The General Politics Thread v2.0 (AKA the "Labour are Cunts" thread)

[SuperBacon]

Labour has lost Southampton, which is huge, but even bigger locally is Hampshire County Council have lost their Conservative majority and there will be 17 new Reform councillors in it. At a time of massive Local Government Reorganisation and devolution! Fun.

Edited May 8 by SuperBacon
Missed something

[Carbomb]

In a way, I'm disappointed Reform haven't actually taken more councils. Their biggest enemy is themselves, and the more chances they get to show their arses before the next election, the more likely they are to be kept out of government.

[westlondonmist]

27 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

In a way, I'm disappointed Reform haven't actually taken more councils. Their biggest enemy is themselves, and the more chances they get to show their arses before the next election, the more likely they are to be kept out of government.

Yeah, with the councils that do a quarter every year or maybe half every two have helped them. They can grow but not actually be fully in control so can avoid responsibility. 

 

Unsurprisingly they've taken Havering, and I could see them doing well in Barking, Redbridge, Hillingdon and Bexley. It scares me that London is voting for them. 

[Carbomb]

In electoral terms, y'know what angers me the most about Starmer and his Labour party? Their cowardice. They're taking their plays right out of the Biden playbook insofar as dealing with the far right - Biden had the opportunity to put Trump away once and for all, he was gifted numerous chances with Trump and his gang's criminality, and he was more bothered about dealing with students' pro-Palestinian protests on campus, and now look where we are. Starmer has a fucking super-majority, he has the power to really hurt Farage and Reform by passing legislation forcing them to own up to their shadiness, and maybe expose Farage's misconduct and make him pay in a meaningful way, and he won't do it.

He also has the power to reverse BJ's propaganda conniving, and remove that turd Robbie Gibb from the BBC, but he cares more about going after peaceful pro-Palestine protesting pensioners than he does about the rise of the far right. Tommy Robinson should be slopping out for years in prison, and instead he's able to go poncing around the globe riling up the fascist movements of other countries.

He could do something about Musk and Twitter like France are doing, again with the sheer gifts he's been presented with, with all the genAI CSAM that Musk not only allows but defends, but he won't do it.

He is a fucking coward.

Edited May 8 by Carbomb
Danut Lupu

[SuperBacon]

[Merzbow]

1 hour ago, Carbomb said:

In a way, I'm disappointed Reform haven't actually taken more councils. Their biggest enemy is themselves, and the more chances they get to show their arses before the next election, the more likely they are to be kept out of government.

Maybe accelerationism *is* the answer...

[Scratch]

Our local councillor has been a genuine one-of-a-kind for the last 15 years. He’s everywhere, just helping out. I’ve seen him out on his own cutting back the hedges to clear the path, I’ve seen him with a high vis getting stuck in with road repairs, and he even asked to meet with my nephew when his bike was stolen to see what could be done to get him back on the road.

If you need him, you hardly even need to ask - he just offers. Our estate was being absolutely shafted by the ground works management company and he arranged a meeting (in my back garden no less) to suggest ways to get it sorted. He took all the notes and within a week had a reply from the company that nobody had been able to get before, with a promise to bring our annual charges down from almost £600 to £240, plus backdated refunds. He’s everything a councillor should be and he does it because he wants to make a difference.

But he’s just lost his seat to a Reform candidate that nobody has ever heard of. The twat down the road who got a Reform footy top for Christmas said he was proudly voting for them at the council elections and when I asked him the name of the candidate, he didn’t know.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised given I’m in Farrage’s constituency.

[westlondonmist]

3 minutes ago, Scratch said:

Our local councillor has been a genuine one-of-a-kind for the last 15 years. He’s everywhere, just helping out. I’ve seen him out on his own cutting back the hedges to clear the path, I’ve seen him with a high vis getting stuck in with road repairs, and he even asked to meet with my nephew when his bike was stolen to see what could be done to get him back on the road.

