UK General Election 2015 | Conservatives win with an overall majority

[Antisocial]

... resigned.

Feel for the people who had money on him going in the morning; missed it by 15 minutes.

 

[rcoobc]

It would be interesting to know what talks/deals are going on within the Parliamentary Tory party right now, as it seems the Tories might be their own opposition with this slender majority.

Miliband speaking now.

How so?

In a few weeks time, when a few MPs stop turning up and with the DUP arent around, the Tories will be fairly comfortable.

But yeah, If you mean what I think you mean. they do obviously have the power to feck themselves on some issues.

 

[Cheesy]

As expected.

 

[Nitsche]

A clean sweep of leader resignations before lunch time. Efficient.

 

[justboy68]

Ed Miliband is a genuinely good bloke. Unfortunately being a genuinely good bloke is seen as being 'too weak' to run the country if there isn't a natural charisma to back it up.

 

[Ubik]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but how did the pre-election polls get it so wrong? Did people change their minds when it came to vote or were the polls off?

That's something that is going to be studied for years. There were actually a few polls that hinted at this, a few big Tory 6 point leads with Labour down on 31%, but they seemed to be the outliers.

Dang!

Full Conservative government, feels like the red wedding..

Good analogy for it there.

Tories are going to bring in the gerrymandering bill of constituencies again I imagine and pass it quite easily. Depressing.

 

[Red Pavan]

Bizarre to see 3 leaders resigning.

 

[Cheesy]

Ed Miliband is a genuinely good bloke. Unfortunately being a genuinely good bloke is seen as being 'too weak' to run the country if there isn't a natural charisma to back it up.

He's probably one of the better parts of the party.

 

[sun_tzu]

It would be interesting to know what talks/deals are going on within the Parliamentary Tory party right now, as it seems the Tories might be their own opposition with this slender majority if factions develop, as they almost certainly will.

Miliband speaking now.

Like 1992-1997 the conservatives will get dragged to the right and there will be lots of infighting labour need a new Blair to plant their flag in the centre left ground and to own that space... Or they are fucjed

 

[Coxy]

I would never vote UKIP...but this does seem wrong:

Nationwide Ukip has secured 3.8million votes but just one MP so far while in Scotland the SNP grabbed 56 seats with 1.5million votes.

Outside his election count Mr Farage said this morning: 'The system is bust. It's strange that a party (the SNP) can get a minority of the vote but get almost 100 per cent of the seats.

'You've got a first past the post system where we clearly become the third party in Britain but get hardly any seats.'

Time to change the system???

 

[Mockney]

Stella got 69% of the vote here, insane. Is she the highest in London?

Second, to Stephen Timm's 77% in East Ham.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/poli...constituency-across-the-capital-10228222.html

 

[soap]

But you have to ask why people thought Labour would be worse, and it's because the Tories said that they would be. And because Labour were so useless at countering the argument, sometimes even failing to respond at all, people just believed whatever Cameron and Osbourne said. The Tories were going up against one of the most pathetic and weakest Labour parties that we've seen since Kinnock - it was never going to be a hard fight.

Hard to argue with that, barely seemed to attempt to dispel the "cleaning up Labour's mess" myth.

 

[Cheesy]

I would never vote UKIP...but this does seem wrong:

Nationwide Ukip has secured 3.8million votes but just one MP so far while in Scotland the SNP grabbed 56 seats with 1.5million votes.

Outside his election count Mr Farage said this morning: 'The system is bust. It's strange that a party (the SNP) can get a minority of the vote but get almost 100 per cent of the seats.

'You've got a first past the post system where we clearly become the third party in Britain but get hardly any seats.'

Time to change the system???

Definitely. To give them credit, the SNP endorse a new system as well despite the fact that they've benefited from FPTP.

 

[Nitsche]

Armed revolution time, anyone?

(N.B. For those security forces reading this thanks to Theresa May's increased surveillance, I'm just kidding)

 

[Antisocial]

How so?

In a few weeks time, when a few MPs stop turning up and with the DUP arent around, the Tories will be fairly comfortable.

But yeah, If you mean what I think you mean. they do obviously have the power to feck themselves on some issues.

