Topic: Get out of our country yer gang of fucking bellends. TORIES OUT!

[Red Beret]

State of the Parties has been updated. Government majority now down to 45.

[Kenny's Jacket]

He has but I think that is a different situation, he at least joined earlier in the Parliament where it doesn't look as much as if you are just jumping ship to save yourself, its a bit different at this stage in the Parliament, when time is getting shorter for a miracle to save this horrible govt

Plus unusually at the time I did see reports that he worked pretty well with Labour locally, its very different to someone like Elphicke.

Perhaps Im gettjng you wrong but Elphicke isnt standing at the next GE, so shes not looking to save herself. 

[oldfordie]

Unfortunately, I think 'the public' are less and less able to / inclined to try to use solid reasoning and debate.  Soundbites, memes and lots of forms of instant gratification feed the mind nowadays. It's all takeaways and ready meals and not a home cooked meal.

I think the country really lost it's way around 2016 when the likes of Gove argued we've had enough of experts to dismiss any evidence to highlight the negatives of Brexit. someone should grab him by the collar and throw him out of Parliament as it took us into the Gutter. Nazi slogans followed. Will of the people and Enemies of the people. someone on TV the other week mentioned what we debated years ago, the Hard right studied Nazi propaganda to win over the public. I remember saying it at the time. if anyone wonders whether they would have fell for Nazi propaganda back in the 30s/ 40s then they would have if they supported the Will of the People slogans. all of this destroyed honest informed debate. anytime things looked bad for leave in the debates up would pop politicians like Anne Widdicombe shouting at them for treating leave supporters like idiots. they know what they voted for didn't you looking at the audience, they loved it and clapped and cheered, all this was to stifle debate, fact was remain MPs never once talked to leave supporters like idiots, they knew they would take a hammering if they did but the idiots loved it. ive always wondered why this only ever happens in politics. I never thought all leave supporters were idiots, that doesn't even make sense. 15 mill or whatever it was all can't be idiots but they definitely fell for bullsh.. that insulted their intelligence. it's hard to explain. only explanation I can think of is personality, some people are negative and cynical and this affects their opinions on politicians. just like the nutty Trumpers, they think they are the ones who are clued up on the world.
I loved Starmers approach on politics, he didn't just come up with the views he has recently, I think he's formed them over many years like the rest of us. he's the first Labour leader who has attempted to tackle the all as bad as eachother ignorance which also stifled debate. pissed me off for decades yet it was never mentioned in the past. he's done the same as Biden by taking Ideology out the argument which also pissed me off. why are policys to help people ive always viewed as doing something decent seen as Socialist. it's about arguing to do something based on decency not ideology, we are now turning a corner, we can debate Nationalisation because it's about decency, people being able to afford to heat their homes. clean water etc. we can debate these things without being called Communists.
I think the country has started to debate better now, Starmers contribution to this doesn't seem to get acknowledged which is a shame but I think people are more willing to listen to decent arguments these days.  we will just have to accept there will always be the gullible of course.

[Mutton Geoff]

Perhaps Im gettjng you wrong but Elphicke isnt standing at the next GE, so shes not looking to save herself. 

Depends what Starmer has promised her ( Peerage perhaps or parachuted into a safe seat:

He Should also start his next PR session singing ' Here We Are Gathering Nuts in May'

[filopastry]

Perhaps Im gettjng you wrong but Elphicke isnt standing at the next GE, so shes not looking to save herself. 

Sorry yes that was my point, if somebody jumped ship now and expected to run as a Labour candidate to save their skin at the next election, I would need a fair amount of convincing that their values were compatible with being a Labour MP.#

For the last 2 that came over, that wasn't the case as they aren't running again

[Kenny's Jacket]

Sorry yes that was my point, if somebody jumped ship now and expected to run as a Labour candidate to save their skin at the next election, I would need a fair amount of convincing that their values were compatible with being a Labour MP.#

For the last 2 that came over, that wasn't the case as they aren't running again

gotcha -

[Kenny's Jacket]

Depends what Starmer has promised her ( Peerage perhaps or parachuted into a safe seat:

He Should also start his next PR session singing ' Here We Are Gathering Nuts in May'

 

You missed your calling as a headline writer mate.

I dont think shes had any promises, but then he loves a change of direction. I think its a nod to the Brexit/ERG  that they can vote Labour

What she gets out of it remains to be seen

[Red Beret]

Conservatives mark 200 constituencies as vulnerable in next general election

Exclusive: Even seats with majorities of over 15,000 are deemed at risk and needing extra support from party HQ

The Conservative party is quietly pouring extra resources into dozens of Tory-held seats deemed at risk at the next general election, including one with a 17,000 majority.

