Brexit - UK negotiates a deal

[Will]

On 12/27/2020 at 7:43 PM, Pestneb said:

I don't think the system needs massive tweaking.

But the parties need to get their act together. My area is strong Tory, has been all my life and it's not even close. But looking at the labour and lib dem candidates, I couldn't inflict that on the country. If the lib dems/Labour want to stand even a slim chance they need to get better quality candidates. I like the idea of having a shadow mp, where they get minimum wage, with that money coming out from what the main mp would have gotten. Maybe have it so a shadow mp needs to get 66% of the number of  votes the winner got and have secured 2nd position. Maybe they don't get to vote (or give them a 1/4 vote in the house of commons??) but they can still be present and give an alternative view from the main mp on constituency issues?

Just thinking it may encourage the main opposition of actually fielding viable candidates.

So you wouldn’t consider this shadow MP idea to be a massive change to the current system? It sounds like a pretty huge change to me.

3 hours ago, Pestneb said:

The PR system is hugely flawed as well - all systems have weaknesses, I recall the lib dems I think pushed for a vote on a change in the system when Clegg was deputy PM, I don't think it failed just because it was the wrong system, but because any change I have seen breaks things that are "right" with the current system as much (or occasionally more) as they  fix things that are "wrong".

You should check out the MMP system they use in New Zealand. I really think it’s one of the best solutions to the problems both FPTP and PR bring about and would love to see it implemented in the UK. 

4 hours ago, Pestneb said:

At the end of the day most people consider the best system to be the one that gives your favoured candidate/party the most power, and I think this is the greatest underlying motivation in any desire for electoral reform.

I think this is mostly the other way round isn’t it? The current system gives the incumbent parties a hugely skewed amount of power for the share of their support and so removes any motivation to change the system. Most people outside of that just want fair representation that they are not currently able to get.

 

[Rummy]

yeah but we're getting our NetScape back 🤦🏾‍♂️

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnsons-brexit-deal-refers-23236197

[Glen-i]

12 hours ago, Rummy said:

yeah but we're getting our NetScape back 🤦🏾‍♂️

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnsons-brexit-deal-refers-23236197

[sumo73]

Never put your unwavering faith in politicians (regardless of their side); they will always let you down. Not sure what the media is going to talk about in 2021 when Trump, Brexit and Covid 19 (eventually) disappear.  I must admit 'they' have done their best to divide us but unlike politicians no one has ever voted for them.

The Game Was Rigged From The Start - YouTube

Edited December 31, 2020 by sumo73

[Dog-amoto]

So…this is all going terribly well, isn’t it?

Massive HGV driver shortage caused by Brexit, admittedly exacerbated by Covid, and yet the media still don’t admit what is to blame and hold this god awful government to account. And now we are issuing “temporary visas” to fix the problem that we created for ourselves in the first place, which will not work as, if you were an EU driver, would you want to come to a place where you are not welcome, and face crap conditions and red tape for your efforts? And Tory MPs are claiming that we are now able to issue as many visas as we like as we have “taken back control” What utter bollocks. What EU law states that a country could not issue as many visas as it needs?

Brexit was never about taking back control - it was always about avoiding impending EU legislation regarding tax so that the billionaires could hide their schemes away from the scrutiny of the EU, Rees Mogg is a prime example. We have been well and truly fucked over by the idiocy of the British public and it will only get worse.

And the amazing thing is, the Tories are still well ahead in the opinion polls. It beggars belief. 

[Glen-i]

1 hour ago, Dog-amoto said:

So…this is all going terribly well, isn’t it?

Massive HGV driver shortage caused by Brexit, admittedly exacerbated by Covid, and yet the media still don’t admit what is to blame and hold this god awful government to account. And now we are issuing “temporary visas” to fix the problem that we created for ourselves in the first place, which will not work as, if you were an EU driver, would you want to come to a place where you are not welcome, and face crap conditions and red tape for your efforts? And Tory MPs are claiming that we are now able to issue as many visas as we like as we have “taken back control” What utter bollocks. What EU law states that a country could not issue as many visas as it needs?

Brexit was never about taking back control - it was always about avoiding impending EU legislation regarding tax so that the billionaires could hide their schemes away from the scrutiny of the EU, Rees Mogg is a prime example. We have been well and truly fucked over by the idiocy of the British public and it will only get worse.

And the amazing thing is, the Tories are still well ahead in the opinion polls. It beggars belief. 

Unfortunately, and somewhat ironically, the bit I bolded is the Tories greatest weapon right now as far as public opinion on Brexit goes.
As long as this pandemic is in effect, complications can be blamed on the virus, effectively making Covid a fantastic scapegoat. Couple that with the usual human reaction of doubling down instead of showing that you might have made the wrong decision, and it all gets depressingly predictable.