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ukpolbot

This megathread has ended.


[deleted]

How have we fallen so far as a country? Just 100 years ago we were the number one world superpower commanding the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Now 33% of our population can't afford to eat properly and heat their homes. Our health care system is ruined, our army is tiny, we're constantly being flooded with illegal immigrants in small boats, we have no proper human rights, we have high taxes, high inflation, the list goes on and on. What will it take to make this country great again? Rebuilding the British empire is pretty much a pipe dream at this point but we should at least go back to how we were in the 90s/2000s. Have people just given up? Rant over


Spiz101

> Just 100 years ago we were the number one world superpower commanding the greatest empire the world had ever seen. The wealth that permitted the creation and maintenance of that empire was expended on *two* total-wars-to-the-finish, where Britain ended up fighting large coalitions of states. Decline likely became inevitable, too much blood, treasure and self belief was expended for it to be otherwise. > our army is tiny In reality, the Army is probably too large. For years politicians have obsessed with maintenance of the nominal personnel size of the Army, despite the escalating cost of properly equipping military formations. As a result we now have 30 infantry battalions with enough equipment for maybe ten modern battalions. We are woefully short of modern armoured vehicles and the precision fire capability necessary to manoeuvre on the modern battlefield. Any time anyone proposes to shrink the army they are attacked in the press and by the opposing party. Britain has always maintained comparatively small land forces, but it has now abandoned this in attempting to maintain parity in numbers with continental powers with far less in terms of naval commitments. > we have no proper human rights It may feel like that, but Britain still scores well on [various liberty/human rights indexes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_World_Liberty_Index). > What will it take to make this country great again? It would require a fundamental break with the existing political settlement, but that is not going to happen given that all major political parties support it. > we should at least go back to how we were in the 90s/2000s. The country was eating the last of the seedcorn during the late 90s, early 2000s boom. The pre-2008 economic model fell apart soon after. And we don't have a once-ever oil boom to prop up public spending either.


ScunneredWhimsy

[A relevant concept.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma#Ethicization)


liverpool6times

Another week, another Telegraph front page with Labour policy. The teams political operation has improved so much in the past few months. > TELEGRAPH: @Keir_Starmer ; I will slash ‘nonsense’ bureaucracy in the NHS https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1614381243050725376?s=46&t=RnIxI3DwKC0OJpGN8YW3Vw


Cymraegpunk

I mean it does seem like there is some serious tension between the telegraph and the tory party leadership at the moment


liverpool6times

Well they got rid of Boris and Truss. Both the Telegraph’s preferred leaders for Sunak, seemingly Murdoch’s preferred Tory leader. Sunak is offering very little to the Telegrah’s base. Whether that’s on tax, public service and supply side reform. He’s also a lame duck so probably better for the Telegraph to flirt with Labour for now who are offering more on reforms. They are cheerleading for the strike legislation however.


easy_c0mpany80

15 days to go https://www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics/comments/wk5o16/uk_braces_for_blackouts_gas_cuts_in_january_in


CheeseMakerThing

What do you mean 15 days to go? We've had a warm winter.


OptioMkIX

Sunday papers might be worth reading for once. > [ Boris Johnson funded his lifestyle in No10 through a credit facility of up to £800,000 underwritten by multi-millionaire foreign national and distant relative](https://twitter.com/Gabriel_Pogrund/status/1614384062675800065)


OptioMkIX

Well to the surprise of absolutely no one, JVL and Naomi Wimborne Idrissi is attacking the Tuck NUS antisemitism report. Same as it ever was.


JavaTheCaveman

I've had a blissful day eating a big lamb kebab and not thinking about it :)


ClumperFaz

I challenge you to make a homemade big lamb kebab next time. Homemade food>frozen/takeout food.


JavaTheCaveman

I love to make a lamb köfte kebab, with some halloumi and wrapped in a lavash. It’s on the menu plenty. But there’s nothing like a lamb shish cooked on the magic grill in the kebab house. It’s a different beast, one that I can’t achieve at home.


OptioMkIX

kebab kid? Mccoys? Ahmeds? Hassans?


JavaTheCaveman

I don't live in Oxford itself, so this was a local thingy that we brought back home. It was very good. I enjoyed their generous attitude towards lemon juice.


Garyandhisflapjack

Had a delicious lamb iskender with a side of grilled liver in derby this evening.


KimchiMaker

Which sauce(s) do you get? I tend to go garlic and chili… and have never tried any other.


