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politics @lemmy.world

Bill Maher calls Larry David’s satire of his Trump dinner ‘kind of insulting to 6 million dead Jews’

UK Politics @feddit.uk

A year of hate: what I learned when I went undercover with the far right

  • True, it's a long time until the next UK general election. Maybe Reform's vote will suffer before then. Alternatively the local elections and by-elections could be a boost for them, I dunno.

    Anyway, maybe we should have proportional representation in the UK. Even if Reform had 25% of the vote and therefore 25% of the seats in parliament, that would mean that 75% of parliamentarians wouldn't be Reform members.

    Our current system allows a party with minority support (potentially Reform in the future) to win a majority of parliamentary seats. In 2019, the Conservatives won 44% of the vote, which gave them 56% of seats. Last year, Labour won 34% of the vote, which gave them 63% of seats.

  • He spends quite big sums on healthcare I think? I'm not saying he's a perfect guy. Maybe the world would be better if taxes were such that nobody could be a billionaire. I just think I prefer Bill Gates to other billionaires, especially the prominent South African one.

  • My guess is that Labour have done some polling, showing them what red wall voters want, and Labour want to appeal to those voters - voters who are tempted by Reform's message.

    But on this climate change issue, the article is saying that voters don't even want anti-green policies. And I haven't seen signs that Labour are tempted to copy Reform's anti-green stance.

  • At least Bill gives away a lot of his money, and his stance on politics seems relatively sensible and measured. Whereas the South African billionaire gets a kick out of being stupid and damaging to the US (and beyond the US if you look at his comments on foreign politics).

  • In my case I buy my own food because I just have different tastes I guess. But yes I get the point about judgement. I definitely plan to move out as soon as it's feasible to do so.

  • UK Politics @feddit.uk

    Nigel Farage thinks net zero is the new Brexit. Starmer can prove him wrong

  • It's similar in the UK currently. The UK's equivalent of AfD is Reform UK who are apparently the leading party in the polls (source):

    Reform UK in front on 25%, Labour on 23% and the Conservatives on 20%, with the Lib Dems on 16% and Greens on 10%

  • I think you're right it would be "nonsense" if the press said that joining the customs union would be "undemocratic". The referendum only asked whether the UK should leave the EU - people didn't vote explicitly to leave the customs union or single market.

  • I think democracy does a pretty good job of surviving when you have free and fair elections, and proportional representation probably makes politics even more democratic. In European countries that have maintained free and fair elections, they generally haven't plunged into populism. Macron defeated Le Pen twice, for example. AfD have obviously grown their base in Germany, but they haven't entered government. Hungary is arguably ruled by a populist, but some people would say their politics aren't really free and fair anymore. If their politics remained free and fair then populism might have less power.

  • I know Brits like to joke about the French but I like France. And they're a pretty similar country to the UK from a geopolitical standpoint. Both countries have their own nukes, both are permanent members of the UN Security Council, and both have very similarly sized populations and economies (both have about 68 million people, while Germany has 83 million people).

    So maybe France is a natural European ally for the UK. And of course France is right next to the UK.

  • UK Politics @feddit.uk

    The British economy has lost out - and sucking up to Trump will only get Starmer so far

  • That attitude probably won't win any political contests though... voters do not like being thought of as stupid. They want their concerns taken seriously. If we have a political system where we don't listen to certain members of the public then that's basically autocracy.

  • I'm not blaming remainers or leavers or anyone. But if the political centre wants to beat populist causes like Brexit, Trump, or Reform UK, then the political centre needs to appeal to voters who are tempted to vote for populist causes. E.g. if Starmer wants to win another election, he will have to win the votes of some people who will be deciding whether to vote for Labour or for Reform UK.

    As for Brexit being democracy or not, I think it was an expression of democratic will. But I think it would have been democratically valid to have a second referendum asking what kind of Brexit people wanted, because the first referendum did not make that clear. Britain could have stayed in the EU single market while still leaving the EU itself for example (Norway and Switzerland both take part in the single market, but they're not in the EU).

    Also another thing that could improve democracy in the UK would be proportional representation. In the 2017 UK general election, the right-wing parties (Tories + DUP) only got about 43% of the vote between them. Meanwhile, Labour + Lib Dem + SNP + Green got about 52% of the vote between them. So there could have been a centre-left majority, under proportional representation. This could have resulted in the UK staying in the EU single market at least.

  • I get your frustration... and maybe some voters have been just genuinely mistaken. But calling voters dumb just pushes them away and makes them more likely to vote for some alternative. Their reaction is "you think I'm dumb? Then fuck you, I'm not going to vote for what you want".

    If the political centre wants to beat populist causes like Brexit and Reform UK then the centre needs to try to include everyone - even those tempted by Reform. I guess that's what I'm trying to say.

  • I bought some for family members. Others in the supermarket yesterday were buying them too. Supermarkets probably do bring in a lot of stock in the run-up to Easter.

    I wonder what happens to the unsold stock. Sold at a discount after Easter maybe? I've never noticed that but I've never bothered to look really.

  • UK Politics @feddit.uk

    How Brexit, a Startling Act of Economic Self-Harm, Foreshadowed Trump’s Tariffs

    UK Politics @feddit.uk

    Liz Truss to launch ‘uncensored’ social network to counter mainstream media

    Europe @feddit.org

    Europe's race to rearm is pointless if its adversaries are waging war online

    Europe @feddit.org

    In the face of Trump’s mayhem, Europe is the direction to which the UK must turn – and Keir Starmer knows it

    UK Politics @feddit.uk

    Dining across the divide: ‘He has a very rosy view of empire and colonialism’

    News @lemmy.world

    China calls US a ‘joke’ as it raises tariff for final time

    UK Politics @feddit.uk

    Britain’s parties cater to a voter who is, often literally, dead

    Nominative Determinism @feddit.uk

    Nintendo boss Doug Bowser explains the $80 price for ‘Mario Kart World’

    Music @lemmy.world

    ‘I thought I was going to die – and it was so freeing’: Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus on stardom, breakups and surviving cancer

    News @lemmy.world

    Trump has turned his back on the foundation of US economic might

    UK Politics @feddit.uk

    Highs and lows of Five-Year Keir: The PM's journey from Doughty Street to Downing Street

    Games @lemmy.world

    How chaotic gang of British 'geeks' launched one of most lucrative gaming franchises of all time

    News @lemmy.world

    Cory Booker didn’t go to the bathroom for 25 hours. Is that … OK?

    UK Politics @feddit.uk

    We need more male teachers so British boys have role models, says minister

    Europe @feddit.org

    74% of EU citizens think that their country has benefited from EU membership

    Europe @feddit.org

    Large majority of Europeans support retaliatory tariffs against US, poll finds