It’s a huge political day here in America and in Britain. While Americans are going to be glued to fired FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, British people are heading to the polls yet again. Prime Minister Theresa May called a “snap election,” likely because she wanted to consolidate Tory power ahead of the Brexit negotiations in the next few weeks. But the election has turned out to not just be about Brexit – the election is happening in the immediate wake of terrorist attacks in Manchester and London, so security issues have been pushed to the forefront. Plus, there are a bunch of domestic issues, like healthcare and the economy and more.
Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight has been saying for a month that the polling data coming out of Britain is all over the place and he can’t make a definitive prediction – you can read Silver’s latest here. Silver describes three different possible scenarios, all of which he says are equally likely. Scenario #1: Narrow Tory victory. Scenario #2: Tory landslide. Scenario #3: Conservatives lose their majority and would possibly have to form a coalition government.
Meanwhile, please enjoy #dogsatpollingstations, a most British response to the endless election cycles (credit to @Chic_Happens_ for alerting me).
VOTE #dogsatpollingstations ❤️ pic.twitter.com/dA1Bd4JL6Y
— Clare Maguire (@ClareMaguire) June 8, 2017
He gets our vote 😂 #dogsatpollingstations #ElectionDay pic.twitter.com/cOCaHln2a2
— Britannia Kensington (@BritanniaKen) June 8, 2017
Check out the #dogsatpollingstations tag for some cute stress relief. 😊 #DogsForLabour is also very cute. pic.twitter.com/kS8NJrkpoy
— Christian Michaels (@CMAgency_) June 8, 2017
Hagrid, Hermionie and Bertie guessing the size of the new parliament. Large, Medium and small parties! #dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/mavXSm1wLH
— Hagrid Leonberger (@HagridLeonberg) June 8, 2017
Photos courtesy of WENN.
So who will it be? Jeremy Anti Semite Corbyn or Theresa “We will get rid of human rights” May?
It really is a depressing election. I am just so done with both of these politicians. Well it seems like tories are gonna win but this has got to be May’s last campaign. I thought Remain campaign would be the worst campaign of 2000s in UK then Theresa May happened. Her massive lead literally got evaporated in a few weeks.
Jeremy Corbyn is an anti semite? Source? Not British but I hope young people show up and vote Theresa out. We want Europes politics to be left or centre and check Americas Altright.
The Labour party has a problem with anti-semitism (i.e., it is not denounced in nearly strong enough terms by its leaders), but I don’t believe that Corbyn himself is an anti-semite.
ken Livingston, the former major of London, said some problematic things. Corbyn was accused of not kicking him out and there have been reports of voices in the party saying he didn’t do enough to combat anti-semitism in the party. I don’t think he is a real anti-Semite but probably does have a bit of a blind spot in not taking it seriously enough. More ignorance than hate (which is bad as well of course, just trying to explain the context). I think one problem is that he and other Labour members are very critical of Israeli politics and Zionism and often get accused of being anti-Semitic simply for criticizing the Israeli government, so they might sometimes ignore real problems because they got used to the accusation on, on the other hand while plenty of people criticizing Israeli politics are not anti-Semitic (including plenty of Jewish voices such as Corbyns precessedor as Labour leader, ed miliband) some of them are and are using Israel criticism as a screen for anti-semitism….
Corbyn himself is not anti-Semitic but has taken a soft line with those in his party who are (see Lena’s post). He’s also been soft of allegations of bullying within the party as well. He’s guilty of being a very weak party leader.
A lot of this charge is Tory driven. There’s a large British Muslim population and it tends to vote Labour. The Tories use the anti semite accusation as well as the fact that Labour like the American Democrats are less likely to support Israels excesses to build an anti semitic accusation.
Ken Livingston is the current lightening rod. He has said that Hitler wanted to clear Europe of the Jewish people and aside from the mass genocide, supported their mass migration out of Europe into the Middle East potentially in a homeland. But in claiming that Hitler and Zionism may have had this coinciding interest Ken skirted dangerously on the Holocaust denial line. I don’t believe the line was crossed but some do.