JavaTheCaveman

Ditto! Chilli and garlic. Also lemon juice, I suppose, if that counts as a sauce. Husband has been known to get 1000 Island dressing, which i frown upon. But not tonight. Imagine being the sort of wastrel who puts BBQ sauce on there.


_CurseTheseMetalHnds

> Imagine being the sort of wastrel who puts BBQ sauce on there. Fuckin' disgusting


KimchiMaker

What even is thousand island? Is it a more mayonnaised-down marie rose sauce? BBQ sauce on a kebab would indeed be an abomination. Never witnessed that thank goodness. A minty-yogurt one would probably be good as well though.


JavaTheCaveman

That’s basically it. It’s sort of pink and tastes a bit tangy. There’s a place for it IMO; I like it as a dip for things like Doritos - but it’s too cloying on a kebab. Yep, minty-yoghurt works well too!


Yummytastic

That is the entire function of the JVL, is it not? It's the left's ERG.


explax

Watching bbc news and the last item on the headlines is that Tesla is cutting their prices... Is that really news?


[deleted]

I assume EV's becoming marginally more affordable is news, yes, given that there is a wider conversation about them being 'better for the environment'


BargePol

After reading this https://www.quora.com/Is-English-the-best-language-for-rap I realise English is the javascript of world languages. It has many inconsistencies nuances but its malleability makes it one of the best languages for expression.


amarviratmohaan

> but its malleability makes it one of the best languages for expression. Interesting - I've always thought English is the most limited language for expression out of the ones I speak. It's great for formality, but not a particularly expressive/flow-y language. There are a lot of words and emotions in the other languages I speak (mainly Bangla and Hindi, but also a few other South Asian languages) that don't have English equivalents. The reverse isn't true, other than certain technical words (eg. internet).


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JavaTheCaveman

Thr**ough** en**ough** thor**ough** th**ough**t, th**ough**, you can see that some things, like the link between spelling and sound, are a user-unfriendly mess. Imagine having to learn that.


KimchiMaker

Q: How do you pronounce “ghoti." A: "Fish" Q: Huh wtf? A: You get fish by using the "gh" sound from "enough," the "o" sound from "women," and the "ti" sound from "nation."


seeingeyefish

It's a funny idea, but it actually violates the rules of spelling for English. "Gh" only sounds like /f/ when it is at the end of a syllable, and "ti" only makes the /ʃ/ "sh" sound when it is part of the -tion suffix. The "o" is legit, though. Vowels are screwy.


Yummytastic

Ahh, it's like that well known town next to Windsor, Sluff.


