Jump to content

Recommended Posts

On the whole, anyone who wants to be a politician is pretty much vermin.


Who is your least favourite UK politician & all round oxygen thief ?


Ed balls & Yvette Cooper - the pair of them make me dry retch whenver I see them together, usually pictured trying to dance at conferences, cold, dead eyes & rictus grins smeared across their shitty smug faces

Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/26590-politicians/
Share on other sites

woodrot Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> On the whole, anyone who wants to be a politician

> is pretty much vermin.


That's a bit unfair. Not all politicians arrive via the route of a meaningless degree and a nepotisitic (or horizontal) Westminster job. The majority still come from what they call the 'grass roots'.


These are usually people who start off by thinking that a difference needs to be made, and that they're the person for the job. Especially if their current job isn't paying all the bills.


After a bit of research, however, they find out that to stand any chance of being elected to anything, they have to join a party. So that's what they do. And after a few years of being 'active' (lots of brown-nosing and door-stepping and envelope-stuffing and agreeing with whatever they're told to agree with), they'll simper enough at a selection committee to get nominated for a councillorship, which means lots of committees and surgeries and answering the phone to people complaining about bins or leaves or next-door's cat, and provided they don't say anything wrong or possibly misinterpretable at that job, they might be deemed a safe enough pair of hands to be sounded out as a candidate for MP.


Up till that point, they're almost human. Some councillors, despite being deeply odd, aren't obviously on the take, and genuinely want to make things happen, if only to stop the complaints or to get their picture in the paper again. They may have lost any illusions about making a difference, but that's understandable. Just see Cllr Barber's thread for a comprehensive list of very good reasons.


But for some, if their noses are brown enough, Westminster may beckon. And few will resist the lure of ?60k and a staff budget and a little bit of plutocratic privilege to make up for the years they've spent canvassing and flattering and sitting in meetings on behalf of people they didn't much like to start with. Now, it's payback time, and that's when they become vermin.


But while we have a partisan democracy, we'll never get anything better. A few independents will have a go, but unless they're in a constituency where people vote on the basis of something other than tradition, it's a hiding to nothing. Those that we have had, with only a couple of exceptions, are usually MPs already who just happen to have ditched their party or vice versa.


For me, my least favourite has to be Tessa Jowell. If only because she's (on occasion) nearest.

Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/26590-politicians/#findComment-590521
Share on other sites

I think most people vote for a party, not an individual in national elections, so Tessa Jowell's reelection tells us very little in terms of her quality or competence.


I thought Burbage's pr?cis of a parliamentary career was perfectly astute.


I'm more inclined to think MPs as idiots rather than vermin. I guess the nicest thing you could say is that by the time they reach parliament they've been ruined by the years of compromises they need to engage in to get there.


Visionary thinkers don't really fit into party hierarchies.

Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/26590-politicians/#findComment-590560
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • Miranda Sawyer of the (once) Observer has done a piece on festival on Insta which might be of-interest.  Councils are private companies, imo. They make money for themselves, imo.  I do not think by law that they have to follow anything brought up by a consultation, this is for 'face' only - hence, LTNs and everything else.  
    • My understanding is the "free event" is 100% Gala, nothing to do with the council. Obviously Gala will still make money from the food & drink that they are trying to coerce punters into buying on their social media posts. Their costs will be negligible due to already having the infrastructure in place for Gala. So Gala are trying to appear community minded by providing this "free event", but the real goal is to set a precedent for a fourth day's festival - which surely no one could possibly object to?!? - in preparation for applying (again) for two three-day festivals spread over two weekends. It's only another two days, right, and the site & equipment is already there, so why would anyone object?!? More money for the council, much more money for Gala, win-win right? But yet another week of our park taken away from us, too, and another 18,000 people trampling & littering the park, and another week of disturbance for the native birds & wildlife...
    • Meson Don Felipe on The Cut was my go to place for many years. Though it's now many years since I was there. 10-15 minute walk from the Tate. If you go can you tell me what it's like nowadays?
    • Doubt you would have got much change out of £150.00 for battery and certainly having forked out for it, best to use your car. I recently sold  my car via webuyanycar.com - very pleasant experience & was roughly what I was expecting. Pop your bangers reg jnto their website to get an idea of price - they do send e mails once a fortnight/month just as an aid for you. Easy enough to delete - don’t even have to read valuation. They literally buy any car - if you can’t get it to them, they will charge you to get it there or recommend a co that will do it for you. Must say, mine was a 2014 reg and whilst a bit suspicious, paid extra to get money into my account as needed it for next car but was assured funds had I not gone down route I took would be in my account within 5 days. I now live in the country - every time I have been back to Dulwich and surrounding area, normally get a fine for driving at wrong time or parking at  wrong time so if I drive now, park in West or East Dulwich and do everything else by public transport and walking.  Were I still to be living in ED then before I left was pondering this very issue but since I have been back regularly for health reason I no longer drive but take the train and then buses, walk or Uber. Much cheaper than running a car and had I stayed, that would have been the course I would have taken. I don’t go out everyday, have an allotment or job to go to or family so in my case, would be cheaper not to have a car.  Was truely shocked   at the cost of second hand cars…..but where I now live only has a smattering of buses so no choice but to have wheels to get from A to B etc.          
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...