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"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Tony B.'s return should be interesting, despite the fact he's not going to change a damn thing. Past misdemeanours aside, I'd forgotten how articulate he is.
He's ruffling feathers is Tone, and it's only just gone ten am. Got me popcorn ready.
Let someone with some respect and credibility upset the applecart.
In the interim it's time for a bit of theatre.
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
which means that a swing of 2% (miniscule in terms of political swings) would make leave & remain 50/50.
basically (allowing for small change) half of those who voted wanted to stay & half wanted to remain.
if you are 52%/48% decided on something, you are basically undecided or confused.
http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/0E22/production/_90081630_leaveresult.jpg
let's be really honest about that. talk of a collective & monolothic single-minded 'will of the people' is shite. it's a fantasy. leavers are in denial (lying to themselves & others) about that because it suits them, not because it is the case.
the biggest problem for democracy is that it's a fantasy the two major parties (& their filthy ukip appendage) are indugling rather than challenging.
it is certainly the job of the opposition to challenge it, & my disappointment with corbyn & labour on this is immense. but also the job of the government to accept & address it, since they are democratically obliged to serve the best interests of the entire country.
not just the 52% percent of the 70% of the 100% eleigible electorate who voted.
so while i don't like blair & i thought new labour was a betrayal of labour core values -
in my opinion they let neo-liberalism run riot, fiddling around with with tax credits etc, instead of addressing the fundamentals that underpin inequality -
i am behind anyone calling the government & opposition to account for indulging this ongoing 'will of the people' lie.
politics is weird & sometime you end up in strange & even perverse alliances in order to get the best result, but i'm behind blair on this issue & in this campaign. freaky but so.
i would rather corbyn was doing it, but he isn't, so i am obliged to take what is on the table.
importantly, blair is not alone, this is not blair's campaign or blair's argument. it's a public campaign & public argument that has been going on since june. if you are a remainer & committed to blocking brexit you may well have already been campaigning & arguing ever since & should continue to do so, if you really have the courage of your convictions.
but, flawed as blair is, one can't deny he has two political strengths.
the first is that he can really talk the talk. he's a smooth & persuasive talker & still very popular with a lot of the public. in spite of everything, he can still get through to the general public in that intimate one-to-one 'sincere' way only the most successful (good & bad) politicians can.
& second is that many people associate better (pre-crash) times with him. that's a big factor on the subconscious-irrational instinct level. we saw how big a part nostalgia (remember albion etc!) played in the leave campaign. well nostalgia cuts both ways & blair presses that 'good times' button for many.
if you did well during blair & new labour's stay & have struggled since 2010 (the tory dark ages) than he speaks to you & for you in a way they don't & can't.
so interesting times. weird times.
Interesting what you said about perverse alliances; I strongly disliked Corbyn from the off, but I wanted him to work out because we're all fighting from the same corner. I'm the same with you on Blair in a lot of respects - you've got to extract the good and learn from it, and use it to your advantage. I feel it's this diplomacy missing missing from all areas of world politics at the moment. People now just seem to pick a hardline stance and yell supporting yet empty platitudes into a microphone.
I thought he voted 'Leave'?
as in 'Leave Iraq in a complete mess'
It's not about having a problem with the result of a democratic vote.
It's about having a problem with taking a result that had a very narrow majority and using it as a mandate to pursue a very hard-line policy which was not made explicit to the voting public at the time. 48% of the voters definitely didn't want what's happening now, and of the 52% who voted leave, I don't think it would be unfair to say a portion of them didn't think leaving the EU political organisation also meant automatically leaving the economic/ trading partnership too.
Of course everyone who DOES want this to happen is going to claim dissenters are going against the will of the people, what a powerful political tool that is!
As for Blair, he's a tool but I very reluctantly have to say I'm glad someone's fighting for an alternative.
Bandcamp
Spotify, Apple et al
And Blair had all sorts of issues - cutting benefits to single parents, trying to reorganise public services, a major NHS crisis - Patricia Hewitt was booed and slow hand clapped by NHS staff over deficits and a lack of funding. The Unions didn't like Blair. And Blair offered a referendum on the EU - we know what happened next. There's something dishonest and grubby about Blair.
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!