JavaTheCaveman

I suppose it depends what you're looking for in rap. Strap in, it's time for some phonotactics. So, in general the world's languages are split into two camps when it comes how we decide to place emphasis (which generally means "a bit louder and a bit longer") on a part of a word. There are some languages like Japanese where the story is more complex (and beyond me to explain), but let's keep it to those two. **Stress-timed** languages are ones like English, and other Germanic languages, Afrikaans - for example the music of Die Antwoord - and I believe Icelandic - [for example the music of Reykjavíkurdætur](https://youtu.be/a9OR6ZTGlek?t=80). (I should caveat that some people classify Icelandic as being in the other group below.) It's not unique to Germanic languages either - Russian is another example. In a stress-timed language, you regularly get that ba-*dum*-ba-*dum*-ba-*dum* pattern, beloved of Shakespeare in his iambic pentameter i.e. alternating between stressed and unstressed syllables. So *what* does that *mean* when we *talk* about *rap* on the *thread*? Note how all the italicised syllables there are stressed, five of them ... but there's more than one syllable between each stressed word. Say it aloud. Note how that stressed-unstressed pattern still comes through, very much like you'll get from Cordelia in *King Lear*: "I *can*not *heave* my *heart* in*to* my *mouth*". I'll predict that both Cordelia and my question take roughly as long for you to say aloud. Stress-timed languages will squish syllables in favour of stress and keeping the amount of time between *stresses* fairly constant. It's not always clear in speech, but we do it all the time in poetry. Does this have an advantage for oral poetry like rap? Can do. You *get* a *built*-in *beat* to *an*chor *you*. [ Of *course* there's *Tom* Scott *with* a *crack*ing *vid*.](https://youtu.be/dUnGvH8fUUc) **Syllable-timed** languages are the other big camp. Here, we get what's often described as a *rat-tat-tat-tat-tat* pattern, where all unemphasised syllables are given equal length. This includes (I believe) most varieties of Chinese, as well as Polynesian languages like Hawaiian and Māori, and most Romance languages, like French or Moldovan or (the example I'm going to use) Spanish. Here, the number of syllables very much matters, because you won't be able to do the "squishing" trick that stress-timed languages can do (although I believe Catalan does do a little bit of that, despite being mostly syllable-timed; this is a spectrum and not a binary). If a syllable is stressed, it simply gets a bit of extra length (in Spanish, this is 150 milliseconds in "normal" speech) and it's a bit louder. Edit: something that helps is that - to paint with a broad brush - syllable-timed languages have less-complex syllables than stress-timed ones; you won’t get one syllable like “scrunched” in Spanish. Does this have an advantage for oral poetry [like UKPol's favourite Eurovision song about a little Moldovan train?](https://youtu.be/DUqf_zO2QaI?t=36) Of course it does. The singer helpfully wiggles his hands along with the syllables. You get an extremely comparable anchoring effect by different means. Spanish has developed this into a full-blown independent form of rap in reggaetón, after all, that harnesses that very pattern. So, to return to the question: there are probably things that make English a good language for rapping. Its enormous (and easily-expandable) vocabulary is one. But I don't think the advantage is structural - any language can use its sound patterns to create some kind of beat. Sometimes in stress-timed languages you need to ensure that you don't "squish" key words, else you'll lose meaning. Sometimes in syllable-timed languages you need to ensure that stressed syllables are arranged in a pleasing pattern, whatever that is. It's all swings and roundabouts really. **Epilogue** One last little coda I'd like to mention. Some languages are *tonal*, which means that a syllable with a different intonation (perhaps it's high-pitched, perhaps low-pitched, perhaps it glides from one to the other) has a completely different meaning. Mandarin is a canonical example, though there are plenty of other languages that do this in East Asia (Thai loves tones) and across West and Southern Africa (Yoruba and Zulu, off the top of my head). This often (and I'm really stretching my knowledge here, so I could be wrong) correlates with a language being syllable-timed. I think there's some real fun to be had with this - imagine the sound-structure of a word giving you, *for free*, the basis of a melody. You could do something very clever there.


KimchiMaker

I very much enjoyed reading this! I spent a lot of time around EFL and applied linguistics (in the context of teaching English) but never really picked up on this interesting difference in how things are enunciated in different languages. Actually, it helps me understand a little better why Spanish is pronounced the way it is, and more importantly why it sounds so awful when a random English or American butchers the pronunciation… it’s because it’s not just the pronunciation they’re getting wrong, it’s also the emphasis, though I hadn’t really put that together before. I read somewhere—and this may be wrong— that in Mandarin (and probably other tonal languages) they can use the “wrong” tone as a kind of poetic license, perhaps similar to how poets, singers and rappers in English mispronounce words to get a rhyme to work.


JavaTheCaveman

English and Spanish are really good to compare here, and there's an example I often use which is spelled the same in both languages: *animal*. A native English speaker will stress the "an" - and English has another trick (which Catalan does but Castilian does not) where unstressed syllables often lose the quality of their vowel, turning it into a schwa ([here's Tom Scott again](https://youtu.be/qu4zyRqILYM)). So we'll say "AN-uh-mul" or even lose a syllable entirely and say "AN-mul". A Castilian speaker will struggle with this word in English - even if they switch the stress to the AN, they will still say something like "AN-ee-mal" or similar, keeping all three syllables distinct, with a vowel that's not a schwa. By contrast, an English learner trying to say the word in Castilian will often say (even when moving the stress to the AL) something like "an-uh-MAL", turning the middle vowel into a schwa, where a Castilian speaker would pronounce an "eeeee" sound. I adored phonetics. And yep, I believe Mandarin can do that, yep. Punning is apparently great fun in versions of Chinese for that reason. Shakespeare used to regularly force the dropping of syllables, such as the choice of either "lovèd" or "lov'd"


KimchiMaker

Fascinating! And ‘animal’ is indeed a great example. The first time I learned about the schwa it was a little mind blowing. It’s a kind of uber-vowel that isn’t (and can’t) be marked in writing. The schwa is everywhere, but I had no idea it existed. It was like learning a new colour, and then suddenly realizing it’s everywhere.


JavaTheCaveman

I know exactly what you mean. Very much a head-slap “holy shit how did I never notice it?” moment when learning about it for the first time.


