UK Politics Thread IX: The Masses Against the Classes

[Liriena]

prime minister boris johnson, prime minister jeremy hunt or prime minister micahel gove

i can't do this shit

I'd place my bets on Raab before Johnson. The other candidates and their MPs will tactically exclude him because they know he will probably win the party membership vote.

Undermining the representative democracy within your own party to save the respectability of your brand...


...oh my gawd, he's the Tories' Jeremy Corbyn.

[Liriena]

[John McDonnell intensifies]

Is that a real quote?

I can't tell.

Let's be honest here: even if it's not, it's on brand, and that's all that matters.

His speech about democracy being biased in favor of conservatism and liberalism and incapable of producing reforms without "Direct action" by the workers was one that made me sit up and pay attention.

I refuse to believe that a British MP can be that cool.

[Liriena]

Holy shite it's real

Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell allegedly called for the "ballot, the bullet and the bomb" to unite Ireland - and joked that 'gutless wimps' who refused to meet Sinn Fein should be knee-capped at the height of the Troubles.

According to The Times, the remarks were made at a public meeting of 100 people including members of the IRA's political wing, at a pub in New Cross, South London in 1986 - before the peace process.

The newspaper says it has uncovered archive material showing Mr McDonnell suggested with black humour that Labour councillors who boycotted the meeting should have their "knee-caps shot off".

The event was allegedly documented in a local newspaper, the Deptford & Peckham Mercury which said Mr McDonnell was addressing the meeting on behalf of the self-styled Labour committee on Ireland.

A Sinn Fein councillor from Northern Ireland was a guest speaker, according to the report.

The local newspaper report said: "Mr McDonnell went on to describe the Lewisham Labour councillors who had boycotted the meeting as "gutless wimps" and joked that "knee-capping might help to change their minds".

The IRA continued using bombs after Mr McDonnell's speech and in 1987 - a year later - eleven people were killed in the Enniskillen bombing on Remembrance Sunday.

Mr McDonnell was speaking as part of a tour by Sinn Fein of Labour councils in London that he helped to organise.

When contacted by The Times a spokesman said Mr McDonnell has no recollection of making the remarks.

A spokesman said: "John has no recollection of making these remarks. This quote is clearly taken out of context - John rejects all forms of violence and has done so all his political career.

"The approaches to Sinn Fein and the delegation were organised and publicised extensively at the time to commence the process of initiating a dialogue to secure a peace settlement. And we now know that behind the scenes the then government was also communicating with republicans with the same objective.

"John has also been a long-standing campaigner for peace in Northern Ireland and advocated speaking to Sinn Fein as part of a peace process long before it became accepted practice."

Diarmuid Breatnach, who organised the meeting, told The Times: "I do recall him making some throwaway but unfortunate remark about knee-capping in the context of the rate-capping that the Conservative government was introducing at the time."

The left-wing veteran was appointed by Jeremy Corbyn to lead Labour's economic policy.

It comes after Mr McDonnell apologised in September of this year for remarks he made in 2003, calling for Irish republican terrorists to be honoured.

Mr McDonnell had told a meeting in London: "It's about time we started honouring those people involved in the armed struggle. It was the bombs and bullets and sacrifice made by the likes of (hunger striker) Bobby Sands that brought Britain to the negotiating table.

"The peace we have now is due to the action of the IRA."

He apologised "from the bottom of my heart" for the offence caused but suggested his comments may have helped the peace process.

The senior Labour MP said it had been a "mistake" to use the words and accepted he had "clearly" caused offence.

David Cameron said Mr McDonnell should be "ashamed" of the comments when the issue was raised during Mr Corbyn's first session of Prime Minister's Questions as opposition leader.

Challenged about the comments on BBC1's Question Time Mr McDonnell said: "I accept it was a mistake to use those words, but actually if it contributed towards saving one life, or preventing someone else being maimed, it was worth doing because we did hold onto the peace process.

