Best article I've read that sums up the pickle Labour are in: www.newstatesman.com/politics/ju ... our-voters

Best article I've read that sums up the pickle Labour are in: www.newstatesman.com/politics/ju ... our-voters

That was an excellent read.

The other day Radio Leeds were interviewing people in Castleford, many of which said they were voting Conservative. Now if ever there was proof positive that the world is entirely on its head then this is it. People in Castleford voting Tory? What the actual eff?! A town in the very heart of mining country has people in it who will cheerfully turn Blue.

I can only presume that Arthur Scargill will be doing the same. It's no less insane.

I will be voting with my feet. Someone's getting their head kicked in. Very likely the first person to knock on my door to ask who I'm voting for.

The only good thing to come out of this election will be the resignation of Corbyn

I thought that but he might not go.

If Labour were going to have any chance whatsoever then Corbyn would need to walk before the Election rather than after.
The rot has set in for years since Teflon Tony and his USA love-in and a succession of complete prats leading the party is unlikely to change anything in the near future.
Up here we have Kezia Dugdale. Woefully out of her depth and cannon fodder for the SNP and Tories in Holyrood. She cannot arrest the slump in traditional Labour areas.
Scotland has ALWAYS been Red in my lifetime (until the freedom fighters got in) and now lie MILES behind Conservative up here.

The Tories got a council seat in Ferguslie Park in Paisley, which is one of the most downtrodden estates in the UK. This is pretty much unthinkable TBH.

They will do well in the Election as many of my fellow Scots now see them as the only alternative to the Provisional SNP who we need to get out, as soon as possible.

I wasted my vote in the Council elections as my protest vote went to the Labour Candidates. It will be Blue in June I am afraid as it is now not who I want IN, it is who I want OUT.

And there is no chance of Labour ousting them.

Think it's too late now for Labour in 2017. However with a more appealing leader and front bench there's no reason they can't have a better shot at it in 2022.

Think Labour have a chance of turning it around in Scotland but it'd take time. The SNP are probably never going to get a referendum, even if they did a yes vote isn't a foregone conclusion. Perhaps Labour could do better by saying they'll do a better job as they're committed to the union but also prepared to stand up for Scottish interests in London whereas the SNP are obsessed with referendums?

Up there Labour need competent and convincing leaders though, just like down here.

I shall be voting conservative for the first time

So you want to Vote for massive cuts to education? Yes that's right - the education of CHILDREN. By our reckoning, thanks to the reduction in spending, next year we may have to cut 3 teachers. So who is going to teach the classes? Any ideas?

Thanks Tory voters, sleep well knowing the country will be strong and f*****g stable.

With the SNP in a strong position MY country will NEVER be stable.

I would rather face the Tory way than the complete uncertainty and financially un-viable view of the SNP who will make cuts to more than just education.

Still, why blame the Tories? Teflon Tony told us that he was only interested in "Education, Education and Education"

We all know how that ended up didn't we?

Imagine how much the education system would have benefitted from the billions of quid spunked away on an illegal war by Tony and his cronies?

Hopefully you'll keep your job debaser.

Over here in the NHS things are hanging by a thread. Things put in place to deal with an emergency 5 years ago are now normal business. Staff are leaving my place and we've got heaps of vacancies we can't fill.

Think the NHS and education will be toast before the next election.

The problem is, our democracy works best when there is a strong & confident opposition, scrutinising everything the government does & forcing them to "play fair" for want of a better expression.

Kim Jong-May doesn't tolerate opposition, as far as I can see. She also feels that she doesn't actually have to meet or talk to the voters either. She's for the betterment of the top 25%, big business, corporate greed & invasion of privacy. The last one I suppose is marginally better than invasion of sovereign countries, but there you go....

The NHS is about to die. The only (tiny) silver lining is that the party which is in power when it goes, will be blamed and unelectable for a generation.

There's no way I could vote for her.

Well indeed but the Tories voted for that war too.

If you're bothered about public services like health and education don't vote Conservative, or if you do don't moan when they're suffering from cuts.

I am not moaning about these cuts though.

As I have said, I am voting Tory as it is in MY best interest at the moment (after all that is why we vote is it not?)

The cuts that would result from an SNP led Independent Scotland are far more of a concern to me than anything else.

With the exception of the Blair years, Labour do not get re-elected after one term in office. There have to be reasons for this?

Fair enough.

Speaking personally I don't just consider what's best for me alone when I decide who to vote for. For instance I'd do alright from some Tory policies but there are bigger things at stake. People less well off than me deserve a break IMO.

Labour have struggled to get re-elected without Blair because Blair's appeal went beyond the core Labour vote and attracted voters that supported other parties.

That's the reason the current Labour Party will never get elected. They can have hundreds of thousands of members but that won't make a difference in the key marginals.

Labour has to appeal to more than just the left of the party and all the recent "blow ins" from other fringe parties or what's the point?

Well my view is that an Independent Scotland would be Armageddon so I am thinking long-term as well as for the here and now. I have never voted Tory in my life and my family are real Labour people, but it is not working.

I never thought I would vote Tory but I need the SNP out and then I can get back to voting with my heart rather than my head.

Do you reckon there's a serious chance of another referendum and independence? I'm not so sure. The SNP bang on about it but I think a lot of it is hot air.

It's closer than you think. Scotland voted 55:45 for the Union.
But 65:35 to remain in Europe

And the choice for a 2nd referendum would be between Independence & back into Europe
and Union and staying out of Europe.

2 opposing voting blocks, on the same ticket. Flip a coin time I would think.

Eddie's current position is a pretty good description of much my entire political make up. I have been for things in the past but not nearly so passionately as what I am against. Somewhere along the line since 2010 I've come to realise that what I am against and what I am for got confused somewhere with the tribalism of politics. Perhaps I'm projecting a little but I think Labour's biggest mistake is to underestimate how many voters are driven by that principle.

I just hope people think carefully and vote for who they feel is right for the country and not allow themselves to be bullied and abused by people who can shout louder. Democracy will win and we will all get on with life and start planning for our next spell in administration. I have been voting for about 40 years and voted for just about all of them and everything seems to be the same for me even when I voted for Tony and then Gordon.

Saw a poll today and the for the majority of voters - this election is all about Brexit, and the majority think that May would get a better result for Britain than Corbyn. The second most popular topic was immigration and again, the majority think that May would be stronger than Corbyn.
Read into that what you will.

Tories have pledged to get immigration down to the 10's of thousands. But there again they did in 2015 and 2010 as well.
They have also pledged to put a cap on the amount that energy companies can charge. This is the same policy that they claimed was ridiculous when suggested by Labour in their 2015 manifesto.

Tories will pledge the Earth and deliver nothing but misery and pain for millions. Why are so many nurses using foodbanks anyone? And things will only get worse under May's dictatorship. Hope all the Tory voters are still around to see the damage they will have done in four years. Let's hope they don't need the NHS, or find themselves having to choose between eating or putting the heating on.