Keir Starmer wants to increase wealth inequality https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/06/04/keir-starmer-wants-to-increase-wealth-inequality/ Keir Starmer has said the Labour Party's goal is to increase wealth, which, given the structure of the UK, means the wealth of the already wealthy. Is that really what a so-called Labour Party should really be all about? And what does it say about his economics?
There seems to be something of an inconsistency between what polls are saying with regard to #UKGeneralElection2024 and what the main parties are reported to be doing. I will do my best to outline what I think may be going on. Hope someone will find it interesting.
The source that found that #uklabour was targeting over one hundred and seventy #conservative seats referred to #EnglandandWales only. Presumably somewhere between twenty and thirty #snp seats in #scotland are being targeted similarly. I hope this clarifies matters.
If one were to make the stylised assumption that any identified #groundgame was 50% effective that would leave the #conservatives with around two hundred and seventy seats and #labour with around two hundred and ninety seats - with the remaining sixty or so seats made up of twenty five #LibDems , about the same number from the #snp and the others making up the remainder.
They came for our land then they came for our oil and gas. Now they come for our green energy. Climate change will motivate them to come for our water. This will become a precious resource. . #ScottishWater#snp
If you wish to complain about @THESNP being excluded from TV debates - and the fairness of the media coverage during this election period - here's a link to the Electoral Commission website, where you can register a complaint.
Here is the (two dimensional) political placing of the parties in the forthcoming UK election from Political Compass....
If you thought you didn't have an awful lot of choice, the fact that all major parties are (on this assessment) siting in the blue (Right/Authoritarian) quadrant will confirm that suspicion
@ChrisMayLA6@melanie@PoliceStateUK It really irritates and annoys me to hear London journalists refer to #Labour and the #LibDems as 'centre left'. Objectively, of course, they're nothing of the sort -- but in the perversely distorted context of English politics, there is some (relative) truth to it.
But it's also really sad, from a Scottish context, so see how far right the #SNP are these days.
Lesley Riddoch here arguing, essentially, that we all have to bite our tongues, haud oor whischt, and vote #SNP, because "they're the only parliamentary route to #ScottishIndependence. I count Lesley as a friend and as someone I greatly respect, but I think she's wrong here: there is no longer a parliamentary path to independence.
@Loukas Voters will return, I think, and in very large numbers. I cannot see #Starmer's government being anything but a huge disappointment to voters in #Scotland.
But I think it will make no difference. The #SNP could win 80% of the vote in Scotland and Westminster would still not concede #ScottishIndependence; and, unless they can recruit much more able people, as long as the SNP seek to be in government in Scotland, they will never achieve that large a share of the vote. >>>
Labour activists in Jeremy Corbyn’s constituency have accused the national party of an “egregiously undemocratic selection process” after it chose a candidate without consulting the local branch.
Photo titled Praful Nargund founded a chain of IVF clinics with his mother, Geeta. He was anointed without even meeting the local Labour branch, activists said.
@Wen I'm increasingly worried about the prospect of a disUK #Labour government led by #Starmer and his cabal. He's totally abandoned the left.
My hope is that the majority of voters in #Scotland continue to support the #SNP who have by and large been a leftwing force for good in this country. I fear that significant Labour GE gains here would be catastrophic for devolution and for Scotland in general.
Whatever your views on independence, vote for your country, not England.
National service? Really?
No I'm not going to laugh. I have kids and would much rather they not get murdered for your arms companies chums and donors thank you.
Another thought, on #labour claiming some mystical flood of seats North of the border. Say that when it happens. We remember who did a better job of handling Covid, and if you had been in charge we'd have had the same death rate with London party telling "Scottish" branch what to do.
I mean, of course the #SNP might lose some. But it's hard not to when at one point it was 56/59 and Liebour Tories and LD had just one a piece. If that wasn't a statement of intent enough, why not have a UK wide referendum on keeping us on a leash or letting go (dumping, in fact as many would see it). Oil cash cow, wind power, water next.
2016 undid your threats and vows from 2014 and showed the clear difference at the border showing remain. Next vote should be EU/UK not yes/no.
While I would argue that the Greens also have Scotland's interest at heart (its just that FPTP screws them), this is a decent short article from Kate Forbes.
I don't intend to post every bit of Labour election material or for all candidates here, but this is Irene Campbell, my own Labour candidate in North Ayrshire.
Irene is an excellent candidate and will make an very good MP IMO.
In a sense of fairness and equity, I also post a photo of her main rival, Patricia Gibson MP of the SNP.
Of course, one of the the things we all need to be considering is how to vote tactically... so here for your consideration is one guide to how to vote tactically in your constituency.
Just type in you postcode for advice (based on polling) on how you might vote tactically to get the Tories out (or if you have other priorities, how to maximise the impact of your vote under the current FPTP system)
@ChrisMayLA6 The trouble with this is the risk of it being read as an endorsement of the challenger party -- which they will most certainly try to paint it as being. In my case, the obvious challenger is the #SNP, a party rapidly drifting to the right with no apparent strategic vision.
"Rishi Sunak’s fleeting visit should mark the beginning of an apology tour of #Scotland – and it's a reminder of why it's essential to vote #SNP to remove the Tory government and put Scotland first.
“This Tory government has been an unmitigated disaster for Scotland – imposing #Brexit, austerity cuts and a cost of living crisis, and denying Scotland's democratic right to choose our own future with independence."
Keir Starmer standing in front of a band of Labour supporters brandishing placards of the Union Jack emblazoned with the word “Change”, does not represent change for Scotland and its people.
“I couldn’t vote for a Labour Party because they back £18 billion of public sector cuts, they’ve chosen to walk away from green commitments. They now don’t want to be part of the single market in Europe and it’ll deny the people of Scotland a choice over its own future. That’s not change, that’s the very same thing that we have at the moment.”
Signed up for canvassing training - branching out after avoiding it before in favour of doing election telling and count agent stuff which is less terrifying to me (tho the first gets you yelled at by people who don't understand how elections work, and the second means one very long/exhausting night). Can recommend getting involved as it slightly reduces the feeling of 'could I have done more'.
@amberfirefly seriously thinking of canvassing for @ScottishGreens after literally thirty five years of canvassing for #SNP (and last five years of not canvassing at all).
I'm not saying the Greens are wonderful, they're not. I'm not saying I think they can win. However!
We do need to get rid of the #Tories, we do need #ScottishIndependence, but we also need to reverse the SNP's steady drift to the right, or we won't get either.
@amberfirefly@ScottishGreens it's complicated. Essentially, the #SNP have far and away the best chance of evicting the #Tories here. The @ScottishGreens are likely to come fourth. But, in the midst of a #ClimateEmergency, the SNP have just announced that their primary policy objective is economic growth, and additionally, they've just elected a very socially conservative deputy leader, whom I cannot support.
She's competent, but that only makes her more dangerous.
Austerity, Brexit, Covid Lockdown Parties, PPE Scandal, Raw Sewage in UK Waterways & Coastal Areas, Economic Crash, Record Inflation, Record Interest Rates, Cost of Living Crisis, Pensions Decimated, Mortgage Rises, NHS in Crisis, Schools Crumbling, Housing Crisis...