[Bonjoy]

I hope I'm wrong but I can't see Labour doing well at all,  as the referendum proves,  3 word slogans work.  Labour's is more than 5, and I feel that many people will have stopped listening by then.

Hmmm....

Only a year to wait until a no deal brexit now, along with some regressive crime and punishment legislation.

And the criminalization of trespass.

[seankenny]

Normally I love to smugly tell people that I told them so. Now I'm just going to tell them that I told them so.

Make no mistake. Momentum and Corbyn have led us to this and it's time for them to fuck off.

It's going to be someone else's fault, tho, isn't it?

[Yossarian]

They’re already blaming it all on Brexit, rather than accepting that it’s a rejection of Corbyn / McDonnell. It would be nice to think that some moderates like Yvette Cooper and Keir Starmer might end up in charge, but I imagine it’s all going to get very messy and nasty.

Our Tory candidate - Sally Ann Hart - (Amber Rudd’s last minute replacement) just squeaked in with the bigots’ triple header - insulting disabled people plus a bit of antisemitism and Islamophobia.  If she wins tonight I’ll be pretty furious. The bloke that rang the doorbell this afternoon to ask whether I’d voted for her was like a BNP-lite extra from the Football Factory.

[tomtom]

Don’t be silly. It’s Tony Blair’s fault!

[mrjonathanr]

They’re already blaming it all on Brexit, rather than accepting that it’s a rejection of Corbyn / McDonnell. It would be nice to think that some moderates like Yvette Cooper and Keir Starmer might end up in charge, but I imagine it’s all going to get very messy and nasty.

I rather suspect project Corbyn will continue without him when he bows out and that his faction will have thoroughly tightened its grip on the power structures within Labour. I would not assume a change of direction, or any realistic sense of the votes they need from the political centre to get elected.

[gme]

Labour just lost Blyth. This is about as labour as you could be but confirms what I thought the sentiment in the NE was. Pro brexit anti Corbyn.

This place has been labour since the dawn of time.

[Yossarian]

They’re already blaming it all on Brexit, rather than accepting that it’s a rejection of Corbyn / McDonnell. It would be nice to think that some moderates like Yvette Cooper and Keir Starmer might end up in charge, but I imagine it’s all going to get very messy and nasty.

I rather suspect project Corbyn will continue without him when he bows out and that his faction will have thoroughly tightened its grip on the power structures within Labour. I would not assume a change of direction, or any realistic sense of the votes they need from the political centre to get elected.

I completely agree. I’d be entirely unsurprised to hear that Rebecca Long-Bailey - McDonnell’s protege by all accounts - is the most likely replacement.

[Mr E S Capegoat]

Remember this guy. JCorbot. Roasted on ukb about 6 months ago. Now facing a second roasting. History repeats itself huh

[James Malloch]

What a depressing result. Inevitable, but utterly depressing.

A campaign with so many lies and underhand tactics, a man who's racist remarks have been laughed off will now lead the country with a decent majority. A manifesto which doesn't mention food banks and barely manages to get the word poverty into it's 64 pages. A Brexit aim which no one believes is achievable in the timeframes set-up.

The only slight hope is that Corbyn will be stepping down and hopefully someone can reunite the Labour party to be a real challenger in 5 years time. And any mess created by Brexit will be entirely on the conservatives hands. However I fear that no matter how it goes, they'll run another campaign of smears and untruths and twist the message once more.

What a shit day.

[TobyD]

They’re already blaming it all on Brexit, rather than accepting that it’s a rejection of Corbyn / McDonnell. It would be nice to think that some moderates like Yvette Cooper and Keir Starmer might end up in charge, but I imagine it’s all going to get very messy and nasty.

Our Tory candidate - Sally Ann Hart - (Amber Rudd’s last minute replacement) just squeaked in with the bigots’ triple header - insulting disabled people plus a bit of antisemitism and Islamophobia.  If she wins tonight I’ll be pretty furious. The bloke that rang the doorbell this afternoon to ask whether I’d voted for her was like a BNP-lite extra from the Football Factory.

Ian Lavery and McDonnell just on the today programme.  Its gobsmacking that they just don't get it. McDonnell said that 'Labour won on the policy'. If they continue with a hard left Labour,  I think they'll lose even more seats next time. 

Pretty depressing all round,  really.  Particularly that the Greens didn't do better. Looks like people prefer SUVs to actually believing in climate change to the extent they'll do anything about it. 

[Davo]

To be honest Toby. This was nothing to do with their policies. I don’t think anything in terms of actual policies cut through. Basically it was Brexit and being anti- corbyn. I think they would likely have been fine in terms of policy with another leader. They were always going to struggle with brexit though.

[Oldmanmatt]

One of my more stridently left leaning friends, wrote a long FB tirade, decrying all of us “traitors” who voted for left leaning parties, other than Labour. It’s all our fault and all the other parties should be banned. We should be a two party state, apparently, with a simple choice, because people are too thick to pick for themselves (she didn‘t phrase the last line that way, but it was clearly what she meant, she used phrases like “confused”).

And they wonder why they lost.

Except they don’t wonder, do they.

Well, what comes next is necessary.

Personally, I think we’re in for a hard few years.

In truth, I don’t think I will be. I think what’s coming will be irritating to me and mine, but for many, many others, life is going to get much worse. 

