Tories lose over 1000 seats in local elections

[noblegiraffe]

Which was their damage limitation number so when they lost 800 they could say 'we've not done as badly as we feared'.

AIBU to be cracking open the champagne while they try to figure out how the hell they can put a positive spin on this?

My area is affluent, mostly rural and in the SE. The district council has lost all its Tory councillors, even in the wards that are all farmers and rich people in big houses. I expected the Tories to lose some seats, but never in my wildest dreams did I think it might be all of them!

The neighbouring district used to be almost entirely blue, except for a couple of wards in two towns that had council estates. Most of that is now represented by Green party councillors, even in areas where the landed gentry have ancient grazing rights on common land.

The Tories even managed to lose control of the most Tory council in the next county, which was a real shock.

I put the news on this morning hoping to see Tory ministers trying to explain/defend these pisspoor results, but all the news seems to be about some old bloke who gets to put a sparkly hat on later today ...

Loving it too. DH and I correctly predicted what Sunak’s response would be. Totally deflected from the election and pushed the whole ‘stop the boats, reduce inflation’ bullshit.

It’s a tragic loss for the tories but I don’t think Labour did as well as they could have either. It would still be a hung parliament if it had been an election result. I didn’t vote Labour or Tory much like many others, brilliant to see how well the Green’s did.

As Emotionalstorm is a Tory then financial success is exactly what they mean.

He worked for a PE fund so he at least knows how to run a successful business and make money. Keir is a career civil servant. Let's face it, civil servants aren't exactly known for having good work ethic or being overachievers.

Let's face it, financiers aren't known for serving interests other than for their own personal gain.

“ Keir is a career civil servant. Let's face it, civil servants aren't exactly known for having good work ethic or being overachievers.”

The bitterness drips from you there. He was the director of public prosecutions. It’s not like he was was processing passport applications. To get that job he will have been working hard, highly ambitious etc. I suspect all the ambassadors and other civil servants in high status jobs are all lazy thickos too….

Since when have barristers been “career civil servants”? 😂

You might like to make him sound like some dusty pen pusher in the back room of a council office, but he’s not. And even if he were, I’d consider that to be a far nobler calling than “working for a PE fund”. Because however you’d like to spin that as a career it doesn’t give me a single jot of confidence in the man’s integrity or business acumen.

But thanks @Emotionalstorm for giving me my first laugh of the day!

Bet the tories all VERY glad the news has been taken over by the coronation today …

The UK could really use a financially literate person right now though.

My one was almost bar 3 Tory, it was a Tory safe council. We now have a labour majority for the first time ever. The neighbouring Borough was the same. Both affluent areas with big expensive houses but a vast amount of people are struggling right now.

Our Tory mp is next to useless.

What is wrong with working at PE fund?

“Working for a hedge fund” doesn’t make you a great businessman, you know that, right? It’s almost the opposite of that.

I don't think it's rocket science that people are very angry about the new costs of their mortgages, and they are not happy about paying more tax either for crappier public services. The SE of England Conservatives are rightly pissed at this and Brexit.

If you hit peoples bottom line and make them pay more on huge mortgages then they will not think you competent. These set of people are very angry and this is the first obvious sign to the Tory Party just how pissed off they are. These are affluent people who do not expect the Tory Party to make them feel poor.

Thinking about it I actually didn't get any post or door knockers promoting conservative this year. Only had multiple communications from labour (who I voted for) 🤔

Last time we had communication from every party. I think conservative got a little bit arrogant in my area and subsequently lost it.

Poor is relative btw! I am not saying this class of people are in poverty. But they are seriously pissed off with the Conservatives for their Liz Truss moment. It's the thing that will undercut the next election.

The UK could really use a financially literate person right now though.

Yes, it could. So how come your "financially literate" person isn't getting it right?

Perhaps the PP means the asylum seekers that we can't legally turn away.

Brexit.

It got done, and so did we.

Succinctly put @LakieLady

No one can, with a straight face, try to sell the Tories as the party of financial prudence anymore. Not after Liz Truss crashing the economy and putting everyone's mortgages up.

And they voted Liz Truss in over Rishi Sunak because she promised them tax cuts.

The Tories are the party of self-interest and pocket-lining, not financial prudence.

The tories have lost control of the council where I live, which of course I’m happy about. But we still have some conservative councillors. Why do people still vote them in after all the harm conservative policy has done? A town whose main industry was decimated by Brexit voted tories back in! As far as I can tell these six tories aren’t showing excellence at representing us locally.

Is it blind ideology? Low mental capacity? Fear of alternatives like the scary Lib Dem’s?😂 Genuinely baffled.

I agree. They've positioned themselves as the alternative to Labour's feckless spending but have lost that argument robustly with Truss. They catered to UKIP bigots with Brexit but now everyone can plainly see what a terrible decision that was. I would love to see the back of them but fear local election results do not always translate to GE results.

Not to mention the Truss/Kwarteng debacle, that sent sterling into freefall and cost ... what was it, £60bn? And nearly sent everyone's pension funds down the shitter.

Economic competence, my arse.

Unfortunately, if the Conservatives lose the next election, the alternative is just as bad. We are screwed either way in my opinion.

In what way would it be just as bad? The economy and the UK’s prospects are much smaller now the tories have applied their wrecking ball.