Both main national parties in Parliament lost votes and seats in the Council elections. The failure to get through Brexit as promised annoyed a lot of voters who wished to vote for anyone other than the two main parties as a result. The Conservatives were blamed for promising an exit with or without an Agreement by 29 March 2019 and then delaying. Leave voters were annoyed we are not out, and firm Remainers worried that nonetheless the party still says it wants to leave. Labour were punished for changing their Manifesto position of 2017 with a view to watering down or delaying Brexit by Leave voters, and by Remain voters for not being clearly in favour of revocation or a second referendum.
The Council elections were not a second referendum on Brexit, as the Brexit party did not stand, and as the switchers away from Labour and Conservative were both Leave and Remain supporters. There was a mood to vote for anyone who was not a candidate for Labour or the Conservatives in quite a few cases. Independents did well, without expressing a particular viewpoint on the EU referendum.
There were various local issues Council by Council, where some incumbent Councils were unpopular for perceived failings on their local decisions. Many of the doorstep conversations I had in the Wokingham and West Berkshire contests were about local issues.
May 3, 2019
I chatted with the two Conservative candidates who were handing out leaflets at my station last night. They said that while they were canvassing many people complained about the way Brexit has been handled and that we were still in the EU.
May 3, 2019
Your demented PM, Traitor May, says the results show the public want her servitude plan! She really has lost the plot. Worse you lot are allowing her to destroy your party.
How many hard working voluntary councillors lost their seats for this traitor? Good old Graham Brady and team must be proud. They could have stemmed the tide last week, but chose not to.
May 4, 2019
As the US can be active in getting regime change in democratic countries can we ask Trump to put sanctions on the UK until T. May goes and if she doesn’t then, to send in the US troops to oust her?
Requests to the White House ASAP.
May 3, 2019
The local elections are but the calm before the storm of the EU elections
May 4, 2019
1300 seats lost *despite* Brexit obstruction.
Remaining hasn’t gone down well with Tory voters, has it !
May 3, 2019
“The Conservatives were blamed for promising an exit with or without an Agreement by 29 March 2019 and then delaying.”
I think the Conservatives were punished, and will continue to be punished, for reneging (not delaying) on their pledge to leave with or without a deal.
Mrs May has made it clear that she will not contemplate leaving without a deal and that she considers her deal (or a watered down version) a good deal.
Mrs May and her inner circle are the problem. Keeping her in power is damaging to the Tory party.
May 3, 2019
It is destroying the party. Tory MP fighting against the voters and the party members.
May 3, 2019
Parliament has decided it will not leave without a deal. You can blame Mrs May all you like. Any other Tory in No 10 would face the same political reality.
May 4, 2019
Andy, You talk in slogans. Whatever our Parliament thinks, the EU has decided we cannot leave with a trade deal. The dWA is an interim treaty to continue membership, not “a deal”. And the WTO trading framework, used for 98% of global trade, is “a deal”. Next.
May 4, 2019
Nick, the WTO framework is not used for any trade. Really, none. Everyone does deals. That us why a no deal Brexit is madness
May 4, 2019
Corker, It is a characteristic of you Remains that you are so bombastic and yet so ignorant, all at the same time. The WTO framework is used for c98% of global trade – that is a fact. What you are thinking of is the RTAs, PTAs and MRAs, which modify the participating nations own rules, not the WTO rules which remain in force as international treaties, unaltered. So really, 98%.
May 4, 2019
To say the WTO framework is not used for any trade is incorrect. I keep hearing it from Remain, but a little research shows otherwise.
What do you think the EU (and therefore British firms) used to trade with countries they had no trade deals with e.g. Canada and Japan a couple of years ago? In my own industry we already trade on WTO terms with Australia, China, Russia, and the USA among other countries.
May 3, 2019
Agreed.
May 3, 2019
“I think the Conservatives were punished, and will continue to be punished, for reneging (not delaying) on their pledge to leave with or without a deal.”
Many of us on here have been warning this would happen for some time now yet the Conservative Party chose to keep it’s head buried in the sand treating the electorate with contempt trying to overturn a democratic referendum and in doing so destroying the party, this is your prize you worked hard for it and do so deserve every bit of it.
May 3, 2019
I think the Tory Party is now sunk. Every one knows they cannot be trusted, a Tory manifesto promise is not worth the paper it’s written on. Most Conservative MP’s are actually left wing socialist liberals. The Tory Party is pro mass migration, high taxation, pro foreign aid, hand wringing climate farce enthusiasts. Pro minority, anti English, anti free speech, anti police and law and order, pro political correctness. Majors on minority rights and sexual orientation and lies, lies and lies again and again about Mays surrender Treaty intending to get us back in the EU asap. Totally finished. Sir Nigel and his team and the people are on the march!
May 4, 2019
Just to add, the Conservative leadership also betrayed their allies the DUP, who would have helped to deliver the Brexit we voted for.
May 4, 2019
Timeaction, You are especially right about “anti-English”. England invented or developed many of the procedures and laws commonly used throughout the world, from lounge suits, to the abolition of slavery, to passenger steam railways.
Instead of being proud of the benefits England has wrought in the world, our establishment is embarrassed, if not downright hostile, to the English. At the same time they seem to think that other people – foreigners – will look after us. Very odd – but it explains our establishment’s infatuation with the EU.
May 3, 2019
A very fair assessment, although “damaging” the Tory party is perhaps a little mild — I would go with destroying to be more precise (“damaging” would have been perhaps 500-600 seats… 1000+ is a catastrophe of monumental proportions). It was never really in any doubt in my mind.
I am however greatly heartened by the very poor showing Labour managed, since it would ordinarily have expected to be the main beneficiary of any Tory losses. The fact that they also suffered is not just extraordinary, it actually demonstrates just how badly let down people feel by our broken two-party system and bodes extremely well for the future of the Brexit Party — whether or not those clinging on to power manage to cook up a deal and cancel the European elections.
‘Scuse me, time to go YouTube “Land of Hope and Glory”!
May 4, 2019
The truth is that the huge number of people who gave Mrs May the benefit of the doubt, just donāt trust her any longer. Rightly so. How dare the so-called political elite in Westminster impede, disrupt and betray the result of the greatest democratic vote in the history of the UK. Fortunately, the sanctimonious hypocrites will be removed in the not too distant future.
May 3, 2019
Good afternoon
The outcome for Labour and the Tories reflects what has been happening on the continent and what our kind host has been talking about. Basically the slow demise of the old parties, especially those wedded to the EU.
