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Brexit

Westminster: Brexit is the hard right's weapon of mass distraction

999 replies

BigChocFrenzy · 07/03/2017 07:21

The fervour and divisions over Brexit have suspended normal party politics.

The staggering incompetence & unsuitability of Corbyn as a leader, together with the resulting impotence of Labour has removed the normal checks & balances in UK politics.
There is a vaccum where the Official Opposition should be, so Theresa May is under pressure only from her right.

I fear Thereas May and the Tory rightwing are taking advantage of Brexit to complete the destruction of the post-WW2 social contract and the welfare state.

Meanwhile, the constraints of civilised discourse have been loosened and those with racist or social Darwinist views now feel free to spout their poison openly.

Putin is pouring petrol on all the fires and Arron Banks is lurking < sinister emoticons required >

Zoe Williams:
"Behind a smokescreen of bogus patriotism, ideologically driven cuts to the NHS and all our public services are unpicking the bonds of nationhood"

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/05/brexit-theresa-may-falklands-war-nhs-cuts

"We should be marching against the crisis in adult social care, the closure of care homes, the systematic exploitation of carers, the £4.6bn cut from social care budgets this decade.
We should be .... asking:

“What exactly is the plan, if we’ve decided we can no longer afford to care for the elderly and the disabled?
What do we do with them instead?”

"We should be marching against cuts in education funding"

"Every morning we wake up to someone on the radio explaining, despairingly, that you can’t fix the hospital bed crisis until social care is fixed, and you can’t fix that until council tax brings in more, and it can’t bring in more because wages are too low."

"But when everything breaks at the same time, that is not a coincidence: it is a plan.

As surely as Margaret Thatcher had an economic plan on employment, rights, industry and wages,
this century’s Conservatives have a plan on public services, which is to smash them beyond all recognition."

OP posts:
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WrongTrouser · 07/03/2017 18:32

Badders No, I don't know what "sharing a platform" means in this context. I did no campaigning before the referendum. I spoke privately to a few people I know. Then I voted. So I really don't see how I can be said to have "shared a platform" with anyone.

Tanith · 07/03/2017 18:33

"Today 18:11 comfortandjoyce

Badders123

But - as I've said before - you share a platform with those that DO

I judge people not just by their actions, but the company they keep.

That's something called "collective guilt", usually more associated with the authoritarian right than liberalism. Can you imagine trying to tar any other group in society with the same brush because of "the company they keep"?"

Like the Muslims, you mean?

Mistigri · 07/03/2017 18:33

The fascist Kipperati and hard right Tories are cheering on fascist parties in France, Austria, Netherlands, Denmark as well as E Europe.

The kippers have also been in bed with these people in the European Parliament, partly because they share their ideologies, partly because they needed the numbers in order for their group to qualify for European funding (which they promptly misused and have been refusing to pay back).

These people are not just racists, not just hypocrites, but fraudsters and criminals.

BigChocFrenzy · 07/03/2017 18:34

My personal view:
I don't expect Leavers to be racist any more than any other person.
I don't expect them to be stupid - I've quoted Leaver blogs which I think are the most expert and informed about Brexit that either side has produced.

However, I do judge if they praise Farage, Le Pen or Trump because they are openly racists and fascists too.
I also judge the many Leavers who support the Tory hard right and their cuts - strangely even some who claim to be Lexiters.

That's just judging those particular Leavers the same as I would judge anyone else who supports fascist, racist or social darwinist views.

OP posts:
BigChocFrenzy · 07/03/2017 18:37

"Sharing a platform with" is fairly literal for me:

So anyone who got up on a platform - either speaking or just sitting there in silent support - with known Kippers, BNP, Front National etc or praises them.
In this digital age, that would be those who support them on social media.

