How many former Tory voters in Battersea or Merton will be voting differently this time? Post Reply

[livegreen]

@katherinhepburn

Unfortunately like me and most Labour voters I know, the majority of Labour MPs also think Corbyn is a poor leader, will never be Prime Minister, is incompetent and has been unsuccessful in opposing the Conservatives. He needs to be removed if we are to have a successful opposition party. However accept that a vocal minority of Labour supporters think he is fantastic.
Only way he will step down is if labour do as badly as they did in the local elections and that is what I will be voting for.

I am pleased that Conservatives are stealing some of Labours old policies as sees Government moving to the centre, however this is all noise. The next few years will all be about Brexit and funding of schools, NHS etc will depend on the economy staying strong during the major upheaval that is coming our way not on empty promises made in a manifesto that Corbyn will never have to deliver.

Whenever I see Corbyn surrounded by crowds I'm always reminded of Life of Brian quote "He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!"

[KatherineHepburn]

Livegreen, are you actually serious??
You are a Labour supporter who is going to switch to the Conservatives (not Lib Dems or Greens) because (I assume never having met him) you don't like the latest leader of the party?

If this is so...please don't support my football team....or preferred choice on Strictly or Bake-Off eh?

If he is so disliked as you say how on earth did he receive such enormous support within his own party to become leader?

Owen Jones just sent this out in Twitter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOK1F_K ... uD&index=1
So I'm guessing that he has swallowed his dislike and got on with voting for the party that actually does want to see change.
I'm sorry, but there is nothing realistic or positive to be found in the Conservative manifesto, just more failing austerity, cuts to care, hard and damaging Brexit and a privatised healthcare system.

[SW11er]

It's Friday everyone. Have a break from all this political chat and get out and get some fresh air.

[KatherineHepburn]

But this is more fun than work!
Ohhhh kaaay ohhh kaaay

[Denwand]

[quote="KatherineHepburn"
If he is so disliked as you say how on earth did he receive such enormous support within his own party to become leader? [/quote]

Well....

Members of the Labour Party who voted for Corbyn as leader = 330,000

Number of potential voters in the UK General Election = 46,000,000 (roughly)

I think there's your answer.

Plus of course the average Momentum supporter does not equal the average British Voter, or anything like them!

spot the difference...







Anyway have a good weekend!

[KatherineHepburn]

Denwand, you are actually nuts, you know that don't you?
Have a good weekend.

[GuyD73]

The sad reality of the fishing issue is that Brexit comes with absolutely no guarantees of making things better for British fishermen, it's just another thing that will be part of the negotiations (or bargaining chip, if you prefer)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05 ... rs-brexit/

[Punctured Bicycle]

And when Article 17 CFP was introduced in 2014 the government ignored it and when Greenpeace tried to get them to help small boats they pushed back. The government had powers to improve matters and chose not to!

http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/media/pres ... e-20160118

[GuyD73]

Thank you Punctured Bicycle, I referenced this high court action earlier in the thread. Given my business, I was interested to hear this from the horse's mouth, so spoke to a number of the Greenpeace team about it. They were understandably gutted that Govt slithered off on a technicality, to everyone's detriment - fishermen, coastal communities, planet, general public, everyone... FFS.

[ChrisCoghlan]

Hi Everyone,
I am standing as an independent both to oppose Brexit and attempt to prove demand for a new centrist party at the ballot box to attempt to finally galvanise moderate Tory, Labour and Lib Dem MPs to come together in a new party and actually represent us. I believe proving that this is possible at the ballot box would provide huge energy towards bringing moderation and hope back to our politics. I also oppose social care and school cuts. I'm personally particularly concerned about the latter as my eldest daughter is due to start school next year.

I've just resigned from the Foreign Office to do this because I felt so frustrated by the lack of representation for the centre ground by our political parties, except perhaps by the Lib Dems, but who are also failing to prove credible. Before taking this leap I undertook polling by Survation (published on our website), which shows an independent stop brexit candidate polling at double the Lib Dems, with enough undecideds out there for us to have a real chance of winning. Would be very happy to answer any questions, my email is coghlanstopbrexit@gmail.com.
thanks,
Chris Coghlan

[storm35]

I received this email this morning from Richard Davis the Battersea LD candidate. I had mailed all the candidates asking them if they will promise not to support school cuts (automatically from some website). I have yet to hear from the others.

