Anyone else longing for a new political party?

[HelloMrBond]

I’m early 40s, have voted conservative all my adult life but the latest offering of conservative MPs makes me wonder if they could ever form an effective government. They have lost their way. On the other hand, they have been allowed to loose their way by a completely inept opposition, I believe a strong party opposite keeps the party in government on their toes. If there was to be a GE tomorrow, for the first time in my life, I’m not sure how I would vote. The Labour Party do have a handful of good quality MPs with good ideas, but the current shadow cabinet are nothing short of a rabble, the idea that their leader doesn’t know what a woman is and the thought of Angela Raynor being deputy PM sends shivers down my spine. In my view, there is a current huge gaping hole in modern British politics for a centrist party who could potentially cause huge ripples at a future GE snd would stand up for and represent the average hard working, tax paying families and individuals of the country.

New parties won't make the slightest difference whilst we have the ridiculous first-pastt-the-post system and a mainstream media who are so partisan.

I cannot see how any new party could overcome those hurdles to take power (unless Murdoch set one up himself perhaps?)

Honestly? Your best bet at this point is to hold your nose and vote for Labour since they now back a PR voting system. If you really want more choice, that's the only way.

@SleeplessInEngland, delegates at conference voted on a motion calling on the party to support PR but it is not Labour policy as yet.

I would like a centre party that’s credible

I think many of us have been wanting this for a while.

I forgot about that (recovering from an op)

I would like to see her gone she is too divisive, she gets trashed by political commentators and a weapon for the media against Labour

In fact I'd go so far as to say another party would probably increase the chance of the Tories getting in by splitting the vote against them.

During the corbyn years everyone was depsperate to be centrist party again. Well, now they are - and with a 30 point polling lead to boot.

It may not be the exact centrism you want, but that's british politics for you.

Labour has only risen in the polls because the Tories have collapsed. They really are not the answer.

I'd like to see a new centre-right party, where all the MPs are rather like Rory Stewart

But I suspect I'll see a unicorn first

Labour has only risen in the polls because the Tories have collapsed

Incorrect. They had a big bump after their conference and before the disastrous budget. People don't think Starmer's exciting but they are increasingly seeing him as competent.

I think the Tories were already in trouble by then. And the big rises are recent.

It's a protest vote, and that aspect will not be overlooked by seasoned campaigners

Why are the Lib Dems not seeing a similar bump then?

If Labour win the next election which they are in course to doing and with a very comfortable majority they will not be in any rush to change the political voting system

I wish Tory voters would just be more honest and say “anything that isn’t Conservative feels a bit unaspirational to vote for - as in, I wouldn’t ever subject my family to a weekly shop from Nisa Stores” etc.

Exactly.

OP, I feel exactly the same.

Yep I completely agree! Both of the big parties are a joke and so are the lib dems!

She is a vile person who doesn't have a " statesman" like bone in her body. The thought of her representing this country abroad makes me cringe! Shes just as embarrassing as Boris was!

I'd definitely consider a new centrist party if it was liberal on social policy and reasonably parsimonious with public money. I can face the prospect of a Starmer-led Labour government with equanimity as well.

A thread like this makes me understand why we ended up with twelve years of Tories.

In short, no - the UK is not going to have some new party because FPTP lends itself to an essentially two or two and a half party system. I'm absolutely in favour of changing it but unless and until that happens (and as a lifelong Tory voter, you've been supportive of a party that actively opposes any form of PR) we will continue to have a two party system.

It's also nonsense to claim Labour are inept when they have turned a massive defeat in 2019 into a thirty point lead today. That sort of turnaround has never been seen before. Even Blair (a) inherited a much better position and (b) ended up winning by a smaller margin than Labour's current poll leads.

And it's also ridiculous to suggest that there is room in the political landscape for a new centrist party. Labour and the LibDems, and the SNP to an extent in Scotland, represent that centrist position. There is already ample choice for people who are in the centre. Even in the 2018-2019 period, under Corbyn, when there was arguably much stronger need for a new centrist party, efforts to create one were a disaster.

And it's also ridiculous to suggest that there is room in the political landscape for a new centrist party. Labour and the LibDems, and the SNP to an extent in Scotland, represent that centrist position

That's just not true though. Labour cannot be centrist whilst it still has such a huge contingent of far left Momentum and Union influence. As a centrist I don't like that. LibDems are just, a bit, I don't know, useless. And the SNP are effectively a dictatorship, and most people can't vote for them anyway, so they are irrelevant. PF for them would be a disaster, as they have disproportionate representation versus population.

There was, a long time ago, in a previous election, a "Policies not Party" website, where you could answer various questions on each parties manifesto promises. I was literally on the crosshair of the square, between the four parties. Therefore, no one party represented me.

No one party represents anyone, though. Even in PR systems. Much less so in FPTP ones.

But it's just wrong to say Labour aren't centrist. What matters in any party is what the Leader/PM and Shadow Cabinet/Cabinet stand on and propose to do, and whether they have the numbers in their Parliamentary Party to do that. Your claim is like saying Labour under Corbyn wasn't really quite far to the left because the party had a large number of centrists in the membership.

Perhaps you should start by setting out what you think a new centrist party might actually propose or do that Labour under Starmer would not.

I mean yes, that's how polling works. For one party to do better, another has to do worse. I'm not sure why you'd present that as some sort of negative for Labour?

The Tories have been a shitshow for at least 6 years (and longer for those of us who thought their economic agenda in particular was dreadful in the 2010 to 2016 period) but Labour struggled to break through. So a Government being shit doesn't necessarily mean Labour will gain.

Them gaining now is largely because they are a very credible Government in waiting, with a very credible alternative PM.

I'm in the minority and like AR ( she apologized for her remarks and learnt from it ) I understand why people don't like her though
The LP are not perfect , but they are United and centre left , which might help
It's going to be a slog changing peoples minds over the conservatives though. The conservatives are still popular amongst my friends and family

Whilst many of the moderates were too europhile for me on other issues I generally agreed. I just wished they'd stuck around, now the average Tory MP is far too far to the right (but probably not as far as the membership - which I no longer am). I’m starting to think PR might not be such a bad idea, except that parties can stitch up the order of people on their lists.

I couldn’t agree more. They say they’re the party of aspiration and then slag off a shining example of success against ridiculously high odds. There’s no logic to it.

If anyone really thinks the highly competent opposition front bench couldn’t do better than the dregs of the Tory party currently in the cabinet they need to think a bit harder.

I think Angela Rayner is brilliant. Very happy to vote for her and for Labour. Who apparently care about the millions of people below the 45% tax threshold