I mean in terms of factions developing in the back-benches; a slender majority gives a sense of greater power to the individual MPs to hold the leadership to ransom when they need to push something through. The talk on the BBC about the Major years being dominated by the Eurosceptics is the obvious example of what can result from only having a slender majority (and Major had more than Cameron will have now).

 

[Annihilate Now!]

I would never vote UKIP...but this does seem wrong:

Nationwide Ukip has secured 3.8million votes but just one MP so far while in Scotland the SNP grabbed 56 seats with 1.5million votes.

Outside his election count Mr Farage said this morning: 'The system is bust. It's strange that a party (the SNP) can get a minority of the vote but get almost 100 per cent of the seats.

'You've got a first past the post system where we clearly become the third party in Britain but get hardly any seats.'

Time to change the system???

The Tories took something like 36% of the vote and Labour took 30% (something equivalent to a 2 million difference) - yet it's clearly been a total catastrophe for Labour... it's just how the system works.

 

[soap]

I would never vote UKIP...but this does seem wrong:

Nationwide Ukip has secured 3.8million votes but just one MP so far while in Scotland the SNP grabbed 56 seats with 1.5million votes.

Outside his election count Mr Farage said this morning: 'The system is bust. It's strange that a party (the SNP) can get a minority of the vote but get almost 100 per cent of the seats.

'You've got a first past the post system where we clearly become the third party in Britain but get hardly any seats.'

Time to change the system???

yeah, unfortunately there's almost no chance of that for at least 5 years now

 

[Mockney]

'You've got a first past the post system where we clearly become the third party in Britain but get hardly any seats.'

Time to change the system???

The Libs Dems sold out to get us a referendum on it....We voted it down. Because people are idiots.

 

[saivet]

He had to, but quite disappointed that Ed resigned. I liked the guy. Not really sure I'll vote for whichever Blairite Labour they bring in.

 

[Drifter]

Miliband could have at least spoke from the heart.

 

[FlawlessThaw]

To be fair the system has been fecked for a long time now...and I imagine a lot of the new UKIP voters were quite happy with the FPTP system when they were voting Conservative/Labour.

 

[Dobba]

The Libs Dems sold out to get us a referendum on it....We voted it down. Because people are idiots.

But The Sun said...

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

Just feels incredibly bleak.

This fecking country. 5 more years of the Tories, probably have Boris sniffing around the leadership then. Maybe even before the 5 years are up, the Tories love stabbing their own in the back.

Very depressing.

 

[Antisocial]

The Camerons on their way to the palace.

 

[rcoobc]

I mean in terms of factions developing in the back-benches; a slender majority gives a sense of greater power to the individual MPs to hold the leadership to ransom when they need to push something through. The talk on the BBC about the Major years being dominated by the Eurosceptics is the obvious example of what can result from only having a slender majority (and Major had more than Cameron will have now).

Yeah, but to be honest it will be more stable than the coalition we just had. With the DUP not voting, the tories have a few votes to play with.

The Lib Dems voted down the the Tories on a couple of things. They could hold them to ransom whenever they wanted.

 

[Redlambs]

Ed Miliband is a genuinely good bloke. Unfortunately being a genuinely good bloke is seen as being 'too weak' to run the country if there isn't a natural charisma to back it up.

No, him being too weak is why he's seen as being to weak.

As Pigeon said, he never countered or even responded to most of the Conservative stuff, he inspired no confidence that this Labour party could go in a run this country properly.

 

[Antisocial]

Like 1992-1997 the conservatives will get dragged to the right and there will be lots of infighting labour need a new Blair to plant their flag in the centre left ground and to own that space... Or they are fucjed

Boris back in the Commons is another aspect for Cameron to keep in mind - at some stage BoJo will start making moves to succeed him, one way or the other.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

But The Sun said...

It truly frustrates me how much power Murdoch wields in this country.

 

[evra]

Hopefully will will see an equalisation of constituencies so that they're all about 100,000.

 

[soap]

The Libs Dems sold out to get us a referendum on it....We voted it down. Because people are idiots.

it was actually that campaign that totally turned me off Labour. They went along with lies and misinformation because FPTP benefits them.

