It's report card season for the teachers in the family, which means I've been getting extra baby-sitting duties these last couple of weeks. Of course, that means I've been even more stretched for time than I was before. But I can't complain really—it has been pretty fun. I've finally gotten to play some backyard cricket with the nibblings, and we all got together to watch the last few games of the WomBBL—and amazingly—the Brisbane Heat girls managed to bumble and fumble their way to their second premiership win in a row—knocking over the incredibly in-form Adelaide Strikers in the process. It was fantastic.
The down side is, of course, I've been seriously neglecting things here. And while it's too late to take bets on how people think the UK election is going to turn out, I thought I'd open up a thread for people's thoughts and feelings, both before and after.
I was listening to a podcast the other day, and I heard a disgruntled member of the British public make the following point:
Boris Johnson wants to lift immigration caps and give an amnesty to every illegal immigrant in the country. Jeremy Corbyn wants to open up the borders and give non-citizens the right to vote. Even Farage says he wants to bring large numbers of people in from other parts of the commonwealth. Where is the representative for people like me, who just want fewer immigrants?
Granted, I have been listening to a lot of material from European nationalists lately, but this one was from the mainstream news. It reminded me that leading up to the Brexit referendum—even before Europe got hit with the massive waves of refugees that started coming in from the Middle East and North Africa—the one issue I heard being touted over and over, was that blue-collar workers wanted to shut down the border, because they were being driven out of the labour market by Eastern Europeans—mainly Pols and Romanians.
Of course, at that time, nobody was taking those people seriously, and nobody thought Brexit had a hope in hell of getting up … and look how that turned out. I get the sense that there's pressure building in Pommyland, and if somebody in power doesn't provide a relief valve, things could end up getting ugly. The most recent jihadi stabbing attack probably didn't help.
But of course, I'm on the other side of the world. It'd be nice to hear from someone a little closer to the action. Any thoughts, Squib?
10 comments :
I think right-wing tabloids have been more successful than usual, peddling untold lies. I think Britain has gone to shit and people are looking for scapegoats as per fucking usual. What has Brexit shown us? That Britain will actually cut off its nose to spite its face. I'm hoping for a hung parliament, against all the odds. I'm hoping that many staunch Tories will feel so disenchanted by Boris that they will not even bother voting. I have to vote SNP cos my constituency is neck-and-neck between Tory and SNP. Because there's no preferential system, if I vote Labour, that would just be one more vote for Tory so...
When you say you're hoping for a hung parliament, do you mean that you truly want a hung parliament, or that that's just the best you think you can realistically hope for? I'm guessing from what you said, that you would be voting Labour if you thought you could. Why them over the SNP? Is it just because of the Scottish nationalism issue, or is it more than that?
Also, how are you going for BBQ shapes?
I just want it over. It's been clear for a while that the British people are too stupid to vote Labour because for some reason they don't like Corbyn. So instead, they'll send their country into the dark ages while swallowing all the Tory lies.
Well, it seems you might have your wish, as far as it being over is concerned, Suze. According to the ABC, there's already been enough seats declared for BloJo to govern in his own right.
When you say "the dark ages" though, do you just mean regarding Brexit, or is there more to it than that?
I can't BELIEVE people actually voted for that mangy xenophobic prick. I am warming very quickly to the idea of Scottish independence. I suppose I don't like the idea of voting for a party called 'Nationalist', it conjures up all sorts of bad things... but I guess they want to get rid of Trident, they want to stay with Europe, they want an equitable society so what does it matter if they get a bit flag-wavey
I just got some shapes for xmas, thanks. I will now eat myself to death in my election depression
By hung parliament, I just meant yeah it seemed the best we could hope for, maybe all the little parties would join and... all a moot point now
Looking at an electoral map, it would appear that Labour's lost a fair chunk of Northern England, which would normally be guaranteed red. Apparently they're still going strong in Wales though, for some reason.
Do you reckon people are just looking at this as a second Brexit referendum or what?
Yes. That's what's so upsetting. Brexit is a major economic catastrophe of epic proportions but people seem MORE hellbent than ever on bringing it about. It's so depressing
I suppose I don't like the idea of voting for a party called 'Nationalist', it conjures up all sorts of bad things...
I've been thinking about this. Given that they're decidedly pro European Union, the SNP can't really be called a true nationalist party. They just want a slightly different flavour of internationalism to the one they've got now. In fact, if Brexit goes ahead, there's probably a decent chance the SNP will push for another referendum on Scottish independence, just so they can get back in the EU.
So if all you're worried about is the word "nationalist" and a bit of flag-waving, you might actually be worried about nothing.
I may end up waving a flag myself at this rate. I would definitely vote to leave UK if it meant rejoining the EU. Yes, bring back the Auld Alliance
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