UK General Election thread: Today's the day.

Two bottles of champagne chilling!

My Portaloo moment will be Esther McVey.

She already had a Portaloo moment in 2015 when she lost her Wirral seat, but she was inexplicably picked for Tatton when George Osborne stood down for the 2017 election.

Is there any TV coverage here in North America on any of the main channels?

UK polls close at 10:00 PM BST, yes? So 5 hours difference with the Eastern US would mean results start to come in at 5:00 PM EST?

R3 - the exit poll is at 10pm but with so many knife edge seats and huge variation with pollsters it might not be wholly reliable.

All that is certain is that Labour will win a significant majority.

Most of the results will be coming in over night so by the time Americans go to bed at 10/11pm your time you will know just how bad it has been for the Tories and Scottish Nationalists.

R1 = champagne socialist.

R4, is Rishi Sunak expected to have a tough time in his own constituency?

R6 - Richmond and Northallerton is predicted to remain Tory.

There are some excruciating protest candidates standing in the seat - does anyone find Count Binface funny? - and it's unlikely they will endear the local population to change their vote to a protest vote for Labour.

Is this the correct link to watch the streaming of the BBC Election Night coverage?

Possibly R8 - there will be a live stream of news coverage on the BBC website and iPlayer.

ITV have got George Osborne and Ed Balls back for their coverage and joined by special guest star Nicola Sturgeon who will be reacting live to what is likely total humiliation for her party.

Channel 4 have an excruciating line up of narcissist journos, twitter personalities and celebrities. It will be fun to see Carol Vorderman's face gradually melt into the small hours but will give that a hard miss.

I voted!

I've now voted in 8 general elections in the UK and my tally is Labour: 3, Lib Dem: 5

All I want is for the country to just give the Tories the kicking they thoroughly deserve.

And no Reform MPs.

Anything else is a bonus.

Ed Balls is the best that ITV could do?

How did that sweaty blob ever end up on television.

Its great I still had to state my name and postcode to the election officer while she actually had my passport in her hands. What a pointless change to the law introducing voter ID really was.

Anyway voted Labour, did hesitate for a few seconds since my local candidate has the personality of a wet lettuce but its enough of a swing constituency that if half those people who say they're voting Reform think better of it in the booth the Tories might just scrape back in here.

Labour will win, but just barely so.

Oh Dutchie hun have you been in a coma?

Dutchie has been swinging to the right lately.

You just wait and see, hussy! R15

Good luck Brits. Hope you get rid of all that Tory rabble!

Will be great when that loon J Rees-Mogg is gone. Should be a Labor landslide, Tories have truly wrecked the UK these past 14 years.

I'm in two minds. Part of me feels there might be a big surprise and that Labour will only get a slim majority - rather than the "supermajority" that keeps being mentioned. But I think that comes from the Brexit result. I've rarely been so disappointed in the nation than when leave won, so I think it's almost become a defence mechanism for me to ignore polls since then.

That said, never in polling history have so many polls been wrong by 20%, so that makes me think a decent Labour majority is surely inevitable. As with anything, we only hear the more extreme people on Twitter and in the media (eg the racist Reformers and those angry over the Gaza war). The vast majority of people very rarely talk about politics/their voting intention and those are the people who ultimately decide it.

I voted. I live in a seat where the Tories are predicted to win (I live in a rural area full of boomers and farmers), but I voted tactically for the Lib Dems as they're pretty much always the second party here. If enough of the usual Tory voters go for Reform and most of the anti Tories go for Lib Dem, there's a tiny chance they could win, but I honestly think more will stick with the Tories. Our seat is the definition of 'silent Tories'. For the last few elections our local town's Facebook group has been full of people voting Labour. Not one Tory dares comment. But every time they get about 60% of the vote.

I'll watch the exit poll on BBC and then up to when the first seats in the NE declare - as that will give an indication of the Labour support. Then I'll likely go to sleep, as the majority of the results don't start coming in till 2am - 3am. It's like groundhog day up until that point... If you're planning on watching it all, take a shot every time the following exchange is played out between 10pm and 2am:

Host: So Labour are looking to do very well this evening.

Labour politician: Well, that's just an exit poll. Nothing is certain, so let's just wait and see what the actual results say.

Host: Come on, everyone at Labour headquarters is looking happy, you've got this in the bag haven't you?

Labour politician: Well, we've had a great campaign, but like I say, let's wait for the official figures.

(Yes I've watched far too many election nights over the years.)

[QUOTE]the majority of the results don't start coming in till 2am - 3am.

Just as the east coast and the Midwest start to set off 4th of July fireworks.

I was reading the attached NPR article that's a primer for Americans. Most of the information I know because I follow the British politics threads here, but this stunned me.

[QUOTE]One economist says Britain is experiencing its biggest wage squeeze since the early-1800s Napoleonic Wars. A greater share of British children now live in poverty, according to the United Nations, than in almost any other wealthy country.

I just voted about an hour ago. No wait at all. The volunteer greeters said turnout has been fairly typical so over the course of the day. I’m fairly certain my constituency will flip to Labour due to both boundary changes and the mood of the country.

Tomorrow I hope to have schadenfreude for the losses endured by the Conservatives. Also, don’t forget about the shower the SNP are predicted to receive. I can’t wait to see the result maps!

Are there any official songs for the predicted metamorphosis of the UK government? David Bowie’s “Changes” or Paul Young’s “Everything Must Change” for example?

I’m disappointed Labour didn’t use The Only Way Is Up or People Hold On as their election anthem.

Starmer was a party boy in his 20s and the songs would have reminded him of the acid house scene in the late 80s.

😼

Just voted, was emphatic with my 'X' for Labour. The only window posters around my way are red, anecdotally adding to my confidence. That, plus a specially comical former Tory incumbent.

Saw The Mail's bonkers front page, 'Vote Farage - Get Them.' Them being Keir and Angela, pictured. The inside guide to tactical voting looks both intense and desperate. Last poll I saw gave the Tories 111 seats, and Reform 1. Should be a popcorn night, though I'll make do with wine and sausage rolls.

Just seen an Instagram post from an Instamusclegay decrying Labour’s transphobia and encouraging people to support the Green Party.

He works as cabin crew. 🤦

It looks like people are voting for change for change’s sake. They are unhappy with the status quo. It’s likely that the same will happen in the U.S. with people voting against the party in power.

I mean Labour actually have a fact checked costed manifesto v's whatever the fuck the Republicans are doing. But yes "get the Tories out" is the main reason people are voting for them by far.

I just had a look at the TV schedules and the BBC's election coverage runs from 9:55pm tonight to 4:30pm tomorrow, with just a few "breaks" for news bulletins, which will no doubt be mostly about the election results!

Laura Kuenssberg and Clive Myrie will be hosting. Of course it would have been Huw Edwards for years to come if that scandal hadn't happened! I miss the good old days of David Dimbleby and Paxo.

R29, wow, even though it was clear that people are primarily voting for change, I’m surprised to see that only 5% are voting for Labour because they agree with the policies. That certainly sets up a situation for future buyer’s remorse.

What does Labour’s “crackdown on antisocial behaviour” mean?

R31 Yeah, Labour must deep down feel a bit nervous that, if they get a supermajority, it'll mostly be because they're seen as marginally better than the Tories.

I wonder how quickly the media and voters will turn on them. I give it as early as next week. Cue interviewees saying things like: "I went to Greggs and it was still £2 for a cuppa and a doughnut!!! I fort Labour were meant to be reducing costs!"

FPTP system is disgusting. All it does is make the country swing from one extreme to the other, leaving one half of the country always dissatisfied. And in some cases like Hungary, it means the incumbent is pretty much impossible to dislodge.

[quote][R29], wow, even though it was clear that people are primarily voting for change, I’m surprised to see that only 5% are voting for Labour because they agree with the policies. That certainly sets up a situation for future buyer’s remorse.

That poll question is bullshit though and gives a false narrative.

A lot of long term Labour supporters would have answered "get the tories out" and other answers are clearly pro Labour.

A better question would be what is your primary motivation for voting Labour

Support Labour / Vote against another party

This week is also the annual London Fetish Week, so I’ll be celebrating the Tory wipeout tonight by having sex with strangers in a North London nightclub.

I haven’t felt this horny since 1997.

[quote]I wonder how quickly the media and voters will turn on them. I give it as early as next week. Cue interviewees saying things like: "I went to Greggs and it was still £2 for a cuppa and a doughnut!!! I fort Labour were meant to be reducing costs!"

Oh how original, someone mocking Greggs and suggesting people who buy food there are thick as shit!

R36 are you going to Gearbound at Central Station? Enjoy.

David Dimbleby: I worry for this country.

The situation in the UK is sad. They have had a string of weak lousy PMs. They need another strong imposing leader, like Churchill or Thatcher.

R37 Your assumption is incorrect! I got a coffee from Greggs this morning, so that's why it was on my mind as an example. It could have been anywhere - I was pointing out that some people are that dim, but they go into all shops.

Pret is Tory Gregg's.

R42 And is no better. Greggs's coffee is as good (or bad) as Pret's for half the price.

[quote]Laura Kuenssberg and Clive Myrie will be hosting.

I'd watch for Myrie, but Kuenssberg is unwatchable in the extreme. Her Sunday morning politics "chat" show is an endless parade of pro-Tory knee-bending, and her now almost constant presence on the Newscast podcast has made it so cringe-worthy that I tend to skip most of the episodes now.

I, for one, think milquetoast Kier Starmer it's just what Britain needs right now.

R44 If you think Kuenssberg is pro-Tory then surely watching her reaction as the results roll in would be an attractive prospect!

R40 no sweetheart what we need is a sensible, experienced and effective leader, like Clement Atlee or Harold Wilson, not some bombastic showboating fool

The myth about Kuenssberg being pro Tory has become a legend now. She gets attacked by the left for being pro Tory and the right for being anti Tory.

Like with JK Rowling, a random twitter account can get thousands of likes just for calling Kuenssberg a cunt.

To make a comparison Robert Peston is the son of a Labour appointee to the House of Lords and has said he has voted Labour in every single election. But he doesn’t get any bias accusations and demands he quits his job.

Political interviewing works in different formats.

Andrew Neil is a forensic interviewer who goes in hard on detail. That's why Boris Johnson refused to be interviewed by him during the 2019 campaign.

Beth Rigby is effective in a different way. She asks very simple questions that can leave people floundering. She doesn't do the attack dog style like Neil, she's very polite and gives politicians space to answer.

When Laura K interviewed Truss there were countless people who have repeatedly attacked Laura K (easier to type than spelling her name) then sharing clips of Truss being humiliated and floundering at questions.

British deplorables...

[quote]This year, Mr Venness says he plans to vote Reform because he likes leader Nigel Farage. “He doesn’t use big long highfalutin words with more than six letters,” he says. “I’m an English person. I’ve got nothing against [foreign] nationals, but I’m from this country, I’m not very well educated, and he speaks my sort of language.”

The queen of deplorable British towns. What a stark difference from its daughter city of Boston, Massachusetts.

That article at R50 is typical of so much media from the last 8 years. A middle class journalist interviews working class people who are thick as shit.

Seeing r50, it's interesting that people on DL mock and despise British working class people the same as they do American working class people. I wonder how elite the mockers actually are, or if they are just a Hyacinth Bucket trying to pretend they're better.

I get that a lot of people were angry and upset about leaving the EU, but the anti Brexit people were so fucking patronising and dismissive of anyone who voted to leave. There was no effort to understand why they might have been motivated, they were just branded too stupid to know what they were voting for or too stupid to not fall for Russian propaganda.

That's why people like Farage. He doesn't patronise them. And Boris Johnson didn't either. Of course they're both posh as fuck but they don't think the working classes need to be saved from themselves. Emily Thornberry and "image from Rochester" summed up the Labour Party during that period. STUPID THICK COMMON.

And that's why Starmer has made a lot of his dad being a manual worker being judged for being common.

R54 Boris' private comments about the working class shows his utter contempt for them. He is good at appealing to a wider range of people but it's just manipulation. He's a snob cunt

The Tory cloud is so to toxic that we have no fucking clue what's going to be like after they go.

Starmer is going to be a disaster. Britain is fucked either way. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer bunch of douche bags.

"Supermajority" is a meaningless word in Westminster parliamentary systems. It's a Tory talking point meant to scare voters. It has actual meaning in the U.S. presidential system, where the legislative supermajority can override the presidential veto, prevent the president from naming judges and other senior government figures, break the filibuster, and more.

Yes R58 we have another established term in the UK we use.

As an American, it’s not lost on me that the second a brown man takes power, white Brit’s vote in a landslide for the other party. There is always a major backlash when people of color get into firmly all white spaces.

Not that Rushi as anything like Obama, but the reactions in the West are so predictable.

When will Starmer take over? Tomorrow? Isn't the handover almost immediate if the results are clear?

R60 - Rishi's unpopularity has NOTHING to do with his race.

He was given a poisoned chalice when he became PM and dealt with the anger from Covid party scandals (he was very popular as chancellor during that period) and Liz Truss's economic vandalism (which he warned against).

He also isn't that good at politics or leadership and came across as irritable and out of touch, linked to being filthy rich through marriage and upper middle class.

Humza Yousaf in Scotland was viewed as incompetent and continues to claim he was disliked because he is a Muslim and Vaughan Gething in Wales is very unpopular because of his role with Covid and a donations scandal. There are elements of "he's not really one of us" despite having a Welsh father.

r60 Sorry, but that ain't it. Rishi just so happens to be on the tail end of 14 years of misrule. No everything is about race, but it's very on brand for an American to think that it is.

r61 Yes, tomorrow.

