Politicians are incompetent... aren't they?

Sorry hilts, not sure what part of my post you're referring to as untrue?

I'm stating that not voting for one of the main parties because you don't trust politicians, but will instead vote for a party filled with the most untrustworthy politicians imaginable, makes no sense.
The OP makes absolutely no sense as he voted for Reform, and those that have replied n favour, seem to have voted in their own way.

Surely, if you think they’re all incompetent and not trustworthy, the protest vote is to not vote at all and fight to change it in other ways?
 
The OP makes absolutely no sense as he voted for Reform, and those that have replied n favour, seem to have voted in their own way.

Surely, if you think they’re all incompetent and not trustworthy, the protest vote is to not vote at all and fight to change it in other ways?
It’s the football equivalent of a City fan cancelling their Sky Sports subscription in protest of them showing too many United games, then deciding to purchase a United season ticket instead.
 
The OP makes absolutely no sense as he voted for Reform, and those that have replied n favour, seem to have voted in their own way.

Surely, if you think they’re all incompetent and not trustworthy, the protest vote is to not vote at all and fight to change it in other ways?
Labour nor the Tories are particuarly bothered by non voters, the tories and Labour worry about votes for reform like the tories did at one point with Ukip. A protest vote needn't be with someone you agree with. This isn't new, it's a warning thru a vote.
If people don't want to believe the poster was voting as a protest knock yourselves out. I haven't a clue as I don't know him, not sure why people think it's that important to be honest.
Trying to silence someone by putting them into a certain group isn't new on here though.
 
It’s the football equivalent of a City fan cancelling their Sky Sports subscription in protest of them showing too many United games, then deciding to purchase a United season ticket instead.
No it's the equivalent of say rag supporters wearing green and yellow and setting up another team in a shitty little stadium with shitty players. It failed but it was a protest and I'm sure they would have preferred the Glaziers to have changed or fucked off.
 
The OP makes absolutely no sense as he voted for Reform, and those that have replied n favour, seem to have voted in their own way.

Surely, if you think they’re all incompetent and not trustworthy, the protest vote is to not vote at all and fight to change it in other ways?
Why logically speaking does voting for Reform make no sense? We've had decades of Labour and Tory rule all of which for the past 30/40 years or more been a disaster. I am not for one minute advocating that Reform will be better but when the other parties have been tried to death what alternatives do we have.... If that logic makes me a Reform supporter then you all must be dafter than the proverbial (and much maligned and victimized, may I say) brush..

As the great Albert once said.... (not me) "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results"
 
Why logically speaking does voting for Reform make no sense? We've had decades of Labour and Tory rule all of which for the past 30/40 years or more been a disaster. I am not for one minute advocating that Reform will be better but when the other parties have been tried to death what alternatives do we have.... If that logic makes me a Reform supporter then you all must be dafter than the proverbial (and much maligned and victimized, may I say) brush..

As the great Albert once said.... (not me) "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results"

You think this Labour Party are like the Labour Party from previous decades ? You think this current Tory party have the same policies and ideals as the Tory party in the 70s & 80s ? Both have shifted ideals over time. This current Labour Party is probably the most centrist we’ve had - you constantly try and paint that they’ve all been a disaster so we ‘can try something different’ in going for a party linked with countless racism led by a frog faced **** that played a huge part in our exit of the EU - how was that for change by the way ? Because all we did was commit self inflicted economic damage on ourselves and made ourselves poorer - yes, let’s trust him again, what a great idea.

Why not push for the Greens or Lib Dems if you want something positively different?
What policies of Reform make you think this country will be so much better ?
 
The country is in a massive hole.

There are no simplistic solutions that will work. Rebuilding the country will be a long, slow and probably painful business.

Voting for Reform is like picking a new Manager for City off Hough End Fields. They are shysters who will make things even worse than they are.

The danger is that desperate people will grasp any rope - even if it turns out to be a king cobra smeared in elephant shit.
 
Why logically speaking does voting for Reform make no sense? We've had decades of Labour and Tory rule all of which for the past 30/40 years or more been a disaster. I am not for one minute advocating that Reform will be better but when the other parties have been tried to death what alternatives do we have.... If that logic makes me a Reform supporter then you all must be dafter than the proverbial (and much maligned and victimized, may I say) brush..

As the great Albert once said.... (not me) "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results"

Call me old fashioned, but voting for a party whose leader is a strong supporter of Russia, a country that is hostile to the United Kingdom and has committed crimes and acts of aggression on British soil is an act of treason in these perilous times.

Frankly, how any self-respecting patriot can bring themselves to vote for Reform is beyond me.
 
Call me old fashioned, but voting for a party whose leader is a strong supporter of Russia, a country that is hostile to the United Kingdom and has committed crimes and acts of aggression on British soil is an act of treason in these perilous times.

