Reform, and the death of the Tory Party

[bobzmyunkle]

Some are much more unstable than others.

The UK thrives in the centre ground.

When was this mythical centre ground period of British politics? Neo Liberal economics has played a large part in getting us to this point. So you'd be hard put to claim a centre ground period post 1979. Since then there has apparently been no such thing as society and the water companies, for example, have been better run by private equity companies.
Have Labour been better than the Tories? Of course they have on social policy, but they're still playing the same game economically.
And don't mention Gordon Brown's idiotic fondness for PFI.

 

[Pross]

Then we have a unique choice, do we want incompetents that don’t want Britain to fail, or incompetents that do want Britain to fail.
I’ll give you a clue, Refuk is the latter. They trade on nostalgia for a UK that never existed, and aim to make sure it never does.

Exactly although I would say the former is happening because they are trying to fight for votes that are going to the latter rather than just accepting some people are beyond reach.

 

[Pross]

When was this mythical centre ground period of British politics? Neo Liberal economics has played a large part in getting us to this point. So you'd be hard put to claim a centre ground period post 1979. Since then there has apparently been no such thing as society and the water companies, for example, have been better run by private equity companies.
Have Labour been better than the Tories? Of course they have on social policy, but they're still playing the same game economically.
And don't mention Gordon Brown's idiotic fondness for PFI.

I would say most Governments have been cntre right or centre left in my lifetime. It's probably only post 2016 that things have started veering ever rightwards (with some odd leftie big Government policies mixed in at times).

 

[bobzmyunkle]

Lib Dems

Any evidence they've moved away from Neo Liberal economics since their Yellow Book economics or since enthusiastically playing their role in the austerity coalition?

 

[briantrumpet]

Exactly although I would say the former is happening because they are trying to fight for votes that are going to the latter rather than just accepting some people are beyond reach.

And the daft thing is that that focus, now with Braverman-wannabe Mahmood in charge, is drowning out the sensible things Labour is doing, such as capping and eventually abolishing ground rents. It's quite a long list of technical stuff they've been doing, but you'd hardly know they've done anything other than anti-immigration stuff.

 

[briantrumpet]

I would say most Governments have been cntre right or centre left in my lifetime. It's probably only post 2016 that things have started veering ever rightwards (with some odd leftie big Government policies mixed in at times).

If we say that Blair was centre-left (though Corbynistas would claim he was true-Blue Tory), the last left-wing government was Wilson's, I suppose, as even Callaghan tried to take on the unions (and failed miserably).

 

[C R]

I would say most Governments have been cntre right or centre left right in my lifetime. It's probably only post 2016 that things have started veering ever rightwards (with some odd leftie big Government policies mixed in at times).

FTFY

 

[Pinno718]

...and the water companies, for example, have been better run by private equity companies.

What?

 

[Pblakeney]

When was this mythical centre ground period of British politics? Neo Liberal economics has played a large part in getting us to this point. So you'd be hard put to claim a centre ground period post 1979. Since then there has apparently been no such thing as society and the water companies, for example, have been better run by private equity companies.
Have Labour been better than the Tories? Of course they have on social policy, but they're still playing the same game economically.
And don't mention Gordon Brown's idiotic fondness for PFI.

I would say that Blair to Cameron was centrist.
Blair too right for the lefties, and Cameron too left for the right.

 

[secretsqirrel]

And the daft thing is that that focus, now with Braverman-wannabe Mahmood in charge, is drowning out the sensible things Labour is doing, such as capping and eventually abolishing ground rents. It's quite a long list of technical stuff they've been doing, but you'd hardly know they've done anything other than anti-immigration stuff.

This is certainly true. For instance, when you have depleted funds what is the best thing you can spend your money on? This government is providing free school meals for half million more children. It is shameful that they need it, but it is the very best investment in my view.

 

[Pinno718]

Some are more unstable than others.

I was unstable. Then they gave me Lithium. Now i'm quite happy living in a stable.

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

Very clear and succinct appraisal from Justine Greening (much of which has already been said on these pages). One thing I would disagree with though, they are not going to turn it around with Badenoch in charge as she suffers from exactly the same sense of "political entitlement" that Greening rightly attributes to Jenrick and Braverman.

https://www.theguardian.com/comment...man-reform-conservative-jenrick-kemi-badenoch

 

[icowden]

When was this mythical centre ground period of British politics? Neo Liberal economics has played a large part in getting us to this point. So you'd be hard put to claim a centre ground period post 1979.

My earliest political memories were of an avowedly left wing Kinnock opposing Thatcher. Kinnock was unelectable as his Labour party was staunchly left wing. Thatcher was centre right. Major continued with a centre right party. Then Tony Blair appeared on the scene and dragged Labour away from the hard left wing position and into the centre left. He took power.

From Blair, we then had Brown who was seen as being a bit more to the left, and he lost power to Cameron who was centre-right again. Following Cameron's downfall we then see the Conservative party move further and further to the right until it collapsed because Reform stole the extreme right vote. Starmer is reasonably centrist but appears to have no goal and no strategy other than to jump at every shadow.

The only viable centrist political parties at the moment are the Greens who have tried to move away from some of their more extreme views. The Lib Dems are centrist as usual and again, their popularity is increasing.

 

[icowden]

Which party is “moderate and sensible”?

At the moment it's between the Lib Dems and the Greens.

 

[secretsqirrel]

Very clear and succinct appraisal from Justine Greening (much of which has already been said on these pages). One thing I would disagree with though, they are not going to turn it around with Badenoch in charge as she suffers from exactly the same sense of "political entitlement" that Greening rightly attributes to Jenrick and Braverman.

https://www.theguardian.com/comment...man-reform-conservative-jenrick-kemi-badenoch

Pah! Guardian reading, tofu-eating wokerati!!!