To be fair, R60, the fact that Rishi is Indian is a very, very small part of why the Tories are facing a mauling. The damage was done by Johnson's incompetence, mendacity and buffoonery being finally exposed, followed by Truss's kamikaze economic batshittery.

Undoubtedly a section of the Tories have never got behind Sunak because of his ethnicity, but the reality is he's just been a very poor politician - constant re-sets and confused messaging, and the economic situation - whilst in some respects stabilising - is still dire for the vast majority whilst public services continue to worsen.

I don’t think I’ve heard anyone say they think Starmer will be a great prime minister. People are voting Labour this time because they want a change, not because they particularly like the party or him.

When Tony Blair was about to take the job there was a huge amount of optimism and excitement. I’m not in the UK just now but I’m not getting that vibe from friends I speak to and what I’m reading and watching on TV.

To your point, R66.

When your home is on fire, it's irrelevant how optimistic you are about the state of the firefighters who show up. You're just relieved the fire will be put out.

Rishi is obviously very able, but not leadership material. It was too much for him to right that backlog of ineptitude, as it would have been for almost anyone.

Tetchy Rishi became a meme for a reason. So often in debates and interviews he'd become shrill and exasperated, as if to say, Why don't these people see and understand all I'm doing for them.

Apologising for not staying at D-Day Commemorations pretty much sealed the non-deal. Bad decision, poor leadership, couldn't read the room. Rishi was a well-meaning capable caretaker to follow the zany clown shows of Johnson and Truss, but no more than that.

When do them polls close, hoes?

Those of us who get the BBC World News Channel here in the US-the live election coverage from BBC1 will air from 4:55 PM EST to 4 am EST.

I think it’s hilarious that the media over there aren’t allowed to discuss the election in detail today so on call-in radio programs today there are topics about obese children, gay ostriches, etc.

[quote]Tetchy Rishi

I love that word, yet I never see it used here on DL, even though this place is Tetchy Central.

R70 - Polls close at 22:00 BST - in just less than 2 hours

Tories will give into Farage and merge their 80 seats with Reform and they’ll be right back into power. Labour will be gone before you know it. They have a leader who stands for nothing.

The American political situation is terrible. Could you imagine the total shit show if the U.S. had a parliamentary system like the UK with the power concentrated in the U.S. House of Representatives? We would see a crap ton of fringe MTG-like reps/parties that could make forming any government a nightmare absent a clear majority.

r71 Doubly hilarious given their front pages yesterday.

I love the electoral silence in my country, both on the day of the election and the day before. It really allows you to cool down and have a think about who you're voting for. You might not change your mind, but at least you're not voting based on hysteria whipped up by the media. Those two days feel like you just walked into a zen garden, it's all very soothing.

[quote]We would see a crap ton of fringe MTG-like reps/parties that could make forming any government a nightmare absent a clear majority.

Those sort of parties come and go in parliamentary systems because they're punished for their behaviour at the next election. The whole point of this system is that the parties who form a government possess a majority in the electorate and so have a clear mandate to govern. The fact that that isn't the case in the US leads to so much consternation and disillusionment and eventually – extreme polarization.

[quote]Tories will give into Farage and merge their 80 seats with Reform and they’ll be right back into power. Labour will be gone before you know it. They have a leader who stands for nothing.

Not going to happen.

People wrote off Labour after 2019 and look at their resurgence. The Tories will survive as a centre right party. They'll continue their breakdown for a couple of years and get their shit together in time for the 2034 election and rally round a Tom Tugendhat type where they will reduce Labour's majority to double figures.

R78, whatever helps you sleep at night.

Have to agree with R62, R63 and R65. Rishi also has a habit of appearing like an out-of-touch posh boy who gets into a temper when questioned or challenged. He's far better than those cunts Johnson & Truss but the ship was already sinking when Rishi took over.

Least he can say he's been PM.

R78 you need 326 seats to form a majority government

A message to British DLer's: Please take a moment to realize just how lucky you are to live in a country where, regardless of the election outcome, all parties and candidates will accept the results. I'll be living vicariously through you tonight.

R82 I think you're broadly right - none of the party's - Reform nutters excepted - have gone down the route of Election Denial... but apparently, there have been problems with postal votes in some constituencies - either sent out late or delayed in the post, meaning some eats might have a significant number of votes pending. One of those seats is that of the toxic Kemi Badenoch - who is expected to make a run for Tory leader. Her vote is expected to be close so she's been shit-stirring about it today.

If the result is closer than anticipated tonight, I imagine this postal vote issue might suddenly become a more prominent issue.

[quote]One of those seats is that of the toxic Kemi Badenoch - who is expected to make a run for Tory leader. Her vote is expected to be close so she's been shit-stirring about it today.

Strange, it was being briefed by Labour yesterday that the postal vote issue would result in a legal challenge meaning Badenoch, if she wins, would be ineligible to stand in a leadership contest.

The SNP have also been moaning about postal votes and I would have said they would take legal action if they lost seats by a small number, but they don't have any money to spend on legal challenges or re-election campaigns.

My partner got a postal ballot in America just last week. I suggested we send it back express but he said it had to be returned in the envelope they send it in.

Just realised that BBC One in Wales is doing special Wales coverage and BBC Two is doing UK wide coverage, the Clive & Laura show.

GAGGING to see Sturgeon's reaction to the SNP prediction.

Thanks for the explanation, R82. I'll be watching.

Why do you say that Kemi is "toxic", r83?

I enjoyed this.

Coverage starting in two minutes

[quote]It looks like people are voting for change for change’s sake. They are unhappy with the status quo. It’s likely that the same will happen in the U.S. with people voting against the party in power.

R28, yeah, the same thing is going to happen to Justin Trudeau's Liberals in Canada next year.

R90, is this when the big Exit Poll seat projection is expected?

Yes, r82, unfortunately in the US the results of the past two presidential elections have been doubted. First there were all the allegations by many Democrats that "Russian interference" won the election for Trump and an inquiry was even established to investigate these claims, but it found nothing. Then there were the infamous 6 January events when Biden won.

Unfortunately for us in the UK, however, we have a ludicrous system whereby one party can win 40% of the vote but 70% of the seats in parliament, so we have a massive democratic deficit too.

I think you'll find in most European countries that the election result is respected, not just the UK.

Laura K looking resplendent in pink. Bea Arthur would approve of the cut of that trouser suit.

BBC Election Results link:

Fiona Bruce appears to be covering the Labour Party tonight.

Well, this is bloody exciting.

326 seats needed for a Majority.

Wow, 131 for the Tories, nowhere near as bad as predicted.

And 10 for the SNP!

And 13 for Reform? What the actual fuck?

🎶🎶🎶🎶

Labour Landslide...

EXIT POLL:

410 LABOUR

131 CONSERVATIVE

Sorry, Dutchie/R14, you got it wrong big time today.

Tories did well. Reform got 13? Fucking frightening!

Absolute landslide. The reverse of 2019.

Projected 179-seat majority for Labour, 9 fewer than under Tony Blair in 1997 and most likely many more seats with waferthin majorities, making them harder to defend at the next general election.

Will be interesting to see how much the DUP lost in the north of Ireland.

ITV coverage introduces Nicola Sturgeon by mentioning the police investigation that they're not allowed to talk about.

R103, Dutchie probably thinks that the UK has an electoral system like the Dutch do, where the number of seats won by each party reflects the actual number of votes cast and that all votes matter. It's hard to explain the first past the post system to foreigners because it doesn't make sense.

Reform got more than SNP?!

R109, Canada has first past the post as well. Based on the UK system.

Tories 'did well'! It's their LOWEST seat total EVER!

[quote]Reform got more than SNP?!

Apparently so. If true this would make the SNP the 5th largest party.

Looking forward to the scalps - so many arseholes who I'll celebrate losing their seat. Shame Mhairi Black and Ian Blackford and his gunt have stood down already.

Remember, this is exit poll totals. There will be aot of swing that these smaller parties will feel, but the overall result of a Labour overall win is virtually assured.

R112, I think some people are saying the Tories 'did well' because there were those in the media who made it sound like the Tories might only win a handful of seats.

Iain Duncan Smith, Steve Baker and Grant Shapps unlikely to be re-elected, according to projections.

Penny Mordaunt, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Jeremy Hunt also in tough fights

Liberal Democrats projected to gain 53 seats

R115 yes, I understand that - I'm just injecting the actual reality of the situation.

According to Sky News:

[quote]However, they may achieve the landslide on a smaller share of the vote than what Jeremy Corbyn secured in 2017.

Labour got 40% of the vote in 2017, so Sky News is implying that exit poll results show that Labour may have got under 40% of the vote. For reference, the Tories won 43.6% of the votes in 2019 and 365 seats.

[quote][R112], I think some people are saying the Tories 'did well' because there were those in the media who made it sound like the Tories might only win a handful of seats.

Exactly - considering some polls predicted the Tories would be the third party getting 130 seats *is* a good result.

A couple of questions:

Why is Keir Starmer already a "Sir"?

Why did Rishi Sunak call the UK Election for the same day as Independence Day in the U.S?

[quote]Why is Keir Starmer already a "Sir"?

He is a barrister by trade - a highly regarded lawyer. He left private practice to take the public job as Director of Public Prosecutions and he was knighted for public service.

He doesn't believe in the honours system but he accepted it for his parents and took them to Buckingham Palace for the event.

[quote]He doesn't believe in the honours system but he accepted it for his parents

So he'll give it up when they die?

SNP forecast to lose seats to Labour (BBC projection)

Keir could often crush Rishi in debates by mentioning his experiences and responsibilities as DPP, while - if he really wanted to twist the knife - Rishi was building his fortune in finance.

r120 Well that will soothe Owen Jones aching heart at least. I really hope its not true.

Jeremy Corbyn the true leader of Labour

If Labour did get barely 40% of the vote and the Tories still managed to scrape 130 seats then the Tories will be able to blame Reform for giving Labour the win in many seats, especially marginals, while also taking the line that after 14 years in power the result wasn't as bad as many had anticipated.

Poor Owen. The cocaine won’t take the pain away

American here: Is the Labor party still considered somewhat anti-Semitic? Wasn't that a big deal with Corbyn?

I'm watching the Channel 4 coverage. My God, someone needs to get a grip on Nadine Dorries. She's dragging down the whole thing. I have a feeling she'll physically attack Alastair Campbell before we hit midnight.

r131 Labour's got a large amount of urban Muslim and youth support who are very pro-Palestine . To Starmer's credit he usually comes down hard on anyone who say's anything that can be interpreted as Anti-Semitic (he booted out their candidate for the Rochdale by-election a week before the vote for example causing them to lose that seat) if only so the press can't use it as a stick to beat him with. So the central party has gone to great lengths to show it isn't. Certain local sections of the party do have issues though.

[quote]American here: Is the Labor party still considered somewhat anti-Semitic? Wasn't that a big deal with Corbyn?

Yes, a huge deal with Corbyn. There are still some Corbyn supporters with obsessive anti Jewish anti Israel views but they are a tiny number now.

Most of the rabid obsessives were attracted to the Green Party who are now an unholy alliance of Islamists and gender obsessives.

Jeremy Corbyn is running as an Independent in Islington North.

r131 forgot to say the Jews bullied out under Corbyn era have retuned to the party and were campaigning for it this election.

Some people still wary but kicking Corbyn out helped.

I wonder if this election might be the tipping point in the push for PR? I assume the Tories might start looking at the writing on the wall after this election and think it might be worth it in the long run. The SNP and Lib Dems are already in favour, and I'm guessing Farage's loons probably came close enough in a few seats they lost they might want to move to it as well.

Washington Post, July 3:

"Jewish people in Britain helped build the Labour Party in the last century. They abandoned it in droves when the party was led by Jeremy Corbyn, who allowed antisemitism to soar. Now, it appears many British Jewish voters are set to return."

*'Houghton and Sunderland South' declaration*

LABOUR WIN

51% turnout in Sunderland. Dreadful. It is a safe Labour seat with a high profile MP but still appalling.

And Reform knock Tories into third place...

The cringy twat has a picture of Thatcher and Churchill that makes it look like they're married.

A question: How come British polls close so late at night over there?

Btw it's not just public humiliation the SNP are facing in this election by losing 75% of their seats as predicted.

The SNP are in a massive financial crisis linked to Chief Executive Peter Murrell being charged with extortion and his wife Nicola Sturgeon still the subject of a police investigation into it. As the 3rd largest party they got "short money" from the taxpayer to run the party in Parliament and a chunk of that money went to run the party. And MPs were expected to give a % of their MP salary to the party.

If the SNP go from being the 3rd largest party to the 5th largest and they go down to around 10 MPs, that is a huge loss of revenue for the party.

R142 he makes my skin crawl. Vote Him Out!

[quote]A question: How come British polls close so late at night over there?

Polling stations open at 7am and close at 10pm. It's not that late! Plenty of time for people to vote.

r143 At 10? Lets people take their time after work I guess. It works pretty well honestly 90% of the counts will be done by the morning and everyone knows the results.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

*BLYTH & ASHINGTON* declaration

LABOUR WIN

53% Turnout

Ian Lavery kept his seat! Appalling turnout again. Tory votes going to Reform again.

Could the Tory seats be lower than expected?

