Reform, and the death of the Tory Party

[Ian H]

LibDems: not left, not right. Well... maybe a little bit left. Sometimes. Moderation in all things except moderation... and leafleting.

 

[Pross]

My counterpoint would be that it is those polled who have lost touch with reality and have unrealistic demands/expectations.
Lib Dems are still in the changing room while there is an open goal waiting. Perplexing.

I think the two are linked, the failure to be able to engage properly with the electorate and explain the realities has let in those making extravagant promises. They haven’t had a chance to fail yet but when they do the voters will drift off somewhere else telling them what they want to hear. The amount of people I hear on one hand bemoaning everything being broken but on the other complaining about tax is bizarre. Labour probably missed their window to explain ‘this is the mess we’ve been left with and this is what is needed to fix it, judge us in 5 years’, it now looks more and more like their mess but people can also remember how bad the Tories were too.

 

[briantrumpet]

I think the two are linked, the failure to be able to engage properly with the electorate and explain the realities has let in those making extravagant promises. They haven’t had a chance to fail yet but when they do the voters will drift off somewhere else telling them what they want to hear. The amount of people I hear on one hand bemoaning everything being broken but on the other complaining about tax is bizarre. Labour probably missed their window to explain ‘this is the mess we’ve been left with and this is what is needed to fix it, judge us in 5 years’, it now looks more and more like their mess but people can also remember how bad the Tories were too.

Too many still would vote for unicorns and simplistic solutions, unfortunately.

 

[Pblakeney]

I think the two are linked, the failure to be able to engage properly with the electorate and explain the realities has let in those making extravagant promises. They haven’t had a chance to fail yet but when they do the voters will drift off somewhere else telling them what they want to hear. The amount of people I hear on one hand bemoaning everything being broken but on the other complaining about tax is bizarre. Labour probably missed their window to explain ‘this is the mess we’ve been left with and this is what is needed to fix it, judge us in 5 years’, it now looks more and more like their mess but people can also remember how bad the Tories were too.

There are few votes to be had by saying that the country is broke, and broken.

 

[Pross]

There are few votes to be had by saying that the country is broke, and broken.

They’d just won a massive majority and had time to try to fix things.

 

[briantrumpet]

They’d just won a massive majority and had time to try to fix things.

Exactly. It was the perfect time for hard choices, explaining why they were necessary, and letting them play out.

 

[Pblakeney]

They’d just won a massive majority and had time to try to fix things.

Yeah, and what happened when they tried? Pressured into u-turns, and that was only low hanging fruit. Even if poorly managed.
This country has been living beyond it's means for decades and continues to do so as decades of austerity means the easy cuts have already been made (I'd even say went too far) and sufficient tax raising would cause riots.

 

[icowden]

I don't believe this for one minute... but if those disgruntled voters who just want to give the government a good kicking (just because!), then if this were more widely reflected (by other than Lord Ashcroft), then this could make everyone else's calculations interesting.

Electoral Calculus still has Reform well in the lead with 26.5% of the vote. Greens in 4th place with 16.2% but would get more seats that Labour despite Labour's larger vote share. However Reform would need a coalition with Tories.