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[BKK]

The Conservatives are united in running a tightly focused campaign to win as many votes as possible from potential swing voters. They don't care how it plays out to people that are never going to vote for them anyway.

Labour are running a disunited, unfocused campaign where even the leader can't stay on message and agree with party policy.

Tories will be quite happy if people who are never going to vote for them spend their time criticising successful Tory electioneering instead of the failures of Labour's electioneering. They'll probably be even happier to see them blaming the right wing press for helping them get elected rather than criticising the left wing press for being so out of touch with most voters that they can't influence them.

Until the left stops blaming everybody else but themselves there won't even be an effective opposition in the UK, let alone a government.

 

[Hazzuh]

Scottish Westminster voting intention:

SNP: 41% (-6)
CON: 28% (+1)
LAB: 18% (+3)
LDEM: 7% (+3)

(via YouGov / 24-27 Apr)
Chgs. w/ Nov 2016

 

[PJV3]

The Conservatives are united in running a tightly focused campaign to win as many votes as possible from potential swing voters. They don't care how it plays out to people that are never going to vote for them anyway.

Labour are running a disunited, unfocused campaign where even the leader can't stay on message and agree with party policy.

Tories will be quite happy if people who are never going to vote for them spend their time criticising successful Tory electioneering instead of the failures of Labour's electioneering. They'll probably be even happier to see them blaming the right wing press for helping them get elected rather than criticising the left wing press for being so out of touch with most voters that they can't influence them.

Until the left stops blaming everybody else but themselves there won't even be an effective opposition in the UK, let alone a government.

I find this a bit strange to be honest, one of the big factors of this election is the dissatisfaction with Corbyn amongst the left, and the continuing divisions.

I'm not sure about the left wing press either, do you mean the Daily Mirror because the guardian can't stand Corbyn

 

[Moze]

If the opposition was more ruthless they could Ed Miliband her, she's really stiff and awkward and you can see the cogs whirring away. Cameron was oily and slick but he was a good salesman and a natural bullshitter.

I agree. I hate Cameron with a burning passion, but it was always Miliband who often came across as the scripted politician out of those two.

Um, Trump did exactly this. What is his single policy? Build the wall. What's his slogan? Make America Great Again.

Repeating things endlessly *works*, especially when it plays into a narrative that's already clear in peoples head (Iron Lady versus dithering geography teacher).

What?

Trump followed this strategy to a tee. He operated entirely in monosyllabic soundbites and catchphrases.

Make America Great Again. Build The Wall. Lock Her Up. Crooked Hillary. Drain The Swamp.

It works because of how the human brain works. We learn by repetition.

Meh, that's abit different to this. Trump didn't always stick to some strict script and often just went off on one. He was repetitive and did rely on slogans but he never appeared as a robotic politician. He often did just speak his mind, and people liked that alot. May sticks to a very strict script and will never, under any circumstances change it. She is a robot programmed by her team. She is scared to say anything that might get her in trouble. Trump was anything but scared.

Perhaps they are using the same strategy, but May isn't doing it well at all. She's making herself look weak by doing what she is doing and she is fooling nobody.

 

[BKK]

I find this a bit strange to be honest, one of the big factors of this election is the dissatisfaction with Corbyn amongst the left, and the continuing divisions.

I'm not sure about the left wing press either, do you mean the Daily Mirror because the guardian can't stand Corbyn

The Daily Mirror used to be the most popular newspaper in the country ... the reason that it no longer is, is because they lost touch with their readership. Go in a greasy spoon cafe and see how many people are reading the Sun compared to the Mirror (outside of Liverpool), they have the choice to read either one for free. Many on the left try to blame the right wing press (usually Murdoch specifically) for Labour's failings, but Murdoch's papers generally support who their readers support, so you sometimes see them support different sides (Sun Vs Scottish Sun on Scottish independence, Sun Vs Times on Brexit), or switch sides in line with their readership (New Labour).

How the Sun has always played up to it's readership is on patriotism, that's not even something that should be an issue, but by ignoring it the Mirror lost many of it's traditional working class readers to the Sun "GOTCHA".

