I Backed a Winner!

 

How much did I win?... No it wasn't a horse; it was Alan Yeatman, candidate... and now elected city councillor, for my ward in Oxford. The last time I voted in an election for somebody who actually won was in 1997 when I backed Labour under Tony Blair in the general election... I know, and I'm not proud of myself. Alan's party, the Independent Oxford Alliance, is not perfect, but it is by far the most positive and has the potential to do the best job. It opposes the Big Brother reforms for which Oxford has been made a national, and even international, guinea pig. See the background link for details. Source: https://independentoxfordalliance.org. As you can see, Alan is the party secretary. He received 842 votes, once of which was mine, beating his nearest rival, Labour, by over 200. I'm pleased to see that the other IOA candidates were also very popular. Chaka Artwell, somebody I've met, came second in Barton and Sandhills, only slightly behind the Labour winner. Halima Banaras came third in Donnington, beating the Lib Dems and Tories. Ben Christopher got 391 in Hinksey. Anne Stares got elected in Littlemore, as did Judith Harley in Lye Valley and David Henwood for Rose Hill and Iffley. Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2024/england/results. Nationally, Labour have swept the board. They have gained at least 170 councillors while the Tories have been eviscerated; they've lost 422 at the time of writing. Keir Starmer is doing a victory dance all over the media, but is he justified in his vainglory? The fact that the Lib Dems, Greens, small parties and independents have gained so much, and a predicted low turnout, indicates Labour's triumph is somewhat anticlimactic. The electorate have not been captured by Starmer's dream for a better Britain. They probably see him as a slimy greasy-haired knob just like I do. It's just that most of his supporter base stayed at home, or voted Green or for a leftist party. At the moment we're all waiting to see if Sad Git Khan will be still be London Mayor; we will not know for sure until tomorrow evening. Is this a herald for the upcoming general election? Probably; but time will tell. Sunak will surely delay it for as long as possible; it is for the Conservatives, after all, a stay of execution. It might not happen until January next year, but will probably be in the autumn.
See here for background: https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2023/02/oxford-freedom-protest-alt-tech.html.