—
Off topic.
I read today that tomorrow marks the 40th Anniversary of a certain female politician coming to power. It would be nice if our kind host could pen something regarding of what it meant to him.
Thanks.
May 4, 2019
That ācertain female politician āwas the one who single handedly inspired me to join the Conservative Party around 1985, and I have been a loyal Member, and helper, ever since.
No one else has come close, since that time. I almost certainly would not have joined with the present Prime Minister in charge. I find no such inspiration now.
May 3, 2019
But what will we see as a result? Will Labour and the Conservative government use their poor showing as an excuse to do a deal to get May’s WA through the HoC? This is the fear since neither will push ‘no deal’ through. If WA is not on a confirmatory referendum so that it can be rejected then I fear that is what will be delivered by the May-Corbyn coalition.
May 3, 2019
I fear after listening to various Labour politicians today that they all think we want a decision to stay in or have another referendum. Don’t they realise that most of us are pissed off that none of them are behaving in a democratic way. It is not for politicians to decide if we leave or stay. We, the people were asked and we told them and now we expect to see them act according to the result of the vote. We have had a people’s vote!! Enough of Margaret Howards Exit Brexit. Just Exit!!
May 3, 2019
Let them misread the local council elections and do something stupid then the public really will revolt at their next opportunity.
If the Lib Dems start to believe they are resurgent and it is because people want to remain, let them and they will catch a cold too. Many just didn’t even mention remain or Brexit during their campaigns.
May 4, 2019
a-tracy
What can the public do once the WA is agreed? Where cans public revolt take us?
May 4, 2019
I feel sure that a-tracy means a peaceful (if rather angry) democratic public revolt — meaning at the next General Election.
If a party stands on a manifesto pledge to tear up the WA and is elected to government on that basis, then it would have a clear mandate from the British people to do precisely that.
It is, after all, just a ream of paper.
May 5, 2019
Yes, I did thanks Julie. Iāve been watching The Tudor boxsets for the past fortnight and the minority can only rule the majority if we let them no matter how controlling and devious they are. But what history shows is that street revolts only hurt the little people the most and their lives donāt change afterwards.
People I know thought they were being offered peaceful change and took the lid off the box, but then the remainers have shined a big light on just how controlled, regulated and tied in we are. Our parliamentarians in the majority donāt want to take decision making back over themselves, they rather have the EU leaders to blame. Austerity was Osborne working to EU instructions and rules on debt and deficit targets after prolific overspending boom and bust policies of the previous Labour government who left the cupboard bare but now itās convenient for remain support to brush that under the rug.
I predict a stitch up between May and Corbyn so the European elections donāt have to take place, when you think about it that would be the second referendum, peopleās vote anyway.
May 3, 2019
A large number of local voters temporarily switched to LibDem, but not as a preference for substantive values.
Many recognise LibDem as the bad choice, yet in some narrow way they seem not quite as bad as two others who are presently remaining even worse.
May 3, 2019
It is vital that so called Labour’s traditional core vote is made aware of the connivance and treachery of their party’s MPs in collaborating with this PM and her pro-EU lackey MPs in stopping Brexit. I suspect they still believe this treachery is the work of the entire Parliamentary Tory party when in fact nothing could be further from the truth
It is Labour working with Tory Europhiles that are to blame for the betrayal of our democratic procedures. This message must be delivered to every single traditional Labour voter.
Evidence such as screen prints of the voting register and voting records should be produced and posted to every single voter to detail the betrayal
May 3, 2019
YES PLEASE DO THAT. there are many old people born and bred who would still vote for a monkey, if it had a labour badge {trust me I was one of them}. But how to convince them?
May 3, 2019
Oh dear oh dear…. and as we all know when a politician is reduced to” That is not what I am hearing on the doorstep “, he has lost the argument .
May 3, 2019
Newmania, utter rubbish. Any sensible politician – and I admit they currently seem to be in very short supply across the world – will listen to what s/he hears on the doorstep and take note.
May 3, 2019
Newmania
LMAO……Which politician had the guts to knock on a plebs door ?
Did he / she make it home alive ?
May 3, 2019
Indeed. If you have your sitting MP on your doorstep, you are unlikely to have a rant, more likely use the opportunity to discuss what is bugging you locally. The common denominator is May, the most evasive PM, coming up to be the most disliked and who has sold out the Leave majority.
May 3, 2019
Vice chairman Marcus Jones was on Radio 2 saying that the Tories expected to lose 1000 seats and therefore the result so far is quite good for them, which doubtless will make the leadership think they are doing things in the right way.
May 3, 2019
I’m afraid the situation for the Conservative party is far worse than for labour. The situation seems to be the conservative voters have largely stayed at home or lent their votes to another party or individual. Over 1200 seats lost; what does that translate into in terms of voters?
May 4, 2019
Richard416
Maybe, but what it does confirm is that the electorate will not accept Corbyn either. Which is a good thing.
As for Cable’s liberal sissies, enjoy it while you can……them votes will go flying in droves to the Brexit Party.
What’s funny is that Cable and his ………. buddies actually believe the people want to stop brexit.
May 3, 2019
‘Quite good? ‘ What sort of doublespeak is that? They didn’t expect to lose any, it was only after the continual delay by PM May, that the reaction on the ground got upstairs to those who can still see straight, that a drubbbing was on the cards. Some predicted 400, then as the reaction came in, raised to 800. The shocking reaction and truth is there for all to see. Roll on 23rd May, for serious blood-letting. Get those candidates ready Mr Farage…..your time has come.
May 3, 2019
Well the loses currently stand at 1211 so its the worst result the Conservative party has ever had. Yet still they persist with this truly awful woman. Just what is it that the EU holds over these pygmies ?
May 3, 2019
mm,
Not a good result now it is 1,334 losses.
Bet the leadership will still not admit they are doing things the wrong way.
May 3, 2019
Wonder what he will say now it’s 1,300
May 3, 2019
And still the deluded May thinks the poor results are down to politicians not accepting her Withdrawal Agreement
The woman is barking.
May 3, 2019
She is indeed barking. She and most of her cabinet still seem to think her WA is ādelivering Brexitā and that that is what they need to do. It is actually a Ā£39 billion straight jacket for the country and the next government. It destroys nearly all our negotiating strength. The last thing we need is for May to force this on us before she goes. It would destroy the Conservative party completely.
Just cancel the EU elections, leave the EU and resign woman for goodness sake.