Anyway, papers are in decline, so it might not be that big of a deal in the end. Still, some on the left will only blame it on the internet "fake news" etc.

As for the Guardian, it's not really targeting the common man, and is probably going to go bust soon anyway, so I doubt it really matters. Still, post-Brexit they've been extremely alienating to Brexit voters, I guess they're in touch with their diminishing readership at least. Still, it's my favourite paper since the Times went downhill, even as a right winger who disagrees with most of the editorial, but it just seems like they're preaching to the converted (or moaning at the unconvertible).

Of course, some on the left recognise that the issue is with their own side, my comment was more to do with the ones that don't recognise that and blame everybody but themselves (I genuinely feel sad for some good Labour MPs who will lose their seat due to the lunatics taking over the asylum).

 

[chromatic9]

Is she trying to tell us something?

 

[anonymous_abc]

The Conservatives are united in running a tightly focused campaign to win as many votes as possible from potential swing voters. They don't care how it plays out to people that are never going to vote for them anyway.

Labour are running a disunited, unfocused campaign where even the leader can't stay on message and agree with party policy.

Tories will be quite happy if people who are never going to vote for them spend their time criticising successful Tory electioneering instead of the failures of Labour's electioneering. They'll probably be even happier to see them blaming the right wing press for helping them get elected rather than criticising the left wing press for being so out of touch with most voters that they can't influence them.

Until the left stops blaming everybody else but themselves there won't even be an effective opposition in the UK, let alone a government.

Yes all those left wing rags in the UK surely are off message....

 

[BKK]

Yes all those left wing rags in the UK surely are off message....

Most of them went out of business because no-one was buying them. There's a reason why The Daily Mail outsells The Morning Star.

 

[Moze]

Wish there was a left wing press in the UK to defend Labour lul. The very few left newspapers are all centre left, and would never support somebody like Corbyn. I don't think there is really anyone in mainstream print media defending Corbyn is there? Even Owen Jones turned on him and has been rinsing him in the Guardian for the past 6 months.

Whether you like Corbyn or not, it is hard to argue he was given a fair chance. Corbyn was never given a fair chance.

 

[phisheep]

Wish there was a left wing press in the UK to defend Labour lul. The very few left newspapers are all centre left, and would never support somebody like Corbyn. I don't think there is really anyone in mainstream print media defending Corbyn is there? Even Owen Jones turned on him and has been rinsing him in the Guardian for the past 6 months.

Whether you like Corbyn or not, it is hard to argue he was given a fair chance. Corbyn was never given a fair chance.

There would be a left wing press if enough people would buy the papers. That there isn't one tells you all you need to know about why the left wing will not win elections.

 

[Bleepey]

Wish there was a left wing press in the UK to defend Labour lul. The very few left newspapers are all centre left, and would never support somebody like Corbyn. I don't think there is really anyone in mainstream print media defending Corbyn is there? Even Owen Jones turned on him and has been rinsing him in the Guardian for the past 6 months.

Whether you like Corbyn or not, it is hard to argue he was given a fair chance. Corbyn was never given a fair chance.

I recall when he was first elected so many of his anti apartheid pics were posted online. Yes a lot of his quotes were heavily misquoted but he was missing sine extremely open goals. 3 line whipping Labour MPs to support the Tory govt. promised to keep the uk in the single market but when that proved to be unlikely instead of saying this is why Brexit shouldn't happen and hanging the govt by their own noose he said, let's continue on the path of fucking shit up.

 

[Ushojax]

Wish there was a left wing press in the UK to defend Labour lul. The very few left newspapers are all centre left, and would never support somebody like Corbyn. I don't think there is really anyone in mainstream print media defending Corbyn is there? Even Owen Jones turned on him and has been rinsing him in the Guardian for the past 6 months.

Whether you like Corbyn or not, it is hard to argue he was given a fair chance. Corbyn was never given a fair chance.

