UK "mid-term" elections

[RandBlade]

Normally every year in May there's local elections somewhere in Britain, plus almost every Thursday by-elections to fill any local vacancies that have arrived (due to deaths, resignations etc). Unlike in the States over here all elections got cancelled early last year due to the Covid19 Pandemic with all elections previously scheduled, all by-elections etc all being rolled over until this May's elections meaning although the term isn't normally used in the UK we now have the largest ever recorded set of midterm elections all happening simultaneously. Local Council Elections, Mayoral elections across England, Parliamentary by-election in Hartlepool, Police and Crime Commissioners across England and the devolved Scottish and Welsh Parliamentary elections and probably more I've forgotten about.

Personally I get to vote for my local Council and Police and Crime Commissioner, I'll be voting Conservative in both but neither election is especially interesting, but some of the other elections are interesting.

In London the only question to answer is how big Mayor Sadiq Khan's re-election landslide is going to be by. No doubt the winner there. I'm not even hoping my own parties candidate wins this one, his campaign has been a joke and an embarrassment. Khan is not a good Mayor but he'll win and win big. I'm more hopeful that we might be competitive in some of the other elections, especially the West Midlands and Teesside Mayoral races which both unexpectedly went Tory first time. Teesside is normally rock solid Labour but then had some of the 'red wall' seats we gained at the last election so this will be an interesting one to see if that swing from Labour to Tory in the North of England continues.

Hartlepool is a fascinating by-election for Parliament, currently a Labour seat (it was Peter Mandelson's and one of the safest Labour seats in the entire country) but the Tories are pushing hard to do the almost impossible and win another seat in a by-election while in government - this has only happened 3 times since WWII so is almost unheard of and Hartlepool has been safe Labour for decades. I have a small charity bet with a Labour supporter, I expect Labour will hold it, he expects Labour will lose. If we can win this then we're in even better shape for the next election than I'd expect.

The most interesting election of all though is up in Scotland. The SNP pushing for a fourth consecutive term and a mandate for a second independence referendum - a referendum that the Westminster government has the power and desire to block but to do so if the SNP win a mandate will really mess things up. I do not like the SNP or Nicola Sturgeon (or Alex Salmond) at all, but I do want to see Scotland go independent as I think it will be the best thing for them, Blair's asymmetric devolution was a failure, so this is a difficult one for me.

For the Brits here (or anyone else interested) are there any particular elections you're interested in? Are you torn how to vote or not?

[gogobongopop]

I'll be voting independent. I think I'm done voting for anyone associated with a political party for the time being.

[Timbuk2]

Now living in Brighton, we have the only Green council in the land. A minority council, but Green nonetheless.

And they're shit.

So will probably vote Labour who have more seats than the Tories so more chance of pushing back the Greens.

[RandBlade]

Twitter Link

[RandBlade]

And the French have surrendered. That didn't take long.

Twitter Link

[Hazir]

Interesting comment. Given that the result of the protest is that the Jersey chief minister conceded there were problems with the implementation of the agreements and that these were going to be solved in close consultation with the protesters.

[Aimless]

Interesting comment. Given that the result of the protest is that the Jersey chief minister conceded there were problems with the implementation of the agreements and that these were going to be solved in close consultation with the protesters.

Tbf, Jersey authorities almost certainly knew what they were doing when they engineered this unnecessary provocation. The mendacity of the English is contagious. I just don't think they were expecting their side to escalate to gunboats like that.

[RandBlade]

Polls have closed.

I voted Tory for my Council and Tory, with LD as my second vote for PCC. Hopeful both could be won. Getting more confident with the reports coming out of Hartlepool, that will be a stunning victory if we take that. Given the reports coming out, I think I've lost my bet that Labour would hold on their.

Rather hope, despite him having a policy of "Take Britain back into the EU" that Count Binface does well in London. Given the state of the candidates there, I might have been tempted to vote for Binface if I lived in London, its been a long time since we've had such an entertaining Loony candidate, be fun if he saves his deposit and see how many "serious" parties he beats.

Scotland will take a few days to count their votes I think irritatingly, can't do anything the traditional British way there. Could be the most consequential vote of all, reports are that turnout is high, very high in Scotland. That's probably very good news for the SNP.

[RandBlade]

Early results as standard coming from the North East.

Early results really good for Conservatives, which never normally happens (North East typically being solid safe Labour). Multiple Con Gains in Northumberland already, Sunderland too.

