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Original poster

How could the people of Bolsover vote out Dennis Skinner?

49 replies

TheWaiting · 13/12/2019 11:00

I don’t like the results but they were predictable. But Dennis Skinner? Really? This is a man who gave up his MP’s salary during the miners strike so his mining constituents didn’t starve! I didn’t vote labour and Skinner’s politics a bit left for me but FFS, for the people in that constituency to vote out that man. Sad Sad

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Dhalandchips · 13/12/2019 11:01

I'm flabbergasted!

Hingeandbracket · 13/12/2019 11:02

Me too - and if it was Brexit related it makes even less sense as Dennis is and always has been firmly a leaver.

Original poster
TheWaiting · 13/12/2019 11:07

Even in Margaret Thatcher’s memoirs she talks about him being one of the most decent MPs in the house and that whilst she disagreed with him on virtually everything, she had huge respect for him.

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Ringdonna · 13/12/2019 11:10

He will be shunted off to the House of Lords.

Original poster
TheWaiting · 13/12/2019 11:11

Yes, he’s always advocated leaving so I just don’t understand.

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DerbyshireGirly · 13/12/2019 11:12

His political views are largely very different to my own but I do still feel for him. You can't say he isn't principled and true to his beliefs - for that, you have to respect him even if you don't agree with him.

NellWilsonsWhiteHair · 13/12/2019 11:13

It’s the disconnect between your vote as a vote for a local MP, and your vote as the only way to influence who leads the HoC though, isn’t it? I’m Labour (in spite of huuuge reservations about the current leadership), but I can see that if your priority is to ensure JC isn’t PM then Skinner is a reasonable sacrifice to make for that.

Am gutted for him, though. And I’ve voted YANBU! But I can also see and respect the vote of his constituents. Sad

alliwantisagoodnightssleep · 13/12/2019 11:13

He is quite unwell by all reports and wasn’t able to campaign. Allegedly he wasn’t planning on standing for re-election. It will be strange watching Westminster and not seeing him sitting there. Someone else will need to take over from him for the Queen’s Speech outbursts.

alliwantisagoodnightssleep · 13/12/2019 11:14

@Ringdonna do you really think he would take a seat in the Lords??

Original poster
TheWaiting · 13/12/2019 11:21

I very much doubt he’d take a seat in The Lords. He’s very much a Republican and he has previously said he supports the idea of an upper chamber but not as long as it includes hereditary peers.

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Joisanofthedales · 13/12/2019 11:23

I've always been an admirer of the beast of bolsover because he is a principled man and a great parliamentarian. An example to the total shower of wokes that surround him now in the Labour party. The trouble is that he is now a frail, unwell 87 year old who deserves to be listened to as a respected voice for his beliefs from the sidelines so he can rest and get well again.
I'm no longer on the left because of momentum's disrespect of women and their rights but I still have a soft spot for this amazing man.

Original poster
TheWaiting · 13/12/2019 11:23

@NellWilsonsWhiteHair, yes I do get that predicament. But we’re talking about a man who donated his salary so the families of miners could eat. So from a local perspective, I’m utterly flabbergasted.

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EnriqueTheRingBearingLizard · 13/12/2019 11:25

I don’t remember a time when he wasn’t an MP. On the other hand, he’s soon to be 88 years old and is not a well man. He’s also a Corbyn supporter, a leader rejected by so many labour voters. So on those grounds it’s time for him to go. On the other hand, politics needs more conviction politicians so that the electorate can be sure of just what they’re voting for.

BovaryX · 13/12/2019 11:29

I've always been an admirer of the beast of bolsover because he is a principled man and a great parliamentarian. An example to the total shower of wokes that surround him now in the Labour party. The trouble is that he is now a frail, unwell 87 year old who deserves to be listened to as a respected voice for his beliefs from the sidelines so he can rest and get well again. I'm no longer on the left because of momentum's disrespect of women and their rights but I still have a soft spot for this amazing man

Well said

AnnieOH1 · 13/12/2019 11:34

It's a sad morning here in Bolsover but having seen local opinion and my own (for what it is worth) there have been issues including:

Dennis not campaigning due to ill health
An anti-Corbyn/pro-Brexit vote
Need for a change after all these years

My own opinion, we like many others around the district, are transplants from nearby cities living on new build estates and commuting out the area for work. These new estates are changing the face of Bolsover, and with it the voting face. Thinking of my immediate neighbours, only one has local roots in the area. Dennis represented an era beyond my living memory certainly, and for a lot of us making up the electorate, outside our family's sphere too. There's a lot in Bolsover who will tell you about the day Thatcher closed the pit so their dad and grandad hadn't work anymore, they couldn't get a job yada yada.

I'll personally miss Dennis as our MP. He dealt with a matter for me personally 5 years ago, lovely man who was concerned for "his people" in my experience (others don't agree but you can't please everyone) and I thank him for his service through the years.

Original poster
TheWaiting · 13/12/2019 11:35

Oh I’m not doubting that people didn’t want Corbyn. I just can’t understand why you’d vote out a man who genuinely stood with you shoulder to shoulder in your darkest hour and ensured that many of those able to vote last night didn’t go to school hungry during the strike. Memories are short it would seem.

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Equanimitas · 13/12/2019 11:39

I'm afraid that those who voted against him are going to be regretting it within a relatively short time.

Ringdonna · 13/12/2019 11:39

I think he will be offered HoL but whether he takes it up is another matter.

Original poster
TheWaiting · 13/12/2019 11:39

@AnnieOH1, that’s interesting. I guess there’s maybe been less ‘forgetting’ and more ‘never knowing’ how he supported his local community in their time of need.

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Disfordarkchocolate · 13/12/2019 11:41

I thought he was too ill to campaign, in which case people probably thought there was no point in voting for him. I like how not smarmy or slick.

Chloemol · 13/12/2019 11:41

Perhaps because they realise that at 87 he is to old for the job? Simple as that. Or perhaps they were scared that JC might get on so voted tactically. Who knows

Sillyotter · 13/12/2019 11:46

This is my constituency and I'm utterly heartbroken

ElfridaEtAl · 13/12/2019 11:47

I live in the Bolsover constituency and I can't believe he's been vetoed for a Tory! The area has lots of old mining villages with people that still remember what MT did. Way before I was born but my DM told me the mining strikes nearly tore my family apart as my uncle was striking but my DGD wasn't as he had a family to provide for and my DGM STILL couldn't see past JC to vote Labour.

@AnnieOH1
*It's a sad morning here in Bolsover but having seen local opinion and my own (for what it is worth) there have been issues including:

Dennis not campaigning due to ill health
An anti-Corbyn/pro-Brexit vote
Need for a change after all these years*

I agree but if there was to be a change the change should have been a different labour MP to stand, not a Tory!

YouSawThePlans · 13/12/2019 11:51

I can't understand it. He is a man of principle. His position on the EU has always remained the same. And I don't understand why a constituency that voted for him for so many years would be resistant to Corbyn to the extent, they'd throw Dennis under the bus. But maybe it's as a PP said, that the area has changed.

Original poster
TheWaiting · 13/12/2019 12:09

Oh well. I wish him the best of health in his much deserved retirement.

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