DCI Frank Burnside 3,887 Posted March 26 3 hours ago, TQR said: Reading the mini-reshuffle details, I nearly choked on my drink. Now 30p Leeanderthal has vacated the Tory party, they've now got as their Deputy Party Chair...Jonathan Gullis Gullis [gull-iss] noun - The pungent mush consisting of mould and sawdust present below barrel scrapings. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,050 Posted March 26 With all this shuffling, maybe it's time for the current Government to get their own pack of cards like Saddam's cronies. (Probably be full of Jokers, mind!). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,647 Posted March 27 10 hours ago, RoverAndOut said: Have they learned absolutely fucking nothing? He'll be the next one to jump ship! As one of the weekend papers noted, it's very hard for the Tories to claim 30p Lee is a nobody when he was Deputy Leader of their party less than 2 months ago. Same will now apply to Gullis. There is a genuine possibility that the Tories could be terminally wounded by the nonsense of these past 2 years. There's only so much that can be absorbed before the public say "enough". And it's been a century since the last re-alignment in British politics. I'm not sure Reform carrying the conservative torch forward is a positive step, though. A good point I've discussed with one or two people I know, i.e., whether the present Tories have been so blind to encroaching danger that they could go the way of 1920s Liberals. Personally, I think they'll have a rabid internal fight after being demolished electorally, and turn it round. But very hard to call. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DCI Frank Burnside 3,887 Posted March 27 Great to see Greg has his priorities in order..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
time 8,611 Posted March 27 43 minutes ago, DCI Frank Burnside said: Great to see Greg has his priorities in order..... If he was really interested in what a Blueberry and Yuzu Blondie is, why didn't he either go into Leon and ask or google it? Is it because no-one sees his faux outrage if he does either of those? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TQR 14,398 Posted March 27 That fucking boiled cabbage is why Britain (unfairly) has such a reputation for dull, insipid, badly-seasoned food. Mind, if the blueberry and yuzu blondie was named after an area of London he'd be all over it like Gary Sambrook on a big dinner. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Commtech Sio Bibble 2,047 Posted March 27 I know I'm a few days late to this but Owen Jones's 'I Quit Labour After 24 Years. This Is The Alternative' video just popped up on my Youtube recommended page and whilst I have never heard of this man before this week so I don't really get why it is such a big deal, I do agree with a majority of the points he makes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DCI Frank Burnside 3,887 Posted March 27 Finger on the pulse of the electorate 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
msc 18,477 Posted March 27 8 minutes ago, DCI Frank Burnside said: Finger on the pulse of the electorate Point of information - a very quick Google suggests there are at least a dozen chippies within Uxbridge and possibly more because that was just a cursory glance and it's Britain and fucking chip shops... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
time 8,611 Posted March 27 2 minutes ago, msc said: Point of information - a very quick Google suggests there are at least a dozen chippies within Uxbridge and possibly more because that was just a cursory glance and it's Britain and fucking chip shops... He could open one himself. If he's short of the necessary capital, he could start a Gofundme and get people to *ahem* chip in. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DCI Frank Burnside 3,887 Posted March 27 9 minutes ago, time said: He could open one himself. If he's short of the necessary capital, he could start a Gofundme and get people to *ahem* chip in. Particualry when there's a significant chance he's going to be looking for a new job before Christmas ...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 4,746 Posted March 27 Jesus Fucking Christ - can you imagine?! 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DCI Frank Burnside 3,887 Posted March 27 1 hour ago, RoverAndOut said: Jesus Fucking Christ - can you imagine?! Of course it will. It's not like it's those people in particular that are causing the drift away from Tories...... Like how he acknowledges Nigel "Man of the People" Farage still probably couldn't win a seat Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sod's Law 447 Posted March 27 7 hours ago, Commtech Sio Bibble said: I know I'm a few days late to this but Owen Jones's 'I Quit Labour After 24 Years. This Is The Alternative' video just popped up on my Youtube recommended page and whilst I have never heard of this man before this week so I don't really get why it is such a big deal, I do agree with a majority of the points he makes. But that's just the problem with it. There IS no alternative under this archaic joke of a voting system we're stuck with, which none of the main parties with any chance of reaching power has any motivation to change. I can fully sympathise with the 'get the Tories out at all costs' position (and in fact I'll be voting with that in mind myself) but it's hard not to look at the opposition and despair sometimes. The current government has set the bar so low that Starmer could be a wooden fencepost with a red rosette pinned to it and still be a better choice for next prime minister. There was a time when you could defend FPTP as a voting system that produces stable governments that keeps the fringe loonies out, but the last few years have blown that argument apart. The fringe loonies haven't been kept out, either here or in America. They just end up joining one of the main parties and changing them from within. 