I see John McDonnell has called for PR for the Westminster parliament - your friends are in the Labour Party SH!

I see John McDonnell has called for PR for the Westminster parliament - your friends are in the Labour Party SH!

I'm not aware of him supporting PR in the past so this is a welcome move. Blair's reneging on the promise to act on the outcome of the commission on electoral reform has proved to be very damaging.

John McDonnell was the best leader this country never had - unfortunately he was seen at the time as too toxic compared with Corbyn which is ironic considering how hated Corbyn became. That said he was more pragmatic, effective and had less of Corbyn's ego.

John McDonnell was the best leader this country never had - unfortunately he was seen at the time as too toxic compared with Corbyn which is ironic considering how hated Corbyn became. That said he was more pragmatic, effective and had less of Corbyn's ego.

 

Corbyn is the best leader we never had, but McDonnell is a close second. Both are brilliant! Who compares? Seriously, who? Long Bailey lacks the experience or charisma, Starmer is a wet Tory security blanket for the neolib media, Angela is all over the place, although I suppose Burnam could come close... He is lacking the grit and experience and political savvy of Cirbyn and McDonnell, however. The only one who compares is Bernie Sanders!

 

"A spokesperson for the UK government said: “The United Kingdom is the most successful political and economic union the world has ever seen"

 

I’m baffled when people say Corbyn has an ego? He must be the least egotistical man in British politics

All politicians have egos, I'd be hard pressed to find one who did not!

 

Michael, you cannot say Corbyn is the best leader we never had, the guy was not a leader. He was too busy giving his mates jobs, like all other politicians, but his advisots won't ever tell people that. He was a nice guy and he meant well, but imo his inner circle of people just advised him very badly, and when he Corbyn did actually get good advice he did not listen. There was a lot of naivety about him in a Leadership role. McDonnell I totally agree was a really good Shadow Chancellor and his stature in the party and his role definitely improved over time, but he was too closely associated to Corbyn. Whenever he spoke I always found what he had to say really interesting.

Neale Hanvey of the SNP MP has left the party to join Alba Party, will there be a by election in his Kircaldy seat?

Depends. They might run a dual mandate if they get elected to Holyrood (there’s been two defections so far but everyone is hoping for Cherry as a third) but neither have mentioned anything that I’ve seen about stepping down as an MP. Under SNP rules they were obligated to

The Change MPs (or whatever they were called) didn't go for by-election so I doubt the Alba lot will. Newly formed parties would be making sure that they fall at the first hurdle by going for a by election. The more established parties would easily win.

NIP are running Thelma Walker, who lost her seat in Colne Valley in 2019 whilst running for Labour. With Hilton Dawson running for the North East Party, there are now 3 ex-Labour MPs due to run in Hartlepool.

That's a good get. Stands in stark contrast to Labour's pick, will be very interesting to see how much traction the NIP get, they certainly seem to have a good handle on the social media side of things. Don't expect them to win but a signal to the Labour party what the cost of running against a left party attempting to engage voters with their old strategy is will be welcome.

 

like there's been so much assumptions of what voters in northern seats want by analysts, getting a test of what they do is necessary.

John Prescott (not THAT one ) is standing in the Hartlepool by-election: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ExzWLz8XEAASSrA.jpg

 

From the recent MRP poll of 83 Northern England constituencies, it's predicting a narrow Labour HOLD.

 

@1375388306859507713

Another by-election is on the cards following the death of Conservative Cheryl Gillan, the MP for Chesham and Amersham. She had a 16,000 majority at the last election, so unlikely to see this seat change hands when the writ comes.

I'm surprised her majority was as low as 16,000.

It will be interesting to see how the Lib Dems do in such a constituency. We might get a better idea of how much the spectre of Corbyn actually was a problem in 2019 and how they fare in such a wealthy seat in a post-Brexit era with more traditional right-left politics restored. The Lib Dems scored a respectable second place in 2019 there but unlike many of their other second places, they have no history of doing well in the 90s and 00s and little council representation. The Tories have secured absolute majorities for over 70 years.

It will be interesting to see how the Lib Dems do in such a constituency. We might get a better idea of how much the spectre of Corbyn actually was a problem in 2019 and how they fare in such a wealthy seat in a post-Brexit era with more traditional right-left politics restored. The Lib Dems scored a respectable second place in 2019 there but unlike many of their other second places, they have no history of doing well in the 90s and 00s and little council representation. The Tories have secured absolute majorities for over 70 years.

The Lib Dems (and Liberals before them) have normally been second in the seat, albeit generally a very distant second.

@1379207704112156677

 

Survation poll specifically for Hartlepool.

 

Low sample size (only 500) so could be radically different but this will be quite a fight between the Tories and Labour, and though it's a very distant third place, NIP are already outperforming the Lib Dems and Reform.

NIP already ahead of the Libs!

@1379207704112156677

 

Survation poll specifically for Hartlepool.

 

Low sample size (only 500) so could be radically different but this will be quite a fight between the Tories and Labour, and though it's a very distant third place, NIP are already outperforming the Lib Dems and Reform.

 

Wow — I thought it would be closer than that.

 

Does anyone know the last time Labour lost Hartlepool?

Edited April 6, 20214 yr by blacksquare

A third-party vote of 11% or less would be far, far lower than usual for a by-election, even when they are obvious two-horse races. Only the Richmond Park by-election would compare here.