I mean, it’s their stated policy to re-nationalise rail and energy, that’s not entirely right wing…
Massive pledged investment in public healthcare… schools… end to austerity…
But yes, yes, ok… apart from that…
Green energy…
Oh… ffff…
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It tends to be easier to book the removals van.
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One thought about it is that nothing’s going to get better for the Conservatives in the next 6 months and the electorate made its mind up two years ago to kick them out, so hanging on longer will just make the scale of the defeat worse due to increasing resentment.
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An absolutely hilarious and ineptly handled announcement.
Watching it live, Sunak standing there in torrential rain, his too-small suit getting increasingly waterlogged, his coiffure collapsing in the downpour and the sound of New Labour’s 1997 election song: ‘Things Can Only Get blasting in from outside Downing Street.
Honestly, we only needed the numbers falling off the door of Number 10 behind him to be the perfect - if heavy handed - metaphor.
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It’s my birthday today, and being called out the blue with ‘put the TV on!!!’ to see that very sight was the best present of the lot.
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Happy birthday!
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Labour have to tilt to center to avoid giving the (rabidly right wing) press something to scream about. Starmer is no fool and will avoid any big announcements until AFTER the massive mandate he is about to be handed.
At which point he will either take huge steps and maybe get the ship back on track, or waffle and get the toss in a few years.
The Tories have sufficiently damaged themselves that they are likely to be in the wilderness for at least 2 elections. That gives Labour plenty of time to get some actual things done. Not that they might not succeed, but they are smart enough not to hand their opponents clubs to beat them with prior to the election.
I think Sunak is probably looking forward to his next job.
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His next job ought to be sawing up fatbergs for minimum wage, the little shit
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I wonder if he’s heard back after last November’s televised job interview from Elon Musk? Watching him cringing and fawning to that idiot techbro showed where his real plans lie.
He’ll end up with some hugely lucrative jobs (a la Nick Clegg) with tech companies purely because he can spell AI and, through his wife’s family, has lots of links to Indian politicians.
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Excellent point; collectively “Independence from the British Empire” is the most widely observed national holiday in the world, rivaling even holidays like Christmas, Eid-al-Adha and Lunar New Year.
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There were rumours swirling round (not that rumour is everything, natch), that there was enough support for a vote of no confidence in him if he didn’t call an election now. Either way, he’d’ve been very likely not to be PM by the end of the year.
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Summer elections favour conservatives somewhat since many younger people are off on vacation.
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- Economic news has been less negative recently
- That probably won’t last
- The fall will bring loads of problems (storms, inflation, food supply issues, etc) think the Tories would like to be able to blame the party power for them
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It’s all fair.
The Americans are having theirs on Guy Fawkes Night.
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Labour aren’t getting any stronger but the Tories are steadily losing voters to Reform UK (formerly The Brexit Party). Best to call the election now while they can still claw some back - they know they won’t win but they don’t want to be destroyed.
(On a side note, check out that nosedive that corresponds to Liz Truss’s 50 days in charge, and the first month or so was taken up with the aftermath of the queen dying so she effectively killed her party in around three weeks)
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And autumn/winter’s cold wet weather will depress the elderly vote which is the only part of the electorate where the Tories poll above Labour.
Other factors Sunak will have factored are: today’s inflation figures weren’t as good as he’d been hoping so there are unlikely to be as many interest cuts as hinted at last week; yesterday’s borrowing figures showing the government is not going to have the headroom to do another (stupid - but it’s all they know) tax cut; and the certainty that another summer of high illegal migration via the Channel would not only undermine his narrative of ‘controlling the borders’ but would be a terrible setup for an autumn campaign.
Going now means he won’t have to deal with these problems, or - if by some terrible miracle he’s returned as PM - the Tories have another five years to thrash around without worrying about the electorate.
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Half his cabinet are more interested in burnishing their credentials to become his successor as Leader of the Opposition than they are in doing anything useful. Not that they were competent if they tried. Would you want to work with that shower of scoundrels?
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Where do Tories go when they lie?
They don’t go to heaven where the angels fly;
They go to a lake of fire and fry
Won’t see 'em again past the Fourth of July …
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