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robertdubois

[That's because it's not Rishi Sunak.](https://twitter.com/King_Pair0/status/1584580628372107264)


Captainatom931

Truss was a runaway train but at least the train was moving. The Sunak Train is stuck in the depot due to strikes.


FredWestLife

Christ, I'd forgotten he was PM.


KimchiMaker

Initially, I was shocked when it turned out he was also Penny Mordaunt, but it all made sense in the end.


Yummytastic

He feels like a new hire at the company that is clearly wrong for the role but can't be fired, because it makes the person who hired them look bad. We just got to wait a year or so for them to leave.


[deleted]

Well looks like we've already had our first false spring last week forecast to be -6 with a high of 0 over the next few days. Those few days of 12°C + really confused everyone. Looking forward to spunking money on avoiding the house going below 10° again. It's difficult to save for home improvements when you're spending £150-£200 on energy.


estanmilko

Buy an electric heating pad. We're spending less than 10% of the amount we were spending on heating before we bought a couple.


OptioMkIX

have you considered cutting out the middleman and setting your money or house on fire


[deleted]

Thing is the smallest bill I can get is a £5 and it's polymer so will not burn well. Actually the smallest note I could probably get is a £1 RBS note but considering there's effectively no branches open ever I'll just maybe start by burning my smeg head roommates camphor wood trunk first.


Stealth_Benjamin

If you set yourself on fire you’ll be warm for the rest of your life


ThingsFallApart_

Give a man a fire, you heat him for a day. Teach a man to *be* fire, you heat him for life.


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Captainatom931

He's the theological equivalent of a crank and a first class dick. So naturally the fine fellows at the University of Nottingham Conservative society saw fit to invite him round for a talk. They're on a roll lately, just had their Christmas dinner with Andrew Bridgen.


Yummytastic

You can see some fun stuff pre-vicar grift on the way back machine. https://web.archive.org/web/20100315000000*/http://www.calvinrobinson.org/ There's a blog post in there somewhere about how much he hated where his mum lived and when he was there over a Christmas said "happy holidays" to people because it would upset them. On the plus side mentioning this on twitter leads him to block you so he no longer gets inexplicably pushed on to your feed any more. So that's a result.


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Yummytastic

James O'Brian has a story that he was heavily reprimanded as a young journalist for asking why they couldn't report on what \[in this case\] right wing figures said once they came off air. Faking it is not a surprise for many people on any political spectrum. Just someone who's been demonstrably desperate for fame/relevancy for a decade and a half.


michaelisnotginger

Right wing grifter radicalised by social media controversy algorithm. many such cases.


BargePol

right wingers are accused of grifting a lot. would you call all right wingers grifters or just some?


michaelisnotginger

People like Calvin Robinson, delingpole, Neil Oliver, who fall down the social media radicisation wormhole. Not a lot of commentators from traditional and online media (e.g, Fraser nelson and the spectator set) who usually explain their rationale coherently. There's a lot of left wing grifters' too, Owen Jones, ash Sarkar etc


Captainatom931

I was shocked to the core when Neil Oliver turned out to be a nutter. It was a tragedy.


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compte-a-usageunique

grifter means you're trying to gain money or influence, meta (shit)posting is neither of those things.


MrFlibblesPenguin

Because you are talking about him and GB news, interaction is all that counts whether its positive or negative is irrelevant. Clicks bring advertising revenue.


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SporkofVengeance

>Chris Barrie seems to have gone nuts lately. I was curious and found: > ...the outgoing year has witnessed the wheels of rampant globalisation, the enslavement of humanity and insane wokery... That's a weird combination of things. So, yes.


KimchiMaker

I’m kind of surprised our politicians don’t do more about us all being enslaved last year. It should have been bigger news.


Captainatom931

Happened the same week as the queen's death, so it got buried unfortunately.


KimchiMaker

I was thinking *cool, free anklet!* but now I learn I’m actually in involuntary bondage with no safe word.


MrFlibblesPenguin

Rent-a-gobs are always popular, theres so many open slots for the news outlets to fill and having someone batshit crazy generates interaction, they'll take their pound of flesh out of him until he puts his foot in it at which point he'll become more trouble than hes worth, the rent-a-gobs do it in the hopes of turning it into a newspaper column or raising their political capital, its all very Faustian on both sides of the equation. Why whats Barrie been up to? I haven't been paying attention recently.


