General Discussion
Nominations were in on Friday.
These are the official 8 standing.
More info found via this link;
https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/parl.newton-abbot.2024-07-04/newton-abbot/
Jacob Cousens - Labour Party
Annaliese Cude - Volt United Kingdom
Chris Hilditch - Reform UK
Anne Marie Morris - Conservative and Unionist Party
Liam Mullone - South Devon Alliance
Andre Sabine - Heritage Party
Martin Wrigley - Liberal Democrats
Pauline Wynter - Green Party
I know who I'll be voting for, it's an easy decision.
I thought a TUSC candidate might have stood.
I only found out who Volt were in the last couple of weeks, so that's for those who want to return to the EU and still think that's on the cards. At least Volt are up front as opposed to Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey's 'Place the UK at the heart of Europe' manifesto BS which was in the news today, instead of openly admitting the Lib Dems would still reverse Brexit. He's just desparately hedging his bets, typical Lib Dems - no conviction.
Reform UK is making headlines with the return of Farage, except it's not actually a political party, not in a democratic sense, it's Ltd company, a start-up. But then again neither are the Tories, Labour, Lib Dems really given which donors bank rolls them and pulls the strings. Who knows Reform might just attract one half of the Tories who haven't retired, whilst the other half join the other defectors to Starmer's New-New Labour. Splitting the far-right and centre right for good and ending the Tory party. That's how powerful the right-wing media is in this country, without them Farage wouldn't get more coverage than the likes of the SNP and Grerens who actually have MPs. And the Libs Dems have to resort to falling off paddleboards on purpose to get noticed.
Funny how Heritage, another Eurosceptic, right-wing populist, and socially conservative Union Jack waving party has a candidate called Andre Sabine, then again Farage which sounds French too is actually an Arabic surname - Faraj. Well we're all immigrant stock really!
And the South Devon Alliance - the only local, community-centred party who have been tackling the dodgy Lib Dem and Tories running local government in recent years has a chance to further grow its support base - much to the annoyance of the Lib Dem party parliamentary candidate Dawlish NE Cllr and District Council Leader Wrigley whose policy so far seem to pretend they don't exist, either in the District Council where they're the official opposition or in this General Election. Both he and Tory Morris will have nowhere to hide in the hustings. Let's hope they are run fairly and not chaired like the the one-party states that are TDC and DCC or the kangaroo courts known as TDC's Standards and Scrutiny committees.
@Daverc you're welcome. Just posted about the South Devon Alliance candidate Liam Mullone. Are people aware of all the candidates who are standing or what they stand for? I'd hope people do their research and not fall for the shamless 'flirting' we're subject to from the likes of Wrigley and Morris every 5 years - 'political whoring' might be more apt.
@Paul you're welcome.
Well I know Lib Dem Wrigley has come in for some short shrift on people's doorsteps. I hear he's actually got into arguments with people because they don't want to hear what he has to say (because they justifiably don't trust him or his party), to the point where one homeowner felt pretty uncomfortable and that's putting it lightly. Charming if you're with them, then they turn on you if not.
When Anne-Marie Morris came round she seemed really uncomfortable talking to a pleb like me. I didn't even press her that much on issues like the millions wasted on unwanted projects like Queen St, Newton Abbot and she seemed out of her depth and quite confused.
Regarding cancer treatment - I totally agree with what you've written as would most of the population. Politicians and the corporate world who pull their strings see healthcare as a business venture where they can reap massive profits at the taxpayer's expense. These politicians and who they really represent have private healthcare, so the state of the NHS (with such long waiting times) doesn't effect them.
This applies to the two main parties, The Tories and Labour and also the Lib Dems. people are sick of the same neoliberal, pro-corporate policies from these parties.
The role of preventative medicine and promotion of healthy lifestyles, as does personal responsibility and addictions like over-eatring, smoking, alcohol consumption seem absent in any discussion on cancer, or improved public health in general. Hardly surprising when the Politicians are shareholders in supermarkets pushing nutritionally poor foods, booze, etc for the corporate masters.
I also wouldn't take any politician seriously about health issues and protecting the NHS if they're out of breath just walking around delivering a few leaflets and clearly a strain on the NHS themselves. Perhaps 2-3 times moreso than somebody deemed to be a healthy weight, moderate or non-drinker or a non-smoker, etc. If their own self-care is so severely compromised by their own addictive and impulsive behaviours that are harmful to themselves and society as a whole by the strain it collectively puts on health provision - are they really suitable to make important decisions in the interests of an entire District or Consituency?
'Mens sana in corpore sano' - helathy body, healthy mind. There are studies correlating corruption in governance with obesity. Gluttony, greed and sloth are among the 7 deadly sins after all.
