Weekend Open Thread | 36 comments (36 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Weekend Open Thread (none / 1)

ukip have been having a lot of free and rather uncritical coverage, Farage comes cross s good bloke to have a laugh with in a pub. People have been convinced by the media that immigrants are the problem in areas where employment is under pressure (ie everywhere). So they vote ukip.

It requires a party willing to challenge that narrative. The greens are doing so. Labour could but aren't. Tories used to but aren't that sort of party anymore

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Nov 21st, 2014 at 03:48:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Weekend Open Thread (4.00 / 5)

Someone is taking the piss at the expense of the voters.

The idea that a braying clown like Farage could be taken seriously as an alternative protest vote party leader, instead of being laughed out of town while tied to the wrong end of a lame donkey with an unfortunate illness, is evidence of the contempt with which the fixers hold the electorate.

And - sadly - rightly so. If the voters had a braincell between them they'd see Farage for the ass he is, and the other tedious posturers for the Punch and Judy show that democracy has become.

Cameron even looks like Mr Punch. He beats up widows on benefits and throws babies out of prams.

Miliband looks like Gromit. Boris looks like his own idea of a Marvel superhero.

God only knows what Clegg looks like - except maybe the human embodiment of Cthulhu's PR manager.

How much more of a clue do we need that it's all for show?

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Fri Nov 21st, 2014 at 09:12:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Weekend Open Thread (4.00 / 6)

Guardian - Owen Jones - Rochester byelection: beliefs of Ukip voters are soaked in leftwing populism

If the seemingly irresistible rise of Ukip teaches us anything, it is that sentiment all too often trumps reality and mere detail in politics. The party is a self-described "People's Army", now emboldened by a victory in Rochester and Strood it hopes will bring renewed momentum. Its voters are disproportionately working class.
Polls suggest they support renationalising rail and energy and want higher taxes for the rich and an increased minimum wage. According to research by the academic Matthew Goodwin, 81% of Ukip supporters believe "big business takes advantage of ordinary people"; a slim majority want the government to redistribute income; and they overwhelmingly agree "there is one law for the rich and one for the poor".
These are beliefs soaked in leftwing populism; and yet those who subscribe to them have flocked in droves to a party of the hard right. Ukip's leaders now defiantly, unapologetically present themselves as a people's insurgency against a contemptuous establishment.
[....]
Ukip are not associated with this baggage: perversely, given their leaders are really unabashed ultra-Thatcherites. But, again, it's all about sentiments: Ukip present an entirely fabricated chasm between them and the Tories. In both Clacton and Rochester, voters were frequently reported to be voting for Ukip because the incumbent Tory had done nothing for them.

To explain that last bit; in both cases, voters re-elected the incumbent, who had switched from Tory to ukip.

If only there was a popular party that could energise the sentiments in the early paragraphs.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sat Nov 22nd, 2014 at 08:58:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Weekend Open Thread (4.00 / 4)

So they voted for the toher guy, except it was actually the same guy?

That is some combination of low-information voters and cynical politicians. Material fit for Blackadder.

Sweden's finest (and perhaps only) collaborative, leftist e-newspaper Synapze.se

by A swedish kind of death on Sat Nov 22nd, 2014 at 06:25:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Weekend Open Thread (none / 1)

Blackadder have already had their rotten election, not on youtube, but here.

Plot on wiki

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun Nov 23rd, 2014 at 04:48:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Weekend Open Thread (none / 0)

If he switched parties, is his public persona still the same?

by IM on Sun Nov 23rd, 2014 at 12:13:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Weekend Open Thread (none / 1)

I think you'll find he started out as a slimy two-face bastard and hasn't changed one bit

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun Nov 23rd, 2014 at 12:45:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Weekend Open Thread | 36 comments (36 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)