May 3, 2019
Conservatives quite likely to be the sixth largest party in the EU elections. Well done Theresa May. If she does get her WA through she and the party will be despised even more than now. Well done to all those 200 fools who voted confidence in Theresa May a few month back, look what you have achieved.
May 4, 2019
Lifelogic
Even if May did take the country out on ‘ no deal ‘ the Conservatives are finished.
She did NOT honour her obligations to us.
She LIED, time and time again.
She does the bidding of every historical enemy of this country you can think of.
She does as the hell she likes.
She’s sneaky.
She’s a serious risk to national security.
And worse…….the conservatives let her !
So I doubt the conservatives will exist after the next general election, whether she’s PM or not.
We cannot forgive what they’ve done, they’re tainted for the rest of time, soiled, rotten, dirty.
Revenge upon the traitors is what matters now, forget brexit it ain’t gonna happen this time around.
May 3, 2019
Yes, Ian, Barking mad!
May 3, 2019
She is exceedingly dangerous to the interests of this country. She deceives in order to get her surrender treaty through by claiming it gets us out whereas it ties us even tighter to the EU and at the same time invites a hostile power into our communications network.
Anyone who however associates themselves with the present leader and leadership deserves all the possible punishments that can be meted out. No-one can claim to dissociate themselves if they remain loyal. It’s too serious for that.
May 3, 2019
Agreed she is barking?
May 3, 2019
No – I doubt she actually THINKS that. She’s not deluded or barking. That’s being kind to her.
It’s only words that she’s speaking, that she’s programmed to say.
May 3, 2019
No, she is merely repeating her Matilda lie-by-rote ad nauseam.
“Matilda told such Dreadful Lies,
It made one Gasp and Stretch oneās Eyes;
Her Aunt, who, from her Earliest Youth,
Had kept a Strict Regard for Truth,
Attempted to believe Matilda:
The effort very nearly killed her…”
May makes Mendacious Matilda look like a beginner.
May 3, 2019
I am not at all convinced the PM in her heart of hearts believes this. I do not think she is deluded. However, it is what she wants the voters to believe. There is a difference. It is all about keeping up this pretence that the WA is somehow the BREXIT everyone wants.
May 4, 2019
Oxiana, your problem is that the BREXIT everyone wants – the one where we can take back control, ignore all the rules and institutions of the EU yet carry on trading it with it as we did before – is NOT on offer , and it never will be. Don’t blame Mrs May, who is trying to do an impossible job. Blame the hucksters who sold you Brexit on a false prospectus
May 5, 2019
Dougal Hamer, No Leave supporter supposed that the UK would “carry on trading with [the EU] as we did before”. That was the whole point of leaving – so we could carry on trading with the EU but not as before.
The majority of the world’s nations trade with the EU but are not members of the EU – which is what we voted to be like. And precisely because a majority do, so can we.
It was Remain that touted a false prospectus – that the EU would remain unchanged (no EU army; no further integration; no Euro; etc) and cosily just as it was in 2016.
May 5, 2019
Dear Dougal
NO ONE ever said we could ignore EU rules once we’ve left. Every day remainers show their total lack of understanding whilst being smug and patronising. Those of us that actually sell things to people in other countries know what we can and can’t do.
You really are deluded by your lack of understanding of buying and selling things
May 3, 2019
Worse, she has got a whole lot of Conservative MPs parroting this delusion.
May 3, 2019
No. Totally intransigent with a touch of God syndrome, so she can collude with foreign powers to give away our sovereignty having been expressly instructed to regain it by the people. Ā£39 billion for nothing other than a servitude plan with no say or means to leave. Good deal!!!
Her arrogance has no limit.
Has the Attorney General responded to you yet Sir John?
May 4, 2019
Timaction
“Has the Attorney General responded to you yet Sir John?”
Dude, the only way to get any of these monkeys to answer a question they find awkward is to grab ’em by the scruff and force them.
May 3, 2019
Where Mrs May is right, is that had this treaty been made, the situation would probably be different. However, where she is wrong is to think the treaty is anywhere near acceptable, it is not.
May 3, 2019
She now says, post 1200 local seats booted out, we have failed to deliver BREXIT. We? Not able to admit it is fault, she still doesn’t get it. It is you Mrs May who has failed, when a clear policy of ‘we cannot get a good deal, only a bad deal is available, so we shall just LEAVE without,’ is the only credible way forward.
May 3, 2019
IW Absolutely Barking !
I was most surprised to see in my part of Kent that the turnout was up considerably .
From a normal 30-32% to 35 – 45%
This was due to Brexit protest votes and spoiled papers but overriding this were local town hall issues where a huge local Conservative vanity scheme was firmly rejected and our conservative candidates scraped home with much reduced majorities in what should have been safe seats.
How did we scrape home ? By canvassing and talking to people who were sufficiently swayed by the honesty and integrity of the candidates to vote for us .And their sincere promises to block the white elephant .
One candidate relied on leafletting and lost .
So while the BBC may witter on about Brexit and the two main parties the big winners were Independents, many with local concerns , who gained 1100 + seats .
The Conservatives lost 1350 +and counting .
May 4, 2019
She is 100 per cent correct. If the politicians had accepted her Withdrawal Agreement, we would have been out at the end of March.
May 4, 2019
We would not have been out. Read the DWA carefully.
May 4, 2019
Fool
May 4, 2019
True Blue – – Out maybe, but hamstrung for years and years by a terrible treaty, probably will turn out to be worse than staying in……OMG I’ve said the nightmare words.
May 4, 2019
Out of the frying pan and into the fire?
May 5, 2019
True Blue, Have you actually read her dWA, rather than just listening to the MSM? Explain how the UK could have had an independent trade policy on 30 March 2019 after being stuck in her dWA’s “single customs territory” with the EU and therefore subject to the EU’s trade policy.
May 4, 2019
Ian Wragg
I think people need to post wherever they can, and email their MPs, the message that people donāt hate the Conservatives for not voting her withdrawal through, but they hate the Conservatives for repeatedly trying to pass it through!
The message needs to be re-inforced as itās clearly not getting through!
May 3, 2019
May, her EU-loving Cabinet and her Withdrawal Agreement are the problem – not the voters. But we know that you well appreciate this point Sir J.
May 3, 2019
This is a remain backlash. The message is loud and clear from the electorate. Stop brexit.
May 4, 2019
Richard….what absolute nonsense. It is as clear as day a protest for not getting OUT. And blaming Mrs May.
