Because man on the street doesn’t give a **** about that sort of Westminster intrigue? It’s be a wasted effort attacking on that front.
I dont know, the "eat the rich" movement is growing, more and more people are seeing things the way they actually are and why they are the way they are.
I did wonder how long it would take before a bit of 'there all the same-ism' to come into it when talking about Tufton Street. I expect the Tufton Street wonks would be absolutely delighted to see the waters muddied. Tufton Street has not got its tentacles into the Labour Party, or Liberal Democrats, or Greens, because the ideas the think tanks want to plant and normalise do not align with them. Starmer might look like a Centrist Dad's idea of a globalist shill because he's boring, has a knighthood and something something Jimmy Savile, but the policies and ideas of Rachel Reeves will not be going down well with the gonks and wonks at 55 Tufton Street. I think UEA_Hornet is right. Too few people will know what Tufton Street is to make it a sensible line of attack for Starmer or anyone else. Tufton Street think tanks have long had a platform in the media – especially on the BBC – without anyone really explaining who they are, what they do or who funds them. I wonder how many people, when told about the TaxPayers' Alliance, would assume that it exists to ensure tax is responsibly collected and spent when pretty much the opposite is true! The TaxPayers' Alliance, IEA, Civitas, Adam Smith Institute are all libertarian, right-wing think tanks. The others are all Brexit-related or climate denial. They are linked to the Kochs and Robert Mercer. They all believe in small state, low tax, free markets, deregulation, and other economic libertarian ideas – ideas that all come firmly from the right.
The polls are always wrong and not to be trusted: https://twitter.com/mrjoelclark/status/1596557375107899393
I first thought this was a promo for the Ukrainian Armed forces to help liberate us from an occupying power who've almost destroyed our economy, social infrastructure, education system and health service: https://twitter.com/DeborahMeaden/status/1596831317173604353
But it's not just the illusion of choice. Starmer's Labour and Sunak's Tories are different. This 'they're all the same-ism' is very often an excuse people tell themselves to justify voting for the status quo. "Oh well, they're all the same," or "better the devil you know." The Tories punch down. They've always punched down. And they actively look for ways to ensure there are more people at the bottom of the pyramid than the top. That's just how they are.
You are free to believe what you want as am I. Democracy ends at the ballot box once the powerful lobbyists and party whips get involved.
The question to ask is who are the lobbyists, who are they lobbying and what are they lobbying for. And that is something that is sadly lacking from the political discourse in this country and it is a question neatly swerved with a drop of the shoulder Maradona would be proud of when people start with the 'they're all as bad as each other' business. This particularly avenue of the thread started out with you suggesting that Labour are as influenced by Tufton Street as the Conservatives. Of course, you are free to believe that, but I would suggest it's a belief that doesn't stand up to scrutiny. For a start, Labour's Angela Rayner has recently and consistently spoken out about lobbyist at Tufton St. https://twitter.com/AngelaRayner/status/1584244005927198720
TBF their appearances of the Beeb are becoming fewer as they're always pressed on who actually funds them (which the various groups deflect and duck) and who they represent.
Probably just lying low for a bit. Liz really drew a lot of unwanted attention for them so I should think they want to slope back into the background of the Commons tea room til the heat is off.
A pious man of true principles: And one of those principles is making a buck: https://twitter.com/Jacob_Rees_Mogg/status/1597541389742460928
The futility of PMQs. Sunak answers Starmer’s questions with It’s the same old Labour ideas, more debt, more inflation, more strikes and more migration… Cheered on by the Tories, without the slightest regard for their record.
