Category Archives: General election 2019

Went the day well? Election thoughts…

13 Friday Dec 2019

Posted by in General election 2019, Musings, Politics

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, ,

Well that’s settled then. Presented with a choice between a slow, lingering death and a lingering, slow death, the country chose. Instead of ‘Magic Grandad’ Jeremy Corbyn the country opted for the blond buffoon and serial liar Boris Johnson – and gave him a working majority. The tactical voting many of us hoped for failed to change anything. The only ‘Portillo moment’ was when Lib-Dem leader Jo Swinson lost her seat in Scotland by 149 votes. The SNP now hold 48 of the 59 Scottish seats.

Now we know where we stand and Johnson is expected to deliver on his promises, which is where where the trouble starts. Get Brexit ‘done’? How? This is going to drag on for years. The only thing that’s getting done is the poor saps who fell for it.

Meanwhile, the hard-left in charge in Labour are already forming their wagons into a circle and defending Corbyn in their usual fashion. It’s everybody’s fault but theirs. They’ve been ‘betrayed’ by the voters – again. Don’t expect any humility or introspection here, it’s not what they do. Labour are looking increasingly irrelevent in a post-industrial UK. Like the Tories, they hark back to the past rather than have an eye on the future. Can they change with the hard-left in control, or will they wither on the vine?

What now for the Lib-Dems and the centerist voters made homeless by the Tories and Labour moving to the political extremes?

At least the stock markets have bounced back (the FTSE is currently up 1.84%) and sterling has strengthened, it’s up 1.9% against the US Dollar, so some of us have made some money for now. The poor? You’re on your own now. Many of you fell for the idea that a bunch of entitled old Etonians, ‘Spivs’ with Belizean Diplomatic passports and multi-billionaire media moguls had your best interests at heart, Good luck with that…

As we now know where we stand for the next few years, many people will be making plans, including international companies with operations in the UK but markets abroad. EU citizens will be too.

I wonder how long the euphoria in Tory ranks will last before the magnitude of the situation begins to sink in? Will Johnson dial down the rhetoric now he’s not held hostage by the likes of the ERG, or will he hold fast to the anti EU sentiments and keep up the lies and claims he can do the impossible and get Brexit ‘done’? We’re about to find out. He has a lie to make reality and it’s only going to end one way.

One other observation. Our electoral system is broken. First Past The Post has led us to this. Look at the numbers of people voting for particular parties, then look at the number of MPs they have. Until that changes democracy in the UK’s a joke.

This election has settled everything, and nothing. But it has got rid of a lot of uncertainty and set parameters for the next few years, and many people will be planning accordingly. Expect the United Kingdom to look a very different country (or countries) in a few years time…

Rolling blog: the election unfolds…

12 Thursday Dec 2019

Posted by in General election 2019, Politics

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

22:50.

I’ll keep this up for a while but hardly all the way through the night. An exit poll, carried out by Ipsos MORI for the BBC, ITV News and Sky News, suggests the Tories may win 368 seats and Labour 191. If this translates into reality, it will be a disaster for Labour and allow the Tories free reign, which means we’re stuffed.

Will this prediction come true? Right now there’s no way to know, but exit polls have proved to be accurate in the past. If they are, it’s a disaster for the Labour party and those of us who want to see the UK stay in the EU. Typically, the hard left in charge of the Labour party are already crawling all over social media, blaming everyone else and accepting no responsibility whatsoever. It’s others fault for not being as ideologically pure as them.

Let’s see how things pan out as the first results start coming in, which won’t be for a few hours yet, but here’s a good example of how Twitter (and many of us) feel.

23:20.

The first result has come in and it’s from Newcastle (central). Labour have held it with a reduced majority. Sunderland South declared a few minutes later. It’s also a Labour hold. Here’s the change in votes.

It gets worse. Labour have lost Blyth Valley with a 10% swing. It’s the first time a Tory has ever won there.

00:01

It’s looking pretty crap for Labour. But none of them are taking responsibility. It’s the voters fault, not theirs.

We now move to Newcastle East, where Labour hold the seat with a reduced majority.

