General Chat

Could be an interesting result as it is the first time the coalition has gone against each other

I personally hope the' Beer baccy and crumpet' party get in :-D

Looks very likely that UKIP are second, Tories third and Labour fourth :-0

I'd place bets that at this moment, all the Tory Big Guns are on their way to the various media studios to tell everyone that it just a mid-term blip and does not really mean anything ;-)

Where are the Labour big guns?

Mike Thornton (Lib Dems) - 13, 342 votes
Diane James (UKIP) - 11, 571
Maria Hutchings (Tory) - 10, 559
John O'Farrell (Labour) - 4, 088

One of the panel on QuestionTime last night suggested it was the end of the Tory and Labour parties as we know them. That there needed to be two groupings to fight the next election. One on the right headed by UKIP and a new further left socialist party. Certainly a decade of sleaze, overspending and apathy towards Westminster has not helped the three major parties in Eastleigh. :-)

Remarkable result for the Lib Dems, given the behaviour of the previous MP.

Not really, most people vote for the policies not the man.

I like to think so but too often that isn't the case.

Got impression last night on Questiontime that Chris Huhne is still a popular politician in Eastleigh. That he was a positive rather than a negative for LibDems.

Edit. Already looking like next PM will be Nigel Farage and Chancellor Neil Hamilton. Should not make an anti-Westminster point. But I will ;-)

Whilst Clegg, Milliband (not sure which), Cameron and Osborne and Balls languish in deep negative popularity territory, all 3 main political leaders in Cardiff Bay (Carwyn Jones (Lab and First Minister), Leanne Wood (PC) and Kirsty Williams (Welsh Liberal)) are in positive territory. We quite like our politicians :-D

KenSE the Labour Big Guns are probably hiding, after reading some of the comments their candidate is said to have made I cannot fathom out what possessed them to put forward that candidate.

Lets face it, today we will be bombarded by spin from the, Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Labour, and UKIP, about what a success it was for them ;-)

Three of the candidates have not covered themselves in glory at Eastleigh - Labour, Conservative and Monster Raving Loony. All of them said silly things and Tory lady was whisked away last night in tears and no interviews.

I hate UKIP and every horrible policy it stands for. But their candidate was most impressive and she will win that seat at the election probably, despite the wonderful work the Libs have done in Benny Hill- land for over a decade.

And how may I ask, would you know? Do you commute from Wales to Eastleigh? What wonderful work?

As to Benny Hill, he was a Southampton lad and only worked in an Eastleigh Dairy for a short time.

Call me Dave got a well deserved Kicking,meybe they will now learn,"Ignore the Electorate at your Peril."**M**.

""Lets face it, today we will be bombarded by spin from the, Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Labour, and UKIP, about what a success it was for them ""

That's very true OFITG.

Chris of Wessex

Can you please explain why you write like you do about this election. Was it because I posted. Is it your opportunity to try to make me look a bit silly?

As a local person, you obviously know an awful lot about it. So can we please have some analysis instead of that.

The only Eastleigh celebrity mentioned has been Benny Hill. Presumably because he was famous for being the fastest milkman in Eastleigh. Benny Hill has been in all papers and all over radio and TV. So you have a lot of corrective letters to write

I see they haven't mentioned a previous famous/infamous (conservative) MP for Eastleigh - Mr Stephen Milligan:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/8/newsid_2538000/2538165.stm

I can confirm that everyone else who posted on this thread lives in Eastleigh and is a political activist in the constituency. I watched it on telly :-D ;-)

I am not qualified to vote in Eastleigh but I do have friends there.

I did ask you what wonderful works Libs have done for Eastleigh? You have not answered, I would like to pass the info on.

I am not interested in making you silly. No point.

Chris. My main evidence was Question Time last night. It was filmed live from Eastleigh and
1. David Dimbleby mentioned local boy Benny Hill. So you need to drop him a note and correct him alongside all the papers and radio stations (sarcasm)
2. A member of the audience said that Chris Huhne had been a good MP, was popular and had helped them win the by-election. And very little disagreement from audience.
3. It was mentioned that LibDems had done a lot for Eastleigh in a local sense - and again no bad reaction from audience.

Audience was a cross section of voters.

And your friends will be able to tell you all about it if they live there and voted there. Just be patient.