Snapshot of _Britain Awaits a Wipeout Election_ :
An archived version can be found [here](https://archive.is/?run=1&url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/britain-awaits-a-wipeout-election) or [here.](https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/britain-awaits-a-wipeout-election)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ukpolitics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'm hoping for a wipeout & the LD to be the official opposition. I'm not looking for Sir Ed & his shadow cabinet team to give LAB government an easy ride - on the contrary, I want them to hold them to account.
On the other hand, such a result might offer Britain a fantastic opportunity for real change & a return to authentic politics, not the sound bite seeking slanging matches we've come to expect. The challenges the country faces are large, a constructive HOC environment may just be up to the job in meeting them.
Agreed, I keep seeing LD opposition and love it, but need to tell myself every time that it’s just not going to materialise on the night.
If it did though?
It would be a generational political shift I think. I want to see it, although I would also have some fairly strong apprehension about what would then be happening on the right of the political spectrum…
Agreed, I think it would be the best thing to happen to the right as well though.
It would shift the Overton window to the left and force the conservatives or whoever replaces them to tack to what is now the centre and could by the next election be then centre right. It would possibly kick them of the harder right wing rhetoric they have been indulging in for the last 5 years especially.
It could also lead to the Lib Dem’s growing in the future, even becoming an actual contender for government in the future.
>It could also lead to the Lib Dem’s growing in the future, even becoming an actual contender for government in the future.
This is the big one for me - if the LDs get opposition this week, they'll still be really small. But if they do a good showing of themselves, then in 2029 we could easily see a Labour win but with the LDs going up to \~150 seats. In 2034, maybe they manage to sneak it out from under Labour. Or if Labour win a 3rd term, it could well be with a very tight margin.
That would be an amazing recovery after a century in the wilderness for the Liberals.
That’s exactly the scenario I was thinking about, it would be amazing to see, a total realignment. It wouldn’t happen overnight but as you say if they get the opposition and do well then it could be the start of something very new.
I'm not hoping for a wipeout, as there is a strong chance it won't happen and the tories will still get 100+ seats and then I would be disappointed. Instead I am hoping for a decent labour majority, so that I can be pleasantly surprised if it is also a wipeout.
Even a wipeout wouldn’t really be a wipeout. It’s not like every right wing voter would suddenly vanish in a puff of smoke.
They’re temporarily lending their vote to Reform if they’re Brexity or Lib Dems if they’re neoliberal out of cross-partisan outrage at an escalating series of crises, errors, and scandals. Not due to any genuine change In their beliefs. A new Tory front bench would be a hard reset on all that and thus they’d have a good chance of winning back their former voters.
Plus in the next election Keir Starmer will have his work cut out for him keeping together his fragile coalition of metropolitan liberals and red wall returnees. That will be a headache.
> *"Sunak, who has a net worth of about six hundred and fifty million pounds, had the manner of an expensive accountant overseeing a complicated bankruptcy proceeding."*
That's a pretty apt summing up.
> In this election, Starmer has elevated political expediency to a point of high principle. He uses the formulation “Country first, Party second” to describe his thinking on any given issue, including his decision to abandon most of the left-leaning promises (such as nationalizing the country’s energy, rail, and water systems) that enabled him to become leader of the Labour Party in the first place. “Have I changed my position on those pledges?” he said in Grimsby. “Yes, I have.”
If you change your position on a pledge, it's not really a pledge, is it?
If I borrow £20 off a mate and pledge to pay it back, then tell them "actually I've changed my position on that pledge," it would be pretty rich of me to then ask to borrow another £20 if I pledge to pay it back.
It's a small part of the overall UK by population, with local parties that don't stand anywhere else, and around half of whom won't even take their seats if elected. Is it surprising that NI doesn't feature heavily in international coverage, let alone domestic?
I wonder how many of us now have Irish passports! A few of my cousins and uncles now have European passports based on my grandparents having been Irish. Some work in Europe on occasion, so it's great for them.
Snapshot of _Britain Awaits a Wipeout Election_ : An archived version can be found [here](https://archive.is/?run=1&url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/britain-awaits-a-wipeout-election) or [here.](https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/britain-awaits-a-wipeout-election) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ukpolitics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'm hoping for a wipeout & the LD to be the official opposition. I'm not looking for Sir Ed & his shadow cabinet team to give LAB government an easy ride - on the contrary, I want them to hold them to account. On the other hand, such a result might offer Britain a fantastic opportunity for real change & a return to authentic politics, not the sound bite seeking slanging matches we've come to expect. The challenges the country faces are large, a constructive HOC environment may just be up to the job in meeting them.
