Uk Elections today

Churchview

Nigel Farage was campaigning at Aaron Banks' Gloucestershire country estate this week because Banks is the Reform candidate in the West of England Combined Authority Mayor elections.

Dozens of people waving Reform flags and Banks promising to sack all WECA employees who are “just shuffling paper around” and close the “swanky” headquarters on his first day in office. Farage telling the press to take what Banks says with a pinch of salt .

So far, so Trump.

I think we should really take notice of this

Dozens of people waving Reform flags and Banks promising to sack all WECA employees who are “just shuffling paper around” and close the “swanky” headquarters on his first day in office. Farage telling the press to take what Banks says with a pinch of salt.

Great. The party leader telling us to vote for a Mayor threatening to do that "with a pinch of salt"

I expect there will be some well meaning and adequately competent local councillors who will find the nitty gritty of managing small budgets with huge demands a reality check to the grand theories and get on with delivering services -if they actually really care about people then this is what they'll do.

But the "ideologues" thinking will come up against the sharp reality of having to deliver care services and SEND packages and homelessness help consistently deciding to "closing swanky headquarters and "sacking pen pushers" (who are probably managing said struggling services as best they can),

will make difficult situations worse. Close this or that because Reform (or some of Reform......doesn't agree with SEND? What about families, schools...

These are policy decisions made at UK level not locally.

Rachel Reeves is far too toxic. I'll be happy if she single handedly sinks Labour.

nanna8

Bye for now, concentrating on our own elections for now. I want our Labor Party to get in. They will, it is a shoo in. Pity your lot aren’t like ours.

At least we have your hot weather ( for a week😁) come back soon and tell us about your elections.

Grandmabatty

You get your information from YouTube and relatives who live in the UK? They will have opinions which they share with you, not necessarily facts. If you get your information from media, all you have to do is cite research, statistics, etc. It is very clear that you (and possibly your relatives) dislike labour (with a u) and Sir Kier Starmer but you don't give actual proof.
I'm not a big fan of Westminster politicians at the moment for the mishandling of the refinery at Grangemouth. The closing of this will have a direct impact locally on jobs.

A lot of people are critical of Starmer, including me, a Labour voter.He isn’t doing the good job that I hoped he would do and has made some astonishing choices where policies are concerned and some mistakes in my opinion on his Cabinet including the pompous idiot Lammy, the inept Reeves, and the zealot Miliband.

Grandmabatty
I suppose the trick is to read both sides and choose somewhere in the middle.

I'm not sure the truth is reliably in the middle!

LizzieDrip

*”However that poster often says things which aren't accurate - why would they be if she doesn't live in the country nor visits it?”*

Grandmabatty, I agree with you. I think that particular poster may get her ‘information’ largely from social media echo chambers.

I would like her to provide her sources or, at the very least, declare that it is ‘her opinion’ rather than conveying it as ‘fact’.

That’s my opinion anyway

Sounds like you’re in the schoolyard LizzieDrip and a mean spirited comment from you aimed at a regular poster on GN.
Living in Australia doesn’t make anyone less informed.

You get your information from YouTube and relatives who live in the UK? They will have opinions which they share with you, not necessarily facts. If you get your information from media, all you have to do is cite research, statistics, etc. It is very clear that you (and possibly your relatives) dislike labour (with a u) and Sir Kier Starmer but you don't give actual proof.
I'm not a big fan of Westminster politicians at the moment for the mishandling of the refinery at Grangemouth. The closing of this will have a direct impact locally on jobs.

Was just about to write that Renewables are pegged to the price of gas MaizieD so thank you.

I don't understand why people don't know this by now.

I wish people wouldn't spout such rubbish. It's easy enough to look up!

Bye for now, concentrating on our own elections for now. I want our Labor Party to get in. They will, it is a shoo in. Pity your lot aren’t like ours.

I don’t think so at all fancythat. I think they are expecting a trouncing. Their plan is a five year plan, and as governments do, they are getting all the nasty stuff done at the beginning of the parliament, they will be much more worried if Reforms are surging still in two or three years time.

Exactly, Casdon. As I said above:

15 of the 23 councils having elections today are currently controlled by the Conservative Party compared to just one for Labour. Seven councils are under no overall control. Of these seven, four are run by Conservative minority administrations, two by Liberal Democrats, and one by Independents.

