General British politics discussion thread

Shoog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122180909#Comment_122180909

A boozy hack of a man, he only looks good in comparison to the omnishambles of cretins left in the party after the great purge.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122180909#Comment_122180909

I remember that. There's a wonderful half second in that interview where you see him falter before he decides to just go for it and defend Cummings to the hilt.

Timberrrrrrrr

Has Sunak been on the wine?

Wants to bring back National Service for 18 years olds, that's a great way to get young voters onside.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpddxy9r4mdo

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122184206#Comment_122184206

This sounds hair brained - something they thought of in a five minute brainstorming session and announced it straight afterwards.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122184206#Comment_122184206

What does this even mean? Are they going to do it before July 4th? If not, it's basically more motivation to turn out the youth vote for Labour.

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122184272#Comment_122184272

As a policy, it seems unhinged - a guaranteed vote loser, not just with 18 year olds but the entire electorate (bar the Tory OAPs). You'd wonder what on earth is going on with him and his election team.

PommieBast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122184303#Comment_122184303

The FT was pretty blunt in saying it is purely to curry favour with the over-65s who themselves would not be affected by the policy.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122179457#Comment_122179457

umm… conspiracy theories?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_Horse_scandal

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122184303#Comment_122184303

The whole point is that none of those voting would have to do National Service. Otherwise it'd be 18-21 like it used to be.

Going out of their way to be cruel.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122184994#Comment_122184994

Thank you! The only way I'd support it is if everyone had to do it in some form or another but there's nothing quite so British like "Fine for thee but not for me".

breezy1985

Its just playing to clueless out of touch old people who think it will solve all the "people too lazy to work and solve the antisocial behaviour problems.

I heard it plenty from people in their 50/60s complaining about the "kids these days" despite their own generation being famous for things like NF and hooliganism.

CelticRambler

Off on a slight tangent: tuning in briefly to Sky News on Friday night, they made reference to "several major elections" coming up around the world this year, and pointed to (obviously) the UK general election, the US presidential and elections in India and South Africa, with an on-the-ground report from the latter.

Conspicuous by its absence was any mention of the imminent EU parliamentary vote. They don't get it, do they? Other than the crowd in Westminster, the election of the "unelected bureaucrats in Brussels" will have far more influence on British domestic legislation and day-to-day economics than whatever happens in India or South Africa. Probably more relevant than the White House geriatric contest too. But not a whisper - real "fog in Channel" stuff.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122185121#Comment_122185121

Makes perfect sense, no? When the UK was in the EU, the British deigned to send people like Nigel Farage, Anunziata Rees-Mogg and IRA apologist Claire Fox. There were some good eggs of course but turnout was low and nobody did much research AFAIK. I never got to vote in one myself.

The Economist was right to refer to the UK as "The reluctant European".

Sam Russell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122185174#Comment_122185174

They also had a party list system so that the elected candidates were pre-selected by the party, and not the electorate.

No wonder they had poor turnouts.

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122185014#Comment_122185014

Apparently, many people who did National Service in Britain in the 1950s hated it and thought it did nothing for them as a person. In the 2020s, the idea of knocking 'military discipline' into every 18 year old in the country seems even more dubious (many of them are already responsible citizens who want to go to university etc).

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122185392#Comment_122185392

University students get off with military service almost anywhere it exists.

Its a nice way to keep the posh kids out of the line of fire.

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122185405#Comment_122185405

Which makes things even worse - the working class being targeted mainly by this measure.

Labour (and the Lib Dems, SNP, Greens etc) should really play this angle up, encourage every young person in Britain to vote in order to stop national service being introduced.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122185174#Comment_122185174

Whereas we send Ming, Clare and Mick - hardly in a position to point fingers are we?

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122185457#Comment_122185457

Whataboutery is always a weak defence.

Tony EH

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122185392#Comment_122185392

Not only that, but the Army hated it as well.

