The Political Class - Its Contempt For The Public

[Second Time Around]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1345426/Rubbish-collection-crisis-electricity-Councils-dont-damn.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

The observations made by Richard North in this article in the Mail echo past comments made by posters on this site.

Do you think this same indifference to the public will be exhibited during the downturn in the housing market?

[Executive Sadman]

Well, the feeling is mutual. We have contempt for them too.

It would seem sometimes DEADLY contempt

[MrPin]

None of these people have done anything before entering politics!

[Byron]

Just shows what a lot of drips the Lib-Dems really are.

It was alright for them to hold odd-ball opinions when they did not have the remotest chance of power, now they are unable to responsibily face up to the fact that they are in government.

Bit of luck and they will be wiped off the political map

[Executive Sadman]

Just shows what a lot of drips the Lib-Dems really are.

It was alright for them to hold odd-ball opinions when they did not have the remotest chance of power, now they are unable to responsibily face up to the fact that they are in government.

Bit of luck and they will be wiped off the political map

Isnt lying or making promises you dont keep normal for ANY party?

I dont see why people are so mad at the libdems, unless libdem voters are actually so delusional they think theres something genetically different about the humans that make up the Libdem party to the Tories and Labour that makes them incapable of lying.

Humans lie, regardless of personal politics.

We wont let house prices get out of control

No more Boom and Bust

Prescotts 60k house

Integrated transport

and so on...

Vote for the best looking one, as most seemed to with Clegg. Looks are the only difference they have.

[plummet expert]

Isnt lying or making promises you dont keep normal for ANY party?

I dont see why people are so mad at the libdems, unless libdem voters are actually so delusional they think theres something genetically different about the humans that make up the Libdem party to the Tories and Labour that makes them incapable of lying.

Humans lie, regardless of personal politics.

We wont let house prices get out of control

No more Boom and Bust

Prescotts 60k house

Integrated transport

and so on...

Vote for the best looking one, as most seemed to with Clegg. Looks are the only difference they have.

Sadly it is we the voters who encourage these lies. High time we all debated this point and put a stop to it. Honesty and honour in politics has passed. If we are all so stupid as to ONLY vote for those who say what we want to hear, then we are asking for lies. As soon as a politician starts to actually sets out the truth, we all want to vote for someone else. Just look at the last election - as soon as the tories began to make noises about just how dire the deficit was, then their ratings dropped for fear of savage cuts. As soon as the tone was changed to ' we can manage deficit reduction and ring fence essential services and have the private sector soak up the slack'...hey presto, their popularity went up. Now in power, we are about to see it's impossible.

The truth would have been: 'We NEED massive cuts in public spending, a vile recession and a house price crash, expunging our system of bad debt. We need to regulate derivatives properly and demand all taxpayers money back from the banks over time. Then we will see calm and steady growth starting 3.5 years from now. It will be very painful and unemployment will top 3.3 million for a while. All investment needs to be put towards our productive and exporting economy and one day in about 20 years time we will much more economically successful, like Germany.'

If they had said that, then Mr Brown would still have been PM today and eating his own S**t

Edited January 9, 2011 by plummet expert

[Byron]

Sadly it is we the voters who encourage these lies. High time we all debated this point and put a stop to it. Honesty and honour in politics has passed. If we are all so stupid as to ONLY vote for those who say what we want to hear, then we are asking for lies. As soon as a politician starts to actually sets out the truth, we all want to vote for someone else. Just look at the last election - as soon as the tories began to make noises about just how dire the deficit was, then their ratings dropped for fear of savage cuts. As soon as the tone was changed to ' we can manage deficit reduction and ring fence essential services and have the private sector soak up the slack'...hey presto, their popularity went up. Now in power, we are about to see it's impossible.

The truth would have been: 'We NEED massive cuts in public spending, a vile recession and a house price crash, expunging our system of bad debt. We need to regulate derivatives properly and demand all taxpayers money back from the banks over time. Then we will see calm and steady growth starting 3.5 years from now. It will be very painful and unemployment will top 3.3 million for a while. All investment needs to be put towards our productive and exporting economy and one day in about 20 years time we will much more economically successful, like Germany.'