As many as 200 constituencies held by Conservative MPs have been marked as vulnerable and worthy of extra support from party HQ, including Weston-super-Mare in Somerset. The seaside town has been held since 2005 by the Conservative MP John Penrose, who was re-elected in 2019 with a majority of 17,121.

It demonstrates that the Conservative party is taking a significantly more defensive approach to the election than it has admitted publicly, and that hitherto safe seats with sizeable majorities are now deemed at risk.

The Tories have long officially pursued an 80:20 election strategy, focused on defending their 80 most marginal seats and aiming to win 20 target seats from the opposition.

But the number of Tory constituencies marked as vulnerable and given extra support has risen from 80 to about 200 in recent months, according to a senior party source. It means the party is extending its defensive strategy to seats with hefty majorities of 15,000 or more.

The party did not deny the 200-seat figure. A spokesperson said: “Only the Conservatives have a plan to deliver for the country and that’s why we are supporting all our MPs and candidates across the country.”

A party official stressed that its 80:20 list had always been flexible.

The Conservatives suffered heavy losses at the local elections in England earlier in May.

Labour has pointed to the wide range of places where it made gains, including the East Midlands, Yorkshire and Essex, as evidence that it was on track to perform well in a general election.

Rishi Sunak has said the results show the country is on course for a hung parliament. Isaac Levido, the Australian political strategist who is masterminding the Conservative campaign, presented his assessment to cabinet last week and argued that the election would be closer than the polls suggested.

But independent pollsters including John Curtice say Labour is on course to win a majority. A YouGov poll last week gave Labour a 30-point poll lead, its largest since Liz Truss was prime minister.

A grassroots survey by the ConservativeHome website found that two-thirds of members thought the party should not target any opposition-held seats and instead be focused on holding as much ground as possible.

Since the 2019 election, the Conservatives’ majority has been reduced from 80 to just 38 after a series of defections and byelections.

Full article: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/11/uk-conservatives-mark-200-constituencies-as-vulnerable-in-next-general-election

[Red Beret]

Good to see John Oliver torching Sunak's Rwanda policy last night. Hopefully he does a segment on the Tories electoral destruction, assuming it's not overshadowed by events in the US.

[Kenny's Jacket]

Good to see John Oliver torching Sunak's Rwanda policy last night. Hopefully he does a segment on the Tories electoral destruction, assuming it's not overshadowed by events in the US.

Nice one RB Ive always liked his shows, Ill put that on.  Hopefully he criticises the policies morality and not just the spiralling cost.

[Red Beret]

I wonder if this is why Frottage hasn't stepped up with Reform? Bugger is too tight to spend his own money?

Reform UK reliant on leader Richard Tice for 80% of funding since 2021

Tice has loaned party £1.4m since taking over and has said party’s lack of resources is making campaigning difficult/b]

Reform UK’s election efforts are being hampered by a lack of money and resources and the party has so far largely relied on £1.4m of loans from its leader, Richard Tice.

The party is ultimately owned by Nigel Frottage, but electoral and corporate filings show it has been mainly bankrolled by Tice, who has contributed about 80% of its declared funding in loans and donations since he took over in 2021.

Frottage is still undecided about whether to return to a frontline role in the party at this year’s election. The party has been ticking up in the polls even without his active presence, reaching 9%-15% nationally. In the Blackpool South byelection on 2 May, its candidate came within 120 votes of the Conservatives, with 17% of the vote.

Reform insists that traditional former Tory donors are now beginning to open their chequebooks for the party as the election approaches, even without Frottage.

However, Tice told an audience this month that it would not be easy to run an effective ground campaign at the next election on the money coming into the party. He said it was spending “less than £1.5m a year” compared with the £35m allowed for each party nationally and likely to be spent by the Conservatives and Labour in the year before an election. In contrast, the Brexit party brought in £17m in donations in 2019.

Tice’s personal company, Tisun Investments, has been loaning the party money in increments of £10,000-£50,000 since before he took over as leader. As of the end of 2023, outstanding loans of about £1.4m were due to Tisun, according to the Electoral Commission. Tice has also contributed £150,000 through another company, Britain Means Business.

Full article: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/13/reform-uk-richard-tice-loans-party-funding

The media is giving these bastards skip loads of free publicity. They would wither the fuck away without it. And yet, we can't really complain, because their potential to split the Tory vote is what is damaging the Tories so much. But it's little wonder they wield so much influence beyond their actual power base.

[Red Beret]

Nice one RB Ive always liked his shows, Ill put that on.  Hopefully he criticises the policies morality and not just the spiralling cost.