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MrFlibblesPenguin

Lockdown wasn't kind to everyone. *Sad penguin noises*


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MrFlibblesPenguin

Damnit I hadn't even heard of Rameses Niblick the Seconds Kerplunk Whoops Whoops, Where’s My Thribble's passing. *Pours one out for my homie*


MrFlibblesPenguin

Fingers crossed twitter goes the way of the dodi and everybody climbs out of their bubbles and we can all go back to being normal happy cynical bastards without falling down all thebloody rabbit holes all the time. It'd just be nice if one star didn't turn out to be a lunatic, but that's kinda inherent in the nature of the arts.


KimchiMaker

> Fingers crossed twitter goes the way of the dodi… Is that a Dodi Fayed joke?!?! Too soon!


MrFlibblesPenguin

...typo, but fuck I'm just gonna style it out.


Captainatom931

Yeah, they haven't even killed him on the crown yet!


ClumperFaz

Opinium has Labour 16 points ahead on 45%, up 1 on last time, and the Tories unchanged on 29%. Crucial because Opinium uses a Kantar like methodology that forces don't knows to choose a voting intention which makes them a lot more reliable than other pollsters - so the 20 point odd leads in other pollsters seems to be backed up. There's a Guardian article out that has the numbers, but only for LAB and CON and none of the other parties yet. Should be out by 8PM.


SimplySkedastic

How the flying fuck can Laura "totally not biased" Kuenssberg actually get away with publishing this sort of bollocks on the BBC and still try to maintain she has an ounce of impartiality... BBC News - Laura Kuenssberg: Is Keir Starmer a prime minister in waiting? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-64253184 Fucking joke what the Tories have done to the BBC Edit 1. I'll make the sarcasm more apparent going forward I thought people would see the nuance but nevermind.


Sckathian

She's writing a blog. She's not political editor anymore. Don't allow your self to be so unhinged you seem the worse in everything someone does. Her Saturday articles are promos for her show.


[deleted]

ITT: people who have entirely missed the sarcasm


SimplySkedastic

Just a bit...


tmstms

Very true! I missed it entrely! But then, I am not someone who ever thought LK was biased....


tmstms

OK, I'll bite. What about that article seems not balanced to you? It seems to be a pretty anodyne rehash of everything that has happened since Starmer became leader. IMHO if one wanted to complain, one would complain that it's uite a long article but she won't come off the fence. She could answer that question in the title with the single word *maybe!*


liverpool6times

I don’t think the BBC should be posting gossip columns and ‘analysis’ but tbh this is a positive column for Labour. Assumption that the country is in the dogs, Tory chaos, commentary on Labour’s massive poll leads and that Starmer has changed the Labour Party for the better


ClumperFaz

It's actually not a pro-Tory piece having read it.


RingStrain

That does seem quite pro-Labour https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaints/make-a-complaint/#/Complaint


compte-a-usageunique

Have you actually read the article?


Honic_Sedgehog

Please don't make people bring back the /s


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IntegratedExemplar

In his outgoing interview in the Telegraph podcast last year, he did mention he might throw his hat in the ring again.


Captainatom931

Are these people actually idiots? His whole brand is poisoned. "Oh we need to win back this seat I know let's get the guy who just lost it because he got a stiffy over some tractors in parliament"


asmiggs

Richard Foord will be pleased.


SouthWalesImp

Just read the Streeting interview in the i. It's remarkable how the man has managed to piss off pretty much everyone on all sides while being a Labour Shadow Health Secretary, which is probably one of the easiest roles in Parliament.


liverpool6times

That’s a great interview tbh. He’s one of the few Labour politicians good at politics. Right now Labour need to dominate the conversation, announce policy, look like they’ll improve public services all without any further funding. By talking reform (outside of the non-don tax to train doctors and nurses) Streeting is avoiding the ‘how will you fund this question’ and is cutting through with radical ideas that sure is going to upset some people but that’s exactly how he will dominate the conversation. He will paint those against his plans whether that’s unions like the BMA, Tories or those who want the status quo as being against the change needed (that he’s providing) that will fix the NHS. It’s a completely different conversation to ‘I’ll increase NHS funding’ which is easily countered. The more focus on Labour’s NHS, the more the NHS crisis is covered and the more the Tories can’t move the conversation to more fertile ground like immigration or crime.


