UK Prime Minister May calls for snap election.

[MacLeod]

Yes, it did. Unless you like people on minimum wages paying taxes, gay people being unable to marry, private wheelclampers extorting people, coal power stations, children at school unable to afford lunch, id cards, home information packs, having a dns database of innocent people, have a snoopers charter allowing the local council to spy on your internet use, complex pensions, etc. etc.

Speaking about Coal power the UK is set for it's first day without coal power electricity generation well since the Industrial revolution (well slightly more accuratly since the first Coal fired power station was built)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39668889

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...coal-free-day-since-the-industrial-revolution

 

[Relayer1]

Yes, it did. Unless you like people on minimum wages paying taxes, gay people being unable to marry, private wheelclampers extorting people, coal power stations, children at school unable to afford lunch, id cards, home information packs, having a dns database of innocent people, have a snoopers charter allowing the local council to spy on your internet use, complex pensions, etc. etc.

Again ? Oh well, different thread...

Put the Tories in power, facilitate austerity, decimate NHS, likewise education, swallow P.R. vote fudge, scapegoat poor and vulnerable, set up the Tories up to take undiluted power in the next election, bomb Libya, tuition fees...

Screw it, I'll tag team this one - I'm out. Anyone else want a pop ?

 

[Paul Weaver]

Speaking about Coal power the UK is set for it's first day without coal power electricity generation well since the Industrial revolution (well slightly more accuratly since the first Coal fired power station was built)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39668889

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...coal-free-day-since-the-industrial-revolution

Lovely, an amazing achievement.

 

[MacLeod]

Again ? Oh well, different thread...

Put the Tories in power, facilitate austerity, decimate NHS, likewise education, swallow P.R. vote fudge, scapegoat poor and vulnerable, set up the Tories up to take undiluted power in the next election, bomb Libya, tuition fees...

Screw it, I'll tag team this one - I'm out. Anyone else want a pop ?

Erm wasn't it Labour wo introduced tution fees, Not saying that the Conservative-Lib Derm coalition didn't increase them. Also didn't the Tories run on austerity platform so it's not like we don't know what we were getting. As for Libya didn't Labour support the actions?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12799937

 

[Relayer1]

Erm wasn't it Labour wo introduced tution fees, Not saying that the Conservative-Lib Derm coalition didn't increase them. Also didn't the Tories run on austerity platform so it's not like we don't know what we were getting. As for Libya didn't Labour support the actions?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12799937

Yes but the LibDems broke their promises about them upon entering government.

Yes the Tories ran on austerity, but it was the LibDems who put them in a position to implement it.

Yes Labour supported action on Libya. They were wrong too and it didn't make the LibDems doing so any more right.

The bottom line is, all of the horrible, horrible stuff the Tories did manage to shove past the LibDems was facilitated by the coalition putting them in power. They're to blame.

Put it this way, if someone let's a tiger loose in a shopping mall and people get eaten, it's the fault of whoever let it go. You know what tigers are like...

 

[MacLeod]

Yes but the LibDems broke their promises about them upon entering government.

Yes the Tories ran on austerity, but it was the LibDems who put them in a position to implement it.

Yes Labour supported action on Libya. They were wrong too and it didn't make the LibDems doing so any more right.

The bottom line is, all of the horrible, horrible stuff the Tories did manage to shove past the LibDems was facilitated by the coalition putting them in power. They're to blame.

Put it this way, if someone let's a tiger loose in a shopping mall and people get eaten, it's the fault of whoever let it go. You know what tigers are like...

Well the likely outcome had the Lib Dems not entered into coalition government would have been a Tory minority government. And the Lib Dems paid the price for breaking their promise in the 2015 election when they were virtually wiped out.

Besides at the end of the day it was the electorate that decided they had enough of Brown and Labour in 2010 and then in 2015 when the electorate voted the Tories with enough seats to have a majority.

But at the end of the day doesn't voting come down to which party you dislike the least? As you might agree with some of each parties policies.