Another Labour win in Blyth. Reform are beating the shit out of the Tories in the North by the sounds of it.

Also a sign of how they're going to take this growth of Reform. Andrea Leadsom on the BBC: Well I was talking to someone in the pub and they said the Conservatives just aren't Conservative enough".

Why is Andrea Leadsom a Dame?

[quote]Polling stations open at 7am and close at 10pm.

That's late. 6am to 7pm would better and have early voting and allowed time off to vote on election day.

Is it even an election without Jeremy Vine pointing at a greenscreen?

I don't pay a license fee to the corrupt BBC, they can go swivel for it

I had a flick through. Hate Krishnan Guru Murthy, hate Kay Burley.

Enjoying Nicola Sturgeon looking like she has eaten a dodgy korma.

Saw a tweet from Tom Harwood, apparently GB News are doing an election night broadcast as well.

Breaking:

Rishi Sunak has given a peerage to his chief of staff Liam Booth-Smith

Oliver Dowden, Julian Smith, Ben Wallace and Alister Jack all get knighthoods

Sunak's other peerages include:

Sir Graham Brady, former chairman of the 1922 committee

Chris Grayling, former transport secretary

Dame Eleanor Laing, deputy speaker of Commons

Craig Mackinley

Theresa May

Alok Sharma

Starmer has nominated Margaret Beckett, John Cryer, Harriet Harman, Margaret Hodge, Kevan Jones, Barbara Keeley, John Spellar and Rosie Winterton

New York Times

The Labour Party is headed for a landslide win in Britain’s election, an exit poll shows, putting an end to 14 years of Conservative rule.

Thursday, July 4, 2024 5:14 PM ET

If the projections are confirmed, it would be one of the worst defeats for the Conservatives in the nearly 200-year history of the party, one that would raise searching questions about its future — and even its very viability.

Sturgeon not enjoying her ITV appearance at all. Ed Balls fucking hates her.

I don't like that color that the Reform Party uses.

r160 I'm confused why the fuck she even agreed to it. It was never going to be a good night for the SNP (mainly due to her actions as leader) and her husband is on trial. Did ITV drive a campervan full of money to her front door or something?

r14 Exit poll suggests otherwise

R162 lol, no idea why she agreed either. Money is a good guess

She loves the spotlight. And money.

*LABOUR gains SWINDON SOUTH from the Conservatives*

R14 is in a minority of one with that opinion.

American here: will that cunt at R142 be out?

r168 He's predicted to be

R168. It's looking highly likely. I think his constituency result is expected in 2-3 hours.

Wonderful, R169. He's such an odious fucking bitch.

What does Larry think of all this?

Larry is happy so long as Boris doesn't come back R172. He used to eat Larry's food and shit in his litter tray

I’m honestly surprised BoJo didn’t just shit on the floor.

I am reminded that when the press was camped out in front of Number 10 when BoJo was facing the revolt, one of the reporters spotter Larry and called out “Larry, have you asked him to resign?”

Eugh can't believe they e held on for 14 years

I’m just waiting for the photo of Count Binface standing next to Sunak.

Feel sorry for Larry when he puts it this way.

So 9 seats have been declared so far, and all 9 seats are for Labour?

It looks like the Liberal Democrats have now picked up one.

Gordon Brown, Datalounger:

It's interesting that the UK is electing a Leftist government, due to rising living costs, among other things. Here in Norway we have a Leftist government. They haven't done anything at all to help people. They just say they can't do anything, it's out of their control. The inflation is global, it's complicated. I am not defending the Tories at all. I am a social democrat. However, I have seen how a Leftist government has tried to deal with those issues here. I just don't think electing Labour will magically help people. The global distribution chains are the problem, and the reason behind increased costs. Labour can't do anything more than the Tories.

[quote]Labour can't do anything more than the Tories.

True. The UK seems to be a sick society that no change in government is going to help. I'm glad I don't live there. It would not be pleasant.

*SEATS WON SO FAR*

LABOUR 41 (+16)

CON 2 (-19)

LD 2 (+2)

REF 1 (+1)

SNP have had their first loss of the evening declared

LABOUR 59

CON 3

LD 2

REF 1

R181 and R182

Brexit was a self-inflicted wound and Tories held th e knife.

(Fess-up, you know the truth!)

Oh and Galloway lost Rochdale. I must have missed that in the flood of other results

Keir Starmer elected in Holborn & St Pancras, although his vote share actually went down because of the Independent candidate.

LAB 79

LD 8

CON 6

REF 1

SNP bloodbath.

Angela Rayner holds her seat. She'll be Deputy PM.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps loses his seat.

Six members of the Cabinet have lost.

LAB 89

CON 10

LD 9

REF 1

LAB 106

CON 14

LD 12

REF 1

SNP 1

The BBC is reporting Mordaunt has lost.

Jeremy Corbyn wins seat.

Nigel Farage wins seat in Clacton from the Cons.

^^^ Yankee here, but he’ll at least brings entertain value, right?

[quote]The BBC is reporting Mordaunt has lost.

I don't like her but I'll miss her hair.

^^^ Gal does know how to maintain a proper flip.

LAB 130

CON 18

LD 16

REF 2

SNP 1

I should have guessed the night was going too well to also spare the country Farage and Corbyn.

Labour lost Leicester South to a Gaza candidate. What the people of Leicester think an independent MP from a regional UK city is going to be able to do about the war I don't know.

And it appears Labour has lost Leicester East to the Conservatives.

Kemi Badenoch held her seat.

Greens pick up Bristol Central.

In contrast to the SNP. Plaid Cymru seem to be doing quite well.

Gullis is gone! Fabricunt is gone! Oh joy! Oh rapture!

Pete "Cozy Feet" Wishart hangs on.

Britain’s next Prime Minister commiserates with the losing candidates…

LAB 180

CON 28

LD 20

SNP 4

REF 3

GRN 1

Its apparently the lowest voter turnout ever. Whether due to disillusionment or it being obvious to a blind person Labour were going to walk it home

LANDSLIDE for LABOUR

Reform picks up another seat in Boston.

BBC just announced that Penny Mordaunt loses her seat.

I'm American with my own problems. But I hope it turns out for the best, OP.

r216 Strange to think she nearly became leader after Truss because she looked good carrying a sword around, and now we're here.

LAB 229

CON 40

LD 26

REF 4

Finchley has gone to Labour. Wasn't that once Margaret Thatcher's constituency?

Conservative Chairman Ric Holden holds on by a margin of 20 votes.

It was r220, and it was predicted to go Lib Dem.

As she’s peering up from Hell, I hope she’s dismayed.

Fuck the Mail for splashing a command to vote Farage all over their front page.

The SNP may be down to four (!) MPs.

Man, the SNP is just being killed.

As.is the DUP in Northern Ireland. Paisley's in trouble.

BBC revised its forecast. They were saying Labour at 405, but are now going back with the exit poll and saying 410.

If by some bizarre coincidence, they end up with 420, we should all celebrate by smoking copious amounts of pot.

[quote]As.is the DUP in Northern Ireland. Paisley's in trouble.

Yes, well the DUP hates gays and doesn’t believe in evolution. I’ll spare my tears on that one.

Oh, and Truss losing is in the wind as well.

The loss of Penny Mordaunt's good hair is balanced by the defeat of Michael Fabricant's bad hair.

Sunak wins his seat in Richmond.

ROFL @ the chap holding a big L behind Sunak speaking right now.

Sunak held on. I’d have loved it if he’d lost, but I’ll still be delighted if Truss goes.

Count Binface.

Sunak says he has called Starmer to congratulate him.

Jeremy Corbyn winning is unfortunate.

Labour officially wins the majority in about twenty five seats.

Hunt will be leader.

R234 No matter how hard they tried to zoom in, he was determined to get the "L" in the picture.

Jeremy Hunt normally holds on.

narrowly

Sunak did call Starmer and conceded that Labour won overall.

Sunak conceded the election to Labour.

LABOUR 313

CON 67

LD 41

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the haunted hat-stand, MP for the 18th century, is gone!

[quote] Hunt will be leader.

Nope, he’s not rightwing enough. The Tories will lurch rightwards to chase Reform.

🍾🍾🍾 REES-MOGG OUT! 🍾🍾🍾

And that’s the wrong lesson to take. Because lurching left hurt Labour.

3 seats to majority.

Farage's hostile takeover of the Conservatives starts in a few hours.

Labour wins.

What a long slog this has been.

So, it’s morning in the UK. Does Starmer go the palace today to get royal consent to form the government?

[quote] And that’s the wrong lesson to take. Because lurching left hurt Labour.

It’s absolutely the wrong lesson to take, but it is what they will do. Look at the type of candidates who have kept their seats. They are mainly to the right of the party. Boris Johnson badly damaged the One-Nation faction of the party, and tonight has finished it off.

r253 Sunak has to tell him he's leaving first but yes.

Starmer’s speech is good.

I love the rumor that Liz Truss will sit in her car in the parking lot of her constituency and if she gets a text that she’s kept her seat she’ll deign to put in an appearance. However there’s speculation that she might come in third place behind Labour and Reform.

The rumors are very loud that she’s in third.

[quote] So far, the Conservatives have lost 173 seats. In 124 of these, the Reform vote was greater than the margin of the Conservatives' defeat.

Their election manifesto in 2029 is going to involve sending asylum seekers to Mars at this rate.

Looks like the DUP will only get 4 seats to Sinn Fein's 6.

r260 Oh good does that mean we finally get to give Norn back?

Not a single Tory won in Wales.

That hasn’t happened in twenty years.

No, r261, but closer and closer. Most of NI don't want it because the logistics of unification aren't there yet. Lots of government workers in NI and the Republic of Ireland has some infrastructure work to do.

When are the results expected for Liz Truss's constituency?

YES YES YES YES that Loon J Rees-Mogg GONE

They're ALL gone except for a couple of straggler seats they still hole. The biggest election landslide defeat in British history and it couldn't have happened to a more deserving bunch of cunts.

Well done UK!

James Cleverly is.sexy AF, despite the vile Tory thing.

Reform don't look like they're going to get double digits at least

Gross R267.

R268 Yes... fingers crossed. They are a bunch of racist turds. Their leader is a Trumpian liar.

I actually managed 5 and a half hours sleep!

Horrified at Corbyn's result and the success of Islamist candidates. An awful sectarian campaign where anti women, anti gay and anti Jewish views viewed as a good thing.

Laughing at the SNP's collapse and Reform's failure to turn votes into seats is a plus of FPTP.

Bloody hell Wes Streeting only had a 500 seat majority after being targeted by an Islamist candidate.

Liz Truss, cunt to the end.

OMG Truss really out! Her new Taylor Swift song is going to Karma.

Can't believe the Communist Party only got 77 votes!

And the Lib Dems got Theresa May’s old seat as well.

LIZ TRUSS GONE

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.....HA

Reform only got four seats? What kind of leverage does Farage think he has? Were Lib Dems expected to pick up so many?

Congratulations and well done

Farage'll be like Caroline Lucas was, hopefully, and just gwtsome negligible airtime... nothing more.

So, of the former Tory PMs—May and Cameron’s seats are Lib Dem, and Truss and BoJo’s seats are Labour.

There are also a record number of women MPs.

Farage will be like a dog with two cocks now. He's sixty, and has just won a seat at the eighth attempt. Having with a short-term whirlwind campaign put Reform emphatically on the map.

From his new official platform Farage will certainly ramp up his megaphone voice to claim attention greedily. There's heaps of material to use against him, but this is his big moment, and quiet he won't be.

A lot of people (almost exclusively pro European anti Brexit people) don't acknowledge that Farage was elected 5 times as a Member of the European Parliament - he was first elected in the 90s.

He isn't some random man who decided he wanted to be a politician and has eventually won something. He's an experienced operator who has achieved significant successes for both himself and his party.

He's a master manipulator.

I get that she's barely slept over the last 48 hours but Liz Truss being interviewed looks heavily medicated.

Farage, in his victory speech in his Clacton constituency, said that Reform would be coming for Labour.

The 'loveless landslide' pretty much sums it up.

Thérèse Coffey out is a tasty morsel.

Leicester East - what a shit show.

Held by Labour for years by washing machine salesman Keith Vaz, one of the most corrupt MPs in history. Then given to Claudia Webbe, a Corbyn ultra loyalist, who became an independent when she was kicked out of Labour after a criminal conviction for harassment.

Now won by the Tories with Webbe and Vaz getting 20% of the vote between them.

9 seats left to declare.

Why is East Anglia so far right?

The SNP rump left in Westminster are all men plus Kirsty Blackman who said in a debate that she didn’t know what sex she is as she has never checked her chromosomes.

Mixed emotions for me this morning. Great to see a Labour victory but a bit concerning to see prominent Labour MPs like Wes Streeting and Jess Phillips only just about hang onto their seats and MPs like Jon Ashworth lose theirs. It's pretty obvious that if independent Muslim candidates stand in certain areas, they will win regardless. Also, my area stayed blue. Fucking idiots.

Labour now up to 411 seats.

R292 Was almost quite a bit more, too. I've been clicking on the results of some Tory seats - thinking who the fuck voted for them? - and in many they only won to Labour by 500 - 1000 votes.

Mel Stride winning his seat by 61 votes being a case in point. Central Devon, I had faith in you!

R277, it seems Reform may have got an even a larger percentage of the vote than the Lib Dems, yet the UK electoral system gives Reform 4 seats and the Lib Dems over 70 seats.

