UK General Discussion Thread: mayy lmao

[JerryArkansas]

Surprised that Brown wasn't lower considering that would have been Jan-Feb of 2009, in the heights of the financial crisis.

[Phony Moderate]

Surprised that Brown wasn't lower considering that would have been Jan-Feb of 2009, in the heights of the financial crisis.

Brown actually handled the financial crisis well - probably the high point of his premiership in fact. The expenses scandal and general gaffes really doomed him.

[parochial boy]

YouGov have polled London

Key take aways is that Corbyn's Labour are down 7% on the GE, so are doing just as bad in London as everywhere else in the country (it's supposed his heartland), and Lib Dems have doubled their support.

And lol at the 18-24 years olds cross tab - 61% Labour; and Tories equal with the Lib Dems on 15%

Sadiq Khan is also very popular.

[Phony Moderate]

YouGov have polled London

Key take aways is that Corbyn's Labour are down 7% on the GE, so are doing just as bad in London as everywhere else in the country (it's supposed his heartland), and Lib Dems have doubled their support.

And lol at the 18-24 years olds cross tab - 61% Labour; and Tories equal with the Lib Dems on 15%

Sadiq Khan is also very popular.

I don't think London is yet to have an unpopular mayor; Boris Johnson always had impressive ratings and Ken Livingstone was done for via the general unpopularity of Labour rather than via any personal unpopularity.

[Silent Hunter]

It's only had three of them of course.

[Clyde1998]

YouGov have polled London

Key take aways is that Corbyn's Labour are down 7% on the GE, so are doing just as bad in London as everywhere else in the country (it's supposed his heartland), and Lib Dems have doubled their support.

And lol at the 18-24 years olds cross tab - 61% Labour; and Tories equal with the Lib Dems on 15%

Sadiq Khan is also very popular.

It appears that Labour are losing a section of their pro-Remain support to the Lib Dems. That would benefit the Tories in the FPTP system, as moving to the Lib Dems in a large amount of seats would be a wasted vote.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

TIL Gerald Kaufman wrote a book about, of all things, the 1944 Technicolor classic Meet Me in St. Louis.

[Barnes]

TIL Gerald Kaufman wrote a book about, of all things, the 1944 Technicolor classic Meet Me in St. Louis.

What a legend.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

TIL Gerald Kaufman wrote a book about, of all things, the 1944 Technicolor classic Meet Me in St. Louis.

What a legend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujl0HW7B8nc

[ChrisDR68]

Comedians tell how anti-Brexit jokes are damaging their careers as audiences outside of London walk out in offence



A number of comedians have described scripting their take on Britain leaving the European Union for left-wing audiences in London, only to face unamused audiences when they take their acts out to the rest of the country.

Marcus Brigstocke has been touring the country with a set that includes 20 minutes of material on Brexit, it is his first tour that has seen members of the audience walking out "every night" in anger.

He revealed that a number of his fans were unlikely to return to his shows in future, following the jokes.

"People have been angry; people have walked out of shows and people have booed.

"A lot of the people that I think of as my audience will not be back - they won't come again - they're that angry," he told BBC Radio 4.

Writing on Facebook, Brigstocke said he did not want to turn his audience off, but said: "for the first time ever on tour I have people walking out every night ‑ not hoards, but some. That's unsettling.

"I have never before dealt with a subject as divisive and upsetting (including passionate criticisms of religion etc.). It's a challenge I would usually enjoy but (perhaps because I'm not doing it well enough) it is proving to be a nightmare.

"It seems that for the most part Brexit is not just the hideous social and political turn we have taken as a country but is also comedic poison."



Comedian Stewart Lee has also spoken of some audience members' reactions to his material poking fun at leave voters during his shows.

Aaron Brown, editor of the British Comedy Guide, said: "I consume a lot of comedy – mostly TV, also some live – and would say the comedy world’s reaction has been almost exclusively negative.

"Many jokes essentially paraphrase as 'shooting ourselves in the foot', and the rest rely on lazily branding 52 per cent of the voters as racist.

"One would have hoped comedians would be able to find comic mileage in their evident disengagement from half of the public, but there instead seems to be little to no such acceptance and analysis of the referendum result, instead merely anger at lashing out at stupid people making the wrong decision, as they see it.

"As far as audience reaction goes, it tends to be fairly warm with television studio audiences as most such recordings take place in the resolutely pro-remain London, but in the rest of the country – England and Wales, at very least – one can only begin to imagine how alienated and offended some audiences must feel."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/04/comedians-tell-anti-brexit-jokes-damaging-careersas-audiences/

Interesting on how divisive the referendum continues to be. The assumption that what goes down well in London will go down well outside of it is quite amusing though as much as it is revealing (the London bubble effect).

[Simfan34]

This latest Gibraltar kerfuffle seems to show that the UK media has gone overboard with the hysterical instapunditry. The outrage from even the most vociferous US outlet is far outstripped by that coming from any Guardian editorial. There has to be some happy medium between dismissing any mildly inconvenient fact as "project fear" and all but actively rooting for a Hiberno-Hispano-Scottish-Argentine coalition to dismember the country while forcing the rump to keep red passports. This is important, because the former tendency could do some real damage-- eg by preventing a deal from being struck because of the EU's honestly fair request for the UK to settle its pension contributions and bills.

