Follow the Polls

Didn’t know this about Laing “After details of MPs' expense claims were released by the press in 2009 it was shown that Laing had avoided paying £180,000 capital gains tax on the sale of her Westminster flat by declaring it as her primary residence. This was due to its having a higher value than her constituency home, making it her primary residence under capital gains tax rules. However she had registered the flat as her second home with the Parliamentary Fees Office, and by doing so had claimed through her Additional Costs Allowance some of the interest due on her mortgage. Laing's constituency is Epping Forest, which neighbours London and less than an hour's journey by tube. When questioned, she said that prior to the sale of the flat she had sought the advice of her solicitor.[33] Laing was cleared by the Legg Inquiry; nonetheless, she voluntarily repaid £25,000 as a "moral gesture".[34] As a result of the issue over her expenses, an unsuccessful attempt was made to deselect her by her constituency party, led by the Leader of Epping Forest District Council.[35]”

I missed one. Transport minister Huw Merriman, Conservative MP for Bexhill and Battle, in East Sussex, says he will not contest his seat.

Nigel Farage said he had been wrong footed, and that six weeks is not long enough to contest a seat from scratch. I rarely agree with him, but I think he’s right about that. Regardless of party, when MPs resign now it won’t leave long for their constituencies to elect and bed in new candidates - which could risk bad appointments.

Supposedly they’ve been told not to announce that they are not restanding all at once as it won’t look very good.

Maybe there’s a master list with new candidates waiting in the wings already? I wonder what will happen to MPs who have lost the whip.

Please let this, via Electoral Calculus, be right

Siope

Please let this, via Electoral Calculus, be right

How many constituencies have had boundary changes?

585 will have new boundaries, 65 will not.

But they won’t call change equally and some previous seats will effectively vanish.

commonslibrary.parliament.uk/boundary-review-2023-which-seats-will-change/

It will make it interesting!

Day 1 passed without any notable incident.

Sunak, however did manage to peeve the Welsh over their failure to make the grade in the European football, and was caught out planting Tory councillors in order to get easy questions in the biscuit factory. He also seems intent on a one man success in breaking the U.K. carbon footprint in his jet.

Starmer seems to have managed to have got away without any incident, invisibility won’t cut it though, and he needs to make waves soon.

No movement in the polls.

Looks like a fair summary to me! 👍

John Redwood, Tory MP for Wokingham, a bastion of the right is standing down - he must be in his seventies I would think, he’s been around for donkeys years.

Jeremy Corbyn is standing as an independent, interestingly not for Momentum (what happened there?), or for the Workers Party of Britain.

I don’t believe Farage for one moment. He’s got bigger fish (more lucrative?) to fry. His GBNews slot, his alignment with Trump this autumn. In fact Ben Habib (deputy leader of Reform UK) said just now he hadn’t heard from Farage about standing. I think Farage is full of his own celebrity these days.

John Redman is the sort of man who could not bear to lose. No surprise there.
Don’t think Sunak can be blamed for the biscuit factory ex that his announcement through everyone in a panic.
I’m interested in watching Angela Rayner. She’s generally a good complement to KS in public. I hope she won’t be suppressed because of this house business or thought not to be popular with some voters.

Had to laugh hearing that Starmer has been dubbed ‘The Knight with No Fight’ regards the 6 tv interviews. He says he won’t do weekly interviews but will do a couple.

Nothing wrong with that in a busy schedule.
The knives are out.

Bill Cash bows out too apparently.

I think I have little appetite for more than 3 interviews and I doubt many of the public have either.

This "macho standoff" "knives out" approach to politics is just posturing by Sunak and I'm fed up of that sort of politics.

I'd prefer an approach that features other people in the cabinet/shadow cabinet on policy areas.

I’m disappointed in KS re interviews. It’s how the nation gets to hear his priorities in depth. Trouble is, public speaking is not his strength. He doesn’t have a good voice and he can’t keep up being fast on his feet for long.
A mix of cabinet ministers / shadows would suit Labour better and in fact might be better all round. Certainly more interesting.

(Just noticed through for threw in my last. Never mind.)

Interviews

It is accepted standard procedure for the leaders to take part in two debates

One on BBC

One on ITV

Sunak is keen to do one a week, but Starmer has said that they must keep to accepted procedure.

So we will see that leaders debates, but it will not be turned into a weekly circus as Sunak wants.

Casdon

Whitewavemark2

Apparently there was a Tory councillor plant in an audience giving Sunak easy questions at McVities warehouse.

This is such an idiotic basic error.

You could almost say it took the biscuit….

That’s the way the cookie crumbles

Whitewavemark2

Interviews

It is accepted standard procedure for the leaders to take part in two debates

One on BBC

One on ITV

Sunak is keen to do one a week, but Starmer has said that they must keep to accepted procedure.

So we will see that leaders debates, but it will not be turned into a weekly circus as Sunak wants.

More likely a weekly loss for Starmer

Nicenanny3

Whitewavemark2

Interviews

It is accepted standard procedure for the leaders to take part in two debates

One on BBC

One on ITV

Sunak is keen to do one a week, but Starmer has said that they must keep to accepted procedure.

So we will see that leaders debates, but it will not be turned into a weekly circus as Sunak wants.

More likely a weekly loss for Starmer

Why?

Because Starmer can't debate can he, he reads from a script on PMQs.

Whitewavemark2

Day 1 passed without any notable incident.

Sunak, however did manage to peeve the Welsh over their failure to make the grade in the European football, and was caught out planting Tory councillors in order to get easy questions in the biscuit factory. He also seems intent on a one man success in breaking the U.K. carbon footprint in his jet.

Starmer seems to have managed to have got away without any incident, invisibility won’t cut it though, and he needs to make waves soon.

No movement in the polls.

You’re dead right, invisibility won’t cut it.I think he hopes to do and say as little as possible in the next six weeks but that won’t appeal to voters.
I heard his interview this morning on radio 4 and tho he seemed to be as honest as a politician is able about what can be achieved if he becomes PM, it wasn’t exactly inspiring.

Interviews.

I think some are not understanding the point of Starmer’s refusal to take part in a weekly circus of debates.

First - he will not allow Sunak to call the shots and has decided that 2 debates are sufficient for them both to get their points across.

Second - Starmer is without doubt the better performer - PMQs are a prime example. Sunak does get tetchy and patronising under pressure - but Starmer is keen to turn politics back to greater integrity and higher standards rather than performative type of politics that we have seen , particularly over the past few years, where the message is all and delivery extremely hit and miss.

Oreo

Whitewavemark2

Day 1 passed without any notable incident.

Sunak, however did manage to peeve the Welsh over their failure to make the grade in the European football, and was caught out planting Tory councillors in order to get easy questions in the biscuit factory. He also seems intent on a one man success in breaking the U.K. carbon footprint in his jet.

Starmer seems to have managed to have got away without any incident, invisibility won’t cut it though, and he needs to make waves soon.

No movement in the polls.

You’re dead right, invisibility won’t cut it.I think he hopes to do and say as little as possible in the next six weeks but that won’t appeal to voters.
I heard his interview this morning on radio 4 and tho he seemed to be as honest as a politician is able about what can be achieved if he becomes PM, it wasn’t exactly inspiring.

If you are looking for massive charisma, and a personality full of charm and wit, you will not get it in Starmer.

However, I am more than content to get a prime minister of integrity, honesty and strength.