kmacdonald.bsky.social
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If the right regain power in Britain one of their key objectives would be to bring that situation here. They would lift all limits and rules about donations, including those preventing money from abroad and allow TV advertising of politics. All this would be done under the label of "free speech".
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I do not see how she can survive, certainly beyond the English local elections. Robert Jenrick is campaigning like mad and it is difficult to see how the party can avoid a pact of some kind with Farage before the next election.
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I think you have put your finger on a real problem for Farage. Let's hope he never solves it.
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The tragedy is that, officially at least, the idea of community is not supposed to exist in the USA. It does of course but the political system is very effective at stifling it.
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I have found the same thing though I haven't got to the seat stage yet (joke). School pupils will normally tell me to board first in the bus queue. A war between the old and the young is another conflict we mustn't let the right stir up.
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I think the problem in the States is that the Constitution is outdated. The gun rights provision refers to a militia, which was understandable post - revolution, but is hopelessly anachronistic now.
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I am not sure how you entrench any set of values beyond the reach of a would be dictator. The best guarantee is a well educated public and healthy public discussion. We clearly have a way to go.
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I agree about the importance of having effective markets in many area of our economy. That is quite different from the rhetoric of the right who advocate for wealthy individuals and big companies and actually dislike competitive markets.
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We could go on forever which is why I suggested thinking about a more formal discussion on how we convince the majority that the liberal democratic system, for all its imperfections, is the best for them.
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I think you are making assumptions about Trump voters. Many of them are very different from British Brexit supporters.
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I can't think of any better system of democratic control than the supremacy of Parliament , subject to regular recall by voters. Referenda suffer from uncertainty about wording and the absence of anyone responsible for implementation. (Brexit).
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An interesting historical argument Robert but I don't think that's what really matters at the moment. Powerful people are determined to impose their will on the rest of us and they will do so in the name of democracy. We must have a clear vocabulary to resist them.
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I don't agree that this is democracy because it makes no allowance for opinion to change. I wonder if you have ever thought of organising or suggesting to colleagues a symposium/conference on this topic ?
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I don't see how you can have an authoritarian democracy and, even if it existed, that is not what the modern right are after. They want to make sure that, having got power, they can never be removed.
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I don't think it's a battle between different forms of democracy. The "strong-men" use democratic processes to gain power but then subvert those processes to prevent any defeat in the future. That is what Trump is doing and that is what Farage and the Tories would do if they got power in Britain.
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It's not just Brexit we have to worry about. It's the whole complex of right-wing nationalist authoritarianism. We have to see the entire threat. What is happening in the US could happen here after the next election.
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There is an appreciation of music or rhythm at least which must be pretty basic to humans.
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Thanks for that. I am not religious and, I'm sorry to say, not much of a musician but there is consolation at least in the excellence and dedication of all involved. The better side of humanity - which we will need to try to keep in mind over the next few years.
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Thanks.
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Thanks. You seem to have covered everything. I am looking at this as I think a Labour strategist should and would therefore want to be ready to face a full Trump-style populist in every seat against the background of continuing economic difficulties and with the SNP taking seats in Scotland.
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Thanks. I am not trying to predict the next election. I am trying to point out a danger, and progressives have not been good at spotting that so far. The assumption that there is no way that Farage and the Tories could come to an agreement seems to me wrong.
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Second if world economic conditions get worse there will be a sense of crisis and Labour will get the blame. People will likely turn to the right, particularly if they stand on a disguised platform of reform rather than their reactionary intentions.
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Two caveats. If you add polling numbers for "Reform" and the Tories together there is a big enough gap over Lab/Lib Dems to leave room for defections and still give a right-wing majority at the election.
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It isn't really interesting to see how "Reform" develops. It needs to be beaten as soon as possible. It is a fundamental threat to our democracy.
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People of course don't remember the past. There is evidence that they have a very limited understanding of the general state of the country. In a country whose economy has been failing for decades and which is ludicrously unbalanced they feel their own lives are at best insecure.
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It's amazing that some nationalists think that the false promise to get rid of Trident is still a vote winner.
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The only good thing I can see in all this is that it may serve as a warning to other countries (us in the UK ?) about the dangers of right-wing nationalism.
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This is right and could have been partially achieved at least if
there had been a confirmatory vote on the actual withdrawal terms. That should have been written in from the start.
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This is important. It looks as if the US could become a dictatorship of the ignorant. That will struggle against China if the Chinese can maintain a much better informed dictatorship.
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Same to you Susie. Your appreciation of the wonders of language is a spark of humanity when we need it most.
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Take your point Robert but since Musk etc. will get propaganda value out of a move and do their best to get round it, we have to get it right. That would mean laying the groundwork in the public's mind, something the government is hopeless at.
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Good lung exercise.
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It's pretty obvious that, under Trump, all sorts of crypto con artists will be given free rein. There will be a massive boom, followed by a gigantic crash that could outdo 1929. Rational governments, like the UK, need to make sure their economies are not devastated when this happens.
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They are indeed. The lack of public understanding of economic principles and basic facts is a major reason why people like Trump get away with things.
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A very timely piece. However bad things are now, another right wing government would make them much worse since fixing elections would be a key part of its strategy. Labour has been warned.
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Totally agree.
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Spot on and I agree about shouting from the rooftops. Somehow or other we have to get through to Keir.
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We are going to need your voice of economic sanity even more (I am sure you know) as we descend into the abyss of totalitarianism.
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You are right. Although Brexit cannot currently be reversed, there are lessons to be learned from it. The process's false democracy and the right's lying should ensure we never trust them again. The whole thing shows the futility of nationalism as opposed to real patriotism.
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Absolutely right. A small patch of humanity in a sea of vicious stupidity.
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Would I be right in saying that the baby has memory traces of smell sound etc but they are not assembled into a concept of a person? When dad returns all the traces fire off together?
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Agree Robert. What happened in the US could easily happen here at the next election.
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I suspect Trump and his associates will move on from coal. It has served its purpose in helping him establish a base in some working class areas. I feel that, just now, we don't really know what Trump is going to try to do and that he is in the same position.
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Did Johnson have any political principles at all ? He supported fashionable causes at the time but I don't think they meant anything to him.
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It's decent of many of his political opponents to be kind about John now. Some of them sneered at him when he was DPM and I hope they regret that and reflect on the way people like Angela Rayner are treated.
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Thanks Sam. I expect no more of these will emerge so civil servants can get back to proper work. Only the Scottish Greens seem to have an appetite for this kind of unimaginative fiction.
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Basically we have to work closely with other European countries on security. They should realise that they need us as much as we need them and that is the basis for all stable and reliable agreements.
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The right have certainly learned how to exploit misery and fear and they are pretty good at creating it too.