UK General Discussion: Rishecession

[TheTide]

https://twitter.com/TUVonline/status/1776526536134279202
Nightmare blunt rotation.

At an Orange Hall, no less!

On that note, it's also quite interesting that Ann Widdecombe, a Catholic will be there too. Might be the first one to ever step inside those doors!

Only Nixon could go to China. Maybe only Widdecombe can go to the Orange Hall? /s

Always thought it was kind of telling that she talks about her two defections (party and church), in very similar language. She tells very similar "it was the last straw" anecdotes about both (brexit and the ordination of women, etc etc).

It's odd - she still seems to want to be taken seriously, (no one buys an entire collection of Hansard volumes, at the price they go for, to use a backdrop for media interviews unless they're incredibly image-conscious), despite her reality TV and HIGNFY stint. Wonder if she regrets leaning into the idea of herself as a figure of fun.

Incidentally, she held a minority position within the Tory Party on the issue of hunting just as Hoey did within Labour. That is, there were/are on opposing sides of the issue.

[TheTide]

The belief that Western society is seeing an epidemic of child abuse is deeply held and Tory MPs have to reflect that.

Very few people in Britain — including very few Conservative voters — believe this. This is the language of the conspiratorial American far right.

Indeed, the above post seemed to import Trumpism/Qanonism wholesale into the UK. Without being at all complacent, that is a very mistaken reading of where we currently are.

I worked in London for seven years intermittently before transfering back in 2023 and while I would not suggest it should be imported wholesale, I watched in Tory circles the reaction to Mordaunt's campaign including from her own team in 2022.

The strength of feeling outside the politicalized elite was much less than in the US and you could argue for the absence of mass mobilization but there was a total overnight consensus the very day she announced that her past record on the issue was an obstacle and that reversing was a prerequisite for a serious leadership bid. In short that no one could disagree and lead the Conservative party. Hence the cringe, late-night tweet thread.

Is it far weaker and elite focused than in America? Yes. But what struck me is that internally disagreement had been branded as leftwing and disloyal in a way that meant party loyalists would all go one way. The critical issue is not even that pushback is viewed as leftwing but that it is viewed as elitist and antipopulist after a decade in which "elites" have been viewed as nemesis. If you don't think the last decade has had an impact on the makeup of the party it has.

I don't see much evidence that has slowed down, not with the Cass review seeming to confirm every prejudice. When I say "child abuse" I mean the Cass Review perspective, or perhaps the freakin front page of Today's Guardian. Every major newspaper is running with that.

And don't underestimate the increased "Americanization" which will come from GBnews* and the media pull.

I would be interested in some evidence for organized division within the party on this since 2022. Something to show Kearns/Nokes represent important currents and not throwbacks to another era.

Or why Rishi dosen't actually believe in it.

*I realize Harwood is an exception but even he seems to have been told to shut up.

Harwood is a staunch free market ideologue and YIMBYist (of the worse kind), and a smarmy little f**ker to boot.

[TheTide]

Symbolically this is absolutely devastating because of the constituency she represents.

[TheTide]

https://twitter.com/breeallegretti/status/1790477309729751510
It'll probably be some awkward celebrity endorsement, but given its a Essex-based event, on the other side of PMQs, I'd imagine local MPs like Will Quince and John Baron will wake up tomorrow to about ten missed calls from the chief whip.

What Essex celebrity?! Gemma Collins? Stacey Solomon?

Genuine question - who'd be a celebrity endorsement who'd make headlines. Lot of big names (Adele, Dua Lipa etc) are already known to be Labour so wouldn't be too shocking. One that came to mind would be Clarkson, since it would be so against the grain of what you'd expect from him, but he did previously admit he'd consider voting Labour under Starmer, even before the Tories really went down the tubes. But even so, I doubt Starmer would openly court him or brag too much an endorsement from that Jeremy C.

His Top Gear heyday self would be, how shall I put it, very unfashionable today.

Also, how long is "long in the planning"? A certain Harold Wilson quote springs to mind.

[TheTide]

I wouldn’t have thought that an event to welcome a defector would be “long in the planning”, though I suppose the “special guest” could be a late addition.

The rumour mill is in overdrive, needless to say.

Theresa May is a name that I'm seeing quite a bit of. Most likely it's people being mischievous of course.

[TheTide]

May has given the Churchill-Attlee Democracy Lecture at the Hansard Society this morning. One of those two was of course a noted defector.

Meanwhile, anyone want to take this guy up on his offer?

https://twitter.com/jep_draper/status/1790477014291415493

[TheTide]

Is this a discussion on further education or higher education? I (at least partially based on personal experience) have a much more positive outlook on the former.

[TheTide]

Its weird its been 4.5 years since the last election. I remember when the UK seemed to have an election every year. 2015, Brexit, 2017, 2019 lol

The Tories weren't as hated then and having to delay elections as their only recourse.

I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't have held an election in 2021 or 2022 if they had remained reasonably popular. Maybe 2023, but that would have been less than four years unless it had been held at Christmas.