If you need him, you hardly even need to ask - he just offers. Our estate was being absolutely shafted by the ground works management company and he arranged a meeting (in my back garden no less) to suggest ways to get it sorted. He took all the notes and within a week had a reply from the company that nobody had been able to get before, with a promise to bring our annual charges down from almost £600 to £240, plus backdated refunds. He’s everything a councillor should be and he does it because he wants to make a difference.

But he’s just lost his seat to a Reform candidate that nobody has ever heard of. The twat down the road who got a Reform footy top for Christmas said he was proudly voting for them at the council elections and when I asked him the name of the candidate, he didn’t know.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised given I’m in Farrage’s constituency.

Yeah, there are some great councillors out there. It's a shame when people don't take notice. Local politics goes well above the party. 

[Rockbus2]

As I said somewhere else this morning whilst summing up being at a count last night. 

””a couple of weeks ago I found a sun faded crisp packet filled with stagnant rain water under a bush. Looking at some of the Reform candidates they could have stood that crisp packet and it still would have won. Some will be seriously out of their depth.”

[Merzbow]

How many Green candidates did any actual real canvassing? None around me did, felt like they just forced in multiple names without qualification, not too unlike Reform and that's not gonna to get the left on board. 

In fact the only person who did was an independent Socialist, a local who's out there in the community constantly.

[tiger_rick]

They don't need to campaign. These elections have become a protest for national issues. People don't even care that the candidates are parachuted in or even who they are.

Meanwhile the local councillors are out there eating themselves. We didn't have an election but one of our prominent local fellas has jumped ship to Labour and then to Lib Dems in the last couple of years. Spent most of the last year slating Labour and then in the last two weeks has been posting about keeping Reform out. Can't have it all ways.

Made peace with the shit we're in. We're starting pan-disability sessions tonight and our clubhouse is nearly ready to open. I just worry about the shit I can affect these days, not the dreadful stuff I can't.

[ReturnOfTheMack]

The leader of Doncasters Reform group had an amazingly bad interview after using the Reform majority to vote down the proposed 5% council tax increase.

 

 

 

[Rockbus2]

29 minutes ago, Merzbow said:

How many Green candidates did any actual real canvassing? None around me did, felt like they just forced in multiple names without qualification, not too unlike Reform and that's not gonna to get the left on board. 

In fact the only person who did was an independent Socialist, a local who's out there in the community constantly.

Greens very much have to target wards they think they can win with resources time and money. In my area we stood candidates in every ward for the first time and campaigned in about 6 to various degrees. We literally haven't got the money of reform or the years of networks that Lib Dem and Labour have behind them. Considering our local membership has quadrupled in the last year, getting those people on boarded, convinced to be active, then in a place where they're ready to actually knock or doors and talk to people has taken up a lot of time that other parties spent campaigning earlier. 

[FLips]

42 minutes ago, Merzbow said:

How many Green candidates did any actual real canvassing? None around me did, felt like they just forced in multiple names without qualification, not too unlike Reform and that's not gonna to get the left on board. 

In fact the only person who did was an independent Socialist, a local who's out there in the community constantly.

The Greens near me are more active than any other party have been, and have been so since the last General Election. They’re the only ones I get leaflets for, they’re also the only ones I see out on the street cleaning up rubbish every weekend and being open with what work they’ve been doing in the community. 

It’s unusual somewhat because I live in a likely heavy Reform voting council estate in the Northeast. 

[westlondonmist]

45 minutes ago, Merzbow said:

How many Green candidates did any actual real canvassing? None around me did, felt like they just forced in multiple names without qualification, not too unlike Reform and that's not gonna to get the left on board. 

In fact the only person who did was an independent Socialist, a local who's out there in the community constantly.

In my borough they announced candidates for one ward well in advance and campaigned there and won. The other 23 wards they announced the deadline day. They didn't have a borough wide manifesto, just one ward. So I get why that ward voted, it was obviously the areas main people but no chance was I voting for them. 

 

There was no canvassing from anybody though really. Only three parties had a borough manifesto. I got one Lib Dem leaflet and one Tory leaflet. Around the borough only saw a handful of garden signs, 4 years ago loads of them. 

 

 

Edited May 8 by westlondonmist