We did. We voted to leave the EU which has freedom of movement at it's core. To remain in the single market we would have to accept freedom of movement. When I voted leave I knew this was a vote to leave EVERYTHING to do with the EU and thank ****!! They are behaving in such a vindictive way towards the UK because we dared to leave their undemocratic, elitist little club. We don't need those kind of "friends".
Personally I'd rather not risk the economy to keep a few Romanians from working in Burger King. We'll leave the EU, which means very little in reality. Which of its laws we choose to keep is up to us but we'll be worse off if we carry on as we are. Simple as that.
©Andy Hamilton HIGNFY 5/5/17. Credit where credit's due Strolls! Ex John Lewis head elected mayor of the West Midlands for the Tories, on a whopping 26% turnout. If he does ok watch out for him getting a safe seat and straight into the cabinet in due course. Lib Dem vote up 4% despite losing seats, nothing like enough to make any impact. Kippers collapse almost total, Labour wandering lonely as a cloud, the Armand Traore of politics.
I am not into politics at all, as a working class man, I just can't vote blue, not because it reminds me of Chelsea, I just can't, then I look at left wing labour, they are worse, so I am struggling who to vote for, lib dems in the past I have ridiculed them,so now I am edging toward them, it's a sad state of affairs
Me too FT, it's a worse option than the USA one which was poor and laughable. Now we in the UK have to face this! The soft option is not to vote at all. Who deserves my X?
That is basically it though. A lot of people blaming immigration for the flaws in society thinking things will get better if we kick some out. Who will they go after next when life doesn't improve? Probably not the politicians who have mismanaged our resources.
It will be fascinating, in a morbid sort of way, to see what the Labour Party does to itself after the next humiliation at the ballot box. Even if Corbyn stands down the party is dominated by his supporters at local level, the surge in membership they had represents most of the people in the country who actually want him as PM, surely they would vote in someone similar in outlook (I know membership is plunging now, I'm guessing it is the moderates who are leaving in droves). Would the electorate be more supportive of a similar set of policies presented by someone with less baggage? I doubt it will have enough credibility. You'd think that there would be a feeling of 'we have another five years of impotence, time to split and have two parties, hard and soft left, with distinct identities'. But I think that sentimental attachment to the name 'Labour' may prevent this from happening, many will prefer to immerse themselves in struggles for the 'soul' of the party, which will distract them from being a decent opposition even more. Perhaps a reverse takeover of the Lib Dems by the soft left would be more effective, though they tried that before with little lasting effect. Perhaps politics have moved beyond left v right more towards nationalist (not in its most negative sense) v internationalist where both camps can include elements of both left and right.
I think there is a genuine appetite for a party of the left, particularly amongst young people. The policies that Labour will be standing on are generally popular, but Corbyn is not seen as a strong leader. If a young, charismatic leader were to emerge, standing on a left-wing platform, it is not out of the question for Labour to provide a genuine alternative government. I'm still not convinced that the GE will see a landslide for May by the way, the lead on the national vote in the local elections was much lower that opinion polls had been suggesting.
There's the hurdle of the right wing media to overcome too but I agree. I think Umunna is the man and he's being saved for when there's half a chance of doing something.
I've got lots of friends who are Labour Party members and fans of Corbyn who just don't understand that the majority of the country will not vote for him because most people vote for a personality and support a few snappy slogans. Policies just don't come into it for most of us. That's something the Conservatives have grasped with a vengeance. My Labour friends just don't get it. If you ask Mr & Mrs Average what they think of Corbyn, they'll just repeat the narrative pouring from the elite-owned media and say he's weak, a terrorist sympathiser, doesn't have the support of his party, will bankrupt the country, etc. They probably can't name a Labour policy but know he won't use Trident - which is not Labour policy, just him. They couldn't explain how Labour will bankrupt the country, they just know he will. On the other hand, if you ask the same people about Mrs May, they'll say she's strong, and we need a strong leader and a stable government in the National Interest. The most interesting thing I've read recently popped up in front of me yesterday. Enoch Powell, apparently, once said something along the lines of "A politician complaining about the press is as stupid as a sailor complaining about the sea. Both have to just do their jobs and negotiate a path through something they are not in control of but have to deal with". I'm inclined to agree.
