Hobbycraft employee badge - no terfs, no Tories

[ItsCoolForCats]

Another example of why bringing your whole self to work is a terrible idea.

Hobbycraft seems to be busy trying to mitigate the fallout, presumably because they know which demographic spends the most money there.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/5359520/dundee-hobbycraft-trans-row/

Didn't realise Cultural Revolution style struggle sessions were regaining popularity in parts of the Left. I would like to point out that while publicly shaming and hounding people for wrongthink may work to shut people up in public, when we all have the opportunity to vote every five years, you have to actually persuade people to vote for your favoured party.

The point I was initially trying to make was in response to your accusation to a pp of 'lazy black and white thinking'. I was attempting to put some context behind why strong anti-Tory sentiment exists, and imo it's relevant to draw on the 80s in this context. Couldn't care less whether you're 'aware of the past', although as a fellow Gen Xer I assume you're perfectly well aware of the damage the Tories wrought then.

None of that negates any of the points that are being made about Labour and its current position now, when I've already said I agree that's a problem. It makes me pretty angry tbh the way the party is betraying its roots at present. I think that was clear in my last reply to you, so I'm not sure why you fired off your last couple of questions like I'm some sort of apologist. Jeez.

Ah, but this is where the ingenious 'public voting' kicks in!

I know, as many do, why strong anti-Tory sentiment exists (you appeared to be suggesting that I didn't and was only talking about current generations for some reason.). But it's not explaining why such strong pro-Reform sentiment exists right now and how some people (and yes, I know it wasn't you personally, although you seemed to me to be excusing it), people who appear to be quite proudly devoid of ANY contact with those outside their own political circles, seem to think that just calling people "soulless Tories" and "fascists"and going for the shame angle is going to realistically address that going forward.

Unless you have access to their postal or proxy vote.

Yep. And I bet that Swift person is opposed to secret ballots too. Show of hands only, and anyone whose hand is up/down incorrectly… well… The “correct” vote prevails.

Probably the imminent destruction of his life's work by a Tory spiv.

They may have mentioned that on another thread. Secret courts and open ballots....for the purposes of ensuring social harmony. Unless you're a conservative voter apparently, then you're fair game.

A certain amount of contentious posting has been noted.

tbf the NHS may be a long way from his vision.

The NHS have a political party now. www.nhaparty.org/about.

Oh dear Lord.

Mind
Blown

Yep.

There's contentious posting and then there's going full Skeletor.

Now you mention it, I'm sure I've seen She-Ra posting on here.

I feel that Swift's posts could be improved a bit by addressing us all as "puny earthlings" or similar

😁

What is also rather interesting is how reliable the Communist party has been on supporting single sex provisions and that they don’t believe male people should have access to those provisions.

Meaning the Communist Party is a TERF.

I know that you are intending to mock my position but in all honesty, why should people’s voting records be private? People should not be able to vote for parties like Reform and be able to work in roles that require interacting and assisting immigrants and asylum seekers, which you absolutely can because nobody has any real idea who votes for who. That system is not fit for purpose in today’s society.

A reform voter might argue the same about the biases of somebody with opposing political opinions, which is why people are required to do the jobs they are paid to do and leave their politics at home.

Okay, let's for talk's sake go with this argument.

Why should people who vote Labour be allowed to work in jobs where they might interact with grooming gang survivors? Shouldn't their support for the party behind the coverups be public knowledge? Wouldn't it be fair to subject them to shaming?

And for the people in abusive relationships being told 'vote for these people...or else', they should totally have their privacy and right to vote with their conscience taken from them right??

That would be highly illegal I imagine.

A public ballot would not be the progressive choice.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/content/100726

'Prior to the Ballot Act 1872, voters would give a show of hands, stating their choice out loud, or mark their paper in public, while onlookers and candidates’ agents cheered or jeered. The name and choice would be noted down in a public poll book, which newspapers could publish.
As a consequence of open voting, men who rented their homes, or relied on a local employer for work, had to vote as the property owner or employer wished them to vote. If they didn’t, they would risk losing their home and the job that fed their family. Bribery with money and liquor, drunken fights and threats from candidates, were also common.'

