[Tubby Isaacs]

Depressed by the debates which for a large part was vacuous filibustering and I don’t blame the politicians. I’ve lost faith in the future and don’t believe ecological, political and economic problems facing the nation and the globe are fixable. Or that populations are persuadable to even make modest changes to their lives to prevent their grandchildren inheriting a hellhole or toilet of a planet. Cheery populists who pretend they do have the answers make me vomit even more. Of course I welcome a Labour government but don’t expect much beyond cleaning some of the shit off the walls the Tories have unnecessarily sprayed.

I was heartened by this, though not sure how connected the source is. There are quite a few things that can be done under the radar. The problem is that the Conservative Party has just under a month to go to force Labour to rule things out. On the plus side, Reeves, during the campaign, hasn't matched Tory tax cut promises.

[Abernathy]

I've done my first bit of campaigning and there's a definite feeling that Sutton Coldfield just might...

That really would be seismic. Though Labour has done some good work since Rob Pocock grabbed a council seat there a few years back.

[davidjay]

I've done my first bit of campaigning and there's a definite feeling that Sutton Coldfield just might...

That really would be seismic. Though Labour has done some good work since Rob Pocock grabbed a council seat there a few years back.

Were it not for Galloway's publicity-seekers we could send party workers to Sutton en masse. Instead, we're having to defend our own turf.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Who's writing the manifesto? Susan Hall?

Not exactly going to bring in the youth vote, I'd have thought.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Savanta doesn't prompt for Reform, hence the low Reform score. I presume that prompting for Reform would reduce the Tory score further.

[Youngian]

We’re being sent en masse into Peterborough where Galloway’s mob are standing as well as Reform, retaining this seat is far from in the bag.

Will be helping the candidate I know in West Suffolk up against the ghastly Nick Timothy. The Tories also have a high profile Alan Partridge type plonker from Reform to contend with.

[Tubby Isaacs]

We’re being sent en masse into Peterborough where Galloway’s mob are standing as well as Reform, retaining this seat is far from in the bag.

Will be helping the candidate I know in West Suffolk up against the ghastly Nick Timothy. The Tories also have a high profile Alan Partridge type plonker from Reform to contend with.

Back in the day, the Referendum Party gave a pass to the Kipperish MPs of all parties, including Jez and John Redwood.

I'm surprised that Reform haven't done something similar this time. If the aim is, as lots of people think, to force a merger on the Tories after the election, then surely it would help if the Tory MPs looked more like Reform candidates. So a pass for Andrea Jenkyns, Tom Hunt etc. I don't know if Timothy would come into that category (maybe his (sensible) "dementia tax" and protectionist economics would put him beyond the pale for Farage). But either way, I'm surprised that Reform are sticking up one of their higher profile candidates against him. David Bull is from Suffolk, but he might have been better employed in Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, where the candidate is Will Tanner, Sunak's Deputy Political Director.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

I'm reading that the Tories have pulled all their social media advertising and cancelled all media interviews for today. Sunak is absent...

What does this portend?

[Tubby Isaacs]

Dunno. Some sort of "relaunch"?

Perhaps they had lots of "Starmer hates the military" stuff planned. Best if they junk that, on reflection.

[Tubby Isaacs]

More 1997 vibes here. In that election, a "Eurosceptic" called Paul Sykes gave money to the campaigns of Tories who promised to vote against a single currency, even though party policy was to "wait and see". But taking money off the guy funding Laurence Fox is something else.

Probably more of this egregious freelancing to come, and all.

[Tubby Isaacs]

"The Tories look like a party worth joining", says nobody at the moment. Except Gavin Wiliamson's Reform Party Opponent.

Looks very like Williamson freelancing. The Tories are supposed to be uniting to stay ahead of Reform, not doing their own deals to keep their seats.

[Tubby Isaacs]

The Tories fucked up and now have no candidate in the Rotherham constituency. Labour ought to hold comfortably enough, but the Tories have left the field clear for Reform. To add to the potential jollity, Galloway's Goons are standing.

[Andy McDandy]

Galloway fight to hold a seat? No, better to leave the pool, wait until it's been cleaned and people are beginning to forget, then come back and shit in it again.

[Bones McCoy]

They seem to have been pumping out their usual

Labour is going to do <bad thing here>[

I've been responding.

Losers focus on winners.
Winners focus on winning.

[Youngian]

Tim Montgomerie, the Tory Owen Jones and twice as dim

Last week I confirmed I’d be voting for my local Tory MP John Glen because I see him as a model of duty, competence and a very traditional English sense of public service. In recent weeks eg he gripped the contaminated blood scandal like noone before him had done. But this week I also said I  said I’d vote for Nigel Farage if I lived in Clacton because my party needs reminding of its once core beliefs on border control, law and order, over-taxation and home ownership. https://x.com/montie/status/17995359933 ... Dkr8MiQKBg

[mattomac]

Tim Montgomerie, the Tory Owen Jones and twice as dim

Last week I confirmed I’d be voting for my local Tory MP John Glen because I see him as a model of duty, competence and a very traditional English sense of public service. In recent weeks eg he gripped the contaminated blood scandal like noone before him had done. But this week I also said I  said I’d vote for Nigel Farage if I lived in Clacton because my party needs reminding of its once core beliefs on border control, law and order, over-taxation and home ownership. https://x.com/montie/status/17995359933 ... Dkr8MiQKBg

I think Diana Johnson Mp would probably be the MP I think of when it comes to blood scandal.

[Abernathy]

Tim Shipman in today’s Sunday Times (they have lifted the paywall for this weekend) is worth a read.

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar ... -6rlvt8nr6

[Bones McCoy]

[Oboogie]

I'm reading that the Tories have pulled all their social media advertising and cancelled all media interviews for today. Sunak is absent...

What does this portend?

According to the Sunday Times, they've pulled the social media to save money, apparently the big doners, understandably, can no longer see a benefit in backing a horse that keeps shooting itself in the foot (you can have the mental image of that logistical conundrum on me, for free. Enjoy).

According to Newscast, Sunak's Saturday in hiding netted them their first calamity free day.

[Bones McCoy]

Who's up for launching a #where'sRishi thread on Xitter?