Interesting piece in Politico about the reality of running a council:

www.politico.eu/article/nigel-farage-reform-uk-local-elections-populism/

^ Labour in government for another 4years+ won’t be affected by an early term poor performance in local elections, ^

I think it would be affected, if Reform do well.
As Maizie says, it may alter their direction a bit.

And wont hurt at all for them to know some of the real feeling of some voters.

I get my information from many different sources, including Utube. Last time I looked I didn’t owe it to any of you to explain how I form my opinions. It is not a court of law is it ? They rarely mention the UK on our regular news channels as I have said many, many times but I do read the Times most days as I have a subscription and I sometimes, when I can bear it, read the Guardian. Probably more informed than you realise- don’t forget I also have relatives there who tell me about life in various areas there (mostly unfavourable just now but I make allowances because it has been Winter and depressing) Enjoy your hot weather, by the way.

I am loathe to put too much identifiable info on social media.

But I will say this bit. For some reason, I have no idea why, there are no conservative and no labour canditates on our ballot form.
I wonder if it is to try and help liberal get elected?

I think what matters most today is how the Tories perform. Labour in government for another 4years+ won’t be affected by an early term poor performance in local elections, as that’s what happens and they are expecting it. if the Tories bomb too badly though they have a real dilemma as to whether to ditch the leader, and which way they go as a result is still undetermined.
My guess is that this will be the zenith of their success for Regorm, as I don’t think they have the wherewithal to deliver, and will no doubt be beset by scandal around the candidates they have chosen - but if the Tories perform really badly, they are going to struggle to regain a foothold I think.

All politicians are IMHO flexible with the truth but Brexit was a monumental disaster wished on us by Farage and Johnson.

Whitewavemark2....so you think Starmer is doing a good job then ? If he was Reform wouldn't be gaining ground would they...

Nothing in my area, as last year was a full election for every seat.
I think there will be a low turnout, so many just can't be bothered.

Local government has to fulfil its statutory obligations (as enacted by central government) but beyond that, it can make decisions on local issues without regard to central government.

The problem is, that local government funds have been cut back so much by central government over the years, and caps placed on the funds they can raise by means of council tax, that there really isn't much money left for anything beyond fulfilling their statutory duties (and even there they can be hard pushed to do it).

Some local councils tried to generate extra funds by making what turned out to be disastrous investments which hasn't helped their financial state.

Originally local government was financed by local 'taxation' such as the rates, which gave them greater independence, but gradually government took more and more of their functions under central control. Thatcher was especially good at this as she wanted to curb the power of Labour led councils,

Basically, local government is in a mess; not helped by the fact that local people are mostly uninterested in what their council is doing unless it adversely affects them, or they think they've spent too much money on vanity projects. So turnout in local elections is usually low and few people are willing to stand as councillors.

I think turnout will be higher this time because there is so much dissatisfaction with Labour and Reform have spent far more money than is usual on their propaganda... Our polling station (semi rural area) certainly had a steady trickle of people in when we went to vote. Which is very unusual for our local elections.

Wwmark2 I don’t think Starmer is one bit patriotic, not as much as Farage.

”However that poster often says things which aren't accurate - why would they be if she doesn't live in the country nor visits it?”

Grandmabatty, I agree with you. I think that particular poster may get her ‘information’ largely from social media echo chambers.

I would like her to provide her sources or, at the very least, declare that it is ‘her opinion’ rather than conveying it as ‘fact’.

That’s my opinion anyway

Allira, I'm absolutely not saying that! However that poster often says things which aren't accurate - why would they be if she doesn't live in the country nor visits it?
I would reckon much of some UK based MSM is inaccurate too. I suppose the trick is to read both sides and choose somewhere in the middle.

DH and I will be off later to vote.
But I'm happy to be educated here - what happens when central government is as it is Labour - loses loads of seats at county level to another party - doesn't matter which. When money is devolved to local councils - can they go against Government policy and sneak in the things they want to do locally? Basically go nuh, nuh, nuh, nuh to central government!! Or do they have to follow central government and do as they are told. Just interested to know.

Grandmabatty

Nanna8, while it is always good to see how an outsider views Great Britain, it is better if it is based on actual evidence and not through the lense of Australian media

🤔
Are you saying Australian meda is biased and British media is not?

Grandmabatty

Not UK elections though. Scotland isn't involved.

Nor Wales nor N Ireland.