Tuesday 7th October 2014

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 2:43 pm

I know we sometimes like to have a go at Mark Ferguson, but his latest Labour List missive is pretty much on the button.

(the piece by Luke Akehurst if anything even more so)

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 3:01 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
The Guardian ‏@guardian 11m11 minutes ago
University tuition fees likely to rise significantly, Vince Cable says http://gu.com/p/4288j/tw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Is he being on message - or wildly off the leash? (I haven't looked at said report yet.)

Some Tory or other was saying much the same thing the other day - I'll see if I can find it.

And...

As Rowena Mason reports, Cable said this would probably have to be accompanied by lowering the £21,000 earnings threshold at which graduates start repaying loans and large cuts to the pot of money for student support.

It's indicative of the kind of ineptness of this government that sees a student loan policy collapse in such a heap so quickly. This is all because they reckon they'll have to write off significant sums in the future - 45% did I see somewhere?

AngryAsWell · Post by **AngryAsWell** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 3:09 pm

Link to Labour Press, have added it to Troll Busters (coz I can't make a new topic) if anyone wants to move it please do

http://press.labour.org.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

AngryAsWell · Post by **AngryAsWell** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 3:11 pm

Labour blog (pretty much same as "news" but worth bookmarking

http://www.labour.org.uk/blog" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

AngryAsWell · Post by **AngryAsWell** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 3:12 pm

Labour Issues, these are the policies so far decided (I think)

http://www.labour.org.uk/issues" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

AngryAsWell · Post by **AngryAsWell** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 3:18 pm

AngryAsWell wrote:Labour Issues, these are the policies so far decided (I think)

http://www.labour.org.uk/issues" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All policies on the "Issue" pages have a link to tweet or FB, so if for instance I want to publicise Labour house building plans, details from here

http://www.labour.org.uk/issues/detail/house-building" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I can just tweet them

StephenDolan · Post by **StephenDolan** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 3:22 pm

AngryAsWell wrote:Labour Issues, these are the policies so far decided (I think)

http://www.labour.org.uk/issues" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Some good points, albeit flexible wording. I'd like to see a few "what we won't do" that can put the Conservatives on the defensive and highlight how fast and loose they've been economically.
We will not raise VAT for example.

StephenDolan · Post by **StephenDolan** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 3:27 pm

AngryAsWell wrote:
AngryAsWell wrote:Labour Issues, these are the policies so far decided (I think)

http://www.labour.org.uk/issues" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
All policies on the "Issue" pages have a link to tweet or FB, so if for instance I want to publicise Labour house building plans, details from here

http://www.labour.org.uk/issues/detail/house-building" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I can just tweet them

And for those like myself that don't Facebook or Twitter, a Google+ quick share link, perfect.
As an aside Google+ has a massive political community, the presence and engagement of American figures like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren puts the UK politicians to shame.

AngryAsWell · Post by **AngryAsWell** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 3:34 pm

StephenDolan wrote:
AngryAsWell wrote:
AngryAsWell wrote:Labour Issues, these are the policies so far decided (I think)

http://www.labour.org.uk/issues" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
All policies on the "Issue" pages have a link to tweet or FB, so if for instance I want to publicise Labour house building plans, details from here

http://www.labour.org.uk/issues/detail/house-building" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I can just tweet them
And for those like myself that don't Facebook or Twitter, a Google+ quick share link, perfect.
As an aside Google+ has a massive political community, the presence and engagement of American figures like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren puts the UK politicians to shame.

I've not tried Google+ (trying to cut google exposure down) but might give it a go now

ErnstRemarx · Post by **ErnstRemarx** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 4:40 pm

So is it actually true about Rochester? Anyone from dahn sarf Labour heard the same?

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 4:45 pm

ErnstRemarx wrote:So is it actually true about Rochester? Anyone from dahn sarf Labour heard the same?

What's that Ernst ?

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 4:49 pm

I've asked Andrew Sparrow to find out about the LDs voting for the bedroom tax but he hasn't yet replied - maybe he's embarrassed by it.

I finally reported tin man's 'lefties always scroungers' abuse. Twice I commented on it, twice the mods deleted my post leaving tin man's in place. I'm beginning to think he does indeed have a purpose at Graun Towers.....

ErnstRemarx · Post by **ErnstRemarx** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 4:57 pm

yahyah wrote:
ErnstRemarx wrote:So is it actually true about Rochester? Anyone from dahn sarf Labour heard the same?

What's that Ernst ?

