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Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

bbc.co.uk

561–570 of 651 posts

Re: Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

#561

I know this topic is important in substance and the thing I'm about to say is an aesthetic issue, but as an American watching this unfold I have admired the Brits for the sense of heart that still seems to be present in their politics. I'm referring to the parliamentary sessions in which, even though they're savagely roasting each other, they're doing in a way that feels somehow good-hearted and doesn't lay bare the…

How do you watch that video and think it's a sign that things are going well? That's idiocracy level of discourse. My take away from that video is that the UK had much more serious problems than I realized.

Re: Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

#562
post #501

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s the same “public” as in “public houses” (actually privately-owned premises) or “public companies” (publicly traded but still private interests). One more quirk of the English language.

The public in public houses presumably comes from the fact that they're open to the public to enter. There's obviously the implied need to buy something if you spend a length of time there, but compare to a private house (I.e. a residence) where the public does not by default have permission to enter.

Public schools originally were the opposite of private tutoring, and often were genuinely targeting poor children who couldn't afford a tutor. Hence why so many of them have a charity status.

Re: Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

#564

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes you believe that is desirable?

the belief that wider representation in the government, less polarization, a strong parliament and a weak executive is more desirable.

A weak executive would seem to reduce representation in government though?

As each member of parliament must necessarily represent the biggest groups in their constituencies.

So a decent size group scattered across many dozens of constituencies into relatively tiny groups would simply never get taken seriously without a strong executive.

Re: Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

#565

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>even though they're savagely roasting each other, they're doing in a way that feels somehow good-hearted and doesn't lay bare the naked resentment and hatred that seems to be all we have left in the USA. The difference is they all went to the same schools together. Makes close to zero difference who runs the country, because once you’ve lived under both sides it’s the same thing.

That's not even remotely true. The Leader of the Opposition (Keir Starmer) went to Reigate, then to Leeds University. Gordon Brown went to Edinburgh University, Jeremy Corbyn went to North London Poly. Only Ed Milliband and Tony Blair went to Oxford, which is where (of the Conservative Party): David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Theresa May and Liz Truss went. Saying "living under both sides is the same thing" is also obse…

> Labour governments of 1997 to 2010

Ahh yeah the “WMD” Iraq war and introduction of University top up fees.

Re: Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

#566
post #180

I know this topic is important in substance and the thing I'm about to say is an aesthetic issue, but as an American watching this unfold I have admired the Brits for the sense of heart that still seems to be present in their politics. I'm referring to the parliamentary sessions in which, even though they're savagely roasting each other, they're doing in a way that feels somehow good-hearted and doesn't lay bare the…

> hatred that seems to be all we have left in the USA. UK and USA, they make a very interesting pair https://eand.co/how-america-collapsed-and-became-a-fourth-wo... > Both nations, too, now, are nasty places . They feel so markedly different than the great social democracies of Western Europe and Canada. The atmosphere and mood are ones of constant, omnipresent hostility — to everyone, from everyone

That’s a lot of poetic words to poorly explain why 4x as many Canadians choose to immigrate to the US than US to Canada…

Re: Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

#567
post #413

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't the groups in the gilt market, mortgage market, pension funds, etc., have lobbyists that would be able to communicate their concerns and fears ahead of time? For that matter aren't there Whitehall staff that could easily have said something? It all seems bizarre from the outside.

There are all sorts of processes to say to her that this was a bad idea. She ignored them. It's a very Chernobyl kind of process: in order to run your experiment, first ignore all the safety alarms. And, of course, very Brexit.

Why did the relevant Ministers, such as the lord Chancellor, Chancellor of the Exchequer, etc., sign off on it too?

Re: Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

#568

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Postgraduate degrees are VERY different from undergraduate degrees, typically being a year long and being a lot less integrated into the "student lifestyle." Where you spend your time as an undergrad is a lot more impactful on who you interact with and how your worldview is formed than the time you may spend as a postgrad.

He has a degree from Oxford. Which you left out to make your side look better. I think it's time to look in the mirror and see that your preconceptions and biases are making you overlook reality. Like.. obvious reality. Reality that's so obvious it's in Wikipedia info boxes.

The experience of doing a postgraduate degree is so far away from the experience of studying at Oxford as an undergraduate that they may as well be different universities. Different demographic makeup (much fewer private school kids, much more international students), different teaching methods (no training in 'blagging' a 1:1 tutorial with minimal reading, a very transferable skill to politics) and no time to hack around at the Union or make a name in one of the political clubs.

Honestly, the problem isn't even with all Oxford undergraduate degrees, just a slice of PPE and adjacent students who are vastly overrepresented in politics.

(My background: Leeds BA, Oxford MSc/DPhil. Don't like Starmer, though, despite our similar university choices...)

Re: Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

#570

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a different kind of turmoil than we have in the US. I subscribe to The Economist which would like to support the Tories but has had nothing but contempt for Teresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Some people say that the Democrats in the US are like the losers in professional wrestling but the complete incompetence and inability of Labor to get elected makes it possible for conservatives to get elected by pand…

> It's a different kind of turmoil than we have in the US. 100%. The inability of Labour to make headway at this time is so depressing. The common ground between the UK and the US is the inability to find and promote leaders with a combination of age, charisma and ability on their side. If their best are those elected, the future is grim.

They were at a 33 point lead in the polls recently, the biggest lead of any party since the early 90s.
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