General Election 2017

Raphael Hogarth‏
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All who repeated the "72% youth turnout" figure that was circulating unsourced on Thursday night: there are data now https://yougov.co.uk/news/2017/06/13/how-britain-voted-2017-general-election/ …



So, looks like Jezza didn't storm to his stunning 60 seat loss due to hordes of shiny-faced yoofs demanding Free Stuff after all....

Diane Abbott has revealed she has Type 2 diabetes and that the condition is what forced her to take a break from the election campaign.


The shadow home secretary told the Guardian she was diagnosed with the condition two years ago and it was "out of control" during the campaign, when she gave some faltering performances.

"During the election campaign, everything went crazy," she said.

She said she was managing the condition and was ready to get back to work.

Type 2 diabetes is a long-term condition that causes a person's blood sugar level to become too high.

It can be controlled by taking medication to reduce glucose to normal levels and also by making lifestyle and dietary changes.

Police figures

Ms Abbott was criticised for her performance during the election campaign, in which she stumbled several times during interviews and appeared unable to give detailed answers to questions.

In one interview with LBC Radio, she mistakenly said plans to boost police numbers by 10,000 would cost £300,000. It led to a barrage of criticism from the Conservatives who said she could not "add up".

She pulled out of an interview on BBC's Woman's Hour with just a few minutes' notice amid unconfirmed reports that some within the party leadership had lost confidence in her.

Just 48 hours before polling day, Labour said Ms Abbott was taking a period of sick leave and would be replaced "indefinitely" by Lyn Brown.

'Vicious'

Ms Abbott, a key ally and friend of Jeremy Corbyn, said she was badly affected after facing six or seven interviews in a row without eating enough food - vital to managing blood sugar levels.

"During the election campaign, everything went crazy - and the diabetes was out of control, the blood sugar was out of control," she said.

Ms Abbott, who was re-elected as MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington with a majority of more than 30,000, accused her political opponents of mounting a "vicious" campaign against her.

She told the newspaper she was disappointed a female prime minister had singled her out as a national target.

The Guardian says a Conservative source "angrily rejected" Ms Abbott's accusations and said it was "legitimate in a campaign to point out weaknesses in the opposition's front bench"

The source wished Ms Abbott well with her health, adding: "No-one knows more about the difficulties of diabetes than the prime minister."

Theresa May revealed in 2013 that she had type 1 diabetes. During the election campaign she said she managed it by injecting herself with insulin six times a day.

I suggest a weight loss program would be beneficial.      LL

Tim Farron quits as Lib Dem leader.

Tim Farron steps down as leader of the Liberal Democrats after the general election

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40281300

After his lamentable performance during the election, I doubt if anyone will notice, LL. I just hope they don't nick one of the Scots Lib Dems - again. They tend to be much more capable and down to earth, but are needed on their home soil....

https://stv.tv/news/politics/1391215-snp-rebranded-indyref2-fundraiser-for-election-donations/

An SNP online fundraising initiative for a second independence referendum campaign was rebranded to take in donations to be used in the general election, STV News has learned.

The fundraiser was pulled from the ref.scot website by the party following the election despite raising less than half of the £1m it had hoped.

On Tuesday, an SNP spokesman told STV News that page had been removed "because our fundraising efforts were focused on the election" despite the page being active on polling day.

STV News has now learned in April the initiative was rebranded for a period of time to seek donations for the snap election.

The page read: "Your contribution will greatly benefit the election campaign."

In the same month it was later changed again to read: "Your contribution will greatly benefit the campaign."

When asked to comment on the rebranding, a party spokesman said: "The SNP prides ourselves on the open and transparent way we raise money from supporters, it's nonsense to suggest otherwise.

"Unlike those queuing up to criticise, the SNP has never been fined by the Electoral Commission for financial malpractice."

The party has repeatedly said the fund, which is believed to total around £482,000, is ring-fenced and was not used during the election.

The Electoral Commission was asked to investigate the donations by Scottish Labour but the watchdog have said there is not active investigation into the matter as no rules appear to have been broken.

A spokeswoman for the body said: "The Electoral Commission regulates the rules on political finance set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA), including those relating to the permissibility and reporting of donations to political parties.

"The purposes for which parties seek, obtain and use the donations they have received are matters for that party."

Labour MSP James Kelly said: "This is getting murkier and murkier. The SNP needs to come clean on all of this as a matter of urgency.

"It appears that, for a period of time, this website was repurposed as a general election campaign fundraiser. If that was the case, people will be rightly angry that the SNP changed the small print.

"Many people will rightly feel misled. We need a statement from Derek Mackay in his role as the Nationalists' campaign manager on this."

SNP having its recurrent problem with other people's money resting in its accounts.

http://news.sky.com/story/tim-farron-resigns-as-leader-of-liberal-democrats-10915873

Tim Farron has resigned as the leader of the Lib Dems, saying he can't continue in the face of continuing questions over his faith.

Mr Farron said he had been torn between his Christian faith and serving as a political leader and had now decided to step aside.

He said: "The consequences of the focus on my faith is that I have found myself torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader.

"A better, wiser person than me may have been able to deal with this more successfully, to have remained faithful to Christ while leading a political party in the current environment.

"To be a political leader - especially of a progressive, liberal party in 2017 - and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bible's teaching, has felt impossible for me."

Maybe he should join the DUP?

https://order-order.com/2017/06/14/corbyn-compare-blair/



Has anyone told Jezza he lost yet?

Maybe he should join the DUP?

Farron is, as I understand , anti-abortion, same sex marriage and homosexuality. He would certainly fit in. LL

Yes, it's hard to imagine what he was doing in the LibDems, of all parties.

Lib Dem peer resigns over Farron's views on homosexuality.

Brian Paddick, who was UK’s most senior gay police officer, quits home affairs role citing concerns highlighted during election.

The Liberal Democrats’ home affairs spokesman, Brian Paddick, has resigned from his post, citing concerns about the party leader’s views.

Paddick said he was concerned about the leader’s views on various issues that were highlighted during the campaign. Throughout the election campaign, Tim Farron was dogged by questions over his attitude to homosexuality and abortion, though he has insisted he does not believe gay sex is a sin and has said he is pro-choice. More at link.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/14/lib-dem-peer-brian-paddick-resigns-over-farrons-views-on-gay-sex

So, Paddick resigns because of Farron's views on gayness, just as Farron resigns because people don't like his views on gayness? I see....

Most of the country wants another general election this year
Ashitha Nagesh for Metro.co.ukTuesday 13 Jun 2017 5:42 pm

For some reason, most of the country wants yet another god damn election.

Less than a week ago we had the third national vote in as many years.

But rather than being sick of the whole process, the majority of the country would apparently welcome another one.

This is according to a YouGov poll, which found that 43% of the UK wants another general election this autumn.

http://metro.co.uk/2017/06/13/most-of-the-country-wants-another-general-election-this-year-6706353/

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

LL      

Who did they ask, Labour party activists? I cannot think of a single family member or friend who wants anything other than a LONG period of peace and quiet from all politicians.

Incidentally, since when was 43% 'most'? Is that the same kind of arithmetic that has led Corbyn to imagine he 'won'?