shhhh dont spoil the looney lefts fun :hehe:
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It might have something to do with the fact that in the 2015 general election UKIP had a lot more votes than the Liberal Democrats & The Green Party combined. I don't particularly like UKIP but I must admit that their number of MPs is seriously out of kilter with the votes won when you compare them to other parties, particularly the SNP & to a lesser extent the Lib Dems.
As for the argument about BBC bias I find them to be pretty neutral towards all parties & i say that as someone who does not have a particular bias towards any political party.
I've always thought that the BBC has been, broadly speaking, pretty neutral. Currently, it seems as if the criticism lately has been of a perceived right wing bias after years when claims of left wing favouritism seemed more prevalent. Does this mean that the BBC has shifted to the right as a result of pressure being put on it by the Government? Maybe it has, but I still watch and listen to it and think it's broadly neutral and there would be millions throughout the world who would compare it to what happens with their countries media and wonder what we were moaning about. That said, I did notice this morning on Radio 5's 9 o clock news bulletin that the section on Labour's plans for the English NHS ended with a mention of the Government dismissing them as a shambles, whereas the mention which followed about the Conservative proposals regarding worker's right did not have a response from another party - that can't be right can it?
I'm all for PR over FPTP, however counting votes when someone comes in second place, which can be used as a protest vote in a FPTP system rather than a direct vote in a PR system, does lead to claims by UKIP (and formerly LibDems) that they are under-represented. no doubt they are, but not to the extent that they claim
The big problem I have with Kuenssberg and the BBC in general, is the unwillingness to really take this government to task. We've had at least seven years of austerity, savage cuts, public sector pay freezes, nearly a million people on zero hour contracts, queues at food banks etc etc, yet I rarely see pieces that are critical of the Tories. I just cannot believe what an easy ride they've had. Instead they seem to be completely preoccupied with reporting on Labour and Corbyns failings.
It does help of course that the tories have also had the twin gifts of two referendums to deflect attention from their miserable performance in charge.
I dislike Kuennsberg but am mildly attracted to her
The BBC, along with most other western media organisations specialize in news by ommision and diversion, along with the careful selection of experts who comment on events, etc. It's all clever stuff which the average person is totally oblivious too. You can research Bernays, Tavistock, SRI, Chomsky, Kotte, Mockingbird, etc.
Bit of an update from UK column on "Saving Syria's children" just for you, as you are clearly the only person that looked at that story. :hehe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wtt4LbWl84&t=2727s
It's been very noticeable how the usual right wing commentators have been struggling to find things to criticise about the Labour manifesto today. I'm sure Kuenssberg will scrape up something though, delivered with her trademark sneering look of disbelief.
there is some good policies and some not so good. it really is a mixed bag.
My take on nationalisation is that exponents of it suggest it allows profits to be brought back to public use, but if we have to borrow, say £80bn to nationalise the water industry, that borrowing will come at an annual cost of say £3bn on long dated bonds, so any profits made will end up in the private sector anyway.
However, even Len McClusky has come out this am and started the damage limitation exercise by saying if Labour have 200 MPs elected (down on their current 229) then that must be seen as a success. I can't see how losing your influence in Parliament can be considered a success. We need strong, capable opposition to hold government to account, not a party in decline chasing a dream that only the minority want.
I would rather a strong centrist Labour party than a weak left wing Labour party.
So you are in favour of nationalisation if there is no upfront cost? I feel roughly the same. Buying things back at inflated rates seems to make no sense.
Damage limitation? I don't see the point with where they currently are. It is like when you see a team 2-0 down to Barca with 20 minutes left and they still have 9 at the back so they don't let 6 in. Labour might as well have a go because the material difference between 150 and 200 is nothing.
My guess is the gap will close a little and come polling day and in addition to that the ukip-tory migration that is assumed is softer than they are allowing for, i.e. a lot of them won't vote as long as they can be convinced that brexit is definitely happening.
I don't see them being at inflated rates. They are worth what they are worth. As NinianClark has also said, many pension funds rely on these businesses to generate cashflows for their customers. What happens to pensioners, who have no time to plan or make changes to their financial arrangements?
Your second point is a decent analogy, however surely you can see that losing 6-0 in the first leg could mean that you are out of the game forever. Better to only lose 2-0 or even nick a late goal to make the next round much more competitive.
My real concern is that we end up with very weak opposition that has no way of holding government to account. when that happens all non Tory MPs may as well go home.
Tories won 165 seats in 1997 and they have recovered fine. British politics is cyclical.
Labour need to present their arguement and if it falls flat on its face so be it. They will be back at some point in some guise. I just hope they don't think they have to abandon what are actually popular policies to be deemed 'electable' or 'credible'.
Nope I think the BBC has definitely had a quiet policy of employing political journalists of a Tory persuasion.The likes of Kuenssberg,Pienaar,Nick Robinson,Andrew Neil,David Dimblebey are Tories.
Where are there the investigations and reports into foodbanks, homelessness, public sector problems, rising crime etc.There has been diddly squat.
This guy does, surprised someone like Channel 4 haven't picked him up yet
https://youtu.be/0M91g4OlGEY