Love this detail :

'Britain’s first secret ballot box is on display at Pontefract Museum and is still marked with wax seals that ensured that votes were not tampered with. The seal was made with a liquorice stamp from a local factory that was used to make Pontefract cakes.

And if Swift wishes to keep arguing that voting in the approved way is a sign of good character, I refer her to my post at 10.25 this morning, which may provide some food for thought.

More recent, and pertinent to this board:

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-03-24/debates/F3E264BC-0A2E-4C33-890F-DE5A58EC689F/BallotSecrecyBill(Lords)

'The report states that more than 70% of those affected by family voting in the May 2022 elections were women. We must get a grip on this ugly practice. Women should not feel intimidated or have their vote influenced by anyone at a polling station. The report’s findings are truly concerning. It was even reported that staff at polling stations were reluctant to intervene when they saw it occurring—I reiterate that this is not a criticism of the great work that those staff do. Guidance on what they can and cannot do should be—and will now be —clearer.

Democracy Volunteers produced a report of Peterborough during the 2019 by-election, where family voting was witnessed at an astonishing rate of 48%. That impacts confidence in election results—no matter how unfairly, perhaps. It cannot be good for democracy. When I speak to different communities and constituents across Peterborough, I hear widespread support for the Bill. It will rectify the issue and tackle family voting at polling stations. It sets out the amendments to the Representation of the People Act 1983. As a result, a person would commit an offence if they were with or near another person at a polling booth with the intent to influence that person in a particular way of voting or to refrain from voting. The word “intent” is important. It means that people who need help or assistance when voting due to disabilities can still receive it. It also means that parents accompanied by children standing alongside them are not committing a crime.

The people who practise family voting with an intent to intimidate and influence a person’s vote have no respect for the secret ballot. It is wholly inappropriate and is a rising threat to our democratic right to a secret ballot in the UK. We must uphold our values and traditions. Secret voting was introduced just over 150 years ago, in 1872, to tackle many bad practices in elections at that time. The Bill is a continuation of the idea that voting should be done secretly. It will give presiding officers the correct powers to tackle the problem then and there at the polling station. There is only room for one person and one mind at the ballot booth.'

I mean this is from a Conservative, though, so I imagine it'll be dismissed by some.

There's a whole wheen of stuff here on protecting women's democratic rights.

https://aceproject.org/ace-en/topics/ge/ge5/default

Interestingly, a whole section discusses sex -segregated voting as a way to help women vote freely:

'Women-only voting centers or rooms may be useful, depending on the context. In some countries where family or enforced proxy voting is a problem, the use of female voting rooms may inhibit men from casting ballots on behalf of women. In cultures where women do not interact with men who are not relatives, having a separate space with women staff for the voting process increases access for women voters. When women wear a veil and/or gloves and their face is checked and fingerprints are inked as part of the identification process on voting day, having female staff and a room where there are only women present increases the accessibility of polling.[1]
Decisions about using women-only voting centers or rooms need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of such a choice. Possible disadvantages may include: the added cost and complication involved; whether segregated stations are effective; and whether women-only polling stations are subject to distinct types of fraud and/or violence. Some research has suggested they may create more vulnerability for women in some countries. In some contexts, women-only polling stations are unlikely to open at all on Election Day, thereby disenfranchising all women registered to vote at these locations, and robust protection measures may be needed. In the EMB survey, five of the 35 countries (14 percent) said that they had provided women-only polling teams and stations.[2]
In some places, voting centers may be mixed, but women and men are asked to stand in separate queues as they wait to vote. The primary objective of separate queues is to respond to security or cultural norms and to protect women from contact with men as prohibited by cultural or religious standards. Separate queues may be legally mandated within the electoral law, adopted systematically by the central EMB or implemented in an ad hoc manner at the discretion of the polling station president. In the EMB survey, eight of the 35 countries (23 percent) provided separate queuing arrangements for men and women at voting centers.'

I never expected to encounter a poster on FWS who was politically to the right of Tommy Robinson but here we are.