You love to see it

[dolorosa_12]

And that's how it's done.

You can always rely on Lib Dems to do the most awkward-looking, dorky, heavy-handed stunts. [WINNING HERE.]

For context, I'm no Lib Dem voter, but I'm an anything-but-the-Tories voter who will vote tactically when required and yearns for electoral reform. (First past the post is the antithesis of democracy, and tactical voting and anti-Tory alliances are the only tools at our disposal to fight it.) At present I have no time for liberals fearmongering about the 'far left,' purity posturing from disgruntled Corbyn cultists, or anyone accusing people slightly to the right of them of being 'Blairites': there are fascists at the gates, and all of these ideological differences pale in comparison.

*

Meanwhile, Ely has big The Dark Is Rising energy today.

I've finished work for the week, the month, and the year, and I am determined to be happy.

Comments

[corvidology]

Here's to the happy!

[dolorosa_12]

Indeed!

[likeadeuce]

Those pictures are beautiful.

[dolorosa_12]

Thank you!

[wheatear]

I did enjoy seeing this news.

[dolorosa_12]

It was nice to have some good political news for once, that's for sure!

[charlottenewtons]

Very happy to see this. That they continue to lose safe seats gives me hope for where I live whenever they'll be a general election.

[dolorosa_12]

Absolutely. I mean, by-elections are a bit weird and unrepresentative, but things are certainly following the pattern of the 1990s in terms of the slow collapse of a long-term Conservative government. (I still think it's going to take two more elections for Labour to get back into power, unfortunately. But I'll celebrate the small victories when I can!)

[charlottenewtons]

The wheels do seem to be finally coming off for Boris and no one quite does backstabbing like the Conservatives. I agree that I think it will be unlikely that Labour win an election any time soon. I'm hoping for coalition that doesn't involve the Conservatives, but who knows? The political landscape of the UK seems to be shifting.

[kore]

The calamitous collapse in Conservative support – a 34% swing in a seat where they had a near-23,000 majority in 2019 – will prompt significant jitters among many Tory MPs, and is likely to raise questions about Johnson’s future.
It was a swing even greater than the 25% seen last June when the Lib Dems won the Chesham and Amersham byelection.

Ahahaha. Sorry Johnson, now the libs own YOU!

Those photos are beautiful! So atmospheric and haunting.

[dolorosa_12]

I definitely spent a lot of yesterday laughing with schadenfreude. The thing that makes it even more hilarious is that this by-election only happened because the previous MP was found to be corrupt, the punishment for this was meant to be a 30-day suspension (and then a return to his role as an MP), Johnson insisted on fighting this, which meant the whole thing blew up into a big scandal, the corrupt MP resigned, and this by-election happened. If he'd just served his 30-day suspension, none of this would have happened and indeed he would have been back at work already. So it was a totally self-inflicted wound.

I'm glad you like the photos.

[chestnut_pod]

Oh, gosh, it's nice to see good news somewhere!

What lovely, atmospheric photos.

[dolorosa_12]

We've still got a way to go before we get this awful government out (and I think it will take two more elections to do it, not one), but I'll take each moment of hope when I can!

I'm glad you like the photos. I love this part of the world at this time of year!