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It's remarkable how close the UK is getting to CN-styled internet. It would not surprise me to see a proposal to firewall the island off from the rest of the wo

It's remarkable how close the UK is getting to CN-styled internet. It would not surprise me to see a proposal to firewall the island off from the rest of the world, mandatory British government apps for services, etc., following the permanent installation of a dictator. Coupled with the promotion of a national digital currency, it's hard to see a future where Britain does not devolve into fascism. It has not had a democratically elected leader for years now.

cyberpunk 4y ago
The UK doesn't elect a leader, it elects a parliamentary party which chooses its own leadership. People did actually vote for this. Although for the people in scotland, this is more accurate. We are not represented for over a decade by the UK government, and have been removed from the EU against our will...
- Veen 4y ago
  There are 59 Scottish MPs in Parliament, many of whom support the Online Safety Bill. In fact, SNP MPs have consistently argued for stronger 'protections' than the Bill's proposers originally wanted. How is Scotland not represented in Parliament?
- vidarh 4y ago
  43.6% of the electorate voted for the Tory party on a manifesto not very much like what the current government is delivering. So even if one accepts that the Tory party totally changing the platform of their government doesn't justify saying nobody voted for it, the current party in government got its majority in parliament with the support of a minority of voters thanks to a fundamentally undemocratic electoral system. By that measure, it's pretty reasonable to say that people did not vote for this.
- sacrosancty 4y ago
  [dead]
- klelatti 4y ago
  > it elects a parliamentary party which chooses its own leadership That’s not quite true - the parliamentary Tory and Labour parties gave away the right to select the leader to their members. Hence we got Truss who MPs didn’t vote for but members did.
easytiger 4y ago
Utterly absurd comment, supported in no way by any evidence. This bill has wide cross party support. There is a lot of blame for it's stupidity to go around. You've lived a very sheltered life if you think the UK in any manner is an authoritarian unaccountable state. COVID hysteria aside
- vidarh 4y ago
  The current government is of a party that has a majority in parliament despite getting a minority of the votes. It's fairly reasonable to consider the UK undemocratic and unaccountable, even if there are far worse alternatives.
  - kmlx 4y ago
    > The current government is of a party that has a majority in parliament despite getting a minority of the votes. if you don’t know how the UK system works, then yes, you are correct.
    - vidarh 4y ago
      It's knowing full well how the UK system works for many decades, and living here for a couple of decades and observing the largescale disenfranchisement of UK voters which has made me firmly hold that opinion.
      - easytiger 4y ago
        Describe examples of this "disenfranchisement" please.
        developer93 4y ago
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-past-the-post_voting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-past-the-post_voting Parties can and do win despite most people voting against them if those against them don't vote for the same party. Other voting systems don't have this problem, but allow voters to be represented in the proportions in which they vote.

cyberpunk 4y ago

The UK doesn't elect a leader, it elects a parliamentary party which chooses its own leadership. People did actually vote for this. Although for the people in scotland, this is more accurate. We are not represented for over a decade by the UK government, and have been removed from the EU against our will...

Veen 4y ago
There are 59 Scottish MPs in Parliament, many of whom support the Online Safety Bill. In fact, SNP MPs have consistently argued for stronger 'protections' than the Bill's proposers originally wanted. How is Scotland not represented in Parliament?
vidarh 4y ago
43.6% of the electorate voted for the Tory party on a manifesto not very much like what the current government is delivering. So even if one accepts that the Tory party totally changing the platform of their government doesn't justify saying nobody voted for it, the current party in government got its majority in parliament with the support of a minority of voters thanks to a fundamentally undemocratic electoral system. By that measure, it's pretty reasonable to say that people did not vote for this.
sacrosancty 4y ago
[dead]
klelatti 4y ago
> it elects a parliamentary party which chooses its own leadership That’s not quite true - the parliamentary Tory and Labour parties gave away the right to select the leader to their members. Hence we got Truss who MPs didn’t vote for but members did.

easytiger 4y ago

Utterly absurd comment, supported in no way by any evidence. This bill has wide cross party support. There is a lot of blame for it's stupidity to go around. You've lived a very sheltered life if you think the UK in any manner is an authoritarian unaccountable state. COVID hysteria aside

vidarh 4y ago
The current government is of a party that has a majority in parliament despite getting a minority of the votes. It's fairly reasonable to consider the UK undemocratic and unaccountable, even if there are far worse alternatives.
- kmlx 4y ago
  > The current government is of a party that has a majority in parliament despite getting a minority of the votes. if you don’t know how the UK system works, then yes, you are correct.
  - vidarh 4y ago
    It's knowing full well how the UK system works for many decades, and living here for a couple of decades and observing the largescale disenfranchisement of UK voters which has made me firmly hold that opinion.
    - easytiger 4y ago
      Describe examples of this "disenfranchisement" please.
      - developer93 4y ago
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-past-the-post_voting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-past-the-post_voting Parties can and do win despite most people voting against them if those against them don't vote for the same party. Other voting systems don't have this problem, but allow voters to be represented in the proportions in which they vote.