UK General Election and the Difference Between the Tories and Labour
I have read a lot of posts on here complaining that the difference between the Conservatives and the current Labour party are negligible, and that Labour are basically “Red Tories”. And I can definitely see where people are coming from there; I have often felt frustrated with Keir Starmer for how bloody unwilling he is to stray too far from a lot of the core Tory positions and doctrines.
Which is why I was very interested in a political podcast I listened to this evening that discussed precisely this subject, following on from extensive analysis of the policies stated in the party manifestos. Much of the gist of the discussion supported the view that yes, there isn’t a great deal of difference between the two main parties (at least not when it comes to their manifesto pledges - political experts still generally expect their instincts to be very different when in comes to things like taxing the rich in order to spend more on public services. Labour have notably not ruled out several avenues for tax rises in their manifesto - just the ones that are more likely to hit the average household).
Anyway, there were a few key policy differences mentioned in the podcast, most notably:
1) Labour are going to scrap the Rwanda policy (so they are not going to send people seeking asylum in the UK to Rwanda instead)
2) Labour has much more enthusiasm for renewable energy and a plan to create a national energy company.
3) Labour is also planning to introduce a Race Equality Act and create more statutory duties within government to reduce inequality
For those unaware of what that means: a statutory duty places a legal responsibility on government departments across the board to try and work towards certain objectives when making new policy - or at the very least, keep them in mind. In this case, it sounds as though government policy makers in ALL departments will have to stop and think about the potential impact of every policy they develop on inequality (however that gets defined) making efforts to reduce it where possible. ON EVERY POLICY. That is potentially huge - even more so when compared to the Conservatives, who are currently attempting to make themselves as vehemently “anti-woke” as possible in competition with Reform.
I’d say that’s a pretty big difference between Labour and the Conservatives.
(Not that Labour are perfect on race and equality, mind you. I think Labour does have a problem with racism. But I’ll take some imperfect progress under Labour over the Conservatives any day).
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What do you think about Michael not defending David on his comments as he is getting criticized by politicians and other powerful people? I hope they are okay.
If ever David needs defending, I have no doubt Michael will be there.
Being criticized by the Tories, on the other hand, is a badge of honour, and Michael didn’t need David when the Tories went after him earlier this year for The Way. It’s like being gummed by a toothless dog.
People are being so .... ugh about this.
"Why did he choose a black female tory to shit on"
Because if you didn't know. Kemi was the one actively gunning for trans youth in her leadership campaign.
KEMI was the one, while brianna gheys (a teenage trans girl who was BRUTALLY attacked) murderers were convicted, released an article saying trans youth shouldn't have safe spaces at school and should, BY LAW be outed to family and superiors by teachers who find out/or are confided in.
He called out kemi not because it's easier to shit on a black, cis female politition.
He called out kemi because SHE is the one who was the cause of terror and outrage of trans youth and their families. Which may I remind people, includes him and his family.
Have some links and screencaps
This was at its most basic a parent challenging a right-wing politician for her ideologies that target his own children.
Badenoch is a Tory. She has privilege (and wealth) - furthermore she has real and genuine political power. She has a platform. She has the ability to drive her transphobic ideology into legislation. She is an actual danger to trans children.
And, as the prime minister said, free speech is a fundamental part of democracy. And that most definitely includes freely speaking out against politicians and policies that are harmful.
This was never a case of a wealthy privileged white man punching down at a woman of colour. That's how the tories and the terfs spun it. This is a father putting himself in front of his (and our, and your) kids.
You cannot in conscience speak from your position of authority as a politician, then claim victimhood when you are judged and challenged on what you say.
You cannot attempt to legislate people that make you feel icky out of existence then cry when someone turns the tables on you.
Also worth pointing out that Kemi Badendoch is the Equalities Minister. It is literally her job to promote equality and inclusion, and yet she has done the opposite. It’s not just trans issues either; she is fiercely “anti-woke” and likes to deny that institutional racism is a problem in the UK (because the Tory party is only interested in having people of colour at the top of the party in order to make the problem of racism and systemic inequality seem invisible).
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Hello Mr Gaiman,
I'm writting to you from France where the political situation is very tense, we have ellections this week-end and the extreme right is very close to the power and I'm scared.
Do you have wise and comforting words to tell us for these dark times ?
Thank you.
Not really. I hope the extreme right doesn’t make it into power there or anywhere. But that’s about voting.
Keep on being kind, if they do, and help other people, especially the kind of people that they will target.
not my irls making posts about “voting is useless because all parties are bad :(“ on facebook
motherfucker at least spoil your ballot if you feel that way but if you don’t show up it only sends the message to politicians that they shouldn’t cater to “young issues” because “we don’t care anyways”.
and even if all parties are shit there is at least one that’s marginally less shit, and that might make all the difference to someone
It can be, but it also can not be, and it's really up to the individual person whether they like a particular term or why they use it. I know older bi people who are like... well, pansexual actually fits me better, but I've been calling myself bi for so long that changing just feels exhausting. I know people who use bi or pan based on which flag they like better. I know people who use them interchangeably.
As long as people don't give bi or pan weird exclusionary definitions (like the people who were saying bi is transphobic and so if you don't identify as pan you are a transphobe a couple of years ago), I don't think it really matters.
This meme probably best expresses how I feel about the subject.
'Blue Bird' by Brian Wildsmith, 1976
[Image description: a screenshot of an instagram post from user @northwestleftist. It’s a graphic in the style of a block print with flowers and the quote “to be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing” from Raymond Williams]
“Rich kids should go to public schools. The mayor should ride the subway to work. When wealthy people get sick, they should be sent to public hospitals. Business executives should have to stand in the same airport security lines as everyone else. The very fact that people want to buy their way out of all of these experiences points to the reason why they shouldn’t be able to. Private schools and private limos and private doctors and private security are all pressure release valves that eliminate the friction that would cause powerful people to call for all of these bad things to get better. The degree to which we allow the rich to insulate themselves from the unpleasant reality that others are forced to experience is directly related to how long that reality is allowed to stay unpleasant. When they are left with no other option, rich people will force improvement in public systems. Their public spirit will be infinitely less urgent when they are contemplating these things from afar than when they are sitting in a hot ER waiting room for six hours themselves.”
There’s so much press about the South Korean and Norwegian education systems being the top internally. When I was in school, we did all sorts of reading and analysis of it, especially compared to American education. We were told that the American system is successful (though much lower testing) through the teacher connections with the students. South Korea is successful because the programs are massively competitive (and horribly stressful.) Norway is successful because ????.
Then, years later I read that Norway forbids school fees.
I can’t believe that information wasn’t given to me in the hours of analysis I had about their schooling and success. If you don’t allow people to insulated themselves at private schools with fees, or cherry pick public schools that loophole fees (like charters, which are private schools that get public funds,) it’s in the wealthy’s best interest to invest in the local school and rising tides lift all boats.
ALT
ALTUp on melancholy hill sits a crow just looking out on the day...
Aaskrähe (carrion crow) im Unteren Schlossgarten, Stuttgart-Ost.
This is why it’s so important for parents to support their trans kids.
If I don’t reblog this, then I’m dead.
Hnnnnnnnngk I want it.