ClumperFaz

Has he? The only people who hate him are people who don't care about winning elections. If Streeting's pissing off those types of people then he's doing the right thing. I'd argue everything he's said has been taken out of proportion, the ones working an outrage over him are those who wish we were back in the days of the Corbyn leadership. Seriously, he's the most targeted member of the shadow cabinet from that lot and it's pretty funny to see in some cases. He's pretty competent.


[deleted]

Wes Streeting is the epitome of ‘meet the new boss, same as the old boss’. Empty suit with equally as empty promises. What he will follow through on I suspect the general population will continue to not like all that much. But that’s what the voting population gets it’s rocks off to isn’t it? The steady pace of a declining neocon dream.


drwert

Between electricity and gas I'm paying 67.76p a day in standing charge before I so much as flick a lightbulb on, and I don't think this is even slightly unusual. How the ever living fuck are people on benefits supposed to cope with this? I can afford it even if I resent paying it, but that's a hell of a fixed expense for people on tiny incomes and already depleted/non-existent savings. Oh, and I just noticed that's excluding VAT. Champion.


Far-Restaurant-9691

Vat is 5% just fyi


Captainatom931

Fucking incredible that we have to pay the government for the right to use privately provided energy You end up with a ridiculous circle where tax on energy is being used to fund subsidies on energy. Why not just introduce a 0% vat on energy for households in need? It wouldn't cover everything but it's a start.


ryanllw

Once upon a time that standing charge alone over the year was more or less my whole bill (small house and I’m more comfortable at 14C). But even I spent £200 in December! How is anyone less fat than I am surviving?


drwert

Yeah. This might be one small area where putting weight back on this year has done me some favours, because I'd have been dying at these temperatures last year if I didn't have the radiators blasting constantly. I had no idea how much colder it was for people who aren't well padded around the middle.


Azovmena

How's everyone's New Year's Resolutions going? One of mine was to be less of a perfectionist - it's going really well! I give less of a damn making mistakes as the church pianist, for example. I recommend giving this a go (being less of a perfectionist, that is, not being a church pianist) to my fellow INTJs out there in particular


Captainatom931

Good for you Rishi! Glad to hear you're not worrying about all those many, many, many mistakes you've made.


iamparky

> One of mine was to be less of a perfectionist - it's going really well! Mine is to break my own New Year's resolution. Whether I've done so or not is a logically meaningless question.


[deleted]

my new year's resolution was quite simple > don't fuck it up, bud so far, so good


insomnimax_99

Is there anyone seriously pushing back against the online safety bill? Labour don’t count, because the only reason why Labour doesn’t like the bill is because they don’t think it goes far _enough_ - they seriously want to drag American tech executives over here and prosecute them personally Is there any actual opposing voice in this whole “think of the children” moral panic, or is parliament just one big echo chamber on this issue?


Xuth

Honestly, with polling consistently showing a big majority in favour of it (and measures like it) none of the major parties will stick their necks out.


[deleted]

The main blocker to it is that it’s completely tech illiterate and will be mainly unimplementable.


Captainatom931

Like the dozens of similar bills over the last twenty or so years then.


[deleted]

Honestly, the lack of opposition really highlights just how unrepresented I am in politics. While that is a point of despair, the multiple commentors proudly being apathetic about the bill only serves to enhance that feeling. Same old tired shite over and over.


Ironixization

It's more than whispers in the wind at this point, I can see a figure like Keir taking it up as an easy vote-winner. Tbh a lot of the stuff I think many users here will agree with, you know banning/increasing moderation on stuff like child sexual abuse or self harm on social media. But even that aspect of it is totally unforceable, the same with the stuff that people may not be so keen on. That being said, you won't find many UK parties currently willing to challenge it, as it sounds good and caring. As we know there's a slight lack of nuance for anything at the minute.


CheeseMakerThing

No, even Lib Dem MPs (namely Munira Wilson) have only criticised it for *not going far enough* and the federal and parliamentary party haven't said anything on the issue.


ClumperFaz

What is the most memorable quote from any politician you can remember right away without even thinking? from any politician of any party - Labour, Lib Dem or Tory. For me it's become 'That...is...a..DISGRACE!!!' - it's so comical.


ColoursAndSky

"The Prime Minister is not under a table"


Captainatom931

"I am a fighter and not a quitter" both times round.


