As someone seemingly surrounded by people who’ve made a similar decision about everything from the local school boards all the way up to the POTUS…
Not great!
2 years ago
2K
Yeah...it all just happens by accident. A groundswell movement from the people to just spontaneously lose their minds. Nothing to see here. Move along...or more to the point, don't move at all.
FWIW, I agree with you. There is more nefarious than not.
That said, other than subtly (and often, not so subtly) pointing this out to my students what else would you like me to do?
Trying to have a conversation with these people is an exercise in futility as they “do their own research.”My general experience is that the young are less taken in by the snake oil...being as they are most often at the shittier end of the stick, and more prone to critical thinking. It's friends and acquaintances. People my sort of age. Who are more likely to need fixing. I just think we need to have the argument whenever we can, because sure as shit the forces massed against us are working round the clock on it, with algorithms.
The problem with democracy is that we are going to have to win the argument somehow, if we are going to make any progress. We do what we can do. If we do nothing, or not enough, I strongly suspect that we wont like where we end up.
I know there are those here who think I'm a dick, who has massively misread things. but I'd take my interpretation of what's happened over the last decade as being a better explanation of what we are seeing, than anything else I've heard. On the other hand, I have a shit memory, and we are all wrong, most of the time. but it's quite clear, if you are in any way looking at what is happening. There is too much of a pattern, too much consistency of tactics, in too many spheres of operations, for it to be coincidence. So bad luck on the anti-tin hat brigade. Looks like it's conspiracy after all.
We demand names.
*puts hood up, shuffles away
Overall the swing is Tory to Reform, Labour to Lib Dems with a slight spill to Greens. The Tories are going nowhere with the bad Enoch, everyone can see Starmer's Labour is just Cameron's Tories with austerity and attacks on the vulnerable and there really is nobody to vote for. I'd have gone Green, but we weren't voting in Wales, where independence whispers are getting louder, which would be hilarious but for the fact I own two houses here.
Thankfully Leics County Council didn’t go Reform, but only just.
The Tory won my area by 19 votes over the Green (800 majority last time) and the other side of town went Lib Dem from Tory, so thankfully no Reform cunts ‘representing’ us.
It’s a bit of a problem but I imagine nationally they will be all tearing each other apart soon (see Rupert Lowe). Will it make a difference? Who knows.
I think that's the consolation round here as well - Tories losing votes to reform. But ultimately, it's cunts getting cuntier
Yes, at least the Tory party have checks and balance (well it used to have more before Johnson’s purge). This Reform lot are just rabble. You can see that just by looking at the photos of those elected, they will be clueless at anything. Farage already bleating on about ‘ending Wokery’ and net zero. It really is depressing.
Not really sure what Labour does here, does it go more ‘reform’ but lose its core left? Or more left and lose its towns and cities across the north? It does need to change course though as its current policies such as winter fuel allowance are just annoying the right and left.
John Curtice was just on the telly saying the difference with Reform is that Farage's messaging (whatever you think of it) is very simple and straightforward and no other leading politician has that. Starmer has no clear vision statement, it's all just ums and aahs. What does Starmer's Britain stand for? The sense is that not even he knows and whilst that remains the case Reform will continue to prosper.
Some of that is because Farage has, to date, been untroubled by actually having to deliver stuff. Now he (his party) actually holds some power, their contradictions, incompetence and rank stupidity will become apparent. (And they’ll follow the SNP and blame the national government, which will probably mostly work because no one likes to admit they are a mark.)
Like the Tories? Like Trump?
Trumps a special case, as he’s more of a cult leader. You may want to check how the Tories did in the last election.
Indeed. Councils have no cash. They can't really do anything. They'll continue to not do anything. People won't much notice the difference.
It's straight out of the Trump playbook. Just list a load of populist items that your voter base will lap up - absolutely no need to deliver on any of it, or even have a plan.
Farage was at it yesterday when talking about the Durham victory. Bloated council? Check. Workshy staff? Check. Ban working from home? Check? Inclusivity and diversity schemes? Check. Repairing potholes? Check.
Then just a 'we'll fix all of this' message without explaining how the actual fixing will happen. It's very simple messaging but becomes harder the more local authorities that you've actually got to run on behalf of local people. It's going to end badly.
