Off Topic The Politics Thread

Nadhim Zahawi, my local MP, to stand down at the next election. In fact he hasn’t done any actual work in the constituency for over 2 years, a complete corrupt waste of space. Apparently polls say he would have lost the vote here - a place that has only elected Tory MPs, usually by over 20%, since the seat was created in 1950. Even the stout country town Tories of Stratford upon Avon don’t like a wrong ‘un. Wonder if the general level of being pissed off with the Tories will let the Lib Dem’s in. I think quite a few natural Tories will ‘protest vote’ Reform.

 

We’re running out of ‘Tories crying in a leisure centre’ moments for election night as the rats desert. Shame.

 

To be fair Stan...old fashioned Tories have never liked a wrongun.

That is another thing I hated about the Boris era, they got rid of all the "old fashioned Tories" and replaced them with " me first Tories".

There would have never had all the scandals ot the covid times if the real old Tory party had been there

 

Not sure that will go down too well with your left leaning liberal pals on here Beth.

 

I said exactly the same about Johnson kicking out the decent Tories. Anyone who had opposed Brexit or who knew that leaving the Single Market was madness, had to go. He then filled the cabinet with far right loons and the Tories are now paying the price.

 

Labour have just recruited one of those "far right loons".
They're all a waste of oxygen.

 

I find some of Elphicke's views fairly repugnant, but can see that it's a rather clever political stunt by Starmer. If she was going to stand at the GE I'd be outraged, but she's not.

A Yougov poll today puts Labour 30 points ahead.

 

Yeah, with Anna Soubry on the front bench, the Tories would be looking at another 5 years

 

Nothing will change.

 

Decent Tories….let me think. Ken Clarke. Rory Stewart. Frank Field. Help me out here.

Can’t see it as clever not to consult with your closest colleagues in accepting someone who quite obviously isn’t even the most ersatz Labourite, not even of the deep deep blue Labour persuasion. Just odd, and now he has a lot of his own MPs pissed off.

 

Dominic Grieve seemed decent. It was nice when they were grey and boring but ultimately wanted a better country even if you didn’t agree with how to go about it. Posh boys who’d rather be at Lords. John Major basically.

 

Here's a list of rebels sacked by Johnson.....

The 21 Tory Rebels Sacked By Boris Johnson For Voting To Block A No-Deal Brexit | HuffPost UK Politics (huffingtonpost.co.uk)

To be fair, the only ones I'd really have had much time for would have been Kenneth Clarke and Rory Stewart. The point though is that they were all moderates in Tory terms and were replaced by rabid right-wingers.

As for the Elphicke thing, yes Starmer's put a few party noses out of joint, but it's a very short term thing. They'll have forgotten about it when they settle into their massive parliamentary majority.

 

Ken Clarke

 

Not well know, but Alistair Burt was a superb MP. Getting rid of the whole one nation wing like that was extremely short sighted of Boris (shock horror) and is coming home to roost now.

 

https://x.com/GeoffNorcott/status/1788480014549229748

 

The value of yesterday's Natalie Elphicke stunt became obvious today as she introduced Starmer to the stage in Dover to make a speech setting out his plans for dealing with small boat crossings. Elphicke said that Sunak had failed to protect the UK borders as she endorsed Starmer's plan to scrap Rwanda and to tackle the small boats issue using counter-terrorism powers to smash the gangs.

 

He can try and smash the gangs mainly operating in other countries
What's the plan for all the illegal dingy crossers
Can't send them all to ireland

 

He's gonna redirect them to kiwiland

 

If they make it here from France in a dingy then we will say well done before redirecting them to Australia
Have I not told you we are full

 

As the Labour Party is now such a broad church that it admits people like Elphicke who are more right wing than most of the Tory party, do you think it might let Corbyn and Abbott back in? That would appeal to a lot of the grass roots Labour activists and demonstrate how wonderfully inclusive the party is.