I think even if you take away the ongoing Tory psychodrama over Europe that’s been going on over thirty years, by 2014/2015 onwards it would have been near on impossible not to have a referendum because of how well UKIP were doing as an insurgent political force, and the coverage Farage et al were gettingOriginally Posted by Letters
A key point - the media, including the BBC, were very much culpable in building up Fuckrage well beyond what his level of vote required or justified.
ofc the right-leaning media supported the anti-EU agenda anyway but for the BBC and others it was about creating the news rather than (as they should be) simply reporting it, they thought it was all good fun to be exacerbating problems for Cameron by bigging up the right-wing opposition - that went well didn't it...
I'd like to think they'd learnt from this type of backfiring newsmaking attempt, but judging by the way they're falling for Fuckrage all over again it seems not...
You say falling for it, like it’s something they are doing accidentally
It’s like CNN and Trump, Farage is a ratings booster. Plus at this time it’s irrelevant anyway, if the Beeb didn’t platform Farage he’d get just as much coverage from other platforms and he’d have another feather to his cap by claiming elitist bias.
The fact is we have very very mediocre people in the political class, so when you have someone who is in terms of intelligence and charisma a far better stump speech performer than the others around him…he’s going to attract attention.
Additionally it helps Farage that some of the things he actually says have some merit, but no one in the mainstream will go near them.
- The NHS is a failed model, and the French system would lead to far better outcomes (would I trust Farage to oversee that change? Fuck no…doesn’t mean he isn’t right in principle)
- It’s ridiculous not to use stop and search in areas where there are a high percentage of violent crimes committed by a certain demographic. When people ask me, how would you feel if you were stopped and searched….well I have been…on at least two occasions.
- There is an issue with integration when it comes to Islam and with young men who seem to be becoming more radicalised. Moderate and ex Muslims have told us this constantly, along with the prevalence of antisemitism in Muslim communities.
Does that mean I like or support Farage. No not at all, but I tend to prefer to examine what people say rather than whether I like the person who says it. I detest Jeremy Corbyn but there are a few things I agree with him about.
And as I repeatedly say, the more certain issues are ignored by mainstream politicians who don’t have the courage to be honest, the more people will listen to people like Farage
oh sure, I remember reading a UKIP manifesto in maybe 2017 or something - I agreed with quite a few things actaully, e.g. not building on the green belt and denying healthcare to fat people (I think that's what it said anyway).
But I still think they're a bunch of c***s
My point is that if mainstream politicians don’t address people’s concerns (whether you happen to think they are legitimate concerns) then you create a vaccum for the likes of Farage to wander into
The Tories talk tough on immigration but the vast majority of immigrants are here legally at their invitation either to keep universities going or to fill the gaps in the care industry
Now again that’s due to low wage jobs in the care sector (another thing James Bloodworth touches upon heavily in Hired)
So the Tory party essentially are talking out of both sides of their mouth on this issue, well they do things like saying family members of those brought here won’t be allowed which is a bigger deal if you’re bringing someone over from the subcontinent or the Phillipines rather than via freedom of movement.
And the Tories obviously don’t want to go back into the single market, nor do they want to pay higher wages for an industry that does not contribute to economic growth. So that’s why they bring people in surreptitiously.
At a time where we have a cost of living crisis (had a perpetual fucking one for 14 years) this breeds resentment, ultimately issues with immigration are less about overt racism than they are zero sum….people always think when a certain group gets privileged and they don’t….they get fucked off about it (human nature). Plus at a time where public services are on life support, it’s looked upon as a further drain on those services rather than supplementing them.
And that’s before we get to issues over housing, and how expensive it is to train as a Nurse in this country.
If these things don’t get addressed in a serious and sensible way, people will listen to those who will talk about it even if they are making gross generalisations, making impossible promises and are ratcheting up the resentment into hatred.
But you probably think Labour aren't. Which makes you - weird.
Für eure Sicherheit
Here we go then
Apart from around the margins, unless we have a 2015 situation again where polling companies were shepherding their data we all know what’s going to happen.
Labour to likely have the biggest majority since universal suffrage began, despite not being able to remember an incoming government having less enthusiasm for it (people who voted Tory in 2010, actually were reasonably quite optimistic about it)
Reform anything from 2 seats to 20 seats
SNP likely to lose a minimum of 20 seats and could lose as many as 40 (hopefully the latter)
Tories will they get over or under 100 seats (they deserve to be wiped out, but I don’t want a situation like in France where the centre right is squeezed out by the milquetoast centrists to its left, and the populist right to its right)
I’m maintaining my tradition established in the last general election of not voting (I did try and persuade myself, but ultimately although rumours swirled about David Lammy not being foreign secretary, I wanted concrete assurances)
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