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After a year in the job....
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Spectator summed up my previous post superbly
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This is worthy of brit ferners attention I reckon.
Section 127 of Communications Act 2003 is a problem I've heard a bit about. There's a push to get it repealed by that large tory majority. These guys sum up the whole thing very well.
There's a petition that I'd sign if I could
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It is just simple logic, isn't it? We've already had nearly 11 years of Conservative Government and the way it's going we could have another 11.
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Boris in a spot of bother at the moment. Cummings has let rip.
Hard to know what the truth is / what to believe. I'm fairly sure that Boris has said some pretty shoddy things over the last few months as Covid has ravaged the UK. But I doubt he would have said something like "Let The Bodies Pile High" as is being reported.
Although I could see how that could be part of another sentence quoted completely out of context.
What do the more seasoned UK dwellers think of this ...? It's all a bit meh to me.
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@majorrage I'd say that unless there is a recording of Boris spouting a load of awful stuff then it will be the usual he said, she said bollocks. So yeah a bit meh.
The interesting thing though is Cummins. He's been Boris' trusted sidekick since 2016 (maybe sooner, not sure) and has held an influential position in the governing of this country. He left amidst some acrimony but was insistent that it was always his intention to leave at the time he did. Now he has come back to shoot his former boss in the back. Who would employ him in a trusted position now?
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The whole Cummings thing was kicked off by No.10 accusing him of the leaks. If Cummings knows where the bodies are buried then it makes you wonder if the plan is to get things out in the open now, with a growing economy and move to normality in the next few month, rather than in election year.
But maybe I'm crediting politicians with too much intelligence.
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This has to be the coolest (or weirdest) political campaign video I've ever seen. Great name too..
(Was 50/50 putting it in this thread or the Stupid Shit You See on the Internet" one)
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@victor-meldrew said in British Politics:
This has to be the coolest (or weirdest) political campaign video I've ever seen. Great name too..
(Was 50/50 putting it in this thread or the Stupid Shit You See on the Internet" one)
WT actual F
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Huge result in Hartlepool for the Conservatives
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@mikethesnow said in British Politics:
Huge result in Hartlepool for the Conservatives
First time in 58 years!! Though there had been a strong UKIP/Leave sentiment in the town over the last decade or so, not a complete surprise. But still, if anywhere should be a 'workingman Labour safe seat'...
It's a result that 'should' be about as likely as National or ACT winning Mangere here. UK Labour have definitely lost the plot.
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Really interesting stuff this. There seems to be three schools of thought
- Labour has no presentable vision, people can't see what the future is under Labour and thus feel they can' t vote for it
- Labour is too far left, and will struggle for the foreseeable due to Corbyn (ignores that Hartlepool did better under Corbyn then Starmer)
- Labour needs to be far more socialist/left as shown by strong results by Labour's socialist MPS's (ignores that these MP's are almost 100% in cities, where things are different to smaller towns)
Somehow or other, Labour needs to work it out, as their internal divide does make them basically impossible to vote for. They need to realise that small town people do not think as "progressively" as the inner city hipster youth. People with assets, any assets - not just the wealthy, are scared of socialism as all they see is the government doing a grab. These people have a fair point, as much as the disadvantaged who NEED government help (very different to WANT).
I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I am a right leaning, swing voter who would happily vote against Boris & his cronies. However, I cannot vote for a party which has MP's such as Long-Bailey, MCDonnell, Corbyn & to a lesser extent, racial driven MP's such as Butler, Sultana etc.
It has no vision, as it has no consensus. It is simply unelectable.
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@majorrage said in British Politics:
Labour is too far left, and will struggle for the foreseeable due to Corbyn (ignores that Hartlepool did better under Corbyn then Starmer)
Interesting take on that via the Grauniad from Lord Mandelson:
Mandelson says Hartlepool defeat shows why Labour needs to change
In an interview on the Today programme Lord Mandelson, a former Labour MP for Hartlepool and a key architect of New Labour, said that he was “gutted” to see the Conservatives win the seat. He also argued that the party had been on a losing streak every since the Tony Blair era. He told the programme:
" I also feel, I have to say, a mild fury, that the last 10 years of what we have been doing in the Labour party nationally and locally has brought us to this result, because that is above all fundamentally an explanation of what’s happened today ...
What I would say is this, and remind the party we have not won a general election in 16 years.
We have lost the last four, with 2019 a catastrophe - the last 11 general elections read: lose, lose, lose, lose, Blair, Blair, Blair, lose, lose, lose, lose.
We need for once in this party to learn the lessons of those victories as well as those defeats, and I hope very much that when Keir and his colleagues in the shadow cabinet say this means that we have got to change direction that they actually mean it."
Especially:
Mandelson also said that he had spent a lot of time in Hartlepool during the byelection campaign, he said the defeat was explained by two Cs, Covid and [Jeremy] Corbyn, with Brexit, and promises of government spending, also factors. Corbyn was “still casting a very dark cloud” over Labour, Mandelson claimed. He said:
"Believe it or not, not on one door that I knocked did a single voter mention Brexit to me.
The one thing they did raise with me however is Jeremy Corbyn - he is still casting a very dark cloud over Labour. Labour voters are not letting this off lightly, he still gets them going on the doorstep.
One person said to me ‘Sort yourselves out, sort yourselves out. You picked the wrong brother and you ended up with Corbyn so that’s goodbye to you. When you’ve sorted yourselves out, we’ll look at you again’."
That is what the Labour Party has got to do.
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@donsteppa Indeed. But see what Labour Momentum has tweeted out today, and you'll see why they are no "danger" of changing anytime soon.
Conservatives need do nothing more than turn-up to run this country at the moment. And that's not great.
- Not left enough
- Group of Labour MP's wanting to form a coalition with .... Labour
- Deniability of the real issue
It's beyond absurd.
- Not left enough
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Blaming it on Corbyn is the fucking problem
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@majorrage said in British Politics:
It has no vision, as it has no consensus. It is simply unelectable.
Good summary..
I'd add that Starmer is a decent bloke who has inherited an utter mess from Corbyn and done some good stuff, but is politically-inept. As someone said - he's good as asking questions but struggles to answer them.
There's still a Brexit fall-out. It may be done and dusted, but many. many voters have a deep distrust of politicians who tried to stop Brexit which benefits a BoJo-led Tory party.
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@victor-meldrew said in British Politics:
@majorrage said in British Politics:
It has no vision, as it has no consensus. It is simply unelectable.
Good summary..
I'd add that Starmer is a decent bloke who has inherited an utter mess from Corbyn and done some good stuff, but is politically-inept. As someone said - he's good as asking questions but struggles to answer them.
There's still a Brexit fall-out. It may be done and dusted, but many. many voters have a deep distrust of politicians who tried to stop Brexit which benefits a BoJo-led Tory party.
Yep. I think this from Momentum (Adam Smith) has it completely wrong:
It's beyond absurd.
Thats not people bothering to show up. That's Labour voters who would rather not-vote than vote for the current Labour offering.
A very very different challenge, although a more easily surmountable one.
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@majorrage said in British Politics:
A very very different challenge, although a more easily surmountable one.
Makes you wonder how long the Red Wall will hold when BoJo goes/retires.
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