Seven by-elections were held last night, mostly across central England. Labour fought five of these and their share of the vote dropped in every one, although they held two of the three seats they were defending. There was a surprise defeat in the solid Labour territory of Manchester where the party lost to an independent. In Cheshire there was a return to politics for ousted Labour MP Laura Smith, where she won a seat on the council. Smith lost her Crewe & Nantwich seat in the general election and was photographed at the Job Centre last month, sparking controversy when she claimed she was "the same as millions of others in the country". Not really Laura - you were earning an £80,000 salary with copious expenses that most unemployed folk could only dream of.
It was a mixed night for the Conservatives with votes up in three and down in four. Two seats were held and one was lost to the Lib Dems.
Millfield, Blaby District Council
Lab: 228 (52.2%) -1.0%
Con: 188 (43.0%) -3.8%
Green: 21 (4.8%) New
Gwersyllt North, Wrexham County Borough Council
Plaid: 189 (36.6%) New
Lab: 87 (16.8%) -10.7%
Con: 78 (15.1%) -5.0%
Ind: 51 (9.9%) New
Ind: 43 (8.3%) New
Lib Dem: 41 (7.9%) New
Ind: 19 (3.7%) New
Green: 9 (1.7%) New
We made this very emotional video chronicling some of those MPs who perished in the Tory election victory. How apt that we begin with the hideous, self-serving and eternally out of touch Mary Creagh who this evening reportedly confronted Corbyn and gave him a 20 minute lecture about how it was his leadership that cost Remainer MPs like her their place on the gravy train. Never mind the fact that her constituents returned a 63% Leave vote after which she spent three and a half years trying to overturn - that had nothing to with it?
We couldn't include all the MPs who lost their jobs as there wasn't a sad piano track long enough, but for those featured you can see how they bowed out in their 2019 election results below. The incumbents are in bold (changes versus 2017 general election).
Wakefield - 63% Leave
Imran Ahmad-Khan (Con) 21,283 (47.3%) +2.3% Mary Creagh (Lab) 17,925 (39.8%) -9.9%
Peter Wiltshire (Brexit) 2,725 (6.1%) New
Jamie Needle (Lib Dem) 1,772 (3.9%) +1.9%
Ryan Kett (Yorks) 868 (1.9%) -0.6%
Stephen Whyte (Ind) 454 (1.0%) -1.5%
Kensington - 69% Remain
Felicity Buchan (Con) 16,768 (38.3%) -3.9% Emma Dent Coad (Lab) 16,618 (38.0%) -4.3%
Sam Gyimah (Lib Dem) 9,312 (21.3%) +9.1%
Vivien Lichtenstein (Green) 535 (1.2%) -0.8%
Jay Aston Colquhoun (Brexit) 384 (0.9%) New
Roger Phillips (Christian) 70 (0.2%) New
Harriet Gore (Touch Love) 47 (0.1%) New
Scott Dore (Workers) 28 (0.1%) New
Peterborough - 61% Leave
Paul Bristow (Con) 22,334 (46.7%) -0.1% Lisa Forbes (Lab) 19,754 (41.3%) -6.7%Beki Sellick (Lib Dem) 2,334 (4.9%) +1.5%
Mike Greene (Brexit) 2,127 (4.4%) New
Joseph Wells (Green) 728 (1.5%) -0.3%
Luke Ferguson (Ind) 260 (0.5%) New
Tom Rogers (Christian) 151 (0.3%) New
The Very Raving Mr P (Loony) 113 (0.2%) New
Beaconsfield - 51% Remain
Joy Morrissey (Con) 32,477 (56.1%) -9.1% Dominic Grieve (Ind) 16,765 (29.0%) NewAlexa Collins (Lab) 5,756 (9.9%) -11.5%
Zoe Hatch (Green) 2,033 (3.5%) +1.0%
Adam Cleary (Ind) 837 (1.4%) New
Heywood & Middleton - 62% Leave
Chris Clarkson (Con) 20,453 (43.1%) +5.1% Liz McInnes (Lab) 19,790 (41.7%) -11.6%Anthony Smith (Lib Dem) 2,073 (4.4%) +2.2%
