Acton bucked the trend again in 1970: out went Kenneth Baker, in came Nigel Spearing for Labour. He campaigned for lifts on what has become the Elizabeth line. Fifty years later we got them. He also organised a demo on the A40 to show how dangerous it was for pedestrians. Non-violent direct action by an MP! He went to a safer seat in 1974.
Thanks for the analysis of voting by electorates with significant populations of Indian origin. It was very surprising to me that the Tories did not make a lot more of gaining Harrow council last year, but it hardly featured in media that I see and hear. That happened before Sunak became PM, but Priti Patel was already prominent, with Suella Braverman moving up, putting radically right wing MPs with Indian backgrounds very much in the public eye and emboldening illiberal attitudes.
Although Labour did win Acton back in 1970, the Labour win was narrow on a much smaller majority than 1966. The result,therefore, still represented a big swing to the Tories compared with the previous General Election.
The former Uxbridge seat has been Labour - held in the past - though the seat has trended to the Tories. John Ryan narrowly won it for Labour in 1966 before being defeated in 1970. Prior to 1959 the seat had been a Labour-leaning marginal.
Another wonderfully insightful column demonstrating that there still seems to be quite a lot of work for Labour to do before they can consider forming a Government. There are still traps for both parties and it feels like Labour is not going after the Tories was aggressively as they could. For example, last week we had a Tory MP (Tobias Ellwood) having to withdraw comments about how Afghans under the Taliban 'have never had it so good'! Clearly these weren't his exact words but they convey the sense but Labour did not engage a tabloid sensibility to go after Ellwood - where was the "Taliban Toby" rhetoric or the question to Sunak about whether he agreed with the Rt Hon member for Bournemouth East about how great the Taliban has been for women's rights? Labour's undoing will be that they play it too safe.
When Labour doesn't play it too safe, they play it stupid. Remember the accusation that Rishi Sunak didn't want paedophiles to go to prison? There are some very peculiar people giving advice in the upper reaches of the LP.
The disloyalty shown to Sadiq Khan was sickening. Labour should have been ready to tell everyone that the ULEZ policy originated under Sadiq's predecessor (and who was he?) and it was crucial to save lives and reduce pressure on the NHS by providing cleaner air for all (no losers). It could have worked out with Sadiq how to provide more public transport in outer London and it could have helped Sadiq to get more money out of the government (well, ok) for the scrappage scheme. Maybe discounts from vehicle manufacturers for those upgrading in addition to the sums already available. The polluter pays.
Acton bucked the trend again in 1970: out went Kenneth Baker, in came Nigel Spearing for Labour. He campaigned for lifts on what has become the Elizabeth line. Fifty years later we got them. He also organised a demo on the A40 to show how dangerous it was for pedestrians. Non-violent direct action by an MP! He went to a safer seat in 1974.
Thanks for the analysis of voting by electorates with significant populations of Indian origin. It was very surprising to me that the Tories did not make a lot more of gaining Harrow council last year, but it hardly featured in media that I see and hear. That happened before Sunak became PM, but Priti Patel was already prominent, with Suella Braverman moving up, putting radically right wing MPs with Indian backgrounds very much in the public eye and emboldening illiberal attitudes.
Although Labour did win Acton back in 1970, the Labour win was narrow on a much smaller majority than 1966. The result,therefore, still represented a big swing to the Tories compared with the previous General Election.
The former Uxbridge seat has been Labour - held in the past - though the seat has trended to the Tories. John Ryan narrowly won it for Labour in 1966 before being defeated in 1970. Prior to 1959 the seat had been a Labour-leaning marginal.
Thanks Graham and my apologies for the error, I will amend the post
Another wonderfully insightful column demonstrating that there still seems to be quite a lot of work for Labour to do before they can consider forming a Government. There are still traps for both parties and it feels like Labour is not going after the Tories was aggressively as they could. For example, last week we had a Tory MP (Tobias Ellwood) having to withdraw comments about how Afghans under the Taliban 'have never had it so good'! Clearly these weren't his exact words but they convey the sense but Labour did not engage a tabloid sensibility to go after Ellwood - where was the "Taliban Toby" rhetoric or the question to Sunak about whether he agreed with the Rt Hon member for Bournemouth East about how great the Taliban has been for women's rights? Labour's undoing will be that they play it too safe.
When Labour doesn't play it too safe, they play it stupid. Remember the accusation that Rishi Sunak didn't want paedophiles to go to prison? There are some very peculiar people giving advice in the upper reaches of the LP.
The disloyalty shown to Sadiq Khan was sickening. Labour should have been ready to tell everyone that the ULEZ policy originated under Sadiq's predecessor (and who was he?) and it was crucial to save lives and reduce pressure on the NHS by providing cleaner air for all (no losers). It could have worked out with Sadiq how to provide more public transport in outer London and it could have helped Sadiq to get more money out of the government (well, ok) for the scrappage scheme. Maybe discounts from vehicle manufacturers for those upgrading in addition to the sums already available. The polluter pays.