UK Politics Unexpected Election edition

[Mathis]

2 hours ago, Werthead said:

I agree.I don't think Corbyn is a terrific candidate for leader and am wary of the influence of McConnell........... OTOH, his actual policies are, for the most part, hard to disagree with.

They really, really aren't.

[Zoë Sumra]

UKIP lost all their council seats yesterday to the Tories' benefit. This makes sense in that the Tories have co-opted UKIP's most popular policies...

[Channel4s-JonSnow]

UKIP are surely going to die out now unless for some odd reason Brexit doesn't happen. They were a one issue party, a protest vote, and now they've got their way their reason for existing is gone. 

However the Tories has wiped the floor with Labour and the Lib Dems as well. I know so many vocal Labour supporters who were going 110% to get people to vote for labour yesterday, but obviously they aren't in contact with the right people.

[mormont]

The small consolation is that perhaps the media will now cool on UKIP and stop giving them more coverage than all of the other minor parties, including the Lib Dems, put together.

Nah, they'll keep doing it, won't they?

[Channel4s-JonSnow]

2 minutes ago, mormont said:

The small consolation is that perhaps the media will now cool on UKIP and stop giving them more coverage than all of the other minor parties, including the Lib Dems, put together.

Nah, they'll keep doing it, won't they?

Nah, they are so much of a hilarious train wreck, who doesn't want to read about them.

[Isis]

1 hour ago, mormont said:

The small consolation is that perhaps the media will now cool on UKIP and stop giving them more coverage than all of the other minor parties, including the Lib Dems, put together.

Nah, they'll keep doing it, won't they?

Yes, they will and it's wrong on so many levels. If it's done for humour purposes it should go in that two minute slot at the end of the news about the panda that can't get an erection or whatever. It shouldn't be in the NEWS section of the news.

[Channel4s-JonSnow]

2 minutes ago, Isis said:

Yes, they will and it's wrong on so many levels. If it's done for humour purposes it should go in that two minute slot at the end of the news about the panda that can't get an erection or whatever. It shouldn't be in the NEWS section of the news.

But people voted for UKIP because they agreed with their policies and wanted out of Europe.. not because they were on TV more.

[mormont]

19 minutes ago, Channel4s-JonSnow said:

But people voted for UKIP because they agreed with their policies and wanted out of Europe.. not because they were on TV more.

I think being on TV more helps. Or else why do politicians fall over themselves for the chance to be there? Why do they complain endlessly about not being there?

I also think that not one UKIP voter in ten could tell you what any of their policies are in any detail. People voted for them for the usual reasons people vote for regressive right-wingers, nostalgia for a past that never was and unfocused resentment of difference and change.

[Channel4s-JonSnow]

17 minutes ago, mormont said:

I think being on TV more helps. Or else why do politicians fall over themselves for the chance to be there? Why do they complain endlessly about not being there?

I also think that not one UKIP voter in ten could tell you what any of their policies are in any detail. People voted for them for the usual reasons people vote for regressive right-wingers, nostalgia for a past that never was and unfocused resentment of difference and change.

Well UKIP were the only ones saying what people wanted to hear. They didn't like Europe and wanted to stop immigration. Thats all people needed to know. All the other parties were afraid of saying anything like that and it felt like UKIP was the only alternative way of having a voice. 

 

[Pebble thats Stubby]

My MIL in the last general election voted UKIP because "Fararge is a smiley shit, he's one of us and not a smarmy Etonian."

 

And she is very proud to of voted for this reason.

[mormont]

19 minutes ago, Channel4s-JonSnow said:

Well UKIP were the only ones saying what people wanted to hear. They didn't like Europe and wanted to stop immigration. Thats all people needed to know. All the other parties were afraid of saying anything like that and it felt like UKIP was the only alternative way of having a voice.

Setting aside the content of the message, the discussion was about the fact that UKIP have been afforded disproportionate media access to put it across. You disagreed with that claim. Have you now changed your mind?

[Channel4s-JonSnow]

5 minutes ago, mormont said:

Setting aside the content of the message, the discussion was about the fact that UKIP have been afforded disproportionate media access to put it across. You disagreed with that claim. Have you now changed your mind?

No I didn't say i disagreed with that. I disagreed that it was the primary factor for them doing so well. The reason I find that line of thought troubling is because it shifts the blame onto the media, and dismisses the genuine concerns of people. Its exactly like blaming the media for Trump, dismissing out of hand any of the actual reasons people voted for him, and treating voters like they are brainless sheep.

Also its a position which is getting quite close to Authoritarian Censorship, deciding what people should and shouldn't be allowed to listen to / watch.

[SeanF]

The Labour vote has only slightly dropped in England, from 2013 (although, it was only 29% then) and the Lib Dem vote share is up a bit, but both parties are being overwhelmed by the huge switch directly from UKIP to Conservative.  Wales has been patchy, but poor, rather than terrible, for Labour.

The Conservatives are also making big headway in Scotland, where UKIP are irrelevant.

[SeanF]

Conservatives win Teeside (Hartlepool, Redcar, Middlesborough, Stockton, Darlington) is not a result I expected to see.

[SeanF]

The Conservatives won the West Midlands Mayoralty, which is a dire result for Labour.  OTOH, Labour did do a bit better than expected in both Wales and Scotland.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

So if this election is sort of a preview for the General Election, is it as bad as predicted, or worse?

[Maltaran]

18 minutes ago, Notone said:

So if this election is sort of a preview for the General Election, is it as bad as predicted, or worse?

Actually slightly better - the GE polls have the Tories up 17 points, whereas these results only have them ahead by 11.

[Hereward]

Not really, as Labour always outperforms its general election results in local elections. The turnout is really low in local elections, but its membership is large and committed, so they suffer less than the Tories. 

Edit: Of course, the other issue is that there will be people who will vote for people who will be in charge of their local services, or for Corbyn opponents like Burnham, who will not vote for Corbyn to be in charge of Brexit negotiations, or the nation's defence or security.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

16 hours ago, Maltaran said:

Actually slightly better - the GE polls have the Tories up 17 points, whereas these results only have them ahead by 11.

So the good news is, rockbottom is a bit higher than expected for Labour?

[Philokles]

The Tories will have an easier job of making the general election about May vs Corbyn than the locals given it alone will determine who is PM. That is one of their key strategies, as shown by the rather presidential campaign slogans.