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The Reform Party and the UK’s lurch towards fascism
I posted an earlier version of this a while back - inspired to do update following THAT discussion about all things ULEZ.
The “manifesto”, in terms of transport, only mentions stopping HS2, but there’s plenty on the usual right-wing obsessions: Brexit, immigration, veterans and climate change. I had another look because I worry about the ongoing decline of the two main political parties.
If the Cons stay wedded to Brexit, then we will go into the next GE with all the widespread impoverishment Brexit has ushered in - not helped by Covid, Putin, etc. People generally vote according to their pockets. I don’t get Labour’s current position on Europe either, but let’s see how that evolves, and even the Cons may also evolve, or even pivot, but time is already running out for them.
Several roads now lead to the horrors of a further lurch to the right in this country. Let’s hope Labour get the GE landslide the polls are predicting - but we’re still at least a year out from the real campaigning beginning.
A cycling angle? With the Reform Party and its ilk, Facebook Steve and Nextdoor Dave attain real political influence. It’s not spelt out in the manifesto, but you can see where this is probably heading and what it is likely to mean for cycling. You can bet that this lot are very much "on the side of hard working drivers" etc.
As you all know, Dave’s going to “sort the traffic” and no doubt show them lazy planners how it’s done: Steve thinks the Council are corrupt, the police blinkered and is, if he can fit it in to his busy schedule he’s going to “teach them Lycra’s a thing or two.” It won’t concern him that his Mondeo is 3 months out of MoT or that Mrs Steve sometimes drives the kids in it uninsured.
As vulnerable road users, vulnerable people, we rely a great deal on the rule of law for protection. The rule of law means that we understand what the laws are, they are in general fair, and how they are applied and to whom is even-handed and consistent.
The fascist position is broadly the opposite - it’s all off-the-cuff to support today’s particular agenda - that’s why the Iain Duncan-Smith “happy to see ULEZ infra vandalised” comment is, as an example, so very worrying. In the Conservatives, here is a party happy to send signals to enable the mob to attack RNLI stations, beat up immigrants, shout at teachers, doctors etc.
This right-wing stuff works by allowing/enabling significant privileged groups to to think of themselves as the downtrodden underdog and here is a way to fight back. The pro Brexit campaign played on people’s ignorance, fears and prejudices exactly as this does.
It’s all about freedom, innit, less regulation, less tax burden, and damn the climate. There’s more polar bears now, so it’s fine. Let’s have open-cast coal mining, lithium mining and fracking. The section on climate change stumbles around like a Friday night drunk, trying to explain he wasn't being racist to the barman - a denier position emerges, unsurprisingly.
In places, the mask really slips: “We must keep divisive woke ideologies such as Critical Race Theory (CRT) and gender ideology out of the classroom.” - to be honest, I don’t even know what those two are.
The standard enemies are put up - the civil service, the BBC. Amid all the thrust and parry, there’s nothing about making a better, more inclusive and cohesive world to live in; arts, sports and culture don’t feature in this barstool view of the world: a dullard’s grim vision.
Don’t be a member of the wrong sort of minority would be my advice, should any of this come to pass.
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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On Trump and the RNC, did anyone see this story:
Barrage of hate from far-right Trumpists to Sikh prayer at Republican convention
Toxic response to prayer from pro-Trump Harmeet Dhillon, leading figure on Republican national committee
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/18/republican-natio...
She's a Trump-supporting Sikh, very wealthy and high up in the GOP. Asking her to make a prayer didn't go down too well with the RNC attendees:
Leopard loving man has face bitten off by leopard. I condemn racism in all its forms, but we're in the same territory as with Zia Yusuf / Reform highlighted by Hirsute last week.
Where did you buy your crystal ball, again?
And another thing: has anyone noticed how nobody has tried and failed to shoot Trump since he won the election? I'm not saying it could have been an inside job for publicity purposes, but still…
Some armed bloke was shot by the white house in the last few days.
I'm surprised zelenskyy didn't lay him out !
That's nearly as bad as 'wall crashed into car'.
" Reform UK Twitter is still having a bit of a meltdown about the Zia Yusuf Chair news. "
...subjugating everyone with their army of savage ebooks.
Adobe-wallah? Cleaning up people's
laundrypoorly-laid-out texts?Most of those comments manage to be sad and funny at the same time. I particularly liked '' it's a faith that conquers and takes over land''. A bit like the christian crusades then. And I wonder how many people who say this is a christian country actually attend church?
And here's your problem when you've founded your movement on hate and lies, it's jolly hard to know what the rules actually are, and to make it more complicated still such rules as there may be are likely to be different to last week's.