Farage and his various parties weren't anywhere near parliament, yet Cameron was so spooked by them he risked Britain's membership of the EU in an effort to remove the threat they posed to the Tory party. Yet, we still got Brexit, Reform have eaten the Tory vote and the Farage leverage over British politics is stronger than ever. They came second in many seats. Labour only scored 34% of the national vote, despite their "landslide". Support for Tories + Reform is higher than support for Labour.

Labour need to be bold and challenge Farage on principle and policy. But Starmer is the opposite of bold, has been too afraid to outline and defend any policy and simply adopts or retains many Tory policies, including Brexit.

Yes r281, we know that Farage was elected to the European Parliament several times. We also know he had one of the lowest attendance and voting records. He will have to turn up for work in Westminster now though.

Congratulations, UK! Am looking on with great envy from the US:(

Congratulations for what, r297? At getting yet another rubbish government that has very little support in the country?

Here comes Sunak...

How quaint...

Wrong thread, r300, but, aside from that, that whole attempt to create "controversy" around the coronation and claims by idiots that Camilla would be wearing the Koh-i-Noor turned out to be a load of crap.

[quote]Kirsty Blackman who said in a debate that she didn’t know what sex she is as she has never checked her chromosomes.

Here's the video. Cherry's reaction is priceless.

I'm glad Cherry lost her seat and the awful Kellie Jay-Keen (aka Posie Parker) came last with 196 votes.

So much for the "silent majority" that the transphobes harp on about.

Where did you ever hear a person who believes in biological reality harp on about the "silent majority", r303? Cherry lost her seat in the general SNP wipeout, which the party's general adherence to troonery contributed to. I'm not surprised that you'd cheer a lesbian's loss, though. Kellie has a tiny independent party that was never going to get many votes but the point of which was to raise issues. With such a tiny share of the votes (34%!), Starmer is aware that he can't afford to be lax on the trans issue at the expense of women and gays.

Lol, r290. At least Blackman acknowledged that one's sex is determined by one's chromosomes (although, having given birth, surely she should have some idea about her chromosomes).

R304 I'm also cheering the losses of: Johnny Mercer, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Liz Truss, Gillian Keegan, Grant Shapps and Penny Mordaunt to name but a few. As far as I'm aware, none of them are lesbians. What a stupid comment to make haha.

Chuck's given Rishi the boot and he's left the palace.

I’m watching the coverage on BBC. They’ve got a split screen of the palace and Number 10. Larry is curled up next to the door to Number 10 taking a nap. He’s over it.

The Wikipedia article for Prime Minister of the U.K. currently lists the office as “Vacant,” I guess until Starmer meets with KC.

Some interesting charts from The Guardian:

Also, three female PMs, but they’ve never had a female Chancellor before now? Huh.

Joanna Cherry is a proud lesbian who sticks up for the rights of gay people.

She’s been on the receiving end of death threats and rape threats.

The two SNP MPs who posed in front of a ‘decapitate TERFs’ sign lost their seat as did Lady Nicolson.

From Sky News

Sophy Ridge @SophyRidgeSky Labour has won two thirds of the seats with one third of the vote

As it stands, Labour’s vote share is the lowest to have secured a majority. (Let alone a landslide)

To put in context: David Cameron got a higher share of the vote when there was a hung Parliament in 2010

Starmer formally appointed prime minister by King Charles.

And now, a long weekend at Chequers.

Parade of ministers into No. 10 is next.

R311 I'm surprised JKR is crowing about Nicolson losing his seat considering Cherry lost hers, too.

Now try declaring yourself a winner, Joanna. #GeneralElection2024

Assuming they retained their seats, will the same members of the shadow cabinet fill the same positions in the Labour majority cabinet?

Not necessarily. It's a new day.

Mostly R317 although 2 shadow cabinet members lost their seat so there may be some changes.

Larry The Cat's exuberance this morning is getting out of hand!

Well its going to be an interesting Parliament at any rate. An unloved Labour party get a landslide on less votes than anyone in history when almost half the electorate couldn't even be bothered to vote. They now inherit all the issues the Tories faced (and admittedly contributed to) and expectations they'll do something about it not least from the people of Scotland who he's going to really want to keep on Labours side this time. A Tory party that just got beheaded and lost most of its high ranking members and seems to have taken the message it needs to move further right, aided by Farage who I expect is about to start leading them around like a dog on a lead despite Reform never really managing to break through. Lib Dems had their best night since 1922 and will now have to find something that differentiates them from the Labour party. Throw in Muslim heavy areas deciding Gaza is more important to them than anything else going on in the actual country. And its certainly going to be a pretty punchy few years.

Too long; didn't read

Two thirds of seats going to the party that scored 35% of the vote. What a disgusting voting system. I have no fucking clue why it still has so many fans.

Having said that, finally the Tories are no more.

r322 I didn't know DL had GenZ users

[quote] An unloved Labour party get a landslide on less votes

Fewer votes, not less votes, R321.

Labour had their worst ever performance in 2019 with 32% of the vote, and they’ve now won a gigantic majority with 34%.

Brought to you by FPTP!

Keir is much more fuckable than Sunak, so good!

r320 Larry is apparently a shit hunter which seems like a bad trait for a chief mouser. Yet more government corruption he's kept his job.

R321, turnout is always low in UK elections. It was 3 points lower here because the conclusion was so predictable. Even I almost stayed home yesterday.

Turnout was slightly higher in 2019 because it was a last gasp for Remainers, and the entire campaign was about Brexit. Nothing to do with any popularity for Corbyn who was trounced.

R316, the SNP implosion suggests that JKR did win over the nutcase troons in Scotland.

Labour got fewer votes, r321, not less votes.

R328 If Larry was up for election, he'd definitely get a landslide.

[quote]Larry The Cat's exuberance this morning is getting out of hand!

That video is from December 2020, as you can tell by the Christmas tree outside No 10.

R330. It was re-posted this morning by Larry's victim, 'Jon Pigeon'.

Jesus, some of you are humourless, anal cunts!

R322 is gen z with the attention span of a fruit fly. If he's British I doubt he found his way to a polling station yesterday.

If we had PR this would be the political makeup right now.... Not really sure I like it

Labour: 219

Conservative: 154

Reform: 93

Lib Dem: 79

Green: 44

SNP: 16

R327 ughh. My god, I wouldn't want to even imagine what that tub of lard Starmer looks like naked. And that before we get to his squeaky voice.

R336 Exactly. Then you've got arseholes like Owen Jones criticising Labour's performance and demanding PR. But if he got that, he'd whinge like a bitch about Reform getting 93 seats.

I swear some people aren't happy unless they're moaning.

If we had PR, r336, people would probably have voted differently and political parties would have to propose more coherent programmes, rather than just relying on "they'll have to vote for us anyway to get the Tories out". We also wouldn't have governments decaying in power, with all the accompanying chaos, because it's almost impossible to budge them once they win an election with first past the post.

Larry dispatching r328 with aplomb. A certain someone will not be returning soon.

BREAKING:

Interesting how some of those who were backing the pro-Gaza campaigners are happy to turn a blind eye to homophobia.

One example, earlier someone on Twitter was saying Jess Phillips should have been defeated by Jody McIntyre and crowing about how close the result was. Another poster published an image of McIntyre making anti same-sex marriage comments in WhatsApp and this campaigner was deathly silent on it. When challenged, she he just said "I'm not commenting on that".

From his Twitter timeline it's obvious he's pro gay marriage and gay equality, but he's happy to ignore that because he'd thrown his weight behind campaigning for a pro-Gaza/anti Labour candidate.

It's gutless but also concerning, as it gave me a snapshot of people who are happy to campaign for gay rights when it suits, but if something comes along that conflicts with that, they're happy to drop you like a hot potato.

I nominate Larry as an honorary Datalounger.

Not really breaking news, r341, and also very dumb to think that a tiny party that was only created very recently to highlight a specific issue rather than win seats was going to beat large, established parties.

In the real world, the new Labour government has adopted the so-called "transphobic" Cass Review and puberty blockers and child mutilation are over in the UK.

R343 you've been up all night love, do you fancy a cuppa?

Sky News had a virtual No 10 and a virtual Larry.

Keir's new Foreign Secretary David Lammy has in the past called Trump 'A neo-Nazi sympathising sociopath.'

Trump could only take that as an accurate assessment of his character, and a compliment. But how it's to be hoped the two never have need to meet.

I'm shocked at Galloway's loss, R187, as he had a superb platform and has one of the most prominent independent political shows in the world, not to mention that he got LOTS of publicity when he crushed Piers Morgan on his own show. Personally, I think that it's a terrible loss.

At least Corbyn has kept his seat at Islington, even if that grotesque beast Farage has managed to slither his way into Parliament.

Wow an Islamist at R348.

You know Galloway whipped up homophobia to try to win votes?

That was a serious misstep, R349; there isn't a single doubt about it and I agree with you in saying that it is WRONG of Galloway to have said those things. Still, in 2013 he voted in favour of allowing same-sex couples to marry and in 2002, he voted in favour of allowing gay people to adopt. He did express himself in a rather abhorrent way, but he's far from a hateful homophobe.

Also, I am far from an Islamist supporter and I don't have any sympathy for Islam in general, but Galloway's outrage at what is happening in Gaza and the horrifying debacle in Iraq and Afghanistan, is correct. It's possible to feel compassion for people whose religion you find essentially repulsive, because nobody deserves to be massacred. As for every other aspect of Galloway's platform, it was superb and his loss will have a negative impact for many people, both in Rochdale and in the wider UK.

Galloway is full of shit and it's good that he's no longer an MP. Corbyn's victory in Islington, as well as the election of anti-Labour Muslim MPs, is a warning to Labour that they are vulnerable on the left as well as on the right. Corbyn's win was one of the most stunning of last night, in my opinion, as it shows that there is still great loyalty among Labour supporters towards the "old style" Labour movement that he represents.

[quote][R343] you've been up all night love, do you fancy a cuppa?

Hey, I was on call. Following along with the reports was a lot more interesting than twiddling my thumbs waiting for the phone to ring.

None of the women in the Starmer cabinet have Mordaunt's fabulous coif, which is a pity.

R348 I don't think Galloway's homophobia helped.

Galloway's homophobia helped in the deeply conservative Islamist communities he appeals to. They hate gays as much as Jews.

When Galloway stood in the Batley seat in 2021 his campaign targeted Kim Leadbeater because she is a lesbian. Leadbeater, the sister of murdered MP Jo Cox, went back in to the closet for the duration of the campaign to minimise the attacks against her. Leadbeater won the seat and Galloway came third.

And after boundary changes Batley formed a new seat with Dewsbury which was won by an Islamist independent. Dewsbury is famous for being the seat that now Baroness Sayeeda Warsi stood in in 2005. Warsi targeted the Muslim population with anti gay campaign leaflets that weren't sent to the white parts of the constituency.

Seeing the pattern now?

So, there are three gay men in the new Cabinet? Is that a record?

Who aside from Streeting, r355?

Steve Reed, Environment Secretary. and Peter Kyle, Secretary for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Maybe this has been addressed and I just can't see it, but what causes the Prime Minister to call an election? Why did Rishi do it now rather than, say, in October?

Just 3 gays? Total amateurs!

Tony Blair had FOUR homosexuals in his cabinet back in the 90s. Chris Smith, Peter Mandelson, Nick Brown and Ron "Gobblers Gulch" Davies

[quote]Tony Blair had FOUR homosexuals in his cabinet back in the 90s. Chris Smith, Peter Mandelson, Nick Brown and Ron "Gobblers Gulch" Davies

And that before Section 28 was repealed.

Okay, I'll give KCIII some style points. Either the Palace or Number 10 released some video of their meeting. First words out of Chuck's mouth were "You must be exhausted."

Looks like Starmer has already ditched Emily Thornberry from his government. He's appointed a new attorney general from outside of government meaning the fat camp snob is left without a role.

And they think it's all over.... it is now!

The SNP have conceded defeat in Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire. This was Charles Kennedy's seat and was held by Ian "Gunt" Blackford. During the 2015 election the SNP mocked Kennedy's alcoholism and engaged in one of the nastiest campaigns seen in the UK. The Lib Dems have won it back.

#JusticeForCharlie

That leaves the Lib Dems on SEVENTY ONE seats. SEVENTY ONE. The SNP have 9.

Mandelson wasn't out, initially, even though he was gay from space.

Mandelson had been outed by The Sun in the 80s. He was in a glass closet and it was confirmed by Matthew Parris on Newsnight.

Ron Davies and Nick Brown were both outed by sex scandals which led to The Sun's headline "Are we being run by a gay mafia".

Brown was suspended from Labour during the last parliament and he issued a denial but no one has reported on the accusations he was facing.

[quote]Brown was suspended from Labour during the last parliament and he issued a denial but no one has reported on the accusations he was facing

Thought you meant Big Gordon!

I watched the BBC last night and have a question. Can someone explain why there were some candidates (or supporters?) dressed in outrageous costumes at the declaration of results for constituencies? Does that happen all the time or is it a new thing?

R367 - because some people refuse to surrender to the War on Fun?

R367 some candidates run for the novelty of it, to get attention or to poke fun at the establishment.

[quote]I watched the BBC last night and have a question. Can someone explain why there were some candidates (or supporters?) dressed in outrageous costumes at the declaration of results for constituencies? Does that happen all the time or is it a new thing?