May 3, 2019
Yes did my duty and voted yesterday, and deliberately spoiled my papers. writing “no one fit for purpose” across it.
Only had the choice of voting Conservative, Labour or LibDem in our area, had there been an independent standing, they would have got my vote.
Wokingham Council duly lost 10 Conservative seats, not only through Mrs May and Brexit but I guess through the very, very poor management of the Town Centre modifications and re-paving, when local businesses were absolutely crucified because people gave up on coming into Town for 18 months, because you simply could not walk about sensibly.
The other two Parties are simply a waste of space Nationally, always moaning but not offering any sensible solutions, and locally not a lot better.
Both Corbyn and May seem blind to the real situation, so I guess nothing will change much.
May 5, 2019
Alan….your points are exactly right. Wokingham is changing from a pleasant, slightly quaint market town, which for decades has had the good fortune to be represented by Sir John. The electorate does not always agree with him, Remain were more numerous for example. I am certain Sir John’s steadfast, open and honest attributes will ensure his position is not under threat. However, rather too many of the unchallenged Cons big majority in the Borough Council need replacing. Public attitudes are changing and dissent is now wide open, the town is a cluttered badly designed look-alike of a dreary overgrown one-way nightmare modern town. National traders have gone, where it was banks and building socs, now it is eateries, charity shops and niche startups. Good luck with that you startups. Out of town every road is an annual dig-up and divert shambles, every field is now a major housebuilding competition to see who can throw them up faster to seize the speculative market. So who is to blame for the destruction of the green and pleasant land?
May 3, 2019
I fully expect to see the Brexit Party polling at around 40% in a couple of weeks with both of the main parties around 12-15%.
They will get over 50% of the vote in the EU elections and will win the vacant seat in Peterborough. Rather like Mr Junker thinks that the answer to the problems in Europe is MORE Europe, so May thinks that it will all come right if she gets her deal through.
Absolutely deluded !!!
May 3, 2019
Of course, you are right in saying that this isn’t a reliable verdict on Brexit. But some are suggesting that the apparent success for LD candidates shows that it is.
They are wrong because they continually refer to the ‘share’ of the vote and not not numbers of votes cast.
Many commentators keep saying that the turnout is significantly lower than in 2015 and this, along with the increased number of spoiled ballot papers, suggests that the apparent increase in support for Lib Dems is because that most abstentions came from Tory and Labour supporters. All that was required was for the Liberal Democrat vote to “hold up”.
I had no vote this year in my Ward so have no axe to grind but I await with interest the EU elections later this month.
May 3, 2019
The BBC is playing it down as expected.
Also, one of the conservative party idiots (forget who) said that the result was not due to anger directed at Theresa May, but due to public’s anger with the party as a whole.
So what’s he saying, we loath the tories but love the PM ? Stupid fool.
I was angered by the fact that no right wing or leave candidate appeared on my ballot paper…so I defaced it.
Conservative, Labour, Libs, Greens. Some choice……NOT GOOD ENOUGH !
May 3, 2019
“The failure to get through Brexit as promised annoyed a lot of voters who wished to vote for anyone other than the two main parties as a result.”
The results do not actually back that assertion up, if it was a failure to get Brexit done then why has UKIP done so badly, why have some areas that voted to Leave in 2916, or with a strong Brexiteer for a MP lost seats or even control of the local council to anti Brexit parties, or at least NOC?
If this has anything what so ever to do with Brexit, and I sincerely hope it doesn’t, then it is a push back against Brexit, not frustration that Brexit has not happened yet. Otherwise why has both the LDs and Greens done so well, when both parties core message is about preventing Brexit! These results are far more likely a push back against out of date polices from an out of touch Tory party, and the result of the constant MSM smearing of anything Labour/JC/Shadow cabinet.
Reply Look at what many spoiled ballots ssaid and listen to voters who switched because they think they have been cheated by the two main parties over Brexit
May 4, 2019
@JR reply; The percent of spoilt ballots is very small, even if they do make good images for the Brexit supporting MSM, assuming that such ballot papers were actually cast…
Also seems strange to sit on ones hands, worse, vote for Remain parties, which seems to be what you are suggesting people have done rather than have the guts to support the only party remotely willing to even try and deliver on the referendum!
May 5, 2019
Jerry, I was actually at a local count. Were you? I saw the spoilt ballot papers with “Brexit” on them. There were perhaps 5 times as many as usual, all the extras purposefully spoilt rather than just errors.
Our UKIP candidates gained about 10% average compared to last year’s c4%. So UKIP’s vote did increase locally. We just don’t have the man-power or money that the LibLabCon parties have (nor the Brexit Party either).
May 5, 2019
@NickC; Again you miss the point, the numbers of such spoilt ballots were very small, even given the low turnout. As for UKIP, the party used to have the funding, and the membership…
As for UKIP, all they did in my ward and locality was prevent good conservatives from being elected, doing locally exactly what they did nationally in 2010; vote UKIP, get Euro-federalist LDs or Greens! The same will most likely happen with The Brexit Party too.
Those, such as yourself @NickC, say you want Brexit the most but are the ones effectively voting (or abstaining/spoiling) to Remain, just as if you had put a big fat X for the LDs or Greens. Our council is now NOC, for the first time ever, this a true blue area and very much a Leave area, we now face the LD along with the Greens taking a lead, no doubt frustrating local enterprise development & wasting tax payers money on pointless and unnecessary traffic claiming measures etc.
May 5, 2019
jerry
Might actually be worth you taking a look at the reality of the voting situation
In my area , looking at all the results , there were dozens of seats that were uncontested , seats with only two candidates to choose from. People voted Green or Lib Dem to avoid voting for the main parties. Independents, residents associations and fringe parties such as Yorkshire Party and Veterans party won almost as many seats as LibDems
There have been 40,000 spoilt ballot papers in 79 seats . Thats actually a great deal
UKIP
1) Has been hi jacked by a loon and his loony mates
2) Have lost members and activists to Brexit Party
3) Only contested 16% of seats
Any look at the actual results of voting will show you that people voted tactically and with protest votes . 80% of seats didn’t have a Brexit candidate to vote for party wise. This was a vote against main party politicians
May 5, 2019
@libertarian; But was all the obvious dissatisfaction due to Brexit or was some or all of it due to more general dissatisfaction, that is the point I’m arguing. The voting figures are not going to tell you that, door to door canvassing might, but would any party admit to still getting their main policy portfolio wrong when they can blame the Brexit impasse, even more so when such blame can be attributed to their political opponents for not supporting the WA?!
If the number of intentionally spoilt ballot papers are as high as you say that suggests an organised protest vote, akin to an unofficial, undeclared, party.
As for UKIP, the party has not been hijacked, the “loons” were always there, from the beginning, its just that Farage’s strong leadership was able to keep the lid on such more unpalatable views, at least in public – most of the time…
May 3, 2019
What an enjoyable night.
Tory wipeouts are always fun. Later this month will be worse. And the general election will be brutal.
And, after last night, we can also stand over the corpse of UKIP and wish it good riddance as we permanently put it out of its misery.
May 4, 2019
Andy
“Tory wipeouts are always fun”
They are now, yes. However what will be even more fun is the annihilation of the liberals.
May 5, 2019
Andy, UKIP did not do as well as I would like, but these were losses from our high point in 2015 to put it in context. Many of the independents were ex-UKIP. And of course many in the Brexit Party are also ex-UKIP.
What is new is the number of completely non-political people telling me how they never imagined that this country could ignore a national vote. Many more ordinary people – even some Remain voters – now understand how essential it is for the survival of our nation to escape from the EU.
May 3, 2019
Massive swing to LibDems, massive swing to Remain. Brexit will not happen
May 4, 2019
Corker
Let you into a little secret – many leavers are becoming radicalised. Actually we don’t really care any longer about brexit, as you say it won’t happen. We’re past brexit.
We’re after revenge, and we’ll get it.
May 5, 2019
Corker, Those people voting LibDem did not know what they were voting for because they are thick, uneducated, flat-earther, racist bigots. They were lied to on an industrial scale by the evil party that is neither liberal nor democratic. I demand a second vote!!! First votes do not count any more!! Really, thinking about it, the LibDems actually lost!
May 5, 2019
Corker
Independents won almost as many seats as LibDems . It was a protest vote as ALL THE MAIN PARTIES are remain parties , there wasn’t a leave party to vote for as UKIP are dead in the water having been hijacked by a loon and replaced by Brexit Party .
Ive kept your post to repost on may 23rd
May 3, 2019
I was only offered a choice between Conservative and LibDem on the voting slip and had heard nothing from either of them; I had not even heard of the Conservative Candidate despite being a member of the local party association. Was he really trying?
May 4, 2019
William Long
“I was only offered a choice between Conservative and LibDem on the voting slip”
Same here basically. So I defaced the ballot paper.
“Was he really trying?”
…….more likely hiding in his cupboard under the stairs.
May 3, 2019
Why don’t they just have a ‘Remain Party’ standing in the European Elections we have a ‘Brexit Party’ they can take Tory Leave MEPs into that and UKIP MEP candidates into that, even Labour Leave MEPs, no other parties stand the other MEP’s can agree between themselves which ones of them stand for Remain and which ones Leave. Then we have no trying to double guess what the electorate want to represent their electoral area.
May 4, 2019
I think the Remain party is the CHUK-TIGs. With apologies to our host, I sincerely hope that between them and the Brexit party they make the electorate’s opinion of the main parties quite clear.
(All assuming we actually get an election, if Mr Corbyn is too sensible to be left carrying the can for May’s withdrawal agreement.)
May 5, 2019
Hmm
Remain: TIG;LibDem;Green;SNP;PlaidC (RevokeA.50)
Remain/Leave stitch up with Brino: Conservative;Labour
Leave: Brexit Party; DUP; UKIP
May 5, 2019
Al, Nobody likes a turncoat so I expect the no change ChUKs to do badly, at the expense of the Remain LibDems. Unfortunately TBP (Brexit party) and UKIP are after the same Leave votes. I can see the number of Leave MEPs being a minority because of that – combined they might poll enough for 3 MEPs but actually only get 2 because of the vagaries of regional PR.
May 3, 2019
Local elections are the real Indicative Votes and are the tip of the iceberg hitting Titanic Tory party whilst they partied this week at huge expense from the Russian oligarchy.
Mrs May thinks she is above all this. Keep taking the tablets as they say…..
Meanwhile Tory backers must realise disaster awaits whichever form in the road they take as “The game is up!”
Honesty always wins the and never goes out of fashion, unlike Mrs Mays clothes and shoes.
May 3, 2019
I see today that May is still peddling her toxic WA in Scotland. Does she believe that no one has investigated it and found it totally wanting.
I assume there will be no stop overs in the leave areas of the north of England. Please find a way of removing her, we the electorate have had enough of her delusion that subjugation by the EU at cost of Ā£39 billion is the only way forward.
May 3, 2019
How refreshing to see that UKIP lost most of their seats, having just 20 councillors left.
May 4, 2019
Yes, despite many claiming the UK was embracing right wing parties there yet again is evidence that smear is incorrect.
May 3, 2019
I recognise the point that many local Conservatives are unhappy with those in Westminster, and that they may hold broadly conservative views. However, their willingness to nevertheless rally to the Conservative flag means that they should share and bear any electoral criticism that comes their way, without public complaint.
I would suggest that the extent to which Conservative support has held up is deeply depressing, and invites profound pessimism regarding the political future. The European elections may well bring a further drop in support for the Conservatives, but unless the Brexit party is hitting a minimum of 50% of votes cast, then the inevitable conclusion to draw is that, taken as a whole, the people of this country are actually not sufficiently bothered about the political crisis to achieve a positive resolution via the ballot box.
May 3, 2019
As I write, Conservative share of the vote is forecast at 28%, the same as Labour. Together the two main parties have over half the vote. Lib Dems behind on 19%, so all three make 3/4 of the vote.
Hardly a flight from the major parties as far as the electorate are concerned. It seems that membership of the EU isn’t such a big issue, despite the sentiment expressed by posters on this site.
May 4, 2019
Dave,
1334 Cons seat holders ejected and low turnout plus spoiled papers?
What does it take to get you to see a flight from THE MAJOR PARTY?
May 4, 2019
You are missing the number of abstentions aren’t you? There won’t be as many abstentions in the EU election or in a GE.
May 4, 2019
You have obviously not yet been able to see the low turnout and the unusually high number of deliberately spoiled ballot papers.
May 3, 2019
The emphasis on seats in the reporting of the results does not really tell us what is going on.
The number of votes is the critical number and I suspect that the numbers voting for the two main parties in Brexit-supporting areas had plummeted.