Corbyn never gave himself a fair chance. He is a stubborn old twat who is utterly incapable of running a party, working the media or opposing the government. You can't just disengage from the media game just because the papers hate you. Ed Miliband got dog's abuse from every corner of the right-wing press but he put himself out there. The laughable state of his shadow cabinet and his general relationship with the PLP make for an alternative government with no credibility. On the biggest issue of the day, Brexit, he whipped his MPs to vote for the governments bill. Despite them ignoring all the amendments which were supposed to be a condition of Labour's support. Despite Labour being in opposition to the government. Like the Iraq War, those MPs who voted for the Brexit bill will be carrying that around their necks for the rest of their careers.

May is a nasty woman in charge of a nasty party, but the Tories have an (undeserved) air of competence and credibility because the opposition is such a shambles. Any half-decent Labour leader would grind May into dust. In the last year the Tories have let an internal dispute spiral into a global event that cost a PM his job, wiped 20% off the pound, threatens the break-up of the UK, threatens the future of our financial industry, led to a panicked early GE and basically put government into stasis for 5 years. Yet despite all that, they are still seen as the "safe" choice in comparison to Corbyn. A man like him does not belong at this level of politics. He can't even bring himself to say "yes I would retaliate" when asked about hypothetical nuclear doomsday scenarios. JUST SAY YES! He is letting himself get skewered over fucking nothing!

 

[QuicheFontaine]

Scottish Westminster voting intention:

SNP: 41% (-6)
CON: 28% (+1)
LAB: 18% (+3)
LDEM: 7% (+3)

(via YouGov / 24-27 Apr)
Chgs. w/ Nov 2016

Looks like the Tories getting circa 30% in Scotland is a real thing. Oh my days

 

[Goodlife]

 

[JonathanEx]

You also can't blame the right wing press for Labour's poor press operation (being slow to refute, poor timings on release, not putting people up for things... It's why you see UKIP everywhere, their press team say yes to things), or Corbyn's lack of fire. And the oft repeated importance of a tagline/slogan, core message.

Like, listening to Radio 1 yesterday. They had the Boris story with clip (the actual criticism as well as the stupid insult), and then a clip of Corbyn refuting. He just came across as flat. Where's the passion? Does he not care if a megaphone is not in front of him?

 

[Pixieking]

The posts about the (lack of) left-wing media confused me...

Until I realised the only UK paper I look at is the front page of The Independent. The Washington Post and even the New York Times do a far better job of impartial UK news reporting than any UK paper.

 

[chromatic9]

Wish there was a left wing press in the UK to defend Labour lul. The very few left newspapers are all centre left, and would never support somebody like Corbyn. I don't think there is really anyone in mainstream print media defending Corbyn is there? Even Owen Jones turned on him and has been rinsing him in the Guardian for the past 6 months.

Whether you like Corbyn or not, it is hard to argue he was given a fair chance. Corbyn was never given a fair chance.

You may have forgotten or are too young but the press was mostly Labour before, then Tory before that, then Labour again before that.

Corbyn is the problem. The people within the party know that. Unfortunately there's no-one to pick up the pieces yet. William Hague didn't get a chance boo hoo, John Major was ripped to shreds.

The centre left have vanished in France. Hamon got 6% then you have 3 right leaning candidates and one radical left. At least Labour is still there.

When will Labour get someone to lead them. The press was Labour before and merely reflect what's going on at the time for the most part and the amount of people who buy has reduced significantly. Online you have BBC, then after that you have the Guardian and Mail so 2-1 there and the Mail online is mostly celeb soft porn so effectively 2-0.

It's the party, not the bloody newspapers.

 

[daviyoung]

This is it really. We're so corrupted by the press these days.

 

[*Splinter]

On the biggest issue of the day, Brexit, he whipped his MPs to vote for the governments bill. Despite them ignoring all the amendments which were supposed to be a condition of Labour's support. Despite Labour being in opposition to the government. Like the Iraq War, those MPs who voted for the Brexit bill will be carrying that around their necks for the rest of their careers.

Thinking about this point, I wonder if the bolded is true.

Personally speaking, I feel more strongly against Brexit than I did against the Iraq War, but I don't know if I would hold those MPs votes against them as much precisely because of the 3 line whip. As far as I understand, refusing to vote as instructed could end their political careers, and while I'm all in favour of politicians being more self-sacrificing it feels like a big ask when precisely fuck all would have been achieved.

