To think there is some kind of weird push towards the far right?

If that's what you're seeing, you're clearly following the wrong people. If you are left leaning politically, your social media algorithm with flag up negative 'right' rhetoric. That's how it works.

Attendance estimates for Saturday's 'far right' rally are now coming out at around 3 million. How many arrests? 25!
That's in stark contrast to a family event like this year's Notting Hill Carnival. How many arrests? 423!

Don't know about you but I know which event I'd be more 'afraid' to attend.

Look, at the end of the day, the left can keep going with this 'facist', 'racist' rhetoric... then they can all scratch their heads when we have a Reform govt wondering: 'How on earth did that happen!?'
Might want to start listening.

The far left never learn. And more worryingly, they are making things worse for minorities by labelling people far right when they are just ordinary people.

I would totally support this IF it could work. The problem is that I can envisage a lot of uber wealthy would simply mibr their domicile status to somewhere with lower tax regimes. Then we’d effectively lose the revenue we get from them atm.
Unless we can get global agreement on tax rates - I just don’t think it works - and would worsen the lives of the poorest who can’t move.

Ah, there's more on that same thread, including a link to this article in 2022 which is very interesting.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/01/troll-factory-spreading-russian-pro-war-lies-online-says-uk
‘Troll factory’ spreading Russian pro-war lies online, says UK
St Petersburg outfit hijacks discussions on Twitter, TikTok, world leaders’ social accounts and media websites, as well as manipulating opinion polls

The research said TikTok influencers were being paid to amplify pro-Kremlin narratives. Operatives also amplified genuine messages by legitimate social media users that happen to be consistent with the Kremlin’s viewpoint – seemingly to evade social media platforms’ measures to combat disinformation.

The analysis suggests one main activity is “brigading”, to steer attention of discussion on social media and in comments sections of newspapers towards favoured opinions.

[...] Social media accounts of bands and musicians including Daft Punk, David Guetta, Tiesto and Rammstein appear to have been targeted by the disinformation operation.
Researchers say the group seems to have learned from the tactics used by QAnon conspiracy theorists and from the Islamic State terror group.

Yes. It's all being engineered by US interests.

I’m the first to admit that I am not the best informed - I prefer to keep my life stress free and simple as much as possible, and don’t have a TV, don’t read papers, and only listen to the radio when I’m driving (which is quite often). For my own mental health I prefer to live in my own little bubble.

But even with my limited exposure to media, I’ve noticed on Radio 2, both on the news and Jeremy Vine’s show, Reform are being given so much air time considering their paltry amount of MPs, the polls are being discussed regularly even though we’re years from an election. More than once listening to the radio I’ve thought the way they’re talking makes it sound like Reform winning the next election is a done deal, and thought to myself that this is how self fulfilling prophecies happen.

My algorithms on FB are seriously messed up. Despite having never been remotely interested in anything in the least bit right wing, all of a sudden I’m getting endless posts from knuckle dragging ‘patriot’ groups that I don’t even follow, with really horrendous and openly racist comments, thousands of them, which somehow FB are allowing to remain even though any kind of hate speech has always been censored on there. Why are these posts suddenly being allowed and pushed in my face?

Alongside this there seems to be a new story pretty much every day about the latest scandal involving Labour (again reported by the BBC), ok these things aren’t great although compared to the Tories’ rap list from their last spell in government, are fairly small fry really. It seems like there’s an active push for people to rebel away from the left just as the far right are gaining momentum.

Has anyone else noticed this or am I talking shite?

The right haven’t haven’t been in politics for a long time.

The Tories weren't even centre right. Trying to pass mild welfare reforms and making a bit of noise about reducing illegal immigration while doing nothing to address it do not make a government centre right.

The 'left' (Labour are centre right) have been in power for ONE YEAR. They haven't had time to do much, either right or wrong. The cost of living crisis, the crashed economy - this is all the legacy of the Tories that's basically almost impossible to fix.

The right have been in power for about 99% of history. What we're seeing now is toys being spctacularly chucked out of the pram because the right have slightly loss their stranglehold on British politics.

If that's what you're seeing, you're clearly following the wrong people. If you are left leaning politically, your social media algorithm with flag up negative 'right' rhetoric. That's how it works.

Attendance estimates for Saturday's 'far right' rally are now coming out at around 3 million. How many arrests? 25!
That's in stark contrast to a family event like this year's Notting Hill Carnival. How many arrests? 423!

Don't know about you but I know which event I'd be more 'afraid' to attend.

Look, at the end of the day, the left can keep going with this 'facist', 'racist' rhetoric... then they can all scratch their heads when we have a Reform govt wondering: 'How on earth did that happen!?'
Might want to start listening.

I see today Maria Caulfield has defected to Reform today.

