@luminous I see your point. The Reform UK's platform of greatly constricting or eliminating migration is the reason behind the substantial under-funding of public services in the UK due to the loss of jobs and productivity from Brexit. In countries that have declining birth rates like yours, ours and other European nations, the only way to get a continuous influx of new workers is to encourage managed migration. And managed migration will only be productive if there are enough jobs available. Like you, I can't see any way out of the cycle of low productivity/low funding of the UK's public services except rejoining the EU. Although the UK has many successful industries, it's just not generating enough money for the population. Let me know if I'm missing anything.
What Labour should be doing is fighting Reform UK and challenging that right-wing narrative.
This is why I have a lot of praise for the SNP, Green Party, and Liberal Democrats, because they have challenged Reform UK on their right-wing populism and have made attempts to deconstruct their arguments about migration being the cause of all the UK problems, for example.
This is a good summary of the UK situation:
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/media/us-media-dishes-brutal-truth-about-brexit-britain-377706/
"There is mold in the walls and shit in the rivers, posh butter in the supermarkets has anti-theft tags stuck to it, the trains run on schedule about half the time, the average pub-poured pint of lager--the blood of the nation--is nearing the criminal price of 5 pounds ($6.34), and on May 22 a new general election was announced to the people of Great Britain by a prime minister who is richer than the king...As Sunak's shoulder pads gleamed in the dusk, the country is barely withstanding the damage he and his four predecessors inflicted over those 14 years: hunched and straining, poorer, meaner, grubbier, more desperate, more distressed. The prevailing moods, in common with rain, are anxiety, impatience, and grief."
The UK election is next Thursday. I will be voting Labour to help unseat the Tories. Labour are not perfect, but we cannot have 5 more years of the Conservatives. I want them out.
Edit: I am not sure why the text in the second paragraph of the quote is larger than the first.
@luminous I watched David Lammy of the Labour Party being interviewed by Fareed Zakaria last week. He was very open about the state of affairs in the UK. When Fareed asked him directly about rejoining Brexit, he said that it was not on the table but reflected that the UK's relationship with the EU was positive with recent security and other agreements expected in the future. He said that there was little interest in the UK for a more comprehensive relationship but didn't rule out anything. At one point, Fareed confronted him about Lammy's depiction of Trump as a "woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathizing sociopath". Lammy responded with a huge laugh and went on to say that the UK would work constructively with Trump should he be elected as POTUS. Fareed was trying to put Lammy on defense, but rather than dithering or making an excuse, Lammy gave an honest answer and it was charming.
@kathleen
Lammy is good politician. He has always been critical of the far-right and Trump, but he is also pragmatic in his approach to the possibility of Trump second term, because he knows UK-US relations are more important than the big orange buffoon . But I really hope that Trump doesn't get back in, because I think the leader of the Labour party, Keir Starmer, would get on really well with Biden more than any previous UK Prime Minister. It would be really great to see them both working together and creating an even stronger UK-US relationship, and I hope to see that in the future soon.
@luminous I agree with your thoughts about the potential for a productive partnership between Biden and Starmer. We need each other in these times!
I couldn't have said it better myself (warning: there are swearies):
https://x.com/JonathanPieNews/status/1808084571579208187?t=uKj4QwBBeFlwvbSV9uyuOQ&s=19
We kicked the Tories out.
🌹 LAB: 411 (+211)
🌳 CON: 121 (-251)
🔶 LDM: 72 (+64)
🎗️ SNP: 9 (-39)
🍀 SF: 7 (=)
🙋 INDs: 6 (+6)
➡️ RFM: 5 (+5)
🦁 DUP: 5 (-3)
🌍 GRN: 4 (+3)
🌼 PLC: 4 (+2)
💐 SDLP: 2 (=)
🅰️ ALL: 1 (=)
🔵 UUP: 1 (+1)
🗣️ TUV: 1 (+1)
+ Speaker (1)
https://electionmaps.uk/ge2024
@luminous Good for the UK! I've been watching the speeches and the political assessments. I hope that we'll have similar results here in the USA. Interesting that the LDM seat are up significantly. Why is there such a hoopla going on by the measly 5 increased votes from the RFM? You'd think they'd won!
@luminous Thanks for the video, and could you or someone here explain who the speaker is, and summarize what we are seeing? He seems like an MSNBC Rachel Maddow kind of attitude.
Most of our readers are in the U.S. and want to understand what you understand about what has happened. Most do not know the acronyms or the speaker. Swearies are no problem! Just needs more explaning.
All most Americans know is that the Tories are the conservatives (=US GOP=the wealthy class) and they lost the election; and the Labour party represents the average people (= US dems) and they kicked butt. Thanks for helping us to better understand.
