Runcorn by election.

[JamesWales]

From what I have read - and from informed podcasts in the last week - this is a surprising and narrow win for Scottish Labour.

Starmer was kept well away from the campaign. He didn't visit once.

The pre-election polling showed that he and Reeves are not electoral assets in Scotland! The opposite.

Yeah quite a surprise I think. He knows he isn't electoral gold. Never has been really. At best he is a functional technocrat with quite impressive hair. He's certainly not inspirational.

An interesting dynamic that with SNP, Labour and Reform all pretty close as they are quite distinct yet also significant overlaps in supporters.

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Yeah quite a surprise I think. He knows he isn't electoral gold. Never has been really. At best he is a functional technocrat with quite impressive hair. He's certainly not inspirational.

An interesting dynamic that with SNP, Labour and Reform all pretty close as they are quite distinct yet also significant overlaps in supporters.

It's more a case of the labour party are currently crap as are the snp and tge Tories are dead

If labour were a few notches up from being crap .....just ordinary ....with a leader with some sort of charisma .....who dropped the silly tory lite nonsense .....they would have won that seat by 2 or 3 thousand easily

[Wales-Bales]

Starmer was kept well away from the campaign. He didn't visit once.

Yet they still voted for him.

[jon1959]

Yet they still voted for him.

I think you'll find they voted for Davy Russell.

Russell's party leader is Anas Sarwar.

It was a Scottish Parliament election.

Reform's racist campaign was directed at Sarwar.

[Wales-Bales]

I think you'll find they voted for Davy Russell.

Russell's party leader is Anas Sarwar.

It was a Scottish Parliament election.

Reform's racist campaign was directed at Sarwar.

All roads lead to SKS.

[JamesWales]

I think you'll find they voted for Davy Russell.

Russell's party leader is Anas Sarwar.

It was a Scottish Parliament election.

Reform's racist campaign was directed at Sarwar.

Good to know you will be correcting every "they voted for Farage" post in future!

Jon is right of course (apart from the silly racist stuff which some people on the left will always try to inflate in order to capitalise upon). People voted for a candidate and it's a Scottish parliament election and the context there is that the SNP have been in power for a long time.

But Starmer is allowed to take some credit. We all talk about leaders of parties, we know how important they are in the public mind and I'd wafer that more people who voted Labour in the by-election could name the UK leader more than the Scottish Labour leader and certainly more than the candidate himself.

That's the way it is. I think local elections are perhaps more different but generally people vote for the party not the person

[jon1959]

Good to know you will be correcting every "they voted for Farage" post in future!

Jon is right of course (apart from the silly racist stuff which some people on the left will always try to inflate in order to capitalise upon). People voted for a candidate and it's a Scottish parliament election and the context there is that the SNP have been in power for a long time.

But Starmer is allowed to take some credit. We all talk about leaders of parties, we know how important they are in the public mind and I'd wafer that more people who voted Labour in the by-election could name the UK leader more than the Scottish Labour leader and certainly more than the candidate himself.

That's the way it is. I think local elections are perhaps more different but generally people vote for the party not the person

I often have to correct Gluey - especially when he decides anyone who voted Labour in recent elections did it from a deep and enduring love of Starmer.

The 'silly racist stuff' came from Reform - as the SNP and Scottish Labour pointed out very clearly before the vote.

Starmer take credit? What for - hiding away in London? Fair point I suppose.

[HiVis]

He wants an argument doesn’t he. I’d also be fascinated to know what Reform’s policies are, much like the Brexit Party’s probably, but then what did they stand for? We know Farage doesn’t like immigrants and the EU and loves money in his pocket and Donald Trump but that’s about it really.

here you go

I appreciate a simple google search is beyond a lot of you, so I'm here to help.

[the other bob wilson]

here you go

I appreciate a simple google search is beyond a lot of you, so I'm here to help.

That post is over five weeks old. A day later i said in another message that I was pretty familiar with Reform’s policies, but I read the link to what passes as their manifesto that was posted on here at the time and had then posted a link to the IFS’ unflattering assessment of it - you’re a month and more late with your post and your sarcasm is misplaced.