To think this, is how the Tories could win?

[madamreign]

Sunak is setting out his stall as pro-car:

www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/sep/28/rishi-sunak-expected-to-limit-powers-of-councils-in-england-to-curb-car-use-20mph-speed-limit-traffic-camera-fines

This could actually swing it for him. People sink vast amounts of time and money into their cars, they're aspirational status symbols. The UK loves it's cars.

Ffs where I live rural area (at least it was) we have the full on Conservative quadruple whammy.
Conservative PM
Conservative MP
Conservative county councillors
Conservative District councillors

Hell even the parish council is majority Conservative (with one Councillor being the wife of our district councillor).

Our villages have had to deal with thousands of new builds on what we're once our surrounding fields. We don't have the infrastructure for this, we have one main road in each direction from the (very small) town and 2 neighbouring villages. One of the "main" routes out of town goes single file under a railway bridge (where lorries and vans regularly get stuck), or over the bridge that has a level crossing. Ironically our train station has a hell of a lot of trains going through it as its a main intersection for the region. The roads here can be hell especially at school run time (rural area some parents have miles to get children to school).
The doctors are overrun, it's.almost impossible to get an appointment at the dentist. One of the local schools had to shut because of the concrete issues, no space in other schools to absorb those children (although my sons primary housed them for last term, that wasn't feasible this term), so those children are being shipped wherever there are spaces.
As far as trains go we're lucky, buses not so much. They started cutting them during lockdown and every 6months or so we lose another couple throughout the day. They're also unreliable, the local town (sorry its a city now, not sure who thought turning England's oldest recorded town in to a city was a good idea), is pretty much gridlocked from 7am-8pm, but at least they have regular, frequent, if not always on time buses. If there's ever a shortage of drivers it's our rural route that suffers as our already irregular (and strangley timed) buses are cancelled with no warning or notice.

All.of this is happening under a Conservative leadership, Labour has never (until mow hopefully) stood a chance here. The cronieism is too well entrenched, we have a very high proportion of traditional Conservative supporters and the 0.5mill+ houses (which are stupidly tiny) aren't going to be bought by people who are what you'd consider natural Labour supporters.

I do still vote but am very aware that my vote doesn't count for much, no-one even bothers canvassing the area.

This could actually swing it for him. People sink vast amounts of time and money into their cars, they're aspirational status symbols. The UK loves it's cars.

It is one more reason - on top of the thousands I already had - for me to hate Rich-boy Sunak.

I don't "love" my car. My car is a vehicle that gets me (and my shopping/junk/stuff I couldn't be bothered to take out of the car) from one place to another when there is no usable public transport option. I have no desire to drive fast, to pollute more than I absolutely have to, or to endanger cyclists, horse-riders, pedestrians or anyone else. I am a pedestrian more of the time than I'm a car-driver, and I am absolutely NOT a fucking "motorist"!

Which is why the last thing we need is a Labour open door immigration policy. If you think it’s bad now?

Open door immigration policy? Where have they said that?

They haven’t. It’s more fiction.

Here:

https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/17/labour-will-not-say-how-many-migrants-it-would-accept-in-eu-returns-deal

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/labour-confirms-it-would-seek-eu-returns-deal-for-migrants-crossing-channel-sparking-tory-criticism-12960740

Believe me most immigrants wouldn't be buying (or renting) houses here, they wouldn't be able to afford to. And if they can afford it well then, they'll definitely be at a pay level where they are contributing more than the average "native".

Besides, we are a rural area and yes we do depend on immigration, especially during harvest season. Can't imagine that many "native" UK people would be happy to live in a tiny caravan, spending up to 12hrs a days picking fruits for a pittance, lime we have here.

Not sure what happened thre wrong post quoted

Nick Thomas-Symonds said Labour wanted to restore "management and control" to the immigration system

How does that get interpreted as “open door”?

So the pesky immigrants won’t be in your village apart from to pick fruit 😳

I have posted multiple times Starmers migrant plan. You conveniently keep missing it, he announced it himself!!

That’s a direct quote from the link you posted. Did you not bother to read it?

Who said anything about pesky immigrants, apart from you of course. I was simply pointing out that any immigration will not make the situation here worse. I was pointing out that you're strange belief that somehow Conservatives aren't building on Green Belt land and causing havoc for communities. Its nothing to with Labour, its nothing to do with immigrants, its everything to do with Conservative policy

They’ll be getting my vote

I think the problem with immigrants - as Winston Churchill pointed out - was that while we all like them, none of us could eat a whole one.

I hate to defend @Lastchancechica , but in this she may be being honest. From her use of ‘mun’ earlier I deduce a Welsh connection. Cardiff is notoriously tough on speeding. It’s well known they’ll do you for even one mile over.

My older 2016 Ford Fiesta hasn't got one, a lot of old but not that old small cars haven't, I will probably have to treat myself to a nice brand new car with one

My fairly new large Ford has neither.

Chica. Lots of people have said what Labour will do. You either don’t like it or don’t believe it, that’s fine, but there are plans and others feel differently about them.

Of course it’s a wish list. It’s what a prospective government wish to do.
You do know an opposition party can’t show policies in action, right?

You do know 20mph is significantly faster than a human can run, never m8nd walk, yes?

The wish list was not labours! That was the point - it was a posters wish list of what she hoped for.

We don’t even know labours wish list.

How does that mean 'open door' policy?

People vote with their wallets, the Tories have made everyone poorer which is why they'll lose. The Truss budget finished them for the next election.

Eh? When was it last a Labour seat?