Frankly, how any self-respecting patriot can bring themselves to vote for Reform is beyond me.
The thing is though Bob there are going to be millions of people who are that sick and tired of the current parties that they will switch their votes.... so what is going so wrong?

There has to be something fundamentally wrong in our system that drives so many people to think like this.
 
Why logically speaking does voting for Reform make no sense? We've had decades of Labour and Tory rule all of which for the past 30/40 years or more been a disaster. I am not for one minute advocating that Reform will be better but when the other parties have been tried to death what alternatives do we have.... If that logic makes me a Reform supporter then you all must be dafter than the proverbial (and much maligned and victimized, may I say) brush..
Deciding to vote for Reform because the others have failed isn’t logical though. The idea that the main parties have failed, so let’s try the party with no serious policies, no experience, and plenty of inflammatory rhetoric isn’t a rational solution. It's like sacking an incompetent plumber and hiring a squirrel with a spanner because you haven’t tried that yet.

As the great Albert once said.... (not me) "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different
That’s the perfect quote for Reform; a vaguely clever soundbite that is entirely fabricated, and completely detached from reality.
 
Deciding to vote for Reform because the others have failed isn’t logical though. The idea that the main parties have failed, so let’s try the party with no serious policies, no experience, and plenty of inflammatory rhetoric isn’t a rational solution. It's like sacking an incompetent plumber and hiring a squirrel with a spanner because you haven’t tried that yet.


That’s the perfect quote for Reform; a vaguely clever soundbite that is entirely fabricated, and completely detached from reality.
Well we might as well just pack up and go home then.... what we have endured for decades has blatantly failed and the alternatives going forward (summarising your view) is worse...

Where the fuck do we go from here?

Metaphorically the squirrel might not be that bad an option (tongue in cheek)
 
Labour nor the Tories are particuarly bothered by non voters, the tories and Labour worry about votes for reform like the tories did at one point with Ukip. A protest vote needn't be with someone you agree with. This isn't new, it's a warning thru a vote.
If people don't want to believe the poster was voting as a protest knock yourselves out. I haven't a clue as I don't know him, not sure why people think it's that important to be honest.
Trying to silence someone by putting them into a certain group isn't new on here though.

If the only warning being sent is ‘I’m angry,’ and the vehicle for that warning is a party with no serious policies or moral compass, it risks strengthening something much worse than the status quo. History is full of protest votes that went too far and ended up setting the house on fire.

If Reform is the protest vote of choice, then it’s not just Westminster that’s in trouble, it’s public standards. When we start mistaking shouting for strategy, chaos for change, and recklessness for rebellion, we stop being a frustrated electorate and start being complicit in the farce. Reform isn’t a message to the system it’s a declaration by some voters that they have given up on serious solutions and are now willing to trade credibility for noise.

I'll add that if someone says something daft and ill-thought-out, they’re going to get a response. That’s not censorship, it’s consequences.
 
Labour nor the Tories are particuarly bothered by non voters, the tories and Labour worry about votes for reform like the tories did at one point with Ukip. A protest vote needn't be with someone you agree with. This isn't new, it's a warning thru a vote.
If people don't want to believe the poster was voting as a protest knock yourselves out. I haven't a clue as I don't know him, not sure why people think it's that important to be honest.
Trying to silence someone by putting them into a certain group isn't new on here though.
Nobody should be pigeon holed, and all should be heard.

We’re all Blues who should be able to discuss stuff, like you were sat in the ground, yet it feels like we have different clubs for politics.

I only have one political view, and that’s what’s right for our people, in that time and five years in the future.
 
The thing is though Bob there are going to be millions of people who are that sick and tired of the current parties that they will switch their votes.... so what is going so wrong?

There has to be something fundamentally wrong in our system that drives so many people to think like this.
No there doesn’t. People are fucking spoiled rotten. They have no idea how good they have it. Instead, social media brings them stories daily of people who have it “better” than they do, who got things they didn’t, and stories of who to blame. And those with shall we say less developed critical thinking skills, or no understanding of historical context, rail against the unfairness of it all.
 
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Well we might as well just pack up and go home then.... what we have endured for decades has blatantly failed and the alternatives going forward (summarising your view) is worse...

Where the fuck do we go from here?

Metaphorically the squirrel might not be that bad an option (tongue in cheek)
You’re right to feel frustrated and it’s easy to feel like everything’s broken. But I don’t think it’s true that it’s all been a disaster. The UK isn’t a failed state. Under Blair, for all his faults, the UK saw record investment in the NHS, schools rebuilt, child poverty reduced, and real steps taken on things like minimum wage and social mobility. It wasn’t perfect, but it showed what competent, values driven government can do when it tries.

