A Political Thread

[Bada-Bing!]

Dame Vera Lynn RIP. To statue or not to statue, that is the question.

no statue required. She will always be remembered for this song if nothing else. 103 is a grand old age to live to.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Duck Me
https://twitter.com/Femi_Sorry/status/1273534626322092032

Wow.
Just wow

How the **** are these people running the country

 

[ncurd]

Wow.
Just wow

How the **** are these people running the country

They were the ones who bent the knee and swore a loyal oath to Brexit and thus were selected regardless of actual capability.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Dominic Raab thinking that taking the knee comes from Game of Thrones. Extraordinary. Sunak might just about be fit for purpose, but none of the rest of them are.

https://twitter.com/matthewchampion/status/1273534016570957824?s=20

And I can't even be bothered to b*tch about Matt Hancock totally ignoring social distancing in the Commons yesterday.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Wow.
Just wow

How the **** are these people running the country

You beat me to it.

It's a total sh*t show. The short answer to your question is the self inflicted Labour wound that was Jeremy Corbyn. Under his "leadership" Labour were unelectable.

 

[Johnny Storm]

Wow.
Just wow

How the **** are these people running the country

They weren't democratically elected..

The outdated first-past-the-post electoral system in Britain meant that they got into power with only 43.6% of the vote.
If there had been proportional representation there would have been a hung parliament, or something very close.

 

[ncurd]

They weren't democratically elected..

The outdated first-past-the-post electoral system in Britain meant that they got into power with only 43.6% of the vote.
If there had been proportional representation there would have been a hung parliament, or something very close.

As a huge proponent of other forms of voting I do have to point out that just because the method is utter shite it is still democratic.

"a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives."

And there's nothing outdated about FPTP either its always been rotten to the core.

 

[Johnny Storm]

Fair enough, but Johnson is essentially a dictator. He suspended parliament last autumn - a decision that had to be reversed by the supreme court, and his decision to terminate remote access for MPs a week ago means that he can essentially do whatever he wants.

 

[Gavin]

You beat me to it.

It's a total sh*t show. The short answer to your question is the self inflicted Labour wound that was Jeremy Corbyn. Under his "leadership" Labour were unelectable.

Unelectable but only in the sense that the recent election was fought on Brexit and Labour didn't stand a chance when they wanted to bridge the gap between Leave and Remain.

Any other election and I would have expected a different result, sure look at 2017 and their increase.

The clangers the current cabinet have been having over the past few months is unbelievable

 

[ncurd]

Unelectable but only in the sense that the recent election was fought on Brexit and Labour didn't stand a chance when they wanted to bridge the gap between Leave and Remain.

Any other election and I would have expected a different result, sure look at 2017 and their increase.

Nobody can 'really' work it out but the other school of thought is that May was so disastrous in that campaign that lended Corbyn far more credibility than he rightly had. On the other hand there's also this...should be noted this 7 seat swing to be have functioning majority with alliances not outright winning.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ter-theresa-may-hung-parliament-a7782581.html

Ultimately he didn't come out on top in 2 general election (including by any margin one of the worst for Labour ever), lost the Brexit referendum (he may have wanted that), performed terribly in european elections and lost Councillors in 3 out of 4 local elections and even 2018 when he had a net gain in councillors he had a net gain of zero councils.

He was a massively unsuccessful leader who consistently polled low throughout his leadership.

 

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

Fair enough, but Johnson is essentially a dictator. He suspended parliament last autumn - a decision that had to be reversed by the supreme court, and his decision to terminate remote access for MPs a week ago means that he can essentially do whatever he wants.

No matter where you are on the political spectrum.... that is just crap

On the latter point, how so? MPs can still proxy vote and engage with debate if they're shielding and the rest of them are meant to be there anyway?

 

[Johnny Storm]

The problem is that there is very little way to effectively challenge the decisions made by the British government. Power is held within existing circles, take the House of Lords - some seats are reserved for bishops making Britain the only country in the world besides Iran where religious leaders have an automatic right to sit.

