General Election June 8

[UndercoverElephant]

Another major blunder by Theresa May not turning up to the TV debate this evening. She could have had the final word. Massive missed opportunity, while all of her opponents scored points against her.

UKIP also finally killed themselves off, I think. Well...Paul Nuttall positioned them firmly to the economic right of the Tories - saying you want to cut corporation tax is not going to win him many friends. UKIP are now going to be reduced to a protest party for a very few disgruntled tories. Very few people on the left will vote for them.

The next set of polls should be interesting. I think what is happening is that the Labour party are mopping up votes from all over the place, including the Tories, while some UKIP voters are switching to the Tories, which is helping to offset their losses to Labour.

[Potemkin Villager]

demented Amber Rudd

People who are on benefits and want to be by the seaside move to Hastings to have easier access to friends, drugs and drink.

Presumably the friends interested in drugs and drink are all fellow travelers from t5hr local conclub?

[UndercoverElephant]

For anyone who hasn't seen this, here is May's interview on Sky earlier today. The look on her face says it all. She's dying inside. Fake laughs to try to hide it.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/h ... s-10535711

[Potemkin Villager]

For anyone who hasn't seen this, here is May's interview on Sky earlier today. The look on her face says it all. She's dying inside. Fake laughs to try to hide it.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/h ... s-10535711

QED

[UndercoverElephant]

UE, certainly agree that it has been a poor Tory campaign.

It has been, in the words of an un-named "senior tory", "atrocious, and one or two people may need to be taken outside and shot." That would be bad enough, but this is in the context of an election being called by a person who thought she'd win a landslide based on the prowess of her own leadership and management skills. Everybody is supposed to be voting tory because we need a steady hand at the wheel for Brexit, and because that requires her to have a solid majority!

The truth is that right now I think she'd take a majority of 5, even though that would leave her far weaker than she was when she called the election.

However I also wrote that his open door views on immigration and general softness on national security will be his undoing when it comes to a ge. I still think that is the case despite the tightening of the polls.

Possibly, but it is rare that you agree with any party or politician on everything. I currently believe the result could be anything between a 50 seat majority for the tories and a hung parliament with the tories having lost 40 seats. It is very hard to call, because there are so many factors in play.

[UndercoverElephant]

I do think that Labour will get a better vote share then Ed Miliband in 2015 which will be a good result for Corbyn. It will increase his chances of surviving the inevitable leadership challenge.

It would be naive to think that the advanced plans by the Labour PLP to get rid of Corbyn will be shelved just because he wasn't a disaster on the campaign trail.

I don't agree. I think Corbyn has done more than enough to make sure he retains control of the Labour Party, even if they don't deprive May of her majority. In fact I think they'll be lining up to serve in his Shadow Cabinet, in the hope of positioning themselves to take over from him, because I don't think he'll still be the leader in 5 years time.

[UndercoverElephant]

The vast majority of MPs have no confidence in Corbyn and have refused to serve under his shadow cabinet.

That was before this election was called. Since then he has gone through a process that looks a bit like resurrection.

If, as I think is very likely, the membership reelect Corbyn, a faction of the PLP will do a SDP and leave the Labour party.

I very much doubt it. You really do need to stop reading the Daily Mail. Corbyn has been presented as Michael Foot Mk II, but the current Labour manifesto bears no resemblance to Labour's 1983 manifesto. You are not paying attention! Corbyn, regardless of his history or the stories told by the right-wing press, is leading the Labour party on a centre-left social democratic platform. There is no point in those Labour MPs leaving to form a new SDP, because Corbyn's Labour Party is politically already much closer to the SDP than it is to Old Labour.

[clv101]

If, as I think is very likely, the membership reelect Corbyn, a faction of the PLP will do a SDP and leave the Labour party.

No chance! This campaign has dramatically transformed Corbyn, I don't think they have a better campaigner. I expect him to stick around for a few more years to come and for there to be an orderly transition to a younger leader, who'll largely continue his programme, in a few years. This is the 'new' Labour Party and any remaining talk of a split is misguided.

