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The emasculation of local government over the last 35 years or so is one reason why the calibre of politicians in parliament is so low. In the past, many people spent time as a local councillor before standing for parliament. Now, aspiring MPs look at local government and decide it's just not worth it. As a result, the number of MPs with any experience of local government continues to fall.

 

It also means voters decide that their vote in local elections is unimportant. Therefore, they either don't bother voting at all or use the opportunity to give the government a good kicking.

 

Actually, this is one area where there's a ray of hope -- quite a few of the new Labour candidates are councillors, including the one for my constituency.

 

That's the one reason any part of me still thinks a Labour victory is at all worth it, because there will hopefully be enough backbench Labour MPs who will have seen through the impact of the last 5 years that cuts aren't just some academic exercise that have no consequences.

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hear hear to all of the above. I find my own opinion of individual local councillors doesn't necessarily run on party lines, some of them are quite sincere in their aims to help the community (just that some are misguided in how to do it). Others are in for their own ego or self-serving business reasons. Some of them are pretty sharp, some of them have trouble counting over 10 without bringing the toes into use. Some need a slap. Actually they need more than a slap....
RIP Scottish Labour party.

Given Scottish Labour isn't exactly a bastion of Blairism, it says a lot if a left-wing candidate is so incompetent they can barely manage half what the moderate candidate got amongst members. He only barely got a majority of the affiliates' section as well - which is remarkable considering he had the full weight of the unions behind him (Unite and GMB did far more for Neil Findlay than they ever did for the referendum, put it that way). Given that, I somehow doubt he'd have been the saviour of Scottish Labour.

'moving the conversation along' is probably the most uncharitable spin possible to put on it (but then, that's no surprise from The Telegraph). It's more about saying how a Labour government would make a difference on the issues where people are worried about the effects of immigration, rather than getting into a slanging match on what we'd do to immigration.

proportion of people wanting to pay more tax 0%

 

proportion of people who don't understand economics and debt or are hugely optimistic glass half full about everything 50%

 

polls with yes no questions are simplistic and can be fixed to bring the answer you're looking for. See "How to become a professional consultant" leaflet....

proportion of people wanting to pay more tax 0%

 

proportion of people who don't understand economics and debt or are hugely optimistic glass half full about everything 50%

 

polls with yes no questions are simplistic and can be fixed to bring the answer you're looking for. See "How to become a professional consultant" leaflet....

 

Isn't it a rule to include the Yes Minister video about opinion polls when making a post like this? :P

 

If this was just one or two polls then you might have a point, but it's a consistent pattern now across virtually all polls that the public don't really care about the deficit, and care even less when it's pointed out more massive cuts would be needed to get rid of it, in contrast to the 3 main parties' united position.

Meanwhile, another poll shows Labour's calamitous poll slump has coincided with the public thinking Miliband is closer to the "centre ground" than at any previous point in his leadership:

 

http://labourlist.org/2014/12/red-ed-poll-...e-than-cameron/

That isn't much of a surprise considering most of the poll slump since September has been down to shedding votes to the Greens.

 

EDIT: Though looking at it, I'd hardly say -35 is a BASTION OF THE CENTREGROUND figure!

That isn't much of a surprise considering most of the poll slump since September has been down to shedding votes to the Greens.

 

So if you agree that they've been shedding left-wing votes to a more left-wing party, why is the Labour leadership still determinedly moving to a right-wing economic policy and peddling their "elections are won in the centre ground" nonsense?

Edited by Danny

I'm assuming then Danny that you missed the fact that the electorate thinks there's 80 points (40%) between Miliband and Cameron on a left-right scale. It's patently obvious that "they're all the same" is nothing to do with policy (although that doesn't mean it can't be solved by it).
So if you agree that they've been shedding left-wing votes to a more left-wing party, why is the Labour leadership still determinedly moving to a right-wing economic policy and peddling their "elections are won in the centre ground" nonsense?

I made the point myself in that long essay earlier this year that Ed would be more likely to win on a left-wing prospectus, but it would probably fall apart in office. A desire to not fall apart in office is why they're doing it (though I wouldn't exactly call a -45 to -35 shift 'determinedly moving'.)

I made the point myself in that long essay earlier this year that Ed would be more likely to win on a left-wing prospectus, but it would probably fall apart in office. A desire to not fall apart in office is why they're doing it (though I wouldn't exactly call a -45 to -35 shift 'determinedly moving'.)

 

Eh? How would they not fall apart in office if they were slashing spending?

 

What you've described is pretty much the exact opposite of what the consensus is among Labour members: most seem to think they're just saying all this to get elected, but that they would have no intention of actually following through on cutting spending if they got into office (which I suspect is naive because I think there's a significant element of the Labour high command who truly believe in these right-wing policies, and I doubt Balls and Miliband would have the guts to withstand a press onslaught even if they tried to not cut spending).

Isn't it a rule to include the Yes Minister video about opinion polls when making a post like this? :P

 

It is indeed. :D

 

 

(and to be pedantic, it's from Yes Prime Minister).

And after all that insistence and spin from Danny the other week that 50:50 tax rises/spending cuts was unbelievably extreme and out of touch with what the British public wanted...

 

http://i61.tinypic.com/v30mtv.png

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