We need a combined approach involving education, health care and community services in tackling unhealthy lifestyles and diets the drinking culture, the tabacco industry, etc and addictions/mental health but also an approach which regulates fast food chains, supermarkets, pubs, etc to tackle the problem. But the main parties and their backers are making too much money out of these industries, so why would they? They don't give a damn about ordinary people and their health and wellbeing.
The national debt serves a political purpose to keep us subdued, anxious, divided, disempowered, etc. It could be tackled if there was the political will. There isn't because the Establishment benefits from the status quo.
'Politician' is now just a toxic word.
@1263 Wrigley and his loyal Lib Dem cronies have been going around doorsteps in the Dawlish area and also Newton Abbot and Kingsteignton wards. Anne-Marie Morris rocked up one afternoon too.
Wrigley now sees obsessed with getting as many signs up and taking as many unflattering selfies as he can to whack on his social media. The signs I've seen are actually on properties belonging to Lib Dem Cllrs.
It's all about image and not substance.
Don't believe the hype!
None of it will counteract the self-sabotage since becoming District Council Leader last year and part of the Executive before that.
Just to say tht the Lib Dem signs that I've seen are not on properties belonging to Lib Dem councillors.
Anyone seen any Conservative signs/posters?
I repeat;
The signs I've seen are actually on properties belonging to Lib Dem Cllrs.
Oh aside from a local landowner. I can see why landowners would gladly support the Lib Dems given the increase in land value, what with all the national housing developers being given free rein to build so many unaffordable houses on green belt by Wrigley's Lib Dem run District Council. Just look at Rewe's land in the NA3 case.
Not seen any Conservative signs/posters, I don't expect to either. Tories rarely identify themselves as they know they're considered the nasty party and they'll be out of government in a few weeks.
Why the odd Lib Dem still identifies themselves is beyond me, especially given the Post Office scandal nationally and the Lib Dem's disgraced administration under Wrigley that opposition Cllrs consider dictatorial.
Always wondered why people put up posters on their property, if they are supporters then they will vote that way anyway, as for the the general public no amount of posters in someones property will make them change their vote just by seeing someone elses preference.
@1263 In the case of the Lib Dems it seems like Wrigley is on a mission. He is posting the same photos of the same Lib Dem posters several times on his social media, just cropped/zoomed in and from different angles. Supposedly to give the impression of there being more signs than there are and the Lib Dems 'Winning Here' (as their signs say) and as a desparate attempt to offset the damage to his reputation he has inflicted upon himself in local government and the hit the party took over the Post Office scandal nationally.
Check out his Facebook page. He is asking for more people to take signs for their properties, to send in their photos and highlighting the most artistic. It's a bit like a desparate, weird power hungry version of the Gallery with Tony Hart.
He is worried about the image he has cultivated locally in Dawlish being unravelled by people openly discussing what happens in Forde House and projects like Queen St in Newton Abbot, the Cancer Screening Unit in Dawlish, etc.
He has even complained to the Webmaster regarding posts written by yours truly.
I seem to be blocked from Wrigley's Facebook page, I think he took exception to being told a few home truths.
@burnside There's a lack of political discussion on his FB page, as you've found anyone who disagrees with or question him and his party is blocked. He only allows comments from supportive voices.
He doesn't comprehend the concept of accountability.
It's the same in Teignbridge District Council where opposition voices are not given the floor to debate motions and in the case of Richard Daws of the SDA was subjected to a smear campaign and had his human rights breached. The Libs Dems are they new nasty party locally. Nationally they're pretty nasty too. Ed Davey laughing and playing on water slides and paddleboards when the likes of Peter Huxtable the former sub-postmaster in Starcross is now dead - Says it all really. Bastards.
Wrigley is gambling on people in Dawlish and elsewhere in the Constituency falling for his 'People's Champion', 'he gets things done' rhetoric and all the dodgy selfies. Then again if people think politics is just about likes and heart emojis and the 'Lib Dems not being Tories' message (when they really are just a yellow version) and don't look beyond the BS they're spoon-fed, they get the politicians they deserve.
I think Reform UK could do as well as they did in 2015 or better, because the Tories being seen as not delivering in the aftermath of Brexit by many who would've voted Tory in 2017 and 2019 when Reform UK, formerly UKIP stood aside where the Tories were likely to win, the return of Farage who is a Boris Johnson type character and the policy of austerity are all factors that could have an impact.
So they will take votes off the Tories. They haven't stood since 2015 when they won around 6700 votes. That is significant, as is support for the South Devon Alliance and disullionment with the two main parties and the Lib Dems nationally, and distrust of the Lib Dems and Tories in local govermnent given their many documented failings. It depends if people vote with a Brexit focus in this election, same in the other direction if Volt get any pro-Euro votes or if people vote Lib Dem because they've suddenly come out as pro-European once again.