Corbin went to a conference where they were chanting ‘Gas Tel Aviv’, he didn’t call anybody out on it. He is an anti Semite. He also didn’t throw antsemites out of the party. He compared Israel to ISIS at an event about antisemitism no less!
Nyawira, Livingstone said that Hitler “supported Zionism.” He didn’t, that’s insane and yes it brought the Labour Party into disrepute. David Baddiel wrote an excellent column in the Guardian explaining why his comments were so awful.
Thank you April. This “Jeremy Corbyn supports anti-Semites and anti-Semite causes but isn’t *actually* an anti-Semite himself” rationale pushed by Labour apologists is nauseating.
@April, I also don’t support the invasion of a territory by a group of people who are Jewish, and I don’t approve that they kill the people who were already established there and tried to defend their right to the land, I guess that automatically makes me hate all Jews?
For anyone actually interested in the arcane workings of the British Labour party and why on earth a lifelong anti-racist like Ken Livingstone would have come within a whisker of aligning himself with Holocaust denial, see this blog:
http://rebellion602.wordpress.com/2017/04/05/hero-or-villain-the-livingstone-question/
My parents were Labour activists for the GLC over the period covered and I showed this blog to my dad after having spent days aghast at the things Livingstone was saying – and my dad thinks it’s pretty accurate. And, from my knowledge of lefty circles today, I agree with what the guy says about the current situation. The problem is most certainly there but it has been weaponised by tabloids and the Tories out of all proportion.
@Sixer, I can’t let this one go. That blog minimises the dreadful (and inaccurate) things Livingstone said and conflates them with intra-Labour politics, about which few people care. The problem has been weaponised, certainly, but not out of all proportion. He has never recanted or apologised.
Tina – never underestimate the absolute tribal intransigence and ability to hold a grudge of the Labour left. Seriously. I personally don’t underplay Livingstone’s remarks – unforgivable and he should have been kicked out of the party – but the whole blog makes perfect sense to me vis a vis what on Earth he was doing saying that stuff.
This endless grudge-bearing and willingness to play it out in public (I’m sure the Tories are as bad, they just do it in private) is one of the biggest reasons I’ve never been a specifically Labour activist myself, despite being as left as they come. I completely believe Livingstone would throw the entire party under a bus just to piss off old adversaries and land a punch in a decades-old grudge. I’ve seen it myself (just not about this sensitive an issue) countless times.
One thing I will say for Corbyn – he is not like that. Just showed weakness, not anti-Semitism, in refusing to deal with Livingstone.
I absolutely agree with you about Corbyn. I don’t think he is personally anti-semitic. Livingstone is a different matter. The blog explains why he was saying what he was when he did, but it doesn’t explain why he said it in the first place. Because it is so, so offensive.
Corbyn an anti-semite? Ridiculous!
I worry Brits are going to want America to hold their beer. Like Brexit was bad, but with the terrorist attacks are so fresh, I worry people are going to vote with hate in their hearts and to hell with everything else.
Also I want all those doggies!
I hope you’re wrong, but as the EU referendum and the US election showed, the voices of the people living outside the multi-cultural city areas will probably hold the power in the elections. Life is hard in the cities but we maybe underestimate how hard people in the rural areas have it and who they think best represents their interest is hard to call. Nothing in the world would persuade me to v ote Tory but even I find it a little bizarre that my vote could help make Jeremy Corbyn PM. Corbyn is a principled public servant but he lacks leadership skills and some of his shadow cabinet choices are very unpalatable to me personally. However I like Keir Starmers approach to the Brexit negotiations and I think it’s a shame that his role hasn’t been highlighted more throughout the campaign. There is also the hope that May’s refusal to openly criticise Trump’s hateful and racist attacks on the London Mayor will help convince voters that she can’t be trusted not to lead us into conflict on the back of the actions of the man-baby currently holding the office of POTUS,
Voted! (Labour). Took Young Dog. Took photo.