If they had said that, then Mr Brown would still have been PM today and eating his own S**t

Sadly, I think that you are right on the nail.

Look at Jack Straw, remember that night on TV with the BNP? Imagine if he had said then what he is now saying about Asian gangs.

The public are basically stupid. Most will follow the noisiest band wagon.

[Tiger Woods?]

Brilliant article by Richard North. It is interesting just how much revolutionary commentary is making the newspapers. People really are beginning to get fed up with the looting and "insolence of office." The next few years will be interesting I think.

[shipbuilder]

Brilliant article by Richard North. It is interesting just how much revolutionary commentary is making the newspapers. People really are beginning to get fed up with the looting and "insolence of office." The next few years will be interesting I think.

+1, nice that the lie of 'choice' between corporates got mentioned too, not just the usual 'public services are cr*p' rant.

[whalewatcher]

One problem with the UK voting system is that you can't register an abstention on a voting slip.

Perhaps someone should start an Abstention Party, with a candidate in every constituency. Votes for them would show in the election results as an expression of disgust for all the others.

[Tiger Woods?]

+1, nice that the lie of 'choice' between corporates got mentioned too, not just the usual 'public services are cr*p' rant.

Yes. The whinge is no longer about the "current government" or whatever, but the power structure itself, hence my comment about revolution. It is being openly stated in these sorts of articles that simply voting or changing supplier will do nothing to resolve the fundamental issue. What is perhaps scary (or pleasing depending on your view) is that newspapers are in the business of preaching to the converted.

[tallguy]

+1, nice that the lie of 'choice' between corporates got mentioned too, not just the usual 'public services are cr*p' rant.

F*ck me, that's quite an article for the Mail. I found myself agreeing with much of it. Railing against the big-boys is becoming a bit of a fashion.

Of course, we shouldn't delude ourselves that it's evidence of some miraculous "Damascus" moment for these journalists. They just know full-well that the dark mood of the people out there is such that they had better damn-well get on the band wagon.

Edited January 9, 2011 by tallguy

[shipbuilder]

"Yet the State itself relies on violence. Try not paying your council tax and you will quickly see what I mean. The police will come to get you. Attempt to resist and you will be forcibly removed from your home.

You will be jailed... by force if need be. The whole State apparatus is underpinned by force – or the threat of force – applied against its own citizens.

As you go down the pecking order, the same dynamic applies. ‘They’ can hurt us, they can damage us, destroy individual lives, or even wreck entire communities. We cannot strike back – we cannot hurt them."

This was particularly incredible to read in a mainstream daily newspaper. Injin, is that you?

Edited January 9, 2011 by shipbuilder

[tallguy]

Yes. The whinge is no longer about the "current government" or whatever, but the power structure itself, hence my comment about revolution. It is being openly stated in these sorts of articles that simply voting or changing supplier will do nothing to resolve the fundamental issue. What is perhaps scary (or pleasing depending on your view) is that newspapers are in the business of preaching to the converted.

Please don't use the "R" word. It only gives me hope and hope always leads to despair.

Leave me with my cynicism for God's sake. I can at least bear that.

Edited January 9, 2011 by tallguy

[@contradevian]

Its a good article but I'm wary. Who is really behind it? What are the dog whistle responses?

Bit like the so called tea party in America, seems to funded and organised by the types that caused the problems in first place.

Edited January 10, 2011 by Sir John Steed

[tallguy]

Its a good article but I'm wary. Who is really behind it? What are the dog whistle responses?

Bit like the so called tea party in America, seems to funded and organised by the types that caused the problems in first place.

yes

[Tortoise]

One problem with the UK voting system is that you can't register an abstention on a voting slip.

Perhaps someone should start an Abstention Party, with a candidate in every constituency. Votes for them would show in the election results as an expression of disgust for all the others.

This really does need to happen. I hardly ever vote because I disagree with all the parties but a no vote is just taken as apathy

[Nuggets Mahoney]

This really does need to happen. I hardly ever vote because I disagree with all the parties but a no vote is just taken as apathy

None of the Above (NOTA) or against all is a ballot choice in some jurisdictions or organizations, to allow the voter to indicate disapproval of all of the candidates in a voting system. It is based on the principle that consent requires the ability to withhold consent in an election, just as they can by voting no on ballot questions.

