Labour would be even worse grrrr

[Explaintome]

In the pub last night, rolling news headlines on the TV and we talked briefly about rising interest rates/falling pound.

One man trotted out the now tired line "Labour would be even worse".

"Why?" I said, "what is it that they would do less well?" He couldn't answer, as I find is often the case with people who are certain Labour would be worse. They can't tell me why.

They may be right, they are certainly entitled to that view, but surely to be so convinced about any opinion you must also have some idea of why that is?

This is a middle aged man, does an ordinary, low level management/sales job. He'd tell you himself, he's not particularly clever and he's not interested in/doesn't undertlstand politics or the economy and yet he's so convinced of this view. It was probably unfair of me to challenge him knowing he wouldn't have an argument, but there seem to be a lot like him and frankly it's scary. 12 years and still people are convinced Tory is the best answer, even if they don't know why.

FWIW he's a nice man with other attributes, an encyclopedic music knowledge and good company provided you don't try and talk about the news 😆

I see that as a positive because it would finally give us a proper middle ground.

You're absolutely right and that's why I spoiled my ballot rather than voted for them last time. But I still question if that was the right choice given the absolute shit show that is the country now.

Yes like the Ronseal political parties that do exactly what they say on the tin...

Left of centre party
Feminist party
People for Migration Party or It's opposite Anti-immigration party
Workers' Party
European Party
High income party

I think the man from the pub explained himself well... he said he's not particularly clever ...
Labour all the way for me,
( and I'd rather have Angela than Jacob rees Mogg who still needs his own nanny)

But anyone Jewish, or anyone who has any Jewish friends or loved ones, would be.

Like Starmer ?

I meant if Corbyn had won, that's what it would be like. Not Starmer.

I know that Starmer's family is Jewish. I know them (ish - friends of friends).

Thank you so much @MoltenLasagne - I know tone is difficult to communicate online, so I want to emphasise that I mean that completely sincerely.

I cannot overestimate how much it meant, and means, to me and other Jewish people, that so many non-Jewish people cared enough to make that choice.

The emotional impact of that election campaign will stay with me for ever.

I will be thankful to you and people like you, who weren't prepared to sacrifice/disregard us, for as long as I live.

Having said that, yes, the country is a complete shitshow, and I will also never stop being so angry/distressed at the appalling 'choice' we were given in the last election. I am appalled at Brexit, appalled at the way Boris behaved throughout Covid - managing to do even worse than I thought he would, appalled at the general collapse of everything.

But I want you to know that i will always be grateful to you and people like you for making that (near impossible) decision. Thank you.

Didn’t the UK have the same vaccine mandate rules as Canada? I.e. they were required for anyone entering the country?

This again? Remember the Global Financial Crisis? Global, not Labour's fault. That was the background.

Really? Most people say he spent the whole of the pandemic agreeing with the government.

Angela Rayner shouldn't have apologised when she called them scum she shouldn't have doubled down and called them fucking scum. Don't bother telling me I'm vile, I don't care.

You're vile @vera99 everyone knows the only important thing about Angela Raynor is her gusset.

Or then again they could actually listen to what she has to say.

I honestly think it's the newspapers.

Look at the front page headlines today.

The Daily Mail and Daily Express both make no mention of the economic crisis unfolding.

The Daily Telegraph accuses the IMF of making an extraordinary statement and quotes senior Tory grandees saying that the real problem is the market fear of Labour getting into power in 2 years.

I'm sadly coming to the conclusion that our country is being railroaded into disaster by a tiny number of very powerful people who are super rich, and own newspapers and politicians.

Not a conspiracy, just that some vested interests are so powerful and their interests are no longer aligned to those of the UK population.

For me, it's that note Labour left last time, saying 'Good Luck, There's no money left.' That a minister of state could openly admit getting the exchequer into such a mess, be fully aware of it, and think it's a cause for humour was unforgiveable. I'm scared that attitude persists, that it will happen again.

You do know it’s a Treasury tradition started by the Tory Chancellor Reginald Maudling who left Callahan a note saying “Sorry to have left it in such a mess, old cock”? Fuck knows what Kwarteng’s note will say …

Can I ask of people saying they will "never vote Labour" - do you actually know what's going on in the financial markets and our currency right now?

Today the Bank of England had to intervene to rescue the gilts market before several large pension schemes collapsed?

Earlier this week the pound plummeted to its lowest ever against the dollar?

These are not small, irrelevant events like Ed Milliband eating a bacon sandwich awkwardly, or (as I recall from childhood) "I'm not voting for a bald red haired Welshman".

I think a lot of people who used to say that will be singing a different tune by the time we get to the next general election. Look at the mess that been created in the space of a few short weeks. Imagine the damage they will do if god forbid the GE doesn’t happen until 2024.

Blossomtoes you're more scared of a note that was left as a joke (which in turn was part of a long running thread of joke notes left from treasury minister to treasury minister for time), than you are of the fact that within the last week the conservatives have crashed the pound, raised lots of peoples mortgage payments to the point of impossibility, and nearly crashed three large pension funds (but for the Bank of England coming to the rescue). Right...

And this is why we keep getting the governments we deserve. People voting one way another for absolutely absurd reasons.

Who knows? JC would definitely have been and he was the option.

Labour can't just blame the "Global Economic Crisis" and get away scot-free. Britain is part of the globe, and they were in charge. They relied on the revenue from the financial sector far too much to fund their public spending. And our financial sector was left exposed far more so than most other countries to what happened in the US with sub-prime mortgages.

In general I think Labour made too much of increasing public spending that it just seemed reckless. Increasing public spending doesn't actually mean anything it all, it's just spending the publics money. I'd have more impressed if they'd said they were cutting public spending and making the public sector more inefficient and better while still saving the public money.

I dislike like the Tories, but I FEAR Labour. That's the difference. I simply cannot trust them. I can't trust them to manage the economy, and I can't trust them to be sensible about immigration. It doesn't matter what reassurances they give me. I don't trust them.

How did the Labour government know a global financial crisis was coming? Faulty crystal ball? Public services were in shag order after 18 years of Tory cuts and it was nothing short of miraculous that they managed to improve them so radically in 11 years. I worked in the NHS then and you could watch the improvements unfold.

Whereas you trust the Tories with the economy? 😂

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt here and assume you've not seen, read or heard any news coverage over the last week or so.

Not only the economy. Immigration is through the roof and Truss is endorsing more.

@Blossomtoes I am an immigrant, and welcome migration.

Criticising the Labour Party at the moment is farcical.