Forum menu
I hate the Tories. I dislike right-wing, conservative politics intensely.
And to be honest, it's starting to eat away at me. As a former hard-news journalist, I find it very to look away from the news, so I can't just shut myself away in a bubble.
I've reached the point where I need to put up or shut up.
I don't belong to any party, as I'm a centre-left, globalist, social libertarian - I'm not sure who speaks for me. I would love to spend my days bullying Tories, but I appreciate that's not constructive for me or the wider community.
I'm acutely aware that I'm a white, middle-class, middle-aged bloke - I know my baggage/privilege.
Where to get involved? Who to work with?
Has anyone here gotten involved in politics or campaigning or activism?
What would you do?
Blimey, that could have been written by me, apart from the journalist bit!
I'm in the same place as you, and have wondered if I could just distract myself from what's really upsetting by somehow getting involved in the drive for PR.
I'd feel like I was doing something helpful for everyone, then. Maybe...?
Have you considered moving to Scotland and campaigning for Scottish independence?
I honestly don't know but there needs to be a third option because the other two wells are poisoned.
Have you considered moving to Scotland and campaigning for Scottish independence?
Give it a rest, that is a shitty statement.
If you can't join and support a party then I think you are better off being a "social commentator" or polemicist and trying to influence thinking constructively by using your journalistic skills.
Alternatively, find a single issue you are passionate about and throw yourself into it, forget trying to save the world, but make a difference etc.
I have no idea about how to get rid of the Tories, I suspect lamp posts and rope solutions are unfashionable these days.
Start stockpiling some gunpowder?
I don’t belong to any party, as I’m a centre-left, globalist, social libertarian – I’m not sure who speaks for me.
Join a campaign for proportional representation and electoral reform so that more than two parties can flourish. That way people like you (and also not like you in lots of ways) can have some voice and representation and have somewhere to channel effort into something other than hating the other side.
Floour. Stockpile flour. Give it enough air and it's better than gunpowder. It's certainly less suspicious, I mean, who would not want to do a lot of baking under Parliament?
Join a campaign for proportional representation and electoral reform
Worthy. But for these things to happen a majority of MPs in the HoC need to vote for them. Which means a political party in government has to support them. The lib dems had a halfarsed attempt when in coalition and failed.
Other options are continue as at present, to found or join a small party which has policies that correspond closely to your views, or, wait for it, to join labour and argue your corner (guess which I'd recommend as most likely to make a difference, albeit perhaps most like hard work).
Wouldn't worry about it pal. As a lifelong rightwinger there are no parties that represent my views currently either.
https://www.bestforbritain.org/
These kind of crowd funded campaigns are just inviting donations. You'll have to dig deeper to see if you can contribute in any other way. Im a lawyer so have approached GLP but they tend to want public law/constitutional litigators and Im neither.
If you have journalistic skills have a think about how you can target them effectively. Its not necessarily about a wider public audience.
Who can you give a voice to and who can you deliver that voice to? Its gratifying to have a readership in the thousands or hundreds of thousands but the real power to effect change might come from having a readership of just one.
Can you give a key decision maker a new passion? Changes happen because someone somewhere, who can change things has new ideas about what changes they want to see.
You can change minds but also you can reinvigorate people who have good ideas and intentions
My gf is a filmmaker and amongst her work there are films that almost nobody has seen. She has changed national and local government policies by doing so, sometimes by just by showing the outcomes on one person effected by the policies they enact.
Whats the point in knowing that thousands, or tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, or millions of children are living in poverty if you don't have an understanding of what life is like for one child living poverty? It makes a difference I you know what the changes you can make will do.
She acts on behalf of small organisations, and through them works one to one with individuals deeply effected by a particular issue, she has sat with parliamentary committees and shown them the raw footage straight off the camcorder viewfinder.
I was asked to describe what she did when I had to sit in for her at conference once, and struggling to work out how to summarise her work I just said 'She makes Chief Executives cry'.
I daydreamed (in a sort of fantasy lottery-win scenario) about producing a daily freebie a la the Metro but more like the Private Eye minus the snobbery (lol! someone got the date of some famous battle wrong in a TV quiz etc).
Something like 'The Daily Fact Check' but obviously a much better title than that.
Try to make it as un-opinionated as possible but just break down the numbers/agenda/possible outcomes of any political announcement etc.
It would take some very clever writing and a fairly dedicated team to quickly generate content based on the daily news cycle, and you would need to be squeaky clean and somehow above accusations of being in any way partisan.