So my question is, is this a reasonable consideration, or is my logic/understanding off somewhere? And if reasonable, could this have been an intentional part of Corbyn forcing the vote like this (to protect his MPs) or just a happy side effect of him blindly pursuing his own agenda?

 

[Mr. Sam]

At least Labour is still there.

Don't jinx it.

 

[travisbickle]

People talk about the Centre-left being dead in the U.K., but the Centre right is just as dead as if you haven't noticed the Tory party are running on a extreme right ticket in some kind of isolationist, nationalistic wet dream.

 

[CyclopsRock]

May is a nasty woman in charge of a nasty party, but the Tories have an (undeserved) air of competence and credibility because the opposition is such a shambles. Any half-decent Labour leader would grind May into dust. In the last year the Tories have let an internal dispute spiral into a global event that cost a PM his job, wiped 20% off the pound, threatens the break-up of the UK, threatens the future of our financial industry, led to a panicked early GE and basically put government into stasis for 5 years. Yet despite all that, they are still seen as the "safe" choice in comparison to Corbyn. A man like him does not belong at this level of politics. He can't even bring himself to say "yes I would retaliate" when asked about hypothetical nuclear doomsday scenarios. JUST SAY YES! He is letting himself get skewered over fucking nothing!

You say it's undeserved, but the Tories have (basically) been in government for 7 years now and, for most people, life goes on. Unemployment is low, the economy is doing pretty well, the bins still get collected and there's plenty of food on the shelves. Yeah we're not having Celtic Tiger growth and wages aren't rising as fast as they should but it's not like they're just snake oil sellers parading a bunch of smoke and dust. Everyone knows what they're getting if they vote Tory, cause its what they've been living with for the last 7 years. "Competency" and "credibility" are not much of an issue with a known quantity - it's the opposition who actually have to go out of their way to demonstrate it.

 

[phisheep]

People talk about the Centre-left being dead in the U.K., but the Centre right is just as dead as if you haven't noticed the Tory party are running on a extreme right ticket in some kind of isolationist, nationalistic wet dream.

Which, to be fair, was not Conservative policy until after the majority of people voted for it.

 

[Huw_Dawson]

Happy Ed Balls Day, everyone.

 

[Bleepey]

Ed Balls

 

[Uzzy]

UK economic growth has slowed to 0.3% in the last quarter.

Not great news. Time for more strong and stable leadership to meet the economic challenges.

 

[daviyoung]

UK economic growth has slowed to 0.3% in the last quarter.

Not great news. Time for more strong and stable leadership to meet the economic challenges.

on par with the same period last year

 

[31GhostsIV]

UK economic growth has slowed to 0.3% in the last quarter.

Not great news. Time for more strong and stable leadership to meet the economic challenges.

Dat Tory economic magic

 

[Possumowner]

Ooh Ed Balls day,time to break out the dancing shoes

 

[Huw_Dawson]

on par with the same period last year

These are strong and stable economic figures.

 

[QuicheFontaine]

Well, the "stable" bit anyway

 

[mclem]

Is she trying to tell us something?

Would be better if the horse had bolted. But at least the door is good and locked!

 

[PJV3]

These are strong and stable economic figures.

The important thing is that the sky hasn't fallen in.

 

[Ravensmash]

I bet it's Labour's fault somehow.

They're ruining everything I tells you!

 

[Huw_Dawson]

In a shocking twist, it turns out that the Greens are just as insincere about working with other parties as everyone else is:

http://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/green-party-stand-lewes-parliamentary-candidate-1-7937413

In light of the strong and stable leadership shown by May, I will thus make sure I throw in our own one line rhetoric in my response... ahem...

The actions of the Green Party in Lewes, Twickenham and elsewhere show that they are more interested in splitting the anti-Tory vote than uniting it. Only the Liberal Democrats can provide the real opposition to a Tory Hard Brexit.

How did I do?

I think if I say that last line a few million times it might really start to stick with the populace.

 

[Xando]

UK economic growth has slowed to 0.3% in the last quarter.

Not great news. Time for more strong and stable leadership to meet the economic challenges.

Inflation + uncertainty affecting consumers. Seems like spending is down with especially retail taking a hit.