00:05.

Sunderland Central. Labour Hold, but the Brexit party and Lib-Dem votes are interesting.

00:20.

Despite the exit poll, it’s far too early to tell what’s going on as the only results we have are from the North-East.

00:29.

The first result from the South. Swindon North:

Conservatives hold it, and add to their majority.

00:42.

Hmm, I’m watching the Channel 4 news election news and it’s fascinating to see who’s part of this. Former Speaker of the House John Bercow’s really good. He has the insight you really need as he understands the political tribes and I love his precision in the English language.

01:06.

Nuneaton; Conservative hold with a much bigger majority.

01:24.

The Tories take Workington from Labour with a swing of 10%…

01:48.

The Tories again Peterborough from Labour (again). Things are not looking good and the exit poll is looking pretty accurate.

02:00

I can’t watch and blog at the same time. Plus, I’m now reaching for the wine- so goodnight!

Election day.

12 Thursday Dec 2019

Posted by in General election 2019, Musings, Politics

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, ,

It’s finally here. The general election that few people, other than the zealots on either side, are enthused about. One where many people see the choice being that between two lacklustre candidates, neither of whom are Prime Ministerial material, a choice between ‘Magic Grandad’ Jeremy Corbyn and the blond buffoon and serial liar Boris Johnson. It’s like being offered the ‘choice’ of a slow, lingering death, or a lingering, slow death in an awful campaign that’s been dominated by lies, deceit and efforts to mislead. The truth is out there, but it’s hidden by a fog of misinformation and hidden manipulation on social media.

Who’s going to win? I’ll be honest – I haven’t got a clue.

What I do know, though talking to friends and colleagues over the past year is that this election is different. The old tribal loyalties have been split asunder. This applies to both parties. I’ve talked to life-long Tory voters who won’t touch the present party as well as Labour voters who’re in exactly the same position. These people feel that both parties have been taken over by the dogmatists and fundamentalists who’ve dragged them both ends of the political extremes. Which was these politically homeless people will vote could have a huge impact.

So could tactical voting.

Whilst the pollsters are predicting a small Tory majority, I do wonder if their models can cope with the present uncertainties as some people are so torn they still don’t know which way they’re going to vote, even though the polls have already opened. Another factor is loyalty to individual MPs, which I’ve also heard people talk of.

Others have certainly made their mind up and decided to vote not for – but against a party and anyone who has the best chance of keeping them out, thus voting tactically as a damage-limitation exercise, because if one thing is dominating this election it’s Brexit, with the NHS close behind.

This swirl of uncertainties means we going to be in for a very interesting election night. One thing I will predict is that there will be at least one ‘Portillo moment’ – when the then Tory Minister unexpectedly lost his seat in the 1997, leading to enormous bouts of schadenfreude from his opponents.

If you’re still undecided and are reading this, the only thing I would urge you to do is vote for the good of the country, not for the good of any political party. There’s far too much at stake for that. Johnson isn’t going to ‘get Brexit done’. It’s a lie. He’s just going to drag us into another cycle of uncertainty that will drag on for years, because we never ‘took back control’, we gave it away. Now we do have a chance to take back control – from the charlatans and liars who got us into this mess in the first place.

Go. Vote…

13:25.

The day’s turned in to a wet and miserable one here in the Calder and Colne valleys. I wonder what effect that might have on turning out the vote, and which party may benefit from it?

My spleen needs venting…

21 Thursday Nov 2019

Posted by in Brexit, General election 2019, Politics

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, ,

So far, I’ve pretty much stayed away from the fray and restrained myself from commenting on the forthcoming general election and what ‘delights’ are on offer, but the time’s arrived when I need to vent my spleen at the political shit-show that’s being proffered.

