Britain - The Official Thread

[TenEightyOne]

My Tory friends are all still convinced Gordon Brown selling the gold reserve was somehow worse.

Personally I think his refusal of a Tory coalition (leading to the ignoble Cameron-Clegg era) was far worse. But I doubt your Tory friends do

 

[Stotty]

Brown was a catastrophe, but his legacy will pale in to insignificance next to Boris’.

And I’ve been a conservative voter all my life (53 years).

 

[TheCracker]

And I’ve been a conservative voter all my life (53 years).

You're 71?

 

[Stotty]

Well, since I could 1st vote

 

[UKMikey]

I'm not even sure Brown is the worst ever Labour leader but if his reign helped usher in Cameron's then he thoroughly deserves to be consigned to the arsehole of history.

 

[Novalee]

Everyone makes mistakes.

The question is in my mind , if this was a mistake , or does she really feel that way ?

 

[UKMikey]

Everyone makes mistakes.

Not everyone owns up to them, though, or does something about fixing them.

The question is in my mind , if this was a mistake , or does she really feel that way ?

She's our home secretary, though. Either she doesn't want to acknowledge the role government plays in reducing poverty, or she's incompetent and sending out a message she doesn't support. It's not a good look, really. The optics are kind of bad. No wonder they had the interview clip squelched.

 

[Outspacer]

Prime Minister, if I may, we could perhaps allow the councils more independence.
Why on earth would we want to do that?!
We would have to limit their spending, that way they can only do only the things we want them to do.
I'm afraid I still don't follow...
*sigh* Well you see, sir, when something goes wrong, we can say it wasn't us!

 

[Mikey856789]

Is it fair that a population that is clearly majority centre right is being ran by a progressive minority ? Personally I think 40 years of progressive policies have ruined this country

 

[Danoff]

Pretty sure this should be covered here:

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/britain-the-official-thread.248645/#post-6884842

 

[ryzno]

As @Danoff pointed out we have a thread for this subject already.
Anywho, welcome to

 

[VBR]

The UK is part democracy, part aristocracy, part monarchy, part capitalist, & part socialist, etc. We are a hodgepodge of different things, & I think it's one of our strengths; that we take what works from various systems without getting behind any one of them. I think we are fundamentally a democracy, & a Conservative one at the present time, but there is always the influence of progressivism everywhere because of the cultural domination of the left. Marc Sidwell wrote an interesting book on the subject which you can read legally & for free here: http://www.newcultureforum.org.uk/assets/books/The_Long_March.pdf

Spoiler: The Long march..

While there are those who like to conflate Cultural Marxism with conspiracy theories that incorporate aspects of Cultural Marxism, it is indeed a thing...

 

[MatskiMonk]

The UK is part democracy, part aristocracy, part monarchy, part capitalist, & part socialist. We are a hodgepodge of different things, & I think it's one of our strengths; that we take what works from various systems.

We don't though... we've simply inherited a terrible system of democracy that shouldn't actually require the aristocracy or monarchy to function effectively, and that in turn has left us with a two party slanging match that gets to broadly ignore a massive part of the population and do what they want. Those in power aren't interested in adapting what works unless it serves to keep them in power, and the people aren't demanding it because the general ineffectiveness of it all has left too many either apathetic to it all, or sat in the smug position of being on the winning 'side'.

As for the topic, @Micky856789 who is the progressive minority of which you speak?

 

[UKMikey]

"Clearly majority centre right" population... that'd be that silent majority thing again?

 

[Liquid]

U.K. is run on an progressive agenda

 

[HenrySwanson]

We don't though... we've simply inherited a terrible system of democracy that shouldn't actually require the aristocracy or monarchy to function effectively, and that in turn has left us with a two party slanging match that gets to broadly ignore a massive part of the population and do what they want. Those in power aren't interested in adapting what works unless it serves to keep them in power, and the people aren't demanding it because the general ineffectiveness of it all has left too many either apathetic to it all, or sat in the smug position of being on the winning 'side'.

As for the topic, @Micky856789 who is the progressive minority of which you speak?

