The UK Politics and EU Referendum thread - merged

[TightEnd]

Is Labour worse than the Tories? Is Michael Myers worse than Freddy Krueger? The poor bloody voters.

Labour is failing massively and on a historical scale,

says...

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2018/05/it-should-be-impossible-labour-be-worse-tories-yet-corbyn-managing-it

[TightEnd]

Happy 65th birthday to Tony Blair, only Labour leader to win a sustainable parliamentary majority since 1966

[RickBFA]

If this doesn't win over Nuneaton and Dudley, i don't know what will....

John McDonnell speaking at the Marx 200 conference on “Marxism as a force for change today.”

The possiblilty of Corbyn as PM, McDonnell as Chancellor and Abbott as Home Secretary should be enough to send any moderately minded sensible voter as far from Labour as possible.

Like I said before, the Tories should target their history, questionable alliances and core beliefs.

It’s an open goal for the Tory PR people if they have any level of competence.

[DaveShoelace]

If this doesn't win over Nuneaton and Dudley, i don't know what will....

John McDonnell speaking at the Marx 200 conference on “Marxism as a force for change today.”

The possiblilty of Corbyn as PM, McDonnell as Chancellor and Abbott as Home Secretary should be enough to send any moderately minded sensible voter as far from Labour as possible.

Like I said before, the Tories should target their history, questionable alliances and core beliefs.

It’s an open goal for the Tory PR people if they have any level of competence.

I'm not sure it is actually. The problem with that particular line of attack is a depressingly low number of people know the historical circumstances behind Corbyn/Abbott/McDonnel's weak spots.

Hardly anybody in wider society knows about the full extent of the horrors of communism, let alone the body count. That's why Dianne Abbott got away with this, despite Mao being the biggest mass murderer in history:



Nor do not many people know about Hamas and Hezzbolah, or young people know about the IRA for that matter.

There has never been a Nuremberg trial equivalent for communism, so while the Tories would be 'right' to bring it up, it just doesn't have anywhere near the same impact as it perhaps should.

[RickBFA]

If this doesn't win over Nuneaton and Dudley, i don't know what will....

John McDonnell speaking at the Marx 200 conference on “Marxism as a force for change today.”

The possiblilty of Corbyn as PM, McDonnell as Chancellor and Abbott as Home Secretary should be enough to send any moderately minded sensible voter as far from Labour as possible.

Like I said before, the Tories should target their history, questionable alliances and core beliefs.

It’s an open goal for the Tory PR people if they have any level of competence.

I'm not sure it is actually. The problem with that particular line of attack is a depressingly low number of people know the historical circumstances behind Corbyn/Abbott/McDonnel's weak spots.

Hardly anybody in wider society knows about the full extent of the horrors of communism, let alone the body count. That's why Dianne Abbott got away with this, despite Mao being the biggest mass murderer in history:



Nor do not many people know about Hamas and Hezzbolah, or young people know about the IRA for that matter.

There has never been a Nuremberg trial equivalent for communism, so while the Tories would be 'right' to bring it up, it just doesn't have anywhere near the same impact as it perhaps should.

I think you are right for the under 35-40’s.

Still a lot of people that vote over that age group to influence.

[TightEnd]

Some of the voting patterns from the 2018 local elections (Labour to Conservative swing from 2014 to 2018)... Conservatives gaining in areas that voted Leave, and in towns - but not cities.

[TightEnd]

The Conservative vote flatlined in pro-Remain areas but surged by nearly 10 pts where Leave was strong - whatukthinks
 
Curtice: "[T]he [Conservative] party thus has an electoral incentive to deliver a Brexit that meets the aspirations of Leave voters"

https://bit.ly/2IkHIaY

[TightEnd]

Local elections done, back to Brexit and cabinet wars stepped up this morning. Boris Johnson says May’s customs partnership a “crazy plan” >

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5701033/Boris-Johnson-savages-Downing-Streets-post-Brexit-trade-plans.html

[TightEnd]

Theresa May facing renewed turmoil over Brexit options

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/may/07/theresa-may-facing-renewed-turmoil-over-brexit-options

[TightEnd]

Opinion: Jeremy Corbyn is finally shifting toward the centre ground, though he may have set off too late

 https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/jeremy-corbyn-labour-party-nuneaton-left-wing-political-centre-paul-mason-a8339766.html

[TightEnd]

 Cabinet ministers have been warned that the customs plan pushed by Boris Johnson and other Tory Brexiteers would hit GDP by 1.8% in the long run, and negatively impact around 145,000 UK companies

https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexspence/the-brexiteers-customs-plan-would-hurt-145000-uk-companies?utm_term=.hxbaxqEM7L#.ye6A35xqeQ

[TightEnd]

Leave EU fined £70k for electoral law offences around EU referendum, Electoral Commission refers case to Metropolitan police re “reasonable grounds” for committing criminal offences

[TightEnd]

Theresa May has split the cabinet in two to thrash out two plans already rejected by the EU

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2018/05/customs-partnership-brexiteers-are-delaying-reckoning-reality

[TightEnd]

Ooh

from a new edition of a book by Tony Connolly, RTE Europe editor

[TightEnd]

Something remarkable in the YouGov polling from earlier in the week.

These are figures for those in social grade C2DE very broadly the working class

(January numbers in brackets):

CON 43% (35% in January)
LAB 40% (46%)
LD 7% (6%)
UKIP 3% (7%)
GRN 2% (2%)

Seven-point swing to the Tories from Labour since January

some of that will be leavers.