understandable, but we’re at a point where absolutely anything is an improvement on the current state of affairs so apathy isn’t an option.
I’d take a coalition of Bez, the Taliban and David Icke over this lot.
I suppose in our day there were the rave versions of Rhubarb and Custard / Seseame St / Blockbusters etc. but still hideous.
Oh God that Rhubarb & Custard rave tune, I’d thankfully confined that to some out building in my memory… Now it’s back 
Cheers! 
This is true! Still heinous too see. The blockbusters reminder did make me laugh, god awful 
Produced by Mark Pritchard!
Corbyn wasn’t the answer either imo. Whilst he might’ve softened the social blow in certain areas, he never indicated he really understood the big existential questions of the time, in terms of tech, global migratory patterns, ecocide, and any complex geopolitics which challenged his worldview. Starmer needs to bin the past completely and start afresh, using all the university brains at his disposal, because I fear we’re all heading for a scary place.
Fixed!
As a long time expat I’ve watched the political decline of the UK with dismay for decades. However, the past few years have turned into a complete horror show. I also think that it’s all pretty shit around the world. Politics tends to attract the worst kind of power-hungry assholes whatever they claim as their principles. Besides the political farce, the real challenge is the complete overreach of industrialized consumerist society in a world that is already stretched way beyond carrying capacity.
What I don’t get is why any one would consciously bring a child into the world today - both for the child’s sake and the increased load on resources. This is not a popular view, but I’ve had it a long time. At the same time, I think it necessary to treat every child well. And that’s where the whole Tory idiocy falls irrevocably apart. They’re waging war in the future and the innocent with their vile policies.
Agreed re the big existential questions.
No one has a vision that genuinely addresses these issues. Starmer has got this far simply by not being a Tory but has failed to offer anything new/exciting as an alternative, imo. The Labour manifesto isn’t that different from the 2019 Conservative version. Which is fairly depressing to say the least.
Unfortunately politicians don’t seem to have the skills to get to grips with the big stuff. The system also discourages long term thinking.
It’s not a great outlook for the U.K.
The problem we have is that Labour also believe in the defunct neoclassical economics, despite its complete failure over 40 years.
Labour needs to grow a set and be bold and Starmer just isn’t the politician to do that. First thing first is getting those chinless ghouls out of government.
The difficult truth is you can’t win elections in this country on bold left wing policies. “Labour didn’t win because it wasn’t left wing enough” is a theory that led to Labour’s worst election result in almost 100 years just 3 and a bit years ago. 200 MPs out of 650. A catastrophe that gifted the Tories another five miserable years.
Neither Clem Attlee, Harold Wilson nor Tony Blair won from the Labour Left and they are the only three Labour leaders who have been elected from being in opposition since 1945. Three winners in 75 years! The Tories have had three election winners in the last 8 years alone.
So firstly if Starmer wins that will be an enormous historical achievement.
We are not a country that has historically been interested in ripping up the economic system and the current Labour leadership get that and it’s why I think they will win, though not by loads.
For anyone who doesn’t know, I worked for Labour for 15 years. I left in 2016 but still have friends who work there now and who are Labour MPs. None of them are under any illusions about the utter shit show they will probably inherit.
That said, our country is in desperate trouble and I agree it does need big ideas. A basic universal income seems inevitable to me, so just get on and do it. Housing? Well we don’t build enough houses and we have an insane mortgage system and rental market. Build more, introduce long term state backed low interest mortgages, tax the shit out of overseas property developers so it’s not in their interest to keep buying up empty flats. Whack up inheritance tax and introduce a super tax on billionaires. Abolish interest payments on student loans, introduce universal free school meals and childcare. I’m in favour of it all, but you need to win an election first to do any of it.
Anyway I’m breaking my recent golden rule to never talk about politics on social media. So that’s it from me 
Hmmm, indeed.
I worry about my dog’s future, I certainly wouldn’t be bringing a child into a world who’s main overriding problem is an ungovernable overpopulation.
Yes it appears that the British public have been somehow convinced at a cultural level that the situation that you are in is still better than any other possible hypothetical situation that you may end up in if you have a government that differs in anyway possible to the tried and tested awful one in control now. It’s a bit like eating nothing but instant mash potato for decades. You know that it is terrible and may, in the end ruin you, but it’s familiar and the alternative is now just so alien and terrifying that it never even gets a look in.
But this is all just after a couple of weeks of observation, and I’ve always hated politicians, so whatever.
That’s because most people are actually doing ok most of the time. By most, I mean a small majority of people.
Loads of them are fairly happy with their little world. They don’t follow politics or even think about it more than a couple of times a year when some big political story might catch their attention. They don’t know or care what neoliberalism or socialism is, or who half the Cabinet are or about the bumflufferies of Labour’s Green Deal. They’re just not political people. They vote when they’re asked to every four or five years but don’t think too much about it in between.
Most of the time it’s better the Devil you know, which is the Tories. It’s only when these people start to really feel the pain that the Tories lose (“it’s time to give the other lot a go”) but normal service usually resumes fairly shortly afterwards. They’re fundamentally conservative people, they don’t like change or upheaval because by and large they are doing OK and are happy with their lot.
Not to be callous but your dog’s future is almost certainly more assured - and considerably shorter - than most human children and their futures.
“All knowledge, the totality of all questions and answers, is contained in the dog.” - Franz Kafka
Very fair analysis of Labour’s position. Agree 100% that all that matters right now is getting into government - then try and do enough to get another term. The Tories are going full scorched earth, so who knows what awaits them.
I just wish they would be bolder regarding the economy. The current orthodoxy is so discredited that they have more room to manoeuvre than they seem to think - we’re not talking about the overthrow of capitalism here, but policies that were not controversial in the UK pre Thatcher.
JC wasn’t popular (across a broad enough political spectrum) but many of his policies were. Whenever Starmer talks about Labour’s focus on reducing government debt, my heart sinks - I get it, the fear of the right wing media is real, but there’s a hell of a lot of academic work, never mind the decades of real world facts, to discredit the current nonsense
It’s not only the British public, it’s the same story in most places now. A large percentage of populations just aren’t that political unfortunately. I have reservations about Scottish nationalism, but it has made a large part of the population politically engaged.
Whilst this is all true i wonder if changing demographics, grads not affording homes and different values will shift things left? Feels to me like the ageing tory vote had a last hurrah in 2019 and they’re not getting replaced.