 

[PJV3]

In a shocking twist, it turns out that the Greens are just as insincere about working with other parties as everyone else is:

http://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/green-party-stand-lewes-parliamentary-candidate-1-7937413

In light of the strong and stable leadership shown by May, I will thus make sure I throw in our own one line rhetoric in my response... ahem...

The actions of the Green Party in Lewes, Twickenham and elsewhere show that they are more interested in splitting the anti-Tory vote than uniting it. Only the Liberal Democrats can provide the real opposition to a Tory Hard Brexit.

How did I do?

I think if I say that last line a few million times it might really start to stick with the populace.

A bit late now, you will have to stick with it's okay to be gay, even if my God said it's not.

 

[Ushojax]

”Employment is at record highs and it is set to go higher still. The British economy is resilient and the choice facing the British people on June 8th is between five more years of strong stable government under Theresa May, that will lock that economic progress in and get the best possible Brexit deal for Britain, or a coalition of chaos under Jeremy Corbyn that will crash our economy again."

"These negotiations as we go into our exit from the European Union are going to be tough and complex, that's why we need strong and stable leadership and a clear mandate to get the best possible deal for Britain we cannot afford a coalition of chaos under Jeremy Corbyn."

You won't believe how stable things are! We have tremendous stability! Things couldn't be more stable, believe me!

 

[kmag]

X news today proves that we need strong and stable leadership.

Automation has reached the political class.

 

[Huw_Dawson]

A bit late now, you will have to stick with it's okay to be gay, even if my God said it's not.

I like "it's OK to be gay" as a slogan!

At least he finally got it answered properly. No more obnoxious gotcha attempts at big rallies.

 

[Randy Lanzarote]

Things are strong and stable, bigly.

 

[PJV3]

I'm really worried about the coalition of chaos, it is just behind the Zombie apocalypse on things likely to end me.

 

[Huw_Dawson]

What's entertaining to me is that May has more government experience within a coalition than outside of it. With the Lib Dems, too, a party she nows claims would be bad to have back in government...?

 

[Jezbollah]

I'm really worried about the coalition of chaos, it is just behind the Zombie apocalypse on things likely to end me.

Between zombie apocalypses, the greater good and the end of days, we are living in the Cornetto trilogy. I'm certain of it.

 

[Kyougar]

Would be better if the horse had bolted. But at least the door is good and locked!

it is a strong and stable .... stable.

 

[daviyoung]

strong stable chaotic coalitions

 

[QuicheFontaine]

It's not much of a news story is it though? According to that BBC article, economists had forecast 0.4% and it turned out to be 0.3%. Shouldn't the headline be "Growth is almost exactly what economists had predicted it would be"?

Statistics like "The slowest rate of growth since this time last year" are also dull as dishwater :-/

 

[Kyougar]

It's not much of a news story is it though? According to that BBC article, economists had forecast 0.4% and it turned out to be 0.3%. Shouldn't the headline be "Growth is almost exactly what economists had predicted it would be"?

Statistics like "The slowest rate of growth since this time last year" are also dull as dishwater :-/

maybe "growth 1/4th worse than predicted!"
?

 

[Xando]

It's not much of a news story is it though? According to that BBC article, economists had forecast 0.4% and it turned out to be 0.3%. Shouldn't the headline be "Growth is almost exactly what economists had predicted it would be"?

Statistics like "The slowest rate of growth since this time last year" are also dull as dishwater :-/

GDP growth alone is not that worrying. What's worrying is the decline in retail aswell as the service sector (80% of the economy) slowing to a 2 year low coupled with inflation.

Good news is that manufacturing seems to be going up slightly thanks to the low pound

 

[QuicheFontaine]

GDP growth alone is not that worrying. What's worrying is the decline in retail aswell as the service sector slowing to a 2 year low coupled with inflation.

Good news is that manufacturing seems to be going up slightly thanks to the low pound

But this is the kind of thing I'm talking about. Two year low? Things seemed fine two years ago.

Compare that to "The hottest summer since records began!". Now that's an alarming headline.

maybe "growth 1/4th worse than predicted!"
?

Not bad at all!