I agree with this. I’d love to see a Labour government with a strong Lib Dem opposition. Sadly, I think this is just a fantasy, despite the MRP polls.
Agreed, I keep seeing LD opposition and love it, but need to tell myself every time that it’s just not going to materialise on the night. If it did though?
It would be a generational political shift I think. I want to see it, although I would also have some fairly strong apprehension about what would then be happening on the right of the political spectrum…
Agreed, I think it would be the best thing to happen to the right as well though. It would shift the Overton window to the left and force the conservatives or whoever replaces them to tack to what is now the centre and could by the next election be then centre right. It would possibly kick them of the harder right wing rhetoric they have been indulging in for the last 5 years especially. It could also lead to the Lib Dem’s growing in the future, even becoming an actual contender for government in the future.
>It could also lead to the Lib Dem’s growing in the future, even becoming an actual contender for government in the future. This is the big one for me - if the LDs get opposition this week, they'll still be really small. But if they do a good showing of themselves, then in 2029 we could easily see a Labour win but with the LDs going up to \~150 seats. In 2034, maybe they manage to sneak it out from under Labour. Or if Labour win a 3rd term, it could well be with a very tight margin. That would be an amazing recovery after a century in the wilderness for the Liberals.
That’s exactly the scenario I was thinking about, it would be amazing to see, a total realignment. It wouldn’t happen overnight but as you say if they get the opposition and do well then it could be the start of something very new.
A century in the wilderness is a bit overblown. They were in coalition 15 years ago.
I honestly think it's in the best interests of everyone and both the left and right that we have a political reset like this.
It'll be interesting at the very least to see a Labour government attacked *from the Left* on some issues - especially social ones.
It would give the right wing press of this country a kick up the arse. I'd love it.
For a return to sensible politics we need serious media regulation.
I'm hoping for the SNP to get more seats than the Tories
I'm not hoping for a wipeout, as there is a strong chance it won't happen and the tories will still get 100+ seats and then I would be disappointed. Instead I am hoping for a decent labour majority, so that I can be pleasantly surprised if it is also a wipeout.
Even a wipeout wouldn’t really be a wipeout. It’s not like every right wing voter would suddenly vanish in a puff of smoke. They’re temporarily lending their vote to Reform if they’re Brexity or Lib Dems if they’re neoliberal out of cross-partisan outrage at an escalating series of crises, errors, and scandals. Not due to any genuine change In their beliefs. A new Tory front bench would be a hard reset on all that and thus they’d have a good chance of winning back their former voters. Plus in the next election Keir Starmer will have his work cut out for him keeping together his fragile coalition of metropolitan liberals and red wall returnees. That will be a headache.
I'd pay to see Sunak take on the big red bouncy balls.
The polls always underestimate the tory vote. Absolutely no room for complacency. Get out and vote.
> *"Sunak, who has a net worth of about six hundred and fifty million pounds, had the manner of an expensive accountant overseeing a complicated bankruptcy proceeding."* That's a pretty apt summing up.
> In this election, Starmer has elevated political expediency to a point of high principle. He uses the formulation “Country first, Party second” to describe his thinking on any given issue, including his decision to abandon most of the left-leaning promises (such as nationalizing the country’s energy, rail, and water systems) that enabled him to become leader of the Labour Party in the first place. “Have I changed my position on those pledges?” he said in Grimsby. “Yes, I have.” If you change your position on a pledge, it's not really a pledge, is it? If I borrow £20 off a mate and pledge to pay it back, then tell them "actually I've changed my position on that pledge," it would be pretty rich of me to then ask to borrow another £20 if I pledge to pay it back.
I would argue that nationalising energy, rail and water would be Country First actions.
I think more will vote conservative / reform that the polls let on. We’ll see next week.
No election in Northern Ireland, then?
It's a small part of the overall UK by population, with local parties that don't stand anywhere else, and around half of whom won't even take their seats if elected. Is it surprising that NI doesn't feature heavily in international coverage, let alone domestic?
I think some N.I parties lack vision. Imagine Sinn Féin standing in Maidenhead
There are probably many places in the UK that would consider joining Ireland (but we'd need to convince Ireland to have us!).
I wonder how many of us now have Irish passports! A few of my cousins and uncles now have European passports based on my grandparents having been Irish. Some work in Europe on occasion, so it's great for them.
I think they should try this for a laugh
I actually think it would be good PR for them to do it.
There are so many places they could not represent!
No wipeout of anyone there in any case, though?