Quote Originally Posted by the other bob wilson View Post
From memory, Labour were polling at 15,000 in that constituency in 2015, so you'd think that the large majority of them have deserted the party for the Lib Dems. It was an example of tactical voting by people who would not class themselves as Conservatives and it has to be the way to go for, say, Labour supporters in Cornwall and Lib Dems voters who live in most major cities in this country.

I see you seem to want to brush what happened to the Conservatives under the carpet, but there definitely appears to be something going on in some areas in southern England that have traditionally been strongly Tory - there was quite a bit of evidence of this last month when nearly all of the focus was on the woes of the Labour party.
You say Labour's defeat was an example of tactical voting that reduced the Labour vote. That is your opinion. In fact, passing off that opinion as fact is a fabrication in your own mind and a reflection of your own leftish views. How do my words "a crushing defeat for the Tories" equate to my brushing what happened to the Tories under the carpet?

You should know that bi elections are completely different to General Elections where local issues seem to come to the fore and the tendency is always to vote against the Party in power. HS2 was the real issue in that constituency. However I doubt whether the level of Tory defeat was expected by the Tories.

It was a shocking result for the Tories as it was for Labour but your analysis is simply a fabrication of what you think happened. I note the heading of your post indicates it was a hammering for the Conservatives but it was for Labour as well. The next bi election might be an opportunity to gauge the extent of Labour support. If Labour don't win that with a very good candidate they are finished.