UK Politics (10 Viewers)
- Thread starter Red
- Start date
Apparently The Vanguard Bears were heavily involved with inciting riots. The BBC was almost completely silent on Friday night, only mentioning one story on their website of 'Police Split Up Rival Campaigners' or something like that. Total bollocks from them as per. Social media as well as reports I heard from people I met in town that night told a completely different story. The Sunday Herald summarised it all nicely in this release but even this misses out the reported -ubiquitous- stabbings (although actually I'm not certain they were ever confirmed) as well as the buring of saltires and chasing of young teenage girls by middle aged men (inb4 obvious joke about Glasgow and/or Catholicism/Celtic 
):
http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/referendum-news/george-square-trouble-the-night-our-readers-became-reporters.1411314286
):http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/referendum-news/george-square-trouble-the-night-our-readers-became-reporters.1411314286
They aren't.
There seems to be a belief that any party with remotely left-wing leanings is currently unelectable, so all the parties are focused on occupying the centre ground (though that is moving right). I don't understand this position - particularly just now - when there is so much dissatisfaction with austerity and 'big business'. I don't understand why Labour doesn't go back to making sure it's traditional vote turns out for it instead moving way right to try and pick up Tory votes.
None of the major parties is interested in convincing the likes of me to vote for them.
The Tories know they can't get my vote and Labour complacently assume that I'll vote for them because they are marginally less nasty than the Tories and because I would have voted for 'Old' Labour.
Only the likes of the Greens or the Socialists want my vote.
But because of the wonders of the UK voting system, there is no point in me voting for the Greens or the Socialists, so Labour's complacent assumption that they'll get my vote may end up being correct.
- - - Updated - - -
So where, now, does the disappointed Yes generation go? Not to the SNP, for sure – or not in large numbers. And not to Labour: a big part of the marginalised urban poor of western Scotland has had it with them. The revolt on Clydeside was a swing to a form of populist leftism for which there is no adequate political expression. The lefty activists who had done the legwork for Yes were muttering, come Friday morning, about a new party. But it would have to be something far broader than Tommy Sheridan’s old Scottish socialist formation to be attractive to this generation.
So while there is no political vacuum in the posh suburbs of Edinburgh, or among the elderly, there is a pretty clear one among Scotland’s youth. The same political vacuum exists in English and Welsh cities, and is very clear across southern Europe. It is born not just of economic hardship but the absence of any coherent narrative, or alternative, to the narrow range of possibilities on offer.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/21/what-now-scotland-young-yes-generation
There seems to be a belief that any party with remotely left-wing leanings is currently unelectable, so all the parties are focused on occupying the centre ground (though that is moving right). I don't understand this position - particularly just now - when there is so much dissatisfaction with austerity and 'big business'. I don't understand why Labour doesn't go back to making sure it's traditional vote turns out for it instead moving way right to try and pick up Tory votes.
None of the major parties is interested in convincing the likes of me to vote for them.
The Tories know they can't get my vote and Labour complacently assume that I'll vote for them because they are marginally less nasty than the Tories and because I would have voted for 'Old' Labour.
Only the likes of the Greens or the Socialists want my vote.
But because of the wonders of the UK voting system, there is no point in me voting for the Greens or the Socialists, so Labour's complacent assumption that they'll get my vote may end up being correct.
- - - Updated - - -
So where, now, does the disappointed Yes generation go? Not to the SNP, for sure – or not in large numbers. And not to Labour: a big part of the marginalised urban poor of western Scotland has had it with them. The revolt on Clydeside was a swing to a form of populist leftism for which there is no adequate political expression. The lefty activists who had done the legwork for Yes were muttering, come Friday morning, about a new party. But it would have to be something far broader than Tommy Sheridan’s old Scottish socialist formation to be attractive to this generation.
So while there is no political vacuum in the posh suburbs of Edinburgh, or among the elderly, there is a pretty clear one among Scotland’s youth. The same political vacuum exists in English and Welsh cities, and is very clear across southern Europe. It is born not just of economic hardship but the absence of any coherent narrative, or alternative, to the narrow range of possibilities on offer.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/21/what-now-scotland-young-yes-generation
Already I hear some of them claiming that the lost 37% will be back in due course to “kick the Tories out”. They are deluding themselves. This time around, disaffected Labour people aren’t simply registering a protest vote. They are actually joining the SNP in droves. Many of the 37% of their voters who voted yes were initially disowned by their own party, or their existence actually denied. Then they were hounded out of their constituencies and demonised as nationalist stooges. They will not forgive such treatment easily.
Many others were sickened at watching their party acting as swordbearers for the baleful forces of the Conservative party, big oil, big business and the landed and undeserving rich during the referendum campaign. The sight of Labour people singing and dancing with Conservatives at having preserved the established order of things will not be erased soon.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/27/labour-in-scotland-dying-does-anyone-care
Britain’s most racist election: the story of Smethwick, 50 years on
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/15/britains-most-racist-election-smethwick-50-years-on
Who can forget the classic election slogan:
“If you want a nigger for a neighbour, vote Labour.”
Or Harry Enfield referencing it:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/15/britains-most-racist-election-smethwick-50-years-on
Who can forget the classic election slogan:
“If you want a nigger for a neighbour, vote Labour.”
Or Harry Enfield referencing it:
