[Tubby Isaacs]

Is it because he doesn't pay council tax, or is the boat a past thing?

Think the boat is in the past. He's now seems to rent a room.

And the marina is in Waltham Forest, not Hackney, as The Times and I said.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Fair play here.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Various Greens are kicking off at Lucas. Do none of them remember them standing down for the Lib Dems in by-elections?

This was regarded as being very important in the context of fighting Brexit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Brec ... y-election

[mattomac]

Is it because he doesn't pay council tax, or is the boat a past thing?

Think the boat is in the past. He's now seems to rent a room.

And the marina is in Waltham Forest, not Hackney, as The Times and I said.

Ah I was told it was in Hackey a fair few times.

[mattomac]

I thought this was part of the progressive alliance?

[Oboogie]

I thought this was part of the progressive alliance?

The 'progressive alliance' seems to be everyone should just vote Green - except Zack Polanski obviously....

[Tubby Isaacs]

I'd guess that Lucas was a bit more clued up on what trying to replace Labour actually means in practice that the recent converts.

I voted for Ellie Chowns and I'm pleased with her. Obviously, all us Labour and Lib Dem who voted for her should have voted for who we wanted and told Ellie that she had to promise X,Y,Z specially for us.

[Oboogie]

I'd guess that Lucas was a bit more clued up on what trying to replace Labour actually means in practice that the recent converts.

According to her leader "no country has a right to exist" so by saying "Country before party" Caroline Lucas demonstrates how out of touch she is. I'm sure BSky will call for Polanski to expel her for spouting such retrograde nonsense.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Remember this guy? Mr Northern Independence Party. He's in the Greens now.

Here he opines that the government should change the electoral system, with no referendum, no electoral mandate via a deal in a single by-election. I don't like referenda but they're unavoidable in changing the voting system and national independence. Making the Makerfield by election into a referendum on PR is absolutely mad stuff. Obviously Burnham couldn't agree to that. The Greens in their remainer alliance days didn't demand Lib Dems do anything but support one policy they supported anyway- a Referendum.

I think it's most likely the Greens run a paper candidate who picks up a few votes, maybe about the same as 2024. Labour could do without that but people who vote for a paper candidate may not vote Labour anyway if they're not there. Labour need to leave the issue as a "matter for the Greens". This would I think really bite the Greens on the arse if they went for it with a spoiler candidate.

[Boiler]

I do wonder how much longer FPTP can last now it seems we're past the point of "two main parties plus a protest vote party". The trouble will be getting various interested groups to accept a form of PR, never mind the electorate; I can imagine the Fourth Estate and various twatcasters with Reassuringly Large Microphones™ will be the noisiest in rejecting the idea.

And regrettably, it would involve a bloody referendum

[Killer Whale]

I was uncomfortable with Labour getting a massive majority on 34% of the vote. The thought of Reform getting any kind majority on the 28% of voters who are nasty bastards absolutely terrifies me.

[Tubby Isaacs]

28% is blockable by tactical voting. FPTP is indefensible but it’s actually hard for Farage to win under. The Tories are the key. What do they do?

[Boiler]

28% is blockable by tactical voting. FPTP is indefensible but it’s actually hard for Farage to win under. The Tories are the key. What do they do?

I have a fear of a Tory/Reform coalition. Then you'd really see some nasty shit scuttle out from under the furniture.

[Tubby Isaacs]

That's the fear, and what Kemi seems to be preparing them for. But they lost enough voters to the Lib Dems last time (admittedly, some of those dustbin Kippers), We'll see.

Whatever happens with be Starmer's fault.

[Tubby Isaacs]

How do the Greens go forward from here? Not hard work on policy and budgets sadly, but "provoking fights" with the Government, Reform and "corporations". Genius moves like these

The Greens have plenty of grist for this populist mill: rent caps, 10:1 wage pay ratios, the requisitioning of empty properties, wealth taxes, abolishing the House of Lords – the list goes on. Anything that pits them against a corporate and political elite and on the side of the people is popular. The key is to do it with verve and swagger, provoking fights with Labour, Reform and big corporations that force the media to pay attention.

10:1 "wage pay" ratios?! Even within the public sector, some very senior people at Network Rail earn about £500k a year. So everyone there gets a pay rise to £50k, while those doing the same job somewhere else in the public sector carry on getting what they do now?

What does "requisitioning empty properties" mean? How long do they have to stay vacant for? Precisely how many of them are empty for any period of time?

The examples that of these politics working is apparently Hannah Spencer talking like everyone in the Commons is shitfaced (which was denied by lots of people, but hey it went "hyper-viral", and Mamdani promising a city-owned chain of grocery stores, which haven't happened yet.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... e-controls