I expect the Tories will suffer significant losses. I expect the Lib Dems have a ceiling of around 12000 votes which they will struggle to reach and likely fall short of because, well it's Wrigley. The South Devon Alliance will likely gain a large number of votes centred around Newton Abbot, but elsewhere too as they offer a real alternative. Changes in demographics given all the new housing areas could see the Labour vote increase. The Labour candidate doesn't have to contend with an awful political record, like Wrigley and Anne-Marie Morris because he's is so young, his age/experience may act in his favour or not. However unlike the SDA candidate Liam Mullone he hasn't actively been holding Wrigley and Morris to acount for the past 5 years.
@Lynne yes they could. Disillusionment with mainstream politics is occurring all over the Western world, just look what has happened in Europe, Macron's snap election following the Marine Le Pen's victory in the Euros, etc.
Reform UK and UKIP before it were formed to take on the Tories and attract Tory voters. The Tory party knows this, they fear Reform UK standing more than Labour. Maybe you just want people to believe that Wrigley is the only viable challenger to Anne-Marie Morris, it'd certainly be the norm for a Lib Dem supporter to downplay Labour's chances and emphasize them taking a hit from Reform. If anything Labour will beneffit from Reform splitting the Tory vote in many areas. That could happen here.
No doubt Reform will take some who may have voted Labour, moreso in Inner city, former industrial areas. But that's what happened in 2019 when these red wall up north areas voted Tory - will this happen again? Not so sure it is as relevant down here. They will take far more votes off the Tories than Labour here I reckon.
What little some people know about politics is at the national level where it's always been binary Labour vs Tory. i.e. they know Labour will win overall so they will vote that way in our Constituency, regardless of how many Labour Cllrs there are in local government or how active the Labour party are between elections. They'll read the natiional press headlines or what come up on their news feed, which isn't the nuances of Teignbridge District or Newton abbot Constituency politics.
I also think people are sick of voting tactically and that the Lib Dems are an irrelevance when it comes to real change, they're not really in the picture. There's no clear single challenger to Anne-Marie Morris in any case according to tactical voting sites and the odd one which has called for Wrigley ignores the return of Reform UK and the new player the SDA, basing everything on the 2019 election results.
Some people will accept that Labour will form a government and will vote for who best represents them, their needs and their values locally and look at alternatives to Morris and Wrigley who have demonstrated they are self serving rather than servants of the people they claim to represent.
We're seeing the fragmentation of politics as people don't have any faith in the main parties and the likes of Anne Marie-Morris and Wrigley. There has been little choice, people have had to vote for the 'least-worst option' and seen democratic process eroded and ignored, which is why there are so many smaller parties standing here and in other constituencies.
Even when Labour wins it doesn't mean that people and indeed many Labour voters in this election genuinely see Starmer and his party as a real break from the Tories or the Lib Dems who got into bed with them in 2010. He doesn't represent change and we'll likely see Labour fragment over the course of the next 5 years as they purged any socialist elements and allowed right-wing MPs to join like Elphick. People know there's no difference between them, they're just blue, red and yellow versions of the same old pro-corporate/pro-establishment parties. Reform UK is a business, not a democratic party in how it is organized. Farage is backed by powerful media moduls and the corporations, so it's just a rehashing of the Tory right. Hardly that different from the Tories, Labour and Lib Dems in how it attracts financial support.
At the time of the 2019 general Election the Lib Dems had only been in charge of Teignbridge District Council for 6 months. Since then we've had 5 years of an illiberal, undemocratic local government under Leaders Connett and Wrigley, the fact they formed a coalition with Bullivant's Tories prior to last year and in fact collaborate with the Tories in County Hall over the likes of queen St Newton Abbot will all have a negative impact on Lib Dem Wrigley's hopes in the General Election. Only a fool would believe it wouldn't and clearly that fool is standing for parliament.
In any case the Lib Dems are unable to distance themselves from the coalition they entered into with the Tories in in 2010 to 2015 and Ed Davey's role in that government and the Post Office Scandal has recently been highlighted in the PO Vs Mr Bates drama on TV. No matter how much Lib Dems arrogantly dismiss the coalition years as being 'in the past' and telling us to 'move on', there is a clear link to those years which introduced the policy of austerity and the broken country we have today. Many people are aware of this link and haven't forgotten. This undermines any manifesto pledges we have all heard before such as on Proportional Representation. The 'Vote Lib Dem Get Tory' mantra has stuck they are seen as yellow Tores prone to U-Turning and untrustworthy. Overlay their shocking record in local government under Wrigley and Connett before then the only explanation for voting Lib Dem is ignorance, denial or blindly voting tribally as if loyal to a football team, no matter what.
