this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2023
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UK Politics

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I still can't believe one of them was "stop the boats".

Of the others:

  • Halve inflation (still a long way to go)
  • Grow the economy (economy is board flat)
  • Cut the national debt (debt has now risen to 100% GDP)
  • Cut NHS waiting lists (waiting lists now even longer)
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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Maybe you guys should try another rich asshole who couldn't care less about you surviving the next few years. We keep doing it in America and it's going great...

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In our defense, no one voted for Rishi Rich, he's the result of the Tory party falling apart and having three leaders in one Parliament.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's not quite true... just less than half of voting Conservative party members voted for him, preferring instead the steady hand of Liz Truss. Well done there guys.

*cries

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh yeah, I forgot about that first leadership election.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

We all try to forget!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

There’s a big difference between the deficit and debt there friend. UK debt is 100% of GDP, not great but not a catastrophe.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Corrected, thanks. Too many billboards of Cameron going "I'll cut the deficit" in 2009 rotted my brain, I think.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

Yup, financial illiteracy of the UK public strikes again!

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

At this point, I really hope Reform UK makes some progress at the next general election. The Tories are weak on almost everything, including the economy, and Labour have no hope of being anything but the same.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm assuming you mean to bleed ultra-right-wing tories away from the main party, splitting the vote?

I'm still amazed they were permitted to make their logo an arrow pointing towards the box on the voting form.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I’m still amazed they were permitted to make their logo an arrow pointing towards the box on the voting form.
This was a pretty genius (and dubious) move, surprised it was allowed too.

Did you ever read the Brexit Party manifesto? I don't see how it makes them 'ultra-right-wing tories'. These are a few pieces from the manifesto:

No privatisation of the NHS
Cutting VAT on domestic fuel
Banning the UK exporting its waste
Providing free broadband in deprived regions
Scrapping the television licence fee
Abolishing inheritance tax
Scrapping High Speed 2 (HS2)
Abolishing interest on student loans
Changing planning to help house building
Reforming the Supreme Court
Reform the voting system to make it more representative
Abolish the House of Lords
Making MPs who switch parties subject to recall petitions
Reform the postal voting system to combat fraud
Introduce Citizens’ Initiatives to allow people to call referendums, subject to a 5 million threshold of registered voter signatures and time limitations on repeat votes

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Along with resuming fracking, and re-establishing coal-mining.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago

Which is why I wouldn't mind if they pulled some votes away from the Tories :) Coal-mining would be a big win for those dying Northern towns these days (though admittedly due in part to the Tories), not to mention massive health and safety advancements since the 70s would make coal-mining somewhat safer these days (though I wouldn't do it). Certainly a better idea that importing gas from Russia.

I recall Labour wanting to keep coal mines open in the 70s, strangely enough.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Feels just like the promises Johnson pushed out. We would have been unlikely to see any of that lot.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

The Brexit Party is a right-wing libertarian populist party organised out of Tufton Street. What we know about populists is that they make promises that large sections of the electorate generally want with no actual intention of carrying them out. Berlusconi’s whole career was built out of that in Italy. Farage has always insistedhe wants the NHS privatised.

Their policies were always a chaotic mix of meas - intended to be so by a section of the ruling class who wants to see the UK a completely deregulated extreme neoliberal state where the free market is some Lovecraftian deity we worship and are terrified will slaughter us.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Nope sorry we will lurch from Tory to Labour to Tory to Labour again and again as long as first past the post is the voting system.

Labour have made cute noises about electoral reform but I really can't see them doing anything about this when in power. Suddenly it will be "not a priority at this point in time".

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