Back In The Big Time! Right Oh!

[ToraToraTora]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38184119
You have 9 seats mate!

[ichkeria]

How many seats might they have after the next election Tora?
Maybe 9, maybe less, maybe more? Who knows :-)
When you turn a corner you are still near the corner ...

But this result merely confirms what we've seen in other elections, not just in the south, since 2015. In our own town at the local elections the Tories were put to flight, and at Witney the party did very well tho not quite at the level of Richmond Park
It should hardly be a surprise. With the government seemingly hopelessly divided and clueless over Brexit, and Labour away with the fairies there is a big opportunity for the middle ground to reestablish itself

[mikey4444]

TTT...if an unknown Libdem candidate, who has only been a party Member for 18 months, can manage to destroy a Tory majority of 23, 015, then what about all the others seats, where the Libdems come in second, in May 2015 ?

I keep being told on here that Labour is dead in the water, so who is likely to be a threat to the Tories ?

Please don't say UKIP !

[ichkeria]

The Lib Dems can't win an election mikey it it's pretty plain too that neither can Labour. That is very bad news because it might instil a level of complacency in the government which will be bad for us all. Let's face it would you have David Davis and Liam Fox in your cabinet if you were worried about losing an election ;-)

[mikey4444]

Ichkeria....The Libdems can be in a position to decide who has own though, as had happened in 2010. If they got a few more seats in May 2015, the Tories may not now be in Number Ten.

Its a long time between now and 2020, and it would be wise not to too sure of ourselves at this stage.

[anotheoldgit]

/// Those results: Brexit, Trump, the last general election, there was nothing inevitable about
them. ///

/// "It is entirely possible for moderate progressive people to win. ///

Brexit, Trump, the last general election v One By-Election.

I make that 3-1 how can that possibly be a win for the so called "moderate progressive people"?

[anotheoldgit]

ichkeria

/// It should hardly be a surprise. With the government seemingly hopelessly divided and clueless over Brexit, and Labour away with the fairies there is a big opportunity for the middle ground to re-establish itself ///

Yes roll out the third party UKIP.

https://intpolicydigest.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/1590266751981.jpg

[dannyk13]

PMSL

[ichkeria]

That's true mikey. The trouble is that to be honest while the Lib Dems can hurt the Tories it is hard to see that effect happening in Labour Tory marginals where I suspect Labour will fail.
If UKIP were to eat into the Labour vote in the north that could allow the Tories in in a handful of places
But at the moment, with an election a long way off, (there def isn't going to be one now after last night!) and Jeremy Corbyn warbling on about Castro, Nicola Sturgeon scaring the life out of the English horses and diing little else, there really is no opposition other than the internal Tory one. May in my view is turning into a pretty useless PM but there's no one taking her to task - we are all in hock to the referendum result one way or another

[ichkeria]

Not sure I'd see UKIP, and especially a Paul Nuttall-led UKIP, as the 'middle ground' exactly AOG

[anotheoldgit]

mikey4444

You are also being constantly told that the Tories did not contest the seat, so it would not be difficult for any party to defeat the Tories, even Labour, but they didn't of course.

[ichkeria]

Is there a by election due in Corby??
There's one next week up Humberside way : big test for UKIP that one ...

[jim360]

To be fair, it's a whopping 12.5% increase in representation in Parliament almost overnight!

[ToraToraTora]

well the limp dums may well be on the comeback trail but I suspect they'll damage Labour more than the Tories next election as Labour voters look around for something other than the Jezza show.

[Old_Geezer]

"But the Lib Dems successfully switched the focus of the campaign to Brexit."

But they WON the by election so MUST have been lucky enough to fail to switch focus to Brexit; otherwise they'd have lost their deposit.

[agchristie]

The Lib/Dems temperature is rising - it must be the Farronheight!