There’s an old saying that a country gets the politicians it deserves. In which case the current crop must be fate getting its revenge for years of British colonialism and imperialism. Fate also seems to have a sense of humour, hence two of the ‘stars’ of Johnson’s Cabinet (Savid Javid and Priti Patel), the offspring of immigrants, helping make the country so unwelcome to anyone who came afterwards. The perma-smirking Patel being the classic example. You do wonder if she has an ounce of empathy for anyone. She positively revels in the idea that she’s helping deprive people of the right of freedom of movement, seeing this as something to boast about and completely ignoring the fact this isn’t really foreigners she’s depriving it of. After all, it will only be one country EU citizens will be restricted from (the UK), whilst Britons will be deprived of the same rights in 27 EU nations. Fate must be laughing like a drain…

Meanwhile, that walking, talking vanity project and illegitimate baby-factory we’ve learned to call our Prime Minister continues to show just how utterly unsuited to the great state of office he really is. Johnson spews lies like a someone born to it – which he was. His whole life has been founded on his ability to lie without thinking (or morality), despite him having been sacked twice for it by people with more honour than he has. Scandals swarm around him like flies around shit. The tragic thing? No-one seems to care. He knows he’s lying, the media knows he’s lying, most of the public knows he’s lying – but it makes not the slightest bit of difference as we’ve become so blasé about lies after three and a half years of the Brexit shambles. This is confirmation bias on a weapons grade scale and why the country’s on the verge of a breakdown – and a break-up.

Like most tragi-comedies, there are two sides, and the other is the inability of Her Majesty’s opposition to be a credible opposition. We’ve the worst Tory Government in living memory, but we’ve also the worst opposition too. Any opposition worth its salt should be streets ahead in the polls right now. Instead, ‘Magic Grandad’s’ Labour party is trailing – badly – but his acolytes just don’t care. They’re more concerned about the ‘purity’ of the party rather than the country they think they can/should lead. It’s the ultimate political clusterfuck as with our First Past The Post (FPTP) system it’s almost impossible for anyone else to break the two-party system.

The best we can hope for is for people to vote tactically, to deprive the Tories of a majority and prevent the hard Brexit that’s clearly their goal. This means we’ve all got to hold our noses and vote with our heads, not our hearts. Will it happen? I don’t know, all I can do is encourage people to do exactly that. If we do, the future could look very different. If we don’t – then the future looks bleak. A new Conservative Government with a workable majority and with Johnson at the helm will ruin this country. I doubt the union will survive, but then as a few polls have pointed out, the hardline Brexiters care more about delivering Brexit and would be happy to see the break-up of the UK as a consequence. The fact most of them can’t agree what Brexit actually means matters not. This is a cult…

The December election is going to be the most important one since World War 2, but it seems clear many people are bored with it already, despite what it could mean for their future, or their children’s future. We’re an old, complacent democracy with a population who’re more interested in what’s on TV than who governs them. Whatever happens, I fear this is not going to end well…

It’s cold up North!

19 Tuesday Nov 2019

Posted by in Calder Valley, General election 2019, Musings, Politics, Railways

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Actually, I don’t think it was just the North that was suffering from plummeting temperatures in the past 24 hours, but the mercury’s certainly dropped here in the Calder Valley! The pair of us has another early start and I was in the office before sunrise – glad of the fact the heating and associated electronics were generating some warmth as I slaved away over some more old slides. I didn’t think I’d have had time but I’m keen to get as many done as possible at the moment as I don’t know when I’ll get the time again and the ones I’ve been adding are relevant to some of the rail franchise and fleet changes we have coming up shortly. Looking back at them I realise how time has flown.

Here’s a example. This was one of the first passenger runs of a Virgin Pendolino, On the 30th April 2002 Virgin ran a press trip from Euston to Manchester Piccadilly to highlight the trains would be used on trips from London to the Commonwealth Games in July. It was a high-profile event that included Richard Branson, Brian Souter, John Armitt and many others. You can find the rest of the pictures in this gallery. In those days Pendolinos were only 8 cars, hence them fitting into photographs with the trains they were replacing.

The day wasn’t entirely devoted to nostalgia as I had to nip into Halifax to do some chores so I took a slight detour up to Bradford Interchange in order to be able to add a couple of modern shots to the archive, such as this. Here’s one of the new CAF built Class 195s pulling out of Bradford Interchange en-route to Manchester Victoria.

