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I'm from the UK where British politics is dysfunctional and rotten to the core. Politics is overstuffed with wealthy "upper class" individuals of breathtaking i

I'm from the UK where British politics is dysfunctional and rotten to the core. Politics is overstuffed with wealthy "upper class" individuals of breathtaking incompetence and a nasty, dishonest, duplicitous nature. Yet, despite that, if you have a well-spoken, articulate voice and accent, the public will perceive you as competent and sensible no matter what bollocks you spout. Depressing.

stefan_ 7y ago
British politics seem to have a few psychoses, like the "special relationship" or the fact that it's now a mostly negligible island, not some world reigning imperialist superpower.
- hobo_mark 7y ago
  Oh, TIL! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Relationship https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Relationship
- NeedMoreTea 7y ago
  A special relationship that's meant little since Suez, except during the Thatcher-Reagan years as they got on so well personally. Every PM since has tried to talk it up, whilst knowing their place full well. See Blair, the faithful poodle. The rose-tinted mourning of the loss of empire and former superpower status (see this week's universally negative reviews of Rees-Mogg's jingoistic "history" book) amongst some in Britain is a good part of why many have such a negative view of Europe. Many don't feel part of it, but merely next to it, looking down. It's this that the Daily Heil keep talking up. A mindset which is really hard to understand, but it seems like they think that exiting will put us back as global superpower, trading with the world, and... err. This from a Britain that sells off everything significant and worthy of pride we've ever done, or simply ruins it, and only just remains a blue-water navy. I'm not quite sure how this magic is ever meant to happen. :) Staying a part of Europe makes far more sense to me, but after Brexit it will be really hard for those euroskeptics to continue to believe we count for much. The reality of our being a post-imperial insignificant little island might start to sink in, especially if the city decides to bugger off. Ironically, in the long run, we might end up better for that.
barry-cotter 7y ago
> I'm from the UK where British politics is dysfunctional and rotten to the core. Oh God, it’s a disaster to watch. The Tories are repeatedly kicking themselves in the balls publicly and Labour is run by someone who has almost no support from MPs and who comes third after “Don’t know” in the rankings of potential prime ministers.
- viivaux 7y ago
  Are you talking about Corbyn? The guy with broad support despite an unremitting smear campaign from every single corner of the media from The Grauniad to the Beeb, never mind the tabloids? The guy who has been astonishingly effective standing up to the Maybots and revitalised Labour? I'm very curious what poll you're referring to there that has him after "don't know".
  - ben_w 7y ago
    YouGov survey for the Times: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/polling-shows-voters-opt-for-may-but-even-more-don-t-know-dmm8sghrg https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/polling-shows-voters... I used to like him. I wish he was all that you call him.
    - viivaux 7y ago
      An online poll. Huh. What did I 'call him' that you disagree with?
      - ben_w 7y ago
        That he has “broad support“, that he has “been astonishingly effective”, and that he has “revitalised Labour”. I wish all those things were true. Unrelated: while YouGov is indeed online, it chooses which people to send the surveys to and has long-term profiles on each of them, so unlike a silly Twitter poll it has decent statistical relevance and the biases seem to be persistent, well quantified, and generally accounted for — you shouldn’t dismiss it just because you don’t like what it’s saying.
gwbas1c 7y ago
It's like that all over the world

stefan_ 7y ago

British politics seem to have a few psychoses, like the "special relationship" or the fact that it's now a mostly negligible island, not some world reigning imperialist superpower.

hobo_mark 7y ago
Oh, TIL! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Relationship https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Relationship
NeedMoreTea 7y ago
A special relationship that's meant little since Suez, except during the Thatcher-Reagan years as they got on so well personally. Every PM since has tried to talk it up, whilst knowing their place full well. See Blair, the faithful poodle. The rose-tinted mourning of the loss of empire and former superpower status (see this week's universally negative reviews of Rees-Mogg's jingoistic "history" book) amongst some in Britain is a good part of why many have such a negative view of Europe. Many don't feel part of it, but merely next to it, looking down. It's this that the Daily Heil keep talking up. A mindset which is really hard to understand, but it seems like they think that exiting will put us back as global superpower, trading with the world, and... err. This from a Britain that sells off everything significant and worthy of pride we've ever done, or simply ruins it, and only just remains a blue-water navy. I'm not quite sure how this magic is ever meant to happen. :) Staying a part of Europe makes far more sense to me, but after Brexit it will be really hard for those euroskeptics to continue to believe we count for much. The reality of our being a post-imperial insignificant little island might start to sink in, especially if the city decides to bugger off. Ironically, in the long run, we might end up better for that.

barry-cotter 7y ago

> I'm from the UK where British politics is dysfunctional and rotten to the core. Oh God, it’s a disaster to watch. The Tories are repeatedly kicking themselves in the balls publicly and Labour is run by someone who has almost no support from MPs and who comes third after “Don’t know” in the rankings of potential prime ministers.

viivaux 7y ago
Are you talking about Corbyn? The guy with broad support despite an unremitting smear campaign from every single corner of the media from The Grauniad to the Beeb, never mind the tabloids? The guy who has been astonishingly effective standing up to the Maybots and revitalised Labour? I'm very curious what poll you're referring to there that has him after "don't know".
- ben_w 7y ago
  YouGov survey for the Times: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/polling-shows-voters-opt-for-may-but-even-more-don-t-know-dmm8sghrg https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/polling-shows-voters... I used to like him. I wish he was all that you call him.
  - viivaux 7y ago
    An online poll. Huh. What did I 'call him' that you disagree with?
    - ben_w 7y ago
      That he has “broad support“, that he has “been astonishingly effective”, and that he has “revitalised Labour”. I wish all those things were true. Unrelated: while YouGov is indeed online, it chooses which people to send the surveys to and has long-term profiles on each of them, so unlike a silly Twitter poll it has decent statistical relevance and the biases seem to be persistent, well quantified, and generally accounted for — you shouldn’t dismiss it just because you don’t like what it’s saying.

gwbas1c 7y ago

It's like that all over the world