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forum
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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Latest Comments
- john_smith 1 min 41 sec ago
Any your comment is remarkable for its analytical rigour and the charm with which was presented. Congratulations.
- David9694 17 min 33 sec ago
Amberley Close blocked by ambulance 'for hour' over parking...
- kingleo 31 min 43 sec ago
I can't understand what difference giving a dangerous cyclist who kills somebody a longer prison sentence will do - it will not be a deterrent,...
- Griff500 41 min 58 sec ago
The head to head test referenced in the article touches on this. Apparently there are some reviews omitting the weight of batteries and cables when...
- Metalfan1 42 min 57 sec ago
Do you still have to re-proof jacket? Shakedry you did not which was a big advantage . The tests I see haven't mentioned this? Regards, Max.
- mattw 2 hours 4 min ago
As I note, Notts for one are doing a trial on this. https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/transport/travel-notts/electric-vehic...
- chrisonabike 3 hours 8 sec ago
More malicious compliance: perhaps one day per year could be nominated as "here's what you get when you discourage active travel" day. All those...
- Backladder 3 hours 5 min ago
There is so much prior art of things that use standard sized removable batteries that I have difficulty seeing this. I'd like to see Shimano or...
- andystow 3 hours 19 min ago
Don't worry, we've got your 40,000 actually killed over here in the USA. Hell, we had over 1711 in 2023 just in Georgia, a state with 1/6 the...
- wtjs 3 hours 32 min ago
Roger. Thanks for the correction
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119 comments
Death, sex, religion and
helmetspolitics - how many people, beholden to 1950s books on good manners are still being oh so British about these topics? When these issue do eventually force their way to the surface, it often gets out of hand because as a people are out of practice in handling them. It's like when we're called on as a nation to dance and sing.We get the politics and government that we invest in. I can hear my old Gran saying things like "there's people starving in Africa" and "worse things have happened at sea" - funny to think that the current defence of 10 years of Tory government draws largely on her collection of stoic sayings.
"I think we're about to be taken over by Reform UK at the next Election".
"They are down there ... let me help"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3GJycgu-cs
''In the year of Darkness (what happened to them?) 2029, the rulers of this planet devised the ultimate plan. They would reshape the future by changing the past''. Only six years to go then.
It's not over until the bells end?
Nah, that timeline is now way out, 2029 is based on the fact that Skynet became self-aware in 1997.
I've been to a 1980's exhibition at my local museum and that was one of the film posters on display. They also had a Raleigh Vektra kids bike on display - on board computer, radio and an assortment of arcade type sounds which could be unleashed while riding along. Nice. The only thing was it weighed nearly 20kg which ultimately led to its demise.
They had one of those on Yesterday's electronic workshop restoration show.
Give me the simplicity of the Burner anyday.
They had a Burner as well.
Oh god I knew there'd be a graph coming.
Fortunately we have a choice, we can vote Labour because they aren't in the corporations pockets like those other fascists . . . . .
Labour partly rows back on workers’ rights pledges
Party amends plan to bolster protections for gig economy as it boasts of ‘pro-business’ credentials
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/aug/18/labour-party-workers-ri...
Oh well, looks like the Socialist Party will be getting my vote again then.
Yeah - the point of being in power is being in power. Other concerns are secondary.
Recall Peter Mandelson being "intensely relaxed" about people getting filthy rich. Although many years later he did wish to change the record on that...
Probably best get lobbying your local lugal and get some improvements for active travel where you are at least. I suspect that - with a minimum standard of quality and connection - and once you cross the 10% (say) of journeys cycled threshold - it's clear wins for everyone going forward.
Plus all positions of the the UK political spectrum should be able to spin it as aligned with their ideology. Socialist (equitably distributed benefits no matter if you're rich, poor, have disabilities, are old, are a child - although actually it's great for people driving also). But also a "facilitating private enterprise / smaller state / individualist" party ought to be able to see benefit too!
It doesn't matter who you vote for: the Government always gets in.
Just got back from a ride - anything much happened here?
All is forgiven
Peace through Chess
"We are inviting the local authorities (LAs) who received funding under the Levelling Up Parks Fund (LUPF), to submit an expression of interest (EOI) to receive an additional £2,500 of funding for the purchase and installation of a chess table and accompanying seats or benches in their local parks and/or green spaces."
Stalemate - game drawn by constant repetition...
What a rubbish post.
Ssshhhhh now. The adults are talking.
Oh look who's back! Nice of you to say hello.
Hello.
Now shouldn't you be off getting your school uniform ready for your return to school? Or don't they wear uniform in first school anymore?
Haha - you call yourself an adult? If you are that mature, sort it out and maybe post sense, or at least stop showing yourself to be a fool every time you think you are "funny" by commenting on everything I do.
