Thread 27 Starmer: He's a very clever cat

[DuncinToffee]

A nod to the Chief Mouser

Previous thread
www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5361166-thread-26-starmer-cats-rebels-and-orange-chaos?page=40&reply=145615445

Just out: The Government's electoral reform strategy

Hurrah ! PR at last.

Excellent news. Too late for Brexit sadly.

Young people should be encouraged to use a postal vote, as should those who work 12 hour shifts.

I am awaiting the complete combustion of all the usual suspects, should be a good laugh.

Well, cuts have never given us growth, we've 14 years of evidence on that idea... & there is tax head room, on assets and unearned income.

Growth will only come with investment, both Govt and Private, we need a far closer deal with the EU....

Why does everything take so long to build or repair here? a Tesco slip road near me is now into its 2nd year of construction, the A30 dualling near Truro massive over-spend, took years, even the tarmac laid is like a bloody roller coaster....& had to be done twice.... just 9 miles long.... then there is HS2....

On borrowing, there is something structurally wrong in the UK.... why are gilts so much higher than France? over 2% higher..... a country whose borrowing is at 110% of GDP.....

Maybe look at that?

I'm not against Welfare cuts at all but i want the focus to be on support.... getting people who can, back into work & why are so many being put on disability benefits, far more than or European counterparts.

Hopefully the Timms review will give us some answers.

It's a good paper, PR would have made it great.

People are going to lose it over 16 year olds being given a vote 😅

Ha ha lets hope so!!!

Pleased to see this. Judging from the conversations I had with a group of 16 year olds last night the Greens will also benefit.

And several million potential voters aren’t registered for one reason or another - would be good to get them engaged if at all possible.

During the Australian election it was pointed out that mandatory voting means that parties have to think about how policies impact on all generations of voters if they want to succeed. So you can’t just rely upon your membership.
Including 16/17 year old might go a little way towards that.

I think that is great news. Well done, Labour.

The reason younger folk don't vote is not access to voting. It's because they can't be arsed.

And part of the reason they can't be arsed is because they see that the electoral process doesn't work.

Expanding voting without addressing the fundamental issues is simply putting out another line of deckchairs on the Titanic for the Sunrise Special.

Not really sure why "government implements manifesto pledge" is now news. Unless it's a pithy reflection on the previous government.

Blimey Jane. Would you like another bucket of cold water?

And so it begins.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5375197-16-17-year-olds-to-be-given-the-vote?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

Fascinating that so few are interested in the automatic voter registration - I think that might have more consequences politically.

This is also interesting-
Donors making contributions over £7,500 must declare if they have received money or benefits worth more than £7,500 from others in connection with their donation (presumably to stop donors splitting up donations below the publication threshold, to keep donations secret)
(from Josiah Mortimer on BS)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-56919775

You may well have a point, however electoral reform often takes time to change the mindset. Sixth form colleges should be encouraging people to register as well as those doing GCSES.

Just one persons opinion 😎

I was being a tad disingenuous I admit. I am aware that there is an all party (less Reform) parliamentary group that are looking into changing FPTP. I suspect that might end up in a Royal Commission ? Being honest I rather lost interest after the 2011 referendum.

A post designed solely for the purpose of garnering division. Age old tactic.

I find the language interesting. Why is it "16 and 17 year olds" and not the much less clunky "anyone 16 or over ?"

The 2011 referendum was another cop out from the Lib Dems.

"35 year olds plus" 😂

In what way ?

They were the junior party - they were never going to wag the dog.

Along with pronouns people blaming them for 2010-2015 is a good proxy for dimness, in my humble opinion.

Mind you, if you want dim, have you heard Liz Truss recently ? Baying for blood from whoever is responsible for the Afghan arse up whilst forgetting she was Foreign secretary in that very government.

I must say, the melt-down is cheering me up no end.

In what way @SerendipityJane ?

Because it was titled the Alternative Vote referendum. And no one was sure as to what that meant. It should have not been so nebulous in the wording.

ETA also the LibDems had already reneged on the promise to not raise university fees.

Back in the real world, the LibDems were never an equal partner in the coalition. This meant they couldn't deliver exactly what they wanted and compromises needed to be made. And they did their best to ensure the UK had a stable government for 5 years (we did get the FTPA) over the political argy-bargy that would result from an informal coalition.

The refusal of some people to realise this and "give Nick Clegg a bloody nose" led directly to the Tory majority of 2015 and the Brexit referendum thereafter. Those people - who abandoned the LDs out of spite have a lot to answer for. They are still around.

It's quite clear that the LibDems should have gone into coalition with Gordon Brown, but Nick Clegg (so sorry 😐) decided that his best bet was to go with Cameron - to temper Conservative rule was his excuse. And Clegg failed.