What's that smell!

[Sprotyrover]

Jeremy Corbyn just pooped his pants!

General Election 8th June...Bring it on !

[nightporter]

Labour in disarray have no chance.

[nightporter]

Labour in disarray have no chance.

Well, one chance, promise to halt Brexit. 49% of the country didn't want it.

[tommy toes]

Unfortunately it looks like it. I hope Labour can now pull together and get their policies over at last.

[Glyn_Wigley]

I can see what happened to the Tories in 1997 happening to Labour this year. Complete decimation, with many of the possible leaders (after Corbyn finally does the decent thing) losing their seats and not being able to stand for Leader. The result being that Labour ends up with it's own version of William Hague. I'd want Dan Jarvis as the next leader, he'd appeal to middle England and wouldn't carry any of the Miliband/Corbyn baggage that would prolong the division the party is in at the moment. The only problem with that, though, is a friend of mine knows him and doesn't think he'd want to be Leader because he's a widower with kids to raise. I hope my friend is wrong...and that Jarvis manages to hold onto his seat!

[The Red Baron]

Dan Jarvis did lose his first wife but I thought he had remarried. If he can't hang on in Barnsley Central then the PLP will be able to travel in the same taxi.

[Akinfenwa]

This is a disaster.

The purpose of calling an election is simply for the Tories to crush any opposition for the time when the inevitable garbage will follow their hard Brexit madness. They know that they're likely to come away from this with a 100+ seat majority.

This is driven by Labour weakness, wouldn't have happened with a strong Labour opposition. They must be shitting themselves, as am I. This is probably the most important period in our lifetimes and we'll be led through it by this bunch of sociopaths who'll soon have a huge mandate.

Hope I'm wrong.

[RedJ]

And Sturgeon will still be peddling the lie that the only way to keep out the Tories is to vote SNP despite the fact that Labour's annihilation (partly self inflicted) in Scotland is what has given them their majority, effectively.

[bobjimwilly]

time to get grass-roots activists and that huge labour membership organised and hit those seats we actually have a chance of winning.

as a side note - can any Tory voters on here actually say how the cons have been a force for good over the past 7 years and why the working/middle classes should vote for them?

Took me 5 mins to come up with a list of how they've pretty much f**ked up most things in that time:

Class sizes increasing and public school funding being cut
highest rate of teachers leaving the profession in a decade
Over 1200 Sure Start centres closed
Small businesses paying more in tax and NI
Inheritance tax cuts for the rich
Zero hour contracts at an all time high being used for Low Unemployment propaganda
Child trust funds abolished
EMA scrapped
Tuition fees trebled and uni grants for the poorest abolished
Gulf between the rich and the poor the widest it has been in over 100 years
1/4 families have less than £100 in savings
Over 1 million public sector jobs lost in last 7 years
social care cuts have directly led to over 30,000 deaths

its there a positive side to the tories I'm missing?

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

Employment up and income taxes decreased are two easy ones....

Labour is in bother for this election, be some turnaround if they get a decent result, but after the past few years not insurmountable.

[Sprotyrover]

I think that Labour needs to come to terms that most of their voters have views which are slightly to the right of Ghengis Khans and re build their party accordingly.
If I'm not mistaken I believe the largest vote to leave came from us in the north.
I agree with Glyn Wigley about Dan Jarvis, some of the 'Luvvies' who post on here have to come to terms with the fact that the Idiots currently running Labour need putting into a care home for the Mentally unstable.

[bobjimwilly]

Employment up and income taxes decreased are two easy ones....

If you don't include zero-hour contracts it's down. I know a few people on zero-hour contracts;they can go over a week without work, yet aren't able to claim benefits because they are in employment. Very sneaky.

Income tax decreases put money in people's pocket, but yet again the rich save more because of it. It's like they can't give something to the poor without giving a bit more to the rich. EVERYTHING they do is steered toward the top 10%, and it I can't remember it being this brazen.

[Glyn_Wigley]

The only good thing about this is that at least we'll get the Labour shambles over with now rather than it dragging on till 2020. Once Corbyn and his mates have gone at least there'll be a chance of a Labour recovery and maybe even victory in five years - the alternative is having the Tories in for at least eight years.

[tommy toes]

The only good thing about this is that at least we'll get the Labour shambles over with now rather than it dragging on till 2020. Once Corbyn and his mates have gone at least there'll be a chance of a Labour recovery and maybe even victory in five years - the alternative is having the Tories in for at least eight years.

Do you mean Labour returning to Centrist policies? Worked well last time didn't it. NOT.
Why do you think Corbyn is so popular amongst the grass root Labour supporters.

[Glyn_Wigley]

The only good thing about this is that at least we'll get the Labour shambles over with now rather than it dragging on till 2020. Once Corbyn and his mates have gone at least there'll be a chance of a Labour recovery and maybe even victory in five years - the alternative is having the Tories in for at least eight years.

Do you mean Labour returning to Centrist policies? Worked well last time didn't it. NOT.
Why do you think Corbyn is so popular amongst the grass root Labour supporters.

So how many seats do you think Labour will gain at this election then?

[tommy toes]

Probably just as many as they would have got being Tory apologists.

[Dagenham Rover]

The only good thing about this is that at least we'll get the Labour shambles over with now rather than it dragging on till 2020. Once Corbyn and his mates have gone at least there'll be a chance of a Labour recovery and maybe even victory in five years - the alternative is having the Tories in for at least eight years.

