To think MN is a Hard Left echo chamber

[DowntownAbby]

And that's why so, so many MNers are baffled that the Conservatives are going to achieve a landslide victory over Labour.

Out there is the real world, there was far less support for Corbyn but most MNers couldn't see what was coming.

Interestingly, currently, 82% of 255 people agree with the OP. It is now just after 7AM. If this thread is still active during working hours, I suspect it will swing the other way, as the non working demographic wakes up.

I kind of think that this thread is demonstrating that MN isn’t an echo chamber.
If MN was an echo chamber, there would be no arguments, would there? Because we would all be agreeing with each other.

Suddenly dump several thousand extra pupils from the city's private schools into an already overstretched state system and you would break it

That's the ridiculous scare story. Instead remove charitable status. Oblige all who can pay to be admitted. Require the same suspension/exclusion rules as per the state system. Require sharing of facilities with the community at rock-bottom rates. Move all staff off the government teachers' pension into private.

The pupils can stay. The school pays.

Interestingly, currently, 82% of 255 people agree with the OP. It is now just after 7AM. If this thread is still active during working hours, I suspect it will swing the other way, as the non working demographic wakes up

You do keep harping on this. larygrylls. Do you really think Labour voters don't work?

Well, thank goodness all that is a spiteful little pipe dream echt.

My dcs will be off to school with a spring in their step as they know they will be able to stay for the next 5 years!

I don’t think Corbyns views on the GRA helped much either!

Echt,

No, I think that a lot of MN labour supporters don’t work, not at all the same thing.

And, interestingly, the voting button will allow this hypothesis to be tested (see above).

YANBU the absolutely disgusting behaviour of labour voters this past week on MN has been disgusting. What I witnessed was a mob of self righteous, loud, crass, idiots wielding pitchforks of ‘shame’ and vile abuse for anybody who didn’t share their (frankly small minded) opinion. It makes me despair for this generation of ‘my opinion matters more than everyone else’s and I have no respect for anyone but myself’ 😡

I’m mid/late twenties and not a Tory voter btw- but had I been made to choose between labour and Tory I’d have 100% gone Tory to avoid being associated with what I’ve seen on MN all week!

@DowntownAbby

Your username says it ALL

Have a from me

And by the way - I have worked full time since 1982

No, I think it's you who is not getting it, echt.

With the best political will in the world and even throwing money at the problem, increasing teacher numbers would still take two to three years.

Removing charitable status would hike private fees overnight. And contrary to the belief that parents opting for private education are loaded, most are only just scraping fees together. So there would be a very substantial number of parents who had to send their kids to state schools with a lead time of months while increasing teacher numbers in the state sector would take years.

I say that as someone with a child in state education, who went to a comprehensive myself, and who thinks overall the country would be better off without private schools.

I still think Corbyn was going about it all the wrong way, that he hadn't thought through the practicalities, the time frames, or the costs.

I'm not hard left, I'm slightly left of centre. I voted lib dem until 2015 and would have considered voting tory under Rory Stewart. I liked bits of the Labour Party manifesto but I don't think either the NHS or the education system could survive a sudden removal of private sector capacity. I also don't believe you can reassign private property.

But I don't see, morally, how it is possible to vote (and in such huge numbers too) for a government who's policies have explicitly and with evidence caused 120,000 extra deaths, a massive rise in child poverty, an unprecedented and inexcusable rise in infant mortality, international criticism of our treatment of disabled people. These are all facts that are out there and easily accessible. So yes, I would consider divorcing my husband if he voted for that.

Today, I am utterly ashamed to be British.

Considering MN is supposed to be "better educated

Better educated doesn't make you more intelligent

@SantasLeftBoot

What on earth are you talking about with my username?

I have never seen Downton Abbey. My name is not Abby.

The username came from a thread a while back where someone tried to write the words Downton Abbey and it autocorrected to 'Downtown' which I, sad as I am, found amusing and in my tiny mind I suddenly had visions of a character called 'Downtown Abby' which I thought I'd use for a name on MN.

World on fire I agree.

I hate any extreme, and we've seen extreme left in action in microcosm on here.

Nasty feckers. Think what would have been unleashed if corybn had won??!!

Private schools do waste a lot of money on the flashy (world class theatres, semi professional music performances etc) and with a few honourable exceptions (e.g Westminster) pay lip service to giving back to the community whilst developing ever flashier facilities.

They do need to step up to the plate more to retain their VAT exemption and charitable status, or live within the means of what fee payers can afford to pay.

Too scared to say anything!

Nothing wrong with flashy facilities, it's what we pay for. When my dcs school built a new music centre the parents raised 2 million pounds to pay for it.

Ethel it was dominated by the left when I first joined and I can see now that's because of vicious abuse anyone else received on here.

I was amazed over brexit ref how many posters put heads above parapet... Slowly coming out... And more and more people with other views seemed to feel brave and come out

Just shows really if you don't let people speak, be honest and give them a voice their voice will bubble away somewhere and appear somewhere, some how....

Don't suppress people!!

Trewser,

I think that you have highlighted the issue perfectly! If parents have a spare £2 mio they can collectively either put this towards bursaries or can pay higher fees in return for the cancellation of charitable status and VAT exemption.

I find it hard to understand that you cannot see the nexus between state schools struggling to get by and a £2mio music centre and some resentment creeping in over the rich being given massive tax breaks to facilitate this.

Returning to the echo chamber question. Mumsnet is one of the few places I can see different opinions, because my social media facebook etc. is a lefty echo chamber.

It is a bit uncomfortable that on no subjects: politics, feminism, sleep training does the presence of other opinions seem to be embraced with curiosity. Just accusations.

On other hand my first election was 1987 - margaret thatcher, neil kinnock, miners strike - it was similarly tribal.

Every British child who attend private school makes funding and space available for one in the state system. And the reality is that unless Corbyn and friends were planning to forcibly remove the wealthy from their homes and have them live mixed in with lower earning people, the state schools in wealthy areas would still be "better" with only rich people able to afford to live in the catchment.

A more palatable policy would be for example to introduce a small levy on overseas students who come to the UK for boarding school, with that money earmarked for state education funding.

I think that you have highlighted the issue perfectly! If parents have a spare £2 mio they can collectively either put this towards bursaries or can pay higher fees in return for the cancellation of charitable status and VAT exemption

Why should they? They can spend their money how they like.

Anyway, whatever your opinions on private schools, and yes, rich people tend to go to them, it doesn't matter now as they'll be left alone to get on with it at least for the next few years.

I think a lot of threads on here are hard left echo chambers and those of us that don't agree don't bother replying to the demands of 'tell me why you vote conservative' because you don't get heard, you get lectured and mostly called lots of school yard names.

In RL I am surrounded by people with various opinions but we seem to be able to discuss those without getting personal and without trying to force others to change their mind. On here I never bothered because of the name calling and obvious aggression. It was pointless engaging and I felt sorry for anyone who tried as they just got shot down.

Every British child who attend private school makes funding and space available for one in the state system

How generous of their parents. How altruistic.