Tories Humiliated But Retain Power.
I Was Wrong, But That’s Still 3 out of 4.
“how could Corbyn get away with shameless cosying up to the IRA, Hamas and Hezbollah. I can only assume most of the voters were just thinking about getting more free stuff”
“The Labour Party’s outrageous manipulation of the victims of terror must come back to haunt it”
Before the next election, the Tories should instal a leader like Boris Johnson, who is risky but charismatic.
What an embarrassing result. I forecast a majority of at least 50, and the Tory party barely scraped across the line with the help of the DUP.
I do plead some mitigation though. Who could have forecast that the British people would be taken in by Jeremy Corbyn’s tarnished past and ludicrous plan to use the magic money tree to give goodies to all? I must have been led astray by my recent successes of predicting the Ed Miliband defeat, the Leave victory and Trump’s surprise triumph.
Corbyn’s strong performance points to a serious lack of nous by many voters, particularly the young, who don’t seem to understand that there is no such thing as a free lunch. It also suggests a chronic lack of education because it wasn’t that long ago that Britain’s economy was ruined by Labour stupidity and lack of knowledge of the theory of unintended consequences. Even if they haven’t lived through such times, isn’t it possible to read about them? Or maybe look at Venezuela now and the link with Corbyn’s favourite socialist Hugo Chavez?
The Tory party must be hanging its head in shame because of its inept campaign. Suggesting reform of things like the winter fuel allowance without saying exactly who would be affected was a dumb hostage to fortune. Announcing a barely formed policy on social care, again with not enough detail, allowed Labour to talk of the “dementia tax”. As I tweeted –
.@BBCAnyQuestions #bbcaq no main party has a good answer to the question, why does #NHS pay for cancer but not dementia? truly an outrage.
But don’t forget; the Tories did actually win handily over Labour.
Soft-peddling the involvement of the likes of Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Liam Fox, and David Davis was stupid. Not blowing its trumpet about the (admitedly thin) economic improvements and comparing them with the inevitable consequences of Labour was wrong. Letting the focus move away from Brexit was another mistake, although the two terrorist outrages were obviously a surprise blow. Theresa May’s lack lustre performance as Home Secretary was spotlighted by this, and her dismal failure to bring pressure to bear on the Muslim community. Her immigration record was a long-running sore too.
Outrageous manipulation
The Labour Party’s outrageous manipulation of the victims of terror must come back to haunt it. Trying to pretend needed measures to reform the police and make it more efficient were linked with this latest burst of Muslim terror was quite disgusting. And how could Corbyn get away with shameless cosying up to the IRA, Hamas and Hezbollah? This will trouble those writing about elections for years. I can only assume most of the voters were just thinking about getting more free stuff, and didn’t read the manifesto. Labour’s senseless mantra that austerity is a problem that can be ended without any pain just panders to the ignorant. In fact this is the theme of the Labour manifesto, which assumes it can win votes by bribing us with our own money, and making future generations pick up the tab. And the young aparently go for that? Surely they are smarter than that. Labour’s ownership by unions doesn’t trouble these voters?
When you try and figure out the impact on the government’s future, relying on the DUP for safety, it doesn’t really add up to much. Will it curb the goverment’s ability to negotiate Brexit? Not much. Will it impinge on its ability to do anything at all? I don’t think so. Let’s face it, big majorities give ample scope for party rebellions so you could argue that a razor thin majority will mean tight discipline. I suppose it will make more radical and necessary policies like curbing the unions’ inner fascist too controversial.
Boris later
There will have to an investigation by the party into what went wrong. Maybe Theresa May can emerge from this relatively untarnished and that may take a couple of months to establish. If her involvement was not egregious (and it’s hard to see how it wasn’t) she could stay on for maybe a couple of years. Before the next election, the Tories should instal a leader like Boris Johnson, who is risky but charismatic. Boris, unlike most Tories, can appeal across the aisle.
If the Tories are to win the next election, they should first make sure the Boundary Commission report is implemented. That will give the Tories about 20 extra seats by shutting down Labour’s rotten boroughs.
And let’s face it, lightweight Corbyn landed a lucky punch. He wont do that again.
You are seriously deluded Mr Winton. You have lived in a world of free market? economics for so long that you cannot see outside. The bankers in this country anf the USA abused their enormous power to feather their own nests and nearly brought about total collapse of the system until they were bailed out by Gordon Brown’s government. When the Tories came in they then punished the rest of us with their austerity policies. Moral of the story?The electorate are now beginning to understand that the ‘magic money tree’ does exist but only for rich and powerful. Maybe we can invest in the NHS,social housing and higher education. And you, Neil, have allowed yourself to become a flag waver for the parasitic elite.
Have you been trapped in a lift with Ken Loach, Terry? Give yourself a break and read up on all previous utopian attempts, perhaps starting with Jeremy Corbyn hero Hugo Chavez and how he turned a potentially rich country like Venezuela into a basket case. I think we are at peak Corbyn anyway, and the next campaign wont have an inept, complacent leader at the controls. If Labour tries another fraudulent manifesto, it will be picked apart, unlike this one.