[raspberry-blower]

I very much doubt it. You really do need to stop reading the Daily Mail.

Actually UE, it is not just the Daily Fail that has been unrelentingly hostile to Corbyn.

Jonathan Cook: Guardian mourns Corbyn's polling surge

None of this would matter if we had a really democratic and pluralistic media. But we don’t. The Guardian is the only media outlet that should, according to its claimed ideology, support Corbyn. And yet it appears to be quietly aghast at the very thought.

If there is one thing to be gained from this election, it is the spotlight that has been shone on the parlous state of the corporate British media. Even the Guardian cannot hide where its true sympathies, and interests, lie.

This is precisely why the MSM is becoming increasingly irrelevant. They are only serving corporate interests and are detached from reality.
Corbyn is perceived to be a threat to the status quo. Which is why there is so much negative campaigning against him.
Only this tactic does not work. Same tactics used in Brexit, same tactics used against Trump.

[UndercoverElephant]

I very much doubt it. You really do need to stop reading the Daily Mail.

Actually UE, it is not just the Daily Fail that has been unrelentingly hostile to Corbyn.

Jonathan Cook: Guardian mourns Corbyn's polling surge

None of this would matter if we had a really democratic and pluralistic media. But we don’t. The Guardian is the only media outlet that should, according to its claimed ideology, support Corbyn. And yet it appears to be quietly aghast at the very thought.

If there is one thing to be gained from this election, it is the spotlight that has been shone on the parlous state of the corporate British media. Even the Guardian cannot hide where its true sympathies, and interests, lie.

Agreed. Both The Guardian and the BBC have both become thinly-veiled pawns of The Establishment they once set themselves apart from. Although having said that, I think Laura Kuehnsberg came under sufficient pressure from her past biased reporting that right now even she knows she can't help to save Mrs May.

This is precisely why the MSM is becoming increasingly irrelevant. They are only serving corporate interests and are detached from reality.
Corbyn is perceived to be a threat to the status quo. Which is why there is so much negative campaigning against him.
Only this tactic does not work. Same tactics used in Brexit, same tactics used against Trump.

Will be very interesting to see what happens next week then. I am rather looking forward to this election now.

It is hard to see what future the mainstream national print press has anyway. The average age of the readers of both the Mail and Guardian is growing older all the time, and they are finding it harder and harder to operate at a profit. The writing would appear to be on the wall, although it may be 20 years before they disappear completely.

[clv101]

Another major blunder by Theresa May not turning up to the TV debate this evening.

I think she was wise not too. It would have been very damaging, she wouldn't have been well prepared, certainly wouldn't have looked good under pressure.

In fact, it's hard to see anything she actually does these days helping her. She'd almost be better of just hiding for the whole week!

[clv101]

This video and write up is good:
http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/three-m ... story.html

[UndercoverElephant]

Another major blunder by Theresa May not turning up to the TV debate this evening.

I think she was wise not too. It would have been very damaging, she wouldn't have been well prepared, certainly wouldn't have looked good under pressure.

In fact, it's hard to see anything she actually does these days helping her. She'd almost be better of just hiding for the whole week!

Funny old world, eh? Because that is precisely the position she thought Corbyn would be in about now.

[raspberry-blower]

Latest opinion poll puts Tories just 3 points ahead of Labour: source

This is a monumental Tory Party screw up: 20+ points ahead at the start of campaigning to this.
Tory HQ must be ****ing bricks at the moment

[UndercoverElephant]

Latest opinion poll puts Tories just 3 points ahead of Labour: source

This is a monumental Tory Party screw up: 20+ points ahead at the start of campaigning to this.
Tory HQ must be ****ing bricks at the moment

20+ points to this, and Theresa May had the advantage of knowing there was going to be election while Corbyn did not. Although I am beginning to wonder whether she just had a funny moment one night and decided to call an election even she wasn't expecting.