UK General Discussion

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Obviously fake!

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Sun YouGov poll: Lab 39%, Tory 33%, UKIP 13%, LD 10%.

Labour lead at 6 points in the age of 'evil Tory cuts'. Brilliant.

Of course, we'll still be destroyed today, but hey-ho. Blair lost 17 councils and 550+ councillors at the 2000 locals then won big in the 2001 GE.

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Sun YouGov poll: Lab 39%, Tory 33%, UKIP 13%, LD 10%.

Labour lead at 6 points in the age of 'evil Tory cuts'. Brilliant.

And you need to be like 8 points clear to win a majority. Good luck.

Sun YouGov poll: Lab 39%, Tory 33%, UKIP 13%, LD 10%.

Labour lead at 6 points in the age of 'evil Tory cuts'. Brilliant.

And you need to be like 8 points clear to win a majority. Good luck.

Electoral Calculus with those figures gives a Labour majority of 74 and UK Polling Report a majority of 78; neither of these have an explicit option for UKIP, but the Tories will lose more to UKIP than Labour.

Remember Labour got a majority of 66 on a 3 point victory in 2005.

Oh, of course. I'm one of them losers who puts poll numbers into Polling Report every other day. Still, for a government that is destroying the NHS, cutting the welfare state and killing the working class, Labour's 39% is rather paltry for mid-term!

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David Starkey on Question Time tonight!

I hope everyone is watching!

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There has been a lot of pressure in the last couple of days for Cameron to legislate for the EU referendum now, rather than after a presumed Conservative victory in 2015. Surely though this undermines parliamentary sovereignty as the government would be binding another parliament to hold a referendum. Have I got this mixed up, or...?

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Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans has been arrested on suspicion of rape.

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Opinium/Observer poll. Labour 35, Tories 28, Ukip 17, Lib Dems 9%.

Just 31% see Ed Miliband as a future PM.

Britain's Progressive Majority in action.

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And a week before the 1979 election.... http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/poll.aspx?oItemID=37&view=wide

Thatcher on 40% is a bit different from Ed Miliband on 31%.

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And a week before the 1979 election.... http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/poll.aspx?oItemID=37&view=wide

Thatcher on 40% is a bit different from Ed Miliband on 31%.

That was on April 2nd. On April 26th, she was on 31%.

I'm sure once the Conservative campaign mauls Ed away, his numbers shall drop a bit too. Maybe a nice 24% or so?

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https://www.politicshome.com/uk/article/77735/

Cameron being urged by leading Conservatives to scrap the Same Sex Marriage bill. I doubt he'll do this, though, we'll see. The party has been ripped apart by it.

[Supersonic]

https://www.politicshome.com/uk/article/77735/

Cameron being urged by leading Conservatives to scrap the Same Sex Marriage bill. I doubt he'll do this, though, we'll see. The party has been ripped apart by it.

This would be useless.
Damage is already done.

I agree, he might as well force it through now. Better to alienate one side and not both.

https://www.politicshome.com/uk/article/77735/

Cameron being urged by leading Conservatives to scrap the Same Sex Marriage bill. I doubt he'll do this, though, we'll see. The party has been ripped apart by it.

I fear Cameron is that weak. But I don't know what would that accomplish, the UKIP horse has long bolted. It's hurtful that so many people have changed their vote on it though.

Also is anyone else extremely uncomfortable with Nigel Evans being named like this? He hasn't even been charged.

It's expected in this day and age unfortunately. I hope he isn't hounded out of office.

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Apparently there are now enough anti-Cameron backbenchers to trigger a confidence vote but they aren't ready yet.

http://www7.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2013/05/26/tory-backbenchers-reportedly-tell-cameron-he-may-have-to-break-up-the-coalition-to-remain-leader/

Probably too close to the summer recess for them.

I hope they gain some momentum soon, the hilarity that would ensue would be priceless.

He'd win a ballot, surely?

Could any of you Brits explain why Tory backbenchers (and much of the party's base) hate Cameron so much? I mean, other than on some "moral issues" like gay marriage he has been pretty right-wing, particularly when you consider the coalition with the Lib-Dems. Is the hate just due to anti-EU obsessiveness, or are there other reasons as well?

