'The Celtic Fringe: Westminster Elections In Scotland And Wales, 1970-2010, A Complete Record' by Grant Toway is now available on Amazon. At first glance, this book may seem to be primarily a statistical guide to the 1,200+ constituency contests in Scotland and Wales covering the last four decades, but there are also brief comments which accompany each and every result. The author has also compiled a number of appendices as well as providing his own commentary on the unfolding events.
I knew they were Stealth taxing, but before Labour got in about a dozen schools in my local area were in a shambolic state.We now have new primary and Secondary schools to be proud of.Also people aren't working in McDonalds for £3:00 an hour anymore..
@ailingequation It also gave us never before seen levels of mass unemployment, never before seen interest rates, and never before seen levels of people losing their homes when the "prosperity" they created collapsed under the weight of thier incompetence. It amazes me that Tory supporters still don't understand why they were so hated in 1997 and why that hatred still prevents them being trusted to hold power on their own.
a global economic disaster meant a small budget deficit of around 2% rocket to 8% as brown made decisions which whilst unpopular are day by day clear that he got right. Had blair got his way we would be floundering in the euro. The 5 economic tests and some very stubborn decisions saved us from total collapse. Labours error was to spend everything, not save and assume there would never be a drop in growth.
Its funny, back in 1997 it was the Conservatives were the ones who had ruined Britain and in 2010 it was Labour were the ones that had ruined Britain .... does this mean in 2023, the Conservatives would have ruined Britain again??
@CybderDude93 that is providing that the Tories last that long because as it is even standing from a neutral standpoint from here in Australia I can see that the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition will not last the 4 years.
@irishgodfatherchris I see your point and to an extent I do agree with you. However, and this is also from a neutral standpoint, I also acknowledge that if the coalition does break-up it will not be from the Liberal Democrats end, as they have too much to lose
@ailingequation uh huh and high unemployment rate never existed under the Tories, give me a break, yes Labour was not good but the Tories divided your country
I am an uneducated Japanese of modest means but I support some restriction on immigration. The British have the right to legislate policies which defend and protect tradition and traditional landscape and traditional values.
Britain should free itself from this guilt sentiment dating back to the post war period. The Empire was not all bad, and colonialism was a widely accepted international practice, and today's generation in Britain should not be held accountable.
@Kozzy06 Not as long lasting as the collapse of British industry, two decades of record mass unemployment and multiple recessions of the last Tory Government.
If only this country could have known what Blair would do in his following years as PM, maybe the future would have been brighter. He brought about an illegal war that saw so many die unfairly.
Just out of interest why is it in 1997 the Tories won 165 seats by getting 30% but in 2010 when Labour get 29% win 255 seats or so... Bit dodgy or what?
@gangstamillion Our electoral system goes on how many constituencies are won, not what percentage of the popular vote. If in every single constiuency in Britain 49% of votes were Labour and 51% were Tory, the Conservatives would win every seat in parliament.
@gangstamillion It's to do with Labour's support being concentrated in urban areas, and the fact constituencies are not of equal size - they never really can be due to freedom of movement, patterns of migration etc. You could do it, but give it 10 - 20 years and you'd have the same problem again.
@Dibdin100 thats why in Australia we have the Australian Electoral Commission draw up the boundaries but you really can't make all of them marginal purely based on the demographics of the seat and the surrounding area for example my seat that I live in (Corio) is being redistributed and being given an area with mainly Liberal voter won't change the fact that its one of the safest Labor seats in the country.
@gangstamillion It's not dodgy. It's because in each constituency, a majority of voters preferred Labour over the other parties. The British electoral system is about satisfying a majority in each area, whose views are then represented in Parliament. That's the beauty of the system. It is not, for good reasons, based on proportional representation.
@mjfe2 but most times they don't represent the majority of the constituency, thats why here in Australia we have Preferential Voting that way the winning candidate has an absolute majority.
@irishgodfatherchris well I voted to change our voting system, but unfortunately the referendum wasn't passed! that's why I was careful to say 'a majority' rather than 'the majority'. Preferential voting doesn't guarantee an absolute majority though because if 20% vote for one party as their only choice and then that party is eliminated as the least popular, then the party that ultimately wins might only have 40% or so of the votes cast overall.
@mjfe2 thats the Alternative Vote, or Optional Preferential, but I'm referring to the system we use federally where we have to preference every candidate
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'The Celtic Fringe: Westminster Elections In Scotland And Wales, 1970-2010, A Complete Record' by Grant Toway is now available on Amazon. At first glance, this book may seem to be primarily a statistical guide to the 1,200+ constituency contests in Scotland and Wales covering the last four decades, but there are also brief comments which accompany each and every result. The author has also compiled a number of appendices as well as providing his own commentary on the unfolding events.
garyw930 6 days ago
Completely Disagreeing with that comment!! on all levels!
Jam369100 1 month ago
I knew they were Stealth taxing, but before Labour got in about a dozen schools in my local area were in a shambolic state.We now have new primary and Secondary schools to be proud of.Also people aren't working in McDonalds for £3:00 an hour anymore..
YARROWS9 1 month ago
@ailingequation It also gave us never before seen levels of mass unemployment, never before seen interest rates, and never before seen levels of people losing their homes when the "prosperity" they created collapsed under the weight of thier incompetence. It amazes me that Tory supporters still don't understand why they were so hated in 1997 and why that hatred still prevents them being trusted to hold power on their own.
pipoo1 2 months ago
a global economic disaster meant a small budget deficit of around 2% rocket to 8% as brown made decisions which whilst unpopular are day by day clear that he got right. Had blair got his way we would be floundering in the euro. The 5 economic tests and some very stubborn decisions saved us from total collapse. Labours error was to spend everything, not save and assume there would never be a drop in growth.
petehall1985 3 months ago
Its funny, back in 1997 it was the Conservatives were the ones who had ruined Britain and in 2010 it was Labour were the ones that had ruined Britain .... does this mean in 2023, the Conservatives would have ruined Britain again??