Nigel Ainsworth-Barnes (Green) 1,220 (2.6%) New
Bridgend - 50.28% Leave
Jamie Wallis (Con) 18,193 (43.1%) +3.3% Madeleine Moon (Lab) 17,036 (40.3%) -10.3%
Jonathan Pratt (Lib Dem) 2,368 (5.6%) +3.5%
Leanne Lewis (Plaid) 2,013 (4.8%) +0.7%
Robert Morgan (Brexit) 1,811 (4.3%) New
Alex Harris (Green) 815 (1.9%) -1.9%
North West Durham - 55% Leave
Richard Holden (Con) 19,990 (41.9%) +7.5% Laura Pidcock (Lab) 18,846 (39.5%) -13.3%John Wolstenholme (Brexit) 3,193 (6.7%) New
Michael Peacock (Lib Dem) 2,831 (5.9%) -1.2%
Watts Stelling (Ind) 1,216 (2.6%) New
David Sewell (Green) 1,173 (2.5%) +1.4%
David Lindsay (Ind) 414 (0.9%) New
Dewsbury - 57% Leave
Mark Eastwood (Con) 26,179 (46.4%) +1.3% Paula Sherriff (Lab) 24,618 (43.7%) -7.3%John Rossington (Lib Dem) 2,406 (4.3%) +2.1
Philip James (Brexit) 1,874 (3.3%) New
Simon Cope (Green) 1,060 (1.9%) +0.1%
Sir Archibald Earl Eaton Stanton (Loony) 252 (0.4%) New
Bolsover - 70% Leave
Mark Fletcher (Con) 21,791 (47.4%) +6.9% Dennis Skinner (Lab) 16,492 (35.9%) -16.0%
Kevin Harper (Brexit) 4,151 (9.0%) New
David Hancock (Lib Dem) 1,759 (3.8%) +0.9%
David Kesteven (Green) 758 (1.7%) New
Ross Walker (Ind) 517 (1.1%) New
Natalie Hoy (Ind) 470 (1.0%) New
Wolverhampton South West - 54% Leave
Stuart Anderson (Con) 19,864 (48.3%) +4.1% Eleanor Smith (Lab) 18,203 (44.3%) -5.1%
Leo Grandison (Brexit) 1,028 (2.5%) New
Bart Ricketts (Lib Dem) 2,041 (5.0%) +3.1%
Crewe & Nantwich - 60% Leave
Kieran Mullan (Con) 28,704 (53.1%) +6.1% Laura Smith (Lab) 20,196 (37.4%) -9.7%Matthew Theobald (Lib Dem) 2,618 (4.8%) +2.4%
Matt Wood (Brexit) 1,390 (2.6%) New
Te Ata Browne (Green) 975 (1.8%) New
Andrew Kinsman (Libertarian) 149 (0.3%) New
Broxtowe - 53% Leave
Darren Henry (Con) 26,602 (48.1%) +1.3%
Greg Marshall (Lab) 21,271 (38.5%) -6.8% Anna Soubry (Change) 4,668 (8.5%) New
Kat Boettge (Green) 1,806 (3.3%) +2.0%
Amy Dalla Mura (End Dem) 432 (0.8%) New
Teck Khong (Ind) 321 (0.6%) New
David Bishop (Elvis) 172 (0.3%) New
East Dunbartonshire - 73% Remain
Amy Callaghan (SNP) 19,672 (37.1%) +6.8% Jo Swinson (Lib Dem) 19,523 (36.8%) -3.8%Pam Gosal (Con) 7,455 (14.1%) -0.5%
Callum McNally (Lab) 4,839 (9.1%) -5.4%
Carolynn Scrimgeour (Green) 916 (1.7%) New
Rosie Dickson (Ind) 221 (0.4%) New
David Murdo MacKay (UKIP) 208 (0.4%) New
Liam McKechnie (Family) 197 (0.4%) New
Redcar - 68% Leave
Jacob Young (Con) 18,811 (46.1%) +12.8% Anna Turley (Lab) 15,289 (37.4%) -18.1%Jacqui Cummins (Brexit) 2,915 (7.1%) New
Karen King (Lib Dem) 2,018 (4.9%) -1.8%
Frankie Wales (Ind) 1,323 (3.2%) New
Rowan Mclaughlin (Green) 491 (1.2%) New
Derby North - 54% Leave
Amanda Solloway (Con) 21,259 (45.2) +0.8%
Tony Tinley (Lab) 18,719 (39.8%) -8.7%
Greg Webb (Lib Dem) 3,450 (7.3%) +2.7%
Alan Graves (Brexit) 1,908 (4.1%) New
Helen Hitchcock (Green) 1,046 (2.2%) New Chris Williamson (Ind) 635 (1.4%) New
Nineteen Labour MPs have written to the EU imploring that they come to an agreement with our government as "the British people have become exasperated with Parliamentary deadlock". Well, they're not wrong there! The letter, addressed to Jean-Claude Juncker (and a copy also sent to Donald Tusk), can be seen below. Click to enlarge.
