UK General Election 2024

[edwin_m]

Yes, I understand that view from before Brexit, but all the "foreigners" will now have gone home or become UK residents under the Brexit legislation.
The seasonal agricultural labour scheme is quite an old one, not really part of the recent migrant surge.
The post-Brexit large influx of non-EU immigrants was, I thought, mainly in the NHS/care sector, where they have replaced EU migrants, and not particularly in eastern England.
That excludes immigrants under the special HK and UA schemes, again nothing directly to do with Lincolnshire.
The east Europeans were also generally white and Christian, not really the demographic that Reform object to.

Most of this is probably true, but populists simply push the simplistic message that everything can be blamed on [insert minority group of choice]. By contrast left-wingers tend to look deeper into the issues but are at risk of over-complicating things, which may leave the less informed or less interested voter to go for the simple answer instead.

Having said that, on the last point, in the agricultural areas that started this part of the discussion the immigrants are probably mostly Eastern European rather than the darker-skinned ethnic minorities. Farage has certainly complained about people daring to speak a foreign language while sitting within his earshot on a train, and blaming this group provides a convenient way of adding the EU to the blame targets.

 

[birchesgreen]

As a fan of Class 31s i protest at them being linked to the Demon Frog

 

[sor]

I see the tories are continuing to bleat and moan about the 6pm thing. I think my personal favourite is Grant Shapps, who has in turn been reminded by the editor of the Jewish Chronicle that he would likely know full well why Starmer might want to reserve Friday evenings with his Jewish wife and kids.

Given that Labour seem to want to make more of a thing of Angela Rayner then it would also make sense to actually formalise the deputy prime minister role and give her some experience. For example Australia's DPM is appointed by the governor general too, and formally takes control if the prime minister is out of the country or otherwise incapacitated.

 

[Purple Train]

As a fan of Class 31s i protest at them being linked to the Demon Frog

Yes, I was thinking that it would be better having one of the less successful Modernisation Plan diesels, but which ones were particularly noisy?

Other than that, however, I think it's absolutely spot on!

 

[Benters]

Yes, I was thinking that it would be better having one of the less successful Modernisation Plan diesels, but which ones were particularly noisy?

Other than that, however, I think it's absolutely spot on!

Class 28 anyone?☺️

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

There was an opportunity to link LD's Ed Davey with APT or the Pendolinos, with the ability to tilt at speed in any desired direction.
Nothing wrong with changing your mind, of course.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I would love to see all party consensus that the role of Deputy Prime Minister is formalized. I think it will add to government stability

 

[jfollows]

I would love to see all party consensus that the role of Deputy Prime Minister is formalized. I think it will add to government stability

What, you mean a non-job like Vice President? Olive(r) Dowden was perfectly suited to it, of course. Joking apart, I’m interested to know why you think so!

 

[DarloRich]

ANOTHER Labour leaflet though the door - they are going for it in my constituency!

This is the time to get the Tories out. Vote for the candidate best placed to do that. Look at the on line tools and find the person who can win and beat them. If you are changing team for the first time I know it is hard, but once you make that step you will feel better. We have to change and the start of that is to boot out the Tories and give them such a kicking they have to reboot.

Don't waste this chance, don't fall for the super majority nonsense, don't allow your vote to be supressed, don't fall for the lies. The Tories have nothing left. Get them out. Then we can start to change things and make things better.

 

[brad465]

Fancy the Lib Dems as official opposition? Survation's MRP thinks we are very close to the prospect:

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NEW MRP: Labour 99% Certain To Win More Seats Than in 1997 Labour on Course to Win 484 seats. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are in a close race to form the official opposition.

Probabilistic seat count:
LAB 484
CON 64
LD 61
SNP 10
RFM 7
PC 3
GRN 3

34,558 interviews conducted online and on the telephone

 

[DarloRich]

Fancy the Lib Dems as official opposition?

tactical voting will deliver that. You know what to do!

 

[PGAT]

Fancy the Lib Dems as official opposition? Survation's MRP thinks we are very close to the prospect:

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Please let this happen it would be so funny

 

[DarloRich]

Please let this happen it would be so funny

very boring comment here: it only happens if we vote for it! Don't assume someone else will do the job.

 

[43096]

ANOTHER Labour leaflet though the door - they are going for it in my constituency!

This is the time to get the Tories out. Vote for the candidate best placed to do that. Look at the on line tools and find the person who can win and beat them. If you are changing team for the first time I know it is hard, but once you make that step you will feel better. We have to change and the start of that is to boot out the Tories and give them such a kicking they have to reboot.

Don't waste this chance, don't fall for the super majority nonsense, don't allow your vote to be supressed, don't fall for the lies. The Tories have nothing left. Get them out. Then we can start to change things and make things better.

Come back in 10 years and it'll be the same, just Tories and Labour in the opposite places to now. 'twas ever thus.

 

[PGAT]

very boring comment here: it only happens if we vote for it! Don't assume someone else will do the job.

