[The Weeping Angel]

FFS

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... ral-system

If Reform ever wins power in Westminster, it will be because of Labour’s cowardice

George Monbiot
Starmer could improve our unfair electoral system to stop the hard right, but he won’t. All the party has left are threats about ‘splitting the vote’

It's not a 'threat". It's a fact. As it was when I voted Green in my constituency in 2024. Was I being threatened by the Greens?

But let's be clear about what this argument is. It's saying that the Government, having at no point mentioned they might change the electoral system, change it explicitly to stop another party from winning? How would that not be seen as a massive stitch up?

Note the typical assumption from this sort of person that everyone agrees with them really. There's virtually no mass pressure to change the voting system. People had a chance to do it in 2011, and said very clearly No Thanks.

People have got to stop thinking that PR is a magic bullet that will stop bad people. If you want PR say it's for reasons of fairness.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Yeah, exactly.

There's also a lot of wishful thinking about what PR would produce in terms of policy. Zack Polanski throwing money about which he raises only from "the rich" would seem to be a pretty remote possibility. Or perhaps Zack and Ed Davey "just rejoin FFS" and every thing gets fixed like that.

So perhaps what we have now isn't quite the worst of all conceivable governments.

[davidjay]

Hey you can assault police officers and get away with it.

Two-tier justice and something about Lucy Connolly.

[Youngian]

Yeah, exactly.

There's also a lot of wishful thinking about what PR would produce in terms of policy. Zack Polanski throwing money about which he raises only from "the rich" would seem to be a pretty remote possibility. Or perhaps Zack and Ed Davey "just rejoin FFS" and every thing gets fixed like that.

So perhaps what we have now isn't quite the worst of all conceivable governments.

Or Polanski takes the same journey as Joschka Fischer if he wishes to become a serious player in government.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joschka_Fischer

[Tubby Isaacs]

German Greens are much more focussed on the realities of government than our Greens. Even so, quite the thing to give him the Foreign Office. Couldn't he have been put in charge of energy efficiency or something? The Greens only got 7%.

If Polanski gets enough seats, I suppose he would be able to demand big jobs.

[The Weeping Angel]

I've come to the conclusion that a lot of liberal left voters just want to vote for the likes of the Greens, Lib Dems, SNP, and PC, and if the worst happens, well, Labour should have been more left-wing.

[kreuzberger]

German Greens are much more focussed on the realities of government than our Greens. Even so, quite the thing to give him the Foreign Office. Couldn't he have been put in charge of energy efficiency or something? The Greens only got 7%.

If Polanski gets enough seats, I suppose he would be able to demand big jobs.

Zak and Joschka Fischer mentioned in the same sentence (kinda), that's first. That 7% was neither here nor there, and Joschka Fischer still commands great respect, suggesting that political careers are not all destined to end in failure.

Baerbock, also a Green, has taken a similar route.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Schroder did lots of not very left wing labour market stuff, which may or may not have been a political disaster for his party. Was Fischer on board with that?

[davidjay]

Nargle is politicising pubs, so the Guardian has to.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... hard-right

[Youngian]

Lefties don’t live in the real world of pubs unlike Simon Jenkins. How many village pubs has he frequented in the past 30 years?

The pub’s proprietor is often a well-known local character.
One proposal is to turn ailing retail and hospitality sites into not-for-profit social enterprises.
The village shop in the Archers’ Ambridge is now such a business,

Farage’s family benefits would be as likely to go to bombers as to beer.

What are bombers in this context, gob stoppers from the tuck shop in 1958?

[Andy McDandy]

Orwell's "Moon Under Water" essay has a lot to answer for.

First off, why the high street is dying - it's cheaper and less hassle to buy shit online. There. That's it. So what survives? Basically, those places that offer an experience as opposed to just going in and buying stuff (Warhammer, Lego Stores, Build a Bear), along with places selling things where the physical contact with the goods is important (clothes and shoe shops, speciality food stores), and where the costs are so low and goods so small as to make online purchase pointless (card shops, pound stores, etc). Plus those where physical attendance is necessary (key cutters, hairdressers etc). But the point remains - you cannot get people to go somewhere to spend money unless you provide a compelling reason. And "oh go on, pubs are nice" doesn't count.

Second, you know what pubs have? Arseholes. Want to watch the big game with all your mates? Set up a chat channel on Slack or Discord. Stay at home and drink 4 pints for the price of one pulled at the bar.

As for

The pub’s proprietor is often a well-known local character.

Let's just knock this Ladybird shit on the head. Chances are your local has a manager who is there as long as they can keep the money going back to the PubCo they work for. They're not Mein Host, holding court at the bar while their shapely daughter pulls pints of foaming nut brown ale and the villagers sing folk songs. This is not the fucking Wicker Man. If the landlord is well known for anything, it may well be running dog fights, turning a blind eye to the resident dealer, or renting out his function suite to people shooting porn.

Look, pubs can be nice. They can have character, serve good food and drink, and offer a respite from the world. They can also be shit. Sadly, and as far back as I can remember, the majority (especially in town centres) have been shit.

[Tubby Isaacs]

As I've said on this topic before, pubs in their "golden ages" were very masculine places. Blokes dropping in for 2 or 3 on the way home from work, while the wife gets dinner and sorts out the kids. The dynamic is a bit different when the wife has been out to work as well.

And, you know, lots of pub clientele croaked at a fairly early age. That's a less than attractive lifestyle choice these days.

[Tubby Isaacs]

"Not for profit social enterprises" can do lots of useful stuff. Unfortunately, they're also known as "businesses with not much steady income", and so rely on charity or grants (for which there's lots of competition). The council/ Government then gets it in the neck if it funds one of these rather than another one, when both might do useful work. And you get articles like the one by the Physics bloke the other day. How can the Government be so short sighted? etc.

[Youngian]

I frequent a community owned pub, their story reads like a gentle Lottery funded British comedy film. And even had a late fund raising helping hand from Stephen Fry
https://kingsarmsshouldham.co.uk/our-story/