Conservative party/opposition watch

[Mark]

I know it costs a lot of money and the GE is near, but still think any MP changing party should result in a by-election...
Also, it gives the locals a chance to express their displeasure...

Why should this guy get a few more months of an MPs salary, on top of his NHS salary....???

[UndercoverElephant]

I know it costs a lot of money and the GE is near, but still think any MP changing party should result in a by-election...
Also, it gives the locals a chance to express their displeasure...

Why should this guy get a few more months of an MPs salary, on top of his NHS salary....???

Who cares at this point in the proceedings?

[Default0ptions]

I’ve completely lost faith in what we’re told is democracy.

The ‘leader of the free world’ aka Biden, can’t be trusted to find his way off stage or be allowed to take questions.

He’s patently incapable of managing the zip on his trousers, let alone the massive ongoing international affairs, wars, alliances etc

But the government continues. Who is it? Were they even mentioned on a ballot paper? Who voted for them?

That’s America.

But here in the UK we no better off. We have clowns for politicians who all end up in non-jobs with an enormous salary paid by the very people they were supposed to be regulating when they were in office . . .

And so stupid that they use their work phones for their Grindr dates and intrigues

Where do we go from here?

Can it get worse?

[Mark]

Where do we go from here?

Can it get worse?

Barring something totally unforeseen, we will soon have a different government - that's democracy...

I suppose you're suggesting that we should look towards the Russian model ?
Or maybe the Chinese model ?
Or the Saudi model ?

[Default0ptions]

Where do we go from here?

Can it get worse?

Barring something totally unforeseen, we will soon have a different government - that's democracy...

I suppose you're suggesting that we should look towards the Russian model ?
Or maybe the Chinese model ?
Or the Saudi model ?

That’s actually a very useful thought Mark. Thank you. We’re discussing this on a peak oil forum and what form of government will actually be able to deal with these situations is very pertinent.

Probably ‘none of the above’

What can we do about it?

https://members.parliament.uk/member/44 ... tionresult

36,693 people voted for our prime minister out of the Uk population of 67,922,961

That’s democracy for you. And we have to assume the population is educated and informed and somehow cover the uncomfortable fact that there really are 50% of any population that are of less than average intelligence . . .

https://www.worldometers.info/world-pop ... opulation/

I actually think that big money / corporations have much more say than any individual voter and that we’re in a Corporatocracy rather than a democracy

I also think that our days are numbered as peak oil, climate change etc render much of this argument to insignificance.

However in the immediate future I expect to see the poor Ukrainians callously abandoned by the states that incited this war.

I don’t need to try to prove this. Just let time pass and we’ll know for sure.

The governments we have are self serving and incompetent and the only way things go on the downslope of the massive gift we’ve had of all the oil we could pump is to a much more basic localism.

You’re reading this because you’re on a peak oil forum.

Things just aren’t going to carry on as they are.

[Mark]

Agree that there's a democratic deficit with Rishi Sunak, but that's the way our democracy works...
Is it perfect - far from it - personally I'd like to see some form of PR......

Also agree that the corporations have far too much power...
Hopefully any new government will stand up to them more - and start taxing them properly...

Agree things need to (and will) change, but I for one don't want the outcome to be a mad dictator...
Russia, China, North Korea and the like are more than welcome to theirs.......

[Default0ptions]

Agree that there's a democratic deficit with Rishi Sunak, but that's the way our democracy works...
Is it perfect - far from it - personally I'd like to see some form of PR......

Also agree that the corporations have far too much power...
Hopefully any new government will stand up to them more - and start taxing them properly...

Agree things need to (and will) change, but I for one don't want the outcome to be a mad dictator...
Russia, China, North Korea and the like are more than welcome to theirs.......

Yeah I agree. I think we’re in for a pretty chaotic ride but I hope we can manage it

[Ralphw2]

Another Tory MP defects to labour. Rats and ruptured bulkheads come to mind. At this stage I don't think it is a good look for Starmer to sully himself with this sort of stunt

[clv101]

She's an absolute disaster - she'd have zero chance of ever being selected as a Labour candidate, Starmer really shouldn't have welcomed her into the parliamentary party. Just a stunt for today's headlines but pours fuel on the fire for those who say there's no difference between the parties or they are just red Tories - causing longer term damage to Labour.

[Mark]

She's an absolute disaster - she'd have zero chance of ever being selected as a Labour candidate, Starmer really shouldn't have welcomed her into the parliamentary party. Just a stunt for today's headlines but pours fuel on the fire for those who say there's no difference between the parties or they are just red Tories - causing longer term damage to Labour.

For me, this was a very bad move by Starmer.....
He didn't have to accept her - Ms Elphicke could have just resigned the Tory whip and sat as an independent...
She's not standing at the next GE, so it looks like she just wanted her moment of glory, before exiting stage left...
Maybe she wanted to stick it to Rishi Sunak, or maybe others in her party, or maybe her ex-husband...., who knows ?

I'm reading the mood that the country wants different policies going forwards, not just a new set of talking heads...
Labour seem to be hell bent on copying most of the Tory policies, so not much change offered there...
If they start taking on a raft of disaffected Tory MPs as well, then people really will start asking why they should vote Labour...
The most common perception you hear is that 'all politicians are the same'....., and this type of thing just reinforces it...

[Mark]

I know it costs a lot of money and the GE is near, but still think any MP changing party should result in a by-election...
Also, it gives the locals a chance to express their displeasure...

Why should this guy get a few more months of an MPs salary, on top of his NHS salary....???

Who cares at this point in the proceedings?

It might have prevented the current Natalie Elphicke shambles ?

[UndercoverElephant]

I know it costs a lot of money and the GE is near, but still think any MP changing party should result in a by-election...
Also, it gives the locals a chance to express their displeasure...

Why should this guy get a few more months of an MPs salary, on top of his NHS salary....???

Who cares at this point in the proceedings?

It might have prevented the current Natalie Elphicke shambles ?

I'm not seeing any reason to care very much about that either.

[Mark]

If there isn't a difference between the 2 main parties, then what's the point....?
They might as well merge and have done with it....

[UndercoverElephant]

If there isn't a difference between the 2 main parties, then what's the point....?
They might as well merge and have done with it....

Just because one person moves from one party to another, it does not follow that there is no difference between those parties. Sometimes parties change their position. The tories have been drifting to the right for many years, and are under sustained pressure to drift even further right. And Labour obviously also wobbles between unelectable leftism and electable centrism.

[Mark]

If you read her back story, Natalie Elphicke certainly isn't a 'centrist'.....
I don't see the point of Labour taking her on board, just for a few months....
Seems like they'd do anything just to reduce the Tory majority by 1 - not exactly a good look