Why the Tories Won

kabayiri

silvercar wrote: »

I blame the rise of UKIP on the amount of media attention they got, far in excess of their "worth" as a party that hardly captures a seat.
...

You might be right, but it's a dangerous strategy.

People don't like being told that their voting preference is just a fad.

Some people vote for david , not Golliath. Ask the SNP

Linton

If both parties govern from the middle ground why vote? It would be better if the parties stuck to their political principles and then the voters could choose.

antrobus

michaels wrote: »

Is it possible that because the polls were so wrong labour were targeting their efforts in the wrong seats. ....

Quite possibly.

michaels wrote: »

..It was suggested that the tories were concentrating their efforts on the air war, expensive national advertising whereas labour with less money but more members were going to win a ground war. ....

I believe that the Conservatives fought the ground war and won. And on the battlefields that actually mattered.

michaels wrote: »

..However if the ground war wasn't actually taking place in the key marginals becasue labour had assumed that they would comfortably win the easiest seats say swing up to 3% they went after the 4-10 percent seats whereas actually they should have been looking at the closer ones. Yes that might be defeatest if hoping for a majority but in terms of maximising seats it might have worked better and prevented a tory majoroty?

Along the right lines, I believe. I think Labour didn't really know what was going on down at the ground level. They underestimated the enemy. They likely thought that seats like Cardiff North and Hendon where going to be theirs without much effort at all.

Generali

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Socialism in Britain is dead......

I think what we have learned from the last election is that Socialism in England is dead. It is alive and kicking in Scotland and that may destroy Labour as I don't think they can reconcile the two.

Actually if any party can it's the Lib Dems I reckon. They've successfully resolved quite hard left and hard right elements of their party for decades.

kabayiri

Generali wrote: »

I think what we have learned from the last election is that Socialism in England is dead. It is alive and kicking in Scotland and that may destroy Labour as I don't think they can reconcile the two.

Actually if any party can it's the Lib Dems I reckon. They've successfully resolved quite hard left and hard right elements of their party for decades.

Isn't it strange how large scale state projects like HS2 or the new Nuclear power stations attract such derision from the left, yet large spending on benefits is smiled upon.

Socialism is all about the short term, and whats in it for me now. The greater long term good has been neglected for too long.

antrobus

antrobus wrote: »

....Along the right lines, I believe. I think Labour didn't really know what was going on down at the ground level. They underestimated the enemy. They likely thought that seats like Cardiff North and Hendon where going to be theirs without much effort at all.

And on that subject;

Right up until 5.30am on Friday the Labour party thought Julie Hilling had Bolton West in the bag.

“We came away thinking we’d had a fantastic campaign,” said local councillor Christopher Peacock. “Julie’s support on the ground had been amazing. Her posters outnumbered the Conservatives many times over."

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/08/general-election-uk-marginal-seats-swung-wrong-way-labour-bolton-west

Posters, eh?

Moby

kabayiri wrote: »

Isn't it strange how large scale state projects like HS2 or the new Nuclear power stations attract such derision from the left, yet large spending on benefits is smiled upon.

Socialism is all about the short term, and whats in it for me now. The greater long term good has been neglected for too long.

Very strange thing to say imo. Socialism may be about many things depending on your world view but 'short term' is not part of it simply because Socialists are about changing society and the way it works and |I don't think that can be described as a short term project.

Moby

antrobus wrote: »

Well, that narrows it down to a choice of 10.



Then it would have to be Ealing Central or Enfield North.



Then it would be Enfield North, maj 1,086. Ealing Central was just a few hundred.

Good detective work there! It was a hard and pretty dirty fight because our Lab. candidate was damaged by the expenses scandal and the Tory candidate was pictured with Cameron outside the local hospital saying Labour would close the A&E and then it was closed anyway after he was elected in 2010.

Generali

Moby wrote: »

Very strange thing to say imo. Socialism may be about many things depending on your world view but 'short term' is not part of it simply because Socialists are about changing society and the way it works and |I don't think that can be described as a short term project.

Socialist ideology is about a long term project.

Socialism in practice is about fighting fires caused by failed socialist projects.

Linton

Moby wrote: »

Very strange thing to say imo. Socialism may be about many things depending on your world view but 'short term' is not part of it simply because Socialists are about changing society and the way it works and |I don't think that can be described as a short term project.

Indeed. Surely short term profit is the aim of the right. What's in it for those of us who are already privileged rather than what is of long term general benefit.