It's just in his opening segment, but yeah he blasts the morality and cost. Shows the clip with Hunt is challenged on the cost - £1.8m per refugee for the first 300 - enough to educate 270 kids for a year.

[Jiminy Cricket]

It's just in his opening segment, but yeah he blasts the morality and cost. Shows the clip with Hunt is challenged on the cost - £1.8m per refugee for the first 300 - enough to educate 270 kids for a year.

I had to read that twice.

Presumably, you mean:

£1.8m = education for 270 kids/year

And not:

£1.8m x 300 (£540m) = education for 270 kids/year

[Red Beret]

I had to read that twice.

Presumably, you mean:

£1.8m = education for 270 kids/year

And not:

£1.8m x 300 (£540m) = education for 270 kids/year

My apologies. I rewatched the segment to clarify:

£7,600 to educate one child per year, so that's 234 kids for the cost of deporting one migrant at £1.8m. And yes, the first 300 migrants will cost £540m, so I guess that's 234x300.

[gazzalfc]

So emotional blackmail and FOX style fearmongering.

Russia's war in Ukraine has taken us closer to nuclear escalation than any point since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

China has targeted our MPs and Russia has poisoned people

Illegal immigration is placing a strain on our system. "This problem is only going to grow."

More will change in the next five years than in the last 30.

The next few years will be the most "dangerous" but "transformational" that the UK has ever known.

The country would be less safe under Keir Starmer

[So… Howard Philips]

So emotional blackmail and FOX style fearmongering.

Russia's war in Ukraine has taken us closer to nuclear escalation than any point since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

China has targeted our MPs and Russia has poisoned people

Illegal immigration is placing a strain on our system. "This problem is only going to grow."

More will change in the next five years than in the last 30.

The next few years will be the most "dangerous" but "transformational" that the UK has ever known.

The country would be less safe under Keir Starmer

So based on their performance over the last five years who would consider voting Tory?

See they’ve conveniently missed out their failure to issue the report into Russian election interference.

[Kenny's Jacket]

Exactly

We had the same when Johnson was under pressure
He cant leave now, think of Ukraine

[west_london_red]

No hope, no inspiration, it just seems to come down now a case of the Tory message being ‘if you think things are bad now, they will be even worse under Labour’… even if I wasn’t a Labour member and voter I’d still think ‘fuck it, I’ll take a punt and give Labour a chance, it can’t really get much worse’

[killer-heels]

Sunak is king at scrambling out new things to try to shift the tide. Last year if people remember he did that whole ‘change’ speech and how he was the change candidate. Now its this security shite.

They are toast. Talk about dragging out the death.

[PaulF]

How many of his five promises did he keep?

Is he really only 44 years old.  Sorry. I think I just heard that. I've only just gotten used to the idea of being older than professional football players.

[Robinred]

No hope, no inspiration, it just seems to come down now a case of the Tory message being ‘if you think things are bad now, they will be even worse under Labour’… even if I wasn’t a Labour member and voter I’d still think ‘fuck it, I’ll take a punt and give Labour a chance, it can’t really get much worse’

I don’t really know enough about the intricacies of polling, or the myriad factors that determine why ‘swing voters’ switch. What I do know is that Sunak is crap at politics.

[gazzalfc]

There is one thing that is true. 'More will happen in the next 5 years than the last 30' UNDER A LABOUR GOVERNMENT!!

[TSC]

So emotional blackmail and FOX style fearmongering.

Russia's war in Ukraine has taken us closer to nuclear escalation than any point since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

China has targeted our MPs and Russia has poisoned people

Illegal immigration is placing a strain on our system. "This problem is only going to grow."

More will change in the next five years than in the last 30.

The next few years will be the most "dangerous" but "transformational" that the UK has ever known.

The country would be less safe under Keir Starmer

Sunak would be better publishing the unredacted version of the Russia report, to see the real danger sits within the Tory administration.

No, better to try and stoke fear while focusing on slashing disabled benefit recipients.

[oldfordie]

The Torys are not going to win over the public with the scare tactic of the country not being safe under a Labour government, every time they attack Starmer over Corbyn just gives Labour the opportunity to say under new management. it's backfiring on the Torys. previous poster made a good point on the Russia Report, that needs to be thrown at them constantly every time they talk about the countrys security being safer under the Torys. why do they refuse to make the Russia report public, why are they covering it up if theres nothing to hide.
The Torys are f... it doesn't matter what they throw at Labour, they always come out looking far worse, they've gone very quiet over Angela Raynor lately, every attack on her was met with a long list of Torys who fiddled millions and here they were trying to attack Labour over a possible £1.500 tax bill that they can't even prove.