Click bait title, but that's your freedom of speech, I suppose.
The far right is the Project 2025 of US MAGA Republicans who plan to make a fascist dictatorship for #45 who will be a dictator, revoke the Constitution, remove power from the Legislature and Judiciary to concentrate power in the Executive in other words, him. He has no interest in citizens rights or freedom.
"I don't care about you, I just want your vote." Donald Trump 6/9/24
Whilst one may disagree with NF, there's no suggestion that freedom of speech is at risk in the UK like it is in USA.
"UK’s lurch towards fascism" is not accurate. Conservatives split into Lib Dems and Reform is more accurate. Lib Dems got the most seats and Reform the least, so a net move left.
Though I can't prove this, I suspect that the FSB is working hard to undermine democracy in all sovereign nations who oppose the terrorist state and its illegal war in Ukraine. Isolationist attitudes undermine the alliances that support peace and prosperity so that the terrorist state can be held accountable.
Well, unless it's your freedom to discuss gender issues or history through a racial lens in schools...
Welcome to The Reform Party and the UK’s lurch towards fascism. I guess the title has had the desired effect.
Google "Overton Window" - until this week, we had normalised things that would have been distinctly right-wing not so long ago.
The story now is of the hollowed-out (post-Johnston) remnants of the Conservative Party meeting together and sounding like a group of economic anc historical fruit-loops the equivalent of the so-called Looney Left. Feel free to drive yourselves ever further into unelectable irrelevance, guys.
Meanwhile, I'm not seeing anything from the "wet" end of the Conservatives - maybe their ground old ground has been stolen by Labour?
Also under 'huge if true" is the growing story of fake Reform candidates standing in some constituencies. Easily cleared-up, of course.
Are they like all those candidates who turned out to be standing as Conservatives without ever mentioning it on their campaign literature*?
*Except for small print saying that it was paid for by CCHQ
Were they actually bots?
The one who's been highlighted on social media near where I live is easy to trace. Sometimes 'paper' candidates are shy, and sometimes parties don't promote them because they're embarassing. So the one near me can be traced, and when you look at their social media there's not a lot of it, but some of it smells like TERF spirit - Reform don't want anyone distracting from the cult of Nigel by geetting into debates, so the candidate is simply there to be the peg on which Nigel's persoanl vote can be hung.
I wouldn't worry to much about Labour and EU. tories and Farage have already shown us that u-turns are par for the course and wholly acceptable.
Starmer's U-turns are apparently quite dangerous though:
https://road.cc/content/news/witness-starmer-was-making-u-turn-when-he-hit-cyclist-278313
I didn't even remember but we had a vote in 2011 on whether to have stv but 2/3 rejected the idea.
I wonder if it is time to rethink.
Mind you I'm a bit dubious of the ability of the average person to cope with it.
NO NO NO we had a referendum* on AV, THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE is clear you ARE SUBVERTING DEMOCRACY TAKING AWAY OUR FPTP DREAM
* I'd forgotten too
We had an undiscussed and non promoed vote on a single flavour of PR voting. It was a coalition requirement from the LibDems and the Tories did it whle refusing to support it and actively campaigning against it. What we need is a mature discussion of forms of PR and a decision as to which best suits our democracy. PR for Holyrood works quite well, being designed to allow all parties a reasonable shot at seats. Personally I feel we also need a proper written and agreed constitution as opposed to one written on 50million sheets of deer arse held in an underground vault...
If a new system of voting could drive up the 60% turnout, I'd listen.
Apparently the Russian and North Korean ones see high turnout...
Isn't it an offence not to in Australia? "Don't like any of us? That'll cost you..." Although I believe you can just "spoil your ballot".
I seem to recall that the last election in Russia had a turnout of about 120%
This was actually the truth - enthusiasm was so high * that many went and voted for the candidate twice or more!
* Among state employees like the military, the police, the "organs of state security" and anyone not wanting to lose their employment or pension in the near future.
Last night I was taking photos of flower beds for 'Bloom' down at the village hall where the Polling Station was. Despite a turnout of only 58%, it was very busy with an incessant turnover of cars queing up, voters coming out of them and then driving off again. I saw no other cyclists and very few pedestrians. There's no Active Travel at all up here- it's midsummer and I rarely see any cyclists.
I went to vote on my way home from work. The voting station was at the village hall, right in the middle of my village. I saw two people pedestrianising (with their dogs) and the car park was full (ten cars, maybe?). I was the only cyclist.
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