Wipeout for Labour in Hartlepool

[EmbarrassingAdmissions]

Given the landslide in Hartlepool, will anything make Labour think again about the way in which they've alienated their core voters (including women)?

Emily Thornberry grew up on a council estate herself. My mother in law taught at the local school and remembers her and her family. She isn't a snob and she wasn't sneering.

Did she grow up on an 'estate' though? Or was it a village council house in Surrey? Those rural type 'council houses' on just one council street, that are now worth a small fortune. She also spent part of childhood at her father's house, a 1m (2010) Georgian town house in Hammersmith. He was a lawyer for the UN

Hardly the same childhood as on a large Communist style housing estate in the industrial midlands and north. The housing that replaced the slums

People see through Emily, and others like her, banging on about 'I used to live in a council house too you know', but 70% of English households in the 1970s were living in council housing. Its wasn't a big deal back then

@Flaxmeadow

Emily Thornberry grew up on a council estate herself. My mother in law taught at the local school and remembers her and her family. She isn't a snob and she wasn't sneering.

Did she grow up on an 'estate' though? Or was it a village council house in Surrey? Those rural type 'council houses' on just one council street, that are now worth a small fortune. She also spent part of childhood at her father's house, a 1m (2010) Georgian town house in Hammersmith. He was a lawyer for the UN

Hardly the same childhood as on a large Communist style housing estate in the industrial midlands and north. The housing that replaced the slums

People see through Emily, and others like her, banging on about 'I used to live in a council house too you know', but 70% of English households in the 1970s were living in council housing. Its wasn't a big deal back then

Totally agree. It’s utterly disingenuous. It’s similar to being BAME but having two professionally educated parents. That one factor alone means nothing and it all plays in to the identity politics game. It overshadows the real hardship of people struggling in life financially or unable to get help to overcome barriers in life. I say this having parents who grew up in council houses on huge northern estates (moved from slum housing so considered themselves very lucky initially) and had barely any qualifications between them.

I find it disappointing Angela Rayner isn’t more in tune with ordinary people for that reason. She’s exactly the type I’d have met in school or around town (and found utterly terrifying as I was a quiet, nerdy, scruffy kid). But I also understand how easy it is to lose touch - university/London/middle class career - I don’t have any insight into my former school mates’ lives, particularly those who dropped out at 16 or had teen pregnancies.

@SmokedDuck thanks for the reply. Mentioning power and control, perhaps this is part of the anti semitism question too. I’ve tried to understand anti semitism more broadly and failed, I don’t get it personally. However, it may be an envy issue and links to the idea of Jews “controlling” things and having money (money lenders further back in history). This links into the QAnon craziness on the alt right, and weirdly theories of paedophilia (pizza gate and Hilary etc) so the anti semitism is coming from the left and the right. It’s a rather odd network of ideas and overlaps.

I had thought there was a relationship between the Jewish community and labour historically. The U.K. Jewish community is tiny as a percentage of the population. There are far more Muslims - 10 times the population in fact and more likely to grow.

@PronounssheRa

Twitter is hilarious 'but Angela has a Northern accent, how can we connect with people in the red wall if we demote people with northern accents'

FFS, do they really think it's accents that are the problem.

I see LOJ is predicting Nandy is also going to be demoted which is interesting

Hartlepool was Peter Mandelson's constituency under Blair. Mandelson was a slightly effete, sharp suited boy from Hampstead.

Accents and the like really aren't the issue.

I think some are incorrect regarding why Labour lost the vote, I live near here and the Labour candidate was responsible for removing all A&E Services from Hartlepool which meant the nearest A&E was either North Tees in Stockton, or James Cook in Middlesbrough. Thousands of constituents battled to save the closure yet he still closed it, so why did Starmer think putting a already hated man in the town, back in knowing what everyone thought of him?

*Hartlepool was Peter Mandelson's constituency under Blair. Mandelson was a slightly effete, sharp suited boy from Hampstead.

Accents and the like really aren't the issue.*

Quite. And Madelson would never have treated his constituents like "thick, racist plebs".

Sakura that makes perfect sense. It's also noticeable that there was a very low turnout suggesting a lot of people withdrawing their vote rather than swinging enthusiastically for the Conservatives.