I wonder then, which country has got it right?

If we look at America, often held up as the shining beacon of democracy, we similarly find a "two party slanging match".

 

[MatskiMonk]

I wonder then, which country has got it right?

Difficult to say. Firstly you'd have to decide how you'd define 'right', but I'll throw out as a starter, if a nation has a FPTP system, it's not going to be the one that got it right. Secondarily; If it has people effectively born directly into positions of parliamentary power unanswerable to the people, or offers it based on religious standing, it's not going to be the one that got it right.

 

[polysmut]

Is it fair that a population that is clearly majority centre right is being ran by a progressive minority ?

Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, Priti Patel, Dominic Raab, Michael Gove, Gavin Williamson, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Liz Truss, Robert Buckland, Ben Wallace, Matt Hancock, Alok Sharma, Therese Coffey, George Eustice, Robert Jenrick, Grant Shapps, Brandon Lewis, Alister Jack, Simon Hart, Baroness Evans of Bowes Park, Oliver Dowden, Amanda Milling, Steve Barclay, Mark Spencer and Suella Braverman are a progressive minority?

Or did you mean Queen Elizabeth II?

 

[Liquid]

I wonder then, which country has got it right?

I don't think it's possible to say any one country gets it right. But some places get a broad approach vaguely in the right direction.

The UK is probably in the upper third globally but I honestly think it's near the bottom of that third. It's a much more terrible country than some would have you believe.

 

[UKMikey]

I wonder then, which country has got it right?

Denmark uses party-list PR and seems to be doing pretty well in the quality of life stakes.

https://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/rankings_by_country.jsp

 

[VBR]

I think that out of all the crap countries in the world the UK is one of the least crap. The same goes for most of Western civilization IMHO.

 

[polysmut]

I think that out of all the crap countries in the world the UK is one of the least crap. The same goes for most of Western civilization IMHO.

Is it the wealth of the country that makes it that way?

 

[VBR]

Is it the wealth of the country that makes it that way?

Mostly, I like the relative freedom in the UK. The freedom to generate wealth that is then collected as taxes, some of which goes to good causes, is merely a natural by-product of said freedom.

 

[polysmut]

Mostly, I like the relative freedom in the UK. The freedom to generate wealth that is then collected as taxes, some of which goes to good causes, is merely a natural by-product of said freedom.

I think the tactics of the British Empire gave the UK a leg up in wealth accumulation. It's mostly an assumption.

 

[UKMikey]

Thanks mods for moving the posts into this thread.

I'm still not convinced we have a clear centre right majority amongst the population of this country.

 

[VBR]

I think the tactics of the British Empire gave the UK a leg up in wealth accumulation. It's mostly an assumption.

Sounds like something that comes from Post Colonial Theory, which is yet another corrupt academic field spewing out its ideological nonsense & infecting public consciousness with its various unfounded idea pathogens. I think Helen Pluckrose mentioned PCT in her talk at The Ramsey.

 

[PeterJB]

I don't think it's possible to say any one country gets it right. But some places get a broad approach vaguely in the right direction.

The UK is probably in the upper third globally but I honestly think it's near the bottom of that third. It's a much more terrible country than some would have you believe.

We can probably go higher than upper third, I'm struggled to think of c.60 countries I would consider "better" than the UK.

 

[Liquid]

I think that out of all the crap countries in the world the UK is one of the least crap. The same goes for most of Western civilization IMHO.

This is where you and I differ.

I think that out of the good countries in the world, the UK is probably one of the crappest 'good ones'. Although I accept that most cynical people would broadly say the same about the country they grew up in.

 

[UKMikey]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where-to-be-born_Index

Not sure I like the new name. You can be born somewhere else and still get the benefits of being raised in this country (although anti-immigrationists are probably unhappy about that).

Britain ranks 27th.

 

[PeterJB]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where-to-be-born_Index

Not sure I like the new name. You can be born somewhere else and still get the benefits of being raised in this country (although anti-immigrationists are probably unhappy about that).

Britain ranks 27th.

How does war-torn Syria rank 80th?