to thank Emily Thornberry profusely

[longfingernails]

She has just shown how much Labour detest the aspirational working class, the swingiest of swing voters. Labour will be hit with this again and again and again; ever denial and denunciation will just bring Labour's true views to a wider audience. Fundamentally, it will only reinforce the undeniable fact that Miliband's centre of gravity is firmly ensconced in Islington.

She has made a Tory/UKIP coalition, perhaps the best possible electoral outcome, much more likely. Thank you Emily!

The shame is that the working class feel they have no voice speaking for them except for ukip. If anyone feels the metropolitan elite of labour- who as one educate their children as far away as possible from white van mans kids - represent them, they would be mad.

Am I just some bizarre freak in that I don't actually give a shit if politicians 'understand' me, as long as they actually act in my best interests?

From Thornberry's voting/campaigning record (Wikipedia), she's done a lot of good for folks like White Van Dan. Does it matter if she actually thinks he's a bit of a Sun reader?

I don't actually want my MP to be my mate, I want them to make sensible decisions and run the country and stuff. Is that just me?

Oh maybe if we sent our kids to private school, like Diane abbots, then we'd understand.

Cherriesandapples, given that people living in areas of high immigration are actually less likely to object to immigrants/vote UKIP, I think Abbott might have a point. Don't you?

I don't know boulevard tbh, I am just uncomfortable about an MP tweeting a picture of someone's house, especially when there was no explanation as to why it was tweeted. ET must surely have known that as an MP tweeting a picture from a constituency where a media rich by election was taking place it would be picked up by said media, and that the person whose house it was would have the spotlight turned on them, in that sense I do think it's an invasion of privacy because of the standing of the person taking and tweeting the picture.

In your example of the Christmas lights on a neighbour's house, probably not, it is unlikely to make front page news or be subject to dissection by the media as to what you meant by it, or what the house owners motives are for decorating their house.

Given a choice I'd take 'unusual house' over 'huge arse' too, but personally I am derermined to keep my house and arse as far away from the media as possible they have tendency to bite you on whatever size arse you have once they have finished with you!

It's certainly an achievement to have made the main story of this by-election "Labour out-of-touch snobs" (some are, but it's not new) when the Labour candidate was a local woman who went to a local school and finished her law qualifications while working full time. And is apparently into kickboxing, which is at least a point of conversation.

While the UKIP candidate was parachuted in by the Tories in 2010 having been educated at Marlborough College, Christ Church Oxford and Columbia Business School, then worked in Conservative Central Office on deregulation.

No not really, areas of high immigration tend not to have UKIP activists. I used to work in area of high immigration in housing. Most people from all backgrounds are in despair about the housing situation, it's the working class that are affected most by immigration, that is why UKIP are growing in popularity.

Pausing excellent points, my opinion is that all potential MP's should be local or have lived in the area for set period of time (a few years at least). Also think they should all have held down a job outside of and not associated with politics for a number of years.

"You know, if ET has done something else that shows she's a raging snob, then I'll judge away like the best of them.

But for this particularly incident, I'm clearly not hearing the dog whistle other posters are so keenly responding to..."

Well I'd indicated earlier on the thread that I felt she had 'done something else.' Having met her at a school event my conclusion at the time was that she was a patronising phoney, so it felt fairly easy to draw the conclusion many others have. Her explanation for the tweet wasn't very convincing either.

There was a radio discussion recently about how immigrants actually bring our economy a net financial gain, with lots of experts explaining it.

Garage and UKIP appeal to people's ignorance and fears about immigrations often by making outrageous and untrue statements which they later retract, but which stoke the fire of people's unfounded indignation about immigration. I think abbot is right, if people actually understood about the economic benefits brought by immigration, they might see it differently. But part of ukip's appeal is playing on the fact that people want a scapegoat. They don't want the truth and farage knows this.

Urgh farage annoying ipad.

As a life long labour supporter and a daughter of a working class family that all voted labour I know it's attitudes and silly comments like yours Bod and stupid arrogant actions like Emily that are letting UKIP in.

Seriously can't you see this? How old are you?

This reminds me of the labour wilderness years after Kinnock.

Very very sad.

Yes the Diane Abbots that sent her kid to private school.

X post John

I'm not thrilled with abbots private school decision either, but it doesn't make her incapable of making a valid point.

Well it makes her a massive hypocrite and therefore I have no respect for her or trust her views.

Diane Abbott = joke, she claims to be a socialist but sends her child to private school.

Ethornberry = joke, seems like a wealthy and privileged 'socialist' who makes fun of the working class.

Labour is a joke. No wonder labour voters are turning to ukip, rightly or wrongly Farage appears to be a man of the people.

some labour voters - same as some Tory and Lib Dem ones

I vote labour - I certainly will NOT be 'turning to UKIP' :)

Exactly carrier

And they just can't see it either.

Do bloody sad for the ordinary people of this country.

If only john smith hadn't died.

The recent research said that EU migrants contributed the the economy but that non EU migrants had cost the UK economy billion of pounds over a set period of years. Working class people know this and people are totally fed up of Labour and the media (BBC) saying otherwise.

I think that that some labour politicians have been honest, like Tony Benn. The trouble with the current bunch is that they lack sense, passion and sincerity. Farage is passionate for his cause and the country. If only other politicians could emanate that. I won't be voting for ukip but I can see why people like Farage more than the others, if only for a protest vote.

But millions will ghosty and you can see why from attitudes in this thread.

A complete failure to understand the mood of a hell of a lot of the electorate.

Arrogant comments about the flag being racist. which have been made on here, enrage people and persuade them that they are under siege.

Yes, clearly ET wanted to portray people of Rochester as racist thug types who support UKIP which I would imagine she thought would be a clever thing to do! The man definitely shouldn't have had his personal information (number plate) exposed to national media / social media!

The EU is a fantastic institution to allow poor Europeans to take the jobs of better off Europeans by driving down the wages. Thus Allowing big businesses to make even more profits and pay less tax.

The EU is also a marvellous gravy train for ex prime ministers and their families of all political sides.

Disgusting pigs snouts in the trough.

Exactly cherries and carrier