The extreme Right are very loud rather than very popular. But as long as the media mistake loudness for popularity, the extreme Right will keep getting more airtime than their rivals. That’s not to underestimate the very real frustrations with politics that many of their supporters feel, but it does give us the first very real sign that the march of the Far Right is not as relentless and unstoppable as they would browbeat us into believing. It’ll be hard work and demand full attention, but they CAN be stopped. And that gives me hope.
🆕 Barely more than a third of people who voted Reform yesterday said they might have voted Conservative. Our new poll conducted since 10pm yesterday finds the assumption simply adding up Tory & Reform UK votes would make a single combined block is likely to be wrong.
UKIP 2015: 3.8m votes - 12.6%
Reform 2024: 4m votes - 14.3%
The media narrative could easily be: why hasn’t the hard-right made more progress in the last ten years? But it isn’t.
Watch this it’s fascinating - I asked James Timpson what he’d do about prisons and sentencing if he was in charge. He believes only a third of prisoners in jail should definitely be there. He’s now in charge of prisons (but not sentencing).
Key chart to keep in mind as the Conservatives suffer their worst ever defeat:
The Tories didn’t lose this election because they were too right wing on some issues or too left wing on others.
They lost because voters of all stripes judged them to be incompetent and dishonest.
Looks like there were three big transfers of seats on the night
🔵🔴 179 Con -> Lab
🟡🔴 35 SNP -> Lab
🔵🟠 57 Con -> Lib
(kudos to @narottammedhora for this brilliant sankey chart) @thetimes#ge24 https://t.co/omePQYkvAu
PM Cameron in Witney - no longer a Conservative seat
PM May in Maidenhead - no longer a Conservative seat
PM Johnson in Uxbridge & Ruislip - no longer a Conservative seat
PM Truss in SW Norfolk - no longer a Conservative seat
Astonishing. The most telling stat of the night
I hate the fact that I have to produce id to vote. Between 2019 and 2013 there were just 11 convictions and 4 cautions for voter fraud. It's not a problem. Yet here we are - demanding proof the young and poor are less likely to have. It's Windrush at the polls.
It doesn't feel like it, but Reform barely improve on UKIP's 2015 election. 14.3% of the vote vs 12.6%. 4 or 5 seats vs 1 seat. 98 2nd places vs 120. Not exactly a sea change. Yet seen as very significant given how close they pushed the Tories nationally in the polls.
So @TheGreenParty now have 4 seats - as many as the revolting Reform party are forecast to get. So why in god’s name is @BBCNews rabbiting on about Reform still and not talking about extraordinary Green performance??
Congratulations @Keir_Starmer, @RachelReevesMP & colleagues. Voters rejected culture wars over net zero, and business is here to help deliver green growth
Stability will be good for investment
Be bold in tackling planning, grid and outdated energy market. People will thank you
This was one of our most shared images of the last 4 years so we've updated it for this Thursday's election.
In *most* seats across the country, Labour is the vote to stop the Tories winning, however in these seats a Labour vote won't actually help...
#GE2024#TacticalVoting
So true, by the late, great Douglas Adams (RIP).
Might help to explain the reaction of a certain type of folk to progress in low-carbon tech.
(Might also explain why I’m suspicious of bubble tea and TikTok)
https://t.co/ZHbgu058Se
h/t @gruber
In total now the Conservatives are saying they'll raise £6 billion a year from cutting tax avoidance.
So they are acknowledging they've left tens of billions on the table over the last 14 years while cutting public services. Or they're making it up.
Has to be one or the other
If the reasoning behind the Conservatives mandatory National Service is - as they say- to ‘ignite a passion for a future career in healthcare, public service, charity & armed forces’ they cld start w decent wages & conditions for ppl in those careers now! https://t.co/58Ez4QZUKx