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Post by andrew111 on Aug 11, 2019 16:34:44 GMT
There were a lot of Lib Dem gains in July 1997 but there appear to have been a huge number of by-elections in that month, at least by the standards of today. I wonder why that was. I suppose there may be some connection with the general election not long before, but it can't all be newly elected MPs vacating their council seats - certainly not the Conservative seats anyway. Perhaps the rigours of the campaign (which would have involved county council elections in many areas as well) caused an increase in councillor mortality www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/byelections/le9707.htm#3101Perhaps returning officer exhaustion delayed some by-elections from June into July?? By my quick count the Lib Dems lost a couple more than they gained in that month so it seems like treading water. I agree that the current "surge" is hardly surprising given the low base and suddenly strong Lib Dem poll position after 8 years below 10%. You would have to go bsck to the early 70s for something similar |
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Post by andrew111 on Aug 11, 2019 16:41:41 GMT
Fair enough. I suppose on the other side "phile" is OK but "philiac" tends to denote irrationality. Can anyone think of another term that fits the bill? Perhaps we should just call them nationalist. Anti-EU seems like a fairly obvious description which is clear, accurate and neutral I agree. Perfectly good term I do think Europhobic might be appropriate for individuals who compare the EU with Europe in 1941.... |
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Post by tonygreaves on Aug 12, 2019 13:48:01 GMT
No. Let's stop that now, please. Is it really so terrible to describe UKIP, BxP and ForBritain collectively as europhobic? The point being made here is that these are the parties whose common and defining feature is that they are more hostile to EU membership than the Conservative Party. It's a valid category amongst whom one could expect votes to easily transfer and I'm not sure what else to call them; perhaps EUphobic, but "euro" as a proxy for EU is common usage (e.g. "eurosceptic" which was voluntarily adopted by opponents of greater integration into the EU) Nor do I think "europhobic" to be inherently derogatory any more than the opposite, "europhile". Can anyone suggest an alternative term? Yes but it would be too rude to use here. |
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