UK General Election 2024: The Results & Aftermath

[317 forever]

Labour have got in with just a small increase in vote share, but fewer votes than 2019. Keir did brilliantly in assuring Conservative doubters that a Labour government was nothing to worry about, and in effective selection of constituencies to target. He was less effective in selling a Labour government as an inviting prospect for the country as such.

The low turnout, Tory collapse and fragmentation of their previous support, and tactical voting may have enhanced their majority.

Similarly, Ed Davey did brilliantly in effectively targeting their promising seat gains. It is no longer a handicap for the LibDems having a leader with coalition baggage, if indeed it was in the first place.

The SNP lost the entire central belt back to Labour (or the LibDems in the replacement for Jo Swinson's seat). I think these voters did not want to jeopardise the prospects of a Labour government, or risk the Tories remaining the largest party. Now that we do have a Labour government, I think more seats in the Scottish elections in 2026 will remain SNP than would otherwise have been the case.

The Greens should be confident targeting new areas where they do well in local elections in the next few years.

That's a general overview for now. I may comment on a few constituencies later!

 

[Gloster]

Secondly Bob Seely on the IoW went for Isle of Wight West, which was won by Labour, but Isle of Wight East was won by an unknown Tory. Should he have gone for East?

This is my constituency (East) and I voted Labour because the voting recommendations sites said that it had the best chance of defeating the Conservative, who turned out to be the winner. Labour came fourth, but I wouldn’t have voted for the runner-up as that was Reform. My feeling is, as I mentioned a while ago, that the candidate was one that was popular with the activists, but not one to attract swing voters, particularly those who defected from Conservative to Reform: she is a blind transgender lesbian. It doesn’t worry me, but I think that many people who might otherwise have voted Labour decided to either stick with the Conservatives, not vote or go to Reform.

 

[Thirteen]

Labour have got in with just a small increase in vote share, but fewer votes than 2019. Keir did brilliantly in assuring Conservative doubters that a Labour government was nothing to worry about, and in effective selection of constituencies to target. He was less effective in selling a Labour government as an inviting prospect for the country as such.

The low turnout, Tory collapse and fragmentation of their previous support, and tactical voting may have enhanced their majority.

Similarly, Ed Davey did brilliantly in effectively targeting their promising seat gains. It is no longer a handicap for the LibDems having a leader with coalition baggage, if indeed it was in the first place.

The SNP lost the entire central belt back to Labour (or the LibDems in the replacement for Jo Swinson's seat). I think these voters did not want to jeopardise the prospects of a Labour government, or risk the Tories remaining the largest party. Now that we do have a Labour government, I think more seats in the Scottish elections in 2026 will remain SNP than would otherwise have been the case.

The Greens should be confident targeting new areas where they do well in local elections in the next few years.

That's a general overview for now. I may comment on a few constituencies later!

The Scottish elections will be interesting, the SNP have been power for nearly 2 decades, I think much like the national Government, change is afoot.

 

[takno]

The SNP lost the entire central belt back to Labour (or the LibDems in the replacement for Jo Swinson's seat). I think these voters did not want to jeopardise the prospects of a Labour government, or risk the Tories remaining the largest party. Now that we do have a Labour government, I think more seats in the Scottish elections in 2026 will remain SNP than would otherwise have been the case.

I doubt that Westminster issues will have all that much influence come the Holyrood elections. The Holyrood SNP government is not doing well

 

[SuspectUsual]

So, Farage has announced he’s off to America “to support his friend Donald Trump”.

Even I didn’t have “less than a fortnight” in the how long till he forgets he’s got a job sweepstake

 

[birchesgreen]

So, Farage has announced he’s off to America “to support his friend Donald Trump”.

Even I didn’t have “less than a fortnight” in the how long till he forgets he’s got a job sweepstake

How is he going to fit that in with his actual job, his presenter job at GB News of course.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

How is he going to fit that in with his actual job, his presenter job at GB News of course.

Does seem to beg the question as to what extent, if any, our elected MPs should have, or seek out, any other paid jobs, employments, directorships, commitments, etc.

 

[birchesgreen]

Does seem to beg the question as to what extent, if any, our elected MPs should have, or seek out, any other paid jobs, employments, directorships, commitments, etc.

