Westminstenders: The end of tribalism

[RedToothBrush]

There are signs that traditional party alignment might well have broken.

The Tories have split, labour are pretending they have not.

The pattern so far seems to be closely following the EU. This favours a Tory majority.

A long way to go.

Seriously, we have to win.

Imagine waking up to a Conservative majority.

Imagine what that means for anyone you know who needs the NHS. Or state education. Or workers's rights, or benefits - especially disability benefits.

Imagine hard.

Then get a piece of A3 paper, write a message on it and stick it up (sellotape) on a bus shelter.

Canvassing/helping out the Party best placed in your area to beat the Conservatives is fantastic.

Not everyone can do that.

Talking to people is great but you may not feel able to.

But do something.

Honestly - this GE could not be more serious. It is not like previous GEs. There is far, far more at stake.

PMK

The Johnson mop is as twattish as Trump throwing rolls of paper towels to hurricane victims.
Surely people can see through this stupid shit.

As for "we have to win". Define "we".

CNN also reporting on No 10 suppressing the report on Russian meddling:

UK inquiry was warned of Russian infiltration, leaked testimony shows

Russia's influence reaches deep into the British establishment and successive UK governments have turned a blind eye to it, lawmakers were warned, according to multiple sources familiar with testimony given to a parliamentary inquiry.

Members of the cross-party Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) were told that Moscow built up a network of friendly British diplomats, lawyers, parliamentarians and other influencers from across the political spectrum. One witness described the development as "potentially the most significant threat to the UK's institutions and its ways of life," according to testimony seen by CNN.

And:

Witnesses whose testimony CNN is familiar with told the committee that Russian agents were targeting research roles in the House of Commons, acquiring British citizenship to funnel cash to political parties and employing public relations firms to cleanse reputations.

edition-m.cnn.com/2019/11/08/uk/uk-russia-inquiry-intelligence-security-committee-gbr-intl/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fedition.cnn.com%2F

Please don't get depressed.

Or if you do, feel it, then use it to make you stronger.

Get angry. Get motivated. Get active.

There's a reason The Daily Mail is throwing everything at this.

The majority of the country does not want the future the Conservatives will make.

FPTP gives them an advantage. The Daily Mail is throwing everything at that.

Corbyn will shoot your children.

Swinson is shrill.

Yadda, yadda, yadda.

Fear, anger, more fear, divide, rule.

We have to use whatever we have to get people to hope.

We have common-sense and the reality of the ruthless yet incompetent Conservatives (this bunch do not deserve that name) on our side.

We have to remind people of that. And get them to remember it all the way to the polling booth.

^^What cat said

The people who take the Daily Mail seriously would vote Tory anyway. The ones who read it who aren't the typical reader know full well what they're like and what their game is...they will see through it. Hopefully. If anything, seeing the Daily Mail's desperation makes me wonder.

The advert I see at the bottom of this page < not envy!

Hear hear Cat.

I fear very much that the blathering fat fool is going to get a majority. But for Christ's sake work to make it as small a majority as possible. He won't be a better PM after the election than before, and we know that a small majority can crumble.

British politics is in a terrible state; the only competent large party is not a national ones. No one with any sense should want to give any of them a majority. But if Boris doesn't win this doesn't mean a "Corbyn government" (Corbyn CANNOT win an overall majority), it means a hung parliament, and probable a short and fragile administration. This isn't ideal but it's better than the Fatberg and his cabinet of charlatans, crooks and haters of women, the disabled and the poor.

bellini 'define "we" '

A tactical 'we'

A strategic 'we'.

A 'we' brought together by a state of emergency.

A 'we' bounded by specific circumstances, grounded in a specific moment of space and time.

A large 'we'.

'We' who need the NHS, state schools, a welfare state.

A 'we' who dream of a progressive future for ourselves and our children.

'We' who cannot bear to see others crushed to make a profit for a tiny majority.

'We' who need our bodies and do not want them destroyed for profit.

'We' who despair about the right-wing project of Brexit and see it for what it is.

'We' don't have a Party.

'We' have been made politically homeless (well, many of us have) and 'we' have despaired at times.

But 'we' can use what 'we' have.

'We' won't fall into cynicism because 'we' know there are many of us - and the future 'we' are fighting for is far, far more precious, more desirable, more human and more to be cherished than the future 'we' will oppose.

'We' can do it. Because our future is worth having.

Corbyn will shoot your children.

I thought he only ate them cat?

I swear I learn something new daily on here

Marking a place on the radiator as the weather gets colder

Re Matt Hancock telling Baroness Farsi that effectively she doesn't understand what Islamophobia really is - is that him demonstrating "Islamsplaining"? (That one is courtesy of dh )

Squid4 - is there a neighbouring constituency that is more marginal? Could you go and help there, if you have time (recognising how difficult, time consuming and important your "day" job is)?

LoL @Just.

Keep up! That was The Telegraph and their bloody 'Corbyn will do to you what Stalin did to the Kulaks' splash.

.

Seriously? Don'tlickthetrolley?

FFS. 😡

You see, I don't see that.

And didn't even know.

That's fucking grim.

Andrew Adonis
@Andrew_Adonis
·
7m
Almost none of the candidates - Tory or Labour - being rapidly deselected for saying bad things has said anything worse than the 5 most appalling things said by Boris Johnson in his public life

Absolutely splendid interview with Ken Clarke. If you can't get past the paywall I can post a few more snippets.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/saturday-interview-ken-clarke-q2t8v0qm2

"My main worry apart from Brexit is the damage it is doing to the political system and political trust; I do think parliament is held in near contempt by the bulk of the population and the general tendency to regard all politicians as rogues and parliament as a nuisance is deeply damaging and this is fed by Boris.” His line of “people versus parliament”, he says, “is irresponsible and dangerous. It also isn’t true. The person who delayed Brexit is Boris Johnson and his friends. We could have left on March 29, 2019.”

I see your cat on a radiator pretty and will raise you with cat in a fruit bowl (insert bananas joke here).

The people who take the Daily Mail seriously would vote Tory anyway. The ones who read it who aren't the typical reader know full well what they're like and what their game is...they will see through it. Hopefully. If anything, seeing the Daily Mail's desperation makes me wonder.

This is what I think too.

And what cat said.

@squid4 can you try to get your voice as an A&E doctor heard? Ring/email BBC Radio 4 Any Answers before 1pm today. Tell them what's happening at the sharp end (I'm an ex-A&E nurse but not working in clinical area any more).

Ken Clarke is right.

Thanks for posting that, Misti.

Dontlickthetrolley

Ad blockers are the way to go

We can do it.

Remember what happened in Scotland in 2015 . Massive swings can happen due to other events which break down tribalism

That was despite and not because of the MSM but admittedly a more competent party to support

It's not just belief that is needed - it is feet on the ground campaigning.

As ever, I agree with cat. We have to galvanise ourselves and fight. By win, I think all we can hope for is denying Johnson an overall majority and that’s what we have to work towards.

If he gets a majority/clear 5 year term, I think in ten years the people who voted for him will realise that he smuggled a great deal of damaging policies in under the guise of ‘Get Brexit Done’. And they’ll feel massively cheated.

And they’ll feel massively cheated.

And as a much wiser poster than me on here waves at BCF says, thats when we start electing more and more authoritarian governments from Left/Right