[Lisan Al Gaib]

He shows that he's just out of touch and doesn't get it at all with that speech. People will vote based on the biggest thing they care about and that's money in their pocket after their bills have come out. Whilst that is still happening they don't stand a chance.

[Jshooters]

So based on their performance over the last five years who would consider voting Tory?

See they’ve conveniently missed out their failure to issue the report into Russian election interference.

Assuming Labour come into power later this year, does that report then become their property?

[So… Howard Philips]

Assuming Labour come into power later this year, does that report then become their property?

I would assume so unless there are any Labour skeletons lurking in there in which the cupboard door is firmly locked.

[TSC]

I would assume so unless there are any Labour skeletons lurking in there in which the cupboard door is firmly locked.

That was all to do with funding behind Brexit and Johnson’s administration.  Didn’t he go off to Italy for some meeting with one or more of Putin’s men?  I recall seeing footage of Johnson looking the worse for wear at some Italian airport after said meeting.

[Jshooters]

I would assume so unless there are any Labour skeletons lurking in there in which the cupboard door is firmly locked.

Could be interesting.....

[lobsterboy]

That was all to do with funding behind Brexit and Johnson’s administration.  Didn’t he go off to Italy for some meeting with one or more of Putin’s men?  I recall seeing footage of Johnson looking the worse for wear at some Italian airport after said meeting.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/QkZzN3XHEPY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/QkZzN3XHEPY</a>

[ToneLa]

Tories literally banning civil servants looking at equality now

WAR ON WOKE LATEST: Esther McVey will today outline plans to stop any new civil service jobs dedicated to equality, diversity and inclusivity. The minister for “common sense” made the announcement in an op-ed for the Sunday Telegraph, writing that Whitehall cannot be running a “pointless job creation scheme for the politically correct.”

[ToneLa]

[WhereAngelsPlay]

Minister for common sense 

[PaulF]

Minister for common sense 

Is there a shadow minister for this, or did Kier just laugh and not bother?

[Elmo!]

Is there a shadow minister for this, or did Kier just laugh and not bother?

That would be the common sense thing to do.

[thaddeus]

Tories literally banning civil servants looking at equality now

WAR ON WOKE LATEST: Esther McVey will today outline plans to stop any new civil service jobs dedicated to equality, diversity and inclusivity. The minister for “common sense” made the announcement in an op-ed for the Sunday Telegraph, writing that Whitehall cannot be running a “pointless job creation scheme for the politically correct.”

I wonder how long before we have a high profile employment tribunal coming out of the civil service because they failed to follow the laws set out in the Equality Act that was brought into law by... the Conservatives.

[west_london_red]

The Torys are not going to win over the public with the scare tactic of the country not being safe under a Labour government, every time they attack Starmer over Corbyn just gives Labour the opportunity to say under new management. it's backfiring on the Torys. previous poster made a good point on the Russia Report, that needs to be thrown at them constantly every time they talk about the countrys security being safer under the Torys. why do they refuse to make the Russia report public, why are they covering it up if theres nothing to hide.
The Torys are f... it doesn't matter what they throw at Labour, they always come out looking far worse, they've gone very quiet over Angela Raynor lately, every attack on her was met with a long list of Torys who fiddled millions and here they were trying to attack Labour over a possible £1.500 tax bill that they can't even prove.

I suspect the reason Labour are not making a big deal of the Russia report is that they were also seduced by Russian money, not to the level it’s reached with the Tories but it was bad enough for both parties to agree it should be buried somewhere and not talked about too much.

[TSC]

I suspect the reason Labour are not making a big deal of the Russia report is that they were also seduced by Russian money, not to the level it’s reached with the Tories but it was bad enough for both parties to agree it should be buried somewhere and not talked about too much.

Think back in the day Labour was calling for it to be published although when it was eventually, it was heavily redacted.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/53488252

[oldfordie]

I suspect the reason Labour are not making a big deal of the Russia report is that they were also seduced by Russian money, not to the level it’s reached with the Tories but it was bad enough for both parties to agree it should be buried somewhere and not talked about too much.

Well that's the problem, people will speculate without any proof, if the Torys thought they could publish it in full and damage Labour then they would have done it in a shot. the point is call their bluff, it's about answering their attacks of the country being unsafe in Labours hands.

[Dr. Beaker]

Tories literally banning civil servants looking at equality now

WAR ON WOKE LATEST: Esther McVey will today outline plans to stop any new civil service jobs dedicated to equality, diversity and inclusivity. The minister for “common sense” made the announcement in an op-ed for the Sunday Telegraph, writing that Whitehall cannot be running a “pointless job creation scheme for the politically correct.”

How can the Minister for Common Sense be complaining about a 'pointless job creation scheme'.