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• #277
Personally I'm not particularly against it. But it doesn't seem very practical and most places like France and Germany don't have it anymore which is telling.
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• #278
There are discussions in Germany to re-introduce conscription in the face of the threat from Putin. I don't know about France.
Conscription was still in force when I left school and I did civilian service (the conscientious objector's option), which was slightly longer than army service (both had already been cut significantly) but much preferable. I was grateful I could do it, as I still didn't know what I wanted to do, and this period was very valuable. Many of those I knew who got out of serving in either way (phony doctors' certificates ...) ended up in careers they hated and later wished they hadn't started studying so early.
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• #279
Thanks, interesting. I'm still surprised it's like that even in London, but I guess it makes sense. FPTP must be seriously demotivating when you're in a smaller party.
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• #280
I've been a paper candidate in council elections for the Greens for years. In our area it does generally go to someone who has been in the party for a number of years & had some standing (I am not by much of an active member though). My partner was the GE candidate against one of the current Labour front bench a few years back but she is very active.
We don't have a huge amount of money to play around with, so generally candidates are only selected if there's a good chance of getting the money back. That's more likely if there's consistency over elections with candidates.
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• #281
Who is feeding the editor of the Evening Standard MAGA-levels of batshittery like "Rachel Reeves never worked for the Bank of England"?
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• #282
High excitement here, my wife has just spotted on her local Facebook thing that me Mogg is canvassing a few streets away. I fucking hope he pays me a visit.
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• #283
Can you please ask him why his Nanny broke lockdown regulations when the family all had covid in their Westminster home?
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• #284
I wrote him a letter about the whole Cummings thing when it happened and got the usual smarmy response.
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• #285
Mainly because everyone is incredulous that they've run with it.
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• #286
Isn't the Nation Service idea simply a ploy to shift attention to how woeful the start of the tories canpaign has been. Seams to of worked moderatly well, well for this level of fuck up campaign.
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• #287
Yes, they are once again a single policy party.
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• #288
Isn't the Nation Service idea simply a ploy to shift attention to how woeful the start of the tories canpaign has been
also worked to distract from the totally half-assed Labour "we may think about giving 16 year olds the vote"... hardly "in our manifesto and we're going to do it" stuff.
a piss poor start by them too really
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• #289
Be careful being a paper candidate. My friend did it in an unwinnable ward and is now my councillor. They aren't pleased and feel guilty about not working hard enough.
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• #290
That's just their style though. Start shit, get shitter.
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• #291
Genuinely interested that you think Labour are off to a piss poor start, care to expand on that?
Personally and I am biased I thought it was the; do as little as resonably possible, keep it quiet, we don't need to make the running, cautious safety first Starmer way.
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• #292
Labour seem to be running an unopinionated soft-Tory line... so desperate to get in power that they're afraid of offending the vast majority of possible voters.
I would love to see 50 year vision plans, really strong lines on education, health, social mobility.
They knew an election was coming this year, and knew it could come as early as May... readiness is no excuse for such a weakly opinioned start.
I know I cannot expect Labour to actually be a party of the left, or to do as the French and make long-term plans to bring trade and wealth to all, or to face the elephant in the room of how screwed up Brexit has been... but I don't even see them calling out the Tories on the Cass report, facing the crisis in higher education, working to provide better trade conditions for business... or anything really.
I mean sheesh... with so much invested in HS2 and that being half-hearted now due to the Tories... reverse that shit and get it back on track, as Tokyo proved a long time ago that economic activity relates to the capture area of a 1-2 hour commute, and if you can expand the economic zone to include a lot of the Midlands and a little of the North, then that's a huge deal.
So far... just from what has reached the press, I am firmly unimpressed.
That I was donating to the Lib Dems, Green, and a couple of indepedents only a few weeks ago, as a lifelong Labour voter, shows that I'm very disillusioned in a soft-Tory version of Labour.
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• #293
Supposedly Labour have been working alot with the Biden campaign team to learn from his last election result and that includes the advice to commit to as little as possible unless forced
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• #294
Maybe so... but if you've promised nothing, do you have a mandate for anything?
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• #295
When is the manifesto due out?
Ah, no specific date yet but "real soon now".
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• #296
National Service loses momentum, so a standing down Tory MP steps in;
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2024/may/27/keir-starmer-rishi-sunak-general-election-campaign-trail-labour-conservative-national-service-pledge-unravelling-uk-politics-latest-updates?page=with:block-6654aafe8f080a302f020639#block-6654aafe8f080a302f020639 -
• #297
I know someone who is standing for Reform because “the government is too socialist”.
He is a fucking idiot.
Oh, and also an estate agent (apologies, “independent property speculator”).
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• #298
So a short tale from election world. Eldest son is changing jobs. He has a new one he's about to start in a week or so.
One of the jobs he applied for back in March was Labour. Heard nothing.
Middle of last week gets a call from labour press office for an interview (pre election announcement).
Friday evening another call to cancel the interview but offer him a 6 week role in the press office through the election.
He's super excited and even though it's only a temp role wants to be in the room where it happens etc. Waiting for a contract to be sent over on Saturday.
Sat am call - sorry we haven't got enough money so there's no job.Luckily all this before he binned off the original job, but a) he's obviously gutted and b) what a shit show.
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• #299
Don't have nightmares.....
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• #300
A few steps on the 6-week trek to defeat?
Agreed, that's the hook for reform voters, get the kids out there sinking small boats