[Blair]

FWIW Ken Livingstone has been suspended from Labour for a year, but we not be expelled. As always Labour have taken a position that has pissed off 100% of the party, and more importantly makes us look like an utter joke in regards to antisemitism.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

A miserable compromise that makes no sense on its own logic - i.e. he has been found guilty on all counts and yet is not being treated as almost any other member would be - and which pleases absolutely no one. Apparently the aim of the game is to kick the can down the road enough times until he finally dies of alcohol poisoning.

[Barnes]

A miserable compromise that makes no sense on its own logic - i.e. he has been found guilty on all counts and yet is not being treated as almost any other member would be - and which pleases absolutely no one. Apparently the aim of the game is to kick the can down the road enough times until he finally dies of alcohol poisoning.

Just once I'd like the headlines to not involve the words "Labour" and "irrelevant anti-Semitic git." Seems like a bridge too far.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Emergency NEC meeting called to assess the situation.

[MAINEiac4434]

I fail to understand how anyone other than Corbyn true believers can support Labour at this point. They are completely incompetent, utterly divided and unable to do even the simplest things right.

[Phony Moderate]

I fail to understand how anyone other than Corbyn true believers can support Labour at this point. They are completely incompetent, utterly divided and unable to do even the simplest things right.

Because millions of ordinary people in this country see (understandably) a Labour government of any kind as being preferable to a Tory one. You have to understand that party loyalties here are much stronger here than in North America; Liverpool doesn't elect Labour MPs by 70% majorities and then elect a Tory council and mayor the following year unless something along the lines of a world war took place in between.

And the "Corbyn true believers" are actually less supportive of and loyal to Labour than the Labour base at large.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

And the "Corbyn true believers" are actually less supportive of and loyal to Labour than the Labour base at large.

Haha, yes, that's the funniest part about the whole situation. Really cranks the weirdness factor up...

[Filuwaúrdjan]

hahahahahahahaha

[Barnes]

Did you read his statement for standing in the Gorton by-election? I really had no idea his writing could be so scattered, although I guess I shouldn't be surprised...

[Blair]

Did you read his statement for standing in the Gorton by-election? I really had no idea his writing could be so scattered, although I guess I shouldn't be surprised...

The irony is that Galloway is appealing to both the traditonal white working class areas (he attacked that Labour used an all asian shortlist) and is also running with his usual support from the fringes of the Islamic community (he's been endorsed by the Lib Dem candidate from 2010)

 

[Barnes]

Did you read his statement for standing in the Gorton by-election? I really had no idea his writing could be so scattered, although I guess I shouldn't be surprised...

The irony is that Galloway is appealing to both the traditonal white working class areas (he attacked that Labour used an all asian shortlist) and is also running with his usual support from the fringes of the Islamic community (he's been endorsed by the Lib Dem candidate from 2010)

 

Ha! Strange bedfellows and all that.

The attack on the all-Asian list was so odd; almost on the "Gorton is in danger of being swamped by Asians" level.

[Blair]

Did you read his statement for standing in the Gorton by-election? I really had no idea his writing could be so scattered, although I guess I shouldn't be surprised...

The irony is that Galloway is appealing to both the traditonal white working class areas (he attacked that Labour used an all asian shortlist) and is also running with his usual support from the fringes of the Islamic community (he's been endorsed by the Lib Dem candidate from 2010)

 

Ha! Strange bedfellows and all that.

The attack on the all-Asian list was so odd; almost on the "Gordon is in danger of being swamped by Asians" level.

His twitter feed is hilarious to watch as he makes it out that he's swamped by supporters- I tend to forget that he ran for Mayor last summer and basically got no attention, and got beaten by the Womens Equality Party

[Clyde1998]

YouGov (5-6 Apr)
Con - 43% (+1 on previous poll)
Lab - 25% (N/C)
Lib - 11% (N/C)
UKIP - 11% (+1)
Nat - 8% (+2)
Grn - 3% (N/C)

Nationalists surprisingly high at 8%. Polling at 53% (+8) in Scotland and 6% (+3) in "Midlands and Wales". Granted there's a larger margin of error for the regional data, which explains the SNP's boost of 8%, but you'd expect not to have a large impact on the UK-wide figures. Could this the first poll to indicate any sort of boost for Plaid Cymru in Wales? The Wales polls haven't indicated anything so far, but the next one may be something to look out for if these sort of figures (7-8%) are continued for the Nationalists across the country.

The poll continues the trend of the Lib Dems being neck and neck with UKIP, which is probably as a result of the EU referendum - Leave voters moving to the Tories and remain voters moving to the Liberals. The Lib Dems didn't have an instant boost form the Leave vote, but have increased their share since talk of a hard Brexit has become more consistent. They may benefit, as a party, from a hard Brexit or a bad deal as time goes on.

[ChrisDR68]

Liverpool doesn't elect Labour MPs by 70% majorities and then elect a Tory council and mayor the following year unless something along the lines of a world war took place in between.

They did regularly elect a Lib Dem local council until fairly recently though.