This governments shenanigans

[pabenny]

...I cannot see how others seem blind to [the behaviour of Boris and his party], or accepting of it...

You don't see the Express, Telegraph, etc then? It's obvious from the front pages that they are in almost as much of a post-truth world as the US Republicans.

[macliam]

...I cannot see how others seem blind to [the behaviour of Boris and his party], or accepting of it...

You don't see the Express, Telegraph, etc then? It's obvious from the front pages that they are in almost as much of a post-truth world as the US Republicans.

You misquote me and make my comment meaningless (rather like the "Express, Telegraph, etc" might.....). To put what I said in context, a correct restructuring would be that I cannot see how others seem blind to [the "situation where the rights and benefits of the common man are being removed or restricted, where the new generation are unlikely to do betterr than their parents and where the move to a better future seems stalled at best"] - so nothing that the Tory press can impact, just the evidence of their own eyes.

I fully agree that many media sources are guilty of selective reporting at best, and downright untruths at worst - and there is no doubt in my mind of the drip-drip brainwashing of many by such activity, but we are talking here of things that the "man in the street" can actually see, but chooses to ignore - and that's the bit I don't get.

How someone can actually believe that Johnson and his mob are "doing a good job" or that "he is the only PM who could have delivered the vaccine" (both quotes heard this week) in the face of a disastrous crash out of EU membership and the highest Covid death toll in Europe is truly beyond me.

Only this week someone has claimed to me that "Britain has dealt far better with Covid than anyone else in Europe" (just not true according to any reports), that deaths in the UK were due to "Britain's demographics, with so many old people" (hey, good one, not only incorrect but also blaming the innocent) and even that "It's because there are so many immigrants" (nice conjunction of two untruths).

We truly live amongst those who believe "alternative truth".

[Richard Frost]

Downing Street apologises to the Queen for two parties held in the building the night before Prince Philip's funeral

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59997364

[macliam]

Downing Street apologises to the Queen for two parties held in the building the night before Prince Philip's funeral

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59997364

No shame, just covering their backs

[pabenny]

No intention to distort by editing the quote - was largely agreeing with you and pointing the finger at misleading reporting.

Your acquaintance who believes that Britain has done better on Covid will have gained that impression from headlines or stories that emphasise Britain's successes and other countries' failures. It's fake news without actually lying - just preventing things that support their narrative.

For the record, I think the left-leaning press do the same, just not as stridently nor to the exclusion of other narratives.

[macliam]

No intention to distort by editing the quote - was largely agreeing with you and pointing the finger at misleading reporting.

Your acquaintance who believes that Britain has done better on Covid will have gained that impression from headlines or stories that emphasise Britain's successes and other countries' failures. It's fake news without actually lying - just preventing things that support their narrative.

For the record, I think the left-leaning press do the same, just not as stridently nor to the exclusion of other narratives.

I agree with your views expressed here. The person to whom I refer is a good friend and a genuinely nice person (although almost certainly of the "one nation" Tory persuasion - it is possibkle to be both!). His beliefs have been formed by years of such "bubble vision".... to the extent that he is one of those who believes the BBC is too left-wing, but all in all he would "do the right thing".

It truly pains me that the British establishment has purposely encouraged this kind of brainwashing after they were "frit" in the 70's and 80s by the growth of radical thought. I am not alone, an old neighbour (now deceased) was actually a Tory candidate in the 60s and 70s, but hated Margaret Thatcher and those she spawned with a vengeance. He could never be anything but a Tory, but abstained, which caused him much heartache. We had many the discussion over a wee dram, much as I had done the same with my card-carrying party member landlord whilst at Uni. Real people are not so different, if they actually think about things, there are few monsters - but the danger is always that "a few good men" do not stop the monsters who do exist - especially at Westminster.

[Sarah]

Dorries signals the end of the BBC in its current form by 2027, something this government have been foreshadowing for a long time and now proposed as one of the populist measures ("Operation Red Meat") they hope will save Johnson. This is the centenary year for the BBC so there are numerous events planned to celebrate its achievements and broad output; which might help to show whether or not the electorate really don't care about it anymore. I daresay this won't fly as well as they expect and the BBC will still be around long after Dorries is shown the door.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/ ... ing-frozen

[Richard Frost]

Dorries signals the end of the BBC in its current form by 2027, something this government have been foreshadowing for a long time and now proposed as one of the populist measures ("Operation Red Meat") they hope will save Johnson. This is the centenary year for the BBC so there are numerous events planned to celebrate its achievements and broad output; which might help to show whether or not the electorate really don't care about it anymore. I daresay this won't fly as well as they expect and the BBC will still be around long after Dorries is shown the door.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/ ... ing-frozen

For this to happen the Tories will need to be elected again at the next election. I do not think Labour have yet said what their proposals for future funding of the BBC would be. One thing is for sure if the BBC lost the income from the licence fee, their current preferred method of funding would be a subscription model. This would work out a lot more costly for those who did subscribe than the current licence fee. Although my guess is it would be included as part of a Sky or Virgin subscription.

[Sarah]

This government apparently wants us to believe that one of these is too much of a burden on the elderly, so must be stopped...

Cost of BBC licence fee: £3.7bn/year
Cost of COVID-19 fraud: £4.3bn
Cost of Test and Trace: £37bn
Cost of HS2: £100bn
Cost of Trident replacement: £205bn
Cost of Brexit: £250bn already plus £110bn/year

Reminder: This government removed the grant that funded free TV licences for the over 75s.

[macliam]

This government apparently wants us to believe that one of these is too much of a burden on the elderly, so must be stopped...

Cost of BBC licence fee: £3.7bn/year
Cost of COVID-19 fraud: £4.3bn
Cost of Test and Trace: £37bn
Cost of HS2: £100bn
Cost of Trident replacement: £205bn
Cost of Brexit: £250bn already plus £110bn/year

Reminder: This government removed the grant that funded free TV licences for the over 75s.

When the government say they "can't afford" something, it's a statement of priorities, not economics. The treatment of the elderly in the UK has never been "generous" and any benefits are begrudged by those of the "why should I pay for...." brigade.