[Politics] If there was a general election tomorrow

[stewart12]

Gary Neville joins Labour and isn't ruling out a venture into politics

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-59998941

He's the type of guy you want on your side

absolutely, I think he'd be a great Labour MP

 

[stewart_weir]

Labour and Lib Dem coalition please. No more insane Tories

 

[stewart12]

worth noting although few of us can vote for them, but a Labour led coalition may need SNP support also

 

[midnight_rendezvous]

I don't think Labour are ready to step into an ongoing pandemic crisis. I am never voting Lib Dem again after what Clegg did with my student debt, his lies and power grab. The Greens have consistently shown they aren't fit to run a council, let alone government.

No other choice but to vote for a very poor Tory party.

There’s always a choice. We know that the Tories’ handling of the pandemic has been utterly shambolic. We don’t know how Labour would deal with it if they came into power. I can’t see it being much worse myself

 

[jcdenton08]

There’s always a choice. We know that the Tories’ handling of the pandemic has been utterly shambolic. We don’t know how Labour would deal with it if they came into power. I can’t see it being much worse myself

I hear you and if Labour were strong opposition I'd vote for them to get the Conservatives out. But they really aren't, as I view them. I'd rather maintain a status quo than a dangerous unknown. I want to vote Labour again and am closer to ever under Starmer, if that helps?

 

[zefarelly]

If you think the Tory party are "very poor" then isn't it worth the risk to vote Labour to see is they ARE ready to step into an ongoing pandemic crisis? They couldn't have got Track and Trace or PPE any more wrong than the Tories, who have consistently disregarded their own advice and alienated the vast majority of the country.

It interesting the tories have a list as long as an orangutans arm of things they've actually ****ed up, got horribly wrong coupled with bonafide reasons to alienate and revile everyone from lords to peasants.

There seems to be an equal number of people who won't or can't vote for any of the opposition because of mistruths, what the papers say or just plain pig headed ignorance. Better still the things actually done by the tories themselves.

Electoral reform is one thing . . . Better still would be an eligibility test to see if you're actually mentally safe to vote.

 

[jcdenton08]

While I completely sympathise with your view on Clegg, I felt the same way - don't you have the same opinion about the Tories, who were the ones who actually came up with the tuition fee changes and implemented them? Surely that's even worse - the Lib Dems made a huge mistake by selling out on their key manifesto pledge, but it was without doubt a Tory policy.

I do, but I voted Libs specifically against that policy. Tories made no secret of their plans, I disagreed with them so there was no way they'd have gotten my vote. Then the Libs got into bed and it was a genuine betrayal for me, with a direct and immediate impact on my finances for the foreseeable future. They have single-handedly cost me a fortune and are the only party probably in my lifetime who will ever do so. Yes, the Tories wanted it - but Labour supported it. The only party opposing the reforms were Lib Dem who won my vote then lost it for my lifetime at a greedy play for power.

 

[JC Footy Genius]

There’s always a choice. We know that the Tories’ handling of the pandemic has been utterly shambolic. We don’t know how Labour would deal with it if they came into power. I can’t see it being much worse myself

Big use of the royal 'we' there. You 'claim' it was utterly shambolic, others disagree and we know how Labour (and the SNP) would have handled covid see Wales and Scotland ... broadly similar outcomes.

Anyway, time to come together, end the pointless bickering and fight the common foe.



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[midnight_rendezvous]

Big use of the royal 'we' there. You 'claim' it was utterly shambolic, others disagree and we know how Labour (and the SNP) would have handled covid see Wales and Scotland ... broadly similar outcomes.

Anyway, time to come together, end the pointless bickering and fight the common foe.



Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk

If how the Tories have handled the pandemic fits in with some peoples interpretation of success, I’d hate to see their interpretation of failure. I could make a long list of Johnson’ failures, from missing COBRA meetings, to being too slow on lockdown, the corrupt way in which contracts were handled… but I imagine it’d just be ignored. What I will say however, is that our PM has shown what utter contempt he has for the public by this whole party debacle. Moreover, the fact that a sitting PM said the words “let the bodies pile high” in reference to the people of this country, should be enough for even the most ardent of Tory sycophants to adjust their blue tinted specs.

But anyway, let’s bury this particular hatchet until after we’ve seen off that lot from up the road

 

[worthingseagull123]

absolutely, I think he'd be a great Labour MP

Anything to get him off Sky commentary would be welcome.

Can he take Carragher as well?

 

[Wardy's twin]

People ready to talk about that the labour party might fail but saying they will vote for a failed Tory party....

People stating that the Labour party has a lot of baggage but seeming to ignore the last 2 years of lies.

People saying the Labour party has few credible people and a weak leader seeming to forget how piss poor Johnson, Hancock, Truss , Grayling, Raab etc are and what obnoxious pieces of work Gove and Rees-Mogg are .

Truss saying how well the economy is doing and yet we are seeing prices rise and the poor getting poorer.

 

[Gwylan]

I hear you and if Labour were strong opposition I'd vote for them to get the Conservatives out.

Serious question: what do you mean by "strong"? It's pretty hard to be truly effective when you're against a majority of 80 but it looks to me that both Starmer and Rayner have got Johnson rattled recently and there have been strong performances from other shadow cabinet members. What else should they be doing?

 

[Recidivist]

I don't think Labour are ready to step into an ongoing pandemic crisis. I am never voting Lib Dem again after what Clegg did with my student debt, his lies and power grab. The Greens have consistently shown they aren't fit to run a council, let alone government.

