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Post by marispiper on May 3, 2024 9:09:04 GMT
Yes, very funny He is instantly recognisable but 'rules is rules' ...especially as he made 'em😁
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Post by hild1066 on May 3, 2024 12:05:01 GMT
Except it was probably a PR stunt and it worked. He's all over the headlines. Apparently 4% of voters were turned away because they had the wrong ID. I really don't understand why an OAP Bus Pass/Railcard works when a Disabled Adult pass/railcard doesn't similarly why doesn't a young person's railcard not work. If you can take an out of date passport with you, why can't you use a Student Card.
All of these are validated by the issuer.
Very pleased our local councillor stayed in. He's LD but always out and about trying to sort things out and makes a point of calling every six months to see if you have any issues. He lives here and knows the area. Reform reckoned they would get 25 seats on the council here but they didn't get one. The thing is in a small city like Sunderland, people tend to know the councillors they are voting for and some of the Reform candidates were dubious to say the least. Some were only Reform because standing as National Front might get them arrested!!
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Post by hild1066 on May 3, 2024 14:29:13 GMT
www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newslondon/military-vet-turned-away-from-polling-station-because-staff-wouldn-t-accept-his-id/ar-AA1o2PlE?ocid=BingNewsSerpWhy would this man think his 'Veterans Card' be valid ID. What is a bloody 'Veterans Card' anyway? Do you get discount in Wetherspoons or priority appts at the GP. Good grief, when did we start calling anyone who spent a few years in the services a 'veteran'. There's a chap here who spent two years in the Navy working in a warehouse driving a forklift in Portsmouth and he goes on like he was up the mainsail at Trafalgar. I bet he has one of these cards, I bet he deliberately drops it at tills and bars so that people can see it too. What about other people, don't their years of service warrant 25% off a pint. I actually have no idea what this card does and I know for sure my father wouldn't have wanted anyone to waste public money on anything like this, he'd have wanted it spent on hospitals and education. I am probably the only one here who thinks this, but these people weren't conscripted and if he did 27 years in the military good for him, but what about someone who taught for 40 years?!
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Post by marispiper on May 5, 2024 16:35:00 GMT
Oh I do hope they call an election soon after this disastrous weekend for the Tories. What's the point of prolonging the agony?
Mind you, I do worry about a huge Labour majority...you just know a lot of extreme groups (who have been lying low) will emerge again, and loudly..
Someone told me that Cameron is lined up as a possibility for Conservative leader. Strewth...
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Post by hild1066 on May 5, 2024 20:23:50 GMT
I don't think the extreme left will get any leeway from Starmer he doesn't like extreme anything and he's very strong on discipline. One of the reasons some majorities weren't as big was because he suspended several Muslim councillors and officials from the party over their quotes on Gaza and Israel.
Although how one man being elected as a Councillor in Oldham is going to help resolve the conflict is beyond me. Then you are entitled to stand and it is democracy.
It's no good saying turnout was low, it's still democracy and I would be against mandatory voting and fines. That's a whole level of bureaucracy we don't need. People have the right to vote and if you choose not to fair enough. If that means only 18% of the country voted for the winning party, it's just how it is.
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Post by marispiper on May 6, 2024 16:00:33 GMT
Agree about voting and choosing not to. However, it does fill me with dismay when people are ambivalent. The right to vote was hard fought, a privilege and a civic duty.
Mind you Hildie - the average citizen is ambivalent, nay ignorant of politics,never mind voting!
It concerns me that Gaza would be a driver in some constituencies. Hence Galloway. I think it should be off the table in a GE.
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Post by hild1066 on May 8, 2024 12:08:34 GMT
Sorry Maris, I missed this.
Gaza won't be off the table I'm afraid, neither will immigration and benefit scroungers. It's like a broken record isn't it.
Yes, the average citizen is ambivalent about politics, mostly because nobody has told them what it means and that they can do anything about it. To me it doesn't matter if you are the only Labour voter in the whole of Fern Gully, get along and vote for who you want. It was really good to see lots of Independent councillors getting in. They're always useful on a council because they need convincing to vote for things and often the thing they garnered votes for becomes an issue another party can pick up. Having proved that 6,500 people voted for them, is often enough to persuade others it is a useful idea. There's no loss in these things, Independents can be very useful comrades.
As to Starmer being worried about this Gaza issue encroaching on Labour votes. Undoubtedly it will but he won't move too far towards them. He has already said that there should be ceasefire and a two state solution, but he's not going to appease them by saying more. He has already dismissed Labour members for tweets and comments about Israel, he won't budge on it. When it comes to an election the people who voted this way in the local elections may change their minds. Muslims aren't one amorphous mass and they vote for all of the parties and none. The rise of secular Muslims is little reported but it is a known thing. By that I mean people born Muslim who no longer practice any form of religion. He'll ride it out.
Today's news is that another Tory has crossed the House and joined Labour, Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover says she is joining Labour because of housing concerns and border security.
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