I think you should have to attend a certain (and high) percentage of constituency surgeries, as well as attend the Commons. Ministerial business and illness aside you should be attending them all the time.

 

[urbophile]

Considering most immigrants aren't from our former colonies anymore , theirs only really a tenuous link

I did say 'other colonising nations'. And British influence was strong (and toxic) in many regions that were not formal colonies.

 

[renegademaster]

I did say 'other colonising nations'. And British influence was strong (and toxic) in many regions that were not formal colonies.

Somewhat true, but the biggest sources of refugees at the moment have nothing to do with us. Ukraine first of all. Iranians Kurds secondly, if we had our way after ww1 and didn't loose to Turkey after the war , their would be a Kurdistan

 

[Snow1964]

Government has announced press release ahead of Kings speech, which contains following on rail

New legislation will be introduced to create a simplified rail system by bringing rail services into public ownership once their contracts expire or if operators fail to deliver on their commitments. This approach will avoid the burden falling on taxpayers to cough up for compensation to operators for taking services into public ownership.

Transferring operations to the public sector will save the taxpayer millions of pounds currently paid out in fees to private operators each year. It will end the fragmentation of our railways, establishing a more efficient and reliable rail service for passengers – helping to get people to work on time and boosting productivity.

The government will also introduce legislation to establish a new public body, Great British Railways (GBR) which will be focused on improving services and creating better value for money for passengers.

With Great British Railways, the fares and ticketing system will see simplified fares, discounts, and ticket types. Once established, the new body will also ensure that ticketing innovations like automatic compensation, digital pay-as-you-go and digital season ticketing are rolled out across the whole network.

King's Speech to unlock growth and "take the brakes off Britain"

Improving living standards for working people through economic growth will be the central focus of new laws set to be unveiled by His Majesty The King today [Wednesday 17 July].

www.gov.uk

 

[birchesgreen]

King's Speech to unlock growth and "take the brakes off Britain"

Improving living standards for working people through economic growth will be the central focus of new laws set to be unveiled by His Majesty The King today [Wednesday 17 July].

www.gov.uk

• King’s Speech set to unveil a raft of bills to unlock growth and improve living standards for working people
• Ambitious legislative agenda will drive forward delivery of the government’s first steps and missions to rebuild Britain
• New laws deliver manifesto commitments to provide better transport, more jobs and turbocharge building of houses and infrastructure

I wish they wouldn't keep using this "turbocharge" phrase, its still cringe no matter which party is using it in power.

 

[Blindtraveler]

So basically reannouncing pretty much everything the conservatives announced for Great British railways before Great British railways became somewhat derailed as a result of the pandemic and subsequent carnage
Uncomfortable listening for the remaining conservatives and former ministers in the house. I should think as all their hard work as the credit taken for them by someone else

 

[birchesgreen]

Uncomfortable listening for the remaining conservatives and former ministers in the house. I should think as all their hard work as the credit taken for them by someone else

The civil servants who actually did the work will probably be delighted though.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

So basically reannouncing pretty much everything the conservatives announced for Great British railways before Great British railways became somewhat derailed as a result of the pandemic and subsequent carnage
Uncomfortable listening for the remaining conservatives and former ministers in the house. I should think as all their hard work as the credit taken for them by someone else

As soon as people stop worrying about who gets the credit and be delighted that stuff gets done, the better. Anyway, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It also gives ammunition to any who say conservatives have zero good ideas.

The civil servants who actually did the work will probably be delighted though.

Indeed!

 

[takno]

As soon as people stop worrying about who gets the credit and be delighted that stuff gets done, the better. Anyway, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It also gives ammunition to any who say conservatives have zero good ideas.

I assume that between Williams and the civil servants, the input from the Conservatives was minimal anyway. The most likely explanation for them coming up with a mass nationalisation in the first place is that they didn't actually read it

Now if we could just stop sticking "Great" on the start of Britain the whole time it would be nice. I'm starting to feel like we've fallen through a portal to the 1970s - a flailing and failing nation appending Great to everything in a desperate attempt to prove that we don't need to be part of Europe.

 

[signed]

I'm afraid we have brain worms when we come to ID cards in this country

Why would you need a distinct ID card?

When 75% of people in the UK already hold a Driver's Licence, why not merge them in one single document, both valid for driving and for ID purposes. Very much like in the US/Canada or Denmark.

