The British Politics Thread - The Bear and Badger

davyK

Yossarian wrote:

davyK wrote:

I'd pick a sore before either of them. The problem with this country is it doesn't know how to pick a leader.

But we don't pick leaders, we pick parties. The parties pick the leaders.

Parties pick a leader of the people - someone who they believe will lead the country, and the party into No.10. Is this the best they have? Really?

Sod it. I'm too annoyed to be rational. Best not to post here.

Stopharage

mistercrayon wrote:

Euan wrote:

Or in his case: the trade unions.

Trade union members. Why hostile to trade unions anyway?

Not addressed to me, but the Trade Union leaders got it wrong in the Lab leadership election, backed the wrong candidate, broke campaigning rules and handed the initiative to the Cons. They put a guy in power who was never the favoured candidate at any of the 4 electoral stages with MPs or Labour Party members.

Just look at the guy.

Diluted Dante

Look should be utterly irrelevant.

Stopharage

Having the basic nous to appreciate you're repeating yourself isn't irrelevant.

Diluted Dante

He knew exactly what he was doing there. Modern politics is the problem. Soundbyte is king.

Stopharage

He knew what he was doing? He was pilloried for his performance on the BBC the following day across the media. Do you actually have any point of reference for it beyond the Brooker ridicule?

The interviewer said that he was ashamed to look Milliband in the eye at the end of the interview.

Diluted Dante

I've read the article by the original interviewer. I don't think I've ever seen the Brooker thing.

Yossarian

I can't get the video to load so can't double check it myself, but this is apparently Osborne doing the exact same thing:

http://liberalconspiracy.org/2010/10/27/watch-osborne-the-robot-repeats-himself-4-times/

It's a pretty standard political tactic these days. Politicians know that the news will only play a short sound bite anyway so they simply repeat the one they want the news to show. Cameron gets around it by just walking off after delivering his sound bite.

Incidentally, @davyK, what do you want in a leader? Smooth talking and full of confidence only brings its own set of problems. Blair had lots of things we'd associate with a good leader, and he took us into an illegal war.

davyK

Someone who isn't afraid to go on the road and take flack at public meetings would be a start and give as good as he/she gets. There's too much rehearsed stuff now. Too much is made of sound bytes and there is so much fear of speaking ones mind. Remembering the incident when party members were muscled out of an event at which Blair was speaking.

I suppose it isn't the people that are the problem - we have let the media take over to the point where everyone is shit scared of speaking out lest they look like a Farage.

Don't get me started on that bastard Murdoch.

Billy

Just came in here to say this country is seriously fucked and we should all get out.

Brooks

I'm out but I'm not sure anywhere in the developed world isn't kinda fucked for the foreseeable.

EvilRedEye

Can you imagine if the Conservatives and UKIP ended up forming a coalition?

Ahahahahaha.

I think it would actually, genuinely drive me to emigrate.

Vela

EvilRedEye wrote:

Can you imagine if the Conservatives and UKIP ended up forming a coalition? Ahahahahaha. I think it would actually, genuinely drive me to emigrate.

Is that a distinct possibility of happening (the election outcome)?

acemuzzy

The Tories have promised it won't happen but I imagine they'd happily ignore minor issues like that if it would let them for a government. It's a scary thought.

acemuzzy

So it's my first general election since moving house.

Turns out my borough it heavily Tory.

I really should have researched better before spending all that cash.

I would vote Lib Deb, but their candidate is a colleague who annoys me at work by taking the office Gaurdian even though i want to to do the crossword in it. Green got 632 votes to I might go them. Or Labour in the hope of a 7,000 (1/6) vote swing. Decisions, decisions...

Vela

If your electorate is strong in one way, always vote in favour of the next closest rival in my view (unless they are morally abhorrent, obviously - so no tories).

You want to make your electorate more marginal so that you can increase the chance of pork barreling.

acemuzzy

Is that some kind of Ozzy barbecue technique?

acemuzzy

I hope Mal the Warrior Malakounides stands again, could vote for him.

Vela

acemuzzy wrote:

Is that some kind of Ozzy barbecue technique?

Its the term we use here for politicians in marginal seats critical to forming government bribing the electorate by building new schools/hospitals/roads/call centres in places that don't really need them as bad as in other places the other party holds sway in.

Outlaw

acemuzzy wrote:

I would vote Lib Deb, but their candidate is a colleague who annoys me at work by taking the office Gaurdian even though i want to to do the crossword in it.

This is the best reason I've ever read not to vote for someone.

mistercrayon

Outlaw wrote:

acemuzzy wrote:

I would vote Lib Deb, but their candidate is a colleague who annoys me at work by taking the office Gaurdian even though i want to to do the crossword in it.

This is the best reason I've ever read not to vote for someone.

I'd have totes issues with anyone who did the crossword in a communal magazine.

Outlaw

Muzzy better never stand for election either then.

acemuzzy

n0face

Photo copy the fucker then you can have a crossword comp.

Stopharage

Outlaw wrote:

acemuzzy wrote:

I would vote Lib Deb, but their candidate is a colleague who annoys me at work by taking the office Gaurdian even though i want to to do the crossword in it.

This is the best reason I've ever read not to vote for someone.

I print the crossword off from the website to avoid this very problem. Not standing for election either.

acemuzzy

n0face wrote:

Photo copy the fucker then you can have a crossword comp.

But that would literally kill a tree a decade. I hope you lot aren't voting Green.

Matt_82

Some guy showed up to the Scottish debates with a joke shop disguise on.

Diluted Dante

Looking increasingly likely that I'm not going to be able to stand now. After two nights of knocking on doors, I've managed just five signatures, and no one willing to propose or second.

One woman took the forms off me, and disappeared into her house for 10 minutes. I was at the point of ringing up my party contact to tell him someone had nicked my form when she came back, and grilled me on who I was, who else I knew in the party, and why I had no proposer or seconder.

After answering all these questions, she gave me my form back and said if I get a proposer and seconder, she would sign the assent bit, with a look that said "I don't believe you at all and you're clearly running some kind of con".

Outlaw

That's shite. How many signatures do you need? Could you try during the day at any point?

n0face

It's a bit late in the day surely. I'd of thought you'd be looking to get selected at least 6 months ago and after getting to know local party members and organisers.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories