The 2017 General Election campaign

[Pickman's model]

Funnily Tory voters I've spoken to aren't even considering the possibility of a Labour win.They're not checking the polls and seem very complacent.

Understandably so.

But those who I know that are floating Labour/Green/Undecided/Spoil are pilImg in behind Labour and there is a sense of *cough* momentum about it.

A line seems to have been drawn and people are choosing which side of it they're on.

It feels (amongst my circles) more polarised than any election I can recall, more than Brexit even.

there are two doors ahead. one is marked 'abandon hope all ye who enter here', the other bears just a question mark.

 

[Bingo]

Rachel Reeves in Leeds West, no mention of Corbyn from her.

 

[DotCommunist]

Rachel Reeves in Leeds West, no mention of Corbyn from her.

what on earth did you do in a previous life to deserve her?

 

[Bingo]

I should have asked her the other day when she trespassed in my garden!

She was really upset that I called her out on a couple of things, I had to move her along by ensuring her I'd be voting labour!

 

[DotCommunist]

I see Proff Green has come out in support of corbyn.

 

[ViolentPanda]

"revolutionary leadership for the working-class", good job too, how else will the proles know what to do.

Well, we can be assured of good leadership when the Shoreditch candidate is called Jonty!

I mean, "Jonty" for fuck's sake!!! String the cunt up from a fucking lamp-post!

 

[ViolentPanda]

I got canvassed yesterday: 'the best Labour manifesto ever"... "would you put a Labour poster in the window?" (er, no) ... "well yes the candidate, but it's the party you're voting for"...

The leaflet says "It's CHUKA on the ballot paper here". No mention of any of the headline national policies, like nationalisation or fairer taxation. A bit of anodyne local waffle and a lot about what a wonderful chap CHUKA is.


is that divisive approach replicated across a lot of other safe Labour seats? By people we all know will obstruct the implementation of the manifesto promises they're notionally standing on.

I went to the Streatham hustings last week. Same thing there - nothing about national policies, all about what Chuka has done/is doing locally.

 

[kebabking]

Of the four campaigns I've laid eyes on in Worcestershire - none held by Labour, some swings/marginals, some solid Tory seats - none make mention of Corbyn, and only one makes mention of a Labour government with some very vague ideas of what it's policies might be.

None of which was much more specific than 'fairness'.

 

[SpookyFrank]

The leaflet says "It's CHUKA on the ballot paper here". No mention of any of the headline national policies, like nationalisation or fairer taxation. A bit of anodyne local waffle and a lot about what a wonderful chap CHUKA is.


is that divisive approach replicated across a lot of other safe Labour seats? By people we all know will obstruct the implementation of the manifesto promises they're notionally standing on.

Same thing here. Chris Leslie has apparently never heard of this Corbyn bloke.

Can anyone in a more marginal labour seat/potential labour gain shed some light on what labour are up to campaign-wise there?

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Andy Slaughter in Hammersmith is running a pretty local campaign, but then he always does. His thing has always been local campaigning and saying how he votes for his constituency and principles (subtext: rather than the party line). I've not seen any mention of Corbyn by name but I don't think that's particularly unusual.

He isn't a Corbynite - he resigned as shadow justice secretary - so I'm sure he's not unhappy to be doing this, but I'd be surprised if he did anything else.

 

[bi0boy]

There's no advantage for a ppc to profess to being a Corbyn fan. Corbyn lovers will vote Labour anyway.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

There's no advantage for a ppc to profess to being a Corbyn fan. Corbyn lovers will vote Labour anyway.

Well yes. We hear quite enough about him, and national policy, as it is. I prefer this sort of campaigning even though I'm generally pro Corbyn. I hope it persists.

 

[chilango]

Matt Rosa (Reading East) 4 page leaflet without a single mention of Corbyn.

 

[lazythursday]

Labour's 'split campaign' (distinctive local campaigns where there is a sitting MP plus the national campaign) was discussed on this blog back in April - All That Is Solid ...: Labour Party Campaign Strategy and it seems a sensible way to go rather than some sort of back-stabbing of the leadership, for once.

On the other hand, I've noticed that my old New Labour 'friends' on Facebook can't even bring themselves to post anything anti-Tory at the moment, let alone something pro-Labour... they appear to have not noticed there is an election going on at all, which is strange for political obsessives.

 

[Hollis]

Interesting for the anoraks out there... the Lib Dems seem to have failed to ignite any lingering remain sentiment.... I don't figure the polls are going to move much from now on..

 

[redsquirrel]

I am pretty sure the Tories would love Corbyn to stay on after losing the election. They can let him get more than Milliband this time round, and keep their powder dry for 2022.

Yeah, they'd definitely rather Labour took 35% than 30%. Utter crap.

