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Pound shop Trump not wasting any time. ****t (smal town on Orkney). 
Pound shop Trump not wasting any time
Remember when Cameron held a referendum to see off the threat of Farage once and for all?
That worked well didn't it...?! 🤬
Pound shop Trump not wasting any time. ****t (smal town on Orkney).
Well as pointed out Farage cannot ignore employment law. Local authorities in the UK don't have the same power as the President of the United States.
And if Farage wants Reform UK to fall foul of the law then I think that is great. The law will deal with them
And if Farage wants Reform UK to fall foul of the law then I think that is great. The law will deal with them
Or make out that the "establishment" is stopping them carrying out the "will of the people".
Or make out that the "establishment" is stopping them carrying out the "will of the people".
Yeah very likely, but the law would still deal with them. So it's not really an "or" 😁
And the 'establishment are after me' line is likely to be as effective as it was for Liz Truss.
UK voters are different to US voters. i don't think that the new Reform voters of the last ten months are necessarily anti-establishment, I think that they are mostly just pissed off with Labour and the Tories.
I know Farage is not the most photogenic of politicians, but the BBC seem to be using a selection of the most unflattering pics of him in their reports.
but the BBC seem to be using a selection of the most unflattering pics of him in their reports.
Any publicity is good publicity though and he certainly gets far more media attention than other politicians as per the prevously mentioned greens, wouldnt be surprised if he gets more than Starmer.
It does look like the Tories are done - just frustrating that the Greens don't have a Farage type cult hero.
The problem is the Greens say stuff the media owners dont really like.
As such they stand zero chance of getting a cult hero which the right and the centrists wont launch full out rabid attacks on.
It's quite daunting to see a party so aligned with the orange idiot across the water doing so good.
Unfortunately when you vote in UK politics it's a case of the best of a very very bad bunch.
English politics, not UK politics
Good to see social media alight with consternation and indignation. Storming up to the en suite to scream into a towel why do the thick working class racists keep spoiling things.
We need to sit down with them, listen to their bigoted uneducated concerns, then decide what's best for these backward grass munching simpletons.
Just on that tax the wealthy point, I was going to start a thread on the opinion of Gary's economics but kept forgetting
The issue with trying to tax someone like Amazon is they just move things around, even though it's z UK to UK transaction they'll make sure it's done in Ireland or luxumberg or somewhere to avoid it going to the UK tax man
That's fixed easily enough... the UK government just needs to invent a new special tax just for offshore multi-nationals... call it a 'cost of foreigners doing business in the UK' tax. That would aso appease the anti-immigrant brigade.
Want to do business in the UK but don't want to file a tax return? fine, we will just charge you a % number based on your global company value determined by appoximate portion of business you do in the UK.
Job jobbed.
Think this period English politics could be christened REFUXIT.
Most of these conversations are way too late, the huddled masses have a second chance at revenge, first they voted Brexit second they voted Reform. The final act..... General Election.
Ends up in a glorious shit show.
English politics, not UK politics
Apparently Reform UK are currently doing reasonably well in Scotland. If it isn't at quite the same level of support as it is in England that is at least in part because in England it is now a four way split whilst in Scotland it is a five way split.
So in England voters have to be pissed off with the Tories, Labour, and the LibDems, before Reform start doing well, whilst in Scotland they have to be pissed off with the SNP, Labour, the Tories, and the LibDems, before it starts to benefit Reform.
https://www.survation.com/reform-uk-records-highest-support-ever-in-a-scottish-poll/
mattyfez has the solution to offshoring profits. Iirc that is used in some places
farageism gains very little traction in Scotland.
the Scots electorate are fed up with all main parties which should be ripe ground for reform but they still gain very little traction
You are saying that Survation have got it wrong?
What alternative figures can you provide?
One of the new intake of Labour MPs told me "this is not a verdict on our failure to deliver.
"It is a verdict on what we have delivered. People on the doorsteps are using the word 'betrayal.'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8jdr900r7o
One of the new intake of Labour MPs told me "this is not a verdict on our failure to deliver.