Maybe the fact that was AV and people seem more favour of PR will count for something, eventually.

 

[Ubik]

Yeah, but to be honest it will be more stable than the coalition we just had. With the DUP not voting, the tories have a few votes to play with.

The Lib Dems voted down the the Tories on a couple of things. They could hold them to ransom whenever they wanted.

Have the DUP said they're not voting or something this morning? They're unionists so will usually always turn up in Westminster. Not that it'll help Labour much as they'll likely just vote with the Tories.

 

[JamesB__]

Dave's gonna meet Liz now for the booty call.

 

[Antisocial]

Yeah, but to be honest it will be more stable than the coalition we just had. With the DUP not voting, the tories have a few votes to play with.

The Lib Dems voted down the the Tories on a couple of things. They could hold them to ransom whenever they wanted.

Fair point, in theory one party even with individual factions should be more stable than a coalition. Won't be plain-sailing though, especially with the EU referendum firmly on the agenda, and Boris in the background.

Edit: and the DUP vote, don't they?

 

[Adebesi]

But you have to ask why people thought Labour would be worse, and it's because the Tories said that they would be. And because Labour were so useless at countering the argument, sometimes even failing to respond at all, people just believed whatever Cameron and Osbourne said. The Tories were going up against one of the most pathetic and weakest Labour parties that we've seen since Kinnock - it was never going to be a hard fight.

I think people in this country are just inherently to the right of where the Labour party traditionally sits. Blair dragged it to a place where it could win but it required force to hold it there and once he let go it sprang back. I dont think Labour didnt try to make the case, I think people didnt want to hear it.

Thinking about it this morning it seems to me the turning point might have been in the "debate" - the one where they came on one at a time and didnt actually debate - when Milliband refused to admit his party had overspent. I understood the point he was trying to make, it wasnt Labour spending plans that left us in a financial hole, it was the banking crisis. But the crowd didnt want to hear it. It wasnt Cameron heckling him, he wasnt even in the room, it was the gasps of shock and dismay from the audience, there seemed to me to be genuine astonishment he wouldnt hold his hands up. It felt like the wrong thing to say at the time, given the mood of the room, and I think ultimately it fed into the perception English people have that Labour are essentially profligate and irresponsible, like protecting the vulnerable in society is somehow extravagant or frivolous, rather than a moral duty.

Basically, as much as people care about people being destitute and living off handouts, your average person in this country finds the idea of a scrounger being given a free ride more abhorrent.

 

[Kaos]

The only silver lining here is that now the conservatives have a majority, they can no longer pin the blame of the less popular policies on the Lib Dems. Furthermore, enough time will have passed for them to no longer being able to use the "it was Labour's fault" card for any recent and future failures. Also, people will hopefully start to realise that living standards continuing to detirorate will prove they're not the economic saviours they claim to be.

Come to think of it that's not really a positive, but at least it'll open up people's eyes.

 

[Stretford End Phil]

An interesting election from an outsider's perspective.

An obvious rise in nationalisms, Scotland through the SNP and England with the Tories. Both voting patterns are a reaction to the Scottish independence election. The Scots keep pushing the envelope and finally the English have responded. Caught in the middle of that battle were the Liberals and other parties. This election will see more powers devolved to England and a reduction in the Scottish politicians influence in Westminster. Superficially this looks good for Scotland but I think it will lead to hardship, especially if the English now leave Europe. England could very easily isolate Scotland via non-membership. It's also a reaction to immigration and there is a definite return to a mood of closed borders and Little Britain.

Economically the result seems to suit everybody and the markets will rise and the £ will place greater pressure on the Euro. Prosperity or the hope of it always favour the Tories. Socially, the ordinary people will once again take a beating for voting with their guts rather than brains. Killing the Liberals will destroy any real electoral reform and crushes the minorities within first past the post system. The shift towards the right often isolates large swathes of the population and leads to pockets of extremism. Happened under Thatcher and will again. Labour now carries the can for being the idiots who granted the bankers deregulation during the late 1990s and the resultant crash in 2008. The last government's austerity hardships have hit them and the Liberals hardest; and the fractures in the Labour Party between its traditions and the Blairites will open up a can of worms. I was already hearing that from aides to their main players.

