UK politics thread – meet the new boss, same as the old boss

[wonko the sane?]

The only other option is "rejoin the EU" because going it alone will just break the UK. But the second you mention going back: you've basically lost any chance of being elected. Ideologically, the tories can't say it because it's admitting they were wrong (and they won't even if it means some of you must die.) and anyone ELSE saying it will just be creating sound bytes for tories to abuse.

Literally lose/lose for everyone.

 

[MrBlud]

It feels like the right wing has pretty much expanded to the point it’s going to expand and you’re left essentially preaching to the choir.

I have to believe there’s a majority that recognizes the current absolute upheaval of British politics, living standards, etc is jive.

And it seems Labour has veered from “We aren’t anti-Semitic despite all this anti-Semitic jive we keep doing” to “We’ll do almost everything the Tories will but you should vote for us because we’re Labour”.

Not a winning strategy…

 

[wonko the sane?]

Yeah, it's literally not just preaching to the choir: conservatism as political and ideological movement is failing. Notably, because each subsequent generation is more liberal about social and cultural issues (and consequently, fiscal issues.) as time moves on. But when you've literally staked your existence on the concept, and the population as a whole continually leans left, you either drag them whole towards the right, or you slide to the left.

And since modern conservatism is LITERALLY based on "winning" (as in, beating the other guy, regardless of context, conditions, and such.) they have nothing left to them except to perpetually drag the overton window to the right. They will push ever harder into fascism and authoritarianism as more and more people hear their bullshit for what it is: dated, tired and obsolete.

I mean, small government would be nice if government was competent and, oh yeah, the corporations weren't monolithic, global spanning entities intent on turning the planet to wasteland and it's population into slaves.

 

[Rhinox]

There was a Q&A I watched, sorry I don't have the link, where angry constituents straight up told their rep that they're feeling Brexit and asking we they go back. The reps response was "brexit was 6 years ago, I think we can stop blaming it".

Went over like a turd in a punchbowl.

 

[Anonymous X]

It’s amazing that Brexit is *still* the knife stuck in Britain’s chest and the opposition isn’t even talking about taking it out.

You aren’t going to inspire voters to throw out jive when your pitch is “ever so mildly less smelly jive”.

Labour won’t oppose Brexit, as the party is funded by trade unions who wanted Brexit for “foreigners take our jobs” reasons. The LibDems are quiet on the issue because their current target seats are Tory. The Greens, well, their main topic at the moment is opposing NATO membership and Ukrainian self determination. The SNP supports reversing Brexit via Scottish independence, while conversely Plaid Cymru doesn’t want to reverse Brexit via Welsh independence. So there’s no clear option for a voter in England. My personal motivation to go out and vote next May is non-existent, if I’m being honest.

 

[MrBlud]

So many parties so little choice

 

[Anonymous X]

So, the UK government is allegedly considering getting a “Swiss style” arrangement with the EU (not in the EU, but with near-full access to the European single market). Which the EU won’t ever realistically countenance, given that the bilateral deals with Switzerland are a constant pain in the arse.

UK eurosceptics warn British government against Swiss-style ties with EU

The British government said it has no plans to move to a Swiss-style relationship with the European Union after some of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's eurosceptic lawmakers warned him against pursuing a closer alignment with the trading bloc.

www.reuters.com

 

[wonko the sane?]

So basically almost the same deal you all had BEFORE, but demanding even better treatment while contributing less...

 

[Anonymous X]

The EU has already told the UK government to bugger off with its “Swiss deal” plan. https://inews.co.uk/news/world/swiss-style-eu-deal-brexit-negotiations-1985456?

 

[wonko the sane?]

I feel bad for the citizens, I've got family out there, and there are allsparkers, but... Good. Propagating a bad deal because of a government trying to be a special snowflake will only make things worse for everyone in the long run.

 

[Anonymous X]

The Supreme Court has blocked the SNP-led Scottish government from holding another independence referendum.

Supreme court rules against Scottish parliament holding new independence referendum

Nicola Sturgeon says ‘Scottish democracy will not be denied’ after court blocks route to referendum

www.theguardian.com

 

[wonko the sane?]

Part of me is like "yeah, this is correct. They literally had one a few years ago, asking the same question over and over and over until you get the answer you WANT isn't democracy", and part of me is like "the conditions and context have changed enough that they have legitimate reason to hold a new referendum." and it's literally just PTSD from living in quebec politics.

 

[abates]

The previous one was 8 years ago, which is, I feel, a reasonable amount of time for opinion to shift. That said, the Guardian poll tracking graph suggests that the vote is still pretty evenly split between Yes and No. If Scotland was going to declare independence, I'd expect it to be when there was overwhelming support for Yes.

I mean, imagine if they did a poll and then treated a narrow win for "Yes" as a mandate?

 

[wonko the sane?]

... I can't tell if you're being serious or facetious here.

 

[Pocket]

The referendum over Brexit was closer to the last referendum over Scottish independence than it is to the present day. Feel old yet?

 

[NovaSaber]

Child asylum seekers detained as adults after UK Home Office ‘alters birth dates’

Unaccompanied child refugees describe attacks in notorious Manston camp after officials ‘ignore or discount’ ID documents

www.theguardian.com

The Home Office is routinely changing the dates of birth of unaccompanied child asylum seekers to classify them as adults, according to experts who say the practice is now happening on a “horrifying scale”.

As a result, many children are being wrongly sent to the notorious Home Office site at Manston in Kent, the experts warn, and detained in unsafe conditions for up to several weeks.

 

[Anonymous X]

No wonder poorer Britons are struggling with the cost of food…

People ‘eating pet food and heating meals with candles’ due to cost of living crisis

Community food project manager said he was shocked by some of the situations he encounters as families face ever-increasing bills for food and energy

www.independent.co.uk

Brexit added nearly £6bn to UK food bills in two years, research finds

Cost of food imported from EU rose because of extra red tape, with poorest most affected

www.theguardian.com

 

[Anonymous X]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1606600685855903744

 

[Tuxedo Prime]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1606600685855903744

I was expecting something more theatrical from the new PM, but I'll take it.

 

[wonko the sane?]

Okay, so... normally I don't do this for politicians, but... I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt here. I think he was literally just trying to make chit-chat and is so far separated from the homeless man's reality that he simply doesn't know how.