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shootin' the shit / Re: UK General Election 2024
« Last post by Oldmanmatt on Today at 08:37:31 am »Why are the party which has had almost unlimited funding, seems to best represent any potential Elites, has had unprecedented media support, had almost complete control of the state media, a massive majority in the house, more than a decade to cement control, seemingly about to be all but erased from power?We are allowed to switch between different sets of (very similar) people offering almost the same policies.
How, if this election is meaningless, if nobody’s votes count, despite the iniquities of FPTP and gerrymandered constituencies and further, despite policies dictated by opaque Think Tanks and vested interests, is this possible?
We aren't allowed to chose between different policies.
Really?
Sorry Stone, I respect and even agree with many of your aspirations for political and social change.
However, you are at liberty to vote for those policies, because there will almost certainly be some party or independent standing somewhere that closely aligns with your viewpoint…
Ah. Actually, probably not. There is a very low probability of such a candidate being available in your particular constituency.
So, it’s FPTP and a constituency based parliament that prevent you achieving representation for your desired goals ( not achieving the goals, merely representation to argue for those goals). Perhaps, but let’s imagine we switch tomorrow to full, non-constituency based, PR, how much representation would your policies achieve, do you imagine?
Enough to affect policy? I doubt it. There simply isn’t the broad public support required to bring the policies to fruition.
Here, I anticipate you will resort to the “Elites” argument and their control of public opinion.
Of course, it would be naive in the extreme to imagine that any vested interest or political ideology would NOT try to influence public opinion in their favour. That includes your own ideology. I would say, then, your biggest obstacle is that your ideology is not popular.
At a guess, you will respond along the lines of “the elites put up so many barriers to disseminating our ideology the people never get to hear it”. I will say, really? The internet has proved incredibly difficult to police and all kinds of ideologies, many that even the elites would dearly love to suppress, have proliferated, globally. Flippantly, you need to organise and recruit a few fellas that live in their parents basement and live online. Flippant, yes, but has a kernel of truth.
Then I would point out that many ideologies that the Elites in power within a given jurisdiction, have spread, underground and eventually lead to the collapse of that Elite. Even where the extent of that Elite’s power has encompassed extensive networks of informants, absolute control and monitoring of communications, complete control of education and the arrest and disappearance of those who even hint at dissent.
Because I believe, your problem is popularity, not the elites.
I’m certain you and Toxic, will have a rejoinder, most probably based around the elites dazzling and beguiling the population with cheap entertainments and populist, ridiculously simplified, buzz word, politics.
Anyway, I’ll wait to respond to what you actually put forward, except, one thing more in advance. See? Popular, again, the very nub, core, nucleus of “populism”.
Edit: Anyway, just vote Labour and begin the turn of the political steering wheel, then campaign as best you can, from within the party, who’s leadership are chosen by the party members after all, to increase representation for your ideologies. Essentially, accept that it is unlikely the the public are going to wake up to a universal epiphany tomorrow morning and overthrow the elites. You want that? Your going to have to work for it.