Election Year or Fear!

[swaledale]

"I'm sure there are a number of left wing or left of centre research/ pressure groups. None of them however seem to have the influence exerted by 55."

Given that the last 14 years have seen a Tory government it is unsurprising to see those pressure groups have exerted influence. I'm sure in the years of the Blair-Brown axis that left wing think tanks influenced their policy.

I

So you think the influence stops when the Tories are out? Where do you think such agendas as privatise the NHS, bring in an insurance system as spouted by Farage and others comes from?

Do you actually think that the battery of paid lobbyists and so called think tanks aren't both repeating right wing aims into the ears of Starmer, Sweeting etc. Do you think they don't spend money on freebies for whoever is in power to gain traction for some of their ideas? Don't you understand that the way the right works is to repeat certain ideas, to spread disinformation repeatedly so that it becomes a familiar sound in people's ears, such that their views start to think, yes of course the NHS needs to be partly or wholly privatised, of course its in a mess due to immigrants ,excess demand (I mean nothing to do with chronic mismanagement, constant reviews and underfunding by the last government obviously!).

That regulation needs to be loosened to "promote" entrepreneurs, that employment laws are too strict, that the problem with lack of social housing is immigrants (even funnily enough in places like Clacton where the population is 92% white British, but hey repeat these ideas and lies often enough and the simpletons will believe it.

I actually thought you had more understanding than what your actually demonstrating, its not a black and white. left or right thing, not that in all honesty you could call Starmer's labour party left wing, you'd be pushed to say it was centre left and very possibly its on the same political axis as a One Nation Tory party.

[Andy_Faber]

Don't you understand that the way the right works is to repeat certain ideas, to spread disinformation repeatedly so that it becomes a familiar sound in people's ears, such that their views start to think...

'The Right' and 'The Left' both do this, and ironically both do it for the sake of minorities, the only difference being The right's minority is rich and The Left's minority is poor. But don't kid yourself its not practised by both 'sides', and I would suggest that unless one is in the upper decile or lower decile of wealth in the country, one is onto a loser if either prevail

[ramAnag]

It's interesting that you describe the right wingers you dislike as sinister. Interesting given that sinister means left in the original Latin.

So right is left in the world of linguistics and left is right in the world of rA ����

More a case of ‘Left is right, and Right is wrong’, generally speaking…in my world, GP.
Ultimately though…where the Mercers, Musks and Tufton Street brigade etc are concerned, it takes little imagination to see how they would all favour the maintenance, or worse, of the status quo as far as inequality and the distribution of wealth, amongst other things, are concerned.

[Geoff Parkstone]

I might modify that slightly. Extremes of left or right are wrong, centre left and centre right are acceptable. Will Starmer deliver centre left or drift left? Can the Tories regain the centre right and control the extremes / recover electability?

Then we might have something closer to democracy rather than wild swings in vast majorities. Will the malign nfluences of the unions or international business continue to dominate the political landscape until death takes our generation away from it?

At present both centrist elements seem like 2 bald headed men arguing about a comb -. whilst wig makers look on offering alluring alternatives.

[Trickytreesreds]

Douglas Murray , tell it like it is brother.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxUP77Z55Oc

[Geoff Parkstone]

At the risk of AF, GP and, above all, TTR immediately reaching for the tiresome ‘rear gunner’ tactic…I have to say that I can only agree with all of that.
As you all know, Swale and I spent half of last season ‘bitching’ at each other so we don’t always see eye to eye, but on this issue I can only say that I agree entirely with the above and that it makes perfect sense…to me. I’ll also add that there is nothing wrong with agreeing with someone on a forum.

AF…genuine question and not getting at you at all, but you regularly speak of your Christian values and have occasionally referred to yourself as a sort of voice of practising Christianity on here.
With that in mind do you believe that Jesus Christ would have been more ‘left’ or ‘right’ leaning?

I ask only because, while I have little time for ANY organised religion, I do firmly believe that the examples set by Jesus are
very much of a left wing persuasion.

Ach come on rA you know he'd have voted Monster Raving Loony Party...or maybe UKIP in an attempt to get the Italian immigrants out of his country.

[Geoff Parkstone]

"With that in mind do you believe that Jesus Christ would have been more ‘left’ or ‘right’ leaning?"

Although I guess that the real answer to right or left leaning would depend on whether the nails were put in on the level or aslant....

[Ramshank72]

Noah's arc story of God ethnic cleansing people he didn't like, and sod all the innocent that get caught up in it, is a good example of left wing extremism.

[ramAnag]

Noah's arc story of God ethnic cleansing people he didn't like, and sod all the innocent that get caught up in it, is a good example of left wing extremism.

No expert on the Bible, RS…but isn’t Noah’s Ark from the Old Testament and therefore what AF broadly refers to as Right wing? I thought it was just a bit of a parable to reinforce the authoritarian God…i.e. ‘do as you’re told or else’.

[ramAnag]

No expert