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UK general election June 8th


Skycaptain

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My first instinct is to say "We're basically fucked, get out while you can."

 

My friends and people I follow on social media have been screaming about getting young people out there to vote but I feel at this point it really is a question of who do we even vote for? 

 

16 hours ago, Danny* said:

The Conservatives will win, Labour will still be scrambling, Lib Dems and Greens will still be dead. SNP will still be on top in Scotland, but it'll either push them into majority again or make them lose one or two seats - it's hard to tell right now. UKIP, god knows, but I can't see them making any gains unless they really grind over the next 50 or so days.

Love her or hate her, Theresa May isn't an idiot. She knows the rest of the parties are a mess right now and that she could easily win with a greater majority than 2015. And then she'll take that win as proof that she can do whatever she wants in regards to brexit.

I think this sums it up perfectly, honestly.

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18 hours ago, Emanresu Yllisa said:

This is the first election I can vote in, not looking forward to it at all. The only options are either pointless to vote for due to low popularity or will probably make things worse, or both. That said I'd feel irresponsible if I didn't vote. Whats the point in having a "voice" in how my country is run if it can't say anything I actually want it to?

It was my first presidental vote too. It sucks when your choice is between racist, sexist, asshole, and soicopath with a wierd smile.

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I have voted i every election (local/General) since 1970 - funny thing is Harold Wilson pushed for a reduction of the age of majority because he thought the young people would vote for him...but it did't happen. 

It's hard to think of a time when it was so critical we should have a strong but fair government but at the same time so little choice. Nothing is certain - May has a 17 point lead and yet how many times have we seen the pollsters proved wrong?

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I'm kind of amazed when a politician already in office calls for another election.  Once an American politician gets in office, they don't want to do anything that could dislodge them from that sinecure.  America is so much simpler, which fits my mental construct of Brits intelligent, Americans dumb.  

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Remember a few months ago when Jeremy Corbyn was some kind of political rockstar and people who'd never been engaged with politics were actually getting interested?

 

Now I know very very few people who have any hope of seeing him as PM. Labour overall just don't seem to have a clue what they're doing (STOP FIGHTING) and JC doesn't seem to have done a very good job at getting the ship under control.

 

Whether he's genuinely been as gormless as reported or he's just been completely sabotaged by the media, I don't know. I'd like to think it's the latter, but who knows? If Labour did win, we'd end up with either:

 

A) The third Chuckle Brother as PM, or

 

B) A genuinely good PM with largely very good beliefs and morals who'll be constantly undermined by both the media and his own party

 

At least the Tories give the impression they've got a clue what they're doing, even if it's usually horrible.

 

 

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Anthracite_Impreza

I like Corbyn, he's a decent, moral guy. Sad that people are voting for the very people that screw them over.

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@Sally. There's two very logical reasons for calling an election now. The British economy is in a state of growth, albeit slowly, with falling unemployment, low interest rates, low inflation. The signs are that, when the true impact of post Brexit currency devaluation impacts on households this may change. Also, a lot of those who deserted the Tories to go to UKIP are likely to return to the fold. 

If Brexit goes wrong in two years time the Tories will be unelectable, at this moment, they are in the box seat. End result two more years in power 

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Blaiddmelyn
On 18/04/2017 at 9:36 PM, Scott1989 said:

 

I thought that submitting Article 50 was the point of no return (I could be wrong though).

Nobody knows for sure. All cases etc here have proceeded on the assumption that it is but there's no authority either way. My guess is that you can revoke it but the other parties have to consent, which they wouldn't do here.

 

I am so bored of elections and think this one is particularly pointless...

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15 hours ago, Anthracite_Impreza said:

I like Corbyn, he's a decent, moral guy. Sad that people are voting for the very people that screw them over.

I like him too. I think he's probably the most "appealing" (for lack of a better word) major politician since Charles Kennedy. I support a lot of his policies and think he could be a great PM if he had the support of his party and the media. 

