Quote: Chris Hallam @ 27th June 2017, 5:25 PM

What do you mean?

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Well, as an example, the Conservatives this month polled more individual votes than Blair's Labour received in 1997 - yet that equates to 0.9 points less of the total vote share. But that 0.9% manages to equate to 101 seats.

Similarly, the party's 2017 result was an increase in both vote share and total individual votes on 2015, yet results in 13 fewer seats.

So whilst it's totally accurate to say that they have failed to secure a thumping majority for a long time, to paint that as an outright failure and imply a drop in support for the Conservative party across the country, is incorrect. There's a lot more very interesting stuff going on behind the headline figures.

It just shows that our electoral system is crap - and there is no realistic alternative to the party currently in power.

Quote: Aaron @ 27th June 2017, 5:34 PM

So whilst it's totally accurate to say that they have failed to secure a thumping majority for a long time, to paint that as an outright failure is incorrect.

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Sounds like a reasonable abstract term to me. You could go further and say it doesn't even need to be said. The writing is on the wall. Even the Sun is starting to turn away from the Tories.

I thought comedy was supposed to lean to the left - not just tedium!

Quote: Chris Hallam @ 28th June 2017, 6:31 AM

Other points:
Labour saw their biggest rise in share of the vote since 1945.
Labour scored a bigger share of the vote and more votes than any achieved by the Tories between 1997 and 2015.
Labour scored a bigger share of the vote than any party in a General Election (aside from the Tories in this one) since Labour in 2005.
The margin in terms of vote share between the party in 1st place and the party in 2nd was the smallest since February 1974. It was thus unsurprising we ended up with a Hung Parliament (as we did then).
In 1997, the margin of vote share between Labour and the Tories was the second biggest since 1945 (12.5%). This time it was only 2.3%. Quite a difference.

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Do you have trouble sleeping?

Now now, no need to start being bitchy Chappers!

Quote: Chris Hallam @ 28th June 2017, 4:02 PM

God. I actually bore myself sometimes.

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Just agreeing with the man!

I'll stick to the point this time.
Have the Tories been hard done by in this election?
No! Nor in any recent election.
The electoral system still favours the larger parties - the Tories won nearly 50% of the seats despite polling only 42% of the vote.
They had a smaller margin over of victory Labour than any 1st place party over the second since 1974. Little wonder they couldn't manage to win a majority any more than anyone could in the Feb 1974 one.
Labour in 1997 in contrast won by a huge margin over the Tories.
Elections are all about winning seats - the Tories know this.
Yet in the past 20 years, despite all the funding and press backing, how have they done?
Two massive landslide defeats, one substantial defeat, one hung parliament (even when Labour were in recession under Gordon Brown), one very narrow win and another humiliating hung parliament.
Clearly, their record is harming them.

Quote: Chris Hallam @ 29th June 2017, 3:04 PM

in the past 20 years, despite all the funding and press backing, how have they done?

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Just perhaps the left overblow this.

Overblow what?

The implications and effects of "all the funding and press backing".

In fact the Tory press campaign this time backfired dramatically. And somewhat hilariously.
Theresa May had been elevated to the status of the nation's glorious saviour by the press. She may have even believed their hype, prompting her to go to the country. Little wonder once the people saw her campaigning (badly) for real and realised she could barely speak in anything other than cliches, they fled the Tories in droves.
Likewise, having been told over and over again that Corbyn was the WORST PERSON EVER every day for two years, Corbyn's personal ratings surged as soon as he started campaigning and people realised he was (the horror!) CLEARLY INTELLIGENT, DECENT AND REASONABLE.
Little wonder Rupert Murdoch stormed off in a huff once the exit poll came in...

Quote: Chris Hallam @ 30th June 2017, 9:23 AM

people realised he was (the horror!) CLEARLY INTELLIGENT, DECENT AND REASONABLE.

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We were so nearly in agreement, Chris.

Replying to the op, I'm not sure it does lean that heavily to the political left. Possibly moreso nowdays but even these stand up trendies on panel shows who you'd see as lefties are mainly opportunists who make jokes about Corbyn and Abbot as much as anyone else. And most are doing much better financially than your average right winger. Do you think Jimmy Carr votes Labour? From a PC liberal point of view then yes, most seem to be rabidly non sexist and non racist now and being trendy some would possibly go along with the new Corbyn yoofie movement. But the Coogans don't live on benefits themselves do they. I do think so much of the trendy left wing thing is pure show by hypocritical opportunists who want to be liked.

But I'd reckon a lot of the comedians you'd assume were left wing like Billy Connolly would tell you to f*ck off if you accused them of it. Also far from right wing comedians being just middle class like Monkhouse and the two Ronnies the majority of the best known northern working class comics from the 60s and 70s were true blue, from Dodd to Dawson etc, the very lot you'd expect to be labour. And vice versa you can't reliably assume a comedian's politics from their material. I'd assume it more from their lifestyle and bank account.

I don't think the size of their bank account has much to do with it.
Are all rich comedians right wing? Obviously not.
Frankie Boyle is left wing but hardly PC.
Steve Coogan is not on benefits. Er no. So what?

Quote: Chris Hallam @ 30th June 2017, 9:23 AM

Corbyn's personal ratings surged as soon as he started campaigning and people realised he was (the horror!) CLEARLY INTELLIGENT, DECENT AND REASONABLE.

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F**k off!