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Post by swingometer on Apr 9, 2024 12:43:47 GMT
I also remember some mention of them having erroneously announced a Liberal gain in Bermondsey in 1979 which would have been remarkably prescient but that may be an old wives tale I definitely recall that the BBC incorrectly called it as a Labour *gain* in 1987 - the story is that this was met with widespread boos at party HQ because the candidate was actually a Militant supporter. I think that they also wrongly had Geoffrey Dickens losing his seat at that election. Gillian Shephard the then Education Secretary was said to have lost her seat in 1997, then again she did look nervous when being interviewed by Dimbleby 😬 |
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Post by timrollpickering on Apr 9, 2024 13:00:58 GMT
I also remember some mention of them having erroneously announced a Liberal gain in Bermondsey in 1979 which would have been remarkably prescient but that may be an old wives tale I definitely recall that the BBC incorrectly called it as a Labour *gain* in 1987 - the story is that this was met with widespread boos at party HQ because the candidate was actually a Militant supporter. Wasn't there something of a tradition of calling the seat for Labour in multiple elections only for Hughes to make it back in? |
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The Bishop
Labour
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Posts: 38,889
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Post by The Bishop on Apr 9, 2024 13:03:40 GMT
I think it might have been wrongly called for Labour in 1997 as well, but not sure about that.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on Apr 9, 2024 19:45:04 GMT
Was it 2017 that one of the Kent seats was announced as a surprise Lib Dem gain on the BBC by mistake?
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Post by swingometer on Apr 10, 2024 10:34:56 GMT
I was working in that constituency that day. The Tories visibly gave up during the afternoon and were never seriously in the running to hold the seat. So that was total BS of course by Dimbleby. Not really because the reporter at the count was saying the Tories didn’t recognise the exit poll and that Dame Angela’s personal vote might see her hang on, whilst Labour were, according to said reporter, saying only that it was close. Now both Conservative and Labour might have been feeding that reporter a load of b.s., but Dimbleby can’t really be blamed for merely repeating what the people in the constituency itself were telling the BBC; in fact he expresses immense cynicism at the Tory position and hinted that he thought they were being fed b.s. from both sides. Don’t know where that’s coming from, the most marginal seat the Tories held in 1997 was Bury St Edmond’s 1- - th in the list |
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mrtoad
Labour
He is a toad. Who knows what a toad thinks?
Posts: 424
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Post by mrtoad on May 22, 2024 13:31:54 GMT
Re-watching the ITN version of the 2001 election night broadcast and saw Jonathan Dimbleby mess it up by proclaiming that 'Adrian Saunders' (sic), the Conservative, had gained Torbay and he was puzzled that all the Lib Dems at Pizza on the Park were looking happy. But to give Dimbleby credit, he didn't attempt to spin his way out of it and admitted to 'looking like a complete nana' when he got up to speed with the actual result: Adrian Sanders re-elected with a greatly increased majority for the Lib Dems.
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Post by batman on May 22, 2024 13:37:06 GMT
David Dimbleby messed up on election night in 1997 by describing Labour's Ben Chapman as Don Chapman. He must have been confusing him with the former Labour MP for Birmingham Northfield, who by this time was Lord Northfield.
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The Bishop
Labour
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Post by The Bishop on May 22, 2024 17:10:27 GMT
Other bloopers by DD in that election include claiming the defeated Tory in Coventry S was the sitting MP, and describing Claire Ward as the "youngest MP ever" (she wasn't actually the youngest then elected, though Chris Leslie's age was not generally known until the following day)
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Post by batman on May 22, 2024 17:24:03 GMT
is Bernadette Devlin the youngest? She was certainly only 21 when she was first elected.
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The Bishop
Labour
Down With Factionalism!
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Post by The Bishop on May 22, 2024 17:26:23 GMT
She is certainly up there in the post universal suffrage days yes, though of course Mhairi Black set a new record after the qualifying age was dropped to 18.
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Post by finsobruce on May 22, 2024 17:29:14 GMT
is Bernadette Devlin the youngest? She was certainly only 21 when she was first elected. Mhairi Black was younger.
But she's practically a pensioner compared to Christopher Monck, Earl Of Torrington who was elected in January 1667 aged thirteen.
Even someone as famous as Charles James Fox was first elected at the age of nineteen.
And then there is Pitt the Even Younger.  |
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Post by noorderling on May 22, 2024 17:38:13 GMT
is Bernadette Devlin the youngest? She was certainly only 21 when she was first elected. Mhairi Black was younger.
But she's practically a pensioner compared to Christopher Monck, Earl Of Torrington who was elected in January 1667 aged thirteen.
Even someone as famous as Charles James Fox was first elected at the age of nineteen.
And then there is Pitt the Even Younger. Who was defeated by Baldrick, so does not count |
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Post by finsobruce on May 22, 2024 17:40:50 GMT
Mhairi Black was younger.
But she's practically a pensioner compared to Christopher Monck, Earl Of Torrington who was elected in January 1667 aged thirteen.
Even someone as famous as Charles James Fox was first elected at the age of nineteen.
And then there is Pitt the Even Younger. Who was defeated by Baldrick, so does not count #fakeblackaddernews |
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Post by noorderling on May 22, 2024 19:45:53 GMT
Thank you, Darling
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Post by timrollpickering on May 22, 2024 20:57:27 GMT
I think there was a an MP who was about 7 but that was having a birthday on 29 February.
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The Bishop
Labour
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Post by The Bishop on Jul 7, 2024 9:57:57 GMT
How about this time round?
Some of the most prominent nonsense (eg Reform sweeping both Barnsley seats) was obviously almost entirely influenced by erroneous exit poll calls - and IIRC that one was called out quickly by Labour sources. Labour losing Hallam to the LibDems seemed to have a life of its own for an hour or two, though.
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Post by arnieg on Jul 7, 2024 10:35:15 GMT
There was the rumour (more of a presumption) that Inverness was too close to call when it turned out the delay was due to incompetent conduct of the count.
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The Bishop
Labour
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Post by The Bishop on Jul 7, 2024 10:40:15 GMT
Not so shocking now! (actually, it still bloody well is in truth) |
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Post by johnloony on Jul 7, 2024 10:45:19 GMT
How about this time round? Some of the most prominent nonsense (eg Reform sweeping both Barnsley seats) was obviously almost entirely influenced by erroneous exit poll calls - and IIRC that one was called out quickly by Labour sources. Labour losing Hallam to the LibDems seemed to have a life of its own for an hour or two, though. The initial BBC exit poll projection of 13 Reform seats. I think that is based on adding up probabilities rather than predicting specific seats, so it's more understandable. I heard one person say they thought Lib Dems would gain Burnley. |
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The Bishop
Labour
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Post by The Bishop on Jul 7, 2024 10:47:25 GMT
One of *the* most egregious exit poll calls for Reform was Bassetlaw, where they didn't even come second.
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