 

[taffboy gwyrdd]

Charities may face criminal sanctions as 'gagging law' backdated before election
Charities have to account for themselves retrospectively under penalty of law while the governing party trample all over the rules and get clean away with it. Nice. Fuck the Electoral Commission, really.

 

[taffboy gwyrdd]

Hope this link works coz larfs

 

[RD2003]

All this reminds me of when certain Labour candidates in the local elections in Manchester, around 1986 or 1987, during Graham Stringer's leadership of a 'radical' Labour council, campaigned for Labour on the basis that they didn't agree with Stringer and co. They even produced posters saying 'Labour (moderate.)'

It all seems a bit surreal now, but I'm sure it happened.

 

[agricola]

Charities may face criminal sanctions as 'gagging law' backdated before election
Charities have to account for themselves retrospectively under penalty of law while the governing party trample all over the rules and get clean away with it. Nice. Fuck the Electoral Commission, really.

Indeed. Though at least one thing to come out of this is that we will all get to laugh at the New Schools Network (prop: Toby Young) having to disclose absolutely everything it has done - lobbying, meetings between its staff and ministers / civil servants, co-ordinating policy, pleading for more government money etc - since last June.

 

[taffboy gwyrdd]

It's funny that the tories and their apologists squeal about the dementia tax being named at such. So unfair innit. Oh wait...those who who consistently and knowingly drive disabled people to penury and suicidal despair aren't very well placed to play the "unfair" card.

But here's a weird thing: It's such an obvious vote loser, not least among a core demographic (elderly and not completely dirt-poor) that I have to wonder why they told us about it. There's plenty of other shit they've dumped on us without prior warning (or that they've said the opposite about). Why did go all weird and truth-telly this time?

 

[Fez909]

Have we had this yet? Labour web guys doing a good job*

*Yes, I know Google is based on previous search history, but apparently, these were not Labour people who searched these, so they should be seeing the 'correct' results.

 

[JTG]

Well yes. We hear quite enough about him, and national policy, as it is. I prefer this sort of campaigning even though I'm generally pro Corbyn. I hope it persists.

Bristol NW - Con/Lab swing seat, always goes with the winners - same. It's almost persuaded my dad to vote Labour for the first time ever, could still do so. Very effective stuff

 

[DaveCinzano]

I see Proff Green has come out in support of corbyn.

Now where's that GIF of Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley crying?

 

[existentialist]

It's funny that the tories and their apologists squeal about the dementia tax being named at such. So unfair innit. Oh wait...those who who consistently and knowingly drive disabled people to penury and suicidal despair aren't very well placed to play the "unfair" card.

But here's a weird thing: It's such an obvious vote loser, not least among a core demographic (elderly and not completely dirt-poor) that I have to wonder why they told us about it. There's plenty of other shit they've dumped on us without prior warning (or that they've said the opposite about). Why did go all weird and truth-telly this time?

I'm increasingly wondering if Conservative Central Office are actually trying to throw this election..

 

[Cid]

I'm increasingly wondering if Conservative Central Office are actually trying to throw this election..

People keep coming out with this, of course they're not.

 

[existentialist]

People keep coming out with this, of course they're not.

I realise they're not, but you can see why people would wonder...

 

[mikey mikey]

Stuff like this makes one thinks they are trying to lose.
Tory deputy mayor: Best thing for disabled children is the guillotine

Retired GP Owen Lister made his sick suggestion to fellow councillors as they discussed sending the youngsters to a £3,000-a-week care home.

Mr Lister, 79, told them: "I would guillotine them."

He has now quit as deputy mayor but yesterday stood by his outburst.

He said: "I indicated at that point that perhaps the guillotine might be better. These are children you can't educate.

"It's merely a matter of caring for them until they die. The only difference between a terminally ill patient and a severely handicapped child is time."

However, it is very easy to create a clever conspiracy theory than accept sheer incompetence.

Perhaps, the PLP can make that work for them, should the Tories win: "Jerry couldn't even win an election that the Tories tried to lose" as a headline to article in the Telegraph written by some "moderate" cunt.

 

[Libertad]

Stuff like this makes one thinks they are trying to lose.
Tory deputy mayor: Best thing for disabled children is the guillotine


However, it is very easy to create a clever conspiracy theory than accept sheer incompetence.

Perhaps, the PLP can make that work for them, should the Tories win: "Jerry couldn't even win an election that the Tories tried to lose" as a headline to article in the Telegraph written by some "moderate" cunt.

24th September 2005. Twelve years ago, got anything more current?

 

[existentialist]

24th September 2005. Twelve years ago, got anything more current?

Also, every political party has its headbanger tendency (apart from UKIP), but death taxes and Theresa May are official Tory policy.