General British politics discussion thread

Just listened to the start of Any Questions there now, never heard a crowd like it. Labour need to harden the **** up and step up the pressure. The mealy-mouthed "reasonableness" of Starmer has given the Tories far too much space til now.

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118479579#Comment_118479579

I think the fact that they made a mockery of the Queen is a huge 'no no' for the British public and is really cutting through. Makes them look like a bunch of cynical chancers with no respect for anybody or anything.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118479609#Comment_118479609

I don't know if it was a particularly Royalist crowd. :P But the anger's been there for a good while now and Labour really needed to fight fire with fire early on. Another week and Boris will survive.

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118479647#Comment_118479647

Those images of the Queen sitting on her own and wearing a mask at her husband's funeral and then the news that No.10 was boozing it up the night before is extremely bad publicity for the Tories, as bad as it can get. They've had a bad week, but this was really the icing on the cake in terms of terrible PR.

The photo of the queen has been one of most iconic photos of the entire pandemic. Or course greater tragedy has happened, but that isolation hits home for everyone. My dad has cancelled two trips to see me and I can't go see him because I wouldn't be able to make it back to where I live.

PommieBast

..but will Labour present alternative that people will be prepared to vote for? Was the defeat in 2019 enough to persuade them that Momentum-esuqe socialism is a reccipe for eternal opposition....

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118482862#Comment_118482862

It's quite possible that the Tories will fall so low that 'any' party will be seen as a viable alternative to them.

Danzy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118482862#Comment_118482862

Problem for labour is that the activist base is packed full of people that much of the electorate would never risk near power. As election comes closer that element Will be given lots of publicity and the Tories will say you might not like us but at least we are not that lot and the public will hold their nose.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118482917#Comment_118482917

Corbyn snt May running to the DUP and that was at the height of Momentum so I dont think the activists are that much of an issue especially when you consider most people with only a passing interest in politics only see the PM and a few MPs and would have a clue who the local activists are. Most UK general elections are a referendum on the PM and too much can be read into ERG or momentum influence on voting by people like ourselves.

tanko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118479579#Comment_118479579

It’s really mind boggling how utterly hopeless Starmer is, he has the personality of a concrete block, he’s the most boring man in Britain. The tories love him because he’s basically one of them.

retalivity

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118482970#Comment_118482970

Which in any right-thinking democracy would mean he is perfect - educated, intelligent, relatively statesmanlike, no drama or whiff of scandal (yet). Compare that to Johnson, his "charisma", and the current cabal at the wheel, i don't understand how it can be used as a stick to beat him.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118481856#Comment_118481856

I'd have the Royals in a council estate were it up to me, for context. But the image of an old woman, mourning her life partner, alone among the empty pews of a church, was heartbreaking. An encapsulation at just how disinterested CoVid was about politics or status and the image would have resonated with all those distanced, sterile funerals endured by thousands. I know I snarked that Johnson is teflon here, but here might be a breach too far. Don't fúck with the royals, and don't remind people how they couldn't say goodbye to their gran - while no 10 boozed like common frat boys.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118482970#Comment_118482970

10 points ahead in the polls though

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118483217#Comment_118483217

There's only one poll that matters as the Lib Dems and Greens are very well aware.

Polls in the UK could be regarded as aspirational.

The reality is that most seats are safe in which case there is no real choice. Most of the rest of voters can only choose their their favoured candidate if they are likely to finish in the top two otherwise they have to hold their noses and vote for the lesser evil.

It's the easiest system to understand and the easiest to count. In theory you get strong and stable governments. In practise you get flip-flop adversarial politics where there's a lot of effort and waste reversing the policies of the previous administration.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118483071#Comment_118483071

The Prince Andrew scandal has me converted from tepid monarchist to ardent republican. That said, Philip and the Queen were wed in 1947, about 75 years ago so you can easily imagine how distraught she'd have to be not just that he died but that she had to go to his funeral alone.

I don't think there's a single incident that will end Johnson politically. I think it'll be a slow bleed but this is exactly what will do it. It's incredibly simple and resonates with the population. The idea of the unelected sovereign playing by the rules while Johnson behaves like Caligula is one with quite a bit of destructive power for him. All the party care about are polls and once those flip, he'll be out. Of course, it would be helpful for him to take more damage in the meantime. As bad as he is, there's plenty worse waiting in the wings.

Sam Russell

I think the picture of the Queen moving from the Council of State to a council estate is quite delightful, and would make a good political cartoon. Particularly if the Tory Party party could be incorporated, along with the Downing St set as they downed the drinks that arrived in the suitcase by the backdoor from the local Spar.

Surely this must sink Johnson.

Akrasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118475553#Comment_118475553

Johnson's majority in government doesn't equate to his internal party support. The ERG can be the difference if the party is split evenly between two or more choices

And their support can be purchased, which means you could have 2 or more factions bidding for their support making them even more disproportionately influential

Akrasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118482970#Comment_118482970

Angela Raynar should lead Labour into the next election. She's got plenty of charisma

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118483651#Comment_118483651

It boils down to numbers. Can the ERG command enough support to bridge the gap ? Can Boris or potential opponent use the promise of allocated safe seats to win enough support or the threat of deselection ? Another 5 years in government means 5 more years on the gravy train, expenses and a better pension.

The Westminster canteen will have to put another cutlery order in because of the amount of backstabbing likley.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118483349#Comment_118483349

Thats all true of course but I was replying to someone who was throwing the old worst opposition ever line at the Labour leadership again.

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118483428#Comment_118483428

She is an institution. There'll be 10 days of national mourning when she dies. It will be the end of an era and definitely the end of the special position of the royals. I'd expect that more than a few will be mourning the end of the monarchy proper.

Since de Pfeffel had no compunctions about overriding her with the Privy Council future royals will have even less influence. And I can't see the tabloids holding back much on her successors.

Statistically it's likely to be within this government or the next so a lot of stored up bad news will be released under it's shadow. It's one contingency that some parties will have a plan for.

BTW What are the chances that a member of the commonwealth will take advantage to declare a de facto republic ?

As for the Tory leadership there's that old question of which is worse a politician without a plan , or one who with one ?

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118483760#Comment_118483760

Oh, sure. I fully expect to hear a lot more from the anti-monarchists once she passes away. She has reigned since 1952. It's incredible when you think about it. She's a few years away from Louis XIV's record of 72 years and 111 days (though he was crowned as a child).

Charles has a series of reupgnant views. I'd shed no tears about the gutter press setting their fangs on him. He's lobbied before for his interests and I think he'll be much less neutral than his mother is now.

As for commonwealth countries, I'd say there's not much in it. There's nothing stopping them from breaking away now it seems. All Charles' accession will do is just give them a little more ammunition.

Capt'n Midnight

Nadine Dorries: BBC licence fee announcement will be the last She said "the days of the elderly being threatened with prison sentences and bailiffs knocking on doors" were over. That's what spin looks like. Removing BBC funding directly by not subsidising OAP's or indirectly by facilitating license evasion isn't going to help it remain as it is.

And it's not just the BBC. Even Karen Bradley the NI secretary who didn't realise that people in NI don't vote across the sectarian divide is worried about Nadine's plans for Channel 4

It's like Nadine is the minister for getting rid of Newsnight and Channel 4 News. Even the best possible interpretation is that it's more Tory cuts.

Itssoeasy

on the point about the British monarchy and it’s issues once the queen does die, is that shes been on the throne for over seventy years and the British monarchy has an extra generation of an heir in Charles whereas their other European cousins have mostly women next in line and not a guy in his 70s. If William was next in line I feel there wouldn’t be the legitimate questions surrounding it future. That’s my view anyway.

I mean Sweden , Spain, Belgium, Netherlands all have female heirs, and Denmark, Norway have male heirs.

Strazdas

Death of Her Majesty could be very problematic for unionists / loyalists in NI. We know that she has their unswerving support, ahead even of their allegiance to the Westminster government ('Loyalists' are loyal to the Crown). But would Charles command this type of support in the province? He's already seen as something as a "lefty" figure and has been forging close links with the Republic in the last ten years - I'm not sure they'd be overly keen on him.

Itssoeasy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118484350#Comment_118484350

Well he’s very pro the environment but would that be a sticking point for the lads up the north ? I think I’ve answered my own question in a way as the lads up the north don’t need a good reason to get the hump.

ancapailldorcha

In some better news, it looks like we're getting rid of the absurd licence fee:

The BBC licence fee will be abolished in 2027 and the broadcaster’s funding will be frozen for the next two years, the government has said, in an announcement that will force the corporation to close services and make further redundancies.

The culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, is expected to confirm that the cost of an annual licence, required to watch live television and access iPlayer services, will remain at £159 until 2024 before rising slightly for the following three years.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/jan/16/bbc-licence-fee-to-be-abolished-in-2027-and-funding-frozen

It's absurd that this model has persisted for this long. I'm relieved it's finally being removed.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118484670#Comment_118484670

Don't the Tories have it in for the Beeb? I saw this and wondered if it was some stealthy way to hobble them further.

kowloon

Is the BBC announcement not going to push British media even further into the pockets of the likes of Murdoch?

Sam Russell

The BBC has had a series of stealth cuts for years.

the BBC World Service was funded by the Foreign Office, but was transferred to the BBC. The free Licence costs for over 80s (?) was (to be) transferred to the BBC. Licence Fee increase - well forget about that.

The Tories wanted Strictly Come Dancing transferred away from the BBC as it was not for the BBC to produce such popular programmes. (Surely not)

The Tories want to sell off the self-funded Ch 4 (to some of their chums).

I think their next move will be to use the licence fee to fund GB News!