On top of that we have Reform UK entering the elections abandoning their agreement with the Tories not to stand in the last 2 elections. That will have an impact.
The South Devon Alliance didn't exist at the last election in 2019, it won around 13000 votes in the wards where they stood in local elections last year. Yes General Elections are different, but it is highly likely that a sizeable number of SDA voters will turn-out once more against the Tories and the Lib Dems because of public outrage at Queen St, NA3 Development, The Alex Theatre, etc overseen by Wrigley and co. The SDA could take votes of all other parties. This year could be very different to 2019.
The constituency of Newton Abbot is something like number 377 on the list of Labour Party target seats. It is a 'learner' seat as far as the LP is concerned.
An LP member told me very recently that as they want a Labour government they wil be casting their vote tactically in Newton Abbot in order to have a greater chance of unseating AMM.
They intend voting Lib Dem.
@Lynne Then why haven't Newton Abbot Primary https://www.newtonabbotprimary.org/about who base tactical voting on two websites Stop the Tories https://stopthetories.vote/ and Best for Britain https://www.bestforbritain.org/ got behind Wrigley and the Lib dems if it's so clear cut?
Stop the Tories' poll puts Labour ahead of the Lib dems; https://stopthetories.vote/parl/newton-abbot
Best For Britain's poll puts Labour ahead of both the Tories and the Lib Dems
https://www.getvoting.org/constituency/E14001381?postcode=EX79AP
Both take Reform UK into account, neither include the South Devon Alliance.
The above site and other tactical voting sites bar one suggest it is between the Tories and Labour, most likely a Tory hold.
If Wrigley was so certain of success why the need to concoct stories about Labour not standing and why so much emphasis on telling the public that Labour and other parties 'can't win here'? It hardly conveys the confidence one would expect of the supposed only real challenger to Morris. Why waste time on other parties if he knew the others had such poor chances. He doesn't know that, it's spin. Nor does this Labour Party member you refer to.
We'll have a Labour government whether Anne Marie Morris is unseated or not. The Labour Party member you refer to is misguided.
Newton Abbot Primary will be holding hustings in an attempt to unite behind a 'progressive' candidate to oppose Morris. There will also be the regular hustings across the Constituency as usual. It is likely that the Lib Dem Wrigley will attend none of them as he and his Lib Dems will easily be exposed as being anything but 'progressive'.
I don't place all the blame on the likes of Wrigley and Lib Dem Cllrs. They are only in positions of power causing so much harm because of those people who vote for them. Those people are the problem.
@ TRB On both those websites that you have provide it says (albeit in small writing) that no tactical voting recommendation can be given yet for N.Abb.
I'm signing off for a while now. Tis only me and thee and a handful of others that are reading what we are writing anyway so all a bit of a waste of time really.
@Lynne. I know it states that, I chose to include that in the screenshots for transparency. Couldn't take a big enough screenshot without zooming out. Click on the link if your eyesight isn't great or zoom in.
It's the polls on both sites that are interesting. It's telling that you ignore them. I mean could a 21 year old Labour rookie in a learning opportunity Constituency (according to your Labour Party member) actually beat Anne-Marie Morris?
What does that say about the challenge of self-proclaimed 'People's Champ' Lib Dem Wrigley?
What happens if further polls take account of the SDA and not just Reform UK?
It'll be interesting to see who if anyone they recommend. If irrelevant. In any case the hustings haven't taken place yet. Althgough they are the only tactical voting campaign that has a local presence, organizing hustings in the Constituency.
The nominations have been submitted and there are 7 candidates who aren't Tory Morris, so Newton Abbot Primary are too late really, as ideally they'd just have one candidate on the ballot paper to oppose Morris. And that'd never happen here.
Honestly if you think so few people read this why do you bother commenting whenever my posts are critical of the Lib Dems in particular?
If so few people view Dawlish.com why did Wrigley bother making a complaint to the Webmaster? You know - if he's so convinced of 'Winning here'? Pathetic really.
Pretty absurd comment given the amount of time wasted since 2009!
Well back in 2009 (and for some years after that) there were quite a few people who posted on here and even more I suspect who read the threads. Both numbers have declined over recent years.
Time on here wasn't wasted then - what started me off was the threat of a supermarket being built on Sandy Lane playing fields.
I log on to this website out of habit. (right now is a perfecct example)
Guess I'm not the only one who has used it/uses it as a way of ranting on about something.........
Must go now - have other, more important, things to do than be on here.
Bye
@Lynne If you think its a waste of time then you have a choice.
I know the opposite to be true (for reasons given above) and I make my choices.