General Election 2017

[akarjl]

Some interesting comments on the mail page from both labour and tory supporters.....but it seems a bit pointless even bringing a manifesto out considering the number of candidates they are fielding, the quality of many and the chances they have of even getting a seat with the scally leading them. 

The deputy leaders comments are appalling regarding responsibility, the person responsible was the garbage bomber and the Islamic fundamentalist who radicalised him etc

But it is a pity one of the main parties wont take on board one or two of their policies with regards to overseas aid, immigration and Islamic fundamentalism -like it or not, a lot of people are of the same opinion and they may well vote accordingly.

[Inspector Knacker]

How low can a politician stoop?  Opportunism combined with inappropriate timing. Foul.

http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/ukip-launches-general-election-manifesto-and-claims-theresa-may-must-bear-some-responsibility-for-manchester-bombing-1-8562549

UKIP look like a holiday jet where the pilots have got food poisoning and the stag night party on board decide they'll have a go at landing the plane. Result, crash and burn.

[mk1]

Have not checked  but I presume the latest Labour advance in the opinion polls means Hartlepool is a safe Labour seat again?
Seems talk of a Labour wipe-out were premature.

[Inspector Knacker]

Have not checked  but I presume the latest Labour advance in the opinion polls means Hartlepool is a safe Labour seat again?
Seems talk of a Labour wipe-out were premature.

As I've said earlier on here I expect them to retain the town, it's Hartlepool. As soon as a good percentage of voters enter the voting booth the ghosts of their forefathers are looking over their shoulders and they vote Labour. The irony being their forefathers wouldn't touch this Labour Party with a barge pole.
That's why the towns in the state it's in. Every election is a Groundhog Day where the the same outcome results. Till the town shakes free if this ingrained parochial subservience to the Labour Party we're doomed.
The Party needs a kick up the ar** to shake out of its complacency, might do it some good even.

[DRiddle]

http://www.yellowad.co.uk/article.cfm?id=125751&headline=BREAKING%3A+Tories+booted+out+of+power+at+Basildon+Council&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2017

Have a read of this. In a lot of ways it sounds familiar.

[steveL]

'a shameful display of democracy'

As quotes go, that one's a classic.

[steveL]

Have not checked  but I presume the latest Labour advance in the opinion polls means Hartlepool is a safe Labour seat again?
Seems talk of a Labour wipe-out were premature.

I'll stick with my prediction. I still think it's all down to mathematics and that Labour are goosed. Electoral Calculus had Labour winning for a couple of days after the launch of Labour's Manifesto but they have now gone back to predicting a Tory win in Hartlepool.

http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/area_neast.html

[Lucy Lass-Tick]

Mandelson acknowledges poor local leadership as being a factor in Labour's shrinking share of votes ....

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/22/peter-mandelson-legacy-hartlepool-general-election-crossroads?utm_source=pdscl&utm_medium=sfbk&utm_campaign=ge2017_geo_fb15&CMP_TU=mawns&CMP_BUNIT=edtrl

[mk1]

Lazy journalists hangs about in pub to 'meet the people'. In my opinion the type of people you meet in pubs are rarely capable of rational thought but I will admit there is not much distinction between a sober Kipper and a drunken one!  Remember  the headlines UKIP got last time when a boozed up supporter assaulted a spectator at a UKIP rally?

[akarjl]

Mandelson acknowledges poor local leadership as being a factor in Labour's shrinking share of votes ....

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/22/peter-mandelson-legacy-hartlepool-general-election-crossroads?utm_source=pdscl&utm_medium=sfbk&utm_campaign=ge2017_geo_fb15&CMP_TU=mawns&CMP_BUNIT=edtrl

Old article but the recent comments are worth wading through, nice to see akers-belcher dragged into the spotlight in a national and online news paper.

Mr A-B paralysed the town in the name of labour.

Many contributors look familiar, even if they have opted to use different names 

[steveL]

deja vu?

https://youtu.be/3fj-HtQSkFE

[mk1]

I remember hearing one MP (Alan Johnson ?) being asked a 'gotcha'  numbers question and he simply answered that he had no idea of the correct number and he had no intention of making a fool of himself winging it and pretending he did. For me I never attach too much importance to these  blunders and  I know all too well how you can be flumoxed by simple calculations that  you can nearly always do in your head in a split second.
I also believe May has shown she has a complete lack of backbone whenever she meets any real opposition. Her 'U-Turn on the Dementia Tax bodes ill for her Brexit  negotiations and she flat out refused to explain if she was a innner or outer to  Paxman the other night. Merkel will eat her alive and the new-found French & German assertiveness on the primacy of Europe  over both Trump and its poodle the UK was refreshing.

The Dementia Tax is a con and  May should have stuck to her guns. What has happened is that well off people now in their 50s have been told that they are going to becomes very much more well-off because when their parents go ga-ga and have to go in an institution they get to keep the value of the house whilst everyone else  pays to keep mummy and daddy in nappies. It is welfare for the middle classes.

[mala]

We must remember that the only reason that Theresa May called this election was because of Brexit. She wants a clear path to hopefully negotiate a hard Brexit which is what I hope most of this Town voted for in last year's Referendum. Other features in their manifesto could be dropped as necessary during the next Parliament.
At least we could vote the next Government out if not to our liking in 2022 or earlier but we would not be able to vote out of the EUSSR again probably ever. Merkel and Juncker would change the rules to ensure that.
I am confident that the Conservatives​ will form the next Government as it would be unimaginable to have the only alternative of Commie Corbyn backed up by Farron and Sturgeon in power.
I agree with earlier points that we could make this seat in Hartlepool a true marginal and that it may get assistance from Central Government to keep it that way. We certainly will not get any help from the Tees Valley setup as we all know everything will be Smoggie bound unless our Culture Attaché manages to get 2p out of the budgets and claims it a success. His unbelievable​ appointment was the main discussion point in the club the other night.

[mk1]

We must remember that the only reason that Theresa May called this election was because of Brexit.

No. May spent months saying there was no need for an election and then suddenly 'changed her mind'. I believe the proper term is 'U-Turn. She is week and fickle. She called an election for 2 reasons.
1 She thought she had a 20 point lead and would walk it. That lead is shrinking daily.
2. She wants to get enough MPs so she can isolate her own bong-eyed looney EU haters and pursue her own belief that the UK must stay in the EU Customs Union. She is hoping to get enough sane MPs to weather the problems the  nutter will cause her.
Note that if you are a member of the Customs Union you have to submit to the EU Courts as they settle all disputes.
I am quite looking forward to the gnashing of teeth and wailing of the one issue obsessives as May pursues her real aim of keeping the UK in the 'EU'  in everything but name.

[Inspector Knacker]

Have an allegedly unpopular policy and plough on you get slagged off. Bow to 'popular ' pressure  and listen to  and concede to their wishes and you are a weak U turner.
That's politics, the equivalent of demanding an apology, getting it, and throwing it back in your face.
Posturing.