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 4,746 Posted March 27 24 minutes ago, Sod's Law said: But that's just the problem with it. There IS no alternative under this archaic joke of a voting system we're stuck with, which none of the main parties with any chance of reaching power has any motivation to change. I can fully sympathise with the 'get the Tories out at all costs' position (and in fact I'll be voting with that in mind myself) but it's hard not to look at the opposition and despair sometimes. The current government has set the bar so low that Starmer could be a wooden fencepost with a red rosette pinned to it and still be a better choice for next prime minister. There was a time when you could defend FPTP as a voting system that produces stable governments that keeps the fringe loonies out, but the last few years have blown that argument apart. The fringe loonies haven't been kept out, either here or in America. They just end up joining one of the main parties and changing them from within. I'll be honest, I've been there. When I studied politics 20 years ago, the argument in favour of FPTP was that it provided strong and stable governments. Having seen eras of Thatcher then Blair, I could see the sense in that. You may not agree with everything they do, but at least they are able to do it without gridlock or division. 2010 was a once in a generation event, a coalition government, never to be repeated (probably likely to collapse in a year or two and lead to a new majority government). In the AV referendum, I held my nose and backed Cameron in voting No, not because I was dead set against PR, but that AV wasn't really meaningful PR (I think I was in favour of Single Transferable Vote, probably still am). The last 14 years have been a car crash, when you look at the number of votes each party has got and the number of seats that's equated to, the weak and divided governments it has ushered in and the cast of undesirables that have risen to the top. I think (hope) Labour would like to be more radical, but their only hope of winning under FPTP (at least in their eyes - and tried and trusted logic would seem to bear this out) is convincing a narrow swathe of the electorate to switch from Tory to Labour, flipping seats up and down the country from blue to red. That means being fiscally restrained, socially cautious and politically uncontroversial. We keep hearing that there is a liberal majority in elections but we always seem to lean to a centre right government. With Single Transferable Vote, you could back every liberal party and still know your vote will count. This would potentially lead to a broad liberal coalition made up of Greens, Lib Dems and Labour who could be far more radical in their policies and thinking and find consensus on key issues. With the Tories the only major party on the right (although this may be changing), liberal-leaning voters are forced to pick whichever party is best placed to win, rather than the one that best aligns with their beliefs. I'm in a safe Labour seat, if there is a Green on the ballot (and there probably won't be), I could be tempted to vote for them, knowing it probably wouldn't matter here, but do I really want to take that risk? No, of course not. With STV, I could vote Green, then vote Labour (maybe even with Lib Dem in between) and still know I'm contributing to defeating the Tories whatever the outcome. The problem you've got is the only party that can bring the change in is usually the one that's just done very well under the existing system... What I do know is that I would much rather have Labour in power than the Tories, whatever their shade of purple. The Blair years saw so much good happen in this country, even if he wasn't as radical as some of the Labour left would have liked him to be. I'm hoping once given a stonking majority, Starmer and Reeves will be able to be bold, although the state the Tories are leaving the country's finances in, I'm not sure they'll be able to, whatever their ideals. 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sod's Law 447 Posted March 27 30 minutes ago, RoverAndOut said: I'll be honest, I've been there. When I studied politics 20 years ago, the argument in favour of FPTP was that it provided strong and stable governments. Having seen eras of Thatcher then Blair, I could see the sense in that. You may not agree with everything they do, but at least they are able to do it without gridlock or division. 