Obviously would need some significant financial backing and the right people to get it started. It feels like a useful vehicle for Iain Hislop if he was feeling suitably altruistic and was willing to hold his nose and dumb things down a bit.
But yeah, I wouldn't know the first place to start on that one.
Where to get involved? Who to work with?
Maybe go and live in some communist country to see how much better they are?
Personally I don’t see much difference in the politics of any of the political parties, certainly no point in getting wound up about it
Keep you head down and go for a nice long walk. And put your efforts into something that doesn't make you angry.
Something like ‘The Daily Fact Check’ but obviously a much better title than that.
"The Chip Paper" would be for old news - crowd sourced citizen journalists take the time to fact check stories and present them accurately and fairly exactly one week after publication.
Maybe go and live in some communist country to see how much better they are?
Maybe go and live in a centre/left representative democracy and see how much better they are?
In other words why do you use far right rhetoric to draw a false equivalence?? Or was it satirical and I missed it!
"Have you considered moving to Scotland and campaigning for Scottish independence?"
"Give it a rest, that is a shitty statement."
I disagree. I have totally considered this. And still do.
I hate the Tories. I dislike right-wing, conservative politics intensely.
And to be honest, it’s starting to eat away at me. As a former hard-news journalist, I find it very to look away from the news, so I can’t just shut myself away in a bubble.
I’ve reached the point where I need to put up or shut up.
I don’t belong to any party, as I’m a centre-left, globalist, social libertarian – I’m not sure who speaks for me. I would love to spend my days bullying Tories, but I appreciate that’s not constructive for me or the wider community.
I’m acutely aware that I’m a white, middle-class, middle-aged bloke – I know my baggage/privilege.
Where to get involved? Who to work with?
Has anyone here gotten involved in politics or campaigning or activism?
Your happiness is others bitter pill.
Do you have a concept of others or except your own?
Soon you will retire from working life but if the intense hatred does not subside you will be lucky to live a healthy life after that if heart attack or high blood pressure or other illnesses do not get you first.
If lucky you will live on for a bit longer but if the hatred remains, you will suffer.
Assuming you belief in life after death, then when you depart from this world you suffering continues and your tortured spirit will linger or wonder the living world for a long time. You are going to be confined to a particular time and space constantly walking in the circle with no way out.
But if you don't belief in life after death, then breathing your last breath you will wonder if it is a worth while journey to become a fertilizer. Yes, you wonder where have all the happiness gone while turning into fertilizer. Your concept of life thus has only one definition that is confusion. Your mind will fight to remain and to stay alive, but you are drifting away.
What would you do?
Enjoy life.
Do whatever you wish but be prepared to pay the price if that makes you happy.
Fight to the death.
Let it be even if the entire population become extinct (not animals coz I like animals ... LOL!)
Have you considered running as an independent candidate or looking for your local candidate and supporting them on the campaign trail?
It'll be kinda like in Jack Reacher where he asks the lawyer to go and speak to the victims families...
Did anyone else read Chewkw's post in the style of Trainspotting?
The day after Boris was elected was the day we decided to move to Scotland - me after being away for 30-odd years and Mrs DB because she finds English politics toxic. She has also joined the SNP. We’ve also met an awful lot of English people who’ve done the same - you just have to ignore the Unionists who peddle the “English hatred” myth because they just love to do Scotland down to justify the $hit-show in Westminster and the useless hangers-on like Douglas Ross.
Some good thoughts here people.
I like the focus on PR - get upstream and try to effect change on the one thing that could have the most beneficial downstream benefits. It's a domino rally innit?
The journalism/commentariat thing: Nah, not me. The last thing the world needs is another angry blowhard with little new insight or perspective. There are good reasons why I changed my career.
The Scottish Indy thing: I have relocated to Scotland in the pandemic and I will vote yes at Indyref2. But I'm weirdly uncomfortable with the idea of campaigning for it - there is too much similarity with the arguments for Brexit for me to embrace the campaign. They are two cheeks of the same arse. Personally, I want to live in a post-nation-state federation, not unlike Star Trek.
Long walks: Yep, good point. I do need to work harder to protect my mental health.
If you hate it so much why don't leave? **** off. And then **** off once more once you've ****ed off.
