Westminstenders: Local Elections Madness

[RedToothBrush]

This week has gone from banging your head against the wall to wanting to bang your head through it.

Labour have voted to support a 2nd ref as their EU election campaign strategy. Only for Corbyn to ignore it. And a row has broken out.

Change UK seem well on track to make everyone else look professional and to look as 'liberal elite' as humanly possible in a real life reverse paraody of themselves.

The Brexit Party is going from strength to strength with the most wtf candidates imaginable and Farage is happy cos his mate is coming to tea with the Queen.

The Liberal Democrats have decided that anti semitism is OK in an effort to keep Labour seats.

And the Conservatives. Where to start? Probably with the Tory Leadership Election infighting which looks suspiciously as if its now breached national security.

As for Brexit. No one really wants to talk about it. Local elections are next week. May is now apparently supporting the Malthouse Compromise. Be warned, it is difficult to see it as anything but a Trojan Horse for No Deal. Not that everyone has worked this out yet. But until we have the blood bath of the local elections over and done with on Thursday, don't expect much to happen.

Then expect the Tories to lose their minds...

Polls already suggesting that Nigel and his Brexit Party in first place!

Funnily enough had a phone call from the car dealership yesterday

My car is nearly 2 years old and they are offering me an upgrade...

Hmm...might be a good idea if we are going to no deal Brexit?

(And tbh ds1 will be learning next year and my car is...um...just my size so no good for hulking 17 year olds)

Micky sweetheart - Nigel and his brexit party aren't standing in today's elections ... and if you had any link to the UK whatsoever, you would know that.

If ever we needed evidence that we had a troll in attendance....

I voted green in council election for county and then I had to vote for no more than 13 parish councillors!

For many years now, I have cycled, jogged or walked almost everywhere,
with the v occasional longer trip by bus or train - much cheaper & more reliable in Germany

I had to give up driving 10 years ago, when my sight became too bad
However, I've always found driving v stressful (Aspie) so my annual mileage was already so low that I just used a hire car on the rare occasions I needed one

Almost all my career, I have chosen job, house & gym within walking or cycling distance
I appreciate that's not feasible for everyone, but it makes my life so much easier

Currently, I cycle 8km to work - there are separate cycle lanes and it is pretty safe.
There are stands for several hundred bikes at my work, so many of us cycle
and some stands near every appartment block, shop, GP, station, gym etc

I haven't cycled much in England for many years, precisely because I felt the risk too high with so many aggressive / blinkered drivers around

• over the last decade, a couple of cyclists I knew vaguely have been killed by lorries who forgot they were there.

General "cultural" acceptance of cyclists is important, as well as properly designed infrastructure

Lewis Goodall @lewis_goodall
Astounding. Am told by a Conservative source that two Tory Euro election candidates on one of the party’s regional lists are in fact voting for the Brexit party in those elections. Even the Tory candidates are voting for someone else. That’s where we are at.

Someone asked earlier how my veg growing was getting on. All the sees from the Brexit Vegetable Growing Survival Kit that I got for my birthday have now sprouted

Should be able to get some salad leaves from the "cut and come again" salad leaves in a couple of weeks - and I've already cut some asparagus from the asparagus bed. Going to resist cutting more, so the crowns can really develop their strength for next year

Yes, not only are the Brexit Party doing well in the local elections, also the Vogons, the Klingons, the Vulcans. And lots of other people who aren't in the local elections either. 😂😂😂

How did you manage the asparagus? Ours did not survive...

Local primary is exactly 1 mile away on google maps (5min walk). That's 0.1m too far for their catchment however, so 6 miles by car along busy roads it has to be. I envy the walkers among you! We get heckled by villagers literally hanging out of windows to pap cars 1cm over driveways to "name and shame" on fb . Yup, really!

Completely agree re building regs and it's not going to change under Tories, so fingers crossed for a shake up.

I had a leaflet through the door 20mins ago saying my local Labour candidate has tried to talk to me today which is funny as I was in and heard the faint muffle of the leaflet being delicately pushed through the letterbox (has bristles) almost as if they were trying to make minimal noise...yet the doorbell most certainly was not appropriated .

Taking dd to the hall to vote as she is keen to see what happens. She enjoys talking loudly about GFA whenever we are in a public space, so this could be interesting!

It's a fundamental part of democracy that people who disagree with government policies can campaign against them
Even if they are in a government manifesto e.g. benefit cuts, or tax changes

e.g. MrsThatcher had the poll tax in her manifesto, but the civil disobedience - and riots - as well as the huge unpopularity of that policy brought her down.

