Witney

[Sibboleth]

Witney

1983 Con 24.6, 1987 Con 31.7, 1992 Con 35.1, 1997 Con 12.4, 2001 Con 16.2, 2005 Con 26.3, 2010 Con 39.4, 2015 Con 43.0

Members of Parliament:

Douglas Hurd (Con) 1983-97, Shaun Woodward (Con, def. Lab) 1997-2001, David Cameron (Con) 2001-16

Mid Oxfordshire

1974F Con 16.3, 1974O Con 16.0, 1979 Con 30.9

Members of Parliament:

Douglas Hurd (Con) 1974-83

Banbury (1918-83)

1918 CoLib n/c, 1922b CoLib n/c, 1922 Con 17.1, 1923 Con 0.8*, 1924 Con 21.9, 1929 Con 7.3, 1931 Con n/c, 1935 Con 31.4, 1945 Con 4.0, 1950 Con 3.9, 1951 Con 7.2, 1955 Con 8.7, 1959 Con 12.9, 1964 Con 8.8, 1966 Con 7.2, 1970 Con 16.8, 1974F Con 12.4, 1974O Con 12.1, 1979 Con 25.5

Members of Parliament:

Rhys Rhys-Williams (CoLib) 1918-22, James Edmonson (Con) 1922-45, Douglas Dodds-Parker (Con) 1945-59, Neil Marten 1959-83

*The defeated Liberal candidate was none other than C.B. Fry!

[Sibboleth]

Ah rural gentrification.

[Andrew_S]

"A left united in Witney could have changed Theresa May’s Britain

Anne Perkins
Labour and the Lib Dems should have put up a single pro-migrant candidate in the byelection. Instead they bickered among themselves

On Friday morning, the bookies assume, there will be a new Conservative MP for Witney, the constituency suddenly vacated by David Cameron when he resigned last month. While few doubt that the Tory candidate, Robert Courts, will win, it is likely he will have no more than 40% of the vote, where his predecessor won 60%."

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/17/left-united-witney-theresa-mays-britain-byelection-lib-dems-labour

[Pete Whitehead]

Oct 18, 2016 3:47:22 GMT Andrew_S said:

"A left united in Witney could have changed Theresa May’s Britain

Anne Perkins
Labour and the Lib Dems should have put up a single pro-migrant candidate in the byelection. Instead they bickered among themselves

On Friday morning, the bookies assume, there will be a new Conservative MP for Witney, the constituency suddenly vacated by David Cameron when he resigned last month. While few doubt that the Tory candidate, Robert Courts, will win, it is likely he will have no more than 40% of the vote, where his predecessor won 60%."

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/17/left-united-witney-theresa-mays-britain-byelection-lib-dems-labour

I was going to suggest that maybe this belongs in the Amazing Stupidity thread until I read the second paragraph..

Courts faces a strong Liberal Democrat challenge and an equally strong Labour one.

..at which point there's no 'maybe' about it

[Deleted]

Oct 18, 2016 6:16:13 GMT Pete Whitehead said:

Oct 18, 2016 3:47:22 GMT Andrew_S said:

"A left united in Witney could have changed Theresa May’s Britain

Anne Perkins
Labour and the Lib Dems should have put up a single pro-migrant candidate in the byelection. Instead they bickered among themselves

On Friday morning, the bookies assume, there will be a new Conservative MP for Witney, the constituency suddenly vacated by David Cameron when he resigned last month. While few doubt that the Tory candidate, Robert Courts, will win, it is likely he will have no more than 40% of the vote, where his predecessor won 60%."

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/17/left-united-witney-theresa-mays-britain-byelection-lib-dems-labour

I was going to suggest that maybe this belongs in the Amazing Stupidity thread until I read the second paragraph..

Courts faces a strong Liberal Democrat challenge and an equally strong Labour one.

..at which point there's no 'maybe' about it

The idea that the electorate consists of passive blocks, rather like Lego bricks, which parties can assemble into rainbow coalitions, is a characteristic centre-left fantasy. One would have thought that the evidence of last few years would have knocked the "progressive majority" nonsense on the head once and for all, but clearly not. However, the idea that immigration would be the banner around which Witney might rally against the wicked Tories takes delusion to a whole new level.

[The Bishop]

Its not confined to the centre left tbf, given the interest of some right wing pundits in a Tory/LibDem electoral pact during the last parliament.

I agree this piece is a particularly delusional piece of nonsense on several levels, mind.

[Deleted]

Anne Perkins is one of the stupidest "commentators" around (and appears to have done almost nothing in her life other than hang around the Guardian office). Living proof that getting to write op-eds is a matter of networking rather than talent.

[Deleted]

Oct 18, 2016 10:22:41 GMT The Bishop said:

Its not confined to the centre left tbf, given the interest of some right wing pundits in a Tory/LibDem electoral pact during the last parliament.

I agree this piece is a particularly delusional piece of nonsense on several levels, mind.

I said it was a characteristically, rather than exclusively, centre-left phenomenon.

Let me be the first to say that the right has its own characteristic delusions, with which I am all too familiar.

[The Bishop]

Oct 18, 2016 10:29:02 GMT @strinity said:

Anne Perkins is one of the stupidest "commentators" around (and appears to have done almost nothing in her life other than hang around the Guardian office). Living proof that getting to write op-eds is a matter of networking rather than talent.