Apparently, the party aren't going to serious contest Rochester and Strood. Were it me, I'd be calling up the activists, although I understand the temptation to let UKIP beat the Tories and spark off a wave of trouble and defections for Cameron.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 5:01 pm

ErnstRemarx wrote:
yahyah wrote:
ErnstRemarx wrote:So is it actually true about Rochester? Anyone from dahn sarf Labour heard the same?

What's that Ernst ?
Apparently, the party aren't going to serious contest Rochester and Strood. Were it me, I'd be calling up the activists, although I understand the temptation to let UKIP beat the Tories and spark off a wave of trouble and defections for Cameron.

Thanks. Am just catching up online, thought I'd missed a post here.

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 5:03 pm

ErnstRemarx wrote:
yahyah wrote:
ErnstRemarx wrote:So is it actually true about Rochester? Anyone from dahn sarf Labour heard the same?

What's that Ernst ?
Apparently, the party aren't going to serious contest Rochester and Strood. Were it me, I'd be calling up the activists, although I understand the temptation to let UKIP beat the Tories and spark off a wave of trouble and defections for Cameron.

The writ hasn't been called yet has it ?

ErnstRemarx · Post by **ErnstRemarx** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 5:09 pm

pk1 wrote:
ErnstRemarx wrote:
yahyah wrote:
What's that Ernst ?
Apparently, the party aren't going to serious contest Rochester and Strood. Were it me, I'd be calling up the activists, although I understand the temptation to let UKIP beat the Tories and spark off a wave of trouble and defections for Cameron.
The writ hasn't been called yet has it ?

No idea - but the local Labour bods should be out there IMO. I've been in H&M and will be back this week to do what I can. The bugger of it is MsRemarx is off for the next few days at a conference, so I'll either have to sort out childcare (not easy) or take the little bugger out canvassing with me (then you need to know where all the local loos are).

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 5:12 pm

ErnstRemarx wrote:
yahyah wrote:
ErnstRemarx wrote:So is it actually true about Rochester? Anyone from dahn sarf Labour heard the same?

What's that Ernst ?
Apparently, the party aren't going to serious contest Rochester and Strood. Were it me, I'd be calling up the activists, although I understand the temptation to let UKIP beat the Tories and spark off a wave of trouble and defections for Cameron.

So says Mark Ferguson, quoting anonymous "sources".

One of the party's problems, actually, is that Labour HQ is stuffed with defeatist Blairites - they campaigned overwhelmingly (and often aggressively) for the other Miliband to be leader, and many have not forgiven Ed for winning. Indeed, it is notable how often DFH quotes "party staff" in his anti-EM tirades.

Good to see Luke Akehurst giving them a rocket today

pk1 · Post by **pk1** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 5:14 pm

ErnstRemarx wrote:
pk1 wrote:
ErnstRemarx wrote: Apparently, the party aren't going to serious contest Rochester and Strood. Were it me, I'd be calling up the activists, although I understand the temptation to let UKIP beat the Tories and spark off a wave of trouble and defections for Cameron.
The writ hasn't been called yet has it ?
No idea - but the local Labour bods should be out there IMO. I've been in H&M and will be back this week to do what I can. The bugger of it is MsRemarx is off for the next few days at a conference, so I'll either have to sort out childcare (not easy) or take the little bugger out canvassing with me (then you need to know where all the local loos are).

Going out gung-ho for something that doesn't actually have a date might be less productive in the long run. I would expect the candidate to be out in the constituency regularly but I'm not sure the other local activists will gather in any number until the date is known.

H&M has been known about for several weeks now & being in the Manchester area I expect there are probably more activists nearby than in Rochester & Strood.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 5:19 pm

Has anyone posted this link yet? Aplogies if it's a repeat.

http://worktestwhistleblower.blogspot.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

diGriz · Post by **diGriz** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 5:20 pm

I was out and about driving all over Rochester yesterday by chance and didn't see any activists from any party. I fully expected to see at least one party out there somewhere.

ErnstRemarx · Post by **ErnstRemarx** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 5:57 pm

AnatolyKasparov wrote:
ErnstRemarx wrote:
yahyah wrote:
What's that Ernst ?
Apparently, the party aren't going to serious contest Rochester and Strood. Were it me, I'd be calling up the activists, although I understand the temptation to let UKIP beat the Tories and spark off a wave of trouble and defections for Cameron.
So says Mark Ferguson, quoting anonymous "sources".

One of the party's problems, actually, is that Labour HQ is stuffed with defeatist Blairites - they campaigned overwhelmingly (and often aggressively) for the other Miliband to be leader, and many have not forgiven Ed for winning. Indeed, it is notable how often DFH quotes "party staff" in his anti-EM tirades.

