Labour victory feels flat - just me?

[Rafting2022]

I seem to remember after the 1997 landslide the country was on a real high for days - this feels like an anti-climax. Is it just me?

Mainly Labour, although I have met some decent and honest Lib Dems and also Conservative.
Do you remember a murdered Conservative MP, David Amess? One of the most decent and hardworking men I have come across. An excellent constituency MP who genuinely worked to get things improved. A tragedy.

Yes, I thought it would be mainly Labour. It is in the minds of some truly a party of saints and angels. Which means that voting for these virtuous folk brings a little self-satisfying shine to the voter too.

But thanks for tossing in a few Libs and even a Tory too.

I think your faith in the generally better motives of Labour MPs (and councillors) is badly misplaced. They are all as interested in control and influence and personal advancement as any other politicians. But that is, of course, just my opinion.

@FinalCeleryScheme no need to be like that. Argue my points if you wish. "Saints and angels"?. I never said any such thing as well you know.
I've made my points from my experience of working with hundreds of MPs. I did not toss in anyone. Least of all a murdered MP.

I can only talk of my personal experience of working with hundreds of MPs.
If you're a Conservative, this is not a happy time and many intemperate things are said, and wild claims made.
Shame.

Yeah, fair enough, I was being a bit sarky. Sorry.

But I do think it’s perplexing that people actually think Labour politicians are generally morally better than others. That’s what I find so odd.

A belief in public provision over private supply - to sum up the philosophies very, very broadly - is just a political choice. It has nothing to do with morality or better motives. If one wanted to be very cynical, it’s in Labour’s interests to maintain poverty and want.

David Amess was indeed a very good and selfless (and very right wing) Tory. And many, many other Tories are very good and very selfless constituency MPs too.

Decent of you to apologise, @FinalCeleryScheme . 🌻Some MPs are just brilliant, kind and genuine. Others? Arrogant twerps. One of the best was David Amess. One of the worst? Jeremy Corbyn, sainted by many on here.

If one wanted to be very cynical, it’s in Labour’s interests to maintain poverty and want.

Odd thing to assert given that child poverty levels have increased under a Tory government from 25% in 1997 to 30% currently.

I agree with the majority, that this is an election the Tories lost rather than Labour won.

The question now is what are Labour going to DO? Their campaign was very light on specifics, just a general idea that things will be better than they were. Nothing about what or how. Even they focussed on not being the Tories.

So those who voted for them don't actually know what they were voting for, only what they were voting against. In 1997 Blair had an energy about him, a promise to change the way government worked, even if he didn't subsequently deliver. This Labour government has offered very little positive, very little promise. We have taken a leap into the mist and can't see where we're going. So it's not surprising if people feel lost rather than full of hope.

Labour only won because reform split the Tory vote. I think that Labour got more votes when Corbyn was leader. Starmer isn't popular and will need to tread carefully.

I think there's a risk that the Conservative Party will join forces with Reform, and Farage could end up as the next Tory leader. Let's face it, the Tories don't have anyone who would stand much chance in leadership. I wouldn't vote for Farage personally, but there no denying that he's a strong leader. I bet most people who voted reform didn't even know who the other candidates were.

And that’s without shocks to the system. Of course on MN anything external that puts pressure on the finances or other resource of this government will be completely excusable, rather than being a reason to bash the government as it was with the last government.

It's a bit like the feeling after divorcing your abusive husband who had been abusing you for 14 years! Relief, but also sadness and still reeling from the impact of how goddamn awful they were.

I am happy and relived but also very sad at what the tories managed to do.

I agree with the majority, that this is an election the Tories lost rather than Labour won.

I disagree, Labour played the game needed in the FPTP system, focussing on where they could gain seats.

Certainly the Tories lost, some reflection on why they were so disliked that the electorate turned against them might be beneficial but Labour played the system to their advantage.

Yeah, there's definitely an element of that.

I voted for them (with misgivings, mainly over the gender issue) and they won in our previously Tory constituency.
I don't feel very optimistic that they will improve things very much tbh. One example is their claim that they will recruit 6500 new teachers. From where?! It's not enough to have the funding - schools already can't recruit enough teachers even when they have the money to pay them!

Recruiting teachers will also be dependent on improving working conditions, education as a whole and school funding. Hopefully they will work towards those things.

Actually Labour were in power then. Cameron and Clegg formed a coalition in 2010

Even simple facts of history are re-written by Labour fans!

It’s actually worse IMO that the austerity that had to follow the New Labour years is treated as a wicked Tory action. No recognition whatever of the cost of the reckless spending (and PFI bills) of the Blair and Brown governments.

Even simple facts of history are rewritten by Tory fans.
The 2008 financial crash was not caused by the Brown government.

This is true, but the 2008 crash was a global phenomenon caused by reckless mortgage lending in the US. Labour didn't do it.

A lot of people (conservatives) like to say that Labour should have foreseen it and should have regulated the banks more tightly. And it's true that they didn't. But those same people also like to forget that the Conservative opposition are on the record in Hansard arguing for more deregulation of the banks.

By 2010, the economy was taking tentative steps towards recovery. That recovery was killed off by austerity. Countries which combated the recession with stimulus rather than austerity did better - the Tories chose not to follow suit.

Nobody says it was. That’s a miss.

What happened was a need for massive monetary support for the banking system, exposed by CDO liability in the US, which we couldn’t cope with because we were broke. Because of Blair and Brown.

things were very different the economy was already on the way up and the incoming government seemed so different much younger and connected to the ordinary people

Call me Tony was a brilliant way of connecting with people

Blair is also extremely charismatic we felt his enthusiasm and passion and their was very much a vision for the country from Labour

It was different times Starmer had to prove to voters that Labour have rid themselves of the idoit left, they are taking over when it would be extremely difficult to sell a vision to the public as we are so weary politically and no he isn’t charismatic

And the results have produced very unusual results

At last labour have been voted in to lead the UK and we have a PM who is dedicated to public service, extremely intelligent and dilligent

he just isn’t great in front of a camera

A lot of people (conservatives) like to say that Labour should have foreseen it and should have regulated the banks more tightly. And it's true that they didn't. But those same people also like to forget that the Conservative opposition are on the record in Hansard arguing for more deregulation of the banks.

That’s untrue. The criticism is that Labour had spent everything and run up debt. It’s also untrue that there had been any appreciable recovery under Brown.

Actually, I've just noticed that the Tories still have Priti Patel. I reckon she's the only one who could potentially give Labour a run for their money (not that I'm a conservative voter).

I agree. There was a real sense of optimism then that is missing now.