Mr Sixer is coming home early and we will be spending the late afternoon and early evening a little way away in a nearby constituency trying to help get a particular candidate elected. Since my own seat is safe Tory, no need to try to get the vote out here!
I expect a Tory majority but at least I’ll have done my anti-Tory best.
I already voted by post last week, though I couldn’t bring myself to vote for the current Labour mp as he voted for Article 50 (it’s a safe seat). I’m expecting a narrow Tory majority.
Mayhem really screwed her campaign as it appears she was going for a big majority based on polling, but opinion of her has got worse throughout the campaign.
I can’t deal with the Labour Mps that were pro Brexit. I’m sincerely hoping some of those MPs get their just deserts from their constituents. One of them is that awful MP, whose name rhymes with Hate Koey.
Bravo for Young Dog getting out to vote!
And I also love #ShowYourRumptoTrump
I voted but couldn’t bring myself to vote either Labour or Tory but yes I agree May will get her majority but it won’t be a comfortable one.
Ours is a slightly odd seat in that we used to have a Lib Dem MP, but he lost to labour last election by 599 votes. It’s a two horse race here. I’ve decided to vote Lib Dem, based on their stance re: Brexit.
By all measures voting Tory would be better for us in purely selfish terms (lower taxes, property price rises, less regulation, we both have private health insurance etc) but I will never ever ever vote Tory again. I am guilty for voting for Cameron and Boris some years ago – never again. Never.
Good luck, Sixer! I expect it’ll be a Tory victory too but every bit done against that prospect counts.
Sixer and all,
Many thanks for voting for us who are not allowed (EU citizens).
I am under the impression Theresa May had this one in the bag from the start or she wouldn’t have called the election, however many thanks to all Brits who voted tactically
She will still force us to leave ( by simply removing part of our rights and not through deportation) but it has meant a lot to us that you all did everything you could (through campaigning and social media) to oust this disgraceful Tory government.
Many hugs ❤❤❤
And thanks from those Brits abroad whose postal votes did not turn up early enough/at all/went missing.
I might stay up all night and get drunk! I hardly ever get drunk! EXIT POLL EXIT POLL EXIT POLL!
Old folk duly ferried to the polling stations. Duty done. I deserve a drink.
On the other hand, I might have a fit of panic about over optimism and go to bed instead.
Exciting. Come on Celebitchy! fresh post please ! Hope is a powerful thing and I went to sleep last night with a glimmer of hope in my heart for the future and it made me realise how hope-less I had felt for the last 360 days!
I feel like Australia is the one of the few places where it is compulsory to vote.
Are there any other countries where voting is compulsory? If we don’t vote we face a fine of a few hundred bucks.
Even if it wasn’t compulsory I would still vote.
I saw in twitter that 53% of the under 30 were voting today in England. That’s crazy why are people not voting?
It’s 10pm here I’m gona try and stay up for the hearing in DC but I don’t think I will be able to make it through the whole thing with out passing out.
Funnily enough that is a high percentage from what i understand because it is reported that young voting is abnormally high this election.
Sam, there’s been a large number of younger UK voters registered in the last few weeks, I hope that increases the turnout.
I wish we had compulsory voting here, but I don’t think the electoral system helps.
I always thought that the UK did have compulsory voting like us cus we are all part of the commonwealth and all that.
I as soon a I turned 18, i could’nt wait to vote.
Young people almost never vote in the same percentages as older people (the only time I can think of recently was Obama’s 2008 win, in which young voters turned out in droves). I read somewhere that many young voters don’t want to vote unless they think their preferred candidate/party is going to win. (I find this frustrating). I’m voting after work. I’m still not overjoyed about voting for Corbyn’s party, but I found out that the Labour candidate for whom I’m voting is a Muslim-born restaurant entrepreneur who gave free food to police and emergency workers during the Westminster Bridge attacks, so that makes me happy.
