Batley and Spen by-election

[Diamond]

The New Statesmen podcast yesterday was pretty interesting on this.

They predict a terrible result and implied that the Labour party leadership may have written the seat off anyway as a sign of which way they are taking things.

They were especially good on Kim Leadbetter's selection and why that is seen as a massive own goal by some. It's the idea that Labour have parachuted in a PR stunt of a candidate (albeit well meaning), displacing better qualified local candidates and, to a certain extent, trying to exert an emotional play on the vote that is not really appropriate - the fact that someone's family member was violently murdered says nothing about them as a politician.

 

[Diamond]

It's a sort of creeping sentimentalism that seems to undermine the necessary spirit of competition.

 

[andysays]

Or that Galloway will take many votes that would otherwise have gone Tory, and as a result it will be a Labour victory and claimed as a vote of confidence in Starmer's leadership.

It seems likely to me that Galloway will take more potentially Labour votes than potentially Tory ones, if that makes sense.

 

[tim]

Possible but I suspect it will be Tory /Galloway neck and neck followed by labour a third or fourth. Labour vote may also be eaten by Lib Dems.

It was a Tory seat until 1997, and aside from the 2016 election where the Tories and Liberals didn't stand, mostly on the margins of marginality: not really much of a Labour "Heartland" seat.

Batley and Spen (UK Parliament constituency) - Wikipedia

 

[tim]

It seems likely to me that Galloway will take more potentially Labour votes than potentially Tory ones, if that makes sense.

Yes, but Labour votes that would have otherwise gone Tory.

 

[killer b]

What makes you think Galloway is going to do much better than the 6% he's polling?

 

[lazythursday]

It was a Tory seat until 1997, and aside from the 2016 election where the Tories and Liberals didn't stand, mostly on the margins of marginality: not really much of a Labour "Heartland" seat.

Batley and Spen (UK Parliament constituency) - Wikipedia

Living a couple of constituencies away, my perspective is that it feels fairly typical of a large swath of Labour seats around former mill towns on the edge of northern conurbations - might be a bit more marginal than others but if these sorts of seats with a large Asian population start to go Labour really is fucked. Also the boundaries changed significantly in 1997 I believe.

 

[hitmouse]

I don't agree. On either of those points. If the party members got behind him, he could ride this out.

As it is, it is the members that are destroying the party, not him.

Don't make me post that Brecht poem ffs!

Crashes on my phone, what happened please?

That's an excellent show of taste on your phone's part, I think you should probably thank it.

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry tbh

Freedom of speech! Except for speech about anal sex or "chest feeding".

It's 7 minutes long so gives a bit more context than the others Asfar rather than being a Galloway team player comes across a publicity-seeking shit on a day trip to Batley.

I, for one, am shocked and appalled that some publicity-seeking shit with no connection to the place would be running around making a dick of himself when George Galloway is trying to campaign.

 

[glitch hiker]

Galloways' comments to Owen Jones regarding BLM show he's happy to allow BLM to be misrepresented as well

 

[hitmouse]

Checked to see how Tommy Robinson's visit to Batley is going and it appears he's bottled it:

Batley 26/06/2021 Update
Due to the level of opposition , and the response from the community, Tommy Robinson has done his best Cadburys impression and flaked out.
As for "For Britain" ....Anne Marie has been advised by their own security to not attempt to march or speak in Batley town centre.
I guess the Football Lads Against Fascism and Millitant Anti Fascist coalition , along side our Muslim Community is far too much for the outsiders to handle.
A message to those outsiders who had hoped to come to OUR town and sow divisions in OUR community .... Crawl back under your rock and stay away from our town. Fascism is not welcome here.
For any other small fascist groups still thinking of coming.... you are in a position of weakness .... abandoned by your organisers...stay away.
Our event still stands.
12pm , Market Sqr (opposite Jo Cox House), Batley.

 

[The39thStep]

If anyone thinks that the Galloway entourage , complete with Toby Young and Lawrence Fox on this occasion, are walking around being showered with rose petals by the local electorate then check the security out here

 

[Diamond]

If anyone thinks that the Galloway entourage , complete with Toby Young and Lawrence Fox on this occasion, are walking around being showered with rose petals by the local electorate then check the security out here
View attachment 275374

What a dreadful suit.

 

[LDC]

What a dreadful suit.

Subpar Peaky Blinders wannabe look.

 

[kenny g]

Subpar Peaky Blinders wannabe look.

Interesting hand tats on the man in the whistle.