Yes Sakura pretty ironic that people being critical of the voters of Hartlepool don't even seem to know what they are talking about, yet are calling them thick and politically illiterate.

I've seen people (including professional gobshite Terry Christian) still spinning the Cayman Islands tax haven story,and nobody is telling them that Angela Raynor got it wrong either.

There's no way I could take Labour and its supporters seriously seeing how they conduct themselves,and I expect that goes double for the people of Hartlepool.

(I'm Bishop Auckland constituency: the ex Labour MP here tried to make a come-back and got her arse handed to her.)

I assume the selection was at constituency level and nothing to do with the senior leadership? But it shows the size of the job that Starmer's dealing with when the people you should be able to trust make decisions like that.

Or was the candidate imposed on them? If he was then scrap that post.

This is why globalists and corporations love identity politics. Indeed. And never forget the old adage "divide and rule". Has always worked pretty well for the rich and the powerful.

@SakuraEdenSwan1

I think some are incorrect regarding why Labour lost the vote, I live near here and the Labour candidate was responsible for removing all A&E Services from Hartlepool which meant the nearest A&E was either North Tees in Stockton, or James Cook in Middlesbrough. Thousands of constituents battled to save the closure yet he still closed it, so why did Starmer think putting a already hated man in the town, back in knowing what everyone thought of him?

It's also the case that fielding a remained candidate in a Brexit seat was a poor decision. The Tories also benefited from votes from former Brexit party voters.

Remainer

[quote SunsetBeetch]Ahahahaha! LOJ has actually accused Keir Starmer of scapegoating the working classes, and throwing women under the bus !

That's cheered me right up

twitter.com/OwenJones84/status/1391088591149928451?s=20[/quote]
Proper LOL here.
LOJ has had an irony bypass.

regarding why Labour lost the vote, I live near here and the Labour candidate was responsible for removing all A&E Services from Hartlepool which meant the nearest A&E was either North Tees in Stockton, or James Cook in Middlesbrough.

Commissioning of NHS services are not in the control of constituency MPs). Maybe he supported it, but he really won’t have been responsible. The local NHS Trust to do the standard shifting of beans that the modern NHS has to appear to be ‘efficient’ will have done that. They will have consulted with that council, local MPs, CCGs etc.

LOJ has accused Keir Starmer of scapegoating the working classes, and throwing women under the bus !

He's such a charlatan and one of the activists who's obsession with US cultural battles is undermining the party.

Emily Thornberry grew up in a council estate herself*
But her father was a lawyer who worked for the UN, and she ended up living in a council house when he and her mother divorced.

And that tweet came at a time when 'white van man' was seen as an unflattering epithet. It was tone deaf, at the very least.

The labour candidate was part of the CCG and co-authored a report in 2013 that recommended removing critical care etc from the hospital, which subsequently happened.

@Floisme

Or was the candidate imposed on them? If he was then scrap that post.

Yes he was Starmer's team's pick, although the local exec gave their support.

Historic Labour losses in County Durham too (my part of the world). Also not quite unexpected to those who had their ears to the ground.

www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/19289353.labour-lose-majority-durham-county-council-first-time-100-years/

Ah thanks Sunset - just ignore me everyone.

Labour are a lost cause. Taken over by the hard left and full of corbynistas. They've lost all credibility with voters. Starmer is fighting a losing battle

The council estate where Emily Thornberry grew up is a large area of deprivation in Guildford. They were one of the first areas in the country to get a Sure Start Children’s centre (remember them?).
It was, and still is, considered a rough area that people avoid.
It doesn’t make much difference who her father was: he paid no maintenance. That’s why they were there.

Are posters really trying to claim that deprived council estates only exist in the North? How out of touch!
How is it disingenuous of her to have me mention her background, but not for other posters to point out the backgrounds of, say, John Major or Michael Gove?

Emily never used any epithet at all. It was David Cameron and the media who put words in her mouth. Had that photo and comment been tweeted by a Conservative or UKIP, no-one would have batted an eye, probably would even have reacted with approval.

I actually think Emily Thornton’s biggest mistake was acknowledging the tweet at all. She should have done what less honourable politicians do and just ignored the fuss until it died down. That strategy has worked wonders for Boris Johnson, after all!