Westminstenders: Manifesto or Bust?

[RedToothBrush]

The Brexit Party aren't doing one.

The Labour Party apparently can't afford theirs.

The Conservatives will just lie anyway.

And the LDs got upstaged by Prince Andrew's resignation from royal duties for being a fuckwit.

3 weeks to go...

Agree as well Hooo, both parts.

Thanks for sharing that link Listening Quietly, not quite sure how to share on my phone.

Violet
Its also interesting that the fact check around the clip utterly demolishes his claims.

Hoooo

*This is in a place perceived as very affluent.

People have NO idea how some families are struggling*

When I mention I volunteer at a foodbank, people in general here don't believe it. Not that I work there, but that we even need one in this affluent Home Counties area. Where they'll all vote Tory and pretend they haven't caused the need for foodbanks. Plenty of deprivation here if you look for it - or simply come along to the FB and see how many turn up in need of help.

“Every man who is not helping to bring about a better state of affairs for the future is helping to perpetuate the present misery, and is therefore the enemy of his own children. There is no such thing as being neutral: we must either help or hinder.”
― Robert Tressell, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists

Well overall I’m pleased with my choices now I’m in a leave labour/conservative area (that used to be labour heartlands). My no deal mp has stepped down and new labour candidate is following party line for brexit - add to that a labour manifesto I largely support. I’ve previously ‘wasted’ my vote voting Lib Dem (they didn’t even get their deposit returned) as I couldn’t vote for the last labour candidate. I am scared about conservative vote - but brexit party is running here which should help! Only had conservative correspondence yet - the candidate is apparently a teacher with a dr wife. Well they are selfish twats if they think conservatives will be good for our (poor ex mining lots of unemployment) area!

“Every man who is not helping to bring about a better state of affairs for the future is helping to perpetuate the present misery, and is therefore the enemy of his own children. There is no such thing as being neutral: we must either help or hinder.”

If you ain't part of the solution, you're part of the problem

Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition

Pretty much sums it up DG

David Schneider
@davidschneider
·
18m
A reminder:

NOT CLASS WAR
Cutting services and benefits for the poor & vulnerable
4m kids in poverty
Homeless deaths up to 726 a year
1.6m food bank parcels a year
Richest 1000 in UK richer by 183% or almost £400bn since 2010

CLASS WAR
Asking top 5% to pay their fair share

I know this has been posted before but interesting to see where one stands earnings wise compared to the population in general.

www.ifs.org.uk/tools_and_resources/where_do_you_fit_in

Somerville, so sorry, awful thing for you all, hoping the prognosis is encouraging.
My daughter is a paediatrician and she tells me that children’s cancer charities fund better equipment, and comforts on the cancer wards. Other children with life limiting and life threatening conditions are being treated without even basic equipment, electric items held together with duct tape, lack of bed linen. It really is so shit.
Sick children shouldn’t be relying on charity.

That’s really interesting @borntobequiet. And eye opening. I knew we were comfortable but not quite how comfortable.

Somerville

People have NO idea how some families are struggling*

I think we do, but there is still a big difference between the £80,000 people and the £800,000 plus people. I am talking here of e.g. a couple in scientific research in the SE, where I live, who do know their salaries are better than average and therefore e.g. contribute to food banks, and the Rees-Moggs of the world - who seem to think they are wholly entitled and would happily bring back the Workhouse for those who didn't have the luck to be born into money like they were.

And yes I have already mentioned Tory voters I know who think that food bank users are feckless and just need to learn to cook and budget properly. I am tempted in one case to mention, 'there but for the grace of God go I', but somehow, I think even that would wash over.

What does farage have against postal votes?

I like that IFS tool, correcting for number of dependent children is important. We're at the 84th, which doesn't surprise me. It's easy to forget that 5% of 65 million people is still 3.25 million. So being in the top 5% of households isn't actually all that unusual.

Farage wants to create a narrative of vote fraud, postal votes being vulnerable to fraud is part of that. It's part of eventual voter suppression.

What does farage have against postal votes?

You can't see the colour of the voter.

I really can imagine Farage having a crafty Hand Shandy reading all the various underhand ways the Southern States found to disenfranchise ex-slaves after emancipation ... tug,tug,tug, property qualifications, tug,tug,tug ... literacy requirements .... tug,tug,tug proof of entitlement .... oops, too soon

remember the hard-on Trump has for "revising" the 14th amendment ?

Last night watching CNN Anderson Cooper was doing a pro immigration thing where he highlighted that three key people speaking out about corruption in the WH are immigrants.
He put up their photographs and said they had fled oppressive regimes or appalling poverty ( or something very similar).
I wasn't sure whether the UK counted as both?
One of the three came from Durham.

So this is what was on my households leaflets from the LibDems

This is fascinating. From the Guardian (of course). All about your bubble and comparing upwards in terms of income ...

Research done by YouGov at the time of the last election found that people on relatively good incomes did not consider themselves “rich”, and that the nearer they were to a good salary themselves the less likely they were to feel well off.

While 74% of people earning between £20,000 and £29,999 said they would consider someone on £60,500 a year to be rich, this fell to just 27% of those earning more than £50,000 a year.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/22/factcheck-earning-80000-or-more-top-5-of-uk-earners-labour

I think Labour's language over earnings isn't helpful to them.
You could tell me that as someone who is comfortable I should pay a little more to support those using food banks and dc in cancer wards.
I would agree with that.

But telling me I am in the super rich just makes me think "what, no I'm not. In the UK we didn't even think we could cover private education for our dc. Let alone a super yacht lifestyle. Piss off"

I am persuadable about paying more tax but othering me and letting others think I'm breakfasting in champagne every morning isn't the way to do it.
I know we are a privileged and lucky compared to many but we are a million miles away from Mogg.

In terms of wealth Rees Mogg represents a tiny minority. If you can contemplate sending your DC's to a private school then you are affluent. This isn't even on most people (who are just trying to get by) radar.

It's not about othering but it would be nice if people that are financially comfortable (income not inherited wealth) could recognise this gives them greater privilege than the majority on ordinary incomes who don't do either champagne or private education.

I posted this on another thread but relevant here too.

What people in different income brackets consider to be "rich" is a bit of an eye opener.