OP posts:
Badders123 · 07/03/2017 18:38

Big Choc... as ever you are far more eloquent than I and express my views better than I do myself 😖

In other news trump is now blaming Obama for the Russian annexing of Crimea

🙄🤔

whatwouldrondo · 07/03/2017 18:40

Returning to the Grammar School debate, Theresa's constituency

www.theguardian.com/education/2016/sep/12/theresa-may-grammar-schools-maidenhead?CMP=twt_gu

Badders123 · 07/03/2017 18:41

"Speaking privately" to people about leaving the EU means you agreed with farage et al
And the people you spoke to would realise that too. That's what I mean by "sharing a platform"

I would feel quite queasy if I had voted leave knowing putin, le penn and trump all thought brexit a great idea

Very queasy

Badders123 · 07/03/2017 18:43

This grammar school thing is so weird

woman12345 · 07/03/2017 18:49

Euro Breitbart up and running.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/07/breitbart-threat-to-europe-postwar-liberal-consensus
I was going to ask for volunteers to check it out, but looks like we don't need to.Grin
On funding(some one mentioned it looks like it's been re instated), I'm guessing Banks is ready to roll as soon as the vote goes his way.
Claig on the US threads disappeared on November 9th.

Two consecutive weekends of demonstration coming up
March 18th: stand up to racism
March 25th: unite for Europe

woman12345 · 07/03/2017 18:50

I've got Chukka in my inbox again ron Grin

woman12345 · 07/03/2017 18:51

Badders thanks for that, was that vote expected?

Badders123 · 07/03/2017 18:52

You wish ron!

Badders123 · 07/03/2017 18:52

I don't know tbh
It's not really been on my radar

Thegruffalowswife · 07/03/2017 18:53

I'm in favour of replacing it with a directly elected upper chamber, not on the grounds of how it votes, but because it's an anachronism in a modern democracy.

I agree mistigri

lalalonglegs · 07/03/2017 18:54

The vote on a meaningful vote did go the way it was expected to in the HoL... the government is saying it will ignore it as it will the vote to give EU residents the right to remain in the UK Hmm.

Badders123 · 07/03/2017 18:56

Hmmmm
A few years ago I'd have agreed re HoL

Then lord Lucas really stood up for home schooling parents in the face of ed balls ridiculous children and families bill in 2010

So I dunno

I think it has value in that the Lords aren't worried about offending constituents or their own PP which I think - keeping the recent A50 vote in mind - it's a good thing but that doesn't mean it can't be reformed

....and the same goes for the EU!!!!

Badders123 · 07/03/2017 18:57

The next GE will be interesting.....

woman12345 · 07/03/2017 18:58

Food inflation doubles in a month as UK shoppers start to feel the pinch
Sharp fall in pound since EU referendum feeds into big rise in food prices with butter up 15% in a month, fish up 8% and tea up 6.6%

www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/07/food-inflation-doubles-uk-shoppers-feel-pinch

woman12345 · 07/03/2017 18:59

thanks la la

TheElementsSong · 07/03/2017 19:00

Have we recently had several essentially non-overlapping waves of "fresh blood" in the EURef topic? It's lovely to have all these fresh new ideas which nobody has ever put forward before Smile!

WrongTrouser · 07/03/2017 19:00

"Speaking privately" to people about leaving the EU means you agreed with farage et al. And the people you spoke to would realise that too. That's what I mean by "sharing a platform"

Okay, so to clarify, in your view, anyone who discussed voting leave or indeed did vote leave, for whatever reasons and whatever their other political and social views, is now forever tainted with the racism and nastiness of the far-right, Trump and any associated psychotics, whether they agree with these people's views on anything else or not?

It takes me back to my Catholic school days (guilt, original sin and all that) it really does and I thought all that was behind me. I'm off now to do a bit of self-flagelattion and to dig out my hairshirt to see if I can be absolved.

BigChoc I agree with your posts which I think mean you judge people by according to their actions and words and who they give support to, which is quite reasonable.

Badders123 · 07/03/2017 19:01

Thanks lala

I get very blank looks when I point out that my food shop has gone up every month since July....