Political Information Social Service - Election Special

[Deleted]

Sept 27, 2021 16:07:28 GMT sword65 said:

Sept 26, 2021 19:53:21 GMT gromley said:

It is becoming clearer that freedom of movement of labour did reduce wages and to some extent did 'take British jobs' - in the case of trucking for example.

But we have an acute shortage of drivers, so the import of labour is temporary. (Seems to me that the number of drivers to be admitted and the time period are both well short of the mark, but hey.)

The fact that we can once again train & test prospective HGV drivers will start to close the shortfall. Systemically though there is much more to be done to make HGV driving a popular career choice - it is not all about increasing the pay rate as this moving series of tweets demonstrates.

"As a HGV driver myself ..."

Absolutely unbelievable Jeff, Isthmian Premier league and regional divisions have been given permission to postpone midweek fixtures because of fuel shortages. Whatever next, call the games off for lack of pies and chips🤬🤬🤬

I heard there might be a lack of BEER!

[Deleted]

Fuel supply: Non-league football matches hit by shortages - www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58712719

Report here on the BBC sport pages. Further evidence, if it were required, of just how inept this government is looking. However, I don't just blame them, because we have no credible opposition party to challenge them, plus you have to wonder about the Civil Service, who are there to advise ministers. That said, it is pretty clear Bojo's motley crew don't listen to anyone apart from themselves and even then they know they can't be trusted as they are all serial liars as well ...

[Deleted]

I went to post a birthday card to Hungary today. When they checked it at the PO counter, it turned out to be over the Normal Letter size. And so I had to fill out a customs form, giving my name and address and details of what was in the envelope - which was then stuck to the back of the envelope.

Still, at least we got our sovereignty back...

[Deleted]

Sept 27, 2021 20:28:52 GMT @61666 said:

Fuel supply: Non-league football matches hit by shortages - www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58712719

Report here on the BBC sport pages. Further evidence, if it were required, of just how inept this government is looking. However, I don't just blame them, because we have no credible opposition party to challenge them, plus you have to wonder about the Civil Service, who are there to advise ministers. That said, it is pretty clear Bojo's motley crew don't listen to anyone apart from themselves and even then they know they can't be trusted as they are all serial liars as well ...

I'm sorry, but I will respectfully disagree. The utter shambles and corruption that is this 'government' is nothing to do with the opposition. The decisions made are made by this 'government' and they are the decisions made for the people that elected them. Fuel shortages, gas supply issues, lack of lorry drivers and resulting supply issues, poor response to covid etc etc. It is their fault not Jeremy Corbyn's or Keir Starmer's. If a country more obsessed with celebrities than daily life elects a circus act with ruffled hair and pithy one liners then it gets a cabinet of clowns with comedy solutions. There are parties out there with serious people looking to genuinely improve things. The trouble is people are too busy being brainwashed on nonsense about empire or the Kardashians to care. They are getting a rude awakening...

[Deleted]

Sept 27, 2021 22:18:06 GMT @johndaubneyslegs said:

I went to post a birthday card to Hungary today. When they checked it at the PO counter, it turned out to be over the Normal Letter size. And so I had to fill out a customs form, giving my name and address and details of what was in the envelope - which was then stuck to the back of the envelope.

Still, at least we got our sovereignty back...

Hurrah for LESS RED TAYPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[Deleted]

Tonbridge store Gregg's has closed for 2 weeks blaming lack of supplies. The owner of the Chinese restaurant next door commented "this comes as no supplies to me"😁

[Deleted]

I see the solution to Brexit problems is now to start rowing back on all the brexit policies. Oh dear. Petrol Johnson is ramping the scam another notch

[Deleted]

Hear what you say about popular culture and the desire to be famous. However, currently we have a weak government, but with a large majority, while (to my utter dismay) the Labour Party is still squabbling among itself, instead of holding the government to account. Lib Dems likewise.
Maybe when we get nearer to another election, we might start getting some credible alternative ideas, but even then our first past the post system stifles voting. Without a strong opposition party, there is little point in anyone who is not a Tory voting in Kent - apart from Canterbury. With the population as a whole conservative with a small c, unless we have strong alternatives, then Tory rule just goes on and on, not matter how much of a bollix they make of things.

[Deleted]

Sept 29, 2021 7:56:38 GMT @61666 said:

Hear what you say about popular culture and the desire to be famous. However, currently we have a weak government, but with a large majority, while (to my utter dismay) the Labour Party is still squabbling among itself, instead of holding the government to account. Lib Dems likewise.
Maybe when we get nearer to another election, we might start getting some credible alternative ideas, but even then our first past the post system stifles voting. Without a strong opposition party, there is little point in anyone who is not a Tory voting in Kent - apart from Canterbury. With the population as a whole conservative with a small c, unless we have strong alternatives, then Tory rule just goes on and on, not matter how much of a bollix they make of things.

I guess we are mildly disagreeing over semantics. I'm pointing out that decisions taken are by the 'government' not the opposition while you are talking about the opposition needing to be credible to get rid of the 'government'. In that respect we are both right.