The letter has been denounced by Labour Remainers who are furious that Labour MPs - elected on a manifesto that stated that "Labour accepts the referendum result" - should have the barefaced cheek and audacity to uphold said result and party manifesto! "What planet are you all on" blasts
@annikahjelmskog. "Gobsmacked and very scared this is coming from Labour MPs elected on a Corbyn manifesto" moans @linda_whyman, apparently oblivious to the actual manifesto they were elected on. "You don't speak for me or most Labour supporters" says @fliss59, obviously forgetting that an overwhelming number of Labour constituencies voted Leave.
The nineteen MPs who signed the above letter are as follows, including constituency and Leave/Remain vote.
Kevin Barron (Rother Valley) 67% Leave
Sarah Champion (Rotherham) 68% Leave
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) 55% Leave
Jon Cruddas (Dagenham & Rainham) 70% Leave
Gloria De Piero (Ashfield) 70% Leave
Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar & Limehouse) 66% Remain
Caroline Flint (Don Valley) 68% Leave
Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) 65% Leave
Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) 68% Leave
Stephen Kinnock (Aberavon) 60% Leave
Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) 62% Leave
Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port & Neston) 58% Leave
Remember all those Tory MPs and right-wingers that marched outside the Labour conference last week? No, because it didn't happen. While we're constantly being told that the Tories are vile and they are engaging in hateful politics, this is how the left greeted the Tory conference in Manchester today.
The above tweet was later deleted. A spokesman for Momentum denied that the group was behind the banner and told Sky News: "Manchester Momentum weren't behind the banner, they tweeted about it and then deleted the tweet because they realised it was inappropriate". Greater Manchester Police are reportedly investigating, but this is not the first time that a Tory conference in Manchester has been 'welcomed' in this manner. A very similar threatening banner was displayed in 2017.
Former Labour MP and leadership contender Andy Burnham has condemned the latest incident in his current role as Mayor of Greater Manchester. However, there's a deafening silence from the same people who have engaged in hysteria over such words as 'surrender' and 'humbug' recently. These banners are calling for people to be murdered, but there has not been a jot of condemnation from the likes of Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott or their apologists like Owen Jones and Ash Sarkar. Only two days ago Little Owen tweeted that "People will be beaten up, and probably killed, because of this rhetoric", referring to a Daily Mail headline. However, he has nothing to say about these banners, but funnily enough he is there in Manchester tonight loitering around outside for some unknown reason.
Again, why are leftists hounding the Tory conference? Why did Labour front bencher Angela Rayner address the protest outside the Tory conference? Why was it also attended by other Labour MPs, including Laura Smith and Laura Pidcock, whose constituencies are not even in Greater Manchester ? Why did Rayner appear to tweet a picture tonight of Boris Johnson walking past her as she gave him the cold shoulder?