Good to see Luke Akehurst giving them a rocket today

Good point - Ferguson's one of the Progress mob isn't he? Wankers, every last one of them. Blairite undead with massive chips on their shoulders about David Miliband.

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 5:58 pm

That has been claimed, but he has always come across as more "Compass-ite" to me

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 6:01 pm

When it came to voting for the Labour leadership, I have to say that I wasn't sure what to do. Ed was relatively unknown and seemed a bit "nice", David on the other hand really was just more of the same old slick soulessness. Poor Ed needs to be bullet proof to survive, but thank god it wasn't his bro' (or indeed that intellectual and rhetorical tour de force Abbott).

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 6:02 pm

PF - still being distracted by L the P?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 6:36 pm

Isabel Hardman ‏@IsabelHardman 44m44 minutes ago
How can the Lib Dems persuade their party to change mind on airport expansion? http://specc.ie/10JmSZs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That one sentence encapsulates so much, doesn't it?

It sounds as though 'the party' are not the same as the 'Lib Dems' - and they must be persuaded, whoever they are.

Just heard a London Lib Dem representative on R4 saying it would be as big, if not bigger, than tuition fees for those Lib Dem MPs in London. He could just imagine being out canvassing ... knocking on the door and being unable to communicate for the first 30 secs as a plane goes overhead ... and then facing the inevitable barrage of questions about why you lot who were supposed to be different from all the others on this have left us in the lurch.

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 6:36 pm

Hopefully, a taster of what their faces will look like on the night of the general election as Labour win a majority.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 6:46 pm

yahyah wrote:

Hopefully, a taster of what their faces will look like on the night of the general election as Labour win a majority.

Thank you for that thought yahyah. I hope they will look far more distraught than that if I'm honest.

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 6:54 pm

yahyah wrote:

Hopefully, a taster of what their faces will look like on the night of the general election as Labour win a majority.

What, and anyone says Miliband looks weird? The press is a joke.

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 7:07 pm

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... w-miliband" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Labour don't really deserve him. Will they every 'kin learn?

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 7:16 pm

tinyclanger2 wrote:http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... w-miliband

Labour don't really deserve him. Will they every 'kin learn?

Have they forgotten how much Miliband has set the agenda - has been consistently ahead of the curve? It seems they have. Very disappointed by what I'm reading / seeing in the media today. And the Mail are clearly delighting in every loose word they can turn into a conspiracy re Alan Johnson being prepared to stand for a 'coronation'. (origin of that down to DFHodges I believe).

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 7:20 pm

Ohso - Greg Wood is quite right, and various bloggers have been saying this for a while. Thank you for the linky.

Our Glorious Ronsealed Fish Pointer General has had 2 outings on our news this evening - BBC 6 o'clock news and Wales news.

He is attempting to imply that Moazzam Begg might "know something" about Isis, and has expressed the view that he should tell the authorities what he knows - this was Cameron's response to Mr.Begg's statement that he had offered to make a public broadcast from his cell in Belmarsh and subsequently after he was released, to intercede on behalf of Alan Henning (and any other hostages).
Mr.Begg has written evidence, in the form of letters from the Home and Foreign Offices, which show he made these requests/offers, but was turned down and/or was ignored. Cameron has brushed all this aside, and he said that he "would listen" when the evidence demonstrates that he and his ministers did nothing of the kind.
Whether Mr.Begg would have been able to influence these nutters is moot - I suspect it's not likely - but Cameron has twisted what he said and is apparently pretending that Mr.Begg's complaint that his offers to help were ignored actually means that he knows something which he has not disclosed. Disgraceful behaviour on Cameron's part.

There he was again on the Welsh news, claiming that Carwyn Jones is "playing politics" (erm, yeah....this is politics......) by insisting that Wales gets better funding if it is to take control of taxes/benefits.
This is perfectly reasonable, as without a fairer Barnett/whatever settlement, if Wales gets into any trouble it will be told to raise the cash itself; Wales has historically not done well out of Barnett.
He is, yet again, pretending that he will be giving the countries of the UK more devolution; when the truth is he wants those countries (except England, natch) to commit themselves to it now when they have no idea what's actually on the table.
The reporter said that the event was a series of interviews with various regional journalists, including people from the SW and NE of England, and he said they came out of it none the wiser and certainly with no firm ideas on what would happen.

I am so sick of this charlatan. Posing popinjay, poncing about pretending to be a statesman. No dignity, no gravitas, and a serial liar.
This is what is calling itself the Prime Minister.

I am so angry I could spit.