Whether the LibDem Party has picked up much of that lost vote I doubt, after all, the party is 100% Remain so not a likely home for Brexiteers disillusioned by Labour and the Conservatives.
May 3, 2019
UKIP losing most of the few seats they had. Very encouraging.
May 4, 2019
MH, it’s because Mr Farage isn’t in it any longer. UKIP is no longer a political force, it’s just a fringe party like any other.
May 4, 2019
Margaret are you programmed to keep repeating the same things over and over again? You must have been taught how to do this by our useless PM!
May 3, 2019
At my age, it is so sad to witness a once great nation fall apart so easily when subjected to a stress test like Brexit.
Brexit has exposed the UK’s ancient democratic system as being defunct; in reality it has been so for two centuries at least. You can say that the UK had three centuries when it was the bee’s knees globally; which is pretty good by historic standards, only the Romans did better. Those days are long gone.
As my late father said, the UK electorate, elects the government it deserves and gets nothing better. Education would have been a wonderful thing for the UK electorate, the elite made sure they would not get it and upset the God given natural order of the ruling classes.
May 4, 2019
Such a pity, Acorn, that libraries and books and TV news and the Internet and newspapers haven’t yet been invented, so that people who are interested in their country, its history and its politics cannot educate themselves! (sarc)
May 3, 2019
The c0nservatives have been rightly punished for reneging on leaving the EU on the 29th of March.
But all of them must be clear in the knowledge that a significant portion of the leave and remain voters will feel even more betrayed if the withdrawal deal goes through.
May 4, 2019
Gareth…spot on. If the Tories think that was a beating up, wait and see the EU voting on the 23rd if the WAste of space is agreed by Labour with our dictator.
May 3, 2019
The PM needs to go, but who would replace her. Rory Stewart says he will stand after all he’s a Brexiteer. Strange isn’t it we all know he’s a remainer . He said that he wants to unite brexiteers and remainers, well the PM tried that and look at the mess she’s made of it
It’s simple we need a Brexiteer PM and a Brexiteer cabinet, job done.
May 3, 2019
What now John? Do you still think it’s as simple as taking back control?
As far as I can see the whole thing is in meltdown and I think it’s time to go to the people on many issues
Clearly we need a complete change now on the way we do politics in this country
May 3, 2019
As a Conservative voter, I had three votes in our local elections. I gave one vote to an independent. This was not only due to the Brexit fiasco but also due to the fact that our conservative council has become arrogant, doing only what IT wishes and not listening to the constituents. It was duly rewarded with fewer seats and many more independent seats.
I for one am happy.
May 3, 2019
1,300 Conservative councillors ousted but the person most responsible safe and secure because that is what the Conservative Party wants.
Harm to the party is up to the party but why should the country continue to suffer?
May 3, 2019
Done. Just waiting for about 4 days before the European elections for the May / Corbin brexit deal not in the best interests of the country but the best interests of themselves and what they think is the best interests of the labour and conservative parties. Iāll just sit back and watch it pass the commons. Self protection. MPās are running scared and now more focused on their Jobs than Brexit and likely to vote anything through just to say job done.
May 3, 2019
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
Ban political lying š¤„.
Canāt we make selling political ideas and policies subject to consumer trading laws. If people offer to sell you a sausage and deliver a lemon they commit an offence. A manifesto is similarly an offer to consumers: delivering something different means offences of false pretences and misrepresentation.
How are we meant to choose between candidates other than on the basis of their manifestos?
Of course one may not be able to keep to detailed elements of a manifesto. And a coalition needs to define a joint manifesto. But to publicly state āOh I never agreed with the manifesto, so Iām not following itā is an outrage and should lead to criminal charges for deception and dishonesty.
Trading Standard Officers š®āāļø can be given guidelines for when egregious departure from the spirit of a manifesto is sufficient to warrant prosecution. Obvious remedies include politicians losing their seat, being banned from standing in future elections and prison.
May 3, 2019
Surely one of the lessons is any party led by straightforward liars is going to get hammered come election time. The kind of whopping lies that would get any ordinary person sacked. Repeated multi-dimensional lies, in many domains.
It about time we had a radical rethink of politics, and had a big push for honesty, sweep away all the cosy assumptions about the way to do politics.
May 3, 2019
Over to you now John..you’ve got to stand up and tell her straight..we want brexit brexit..we don’t want May’s i
warped idea of brexit..so tell her straight
May 3, 2019
Now will you get rid of May? Self indulgent MPs and Ministers who have been messing Brexit around in the Westminster bubble have just been given a rude message by the electorate , a message they cannot ignore, unless they have an ambition to join the unemployment queue.
May 3, 2019
Drubbing number 1 completed. Drubbing number 2 due on May 23rd.
MPās had better get used to it, the people are bloody angry.
May 3, 2019
A candidate for the European Parliamentary elections has assaulted three times in one day in front of the British police while campaigning and no arrests were made.
A Tory MP and various “blue tick” media personalities even joked about it on Twitter.
Welcome to our brave new world.
May 3, 2019
I can’t believe the official Conservative Party still hasn’t got the point. Brexiteers and others will not vote for them as long as they have a disastrous Brexit policy and keep its catastrophic authoress as their leader. Her BRINO is not Brexit. Moreover, it is a BRINO so damaging to the national interest that even remain MPs won’t vote for it. It is Stay in and Pay up, without Representation. It is extremely worrying that Conservative MPs still won’t admit this but continue to push it at us, even to the extent of blaming patriotic Conservative MPs for voting against it. What is it going to take for them to wake up to what is happening, i.e. that the Conservative Party is being annhilated and the country’s treasured democracy is being destroyed?
Finally, it is idiotic to think they can achieve some middle way on national independence. Either we get it back or we don’t. There is no such thing as a Brexit which works for everyone as long as there are people wanting to stay in the EU.
The Party must change the leader and the new leader must lead us out, with or without an agreement.
May 3, 2019
The Lib Dems, and Greens, won because they are the only 2 parties supporting remain.
Ironic that the the Conservative Party, of which I am a supporter, are calling for May to be ousted, despite the rules following the, failed, vote of no confidence indicating that she cannot be challenged for 12 months. Yet it is, somehow, ‘undemocratic’ to call for a second referendum because, it would appear, that many people have changed their minds.
I include myself in that. Having been a leaver for many years I have come to the conclusion that this process has been handled so, appallingly badly, by MPs that it simply must go back to the people. It would appear that remain is now the least bad option.