 

He has neither though, so the general public are losing interest in the man himself and Labour as a whole. 

 

I'd personally never vote Tory. Locally to me, they've always been a nonentity and on a national level, they're a nightmare. It's very depressing to me to think of another five years under them. 

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Anthracite_Impreza
2 hours ago, Kyon. said:

I'd personally never vote Tory. Locally to me, they've always been a nonentity and on a national level, they're a nightmare. It's very depressing to me to think of another five years under them. 

If I ever voted Tory I'd be disowned, very major Labour, now UKIP, area I live in.

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What does a Labour voter look like? :P

 

JK, but I think they nearly lost their deposit here last time around 

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Labour is dead here. My area (one of the first to be called and therefore usually used to make predictions about the rest of the night) had been a Labour safe seat for 60+ years and in 2015 they were crushed by the SNP. I'm talking 26% swing, and it just went on and on throughout the early hours.

Scotland was Labour territory and they've lost it completely, which doesn't bode well for them this time round. Scotland can't decide the outcome of any Westminster election, we're too small, but we certainly could help with the 59 seats up for grab. However, our majority will go to the SNP as is the new norm.

Also the media have painted Corbyn as a dithering old allotment enthusiast so I wouldn't count on the majority of people seeing him as big leadership material.

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@Danny* was it like 40 seats in Scotland that labour lost the last time or is my memory overexagerrating.

 

What is SNP in Scotland? 56 of the 59 seats?

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13 minutes ago, iff said:

@Danny* was it like 40 seats in Scotland that labour lost the last time or is my memory overexagerrating.

 

What is SNP in Scotland? 56 of the 59 seats?

Yes, Labour lost 40 seats in 2015 which left them with one. Such a stunning defeat made them lose their leader as well, who was replaced by Kezia Dugdale. The SNP has 56 out of 59. They're the third largest party in the UK, not bad for being Scotland only.

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I'm American, however my International Politics professor believes that Theresa May called for an election in order to strengthen the power of the conservative party while they undergo negotiations regarding Brexit. That said my professor said she's not sure how wise a move that is on her part and it could very well end up backfiring on her.

 

Good luck y'all!

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16 hours ago, Anthracite_Impreza said:

If I ever voted Tory I'd be disowned, very major Labour, now UKIP, area I live in.

 

I'm curious - is it still UKIP? I mean, there's a lot about UKIP having completed their mission and former UKIP voters now voting Tories. Do you think some people would move back from UKIP to Labour in your area?

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Anthracite_Impreza
1 hour ago, timewarp said:

 

I'm curious - is it still UKIP? I mean, there's a lot about UKIP having completed their mission and former UKIP voters now voting Tories. Do you think some people would move back from UKIP to Labour in your area?

No, I think most people just won't vote. As I hear on a regular basis, "doesn't matter who gets in, they won't do owt for us".

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^^ not true. They'll make a mess of everything, whilst ensuring that their salaries and pensions will be paid in Euros when Sterling becomes as valuable as second hand bog roll :P

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I live in a working class Labour area, but nobody takes Mr Corbyn seriously.  When you have Labour MP's refusing to say they would like him to be Prime Minister what hope have you got?  The media have been out to get him from Day 1, but the in-fighting within his own party hasn't exactly been helpful.  Labour will still get in round here, but I think a lot of people just won't vote.

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Louise McBear

Most of my friends and I are kind of annoyed that she's calling for a General election this quickly. As much as we'd like to vote, we still have a year to go, which kinda sucks. We had to watch the Referendum go by without being able to do anything and, while it seems to be pretty much guaranteed that the Tories will win in my area, it seems the same is happening again with this. It would still be nice to know we were able to have some sort of effect on the country, even if it doesn't seem that big, so I do hope those that have the chance to vote will use it.