AngryAsWell · Post by **AngryAsWell** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 7:22 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
tinyclanger2 wrote:http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... w-miliband

Labour don't really deserve him. Will they every 'kin learn?
Have they forgotten how much Miliband has set the agenda - has been consistently ahead of the curve? It seems they have. Very disappointed by what I'm reading / seeing in the media today. And the Mail are clearly delighting in every loose word they can turn into a conspiracy re Alan Johnson being prepared to stand for a 'coronation'. (origin of that down to DFHodges I believe).

Alan Johnson dismisses leadership rumours

http://labourlist.org/2014/10/alan-john ... p-rumours/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 7:24 pm

LR-M's alter ego wrote:Our Glorious Ronsealed Fish Pointer General

Excellent wordage - thanks.
We do seem to be living in the middle of an episode of Tales of the Unexpected.

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 7:33 pm

Mr Snozers - I am unsurprised to hear that you write (given your excellent form on here) - but am curious to know if I might have read "you" as it were?

PorFavor · Post by **PorFavor** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 7:36 pm

Goodnight, everyone.

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 7:37 pm

'Night PF.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 7:38 pm

Dr Éoin Clarke ‏@LabourEoin 4m4 minutes ago
Tonight, Lib Dems are more united than they've been in years. They have passed a motion in support of the Bedroom Tax http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/regulati ... 13.article" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; …

'passed a motion' - a perfect companion phrase for the Lib Dems.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 7:42 pm

AngryAsWell wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote:
tinyclanger2 wrote:http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... w-miliband

Labour don't really deserve him. Will they every 'kin learn?
Have they forgotten how much Miliband has set the agenda - has been consistently ahead of the curve? It seems they have. Very disappointed by what I'm reading / seeing in the media today. And the Mail are clearly delighting in every loose word they can turn into a conspiracy re Alan Johnson being prepared to stand for a 'coronation'. (origin of that down to DFHodges I believe).

Alan Johnson dismisses leadership rumours
http://labourlist.org/2014/10/alan-john ... p-rumours/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I saw that - but this dismissing / rebuttal narrative needs to be out much wider. Grrrrrrrh.
(Mr Riots would be handing me a brandy now if he heard me make that noise - but he's not here so I will have to get one for myself.)

DonutHingeParty · Post by **DonutHingeParty** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 7:46 pm

There's literally no point in wasting resources in Rotherham. There's only 9 months left, so only 6 months until campaigning for the general; parliament only sitting for about half of that. Much better to let the Tories and UKIP thrash it out between them.

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 7:47 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
AngryAsWell wrote:
rebeccariots2 wrote: Have they forgotten how much Miliband has set the agenda - has been consistently ahead of the curve? It seems they have. Very disappointed by what I'm reading / seeing in the media today. And the Mail are clearly delighting in every loose word they can turn into a conspiracy re Alan Johnson being prepared to stand for a 'coronation'. (origin of that down to DFHodges I believe).

Alan Johnson dismisses leadership rumours
http://labourlist.org/2014/10/alan-john ... p-rumours/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I saw that - but this dismissing / rebuttal narrative needs to be out much wider. Grrrrrrrh.
(Mr Riots would be handing me a brandy now if he heard me make that noise - but he's not here so I will have to get one for myself.)

I'll get you one

tinyclanger2 · Post by **tinyclanger2** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 7:50 pm

Mine's a double!

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 7:53 pm

DonutHingeParty wrote:There's literally no point in wasting resources in Rotherham. There's only 9 months left, so only 6 months until campaigning for the general; parliament only sitting for about half of that. Much better to let the Tories and UKIP thrash it out between them.

Didn't know things were *that* bad there

If you meant where I think you meant, not sure that I agree.

Unlike the present incarnations of Newark and Clacton, this is a seat that *would* have voted Labour in 1997 and 2001.

Giving up on those sorts of places, even if they are not immediately winnable, is a questionable long term strategy IMO.

TechnicalEphemera · Post by **TechnicalEphemera** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 7:58 pm

RobertSnozers wrote:
Temulkar wrote:
ErnstRemarx wrote:Another interesting blog - don't know if we've seen this one before...

http://shirazsocialist.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The situation with the Kurds at the moment reminds me somewhat of the Warsaw Rising. With the Turks playing the Red Army.
An apposite and terrifying analogy. I have a new mantra: F*** geopolitics.

That is a little unfair on the Red Army.

At the Warsaw uprising they had no air cover, and were at the end of supply lines (with worn out spearheads). They were hundreds of miles west of the jumping off points from operation Bagration (which wiped out Army Group Centre, Germany's biggest defeat of the war). Even if they had been motivated they could have done sod all.