This is not your conference guys. No-one from the Tories bothered you in Brighton, but please carry on pretending that the Tories are the aggressors while you behave like this. Let's also remember that the Parliamentary Labour Party vetoed a short Commons recess for this conference to go ahead unimpeded (as their own did). Who is the nasty party again?
The ability of the left to mobilise on workdays is famous. Today is a little different as they've pencilled in their latest weekday exploits for 18:00 in the desperate hope that some actual working people will join them after their shifts. The protest has been organised by the far left 'People's Assembly' and will take place outside Downing Street to protest against the incoming Prime Minister. The great unwashed will hear from a plethora of speakers including little Owen Jones (who else?) and a number of Labour MPs (plus Caroline Lucas of the Greens, naturally).
McDonnell will be joined by his Labour colleagues Dickie Burgon, Ian Lavery, Laura Pidcock, Emma Dent-Coad, Dan Carden, Karen Lee, Laura Smith and Danielle Rowley. No doubt they'll all be demanding a general election on the basis that Boris is 'unelected'. As they continue to beat the drum of this shallow argument we will continue to point out the glaring hypocrisy of their argument. Gordon Brown wasn't elected PM either.
McDonnell, in particular, is more than familiar with the 2007 Labour leadership 'election'. Brown wasn't even elected by his own party, let alone the electorate. He was crowned Prime Minister unopposed. The only other challenger was none other than McDonnell himself, albeit he failed to garner enough nominations to get on the ballot. Maybe next time John.
Despite the impressive line-up of MPs planning to address the riff-raff, the Facebook page for today's demo has so far only attracted a couple of hundred people, despite the best efforts of little Owen and his incessant tweeting. No doubt things will pick up throughout the day and the media will gleefully report organisers' estimates of one million protesters (again). OK, well maybe not this time.
Labour's Richard Burgon is another front bench liability, but one that often slips under the radar, overshadowed by fellow front bench morons Thornberry and Abbott. A loyal Corbynista he shares his leader's love of all things Irish, wants to overthrow the Queen and opposes the bombing of Daesh in Syria. Oh, and he's a shit liar...
UPDATE
Burgon has now admitted making the speech about Zionism and says he "regrets it". He's only admitted it now because footage of the speech has been uncovered!
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (a bit of a mouthful) is better known as 'Lula' and is adored by the left. He was the 35th President of Brazil and served two terms before leaving office in 2010. Last October the youth wing of UK Labour made him their honorary president. Nothing wrong with that, you might think, except that Lula has been in prison since last April on multiple corruption charges totaling 12 years.
This week a number of senior Labour figures signed a letter labeling Lula a 'political prisoner' and calling for his release. The letter suggests that the current President of Brazil - nationalist Jair Bolsonaro - is somehow responsible for Lula's incarceration. However, Bolsonaro only took office this year, long after Lula's conviction and appeals were done and dusted. The letter also suggests democracy is somehow under threat in Brazil, which at the time of writing appears to be working just fine, with one less corrupt Latin American politician involved in the process!
The signatures to the letter are as follows;
Diane Abbott MP (Labour)
Richard Burgon MP (Labour)
Daniel Carden MP (Labour)
Emma Dent Coad MP (Labour)
David Drew MP (Labour)
Karen Lee MP (Labour)
Grahame Morris MP (Labour)
Laura Pidcock MP (Labour)
Danielle Rowley MP (Labour)
Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP (Labour)
Laura Smith MP (Labour)
Baroness Jean Corston (Labour)
Baroness Llin Golding (Labour)
Neil Findlay MSP (Labour)
Tariq Ali, writer and political activist
John Pilger, journalist and film-maker
Frances O’Grady, General Secretary, TUC
Len McCluskey, General Secretary, Unite the Union
Dave Prentis General Secretary, UNISON
Tim Roache, General Secretary, GMB
Paddy Lillis, General Secretary, USDAW
Manuel Cortes, General Secretary, TSSA
Mick Whelan, General Secretary, ASLEF
Ronnie Draper, General Secretary, BFAWU
Chris Kitchen, General Secretary, NUM
Tony Burke & Christine Blower, Vice-Chairs, Brazil Solidarity Initiative
Rachel Garnham, Labour NEC & Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America
It's a disturbing indictment on Corbyn's Labour when it is seen to support the freedom of convicted criminals, as long as they are from the left. Just another reason why the mere suggestion of a Corbyn government should send shivers down the spines of every right-thinking person in the land.