May 4, 2019
If it were to go back to the people as you put it, and they don’t give you the answer you want, what do you propose then? Or is it a rigged In/In referendum you have in mind this time?
May 4, 2019
When the body politic contains a grade three cancer it must be removed. It is not just May’s attachment to the EU, her visible form of the political disease, but all the secondaries in her political approach to what she sees as conservative values. They are not for reasons that you and many of your contributers have repeatedly itterated over recent months. She has a belief in big government conducted with a total disdain for those who finance it, her UK electorate. Her disdain is not only malicious but is sustained by tunnel vision. Malicious because it would tie us to the EU in so many respects and for so long, with no UK political input, but at continued cost that renders any suggestion that we have regained our sovereignty a comprehensive lie. Tunnel vision, because in the face of the local election results for conservatives she still peddles her malicious doctrine to her Scottish conference. Scotland is an area where she and conservatism has no political clout. She was preaching to a group of prisoners to a philosophy that has no traction north of the border. Assuming she is still around at the main conservative conference she must be left in no doubt that her performance and duplicity is totally rejected by the rank and file Conservatives from around the country. I want her and her sycophantic cabinet to leave the venue in tears in the face of rejection. No excile by conferdnce heavies, as in Scotland, of the lone voice demanding resignation. I want to see her and her cronies booed off stage, complete with rotting vegetables disguised as a packed lunch, but not to the extent of leaving the tomatoes in the tin.
I suspect the Conservative party we see in the HoC has passed the tipping point, the EU elections will twist the knife. Any resurection will be a long journey the stages of which are unpredictable. Without such a journey and enlightenment between now and the next GE spells the epitaph of the party.
May 4, 2019
It will be interesting to see if May is prepared to destroy the party for good by agreeing CU servitude with Corbyn, solely to avoid what will now clearly be annihilation at the European election ballot box.
To do so would be to repeat the Maastricht catastrophe, which you fought so hard to prevent, namely to bind us to a rubbish agreement by an irreversible Treaty.
There is absolutely no possibility the Tories will ever be forgiven for this, by anyone. The situation will not be recoverable, ever, by anyone.
May 4, 2019
And all because the lady loves W A !
ā44 councils and 1,334 Conservative council seats lost. Oh, I think thatās not too bad, considering. Some people said it might be 2,000, so I have obviously done so much better than predicted. Certainly not a resigning matter, particularly as no-one can do the job as well as me. I mean, even that Labour mob lost 82 seatsā
āI really do not understand why these stupid MPs canāt see the benefits of this fabulous deal that the EU – sorry, my team and I – put together. Thank goodness I gathered such talent around me to provide the advice I sought. It makes me feel good each day to be re-assured that this WA really is the best way forward. I think I may even be able to kid that nice Jeremy chap that he gets all he wants from itā
āI reckon I can keep telling everyone on a daily basis exactly what they wish to hear which should see me as Prime Minister right through until 2022. After all, the English language is so sophisticated that a few subtle nuances here and there leave everyone thinking that they will get precisely what they always wanted. That 1922 lot are an absolute push-over.ā
āThis power thing really is quite fun. I even enjoyed getting rid of Gavin. How great I will appear when students of history are reading of all my achievements a hundred years from now. By that time the compulsory university gap year to serve in the EU army will have been well accepted as a normal aspect of lifeā
Please, Sir John, can you (or indeed Gavin) do anything to avoid the above becoming reality.
May 4, 2019
Poor result for UKIP – surely they would have done better if Brexit was the real issue. Lib Demās and Greens do well and they are firmly Remain
May 4, 2019
If you stand in the middle of the road you will get hit by cars from both directions.
May 4, 2019
Buridan’s ass
āBuridan’s ass is an illustration of a paradox in philosophy in the conception of free will. It refers to a hypothetical situation wherein a donkey that is equally hungry and thirsty is placed precisely midway between a stack of hay and a pail of water. Since the paradox assumes the ass will always go to whichever is closer, it dies of both hunger and thirst since it cannot make any rational decision between the hay and water.ā – wiki
May 4, 2019
javelin…..or probably missed as the world will pass you by, certain you are an idiot….with a death wish.
May 4, 2019
[…] Sir John Redwood sums it up nicely and dispassionately in his Diary: […]
May 4, 2019
I just stumbled across the you wrote for PoliticsHome yesterday. An enduring legacy little mentioned these days outside of true blue sites, but well worth a reminder.
I’m sure I wouldn’t be the only reader that would appreciate links in your daily postings here to your other writings elsewhere — as I’m equally sure those sites would value the increased traffic!
Reply I am very busy and writing a lot at the moment so I did not have the reference to put it up here no know they had published it.
May 4, 2019
The totally expected rout of the CP is just the beginning of the onslaught against our fixed democracy e.g. SNP 2015 5% of popular vote, 95% of MPs in Scotland.
Any unbiased cabinet would have removed May long ago but with all these Remainers their self interest is paramount. The refusal of Conservative MP to remove her also displays the same disregard and stupidity. The so called Leavers in the cabinet are a disgrace.
The Referendum vote was clear, people knew what they were voting for, the idiots are in Parliament not in the polling booths.
Would GW have been sacked if a Remainer – unlikely.
A stitch up with Corbyn will see the end of the CP as will locking us into a binding Treaty with no exit.
What is a political declaration worth? Ziltch.
Where is the EU going? Into totalitarianism.
About time for the real Leaver MPs to join the Brexit Party – their day is coming.
May 4, 2019
It does look like the 2017 election was the high point for the two party system and it is very likely that future elections will be more fragmented.
The FPTP system will make it very difficult for the Brexit Party to break through and achieve any significant number of MPs. What is likely to happen is that they will gain a few seats but in many others will take votes away from the Conservatives and let in a Labour candidate. The inevitable result would be a nightmare coalition with the SNP led by Corbyn or McDonnell.
Given that MPs have shown no interest in addressing the democratic deficit in England, or doing away with the Barnett Formula, I have come to the conclusion that for the future prosperity of England ( and her taxpayers ) it would be best for the SNP to get their wish and achieve Scottish Independence.
It will save English taxpayers at least another Ā£10bn a year and make a Far Left Corbyn or McDonnell Government far less likely.
If the next Prime Minister immediately granted Sturgeon the right to hold another referendum, and offered to support a five year transition to a new Scottish currency, she would win it. There would then be a much clearer majority in Parliament for a WTO Brexit, and May’s terrible deal will finally be dead.