Bloody hell nearly a first me agreeing with Glyn

[Glyn_Wigley]

Probably just as many as they would have got being Tory apologists.

Waffle and avoidance worthy of Teresa May at PMQs. Tell us how many Labour MPs you think a party that is popular just with Labour grass root supporters is going to return. You must have an idea how much better it's going to do than a centrist party otherwise you wouldn't have said what you did.

[Herbert Anchovy]

Labour will lose and they will lose handsomely, there's no doubt about it. The right wing press are going to have an absolute field day attacking Corbyn and unfortunately our nation is full of people who still insist on believing what they read in the papers irrespective of how discredited they are.

Personally I quite like Corbyn. I don't necessarily agree with all of his opinions and policies, however he's offering something differen. Mainstream politics has let down so many people over the decades that something has to change. But it won't. John Lennon was right when he said politicians can get away with anything as long as they ensure people have enough for fags, beer and a telly.

[tommy toes]

Glyn
I've no idea how many seats Labour will gain or lose.
What I do know is that they failed miserably with watered down Tory policies in 2015 so the party quite rightly have returned to democratic socialist values which is where they should be. And one day they will get back into power with that approach if they've got the guts to stick with it.

[Glyn_Wigley]

Glyn
I've no idea how many seats Labour will gain or lose.
What I do know is that they failed miserably with watered down Tory policies in 2015 so the party quite rightly have returned to democratic socialist values which is where they should be. And one day they will get back into power with that approach if they've got the guts to stick with it.

The main reason Labour failed in 2015 is that they were led by the charisma vacuum that is Ed Miliband. Were centrist policies a disaster in 1997, 2001 and 2005? Or socialist policies a triumph in 1983? History is not on your side, I'm afraid.

[tommy toes]

Yes you're right about Milliband. Nobody listened to what he had to say apart from Hell Yes.
It stinks.
Joe Public hasnt a clue what Corbyn's policies are either (and most of them would benefit all right minded people)He's just the old loony left in a crumpled jacket.

[MachoMadness]

Glyn
I've no idea how many seats Labour will gain or lose.
What I do know is that they failed miserably with watered down Tory policies in 2015 so the party quite rightly have returned to democratic socialist values which is where they should be. And one day they will get back into power with that approach if they've got the guts to stick with it.

The main reason Labour failed in 2015 is that they were led by the charisma vacuum that is Ed Miliband. Were centrist policies a disaster in 1997, 2001 and 2005? Or socialist policies a triumph in 1983? History is not on your side, I'm afraid.

Considering the Blair government declined in popularity sharply every year, and left a party in ashes, wiped off the map in Scotland, with a reputation for starting illegal wars, that is such electoral poison that it's still to this day brought up almost every week in PMQs, then history isn't exactly on your side either.

Labour are pretty much done for a good while, and Corbyn is certainly culpable. As is his front bench. However he's no more culpable than the PLP, who have behaved shockingly, or the media, who treated Corbyn even worse than they treated Miliband. It's like a perfect storm of crapness.

It's a shame too, as under Corbyn they probably had the best chance they've had since 1997. A united Labour, washing their hands of the Blair/Brown stink, and capturing the anti-establishment wave before it peaked with Brexit and Trump/Sanders could have been quite a force. Instead we've got right of centre Labour in Scotland where nobody wants them, pro-remain Labour MPs in heavy Leave areas, chancers like John Mann and Owen Smith too out for themselves to toe the party line, and a leader torn in two between his younger, remain-voting membership and his leave voting heartlands. Oh, and let's not forget those successful former Labour favourites Blair and Mandelson, who openly throw mud at the current leadership rather than talk up Labour's new policies which do prove popular when people get to hear about them. If you think all that can be laid at the door of Labour moving slightly left of centre I don't know what to tell you. The main reason Labour crashed and burned in 2015 - and continue to crash and burn in 2017 - was a generation in the making.

[Sprotyrover]

A lot of sense being posted on here I can't see any end to this shambles until somebody like Dan Jarvis takes the helm.

[Geoff Blakesley]

Yep - best thing for Labour - gave my membership up two months ago - is to get the obvious spanking that will result from this election and the best way to get rid of the unelectable Corbyn and move on. Meanwhile I will vote Lib Dem again in Harrogate.

[idler]

I'll be voting Lib Dem in Bradford but I expect Labour to win the seat anyway.
Tories a distant third.

[tommy toes]

Yes that's right. Vote for the party that will get into bed with anyone for a bit of power.
They rightly were annihilated at the last election and now they've got the cheek to claim they are the only viable alternative, rubbing their hands expecting the second referendum seeking remainers to flood to them.
I voted to stay in the EU but I'd rather vote for UKIP than that completely dishonourable lot.

[BobG]

I'm wondering if I should stick a bet on Labour having less than 150 seats. I haven't checked the odds yet but they can't be all that good surely? What staggers me though is the fact that left leaning folk seem to learn nothing from the history of their own party. Enthusing 20% of the electorate will get you 20% of the votes, and, resounding defeat. Groupthink gone mad at the moment. I too let my membership lapse recently.What's the point supporting an organisation that's in perpetual denial of political reality?

For the first time ever, I shan't be voting Labour.

BobG

[tommy toes]

What was the point of supporting the Rovers when we were bottom of the Conference?

[Glyn_Wigley]

At least Rovers were trying not to be bottom of the Conference.

Mind you, it's sort of a good analogy. How many supporters have buggered off the past few seasons when Rovers were so crap to have plummeted two divisions?