Muslim-born? Religion isn’t race, nationality or country. Did you perhaps mean “foreign born”? Sorry for the nit-picking, but I’m a Muslim, and foreign born to boot, and that phrasing is a bugbear of mine as I think it others us and makes us seem like an ideological mass or members of a caliphate when we are so many differing shades, ideas and voices.
My local candidates are a mixed bag: a local kindly conspiracy theorist, a boorish anti-Semite and a secular Muslim with a reputation of progressive beliefs and deeds. Easy choice right? It would be but for the fact that the progressive is standing for the Tories. I’m not a citizen yet, so can’t vote, but the amount of nose-holding that must be going on today must be pretty staggering imho.
Apologies, I should have said that he was born into a Muslim family but is no longer a person of faith. I think he is foreign-born, but am not sure about that.
(Tina: I keep meaning to update you on the Sixlets and voting. Both went Labour in the end, which we duly exercised for them. After all their research, manifesto reading and political affiliation online testing, the Major was torn between Green and Labour and the Minor came out as SNP on literally everything, bless him. So he went with Labour in England as the closest thing. Overall, it’s been a really positive thing for everyone, even me, as I feel that the sheer powerlessness of living in a safe seat where my vote counts for nothing has at least been mitigated by the opportunity to get my kids properly educated about being responsible citizens. I also spent a lot of time being a devil’s advocate in the interests of not influencing them, which has been um… an interesting exercise!)
@Sixer, good for them and for you. It sounds like a really responsible exercise in good parenting. It’s a funny business this devil’s advocate thing – I find myself doing that online a lot, defending people and positions I don’t really support when they are misrepresented! It’s probably good for us to have to make someone else’s argument, I suppose.
@Tina no worries. Phrasing can be important and I’m probably just being a bit grumpy because I have to watch everyone else voting today. Have a good day and good luck to your preferred candidate.
Tina: Yes! It is. I quite regularly end up defending aspects of the monarchy on here, for example, despite being the staunchest of republicans. It’s good to avoid all things echo chamber and politically tribal, I think.
I’m pretty sure that compulsory voting would be considered unconstitutional in the US. But it sounds sensible to me!
It’s not as though you have to pick anyone. Under compulsory voting you can still spoil your ballot paper.
Thats true Sixer, there are always people here who cast a donkey vote and write in something stupid instead of voting or they send in a blank voting paper
But what a waste of time having to count even more spoiled ballot papers. I’d prefer that people were educated and encouraged to participate in their communities and the democratic process rather than punishing people for exercising their right not to vote.
Could any Australians on here fill me in on how it is regulated/policed? Who knows what happens during a person’s day that prevents them from getting to the polling station, and given what we saw with Gianforte in the US recently, I would want to cast my vote as late as possible.
@brincalhona. After the election has been done they send everyone who didn’t vote a form to complete to either pay a fine (currently $20 for federal election) or supply a valid reason why you were unable to vote.
In the US, Ive heard a lot of excuses as to why no vote: not political/not aware, my state is always blue/red so my vote doesn’t count, but my favourite is jury duty! If you sign up to vote you get admitted into the jury duty system. Not registered to vote, then no jury duty for you.
I finally convinced my best friend to start voting a couple of presidential elections back and all she has done since is complain about how it’s my fault every time she has jury duty. She hasn’t voted since as her candidate didn’t win that election. Seriously.
In Scotland, young people voted in huge numbers for the Scottish referendum because this was a decision that was meant to be ‘once in a lifetime’ that affected their futures. 16-18s were also given the vote for the first time. Voting numbers have dropped since then but i hope they come out more today, although in Scotland we’re such small numbers whatever way we vote doesn’t seem to affect what party gets in. I just hope May does not get a landslide.