On your point, the Libs, Greens and Labour have to start working together. To me, Labour's failure to signal such a thing this week (especially the rejection of PR) was not a great step towards ridding ourselves of this lot.

[Deleted]

Sept 29, 2021 7:56:38 GMT @61666 said:

Hear what you say about popular culture and the desire to be famous. However, currently we have a weak government, but with a large majority, while (to my utter dismay) the Labour Party is still squabbling among itself, instead of holding the government to account. Lib Dems likewise.
Maybe when we get nearer to another election, we might start getting some credible alternative ideas, but even then our first past the post system stifles voting. Without a strong opposition party, there is little point in anyone who is not a Tory voting in Kent - apart from Canterbury. With the population as a whole conservative with a small c, unless we have strong alternatives, then Tory rule just goes on and on, not matter how much of a bollix they make of things.

Tories in a nutshell - all they care about is staying in power. And, as long as we have FPtP, they will. As for Canterbury, all they have to do is call a GE in the summer - without the student vote, Canterbury is as Tory as the rest of the county.

Long gone are the days of Labour in places like Chatham, Gravesend and Dartford. In 74 they had an MP in each of those constituencies, but they all went blue in 79. The Blair 'new dawn' saw a record of eight Kent Labour MPs (nearly half the Kent constituencies!): Dartford, Dover, Faversham/Sittingbourne, Gillingham, Gravesend, Rochester/Strood, Thanet and Chatham & Aylesford. But, by 2010, there were none once again. The only current Labour constituency is aforementioned Canterbury.

Interesting, looking back at that - it indicates that, although Kent is pretty solid Tory, Labour can win in some areas. It will be interesting to see if a 'moderate' party under Blair Starmer can win any of them back. Assuming, of course, that he lasts until the next GE...

[Deleted]

Surely this should be one of the easiest governments in many years to 'oppose' since they offer up so much to attack. I see the current political climate in the UK as a failure of whoever the 'opposition' are for not embaressing a frankly appaling government.

(and I say this as someone who has dealt with Alex de Pfeffel and can see him for the chancer that he truly is)

[Deleted]

Sept 30, 2021 1:04:58 GMT hongkongstone said:

Surely this should be one of the easiest governments in many years to 'oppose' since they offer up so much to attack. I see the current political climate in the UK as a failure of whoever the 'opposition' are for not embaressing a frankly appaling government.

(and I say this as someone who has dealt with Alex de Pfeffel and can see him for the chancer that he truly is)

It was ever thus with Labour - they are two parties in one. The party was set up and funded (and still is) by the unions (hence the name 'Labour'), to represent 'the working man' in Parliament. But there were other groups also involved in the establishment of the party - the co-operative movement and various socialist groups, for instance. So there was always this split between pragmatic 'social democrats', who recognise that you have to be popular to be in power (but who invariably disappoint once there), and radical left-wingers, who want to change the world, but who don't seem to understand you have to win elections to be able to do that.

Hence they are very rarely a functioning opposition (or often even a functioning government). And with a single-minded party like the Tories (power is all they're interested in), it is no accident that we've had mostly Tory governments since the war.

What Britain really needs is separate Social Democratic and Socialist parties - then the Tories would have a coherent opposition and the left-wingers would have a nice comfortable echo chamber to keep them out of trouble. But, of course, this wouldn't work with FPtP. And even with a sane voting system, we would probably mostly have coalition governments (although there's nothing inherently wrong with that - it's how many countries work quite successfully).

Personally, I see the key to the future (assuming proportional representation - so don't even bother to read further!) as being the rise of the Greens. A Social Democrat - Socialist coalition would be as bad as the Labour Party (effectively the same thing), but an SD-Green or SD-Green-Lib coalition would have the broad support of the electorate AND produce a functioning government, which hopefully would do a few sensible radical things, but nothing too daft. And the Tories could go back to their constituencies and rot.

[Deleted]

"What Britain really needs is separate Social Democratic and Socialist parties"

Tried that in the 80s, they lasted a few years, merged with the Liberals to become the Social and Liberal Democrats, had one half decent election but we're still the smallest party and then blended back into the virtual obscurity the Liberals had occupied since the war. Dropped Social from their title and became the Liberal Democrats we know today with their only taste of power being the coalition with Cameron's tories.

[Dan]

First pass the post ensures the retention of the 2 party system whereby 40% of the vote easily secures a majority.
High 30%s can be enough sometimes.
Apart from the SNP which concentrates its vote, parties that can only achieve 5% to 20% nationally, stand no chance.
Nothing will change ever.

[Deleted]

Currently don't see much change in the fuel situation either. Went to eight filling stations this morning, including Tesco at Larkfield and Sainsbury's Aylesford. All out of fuel. Stewards at Sainsbury's said they have been getting a tanker at six am every day this week, but this runs out after four hours. Finally filled up at the nineth - the BP station in Snodland, but only after queueing for 40 minutes.
Crisis, what crisis?