AngryAsWell · Post by **AngryAsWell** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 8:07 pm

Fiasco over fireworks - another Boris Johnson failure

Despite warnings from the Assembly, Boris Johnson has pushed ahead with his ill-thought out plans to limit the number of people attending London's New Year's Eve fireworks by imposing tickets and a £10 charge without putting adequate measures in place to curb ticket touts.

http://ymlp.com/znhYFn" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TechnicalEphemera · Post by **TechnicalEphemera** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 8:11 pm

RobertSnozers wrote:
TechnicalEphemera wrote:
RobertSnozers wrote: An apposite and terrifying analogy. I have a new mantra: F*** geopolitics.
That is a little unfair on the Red Army.

At the Warsaw uprising they had no air cover, and were at the end of supply lines (with worn out spearheads). They were hundreds of miles west of the jumping off points from operation Bagration (which wiped out Army Group Centre, Germany's biggest defeat of the war). Even if they had been motivated they could have done sod all.
Interesting insight. I don't know enough about this and will read up

It does also have to be said they weren't hugely motivated. One question lost in history is who issued the call to rise? I suspect the dark forces of the Soviet Union.

TheGrimSqueaker · Post by **TheGrimSqueaker** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 8:14 pm

TechnicalEphemera wrote:
RobertSnozers wrote:
Temulkar wrote: The situation with the Kurds at the moment reminds me somewhat of the Warsaw Rising. With the Turks playing the Red Army.
An apposite and terrifying analogy. I have a new mantra: F*** geopolitics.
That is a little unfair on the Red Army.

At the Warsaw uprising they had no air cover, and were at the end of supply lines (with worn out spearheads). They were hundreds of miles west of the jumping off points from operation Bagration (which wiped out Army Group Centre, Germany's biggest defeat of the war). Even if they had been motivated they could have done sod all.

Mmm, not so sure. Stalin had no interest in aiding the Home Army, as they would have been an effective counter to the puppet regime he intended to install; while your comment about the supply lines has some merit (although historians of both stripes argue about that) the refusal of the Soviets to allow the Royal Air Force to use Soviet airbases severely hampered British attempts to supply the Poles by air - the use of those bases could have transformed the effort and made it a much more viable operation.

Hobiejoe · Post by **Hobiejoe** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 8:15 pm

Oi! Demarcation dispute here!

If anyone's going to be dispensing drinks around here, it'll be LetSkip or myself. We're professionals, don'tcha know.

As to whether Labour should campaign hard, well I think it has to be seen to be fighting, although "seen" and "actually" can be two different things.

On a wider point, and one that I'm very aware of, being in Wollaston's constituency, which required a protest vote to the LD's pre-2010, is that my labour vote may actually be quite important on a wider stage as there is an awful lot of talk of "overall vote share" should there be another hung parliament, so I take some comfort that my useless constituency vote (and I've never voted for a winning MP - I was at Uni in Runnymede, and I'm a Devon boy at heart) might actually have some impact in the wider scheme of things.

So, yes, while resources need to allocated carefully, I reckon a good solid national vote across the country is important.

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 8:17 pm

Patrick Wintour ‏@patrickwintour 1m1 minute ago
Reckon the Clegger has the best, if not the most political, announcement of the conference season in his speech tomorrow.

Well you would reckon that, wouldn't you ....

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 8:20 pm

Hobiejoe wrote:Oi! Demarcation dispute here!

If anyone's going to be dispensing drinks around here, it'll be LetSkip or myself. We're professionals, don'tcha know.

As to whether Labour should campaign hard, well I think it has to be seen to be fighting, although "seen" and "actually" can be two different things.

On a wider point, and one that I'm very aware of, being in Wollaston's constituency, which required a protest vote to the LD's pre-2010, is that my labour vote may actually be quite important on a wider stage as there is an awful lot of talk of "overall vote share" should there be another hung parliament, so I take some comfort that my useless constituency vote (and I've never voted for a winning MP - I was at Uni in Runnymede, and I'm a Devon boy at heart) might actually have some impact in the wider scheme of things.

So, yes, while resources need to allocated carefully, I reckon a good solid national vote across the country is important.

More than happy to accept a brandy regardless of who is fetching it for me .... sorry but a gal's gotta say it like it is.

Now on the other matter - re the importance of your vote given the 'narrative' that's building up about the overall vote share being the most important validation of a party being able to form a legitimate government - spot on. I agree with you - makes a Labour vote regardless of where you are matter a lot more.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Tue 07 Oct, 2014 8:31 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:
Patrick Wintour ‏@patrickwintour 1m1 minute ago
Reckon the Clegger has the best, if not the most political, announcement of the conference season in his speech tomorrow.
Well you would reckon that, wouldn't you ....

Ah but will he mention the deficit?