Bombshell #NorthShropshire by-election result: MORE reactions
Boris Johnson: “Today I have mostly been combing my hair with a toffee apple and drinking Special Brew” (not This Writer’s comment but it seems to sum up his reaction to the loss of North Shropshire).
You’ve already read my opinion on the North Shropshire by-election (or you can if you click on this link), but that’s no reason not to have fun reading the many other comments that have sprung up since the result was announced!
Let’s start with the Tories:
A terrible result for @UKLabour but an even worse one for the @CONservatives.
Whatever “magic” @BorisJohnson had has now evaporated & people can see right through him. Just a shame they didn’t in 2019.
As for @Keir_Starmer; the man is hopeless, wooden & not “the electable one”.
— James Foster (@JamesEFoster) December 17, 2021
(We’ll come to Labour very soon!)
I’ve enjoyed seeing people dissecting the Liberal Democrats…
Of course it's great that Johnson's been humiliated.
But the LibDems? They got into bed with Cameron, gave us austerity, betrayed their tuition fees pledge, supported bombing Libya, refused to work with Labour to stop a no deal Brexit… How many times will people fall for it? pic.twitter.com/aTmVdDqIEA
— Steve Howell (@FromSteveHowell) December 17, 2021
It seems only fair to remind people of what the Yellow Tories did with the Blue Tories – for five years between 2010 and 2015.
But that’s not to let Labour off the hook for its failure in the present day:
Driving away traditional Labour voters in the thousands with flags, fatherlandism, and insipid Thatcherite "trickle down" bollocks, in order to deliver "soft-Tories" into the hands of the Lib-Dems!
An absolute masterclass in strategic ineptitude!
— Another Angry Voice (@Angry_Voice) December 17, 2021
https://twitter.com/HarryPie1862/status/1471741466242424837
A disastrous result both for Johnson and Starmer in North Shropshire. Labour came 2nd in the last 3 general elections but has dropped back to 3rd place. Preventing the candidate who was runner up three times from standing was a huge mistake. It should have been a labour gain.
— Pamela Fitzpatrick (@pamelafitz4HW) December 17, 2021
(Was the candidate the previous three times a socialist, by any chance?)
https://twitter.com/unionlib/status/1471730853692776451
Labour won just 3,686 votes in the North Shropshire by-election.
This is down from 12,495 votes in 2019.
The main story will obviously be a truly remarkable gain for the Lib Dems over the Tories, but you cannot underestimate just how shambolic this result is for Labour as well.
— Evolve Politics (@evolvepolitics) December 17, 2021
https://twitter.com/2Si_2Vess/status/1471706776655609856
I would like to congratulate @Keir_Starmer for achieving the lowest Labour vote share in North Shropshire’s history. By some margin too, impressive.#NorthShropshire #StarmerOut
— David Heaven (@DavidHeaven2004) December 17, 2021
I’m confused- why did @UKLabour stand a candidate in #ShropshireNorthByElection if they wanted people to vote tactically not for them?
— Nadia 🇵🇸🏴🍉 (@nadiajonz) December 17, 2021
Keep this receipt handy if any Labour MPs start saying Labour was never going to win North Shropshire. The party was 2nd there twice under Corbyn.
Anyone spinning this has some kind of tactical success for Labour doesn’t want Labour to win or is an idiot. pic.twitter.com/yuWLZGN9Tb— Devutopia (@D_Raval) December 17, 2021
https://twitter.com/liamyoung/status/1471660370200875009
Confused!
I am pleased that Tories lost in North Shropshire
I assumed the Lib Dems came second in 2019 and that was why they got the benefit of tactical votes
But I see that in 2019
Con 35,444
Lab 12,495
Lib Dem 5,643So, why was it Lib Dems, not Labour, with tactical votes?
— Tom London (@TomLondon6) December 17, 2021
Of course, some of it is absolute bilge:
This morning’s timeline is definitive proof that for many Corbyn supporters, defeating the Conservatives comes a long way behind the real priority which is defeating Keir Starmer
— Jonathan Hopkin (@jrhopkin) December 17, 2021
For Corbyn supporters, the real priority has always been defeating the Conservatives. They were foiled in that aim by people who now support Starmer. And Starmer himself has proved unwilling to fight them; the North Shropshire result is a symptom of this.
So defeating the Conservatives requires Starmer to step aside – or be removed – and Labour to adjust its policies so they fall in line with what the majority of people actually want. Sadly those are long-term goals at the moment. It’s how Sir Keir and his supporters want it.
So it seems clear that Mr Corbyn, and his supporters, aren’t the problem. They never were. The problem is Starmer and his people. They are the Tory enablers.
It’s time people like Mr Hopkin, above, realised this – or accepted that they’re pushing a lie.
Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.
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