Sometimes people vote for a policy because they are promised it will be wonderful and then when they find out its actually crap, they are allowed to change their minds, or persuade others to do so.

Oh and anyone who laughs at "CUK / cuck" and complains about "liberals" - when meaning those on the left - is clearly either American or has overdosed on US rightwing sites

That's just not normal British useage

Yep, talking about "liberals" is a dead giveaway of someone who is either based in tbe US or briefed by people whose political analysis focuses on the US. That's how they talk over there - spitting out the word liberal like it means communist.

Interesting to see Dutch report that this year has seen more killed by cyclists than by vehicles (206/201). The fact that more cyclists than ever are 'on the loose' contributes to this.

There's a very good cycle route, to the north of Glasgow, properly separated from the main carriageway, which was reduced from two lanes each way to one lane each way (so previously a very wide road). There is parking on one side (the houses are only on one side) and the separated cycle path on the other (and of course pavements). It links a prosperous suburb, where lots of people commute, into Glasgow. 30mph limit but cars frequently sped on it.

However, it stops just before the really dangerous bit, where the road narrows and goes over a railway. As a result, only the more confident cyclists use it.

The extension, to link it to the next bit of the Sustrans network and Glasgow City Council's own infrastructure (which actually goes through parks and is very pleasant) was blocked by said snobbish NIMBYs I can say that as it's where was originally brought up because a) they said they were being delayed because buses now have to stop on the main carriageway and they can't always overtake them, so they get stuck behind the bus, despite someone doing a long piece of analysis which showed that the the average delay was something like 15s over the length of the route - partly because average speed had stayed the same and b) they claimed the "no-one" used the route to commute and that the extension could be routed in a very circuitous route up into the housing estates (up a steep hill) on the other side of the road

It's those sorts of mindsets that need to be changed.

Contrast that with the new separate cycle route, also taking a lane out of a wide road, which has been built close to where I live on the southside of Glasgow, that takes you into the centre of Glasgow. At "rush" hour, it is hoaching with cyclists And no, it hasn't delayed the commuters in the cars

Polls already suggesting that Nigel and his Brexit Party in first place!

This made me laugh. He would have to be a magician as neither he nor the Brexit Party are standing in these elections.

Where do you live Micky?

Hehe, feel like I've been cyclist bashing - which wasn't the intention - just trying to point out that if infrastructure came first people would use bikes more and they would have a better reputation. I do wonder if the negative reputation for 'holding up traffic' stops a lot of people from using bikes. I don't because frankly it's not safe. Country roads in UK IMO are the worst.

Elena - these were new crowns that I put in last year, as my previous crowns had not survived the really harsh winters that we had a few years back. I replaced all 8 with the one variety that did almost survive, until it got swamped by the self-seeded aquilegia, because I neglected the bed : Ginglijm or something like that, although Beechgrove Garden the Scottish Gardener's World last week was suggesting a variety called something like Dariana for north of Aberdeen, so that must be very hardy too. I also watered the raised bed a lot last year - both with watering cans and, when I had the hose out (no hose pipe ban here ), the hose.

Polls already suggesting that Nigel and his Brexit Party in first place!

Yeah right.

Interesting to see Dutch report that this year has seen more killed by cyclists than by vehicles (206/201). The fact that more cyclists than ever are 'on the loose' contributes to this

You have completely misrepresented that stat, it is in fact 206 cycle deaths, compared to 201 car occupancy deaths.

Not that cyclists have killed over 200 people, they are not "on the loose" as you put it.
Why people wedded to their cars hate cyclists, is beyond me.

If anyone fancies working at the European election ask your local council. Our area is desperately short.

Surprising if someone who declared they are voting BREX doesn't know that BREX are not participating today
Might have problems finding their candidate !

For foreign - or just uninformed - visitors:

• Today ==> the local government elections, no BREX or CHUK
• 23 May ==> EP elections
• date not decided ==> General Election

Poster possibly misread / misunderstood the latest EP poll from YouGov
(which btw so far has had BREX higher than other pollsters)

Britain Elects@britainelects

European Parliament voting intention:

BREX: 30% (+2)
LAB: 21% (-1)
CON: 13% (-)
LDEM: 10% (+3)
CHUK: 9% (-1)
GRN: 9% (-1)
UKIP: 4% (-1)

via @Yougov, 29 - 30 Apr [fieldwork]

Polls already suggesting that Nigel and his Brexit Party in first place!

This made me laugh. He would have to be a magician as neither he nor the Brexit Party are standing in these elections.

And in any case the UK media wouldn’t be allowed to report such information while the polls are open