It's been a thing for years. There used to be a "candidate" called Screaming Lord Sutch of the Monster Raving Looney Party who would stand in high profile seats or by elections.

Count Binface has really overstayed his welcome.

The Standing in the Back Dressed Stupidly and Looking Stupid Party has a long history of highly qualified candidates.

[quote]Does that happen all the time or is it a new thing?

It's a long tradition going back I think to at least the 70s. A tragic fool called 'Screaming Lord Sutch' was a regular on election nights. Link it to court jesters, pantomime, Pythonesque surrealism and irreverence if you will.

It's quite fun to see the solemnity of the declarations, where serious politicians hear their fates in their sober suits, offset by ridiculous buffoons in clown outfits. Evidence of a healthy democracy, not necessarily over-present elsewhere.

Gotta love British whimsy.

[quote] Can someone explain why there were some candidates (or supporters?) dressed in outrageous costumes at the declaration of results for constituencies?

It’s a reminder that no matter what problem the American Electoral College system has, the British election system is far worse.

Almost anyone can technically stand for election in a UK constituency as long as they're at least 18 and they're a British citizen (certain occupations are exempt like army or police officers). They pay a deposit of £500 which is refunded if they get at least 5% of the votes cast. So it's a slight deterrent, given if you stand as an unknown independent, you're effectively throwing £500 away.

Some do it anyway, which means they stand with no hope of winning, but they usually do it as a form of protest vote (eg - all the main parties are shit, so vote for me!) and usually stand in seats occupied by very senior politicians - particularly the Prime Minister. Count Binface/Lord Buckethead does this, for example.

When I was 13 the local MP died and there was a high profile by election in the town.

Screaming Lord Sutch was there and a woman who campaigned for prostitute rights and dressed up light a right trollop. My mother was very embarrassed when I asked her what a dominatrix was as I'd seen an article about the trollop in the local paper.

Wikipedia tells me she got 39 votes.

Cynthia Payne, the notorious Streatham madam (played on film by Julie Walters), stood as a candidate there in her later years under the banner Payne for Pleasure.

[quote] Looks like Starmer has already ditched Emily Thornberry from his government.

Thornberry betrayed every principle she had.

Anytime that Starmer wanted to beta-test an opinion, he would trot out Thornberry. Then he would stick his finger into the air and decide what he believed that day based on the prevailing wind.

Baaah. the UK voted well. YES I liked Tony Blair so fuck off in advance.

[quote]Baaah. the UK voted well.

By only 34% voting for Labour?

YES r380. By going left.

Thanks for the replies, R368-R376. Great to learn something new!

The UK hasn't gone left, r381, and certainly not on 34% of the vote. Labour isn't even left and their policies are little different from those of the Tories.

[quote]Thornberry betrayed every principle she had. Anytime that Starmer wanted to beta-test an opinion, he would trot out Thornberry. Then he would stick his finger into the air and decide what he believed that day based on the prevailing wind.

This sounds like a variation of the Owen Jones line. Thornberry has appeal to some online gays because she is haughty and camp but she's a liability. She's one of the few people from the Corbyn era who has survived and now it looks like the cockroach has run out of steam.

She was constantly loyal to Corbyn not because she agreed with him but because she liked her time in the limelight. She was one of his chief enablers. Bringing up her "Jewish children" to defend him from charges of antisemitism was fucking repulsive. Her husband's mother was Jewish but converted to Christianity.

And that's why when she stood for leader in 2020 she was humiliated as she couldn't get enough to support to get to the final vote.

Huge celebrations on the beaches of Calais today. Sales of dinghies and small boats have gone through the roof.

[quote] This sounds like a variation of the Owen Jones line.

Oh, give me a break.

Starmer pushed her out to denigrate any and all calls for a ceasefire.

It was an opinion that Thornberry didn't believe, that anyone with a conscious doesn't believe and - gosh, what do you know? - Starmer didn't believe, either, because he had a complete turnaround on the issue.

When Gary Linecker tweeted about refugees, Keir Starmer wheeled out Thornberry to quietly admonish Linecker for his "unwise choice of words" ... except the wind blew in the other direction and who was there but Starmer to support Linecker.

What a surprise.

No offence, but if you think that Thorberry arguing for Israel to cut off water supplies simply in order to show support for Keir Starmer's LBC gaffe is proof that she's a "Corbynite" ... sell that crap to someone else.

Whether it was turning her back on refugees or the people of Gaza, Thornberry betrayed what she believed in, all for Captain Flip-flop who that doesn't believe in anything.

CAPTAIN FLIP FLOP!!!!!!

LOL

PMSL

ROFL

[quote]Captain Flip-flop

Schoolboy put-down by courtesy of one Boris Johnson. When he used it in The Commons against Starmer, Keir was able to be the kettle calling the pot black.

He reminded the House and the world that Johnson had submitted two newspaper columns pre-Brexit vote: one vehemently for, the other vehemently against. Up to his editor which one was chosen, and thus which one Boris chose. The very definition of political cynicism and opportunism.

It's fairly unlikely Starmer will emerge from his time in power with a reputation as notorious as Johnson's.

Looking at social media the main people angry about the Labour victory are not conservatives who are accepting defeat and aware that their party had run out of steam but the Corbyn wing of Labour, most of whom have left or been kicked out of the party.

They're going to be very unhappy over the next 5 years. Very unhappy.

How long does it take for a new PM to get to meet James Bond and the Doctor?

R390 depends when 007 is next in England. Don't know about the Doctor.

Thornberry is obviously not in the cabinet, but we don't yet know she isn't in the government, as there are plenty of other jobs with a ministerial salary to distribute. She did fuck up during the election campaign on education policy and had to be smacked down by the shadow education minister, so that might have made her less secure for a top job. However, it does look like Starmer wants a different sort of Attorney-General anyway, with high-level legal qualifications, rather than pick among whatever lawyers he happens to have as MPs (the approach that brought Suella Braverman into the big time). Thornberry might be out on her ear certainly, but alternatively she might be Solicitor-General speaking on legal maters in the Commons, say, or a minister of state in one of the big departments.

This Thornberry chit chat made me read some of the coverage of the "Image from Rochester" incident which took place 10 years ago.

That so many Guardian journalists and readers just didn't see what the issue was helps explain why a decade later the Labour leader felt it was necessary to remind the country his dad was a toolmaker at every single opportunity.

Ed Miliband saying he felt "respect" when he saw a white van was just confirmation he had no natural political instinct. The right answer of course is "nothing, I don't feel anything when I see a white van, it's just a white van?".

Now who will be the first Labour MP to get themselves in involved in a poor judgment scandal?

Why does Starmer keep the dreadful l Ed Miliband around?

Miliband will be hoping to rehabilitate his image like William Hague did. Sadly he's got more in common with Iain Duncan Smith.

I'd completely forgotten about David Lammy and the race scandal around the Vatican selecting a new pope.

Ed Miliband seems to be liked in his constituency anyway. A majority of over 9K and 14% up on the last election.

Miliband votes

2005: 17,531 55%

2010: 19,637 47%

2015: 20,708 52%

2017: 25,711 60%

2019: 15,740 38%

2024: 16,231 52%

I really like Ed Milliband 2.0. Always on top of his brief and a good Commons performer.

Famously exposed Boris for the second-rate chancer he is on several occasions

r218 You've got the chronology wrong there. She didn't carry the sword until May 2023at the coronation of King Charles, the last time she nearly became leader was late September 2022 nearly 8 months later.Therefore her nearly becoming Prime minister had nothing to do with her carrying a sword well!

r399 r218 Eight months earlier lol!!

r247 I think they will go for Patel or Badenoch. Braverman has been too openly disloyal even during the election campaign by publicly scheming to be leader so a lot of MPs do not feel warly towards her. There is also the question of her leaking information leading to her sacking as home secretary by Liz Truss

r295 Quite simply Brexit has fucked the tory party for at least a generation if not forever.

r351 And Challenged by the greens as well who cost them one shadow cabinet member

r357 Steve Reed is a very sexy DILF and husband material!

r363 72 seats

How long until PM Larry welcomes yet another human flatmate to his palace? He must be sick of that already.

Brexit has fucked Labour too, r402. Starmer voted against Theresa May's customs union Brexit but put out a three-line whip on Labour MPs to vote for Boris Johnson's hardcore Brexit. They own the effects of Brexit as much as the Tories do. Now Labour is in the position where it can't even mention Brexit and blame it for the state of the economy.

[quote] They own the effects of Brexit as much as the Tories do.

R407, I don’t think this is true in the eyes of the electorate. The Tories have tied themselves to the issue and it has made them deeply unpopular. Labour has simply said it will not spend the next 4 years rehashing debates which dominated the last parliament, and which have left the public exhausted and exasperated.

The public is fed up of hearing about Brexit and a majority feel that it was a mistake. However, those facts, and the fact that the Conservatives will be focused on their internal battles and battles with Reform, give Starmer an opportunity to move closer to the EU without much opposition. It’s possible for starmer to move much closer to the type of EU relationship enjoyed by Norway/Switzerland/Iceland without reopening the debate on full membership (which in any case could take years and years, and be vetoed by any EU Member State).

This work is already starting. Reform will scream about it, but they scream about everything, and on this issue they are now in the minority.

[quote]Brexit has fucked Labour too, r402. Starmer voted against Theresa May's customs union Brexit but put out a three-line whip on Labour MPs to vote for Boris Johnson's hardcore Brexit. They own the effects of Brexit as much as the Tories do. Now Labour is in the position where it can't even mention Brexit and blame it for the state of the economy

This is true but that was Corbyn's leadership and Labour has now changed leadership.

Any changes to the UK's relationship with the European Union would have to be a pre election manifesto commitment or passed by a referendum. I don't expect anything to happen this Parliament but a 2028 election would resurrect Theresa May's deal which is effectively the benefits of the single market without free movement of people, using Northern Ireland's issues as an excuse.

Starmer was pretty much running an independent Brexit policy within Labour at the time, r409, being part of the contingent that was calling for a second referendum, which Corbyn didn't support at first although he eventually came around to it because the Starmer contingent had greater influence within Labour on the party's Brexit policy.

The Labour tactic was to refuse to support May's customs union Brexit in order to topple her government, on the assumption that there would be an election that Labour would win. May's government was toppled and a few months later there was a general election which Boris Johnson won with 43.6% of the vote (far greater than the 33.8% Labour just got).

Then Starmer - now Labour leader - insisted that Labour vote for the Brexit that Boris Johnson negotiated! And this is why Labour have never criticised Johnson's Brexit and are unable to improve upon it in any serious way.

I'm just watching Laura Kuenssberg's show and they've got Robert Jenrick and Victoria Atkins on - both being tipped as potential leaders of the Tory party.

And if it's not them, it could be Badenoch.

Christ, they're gonna plummet even further.

That's all true R411.

Starmer was in an awful position. There was no way of getting rid of Corbyn or his aristocrat advisors. If they accepted Theresa May's deal they'd lose the Remain vote to the Lib Dems and by voting against it they lost a huge amount of support to the Tories.

Labour were damaged by Brexit but not as much as the public's faith in democracy. We had a referendum, my side lost. I accept it, let's get the best deal.

A certain unhinged poster was telling us just last month that Labour was deeply antisemitic and too welcoming of Muslim views, and that the UK will be a caliphate in a decade. Remember that crazy fucking thread, which I believe got that cunt red-tagged?

[quote]Well over 80% of Muslims are believed to have voted for Labour in 2019. Research just ahead of the 2024 election suggested that had dropped nationally by up to 20 percentage points, and in some constituencies the Muslim vote for Labour clearly fell further.

[quote]The contrast with Jewish voting data could not be more stark. In 2019, the proportion of British Jews (about 0.5% of the population) who voted for a Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn is thought to have collapsed to just single figures. Research suggests that figure could have climbed back to above 40%.

[quote]I'd completely forgotten about David Lammy and the race scandal around the Vatican selecting a new pope.

Poor Lammy is Labour's Dan Quayle.

[quote]A certain unhinged poster was telling us just last month that Labour was deeply antisemitic and too welcoming of Muslim views, and that the UK will be a caliphate in a decade. Remember that crazy fucking thread, which I believe got that cunt red-tagged?

No idea who that poster was but Labour clearly WAS deeply antisemitic and tolerant/welcoming of Islamists and despite flushing Corbyn still has a problem.

The benefit of having Corbyn back in Parliament will encourage the human dangleberries of Corbynism to give themselves a wipe clean and leave the Labour Party.

I posted this in the "general election frenzy" thread

[quote]We'll see how seriously Labour take it when Starmer appoints his cabinet. If Anneliese Dodds is given the Equality role in government it's clear he's going to bring in self ID.

So far Anneliese Dodds has been appointed to the international development role but has not been given the Equality brief. Assuming Starmer gives the brief to an existing cabinet member the options are:

TERFs: Shabana Mahmood, Bridget Phillipson, Rachel Reeves, Lucy Powell

TRAs: Angela Rayner, Lisa Nandy, Louise Haigh

Unknown: Liz Kendall, Jo Stevens

One of the better looking MPs is stuck on a train 🚂

HOT new Labour MP incoming - Henry Tuffnel, new MP for Mid & South Pembrokeshire. I think the brilliant - and future leader - Darren Jones is still my favourite.

So good to to have some Westminster eye-candy compared to the outgoing Tory gargoyles.

I’d like to hear his Welsh vowels…

Did R418 read my post about Henry Tufnell and just post the same tweet? How strange.

