The Political Thread

[Old Tankie]

According to the daily politics Corbyn is now a monarchist.

[JayzusB.Christ]

The idea of crowd-sourced PMQs is good in theory but who decides which questions get asked

I imagine once they've vetted out people asking "why is the PM such a fucking cunt?" they randomly pick one of the five questions they have left.

This is something I just can't get my head around: Who the fuck votes for this meat-faced prick? The vast majority of British people I've met (and my mother is one) are decent, sensible people who aren't wealthy enough to benefit from Tory policies, and the rise of Corbyn despite the media smear campaign proves it.

[TordelBack]

Aye, it is a mystery to us outsiders. I was listening to coverage of his proposals to 're-negotiate' the various protections EU employment law affords, and I found myself pondering the proportion of business owners/shareholders to employees in the electorate as a whole, and how the feck that works in his favour.

[IndigoPrime]

This is something I just can't get my head around: Who the fuck votes for this meat-faced prick?

The selfish and the rich. The xenophobes scared of "brown people" and those who believe that taxes are evil and BY GOD I WON'T PAY MORE LIKE THOSE LABOUR BASTARDS WANT, despite pissing 20% VAT into every purchase.

I don't get it myself, although we should never forget this government has a majority from under a quarter of the electorate—something most people don't get either. (I hear a lot of "well, the majority voted Tory, so there". They really really didn't.)

[Richmond Clements]

A combination of ill informed arseholes who read the Fail and the Sun and believe the utter shit fed to them there because it confirms their racism and their many other prejudices. That along with an I'm-alright-jack mentality and a, baffling to me, illusion that some working or middle class people have that somehow if they vote Conservative then, because they are all public school millionaires, I will somehow be as rich as them (I suspect the same mentality that makes shit poor Americans vote Republican).
Combine that with younger people not being inclined to vote, and older people being more incline to vote for vicious Right Wing parties, then you have the perfect storm.

[Old Tankie]

I love the Far Left, they can't win the argument, so they resort to insults.

[Proudhuff]

I love the Far Left, they can't win the argument, so they resort to insults.

because the Far Right don't do name calling....


on a separate note about your national anthem from that lefty YouGov: But while 68% of Britons know at least the first verse by heart, some 43% of 18-to-24-year-olds don't, according to a 2014 YouGov study.

Looks like he might be currying favour with the digital Gen 

[IndigoPrime]

I like that quote doing the rounds that better (and more respectful) to stand in silence and honour the dead than to look around for cameras so you people can definitely see you SINGING YOUR HEART OUT, like Insincere Dave.

[Professor Bear]

Didn't they do a huge scientific study a few years back into why people voted for conservative politicians?  As I recall, they discovered it was a combination of poor education and an inability to utilise critical evaluation that eventually resulted in a kind of functional but delusional state - and what was truly amazing was that this study was published in the Daily Mail.  This was described by Charlie Brooker at the time as being "like Loaded publishing an article about how only gay men want to look at Hollyoaks actresses in their underwear."

I'm probably dating myself there - is Loaded even still a thing now people can get actresses' sex tapes on their (wipe-clean) iPhones?

[Old Tankie]

See.

[Proudhuff]

See.

'poor education and an inability to utilise critical evaluation' As name calling goes its pretty lame 

[Old Tankie]

That's easy to say if it's not being aimed at you

[IndigoPrime]

As I recall, they discovered it was a combination of poor education and an inability to utilise critical evaluation that eventually resulted in a kind of functional but delusional state

Clearly, most people vote on the basis of barely understood information. I saw a bunch of interviews online recently, with one young lad asked about Labour and the Conservatives. He said they were mostly the same, but he at least knew one was "better for the rich" and the other "better for everyone else". He was asked which was best for the poor. After a long pause, he quietly asked: "The... Conservatives?"

But perhaps Corbyn, by some miracle, can keep things going. Barrel along until the election and change enough people's mindset to the point Labour can squeak enough sets to govern with support of the SNP. I think it's unlikely, but then even a week ago I didn't believe he'd be elected leader.

is Loaded even still a thing now people can get actresses' sex tapes on their (wipe-clean) iPhones?

Loaded went splat a while ago, didn't it, after yet another buy-out?

EDIT: Wikipedia says last issue was March 2015: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loaded_(magazine)

[Professor Bear]

Poor old Loaded.  Softcore grumble mags were the first casualty of the internet age.

'poor education and an inability to utilise critical evaluation' As name calling goes its pretty lame 

Hey, don't blame me, I don't write for the Daily Mail!

[Professor Bear]

A Change.org petition to get the BBC to refer to David Cameron as "the right wing Prime Minister" in the interests of balanced coverage.