opposition, we might have a few years of less adversarial and more productive politics which is exactly what we need now.

Oh dear, the anxious snacking has begun

10pm feels so far away....

DD got a wispa for being a first time voter.

I think you need to imagine what life would have been like had there been a second election, or a C&S arrangement with the LDs with the government ready to fall any minute.

Then come back and tell us how bad it was.

You bugger! I really want one now, they’re my favourite Cadburys chocolate.

The LDs as opposition will be far preferable to whatever hard right sod the Conservative members select this summer/autumn.

Should the L/D have gone in to coalition? - 5 of them around a Cabinet table with 16 Tories? Nope. They were hopelessly outmanoeuvred. But I'm no more carrying that around as grudge as I would Blair's mistakes.

Should the L/D have gone in to coalition? - 5 of them around a Cabinet table with 16 Tories? Nope. They were hopelessly outmanoeuvred.

Which they knew at the time - and because they defer to the membership more than Labour or Tories, they really had to sell the idea.

However - as noted even on this thread - they try to be the grown ups in the room and felt that their decision was best for the country. In a sea of threads where people bemoan the fact that parties put themselves before country, it's a little curious that some people who claim to have been sympathetic to the LibDems are saying they aren't anymore because once the LibDems were stupid enough to not put themselves first.

And whatever the sins of the LibDems, surely the punishment visited on the whole of the UK has paid the weregeld that some feel due ?

@SerendipityJane the problem was, the Cameron/ clegg agreement then led to the brexit referendum, increase in pension age, which, as we know, messed everything up..... then led to the 2019 "brexit" election that Johnson won.... it's hard to live and forget that history, particularly working in the public sector. My "public sector" pension I used to be able to take at 60 is now inline with state pension age. I'd take Jeremy Corbyn over that lot any day.

Tories suddenly hopeful as turnout seems to be up. They think this might be the mysterious shy Tories rousing from their sleep

https://x.com/NicholasTyrone/status/1808885850442211568

The Tories have sent out a campaign email this afternoon saying they have insider knowledge that turnout is higher than expected. They have concluded from this that they have a, and I quote, “MUCH better chance than polls have suggested.”

Oh my some fabulous photos of cakes dogs & hairbands.
just come back from canvassing I met Sadiq Khan is was very charming & not much bigger than me (I’m 4ft 10”)
bought some nice cheeses crackers & olives having a sit down down as I’m really shattered, lots of big houses with loads of steps on hilly roads.

the problem was, the Cameron/ clegg agreement then led to the brexit referendum,

You'll have to explain that to me like I was thick. I'm afraid.

Desperate. We veterans of many elections know high turnout benefits Labour.

I'm saving breaking into the Reese's peanut butter cups (American independence innit) till after I vote

Just what I’ve said to a friend about it. Plus the fear was Labour voters not turning out because it was presented as a done deal. I hope they are deluding themselves.

Voted for Brown in 2010.
And still wonder what would have happened if he'd opted for an earlier GE.

But he didn't. And a second election might have led to exactly the same shit show. Cameron was never going to be able to hold off the hard right loons.

Me too.

Cameron promised the Brexit referendum in the 2015 Tory manifesto, did he not? Or is my 60 year old brain getting it wrong?

Really hope that's the case

It was a massive mistake. He would have won if he had gone for Autumn 2007. We were gearing up for it at work, then suddenly...no.