I think it’s hard for under 30s to identify with most politicians or parties today, to find someone who represents their views and focuses on the future. And if they do, they’re usually too radical for the older voters. There is a conservative trend in political rhetorics, whether right or left, almost all candidates promising to re-create some good old days, pandering to middle-aged and old people who tend to think most things were better before. What does it mean to a 20 year old? F**k all. I think mainstream politicians are purposely disengaging from the youth, as they are hard to please, allergic to phoniness, and vote not out of loyalty but based on impressions. Corbyn made a slight detour from this, dabbed into personality branding, and inspired a surge in young people registering to vote. Sadly, with aging population I’m afraid there is less and less incentive for politicians to focus on the youth.
You have a point there.
When I first started to vote at 18 I had no idea what to do so I just followed who my parents voted for. As I got older you start caring more about politics especially when you start working too, I’m 28 now and working and wanting to buy a house is Sydney. But it is still hard to find a party that really knows what to do to help the under 30s.
If it helps to bring in more voters, once we finish at the polls most places provide a sausage sizzle it always brings people in!!
In Brazil, you can vote when you are 16 and required to vote when you are 18. If you don’t vote you have to justify. Failing to do so and missing X number of elections obligates you to pay a fine. If you do not pay the fine you will eventually have your equivalent of social security to be suspended. At least, this is how used to be…
Pa: Other Brazilians here, correct me if I am wrong.
Australia also makes it super easy to vote- they send out an automatically letter which you can send back or do it online. The process is super fast and easy.
The current fine for not voting in the federal election is only $20.
Huh only $20, I always assumed it was more than that.
Hoping for the UK’s sake that Jeremy Corbyn ekes out a win. Our world would be in a much better place with more left leaning politicians like Corbyn and Sanders in power. Cannot understand for the life of me how people can be so misinformed and ignorant to vote otherwise.
There are plenty of reasons why people wouldn’t vote for Corbyn. They might be hard-core remainers who are voting for the Liberal Democrats. They might fear for what Corbyn would do to the economy and think the Conservatives would be better on that front. It’s not ignorant to have other political priorities.
@Tina, the conservatives have really shat the bed with our economy though, but there are silent tories out there, and people still believing that a vote for Brexit is sunlight wheat fields, or summat.
@dodgy, Brexit is what has killed the economy, and that’s David Cameron’s fault, so I guess I kind of agree with you. I can’t see Corbyn’s plans for renationalising the railways helping the economy much, though.
The Conservatives would certainly be better, for a very particular group of people:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DBvLNYaWAAsHw57.jpg
Why write about UK politics then put a picture up of the OLD lib dem leader LOL
Vote 1 on pug.
2 for that little white fluffy and it’s friends
If Corbyn were to win it would be interesting to see the makeup of his cabinet as he does not have the support of many in his parliamentary party. I would guess he has already lost his intended Home Secretary.
Diane Abbott? That might’ve just increased his chances at the elections, she was a huge liability for Labour with way too many gaffes.
While I agree that she came across really badly, I also believe that she’s unwell and find the ridiculing and dismissal of her as a politician seriously offensive and disturbing. Have a look at who she is, where she’s comes from and what she’s had to contend with to get to where she is:
https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2017/06/07/we-need-to-talk-about-diane-abbott-now-explicit-content/
Make sure to read the abuse she’s had to contend with. And then think about how that might have impacted upon her ‘performance’.
Personally, it makes me weep for her.
Misogynoir at its finest.
If it’s Theresa May, being a “bloody difficult woman” is apparently a good thing. If it’s the first black British woman MP, it’s a frickin’ free-for-all.
That’s terrible, I wasn’t aware of her health problems. It’s horrible what she’s been put through by the bigots. My knowledge of her was based on QT appearances post-Brexit and this campaign. God knows there’s been enough gaffes across parties for hers not to struck me as peculiar, only standing out as she was the candidate for Home Secretary and pushed to the forefront.
