Page 9 of 17

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2026 12:11 pm
by davidjay
Youngian wrote: Tue Feb 24, 2026 11:16 am A veteran party agent recalled David Blunkett turning up to canvass for a by-election with a megaphone but he refused to accept this is old hat and voters now dislike them intensely. So they drove Blunkett around some fields.
I've just got that. I'm getting quicker.

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2026 12:15 pm
by Boiler
Yeah, it took me a while too... :lol:

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2026 12:56 pm
by Boiler

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2026 2:44 pm
by mattomac
If Greens didn't care about their own power they wouldn't be running in Labour seats and from what I've seen on social media the attacks have been at both Reform and Greens, also as someone in reply says to them its not a two horse race.

How to write something without a single fact.

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2026 2:47 pm
by Boiler
Which are both led by populists....

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2026 3:59 pm
by Andy McDandy
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... 1772025116

Big boys did it and ran away. No penalty for breaching electoral law.

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2026 4:13 pm
by Samanfur
Andy McDandy wrote: Wed Feb 25, 2026 3:59 pm https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... 1772025116
Yarbles, Your Honour. Bolshy great yarblockos to thee and thine.

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2026 5:47 pm
by Malcolm Armsteen
Judges can be naive wankers at times.

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2026 10:35 pm
by davidjay
I await the ENEMIES OF THE STATE headlines.

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2026 12:07 am
by Abernathy
Apparently the latest polls say it’s now neck and neck between Labour and the Greens in Gorton & Denton.

Greens say you should vote tactically for them to keep Reform out. Labour says you should vote tactically for them to keep Reform out.

How does any voter wanting to keep out the fascists decide who gets his/her tactical vote ?

The risk of letting Reform in seems to be very real. Which would be fucking awful.

Perhaps the best thing to do was to vote the way your heart’s desire - and your personal morality - tell you to.

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2026 12:46 am
by davidjay
Abernathy wrote: Thu Feb 26, 2026 12:07 am Apparently the latest polls say it’s now neck and neck between Labour and the Greens in Gorton & Denton.

Greens say you should vote tactically for them to keep Reform out. Labour says you should vote tactically for them to keep Reform out.

How does any voter wanting to keep out the fascists decide who gets his/her tactical vote ?

The risk of letting Reform in seems to be very real. Which would be fucking awful.

Perhaps the best thing to do was to vote the way your heart’s desire - and your personal morality - tell you too.
The Greens winning would kick off all the #mustresign stuff again.

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2026 10:46 am
by Bones McCoy
Abernathy wrote: Thu Feb 26, 2026 12:07 am Apparently the latest polls say it’s now neck and neck between Labour and the Greens in Gorton & Denton.

Greens say you should vote tactically for them to keep Reform out. Labour says you should vote tactically for them to keep Reform out.

How does any voter wanting to keep out the fascists decide who gets his/her tactical vote ?

The risk of letting Reform in seems to be very real. Which would be fucking awful.

Perhaps the best thing to do was to vote the way your heart’s desire - and your personal morality - tell you to.
From a practical perspective it matters little - majority collapses to 157.


Of course a Reform win would be a "massive" event which the press will play up.
Until Nigel's next boat or pub related stunt around the Ides of March.

The Commons certainly doesn't need yet another Gobby Lying Cunt as a member.

But in the context of three years until an election, it's a small thing.


Even so, I'd love it if they came third.

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2026 1:22 pm
by Tubby Isaacs
Reform coming third would be quite the result. Bad though Goodwin would be if he sneaked home, the thing to look for here is their vote share. Even if they won on a small share, that wouldn't be too bad in the longer term. Doubtless there'll be some recrimination between the Greens and Labour over who should have moved aside (which you couldn't really expect either of them to do) but it would at least focus minds for the future.

One big downside of Reform winning would be that you'd get the response we've already seen from Monbiot and others, that it's Labour's fault for not changing the voting system. The idea that this should be done, having appeared in the manifesto of parties who barely got 1/6 of the votes, is ridiculous. And worse, lots of these people are very open that they'd be doing it to fuck over Farage. I'm just astonished that these people can't see how bad that position is.

And all because of this silly idea that PR stops people like Farage winning elections, which isn't true.

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2026 1:34 pm
by Oboogie
davidjay wrote: Thu Feb 26, 2026 12:46 am The Greens winning would kick off all the #mustresign stuff again.
"A disaster for Labour, Starmer must resign" is the headline whoever wins.
Even if Labour hold, the majority won't be big enough and they'll say it's in spite of Starmer - "if only he hadn't turned up on Monday!"

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2026 2:40 pm
by Youngian
Reform coming third would be quite the result.

'Farage was the real winner, writes Chris Mason.'

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2026 2:57 pm
by Tubby Isaacs
"The big issue on the door step has been Rachel Reeves clear misleading about the need for tax rises in the budget. Labour strategists have tried to smear Nigel Farage as having lied about his tax policies, but that didn't at all cut through, as Farage won a strong moral victory".

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2026 3:33 pm
by The Weeping Angel
Emergency podcasts are on standby in the event of a Labour defeat.

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2026 3:45 pm
by Youngian
The Weeping Angel wrote: Thu Feb 26, 2026 3:33 pm Emergency podcasts are on standby in the event of a Labour defeat.
Its not if but when Starmer goes
Who replaces him?
What difference will that make?
Maybe Starmer will stay.

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2026 4:03 pm
by mattomac
Owen Jones has probably his set to publish, he won’t be silly enough to do so before the result like he did when Biden won.

Re: Gorton & Denton By-election.

Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2026 4:07 pm
by Tubby Isaacs
Youngian wrote: Thu Feb 26, 2026 3:45 pm
Its not if but when Starmer goes
Who replaces him?
What difference will that make?
Maybe Starmer will stay.
I can remember not liking a few Tory governments, but I don't remember being so obsessed with forcing the Prime Minister out. I wanted them to lose the next election, that's all. With the exception of Bozo and Truss, where my opinion was shared by very large numbers of their own MPs. But I don't remember being personally invested in May or Major or Sunak personally resigning.