Mastodawn

Simon Brooke Jul 5, 2024

OK, the first thing to say about #GeneralElectionUK 2024 is this: #Labour lost, and lost badly. They lost, in fact, HALF A MILLION VOTES compared to their 2019 result.

All the major parties, including the #LibDems, lost. Labour just lost less badly than either the #Conservatives or the #SNP.

#UKPol
#ScotPol

https://www.journeyman.cc/blog/posts-output/2024-07-06-the-election-and-after/

The election, and after

In any election in a reasonably democratic voting system — such as that used for the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Senedd, for example — the number of seats in the resulting parliament assigned to a party is proportional to the number seats they won. So any party or coalition capable of forming a government must have a proportion of the vote close to, or exceeding, a majority. Britain isn't like that, of course. Britain isn't a well-functioning anything at all, still less a well functioning democracy.

The Fool on the Hill

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Simon Brooke Jul 5, 2024

The second thing is that all these parties will now tack right. #Labour's right wingers are in the ascendant (falsely) claiming a victory -- and will have to contrast themselves against a group of #Greens and independents to their left.

The less toxic #Tories have disproportionately lost their seats, leaving more extreme Tories; who will seek to reclaim votes from #Reform. The #LibDems will target more ex-Tories. And the #SNP will try to win votes back from Labour.

#GeneralElectionUK

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Simon Brooke Jul 5, 2024

The third thing is that -- at least here -- the poorest and most disadvantaged had lowest turnout. Now, you may say that the lumpenproletariat never vote, that they are systematically uninformed, that that's their choice, and so on. But none of the parties had an offering that was attractive to the marginalised, and that was THEIR choice.

40% of REGISTERED voters didn't vote at all, which is larger than the number who voted for the "winning" party. There's LOTS of votes to be won there.

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HeavenlyPossum

@simon_brooke

It’s my understanding that when foreigners refrain from voting, it’s in recognition of the illegitimacy of the electoral system, but when people in your own country refrain from voting, it’s because they’re lazy and treasonous.