This evening the weather’s dropped back to miserable temperatures, so the pair of us are having a quiet night in. Despite the temptation, I’ve resisted watching the political ‘Leaders debate’ on ITV tonight. There’s several reasons. Neither of them look remotely like ‘Leaders’. I won’t learn anything new that I’ve not heard before and I can follow each camp putting their own gloss on things via social media – as well as see the honest commentary from those with no party – political axe to grind. The idea that these two jokers are the best the English political establishment can offer up is too depressing for words. My only hope is that by the time it comes to voting, enough people say “a pox on both your houses”…

Stophs2 think they can unseat Boris Johnson by Joe Rukin dressing up as a tree!

16 Saturday Nov 2019

Posted by in General election 2019, Hs2, Mark Keir, Politics, The Green Party

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , ,

No, seriously! That wasn’t a typo…

The Stophs2 campaign is going from farce to worse and yesterday has been an outstanding example. The ‘intellectual’ wing of the campaign collapsed several years ago when the folk involved in the ‘High Speed 2 Action Alliance’ (who were essentially a bunch of Chiltern Nimbys) gave up the ghost in 2016. The anti Hs2 ‘flame’ then passed to the sole surviving group known as Stophs2 who were always the ‘Mickey Mouse’ end of the campaign, as yesterday has proved in spades!

Stophs2 have been struggling to stay relevant for a long time now as their Chair, Penny Gaines has buggered off to Bournemouth whilst their Campaign Manager, Joe Rukin remains in Kenilworth. They get wheeled out as rent-a-quotes to various sections of the media who still have them in their contacts lists, but that has no reflection on their actual influence, which is zero. They weren’t even part of the HS2 phase 2a petitioning process.

But you can always rely on Joe Rukin to come up with a Cupid Stunt. Sorry, I meant to say a cunning plan! His latest brainwave was to dress up as a tree in the Uxbridge constituency of Prime Minister Boris Johnson along with some Extinction Rebellion protesters. Quite what Rukin was thinking this would achieve is unfathomable, but I’ll explore that more later. First, here’s a screenshot from the StopHs2 Facebook page that shows you this farce.

If you’re on Facebook and want to view this complete car-crash in all it’s glory, feel free! Here’s another snippet from their FB page.

Interestingly, some StopHs2 supporters were less than impressed by the spectacle, as the comments on Facebook show.

There’s also this little revelation that makes it clear the stophs2 grassroots really aren’t all that keen on getting involved in direct action. A stopHs2 sticker in the back of their 4×4 is one thing, joining a protest is another!

Despite the latter claim it’s clear that Rukin was in Uxbridge with Extinction Rebellion who were presumably hoping to entice people to vote for the Green party with this cringeworthy spectacle. Now, let’s get real for a moment and look at some facts.

In the 2016 EU referendum Uxbridge voted 57.19% to leave the EU. Boris Johnson held Uxbridge at the 2017 election with a 5034 majority.

The Green Party’s candidate, Mark Keir, who has been involved in various anti HS2 stunts, is not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer or obvious Parliamentary material who would be seen as attractive to ordinary voters (see this blog). He came last in 2017 and saw the green vote fall by 1.3% to 1.9%. The only person within spitting distance of Johnson was the Labour candidate, who increased their vote by a sizeable 13.6%. This year Labour have put up a different candidate but Keir is yet again standing for the Green party. So, who is StopHs2 backing? Keir! The one man who is guaranteed not to win and whom voting for will help keep Labour out and Boris Johnson in!

The StopHs2 campaign has been a tragi-comedy for some time. Informed sources tell me that Joe Rukin has been looking for a proper job for some time. Perhaps with his experience in ‘story-telling’ and dressing up, he should consider getting himself an Equity card, after all, he’s clearly got a talent for Pantomime and that season’s fast approaching!

