Complaining about people playing dirty games to get rid of him which is exactly what he did to others.
I still wonder what'll happen with the Covid inquiry.
I still wonder what'll happen with the Covid inquiry.
UK Politics
- Thread starter CriedWhenBrucieLeft
- Start date
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
I'm actually starting to think Labour is going to win the next election.
The Conservatives are traditionally the go-to party, at least in England, for old school economic policy and seen as sober and sensible by many.
What I'm seeing now is the same party in chaos that preceded Tony Blair's big election win in the 90s.
While Starmer is steering Labour further from the left and pitching its appeal to middle class people and business (although sadly neglecting part of its original voter base), the Conservatives are just doing reactionary knee jerk stuff to appeal to shady right wing spivs on their back benches and rally troops in a handful of marginal constitutencies.
So in addition to spitefully sticking refugees on a barge just so they can say they kept them off British soil, they've moved to hammering people who can't work into work, started going on about tax cuts they cant afford (again), and adopting anti-environmental policy.
The environmental stuff is really weird. I understand voters in a marginal constituency objecting to a levy on gas guzzling vehicles in greater London, but less so ditching targets for electric vehicles - which pretty much the entire UK motor manufacture industry had already invested in - and scrapping incentives to swap cars for public transport.
The Conservatives are traditionally the go-to party, at least in England, for old school economic policy and seen as sober and sensible by many.
What I'm seeing now is the same party in chaos that preceded Tony Blair's big election win in the 90s.
While Starmer is steering Labour further from the left and pitching its appeal to middle class people and business (although sadly neglecting part of its original voter base), the Conservatives are just doing reactionary knee jerk stuff to appeal to shady right wing spivs on their back benches and rally troops in a handful of marginal constitutencies.
So in addition to spitefully sticking refugees on a barge just so they can say they kept them off British soil, they've moved to hammering people who can't work into work, started going on about tax cuts they cant afford (again), and adopting anti-environmental policy.
The environmental stuff is really weird. I understand voters in a marginal constituency objecting to a levy on gas guzzling vehicles in greater London, but less so ditching targets for electric vehicles - which pretty much the entire UK motor manufacture industry had already invested in - and scrapping incentives to swap cars for public transport.
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
Fingers crossed!
I worry about how far to the centre Labour is tacking, especially in an environment where they probably don't have to go so far to get to the promised land. But I suspect this remains part of the reaction to the stunning loss in the previous election, where Corbyn put out a very lovely platform from a leftist perspective and got trounced. I don't think it had anything to do with the platform - how many voters actually read the damn platforms these days - but that's how the centres of power in Labour seem to be taking it.
It's absolutely the only way Labour get power. They have to convince habitual Conservative voters. It's the norm among the voting English population, you could call it a badge of being middle class or of aspiring to be middle class.
Much of Labour's traditional support doesn't vote any more, and some vote niche like far right, or vote Conservative, seeing as voting Labour locally hasn't done much for them so they blame Labour for everything.
Voting for poorly thought out emotive reasons is exactly why we have a total mess in the cabinet and no economic plan.
JudasMyGuide
Ancient Mariner
As I was sick recently and couldn't read "normal" books, I picked up Alan Moore's From Hell instead and...
JudasMyGuide
Ancient Mariner
Indeed. I just found the coincidence funny. As well as the fact the comics is almost 30 years old, depicts a time over a century old and is written by Moore - i. e. someone who definitely isn't from "my team" or anything.
Also, in my country, this is the main problem of the Left nowadays, it absolutely lost contact with what the common people (working class and lower-middle class, actually, if you count my parents, upper-middle class as well) actually want or think.
Most of these have swarmed over to the resident Berlusconi-type oligarchist-populist and the main Social Democracy party is broken down and left the Parliament for the first time forever after the last election.
Honestly, in the UK, I don't know whom I'd pick. In theory, I should probably be a Toryist, but in practice, well...
Who would Tolkien or Chesterton vote for? No-one, that's who.
