Local Elections | Thu 7 May 26

[Don Karleone]

If we ignore them, they may go away.

 

[Ban-jani]

I think I broadly agree when comparing her with her previous Tory counterparts who seemed to be suitably hardline but not very effective. I've always been a pragmatic person and I think while many don't like Mahmood's harder stance, I agree with her that unless they do some unpopular things now to take the air out of Reform's balloon then something much worse will follow.

I'm expecting my first child this year who will be mixed race and the direction this country is going in deeply concerns me. I'm hoping we find some way to turn the corner on this issue before I start seeing ICE-style enforcement vans vanishing people in the streets for looking a bit off-white.

First of all congratulations, I’ve got a 5 year old and a 2 year old and the excitement of new arrivals and the first few years after they arrive is the best we’ll both experience. Pleased for you and if you need any tips, give us a shout, I feel I’m an expert at this point.

I have a mixed raced family myself, my cousin and niece are black and it’s always been normal for me, my cousin also has two young kids too and our Boxing Day every year is very chaotic.

Anyway, I’m not worried for them and I don’t think you should be. Reform aren’t the new Nazi Party people on here say they are. They are a nationalist party but based on cultural identity and whether you’re a British citizen. The guy setting policy is a British brown Muslim.

What you should be worried about is their costed manifesto being absolutely delusional and their inability to manage the handful of councils they currently manage.

 

[Ban-jani]

If we ignore them, they may go away.

Should be used to that being a City fan. Let’s show the top 6 but forget a picture of someone from City…

 

[Don Karleone]

Should be used to that being a City fan. Let’s show the top 6 but forget a picture of someone from City…

Good point. Leave em to it, I guess. As with us, it'll come back to bite them.

 

[SkyBlueFlux]

First of all congratulations, I’ve got a 5 year old and a 2 year old and the excitement of new arrivals and the first few years after they arrive is the best we’ll both experience. Pleased for you and if you need any tips, give us a shout, I feel I’m an expert at this point.

I have a mixed raced family myself, my cousin and niece are black and it’s always been normal for me, my cousin also has two young kids too and our Boxing Day every year is very chaotic.

Anyway, I’m not worried for them and I don’t think you should be. Reform aren’t the new Nazi Party people on here say they are. They are a nationalist party but based on cultural identity and whether you’re a British citizen. The guy setting policy is a British brown Muslim.

What you should be worried about is their costed manifesto being absolutely delusional and their inability to manage the handful of councils they currently manage.

Cheers mate, appreciate that and I may well take you up on that offer at some point! Exciting and slightly nerve-wracking times. As long as they end up being a City fan though everything will be fine.

I hope you're right, I've always been a very risk-averse person so I'm naturally thinking of the worst case scenario. I know that scenario is unlikely but I look over at what goes on in other countries and for all its flaws, I'm grateful the UK provides a level of stability and familiarity.

I get to experience Reform's management credentials first-hand as they've now won my local council here in Essex. The one silver lining is my wife has said there's now a non-zero chance she might consider moving back to Manchester. Bit of work to do to persuade her to put up with the rain but I'll never stop trying.

 

[Ban-jani]

Cheers mate, appreciate that and I may well take you up on that offer at some point! Exciting and slightly nerve-wracking times. As long as they end up being a City fan though everything will be fine.

I hope you're right, I've always been a very risk-averse person so I'm naturally thinking of the worst case scenario. I know that scenario is unlikely but I look over at what goes on in other countries and for all its flaws, I'm grateful the UK provides a level of stability and familiarity.

I get to experience Reform's management credentials first-hand as they've now won my local council here in Essex. The one silver lining is my wife has said there's now a non-zero chance she might consider moving back to Manchester. Bit of work to do to persuade her to put up with the rain but I'll never stop trying.

My 5 year old only gives a shit about football if Haaland has scored, small wins I guess at this stage.

I’m certain I’m right, Reform are Dad’s Army 20th century Tory crap. They’re not ushering in some new age national socialism. They’re a mile away from that.

The irony is I didn’t vote for them but one of my black relatives did and says he will again in the next GE.

 

[Colin Bells Boots]

But Reform haven't presented any evidence of a strategy to improve things.

Sticking people in detention camps isn't a strategy. Blaming immigration on every issue within our social structure isn't a strategy either. Immigrants aren't causing potholes, they aren't causing the high streets to be decimated.

The electorate voting for Reform , and by extension Farage, have demonstrated that the fucking imbeciles voting for this collection of frauds, especially the pathetic Tory defectors, and grifters have learned nothing from the total braindeads in the US , voting for Trump.

Farage is Trump lite and is hell bent on ruining the integrity of the UK to satisfy his greed and total dishonesty as a human being.

