Sorry Heisenberg, I think that’s perhaps a touch too nihilistic a take for me. I still think it is possible for things to turn around and improve. Improvements in life also tend to be in small incriments, sometimes frustratingly so. I know that there are still good people out there doing good things in politics, and I hope that they can get the traction they deserve in these divisive times.
If I gave up entirely, I wouldn’t bother to vote on Thursday. But I know that my vote does matter, even if by very little, in the scheme of things, and I want to say that I did rather than sit by and do nothing. To be honest Heisenberg, I actually agree with you on a few things you say, and at least sympathise/understand with you on other things. But I hope your despair doesn’t stop you from doing things in your life, or worse, a justification for inaction.
When the result of the election is almost certain and the guy who is going to win is about as exciting as warm water, it definetly creates a sense of apathy.
That’s assuming those already in power allow the election to happen properly. And there is one other thing that can defeat him: that heart attack he’s got coming right around the corner.
@Silvereyes, not saying things can’t change; I’m saying they won’t. It’s like a snowball rolling down a mountain; until there’s no more snow on that mountain, the snowball will grow into a bigger and bigger avalanche. Once it’s past a certain point, there’s no stopping it until it runs its course. We passed that point about thirty years ago.
I enjoy watching election results live as they come in. As Silvereyes said above the likely result is the Conservatives facing a heavy defeat. The Labour Party is currently on track to possibly win one of the largest majorities for a political party in the last 200 years.
Current polling averages have Labour at 40%. Though accounting for margin of error in polls they could get a result slightly higher or slightly below 40%.
The main things I’m watching for will be individual races. As many as over 10 members of the current Sunak ministry are at risk of being defeated. Meaning tomorrow we may see something similar or even greater than the Portillo moment in 1997 when cabinet minister Michael Portillo was defeated during the Labour landslide. 2 notable figures who are also at risk of losing to Labour are Prime Minister Rishi Sunak himself & former Prime Minister Liz Truss. Meanwhile former Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn is at risk of seeing the end of his political career. After being suspended from the party in 2020 he was essentially barred from running for his seat of Islington North as a Labour Party candidate. In response he is running as an independent hoping to hold onto the seat he has held since 1983. The Labour Party is running Praful Nargund against him. We don’t know much as only one poll has been conducted which showed Labour leading easily over Corbyn but due to the lack of other data it’s hard to say for sure whether or not it’s accurate.
The last thing I’d be looking for is who will become the leader of the opposition. It seems like the Conservative Party is favored at this point to become the Leader of the Opposition but depending on how badly they do tomorrow it is possible the Liberal Democrats end up the second largest party in the House of Commons.
And here is a fun little election model. Based on the results you enter it will show you different possible results.
Apparently one of the allegations is from his children’s nanny, the other from a fan who hooked up with him. Reportedly, things with the fan started off consensually before he got sexually abusive, but the maid says he straight up raped her. On his part, Gaiman denies both allegations.
I don’t think I’ve ever taken a #MeToo outing this personally. I only really watched half of The Sandman on Netflix and his Snow White fanfiction audiobook, but Gaiman was sort of the non-transphobic alternative to J.K. Rowling. He seemed like a genuinely good guy. Now this comes out?
EDIT: Tortoise also did an exposé on Johnny Depp semi-recently. May be worth a listen.
Few hours until the polls open. Well, The Sun has decided to endorse Labour at the last minute, but in a very reluctant way. The newspaper headline makes a very odd football joke and doesn’t even mention Labour or Starmer, just that “the country needs a new manager”. Even the editorial basically reads as “Reform are too small to be a real party, the Lib Dems are a joke, and the Tories have caused so much shit that even we can’t spin this any further. Labour should come to power, but only so the Tories get time to get their shit together.” But hey, got to keep that streak of only backing the winners at elections going I guess.
If you want something a bit brighter, the trend of people taking their dogs with them to the polling stations to vote is always lovely.
100 minutes until the polls close and the BBC does their exit poll. In the meantime, dogs (and other animals) at polling stations maybe a pure fluff piece, but if it makes people more interested in voting, then I’m all for it. This year some people brought their cat, their snake, their horse, and a tortoise with them as well. This is my favourite picture of Gustav Robert the First.
Some more context in terms of wins and losses. At the very least, the prediction that the Conservatives could seriously dip under 100 seats and risk losing their status as the opposition won’t come to fruition. Liberal Democrats and Reform are also big winners, Lib Dems can be seriously considered the UK’s third party again. And Reform, annoyingly, will show that there is an appetite for far right politics, and something that I’m sure those on the Conservatives side will be very annoyed about. Looks like Labour will be winning back Scotland, and this will certainly predict the SNP losing the next Scottish election.
Nothing much else to say I suppose. I hope Labour can be a bit braver in victory, and that the Liberal Democrats can be a real alternative voice.
Well now I go back to waiting for the next few hours before seats start getting called. Still interested to see how Corbyn, Truss, and members of the Sunak ministry do.
Going to bed in a minute. Corbyn keeps his seat as an independent. Farage wins where he was standing to become an MP, and so far one other Reform MP has been elected. Labour have so far gained 51 seats, the Tories have lost 60 seats.
Also so far a record of seven cabinet ministers have lost their election so far. Just a few minutes ago Penny Mordaunt lost her seat to the Liberal Democrats. She was the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council. Multiple people who worked under the Truss ministry are also on their way out.
Of course, none of his means anything if the more progressive party in charge doesn’t actually do anything they need to with their new power, so that remains to be seen, but a good start.
