#4696

yeah. deffo, but also i guess when it comes down to it, they’re not sorry for austerity because they’re neoliberals and they believe in a neoliberal welfare state.

1 Like
#4697

I’m not even sure they understand what it is, TBH. It’s like that Cthulhu-ants analogy where we are the ants and the Lib Dems are the person:

Well if a bunch of ants formed a circle in my house I’d certainly notice, try to figure out where they’d all come from, and possibly wreak destruction there.

That’s why knowing and correctly pronouncing the true name is so important to the ritual. Imagine how impossible it would be to not go take a look if the circle of ants started chanting your name.

And they’re like, you can’t leave because we drew a line made of tiny crystals - now you have to do us a favor.

And you’re like, let’s just see where this goes “yup, you got me… what’s the favor?”

and usually the favor is like, “kill this one ant for us” or “give me a pile of sugar” and you’re like… okay? and you do, because why not, it isn’t hard for you and boy is this going to be a fucking story to tell, these fucking ants chanting your name and wanting a spoonful of sugar or whatever.

And SOMEtimes you get asked for things you can’t really do, one of them, she’s like, “I love this ant but she won’t pay any attention to me, make me important to her” and you’re like… um? how? So you just kill every ant in the colony except the two of them, ta-da! problem solved! and the first ant is like horrified whisper “what have I done”

(From https://tyrantisterror.tumblr.com/post/175660420519/titleknown-raposinhachan-weasowl )

1 Like
#4698

get big Matt Baker in

14 Likes
#4699

think matt baker is my new favourite person

Baker worked as an entertainer, and with a 1970s comedy disco-dancing revival show called “Disco Inferno”, which toured the north of England.[2] The Disco group, Disco Inferno, was very popular in nightclubs in Cleethorpes (Pier 39), Barnsley (Hedonism) and Wakefield(Foundation). Baker played the part of “Butch Vendor, the LA Bartender”, on stage along with other disco dancers with names such as: Lionel Flare (played by former UK child TV star Ryan Dyer), Randy Rodgers, Jock Strap and Richard Itchin.[7] He had to Disco Dance, do freestyle routines with back flips, and juggle wooden clubs which his father painted to look like champagne and spirits bottles. His leaving gift from the Disco Inferno team was the disco duck suit and a signed picture of Lynne Perrie.[8]

2 Likes
#4700

Just thinking about how the Lib Dem stance will play in South West constituencies like the one where I vote.
https://electionresults.parliament.uk/election/2017-06-08/results/Location/Constituency/Wells

They won in 2010 and should be able to do so again if the Brexit Party put up a candidate, which I think they will as the MP was a May loyalist who backed the withdrawal agreement all the way through. For that they would need to squeeze the Labour vote and win over some pro-remain Tories (not many of those). However, pulling the party to the right is going to put off Labour voters (who must be pretty committed to Labour to vote for them in a constituency where they have no chance of winning), while the Revoke positioning on Brexit is surely too extreme for most centre-right Tories. I think I read somewhere that a big percentage of their target seats are in the South West. If so, I think they’re in for very underwhelming result.

#4701
#4702

Logically Somerset should too as austerity has hit services hard and pretty much bankrupted the county council. It won’t though :man_shrugging:

#4703

They’ll probably win here (Totnes). Sarah Woolaston has enough support for her personally and from Remain Tories, coupled with the quite big LD voter base here, and tbh, a lurch to the right will probably help them here with the farmers and fishermen who traditionally mainly vote blue, but won’t like the fact that the tory candidate isn’t a local person. Labour beat the LDs into 3rd place last time which is pretty unheard of but I’m not sure that’ll happen again now SW isn’t representing the Conservatives, which is what put a lot of people off in 2017 (she’s pretty popular as a local MP on regional issues etc)

Bath will be a LD hold, probably by quite a way. Wera Hobhouse is pretty popular and the Tory candidate is some faceless drone I think.

#4704

It’s a continuation of Cleggism - “look, we’re the sensible people in the middle who aren’t going to overspend”.

Weird thing is in her desparation to demonstrate that she’s the sensible middle between Tory and Labour “overspending” she didn’t have anything except two May catchphrases - no Centre Right defence of “unfortunately necessary to tighten our belts”/“still paying down our debts” nor any explanation of how their economic policy is going to change in the future - “we will be looking to invest in xyz, but unlike the Tories we’ll be doing it with fully funded policies like our perennial favourite, 1p on Income Tax.”

3 Likes
#4705

Sure, you’re right about Bath, and in North Somerset generally it’ll probably be a different story. I think in more rural areas the revoke stance is going to hurt them though - won’t those farmers and fishermen who might appreciate the general rightwards shift be pretty hostile to that?

#4706

My favourite bit was where he was actually surprised that Boris Johnson and Michael Gove were willing to lie.

1 Like
#4707

what’s gonna do for the lib dems is that we live in populist times and they want to peddle more geek technowonk nerdery. it plays well to nerds and media losers but the only way you’re defeating boz and chums is with some girthy left populism. the more swindon is interviewed the more of a dweeb she is revealed to be. throw in the genocidal austerity and the warm welcome they give to bigots and haters and you have to wonder what kind of monster finds that appealing.

so as socialist jocks it is our job to give lib dem nerds a hard time.

2 Likes
#4708

There’s a good breakdown here

http://www.electionpolling.co.uk/battleground/targets/liberal-democrat

of the Lib Dem top 50 marginals 38 are Tory seats & 7 are Labour

Out of those 38 Tory seats fully 17 are in the South West, most of the rest in the South East

1 Like
#4709

I don’t think so particularly. Most people aren’t silly enough to believe they’d ever win a general election so it’s a bit of a moot point they’re making. SW being personally Remain might cost them a bit but I’m pretty sure the Brexit Party will field a candidate here which will split the vote and allow her to hold the seat.

1 Like
#4710

Totnes is a LD seat now and would be a hold not a gain.

#4711

Yes, but from the point of view of targets/defence it still needs to be considered a target seat - they’ve got a deficit to make up from the last poll.

#4712

Thanks. Looking at those majorities they really do have a mountain to climb. Guess a lot will depend on what Farage does.

#4713

true that, with the recent defections, the polling data there from 2017 does not quite match the current Parliamentary make up in terms of seats/MPs but is still relevant in terms of party support from voters

EDIT; I see Zeal already said that pretty much

1 Like
#4714

I know, just correcting the numbers/being a pedant.

1 Like
#4715

Swinson is definitely a wild card in this election and I think Johnson’s gonna get squeezed on both sides between LibDems and the Brexit Party

I’m not really bothered that she has vocally ruled out a coalition with Corbyn, it’s clearly a campaign strategy aimed at dented Tory votes

on the other hand, I think Johnson is fully aware of this squeeze and the only real way he can wipe out the Faragists to his right and the Swinsonists to his …centre…is by Brexiting on October 31st. Really not sure what’s going to stop him doing that