 

[Relayer1]

Indeed it does. I'm just saying (and bear in mind I may not agree with them politically, but I don't dislike them) that the LibDems carry a lot of blame for the state of things at the moment and that them going into coalition with the conservatives was pretty appalling.

 

[MacLeod]

We'll have to see if the electorate has forgiven them and they manage to increase their number of seats at the upcomming election.

 

[Relayer1]

Will have to see if the electorate has forgiven them and they manged to increase their number of seats at the upcomming election.

I'm sure it has, and in record time too.

I remember thinking that when Blair was elected that the Conservatives may well be finished (that was before I realised that economically they were still in charge) and it did take them a while.

The Conservative recovery has, however, been assisted by the gradual shift right of the entire political spectrum. The Liberals are currently benefiting from both being 'the' remain party AND supporting free markets.

Labour will benefit from exactly what ? Politics will continue to drift to the right, people will continue to blindly accept that a market led economy is unquestionably a good thing.

I'm not very optimistic.

 

[MacLeod]

Well it might be possible to reverse any shift towards the right but first you have to get into a position of power i.e form a Government and impliment policies that might stop any further drift to the right. It's about striking the balance between left and right too much of either isn't always a good thing.

 

[Relayer1]

In an environment where Milliband (!) was dubbed 'Red Ed' no-one who even questions the economic status quo will get anywhere near government to stop the drift.

 

[MacLeod]

Well they could always engage in the activity they are best at and lie about what they intend to do, in order to gain power. Once in power they could enact opposite policies to what they said they would do and if they are so good the elecotrate will forgive them and vote them back into power in the following elections After all most people expect them to lie, cheat ahve the odd scandel maybe even sex scandel and the elecotrate will barely raise an ebrow as they are engaging in the activites we expect them do.

Or am I being too cynical?

 

[Relayer1]

Sadly not.

'Nicer politics' anyone ?

 

[Paul Weaver]

2010-2015 was a compromise. If we ever get PR, we'll see far more of this, as it's been decades since >50% of the country voted for a single party (1931 I believe, after Labour screwed up the economy during the great depression).

Really we should be aiming at compromise so most people are mostly happy - not 51% of the country being 100% happy and 49% being 0% happy. 2010-2015 was far closer to that than 2015-2017.

 

[MacLeod]

Well we had a chance to change the sysem as to how we elect our politicans we decided to keep FPTP rather than change it. A change to PR might have come at a later date after that change given the changes it might have made. Small steps.

 

[Nyotarules]

Indeed it does. I'm just saying (and bear in mind I may not agree with them politically, but I don't dislike them) that the LibDems carry a lot of blame for the state of things at the moment and that them going into coalition with the conservatives was pretty appalling.

The LibDems sold their political souls in exchange for a referendum on alternative voting..look how well that turned out

 

[Paul Weaver]

Well we had a chance to change the sysem as to how we elect our politicans we decided to keep FPTP rather than change it. A change to PR might have come at a later date after that change given the changes it might have made. Small steps.

Doesn't change the fact that government by a majority can be tyrany for the minority. Project fear won the av vote, and won the brexit vote.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Doesn't change the fact that government by a majority can be tyrany for the minority. Project fear won the av vote, and won the brexit vote.

Well, yeah. Democracy is the worst form of government

Spoiler

except for all the others.

Spoiler

Sorry, I mean to say: LULZ.

What form of government would you propose instead?

 

[MacLeod]

Well with regards to Brexit instead of a simple majority they could have set the goal as 50% of the elecotrate rather than 50% of those who voted. Or a two thirds majority of all registered voters.

But wasn't the leave campaign promising millions of pounds per week more for things like the NHS if we leave etc...

 

[MacLeod]

I see one of Labour's ideas is more bank holidays with one of the reasons being

"These holidays will be a chance for workers to spend time with their families, in their communities and with their friends.


Except of course those working in the service sector, Shops, Pubs, restaurants etc...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39682388

Don't get me wrong I'm not against extra bank holidays but I might pick days like

Battle of Britain Day - 15th September
Trafalgar Day - 21st October

For the whole of the UK, whilst the devopled nations can have the national Saints day as a third if they want it.