@kathleen reform uk are far-right fascists led by Nigel Farage (the architect of brexit) and their 5 seats demonstrate that there is still much work to be done to drive out fascism within the UK.
Nigel Farage causing brexit also helped cause Trump. He is the one who went on Trump's campaign trail in 2016 saying that it's possible punish the establishment because it was done with brexit and can be done again in the US with Trump. He helped plant that seed.
The guy is toxic.
@luminous Thanks for the video, and could you or someone here explain who the speaker is, and summarize what we are seeing? He seems like an MSNBC Rachel Maddow kind of attitude.
Most of our readers are in the U.S. and want to understand what you understand about what has happened. Most do not know the acronyms or the speaker. Swearies are no problem! Just needs more explaning.
All most Americans know is that the Tories are the conservatives (=US GOP=the wealthy class) and they lost the election; and the Labour party represents the average people (= US dems) and they kicked butt. Thanks for helping us to better understand.
Jonathan Pie is a comedian. He was doing a comedy political take on the UK situation where he pretends to be a journalist covering the Conservatives in the news. There is a lot of sarcasm, but it is baked in truth. The facts he shares about the UK are real facts about the UK and what has happened during the past 14 years. His video summarises this in a comedic rant.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Pie
The link I posted before also partly elaborates on what he says in the video:
If people really wish to further understand the UK situation, then they only need to go back 1 or 2 pages in this thread to see what I have previously said about it.
@luminous Interesting, I didn't know that about Farage and his visits to the USA. Trump is too incompetent and narcissistic to embrace Farage's world view other than it assuming that it would give him autocratic power. However, Trump's handlers absolutely embrace Farage's toxic nationalism and want to make it happen in the US.
@kathleen
In my opinion, they are all linked, and that is why I place an emphasis on the UK situation in my posts, not just because it's where I live but because of the connection and influence of this negative energy in politics within the western world.
People may not think the UK situation is important to the US, but Nigel Farage is like Bannon in terms of his influence on enabling the far-right movements in the West. The fact that he won five seats and is now in the UK parliament will send shockwaves through the far-right, empowering them further.
I really hope that Marine Le Pen in France does not win an overall majority tonight, because that will just further enable the far-right movements.
People may not think the UK situation is important to the US, but Nigel Farage is like Bannon in terms of his influence on enabling the far-right movements in the West. The fact that he won five seats and is now in the UK parliament will send shockwaves through the far-right, empowering them further.
Bannon is a crude and even more pugnacious and unlawful version of Farage, full of ego and arrogance. He's also a religious fanatic that believes the country needs to go back to the 1950s and we'll all be better. Both he and Stephen Miller have plans for the US, like Farage does for the UK. These ideological types are very dangerous for any democracy, much like pre-WWII Germany.
Just for a bit of interests sake some bits and pieces regarding changes in the British Parliament after the recent election.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c727ny2jd84o
The oldest MP this time round will be 80-year-old Tory Sir Roger Gale - born at the height of World War Two. The youngest is Sam Carling, who was born in 2002.
Ethnic representation
The proportion of MPs from ethnic-minority backgrounds is now 90, or 14%. This is up from 66 at the last election, and the closest it has ever been in modern times to reflecting the UK's diversity (18% of Britons identified themselves as non-white in the 2021 census).
(The 18% surprised me I thought it was more diverse in the UK)
For those starting out, there are many practical issues to sort out. Phil Brickell, Labour MP for Bolton West, described it as a “surreal” few days.
“There’s a lot to get your head around,” he says. “How Parliament works, hiring staff, finding an office in the constituency and getting into a weekly rhythm. At the moment, I’m taking it one day at a time.”
And what do those who have recently been through it advise?
Damien Egan was first elected in a by-election in February, and is now the Labour MP for Bristol North East. He says he was advised to sit in the chamber as much as possible and absorb the way debates happen as it is “very different from a normal workplace”.
Asked for recollections of his first day, he says: “My first day, I remember waiting outside the chamber - I forgot I was allowed to go in!”
https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSYnbWyJy/
The new prime minister speaking in Parliament.
Of the 650 MPs elected, over half (335) have never been an MP before.
That should be interesting, a big learning curve for them. More than 40% of the Parliament are now women, a step in the right direction.
https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSYnbEAL8/
Some of the new MPs all in their 20’s, some very baby faced.
Let the games begin, see what changes result. Hopeful for the better in the UK.
Regards to all
Matildagirl
Great post @matildagirl
Both our countries defeated the mainstream media in our elections and now have Labour/Labor goverments. :-)
People forget that Australia started the win against the right in their election first before the UK and the French elections.
I am just glad we are both where we are now. 🙏