 

[Ban-jani]

The electorate voting for Reform , and by extension Farage, have demonstrated that the fucking imbeciles voting for this collection of frauds, especially the pathetic Tory defectors, and grifters have learned nothing from the total braindeads in the US , voting for Trump.

Farage is Trump lite and is hell bent on ruining the integrity of the UK to satisfy his greed and total dishonesty as a human being.

You make such a good case against it, I can’t believe they don’t listen to you instead.

 

[Tommy_Catons_Perm]

The electorate voting for Reform , and by extension Farage, have demonstrated that the fucking imbeciles voting for this collection of frauds, especially the pathetic Tory defectors, and grifters have learned nothing from the total braindeads in the US , voting for Trump.

Farage is Trump lite and is hell bent on ruining the integrity of the UK to satisfy his greed and total dishonesty as a human being.

I'm not on Facebook but my wife is and earlier tonight she said loads of people reckon Starmer should be more like Trump. I said "Do you mean he should be a complete moron?" She said "No, Trump puts Americans first". I replied "No, Trump puts himself first". My wife agreed. But sadly, there's too many nieve voters that I fear Farage may win a general election.

 

[Colin Bells Boots]

You make such a good case against it, I can’t believe they don’t listen to you instead.

Not really bothered whether they do or don't, but it is truly worrying that any sane voter can possibly believe that Farage is anything other than a 100% ****, who would destroy everything of value that the country stands for, should the electorate be duped into putting him and the verminous acolytes into any position of power.

 

[BobKowalski]

If we ignore them, they may go away.

Not a bad performance from the Greens, but I still can’t work out the muted reaction to the Conservatives dropping even further from their low point in 2024 despite their being an unpopular Labour Govt in office.

 

[Kompany Car]

Not really bothered whether they do or don't, but it is truly worrying that any sane voter can possibly believe that Farage is anything other than a 100% ****, who would destroy everything of value that the country stands for, should the electorate be duped into putting him and the verminous acolytes into any position of power.

The problem is that the people who generally take an interest in politics and actually read or research are, on the whole, few and far between. The vast majority of the great unwashed dont think too much about it, but complain lots when they hear a sound bite of something they dont like.

Thats why if you're the incumbent government you need to spend less time talking about financial deficits/difficult decisions and more time giving people the perception of things getting better even if they aren't. Its all down to marketing and to put it simply, Labour are fucking terrible at it.

 

[Ban-jani]

Not a bad performance from the Greens, but I still can’t work out the muted reaction to the Conservatives dropping even further from their low point in 2024 despite their being an unpopular Labour Govt in office.

You know the reason. You’re a clever bloke I can tell.

 

[Ban-jani]

The problem is that the people who generally take an interest in politics and actually read or research are, on the whole, few and far between. The vast majority of the great unwashed dont think too much about it, but complain lots when they hear a sound bite of something they dont like.

Thats why if you're the incumbent government you need to spend less time talking about financial deficits/difficult decisions and more time giving people the perception of things getting better even if they aren't.

“Unwashed”.

Good lord.

 

[BobKowalski]

BBC catching up with the 200,000 channel crossings story (small boats old hat, now 60 people on a big dinghy).... and a little bit at the end, "crossings this year are down by over a third".

Why not "Channel crossings are down by a third this year, as Labour gets to grips with a crisis they inherited, with a total of 200,000 migrants having crossed the Channel"?

I’m usually not one for getting worked up over confected media narratives, but the desperation to keep the channel crossings story in the headlines is off the charts with this one.

 

[Ban-jani]

Not really bothered whether they do or don't, but it is truly worrying that any sane voter can possibly believe that Farage is anything other than a 100% ****, who would destroy everything of value that the country stands for, should the electorate be duped into putting him and the verminous acolytes into any position of power.

Name someone who isn’t a “100% ****”, who has led our countury since the 1970s and then name one who’s leading a party now?

 

[BobKowalski]

Couldn’t agree more and I’m on record on this forum saying Mahmood is the best Home Secretary for a generation.

I agree on Mahmood. For what it’s worth, my elderly mother is a true blue Tory and the only decent word she has for Labour is for Mahmood.

I was in a state of shock for a good five minutes.

 

[mackenzie]

We need a strong opposition that has reasonable policies.

God forgive me, but that used to be the Tories.

 

[Ban-jani]

We need a strong opposition.

Your post need not go beyond this.

When the opposition is a zombie party, holding a zombie government to account, it’s time to hold an election.

 

[BobKowalski]

You know the reason. You’re a clever bloke I can tell.

I can guess, but it really bothers me how it’s been glossed over - at least from what I have seen anyway.