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Friday 6 October 2023

Blowing the doors off



Labour 'party of change', says Sir Keir Starmer after Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election win

Michael Shanks won the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election after former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier was ejected from her seat having broken COVID guidelines.

Speaking after the win this morning, Sir Keir said: "We've changed. And because we've changed we are now the party of change here in Scotland. We're the party of change in Britain, we're the party of change right across the whole country."

"When I left here a week ago with the team, I said 'you've got to win it'. You blew the doors off!"


It is an axiom of narration that truth should coincide with probability, and the realist is perpetually hampered by the wild exaggeration of actual facts.

W. Somerset Maugham - Mrs Craddock (1902)


"You blew the doors off" is of course a reference to the film, The Italian Job, but at this point, perpetually hampered realists may wish to scroll down to see what "Sir" Keir meant by it.


But turnout was low, with just 30,531 votes cast from an electorate of 82,104 - meaning just 37.19% of those eligible took part in the election.

This compares to the 53,794 - 66.48% - who cast ballots in the 2019 general election.

5 comments:

Sam Vega said...

Sir Keir is obviously hoping for similar conditions to prevail at the upcoming general election: a low turnout due to apathy, and a desire to see the current lot gone without any great enthusiasm for the alternatives.

Some of that is bound to happen, but it's a truism of voting behaviour that by-elections do not predict general elections.

A K Haart said...

Sam - it's as if wooden and low key is his preferred political persona, although it does seem to come naturally to him.

DiscoveredJoys said...

Sir IKEA is relieved to welcome Labour's previous clients back to the party machine.

Although he is probably all too aware that if Labour is really
successful at the next General Election Party discipline will collapse, just as the large majority undermined the Conservatives' focus.

Anonymous said...

He was terrific in Stargate SG1.

A K Haart said...

DJ - it's not clear what he hopes to gain from a spell as PM apart from other and probably better opportunities. He doesn't come across as that cynical, but possibly he is.

Anon - I'll take your word for it, I've never seen it.