"There was a real risk of the republican movement splitting, and some continuing with the armed process. If I gave offence, and I clearly have, from the bottom of my heart I apologise."

This week the shadow chancellor became embroiled in further controversy as he brandished Chairman Mao's Little Red Book in the House of Commons in response to George Osborne's Autumn Statement.

Belfast Telegraph Digital

[The Free Joy State]

With 50% of Tory endorsements in, here are the results.

https://i.redd.it/zya08ve58c131.jpg

Rory Stewart literally bottom of the pile with 1%.

Top 4:
Jeremy Hunt
Boris Johnson

So the first two options are literally the cunt who's been proudly gutting the NHS and a racist aristocratic buffoon?

Almost makes me yearn for the Tories to get utterly usurped by the Brexit Party.

Oh... God. "Theresa, come back!"

I disagreed with so much about Theresa May's policies and approach, both as Home Secretary and PM -- but, looking at those most likely to succeed her, she may well have been the best possible leader for the Tory Party... which is really, really depressing.

[Hirota]

Holy shite it's real

Well, we know that the "it was a joke" defence isn't acceptable in British society these days, and it's apparently acceptable to perform this kind of digging into peoples historical faux pas, so clearly McDonnell should be sent to the gulag...or worse, change UK.

Oh who are we kidding, he didn't vote Lib Dem, so he's going to be fine.

Seriously though, the double standards in play where it's fine to use humour as a rhetorical device when it's person x, but verboten when it's person y should be obvious.

Oh... God. "Theresa, come back!"

I disagreed with so much about Theresa May's policies and approach, both as Home Secretary and PM -- but, looking at those most likely to succeed her, she may well have been the best possible leader for the Tory Party... which is really, really depressing.

Is it really that surprising? Remember, she was a remain campaigner, so it's not as if she was completely off her rocker (speaking from the perspective of someone who voted remain in 2016 there). Since then, the tories have scant few compromise choices with sufficent experience to do the job, and there are enough hardcore brexiteers in place to get one of their own into the final two.

But if it's a toss up between Hunt and Johnson (and it probably will be since only two go through in the first round) I would have to pick Johnson even if he is a prat. Jeremy Hunt had beef with my old local hospital, so I've got beef with him.

[Salandriagado]

Did you miss the election we just had? Plus going to need a source on that "large percent of our laws" remark.

And isn't the bulk of immigration from non-EU countries that we could already control and so Brexit will not change at all?

The European Parliament said that " "a big portion of the laws adopted by the House of Commons and House of Lords actually are EU-laws"
On the Immigration argument,in 2016,49% of immigrants were from the EU but the EU only makes up 6.65% of the World population.

That is: laws passed by the British Parliament. In particular, vast swathes of EU law were written by us.

[Salandriagado]

Re the NHS you could idfkn... fund the damn thing?

Where's the money to fund it?

When the Tories took over in 2010, all but one of the PCTs were running a surplus. Now, all but one is operating a deficit. The current NHS problems are entirely and completely caused by the Tory party, and getting rid of their fucking stupid austerity policies that demonstrably don't work would fix it almost instantly.

Also, the NHS, like most forms of government spending directed primarily at the low-income population, makes the government a net profit: it makes people more productive, so they generate more wealth and pay more taxes, in excess of the cost of funding it.

[The Huskar Social Union]

With 50% of Tory endorsements in, here are the results.

https://i.redd.it/zya08ve58c131.jpg

My feelings summed up.

[San Lumen]

Who is the favorite to become the next leader of the tories and therefore the next Prime Minister?

[Thermodolia]

Who is the favorite to become the next leader of the tories and therefore the next Prime Minister?

Nobody fucking knows

[San Lumen]

Who is the favorite to become the next leader of the tories and therefore the next Prime Minister?