Anyway VOTN Tufnell isn't Welsh, he is an nice middle class lawyer from Fred and Rose country who was accused of being a parachute candidate when he was selected for a seat in West Wales after applying for a seat in Essex. He's was also an amateur runner who competed in the British finals for the 1500m, so he follows in the footsteps of Sir Lord Sebastian Coe there.

I'd like to eat Henry's hole! Yummy yummy

The Conservative Party leadership contest is shoring up to be another cluster.

Wouldn't we all R419!

Not really, r422. Sounds like they're going to take their time about it and go through a thorough process.

Miss Emily Thornberry has released a statement

[quote]After eight-and-a-half unbroken years in the Shadow Cabinet, a longer record of service than anyone else in that time, I have always worked my hardest to keep the Labour Party united, support our candidates across the country, take the fight to the Tories, and put a positive case to the British people about what we would do differently, including – most recently – setting out our party’s policies to tackle every aspect of the fraud epidemic facing Britain, to support whistleblowers on sexual harassment in the workplace, to protect women in co-habiting relationships, and to treat the crime of stalking with the seriousness it deserves.

[quote]I am very sorry and surprised not to be able to continue that work in government, but I wish all my brilliant colleagues well, and I know that Richard Hermer KC – a much more accomplished lawyer than I could ever hope to be – will do an outstanding job as Attorney General. Nothing in the personal disappointment I feel can detract from the amazing and historic victory that all of us in the Labour movement worked together to win last week, and the chance that we now have to change our country for the better. I will continue giving my unstinting loyalty to our Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, as he leads that work, as I have done since he became leader, and I look forward to supporting his government in every way I can in the years to come.”

At least she can cope and seethe on the government back benches

...and come up with someone as batshit and useless as Truss, no doubt.

[quote] After eight-and-a-half unbroken years in the Shadow Cabinet, a longer record of service than anyone else in that time, I have always worked my hardest to keep the Labour Party united

Hun, this is why you’re unsuitable for government. You put yourself first defending Corbyn at every opportunity. You backed Corbyn in the 2016 vote of no confidence because of what was in it for you. You’re flippant, smug and unserious.

[quote]and come up with someone as batshit and useless as Truss

The highest bar of weirdness to beat, and it won't happen, because she was otherworldly in her oddness. Still can't quite believe she actually occurred, especially being in post when QEII died.

But occur she did, and Truss chaos will always be a useful reference for Labour, when Tories find the energy and inventiveness to revive economic criticism.

What does it say about Starmer that he kept her in the shadow cabinet then, r427?

R425 I can never understand why anyone makes this type of public statement. It just shows Starmer was right not to appoint her if she hasn't got the professionalism and dignity to take it on the chin and keep quiet about it.

Of course we all get disappointments in life and we will confide in close friends/family and a partner - but we don't take to the internet to express it. I wouldn't dream of talking about work on my Facebook, for example, and I'm in the private sector.

It was wonderful watching America's LABOR President, talk to the UK's Labor Leader.

No wonder the criminal Republican Party is keeping their Spokes Felon under wraps.

Oh, and the criminal Republican Party is going at Joe Hammer and Tong over BULLSHIT,

The Criminal Capitalists who bought the Supreme Court are having the corrupt Supreme Court issue UN-AMERICAN DECISION AFTER UN-AMERICAN DECISION to enslave AMERICAN LABOR. UK Voters got it after having Conservatives wipe their ass with working people through rich getting richer and workers going through AUSTERITY, Austerity is another name for TRICKLE-DOWN ECONOMICS.

Go back and play Nikki Hayley's answer to what caused the Civil War. SHE SAID BUSINESS PRACTICES. GO WATCH IT AGAIN. The Plantation, the Military Industrial Complex (the guys whose planes are falling apart midair) White Supremacist Criminal Capitalists AGREE. It was always about making cheap labor SECOND CLASS CITIZENS.

Joe is running on building up the middle class. Republicans want Project 2025 to replace the Constitution and permanently enslave us. It all begins and ends with fucking up the vote for Republicans.

Another observation... the ultra left wingers/Green/independent supporters are going in hard on the Labour MPs on Twitter. I doubt they're reading any of it, but some of the sour grapes and resentment is off the chart. I noticed Henry Tufnell (at R417 above) was getting some of it.

I thought they'd at least wait a few weeks before slinging mud!

No. The Conservatives, (the Rich ass Tories) demand that the Far Left attacks the Centrist Liberal Labor Party.

Just like America. American Progressives see through this manipulative crap, except The Hamas Supporting Anti Israel ultra minority.

R417 most of the abuse directed at Henry Tufnell is coming from Plaid and Welsh nationalists who are promoting the idea that he doesn't care about Wales because he isn't Welsh and is a Labour MP.

There's a really nasty pious nationalist take that slides easily into xenophobia. It's not surprising ethnic minorities don't want to live in Plaid heartlands away from the big cities.

Here's Henry "live".

[quote]If Anneliese Dodds is given the Equality role in government it's clear he's going to bring in self ID.

Welp.

R435 Yes that's true. I also saw an serious accusation made against a Labour MP, which many of the Independent/Green/Pro Palestinian group are believing without question and demanding action be taken. Maybe the accusation is true, but I wouldn't blindly believe it on the strength of a single tweet made from an OnlyFans account that posts porn all day.

Anneliese Dodds is the "trans-friendly" imbecilic face that Starmer is going to use in an attempt to quieten the hysteric troons when the version of "self id" Labour will bring in will be far short of the type of self id that the troons are demanding.

Why did Angela Rayner look so weird in that green outfit? Did it just fit poorly or was she walking funny or what?

I'm so bored of the trans thing and the fact Kellie Jay Keen came dead last in Bristol Central shows few others seem to see it as a pressing issue.

There's so much other shit to sort out.

Hardly anyone's heard of Kellie Jay Keen and she is not in an established party, r441. The fact that she came last in a general election means nothing. More telling figures are the collapse of the SNP, Labour getting an astonishingly small share of the vote for a "winning" party, the Tories getting above 23% when they were predicted to go below 20%, and even the strong Reform vote. The country does not support self id and people voted Labour to get rid of the Tories, not out of any great love for Labour. And they voted to get rid of the Tories because they were tired and decayed after 14 years in power, not because they are anti-Tory on principle.

You can be as bored as you like of the trans issue, but don't be surprised to discover that it's a topic that many people feel strongly about if Labour try to bring in self id. They will have noted what happened to Sturgeon, Yousaf and the SNP when they forced self id through.

Starmer just announced he wants people out of prison. His deputy just attacked Israel. Britain is going to be a shit show.

[quote]I'm so bored of the trans thing and the fact Kellie Jay Keen came dead last in Bristol Central shows few others seem to see it as a pressing issue. There's so much other shit to sort out.

Most women are sick of the trans thing as well, sick of reading stories like this.

[quote]Lexi Secker, 35, of Lowbourne, near Melksham, was living as a man when she attacked a woman in Blunsdon, Wiltshire, on 23 April 2023.

[quote]Swindon Crown Court was told Secker would be tried as a woman and she was found guilty of one count of rape on Friday, following a four day trial.

Before his conviction this rapist was attacking JK Rowling on Twitter for setting up a female only rape centre.

Get Labour to deal with this shit and you'll never have to hear about "the trans thing" again.

R442 I'd say the collapse of the SNP is more to do with the scandals surrounding Sturgeon and her husband, along with a waning enthusiasm for independence.

The Tories still got votes because loads of people will always vote the same way - but the amount of seats they got was the lowest in a long time. And people who vote Reform are racists - whipped up by right media like the Daily Mail that tells them the immigrants are responsible for all their woes.

I get when a topic is the most important to you it's easy to assume everyone else shares the same level of enthusiasm but it's just not true.

The SNP's obsession with gender and self ID was to appease party activists despite being unpopular with the public. "Party first,, country second" was one of the main problems with the SNP.

And then there was the competence issue. Sturgeon's government voted down ALL safeguarding amendments for self ID, including stopping people charged with sex offences from changing legal sex. And then when the Isla Bryson case happened, a criminal trial they knew was imminent, they were dumbfounded and couldn't answer.

Gender wasn't the only reason people rejected the SNP en masse their management of it was symbolic of the decay in competence. I mean when you have Judy Murray AND JK Rowling against you, you know you're on to a loser.

And then

The collapse of the SNP is directly related to their loony attachment to things such as putting male rapists in women's prisons and their inability to state clearly whether they're going to end the use of puberty blockers. The rapid fall of Humza Yousaf in particular is testament to that. In combination with Sturgeon's husband's corruption charges, it gives a picture of a highly ideological corrupt bunch of power grabbers.

Of course not everyone has the same passion about particular topics, but when the time comes for Labour to present its self id legislation, that is when the opposition within society will arise.

For example, this clip was shown widely by the BBC and went viral on Twitter and Facebook.

It highlights the two main issues with the SNP: incompetent and dishonest.

If Gilruth replied "Well I think Isla Bryson is a woman, I believe trans women are women and Isla Bryson has said she is a woman, therefore she is a woman and should be imprisoned in a women's prison" it would have been an answer in line with the Scottish Government policy on self ID, a law that Gilruth was a vocal supporter of. But that would have made her sound totally fucking mental.

People are fucking tired of being lied to and they're fucking tired of stupid thick people.

Labour will be using the Cass Report as its go-to for trans issues and Cass herself is getting a peerage

The Cass Report only covers child ‘transitioning’ and will impact on health and education policy only.

The Scottish Government announced it finally accepted the Cass Review on Friday morning when all of then focus was on the SNP disaster.

The principles of the Cass Review appear to be a basis for Labour's general trans policy, r450. For example, the Labour manifesto says:

[quote]We will also modernise, simplify, and reform the intrusive and outdated gender recognition law to a new process. We will remove indignities for trans people who deserve recognition and acceptance; whilst retaining the need for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria from a specialist doctor, enabling access to the healthcare pathway.

It seems, then, that their version of gender recognition would involve a diagnosis of gender dysphoria which will then put the person with gender dysphoria on a healthcare pathway, rather than just self-affirmation and self id. The healthcare pathway sounds more like mental healthcare (therapy) rather than hormones and surgery. But maybe it will include surgery too? Who knows? I find this "access to healthcare" for gender dysphoria an interesting proposal, though.

The difficulty will be finding objective specialist doctors, considering the profession has been filled with trans ideologues in the past years. A single doctor would replace the panel of specialists that is required now.

There are still plenty of unanswered questions, though, and Labour are still trying to straddle two opposing approaches. I think they're just going to make a lot of it up as they go along.

This ^ is exhausting.

Yes, r452, trying to work out exactly what Labour policy is is exhausting.

Sarah Ditum sums up the sex/gender problem Labour has and how it is now a test of simple competence.

[quote]Trans issues can be classed as what the writer Helen Lewis has called a “brown M&M” test, after the band Van Halen which included a demand in their rider for “M&Ms with the brown ones removed”. This was once seen as evidence of spoiled rock star indulgence, but the M&Ms themselves were irrelevant: it was a way for Van Halen to check whether venues had read and followed all the band’s instructions, including the safety-critical ones about pyrotechnics. If there were brown M&Ms in the bowl, the band knew everything on stage needed to be double-checked.

[quote]In the same way, a politician’s ability to comprehend the detail of the Equality Act and the GRA should be taken as a test of their seriousness as a legislator. With a few honourable exceptions, Labour remains some way from passing. The manifesto, welcome as it was, also pledged to introduce a “trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy” — something that is simply incompatible with the Cass Review’s insistence on preserving exploratory options for youth. This suggested that the Cass Review had perhaps not been fully absorbed by the manifesto’s authors.

If politicians / elected legislators can't grasp basic policy what else can't they be trusted on?

[quote]trying to work out exactly what Labour policy is, is exhausting.

I hope it includes raising taxes to levels paid, pre Brexit, during the EU membership.

Taxes, the reason for all that Rich Conservative Party Sturm und Drang that "necessitated" Brexit under the guise of Xenophobia.

Sorry r455, I'll clarify. Trying to work out what Labour policy on trans issues is is exhausting.

But, that's not unusual for Labour. As you say, you "hope", which means that this is what you would like to see happening but you're not sure if it's what is going to happen.

It's politics, we all HOPE.

The BBC Politics panel show has Labour and Tory MPs a non partisan political journalist and the brains behind the Corbyn project "for balance".

The Corbyn person is obviously the most critical of Labour.

It's been 5 days.

I think Labour have a tough job with the trans issues because they're trying to find some middle ground but both sides want it 100% their way.

Both sides have some good points - eg when GC people say putting a trans woman in a male jail shouldn't happen, most would agree, and just being able to say you're a man or a woman is too far. But completely repealing gender recognition certificates isn't right either IMO (as long as the criteria is clearly stated and isn't easy to tick off in a day).

We need to differentiate between those who are taking the piss (eg men who say they're women just to get preferential treatment in prison) and those who have transitioned by way of gender reassignment surgery and just want to get on with their lives without being attacked for it.

If we're honest both sides have become extreme. Their positions are mostly:

TRAs: Anyone should be able to say they're a particular sex and be that sex, with no further evidence. Once they've made that declaration they should be able to get into all single sex spaces, prisons, etc and no one should be able to question it. They shouldn't need to go through any therapy and should be able to change their Birth Certificate, Passport etc at will.

