Apologies for the lack of posts. I am still in hospital and will be for another week.
There was only one council by-election last night:
Moston Ward, Manchester City Council. Lab hold.
Lab 1353 (38.7%, -10.8), BNP 815 (23.3%, +23.3), LD 696 (19.9%, +7.2), Con 558 (16.0%, -13.9), Green 74 (2.1, -5.7).
Swing of 17.1% from Lab to BNP since 2008.
Bugger that ain't good (with the European elections in mind). What was the turnout like - compared with previous election, anybody know?
ReplyDeleteNot nice being in hospital for the bank holiday. Get well soon Luke, all the best
ReplyDeleteI do hope you will feel better soon - can't be a pleasant thing to deal with.
ReplyDeleteVery sorry to hear that you are hospitalised. Do get well soon.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear you are still in hospital - hope you make a rapid and full recovery
ReplyDeleteGet well soon - the blogosphere needs all the grown ups it can find at the moment.
ReplyDeleteThe BNP didn't stand in 2008. Can't do a meaningful swing when they didn't stand.
ReplyDeleteDuncan:
The turn out was 32% and bits, 28% and bits in 08. Would expect 24%. As it goes the BNP vote is 8% of the electorate and I suspect most of them have been habitual non voters.
Adams got slightly more last time out in a neighbouring ward. At 23% they are actually down on some of their better (25%) results.
Draper has his first scalp:
McBride has resigned.
Cheers, Chris.
ReplyDeleteIs that confirmed about McBride, by the way?
Best wishes for a speedy recovery. I hope the NHS is treating you well.
ReplyDeleteWishing you the very best, Luke.
ReplyDeleteCome on, Luke. You know we are rooting for you darling!
ReplyDeleteget well soon Luke mate. Nick Smith
ReplyDeleteI've just been reading the papers and a number of them are talking about the governments plans to freeze the min wage.
ReplyDeleteThe government is obviously considering this measure, but who have they been taking advice from? Certainly not the unions.
I find it very hard to stomach that MPs award themselves a inflation busting pay rise, bankers leaving with million pound pension schemes yet those on the lowest wages and being expected to take a pay cut.
Those on the min wage did not cause this current crises unlike our bankers and our MPs but are expected to suffer while the guilty get rewarded.
I'm not at all convinced that freezing the min wage would have any benefit to the economy. It could destroy confidence, reduce peoples spending power and lead to a general deflation of everyones wages and worth.
Where is our Labour government.
The government must have been talking to the Tories, as Cameron plans to melt away the Min wage!
ReplyDeleteIts their crisis and not ours why should the working class have to pay for the capitalist crisis?
This government is subsidising the Rich by freezing pay and getting rid of workers.Workers Must unite to overthrow this undemocratic Parliamentary system that only looks after the rich?
I think the way workers rights are going in the UK we are going to end up creating an army of unemployed people....people who choose not to work because it simply isn't worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteAnd who can blame those people that make this choice. The min wage is a joke, redundancy is something like a weeks pay for every year served over two years...basically nothing.
I can honestly see why people are choosing the dole and not work.
Very sad.
Luke,
ReplyDeleteHope you get well soon, for your sake and ours. Please come back and quick. Both the mainstream media and (supposedly) Labour blogosphere have climbed onto stratospherically high horses about the whole "Smeargate" [sic] nonsense.
Those of us who are actually LOYAL to Labour and want a fourth term and who work for it need someone like yourself to stick up for Labour and its bloggers, and remember that keeping the ****ing Tories out is the number one consideration.
No-one is sticking up for McBride and Draper, not even on LabourHome. We need YOU. All the best.
Err ! I see no allegations in the press regarding Labour freezing the min wage. I see plenty of comments saying that the Tories intend to do so,
ReplyDeleteNo doubt the Tory Dirty Tricks Dept up and running again !
GW
Rich
ReplyDeletehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/mar/04/redundancy-pay
Campaign to boost redundancy pay gathers momentum
Backbencher's motion calling on the government to honour manifesto pledge to increase statutory redundancy pay has support of 130 Labour MPs
When are they going to take notice?
Most of these parliamentarians give you the impression that they live on another planet with the exception of around 50 MPs Nationally!
Some MP's have put a motion forward to improve redundancy pay, which is capped at £350 per weeks pay each year, so you do 20 years and get Max under the stat @ £7k.
Its too cheap so companies can make redundancies with little cost!