Sleaford bi election

no effort needed

Good, keep them coming ....or as my iPad wanted to say 'keep them clean Ming!'

Hope your finger gets well soon.

Anya, I know you were not complaining, as for my list of reasons why I make the errors, news specs next week, splint be off finger soon and I assure you - my spelling errors will be just the same

Annie I'm not complaining, your posts introduced a spark of much-needed humour.

Watched it POGS, first time Corbyn has had to deal with protests, he stayed calm I agree, I did think he was going to walk off stage at one point but he didn't . Shami was alarmed

Anniebach

Sky News was covering Corbyn 'live' at his meeting today and Peter Tatchell and a small group stood in front of Corbyn as a demonstration.

To be fair he dealt with them well but Shami Chakrobarti looked a bit like a rabbit in a headlight for a moment.

Tim Farron puts himself out there, gives live interviews, doesn't avoid the press ,

Corbyn is to make a speech today at a momentum organised event , one member of the organising committee is that woman who has been suspended by the Labour Party for anti semitism comments.

Sorry! You're right. That'll teach me not to check my source properly.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleaford_and_North_Hykeham_(UK_Parliament_constituency)

vampirequeen the figures you gave for this byelection result and the general election in this constituency were right the first time, UKIP got less than half of their previous votes and their share of the vote went down. The only party to improve were the Lib Dems whose share of the vote actually doubled

Daphne, he has the whole of momentum to manage him. He needs balls

In my defence Anya , am typing with hands in strappings, one finger in splint, waiting for new specs, have a habit of hitting the wrong key, add these to can't spell, let us be thankful I only typed poo .

Come to think of it, forget the above, I think I used the right word

TMI about his bowels Annie!!

Yes, he does need somebody, ab. Desperately!

All public figures need press secretaries.

He doesn't need anyone Daphne, important matters are discussed by MacDonald and recently Thornberry . He refuses to give live interviews , is surrounded by momentum females if just walking from a car to a building , momentum arranges his audience . He poos up for PMQ on Wednesdays. He doesn't deal with the media, have you forgotten he claimed harassment when asked one question by one reporter , he was only asked about an early election, a question all leaders of parties are asked.

Does anybody know if Seumas Milne is still Corbyn's Director of Strategy and Communications?

Blair had Campbell and Cameron had Coulson then Craig Oliver to field the media. Corbyn just seems to let things go with the flow. Milne needs replacing with someone who knows what he's doing.

Perhaps he is having an extended holiday in Prague , he likes holidays , holidayed inScotland during leadership contest, holidayed during the referendum campaign , he has passed retirement age

Probably the same one that the three EU judges resorted to when it was alleged on here that they'd 'gone into hiding!

Channel 4 have just asked a Labour minister if Corbyn has gone into a witness protection programme as he is so rarely seen

When will the Labour supporters who believe the increase in membership will win a general election accept this is not so . Corbyn is the weakest leader we have had.

Oops, bites was suppose to be votes , so sorry vampire

My OH is a card carrying member of the Labour Party and was a union activist all his working life in the printing industry: but this morning he shocked me ridged when he said " if there wwas as a general election tomorrow, I would vote Tory" His reasoning being: I can't not vote, and that's the only alternative.
If you knew my OH and heard his opinions on tories you would understand how serious this is.

I agree with ab and beammeup. If Labour is going to win an election, especially with Scotland gone and boundary changes, it needs to win back an awful lot of 'jam pots' - seats with 'just about managings', who aren't necessarily in dire poverty.

I am forever receiving memes about foodbanks and the homeless, etc. I don't disbelieve them, but the fact is that nowhere near half the country needs to go to a foodbank and isn't homeless. The people above the poorest in the social pile have even been brainwashed by the media to look down on those at the bottom. Poverty is undoubtedly creeping upwards (eg to those who work), but we're still in the situation where people are perhaps tightening their belts, but the majority aren't poor. Thatcher and Blair knew they were the key battleground.

@ Anya

Ukip lost 2% on the percentage of voters who turned up.

The 'winners' were the Conservatives and LibDems:

Conservative 42% (+3)
Labour 25% (-2)
UKIP 12% (-2)
Liberal Democrat 11% (+2)
SNP/PC 6% (=)
Green 4% (=)
Other 1% (=)

To be honest, those changes are so insignificant, especially on a low turn out, that they don't really say very much. It was a slightly encouraging result for the LDs and not very good for Ukip (hehe).

The big test will be in a Midlands or Northern seat, where there is a sitting Labour MP, especially one who supported Remain, but the voters supported Leave. Nuttall is talking about standing in Leigh, if/when Andy Burnham resigns.

It will be difficult to separate the Brexit and Corbyn effects, but I suspect after March that people will start focusing on national issues again. I think people will accept Brexit as a reality, but hope they will keep an eye on the direction the country is heading. At the moment, the government is sneaking through all sorts of measures, because everybody is concentrating on Brexit. I am hopeful Keir Starmer will do his job properly - I think he will.

Corbyn's fate might be resolved by whoever wins the Unite General Secretary election now that McCluskey has resigned.

AB is 100% right on Labour Party politics.

Bite! Now I'm at it!