T_i_B

T_i_B's Journal

April 30, 2015

Has any Labour leader ever run a worse campaign than Jim Murphy?

http://www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2015/04/29/has-any-labour-leader-ever-run-a-worse-campaign-than-jim-mur

The campaign run by Murphy has been complacent, uninspiring and counter-productive. Murphy's central message - that a vote for the SNP is a vote for the Conservatives - is purely negative and gives voters zero reasons to actively back the Labour party. This strategy may have once seemed like Labour's best chance of hanging on in Scotland, but the unavoidable fact is that it has not worked. Yet even today Murphy is still sticking to his script, telling reporters that the poll results are "good for the SNP and great for David Cameron."

By contrast to this purely negative message, Nicola Sturgeon's argument that a vote for the SNP is a vote for Scotland's voice to be heard in Westminster, is both positive and difficult to argue against. Whatever the result next week Scotland is set to play a far bigger role in UK politics than it ever has done before. The sheer scale of bile poured on both Sturgeon and her party over recent weeks, is all the evidence you need of the influence they are set to have.

To be fair to Murphy, Scottish Labour's problems predated his time as leader and Labour's collapse has far more to do with what happened in the referendum campaign than anything that has taken place since he took over.

But a different leader could at the very least have limited the damage done by the SNP to Labour's general election chances. Murphy has made those chances significantly worse.

April 22, 2015

The good news is that it's a tiny Tory majority

But do the Lib Dems stand much chance of taking the seat back? Especially given what's happened in the past 5 years.

The Tory candidate for North East Derbyshire where I am is forever banging on about how he's a "local boy". The only trouble with this is that until recently he was the Tory councillor for Maida Vale on Westminster Council. Westminster Council Tories are as much of an automatic no-no for me as Sheffield or Rotherham Labour. And by all accounts his record on Westminster Council wasn't very good either.

The Tories have been making more effort then usual this time around. But all the same, I really don't want them to win this seat as it's clear that their candidate Lee Rowley would be a terrible MP.

April 22, 2015

Who's your MP?

I think it's about time that I did a thread asking about the MP where you live as it's your local MP who you will be voting for or against rather then the party leaders.

My own MP is Natascha Engel (Labour), who I'm afraid comes across as just another careerist hack. Some links are below

Natascha Engel's website. https://nataschaengelmp.wordpress.com/

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/11534/natascha_engel/north_east_derbyshire

http://www.politics.co.uk/reference/natascha-engel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natascha_Engel

April 20, 2015

Not just the one election on 7th May

In addition to the general election for Parliament on 7th May there are also local and mayoral elections in many places on the same date.

http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/upcoming-elections-and-referendums/english-local-government-and-mayoral-elections-2015

Please feel free to comment on any local elections in your area and the situation with local politics where you live, as well as any significant local issues in your area.

I'm in North East Derbyshire, and we have district and parish council elections on the 7th May. However, the Tory and Labour campaigning in this area has been much more focused on the Parliamentary election. And the Liberal Democrats have declined sharply from having a strong local presence to not standing a single candidate in local council elections where I live.

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Member since: 2001
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