I'm not old enough to vote yet

 

[JGurney]

I haven't spent a lot of time/effort on it, but I got the impression that Liz Truss might lose her seat.

There appears to be a feeling that Liz Truss is not a very good MP, that she took her constituency for granted, that she can't be very bothered ....

Her being locally notorious as an adulteress, and for making anti-royalist comments in her younger days as a Lib-Dem, are not helping her. (The constituency includes Sandringham).

 

[birchesgreen]

The Turnip Taliban is against her.

 

[DarloRich]

Come back in 10 years and it'll be the same, just Tories and Labour in the opposite places to now. 'twas ever thus.

We have had nearly 15 years if this lot. The Tories are terrible. They need to go but as you say the pendulum will swing back in due course.

 

[Kaliwax]

I'm now very much tempted to spoil my ballet as it clear no party cares for a person likes me, the one group consistently ignored in society are us. Been reading the daily mail article on disabled benefits being changed yesterday, all the comments was awful, mean, and basically all comments about disabled people being frauds, I presume all of these are Reform voters, and if Reform get in, the disabled will be treated the worse. I'm just so frustrated, anger, I don't even know where to turn to anymore.

 

[DarloRich]

Been reading the daily mail article on disabled benefits being changed yesterday, all the comments was awful, mean, and basically all comments about disabled people being frauds, I presume all of these are Reform voters, and if Reform get in, the disabled will be treated the worse. I'm just so frustrated, anger, I don't even know where to turn to anymore.

Reform are not "going to get in". Our system doesn't work like that. It isn't a presidential system.

 

[AlterEgo]

Fancy the Lib Dems as official opposition? Survation's MRP thinks we are very close to the prospect:

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Absolutely no chance, Survation are about 75 seats off for the Tories for a start.

 

[DarloRich]

I'm now very much tempted to spoil my ballet

that is your business but nothing will ever change if you take that route

 

[AlterEgo]

I'm now very much tempted to spoil my ballet as it clear no party cares for a person likes me, the one group consistently ignored in society are us. Been reading the daily mail article on disabled benefits being changed yesterday, all the comments was awful, mean, and basically all comments about disabled people being frauds, I presume all of these are Reform voters, and if Reform get in, the disabled will be treated the worse. I'm just so frustrated, anger, I don't even know where to turn to anymore.

I think you will find the Lib Dem and Green manifestos well worth reading if you are a disabled person.

 

[Kaliwax]

I think you will find the Lib Dem and Green manifestos well worth reading if you are a disabled person.

The problem is in my area, the Lib Dem candidate virtually has done no campaigning whatsoever, I can't find any contact details for him, its as he hasn't turned up.

I guess I will go for the Green Party. I thought voting would be simple, it certainly isn't, my first time voting!

Reform are not "going to get in". Our system doesn't work like that. It isn't a presidential system.

Don't you think Reform Supporters could do a January 6th moment and march down and invade Houses of Parliament?

 

[Peterthegreat]

The problem is in my area, the Lib Dem candidate virtually has done no campaigning whatsoever, I can't find any contact details for him, its as he hasn't turned up.

I guess I will go for the Green Party. I thought voting would be simple, it certainly isn't, my first time voting!



Don't you think Reform Supporters could do a January 6th moment and march down and invade Houses of Parliament?

Absolutely not. Most of them probably couldn't find it.

 

[Kaliwax]

Perhaps I'm just overthinking this massively and making it something bigger than it is and try and focus on something else. I think I'll distract something else and focus on my mental health/

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

Anyone not convinced of the need for a change of government should consider whether you want to live in a country where 2 million people have had to use a food bank (DWP figure) and the Trussell Trust estimates 655,000 are reliant on them. Surely we can do better than that.

 

[birchesgreen]

Don't you think Reform Supporters could do a January 6th moment and march down and invade Houses of Parliament?

Not while Wetherspoons is open.

 

[Bald Rick]

If the current poll abive is representative of real results, it would be quite interesting!

 

[Stephen42]

Thanks - yes they always say 'people with postal votes are more likely to vote' - but to me this is 'stating the bleeding obvious' to use a phrase. After all you would not apply for a postal vote if you didn't have some likely intention to use it IMHO - I would suggest people who have postal votes but then don't vote could include

a) have them by mistake as ticked the wrong box on the electoral registration form, or
b) think they will be convenient but find the instructions on how to vote by post too complex when faced with the process (I have met voters who have complained about this)

So in a by election this would likely result in a higher proportion of the votes case being from PVs as the turnout overall is lower thus the people most motivated to vote (of which PVs are higher in my theory) will make up a greater share of votes cast than in a general election when turnout overall is usually higher than in a by election.

I'd guess there's a lot more apathy, well over a million postal votes weren't returned in 2019. A person registering well ahead of an election may prefer to vote by post but on receipt of the ballot paper find none of the options appealing or decide not to bother voting.

There will be others who don't pass post boxes or struggle to get to them, be away when the pack is delivered who would have intended to vote and didn't manage to.