[tomtom]

As James identifies the one positive (it’s a teeny one) is that the Tory party now totally own brexit.

[tomtom]

Matt - some of the few still believe the emporer is still wearing clothes...

[Duma]

I think Dodds losing his seat is a positive too.

And Goldsmith, he can fuck right off.

Chances of the UK being only 2 nations by the time this is all sorted?

[TobyD]

To be honest Toby. This was nothing to do with their policies. I don’t think anything in terms of actual policies cut through. Basically it was Brexit and being anti- corbyn. I think they would likely have been fine in terms of policy with another leader. They were always going to struggle with brexit though.

I disagree I'm afraid,  I think this is short sighted. If British people were in any way in favour of a hard left agenda,  I think more of them would have voted for it.  It doesn't matter whether I like this fact or not, but Blair won more of the biggest majorities since ww2 than any other PM. Two biggest defeats for Labour in the last century,  both hard left wing party leaders,  Corbyn and Foot.

As James identifies the one positive (it’s a teeny one) is that the Tory party now totally own brexit.

I think that they'll have to become the sort of party that many of their traditional voters really won't like. I can't see the home counties getting along well with don valley and workington. 

[teestub]

Wow fucking hell, had to drive up to Scotland this morning, so just about stayed up for exit poll, was hoping that was somehow way off!

I guess that’s any debate over Brexit settled now...

[Oldmanmatt]

As James identifies the one positive (it’s a teeny one) is that the Tory party now totally own brexit.

Absolutely.

I have a terrible internal conflict going on.

I am sure Brexit will be bad for the country and the poorer sections of society in particular. Regardless of any long term benefits, Pete, it’s going to hurt for the next five years. Real people, will pay a real price. I feel fucking awful about that (if you read back, you’ll se that has always been my biggest gripe about the whole thing, I just don’t think it’s worth it).
I am aware, however, that it probably doesn’t include me. I’m already back to a top 10% tax payer and (barring the unforeseen) in my new job, I’ll be joining the 5% again. Add to that, I can up and leave. Canada, Mid east etc, have always held gainful employment for me, it’s just moving four kids of school age and leaving Graves behind is harder than it sounds. But, if needs must...

But, hundreds of thousands in the UK are not so lucky.

On the other hand.

I think this is great.

Part of me, anyway. The cold, logical side. The Engineer.

Because, I’m pretty sure I can see the outline of the end of Tory rule and possibly the crippling of the party (I still think, the main opposition parties were reluctant to try in this election, for reasons of Brexit ownership).
I think Bojo is going to become incredibly unpopular soon, with no significant opposition to blame.
I think people are already hurting and Bojo gave them someone to blame (foreigners essentially) and that’s always an easy sell.
Now, he will lose that angle.
Now it’s all on him.
Good.
Because he’s not up to it.
Because, ultimately, Unicorns don’t exist.
Because he’s now the salesman who has been bigging up his product beyond reason and now the purchaser is unwrapping the box. Let’s face it, most of the best features don’t work or don’t exist. The customer is going to think it’s their own inability to operate the product, at first, then start to talk to the other customers, then realise nobody can use the useless brick. Then try to return it and ask for their money back.
Except they cannot do that.

Then they’ll get angry.

[GazM]

Wow fucking hell, had to drive up to Scotland this morning

You tempted to stay up here on the safe side of the border Tim?

[Nutty]

Pretty depressing all round,  really.  Particularly that the Greens didn't do better. Looks like people prefer SUVs to actually believing in climate change to the extent they'll do anything about it.

It's a wonder the Greens did as well as they did under the circumstances. Not contesting some seats, the push for tactical voting, a system that discourages voting for smaller parties. I wanted to vote Green, but there was a chance to unseat the Conservative MP in our constituency and that would only have been possible for Labour so they begrudgingly got my vote. To top it all, you get 2.7% of the vote translating to 0.15% of the MPs in our fantastic democracy.

[andy popp]

Forget everything about people rejecting the left and concentrate on people embracing the right. Let's credit people with making meaningful votes; a lot of people really like this shit.

[Nutty]

Johnson is already stating that the election demonstrates that Brexit is the "irrefutable, irresistible, unarguable" will of the people.

Voting percentage for Brexit supporting parties (Cons, Brexit, DUP): 46.4%. Unarguable?

[abarro81]

What's the cheapest way to join the Labour Party to get a vote in any upcoming leadership contest?

[Yossarian]

What's the cheapest way to join the Labour Party to get a vote in any upcoming leadership contest?

Entryist scum...

[gme]

I am not surprised at the result but am at the size of it. Brexit is a major factor but the labour leadership and proposals really do have to take a large part of the blame as well.

As i said in my post yesterday the traditional labour supporters i know in the NE and through work cannot stand Corbyn and predominately voted leave and i think the results show this to be true.

The labour party under Corbyn whilst having very admirable ideology has become a middle class, university love in that is as far removed from the people its trying to help as the Torys and they just told them so.

I am actually quite glad that Boris has got a large majority and can "get Brexit done" whatever that means as we need to move on from the whole mess him and Cameron created, deal with what we have left and start focusing on more important stuff.

I sincerely wish we were remaining but were not and i guess we just need to accept it.