# UK General Election May 2015 (Population Share Version) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 2, 2015, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612 "2015-04-02T10:29:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 35
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/681 "2015-05-09T12:19:22Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > Anyone else fancy the Etonians doing a Mark Cavendish - have the team bear the brunt of the wind and let Boris Johnson take over with 15 months to go? Does it involve Boris Johnson in skin-tight Lycra? Then yes, please! ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/682 "2015-05-09T12:48:40Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > It’s interesting. Pollsters are getting it wrong, and not just somewhat wrong, but spectacularly wrong, everywhere. US, UK, Israel - the three last elections the pollsters were off way outside their margins. > > If they don’t manage to get ahead of this somehow and find a way to poll close to the real results, they are risking of losing credibility completely and no one will pay them anymore. Oh, they know they’re selling a bogus product. They understand they have no way of accurately modelling in neatly coloured columns what’s happening. But it’s all they have, it’s only every five years, and the public loves a narrative This is very instructive - try it from **22:00**. He’s the architect of this and many other Conservative victories: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/H_YareK6WKk/maxresdefault.jpg "Lynton Crosby AO - Master Class: Political Campaigning") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_YareK6WKk&t=40) ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/683 "2015-05-09T13:34:34Z")
New Parliamentary intake (total 650): 191 (29%) women 42 (6.6%) non-white 25 (4%) gay men 2 gay women > **[Record numbers of female and minority-ethnic MPs in new House of Commons](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/08/record-numbers-female-minority-ethnic-mps-commons)** > > Nearly a third of Commons now female and number of minority-ethnic MPs has doubled but Oxbridge still dominates choice of university and average age rises ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/684 "2015-05-09T19:23:01Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > …Do _most fair-minded Brits_ see Ed Miliband as having won the Labour leadership fair and square over his brother in 2010, or do they see him as a disloyal Cain-and-Abel backstabber for how things unfolded? > > [Ed Miliband - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Miliband#Leadership_election) > [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Eh? Ed beat David under the rules for electing a Labour leader. That’s all. Thanks. Anyone else have an opinion on this? > [@Gyrate](#): > > I wish Louis Armstrong could have been the Thanet South returns officer, just to hear him say “Zebadiah Abu-Obadiah”. Heh. The candidate from Preservation Hall! > [@Nancarrow](#): > > I suppose you’ve all seen the ‘Maggie Simpson’ meme by now… No. Linky, please? > [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > New Parliamentary intake (total 650): > > …25 (4%) gay men > 2 gay women… Wow. A gay contingent that size would be astonishing in the U.S. Congress today. There’s only a handful there now. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/685 "2015-05-09T19:25:29Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > No. Linky, please? > **[Here Is the 2015 U.K. Election Summed Up in One Picture](https://time.com/3851444/uk-election-2015-results-map-maggie-simpson/)** > > Britain has turned into a giant Maggie Simpson Too bad there was no Tory district way up north to correspond to the blue bow. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/686 "2015-05-09T21:00:54Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Thanks. Anyone else have an opinion on this? I think the fact that he was the unions’ choice rather than the party’s will have put off a lot more centrists than any family issues. Whether that carried through to this election I’m not so sure, but it may have influenced people who like Blair, rather than Labour. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/687 "2015-05-09T21:47:52Z")
And now there’s anti-Tory riots in London… Great. Bunch of sore loser fuckwits. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/688 "2015-05-09T21:50:49Z")
Doubt anyone gave much weight to the ‘Ed stabbed brother in the back’ theory. They had had several years to make their minds about him, and decided they didn’t like him enough. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/689 "2015-05-09T22:13:24Z")
It’s pretty interesting that it’s kicked off in London without any planning or organistion. Maybe it’s a one-off, maybe not. People have been focused on the SNP when London has the potential to be the source of continuing rejection of Tory policies. Kudos to Charlotte Church down in Cardiff as well. Might be an interesting summer on the streets … ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/690 "2015-05-09T22:18:47Z")
Coverage: > **[Anti-austerity protesters take to UK streets after Tory election victory](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/09/anti-austerity-protesters-take-to-uk-streets-after-tory-election-victory)** > > Protesters clash with police in central London, while singer Charlotte Church joins Cardiff march to complain about forthcoming Tory cuts ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/691 "2015-05-09T22:24:03Z")
I didn’t want the Tories to win but I find these protests repulsive. They just stink of sore losers. Yes, FPTP is unfair. But I didn’t see anywhere near such protests when a thumping majority was handed to Blair in 2005 with just 35% of the vote. Change the system from within and bloody grow up. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/692 "2015-05-09T22:29:51Z")
> [@Malden\_Capell](#): > > I didn’t want the Tories to win but I find these protests repulsive. They just stink of sore losers. Yes, FPTP is unfair. But I didn’t see anywhere near such protests when a thumping majority was handed to Blair in 2005 with just 35% of the vote. Change the system from within and bloody grow up. It’s no where near as bad as The Countryside Alliance invading the chamber of the House of Commons because it didn’t like Labour polices. Bryan Ferry’s son and his shower of little shits. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/693 "2015-05-09T22:47:28Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > It’s pretty interesting that it’s kicked off in London without any planning or organistion. No planning or organisation? You mean it’s a pure coincidence how many people have identical Socialist Worker’s Party placards? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/694 "2015-05-09T22:48:55Z")
> [@Malden\_Capell](#): > > I didn’t want the Tories to win but I find these protests repulsive. They just stink of sore losers. Yes, FPTP is unfair. But I didn’t see anywhere near such protests when a thumping majority was handed to Blair in 2005 with just 35% of the vote. Change the system from within and bloody grow up. The anti Iraq war demos were far larger than this, and anti-Blair ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/695 "2015-05-09T22:54:56Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > The anti Iraq war demos were far larger than this, and anti-Blair And for the most part, were legitimate protests. They were against a particular policy, and were for the most part peaceful. Starting a riot because your side lost a democratic election is fucking disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/696 "2015-05-09T23:21:22Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > It’s no where near as bad as The Countryside Alliance invading the chamber of the House of Commons because it didn’t like Labour polices. > > Bryan Ferry’s son and his shower of little shits. This isn’t opposition to a policy. This is a stab against a newly-installed elected government. I can’t help but see this is a finger stabbed against the concept of elected government.\* \*saving acknowledged criticism of FPTP. But real change only comes from within, not from looking like sore losers. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/697 "2015-05-10T00:25:29Z")
Well, I think it’s that they had planned the protest anyway… I think originally it was going to be a “Conservatives got the most seats but not a majority and now they won’t let the other parties make a majority” protest, and then, they went ahead and got the most seats, but since a protest was already scheduled. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/698 "2015-05-10T01:22:42Z")
What are these “we lost the election” riots supposed to accomplish? Are they supposed to mean, “Next time, you need to rig the outcome to our liking, or we’ll riot again?” ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/699 "2015-05-10T01:29:49Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > What are these “we lost the election” riots supposed to accomplish? Are they supposed to mean, “Next time, you need to rig the outcome to our liking, or we’ll riot again?” Yes, pretty much literally, as far as I can tell. They want MPs in Parliament that haven’t been voted for. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612/700 "2015-05-10T03:44:36Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > The Labour Party is still _generally_ leftist, although devoted to the capitalist way. The SNP is whatever it wants to be according to the moment. At present it includes anti-austerity and anti-Trident because that gets in the votes… If those are such guaranteed vote winners, how silly of Labour not to have thought of it. Hell, Labour should be anti-austerity, but it moved right with Blair and is now not in the best of health. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612.md?page=34) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-general-election-may-2015-population-share-version/716612.md?page=36)