As it stands Con Gain Northumberland County Council from NOC (No Overall Control). If it ends like this I believe it will be the first time ever Northumberland has been majority Tory, having previously only ever been NOC or Labour majority.

[RandBlade]

Some absolutely stunning results, British politics is being transformed and after deciding to campaign on wallpaper instead of jabs or jobs Keir's Labour Party are getting a well deserved pasting.

The Hartlepool result is absolutely far better than anything I could have expected.


Worth remembering that this is Peter Mandelson's old seat that he was parachuted into as it was such a safe seat. It was in 2001 one of the safest Labour seats in the entire country.

Maybe going to John Lewis to pose with wallpaper was not good campaigning after a pandemic?

[Hazir]

As you pointed out already; very little of relevance.

[Aimless]

Honestly a little surprised by how much time and energy is being wasted on takes generated in response to an election in which 2 out of 3 eligible voters didn't vote and voters appear to have been confused about who's been in power for the past decade:

Twitter Link

[RandBlade]

That would be the Labour Party that have represented Hartlepool continuously since the 1970s, yes.

Voters in Hartlepool rightly voted for change by voting for the party that gets stuff done in their local area, rather than obsessing about Palestine or whatever and having nothing to do with the local people.

Unsurprised that you are too ignorant to know the difference but the locals absolutely do know who has represented their area for almost all of the last century and rightly voted for change.

[RandBlade]

Who has been responsible for representing Hartlepool since World War 2:
2019 Labour
2017 Labour
2015 Labour
2010 Labour
2005 Labour
2001 Labour
1997 Labour
1992 Labour
1987 Labour
1984 Labour
1979 Labour
1974 Labour
(Constituency renamed from The Hartlepools)
1970 Labour
1966 Labour
1964 Labour
1959 Tories
1955 Labour
1951 Labour
1950 Labour
1945 Labour

2021 the locals decide to vote for change by voting for a Tory to represent them instead of Labour.

Far-left idiots on Twitter: "What do you mean voting for a Tory is a change?"

[Aimless]

Looks like other voters are just as puzzled by the confused gentleman's reasoning as I was:

Twitter Link

Afaict, a lot of the problems can be directly attribute to cuts by the national govt. Go figure. England really has a stupidity problem. There's some silly talk about a Labour candidate making the recommendation for cutting services from the hospital, but the reality is that hospitals have to prioritize, and the financial constraints are determined by the govt—which is responsible for the state of healthcare access in Hartlepool. Fortunately for the people of Hartlepool, this govt. is very good at diverting money for strategic electoral reasons

[RandBlade]

You mean other left wing activists can't understand why decades of Labour failure to represent Hartlepool successfully haven't been rewarded by giving them another opportunity to fail the town? Labour have been in charge of representing Hartlepool for decades longer than I've been alive and have failed time and again. The stupidity is that of yourself and the left-wing activists you're quoting who can't understand why the voters are rejecting more of the same bullshit.

Also before you continue to quote more left-wing idiots on Twitter who are too stupid to understand why they've been rejected for a change - it might be worth educating yourself some more on the local background. Hartlepool is part of Tees Valley, normally all a lifelong Labour area. One of the greatest shocks in 2017 was young Tory Ben Houchen unexpectedly winning the Mayoral election there. Since he won there unexpectedly he had worked incredibly hard for the area bringing great amounts of investment - he recently helped secure a deal to get GE to create a major investment in Teesside to create wind turbines. For the last four years he's really delivered for the local area in a way that decades of Labour representation failed to do. I know currently active Labour and Liberal Democrat activists in the area who in the privacy of the ballot box voted for Houchen this time around, such a high regard they hold him personally in now. https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/t...giant-20052856

Houchen has done such a good job representing Tees Valley that he won re-election with 72.8% of the vote, up from 35% in the first round in 2017, absolutely incredible. He swept every single part of the Mayoral area including Hartlepool. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_T...yoral_election

The voters in Hartlepool knew they could vote for a Labour MP who would do what Labour MPs have done for six decades in Hartelpool, who wouldn't work with the central government or the Mayor meaning they're more likely to miss out on investment, led by a Labour leader who was campaigning on wallpaper - or they could vote for a Tory MP for a change who would fight to deliver for Hartlepool to be re-elected in a few years time, who would work with the Mayor and the PM to deliver - with a PM that was campaigning in the area on jabs and jobs not wallpaper.

The voters are smarter than the stupid morons you follow on Twitter who engage in your left-wing circlejerk but don't understand why Hartlepool voting for a Tory for the first time in nearly six decades was a vote to change how their town gets represented.