UK General Election 2024

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

No. The labour party is in practice the Conservative party with a different brand identity.  Their policies are conservative.  There is no Left in the UK.


The first past the post system is one of the ways Capitalism has invented to manage universal enfranchisement while ensuring that power and wealth remains in the hands of an elite. It ensures that minority interests are not represented at all.

Single-member-district system discourages ideologue candidates and encourages moderate, centrist candidates as the former don't win plural vote within districts. Proportional representation system, utilized in Scandinavia, Low Countries, et al., doesn't discourage ideological parties. But after elections, all these ideologue members may have difficulty making consensus in legislature.

[Florestan]

The Tories are unelectable.

Except for those who will vote for them. 

My own view is that Reform and the Conservatives will merge into one new party.

I'm willing to bet 10 to 1 that the "new" party's name will be the Conservative Party. 

Merging by absorption --- I've seen that so many times in Romanian politics.

No. The labour party is in practice the Conservative party with a different brand identity.  Their policies are conservative.  There is no Left in the UK.

The French say: La même Jeannette, autrement coiffée. (literally, The same Jane, differently hair-dressed).

The Romanian say: Aceeaşi Mărie, cu altă pălărie. (literally, The same Mary, (with) different hat).

The rhyme and rhythm in Romanian are stronger. 


[]quoteThe first past the post system is one of the ways Capitalism has invented to manage universal enfranchisement while ensuring that power and wealth remains in the hands of an elite. It ensures that minority interests are not represented at all.
[/quote]

I guess it depends on how you define Capitalism.





[/quote]

[Todd]

Lord Cameron accuses Nigel Farage of 'trying to destroy Conservative Party'

From an outside perspective, it appears that Cameron is a right proper bitch.

[Florestan]

There is no Left in the UK.

Mandryka's comment about there being no Left left, as it were, is also true, though  Just different shades of Right.

I've always identified myself as center-right (making allowance for Continental Europe CR being somewhat different from UK and US) --- but the complete absence of left in any country is not good. It's positively bad, actually.

Imho, what the world desperately needs today more than ever is the Center-Center, or even the Far-Center. 

Unfortunately, they'll never win any election in any country.

[Todd]

Imho, what the world desperately needs today more than ever is the Center-Center, or even the Far-Center. 

Words have no meaning on GMG.

[Florestan]

Words have no meaning on GMG.

That might be true. What is certainly true is that some GMGers utterly lack any sense of humor/irony.

[Todd]

That might be true. What is certainly true is that some GMGers utterly lack any sense of humor/irony.

It has nothing to do with a sense of humor, but rather a sense of reality.

[Florestan]

It has nothing to do with a sense of humor, but rather a sense of reality.

You want a sense of reality? Fine, here's some sense of reality.

You said:

You'll get used to [not having any Left in the UK].  Americans have.

Now, either you believe that the American political system is the universal standard by which all others should be judged --- in which case you are a cultural chauvinist. Or, you don't believe that the American political system is the universal standard by which all others should be judged --- but in this case, why recommend American complacency to non-Americans?

[Todd]

Now, either you believe that the American political system is the universal standard by which all others should be judged --- in which case you are a cultural chauvinist. Or, you don't believe that the American political system is the universal standard by which all others should be judged --- but in this case, why recommend American complacency to non-Americans?

Yep, you are detached from reality.

[steve ridgway]

Yep, you are detached from reality.

Who brought American reality into this discussion?

[Florestan]

And here's another sense of reality.

You said:

the UK is an island nation with only one non-seaport entry

This is false. Besides the Eurotunnel and the terrestrial border with Ireland, each and every international UK airport is a non-seaport entry to UK.

Frankly, I'm surprised you made such a colossal blunder.

[Todd]

And here's another sense of reality.

You said:

This is false. Besides the Eurotunnel and the terrestrial border with Ireland, each and every international UK airport is a non-seaport entry to UK.

Frankly, I'm surprised you made such a colossal blunder.

Florestan is on fire again.

[Florestan]

Florestan is on fire again.

Each and every time I made a mistake with respect to you, I publicly acknowledged it and stood corrected; nay, I even publicly apologized. As different from you, who have never ever. I guess it's a cultural thing... 

[Todd]

Each and every time I made a mistake with respect to you, I publicly acknowledged it and stood corrected; nay, I even publicly apologized. As different from you, who have never ever. I guess it's a cultural thing... 

Incorrect.  You falsely claimed that the Taliban defeated the USSR and then doubled down on it. 

[Florestan]

Incorrect.  You falsely claimed that the Taliban defeated the USSR and then doubled down on it. 

Did I? Well, okay: I was wrong and I publicly stand corrected. The Taliban did not defeat the USSR. My bad. I publicly apologize for making a factually incorrect statement.

Now, how many non-seaport entry points are there into UK?

[steve ridgway]

Item 8 seems bizarre to me given that the UK is an island nation with only one non-seaport entry, so one would think managing immigration would be quite easy.

Unfortunately people would rather risk their lives crossing the English Channel in unsuitable boats than live in the EU .

[Todd]

Now, how many non-seaport entry points are there into UK?

I do not know.  Please provide the appropriate links.  Keep in mind that the topic at hand was immigration, with a partial/special focus on illegal/irregular immigration, where airports do not factor in.  When providing the links, you should easily be able to also include the applicable statistics pertaining to immigration.  Since you are the subject matter expert on this topic, I await your informative posts with no little eagerness.

[Todd]

Unfortunately people would rather risk their lives crossing the English Channel in unsuitable boats than live in the EU .

If you were otherwise forced to live in Belgium, surely such a tradeoff would make sense.

[steve ridgway]

If you were otherwise forced to live in Belgium, surely such a tradeoff would make sense.

They need to be shown some of the grimmest British reality TV. Can't we send some information into France attached to balloons like North Korea does?

[Florestan]

I do not know.  Please provide the appropriate links.  Keep in mind that the topic at hand was immigration, with a partial/special focus on illegal/irregular immigration, where airports do not factor in.  When providing the links, you should easily be able to also include the applicable statistics pertaining to immigration.  Since you are the subject matter expert on this topic, I await your informative posts with no little eagerness.

Once again, you said:

the UK is an island nation with only one non-seaport entry

This is factually incorrect --- and you can ex-post facto rationalize it till you're blue in the face. It won't change the fact that your statement went against (a sense of) reality.

Now, if you had said:

the UK is an island nation with only one non-seaport entry for illegal immigrants

you might have been right, provided ID and passport checks are required or effective for flights from Belfast to Great Britain island proper.