Ukip Backing Zac Goldsmith In By-Election

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37786753

Apparently Farage has decided that he won't field a UKIP candidate against Goldsmith.

I bet Zac is relived to hear that ...at least he doesn't have to worry about those few dozen votes then !

Phew...what a narrow escape !

[mikey4444]

Frazer....."Labour not fielding a candidate because they know they would get hammered"

In 2015, UKIP polled just 2464 votes, so why doesn't your statement above apply to them as well ?

[naomi24]

Labour is fielding a candidate.

http://labourlist.org/2016/10/labour-set-to-contest-richmond-park-by-election/

[Jackdaw33]

Not a good idea on Labour's part; they will take votes from the LDs

[mushroom25]

interesting letter in last night's ES from a Richmond park resident, and the sort who'd vote for a goat if it was wearing a blue rosette. well there'll be no goat dressed in blue so he'll have nobody to vote for, especially since he described the former MP in terms of "Quisling". all he can do (he says), and probably all other disenfranchised tory voters can do, is abstain. there may very well be a very low turn out on election day.

[mikey4444]

It seems to me that Labour is damned if it does, and damned if it doesn't here.

If they don't field a candidate, they are labelled as "frit" but if they do, and consequently lose, then they are ridiculed for trying.

If you add up all the non-Tory votes, from all the serious parties in the constituency in 2015, including UKIP, they total up to be 10,000 less that what Goldsmith achieved, with his total of 34,404.

Lets get one thing perfectly clear......Richmond Park is clearly not a seat that Labour will ever win......its not even a seat where the Libdems have much of a chance either.

The maths just don't add up to anything other than another win for Goldsmith.

Which is precisely why he is making this vanity gesture in the first place. If he wins, it will have zero effect of Mrs May's intention of backing a 3rd runway at Heathrow. While Mrs May has a slim-ish majority in the house, one less seat won't make much difference.

[naomi24]

Mushroom, I read that letter. Silly man. I can only imagine the Evening Standard was scratching around for readers' letters to print yesterday.

[mushroom25]

//its not even a seat where the Libdems have much of a chance either. //

why not? they held the seat from 1997 to 2010...

[mikey4444]

Mush....that man, whoever he is, can simply continue to vote for the Tory, Zac Goldsmith.

When he re-elected to the HOC, he will still be a full-blooded, dark-blue Tory....this is bloody Richmond Park we are talking about !

[Jackdaw33]

The LDs won the seat in 1997, 2001 and 2005.

[naomi24]

Mikey, //that man, whoever he is, can simply continue to vote for the Tory, Zac Goldsmith. //

That's the whole point. Mushroom knows that, you know that, and I know that - but sadly the author doesn't understand that.

[ichkeria]

I think the Lib Dems have a pretty good chance Mikey
We'll see

[Gromit]

// Labour is fielding a candidate. //

They have not declared one, but it would not surprise me. Corbyn, despite his many years in parliament, seems quite clueless in the nuances of politics. From a Labour point of view, cutting the Conservatives majority should be the priority, and they only way that will happen is if the LibDems win the seat. Though Labour won't get many votes in Richmond Park, it may be enough to secure a Goldsmith win, which is the last thing they want.