This Wretched Hive Of Scum And Villainy

[CumbrianLefty]

If Peter Bottomley is defeated (his Worthing seat seems like one of those places that will fall in a bad result) there will be no more MPs elected from the 70s (Sheerman and Harman are standing down). I assume Leigh will be safe even in the worst scenarios, so he may be father of the House.

Related, assuming he stands again I think Clive Betts will be the most senior Labour MP left, with everybody else retiring or having lost the whip. No more 80s Labour people!

The post-1979 parliament yes, but Harman actually entered the Commons in a 1982 byelection.

[CumbrianLefty]

So the Tories sat on this and didn't tell anybody for months, whilst *at the same time* whipping up a true tsunami of righteous indignation over Angela Rayner (and getting their remaining client media to follow suit) And yet some of them still wonder why they are now so widely and roundly detested.

[CumbrianLefty]

She's not thick, but is staggeringly monomaniacal and self centred. And what is interesting is that the people who knew Truss in her youthful LibDem days say she was much the same as now.

[CumbrianLefty]

Yeah, but Angela Rayner......

[CumbrianLefty]

They will, though. And many with a totally straight face.

[CumbrianLefty]

And you do wonder how many of those 2k sales were to private individuals (and not corporate etc)

[CumbrianLefty]

Though it might be a re-rat instead.....

[CumbrianLefty]

The reality of Chisti's "personal statement" was so wretchedly anticlimactic it became hilarious.

[CumbrianLefty]

Even in 2017, the SNP were no longer as scary to many English voters as they were in 2015.

These days, a shrug is likely to be the commonest response.

[CumbrianLefty]

Street might also want to become an MP, but not just yet.

Let the Tories bottom out first.

[CumbrianLefty]

Genuinely did not know he was that old tbh (and he doesn't really look it either) Starmer and Corbyn have one thing in common, in that they show older people *can* still lead political parties these days.

[CumbrianLefty]

Though he is one of those unfortunates who could have passed for 80 when they were 50.

[CumbrianLefty]

Well, if Andy Street really *does* want a seat in the Commons so soon.....

[CumbrianLefty]

Its too late in this parliament for the recall process to end in a byelection - but in the rather unlikely event that Maynard resigns as an MP in the coming days, we might just be able to squeeze another in.

[CumbrianLefty]

Recall chatting with him on CompuServe c25 years ago.

[CumbrianLefty]

But also inspiring.

[CumbrianLefty]

Given what a car crash this is, I'm mildly surprised they haven't returned it to Rob Roberts.

Weaselled out of an inevitable recall on a technicality, but collected his salary until the bitter end.

Beyond shameless.

[CumbrianLefty]

The "surprise" election that actually only caught his own party by surprise, is indeed classic Sunak.

[CumbrianLefty]

Feel duty-bound to provide an update on one of this thread's long-running subplots:

Ali Miraj is a former Tory candidate himself (Watford in 2005 most notably)