DEM not gonna CON dis NATION: Rolling UK politics in the short-lived post-Murdoch era

Where oh where are the easily-caricaturable right-wingers?

in government

anyway, the fact that someone has to be famous to be left wing on newsnight is problematic in itself. the fact that someone has to be utterly removed from politics (with no likelihood of ever being seriously involved in it) to even espouse notions of simple idealism like eg "equality" on bbc.

i think the main problem is that we've all become victims of the in house drive-by

they say "jump", and we'd say, "how high?"

anyway, the fact that someone has to be famous to be left wing on newsnight is problematic in itself. the fact that someone has to be utterly removed from politics (with no likelihood of ever being seriously involved in it) to even espouse notions of simple idealism like eg "equality" on bbc.

― Legitimate space tale (LocalGarda), Thursday, October 24, 2013 3:31 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

painfully otm

because those notions are deemed the notions of a rockstar, not a politician.

I mean the biggest problem the British left has right now is not one of emotional resonance or even economic understanding but a more nebulous "credibility". Obviously the question that follows is "credibility with WHO?" are eventually the people able to bestow that credibility will die off or be seen as irrelevant but yeah it would be better to have these arguments brought into the mainstream by people who don't come over as overgrown children.

You could argue that they're in the mainstream anyway, and that it's the BBC that's behind here.

as one grows up one comes to accept that the poor will always need grinding

no they can grind themmselves.

the rich upgrade to grindr premium

xp No that's not true. You do get left-wing politicians and pundits on Newsnight, albeit drawn from a small pool. They used to employ Paul Mason, ffs, who specialised in covering this stuff.

Brand just proves that a celebrity delivering vague yet stirring we-can-build-a-better-world rhetoric generates more buzz than an activist or union rep trying to get to grips with the details. Of course it's exciting if you sound like a randy cockney version of the guy at the beginning of Kick Out the Jams.

but yes when you realise that everything you have and own is based on someone else suffering you have pretty much the choice of
1 accepting it
2 denying it happens and do nothing
3 denying it happens and pretend to be doing something about it
4 give all your stuff away

i think voting for whoever/not voting all lie within 1-3 of that spectrum

a lot of activists and union reps are not really offering radical alternatives to the status quo tbf

Where's Francis Rossi when we need him?

"Living on an Island" is not only a number one jam but a pretty acute pisstake of UK2K13 tbh

hang on, some people really believe that a labour govt would have been worse than the coalition? and that all the recent cross-party arguments about austerity, taxation, etc was a big ruse to get them back so they can stamp *even* harder on the poor than the right? this kind of patter belongs on youtube comments, not here.

sure, labour aren't this knight in shining armour who'll completely save the country but they're the best option and if you really think folding your arms in a big sulk and not voting and letting the tories gallop all over us is the best option we have then pm me, ive got a one way ticket to toytown with your name on it

what was that quote i read the other day, re:'one no better than the other’ logic: "such false equivalencies are beloved by the lazy, the aloof, the cowardly."

oh, that's why these cunts keep moving further and further to the right

still, at least they're less aggressively racist/classist than the Tories

feel ashamed about sulking now

it's okay russell will cuddle you better

i was gonna post some Labour party policies so i cd be sarcastic about them but i can't find any

they invited me to Get Involved tho which was nice

oh and there was a bunch of stuff about setting up a British Investment Bank which shd do dynamite on the doorsteps

i think ilx needs to start a new party

so, what's on the list for an ideal government?
1 fair society
2 inclusive society
3 make lots of cash as a nation (is this important?)
4 do the above without fucking over other nations (yes? possible?)

3 seems to be the driving force of a lot of the negative stuff

5. Also don't fuck over future generations / penguins

BUILD SOME FUCKING HOUSES

Labour win Dunfermline from the SNP for Holyrood. http://www.scottishelections.org.uk/scotland/hby/dunfermline.php

From a by-election caused by the imprisonment of the former SNP candidate for being a serial wife beater, so I wouldn't read too much into it

Welllllll if a Tory got thrown into pris for something similar, it wouldn't change the electorate in that constit.

Think a few more might vote UKIP but you could be right. Also this story was all over the Scottish press for months on end, questions in Parliament, the lot - even if no-one in England has heard of it.

What is this 'Scotland' of which you speak?

Well it used to be part of something called the United Kingdom (I know, silly name) until they had a referendum sometime next year

Also, having relatives in the area, I understand the Labour candidate's major policy was to run a consultation of keeping three schools open and this is what most locals think won her the election.

The same three schools she voted to close when she was in the council back in May this year, separately voted against an SNP effort to have a public consultation on, and ridiculed parents petitioning for the decision to be reviewed as single issue local nutters in the press.

She sounds tailor made for politics.

Something we started that might interest some on this thread: https://www.facebook.com/spoilyourvoteuk

Looks like the government has lost its appeal over the Poundland/workfare thing, which makes this the second time in two days they've lost an appeal on some back-of-a-fag-packet policy that turned out to be totally illegal.

What was the other one?

Something we started that might interest some on this thread: https://www.facebook.com/spoilyourvoteuk

― Pingu Unchained (dog latin), Monday, 28 October 2013 11:56 (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Aw I was gonna put something like this into my novel :D

Good idea but I think it could go further. How, I don't know.

The other one was the failed Lewisham Hospital appeal.

Conflicted about spoilt ballot papers, on one hand you're protesting about the legitimacy of the system, on the other hand are there really no smaller parties that overlap with most of your views - Socialist/Green/whatever? Not voting for minority parties you broadly agree with further delegitimises the system by entrenching the power of the main parties.

I got involved with the Young Greens and was overwhelmed by how a) useless they were and b) interested in themselves as politically ambitious individuals they were

That's the same with the youth wing of any political party dude.

The system is already manifestly illegitimate and does not require saving, obv

I mean the real issue is that millions of people don't vote because they don't feel represented by the main parties. Not to suggest that they're an amorophous mass, but if the free market actually worked then something would have arisen to represent those voters - outside of UKIP/EDL right-wing populism.

Is it just my own hypersensitivity or am I right to be annoyed about government agencies in 'defiant' mode after, say, High Court or Supreme Court decisions against them? Way to set an example to law-abiding hardworking people, eh?

Wow look at the DWP Twitter feed right now.

@dwppressoffice 42m
We’re pleased that Supreme Court has unanimously upheld our right to require claimants to take part in programmes which help them into work

@dwppressoffice 42m
Esther McVey: we’ve always said it was ridiculous to say that our schemes amounted to forced labour - yet again we have won this argument
Expand

@dwppressoffice 41m
Supreme Court confirms DWP is able to require claimants to take part in employment programmes that will help them into jobs

even if you are in favour of this transparently vile scheme you still ought to be dismayed by the dwp actively propagandizing for policies rather than just implementing them

I think that's one of those do-I-agree-with-them? things. ISTR the Dept of Health losing some initial battles over setting up the NHS, and I'd be happy if they were defiant/propagandizing over that.

But I'm stretched to agree w/myself here, because they're being manifest cunts.

I mean, it's understandable for the government minister of the day to adhere to party line, but I object when what are supposed to be impartial civil servants post clearly partisan things on social media, or mouth off in statements.

Gove

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BX0AKVdIQAA4v1i.png