Corbyn was a failure because he tried to pull the Labour party too far to the left, he even had ideas about instigating a four-day week. Crazy!

 

[Al Bangor]

Trump is trying his best to stop the release of this book next Tuesday. Fortunately many members of the press have already received copies and are talking about it.

 

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

The problem is that there is very little way to effectively challenge the decisions made by the British government. Power is held within existing circles, take the House of Lords - some seats are reserved for bishops making Britain the only country in the world besides Iran where religious leaders have an automatic right to sit.

Corbyn was a failure because he tried to pull the Labour party too far to the left, he even had ideas about instigating a four-day week. Crazy!

I'd argue that the U-turn over free school meals, amongst others, demonstrates that a competent opposition can challenge the government adequately.

I agree that there should be no automatic right to sit and that (in my mind) they should be replaced by more nominated lordships, but that doesn't make Johnson "essentially a dictator".

On Corbyn, I think the man was so sure that he was "enlightened" that he believed the rest of the country should just give up every political nuance and submit themselves to him without exception. That whole "we won the argument but lost the election" quote sums it up really

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Trump is trying his best to stop the release of this book next Tuesday. Fortunately many members of the press have already received copies and are talking about it.

His niece is releasing her memoirs as well and not painting her uncle in a good light. Neither will have any effect on Trump supporters, but hopefully this will affect swing state voters to not vote for him.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Bolton refusing to testify in Trumps impeachment, but then being more than happy to cash in on all of the evidence he should have submitted in the form of a book

Absolute scumbag

 

[Bada-Bing!]

On Corbyn, I think the man was so sure that he was "enlightened" that he believed the rest of the country should just give up every political nuance and submit themselves to him without exception. That whole "we won the argument but lost the election" quote sums it up really

Easily the most non-sensical thing to come out of Corbyn's mouth post massive election defeat and still spinning the line when Covid took effect. Jeez like being right about public spending when you're not in office gives him the moral high ground.

Almost as bad as McDonnell trying to claim the 2017 election would have been a victory had the campaign lasted a few Weeks longer. Against May who was easily the worst PM in recent history and any decent opposition would have beaten her had they been credible.

At the end of the day the worst bunch of politicians on both right and left I can remember in my life time.

 

[Johnny Storm]

His niece is releasing her memoirs as well and not painting her uncle in a good light. Neither will have any effect on Trump supporters, but hopefully this will affect swing state voters to not vote for him.

I really doubt that Trump has much of a chance in the next election. America is now facing a triple jeopardy of a public health disaster, civil unrest and a collapsing economy, none of which reflect well on him. There are also questions about his health now - neurological problems with the way he walks down stairs and the way he always drinks from a glass with two hands.

 

[ncurd]

he even had ideas about instigating a four-day week. Crazy!

Actually the four day working week is not crazy at all, many people I've known with true flexible working shifts work longer hours Mon-Thurs (for example) to give them a three day working weekend. I think studies have proven this increases productivity in most cases. Having worked 4.5 days at various points in my career I will say I much prefer that to working an even 5 days.

 

[Gavin]

Corbyn was a failure because he tried to pull the Labour party too far to the left, he even had ideas about instigating a four-day week. Crazy!

This is the sort of thing which I find very ironic about the ignorance of how it's explained in the media and results in people thinking it's some sort of hard-left, communist plot.

01/11/2019 - UK Express Newspaper

Labour's 4-day week plan would 'wreck' UK economy and 'turn back the clock', warn experts

Conservative MP Rishi Sunak, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, also slated the plans: "John McDonnell offers nothing but failed ideas which would wreck our economy, harm businesses and drive out investment.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ex...work-week-taxpayer-alliance-election-2019/amp

21/05/2020 - UK Express Newspaper

4 day work week: Could UK introduce 4 day work week?

"I'd really encourage people to think about that if you're an employer and in a position to do so.

"To think about if that's something that would work for your workplace because it certainly would help tourism all around the country."

https://www-express-co-uk.cdn.amppr...oronavirus-lockdown-flexible-working-Scotland

Look at the difference in vocabulary from the same newspaper on the same topic.