I always found the system adopted in the European countries very inefficient.

If the holder doesn't have a DL, then print the same card with the DL fields blank.

 

[birchesgreen]

Now if we could just stop sticking "Great" on the start of Britain the whole time it would be nice. I'm starting to feel like we've fallen through a portal to the 1970s - a flailing and failing nation appending Great to everything in a desperate attempt to prove that we don't need to be part of Europe.

It doesn't really bother me, it is part of the actual name of the country after all.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

When 75% of people in the UK already hold a Driver's Licence, why not merge them in one single document, both valid for driving and for ID purposes. Very much like in the US/Canada or Denmark.

SNIP
If the holder doesn't have a DL, then print the same card with the DL fields blank.

Yes, I have a US drivers license. Saves me having to carry around my passport and Green Card. I like the system. ID is a good idea imho.

 

[Bald Rick]

So basically reannouncing pretty much everything the conservatives announced for Great British railways before Great British railways became somewhat derailed as a result of the pandemic and subsequent carnage
Uncomfortable listening for the remaining conservatives and former ministers in the house. I should think as all their hard work as the credit taken for them by someone else

Thats assuming the Conservatives didn’t pinch the idea from Labour in the first place

 

[DarloRich]

So basically reannouncing pretty much everything the conservatives announced for Great British railways before Great British railways became somewhat derailed as a result of the pandemic and subsequent carnage
Uncomfortable listening for the remaining conservatives and former ministers in the house. I should think as all their hard work as the credit taken for them by someone else

they should be ok with it - they pinched loads off Labour after all

I am not sure what you expected. The direction of travel has been pretty clear in regard to railways. The main difference will hopefully be more/better/further devolution to regional mayors ( except Houhcen!)

I'm afraid we have brain worms when we come to ID cards in this country. People think they are totalitairan, despite former authoritarian regimes with a cultural memory of hardline oppression (Germany, Poland, are two) adopting ID cards.

This is such a no-brainer of an idea which is continuously opposed on the most spurious grounds it reflects badly on British political discourse.

Why would you need a distinct ID card?

Either works - we need something because, and without getting all Farage, such a document helps defeat boaty people, the grey/black employment market, access to benefits when not entitled, people smuggling/trafficking, modern slavery, access to employment etc etc.

IF any of those things are important ( and the small boats wibble is for many) then an official ID card helps impact those things. No card? No services/access/employment.

( OBVIOUSLY it isn't a panacea but it HELPS impact those problems - there are so many utter brain donors in this country that it will never happen for the reasons stated above)

 

[AlterEgo]

Either works - we need something because, and without getting all Farage, such a document helps defeat boaty people, the grey/black employment market, access to benefits when not entitled, people smuggling/trafficking, modern slavery, access to employment etc etc.

IF any of those things are important ( and the small boats wibble is for many) then an official ID card helps impact those things. No card? No services/access/employment.

( OBVIOUSLY it isn't a panacea but it HELPS impact those problems - there are so many utter brain donors in this country that it will never happen for the reasons stated above)

Yes, absolutely. It will not solve those problems but it will likely reduce their impacts by varying degrees.

Britain routinely makes choices based on vibes or tradition, most of which is entirely invented, like "we don't have ID cards so it's a free country unlike all the European ones which are all tyrannies".

We should have had ID cards 20 years ago.

 

[signed]

Either works - we need something because, and without getting all Farage, such a document helps defeat boaty people, the grey/black employment market, access to benefits when not entitled, people smuggling/trafficking, modern slavery, access to employment etc etc.

No, I meant why a specific card, distinct from a DL?

I am all for ID cards for convenience

 

[nw1]

As soon as people stop worrying about who gets the credit and be delighted that stuff gets done, the better. Anyway, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It also gives ammunition to any who say conservatives have zero good ideas.

Mind you, is "Great British Railways" actually a clever conservative idea, or just a part-reversion to the days of nationalisation without going the whole hog and re-creating British Rail?

 

[Bantamzen]

Either works - we need something because, and without getting all Farage, such a document helps defeat boaty people, the grey/black employment market, access to benefits when not entitled, people smuggling/trafficking, modern slavery, access to employment etc etc.