Nobody fucking knows

I can say with near certainty its going to be a white male

[The Huskar Social Union]

Nobody fucking knows

I can say with near certainty its going to be a white male

Of course the most important fucking thing to point out, fucking whitey am i right

[Caracasus]

Who is the favorite to become the next leader of the tories and therefore the next Prime Minister?

We are going to get a pen and draw a sad face on a sack of potatoes and stick it in no. 10. Then we will rage scream at it for a couple of hours a week.

[San Lumen]

I can say with near certainty its going to be a white male

Of course the most important fucking thing to point out, fucking whitey am i right

What's wrong with pointing that out?

[The Huskar Social Union]

Of course the most important fucking thing to point out, fucking whitey am i right

What's wrong with pointing that out?

What is the relevance of it? You think a tory prime minister would be any less of a cunt if they were black?

[San Lumen]

What's wrong with pointing that out?

What is the relevance of it? You think a tory prime minister would be any less of a cunt if they were black?

they is no need or for such language nor does race matter one bit. I was merely pointing out the likelihood of who the next PM will be and that person could very well be one of the most dangerous people in the UK.

[Fartsniffage]

What's wrong with pointing that out?

What is the relevance of it? You think a tory prime minister would be any less of a cunt if they were black?

Or a woman...

[The Huskar Social Union]

What is the relevance of it? You think a tory prime minister would be any less of a cunt if they were black?

they is no need or for such language nor does race matter one bit. I was merely pointing out the likelihood of who the next PM will be and that person could very well be one of the most dangerous people in the UK.

Race doesnt matter one bit but you point out that the next pm is likely to be of a certain race, who are also "the most dangerous people in the uk"

[The Huskar Social Union]

Got a funny feeling the "one of the dangerous people in the uk" line was used to refer to non white people you wouldnt be happy.

[San Lumen]

they is no need or for such language nor does race matter one bit. I was merely pointing out the likelihood of who the next PM will be and that person could very well be one of the most dangerous people in the UK.

Race doesnt matter one bit but you point out that the next pm is likely to be of a certain race, who are also "the most dangerous people in the uk"

Thats not what I said. To clarify when I said dangerous person I was referring to Boris Johnson. I did not mean all white people are dangerous.

[The Huskar Social Union]

Race doesnt matter one bit but you point out that the next pm is likely to be of a certain race, who are also "the most dangerous people in the uk"

Thats not what I said. To clarify when I said dangerous person I was referring to Boris Johnson. I did not mean all white people are dangerous.

Then why didnt you say Boris Johnson? Thats a very important piece of context information when you make a statement like that, because as far as i am concerned the only way to read that statement without that context is you referring to white people alone.

[Vassenor]

Race doesnt matter one bit but you point out that the next pm is likely to be of a certain race, who are also "the most dangerous people in the uk"

Thats not what I said. To clarify when I said dangerous person I was referring to Boris Johnson. I did not mean all white people are dangerous.

So what makes him dangerous then?

[San Lumen]

Thats not what I said. To clarify when I said dangerous person I was referring to Boris Johnson. I did not mean all white people are dangerous.

Then why didnt you say Boris Johnson? Thats a very important piece of context information when you make a statement like that, because as far as i am concerned the only way to read that statement without that context is you referring to white people alone.

Well I put it into context. No need to debate the statement.

Thats not what I said. To clarify when I said dangerous person I was referring to Boris Johnson. I did not mean all white people are dangerous.

So what makes him dangerous then?

hes a chronic liar and is very much like Trump.

[Vassenor]

You do realise that "chronic liar" is a term that describes eighty to ninety percent of politicians on the planet, right?

[Ifreann]

What is the relevance of it? You think a tory prime minister would be any less of a cunt if they were black?

Or a woman...

A woman PM? Madness!

---

Thats not what I said. To clarify when I said dangerous person I was referring to Boris Johnson. I did not mean all white people are dangerous.

So what makes him dangerous then?

His hair is a fire hazard.