Theresa May calls General Election on 8th June.

[radamfi]

Which other elections?

Police and Crime Commissioners. Note both Labour and Conservatives have recently been lobbying for FPTP for the London Assembly so it is rumoured that may well go the same way.

 

[fowler9]

Well I'm tactically voting Conservative to keep Labour out, and I personally would prefer some form of Proportional representation system, but as has been previously commented the option to change to AV was massively rejected and given the way the Lib Dems were hammered for being part of the Coalition at the last election a lot people don't seem to want coalition Governments which is what a proportional representation system would bring.

No mate, the Lib Dems weren't slammed for forming a coalition, they were slammed for going in with the Tory Party.

 

[EM2]

No mate, the Lib Dems weren't slammed for forming a coalition, they were slammed for going in with the Tory Party.

And for breaking manifesto commitments.

 

[317 forever]

Simon Danczuk has resigned from Labour party attacking Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell in his resignation letter.

It may have subsequently been reported here, but he is still standing in Rochdale but as an independent.

 

[317 forever]

Corbyn has signalled he intends to remain in post as Labour leader regardless of the result of the GE next month...

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson/the-sound-of-leamington-spa?utm_term=.djY5LkwxA#.wpdrDZnB0

Although I think it would be wrong for him to do so in the likely event of a poor result, I also feel it is bad when leaders are expected to hypothesise bad results and promise to step down in such a scenario. How many people have asked Theresa May if she would step down if the Tories lose the General Election?

 

[317 forever]

So fox hunting is back according to Theresa May.

I wonder whether Liam feels safe

 

[317 forever]

This is often raised as a rebuttal, but I just can't see many anti-FPTP or pro-PR people saying no to AV because it was a bit more proportional but not proportional enough. Surely you would have voted yes to AV and then used the more proportional government to push for further reform. The only conclusion I can reach is that the majority of people really were happy with FPTP.

I was surprised by how resoundingly the public rejected AV. In doing so, they denied themselves additional choices of candidates and maintained the maximum risk of unpopular MPs being as good as irremovable.

 

[317 forever]

Lots of people don't even bother voting because they believe it won't make a difference. In this election if everyone who doesn't support the Tories voted tactically and clubbed their votes together with the main opposition candidate in their constituency then the Tories would lose huge numbers of seats. In a PR voting system the Tories would lose huge amounts of seats which is why they oppose PR. I don't see how it is democratic how a party can claim victory and form a government when only a fraction of the entire population voted for them and then that party tell trade unions they have to have minimum turnouts for any ballot. Utter utter hypocrisy! I'm hoping that there is a lot of tactical voting in this election, to keep May out of No10!

This would happen most of all if many non-voters broke a habit of a lifetime to vote, and vote tactically at that. Especially as these days the "apathy party" wins more votes than the governing party.

 

[simonw]

I was surprised by how resoundingly the public rejected AV. In doing so, they denied themselves additional choices of candidates and maintained the maximum risk of unpopular MPs being as good as irremovable.

The anti campaign majored on the supposed cost of implementing AV and then several key members went on to use a similar idea in the leave campaign ie the £350m.

 

[simonw]

And for breaking manifesto commitments.

Like the Tories and Labour, then.

 

[EM2]

Jeremy Corbyn cheered to the rafters by 16000 music fans at Prenton Park:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9pIdibJNEc&t=158s

I can't imagine Mrs May would have been so popular

 

[Butts]

Jeremy Corbyn cheered to the rafters by 16000 music fans at Prenton Park:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9pIdibJNEc&t=158s

I can't imagine Mrs May would have been so popular

Brit's are well known for their support for an underdog and ....

Lost Causes

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I was surprised by how resoundingly the public rejected AV.

Democracy in action trumping well meaning social platitudes.

Some years ago, near to the time of the Millennium, the residents of all ten areas of Greater Manchester were given a referendum to see if they would approve a two-band congestion charge around the Manchester area core which would finance a great expansion of the Manchester Metrolink system. There are some of these areas such as Manchester, Salford and Wigan that are rock-solid Labour areas, but when all the referendum results were announced, every one of those ten areas rejected the proposal by a vast majority.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Jeremy Corbyn cheered to the rafters by 16000 music fans at Prenton Park:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9pIdibJNEc&t=158s

With the recently announced headline manifesto promises made by the Labour Party borne in mind, will these encourage those Labour voters of the apathetic mode to actually break the habit of a lifetime and actually cast their vote at the General Election.

 

[GusB]

Brit's are well known for their support for an underdog and ....

Misuse of apostrophes.

 

[fowler9]

misuse of apostrophes. :d

:d:d:d

 

[Butts]

Misuse of apostrophes.

You can blame Edinburgh University for that.

 

[47802]

And for breaking manifesto commitments.

Yes and why did they break manifesto commitments because they were a junior partner in a coalition that had to make compromises, as would the parties of any coalition.

