My centrist mates

[Felicity, I guess so]

A lot of people must be very disappointed with Peterborough.

Strange how hate can twist some people into hoping Nigel Farage gets what he wants.

Guardian says Labour ‘scraped’ the win, as if the disgraced former MP had won a landslide...

[George C.]

[URL="https://twitter.com/europeelects/status/1136800719384842241?s=21"]https://twitter.com/europeelects/status/1136800719384842241[/URL]

Thank a higher power, that various people voted tactically to beat the fash wannabes.

Hopefully Labour take note of the public mood as they may not get as lucky again...

[Lucy Waterman]

Thank fuck for that.

[ad hoc]

Thank fuck for that.

This. 100% this.

[Lurgee]

Weird to find myself relieved that it is actually impossible to persuade some Tories to change their allegiance ... Wouldn't have taken many of them to turn this into a defeat.

Farage's behaviour was characteristic - waiting at the count to steal the newly elected MP's thunder when he thought a BP victory was on the cards then sneaking out the back door and leaving them to enjoy the ignominy of defeat alone. Utterly repulsive little weasel.

[Snake Plissken]

Jess Phillips and Alistair Campbell have tweeted their disappointment at the result.

[ad hoc]

It wouldn't even have needed the Tories, I believe what is left of UKIP got enough votes that if they'd gone for Brexit they'd have won.

[johnr]

Thank a higher power, that various people voted tactically to beat the fash wannabes.

Hopefully Labour take note of the public mood as they may not get as lucky again...

I'm not sure that there's much evidence of tactical voting there.

[Snake Plissken]

It wouldn't even have needed the Tories, I believe what is left of UKIP got enough votes that if they'd gone for Brexit they'd have won.

Not quite.

Labour 10,484

Brexit Party 9,801
UKIP 400

The majority actually went up.

[Lurgee]

I'm not sure that there's much evidence of tactical voting there.

Women in burquas voting twice, if you read certain twitter accounts ...

[Nesta]

Thanks - Great piece!
Disappointed not to read your centrist mates' response to your appeal for this noble cause which deserves wide support.

To give you a flavour of the atmosphere on that thread, I suggested that a Centrist Mate who'd posted a particularly angry response should 'wipe the foam away from your mouth', and was accused of using an ableist slur... (like all corbynistas do, natch)

Edit: Espirit d'escalier, but I should have responded by claiming that using 'corbynista' is racist, but the moment is gone.

[Nesta]

If Labour come third in this - I mean, fuck knows.

If my auntie had a dick- I mean, fuck knows.

[Bizarre Löw Triangle]

It's remarkable how similar to the stereotype of the Old Left they're becoming. All the boxes are ticked – purist picking apart of any "compromises" of their pet beliefs; excessive "will you condemn"-ery; relentless whatabouttery; angry signalling about what they're against, but a complete absence of any pragmatic pathway to get what they want; it's all there.

That's very true - though i've also noticed the reverse happening - people who are supportive of the labour leadership deploying many of the same tropes that were used against them in the blair/brown/miliband years - against labour critical people on the left.

[Lurgee]

Margaret Hodge has weighed in:

"Seriously mixed feelings about the Peterborough result. I never want to see Nigel Farage’s party in Parliament. But Lisa Forbes & the Labour Party have a lot to answer for. We must learn lessons & never have a repeat of this. Have formally raised concerns with party leadership."

https://twitter.com/margarethodge/st...97476743651329

I mean, just ... fuck off.

[Nefertiti2]

Here's Margaret Hodge being rather nicer about Jeremy Corbyn.

Strange she didn't say- "I don't want that fucking antisemite anywhere near my campaign"

https://twitter.com/visitingmartian/status/1136730460405604360

[Patrick Thistle]

The question is do we think the Brexit Party has crested the wave here and won't be as strong now in other by-elections? The media focus is going to swing to who will be next PM and the Tory bun-fight. Can the Brexit Party survive without publicity oxygen?

[Lurgee]

From the same twitter feed, but with a link to the source:

"In 1987 the West London Synagogue approached Islington Council with a startling proposal: to sell its original cemetery to property developers, destroying the gravestones and digging-up and reburying the bodies lying under them. This cemetery (dating from 1840) was not merely of great historic and architectural interest – in the view of orthodox Jews, the deliberate destruction of a cemetery is sacrilegious. So when Islington Council granted the planning application, a Jewish-led and ultimately successful campaign was launched to have the decision reversed. I was part of that campaign. So was Jeremy Corbyn. Meanwhile, the then-leader of Islington Council (1982-92), whose decision to permit the destruction of the cemetery was eventually overturned, was none other than Margaret Hodge (though it is unclear whether she personally was in favour of the proposal)."

https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2019/0...-anti-semitic/

[Lurgee]

The question is do we think the Brexit Party has crested the wave here and won't be as strong now in other by-elections? The media focus is going to swing to who will be next PM and the Tory bun-fight. Can the Brexit Party survive without publicity oxygen?

I suspect they will limp on, polling about 14% and mostly draining Conservative votes. So it might not be a bad thing at all.

[Lucy Waterman]

Jess Phillips and Alistair Campbell have tweeted their disappointment at the result.

No she hasn’t. I’ve looked at her twitter feed - she seems delighted that Labour won and Brexit lost while worrying about Lisa Forbes and Labour anti semitism. Which seems about right.

Unless I have missed something, which is possible.

[Lucy Waterman]

Can’t find anything from Campbell - can you point me?

[ad hoc]

I assumed it was a joke. Well at first my reaction was FFS as it was actually believable, but then I thought, nah gotta be a joke. Surely?

[Snake Plissken]

I was exaggerating, but only a bit. Because you can read these two and hear the gritted teeth.

https://twitter.com/jessphillips/status/1136875428344401920

https://twitter.com/campbellclaret/status/1136867573105090560

[Lucy Waterman]

Yeah, I don’t think it’s fair to call that disappointment, but I can empathise with your annoyance that they are not more boosterish.

[Nefertiti2]

IT's not a question of "boosterish". Jess Philipps has no concerns whatsoever about antisemitism except as a stick to attack Corbyn with. She goes to parties with Taki at the Spectator for forcks sake. Campbell meanwhile devised an antisemitic advertising campaign showing Michael Howard as Fagin and when asked about it by the BBC he told them to cover something more important.

[Lucy Waterman]

I was talking about whether or not they were disappointed in the Peterborough result.