Oh, nice school cap but....sorry to break this to you, but the D is supposed to be showing at the front.
Man up
That's so funny. I see, Troll, you have changed your name again. Sad.
Now remember, the crayons go in your pencil case, not up your nose.
Critical Race Theory is mainly an investigation into how and why society has systemic racism built into it. It's a mix of history, sociology, pyschology, economics and politics.
As far as gender ideology goes, the more basic idea is to respect people and their choices. If someone wants to be referred to by a certain title or pronoun, then it's just common decency to try to abide by that and not deliberately insult them.
In my opinion, the overriding characteristic of far-right politics is to designate an out-group as being a major cause of trouble to people/society/economics and to then de-humanise them and attempt to cause as many problems for them as possible. Obviously this is opposite to the purpose of human societies, where we should attempt to work together and help each other. It seems that the current major target in the UK are refugees that are being labelled as "illegal immigrants" and being denied appropriate channels to apply for asylum - hence the rise of "small boats" and the misery and deaths that go along with them.
Edit: Just seen this article on The Ganduria: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/01/home-office-defies-high-court-by-placing-100-asylum-seeker-children-in-hotels
It seems that deliberate cruelty is now a feature of our government and I blame everyone that voted for them.
Completely agree.
In my long and boring life, I have seen the following "outgroups" picked on by the Tories: Mods/Rockers, Punks, Miners/those who stood up for their workers rights, New Age Travellers, Single Mums, the unemployed/ benefit claimants etc etc etc.
Whereas, the actual cause of most of the issues in the UK currently are the policies of the Tory party and their supporters. For example, how many billions were stolen by their supporters during the worse of Covid (it is currently on the increase but you won't hear that on the BBC)? I think the answer is countless billions.
And as we need to remember, two songs which sums up how I feel about the Tories:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-yZIOrt02s&t=2s *
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apWE0puBAPY&t=1s
* Almost 40 years since the Battle of the Beanfield. Never forget, never forgive.
So the correct outgroup to demonise is Conservatives?
People like to put other people in outgroups, that's always been the case.
The left like to think that placing conservatives in an outgroup is somehow different. It isn't, it's the exact same phenomenon with the exact same ugly sentiment underlying it.
If it wasn't for 'group X' then life in this country would be so much better...
I know plenty of Conservatives (including former advisers to Cabinet Ministers) who despair at the current 'culture war' approach of this government.
You've missed the point there.
The Conservative Party, especially the far right version we have nowadays, have always been the very innest of in-groups. They're quintissentially The Establishment and, just latley, The New Aristocracy. They have far, far more power and influence than any other group in our society and have suborned many previously neutral institutions such as the BBC, the police and a whole host of other infrastructure services that used to be public services but are now private profit makers serving just a few.
The problem with what's often called "the right" but is actually better named as "the totalitarians" is that they love certitude, loyalty, a binary view of everything as black or white, good or bad, them or us, true or false, etc.. They are intolerant of anything not approved by their dogma, whatever it might be.
The dogmas are many and various but all have the aspect of intolerance with an associated avid desire to condemn and punish that which is different from the dogma specifications. They can be "left wing" as well as "right wing" although there are quite a few left wing political traditions (socialists) that are tolerant but not so many of the right that are so. (Certain kinds of benign monarchies, such as that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, are exceptions to the right>tight>totalitarian tendency).
*******
Those of us who prefer tolerance have this dilemma, identified by may political theorists and philosophers, as in Popper's "Paradox of tolerance":
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance
If the tolerance-inclined tolerate totalitarians, tolerance as a political and social option disappears to be replaced by some totalitarian alternative: communist, fascist, theocracy, absolute monarchy, kleptocracy, military dictatorship or whatever.
Tighty righties inclined to condemn all who are not identical to themselves have to be resisted somehow. Give them enough power and any resistance to them becomes futile then impossible.
Tighty righties also need to grasp (although they really struggle with the notion) that opposition to, and criticism of, their often highly illogical and damaging dogmas is not intolerance but only opposition and criticism, a normal dialogue of any tolerant and open society in which a true politics (compromises arranged between competing and different interests) are arranged and ordered via resilient and dynamic shared institutions and infrastructures that are argued about and changed to adapt to new circumstances, as needed by the public at large - everyone, not just a tiny favoured class of new aristo businesses and shareholders.
It's the simple stuff of modern democratic politics. But not liked by dogmatic folk who crave Truth & Certainty about all things, to the point that they'll warp reality to get them, no matter how much damage they do.
If you think the current Conservative party are far right then you really need to pick up a history book and figure out what that phrase actually means.
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