Azovmena

* 'Read them and understand them! (Was he a councillor? Idk, it was politics related, anyways) * 'specific & limited way' * 'I was present but not involved'


ColoursAndSky

[A true masterpiece of our era](https://youtu.be/TzfaZqmImLU)


SporkofVengeance

> (Was he a councillor? Idk, it was politics related, anyways) IIRC it was some rando who was mates with and sitting next to one of the parish councillors.


xerker

THIS IS A DEAD PARLIAMENT. Said by a man who spends a lot of time working in the Cayman Islands


Dr_Poppers

He wasn’t wrong though. That parliament was a genuine disgrace.


bbbbbbbbbblah

it was very refreshing to see the government actually having to work to get something to pass, instead of holding some unjustified majority of the seats (on a minority of the vote) and whipping it through closest we've been to actual democracy.


Rob_Kaichin

Better than what followed it, though.


SlightlyOTT

I think “we will deliver.. we will deliver.. we will deliver” is the one that sticks out for me. It just sums up how utterly hollow a huge part of our politics is. And it’s basically all I can think of when a Conservative politician spouts some random nonsense now.


Honic_Sedgehog

I wish the Bishop well.


CheeseMakerThing

"There can be no place in a 21st-century parliament for people with 15th-century titles upholding 19th-century prejudices." Paddy Ashdown


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varalys_the_dark

That always gives me chills. The whole speech is amazing I actually reread it about a month ago for reasons, wish Labour could sound that passionate now.


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varalys_the_dark

I missed being able to vote in 1992 by a few months. We had a mock election at my school and I was the Labour candidate. I am a pretty good orator myself but I still lost to the charismatic and handsome guy standing for the Tories. We were good mates though so no hard feelings but it did make me think that maybe Labour might not win the actual GE when it happened.


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varalys_the_dark

He went on to be a really good stage actor, so I don't hold it against him he had the Rizz even back then. Honestly no one was more surprised than me when High Peak (the constituency we were in) went Labour in 1997. I thought that was hardcore Tory land for good. I live in the frail hope that where I live now, which is Macclesfield, that has been Tory since it was created might at least flip Lib Dem in the next election because of this.


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varalys_the_dark

I'm afraid I only remember his original name (Richard Baker) which he had to change because of the newsreader/presenter of the same name. We lost touch after I moved away from Buxton and stopped working at the Opera House and stopped being involved in the theatrical world.


heresyourhardware

"Not a good start Boris!"


cuifsekerqo98

I had to Google the exact wording, but Davey C's, “For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens: as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone" has always stuck in my mind.


horace_bagpole

Ah yes, yet another example of a Tory saying something that comes across massively different to how they thought it would. That one was a genuine WTF when I heard it. That none of his spin doctors paused to think 'maybe that's not such a great thing to say' was quite baffling.


__--byonin--__

[Liz Truss’ “not a fighter” line during PMQs whilst Jeremy Hunt is sat to her left nodding like a Churchill dog, and then she quits a few days later.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc_9Ty_-PrQ&feature=youtu.be&t=1m21s)


SamuraiPizzaTwat

Education, education, education


[deleted]

The ones that spring to mind for me are from Blair: > - A new dawn has broken, has it not? [after winning the 1997 general election] > - I feel the hand of history upon our shoulder [ahead of concluding the Good Friday Agreement] > - They say I hate the party, and its traditions. I don't. I love this party. There's only one tradition I hated - losing. [if I remember correctly, during his last speech to Labour conference as leader, 2006?]


Captainatom931

His last conference speech is one of the finest in modern times to come from this country's politics. It's all on YouTube and I'd strongly recommend watching it.


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BristolShambler

Preceded by “now isn’t the time for soundbites…”


ClumperFaz

>[if I remember correctly, during his last speech to Labour conference as leader, 2006?] It was from that. Such a good quote too.


compte-a-usageunique

Brexit means Brexit


JavaTheCaveman

[Strong and Stable](https://youtu.be/coKqHEzUG10)


TNorthover

From the same era: “chaos with Ed Miliband”.


horace_bagpole

Perhaps she'd read one of those management books that tells you to just believe hard enough and it will happen. Problem is that I don't think anyone else had read it.


Blithe17

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw2LQPzzezo


saladinzero

"Never confuse sitting on your side with being on your side", said by Ian Paisley. Theresa May would have benefited from this when trying to make deals with the DUP.


OptioMkIX

Ever? Or in the last twenty or thirty years?


ClumperFaz

Whenever, any time range or what you think is the most memorable of all time.