IF any of those things are important ( and the small boats wibble is for many) then an official ID card helps impact those things. No card? No services/access/employment.

( OBVIOUSLY it isn't a panacea but it HELPS impact those problems - there are so many utter brain donors in this country that it will never happen for the reasons stated above)

I'm doubtful ID cards would have much of an impact on boaty people arriving on these shores. It might impact their access to legitimate passported services, but many if not most of these people don't end up in legitimate spheres, well not at first at least. Many pay, or more accurately owe considerable amounts of money (often into thousands and tens of thousands of dollars) to be smuggled across multiple borders and into the UK. And to pay those debts back they are shipped out of sight and sound into what can be described as little more than slave labour, often homed / fed by their "employers" way off the grid, not paying tax or having access to health or education services.

Its often the case that they only appear on the radar when they are tipped out of the black employment market when they are no longer needed, i.e. debts paid off. Believe me a lot of work has gone into understanding this, and trying to work out ways to stop it. But the reality is that the only way to stop it is to stop the illegal employers, and that people in this country stop using those companies and highlight their existence.

 

[DanNCL]

Two sets of legislation to be introduced for the railway, those are the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill and the Rail Reform Bill.

There’s also the Better Buses Bill which as I understand is effectively a reversal of the 1980s deregulation.

 

[oldman]

Now if we could just stop sticking "Great" on the start of Britain the whole time it would be nice. I'm starting to feel like we've fallen through a portal to the 1970s - a flailing and failing nation appending Great to everything in a desperate attempt to prove that we don't need to be part of Europe.

It is also a kickback against nationalists for whom the concept of a British identity is anathema, and who only ever talk about the UK or 'four nations'.

 

[The exile]

The Boris economic policy, as set out in 2019, was quite like the policies of pre-Thatcher governments of either colour, looking to distribute spending out to the regions and "pick winners" in industry to receive government funding. However he actually did very little of either, so managed to alienate both traditional Tories who disliked the idea of tax and spend and the Red Wall who didn't get what they thought they had been promised.

Although to be fair to him (which is something I say through clenched teeth), he only had three months before a rather big “event” caught up with him.

 

[jfollows]

High Speed Rail (Crewe to Manchester) Bill is listed as one of the 40 bills by the new government (https://www.theguardian.com/politic...ns-rishi-sunak-conservatives-uk-politics-live):

Full list of 40 bills and draft bills in king's speech
The Downing Street briefing document about the king’s speech mentions 40 bills, many of which were not referred to by the king. Here is the full list.

The document sets them out by category, and I have used the No 10 category headings here (in bold text).

Full bills

Economic stability and growth

Budget Responsibility Bill

National Wealth Fund Bill

Pension Schemes Bill

Planning and Infrastructure Bill

Employment Rights Bill

English Devolution Bill

Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill

Better Buses Bill

Railways Bill

Bank Resolution (Recapitalisation) Bill

Arbitration Bill

Product Safety and Metrology Bill

Digital Information and Smart Data Bill

High Speed Rail (Crewe to Manchester) Bill

Great British Energy and clean energy superpower

Great British Energy Bill

The Crown Estate Bill

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (Revenue Support Mechanism) Bill

Water (Special Measures) Bill

Secure borders, cracking down on anti-social behaviour and take back our streets

Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill

Crime and Policing Bill

Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill

Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill

Break down the barriers to opportunity

Children’s Wellbeing Bill

Skills England Bill

Renters’ Rights Bill

Football Governance Bill

Health

Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Mental Health Bill

National security and serving the country

Hillsborough Law (this will be a bill, but No 10 has not said what it will be called)

Armed Forces Commissioner Bill

Northern Ireland Legacy Legislation (this involves repealing the Northern Ireland Troubles [Legacy and Reconciliation] Act, but the No 10 says repeal will require passing a new, replacement bill)

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

Cyber Security and Resilience Bill

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill

Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill

Holocaust Memorial Bill

Draft bills

Draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill

Draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill

Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill

Draft Conversion Practices Bill

 

[D6130]

High Speed Rail (Crewe to Manchester) Bill is listed as one of the 40 bills by the new government (https://www.theguardian.com/politic...ns-rishi-sunak-conservatives-uk-politics-live):

What about Handsacre to Crewe?