The entire institution needs to be metaphorically bulldozed. Keep the building as a sort of living museum. Privatise it on the basis that not a single penny of public money is ever spent on it, and if a private company can make a profit out of it by attracting visitors or hosting TV shows in there while paying for its upkeep or whatever, good luck to them. Then move the business of Parliament to a building that's fit for purpose. Do away with the opposing benches and have a more collegiate round-table set-up. Force MPs to sit next to colleagues from other parties, or group people together geographically by the constituencies they represent. Or just make it random but impossible for groups from the same party to sit together. If they insist on behaving like children, let's treat them like children. Introduce a code of conduct fitting for a place of work. If you can't jeer, cheer and ra-raaa-raaa at a professional conference or in an office meeting why should these idiots be indulged? Ensure that lying or inadvertently giving dud information is corrected promptly by forcing MPs to return to correct the record. Have an independent moderator who ensures the questions are answered. The recent farce with John Nicolson being held more thoroughly to account for seeking to clarify something Nadine Dorries said is absolutely absurd. Actually make the place work properly as a place of business rather than have this ridiculous Punch and Judy show half a dozen times a week followed by an empty house for important debates the rest of the time. The fact we as a country and particularly the media stand for this nonsense reflects so badly on the nation. (I know people will now point out that there's been bar room style brawls in Turkish or Romanian Parliament or wherever but that really is an irrelevant point.)
Your point about making it a place of business is spot on. One of the things that most boils my wee about the current Government is this seemingly endless boosterism that they believe the UK can be great or brilliant or great or brilliant again. Here’s a thing. Just get on with the boring business of administration and competent Government to help people. We can let ‘great’ take care of itself.
It is absolutely pointless. Personally I blame the speaker. It's his job to ensure questions are actually answered. He just lets Sunak indulge in mini speeches that have no relevance whatsoever to what has been asked. If I were Starmer I would just stand up for my six questions and ask "Mr Speaker, why is the PM unable to answer any question I ask him?" over and over to highlight the issue.
Good, he'll get a well deserved massively humiliating pathetic number of votes. #vote binface https://www.countbinface.com/
There was some muttering on the radio yesterday suggesting upcoming boundary changes in your neck of the woods might help Bojo survive. Any knowledge?
It would actually be even more amusing if he won, but most of the other Tories lost, leaving him to lead a Lib Dem sized party comprised of Chope, Bone, Fabricant and the like.
Meister Manor seems to be the hot potato that is passed between two different constituencies fairly regularly. I've no insight into where we'll be at the next GE I think the gerrymandering will start after the relection deadline passes next week.
They've not been useless at all. Certainly not for the people they were looking out for. The transfer of vast wealth from the masses to the minority has been absolutely terrific for a very small number of people. They were extremely effective at persuading a large number of people to vote directly against their own interests not once, not twice but four times. Even now the work continues. Their focus is on encouraging the public to attack nurses rather than, say, Michelle Mone and Matt Hancock. It's actually quite impressive how they operate and how effective it is. Within the Tory party there are tiers. There are those who will now walk away, satisfied that they can wring no more from the public purse for a while because the wind direction has changed. Then there's the fodder – useful idiots, really – like Lee Anderson and his ilk, who are just there to anger and enrage the dwindling but still significant number of people who might continue to fall for the deception.
Zahawi on Sophy Ridge's show this morning proving the point by saying that nurses striking for better pay would be to give Putin what he wants. I mean, this is real through-the-looking-glass alternate reality stuff. The message is that British people should not only accept but actually embrace being poorer on all fronts – stagnated wages, higher living costs, more expensive energy, more expensive food, higher inflation, weaker currency, higher interest rates – because to be a strong, prosperous, wealthy country where even the least well off have enough to be active, meaningful participants in the economy and therefore society would somehow be a gift to Putin. Meanwhile, the rich squirrel the country's cash into their own pockets. Absolutely extraordinary that a politician should go on TV and spout this stuff while a significant number of the population nod along and say: "Yes, that sounds like common sense to me." It's the most jaw-dropping con job and yet this sort of thinking has become normalised for a bafflingly large number of people over many years.
Bucking the recent trend for Tory MPs to announce they will not fight the next election, Liz Truss has confirmed that she will attempt to keep the monumentally safe seat of South West Norfolk. That’s the bit of Norfolk other people from Norfolk consider to be full of mad bumpkins.
