Farage attacked in Barnsley!

I can see R getting some seats this time... Possibly in labour areas where the stacked tory vote from 2019 realigns and labour left or Asian vote peels away to green, Galloway or independent.

 

Doubt you could even back up the claims about linking right wing politics to offences against children tbh. How many paedophiles have revealed their political persuasion to you?

 

I'd say 3 seats max. Expect Farage to win Clacton and maybe a couple more will win. But those significant millions of votes will probably fall short of majorities. How many you reckon?

 

I can't see more than single figures but it will depend how many 2019 tory voters jump straight back from tory to reform (instead of bxp). And if the labour vote split. If people think they have a free hit, I can see splintered votes that allow right/far right parties coming through potentially.

 

No

 

Both.
It's a Labour area, and people who live in marginal seats have a much greater say on who the government will be than I do.

 

You definitely have a point here. I really dislike Farage and Reform but they will be under represented in the next Parliament. Millions will vote Reform but may end up with only a handful of MPs. Happens to the Lib Dems all the time and will be impacting the Greens too. The FPTP system is past its sell by date and the sooner it goes the better.

 

And he’s a chancer - he does it to keep him in a job, to give him a salary- he’s making money from it, he doesn’t want to be in power any more than I do - he doesn’t want that responsibility and the commitment/ work that would require , he just wants to be on a campaign trail and milk it for all it’s worth, get some donors and a nice wage.

 

If you changed the system greens, reform & LDs would get way more votes. They lose so many on the arguments that they wouldn't win.. or if they did they won't influence government.

 

Absolutely, the vote for minority parties is massively suppressed by our 18th century voting system. If people could vote with their true beliefs and have them reflected in Parliament, I think we'd potentially see 50+ Green MPs. At the last GE, it took only 38,000 votes per MP, Labour, 50,000 votes and Green 866,000 votes.

 

They need representation. Its healthier for politics. There is a splintering of opinion in the country over time and just because FPTP obsures it to an extent doesn't mean it will go away. This divergence of view needs addressing, not papering over. Its causing the two 'main' parties to lie or water things down in order to win. That's also not good. The consensus since 1945 was shattered by Thatcher in 1979 and its not healed. It's got worse for lots if reasons. FPTP needs to go.

 

Was there a 'post-war consensus'? McMillan v Wilson, Wilson v Heath, Churchill v everybody?

 

Also ban gerrymandering. Both main parties have been guilty of it for years

 

Absolutely brilliant that people came out and protested against him making it known that not everyone in Barnsley is a bigot who supports bigots. ******* stupid and indefensible for someone to throw things at him.

Instead of the headlines being that farage was met with protests and demonstrations against him in Barnsley we've got the headline of someone throwing things at him.

Idiotic

 

Yes there was. There was a consensus on the basic ideas of welfare state capitalism/mixed economy. Wilson /Heath etc actually agreed with a lot of things. It was Thatcherism that shook the system with the market capital ideas of Friedman and others. She therefore fractured the consensus (call it status quo if you like) and established the agenda for the next 40 years. All politics argument since has been influenced by this shift, hence the competition by Labour and Tories not to be seen as high tax parties (even when they are). Politics is now effectively fractured and we need a PR system other than FPTP (which is actually a PR system itself)

 

Interesting to ponder whether Thatcher actually instigated a new post-war consensus. She perceived the unions were too powerful, and were bringing the country to a standstill. Blair didn't reverse too much of her union legislation. Before you scoff, they each won three GE's by what would now be considered landslides. You only do that with the support of the electorate.

That's not to say I agreed with her, mind!

 

A friend of mine who is long gone now, was in a mob that attacked a political party leader in Barnsley. The incident is described in George Orwell's diaries and I would urge anyone with an interest in politics to read it. Your post reminded me very much of the conclusion that Orwell came to. Anyway, if there is still a doubt about the danger posed by people like Farage, the date of the incident was 1936, the politician was Oswald Mosley, the party was the British Union of Fascists, my friend was Ken Mulligan and within four years the world was on fire!

 

We have a copy of his diaries at work, I’ll look it up.

 

I think you have a point about a new consensus after Thatcher. Looks a sensible analysis. Perhaps that's one reason why the Tories are splintering and seem devoid of ideas - stuck in the Thatcher mould but incapable of thinking out of the box? The country is in decline and to me the right have no ideas. Its just blame, scapegoats and austerity as far as I can see. That's why I worry about Labour. I'll end up voting Green or Lib Dem as a protest even if its a general election if I can't see any hope. That's why FPTP has to go.

 

I read the road to wigan pier years ago and I seem to remember Barnsley featured a few times in that. Are you referring to that or specific diaries of his?