Off Topic Politics Thread

Well put, very eloquent and pretty similar to how i feel. Although maybe i made more than one point that is true

I do dislike the vitriol that I see in this thread though, it surprises me and I dont like it at all, mainly why I stay away - i think views can be considered more with rationale, it just feel all a bit down your throat to me.

Funnily enough, my wife is Russian

 

Very similar to me (well we are twins afterall!)

Always voted Conservative..probably mainly due to parental influence and location.

Voted Labour in the last one though for the first time ever - I just feel that the tories have gone too far right, but in fairness Labour (under Corbyn) IMO were too far left for my liking too. You all know me, sit not the fence, prefer the middle ground

Anyway, like others I fear for the future of not only this country, but the world as a whole. Whilst there are the Trumps & Boris's around, incompetence, lying and self preservation is becoming the norm.

Not a good time to be young as you have an uncertain future, not a good time to be old as you are forgotten about, not a good time to be any slightly off shade of white either to be fair. So it looks like it is a good time to be Old Etonian and probably male.

Cynical maybe, but from a positive person in general the future doesn't look bright to me.

 

Yes, sorry you may have made more than one true point. Badly worded by me.

on your Russian wife.. well my Dad’s old Fiancée... the first time she came over was during an election campaign and he had a UKIP poster in his window. He never understood why my wife Jamaican didn’t like or why I asked him to discuss their policies with his Russian friend!

When he got sh1tty about the visa problems, I p1ssed myself laughing. Poor chap. He wasn’t impressed when I explained it was mainly due to people like him voting for people like Farage that possibly helped some of those visa policies get voted through.

 

That's a great story, thanks for sharing!

I was only kidding g about the number of points, as my Russian wife keeps telling me its quality not quantity. Haven't clue what she's getting at

 

Well, they say its the hope that kills you.

That, Covid and racist cops anyhow.

 

This morning, the government denounced activists for trying to stop the freedom of the press, because they delayed some Mail and Sun publications from being distributed.
Ironically, 24 hours earlier, our government was denounced by the European Council, for trying to stop the freedom of the press, when they excluded a reporter for a specific publication from a briefing.

 

Personally I drew a fair amount of flak on this thread for being anti Corbyn, Archers for one called me Cassandra for predicting that he would be lucky to get 200 seats, although what Rodney's wife has to do with it I don't know. Anyway, I was wrong. Jezza got 201.

 

Really? Thought I called you Cassandra for constantly predicting that Rebecca Long-Bailey was a shoe in for the leadership post Corbyn? Would have been ironic though, because Cassandra was always right...

 

The problem with Extinction Rebellion is that some of their actions are counter-productive and tend to affect the very people who support what they stand for. I think that the message they are trying to put across is probably the very one that does need to be rammed home. Most people who are at least reasonably intelligent concur with the notion of global warming. Ask anyone who is a birdwatcher or belongs to a wildlife organization whether the country wildlife trusts or national outfits such as RSPB, BTO or Butterfly Conservation will concur with these ideas and will be aware of the empirical data put out there to support this argument.

Yesterday's blockage of the newspaper presses was , in my opinion, an act of inspiration. The general public were not too inconvenienced and the message was put across to publishers that they needed to do more to highlight the current, parlous situation. Those who have been critical have totally missed the point. This not about "press freedom" or censorship. It is out the printed media not really doing their job at reporting an extremely serious crisis. To top it all, the Labour MP Dawn Butler was heavily criticized for texting her support whereas the extremely pointless Emily Thornberry was quick to lambast ER. Time for people to wake up, I think.

 

I listened to that although I missed the last twenty minutes as I was on the phone. It was a salutary experience. I think that the opposition are basically getting a free hit in these circumstances and, as has been mentioned elsewhere on this thread, it is pure speculation whether any other political party would have faired better. Even in Scotland where Nicola Sturgeon's performance was deemed by many to be exemplary, the ability to diminish the effects of Covid are now starting to unravel. Whoever if in power, has a difficult task.

Because the people involved at the business end of dealing with these problems are many stages of remoteness away from whoever is a the top, I think Boris has an incredibly difficult job. Last week's PM's Questions struck me as driving home the fact that the current government is not in control and does not really have a strategy. More significantly, it is clear that Johnson falls woefully short of what is required for the job. We are part of an international crisis. In being held into account to deal with these matters, Johnson's responses have either been ill-informed personal attacks or blatant lies. There is no sense of dignity or statesmanship. The perception is of someone who is totally out of control.

What has interested me is the fact that many Tory MPs have been disgusted with Johnson's behavior in dealing with this crisis and there were rumours that this dissatisfaction is now starting to manifest itself in the Conservative Party. I read somewhere that some MPs now saw Boris as a liability, not only in any future election but also in an inability to adequately perform his duty. There was a comment I read about PMs growing in to the role and how this had eluded Boris.

I have said this before and I am convinced that he will be removed from his office and this may be quicker than most people think. It is worthwhile recalling that he was part of the rump which created so much difficulty for Theresa May. I think that the tide will turn and many Tory MPs will realize that he is a total liability. It will be fascinating to see how a Trump defeat in November will dampen enthusiasm for Boris over here. A less sympathetic Democratic party may make Boris' s Brexit much less comfortable.

 

I don’t think Johnson will make the next election, but he won’t be going imminently. If they decide he is to go they will keep him in post long enough to take the Brexit / Covid flak, then ditch him around a year or so before the next election to ride a new leader bounce.

It is probably going to be PM Sunak by 2023.

 

Not according to the bookies which have Keir Starmer at 11/8, Sunak 10/3, Gove 9, Raab 12 spaffer not listed
https://www.oddschecker.com/politics/british-politics/next-prime-minister

 

I expect the party is biding it’s time to see if Brexit becomes the calamity many have predicted.
Better for the party to kick Johnson out, when everything is taken into consideration, Covid and Brexit, rather than jump in too soon and have the next leader tarnished by the ongoing ramifications. On that basis I would be surprised if they ditched him before the end of next year, so that the new person can takeover and rebuild the “public confidence”, before the next General Election.
Just as the likes of Hancock and Williamson have been exposed as totally inept, they too won’t, in all probability, be replaced until their replacements can be sure that the worst months are behind them.
Image is too important for the Tories.

 

If the papers were trustworthy, there would be no need for ER to try to block them.
The majority are owned by billionaires who, as we all know, have their own agendas for printing their “version of the truth”, mainly financial and power.
One ex Sun editor, can’t remember who, once said that he would hear a news bulletin reporting xyz, and his first thought was “How would Rupert Murdoch see that?”
It also doesn’t help when political programmes constantly refer to newspaper headlines as the talking points on their shows, with guest speakers who work for the publications reinforcing the messages being sent out by their employer. This is a big area where I feel that the BBC, in particular, are letting the country down, partly because they employ too many hosts with Tory party affiliation and partly because their using headlines from newspapers actually spreads the message those Tory supporting papers want spreading.

 

Or Jeremy Hunt. Rishi Sunak is everyone’s favourite Tory now, while he’s dishing out the furlough readies and the £10 Nando’s vouchers, but when he’s got to try and claw that lot back he won’t be Santa Claus anymore, he’ll be The Grinch.

 

That is because he is the incumbent. I think those odds are for next PM.