Entities that include "None of the Above" on ballots as standard procedure include Greece (λευκό, white, but unrelated to a political party of the similarly-sounding name), the U.S. state of Nevada (None of These Candidates), Ukraine (Проти усіх), Spain (voto en blanco), France (vote blanc), Colombia (voto en blanco), the United States Libertarian Party and Green Party and the Florida affiliate of the American Patriot Party.[1] Russia had such an option on its ballots (Against all) until it was abolished in 2006.[2]

When None of the Above is listed on a ballot, there is the possibility of NOTA receiving a majority or plurality of the vote, and so "winning" the election. In such a case, a variety of formal procedures may be invoked, including having the office remain vacant, having the office filled by appointment, re-opening nominations or holding another election (in a body operating under parliamentary procedure).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/None_of_the_above

[Tiger Woods?]

This really does need to happen. I hardly ever vote because I disagree with all the parties but a no vote is just taken as apathy

There is nothing stopping you writing "reopen nominations" or similar on a ballot paper. I find myself doing it all the time. It would be good if this sort of protest was formalised and nominations forced to be reopened if RON gets a first past the post majority.

Edited January 10, 2011 by Tiger Woods?

[bewildered_renter]

There is nothing stopping you writing "reopen nominations" or similar on a ballot paper. I find myself doing it all the time. It would be good if this sort of protest was formalised and nominations forced to be reopened if RON gets a first past the post majority.

indeed, an organised campaign of spoilt ballot papers could make the news.

[Guest UK Debt Slave]

Its a good article but I'm wary. Who is really behind it? What are the dog whistle responses?

Bit like the so called tea party in America, seems to funded and organised by the types that caused the problems in first place.

That is certainly the case with respect to Palin but the TPM is a broad church and it is still very localist, funded by small donations from ordianry folks.

There are TPs in small townships and cities right across America, all organised by local folks. We have one in my local town in Astoria too. There's nothing sinister or 'corporate' about it which scares the crap out of the metropolitan liberals in DC, New York and the other east coast cities.

Palin was the manufactured response, reviled and hated by the left but very useful nonetheless because she deflects support away from more genuine libertarian TP supporters.

It's the old 'divide and conquer' chesnut played out in glorious technicolor

As soon as a threat is perceived, it must be subverted and its supporters divided. I'm not sure whether Palin is genuine of just a 'useful idiot' but she is an idiot nonetheless. I don't trust her at all, or that reptile Glenn Beck.

[pandora's box]

A vote for Labour, Conservative or Liberal is a vote for corruption.

And to answer your next question - no, I cannot put forward an alternative:yet.

[Protect Rural England]

All of you who are whingers, go out and stand at your next opportunity.

Don't like, do something about it.

I did. I was elected 7 years ago. I intend to stand again in May.

It has not been easy. They fight dirty. But little by little, the long standing incumbents' lies, duplicity, dishonesty has been exposed. The worst area is planning. Then housing, then highways.

I never could have believed how many second rate people were employed in the public sector. Hopeless most of them. If not sick, always complaining. Usually unreliable and certainly fail to see themselves as public servants.

We need a serious cull. The rot is so bad.

To think we had an Empire 70 years ago. We cannot even run a bus service anymore.

[Second Time Around]

All of you who are whingers, go out and stand at your next opportunity.

Don't like, do something about it.

I did. I was elected 7 years ago. I intend to stand again in May.

It has not been easy. They fight dirty. But little by little, the long standing incumbents' lies, duplicity, dishonesty has been exposed. The worst area is planning. Then housing, then highways.

I never could have believed how many second rate people were employed in the public sector. Hopeless most of them. If not sick, always complaining. Usually unreliable and certainly fail to see themselves as public servants.

We need a serious cull. The rot is so bad.

To think we had an Empire 70 years ago. We cannot even run a bus service anymore.

Did you stand as an Independent candidate? Do you think a libertarian standing on a platform of reducing government interference has much chance in a Labour dominated area?

[guitarman001]

Is this really so different than those here who shop at Waitrose to avoid the general public?