Psychoactive Substances: Rolling UK Politics in The Neo-Con Era

raab is jewish though. and it's not clear how much racism really matters at that level; hatred of mass immigration and approval of selected individuals are commonly found together in the sort of decrepit stockbroker belt types who will be voting. few are likely to conclusively rule out on the grounds of race, and javid got plenty of support in a conservative home poll.

Possibly, though the Conservative Home poll was of 700-odd readers via the Internet and I think their audience skews a bit younger. Something like two thirds of the party is 60+. Maybe I'm underestimating them.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Clli1uYWIAEVdE4.jpg:large

squad

EU Cru stoked for the madness.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/22/ruth-davidson-star-wembley-nicola-sturgeon-kezia-dugdale

It is no surprise to anyone who has watched Davidson since the Scottish referendum that she is an impressive politician. Unlike so many of those we’re disdainful of in Westminster, she gives every impression of being a normal, rounded human being.

Her Twitter feed is not just a set of party political broadcasts. She deals sarcastically with trolls, retweets funny gifs and uses slang without it sounding forced. In short, she does everything that most ordinary people do, and along with the other two women leading Scotland’s major parties, makes most of the politicians we have south of the border look slightly dim and fairly incompetent.

this must be at least the third article the guardian has published this year by an English journalist about how cool and awesome Davidson is - is she actually popular with non-Tories in Scotland? I'm sure I remember similar articles being published about about David Cameron around the time he became leader, how refreshingly "normal" and likeable he is - this was compared to Hague/IDS/Howard though, so low bar to clear

is she actually popular with non-Tories in Scotland?

Yep. My leftie Corbyn-supporting girlfriend would vote for her if not for the Tory thing.

This is kind of amazing though.

As well as Dugdale, Ruth Davidson (leader of the Scottish Tories), David Coburn (Ukip Scotland’s leader), and David Mundell (Scotland’s sole Tory MP and secretary of state for Scotland) are all openly gay. And Patrick Harvie (leader of the Scottish Green party) identifies as bisexual.

v tough electoral climate for scotland's homophobes

Fuck an EU, but I'm still voting Remain for reasons that are roughly congruent with NV and calzino's

Think this is where I'm heading too after months of wanting no part of this

Went and done it.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-AU6_kQ5gCoU/V2uJ776Q-VI/AAAAAAAABB4/Ui7c2KgmfaATQCWCqGAx6o3ONCCaVhtGgCL0B/w426-h568-no/2016-06-23.jpg

xps re. Boris, hmm yeah I think I had naively assumed his reputation would be shot with the Great British Public, I was forgetting the joys of Tory party internal politics

He's the most popular politician in the UK! I am assuming the discussion above is ways in which he might get to be PM if Remain win - there'll be no obstacles of Leave do.

If Leave win - I wouldn't put money on it - the landscape of the parliamentary Tory party looks different again, so I disagree.

two blokes in suits with an ipad asking people how they voted about 2ft *outside* the school gates when i went to vote this morning. innocent exit poll or something more sinister?

(they didn't ask me as they were busy bothering the old woman in front so i didn't get to ask them for id)

^^ So long as they're not trying to influence people *before* they go in to vote, I don't think there's anything sinister going on

According to this: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/23/referendum-night-when-to-nap-and-the-results-to-watch

"... there’s no exit poll for this referendum. Some banks are said to have commissioned private exit polls, but they will be kept for their employees."

I guess your polling station was part of the sample for one of those?

(it was the goldfinger school around the corner...)

I haven't seen a single Leave poster in Brighton. My colleague who lives in Southend hasn't seen any Remain posters. Neither of these surprising obv.

Good luck UK.

That's a classy-arsed polling station, Koogs.

there were people handing out "i'm in" stickers at my train station, all along the streets. i couldn't take one as i'm not allowed to have an opinion about this referendum, as a civil servant. whichever outcome happens will be the best outcome.

all for the best in the best of all possible worlds

i couldn't take one as i'm not allowed to have an opinion about this referendum, as a civil servant.

really? I thought the rules were pretty relaxed about civil servants political involvement

My civil servant friend won't stfu about the referendum on fb

Garda must be a pretty hi rolla

they won't be wearing stickers to the office

I filled in a YouGov poll on an iPad outside mine. It only asked for things like Gender, Age, Work status etc and not how I'd actually voted.

i'm not a high roller at all - but it was made really clear, repeatedly, to me*, that i can't express an opinion about the referendum on any form of social media. so a sticker in the office is presumably beyond the pale too.

(*and to others)

Not even afterwards?

i've turned the dictaphone off garda, you can speak with candour

I just noticed that Cameron had his sleeves rolled up again yesterday, hence the odds on brexit going way out obv.

seems a bit overzealous and intrusive to tell you you can't say anything on social media - I thought the real restrictions on political activity only kick in above a fairly high grade like you should be allowed membership of a party and to campaign even and certainly express opinions in your personal life

Yeah, but in general Rules are for the Lower Downs. Wherever you happen to work...

i think it's strange and possibly not even legal, it feels to me like something the government is doing that may not actually be allowed. to me i don't see a difference, for this purpose, between me saying what i think to a friend in the pub, and me saying what i think on social media. i'm not even permanent, i'm a contractor.

i think after purdah ends i am allowed to express an opinion, i mean i think so, i guess i still would feel wary though. even if my twitter handle didn't link to the organisation i work for, i follow people from work and vice versa, i guess it would feel risky to be really vociferously political.

so instead i just hit them with my deranged/unique blend of tweets about my wildly disparate interests.

my wariness is in part because i really like my job, it seems a fluke that i somehow ended up doing it and finding it, and hence i live in fear of it somehow going away.

based on the entirely unscientific anecdotal "evidence" of my mum reporting that the queue at the polling station of the village she lives in was stretching way out of the door which she has never witnessed at any other election, turnout might be quite high. she voted 'remain' apparently due to 40 years working as a nurse in the nhs and her disdain for michael gove.

i probably would have voted 'leave' but it's my day off and i don't really care enough to make the effort to leave the house.

you know if we leave the eu watching the bundesliga will be criminalised right

at this point i think people voting leave just hate all migrants/anyone who looks like a migrant, and that everyone voting to remain, just dont want to be seen to be hating migrants/anyone looking like a migrant. the people spoiling their ballots or not voting are the only ones you can trust.

nobody at the BBC's allowed to express an opinion anywhere, basically entirely down to stopping the the Daily Mail from running a story embedding 25 tweets from employees and screaming LOOK HOW BIASED THEY ARE

if anyone has an argument for brexit I'm a curious bag of ears

Brexit
???
Profit!

the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see nigel farage achieve screaming orgasm live on television

also less foreigns in the uk (somehow)

to fuck off sanctimonious Remain campaigners?

In the same boat (and building) as Garda, and yeah they've been clear and active on this - one colleague got told to take a 'remember to register to vote' tweet down.
This is the law in question:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/41/section/125
and I think our bit is taking a very tight reading of it.

xp
like stabbing yourself in the eye with a fork to upset your mum

not really, but that's the kind of tone

if anyone has an argument for brexit I'm a curious bag of ears

― ogmor, Thursday, 23 June 2016 11:54 (40 minutes ago) Permalink

It isn't very democratic. I'm voting remain but that seems to me to be the best argument for leaving

It isn't very democratic.

what is?

The Scottish Parliament

not really, but that's the kind of tone

― Noodle Vague, Thursday, 23 June 2016 13:36 (5 minutes ago

Nope, defines your tone only, and i think you know that's true