She used to do a bit of TV presenting as well, maybe she should have stuck to that.

[thirdchill]

Oct 18, 2016 6:16:13 GMT Pete Whitehead said:

Oct 18, 2016 3:47:22 GMT Andrew_S said:

"A left united in Witney could have changed Theresa May’s Britain

Anne Perkins
Labour and the Lib Dems should have put up a single pro-migrant candidate in the byelection. Instead they bickered among themselves

On Friday morning, the bookies assume, there will be a new Conservative MP for Witney, the constituency suddenly vacated by David Cameron when he resigned last month. While few doubt that the Tory candidate, Robert Courts, will win, it is likely he will have no more than 40% of the vote, where his predecessor won 60%."

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/17/left-united-witney-theresa-mays-britain-byelection-lib-dems-labour

I was going to suggest that maybe this belongs in the Amazing Stupidity thread until I read the second paragraph..

Courts faces a strong Liberal Democrat challenge and an equally strong Labour one.

..at which point there's no 'maybe' about it

It is in 'Comment is Free' Stupidity costs nothing. That tells you all you need to know.

[thirdchill]

Oct 18, 2016 10:29:25 GMT @goodoldcause said:

Let me be the first to say that the right has its own characteristic delusions, with which I am all too familiar.

Well indeed. Those who talk of the Conservative-UKIP pacts and combined votes of both are just as delusional. Plenty people who first preference either party would not give the other their second preference vote. peterl and Pimpernal are two clear examples of this from UKIP.

[andrew111]

These pacts rarely work... Look up Colne valley in 1951 and 1955... Liberals and then Tories took turns to unseat Labour in a Churchill-engineered pact... But eventually Richard Wainwright won despite the Tories standing..

In Witney Corbynite Labour would have no chance anyway and being endorsed by Labour would not help the Lib Dems capture Tory votes, so it is just a Guardianista pipe dream!

[andrew111]

Oct 18, 2016 10:56:32 GMT andrew111 said:

These pacts rarely work... Look up Colne valley in 1951 and 1955... Liberals and then Tories took turns to unseat Labour in a Churchill-engineered pact... But eventually Richard Wainwright won despite the Tories standing..

In Witney Corbynite Labour would have no chance anyway and being endorsed by Labour would not help the Lib Dems capture Tory votes, so it is just a Guardianista pipe dream!

I meant "to try and unseat Labour"

[carlton43]

This is a very boring election. The Conservatives will win and I really don't care who is second or what order the rest are in. This is safe Conservative heartland and the others don't matter. It would be the same if Corbyn resigned and there was a by-election in Islngton. But it is a bit less boring than the disgraceful position at Batley.


These are of no interest and I shall not stay up for them.

[tonygreaves]

These are of considerable interest. But I will not stay up for them. the numbers will not be different when I wake up in the morning!

[peterl]

Oct 18, 2016 10:38:13 GMT thirdchill said:

Oct 18, 2016 10:29:25 GMT @goodoldcause said:

Let me be the first to say that the right has its own characteristic delusions, with which I am all too familiar.

Well indeed. Those who talk of the Conservative-UKIP pacts and combined votes of both are just as delusional. Plenty people who first preference either party would not give the other their second preference vote. peterl and Pimpernal are two clear examples of this from UKIP.

Quite. I'd probably with some reluctance give the Lib Dems a second preference here as a purely tactical vote to help towards loosing the Tories the seat. There are fourteen candidates in this by election, and if I was a voter here and had to rank them in order of preference the Tories would be number 14.

[Deleted]

Oct 18, 2016 20:22:24 GMT peterl said:

Oct 18, 2016 10:38:13 GMT thirdchill said:

Well indeed. Those who talk of the Conservative-UKIP pacts and combined votes of both are just as delusional. Plenty people who first preference either party would not give the other their second preference vote. peterl and Pimpernal are two clear examples of this from UKIP.

Quite. I'd probably with some reluctance give the Lib Dems a second preference here as a purely tactical vote to help towards loosing the Tories the seat. There are fourteen candidates in this by election, and if I was a voter here and had to rank them in order of preference the Tories would be number 14.

Why do you dislike the Tory party so much - are you an economic leftist

[peterl]

I lean slightly to the left economically. I value efficiency, but favour keeping up spending on essential services. I'm also rather pro-regulation. But I'm anti-Tory for many reasons, including their failure to control immigration, Project Fear, a tendency towards elitism, and recently the destruction of local democracy known as the Cities and Devolution Act.

[greenhert]

Oct 18, 2016 10:56:32 GMT andrew111 said:

These pacts rarely work... Look up Colne valley in 1951 and 1955... Liberals and then Tories took turns to unseat Labour in a Churchill-engineered pact... But eventually Richard Wainwright won despite the Tories standing..

In Witney Corbynite Labour would have no chance anyway and being endorsed by Labour would not help the Lib Dems capture Tory votes, so it is just a Guardianista pipe dream!

On the other hand, the Liberals and Conservatives worked together successfully for a time in Bolton and Huddersfield to keep Labour out of either of the constituencies in those places until the pact broke down shortly before the 1964 general election.

[johnhemming]

Delivering a few leaflets in Witney we did find someone who claimed to be a Labour voter who supported Corbyn because he would "nuke the immigrants". Not sure she knows where the polling station is or how to actually vote.