I don't like living in England....

[Jdsk]

And Green representation at Holyrood looks likely to be very important in the next few years...

Jonathan

[markjohnobrien]

More on the resignation of shadow defence minister Khalid Mahmood from Labour's front bench amid the loss to the Conservatives in the Hartlepool by-election.

Mahmoud left the Labour front bench on 13 April 2021.

Jonathan

It was a Sky News report - obviously their research is poor as the article was written and couched in the vein that it was a recent stepping down.

Still, doesn’t detract from his cogent analysis.

[Mike Sales]

Sheffields Labour councillor lost his seat to the Green Party.Absolutely bizarre.

Thirty two Green councillors were elected in England, an increase of nineteen.

Why bizarre?

Labour might have become less popular among pro-EU environmentally concerned social democrats as well as other groups. And there are lots of local issues where a local Green vote could be very important. Including in Oxfordshire where I live... results due on Sunday.

Jonathan

Edited: Crossed post. SNAP!

I would like it to be clear that I do not think that the election of Greens is bizarre, but the reverse, why so few? At least there has been a large (proportionally) increase.

[Ride-sleep-repeat]

The more likely answer is the usual Lab/LD/Con voters didn't bother turning out
Sheffield may be the Englands 'Greenest' City in name but far from it Politically!
Come GE time the votes will take a more familiar pattern.
Take Barnsley.
Labour won despite there being massive opposition to three Greenbelt sites being sold to developers by Labour councillors.One next to the M1 being a HUGE Hermes delivery hub that has decimated a massive wildlife habitat.The other a park where permission has been given to build over 2000 houses.

[Mike Sales]

Sheffield may be the Englands 'Greenest' City in name but far from it Politically!

In what way is Sheffield judged green?
I was not aware it was.

[Ride-sleep-repeat]

Sheffield may be the Englands 'Greenest' City in name but far from it Politically!

In what way is Sheffield judged green?
I was not aware it was.

Because 1/3 of the City falls in the Peak District NP.So it was labelled 'Green' by who I don't know.Nothing to do with the other 'Green'

Sheffield had to make the list, with the amazing (and jaw-dropping) Peak district right on its doorstep. If you’re a fan of the great outdoors, Sheffield could easily be the home for you. In fact, a BBC Countryfile poll voted the city the best in the UK for countryside lovers. As an added bonus, the local area has lots of farmland and natural spaces — perfect for foraging and farm-to-table dining. It’s also a booming property market, both for first-time buyers and those looking to expand their families.

[Mike Sales]

Because 1/3 of the City falls in the Peak District NP.So it was labelled 'Green' by who I don't know.Nothing to do with the other 'Green'

Ta.
I guess few cities have nice gritstone crags.

[Ben@Forest]

Because 1/3 of the City falls in the Peak District NP.So it was labelled 'Green' by who I don't know.Nothing to do with the other 'Green'

That's not the whole reason. Sheffield has a very high level of tree cover, including woodlands. From Wiki;

Sheffield has more trees per person than any city in Europe, outnumbering people 4 to 1. It has over 170 woodlands covering 28.27 km2 (6985 acres), 78 public parks covering 18.30 km2 (4522 acres) and 10 public gardens. Added to the 134.66 km2 (33,275 acres) of national park and 10.87 km2 (2686 acres) of water this means that 61% of the 362.38 km2 that the city encompasses is greenspace.

Although Sheffield was highly developed during the Industrial Revolution this also had the effect of retaining woodland because it was needed for charcoal production, before coking coal was developed. Also because it grew during the Victorian period creating tree-lined avenues was normal - there has been a big conflict about felling and replacement of those trees in recent years.

[Cyril Haearn]

Just think, Mr Clegg of the LibDems, Sheffield MP, could have been leading the UK into a bright future, had the polls gone a little differently

[Ride-sleep-repeat]

Because 1/3 of the City falls in the Peak District NP.So it was labelled 'Green' by who I don't know.Nothing to do with the other 'Green'

That's not the whole reason. Sheffield has a very high level of tree cover, including woodlands. From Wiki;

Sheffield has more trees per person than any city in Europe, outnumbering people 4 to 1. It has over 170 woodlands covering 28.27 km2 (6985 acres), 78 public parks covering 18.30 km2 (4522 acres) and 10 public gardens. Added to the 134.66 km2 (33,275 acres) of national park and 10.87 km2 (2686 acres) of water this means that 61% of the 362.38 km2 that the city encompasses is greenspace.

Although Sheffield was highly developed during the Industrial Revolution this also had the effect of retaining woodland because it was needed for charcoal production, before coking coal was developed. Also because it grew during the Victorian period creating tree-lined avenues was normal - there has been a big conflict about felling and replacement of those trees in recent years.

I knew someone would be along with more info

[al_yrpal]

The ghost of Corbyn still haunts the Labour Party. 'Lord Mandelson' previously MP for Hartlepool was on TV yesterday talking about his experience canvassing on doorsteps in Hartlepool earlier this week. He said he was amazed at the negative comments about Corbyn and his acolytes who are still around in Senior Labour positions being given as the reason previously loyal Labour voters were giving as why they wouldnt be voting Labour.
Anyone who thinks the spectre of Corbyn and his band of trots isnt a factor in Labours drubbing is totally out of touch.
All the posh language and academic theories dont resonate with the working man, its much simpler than that.

Al

[Jdsk]

He said he was amazed at the negative comments about Corbyn and his acolytes who are still around in Senior Labour positions being given as the reason previously loyal Labour voters were giving as why they wouldnt be voting Labour.

I've read several accounts of Mandelson's comments, but I haven't seen "acolytes who are still around in Senior Labour positions". Have you got a source, please?

Thanks

Jonathan

[Ride-sleep-repeat]

Anyone who thinks the spectre of Corbyn and his band of trots isnt a factor in Labours drubbing is totally out of touch.

That's the way blame the previous leader,who incidentally faired a lot better than the current one

Could you please give me your definition of 'trots' ?

[al_yrpal]

Trots is my term for the extreme left wing people who were once in banned organisations like the Militant Tendency and were readmitted under Corbyn and are now often members of Momentum.

Al

[Stevek76]

I would like it to be clear that I do not think that the election of Greens is bizarre, but the reverse, why so few? At least there has been a large (proportionally) increase.

FPTP makes it very hard for non top-two parties to get a toe in.

Re Mahmood, I think his analysis is crackers and miles off. The whole 'woke warrior' thing is largely a concoction of the daily mail/express and shock jock radio talk shows looking for something to outrage their audience with (who are primarily there to be outraged). As the elections have just shown, labours efforts to out 'patriot' the conservatives do nothing to gain the relatively low number who actually care about that stuff (who never voted labour in the first place and aren't 'lost') and simultaneously haemorrhaging other voters (who find such antics to be, at best, tasteless, and at worst, the kind of proto facist tendencies shown by the conservatives of late) to the greens/elsewhere.

Where labour is struggling to engage is in the politically disinterested who don't really care about any of that at all. What they want is someone who is going to do stuff for them and right now labour isn't offering much of a policy platform at all which I suspect is the far larger issue here.

That compounded with a conservative party which is largely viewed to be delivering what they said they would; vaccination is going well, stuff is unlocking, brexit has been 'done' (sort of, it's no longer dominating everything anyway which is the key part - many of the disinterested/non-tribal voters simply wanted it to go away), people have largely been supported with shedloads of government cash throughout the pandemic.