There's a gap for a locally based 'progressive citizen journalism' along the lines of 'Yorkshire Bylines'
i.e. a regionally focussed 'Byline Times'
I’m a centre-left, globalist, social libertarian
There's your first problem; you've allowed yourself to be categorised according to other's definitions and judgments. Don't. Instead, think about what change you can make in your immediate environment and community. There are lots of support networks set up, to help say old, vulnerable and disabled people with simple things such as getting shopping in, fixing stuff if you have skills, sorting out computers and internet access, or just sitting and having a cup of tea with someone who's lonely. It's easy to sit and rage against the world, but you can't change the whole world. You can only change that little bit of the world around YOU.
Did anyone else read Chewkw’s post in the style of Trainspotting?
For me it was more:
breathing your last breath you will wonder if it is a worth while journey to become a fertilizer yes you wonder where have all the happiness gone while turning into fertilizer your concept of life thus has only one definition that is confusion your mind will fight to remain and to stay alive but you are drifting away…PARKLIFE!
First except there are things you can change and things you can't. What they (they thing you can change) are depends on the person as clearly some people manage to gather enough support to create change (see a man call Nigel).
Now choose one of those things and start to pursue it. I personally think global act local works well/ You are more likely to get a sense of achievement.
Thirdly don't attack / abuse people who have voted for the tories. You will never get people on board if you call them names for how they vote. Many don't think deeply about what they vote for, or consider just one small issue, or vote against someone rather than for someone. Some even have logical reasons but you may just not agree with their axioms. You may infact have closer opinions than you think.
I felt the same. I also knew that give my time and family commitments I could only make a small difference, so I did.
I joined the labour party and I give them money.
Then I met my local candidate and volunteered to help get them elected by delivering leaflets and helping with local campaigning.
Labour has made great advances in this staunchly Tory area for the first time. The candidate was elected.
I've made a tiny difference, given me the confidence to do more.
I F'in hate the Tory party and all the small minded, me first hateful bile that passes for acceptable today. Loathe it. I'd move to Scotland if it wasn't for midges. Tiny flying Tories.
Don't get mad, get active. Getting mad solves nothing. Action is the only thing that can bring change. Getting mad just ends up with things like Brexit, IndyRef and a tory government. And a more fractured, divided and resentful society.
I’m acutely aware that I’m a white, middle-class, middle-aged bloke – I know my baggage/privilege.
Use it. Find out what causes are supported either directly or indirectly by the people you do business with, be they supermarkets, pubs, clothes shops or whatever, and never give a penny to folk who are working against your interests. Ethical, political or whatever.
It’s not much, but unlike FFTP voting, wallet voting is both proportional and biased in your favour.
Convince a couple of other people to do the same.
Labour has made great advances in this staunchly Tory area for the first time. The candidate was elected.
I’ve made a tiny difference, given me the confidence to do more.
Fantastic!
Know exactly how you feel. I've come to the conclusion that, for the moment at least, it's conscientious legal people who are doing the best job of stopping the Tories completely f*cking the country. Groups like the Good Law Project. That's probably no help to you, but at least it might give you a political community to pin some hopes on.
Did anyone else read Chewkw’s post in the style of Trainspotting?
You read it?!? Blimey.
Don’t. Instead, think about what change you can make in your immediate environment and community.
This. Forget politics and do something which has a direct impact locally. That will have much more impact than whether you have a tory or labour MP/councillor. I'm always amazed at the amount of time and effort expended by volunteers to get someone elected only for abolutely nothing to change as a result. If you want to impact policy either locally or nationally then you'd be better off putting your time into campaigning or activism.
Speaking as a former environmental and animal rights activist it can be massively frustrating and depressing, but over time you will see change happen as a result of your actions, and you can savour the small victories when they occur with the knowledge that they were a direct result of your actions, rather than depending on others to do it for you.
I joined the labour party and I give them money.
The candidate was elected.
Forgive my cynicism, but what have you actually changed by getting a labour candidate elected? You might want to go read Ernie's account of Labour in Croydon on the Starmer thread.
The point about campaigning for SNP has been misunderstood, the problem with the 'English' political view is a total acceptance of a two party choice, it is now beyond questioning and one of the parties is currently dead in the water, so you have a tory party running free, this is what it looks like when they have a free reign and no opposition, the apathy in the thread reflects this, there is no way to change it within the current political framework and voters keep it such by only seeing two large political options.
Proportional representation makes it harder, Scotland doesn't have the same two party pendulum stranglehold, it is an option but probably only by relinquishing the concept of British rule for a new English parliament, my view is it's better to do that than wait till N Ireland and Scotland do it for you.
You might want to go read Ernie’s account of Labour in Croydon on the Starmer thread.
