Jul 2023
9:15am, 21 Jul 2023
21,619 posts
|
larkim
Uxbridge disappointing, especially in turnout terms. 5,000 people who voted Labour in the last GE didn't vote yesterday, surely they could have seen what a trophy and symbolic victory that would have turned into? OTOH, is it a blessing that this doesn't result in a sense of triumphalism from the Labour Party which avoids a Kinnock-style defeat with a loss inflicted because no-one likes a cocky competitor? |
Jul 2023
9:17am, 21 Jul 2023
3,021 posts
|
paulcook
Yes, Greens third in each poll. Though distant thirds. Vocal enough minority but that electoral system which means vocal = silent.
|
|
Jul 2023
9:27am, 21 Jul 2023
3,023 posts
|
paulcook
Turnout seems to be on a par across all 3 elections yesterday plus other recent by-elections across the country, so don't know if anything to read into that.
|
|
Jul 2023
10:12am, 21 Jul 2023
21,623 posts
|
larkim
I suppose turnout always disappoints me. It's just those absolute numbers make it look like a waste, irrespective of overall turnout. There were easy picking voters to be had, and (despite what maybe JB and I feel about Starmer) if they'd been enthused by Labour's offerings I'd have expected more of them to turn out to give Sunak a hammering. If Blair had been at the helm...
|
|
Jul 2023
10:22am, 21 Jul 2023
3,024 posts
|
paulcook
Difficult to tell. There were a couple of by elections between Blair winning the Labour leadership and the 1997 General Election with higher turnouts, but there were also many more with very similar to all three last night.
|
Jul 2023
10:26am, 21 Jul 2023
20,554 posts
|
Chrisull
Here's a Labour take on it, and a very reasonable one: labourhub.org.uk |
|
Jul 2023
10:30am, 21 Jul 2023
3,026 posts
|
paulcook
Think the key line for me there is: The list could go on and on. Labour isn’t inspiring its own supporters, it is attempting to win by default as the Tories get demoralised. |
Jul 2023
10:33am, 21 Jul 2023
9,701 posts
|
simbil
Maybe there was more at play here? I'm not saying election winning margins, but just maybe there is a) enough disquiet about 40C temps in Europe and b) Labour's stupidity over things like 2 child benefit cap, that enough people will go Green rather than Labour. We are not alone. Enough people voting Green in Uxbridge rather than Labour is effectively voting Tory. I know the thread has been around the houses on this point, but this result demonstrates beyond doubt how poor a tactical choice it is when an anti-ULEZ Tory wins because people could not hold their nose and vote for something less bad than the Tories. It's very sad that a principled vote can be a wasted or even a counter productive vote in our system, but here we are. |
Jul 2023
10:43am, 21 Jul 2023
12,161 posts
|
Joopsy
Just seen a rather wonderful letter from my Tory MP to East Midlands Railways explaining in detail all the reasons that they should not be closing the ticket office at Sleaford train station. And here was me thinking the train strikes have just been all about greedy train drivers.
|
|
Jul 2023
10:51am, 21 Jul 2023
20,555 posts
|
Chrisull
At this point I honestly don't care and can say hand on heart if I lived in Uxbridge, I would have voted Green. Labour need to improve its green offer, we've been talking about the same issues for 30 years (some for 50 years+) and nothing has changed, apart from we are seeing some real seismic climate changes. I can predict what will happen at the next election, Labour will win. I can predict that their own self-imposed straitjacket (commit to keeping Brexit, matching Tory economic strategies for next 2 years, along with a smattering of nice to have baubles) will mean an unpopular govt, ripe for kicking out, but they may win, they may not - who knows. We are seeing this played out in Europe, where those on the left have played it safe and it's been bad for them. Look at Macron, deeply unpopular , but relying on the left's hatred of the fascists to keep him in power. Look at Scholz seeing the AFD massively on the rise. Look at Italy, the moderate left kicked out replaced with the neo-fascists led by populist Meloni in power, look at Spain, a general election on Sunday where the socialists are widely expected to lose to a coalition of the People's party and a neo-fascist party that wants to decriminalise domestic violence and roll back on equality legislation. I'm not advocating a Corbynite Labour (that would still be trounced), but fiddling around the edges of the political storms of Covid, Ukraine, Brexit is just handing the keys of power to the populists. The writing is on the wall. They will get in unless, someone can step up and offer something transformative. Somehow blaming it on the Greens, centre left and (even) Lib Dems who refused to hold their nose, when they know in 4-5 years time, the same demand will be asked again (as it has been in France for the last 3 elections - or more), is ridiculous. This isn't a call for an open cheque book, I thought Corbyn's last manifesto was ridiculous, and poorly conceived, an open cheque with a disproportionate bung to middle class voters. I don't want to be here again, after a temporary pause in the nasty status quo, just so the left can swing further to the right. This isn't just a pop at Starmer, the whole Labour front bench, Reeves, Ashworth, Nandy, Philipson, Streeting - is uniquely unconvincing. When Ed Miliband is the radical fly in the ointment, you know things are bad. |
Useful Links
FE accepts no responsibility for external links. Or anything, really.Related Threads
-
Fantasy General Election
Jul 2024
-
EU Referendum - In or Out? Vote here
Aug 2018
-
March to Parliament Against Brexit - Sat 2nd July
Jun 2016
-
EU Referendum
Feb 2016
-
Ads on Fetch - anyone else getting Leave and Remain?!
Feb 2017
-
The Environment Thread :-)
Oct 2024
-
Economics
Aug 2023
-
Dear Scottish Fetchies
Jan 2023
-
Any economists out there - question
Oct 2022
-
Power and exploitation - please check my sanity
Oct 2018