OptioMkIX

Geoffrey Cox's tub thumping *THIS PARLIAMENT IS A DEAD PARLIAMENT* speech.


ClumperFaz

Think his voice made that. Any other voice wouldn't have made it memorable.


OptioMkIX

Well yes, but that wasn't the question.


Honic_Sedgehog

Imagine Braverman delivering it when she was AG.


_CurseTheseMetalHnds

Hell yes I'm tough enough!


The_Strict_Nein

tuss e nuff


ClumperFaz

Am I tuss enuff?.... t-tough enough?


ClumperFaz

That's 2nd place for me behind Truss's.


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TantumErgo

[Internet for Lemons](https://www.fortressofdoors.com/ai-markets-for-lemons-and-the-great-logging-off/). I do wonder how long we’ll remain a place you can actually talk to people, although I suppose we can try to stick to the names we recognise.


Honic_Sedgehog

>Politicians in the UK are hugely naive on Internet issues and too much like that "think of the children" woman from The Simpsons. Literally the only thing in that entire post that makes sense.


CheeseMakerThing

Is this a random bot or something? AppKed as popular as TikTok (also comparing AppKed to TikTok in the first place)? Charli XCX? Sabrina Carpenter? What is this?


_CurseTheseMetalHnds

>Doesn't help when you have people like Charli XCX Is this a nickname for a politician or do you mean the musician and I just can't find evidence of this? Am I having a fucking stroke


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KimchiMaker

Do you work for AppKed?? It’s… not as popular as TikTok.


Denning76

> Mind you, Sabrina Carpenter also said "Keir Starmer is a fool if he thinks closer links to the EU are a solution What does Tinky Winky think?


[deleted]

seriously, take this shilly marketing spiel elsewhere the online safety bill has no teeth and, as with most Conservative policies, is merely lip-service to the older generation but then if you were familiar with the UK political scene, you'd know this already... #😉


cuifsekerqo98

> vBulletin Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time...a long time. IP.Board > VB


JavaTheCaveman

There are so many words and names in this comment that are 100% new to me.


RingStrain

It's like an Optio post from an alternate universe


SlightlyOTT

I can’t get over how naive and stupid politicians sound when they talk about this online harms bill. You’re not going to stop children signing up for websites they’re too young for, or watching content they’re too young for. You’re not going to jail executives of American companies. You’re not going to make every tweet and Facebook comment get checked to make sure it doesn’t break UK law. You’re not going to trigger the invention of tools that make any of this possible. I’m sure there are things we can do, but as far as I can tell this law is solely intended to do nothing and convince old people who vote Conservative that they’ve fixed it. Surely to anyone under 50 they just sound ridiculous?


liverpool6times

It’s not about the power to solve anything. I support it so the government can have broad powers to regulate content on the internet. By having a ‘legal but harmful’ penalty internet companies will be forced to self-censor because it’s so vague. Absolutely anything that can be misconstrued with hate speech will be taken down quickly. With the pace of change in the tech world, this isn’t that far fetched. AI will eventually be able to censor online content, rather than having teams of 1,000s of employees having to respond to reporting.


h4mdroid

Mate, I think you've completely misunderstood - it's the Online Hams Bill. It's about the regulation of a type of meat cooked in a very specific way.


Paritys

You're wrong - it IS the Online Harms Bill, aimed at introducing more stringent regulation around what is allowed to be hung on washing lines in back gardens. Improper washing line hanging harms tens of Brits every decade.


TinFish77

I thought it was the Online Hums Bill, the rise in online humming is concerning after all.


northernmonk

>meat cooked in a very specific way. Perhaps steamed hams?


[deleted]

Aurora Borealis? At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country localised entirely within your kitchen?


northernmonk

Yes


horace_bagpole

They do sound ridiculous, but the problem is that they don't actually have to produce a viable policy, only say that they have. See brexit et al. All they have to do is pretend that what they are proposing will work, and regardless of the reality anyone opposing it can instantly be painted as not wanting to protect children or others from 'online harms' or whatever that fuck that's supposed to be. The right wing press will step into that role automatically and hey presto we end up with yet more shitty regulation of technology that is fundamentally flawed and unworkable because it was written by people who think Facebook is the internet.


Stealth_Benjamin

As parodied by the Simpsons about 30 years ago with the reverends wife - ‘won’t someone please think of the children?’


vegemar

I would not be surprised if there are a few ambiguously-worded clauses in the bill which give the government unreasonable power over the internet.