She was a Tory MP during the period of these cuts to health services – indeed Minister of State for Health at one point.

The people who spent more than a decade causing the service declines everyone is rightfully complaining about, are now busily populating Reform.

If that's what you're seeing, you're clearly following the wrong people. If you are left leaning politically, your social media algorithm with flag up negative 'right' rhetoric. That's how it works.

Attendance estimates for Saturday's 'far right' rally are now coming out at around 3 million. How many arrests? 25!
That's in stark contrast to a family event like this year's Notting Hill Carnival. How many arrests? 423!

Don't know about you but I know which event I'd be more 'afraid' to attend.

Look, at the end of the day, the left can keep going with this 'facist', 'racist' rhetoric... then they can all scratch their heads when we have a Reform govt wondering: 'How on earth did that happen!?'
Might want to start listening.

That might answer @Underthinker 's question a little: Yes, Russia does put the welly in to influence, well, everyone, and it doesn't have to be done directly.

"Brigading" creates the appearance of high level of support for particular positions, and I expect eventually picks up real life support as well. So it creates noisy "constituencies" which become attractive for politicians to please or dangerous for them to ignore.

Plus the bots push fake support in both directions for a good old stir. I don't think Russia always has to invent issues: it can pick up existing ones, which genuinely concern lots of real people, and heat them up and work to drive the discourse to extreme poles.

It's all about nudging real people with real lives and real concerns.

Obviously these tricks aren't just used by the Russians. Any group can and does play.

But exactly that - many people don’t want the Conservatives and they don’t want Labour either because that would be more of the same. The greens, libdems and the new poncy party that Corbyn will be trying to thrust upon us doesn’t appeal either.

I see today Maria Caulfield has defected to Reform today.

She was a Tory MP during the period of these cuts to health services – indeed Minister of State for Health at one point.

The people who spent more than a decade causing the service declines everyone is rightfully complaining about, are now busily populating Reform.

I would totally support this IF it could work. The problem is that I can envisage a lot of uber wealthy would simply mibr their domicile status to somewhere with lower tax regimes. Then we’d effectively lose the revenue we get from them atm.
Unless we can get global agreement on tax rates - I just don’t think it works - and would worsen the lives of the poorest who can’t move.

Honestly the left never learn. There’s no ‘push’. It’s how many people, actually feel. Why can people on the left never imagine any other viewpoint but their own. Always has to be some sort of ‘interference’

I’m no fan of Keir, but I can’t see that what he’s done in one year of being prime minister is any worse than the previous 14 years of the conservatives. He’s basically a Tory in a red tie, so it’s pretty much more of the same from what I can tell.

Honestly the left never learn. There’s no ‘push’. It’s how many people, actually feel. Why can people on the left never imagine any other viewpoint but their own. Always has to be some sort of ‘interference’

In terms of wealth beyond measure there could easily be a consensus reached - there are an increasing number of billionaires who will never in their lifetimes be able to spend what they hoard.

The money is seen as a measure of success which is why it is so important to them - lets start handing out medals and stickers instead!

Our top rate of income tax is the lowest it has ever been - post war it was 90%, even under Thatcher it was 60%.

The Thatcher government preferred 'indirect taxation' and raised VAT from 8% to 15% to enable cuts to income tax. This meant poorer people paid more tax while higher earners paid less tax.

The current tax thresholds are too low with cliff edge drop - but I would love to see VAT reduced and income tax increased for higher earners, with increases on capital gains tax and tax on investment dividends. Bring back 90% income tax on anything earned over £1million!

By everyone working together, I mean putting an end to the current polarisation. We don't all agree, but with compromise there has to be common ground that will make things better for everyone.

Other than the uber wealthy and the zealots, can anyone say they are truly happy in a world where it has become more important to 'own' the opposition than to actually make a difference?

Oh, I totally agree it will be more of the same.

Low key civil war may be an issue in the not too distant future.

I think your sentence about bashing brown and black people is obnoxious, especially as white working class kids in this country are some of the most deprived and under privileged and that the UK is one of the most, if not the most, tolerant, unracist countries in the world.

That might answer @Underthinker 's question a little: Yes, Russia does put the welly in to influence, well, everyone, and it doesn't have to be done directly.

"Brigading" creates the appearance of high level of support for particular positions, and I expect eventually picks up real life support as well. So it creates noisy "constituencies" which become attractive for politicians to please or dangerous for them to ignore.

Plus the bots push fake support in both directions for a good old stir. I don't think Russia always has to invent issues: it can pick up existing ones, which genuinely concern lots of real people, and heat them up and work to drive the discourse to extreme poles.

It's all about nudging real people with real lives and real concerns.

Obviously these tricks aren't just used by the Russians. Any group can and does play.