Current Affairs The General Election

[Eggs]

It is depressing if you ask me.

Unless it galvanised progressive, anti Brexit parties to do the sensible thing and react in kind.

Labour and Liberals to stand aside in constituencies where one or t' other is best placed to win the seat.

...saying that, just heard an analyst in Hartlepool who reckons this will help Labour in his town. Many Labour voters would vote Brexit Part but they won’t vote Tory.

 

[twoblue]

The real trouble though is that Brexit is divisive.

And the sort of person whom the 'Corbyn Out!' factions within Labour want to replace him with would be certain to perform worse than even he is every northern and midlands marginal.

How does a new leader resolve the Brexit divide any more effectively than Corbyn has? I have yet to see anyone on here provide a clear answer.

Start chanting "Lock him up" towards Boris at rallies, appeal to the pitch forkers. Make accusations of Brexit being funded by Russians a real possibility. Suggest anyone that is for Brexit look like a Russian sympathiser and completely unbritish. Turn this on its head.

 

[Barnfred 55]

The Momentum rants about Trident on Twitter highlight just how dangerous a Corbyn government is (and notably, an even greater risk if it's Corbyn propped up by the SNP.)

Under no circumstances should we consider removing Trident. People don't understand the role it plays, and the student union politic types just see it as a "nukes are bad." They are completely incapable of thinking about the issue laterally - it's all "black and white", "good and evil".

The reality of course is that thanks to nuclear weaponry we've had no global conflict since WW2. It absolutely stopped one with Russia and kept that Cold War cold.
And of course, the reason you have to maintain the threat of Trident isn't to actually use it, but so that you never actually have to, because nobody would be stupid enough to risk it.

Global nuclear disarmament is the most ludicrous of political ideals - it can't be put back in the box and, for the sake of millions of lives, nor should it be.

There is a reason why nobody has dropped a nuclear bomb in anger since 1945. And it has absolutely nothing to do with world peace or common decency.

 

[Barnfred 55]

After Farage's announcement anyone still telling themselves the Tories aren't part of a fascist alliance is a fool.

Googles Fascism.

Waits to see whether the Tories announce Boris Johnson as dictator for life and ban future elections should they win this election with an outright majority.

 

[Tubey]

There is a reason why nobody has dropped a nuclear bomb in anger since 1945. And it has absolutely nothing to do with world peace or common decency.

Try and explain that to those idiots though. They just don't get it.

 

[Barnfred 55]

I think UKIP will be lucky if they get their votes into four figures in any constituency.

They did much better than I expected them to do at the Euro elections, albeit without getting anywhere near winning any seats. It was still worrying to see just how many far right there are out there though. From memory there were over half a million who voted for them.

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

....can’t see how any Labour supporter can be happy that the Brexit Party will not contest Conservative seats. Surely Labour need to win Conservative held seats and their best chance was the BP taking Tory vote. Conservatives now have more of a free run in their existing seats.

Momentum Labour being outmanoeuvred everywhere is hardly surprising.

It's where the liberals come into play, it's why Johnson Farage has done this private polling won't be good... Vote for Brexit is a vote for Tories, Trump said Jump and Johnson and Farage asked how high...

 

[tsubaki]

Mate the Labour Party is in *far* worse state than the Conservatives. Labour has basically become a vehicle for the Fundamental Left. Its basically irrelevant to most British sensibilities. They haven't won an Election in 15 years and unless they start having serious discussions about what they represent then it will be at least another 15 years before then can win another one.

"Fundamental Left"?

 

[tsubaki]

Try and explain that to those idiots though. They just don't get it.

TBF there is a whole load of idiocy around what the British deterrent means, starting with the people who think that our politicians would get to order its use.

 

[Aberblue]

They did much better than I expected them to do at the Euro elections, albeit without getting anywhere near winning any seats. It was still worrying to see just how many far right there are out there though. From memory there were over half a million who voted for them.

It's purely a guess based on no evidence, but my feeling is that many of those who voted for them thought they were backing Farage's Limited Company. UKIP supporters aren't the brightest bulbs in the chandelier.

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

TBF there is a whole load of idiocy around what the British deterrent means, starting with the people who think that our politicians would get to order its use.

Not getting a hard on over mutual destruction makes me an idiot I'm glad I keep it for my partner...

 

[roydo]

It's purely a guess based on no evidence, but my feeling is that many of those who voted for them thought they were backing Farage's Limited Company. UKIP supporters aren't the brightest bulbs in the chandelier.

And it was a largely pointless election anyrate, given that at some point we will leave. So it gave a chance for people with too much time on their hands to vote for some loons who share their daft take on all this.

 

[Barnfred 55]

Farage standing down candidates is definitely helpful to Boris, especially in tory lib dem marginals. But it's not a total game changer in itself.

But the hidden message farage has sent out is that a vote for him could inadvertently brexit. It's hard to put an accurate gauge on just how big a factor that will be, but my instinct is that it will help push Boris over the line to a majority.

Lots of tory minded people who were thinking brexit party might now return to the tories. A lot of those who will still vote brexit party probably would never have voted tory under any circumstances in any case.

IMO it's reduced the chance of a completely hung Parliament in which there's not even a chance of getting an alliance in place from either side. Brexit could sneak a few seats from Labour, or maybe even, in some cases, dilute Labours vote sufficiently for Tories to win back some marginal seats. The best that I think Farage can hope for is that the Tories win the most seats but without a majority, and that they win enough to give the Tories a majority. That gives them an element of power and also possibly the ability to force through a harder Brexit.

I think Farage has succumbed to pressure (possibly from his sponsors) to not dilute the Tory vote, but I also believe by doing so it's probably given him his only chance of getting the type of Brexit he wants.

I also think it's basically election rigging by any other name, but no different to the Remain Alliance in that regard.

 

[roydo]

I think Farage has succumbed to pressure (possibly from his sponsors) to not dilute the Tory vote, but I also believe by doing so it's probably given him his only chance of getting the type of Brexit he wants.

Or his "sponsors" have made enough from hedging against the pound/altered their positions, and were not that fussed about actual Brexit in the first place?

 

[Barnfred 55]

It's purely a guess based on no evidence, but my feeling is that many of those who voted for them thought they were backing Farage's Limited Company. UKIP supporters aren't the brightest bulbs in the chandelier.

Maybe. But it's been widely publicised for a while now that UKIP are basically racists, and Farage couldn't have done much more to distance himself from them. He even set up a new party.

Even Brexit voters can't be that dumb.

I hope I'm wrong but I can't help feeling those people knew exactly what they were voting for.