That Jo Swinson seems to be unpopular in general with most voters?

[Rosehip10]

Even most committed lib dems seem to agree she had a car crash on question time last night. I am a remainer but like most think it would have to be resolved by a second vote (I know the lib dems say they would reovoke if Swinson was PM and second vote otherwise).

Tbh I don't think the lib dems can move on until they have a leader who wasn't involved in the coalition.

And what is with all this attaching #girlyswot to most of her social media posts? It just looks idiotic and contrived and a product of a social media party focus group.

Mad leaflets saying "Your next PM Jo Swinson".........

I was seriously considering voting Lib Dem in the forthcoming election,as I really don't think that I can vote for Labour any more. But,having had a look at her voting record in the House of Commons,I've changed my mind.
I could not bring myself to vote for someone who has:-

1. Almost always voted for reducing housing benefit for social tenants deemed to have excess bedrooms (bedroom tax)
2. Has consistently voted against raising welfare benefits at least in line with prices.
3. Has almost always voted for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits.
4. Consistently voted against spending public money to create guaranteed jobs for young people who have been unemployed a long time.

She sounds more like a Tory than a Lib Dem. and I don't like her shrill voice

“and I don’t like her shrill voice”

Well how can she help her voice? Should she “conform” and have a male voice or something? What are you saying?

I am a remainer but like most think it would have to be resolved by a second vote

Yeah, like most remainers. But then you would think that wouldn’t you

Lumity It was meant to be a light hearted remark,which was what it was crossed out! Sorry if I've caused offence. I know people cannot help what their voice sounds like. As someone who doesn't like the sound of their own voice,I would be the last person to discount voting for someone because I didn't like the sound of their voice. As my post stated,the reasons I won't vote for her is her abysmal voting record on welfare issues.

I think there are a lot of deliberately placed stabs placed in this thread. BBC slanted the audience to "match" the number of seats the parties currently hold, so not surprising the audience majority was against the Lib Dems and she got the hardest questions.

Plus people complaining about her looks and voice are just weird. Just imagine if Johnson were female with his track record and shambolic appearances?

Also if the Lib Dems got in as a majority they would absolutely have the democratic mandate to revoke!
People need to be considering what will actually happen if the Tories get a majority. Not what a minority party theorizes they would do in the event of an extremely unlikely outcome.

I don't care about her voice. However, her voting record is appalling and the way she is happy to throw women under the bus to appear woke makes me sick.

There were only two lib Dems in the audience last night thanks to the weird way the BBC chose the audience and so it's not surprising that Swinson was treated with hostility.

Labour are miffed that the LDs are pulling remainer votes from them. Tories are worried about lib/Tory marginals in the SW. Thus both parties are on the attack. Seen it loads in recent weeks on social media, particularly from obvious Labour members.

Swinson's record reflects the coalition. In 2010 ALL the major parties were pushing for austerity, including Labour who actually had deeper cuts planned than the Tories. During the coalition the libs stopped the Tories enacting some pretty awful stuff, including:

Inheritance tax cuts for millionaires
Scrapping help with housing costs for young people
Weakening arrest warrants for people who have fled overseas
Firing workers at will, without any reasons given
Regional pay penalising public sector workers outside London and the South East
Privatising the motorways and key A-Roads
The Snoopers’ Charter
Bringing back the old O-level / CSE divide
Profit-making in state schools
Cutting the time childminders can give to each child
Cutting new nursery buildings
Stopping geography teachers telling children about how we can tackle climate change
Axing human rights from national curriculum
Ditching the Human Rights Act
Watering down the ban on hunting by allowing 40 dogs to flush out a fox
Weakening the protections in the Equalities Act
Scrapping Natural England
Cutting investment in green energy
Nation-wide immigration checks on all new tenants and lodgers

In return the lib Dems got the tax threshold increased, same sex marriage (a lot of Tories were against this), pupil premium and 15 hours childcare for disadvantaged 2 year olds.

Compromise was needed and I don't disagree that some mistakes were made, but let's stop pretending that Jo Swinson was singlehandedly responsible for austerity.