Asides from their politics, Lula has something else in common with Jeremy Corbyn. They are both supporters of Julian Assange, along with a host of international left-wing politicians and luvvies, not forgetting the Russian government. While Assange may have exposed some pretty sinister and nasty stuff over the years, take one look at the type of people sticking up for him and you'll soon come to the conclusion that he is no friend of ours.
Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon was asked about Laura Smith's call for a general strike and flat out lied about it. He denied there were any standing ovations, yet as you can see in the video above Richard was actually sitting alongside Smith and rose to applaud her strike call!
Corbyn loyalists are cock-a-hoop about this year's Labour conference, but they're very much alone. Only the most blinkered leftists could fail to grasp what a laughable disaster it was. Step up Little Owen...
The 'best speech' by a very poor public speaker is actually lame praise, but to claim the left is 'winning every argument' is hilarious. The left, presumably led by Momentum, failed to achieve any clear cut victory on Brexit at the conference. No clear policy has been adopted going forward, just more of the same ambiguous gerrymandering whereby Keir Starmer says one thing and his colleagues say various other things that contradict him while Corbyn is stuck somewhere in between apparently clueless as to what the 'policy' is. The only thing that speakers agreed on was that any deal should be voted down in order to force (another) general election. This is a miscalculation of foolish arrogance on Labour's part. The public won't appreciate Brexit being frustrated domestically and will be even less enamoured by the prospect of yet another general election, particularly one which the opposition believes is a foregone conclusion. Furthermore, this conference will have shown the public that the prospect of a Labour government is a nightmare scenario.
Every day of said conference exposed the crazed communists within. There was the teaching assistant who announced that 'proper education' in schools would stop children becoming Tories. There was Laura Smith (MP for Crewe and Nantwich) who called for a 'general strike' in order to force a general election. There was the 'deep state' conspiracy theory propagated by Corbyn advisor Andrew Murray and his call for 'mass protests' if Labour didn't get its way. Finally, there was the sea of Palestinian flags that greeted a speaker as he raged about Palestine, an issue that is of little, if any, concern to the many watching that display on their TV sets. Such outlandish speeches connected with very few beyond the conference, except to announce that the Labour Party is totally unelectable and unfit to govern.
If the lunatics having got back inside the asylum was bad, to make matters worse the shadow cabinet appeared to contradict each other on a daily basis, and not just on Brexit. Rebecca Long-Bailey was flummoxed on both Brexit and John McDonnell's 'shares for workers' policy. Diane Abbott delivered a trademark numbers gaffe, Corbyn couldn't recall his six 'Brexit tests' on the beeb and running throughout the conference was the Corbyn versus Watson undercurrent.
While Corbynistas routinely blame 'right wing news smears' for negative coverage, such was the lunacy on display in recent days that the left wing media has now joined the howls of disapproval. Marina Hyde, one of Little Owen's fellow Guardian columnists, summed up proceedings as a hub of 'paranoia' and 'Momentum robots' awaiting the next 'Brexit split/foreign policy row/man-versus-machines infinity war'. The Mirror bemoaned 'crackpot Labour loons'.
If the Guardian and the Mirror can describe the Labour Party in such terms then perhaps the revolution is lost before it can begin. Labour are clearly unfit, divided, deluded and dangerous.
