The 2015 Popularity Contest (aka UK General Election )

[The Esk]

The key to the election is getting the Labour vote out, particularly in the marginals. I'd urge anyone with the time and interest to get out there and help consign this pathetic Conservative minority Government to history.

Several key marginals in London, and there's growing support and belief.

 

[Seanjd]

As @the esk says, the right wing press are waiting. I have a feeling they have something big they can use closer to the election. It is massively in their interest that the Tories cling to power so they will do everything in their power to make it happen.

 

[davek]

My big concern Dave is a big concerted attack by the predominantly right wing media in the final days of the campaign - huge scare tactics, and they're (Cons) keeping their media spend until the final days of the campaign I'm led to believe.

I can't imagine the dice being more loaded against Labour than it is right now. I'm astounded at how skewed all media are toward the Tories trying to get them over the line.

The Tories will get ground back as the election draws near, but they should have had a bounce from the economic news they've been trumpeting. The Tories can throw cash at this and try and persuade a few of the gullible, but I don't see any major game changer unless there's a "Duffy" moment.

It's heading toward coalition territory and I don't see the numbers stacking up well for a centre right alliance.

 

[1966efc]

As @the esk says, the right wing press are waiting. I have a feeling they have something big they can use closer to the election. It is massively in their interest that the Tories cling to power so they will do everything in their power to make it happen.

Agree with the sentiment but have to suggest that the power of the printed media is greatly diminished. They may find that they are the lions who squeaked.

 

[davek]

They've underestimated Ed Miliband, they believed the public perception of him being 'weak' (propped up by constant right wing press attacks) would be enough to carry them over the line. It may be a tactic that would have worked in a different age but it wont wash now. 24 hour news and social media make it much easier for the public to see through the bullshit.

On Ed - Anyone who is ruthless enough to basically drive their own brother out of british politics was never going to be a push over.

Miliband & Labour have grew in confidence. A strong showing against Paxman, improving approval ratings and now a bold stand against non doms - it's Ed that is setting the pace of this election thus far and right now David Cameron is struggling to keep up.

It looks at this stage at least that the stronger narrative is with Labour (and in Scotland the LP and SNP) that standard of living is depressed and the recovery is not real. I think it's harder for the Tories than they thought to get past that. The zero hours contract stuff played out badly for them last week. They threw a lot of distracting flak up to get it off the news agenda but that and other issues around wages and services are going to be returned to by Labour again and again.

 

[Moomin]

I'm living in a marginal seat held by a Tory who I detest.

Had a labour party member knock on my door last week canvassing for my vote, I said " I'm from Liverpool, I don't vote Tory " offered him a cup of tea but he carried on knocking on doors.

Now, when the Tory lot turn up I have a few questions for them and why my so called MP never responded to mine or my wife's letter of assistance for a mental health charity in our area.

 

[The Esk]

It looks at this stage at least that the stronger narrative is with Labour (and in Scotland the LP and SNP) that standard of living is depressed and the recovery is not real. I think it's harder for the Tories than they thought to get past that. The zero hours contract stuff played out badly for them last week. They threw a lot of distracting flak up to get it off the news agenda but that and other issues around wages and services are going to be returned to by Labour again and again.

The encouraging thing is that they are not winning the economic argument. Blair's opened a new front today on Europe, the "fairness" of non-dom tax treatment tomorrow, and we still have Andy Burnham to drive forward the NHS argument

 

[Clint Planet]

http://www.theguardian.com/society/...0-top-doctors-attack-government-record-on-nhs

 

[Jib in lad]

As @the esk says, the right wing press are waiting. I have a feeling they have something big they can use closer to the election. It is massively in their interest that the Tories cling to power so they will do everything in their power to make it happen.

He also stood up against Murdoch and was for press regulation after the hacking scandal they had it in for him anyway but now they hate him.

 

[davek]

The encouraging thing is that they are not winning the economic argument. Blair's opened a new front today on Europe, the "fairness" of non-dom tax treatment tomorrow, and we still have Andy Burnham to drive forward the NHS argument

Blair's intervention had the Tory leadership in a tail spin all day...the best they could come up with to counter the message on isolationism was a pathetic flagging up of how they trust the British people to decide the issue.

I do think they'll come back and hammer away a lot more than they have thus far about Labour's economic legacy in 2010, but I get the feeling it's one of those attacks that just has people of all stripes rolling their eyes weary of the line.

 

[summerisle]

I'd like to see all the party leaders interviewed by Andrew Neill. A lot of bricks shitted there. Instead we get constant verbal diarrhoea :

 

[Azzurri]

This is a tremendous point.

The fact is that almost everyone whose economic survival is dependent upon next month's pay day is only one misfortune away from becoming a benefit claimant.

Yet since the days of Thatcher, increasingly the unemployed (temporary or long term), the sick and disabled have been vilified and painted as part of the economic problem, rather than individuals who in slightly different circumstances could contribute to the economy and improve their own circumstances.

This is spot on actually.

90% of people who slate those on benefits claiming that they're lazy/thick/foreign/frauds etc. etc. could just as easily be in need themselves.

Do people sit on benefits because they're lazy? Yes. Do people fraudulently claim them? Yes. Should people be given council houses immediately? Debatable. But the amount of people on benefits who are really in need far outweighs the previous type, however much the Daily Mail want you to think otherwise.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Having been critical of the lead up to the election campaign itself (pre-season shall we say) I have been growing quietly more confident of Labour's performance, and critically Cameron's rather lack-lustre performance to date.

Long way to go, and we should never be complacent but today was an excellent day for the Labour campaign and tomorrow looks very interesting.

Quite an apt analogy. It is akin to Everton and Liverpool fans discussing the merits of their team. No one is ever willing to admit they're wrong, no one is willing to learn from 'the other side'.

It's a perfect storm of confirmation bias.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

http://www.theguardian.com/society/...0-top-doctors-attack-government-record-on-nhs

Presumably this is more credible than the 100 businessmen letter because they're 'supporting' your side?

 

[daylightrobber]

Presumably this is more credible than the 100 businessmen letter because they're 'supporting' your side? lol

We'll have to wait and see if the signatories are Labour party donors 1st. We should also probably wait to see if any of those who signed it were actually hoodwinked into signing it. Finally it would also be nice to know whether the letter was actually written by Labour Party HQ.