"It is a verdict on what we have delivered. People on the doorsteps are using the word 'betrayal.'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8jdr900r7o
Your forgetting that a huge portion of grass roots labour supporters are massive bigots/racists etc... none of this is unexpected.
One of the new intake of Labour MPs told me "this is not a verdict on our failure to deliver.
"It is a verdict on what we have delivered. People on the doorsteps are using the word 'betrayal.'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8jdr900r7o
Your forgetting that a huge portion of grass roots labour supporters are massive bigots/racists etc... none of this is unexpected.
I neither said the quote nor did I write the BBC article.
I haven't forgotten anything.
One of the new intake of Labour MPs told me "this is not a verdict on our failure to deliver.
"It is a verdict on what we have delivered. People on the doorsteps are using the word 'betrayal.'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8jdr900r7o
Your forgetting that a huge portion of grass roots labour supporters are massive bigots/racists etc... none of this is unexpected.
I neither said the quote nor did I write the BBC article.
I haven't forgotten anything.
Calm down at the back of the class... I didn't say you said anything! Lol
You are saying that Survation have got it wrong?
What alternative figures can you provide?
17% as a high point when all 4 other main parties are in the doldrums and folk are scunnered with those 4 parties shows little traction.
Its a lot less than thr traction the Faragists hve in England.
Y
Reform will need to put their infrastructure in place before they can "rule" properly. i.e. a proper management system. They are on a steep learning curve and they need administrative expertise to function. Being transformational but without administrative capabilities will only mean instability, worse case scenario is infighting and chaos jockeying for position. All political parties or ruling class have to go through this and Reform is still in the infant stage. Yes, they can win and win big but at the end of the day if their supporters don't get fed or fed less or does not feel the benefits, then Reform will have start all over again. Winning is just the first step, maintaining the system is an entirely different ball game.
Looking around the wards in the East Midlands that are now Nazi blue...
One by one, tick by tick, they're pretty much exactly the ones you'd think. You could probably draw a chart of "flat-roofed pubs per capita" versus votes for Reform and get a positive correlation of >0.85.
What an insular, nasty, racist, intolerant country we are. It's time to face up to it.
😐
Looking at the final results on the BBC news front page, Reform have 677, the Tories lost 676.
Labour lost 186 and the lib Dems and Greens gained 208.
Those are the voters Labour need to cosy up to and get back on side not Reform ones. **** Farage and **** Reform.
Reform will need to put their infrastructure in place before they can "rule" properly. i.e. a proper management system. They are on a steep learning curve and they need administrative expertise to function.
A friend (same county council as me) messaged last night having just found out the results saying "WTF?!" and then added exactly that - what do Reform know about running a council?!
And first thing I saw this morning...
https://bsky.app/profile/reformexposed.bsky.social/post/3loao2o66ek2n
Simplistic bullshit from simplistic bullshitters.
What an insular, nasty, racist, intolerant country we are. It's time to face up to it.
No, you are reading that totally wrong. The vast majority of people are none of those, they want a political Party that actually does some good for them.
We’ve had around 20 years of poor governance, and peoples lives have not kept up with their ambitions. Labour had some promise when they got in, but one of the first things they did was take £200 off pensioners. That was a terrible decision that was going to lose them an awful lot of goodwill. Subsequent policies by Labour are hardly inspiring to anyone, they have a massive majority, and could do some real change for the good, but they’ve squandered their chance within 9 months of being in office.
Immigration is a big issue, but it is an immigration issue, not a racist issue, dont confuse the two. Intolerance - people have had enough, 20 years where things have gone downhill for them in real terms, we’re supposedly one of the big economies of the World, so why isnt our Government working? Farage is playing on that, and putting forward populist policies. People see his list of Policies, and agree with most of them, and , when you read them as a list, they do look appealing. However, they are unlikely to be enacted, even if they get into Westminster, but the point is, he is promoting things that people, on the surface, want. Going deeper will show they arent that well thought out, but, what other Government has done any good in the last 20 years? So people think its time to give someone else a chance.