Another bad week for those opposed to HS2…

12 Tuesday Nov 2019

Posted by in Anti Hs2 mob, General election 2019, Hs2, Politics, Railways, StopHs2

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

The past couple of days have seen news come out that will have the remaining folks opposed to HS2 either crying into their cornflakes or banging the breakfast table in frustration. More realistically, a few of them will take to social media to spout the usual inane or splenetic nonsense they’ve been trotting out on an endless loop for years. But enough of them, let’s look at what really matters.

A new independent report has been published that was commissioned by High Speed Rail Industry Leaders (HSRIL) and produced by Ralph Smyth, the man who formerly led the Campaign to Protect Rural England’s (CPRE) engagement on HS2. Called ‘HS2 – towards a zero carbon future’. Amongst a number of things, it looks at the most recent evidence of how much carbon will be generated by building HS2, how HS2 is crucial to the Government hitting its zero carbon target by 2050. It counters many of the myths and canards spread by HS2 antis with forensic precision, expert data and facts. Here’s some excerpts. You can download the full report here.

This completely demolishes the antis propaganda that HS2 will be carbon positive for the next 120 years. The report goes on to say…

And..

This highlights something that those who’re opposed to HS2 resolutely refuse to face, the fact that they have no credible alternative to HS2. The report hammers this home on a number of occasions in different ways, such as this, pointing out that HS2 has the same capacity as a 10-lane motorway. So, which would you prefer running through the countryside?

The report goes on to detail why the original (pessimistic ) calculations of how much carbon would be generated by building HS2 are woefully out of date now many aspects of the route design and construction has been finalised.

There’s more…

The last paragraph pointing out the tiny amount of ancient woodland being lost is “remarkable” puts the Woodland Trusts scaremongering into perspective. I’ve blogged about the WT’s dishonesty and distorted figures here.

Another common anti complaint about the speed of HS2 is neatly skewered here…

I’d recommend reading the full report as there’s an awful lot more in it. I just wish the Green party would do so but they’re too dogmatic and hidebound to do so, which is a great shame as this report exposes (in great detail) just why their opposition to HS2 make them part of the problem, not the solution to Climate Change. We desperately need a change of policy from them if they’re going to retain any credibility, but they’re very good at finger-wagging and lousy at listening.

To add further to Hs2 antis woes today’s Times newspaper has published what it claims is a draft copy of the Oakervee review into HS2. Spread over the lower part of the cover and pages 6-7 (plus the pro HS2 Leader on page 29 it’s a well written and in-depth article. The gist of it is that there will be no major changes proposed to HS2 and speculation that the Eastern arm to Leeds would be axed was incorrect. However, earlier suggestions that Phase 1 and 2a should be merged have been accepted. The report reinforces the HSRIL report on the carbon benefits of building HS2, the lack of any credible alternatives and also stresses the positive economic impacts to the North of building the full Y network. It also suggests that Oakervee is keen to see an updated business case that look much further into the future than the current conservative modelling which cut off after 60 years. There is one very curious assertion contained in the page 1 story (albeit carried on to page 7). It claims “Hs2 is due to run through Uxbridge and South Ruislip, the seat Mr Johnson held (held? He still does! Ed), where the StopHS2 campaign has 5000 supporters” Sorry? It has what? This seems to be a glaring typo as the StopHs2 ‘campaign’ doesn’t even have an active action group in the constituency! They’ve clearly confused StopHs2 ‘support’ with Johnson’s 5034 majority at the last election! Here’s how many people in Uxbridge signed the last StopHs2 petition. Just 232!

Needless to say, these leaks have sent the remaining HS2 antis into a meltdown on social media, although the reaction’s very subdued compared to previous years for the simple reason that so many of them have given up and moved on, figuratively and literally! Another interesting thing is the way there are far more pro HS2 voices sticking their heads above the parapet nowadays, and these are organisations with both a physical and political reach, like this tweet from Adam Marshall the DG of the British Chambers of Commerce.

Add Henri Murison, Director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership.

In contrast, we have the usual infantile ramblings from individual Nimbys opposed to HS2, along with a few hastily reprogrammed pro-Brexit bots like this!