CybderDude93 6 months ago
@CybderDude93 that is providing that the Tories last that long because as it is even standing from a neutral standpoint from here in Australia I can see that the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition will not last the 4 years.
irishgodfatherchris 4 months ago
@irishgodfatherchris I see your point and to an extent I do agree with you. However, and this is also from a neutral standpoint, I also acknowledge that if the coalition does break-up it will not be from the Liberal Democrats end, as they have too much to lose
CybderDude93 2 months ago
it was all down hill from here
chouslop15 7 months ago 4
@chouslop15 It was
ukamerica8 6 days ago
dimbleby is a ledge as is blair cameron is def not a ledge he's a wally
therosebush3 8 months ago
@ailingequation uh huh and high unemployment rate never existed under the Tories, give me a break, yes Labour was not good but the Tories divided your country
irishgodfatherchris 8 months ago
What a terrible day.
The damage labour did to this county over 13 years will be long-lasting, in particular, thier mass immigration policy.
Kozzy06 8 months ago
@Kozzy06
I am an uneducated Japanese of modest means but I support some restriction on immigration. The British have the right to legislate policies which defend and protect tradition and traditional landscape and traditional values.
Britain should free itself from this guilt sentiment dating back to the post war period. The Empire was not all bad, and colonialism was a widely accepted international practice, and today's generation in Britain should not be held accountable.
tnakai1971jp 8 months ago
@Kozzy06 Not as long lasting as the collapse of British industry, two decades of record mass unemployment and multiple recessions of the last Tory Government.
pipoo1 2 months ago
Funny this Tory at their best still couldn't beat labour with such a lanslide likes this.
simsim594 10 months ago
1832! Not 1932! Dimbleby!
WorldNews92 1 year ago 19
The darkest day in our peacetime history.
kkwillsaveus 1 year ago
@kkwillsaveus Not really, before 9/11 and the later corrupt bloated years Labour got off to a good start, minimum wage and Ireland peace.
RedcoatMic24 1 year ago 12
@jprbritishcritic Yes, but not until the country is well and truly f***ked by Cameron and Osbo and their yellow puppets..
SarahSmith666 1 year ago
oh well! the good old days...
ch322 1 year ago
@ch322 you said it for me! the good old days!
SarahSmith666 1 year ago
If only this country could have known what Blair would do in his following years as PM, maybe the future would have been brighter. He brought about an illegal war that saw so many die unfairly.
cmoncmon100 1 year ago
Under labour we had
More NHS funding yet more hospitals where closed then in the 80s and equipment was bought kept for years unused then thrown away
more education funding yet schools in poorest areas closed within months of been build shortage of chairs and tables
LABOUR ALWAYS MESS THINGS UP
GamerYetPolitical92 1 year ago
Very happy moment that, we finally realized that the 18 year nightmare of a Tory Government was well and truly over.
yankeeyk 1 year ago 2
Just out of interest why is it in 1997 the Tories won 165 seats by getting 30% but in 2010 when Labour get 29% win 255 seats or so... Bit dodgy or what?
gangstamillion 1 year ago 3
@gangstamillion Our electoral system goes on how many constituencies are won, not what percentage of the popular vote. If in every single constiuency in Britain 49% of votes were Labour and 51% were Tory, the Conservatives would win every seat in parliament.
AlexGabrielYT 1 year ago
@gangstamillion It's to do with Labour's support being concentrated in urban areas, and the fact constituencies are not of equal size - they never really can be due to freedom of movement, patterns of migration etc. You could do it, but give it 10 - 20 years and you'd have the same problem again.
hombrerelents 1 year ago
@gangstamillion Smaller inner city constituencies benefit Labour
alexanderbutler91 1 year ago
@gangstamillion Because it isn't proportional representation.
Udany147 1 year ago
@gangstamillion Every British Government redraws constituency boundries to favour their party.
I'd like to an independent group draw boundries in a fair manner that benefits no one.
Dibdin100 1 year ago
@Dibdin100 thats why in Australia we have the Australian Electoral Commission draw up the boundaries but you really can't make all of them marginal purely based on the demographics of the seat and the surrounding area for example my seat that I live in (Corio) is being redistributed and being given an area with mainly Liberal voter won't change the fact that its one of the safest Labor seats in the country.
irishgodfatherchris 1 year ago
@gangstamillion It's not dodgy. It's because in each constituency, a majority of voters preferred Labour over the other parties. The British electoral system is about satisfying a majority in each area, whose views are then represented in Parliament. That's the beauty of the system. It is not, for good reasons, based on proportional representation.
mjfe2 9 months ago
@mjfe2 but most times they don't represent the majority of the constituency, thats why here in Australia we have Preferential Voting that way the winning candidate has an absolute majority.
irishgodfatherchris 9 months ago
@irishgodfatherchris well I voted to change our voting system, but unfortunately the referendum wasn't passed! that's why I was careful to say 'a majority' rather than 'the majority'. Preferential voting doesn't guarantee an absolute majority though because if 20% vote for one party as their only choice and then that party is eliminated as the least popular, then the party that ultimately wins might only have 40% or so of the votes cast overall.
mjfe2 9 months ago
@mjfe2 thats the Alternative Vote, or Optional Preferential, but I'm referring to the system we use federally where we have to preference every candidate
irishgodfatherchris 9 months ago
A dark day indeed when that mass murderer won!
BRUTUALTRUTH 1 year ago