What has disappointed me most is the poor performance from Labour. They could do anything. But they havent. They’ve just annoyed a third of voters, shown they are not much better than the Tories, been caught taking freebies from ‘influential’ people, and not putting forward any plans to improve life in Britain. If they have any plans, they’ve kept them quiet, as I havent heard anything good yet.
Dont blame the Voters, blame the awful main parties for their ineptitude.
One by one, tick by tick, they're pretty much exactly the ones you'd think. You could probably draw a chart of "flat-roofed pubs per capita" versus votes for Reform and get a positive correlation of >0.85.
What an insular, nasty, racist, intolerant country we are. It's time to face up to it.
Certainly intolerant from that post 😉
The new Reform mayor of Greater Lincolnshire seems adamant she was elected to stop the boats. I'm pretty ****ing sure that is not in her mayoral remit, and given her track record on that matter after 14 years in a Tory government, I wouldn't rely on her stop at a red light.
Dont blame the Voters, blame the awful main parties for their ineptitude.
I think this is the nub of the issue; rather like we’ve seen in the US, working people know the system isn’t working for them, and Labour, who were traditionally the party they could rely upon to represent their interests, has let them down since being voted in last year. If Labour policies were focused on created a fairer, more equitable society, that would take the heat out of issues like immigration. Reform isn’t the answer: 10 minutes searching on YouTube will provide ample evidence of where Farage’s interests lie, but it appears the current Labour leadership are as blind to the realities of how they’re perceived as David Cameron was when he allowed the Brexit vote.
What an insular, nasty, racist, intolerant country we are. It's time to face up to it.
No we're not Danny, Britain is one of the most tolerant and inclusive countries in the world, and certainly so by European standards.
“ Reform banning biscuits"
Actually, they didnt say that.
On a similar vein, I was a Parish Councillor for a while. At the first meeting, the drinks and snacks came out. I asked how much they are. They looked aghast, - it’s free. I asked who paid for it, the Rate/Council tax payers of course. I said it was not right that you are eating / drinking taxpayers money, why dont you all just put £1 into the jar every month. Silence. I still stand by that, why should the taxpayers pay for the Councillors tea breaks.
And the next level up, the County Council, our Councillor always claimed the maximum expenses he could, £10k at the time. I enquired why he claimed so much. “Because its in the rules that I can”. Not that he had £10k of expenses, he just thought he should claim that, as it was in the Rules. And no one batted an eyelid, as they thought it was normal.
Its a lot less than thr traction the Faragists hve in England.
I think some might dispute your use of the term "a lot less". Undoubtedly less, which is in part explained by unique Scottish political dynamics, but still very significant.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/reform-uk-set-hand-snp-35159692
Reform UK's stunning success in the English local elections has massive implications for Scottish politics.
The conventional analysis is that Nigel Farage is an English phenomenon with little resonance north of the border.
But the reality is that the political earthquake which hit England will send powerful tremors to Scotland.
Opinion polls had already predicted huge gains for Reform at the Holyrood election and council by-election results have been positive for Farage. The latest Survation poll predicted Reform would go from 0 MSPs to 12 - and that was one of the poorer polls for the anti-immigration party.
Reform have eaten into Tory and Labour support in England and the same pattern is visible in Scotland.
If you want to find an area of the UK as an example of where Reform has the least traction I suggest that you look at London.
You could probably draw a chart of "flat-roofed pubs per capita" versus votes for Reform and get a positive correlation of >0.85.
Ignoring your lazy and rather bigoted inference about their political position its interesting you use flat-roofed pubs.
I cant imagine why people living in a post war council housing estate (which is what the flat-roofed pubs are associated with) would be particularly vulnerable to a party promising to change things.
Easier to insult them though rather than ask that, just possibly, those people should be adequately represented by the political parties rather than ignored for the swing voters and, most importantly, the donors interests.
Of course them hoping that reform would be the people to fix it is rather hopeful but then again since Labour arent offering an alternative and are in many ways validating Reforms position by promising crackdown on migrants etc then why wouldnt people fall for it?
My local council has gone from Tory to Reform 😞 Though I’d like to point out I have never ever voted for either party.