Yeah, there are the moral issues as you mentioned. If you ask the Tory base, they will in no way say he has been 'pretty right wing', they feel he has folded to the left over his foreign aid commitments, ring-fencing of the NHS budget and has done nothing to roll back the welfare state (they prefer a far, far more radical reduction). Libertarians think his Libyan/Syrian action is, well, stupid and despise the Data and Communications Bill (which monitors phone calls, internet use etc). Traditional Conservatives, the moral issues and the fact marriage tax cuts have no come into action. The Tory left at this stage only support him as they think he is an electoral asset, he does poll ahead of his party, but that's pretty much it, many feel he has not promoted a meritocratic government favouring 'chumocracy'. Personally, I favour the electoral argument, and feel he should remain and the other wings of the party are being a tad ridiculous though I would prefer a more right wing administration. Of course, coalition entails.

Oh and a new ComRes poll:

Lab 34% Con 30% UKIP 17% LibDem 10% Oth 9%.

Labour lead at a paltry four. Ipsos Mori had their lead at 3% last week I believe.

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The Tories cannot be happy about 30% - that's lower than they got in 1997!

I'm happy. For me, it's the Labour lead that counts.

At the moment, it's historically weak especially considering the 'draconian cuts!11!' everyone goes on about.

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Awesome Mitchell rant re Tories, awfulness, austerity, gay-marriage etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4xBbcCpfDc

I thought this was Andrew Mitchell, Tory MP going off on one, but nah.

Either way, I can't abide David Mitchell.

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Fantastic, we share a 0/10 on commonality. Feels awkward when I have to agree with a Thatcherite.

The feeling is the same when I have to agree with a big-s Socialist.

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I seem to recall people being very enthusiastic about Brown's Citizens UK speech (?) a couple of day before the 2010 election.

Yes, that was a very good speech. Credit where it's due.

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In other news, three Tory councillors in Havering (my home borough) have defected to UKIP, quadrupling their representation on the council.

The grammar nazi in me wants to know how those councilors quadrupled their votes, even tho I realize that you meant the UKIP quadrupled its representation on the council.  (Yes, I am aware that some English dialects use plural pronouns for groups, but even in that case, your pronoun choice is merely ambiguous instead of wrong.)

It's incredibly uncommon to say the UKIP. Just saying.

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Former Glasgow MP Mohammed Sarwar is off to Pakistan where is, apparently, likely to be appointed Governor of Punjab or some similar post.

Is this for real?

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It's fun to see the Brits squirming because it's just under 33C... awwwwwwwww

It was horrible today.

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Don't scare the children with that image afleitch.

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Labour has not paid Corporation Tax (paywall).

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article3825577.ece

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Most of the other people who were named as new Peers yesterday, however, pretty clearly bought their peerages in the traditional manner.

Abolish the f**king thing.

Bring back the Hereditary Peers.

[Supersonic]

Most of the other people who were named as new Peers yesterday, however, pretty clearly bought their peerages in the traditional manner.

Abolish the f**king thing.

Bring back the Hereditary Peers.

The more the merrier - to be abolished.

Re-seating the hereditaries for a grand finale where the chamber is consigned to the dust of the grave would be quite romantic in its way.

See, bi-partisan appeal for my proposal. In a way.

Most of the other people who were named as new Peers yesterday, however, pretty clearly bought their peerages in the traditional manner.

Abolish the f**king thing.

Bring back the Hereditary Peers.

And then abolish the Commons maybe?

One can wish.

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Am I the only one who thinks Cameron would look better in swimming trunks than Clegg?

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Second Chamber is a much more fitting name than Lords anyways. Though I wonder why the hell they still called it "the Palace of Westminster".

Ew, no. That's boring and dull. Lords is traditional, so better in my books.

Am I the only one who thinks Cameron would look better in swimming trunks than Clegg?

Yes!

Interesting article from before 1997 election predicting likely front benchers in 2020. Some good guesses.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-cabinet-of-tomorrow-1277684.html

Interesting..