IntenseDebate - Thepleb

4 years ago @ http://www.conservativ... - Teresa O'Neill: Cuttin... · 0 replies · +1 points

Let's face it, most councils are run by a handful of portfolio holders, say 12 and a similar number of senior officers. Quite often many of the rest do very little except vote as their party instructs ( or they lose their nominations) and seek publicity within their wards, sometimes organising minor events and dealing with a small number of resident's complaints.
What's important is the quality of councillors, not the number. Something that worries the parties very little, they just want bums on seats and people to turn out to help with election campaigns. It results in some strange individuals being elected. This applies to all the major parties and it's not good.

4 years ago @ http://www.conservativ... - We need strategic clar... · 8 replies · +1 points

All I know is that I'm sick of Islamic extremists bringing their vicious internal religious disputes on to our streets or involving our citizens. What they do to each other within their home countries, whilst horrible and surely displeasing to their God, is up to them and we must mind our business but once they cross the line and attack other religions in other nations then they must expect us to defend ourselves.
Freedom to worship within the UK is essential but that does not extend to failing to comply with our own most important cultural rules or laws for religious reasons.

4 years ago @ http://www.conservativ... - As 2020 begins, we loo... · 0 replies · +1 points

If and it's a big if, Boris actually delivers what he's promised, the "new" Conservative party will have little resemblance to the old one and be much better for it. It will not be easy, at national and especially local levels it will be hard to change attitudes to reflect the reality of winning an election on so called working class votes. There are already signs in the New Year honours that the government is ignoring the huge demand for reform that exists throughout the country. Boris got away with his dead in a ditch comment. He stands no chance of doing the same again without a significant backlash.
Get things right this time round and the spiteful Labour left could be destroyed, fail and there will be another revolt, starting at the next local election cycle. People will look for other ways to express their disapproval now we have no more EU elections to use as a protest.
I hope we all get to enjoy a much better year and decade in 2020, we deserve it. Happy New Year.

4 years ago @ http://www.conservativ... - The year in which the ... · 2 replies · +1 points

I greatly doubt that Labour can find a new leader who can get them elected in the foreseeable future. You guys were lucky to get Boris and had better hope he delivers where it really matters, the trade talks.
Should Nigel decide to kick off his Reform Party based loosely on TBP but more appealing to traditional Labour people and more left wing Tory Eurosceptics, that could be a very different challenge. If that does not fly people like me will have to consider rejoining the Tories and agitating from inside again.

4 years ago @ http://www.conservativ... - The year in which the ... · 1 reply · +1 points

"a final say referendum". Hard cheese old boy, that ship has sailed and it sank shortly after the GE.
No one died and a new vessel with a different captain is fitting out now.

4 years ago @ http://www.conservativ... - The year in which the ... · 2 replies · +1 points

Well, Boris, despite considerable dithering once the race started, got the result he wanted, with help from Nigel and against a background of an unelectable labour leader. A sharp lesson for the anti-democratic remain camp.

Sadly I expect the Conservatives to convince themselves they now have a mandate for business as usual but that's not the case. If the electorate have demonstrated anything in recent years it's that they will not be taken for fools, in the referendum, EU elections, local ones and the GE they have shown they are quite capable of humbling politicians and will remember how to do it next time too.
This government will be expected to keep their promises and if they do we could all be living in a better place as soon as this time next year. They will have much work to do that and should they fail it will be political death by a thousand cuts.
I like the way the New Tories seem to be going and hope they succeed but they will have to remember they are in power only at the will of non Conservative voters and need to act accordingly.

4 years ago @ http://www.conservativ... - The limits of support ... · 0 replies · +1 points

As with many others I find it hard to define "One Nation" anything. Should it be intended to convey the belief that we are all in the same vote, economically and socially, that's not going to happen under a government from any of the old parties. Far too many vested interests come into play. The best we can hope for is something acceptable to the overall majority, not the parliamentary majority, which is very different.
It's going to be an interesting year, will Boris negotiate with the EU anything beneficial to us. Will Labour split ? Will Nigel go ahead with the Reform Party, now he's sacrificed TBP on the alter of the May-Boris deal. Will we end up leaving on WTO terms about this time next year. How much of the very vague manifesto will he actually implement ?

4 years ago @ http://www.conservativ... - The limits of support ... · 0 replies · +1 points

In truth we have elected a PM rather than a party and that because the alternative ( Corbyn) was unthinkable.
We just don't know how hard he will negotiate with the EU or what his domestic policies will actually be. Just now he seems to be saying the right things. So did Blair in his early days.
I will wait a year before deciding if to support the Tories again but local issues will now become the focus of my attention, not national ones. I suspect all those Labour and BP supporters will be doing the same thing. Have we got ourselves a decent frozen turkey or one of those green supermarket ones ? Time will tell.

4 years ago @ http://www.conservativ... - Greig Baker: Voters de... · 0 replies · +1 points

It's hard to overestimate just how dangerous Corbyn could be and huge numbers of non Tories voted Conservative because we could see the risk of him becoming PM. It's the main reason you gained such a big majority.
I have to admit that Boris seems to understand this and so far his words are encouraging. However so were Blair's when he was elected and look at how that turned out.
Provided all those new northern MPs manage to keep the Government's feet on the ground domestic policies and Brexit could work out fine. We will watch and see what happens.

4 years ago @ http://www.conservativ... - Louise Goldsmith: Cryi... · 0 replies · +1 points

Then perhaps government needs to subsidise site clearance or the areas will just sit and rot.

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