Reform, and the death of the Tory Party

[briantrumpet]

Returning Officer gives a turnout of "about 34%". All ballot boxes reported as having been delivered to the count at 23:32.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c5y40d11zewt

Turnout actually 44.4% according to the results in that link.

 

[Dorset Boy]

22k votes for Farage, more trhan he got when he was elected before.
9K votes for the bin.

 

[briantrumpet]

It'll actually be interesting to see what Binface does now. Will he just go back to being the comedy candidate in other by-elections, or has he rather spiked that by being the main alternative in this one, and everything subsequently would be an anti-climax?

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

Parliamentary watchdog immediately reopens investigation into Fagash. Bet the intern who told him it would all end if he resigned had been fired. What a colossal waste of time and money.

 

[First Aspect]

Claimed that Essex Police had warned him of a 'credible threat' to his safety. Essex Police outright deny this. Liar, liar, pants on fire Farage strikes again – as with Trump, the default assumption should be that he's lying, and he can't even blame dementia. Let all the investigations into him carry on with added vigour now.

His advisers told him there was a credible threat to his dignity.

This is a fairly bad result for Nige, imo, and he already looked quite silly and pompous. Anyone can now say that for every two constituents who support him, there is one who would prefer an animated waste disposal facility.

It also well illustrates the mountain that Reform have to climb. Even if they get the same % as another party, because they are so vile they massively encourage tactical voting, they will always need to poll higher to get the same number of seats.

Good.

 

[First Aspect]

It'll actually be interesting to see what Binface does now. Will he just go back to being the comedy candidate in other by-elections, or has he rather spiked that by being the main alternative in this one, and everything subsequently would be an anti-climax?

Perhaps he will form a breakaway party with Baron von Thunderclap?

I would personally advise him to create a new character that is easier to dress up as.

 

[secretsqirrel]

His advisers told him there was a credible threat to his dignity.

……

 

[briantrumpet]

His advisers told him there was a credible threat to his dignity.

This is a fairly bad result for Nige, imo, and he already looked quite silly and pompous. Anyone can now say that for every two constituents who support him, there is one who would prefer an animated waste disposal facility.

It also well illustrates the mountain that Reform have to climb. Even if they get the same % as another party, because they are so vile they massively encourage tactical voting, they will always need to poll higher to get the same number of seats.

Good.

It's also a bad result for Clacton, but that's their choice. They've got an MP who lies, who does no work for them, whose policies will make them worse off (and have done so already), and is probably being funded by illegal money. But, hey, he's anti-establishment, so that's fine.

 

[secretsqirrel]

It's also a bad result for Clacton, but that's their choice. They've got an MP who lies, who does no work for them, whose policies will make them worse off (and have done so already), and is probably being funded by illegal money. But, hey, he's anti-establishment, so that's fine.

They won’t see him now until he needs them again.

 

[icowden]

Hmmm... this from the BBC:
I've added some bits in bold which i think they accidentally missed out.

Nigel Farage did not turn up to savour his victory in the by-election he triggered himself.

Overnight he told a rally of Reform UK supporters he had been advised there was an "organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result" and wanted to avoid being "demeaned and humiliated by nobodies having to stand and claim victory from a man with a bin on his head".

When the official result did come in hours later, it confirmed the Reform UK leader had indeed won this by-election convincingly with 22,239 votes, but without any serious opposition after the other main parties did not put up candidates.

Farage's allies say he has been both emboldened and re-energised by this race, and it is not difficult to work out why. It's because they know that without Nige, their party is resoundingly screwed.

He is clearly popular in the constituency, his party has had a commanding lead in national opinion polls for much of the past 18 months although they have now fallen to second place following a series of accusations around fraud and money laundering , and he has achieved something remarkable in turning his upstart organisation into a mass-membership movement with a serious chance of getting into government albeit only in coalition.

 

[briantrumpet]

Several people have complained to the BBC that Farage (outside of the by-election) gets disproportionate coverage, and all are getting the same standard reponse (below). Basically the BBC seem to be saying that they are just going to give him lots of coverage whether or not they've got many MPs or if their polling continues to decline, because he 'makes the political weather'. Well, yes, he does, because BBC and everyone else give him so much coverage, up till recently omitting all the negative/illegal stuff.

It'll be interesting to see the approach from now on, now that the illegal stuff has really been taken up by The Times etc., and in light of the blatant lies (e.g. Essex Police).

 

[First Aspect]

Essex police have predictably now clarified that there was no specific threat to Farage. So Tice has been doing the media rounds (not Farage, also predictably) saying they trust Farage's own security assessments over police intelligence, and well wouldn't anyone?

No, Richard, no, most people would trust police anti terrorism units over some ex night club bouncers.

At least we now have three good reasons for his non-attendance -

1. He had a police report there was a plot to embarrass him on stage (in fact the electoral officers were compelled to read out the numbers, and its not their fault)
2. There was a threat against his safety (because mere embarrassment clearly wasn't a good enough reason)
3. the internal Reform party security infrastructure reported a credible threat to his safety (because they are better than the police, who didn't report anything, which itself shows that they aren't competent - or that there wasn't a threat - but you can't be too careful can you)

 

[BoldonLad]

Several people have complained to the BBC that Farage (outside of the by-election) gets disproportionate coverage, and all are getting the same standard reponse (below). Basically the BBC seem to be saying that they are just going to give him lots of coverage whether or not they've got many MPs or if their polling continues to decline, because he 'makes the political weather'. Well, yes, he does, because BBC and everyone else give him so much coverage, up till recently omitting all the negative/illegal stuff.

It'll be interesting to see the approach from now on, now that the illegal stuff has really been taken up by The Times etc., and in light of the blatant lies (e.g. Essex Police).

View attachment 16784

Yes. It would appear, people just cannot resist talking g about Nigel, fortunately for him

 

[briantrumpet]

From Ian Dunt – with the number of enquiries into Farage's and Reform's finances, I can't see him finding his safe space again, other than with Chris Mason. If you think I'm joking about Mason, read this piece, and notice that nowhere does he mention the Farage lie about his security and Essex Police. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgvjnyz8k7o – he's trying to find every positive he can for Farage.

 

[First Aspect]

Yeah Chris Mason writes puff pieces these days.

Without inferring complacency, I predict Farage will not be PM. In addition to the notreform votes he'll have to overcome, his thin skinned narcissism is also an issue, because the whole world is already sick of Trump.