Election night 2019 / aftermath

[doctorf]

My source in Scottish Government was absolutely on the money when they predicted last week that the only surprise was going to be the sheer size of the Tory majority.

I predicted 40 and hoped for 80.

 

[JonR]

I’d be delighted to see the back of both of them. Layla Moran and Keir Starmer and we might at least have a credible opposition.

If Layla Moran manages to hold her seat then yes, absolutely, I think she would make a great candidate for leader. As for Keir Starmer, where was he during Labour’s disastrous campaign ?? Labour are paying a high price for keeping him muzzled.

 

[Tim Jones]

We now have a government Tommy Robertson approves of. Hold that thought.

Robinson. And he really is a racist c*nt.

 

[TheDecameron]

I predicted 40 and hoped for 80.

The next six months are going to be morbidly fascinating.

 

[ff1d1l]

Robinson. And he really is a racist c*nt.

Yaxley Lennon. Call a spade a spade.

 

[Guest432]

Yaxley Lennon. Call a spade a spade.

Cvnty McCvntface, call a cvnt a cvnt.

 

[gassor]

The predicted outcome is so sad, but I'm not surprised given the ineffectual leadership of the Labour party.

 

[Ponty]

And they can’t ditch the Marxists because so many of their constituencies have been taken over by Momentum. Rotten to the core.

It’s a disgrace that momentum are preventing an effective opposition, which is essential for a fully functioning government.

 

[Seeker_UK]

Let's come back in 5 years and see if voting for the Tories was a good thing or not.

It's a bad result. Too late for voters' remorse - let's see if it can be un-f**ked in 2024 .

 

[Tony L]

Which all adds up to; why can't we make the rules, when we are so clearly correct for all purposes?

In fairness is hard to frame a serious intellectual argument when elections can be won by wealthy and privileged elites peddling countless easily provable lies and pandering to a deeply ugly white ethnic nationalism rooted in cheap memes lifted directly from Nazi Germany or Trump’s slack-jawed regurgitation of same. I honestly don’t now how to counter that other than trying to figure out a way to emigrate somewhere far more intelligent and decent. England clearly isn’t for people like me.

 

[Tim Jones]

The predicted outcome is so sad, but I'm not surprised given the ineffectual leadership of the Labour party.

I could not agree with you more. My mum was born and brought up in Blyth, and I spent many years there are as a kid. The thought of it electing a Tory is, at least in some ways, very sad.

But we are no longer in the landscape of the 70s and 80s. And the left has comprehensively failed to understand that - as evidenced by the tortuous logic and conspiracy-theorising of many of its supporters here, who hoped that insularity and insult might gain them a majority. It might make them feel better - but it does nothing to represent the disadvantaged, or the systematic victims of capitalism.

 

[chris@panteg]

But the Tories were the government. In theory, the opposition should benefit from being the opposition as governments tend to become unpopular by governing.

Corbyn proves that doesn't need to be the case...

After 2001 they had 167 so still worse.

 

[Tony L]

As for Keir Starmer, where was he during Labour’s disastrous campaign ?? Labour are paying a high price for keeping him muzzled.

He would be a very useful leader of the opposition as he is clearly far, far higher IQ than Johnson and really understands legal and constitutional detail. He could utterly crucify Johnson at PMQs etc week after week. We need someone with that forensic ability more than at any time in living memory IMHO. If he is shortlisted I think I might even join Labour just to vote for him.

 

[hermit]

He would be a very useful leader of the opposition

Momentum and the left have the party stitched up. No way they would support Starmer. That would be far too sensible. I dread to think who the next unelectable leader of the opposition will be: Richard Burgon, Angela Rayner, Rebecca Long Bailey. We're doomed for a generation.

 

[Mark EJ]

If Layla Moran manages to hold her seat then yes, absolutely, I think she would make a great candidate for leader. As for Keir Starmer, where was he during Labour’s disastrous campaign ?? Labour are paying a high price for keeping him muzzled.

Both the OberStarmer & Miss Piggy/Lady Nugee are in a cupboard somewhere, voluntarily. They knew what was going to happen, but nevertheless lied through their teeth about it, and then went to ground hoping not to be associated with it. Gareth Snell (Labour) basically just confirmed this to Andrew Neil.

 

[Tim Jones]

The thing to really watch out for is that really troubling bit in the Tory manifesto about the Constitution.

Very few who voted for them will, I suspect, have clocked it - and it is Cummings-level scary.

 

[sean99]

Let's come back in 5 years and see if voting for the Tories was a good thing or not.

Unfortunately in this case I think past performance is a good predictor of future performance.

 

[Mark EJ]

...elections can be won by wealthy and privileged elites peddling countless easily provable lies and pandering to a deeply ugly white ethnic nationalism rooted in cheap memes lifted directly from Nazi Germany or Trump’s slack-jawed regurgitation of same. I honestly don’t now how to counter that other than trying to figure out a way to emigrate somewhere far more intelligent and decent. England clearly isn’t for people like me.

Or alternatively, the electorate just didn't trust the rest with their votes. There's always that possibility, comrade.

 

[Tony L]

Momentum and the left have the party stitched up. No way they would support Starmer. That would be far too sensible. I dread to think who the next unelectable leader of the opposition will be: Richard Burgon, Angela Rayner, Rebecca Long Bailey. We're doomed for a generation.

Rebecca Long-Bailey isn’t too bad, she’s pretty sharp and fast on her feet, definitely the best of that bunch, but given what a crook and liar Johnson is I feel Starmer is the right person for the job. He would be able to dissect the Bullingdon bell-end piece by piece. One thing you can always guarantee with Johnson is he’s far too lazy and arrogant to do his homework. He never has anything beyond the soundbite. Starmer could just rip him apart time after time.

 

[Swamp Thing]

The thing to really watch out for is that really troubling bit in the Tory manifesto about the Constitution.

Very few who voted for them will, I suspect, have clocked it - and it is Cummings-level scary.

Any other Reichstag 1933-esque observations?