T_i_B
T_i_B's JournalWhat Jake Berry did here...
Was to totally undermine the argument he was making about protecting team sports.
When you consider the damage being done to grassroots sports by the pandemic, the last thing anybody needed was this clown making this into a class argument or a North v South argument when it is anything but.
I suspect that Mr Berry''s thought process has been warped by the "culture war" nonsense that's currently so fashionable on the right.
Cultism
The movement surrounding Corbyn was quite cultish and put loyalty to Corbyn ahead of everything else.
It wasn't a small movement either. Corbyn had significant grassroots support that dominated Labour. And Corbyn's supporters were often quite myopic with their focus on internal Labour Party issues above stuff that actually mattered to voters.
There was a leadership contest following the disastrous EU referendum, and Corbyn's lacklustre performance in that campaign, but the organisational network surrounding Corbyn, and the influx of new Labour members personally devoted to Corbyn ensured that the leadership challenge never really had a chance.
"Doubling down" is a major part of the Tory playbook
When right wing politicians and commentators get things badly wrong they don't admit their mistake as that would be a sign of weakness. Instead they "double down" and keep in digging themselves further into a hole.
Patel appears very strongly to be very much one of those who will never admit to any error. It's been a successful strategy for right wing politicians for a while. Even if it has created a hugely dishonest, wildly arrogant and incapable generation of politicians.
There's a lot of blame flying around at the moment
Truth be told, I think that people not respecting the rules, weak leadership from Westminster politicians and anti lockdown gobshites like Peter Hitchens and Piers Corbyn all have to take some of the responsibility.
The second wave is happening, and I fully expect full lockdown to return before too long. Winter conditions alone, with people not ventilating their homes as much will play a major part in things here.
When this is all over
We will need to have a constitutional convention to overhaul the British Constitution.
Lack of checks and balances has resulted in the British Constitution being completely broken by bad Conservative politicians.
Some major issues have come to light for the government
One is that people spend more money when they work in an office as opposed to working from home.
When I'm in the office I spend more on transport and food. If the papers weren't such a steaming pile of crap then maybe I might have considered buying one of those as well. There's also more opportunity to nip out to the shops to buy other things rather than buying stuff online. Some people also socialise straight after finishing at work. All this adds up to a lot of economic activity (especially in Central London) and the loss of this is hurting a lot of people.
This is a major reason why the press is so shrill on this point. They are losing a big chunk of their readership. To be honest I wish they would admit this point when shrieking about the supposed evils of working from home.
The second point is that this is having a dramatic effect on how and where people shop. Not just the move to buying online but also where I live it is very noticeable that people are keeping to the suburbs and out of the city centre.
The future looks very bleak for town centres. High Street retail is doing really badly and town centre living with it's lack of space is looking a lot less attractive than it used to. And homelessness, which is already a big problem in town centres is going to be an even bigger problem going forward.
That picture would get you an instant lifetime ban...
.... On the local community Farcebook group where I live. Partly because the admin is a Tory activist who works for a local Tory MP!
Needless to say that said local community Farcebook group does tend to be quite right wing as a result. Local community Farcebook groups often show off the best in local communities but they also frequently show off the worst side and I don't think this is always an accident.
Nevertheless, you can clearly see from these things how Tory voters are thinking at present. They are just as concerned about Coronavirus and social distancing as anybody else. And somebody trying to stoke up anti lockdown sentiment in such places will be sure to get a very hostile reception from all sides of the political spectrum.
I respectfully disagree
I don't buy into Coronavirus conspiracy theories or pillory Johnson every time he addresses the nation. I also think that the government has an unimaginably difficult job with this crisis. However, I do think that other nations governments have handled this better and the comparison to President Fart sets a very low bar.
The government has spurned cooperation with EU countries to a wholly unnecessary degree. The "herd immunity" strategy didn't work. The British government has often dithered in making unpleasant but necessary decisions and advice has often not been clear enough.
I was especially unimpressed with the way the government threw the hospitality sector under the bus by telling people not to go out but refusing to close bars and restaurants. And then announcing that they were closing restaurants at 5pm on a Friday night!
Once upon a time....
.... The Daily Telegraph used to be a pretty good newspaper. Always right wing yes, but it used to be well written and have good reporting of the news.
Those days are gone. Every time I read anything from the Torygraph at present on any subject it's cringingly bad.
Hmm...
Barry Gardiner is an atrocious politician who clearly doesn't have the slightest clue about his current policy brief or any desire to learn about his current policy brief. He is clearly the worst choice.
I'm not a fan of Thornberry at all and I certainly don't think she will do anything to stop the current hemorrhaging of Labour votes in traditionally Labour areas.
Lisa Nandy comes across as another Caroline Flint. Which is not what's needed at all. We need a leader of the opposition who will actually hold the government to account over the disastrous project to leave the EU.
Long Bailey is being portrayed as the "continuity Corbyn" candidate, which will be a blessing for her in this contest and a curse outside of the Labour Party. I don't find her especially inspiring to be honest.
I like a lot of what Clive Lewis has to say, but he has had sexual harassment allegations made against him, which will be used to attack him.
I agree with a lot of what Jess Phillips says, but she does come across as being extremely full of herself, and the Momentum wing of the party hate her guts.
I like some things about Kier Starmer, but there does seem to be a lot of people inside and outside the Labour Party with a grudge against him.
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