I think May’s “bloody difficult woman” is also only acceptable because she’s Tory. It’s the conservative hypocrisy/bigotry again. Well, *was* acceptable, I doubt that’ll continue after last night’s results.
@ Sixer:
Why Diane Abbott gets thrashed in the UK’s conservative media? She is everything who a woman shouldn’t be in their opinion. Educated. Self-made. Self-reliant. Self-conscious. Fighting for the weak/human rights.
BACKGROUND:
Black
Working class
Family has a migration background: Jamaican parents
Female
Labour
Divorced
EDUCATION AND CAREER
Master degree in history, Cambridge University (Britain’s “Ivy League”)
http://www.dianeabbott.org.uk/about.aspx
Her credentials as a left-winger – she is against private involvement in the NHS, against UK military action in Afghanistan and Iraq and staunchly in favour of a ban on hunting with dogs – were clear for all to see.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3247947.stm
Puggo up there gets my vote!
Too bad the UK will likely end up with Theresa Maybe in 10 Downing Street again but I hope there’s a hung parliament and the Tories are forced into a coalition that refuses to go along with plans to butcher the NHS and privatise everything.
@teacakes. Yes, yes, yes!!!!
Here for the doggy pictures. Especially the lab and that pug.
Watching the results live, I’m keeping everything crossed that at least the exit polls are more correct than wrong, at least we’ll have Tories under a majority so they -may- (don’t want to jinx anything) not remain in power….! Strong and stable my a*se 😀
I can’t see the SNP losing 22 seats. It was a very small exit poll.
Yes, 20,000 voters is nothing, it’s always a difficult thing to judge. They were reckoning that there wouldn’t be such a strong SNP presence this time round so possibly more Tory seat north of the border but let’s see!
Well, damn. Looks like indyref2 is off the table, for a while at least.
I’m so tired I might expire!
I’m a big admirer of Nicola Sturgeon as a political operator but it seems as though suggesting the need for IndyRef2 will, in hindsight, have been a massive miscalculation. If it weren’t for that, we might even be seeing a Labour minority government now. I feel for her, even though I’d like to maintain the union.
If there were any grown-ups at all of any stripe within our political class, which there aren’t, we would be talking about a unity government tasked with negotiating Brexit in a productive way – none of this no deal is better than a bad deal rubbish – with the promise of an election once it’s done.
The Tories spend all the election calling Corbyn a terrorist sympathizer and then try to form a coalition with the DUP. Fuck off!!
Quite, Ebba. I’m looking forward to forensic analysis of the history between the Tories, the DUP, and the UDA/UVF. Rank hypocrisy as per.
(Actually, I’m not looking forward to it and I hope nobody does it. Weaponising NI politics for any Westminster party political gain at a time when Brexit threatens the GFA and Stormont has collapsed is just disgraceful. Whichever way around. I truly hope Labour rises above.)
Best. Result. Ever. Theresa May has had her arse handed to her on a plate. Well done Britain – my faith in my fellow countrymen has been somewhat restored.
Bring on the chaos …
The tories did too much austerity. There are nurses who work full time but have to beg for food at a charity food bank. Nurses had no pay rise for a few years. When a nurse asked Theresa May about that during some kind of TV show question time … guess what Theresa May said? Basically she said there were no magic money tree. In short: “You not gonna get anything, nurse! Your work is vitally important. But we will not pay you enough money so you won’t be able to buy food.”
You gotta imagine the attitude of Theresa May (Tory party) towards “the little man” / the little nurse. Only some short time ago the Tory party did cut the maximum tax rate for high incomes. And now (some of) Britain’s nurses have to go to food banks.
Meanwhile Corbyn supports a more fair distribution of the tax burden e.g. tax the rich!
Are the Tories really surprised that they will get a thrashing in this election? Is anybody surprised?