Labour had less people vote for them in 2024 than in 2019.

@AdaXI There's also the issue of some postal ballots not being sent out. I doubt that'd make much difference for the likes of the Tories... but, for Reform, it could be a case of every vote counting.

It'll be interesting to see what comes out of that...

Looking at the options provided, Labour was probably the best option on the list, regardless of how you might feel about the leader himself.

@HootyTheNightOwl Out of options provided Labour was the best option. I totally 100% agree with you on that one and I also agree with everything you just said.

If we're talking about general turnout being down by 7-8% though, like how much is that down to people needing photo ID since the last election? As you'd be surprised just how many people don't actually have any form of photo ID and probably not gonna go out of their way just so they can vote in an election once a blue moon.

But not saying for one minute that equals a downturn of 7-8% though, or was even a significant factor, it was just a passing general thought really...

Yeah all I'm saying about the Labour vote though is it's not really significantly bigger than it was in 2019. In fact less people voted for them this time around than they did in 2019 and I live in Yorkshire it's a Labour stronghold but it still doesn't mean people generally like Starmer (because he's a rich toff) or that people have any major belief in his party.

Like you rightly say though, it was just a better option than another term with the Conservatives

And again you're completely right as in personal like or dislike of a particular leader shouldn't really come into the equation but I think it does.

I mean if you were Labour through and through do you think they'd of preferred a Corbyn style Labour government or a Starmer style like Labour government?

And what I'm talking about here is purely theoretical, I don't really know what the numbers truly mean but it's nice hearing what other people's opinions are though.

I mean we're not like the Americans we don't have to shout at each other all angry. We can discuss the numbers what they might or might not mean over tea and biscuits and everything I just said might be complete sh!te but it's no big deal, LOLZ!!!😅
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@AdaXI I agree that the Photo ID is a bit of an issue - but, this time, there is the issue of postal votes that weren't sent out in some constituencies... and that will have undoubtedly have impacted people who wanted to vote, but couldn't find a proxy with photo ID to go and cast their vote for them at short notice. I have a feeling that the data associated with people being turned away due to Photo ID issues will be released in the coming days, though, just as it was with the local elections. The only reason that Photo ID made it big on polling day with the local elections was because Boris decided to leave his ID at home and play the "I really am Boris Johnson" card.

I don't think it really inspired voters to turn out in any great numbers when they sat and watched the last two years of the Tories bashing on immigrants and doubling down on Rwanda... I mean, sure, immigration is a problem and the boats do need to be stopped as a matter of safety for the people who are dying trying to get here - but has it really been our biggest issue in that time??? I don't think it has, given that people have been getting "cost of living" payments because welfare doesn't go far enough to ensure that they can afford to pay their utility bills.

I prefer to look more at the policies rather than the party leader. I don't benefit more no matter who the leader is, but I do benefit from their policies. I do benefit from a Prime Minister who isn't so out of touch that he believes that working twenty three and a half hours a day is the answer to poverty and I do benefit from a Prime Minister who doesn't spend 2 years ear marking British born citizens who have parents who migrated to this country before they were born to be sent to Rwanda... wth does Windrush have to do with the boats and illegal immigrants anyway???

@HootyTheNightOwl You speak a lot of sense my friend, I mean we're totally on the same page x
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@AdaXI A point that I want to add us that - though labour got a similar number of voters to last time - it's probably not all the same people.

We are yet to see the deep number crunch but the I'll bet that the labour electorate this time veered towards more middle aged and centrist, rather than young or leftwing from last time.

I think labour did pick up a number of Tory voters but lost at least the same number to other parties, especially the Greens.

We know why.

@Burnley123 Yeah I totally agree my friend I mean it won't be exactly the same people who voted Labour last time but we all know the Tories lost out big time and for good reason.

I mean what do you think of Starmer's Labour?

I just don't think it's like when Tony Blair's New Labour won where they'll be completely untouchable for the first 4 years or so where they had like a euphoria of 'change' about them.

That all said I'm just banding ideas about here and it's hard to really say what the vote figures mean this time around because the political spectrum has changed so much. Like Boris got a big vote the last time purely through the Brexit situation which obviously isn't a factor anymore.
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@AdaXI In terms of Starmer's labour: I think they'll become fairly unpopular within a year to eighteen months when people realise how little different they are to the conservatives

People aren't ready to hear this yet because I'm 'radical left' and will need to experience this for themselves. I hope I'm wrong.