Quite how this tiny band of Nimbys and pro-Brexiters are going to stop HS2 is never adequately explained. Mainly because they have absolutely no idea, they’re just going through the same motions that they have for years. They’ve no political clout and their organisation’s collapsed. There’s no national strategy and they’re so skint there’s no anti HS2 advertising, not that it’s made any impact when there was. Their empty threats to vote for Farage’s Brexit Party have been rendered even more laughable by the man’s decision not to stand in Tory seats (which is what the majority of HS2 runs through on Phase 1! Even poor Peter Deeley is starting to realise he’s been shafted by Farage…

HS2 antis are going to have a terrible election. I can’t see the likes of Arch-Brexiters such as Deeley voting Green and damaging Tory chances so I’m looking forward to crunching the post – election numbers in constituencies HS2 passes through – such as the Chilterns, Warwickshire and Tatton!

Until then the voting’s over, stophs2’s tale of woe will continue…

Crazy anti Hs2 campaigner of the week. No 24.

11 Monday Nov 2019

Posted by in Crazy anti Hs2 campaigner of the week, General election 2019, Hs2, Politics

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , ,

With the general election campaigning in full swing it’s been fun resurrecting this feature as we could all do with a laugh at something, and the tiny anti HS2 campaign is certainly providing a chuckle or two thanks to their bizarre insistence that (God knows how) they’re actually some sort of electoral force to be reckoned with! It’s completely bonkers of course. Their influence is so small they couldn’t even get 25,000 signatures on their recent Stophs2 petition. Still, here’s the latest in laughable delusion, this time it’s from another old favourite, Stephen Leary, who lives in NW Leicestershire constituency. You can find him on Twitter as @MeashamHS2Actio

Leary gave up his one-man campaign against HS2 last December but he’s recently returned to continue his programme of self-promotion. He no longer claims he’s going to set up a new StopH2 ‘action’ group, but he does still advertise the non-existent website of the defunct local group (MAPA) which is was a minor member of before it went to the wall.

Here’s one of today’s Tweets, which is a hilarious miscalculation and misunderstanding of party political support!

Green party candidates in Eddisbury and Congleton, eh? Leaving aside the fact the Greens aren’t predicted to win a single extra seat in the general election and are bobbing around at 5% in the polls, we’re expected to believe that the few Shire Tory Brexit supporters who oppose HS2 are going to vote Green to stop HS2? Especially when the incumbent Tory, Antoinette Sandbach, has had the Tory whip removed over Brexit and has gone off to join the Lib-Dems? I mean, seriously? Has it even occurred to Leary that they just might have other considerations on their minds when it come to placing their X’s on the ballot paper? Obviously not, but then that’s typical of these people as their knowledge of politics never normally gets beyond Parish Council level.

To illustrate just how ridiculous and out of touch these claims are, here’s the 2017 election result for Eddisbury. That’s not a hill for the Greens to claim, that’s bleedin’ Everest!

Meanwhile, what of Congleton? This is a real true-blue Constituency which is held by Fiona Bruce with a majority of 12,619. Here’s the 2017 result.

Why Leary’s even bothered with this one’s a mystery as it’s not on the route of HS2! Just 62 people living there signed the last stophs2 petition, that’s 0.065%! The Greens vote dropped last time too, leaving them last on the board.

You have to laugh! Electoral maths clearly isn’t Leary’s forte. Nor has it occurred to him that even if by some miracle, people were persuaded to change their vote because of HS2 and help unseat the incumbent MP, it wouldn’t make a blind bit of difference to anything because HS2 has cross party support from Tory, Labour and Lib-Dems (plus the SNP in Scotland) so it doesn’t make any difference if the seat swaps between any of the major parties – which is the most likely outcome.

To add to the general merriment, Nigel Farage has announced that his Brexit party won’t be standing in any Tory held seats, so that’s really going to rain on the HS2 anti’s parade as there’s no-one else left who opposes HS2 to vote for other than the Greens, who are dead set against Brexit. I’m sure we can expect more laughable nonsense like this from the few remaining HS2 antis over the next few weeks, but there’s no doubt that HS2 won’t be an election issue – despite their desperate and fantastical claims – just like every other election since 2010.