 

[rekil]

If anyone thinks that the Galloway entourage , complete with Toby Young and Lawrence Fox on this occasion, are walking around being showered with rose petals by the local electorate then check the security out here

Walkie talkie and all. I bet galloway has a ludicrous codename. Saladin or something.

Only 9k in his tragic gofundme begging bowl. If that's any indication, surely he won't do much better than he did in west bromwich.

 

[glitch hiker]

If anyone thinks that the Galloway entourage , complete with Toby Young and Lawrence Fox on this occasion, are walking around being showered with rose petals by the local electorate then check the security out here
View attachment 275374

Wait, that's a real picture? He's allying himself with those two?

FFS, why am I not surprised. He's the guy gladhanding fascist enabler in chief, Steve Bannon.

Galloway is utter scum

 

[The39thStep]

Walkie talkie and all. I bet galloway has a ludicrous codename. Saladin or something.

Only 9k in his tragic gofundme begging bowl. If that's any indication, surely he won't do much better than he did in west bromwich.

It’s a toxic mixture in that constituency which he will exploit to the fullest . I’m sceptic that he’s a challenger but he will get some votes . Whatever he gets it’s not part of a pro working class fight back it’s exploiting tensions .

 

[The39thStep]

Wait, that's a real picture? He's allying himself with those two?

FFS, why am I not surprised. He's the guy gladhanding fascist enabler in chief, Steve Bannon.

Galloway is utter scum

Unfortunately those two have been most prominent in defending the teacher and two others at the school , who some reports say had to go into hiding . Not sure about the hiding but sure about their support .

 

[platinumsage]

Galloway is utter scum

Aaron Bastani has been busy tying his colours to his mast.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

hang on a minute

i know his politics are a bit flexible, but he's going for the muslim vote and the far right vote at the same time?

 

[Elpenor]

hang on a minute

i know his politics are a bit flexible, but he's going for the muslim vote and the far right vote at the same time?

Presumably the message is:

“Gays are bad” to the Muslim demographics

and

“Gays and Muslims are both bad” to the far right vote.

 

[PR1Berske]

If anyone thinks that the Galloway entourage , complete with Toby Young and Lawrence Fox on this occasion, are walking around being showered with rose petals by the local electorate then check the security out here
View attachment 275374

I have watched many amounts of pornographic material and I swear everyone in this picture has an adult entertainment doppelganger, especially the guy on the right in Asos shoes and the Burton suit.

 

[The39thStep]

hang on a minute

i know his politics are a bit flexible, but he's going for the muslim vote and the far right vote at the same time?

Think it’s a bit more complex than that tbh . He ran the same campaign on ‘traditional family values ‘ in Scotland and he juggles the the ‘free speech stuff with parental rights . Any port in a storm for Galloway , Best summed up with ‘Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others.’

 

[tim]

What makes you think Galloway is going to do much better than the 6% he's polling?

The 6% was some days ago and he's been raising his profile since then. He is a charismatic and effective campaigner and managed to pull off unexpected election wins on two previous occasions. If you look back at the threads here on the Bethnal Green and Bow election in 2005 and the Bradford West election lots of us assumed that he wouldn't do well and he did, despite being an utter shit.

 

[kenny g]

The 6% was some days ago and he's been raising his profile since then. He is a charismatic and effective campaigner and managed to pull off unexpected election wins on two previous occasions. If you look back at the threads here on the Bethnal Green and Bow election in 2005 and the Bradford West election lots of us assumed that he wouldn't do well and he did, despite being an utter shit.

He reminds me of the soothsayer in asterix and the soothsayer. Goes into a community, identifies divisions, amplifies them and then makes himself appear as on the side of everyone.

Asterix and The Soothsayer

One dark and stormy night, a sinister visitor arrives in the little Gaulish village. Prolix, who claims too be a soothsayer, prophesies that when the storm is over the weather will improve. And it does! Now the credulous villagers believe every word he says, but Asterix has his suspicions of the...

books.google.com

 

[glitch hiker]

Aaron Bastani has been busy tying his colours to his mast.

Are you sure? I can't see that's the impression I've gotten.

 

[kenny g]

Hadn't really appreciated how supportive of the cpgb-ml Galloway is.

 

[Dogsauce]

How long until Galloway takes the Spiked! gig?

 

[belboid]

How long until Galloway takes the Spiked! gig?

-2 days

‘Labour has ignored its voters – it is now paying the price’

George Galloway on why he is standing in the Batley and Spen by-election.

www.spiked-online.com

 

[tim]

How long until Galloway takes the Spiked! gig?

Comrades in arms

https://www.spiked-online.com/2021/06/24/labour-has-ignored-its-voters-it-is-now-paying-the-price/