Whoa..,... my account refers to the behaviour of Labour right-wingers on Croydon Council, whilst that might be typical of right-wing party members it can't be used to condemn all Labour politicians.
Led By Donkeys seem quite visual how effective they are I don't know.
I too, was really angry after 2016 and it was eating me up.
The last election result just made me give up.
I'm clearly out of touch with what most people want ,so quite frankly I'm letting the ****s of this country get what they deserve.
Then when they realise that the EU isn't that bad and the Tories have ****ed them over ,they can behave as reasonable human beings not some bunch of Victorian throwbacks.
I live in hope.
what have you actually changed by getting a labour candidate elected?
...a step towards getting the tories out of power, which is what the OP would like to do. Worthy as all the single issue type campaigns are, they're not going to do this.
(You could argue that the Democrats in the US are a bunch of corporate rightwingers and be largely correct. But for now they're holding the nutters at bay. In the UK we need a Labour or, let's face it more probably, a Labour-led government.)
it can’t be used to condemn all Labour politicians.
Of course not, and I've got no problem with anyone supporting someone on the left of the labour party, but lets be honest, those type of people are few and far between these days, especially among parliamentary candidates. Even where they do exist, they'll no doubt be ignored and marginalised by a leadership and party establishment which would much prefer them to not be there so that effort expended on getting them elected could arguably be spent much better elsewhere.
Has anyone here gotten involved in politics or campaigning or activism?
I joined the local Labour Party and got quickly heavily involved in local campaigning and electioneering/ canvassing. the area was (still is) heavily Tory, so there was a feeling of "Us against the World" to the whole thing, and it was at times exhilarating, but mostly (as it was the Labour party of the late 80-early90's) it was monthly meetings where "This party endorses the egg plant growers confederation of Nicaragua's struggle against the capitalist's running dogs and their toadying lapdog fascist policies" sort of gig where (sorry) bitter old and friendless Trots and ex-communist party members would dominate the meetings to slag off whichever member had either 1. dared question them about anything ever, 2 whichever Labour official had raised their ire that month. It was too depressing
Do anything but prop up these old defunct useless organisations, and get out into the local communities and volunteer. .For anything from food banks to deliveries to litter picking to getting rid of invasive plants, just DO stuff
I feel your pain. I AM in Scotland, and voted "No" last time around. Witnessing the shitshow that goes on in Westminster has made me reconsider my position. I am not a "Yes", but I am open to being persuaded.
TBH, even if Scottish Independence wasn't a good idea, it might be worth living with the pain to be free of the privilege and entitlement from the Tories.
I lament the lack of an effective opposition. As much as I rate Starmer as a human being, he has no chance of ousting the Tories and he has more than enough troubles inside his own party.
Do anything but prop up these old defunct useless organisations, and get out into the local communities and volunteer. .For anything from food banks to deliveries to litter picking to getting rid of invasive plants, just DO stuff
This x100. There's nothing more depressing than feeling like you're being used to progress the ambitions of people who's motivations are not trustworthy. I remember back in my activist days the bloody labour party were always denouncing what we did as a waste of time and telling us we could only make a difference if we joined up and knocked on doors to get the local MP reelected for the nth time. There's all manner of stuff that people at the grass roots do which has a massive postive impact on people and communities which often goes unseen and unacknowledged, and when they are recognised, the politicians will try to claim the credit even though they had bugger all to do with it. I've lost count of the times I've seen a labour, lib dem or tory politician try to hijack a successful campaign or action for their own ends.
Over the last few years I’ve been a paid member of the national front
Goodness me. What exactly is it about ultra right wing fascism is it that attracts you? What of their policies would you want to see more off?
Do anything but prop up these old defunct useless organisations, and get out into the local communities and volunteer.
All the Labour councillors I know come from, and still not only support and participate in but actively help lead, such initiatives at the local level. They give up their time to try and make a difference in both ways... they don't choose one or the other. The venn diagram of "give a shit and get involved locally" and "stand for office locally" has a very large overlap. This is not just true of the Labour party I would hope.
This could be interesting, as I feel the same way.
Came to it via a different route - son of working class Tory voters who did OK under Tory government's, and naturally sceptical about too much government "interference".
But wider world experience has shown me the huge damage unfettered right wing politics/economics has done to the people who need support from the government the most.
Desperate to find a route that escapes the strict "left right" political narrative that has failed our society and can't see a practical and pragmatic alternative, other than my own benign dictatorship, obviously.