Brexit.

[Innula Zenovka]

I'm having flashbacks, don't know why....

Since I'm a Brit, anything involving England vs France and longbows makes me think of this

Warren Ellis: Crécy

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Veritable Quandry]

 

[Stora]

I have no idea how Labour are going to fix the rot.
People seem to want a change but do not know what Labour stand for any more.


Conservative gains as first English councils declare

Labour is losing ground to the Conservatives in early results across England, in the first big test of Sir Keir Starmer's leadership of the party.
The first blow for Labour came in Hartlepool, where the Tories won the Westminster seat in a by-election.
Results from local council and mayoral elections also held on Thursday are expected throughout the weekend.
The Tories have taken Northumberland, Dudley, and Nuneaton and Bedworth councils from no overall control.
And Labour have lost Harlow - traditionally seen as an indicator of the national mood - to Boris Johnson's party.

Elections results 2021: Conservative gains as first English councils declare

 

[Innula Zenovka]

I have no idea how Labour are going to fix the rot.
People seem to want a change but do not know what Labour stand for any more.


Conservative gains as first English councils declare


Elections results 2021: Conservative gains as first English councils declare

The problem is, I think, that everything has been on hold since early 2020, and normal politics have been more or less suspended, as everyone's too focussed on the immediate problems of getting through the pandemic to be thinking about anything else.

Now we're coming out of the pandemic, and the vaccination programme is going well, people are obviously feeling better about the future, whatever they may think of Johnson and his government.

People complain about Starmer not setting out a vision for the future, but no one has any idea what the future's going to look like more than a few months ahead, nor how either the national or the world economy is going to look as things start to re-open, nor how Brexit is going to play out, so I'm not inclined to worry very much for a while yet.

It's not a movie -- everyone's simply in the hands of events right now, and Starmer's room to develop an alternative vision of the future (other than as one offering competent, humane, and honest government) is very limited.

All things being equal, there's not going to be an election until 2023--24 (May 2, 2024 is the last possible date), so we'll have to see how things look nearer the time.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Stora]

 

[Lucifer]

Fransen tried to harass Nicola in the street, and Sturgeon refused to engage with her, telling her she was a fascist and a racist, and she would not talk to her.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Who can forget Liz Truss' celebrated speech to the 2013 Conservative Party Conference, though


and the immortal line

 

[Fionalein]

Who can forget Liz Truss' celebrated speech to the 2013 Conservative Party Conference, though


and the immortal line

So the British import most of their cheese despite producing a great variety themselves? Unorthdox suggestion: Have they tried producing tasty cheese then?

 

[Innula Zenovka]

So the British import most of their cheese despite producing a great variety themselves? Unorthdox suggestion: Have they tried producing tasty cheese then?

We do produce loads of tasty regional and local cheeses, which you can find either at local shops and markets or specialist cheese shops.

But we also consume vast quantities of bland, uninteresting, industrial "Cheddar" (which isn't anything like real Cheddar) in processed food or the kids' packed school lunches, for which all you need is a factory and some milk, and it's in that kind of cheese that the commercial buyers are primarily interested.

The variety of food available in British supermarkets is far, far narrower than that available at working street, weekly or covered markets. A good size local market will always have a much better range of British cheeses than most supermarkets.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

By the way do the Brits consider chains like Aldi and Lidl as British supermarkets in terms of variety of goods, or something else?

 

[Innula Zenovka]

By the way do the Brits consider chains like Aldi and Lidl as British supermarkets in terms of variety of goods, or something else?

When I talk about British supermarkets I tend to mean the "big four," Tesco, Sainsbury, Azda and Morrisons, who operate large superstores (as well as smaller outlets), while Aldi and Lidl are low cost discounters, offering a smaller range of products than a supermarket but at lower prices.

If you've got the time and patience (which I don't) I suppose the logical course of action is to draw up a shopping list, try to fill it from Aldi or Lidl first as far as possible, and then go to one of the big four for the rest, but since I have to shop only for me, I've never thought the savings would be worth the effort. If I had a large family it might be different.

 

[Romana]

Fransen tried to harass Nicola in the street, and Sturgeon refused to engage with her, telling her she was a fascist and a racist, and she would not talk to her.

She looks like the UK equivalent of MTG, down to the advising people and yelling at them, except she's a tad more polite.

The Record first revealed in January her bizarre plan to stand for election, when she said in a statement: “I am going to be standing in the Scottish elections in May against these SNP commie, Marxists, naughty people.”

I'm pretty sure Marge works have said something more blunt than "naughty people".

 

[Innula Zenovka]

She looks like the UK equivalent of MTG, down to the advising people and yelling at them, except she's a tad more polite.


I'm pretty sure Marge works have said something more blunt than "naughty people".

Her political fortunes and those of MTG have differed rather

Britain First leaders jailed over anti-Muslim hate crimes

Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen, leaders of far-right group, both found guilty of religiously aggravated harassment

www.theguardian.com

Our approach to free speech and freedom to protest is a bit different from that in the US, since they are very important rights, but they're balanced by the rights of others to go peacefully about their lawful business, free from harassment and bullying.

 

[WolfEyes]

Americans: Why are the French attacking New Jersey?!

Get. Out. Of. My. Head.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Old and busted: Meet the Kardashians!
New hot stuff: Meet the Farages!

 

[Romana]

Old and busted: Meet the Kardashians!
New hot stuff: Meet the Farages!

That man will never stop reminding me of these guys.Upper class twit of the year contenders
Can't decide which, but he belongs in that group.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

That man will never stop reminding me of these guys.Upper class twit of the year contenders
Can't decide which, but he belongs in that group.

A bit like Trump being the poor person's idea of a rich man, Farage is the lower class person's idea of an upper-class twit, based on half-remembered comic sterotypes from my childhood.

Johnson is a Bertie Wooster tribute act, and very good at it. He's not a twit, though. He's an oaf. But he's good at it for the same reason Fry and Laurie are good at their Jeeves and Wooster act -- the act is based in part who the actors really are.

 

[Chin Rey]

...
Farage is the lower class person's idea of an upper-class twi
...
Johnson is a Bertie Wooster tribute act, and very good at it. He's not a twit, though. He's an oaf.

This is something we should keep in mind. The leading Brexiters are not from and do represent the traditional British upper class. They are wannabes and if they have any class at all, it's upstart class.