GCs: People can only be the sex they're born. People who think they're a different sex are mentally ill and should be treated for said mental illness and told they're the sex they were born as full stop. Gender reassignment surgery should be banned because it doesn't fix anything. Most people who say they're trans are actually just gay and should be told so. Accepting them is being kind and being kind is a weakness.

I think most people disagree with parts of both positions, which is why we need some middle ground and act like adults about it.

[quote]GCs: People can only be the sex they're born. People who think they're a different sex are mentally ill and should be treated for said mental illness and told they're the sex they were born as full stop. Gender reassignment surgery should be banned because it doesn't fix anything. Most people who say they're trans are actually just gay and should be told so. Accepting them is being kind and being kind is a weakness.

No, the GC position is that sex is immutable and however much surgery an adult male has, to the face, chest, dick and balls whatever, they will not be anything other than a male doing an impersonation of a female. GCs think gender noncomformity is good. They think being gay is fine and understand effeminate gay men who want to live as women deserve sympathy and kindness but that there are also AGP men who have a fetish for "living as a woman", whatever the fuck that means. GCs know that "lesbian" is term for a female attracted to other females, and that AGP men can't identify into that label. There's a lot of high profile AGPs who remain married to their wives who are demanding women treat them as women.

When it comes to sport GCs have no issue with trans men and non binary females playing with other females or against other females, provided they're not on performance enhancing T. They think male trans women should compete in an open category with other males.

Reforming the GRA and abolishing GRCs is currently a fringe position amongst GCs but it raises the point what criteria is "authentic" and what is "inauthentic".

How does someone "live like a woman"?

R460 You started your reply with "No" but then went on to effectively say what I did. As an example, I said: "GCs: People can only be the sex they're born", you said: "No, the GC position is that sex is immutable". That's the same thing said in a different way.

[quote]How does someone "live like a woman"?

To me, it's that they present as female and live their lives as female. So that would be wearing clothing that's mostly associated with females (notice I didn't say "women's clothes" because that leads to another question), being referred to by names that are mostly associated with females, etc.

That's a key part of being able to get a gender recognition certificate IMO because, if you say someone needs to live as a woman full time for at least two years, you'll weed out the majority who are taking the mick. If you say they need gender reassignment surgery and to take hormones, etc, again you'll weed out those who aren't gender dysphoric.

We have to make allowances for those who genuinely feel they are a different gender to that which they're born as - but we need the crtieria to be there to deter those who aren't genuine.

But anyway this is a general election thread and I'm letting myself get drawn into another endless circle of arguments so I'll leave it there.

That terrible "Levelling Up" term is being retired, thank fuck.

R462 Just as well, considering it meant absolutely nothing!

Watching the opening of Parliament and Diane Abbott, the new mother of the house, is looking very frail and shaky.

Apparently Edward Leigh is father of the house because he was sworn in minutes before before Jeremy Corbyn in the 1983 election.

And poor Jeremy won't be able to sit with his old friend Diane as she's in government and Jeremy's in opposition. He'll have to sit with the DUP, SNP and the Islamists.

[quote]He'll have to sit with the DUP, SNP and the Islamists.

How could I forget - Jeremy will be able to sit with his old friend Nigel! They can discuss Putin, Jews and the evils of the EU.

R464 I think she only stood as an MP this time to make a point. If she hadn't had the whip removed, I'm pretty sure she'd have stood down before the recent election.

Corbyn voted against Labour plenty of times when they were last in government. It will be funny if he does it less, now he's out of the party.

The idiot who thinks that men can be women under some circumstances is back.

R467 He'll probably do it more to make a point. I wonder if he'll retire before the next election. I think he'll keep going - he'd probably like the "Father of the house" title, which I think he only just missed out on considering he started as an MP in 1983.

r466 They had a deal that she'd stand down, get praised by the party and be made a peer. But some fuckwit in Labour HQ decided to try and derail that, leaked the story to the Times and that pretty much forced her to run.

R470 Ah OK, I hadn't heard that. Her voice was very shaky today. I heard her speak not that long ago and she sounded fine.

I watched the re-election of Mr Speaker live on TV from The Commons. All the party leaders paid warm sincere often amusing tributes to this bastion of Parliamentary democracy, a figure known globally from PMQs.

And then it was Farage's turn. His first ever speech in the House of Commons. He did his best as a newcomer and outsider dutifully to praise Mr Speaker; but then chose sneeringly to criticise Mr Speaker's predecessor, who had not been in favour of Brexit.

Entire mood of rare party unity and goodwill around a new Parliament spoiled. Farage came across as a latecomer to a cheerful party, a bitter old uncle who smells of drink, and is intent only on spewing his ancient resentments. A pathetic start, and we have been given fair warning.

[quote]And then it was Farage's turn. His first ever speech in the House of Commons. He did his best as a newcomer and outsider dutifully to praise Mr Speaker; but then chose sneeringly to criticise Mr Speaker's predecessor, who had not been in favour of Brexit. Entire mood of rare party unity and goodwill around a new Parliament spoiled. Farage came across as a latecomer to a cheerful party, a bitter old uncle who smells of drink, and is intent only on spewing his ancient resentments. A pathetic start, and we have been given fair warning.

To be honest I'm glad Farage brought up the disgraceful Bercow and I wish he'd gone further.

Bercow broke standard conventions in the house because he opposed Brexit and wanted to frustrate the government and many in the Labour Party opposed any sanction for the report into Bercow's bullying and harassment of staff. Emily Thornberry's overt support for a bully showing again how unserious she is. Labour ensured Bercow stayed in his position and even nominated him for a peerage, despite the report.

When Bercow eventually stood down before the 2019 election he was given warm hugs and embraces by Labour, the Lib Dems and the SNP. That the House of Commons had agreed to huge cash settlements to Bercow's victims who signed NDAs was of no interest because Bercow was helpful to them.

One of Lindsay Hoyle's strengths is that he is the total opposite to Bercow.

So yeah, for once Nigel was right.

There was no reason to mention Bercow, who is best.ledtnin the past. Farage will always party like it's 2016.

The speeches were about Lindsay Hoyle being elected as Speaker. Farage praised Hoyle's integrity and compared it with the man who he replaced.

If more MPs were prepared to acknowledge what happened with Bercow it would be less likely to happen again.

Bercow should no more be left in the past as Boris Johnson's lying and Jeremy Corbyn's racism.

Bollocks. Let it lie. He was pandering.

Is it me or does this man look like a drag queen with his slap wiped off

[quote]Bercow broke standard conventions in the house because he opposed Brexit and wanted to frustrate the government

Such as?

R473 It was irrelevant, though. I could understand if Hoyle only replaced Bercow today, but he did so in 2019. It's in the past and he only mentioned Bercow to shoehorn Brexit into his speech. Yawn.

Rolling my eyes at Farage calling Bercow a "little man" when he's only 2 inches taller than him.

Meet Johnny Mercer’s replacement as veteran’s minister. Alistair Cairns MP OBE MC BDF

R481 Anyone has got to be better than Mercer. Is he still licking his wounds?

I had to put him on block because Twitter insisted on putting all his campaign tweets in my 'For you' feed (probably because I sent him a few replies months back) and just seeing his face was annoying.

His replacement (Fred Thomas) seems a thoroughly decent sort.

Hey DL, so sorry I neglected you over the past week. Wonderful news, I went out canvassing for a candidate and for the first time in my life, my candidate won! Can you guess who it was? Here's our victory party below, squint and you might see me right and to the back ;)

Our Jeremy had so many people volunteering for him they filled up three whatsapp groups, people came from Orkney, Ireland and Denmark. It was astonishing how many people came up to me in the street as I leafleted, giving me the thumbs up or beeping the horn as they drove past. Labour sent all their London activists to Islington North (the seat in question) on Thursday afternoon in a panic, but it did no good. The left can't be taken for granted any more, and a 7000+ majority is a huge achievement.

For those not familiar with the British system, winning a seat as an independent or a new party is incredibly rare: remember how ChangeUK did? Galloway's several victories, even though none lasted long, are actually still quite impressive in that context.

The good results for Reform, the Greens, and the left independents (all with 4-5 seats each) will make the next parliament an interesting place to be.

Please try not to shit the bed over the three muslim independents that were elected. They were elected because of Gaza. People over here - yes, white people too - think the Palestinians are human beings, and are horrified at what has been going on. Those 3 are almost certainly only in for one term.

Wes Streeting and/or Jess Phillips would have been the sweet, sweet icing on the cake, gutting that both fell just short. Streeting took his seat for granted and didn't see the challenge coming.

The DUP probably got off fairly lightly compared to what could have happened given the Irish Sea Border and the fact Jeffrey Donaldson raped his daughter. Jim Allister of the TUV turfed out Ian Og (Ian Paisley junior) in a hilarious if also depressing site from Antrim North, he's my tip for the most lunatic contributions of the next four years.

Turnout was low because people know that Labour aren't going to fix any of the massive problems besetting the UK, from housing to jobs to regional development to the climate crisis. Starmer and Rachel Reeves have pledged to stick to Tory spending plans and I have no doubt they will. All Starmer's leadership campaign promises have been ditched, from the Green New Deal to nationalisation of rail, power and water to the end of the 2-child benefit cap. Still, at least we'll get primary school breakfast clubs and a government energy company.

The saddest indictment of the whole exercise however is the fact that Labour got fewer votes than in 2019 or 2017. Furthermore, with the exception of Scotland, Labour's vote share only slightly increased or even slightly decreased in all parts of the UK. Labour won this victory for one major reason: a substantial chunk of the Tory support defected to Reform. This is an obviously shit system and another problem that Starmer won't even consider tackling.

Finally, may I join in on all the Johnny Mercer hate. The useless tool can now take his soldier boy act onto the rotary club circuit or go back to making shampoo commercials.

xxx

I feel sorry for Thornberry. The new cabinet is not impressive. Yvette Cooper and Ed Miliband are probably the best people in it. Maybe someone will pleasantly surprise me. At least Cooper says the Rwanda nonsense is done.

R472 remember when he called Herman Van Rompuy a 'damp rag' and 'low-grade bank clerk' in the European parliament? Sadly, his voters will be delighted at his behaviour, he knows exactly what they want from him and will be serving it up on the regular. It's like what Trump does, performatively kicking against the elites while still being an elite.

[quote]Our Jeremy had so many people volunteering for him they filled up three whatsapp groups, people came from Orkney, Ireland and Denmark. It was astonishing how many people came up to me in the street as I leafleted, giving me the thumbs up or beeping the horn as they drove past. Labour sent all their London activists to Islington North (the seat in question) on Thursday afternoon in a panic, but it did no good. The left can't be taken for granted any more, and a 7000+ majority is a huge achievement.

[quote]For those not familiar with the British system, winning a seat as an independent or a new party is incredibly rare: remember how ChangeUK did? Galloway's several victories, even though none lasted long, are actually still quite impressive in that context.

"The left can't be taken for granted!" HOWLING!

He's been an MP for over 40 years and had people inside the Labour Party working with access to all the voter data, who jumped ship at the last minute.

But still, as Jeremy hangs out with Nigel Farage and the Islamists and waves to his friends across the chamber you can reassure yourself that "the left can't be taken for granted".

Bless.

R487 I appreciate multiparty systems are confusing but the House of Commons has only two sides to it: government and opposition, so if you're not in a governing party, you sit on the opposition benches. Yes, this means that all the smaller opposition parties sit together but that doesn't mean they are going to somehow ideologically contaminate each other, and Jez was sitting in exactly the same place before the dissolution of parliament ;)

R487 Lol. Do you know how well Simon Danczuk did as an independent candidate? What about Keith Vaz? What about Mike Gapes? What about Anna Soubry? What about Chris Leslie? I'll bet you could look some of these names up, some of them were media darlings at one point!

No, it is really, really hard to get elected as an independent candidate under the First Past the Post system, and no, Jeremy did not have access to Labour party data. What he did have was hundreds and hundreds of people knocking on doors, leafleting and donating ;)

I'm trying to think who else has gone from party MP to independent, winning the same constituency. Dennis Canavan was one albeit he switched from Westminster to Holyrood. Can you think of another?

Who gives a shit? He's irrelevant. And fat.

As well as the established SNP, Plaid Cymru, and 6 NI smaller parties (one not taking its seats), and one NI independent, 14 MPs were elected from smaller parties or as independents in England: Reform 5, Greens 4, Independents 5. I wonder if this is the most diverse parliament in terms of party representation ever? It will be interesting to see how that meshes with a large Labour majority and a very unenthused public.

R489: I can think of another: Lady Sylvia Hermon, albeit in the very different political environment of Northern Ireland, representing eternal mavericks North Down.

Despite being a Lady (because her husband was a Sir) and a former Ulster Unionist she was quite liberal in her own way. She hated David Cameron and left the UUP because of its electoral pact with the Tories. An interesting woman.

Wo to believe, Concerned European or the BBC?

[quote]Leading members of the Labour Party in Islington North, the seat represented by Jeremy Corbyn since 1983, have resigned or announced they are willing to be expelled to campaign for him. Signatories include chair Alison McGarry and two vice chairs who tendered their resignations in the past week, as well as an assistant secretary who expected to be expelled.

This was 5 days before polling day. These individuals would have had access to Labour Party canvassing data on residents in Islington North used by the Labour candidate.

One of the most pathetic traits the far left has is its inability to be honest with itself. The far left currently has NO influence in British politics. No influence whatsoever. You can try to stretch and twist statistics to make it look as though the movement is relevant but it's just a small number of people who shout louder and longer than others.