Thanks for getting in touch.
Yes, I am fully opposed to the cuts to schools funding. The Lib Dems will actually go further, we will invest £7bn over the next parliament, that equates to £46m in Wandsworth schools. We will also protect the pupil premium to ensure those children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds have the best chance in life. With this we will be increasing the early years pupil premium to £1000 per child.

I personally come from a background where none of my family had completed A'levels, let alone gone to university. Most of the kids in the community I grew up in were not expected to get good jobs, and education was the only way to escape from that. I have seen the power of education and the difference inspirational teachers can have on children. We cannot continue with underfunded schools, overcrowded classrooms and overworked teachers. I know this as the partner of a teacher in a local Battersea school and having served as a school governor in High View.
Only the Lib Dems in Battersea will fight for all children to get the best start in life, this starts by making sure the system has the money it needs.
If you have any other questions please do get in touch.
Many thanks,
Richard

[Punctured Bicycle]

There seems to be a cynical attempt to Chase the Brexit vote at the expense of more reasonably minded Conservative voters. This piece by Christopher Howarth, the senior researcher for Hard Brexit Tory group, is a case in point. There is an admission that they are trying to appeal outside the traditional party structure which is fine as long as it is not at the expense of core supporters. The mention of Salisbury Convention is also an admission that this General Election is an attempt to force legislation through the Lords. Brexit is a beginning, to be followed by Dementia Tax and a return of fox hunting. Theresa May's Team seems to be steering hopelessly off course.

http://www.conservativehome.com/thecolu ... he-eu.html

[christine.eccles]

After June 8th, who do you want to negotiate Brexit? Boris Johnson or Keir Starmer? The clown or the statesman? But this isn't just about Brexit though May would have it so. It's about the future of the NHS and what kind of society we want to live in. Dementia tax etc says it all. If you are not one of the few - paying tax on income over £80,0000 - then you are one of the many. So don't be deluded. May hasn't got your best interests at heart - and she's punching way above her weight.

[Alchemy]

I received this email this morning from Richard Davis the Battersea LD candidate. I had mailed all the candidates asking them if they will promise not to support school cuts (automatically from some website). I have yet to hear from the others.

I emailed all of them as well about three key issues (Brexit, school funding, and business rates).

• Chris Coghlan (Independent) replied almost immediately
• Jane Ellison (Conservatives) asked for my home address and sent me a two page written reply -- automated, of course, but tailored to my questions.
• Lois Davis (Green Party) replied about two weeks later with a brief, but tailored email, referring to her party's manifesto

Nothing from the others. I can post their replies if anybody is interested.

[ukrailblog]

Since I last posted, Theresa May and her manifesto seems to have managed to destroy her campaign pretty effectively. The dementia tax has gone down like a lead balloon. And I'd expect many on here would be worried by the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies calculating that the Tory manifesto is a plan for a real-terms cut to per-pupil spending of around 7%. Personally, I can't see why any parent who has a child in state school would vote for a 7% cut in funding for their child! (Google "IFS conservative education 7% cut" if you want to read more).

But she'd be the better Brexit negotatiator right? Well a former ambassador who has negotiated international treaties thinks the exact opposite:

All of which underlines a thought that has been pulling at me ever since the election started. May has continually tried to pitch this as a question of who you would wish to act as the negotiator of Brexit, either her or Jeremy Corbyn. But why would anybody believe that a woman who is not even capable to debate with her opponents would be a good negotiator?

In fact she would be an appalling negotiator. She becomes completely closed off when contradicted. She is incapable of thinking on her feet.
...
So empathy with your opposite number is a key requirement in a skilled negotiator, and everything I have ever seen about Theresa May marks her out as perhaps having less emotional intelligence than anybody I have ever observed.
...
Frankly, if I had the choice between sending in Jeremy Corbyn, with his politeness and reasonableness, or Theresa May, into a negotiation I would not hesitate for a second in choosing Corbyn. I am quite sure there is not another diplomat in the World who would make a different choice. May’s flakiness and intolerance of disagreement represent a disaster waiting to happen.

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives ... gotiation/

I suspect even died-in-the-wool conservative supporters are disappointed by May and her campaign at this point. Frankly at this point, I'm not disappointed by it, I'm scared by it