Well this is about oil to the West rather than grain to Africa. Completely different thing, apparently.
Ghastly woman
I get that thereās evidence of ārally round the flagā effect. But do you really think thereās an appetite for war among people in UK? Unless theyāre trying to provoke a terrorist attack and then say Labour will be weak. But not sure Rishi will ever been seen as a strong leader
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In all seriousness (forgive the tongue in cheek comment), no I donāt think thatās what is going on.
There is a dark joke in politics that a war is a good polls boost for a struggling government, and thatās been the case and least since Thatcherās war in The Falklands boosted her government, which up to that point had been seen as weak and ineffective.
This is a case of the UK joining in with the US to strike in retaliation for attacks on Western shipping through the Red Sea. Britain is very much a junior partner.
I think Sunak knows the game is up, and is trying to cling on as long as possible to see what he can extract personally from another few months. Iām not sure I even buy the ādo as much damage as possible to screw Labourā theory. I donāt think Sunak and Hunt have any interest in politics in opposition. As soon as they lose the election, theyāll be running to their city friends to cash in all those favours.
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Yes thatās the ārally round the flagā effect I mentioned and itās been researched way before Falklands (e.g. Pearl Harbour, Cuban missile crisis etc).
But I just canāt see it having an effect for the Tories. Theyāre too far gone
but Iām not sure it will work here l. Theyāre too far gone
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Itās also not going to be triumphal, no matter what happens. It is not a conflict either the US or the UK were particularly eager to escalate, which is likely what is appealing to Iran about it. That conflict has been running for about 30 years (just this particular flavour since 2014), it has cross-cutting religious and ethnic elements, the terrain is brutal - it is another Afghanistan but with beach front and smaller. Not doing anything became the inferior option, but the usual gun boat and air strikes routine isnāt going earn anyone any parades. Best case a reduction in actual attacks on shipping. No one is going to win this fight.
Sunak may posture a bit with the latest round, but writ large the Conservative government has the air of a party that knows they are in deep trouble, and has no plan. They are going to run the clock down hoping that something good happens, but this has at least as much potential to bit them in the arse.
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this. x 100.
they cant even be bothered being politicians anymoreā¦its get in quick, get out, cash inā¦
feels like it wont be long until prime ministers are just an internship for a corporate positionā¦
years ago when a past prime minister spoke it used to mean something, get a brass head thing in some walkā¦now its more like āthats right, he(she) was prime minister a while backā
Iāve said this for a while, but Parliament is now basically a finishing school for elite corporate/Financial interests.
Being the Prime Minister of your your country should be seen as the apex of your career. Itās now just a stepping stone to the serious money. Itās years since it could be described as public service.
Iāve no idea how we fix this.
Vote out the Tories?
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Serious question is that the only solution? I mean Davos boy Starmer is cut from the same cloth as them as in his interests are aligned with the elite too
Think he would take the role of PM seriously; as did his Labour predecessors Brown and Blair for whom it was also the Pinacle of their career.
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Harsh. Everything I know about Starmer is that he does take public service seriously. He was a member of the Labour Party from a very young age, became a lawyer, where he focused on human rights, and ran the Crown Prosecution Service before entering politics.
I think his post politics career is probably House of Lords alongside some sort of patriarchal elder legal role. Maybe some sort of foundation or something like that.
His interests have never been City/Financial sector. He isnāt Corbyn left, but he isnāt right wing either. He isnāt remotely cut from the same cloth as the modern Tories. The reason who believe that is because it suits the Tories to have you believe that.
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The country certainly needs āproperā and above all honest leadership right now. Does Starmer bring that? Some of it maybe but if Labour do win a large majority I canāt see any change being made to the political system that is clearly failing in the UK.
So while I do expect things to improve slightly under Starmer, given the state the UK is in Iām also aware that optimistically theyāve got 12 years or so before the whole thing rinses and repeats.
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A big reason why Starmer is frustrating people is that he is being very reluctant to build up expectations. But the reality is that he knows that the country is in such a dire state just stopping the rot is going to take years. When Blair rode in on a wave of Britpop swagger and confident declarations about new days dawning, he inherited a country in decent shape. The economy was doing well and people were feeling pretty comfortable. Starmer canāt do that.
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No, he cannotā¦especially with all of the RWNJs coming for him āfrom day oneā, or some such nonsense.
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Starmer isnāt as good as I had hoped, and there have been a few misbobbles, but he is light years better than anything the Tories have put forth.
It is time for a change. The country needs it. Labour shouldnāt over promise on what they will do, as creating false expectations will get everyoneās back up. Starmer is a steady leader in that regard, and thatās fine, because if we end up getting a grown up who will govern on behalf of the people, and not on behalf of himself/herself, and their cronies, then it will represent a much needed change.
Labour need two terms to start to make much of an impact though, thatās what it looks like from afar to me. Weāve had a long time of Tory rule, and things wonāt change overnight, but it is time for a change.
Oh, and on another note, I miss Klopptimist for threads like this. Hearing a Tory perspective, even if I disagree, adds to the discussion.
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Yeah Starmer faces a real shit show if, when he gets in. For the record Iāve no objection to him becoming PM being honest because I donāt really think thereās much on offer anywhere across any party to be honest. A steady, sensible pair of hands is a step forward for sure.
Anything but the thieving wankers that currently reside in government.
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Pretty sure the problem described is a multi party one these days
A few misbobbles like supporting collective punishment and genocide
Today in mad hard left Labour land, Starmer seems to be getting shit for saying he is ignoring a poll commissioned by the Telegraph suggesting Labour are on course for a 200 seat Majority, and he will carry on fighting as if they are five points behind. The seem to think this is justification and reason for a surge to the left and an announcement of a plethora of left wing policies.
Any poll conducted by The Telegraph is not to be trusted, and the likely purpose of any such poll is to try and scare to Tories into pushing further to the hard right. Not only is he right not to trust it on those grounds, but he is surely right on the issue of complacency. How many times do you hear football managers telling their teams not to play the scoreboard - always play as if itās 0-0.
But even if the poll is absolutely spot on, then surely what we take from it is that whatever Starmer is doing, or not doing, is objectively, by any measure, working. Maybe it is that old Art of War thing of not interrupting your enemy when they are destroying themselves.
What possible reason is there for Labour to change tack from a strategy that seems set to deliver them a landslide bigger than 1997.
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