Westminstenders: Election Special 3

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pmk

Thanks Louise for your kind comment

Is the following more pudding and pies? Pudding in that we shall need to taste it first... and how long do we have to wait for it to be served?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14001034

Posted at 3:08
Health secretary returns with increased majority

Conservative Matt Hancock has retained his West Suffolk seat and increased his majority.

Asked how he would reassure the country on the NHS, he said: "The NHS was never for sale - it was a straightforward lie by the Labour party.

"You can't run an election campaign on a lie and the electorate has seen straight through it.

"We are the only ones who can keep a strong economy to keep the money flowing into the NHS."

(More effects of the heavy sedation )

...am I alone in wondering if the TL;DR of the past 3 years might be read as "if you want a job done properly, it takes a man" ? Theresa May spends nigh on 2 years getting nowhere, and then within a couple of months Big Bold Bloke Boris gets it all sorted ...

Not just in the UK, but around the world.

Be curious to see whether the representation of women in politics goes forwards or backwards ...

I like Lisa Nandy as well. There are many feisty northern Labour women.

The Midlands are not in the north though. And it's not my fault that it's ignored. I can't change geography.

DG How about 5) Northern Ireland?

DG completely at the mercy of England now, I'm afraid

Now. Now! It was ever thus.

Looking at how BJ will behave with a large majority:

I can't get over him in the HoC, as PM, mocking women MPs who spoke of threats they received
His taunts that they should just give in and then they wouldn't suffer any more

That's the real BJ
Electoral politics may cause him to switch from ERG economics to Keynsian, to being conciliatory to different parts of England & Wales,
but never forget that he showed us what he really is

I'm not a Labour voter but I hope for the good of the country that Labour do a proper post mortem on this result and get a decent leader.

I have to say Red I watched the parliament channel (I think) covering the last eve of polling day rallies for the Conservatives and Labour.

Boris' last rally speech thing was in the Olympic Park and he was well, Boris, It was all "Get Brexit Done" but there was some stuff about the people's priorities, similar to today.

Labour's one.....OK so they were in Hackney, so i get that there would be lots of London people there, but the lineup! As well as Jeremy Corbyn there was Emily Thornbury, Dianne Abbot and Dawn Butler. Nothing wrong with any of them on their own, Thornbury's speech i thought was a good one but optically/balance wise it just looked really wrong to me.

Chris Curtis @chriscurtis94
From our Times Labour party members poll in July. Proportion who think x would hake a good leader of the Labour party:
Keir Starmer - 68%
John McDonnell - 64%
Emily Thornberry - 59%
Angela Rayner - 41%
Tom Watson - 37% ❌
RLB - 34%
Jess Phillips - 33%
Laura Pidcock - 31% ❌

Labour seem to be very good at inspiring passion in those that would have voted for them anyway, whilst taking those they saw as typical Labour voters for granted.

I'm not a Labour voter but I hope for the good of the country that Labour do a proper post mortem on this result and get a decent leader.

History is not on their side. We could easily see another 10 years of labour infighting gifting the Tories 2024 as well. Or 2023 and 2027 if Boris reverts to ToryType (although Labour were no better) and pulls an election when it suits him. That would put the next likely shot at a non-Tory government into 2031 ?

I think the Midlands split at Birmingham - people in N Staffs, where I lived once, do not pop to London, or 'go down to London'. The well heeled ones do go to Manchester.

If I was Boris Johnson, I’d announce with much fanfare on 31st January: ‘We’ve left! Brexit is done!’ then I’d forget to file the paperwork. I wonder if anyone would notice.

I think the Midlands split at Birmingham

I can be in Harrow from here in less than 2 hours door to door.

Wither HS2 now ?

Tbf you can be in London from York in just over two hours.

Here's a fun fact: when I worked in an office in a small market town, it was actually quicker for me to get to my college in London via public transport then it was to get from my house 25 miles away to the office.

(granted, college was walking distance from King's Cross, but still)

That's a general statement BTW. I do think labour has become too London centric.

And you can take over 2 hours to get to London from South Midlands

I feel surprisingly calm and accepting.

A colleague was saying that he thinks Johnson is actually more moderate than we’ve seen so far and now he’s got a large majority and won’t be so dependent on the ERG to get police Es through we might be surprised. Not convinced myself.

I’d like to see Jess Phillips as Labour leader.

I went to bed after the exit poll but didn’t sleep much. I campaigned for my own Labour MP and was convinced she’d lose her seat and couldn’t bear to watch. To my absolute delight, she kept it, just thanks to the Brexit Party and Lib Dem’s taking Tory votes.

Totally agree that Labour has come out of this election looking like a party for the 'metropolitan elite'.

If I was Boris Johnson, I’d announce with much fanfare on 31st January: ‘We’ve left! Brexit is done!’ then I’d forget to file the paperwork. I wonder if anyone would notice.

I think we've gone way beyond that. We'll have to Leave, and Leavers will have to deliver on their promises of unicorns shitting gold. With a majority of this size, all excuses are gone.

In the meantime, the creeping climate catastrophe will almost certainly reshape the globe in ways as yet unforeseen. In the rear view mirror of history, Brexit might seem like two bald men fighting over a comb.

I guess we could be entering a period akin to the interregnum. However once the EU has lost the dead weight of the UK, it's highly likely that wherever it finds itself in 10, 20 years time will not be a place the UK will ever want to be - even if the EU of 2040 was receptive to a re-entry.

I am also resigned to what's happened.
Re BoJo. Nobody knows what he really stands for, least of all, himself.

He stands for whatever benefits Boris
He has no other principles

A colleague was saying that he thinks Johnson is actually more moderate than we’ve seen so far and now he’s got a large majority and won’t be so dependent on the ERG to get police Es through we might be surprised. Not convinced myself

This is what I keep telling myself.

Totally agree that Labour has come out of this election looking like a party for the 'metropolitan elite'

And yet it's the Libdems who did well in affluent areas of London as well as nearly winning seats in southern cities such as Winchester and Guildford and actually winning in St Albans (and Fife).

I wonder if Johnson (I refuse to call him Boris, much too affectionate) will go the whole five years. He strikes me as easily bored. I wonder if he’ll get Brexit done and then call it a day. After all, his income is much reduced with just his PM’s salary coming in.

Do take care of yourself, everyone and try not to worry about the worst that can happen
but don't lie to yourself that BJ is really a decent person under all that piffle and lies
He really isn't

BJ is NOT more moderate
He is a congenital liar and narc

He'll be moderate if it benefits him, or extreme if that benefits him.
He'll tell lies to demonise any group of people, whether that's immigrants on those on benefits

With his uc twat rumpled look, he's just a much better act on TV than Raab, Priti Patel, IDS etc

2hrs 30mins from Crewe to London. Crewe is in the North.