To think that everyone is getting far too excited about this Green win?

[DangerQuakeRhinoSnake]

All this fuss about one Green win - I really don't think it's massively significant given the local demographic and the upcoming local elections will be the real test.

As if the Greens are going to get anywhere near power! Not going to happen.

No Kemi has just decided to gallop off after reform to the far right. Thoroughly objectionable views. I think there are many people who will never vote Tory whilst the current Reform-equestrian lot are in charge. Labour are only moderately better.
Thank goodness for the Greens!

She was exaggerating to make a point.

@Dragonscaledaisy a heartening story for those who support Palestine, deny Hamas and deny the atrocities of 7th October, the atrocities in Iran/Sudan etc etc! If she’d won on the basis of local issues I’d find it heartening. Seeing her come out and frame it as a win for normal people when the party mainly used pro Palestine to get votes (from all demographics) is just a bit ridiculous!

I’m shocked, shocked, that voters didn’t rally behind the Reform candidate who wasn’t from the area, managed to insult half the electorate, suggested young girls should prioritise motherhood, and cosplays as a white working-class representative while actually being an academic fronting for a party led by a privately educated ex-hedge fund manager, largely absent from his own Clacton constituency, surrounded by Boris Johnson cabinet alumni, and is best mates with an elite international paedophile ring.

That was a phone autocorrect moment but ‘Reform-equestrians’ sounds about right. Probably fox hunters….

UKIP and now Reform have been very good at getting media attention. The Greens are in the news far less even when doing comparably well.

I'm not excited. I'd be excited if the Greens has won this based on their original aims i.e concern for the environment. I'd think oh, people are finally waking up. However since they won this campaign by stoking sectarian division, shamelessly exploiting the Muslim vote, spouting pie in the sky, undeliverable aims and completely ignoring the issues on which they were founded, I'm not.

This, a protest vote to keep reform out

i think we are heading towards a coalition again,

I suspect the Tories will dispose of her long before the next general election.

We are nearly a medium sized business but it’s the infrastructure shortfalls and weak market conditions that hold growth back now. Employers national insurance and business rates don’t help but would be less of an issue if the economy were stronger.

Would I start a business now? Probably not. Contacts abroad say that the economic environment isn’t amazing where they are either. The UK’s problems feel worse than some places due to lack of long term investment, inconsistent policy making longer term planning more challenging, and Brexit, but no where stands out as amazing when you dig down into the realities.

I have voted Green in the past. This is an entirely different Green Party and I feel they are just a novelty act. There will be a series of incidents and revelations no doubt and then it will all die down. The Right are on the rise and all the labour and conservative in-fighting have meant we are unlikely to see a labour or conservative again in a generation, if ever again. Political landscape has changed forever. That’s my take on it. It’s all very concerning.

It’s looking to me very much like the next government will be a coalition, although wether thats a right or left coalition is anyone’s guess!

I agree. Her behaviour during this week's PMQs did her no favours at all

Since they have more MPs elected under their own banner than Reform have, perhaps they'll get more coverage.

They doubled their vote in a Labour stronghold though.

I don’t think many share the pp claim Labour is doing a good job for SMEs. Also hitting employment with higher figures, especially youth unemployment.

The Greens could easily pick up that younger vote too. Whereas Labour probably took it further granted they’re finding out they can lose 100 year seats and 13,000 majorities.

I took several things from this election, Starmer made a massive mistake preventing Andy Burnham standing, people used it as a protest vote against what they see as Labour stagnation, although it was a safe labour seat and one the tories and Lib Dem’s never expected to do well in, their votes showed just how much Bandenoch in particular has to do. I don’t think this one result will actually lead to a huge jump in green seats at the next election, it’s more likely that we are heading for another coalition

Shes got Keir on the run though. Very entertaining watching him fail to answer anyones questions ever and think everyone in the country is too stupid to notice

I've just looked up 'sectarian'.

"narrow-minded, often rigid, adherence to a specific religious, political, or social group, frequently fostering prejudice, discrimination, or intense conflict with other groups".

That sums up Reform and Restore doesn't it.

I doubt it given her ratings are going up. It’s Starmer who has to think about the threat to his leadership.

Any extreme, either far left or far right is not a good thing. As history shows us.

She gets a lot of support on SM. She rankles Starmer and a few on here but that’s a plus.

Interesting. A lot of my clients suggested that the lack of current infrastructure spend was more of the issue. Under previous governments HS2 was creating an industry but the lack of anticipated and projected investment was hampering growth. There seems to be no move to building data centres etc to support an AI enabled future, and only those with businesses outside the UK are able to get any real growth.

And it’s not but the tax, it’s the employment rights bill which means a lot of them will never employ a young person again because they are now expensive and difficult to get rid of - and so they will not be willing to take a risk on employing someone without experience and would invest time and money in plugging that gap with AI wherever possible - AI that’s been primarily developed outside of the UK as we are making no moves to encourage or build the infrastructure to create an eco system here. All of those headaches coupled with the fact your taxed the same as (and in some cases worse than) an employee with a stable job who doesn’t have the same level of stress is undermining any growing business or entrepreneurial appetite.

Ratings mean nothing if you are comprehensively rejected at the ballot box, and the Tories are much more ready to reject their leaders than Labour are.

It doesn't mean much for the Tories because not enough people vote Tory there to show any indication of anything. They got about 40 fewer votes than last time. Some of those may have gone to Reform to try and oust the left and some may not have bothered to vote because it is pretty pointless voting conservative in that constituency.

It is much more of a problem for Labour because it should have been a safe seat for them.