Imagine being a Sgt.Major responsible for whipping National Service "recruits" into shape? People that don't want to be anywhere near an army and scumbags that shouldn't be allowed amongst the ranks in the first place.

And today's army is nothing like it was in the 40's/50's. You can't discipline the rank and file like you could back then if they were acting the maggot. My old man was in the army and remembers a lad giving the Sgt.Major some back chat one morning on parade. The Sgt.Major cut the feet from under him and told him to do 40 push ups and if he couldn't manage it, he'd get another 40.

PommieBast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122185333#Comment_122185333

I doubt the voting system made much difference. Turnout was a fairly consistent mid-30s both under FPTP and d'Hondt.

CelticRambler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122185174#Comment_122185174

I suppose I naively thought that maybe the "Brexit experience" might have prompted those who consider themselves to be serious journalists/independent media to start treating The Continent and what happens there as having at least some significance for GB.

Probably should have realised that was silly when so many immediately linked the election date - a random Thursday in July - to a US public holiday.

Tom Mann Centuria

https://twitter.com/PolitlcsUK/status/1794418096272462140?t=ypVPBmlgtIvC0NyVeDRBlg&s=19

Really don't understand why Sunak went so early, few more months to get his strategy, few more months for a blunder from opposition would surely have made more sense. So here they are with dozens of Parliamentary candidates to be chosen with days passing and no name or face for local activists to campaign for, other than a not popular PM

Tony EH

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122186171#Comment_122186171

Sunak and Co. know the jig is up and are getting out now. They know the Cons are finished in the next election, so there's no point in hanging around.

What they're hoping for, however, is that Starmer's Labour are found out in the next couple of years and then they can get back in again.

There's little over a month to go, and other than getting rid of the Tories, what are labour voters actually voting for? Nobody knows what Keir's stances are. Nobody knows what his positions are. Nobody knows what he believes in. He's also u-turned on many of his pronouncements too.

We have five weeks for Labour to tell us what they're about, other than "We're not the Tories". But I don't think they'll delve too much into campaigning when they know that the Tories are a busted flush and No.10 is a shoe in. They just won't have to.

Sam Russell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122185699#Comment_122185699

It made a huge difference - Farage headed the list which guaranteed him a seat. Whereas, a FPTP system would not.

Leroy42

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122186253#Comment_122186253

Tbf to Labour the electorate has shown over the last 10 years or so that they don't mind voting for vagueness and promises of change.

So why should Labour tie themselves down when a) the tories have let the economy and country on tatters so any promises will likely be broken and b) simply not being the Tories is enough.

It is also ironic that the Tory party that ran their last few elections on little more that creating fear about how bad the others were (chaos under Miliband or the danger of Corbyn) are complaining that the other lot are running on nothing more than they are awful

Nody

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122186171#Comment_122186171

I think the main reason is he did not want to be voted out of his role as PM; hence by calling the election he'll remain PM and can then resign after the election due to the results. As a secondary benefit to this would be the election will be before the major summer issues properly get traction in media such as the new import rules causing delays & price increases, queues at Calais and at passport for third party countries etc. as people go on foreign vacation properly again. Obviously I think the first played a much more part of it all compared to the second as he had said they would have it after the summer vacation (i.e. September etc.) and he simply thought to many letters were coming in (it's the Tories party; you do things for yourself only and everyone be damned after all).

Timberrrrrrrr

On the subject of national service the Tories were asked a question as to wether they were thinking of reintroduction of NS.

3 days ago the question was answered, 24 hours ago Sunak said he would introduce NS.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122186171#Comment_122186171

The odds were far more likely to be more blunders from the Tories than the opposition.

Hotblack Desiato

It's a "deat cat" nothing more. Tories have been in power for 14 years and there was never a peep out of them about actually implementing national service.

The armed services will be dead against this, it's the last thing they want. They are not some sort of social work initiative to supposedly make up for years of the Tories chipping away at the fabric of society.

Obligatory Yes Prime Minister though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahgjEjJkZks