Hartlepool

[Cunninghamismagic]

Looking like the Tories are becoming the party for the northern working class.
Labour more for MCW in London

[ChamonixBaggie]

To be expected, Brexit still looms large in the minds of the electorate - as we've seen!

Out of interest, what is it the Tories have said or done that makes you say they are the party of the northern working class?

[richbaggie]

One of life's mysteries to me is how a working mon can ever vote Tory. I understand Labour are in poor shape but choosing to vote Tory instead has always been a head shaker for me.

[Ted Maul]

Hope all the Starmerites are happy. Bloke is an absolute prick. Thrown away any form of progressive politics for fuck all.

[Cunninghamismagic]

To be expected, Brexit still looms large in the minds of the electorate - as we've seen!

Out of interest, what is it the Tories have said or done that makes you say they are the party of the northern working class?

No idea what it is they have done. Polls undertaken do show a massive swing to the working class voting or intending to vote Tory though.

[ChamonixBaggie]

Hope all the Starmerites are happy. Bloke is an absolute prick. Thrown away any form of progressive politics for fuck all.

I had reasonably high hopes for him when he took over. Way to the left of, for instance, Blair - but enough of an 'establishment' figure that they rags would find him more difficult to smear. 

His tactics thus far have been pretty baffling. He's done ok at giving the Tories a shoeing over their repeated failures but he needs to offer the electorate something other than meaningless soundbites like "save the nhs". We've had a shit 18 months and people have short memories. The electorate are prepared to look past Johnson's ridiculous corruption and incompetence because he's given them the vaccine rollout and a light at the end of the tunnel. People have aspirations and he needs to match them. 

Start with some actual bloody policies Keir!

In his defence, he did have a mountain to climb in that Hartlepool nearly bloody elected a Brexit Party MP in 2019 so they are still obviously a single-issue constituency. Also, it doesn't help when half of your own party are constantly bashing you for the heinous crime of "not being Jeremy Corbyn". Labour social media comments are an absolute shitshow.

[Ted Maul]

Hope all the Starmerites are happy. Bloke is an absolute prick. Thrown away any form of progressive politics for fuck all.

I had reasonably high hopes for him when he took over. Way to the left of, for instance, Blair - but enough of an 'establishment' figure that they rags would find him more difficult to smear. 

His tactics thus far have been pretty baffling. He's done ok at giving the Tories a shoeing over their repeated failures but he needs to offer the electorate something other than meaningless soundbites like "save the nhs". We've had a shit 18 months and people have short memories. The electorate are prepared to look past Johnson's ridiculous corruption and incompetence because he's given them the vaccine rollout and a light at the end of the tunnel. People have aspirations and he needs to match them. 

Start with some actual bloody policies Keir!

In his defence, he did have a mountain to climb in that Hartlepool nearly bloody elected a Brexit Party MP in 2019 so they are still obviously a single-issue constituency. Also, it doesn't help when half of your own party are constantly bashing you for the heinous crime of "not being Jeremy Corbyn". Labour social media comments are an absolute shitshow.

I think the problem is he's alienated every member who did support Corbyn. A bloke who won twice in Hartlepool.

[ChamonixBaggie]

I think the problem is he's alienated every member who did support Corbyn. A bloke who won twice in Hartlepool.

Yeah removing the whip from Corbyn has definitely caused a lot of division. Again though, I think he was in something of a catch-22 there. Corbyn by that point was electoral poison and as long as he was still a member of the PLP, he was just a stick the right-wing media could use to beat Starmer with. Removing him though has alienated huge swathes of the membership as you say. What to do??

His tactic was obviously to go after the centre ground with columns in the Torygraph and having a massive flag next to him in every interview while hoping that the left would still be there when he turned around. Well he hasn't claimed the centre back yet and the left stuck two fingers up. I get what he was trying to do but it hasn't worked.

[Derek Hardballs]

Hartlepool hung a monkey thinking it was a French spy. I think the area is simply regressing back to type.

[Ted Maul]

Hartlepool hung a monkey thinking it was a French spy. I think the area is simply regressing back to type.

And this just gives credence to their claims that the centre of the Labour party is led by smug London elitists.

Are you James O'Brien? Why won't these thick people vote for moi?!