Emails sent out by CCHQ
Sound familiar?
Tories have decided to go full Trump.
"we came third in a one horse race and its someone elses fault that they also didn't win" is a particularly bonkers take.
They'll be trying the "stolen election" route next.
Quite illuminating about the state of the Tories at present. Officially suspended from the party but roundly applauded at a Tory fundraising event with Liz Truss also in attendance. Sunak's credibility continues to be undermined.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/03/02/lee-anderson-applauded-appearance-tory-fundraising-dinner/
Government Rwanda bill suffers another defeat in the HoL
"The House of Lords has inflicted yet another defeat on the government over its bill to rescue the embattled Rwanda legislation."
Wondering whether they will resort to the Parliament Act
Probably as the last act before election and then whine and complain about Labour not sending anyone to Rwanda when they come into power. That way they get all they want from it in terms of looking hard but not having to actually enforce or do anything.
Even if the general election is deferred until the latest possible date, I think there is not now enough time left in the current parliament to get the Rwanda Bill through against the opposition of the Lords by using the Parliament Act.
whine and complain about Labour not sending anyone to Rwanda when they come into power.
That's basically gonna be the tactic of the Tories on everything post the GE and the brass neck of them will be appalling. Hopefully some journalists will have the nerve to challenge them with a simple "well why didn't you do it during your ~15 years of power?" Not that we'll hear an answer that won't be super evasive but it'll be the only tactic the Tories have - assuming there won't be a massacre of the fundamentalists and a return to moderate positions
Labour were a traditionally a left wing, working class party - their shift rightwards in recent decades has been very notable. They are probably further to the right than John Major's Conservatives of the 1990s.
Already out of time surely?
Labour shadow minister on Kay Burley's show betting her that the election will be in May.
Not exactly a lot of signs that they plan on calling an election in the next month. I guess they think they will have one last hurrah with the budget then go for it.
Labour have traditionally been a party out of power. Only under Blair, when they moved toward the centre, did Labour achieve anything. They tried turning back left under Corbyn and it was a disaster. Labour are shifting in line with what the voters want.
I always believed that until I lived in London. The differences at a local level are stark with Tories trying to operate fully free market councils where if you want to be in a club, community group or read a book you have to go private. Low council tax and non existent service is their motto. Labour fight hard for council based services in the UK.
Need to check when the 2nd reading was. Might be able to squeak it if they push the GE back as far as possible.
Edit: Spoke to contacts and they say it is too late. There's also talk of the Labour peers giving in.
I've no doubt some people really do think there's substantive difference in what has been outlined by Labour and the Tories, but Labour MPs are struggling to show it.
The election can't come soon enough for Labour, because each month that goes by they underwhelm more and more. (Or should that be whelm less and less?)
Basket case Tories continue to find new levels of abysmal though, so maybe it doesn't really matter.
Surely the issue here is the Tories adopting Labour strategies. This has multiple benefits for the Tories; Labour can't later implement budgetary measures which have already been implemented, Labour can't criticise Tory policies which match their own, it strengthens claims that Labour are the same as the Tories.
A major point of difference for Labour could have been Brexit but they chose not to sufficiently differentiate themselves on that. I wouldn't be surprised if a post election collapse and subsequently rebuilt Tories start pushing joining the Single Market and blame economic issues on Labour.
Would not surprise me to see the Tories go full-Ingsoc, they've done everything else.
"We have always been at war with Eastasia!"
Theresa May announces she will be standing down at the next GE, That's more than 60 MP's who won't contest at the next election.
"Mrs May's decision to leave Westminster adds to an exodus that has seen more than 60 Tory MPs say they will not fight their seats at the next election - the highest total since 1997."
Theresa May becomes the latest coward afraid to face the electorate.
Is there any difference in pensions or other payments if an MP "stands down" vs "loses the re-election" ?
Just wondering is there any more to all these "retirements" than just that they can't be bothered fighting a losing campaign.
In fairness Theresa May was in no danger of losing her seat. Maidenhead, Berkshire was never going to be on even a super-optimistic Lib Dem target list, especially up against a high-profile MP who is apparently a good constituency representative. So I'm not sure it's cowardly as such - just a 68 year old woman retiring (albeit 'retiring' to a likely spot in the HoL).
In her case I don't think so because she's guaranteed her PM pension for life, I think she would have probably won her seat (not 100% on that will have to check polling for her constituency) but I think she sees where the party is headed and just decided she doesn't want to be part of it.
She always came across as likeable to me but was handed the poison chalice that is Brexit and was always on the back foot with the likes of Johnson in the background trying to undermine her every move.
By pandering to them she allowed the likes of Gullis, Anderson, Braverman to get louder and more extreme so also has to hold some of the blame as to where the UK is today.
"Brexit means Brexit"
I don't think anybody has figured out what that was supposed to mean, yet.
"Likable"
Her time as Home Secretary would suggest otherwise. Pandered to the Daily Mail scum at every opportunity. In a more innocent time I thought the Big Brother style trucks driving around less white boroughs of London was as low as they could get.
She didn't allow the likes of Braverman she was the forerunner who led the way for those goblins.
Yeah I suppose likable is in hindsight the wrong description, I probably should have said more "statesman" like.
Polls looking worse and worse for the Tories...good!
No difference to pension - but running for re-election costs ££££.
Someone of May's standing probably would not be expected to contribute, particularly if she was a dead cert.