Things began to unravel after the 2008 financial crash. The Tories came in, sold the public on austerity as if it were economic necessity rather than ideological choice, and we’ve been paying the price ever since. Labour meanwhile, lost its footing and has struggled to speak clearly and convincingly about the future.

Things went further downhill with Brexit, with one of the main casualties of that being public discourse. When was the last time there was a genuinely sensible national conversation about something like immigration? One that actually weighed both the benefits and the challenges without spiralling into fearmongering, dog-whistles, or ideological point-scoring? Immigration mainly becomes the lightning rod when deeper systemic failures go unaddressed and politicians find it easier to channel frustration toward outsiders than to own their own failures.

Reform isn’t fixing that, it’s exploiting the vacuum left by recent years of shallow political leadership. It offers easy targets instead of real plans, and in doing so, distracts from the actual work that needs to be done.

So yes, people are right to be angry. But backing a party like Reform isn’t a solution it’s a symptom of how lost the conversation has become. A protest vote might feel satisfying in the moment, but it risks making things much much worse, not better.

Where do we go from here? We don’t fix a broken system by throwing more chaos into it (look at the US). We fix it by showing up and engaging, challenging empty slogans, asking for real plans, and voting for people who lead with integrity and long-term thinking.
 
No there doesn’t. People are fucking spoiled rotten. They have no idea how good they have it.
Never a truer word spoken.

I'm reading a biography of a famous person who's great grandfather migrated to Liverpool from Ireland in the late 1800s.
The family lived in absolute squalid conditions in England (as did millions of others) with no clean water, not enough food, no heating, no flushing toilet, no government money, and very little health care.
Of the 10 children born, 7 babies died.
Even of things like diarrhoea were recorded as a cause of death.

Can anyone imagine living like that ?

And people today moan because supposedly...everything is wrong with the system.
 
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Never a truer word spoken.

I'm reading a biography of a famous person who's great grandfather migrated to Liverpool from Ireland.
The family lived in squalid conditions with no clean water, not enough food, no heating, no flushing toilet, no government money, and very little health care.
Of the 10 children born, 7 babies died.
Even of things like diarrhoea were recorded as a cause of death.

Can anyone imagine living like that ?

And people today moan because supposedly...everything is wrong with the system.
The absolute moaning . . . from people with internet connectivity and a device to access it, and enough education to read and write about politics (whether they should or not), who aren’t in a Higgins boat about to land on Omaha Beach — but, yeah, everything is all fucked up, so let’s take a chance choosing some people to lead us who told us that immigrants and transpeople are the main causes of ills in the western world. And let’s rip everything down because we don’t think Beyoncé should make as much money as she does or some shit.
 
You’re right to feel frustrated and it’s easy to feel like everything’s broken. But I don’t think it’s true that it’s all been a disaster. The UK isn’t a failed state. Under Blair, for all his faults, the UK saw record investment in the NHS, schools rebuilt, child poverty reduced, and real steps taken on things like minimum wage and social mobility. It wasn’t perfect, but it showed what competent, values driven government can do when it tries.

Things began to unravel after the 2008 financial crash. The Tories came in, sold the public on austerity as if it were economic necessity rather than ideological choice, and we’ve been paying the price ever since. Labour meanwhile, lost its footing and has struggled to speak clearly and convincingly about the future.

Things went further downhill with Brexit, with one of the main casualties of that being public discourse. When was the last time there was a genuinely sensible national conversation about something like immigration? One that actually weighed both the benefits and the challenges without spiralling into fearmongering, dog-whistles, or ideological point-scoring? Immigration mainly becomes the lightning rod when deeper systemic failures go unaddressed and politicians find it easier to channel frustration toward outsiders than to own their own failures.

Reform isn’t fixing that, it’s exploiting the vacuum left by recent years of shallow political leadership. It offers easy targets instead of real plans, and in doing so, distracts from the actual work that needs to be done.

So yes, people are right to be angry. But backing a party like Reform isn’t a solution it’s a symptom of how lost the conversation has become. A protest vote might feel satisfying in the moment, but it risks making things much much worse, not better.

Where do we go from here? We don’t fix a broken system by throwing more chaos into it (look at the US). We fix it by showing up and engaging, challenging empty slogans, asking for real plans, and voting for people who lead with integrity and long-term thinking.
Amen.
 
The absolute moaning . . . from people with internet connectivity and a device to access it, enough education to read and write about politics (whether they should or not) — but, yeah, let’s take a chance on some people who think immigrants and transpeople are the main causes of ills in the western world, and think we should rip it all down because Brad Pitt makes more money than they do.
The thing is, there are still plenty of countries where people live like I described in my post above. Where many babies still die and people go blind due to cataracts etc
We really are the very lucky ones in this world, people should appreciate that a lot more.
 

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