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My sister-in-law is indeed standing for parliament as a Lib Dem ... in a constituency where the incumbent is Labour and unlikely to be defeated. But I hope the Lib Dems can regain some strength this time.

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Hey all! I'm relatively new to politics and so I've been finding it hard to form an opinion that supports one party over the other. At the moment, I'm swaying more towards Green party (even though I know they're weak), but I keep seeing hate posts and snide remarks elsewhere about Green party without any real explanation as to why the commenter dislikes the party. I obviously want to know because I don't want to support a party that doesn't have good intentions! 

 

The reason I'm swaying towards Green party is because they seem the most environmentally friendly of the lot. I'm definitely pro environment above all else. 

 

It's so disheartening when politicians go back on promises and lie through their teeth. Should there not be big consequences for this? It makes me lose a lot of faith in the system and have no idea who to even vote for. I can't vote if I don't support anyone.

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ThaHoward
On 19.4.2017 at 5:03 PM, Tanwen said:

I have voted i every election (local/General) since 1970 - funny thing is Harold Wilson pushed for a reduction of the age of majority because he thought the young people would vote for him...but it did't happen. 

It's hard to think of a time when it was so critical we should have a strong but fair government but at the same time so little choice. Nothing is certain - May has a 17 point lead and yet how many times have we seen the pollsters proved wrong?

They actually haven't been that wrong. In all recent elections and votes since the Scottish vote for indepence, they have been more or less spot on. Yes, it was Brexit and Trump, but the pollers themself said that it was a big possibility it was wrong, especially since it was only 2% (or something similar) who split them. It was actually the supporters of staying in EU and Clinton that overestimated the polls, for example they were certain that Trump would lose, even if Clinton's lead was NOT over the error margin, and the pollers said themself it was 1/3 chance of Trump winning. And, then they took the 66% of Clinton winning as an assurance of Trump winning, but 1/3 probalibility is actually quite high :P

 

But yes, the polls before and after those events have been pretty accurate. What they show, however, is that the polls are not some die hard fact as many seemed to think they were (but as the anylysists and statitcians themselves said they were not) and that the general public, and media, often overestimate the results from the polls and draw wrong conclusions. But Labour seem to split between the left wing and the centrum, so a conservative victory (and then perhaps getting rid of the troublemakers) seem likely. Can't say I am saddened by that. 

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Aspiring Monkey

Didn't they plan some kind of anti-Brexit alliance where they want constituencies that backed remain to vote out their pro-Brexit MPs?

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Skycaptain

There's talk, but no hard action. The discussion point is if there are two pro-remain candidates they should encourage tactical voting to ensure that one wins. But it conveniently forgets that two pro-brexit candidates may do the same in other seats. Also a good number of constituencies one party has such a huge majority that almost nothing will cause a change 

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I don't see the point in voting according to brexit stance. The majority voted leave, we're going to leave, voting for remainers will only show the government that people aren't pleased about it and they already know that. Remainers and leavers are in the same boat now, it's the party that matters.

Personally I didn't want brexit but now I just want it over and done with as painless as possible and I think my vote will reflect that when the time comes.

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Blackthorn

I find the whole General Election very depressing.

 

If it were revealed that May was Cruella De Ville re-incarnated she would still win.

'Strong and Stable Leadership' 'Strong and Stable Leadership' .....  It is the same as 'Take Back Control' 'Take Back Control'  The politicians think that we are so stupid that if a catch-phrase is repeated enough at us we will vote for it.

 

And maybe we are....very depressing.

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Gingerplume

I can't believe that in 2017 one of the high-profile election issues has suddenly become fox hunting.

 

Love her or hate her, May probably has this one sewn up... why bring something that was resolved more than a decade ago into the mix?

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Member4445

I got a load of political propaganda crap through my letter box today. 

 

Chucked all of it out because that kind of trash doesn't belong in my flat.

 

Apparently, not giving a shit makes me a non-decent person.

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