I agree with you whenyoucantrunyoucrawl There wouldn't have been a Labour government if the Lib Drms hadn't formed a coalition with the Tories. Labour didn't have the numbers even with lib dems support to have formed a coalition with them. Compared to the shambles we have had since, the coalition was the height of stability. If it had continued, the referendum wouldn't have happened. Bit ridiculous to blame the minority coalition partner for what the senior party did.

I have a theory that some of the ardent anti-LD due to anti-trans views posters on MN are... shills. Just stirring for some other political agenda not sincere ordinary folk voicing their private opinion.

I never encounter his reason for hating LDs anywhere else. it's like someone has decided it's a special way to hook in some MNers...

The fact that they're polling so badly restores my faith in the electorate a little bit.

I voted leave but respect the opinion of people who voted remain. Most people I know are remainers but they accept the result and just want it done.

I'm pleased that most remainers can't stomach the idea of revoking article 50 and the profound damage it would do to our democracy and social fabric.

BBC slanted the audience to "match" the number of seats the parties currently hold

If that's true, that is shocking

I've always assumed anyone who applied could go along to Question Time - either first come, first served, or by random ballot when more people than places.

She is an academic and she is brave to put herself out there into mainstream politics but so far I find her difficult to connect with.

I never encounter his reason for hating LDs anywhere else. it's like someone has decided it's a special way to hook in some MNers...

You don't follow many feminist posters on twitter then?

Here's the first one that came up on Google

mobile.twitter.com/womans_place_uk/status/1194956157988823040

She's got an annoying face and personality. It's like she's trying to be jacinta Arden but lacks the intelligence or charisma. I wish she was a better leader but I simply can't vote for her and I'm desperate to support the sisterhood.

As for cancelling Brexit. She's bonkers. How can you just ignore 50% of the country which technically won the argument?

@thetwinkletoescollective

Is she? She had a job doing PR for a Hull based commercial music radio station before becoming an MP. Normal job I would say or do you say she is an academic as she went to the LSE?

Her voting record reflects the fact she was in Government and had to follow the whip in votes
@Southwest12 this is complete rubbish. The Lib Dem members of that coalition could have defied the whip at any time. The Consequence would have been them losing ministerial positions, that’s all, but they didn’t want to. They could have prevented any Tory policy they wanted to prevent, ut they chose not to. The fact Swinson voted with the whip more than Gove tells you something, surely.

I find the straight up revocation pretty hard to stomach, and I say that as a staunch remainer. I think there's a huge difference between a confirmatory referendum once terms are clear (and I'd say that those terms should include the future shape of our relationship with Europe) vs the lib dem plan

I find her difficult to connect with

That's the right phrase. It's impossible to "connect" with her. There is just something about her which comes across as deeply unlikeable.

And as much as some posters might be upset by that, the fact is it's true, her personal ratings are dropping like a stone. As a pp said, the more rhe public see her the more they deeply dislike her.

It's not even about her politics as such, although personally I find them abominable, it's the way she comes across. Most voters won't know her voting record, it's her public persona they dis like.

She simply doesn't connect with most people. She does the opposite. People find her irritating for some reason but it's hard to say exactly why.

She’s too earnest. She’s like a head girl. She needs some statesmanship (statewomanship) lessons. I can’t warm to her the way I can warm up to Sturgeon and certain other female MPs (not Patel!)

Nonetheless, as my MP is J Corbyn himself, I’ll be voting Lib Dem’s as a committed remainder.

I know people cannot help what their voice sounds like

Yes, they can. Voice training is a wonderful thing, and if her voice is getting in the way of connecting with voters I’d hope she’d look into it. Didn’t do Mrs Thatcher any harm!

I look at the party ideology not just the leader . The Lib Dem’s to me have lost their way and don’t have any new independent policies. They vote and act like Tories voting against anything that would improve people’s lives. There seems to be no regret over it’s shared austerity policies whilst in government They lack the ability to learn from past mistakes and just seem happy to repeat them because it’s easier
At least Labour is trying to move forward and think of solutions. The LibDems & Tories just seem to lie and play the blame game
I wasn’t impressed with Jo Swinson she lacked conviction in what she was saying to be credible
I’m very tired of the lies

Where can I watch the debate (obviously not live anymore ) everyone is referencing?

I’ve only seen the Johnson/Corbyn one?