No other choice but to vote for a very poor Tory party.

Really! You’ll never vote Lib Dem again because of one policy letdown. Politics is all about compromise and priorities.

Whatever you might have thought of Clegg and that specific decision it’s pretty ridiculous to let it determine your voting intentions for eternity.

We’d all be a lot better off if voters thought about who’s best to lead the country at election time rather than because of ingrained prejudices.

Parties, politicians and policies all evolve over time. It’s a pity, in my view, that so many people don’t seem able to evolve their political views accordingly…..

 

[jcdenton08]

Really! You’ll never vote Lib Dem again because of one policy letdown. Politics is all about compromise and priorities.

Whatever you might have thought of Clegg and that specific decision it’s pretty ridiculous to let it determine your voting intentions for eternity.

We’d all be a lot better off if voters thought about who’s best to lead the country at election time rather than because of ingrained prejudices.

Parties, politicians and policies all evolve over time. It’s a pity, in my view, that so many people don’t seem able to evolve their political views accordingly…..

I decided to study on the basis of their promise, their key pledge. A decision and betrayal which has personally, and directly, cost me tens of thousands of pounds. I would vote for them if they got back into power, apologised for their betrayal and lies, and refunded me the amount I was tricked into paying in full. That might be enough to earn my vote.

This is a direct cause and effect situation. Hundreds of thousands of people my age and younger went through exactly the same and will never vote Lib Dem again. Forgive and forget doesn't work when your life, finances and future are directly changed by one party's deceit.

Look at mining towns that Thatcher destroyed. Look at grieving families of military who were sent to die in Iraq under Blair. This isn't some pie in the sky grudge, there is a bloody good justification for never wanting to deal with them again.

 

[clapham_gull]

I struggle with the Libs for a number of reasons but they didn't lie about student fees.

They went into coalition with the Conservatives and as a junior partner had to rip up a number of manifesto policies.

From the start, the Tories had them by the bollocks anyway.

You didn't get a Lib Dem Government, you got a Tory one mildly diluted by a few MPs from another party.

I never understood why they felt the need to apologise.

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[jcdenton08]

I struggle with the Libs for a number of reasons but they didn't lie about student fees.

They went into coalition with the Conservatives and as a junior partner had to rip up a number of manifesto policies.

From the start, the Tories had them by the bollocks anyway.

You didn't get a Lib Dem Government, you got a Tory one mildly diluted by a few MPs from another party.

I never understood why they felt the need to apologise.

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It was their key election promise. They plastered it all over their literature, it was the entire key to their success - they won the young people's vote directly as a result. Then they got a sniff of power and reneged on the one promise their electorate cared about.

It was a power grab, plain and simple and they completely lost their voter base (young people) as a result. Yeah you're still going to get your older intellectual vote, but in Brighton they'll be voting Green anyway.

Lib Dems will not get a sniff of success again for generations - probably ever again in my lifetime - and it is all their own fault.

They've lost some outstanding constituency MPs like Stephen Lloyd as a result too.

 

[clapham_gull]

It was their key election promise. They plastered it all over their literature, it was the entire key to their success - they won the young people's vote directly as a result. Then they got a sniff of power and reneged on the one promise their electorate cared about.

It was a power grab, plain and simple and they completely lost their voter base (young people) as a result. Yeah you're still going to get your older intellectual vote, but in Brighton they'll be voting Green anyway.

Lib Dems will not get a sniff of success again for generations - probably ever again in my lifetime - and it is all their own fault.

They've lost some outstanding constituency MPs like Stephen Lloyd as a result too.

But there wouldn't have been a coalition with that policy in place, because the Tories wouldn't accept it. It was never going to happen.

You need to read a few books about what happened behind the scenes.

Strategically (for themselves) the Lib Dems may have been better to have gone into power with Labour. However in such a scenario, there was no guarantee about student fees and let's face it the Lib Dems and Labour hate each other.


I thought at the time that was incredibly naive for students to vote for the Lib Dems on student fees thinking they 1) would ever get into power and 2) as part of a coalition it would happen anyway.

Sorry.

Historically they are local opportunists with no clear message about what they are about nationally.

 

[Albion my Albion]

Democrats (USA)

I would rather be killed by Racists and Republicans in another Capitol insurrection than ever vote Republican when Trump has so much influence over them.

 

[Seagull27]

I do, but I voted Libs specifically against that policy. Tories made no secret of their plans, I disagreed with them so there was no way they'd have gotten my vote. Then the Libs got into bed and it was a genuine betrayal for me, with a direct and immediate impact on my finances for the foreseeable future. They have single-handedly cost me a fortune and are the only party probably in my lifetime who will ever do so. Yes, the Tories wanted it - but Labour supported it. The only party opposing the reforms were Lib Dem who won my vote then lost it for my lifetime at a greedy play for power.

Sorry, missed this the other day. Again, I completely sympathise with your view on the Lib Dems, I voted for them at the time and also haven't voted for them since - it was a time when many people had lost trust in Labour/Tory MPs and the Lib Dems appeared to be offering an alternative which turned out to be just as bad.

But what I don't understand is how you are comfortable voting Tory, when they are the ones who actually cost you a fortune - in fact if I remember correctly, the Tories didn't even want a cap on tuition fees, it was the Lib Dems who argued them down to £9k.

I don't mean to be one of those people who criticises anyone who votes Tory, many people have genuine reasons to and I respect that. But in this particular case, I find it hard to understand why you have been ready to forgive them when they are actually the cause of your problems - the Lib Dems just didn't stand up to them in your defence.