 

[47802]

Although I think it would be wrong for him to do so in the likely event of a poor result, I also feel it is bad when leaders are expected to hypothesise bad results and promise to step down in such a scenario. How many people have asked Theresa May if she would step down if the Tories lose the General Election?

That's because nobody really doubts Theresa May would go if she lost the election where as Corbyn is another matter.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

That's because nobody really doubts Theresa May would go if she lost the election where as Corbyn is another matter.

Mugabe syndrome at the head of the Labour Party?

 

[A Challenge]

It is infuriating to keep hearing people confusing these two matters, especially as a little research would make it clear to them.

I can't remember which is which ever, but..


All those arguing, I have a quote from a former Tory party leader and PM:

'Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.'
(Winston Churchill)

 

[AlterEgo]

I can't remember which is which ever, but..


All those arguing, I have a quote from a former Tory party leader and PM:

'Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.'
(Winston Churchill)

It's quite ironic that quote comes from Churchill and is used as some kind of support for democracy (in the form that we know it).

The entirely of both Churchill's premierships were conducted under the Emergency Powers Act (Defence) 1939, which effectively gave the State near-unlimited power.

 

[ninja-lewis]

That's because nobody really doubts Theresa May would go if she lost the election where as Corbyn is another matter.

It's not just about the leaders: the Tories have a record of swiftly and ruthlessly removing failing leaders (Thatcher, IDS) whereas Labour haven't had a clean coup since the 1930s.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

That's because nobody really doubts Theresa May would go if she lost the election where as Corbyn is another matter.

More likely, everyone is so confident that the Tories will win the election, that it hasn't even occurred to any journalist to ask her. However, imagine if someone did. Clearly she's not - with the cameras rolling - going to say, 'Yes, I'll resign as leader if I lose' - because that's just not the kind of thing you say if you're leader of a major party, and it would invite all sorts of media speculation that you wouldn't want. The fact that Corbyn, when asked, similarly declined to say that he'd go, probably needs to be seen in the same light: Maybe he would, maybe he wouldn't. But no sensible politician is going to admit in advance if he/she isn't intending to stay on!

 

[Howardh]

The Tory's lead is still there,but it's declining rapidly. The "Dementia Tax" seems to have hit home amongst her own supporters, and I wouldn't be surprised to see yet another U-turn tomorrow. they will call it a "clarification" but it's a U-turn (if it comes).

So, a strong and stable u-turn then. If she doesn't and more wake up to this policy then the lead she has will vanish quicker than Lancashire's batsmen.

 

[PHILIPE]

The Tory's lead is still there,but it's declining rapidly. The "Dementia Tax" seems to have hit home amongst her own supporters, and I wouldn't be surprised to see yet another U-turn tomorrow. they will call it a "clarification" but it's a U-turn (if it comes).

So, a strong and stable u-turn then. If she doesn't and more wake up to this policy then the lead she has will vanish quicker than Lancashire's batsmen.

The party (Damien Green) stated this morning on the Andrew Marr show that there was no going back on the policies but, having had time to reflect on opinions, could change their minds. If they did, I think they would only shunt money around.

 

[EM2]

Yes and why did they break manifesto commitments because they were a junior partner in a coalition that had to make compromises, as would the parties of any coalition.

I'm not saying whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, simply that it's a reason that many people gave for not voting for them in 2015.

 

[Dave1987]

Despite May claiming she and her party were not complacent about the election they clearly believe their lead is that unassailable that they can put in some very unpopular policies. I think she thought she is going to win whatever so she can get away with whatever policies she wants to bring in. I'm not so sure the election is a forgone conclusion now. Many of the things they have come out with are very very unpopular.

 

[southern442]

Despite May claiming she and her party were not complacent about the election they clearly believe their lead is that unassailable that they can put in some very unpopular policies. I think she thought she is going to win whatever so she can get away with whatever policies she wants to bring in. I'm not so sure the election is a forgone conclusion now. Many of the things they have come out with are very very unpopular.

That seems to be their exact thought process. The general mentality when the election was called was 'I know the Tories are bad and all that, but Labour are worse' but now the Tories have published their manifesto, people are beginning to see that actually their policies will hit them quite hard, so more people are now voting Labour.

Labour have made gains in the polls but they are still quite a way off. Once they get to 38 or 39% (which I think is definitely possible) then I would say they would be at a suitable polling level for them to actually win. At the same time its up to the smaller parties to take votes off of the Tories. Obviously Labour aren't going to get all the undecided voters that are currently saying they will vote Tory, so that's where the Greens, Lib Dems, and the country-specific parties come in. It is worth noting that Labour did win an election with 35% of the vote once, so the main focus is really now to stop people voting Tory.

 

[Howardh]

Despite May claiming she and her party were not complacent about the election they clearly believe their lead is that unassailable that they can put in some very unpopular policies. I think she thought she is going to win whatever so she can get away with whatever policies she wants to bring in. I'm not so sure the election is a forgone conclusion now. Many of the things they have come out with are very very unpopular.

...with her own supporters indeed.