2010 was a once in a generation event, a coalition government, never to be repeated (probably likely to collapse in a year or two and lead to a new majority government). In the AV referendum, I held my nose and backed Cameron in voting No, not because I was dead set against PR, but that AV wasn't really meaningful PR (I think I was in favour of Single Transferable Vote, probably still am). The last 14 years have been a car crash, when you look at the number of votes each party has got and the number of seats that's equated to, the weak and divided governments it has ushered in and the cast of undesirables that have risen to the top. I think (hope) Labour would like to be more radical, but their only hope of winning under FPTP (at least in their eyes - and tried and trusted logic would seem to bear this out) is convincing a narrow swathe of the electorate to switch from Tory to Labour, flipping seats up and down the country from blue to red. That means being fiscally restrained, socially cautious and politically uncontroversial. We keep hearing that there is a liberal majority in elections but we always seem to lean to a centre right government. With Single Transferable Vote, you could back every liberal party and still know your vote will count. This would potentially lead to a broad liberal coalition made up of Greens, Lib Dems and Labour who could be far more radical in their policies and thinking and find consensus on key issues. With the Tories the only major party on the right (although this may be changing), liberal-leaning voters are forced to pick whichever party is best placed to win, rather than the one that best aligns with their beliefs. I'm in a safe Labour seat, if there is a Green on the ballot (and there probably won't be), I could be tempted to vote for them, knowing it probably wouldn't matter here, but do I really want to take that risk? No, of course not. With STV, I could vote Green, then vote Labour (maybe even with Lib Dem in between) and still know I'm contributing to defeating the Tories whatever the outcome. The problem you've got is the only party that can bring the change in is usually the one that's just done very well under the existing system... What I do know is that I would much rather have Labour in power than the Tories, whatever their shade of purple. The Blair years saw so much good happen in this country, even if he wasn't as radical as some of the Labour left would have liked him to be. I'm hoping once given a stonking majority, Starmer and Reeves will be able to be bold, although the state the Tories are leaving the country's finances in, I'm not sure they'll be able to, whatever their ideals. On the bright side, if the Tories do so badly at the next election that they completely implode, that leaves the door open for more PR-friendly parties like the Lib Dems to replace them as the next largest party and make it a more salient topic after the next election. May be wishful thinking and I'm prepared for the polls to be wrong again, but what else have we got at the moment? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 4,746 Posted March 27 7 minutes ago, Sod's Law said: On the bright side, if the Tories do so badly at the next election that they completely implode, that leaves the door open for more PR-friendly parties like the Lib Dems to replace them as the next largest party and make it a more salient topic after the next election. May be wishful thinking and I'm prepared for the polls to be wrong again, but what else have we got at the moment? I can't tell you how much I would love for Labour to be in power and the Lib Dems to be the Opposition. Suella Braverman sat on the backbenches twiddling her thumbs waiting for her two questions as leader of the third party with 50 seats. But realistically, it'll end up being Labour and Tories as normal, with all those flirting with Reform falling into line to limit the damage. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bibliogryphon 9,586 Posted March 28 The thing that is keeping the Conservative Party together is the infrastructure All the local Conservative associations around the country are an important activist base and revenue stream Both sides (and here I am assuming a crude division between One Nation and Far Right Loons Free Marketeers) will want to hold on to the local associations. It will be a bloodbath because within each local association there will be a huge split and remember Liz Truss got the leadership with the rank and file membership voting her in. Sunak was the preferred choice of the Parliamentary party) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DCI Frank Burnside 3,887 Posted March 28 On 26/03/2024 at 19:17, TQR said: Reading the mini-reshuffle details, I nearly choked on my drink. Now 30p Leeanderthal has vacated the Tory party, they've now got as their Deputy Party Chair...Jonathan Gullis Gullis [gull-iss] noun - The pungent mush consisting of mould and sawdust present below barrel scrapings. That was what not even 24/48 hours 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TQR 14,398 Posted March 28 On 26/03/2024 at 22:11, RoverAndOut said: Saw this story earlier. Susan Hall has denied all knowledge of this video and has not watched it. Who made it? Tory Head Office. Brilliant. Oh, and this is the second version I believe, the first showed people running on the underground - except it was Penn Station in New York and not the London Underground. It's a pity you can't embed Threads here, but this really made me laugh. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
time 8,611 Posted March 28 22 minutes ago, TQR said: It's a pity you can't embed Threads here, but this really made me laugh. You can embed Twixxer 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TQR 14,398 Posted March 28 7 minutes ago, time said: You can embed Twixxer I Xited Xitter a while back so thanks for finding it on there Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
time 8,611 Posted March 28 20 minutes ago, TQR said: I Xited Xitter a while back so thanks for finding it on there I'm not sure why I still use it sometimes! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sly Ronnie 886 Posted March 28 18 hours ago, RoverAndOut said: Jesus Fucking Christ - can you imagine?! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