Owen Jones will write his article over and over again and the Corbynite wing will sulk and ask the odd question at PMQs but that's it.

From taking over the Labour Party in 2015 to sitting as independent opposite 400 Labour MPs on the government benches. Total complete failure.

Another hot new Labour MP: Dan Aldridge - newly elected MP for Weston Super Mare.

Gay, cute and a dry wit. I love him deeply already.

[QUOTE]it's just a small number of people who shout louder and longer than others.

Characteristics that are shared by personality disordered people, regardless of the type. It's part of the clinical lore in treatment settings. They have more energy than the rest of the people in the room put together.

R493 Dude, I know plenty of Islington North party members resigned to campaign for him, I was in their houses and campaigning alongside them. That doesn't mean he had access to lists of local party members (which I believe are held centrally). If he did have voter canvassing data, let's use our logical brains for a moment: that data might have identified people who voted Labour in previous elections, which is a useful enough starting point, but that doesn't mean it provided any clues on which of them might be amenable to switching to back Corbyn as independent. You can be confident of this because Labour canvassers were out using the same data and I saw them waste their time knocking on the doors of committed Corbyn pledge after Corbyn pledge, while we knew exactly whom to turn out on the day.

In order to achieve the victory he did, he needed hundreds upon hundreds of people knocking on doors (I know, I was one). How many MPs ever accomplish the same?

R493 Well, the left has much less influence than it five years ago, that's true, but that's not the whole story.

I remember 1997, and this is absolutely nothing like 1997, there is no enthusiasm for Labour at all. Its 33.7% share of the vote is the worst figure for an election winning party since the start of universal suffrage. What will happen when it fails miserably to tackle any of the UK's problems? The strong performance of Reform, the massive reversal in Tory fortunes since 2019, and the strong votes for smaller parties and independents show that the electorate is more volatile than ever before, and that voting for (Tory/Labour) because your father's father's fathers always did so is increasingly a thing of the past. That volatility creates uncertainty and opportunity - of course for the right as well as the left and for all sorts of movements.

[quote]Another hot new Labour MP: Dan Aldridge - newly elected MP for Weston Super Mare. Gay, cute and a dry wit. I love him deeply already.

He comes across very well.

The benefit of Starmer having 4 years to completely rebuild the Labour Party after the previous leader team tried burning it to the ground in defeat is that they had to wipe the slate clean and took time to vet some really good local candidates like Aldridge and get some policy wonks in safe seats. Several new MPs already have ministerial roles.

So many gay MPs now it's hard to keep up.

Just realised that washing machine salesman and teenage rent boy enthusiast Keith Vaz isn't on the LGBT politician list. Scandalous!

So many awful gay MPs are no more for whatever reason. Madame John Nicolson, Lloyd Russell Moyle, Gary Sambrook and his big dinners, honey trap victim Will Wragg.

R494 He's nicer to look at than most of the gay MPs, I'll give him that. Standard Labour third sector type, seems to have done some useful work along the way but his 'local plan for Weston-Super-Mare' is thinner and blander even than the national manifesto. Not expecting much politically.

Maybe he can try to become a TikTok star but Dan, learn concision! No-one gives a shit about the finer points of setting up two offices.

Sadly looks like sexymp.co.uk is dead.

I count 63 gay serving mps, almost exactly 10%, and those are just the out ones. Wow, not just Gen Z, eh?

R494 Cute and, despite his northern accent, he's apparently lived in Weston for over 20 years so he hasn't been parachuted in either.

I can't be happy about Jess Phillips' narrow victory considering her main opponent was caught sending anti same sex marriage and both he and his supporters felt it appropriate to jeer at and talk over Jess when she was trying to give her victory speech. Though I think they'd probably fucked their chances for next time because that's the sort of behaviour people remember and won't want to support again.

The endearing clip of Aldridge @ R494 reminds me that Keir's fine first Commons speech yesterday noted the largest cohort of LGBT+ MPs in the world.

I'm old enough to remember how Aldridge would in former times have been sneered at with innuendo by The Sun and The Mail, prehistoric attitudes which only reinforced fear and the closet.

Project 25 and Reform looming as they do, it's right to recognise and underline what substantial progress has been achieved.

[quote]I can't be happy about Jess Phillips' narrow victory considering her main opponent was caught sending anti same sex marriage and both he and his supporters felt it appropriate to jeer at and talk over Jess when she was trying to give her victory speech. Though I think they'd probably fucked their chances for next time because that's the sort of behaviour people remember and won't want to support again.

Jess Phillips was subject to appalling misogyny by the Islamists targeting her and Wes Streeting was subject to a homophobic campaign by the Islamists targeting him but when you're on the far left that's all acceptable campaigning and you're willing to overlook anything.

The Islamist who ran against and beat Jonathan Ashworth is "shocked" that one of his vocal supporters has been charged with terrorism offences.

MPs who have never addressed a public meeting in their lives have no concept of 'heckling'. How Harold Wilson, Roy Jenkins and Barbara Castle would laugh at them.

^ Are you suggesting Islamist misogyny and homophobia have a place in modern Western society, if only to toughen up those lily-livered pansies who claim to be politicians? Clearly, they deserve the hate because fags and women (whores in the making) aren't tough enough for the political arena.

If so, in that case, the "independent Islamists" should be able to take it and tough it out when rightly criticized for their brand of Islam's numerous affronts to Western values. They will not restrain their misogyny and homophobia that permits and encourages acid attacks on unruly, fallen women (who deserve to be bought, sold, raped and humiliated) or fag bashings of the dirty, wastrel faggots infecting a pious and righteous people.

It may be time for the left to call a spade a spade and humiliate them for their distopian, anti-human beliefs and activities and broadly heckle them wherever they go.

I would say just ignore Concerned European as he puffs away on his crack pipe but this shit needs to be challenged.

Yes R505, Concerned European can justify the misogynist campaign of harassment against women by Islamist men with regressive deeply conservative beliefs because he thinks 1. the women deserve it and 2. the Islamist men can't really be held to account for their actions because they don't know any better.

That's the hard left attitude and sums up again why they are totally defeated in the UK.

Oh God lads, you guys are terminally online and it shows. Who said anything about 'dirty, wastrel faggots'? Take a walk, have a shower, maybe call an old friend.... going too far down the idpol rabbit hole isn't healthy.

People booing, shouting 'Shame on you' and 'Free Palestine' at an election count is not remotely like an acid attack, it used to be pretty common at public meetings but now politicians don't do them any more. They only interact on twitter, and it shows. What made Jess Phillips upset - and everyone knows what a planetary-sized ego she has - is that the crowd weren't listening to her with rapt attention.

Of course if there is evidence of other examples of harassment, like tire slashing or making threats, that is entirely to be condemned and I hope the police act appropriately.

r507 So I'm sure you'll also defend the way Britain First morons acted at the London Mayoral declaration, right?

Post a link and I'll see what I think R508

[QUOTE]you guys are terminally online and it shows

Jesus, bitch. I was? Demonstrate, please.

r509 Googling is too challenging for you, is it?

Yes, R511, I don't know how to use Google. You've discovered my secret shame.

Anyway, don't like their politics at all but I find it difficult to get too upset about that, some booing and 'Khan killed London (?)', and then the returning officer did her 4-years-to-retirement school teacher act and shut them up. Whatever.

Time to get some perspective my friends, there is a genocide going on you know!

Ah so the "kinder gentler politics" that you lot claim to be in favour of includes standing up for fascists, defending homophobes, and telling women to stop objecting to death threats. Got it.

[quote]Ah so the "kinder gentler politics" that you lot claim to be in favour of includes standing up for fascists, defending homophobes, and telling women to stop objecting to death threats. Got it.

There is no "you lot" on here. The only person justifying that is Concerned European who is boasting about campaigning for a notorious Jew obsessed crank who took cash from the Iranian and Russian state and thinks Ukraine should allow itself to be invaded by Russia.

It's a extreme minority view.

[QUOTE]there is a genocide going on you know!

Indeed! Tell us more about it!

Concerned European is a Susan Collins cunt lapper in a "spiritua" sense, and he occasionally comes up for air as Suzie Maine's vaginal juices explode all over his chagrined face!

Folks. his "concerns" show us he's doing his part to for genocidal maniacs by tossing minor intrusions in our faces, as he enables the right to its malfeasance. Yet he says he loves people and freedom! Very, disturbingly Orwellian. And unremittingly, arrogantly paternalistic.

R513 Yes, that is a 100% faithful and honest account of what I said. Thank you for your unimpeachable intellectual integrity.

R514 Yeah, and you should see how many people came up to me unbidden to wish us luck and tell me they hoped he got in! I saw more posters in one street in Islington North than I did in the entire Scottish city I arrived there from!

Hi R515, are you Biden's debate coach? I didn't really understand anything you wrote.

Do self-imploding, horrific Axis II irrevocably-bound people who enjoy abusing others ever recognize how egregious and repulsive you are, despite your "justifications?"

At least you, the idiot foot soldier who ran with their hatred platform and took massive shits on the "little people" like women and homosexuals, are probably getting paid for your idiot observations without giving a flying fuck.

Which makes sense. Sometimes "socialists" bark, whine, and appease any possible discomfort from the depths aka the right and accept money to discredit others wrongfully. It's Trumpian and "Concern European" is now a spinning top not quite sure where he'll earn hus next meal from.

SAD!!!

r514 By "you lot" I very obviously meant Corbynites, your post was completely unnecessary as no-one except an idiot would think I was referring to posters here

Quite lame, at r517. It appears Concerned European has collapsed without further "talking points" and cannot even attempt to offer a "debate " as its central processing unit has sustained some sort of damage, if not a debilitating crash.

EGADS, for the Republic or Democracy!!!

Who cut him off without support?!?

R518 I'm still not really following what your point is, but I'm sorry for whoever hurt you so badly.

R520 You don't need to beg for my attention man, you're a try hard! Cheer up, the French results were even better!

[QUOTE]Hi [R515], are you Biden's debate coach? I didn't really understand anything you wrote.

The simplistic and very tardy respond hoping for... what?

I’m soooooo coooonnnnncccceeeeerrrrnnnnnnneeeeeedddddd!

But not concerned about death threats and acts of violence against women, because those women must be making them up for attention

Concern trolling is a tactic used online where someone pretends to be concerned about an issue, but their actual goal is to derail the conversation or sow discord. Here's a breakdown of what it is and how it works:

[bold] How it works: [/bold]

A person will post comments or questions that appear to be supportive of a cause or idea, but are actually phrased in a way that raises doubts or fears.

They might use sarcasm, exaggeration, or inflammatory language to provoke a reaction.

Their goal is not to have a genuine discussion, but to disrupt the conversation, waste people's time, and make the cause or idea they're targeting seem less credible.

[bold]Why people do it:[/bold]

Enjoy getting a reaction: Concern trolls often get satisfaction from upsetting others and causing arguments.

Opposing viewpoint: They might genuinely disagree with the topic at hand and be trying to undermine it in a sneaky way.

Attention seeking: Some concern trolls simply want attention and enjoy the controversy they create.

[bold]Examples:[/bold]

Someone might comment on a news article about climate change with, "Sure, let's destroy the economy to save the planet! Great idea!"

In a discussion about animal rights, a concern troll might say, "So, are you saying we should never eat meat again? Sounds unrealistic."

[bold]How to spot it:[/bold]

Look for comments that seem out of place or tone-deaf.

Be wary of overly dramatic or sarcastic language.

Consider if the comment actually adds anything to the conversation or just tries to stir things up.

[bold]How to deal with it: [/bold]

The best way to deal with a concern troll is often to ignore them. Don't give them the attention they crave.

If you must respond, do so calmly and factually. Don't get drawn into an argument.

You can also report the comment to the moderator of the platform.

By understanding concern trolling, you can avoid getting drawn into pointless arguments and protect online communities from negativity.

Labour announced their official policy on how to deal with the water companies and how they will manage profits and share dividends and the potential of rising bills.

After the announcement a letter signed by all the Corbynite MPs who don't have government roles demanded the government take action that has already been announced.

Oh lighten up bitches. Wonderful news!

Johnny Mercer is going to jail!

Isn't his "crime" the kind of thing Corbynites would be proud of, r527?

R528 What, covering up extrajudicial killings? No, not really.

Protecting whistle-blowers, r529. As if Corbynites don't condone certain kinds of extrajudicial killings if they're done by "freedom fighters".

Which is why the inquiry has pledged to keep the identity of whistleblowers confidential, R530. You'll find it's a massive help to read the posted articles, they are normally tolerably short.

But let's not squabble, a massive cunt is off to jail, surely that can bring us all together.

The whistle-blowers would never have revealed anything if they thought that their identities would be revealed to an inquiry.

By the way, r532, you ruin every thread you post on, with your rabid, endless tediousness.

A great prophet is always unsung in his own country R533.

Labour policy is to reduce the prison population, so I doubt Mercer is going to jail. If he is sentenced to imprisonment, then the new government will probably let him out early.

Well, great news DL, it's the Corbyn volunteers' victory picnic in a London park tomorrow! I'll see if I can bag a selfie with the great man himself, wouldn't want to doxx myself to DL of course.

Actually Keir Starmer and the rest of New Labour belong in the Liberal Democratic Party . The only reason they exist was because the Labour Party was criticized for being influenced by trade unions,

Imagine that a Labour Party is influenced by labour.

R526 what an interesting way to spend a Sunday afternoon. You can all concern it out together.