Tiverton and Honiton in Devon

[Richard Frost]

Another by election on the way after MP Neil Parish resigns, expect intensive campaigning from the Liberal Democrats.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-61284686

To my mind he had no reason to be looking at tractors in the middle of a debate whilst in the House of Commons.

[macliam]

Another by election on the way after MP Neil Parish resigns, expect intensive campaigning from the Liberal Democrats.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-61284686

To my mind he had no reason to be looking at tractors in the middle of a debate whilst in the House of Commons.

But it appears that there was one particular "model" that had him so fascinated he went back for another look later.......

It was probably a mistake by the Tories to allow him to resign........

[Sarah]

Following on from their local election successes...

[blythburgh]

Following on from their local election successes...

[Sarah]

Woohoo! Congratulations to Tiverton and Honiton!

Liberal Democrats achieve the biggest by-election gain in history!

This was previously one of the Tories safest seats in the country, held for 99 years!

Oliver Dowden resigns!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-61920000

Please ready the "men & women in grey suits" for a visit to liar Johnson...

[Sarah]

"Boris Johnson’s ‘Culture War’ Runs Into the Ground in Tiverton and Wakefield"

Boris Johnson’s election strategist David Canzini told ministerial aides earlier this year that they should “find the wedge issues in your department and hammer them”.

They certainly heeded his advice.

In recent months, the Prime Minister and his media supporters have hammered away on a whole series of such issues – from deporting refugees to Rwanda, to taking on trade unions, tackling ‘left-wing lawyers’ and the question of whether women can have penises.

Canzini, who is a protégé of Johnson’s campaigns guru Lynton Crosby, assumed that such ‘culture war’ issues would succeed in cleaving voters away from his political opponents. They didn’t.

In advance of the result, one senior Lib Dem figure told Byline Times that the Prime Minister’s focus on ‘wedge’ – or culture war – issues appeared to be backfiring for his party.

“People don’t think much about these issues and fundamentally just want to be nice and decent human beings to each other,” they said. “And if you’re really concerned about the state of the NHS, as people are here, then hearing the PM going to town about trans women in sports events actually sounds as elite, metropolitan, and out-of-touch as the people he’s attacking.”

In different times, the Prime Minister’s focus on such “elite” issues may have had some traction. But, with inflation soaring and with even Conservative voters dissatisfied with his Government’s handling of the economy, this relentless focus on culture war issues has only helped to emphasise how out-of-touch the party has become.

https://bylinetimes.com/2022/06/24/tive ... ture-wars/