The next five years are going to be very rocky in Britain, not the time for good causes or minority interests. Instead of appealing to common sense the government will impose tests of loyalty to the nation and society. The rich will get richer and the poorest will find it increasingly difficult to find a hand up never mind a hand out.

If anybody thinks I'm biased I am British but was disenfranchised by the last government and denied the vote in this election because I have lived in an EEC country for more than 15 years. A typical example of how this government will restrict mobility in the so called free market. If I had the choice I would have abstained, as a historian I am fully aware of the horrors of modern nationalism. Today is VE Day in Europe, a lesson many of my country folk seem to have forgotten.

 

[Ubik]

I think people in this country are just inherently to the right of where the Labour party traditionally sits. Blair dragged it to a place where it could win but it required force to hold it there and once he let go it sprang back. I dont think Labour didnt try to make the case, I think people didnt want to hear it.

Thinking about it this morning it seems to me the turning point might have been in the "debate" - the one where they came on one at a time and didnt actually debate - when Milliband refused to admit his party had overspent. I understood the point he was trying to make, it wasnt Labour spending plans that left us in a financial hole, it was the banking crisis. But the crowd didnt want to hear it. It wasnt Cameron heckling him, he wasnt even in the room, it was the gasps of shock and dismay from the audience, there seemed to me to be genuine astonishment he wouldnt hold his hands up. It felt like the wrong thing to say at the time, given the mood of the room, and I think ultimately it fed into the perception English people have that Labour are essentially profligate and irresponsible, like protecting the vulnerable in society is somehow extravagant or frivolous, rather than a moral duty.

Basically, as much as people care about people being destitute and living off handouts, your average person in this country finds the idea of a scrounger being given a free ride more abhorrent.

You're bang on there, it seems to be one of those occasions where the truth is the last thing you should be saying. David Miliband was keen on a faux admittance they'd overspent from memory, just because he knew the public wanted to hear it. Politics is depressing.

 

[Mockney]

I actually thought Clegg's speech was pretty good.

 

[Drifter]

I would never vote UKIP...but this does seem wrong:

Nationwide Ukip has secured 3.8million votes but just one MP so far while in Scotland the SNP grabbed 56 seats with 1.5million votes.

Outside his election count Mr Farage said this morning: 'The system is bust. It's strange that a party (the SNP) can get a minority of the vote but get almost 100 per cent of the seats.

'You've got a first past the post system where we clearly become the third party in Britain but get hardly any seats.'

Time to change the system???

It may be very hard to Ukip only have one mp and the the other party who believes in Pr have only 8.

 

[Mr Pigeon]

I think people in this country are just inherently to the right of where the Labour party traditionally sits. Blair dragged it to a place where it could win but it required force to hold it there and once he let go it sprang back. I dont think Labour didnt try to make the case, I think people didnt want to hear it.

Thinking about it this morning it seems to me the turning point might have been in the "debate" - the one where they came on one at a time and didnt actually debate - when Milliband refused to admit his party had overspent. I understood the point he was trying to make, it wasnt Labour spending plans that left us in a financial hole, it was the banking crisis. But the crowd didnt want to hear it. It wasnt Cameron heckling him, he wasnt even in the room, it was the gasps of shock and dismay from the audience, there seemed to me to be genuine astonishment he wouldnt hold his hands up. It felt like the wrong thing to say at the time, given the mood of the room, and I think ultimately it fed into the perception English people have that Labour are essentially profligate and irresponsible, like protecting the vulnerable in society is somehow extravagant or frivolous, rather than a moral duty.

Basically, as much as people care about people being destitute and living off handouts, your average person in this country finds the idea of a scrounger being given a free ride more abhorrent.

I get what you're saying, and this is the major issue with Labour. They left it too late to try and myth bust the Tories' bullshit. People accepted the "it's the scroungers faults, not the bankers" line. It reminds me of the story about the banker and the three biscuits.