In the US there's at least the American Solidarity Party, which will probably never get elected anywhere, but I imagine I could vote for it in case I wanted to vote deontologically, instead of consequentialistically.
Anyway, sorry for the digression, hope I didn't offend.
(P. S. - also, just in case someone took it the wrong way and considered me the wrong type of conservative/reactionary, I'd tried to explain myself here)
Also, in my country, this is the main problem of the Left nowadays, it absolutely lost contact with what the common people (working class and lower-middle class, actually, if you count my parents, upper-middle class as well) actually want or think.
Most of these have swarmed over to the resident Berlusconi-type oligarchist-populist and the main Social Democracy party is broken down and left the Parliament for the first time forever after the last election.
Honestly, in the UK, I don't know whom I'd pick. In theory, I should probably be a Toryist, but in practice, well...
Who would Tolkien or Chesterton vote for? No-one, that's who.
In the US there's at least the American Solidarity Party, which will probably never get elected anywhere, but I imagine I could vote for it in case I wanted to vote deontologically, instead of consequentialistically.
Anyway, sorry for the digression, hope I didn't offend.
(P. S. - also, just in case someone took it the wrong way and considered me the wrong type of conservative/reactionary, I'd tried to explain myself here)
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Ascendingthethrone
Ancient Mariner
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
Correct. With the First Past the Post system, which inherently benefits the Tories, the only way to get power is to try and occupy the middle ground. This time Labour are also being very careful with what they promise because they know they are going to inherit a massive mess and a much worse economic situation than in 1997.
Yes and no. Socialists were mostly very much grass roots in the UK until recently, and still are in many areas. The Labour leadership (which officially dropped socialism decades ago) isn't.
I can imagine you aligning with some aspects of conservatism (small 'c') but not so much with the British Conservative Party, whose influential members and backers have no truck with social mobility whatsoever, and would happily put up more barriers if they can. That seems a very odd thing to support.
Same goes for the (mostly English) colonial mindset that still rumbles along within the party, and the way they look at the Irish, Scottish and Welsh, not to mention anyone from other cultures who is a British citizen.
Traditional values and morals come up from time to time, but seeing as senior Conservative politicians seem happy to waive that when it applies to them personally, I don't think they really stand for that.
THESEVENTHMARINER
Ancient Mariner
I was in Manchester for work today, coincidentally the Conservative Party conference was in town. Spotted a few MPs and Conservative commentators walking about, and I've never felt anger directed towards a group of people in my life. My hatred for that party and everyone in it is vitriolic.
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
I would say it is a coincidence. No problems whatsoever where I live, not far from London.
I've not heard of this recently. There were shortages of various foods earlier linked to poor harvests in other countries and if I remember correctly the costs of transport and cost of fertiliser.
There's been various debates about the practices of supermarket chains and the companies which supply them operate, namely fixed price contracts with suppliers which don't allow for natural rises and falls in fruit and veg prices. So if something becomes scarce because of poor growing conditions, British supermarket chains won't pay more, and the suppliers sell to other countries who will.
There's been various debates about the practices of supermarket chains and the companies which supply them operate, namely fixed price contracts with suppliers which don't allow for natural rises and falls in fruit and veg prices. So if something becomes scarce because of poor growing conditions, British supermarket chains won't pay more, and the suppliers sell to other countries who will.
I see the latest UK brexit triumph is you can now buy pint bottles of wine.
I'd love to know how I have always been able to buy pint bottles like these if it's the EU that's stopping things being sold in pint measurements?
'Discusting' that we had to had to have the metric equivalent printed on them
Cat Milk Supreme
Ancient Mariner
I can confirm that we in Northern Ireland could buy pint bottles of beer long before Brexit but it didn't say 'pint' on the bottle. I've seen pint cans of Carlsberg knocking about and it says 'pint' on the can. Can't confirm if these were available pre Brexit but they aren't brand new, fresh on the shelves.
Anyway, it's another post Brexit win for the proletariat and no mistake.
Anyway, it's another post Brexit win for the proletariat and no mistake.