We’ve had around 20 years of poor governance
More like 50, about as long as I've understood enough to pass judgement. Before that I'll let those older than me comment. However, I don't see that as the source of the welfare state decline, the divisions in society, capital flight, industrial decline... . it's the attitudes of the voting population, and those are very much in the hands of the press, TV, Interet sites, social media... .
It says, here
That the unions will never learn
It says, here
That the economy is on the upturn
And it says, here
We should be proud
That we are free
And our free press reflects our democracyThose braying voices on the right of the House
Are echoed down theStreet of Shame
Where politics mix with bingo and tits
In a money and numbers game
Where they offer you a feature
On stockings and suspenders
Next to a call for stiffer penalties for
Sex offendersIt says, here
That this year's prince is born
It says, here
Do you ever wish that you were better informed?
And it says, here
That we can only stop the rot
With a large dose of law and order
And a touch of the short sharp shockIf this does not reflect your view you should understand
That those who own the papers also own this land
And they'd rather you believe
In Coronation Street capers
In the war of circulation, it sells newspapers
Could it be an infringement
Of the freedom of the press
To print pictures of women in
States of undress?When you wake up to the fact
That your paper is Tory
Just remember:
There are two sides to every story
Looking around the wards in the East Midlands that are now Nazi blue...
One by one, tick by tick, they're pretty much exactly the ones you'd think. You could probably draw a chart of "flat-roofed pubs per capita" versus votes for Reform and get a positive correlation of >0.85.
What an insular, nasty, racist, intolerant country we are. It's time to face up to it.
You missed out Brexit-voting Danny, standards are slipping.
Easier to insult them though rather than ask that, just possibly, those people should be adequately represented by the political parties rather than ignored for the swing voters and, most importantly, the donors interests.
This is not sinking in with the STW I've-done-alright consensus is it?
Calling a voter thick and stupid doesn't offer a solution, it's also not even a smart or useful observation in the scheme of things.
I'd simply say the failure of Labour in its current guise with all its fake progressive posturing married with Tory economic 'solutions' is the biggest part of the problem. (That's not to exclude Tories but as Centrists are keen on saying you can't do anything when you're not in power. Labour are and they've got to provide the solutions.)
Ill.just point out that the tories have not won a majority in Scotland for well over 60 years. Scotland left leaning way predated the rise of the snp.
Its also utter bobbins to claim reform are taking votes of Scottish labour in any quantity. This voters are going back to the snp for the next Holyrood election
Look at the numbers in that poll
The reform vote comes mainly at tories expensSince Holyrood came into existence the scots electirate and political discourse has become more sophisticated as a result of the complex systems in use
No actual votes have been cast in Scotland
Will you please not use uk and England as synonyms
The nasty racist intolerance is a English attribute
The daily record hates the SNP and are not any sort of decent source
"The nasty racist intolerance is a English attribute". No more than any other region. Many Welsh are very anti immigrants. Immigrants being Brits. Same goes for the Scots. After all they want to leave the UK despite a perfectly good vote not to. All groups have their less pleasant types but there are few worse than those who don't accept the majority vote.
What is really disgusting IMHO is the principle that local government involves party politics. Local representative should be there to deal with local issues and fight national government if national policy goes against local desires. Extending this, I expect my MP to put local desires ahead of party principles and most definitely personal views. They should never become ministers becuase that means that some of their time is spent dealing with issues that may not interest their constituents. We should have professionals dealing with policy not amateurs. Eh Ex Military for defence, ex teacher for education, ex medic for health etc.
The nasty racist intolerance is a English attribute
Your often demonstrated beleif in Scotish exceptionalism is equally racist.
Australia and Canada return progressive/centre left governments in response to trump whilst we swing to the right, I realise it's a protest vote against established parties but I think if Labour had actually positioned itself more to the left post election it would be benefitting.
TBH I think the winter fuel cut set a narrative in train cemented by disability benefit cuts that no amount of workers rights, increase in minimum wage, nationalising rail will counter balance.
If you look at the Reform gains they mostly match the Tory losses. The Labour losses are matched by Lib Dem and Green gains.
The whole thing is collective foot stamping.
Unfortunately some people have to suffer reform run councils.