Hartlepool by election

[E10 Rifle]

There's a fair smattering of Guardian writers who hate the left (and this will particularly strike those that read the comment section but no other part of it, which it seems is half of Twitter) but conspiracies? Not really. It's a broadly liberal paper that will support broadly liberal politics rather than left ones. "I for one am shocked and furious that this paper that's never been socialist is not being socialist" is a bit of a waste of emotional energy, tbh.

[Nefertiti2]

There's a fair smattering of Guardian writers who hate the left (and this will particularly strike those that read the comment section but no other part of it, which it seems is half of Twitter) but conspiracies? Not really. It's a broadly liberal paper that will support broadly liberal politics rather than left ones. "I for one am shocked and furious that this paper that's never been socialist is not being socialist" is a bit of a waste of emotional energy, tbh.

Except that when there was a choice between a Labour Party with social democratic policies, each individual element of which the paper was broadly in favour, and with impeccable records of supporting human rights in this country and abroad, and a Conservative party led by a right wing fraction whose leader was openly racist and antisemitic, had purged his own party and shown complete contempt for the democratic process, they chose to attack the left at every opportunity.

I'm not shocked that "that this paper that's never been socialist is not being socialist" I am shocked that a paper that claimed to be liberal was so illiberal.

[E10 Rifle]

The Guardian called for a Labour vote at the 2017 and 2019 elections

[Nefertiti2]

The Guardian called for a Labour vote at the 2017 and 2019 elections

very quietly

[DCI Harry Batt]

Yeah no conspiracy, that's almost always a gag. The guardian is a horrible media institution. I'd never imagine it was of the left or anything to do with the left. I'm not surprised at its awful politics, much as some of the manifestations thereof are pretty shocking and upsetting. Mostly it is a rotten liberal pile of crap, sometimes pretending to be vaguely half-decent unless and until there is any kind of crunch. That's what liberals are, that's what liberals do.

[MsD]

I'm (pleasantly) surprised they supported Labour in the last GEs. Always thought it was a Liberal paper meself - it was, about 1980, when I started reading it from cover to cover. (It would've been the 90s when I stopped.) It certainly promoted the SDP/Libs in the 80s. The Independent was more centrist when it emerged. But this is relatively ancient history and I don't know it from the inside, I just read the same online articles as everyone else now, and don't seek much out now that Gary Tonge is not a regular.

[E10 Rifle]

Of the remaining columnists that I still look out for, Nesrine Malik, Adittya Chakrabortty, Andy Beckett and the much-maligned OJ are still worth reading. Though as I've said the comment section is a small and disposable part of any newspaper really. People over-obsess on columnists (rather than the people who do all the bloody work)

Anyway, all this fretting over a metropolitan liberal institution has diverted us away from Hartlepool. WHICH IS TYPICAL OF THE OUT OF TOUCH LIBERAL LEFT.

[Nefertiti2]

i'm less bothered about the Comment- you know where they are coming from although many are vile

it's the newsdesk I had increasing problems with

[Fussbudget]

Of the remaining columnists that I still look out for, Nesrine Malik, Adittya Chakrabortty, Andy Beckett and the much-maligned OJ are still worth reading.

Oliver Wainwright is also very good (not a columnist though)

[Sporting]

There's a fair smattering of Guardian writers who hate the left (and this will particularly strike those that read the comment section but no other part of it, which it seems is half of Twitter) but conspiracies? Not really. It's a broadly liberal paper that will support broadly liberal politics rather than left ones. "I for one am shocked and furious that this paper that's never been socialist is not being socialist" is a bit of a waste of emotional energy, tbh.

I agree with this. And I enjoy the recipes, sports stuff etc

[DCI Harry Batt]

I don't really care that much about Hartlepool either tbh. But when I say the guardian is a horrendous institution, I'm not only or particularly or largely talking about its columnists. Nor am I blaming its workforce in general - same as when I say Amazon is a hideous institution.

[Fussbudget]

I agree with this. And I enjoy the recipes, sports stuff etc

To be honest I think the sections with no explicitly political content (lifestyle, sport, culture etc.) give off some of the worst 'liberal paper for the metropolitan middle classes' vibes. The last time I picked up the sport section the first 8 or 10 pages were all about rugby union which doesn't exactly paint it as the paper of the people (because it isn't)

And never mind not being compatible with socialist ideals (which as E10 says The Guardian has never purported to be), a lot of the stuff in these sections isn't even compatible with their own stated values e.g. ethical and environmental concerns

[Flynnie]

While your point is correct, I seriously doubt the Guardian began with 10 pages on rugby union unless it was the World Cup or Six Nations, which are the two times rugby union crosses over into mass interest. It's normally not much of a rugby newspaper. Back when I bought newspapers, I usually bought the Times or the Telegraph on the Monday after for that.

[Fussbudget]

It might have been during the Six Nations, I honestly have no clue what happens when in rugby union and I skipped past those pages quickly (it was a few weeks ago)

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

the much-maligned OJ

You reckon he really was innocent?

[Nocturnal Submission]

You reckon he really was innocent?

TBH, employing him as the paper's US crime correspondent really is taking the piss.

[sw2borshch]

Careful now. The Middlesborough set can get touchy about this sort of thing.

I was going to ignore it as the Middlesboough above it so novel my thrill-circuits had exploded.

[DCI Harry Batt]

Are they even counting this tonight?

[Felicity, I guess so]

likely to announce around 0400, if you're keen

[Nefertiti2]

https://twitter.com/thelma_dwalker/status/1390422835575894016?s=21

labours lost badly

[Nefertiti2]

https://twitter.com/stevenicksmith/status/1390426578782507011?s=21

[Fussbudget]

I love the idea that the Tees Mayor election will have electrified voters in Hartlepool who wouldn't have bothered going to the polls for a simple by-election, rather than the other way around. The turnout for the latest Tees Mayor election in Hartlepool was 17%

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

https://twitter.com/thelma_dwalker/status/1390422835575894016?s=21

labours lost badly

Three and a half years ago Labour got 50% in hartlepool because the vote for UKIP fell by 17% and the labour vote rose 17%. Then in 2019 the labour vote fell by about 17 percent and those people all voted for the Brexit party. Maybe it might be worth considering that the Labour Surge in 2017 was in large part due to getting back the traditionally labour voting chunks of the UKIP party, by promising to do a super-great no-fuss brexit. Because all those people went back to Farage when labour's brexit position became a bit more complicated than unicorns and promising to deliver a successful brexit.

[Nefertiti2]

reminded this morning that Tony Blair had sufficient majority and a manifesto commitment to introduce PR and keep the Tories out of government forever,

instead he introduced elections so hereditary peers could send delegates to the House of Lords

[Duncan Gardner]

Tory 15 529
Labour 8 589
Green 358
LibDem 349

others tbc