Westministenders: A New Approach? No chance.

[RedToothBrush]

Next week we will have a new PM. He will be called Boris Johnson unless something very odd has happened.

His first 72 hours will be 'interesting' especially if today's events are anything to go by.

His Cabinet is sure to be a horror show. It was noticable who abstained today - they don't think they will be in a Johnson Cabinet and clearly don't want to be.

To move forward Johnson must be able to survive a rebellion and a Queen's speech before now and 31st October.

And be able to unit his party in order to find a way forward.

And whilst parliament has voted to block proroguing parliament, it could still be dissolved if there is a vote of no confidence.

And what happens if Johnson loses a vote? Will he manage to become PM? Will there be a GE.

All the signs are that next week is going to be a hell of a ride.

Enjoy your weekend.

Actually, LOADS of people in Northants commute to City jobs as it's only an hour or less by train into London. But yes, pig with a blue rosette still.

Most of those would be too busy to vote in council by-election.

Still, we mustn't get too excited by LibDem by-election gains - it is by no means forced to translate to a GE.

Most of those would be too busy to vote in council by-election.

You'd think due to their working hours that they'd have a postal vote sorted, but you're probably right that they wouldn't have found it important enough to bother.

My point was though, that there are many City types in Northants due to its good rail links to London.

A small fight back by the EU reported on SKY (online).
Boris 'shit stirring' saying that kippers have to be provided with ice packs due to 'EU rules' has been debunked as the EU do not call for ice packs, merely that they are stored and transported cold and that the Isle of Man is not in the EU.

I think there was a by election in these parts yesterday....
Hmmm...
Off to investigate

Oh.
It was for the PCC

I suspect also that Londoners are moving out to Northants being priced out of the London market. It's also happening in Oxfordshire. These could easily be people who didn't know that "We always vote Conservative here." Honestly who would have thought that a council like South Oxfordshire, which includes Henley, would see the Tories pushed into being the second largest party in the last council elections?

Definitely, Peregrina. You can get a decent 4 bed house for sub-£300k in the county. And something quite substantial for significantly less than a much, much smaller London property.

Season tickets aren't cheap, but it is still cheaper than living in London. And it doesn't take much longer to get to work really.

My home town has been popular with commuters for a couple of decades now, so it's not a new thing. But I imagine it's more popular than ever.

I remember when the High Speed Trains were introduced to Didcot back in 1976. Within two months, whoosh, property prices shot up because London was now within 45 minutes commuting time instead of just over an hour. It was still cheaper than London.

You'd think due to their working hours that they'd have a postal vote sorted, but you're probably right that they wouldn't have found it important enough to bother.

I didn’t vote in the last council elections as I felt I didn’t know enough about what my councillor’s work, or their views, to be able to vote for or against.... I didn’t want to vote on national issues at a local level. The turn out at these elections indicates I’m not alone, so we shouldn’t place too much store by them.

So slightly different but still a huge gain.

Actually that’s better than BritainElects figures... a c. 18% swing compares to a c.12% swing on BE.

The turn out at these elections indicates I’m not alone, so we shouldn’t place too much store by them.

We shouldn't place too much store, no, but success in Local Elections can then go on to breed success in a GE. My constituency had been Tory since the year dot. The Liberals/LibDems began to make inroads into the council, and eventually we got a LibDem MP, which went back to Tory and is now back to LibDem. 50 years ago that would have been considered impossible, 40 years ago extremely unlikely.

Brexit Party slipping a bit in the polls.
YouGov poll for The Times.

NEW @YouGov
Tories (25%) reverse losses & Brexit Party (19%) reverse gains since mid-May

4-party politics, even though 2 of them don't have a leader, 1 of them don't want their leader, and the other exists only as a vehicle for the leader and has no policies.

mobile.twitter.com/MattChorley/status/1151749406879899648

Oakenbeach
This is not a dig at you at all, just a 'random thought'.
{I didn’t vote in the last council elections as I felt I didn’t know enough about what my councillor’s work, or their views, to be able to vote for or against.... I didn’t want to vote on national issues at a local level.}

If others do this, and I expect many will, how is this 'democracy' is people are not 'voting' for the pertinent questions?
As we have seen throughout since the flawed referendum, all sides have been busy interpreting the various opinion polls and the vote for MEPs as an indicator on the views about Brexit.
It is almost as obtuse as asking someone if they would like tea or coffee and getting a reply 'I would like some sustainance in the next day or two'. This of course leads to should there be a referendum with a properly crafted question and all the ramifications of either choice being properly explained (probably not going to happen).

Just when you thought things couldn't get any weirder...

Even cats are no solace now.

Lloyd-Webber|cats

Lloyd-Webber~cat~film

I think it’s important to vote at every opportunity you’re given, or you can’t complain about the ensuing administration!

In my local area, we get regular newsletters from the LibDems telling us about local issues and what they're trying to do on the Council; but only one each year from the Tories, just before an election. That in itself is a point in the LDs favour.

I’m very conflicted about a People’s Vote, but I’d probably still cast a vote.

Link fail- it's a minor point. But it just feels like we can't even have the comfort of cats.

Google
"The Cats Trailer Looks Absolutely Ridiculous, And People Can't Get Enough Of It"

Brixworth is rural Tory heartland, too far from stations for many to commute, so that result is very important

ComRes also has a 4-way split but Labour doing better.

Tories seem to be picking up more following from the BP, probably in advance of what voters think will be a glorious BJ leadership.

A 4-way split will be very interesting at an election. I could see it becoming very regional.

www.comresglobal.com/polls/britain-elects-westminster-voting-intention-july-2019/

I am getting my pop corn ready for next week. I am glad I am not one of the poor buggers who work with or under Boris.

She is canny enough not to get involved regardless of her cool Euro hat. To do so would risk the existence of the monarchy.

Indeed Bellini - I was meaning that that hat is surely the most explicit 'intervention' and/or statement she could possibly ever make on the issue.

Brixworth isn't hugely far from Northampton and you'd get a clear run early in the morning. But as it's small anyway, any number of commuters will be proportionately small, yes.

I used to drive through it en route to Northampton.

Brexiteers really hate democracy, don't they?
The double standards are breath taking:

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-news-live-boris-johnson-queen-no-deal-parliament-a9011751.html