May 4, 2019
All reports talk of a Lib Dem and Green resurgence BUT what about the rise of the Independent – is this because it terrifies the controllers above our MPs, itās so hard to round up people who have no allegiances and vote with their own conscience and arenāt whipped, perhaps the public could get a taste for it š³. Something has to give because May, Corbyn and people like Gove cannot speak out of both sides of their mouth at the same time.
You get a drubbing like this and May and Corbyn start to decide their customs union is the answer. It is not! It is neither remain or leave and only big global business want it and is that the truth of it, that they run the United Kingdom now?
May 4, 2019
If the EU supporting anti-democracy MPs in Parliament collude to sign the surrender WA, an international treaty which submits the UK to EU laws, taxation and policies without any representation or veto and with no lawful means of exit (according to the AG), then the resulting backlash from the country when it wakes up to just how bad a ādealā they have signed will be unprecedented.
The loss of 1200 local councillors will pale into insignificance in comparison.
May 4, 2019
Mr Redwood, I must pick you up on your statement, āfirm Remainers worried that nonetheless the party still says it wants to leave. ā
The Conservative Party may say it wants to leave, but the actions of the party, and the awful and toxic withdrawal agreement, show the opposite to be true.
We know the WA and the political declaration together are specifically designed to make the ātransitionā period so very damaging to the U.K. that weāll be begging to rejoin – in time for the Lisbon Treaty finalisation of integration to occur!
Itās my belief, from speaking to and reading other peopleās views that the Leavers and a lot of Remainers (who also believe in democracy) voted against the main parties because all that the government are doing, in collusion with Labour now, is trying to ram through parliament, Mayās surrender treaty – repeatedly until all MPs cave and finally vote for it!
This behaviour is anti-democratic, in breach of both partyās manifestos and most importantly not leaving the EU to become self governing. Also, a lot of governments action have been either illegal or verging on illegal.
So I believe thatās why most people voted the way they did.
May 4, 2019
30,000 ballot papers with Brexit Party scrawled on them that we know of is a lot. Other people stayed at home or voted for minor parties in protest. That is a backlash against our not leaving with or without a deal on Mar 29th as promised 108 times. The remain blob still won’t listen. Like the EU it will say the remedy is more EU, via a backroom stitch up with Corbyn.
May 4, 2019
I really wonder why anyone remains in the Conservative Party. The Cabinet comprises of shysters and opportunists, the leader would not believable as a pantomime villain, and yet you still hear people talking about sticking together etc. If the ERG were to withdraw their support until she was fired it would be a help.
I can never vote conservative while any of the current spineless cabal are still in office.
May 4, 2019
The PM has got it all wrong again. She said that this is a message to all Mp’s to get the deal done .No this is a message from the electorate that we don’t want her, yet again she trys to blame Mp’s. She can still leave by just refusing to carryout The E.U. elections and the E.U. will happliy throw us out.
May 4, 2019
Parliament must be deaf! There is no doubt the local elections are a protest vote. We are left with no choice as Parliament is not listening and the only way to get our message heard is through the ballot box. It is unfair local Councillors are laying the price for Parliaments intransigence in delaying/defying the biggest vote in UK history. No one wants to get rid of good Councillors but we want to be heard. I have to admit I spoilt my ballot paper with ārespect democracy, Brexitā. I did that because a protest vote like Lib Demās or Greens would be used by remainers as an indicator we had changed our mind and wish to remain. That is exactly what they are doing. Call for a second referendum will add fuel to the fire , especially as the want us to choose between Mrs Mayās bad deal and remain! Thatās remain/remain. Then they argue the question should be the deal/no deal/remain, thereby splitting the leave vote and let remain win. Parliament must listen or face a trouncing at the next election. I will be voting for the Brexit Party in the European Elections, the incumbent Conservative and Labour politicians actually voted against us in negotiations. Unbelievable!!
May 4, 2019
I didn’t vote. Two candidates could win in my ward. One was Labour which tells its own story and I know the life story of the other despite her current party of convenience.
Many people I know if they voted at all was to stop a candidate and generally found all candidates the Walking Unhanged, Unwanted, Unseemly. Unhonest.
Beware the Un in the Sun!
May 4, 2019
Dear Sir John, what I never seem to read on any of these blogs is what you personally intend to do about this fiasco. I can see that Farage has, in the space of a few weeks, put together a new party that, according to polls, is on track to win the EU Parliamentary election later this month, and the Peterborough by-election will be interesting. There are still a few MPs in both the Labour and Conservative parties who appear to understand we need to leave the EU now without the surrender agreement. What seems to be absent now is any shred of a plan to make that happen. Farage canāt do it at EU Parliament level. You have a majority of the demos behind this position, so what is the plan? If parliament succeeds in blocking a clean Brexit the conclusion must be that our democracy really is broken and beyond repair. That way lies anarchy. No law parliament passes will have any legitimacy after that, and you have all the ingredients for civil war. Itās happened before, and history is not dead.
Reply I have explained every step of the way my view, which is what I am seeking to implement in all the meetings I attend, speeches I make, contacts I have as an MP going about my daily work.You see it in my voting record, blog, media and public speeches, but of course much of what I do is in private meetings and I do not believe it helps to tell everyone what is taking place in such meetings where winning the confidence of colleagues is important.
May 4, 2019
Prole, we know who voted for John Redwood, we know his manifesto and we know he has no shady Russian and American funders. Can you say the same about (others ed)
May 4, 2019
Prole
Be fair, Mr Redwood knows his party is crippled. But you have to admire him for sticking to his principles, and potentially going down with the ship.
Sadly Mr Redwood is the last of his kind, and if there were more like him the country would not be in this mess.
May 4, 2019
Matt Hancock saying “we need to listern to what people want, they just want Brexit delivered”. Was he not listering before . He’ll be another waster to announce he will be running for the Pm’s job shortly.
May 4, 2019
You hear the ridiculous refrain from the Remain people, that we are angry because Brexit has not been delivered, leading to the argument that the blame is with the ERG.
In my experience nothing is further from the truth, in fact this is close to a misrepresentation of the facts.
I am furious because Calamity Theresa, after two years of secret negotiations came up with a BRINO, her surrender deal is not Brexit, it is not even an excuse for it, the WA means Remain on but on worse terms.
Sir Redwood, you and your friends are our shild, I don’t need to ask you, but be sure that most of us are 100% against the WA.
If signed it will be the start of splitting the United Kingdom, apsrt from the unpredictable length of vasselage to the EU.