this post was submitted on 13 Dec 2023
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[–] chitak166@lemmy.world 131 points 2 years ago (16 children)

I think there's something fundamentally wrong with British culture. How do they keep electing such garbage politicians? It's like every decision they make looks awful to everyone but Brits only realize it after the fact.

[–] Z3k3@lemmy.world 124 points 2 years ago (5 children)

While you are not wrong it's worth noting he was not elected by the public and even worse before he was basically handed the job he ran (internaly) on a platform of fixing the economy he fucked as chancellor of the exchequer

[–] nicetriangle@kbin.social 57 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (5 children)

Well someone keeps voting in the fucking tories. If they didn't, he wouldn't be PM right now.

[–] TheMongoose@kbin.social 31 points 2 years ago (2 children)

While true, the Tory party that won the last election looks a bit different to the gobshites that are in government now.

Don't get me wrong, I thought the last lot were assholes as well, but while technically legal, swapping out basically all of the government several times seems like a bit of a bait and switch.

[–] nicetriangle@kbin.social 10 points 2 years ago (4 children)

Yeah same can be said for republicans. Seems like conservative parties around the western world are going batshit crazy lately

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[–] Squizzy@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago (4 children)

I hate this excuse, everyone knows how parliaments work. You vote for representatives that form a government. Everyone votes for their own constituency only but not everyone ends up with dickheads so consistently.

[–] Uncle_Bagel@midwest.social 13 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Sure, but Sunak wasnt even the second choice for the Tories during the last election. He's in the Gerald Ford grey zone where no one feels like they voted for him, making him seem illegitimate. The British public voted for the Tories in 2019 (because they are morons) with the expectation that Boris Johnson would be in charge. Now the head of the party has resigned twice since then. In theory it'sall standard procedure for Parliament, but it's a clearly unstable government and viewed as a farce at this point.

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[–] Aceticon@lemmy.world 9 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The guy that was elected by the public was Boris Johnson, who is arguably even worse.

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[–] breadsmasher@lemmy.world 37 points 2 years ago (11 children)

Britain elects parties who then choose the leader. Thats how weve had so many different PMs. Its not like for example where the people elect an individual for four years.

We had a PM who lasted less time than a lettuce. All chosen by the conservative party

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[–] YoBuckStopsHere@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago

Look who is voting and who isn't.

[–] Piatro@programming.dev 7 points 2 years ago

Another commenter said this but the last two prime ministers were only chosen by the conservative party membership, not by general election. So about 30,000 people have decided the ruler of the country for the past couple of years. You can argue about PMs before then but First Past the Post voting also has a lot to answer for.

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[–] djsoren19@yiffit.net 60 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Americans get too excited when they read headlines like this. Nobody voted for Rishi, they voted for the Tories what felt like a decade ago. The Tories have had a revolving door policy, and new rubes keep taking the PM position after the last one leaves/is forced out. Some portion of that 70% are Tory voters who just want another spin on the PM wheel.

[–] RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago (1 children)

How long has it been since the last election?

[–] TheOgreChef@lemmy.world 14 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Last election was in 2019, and they’re usually every 5 years. The next one has to be set for no later than January 2025, but could be earlier than that.

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Ummm.... Why the variable timeline? I don't really understand US politics, and I'm an American. I've no hope of really understanding the UK system... Still, how do you not just vote in a new government/PM/MPs on a set schedule? That's the most not British thing I've ever heard of. I thought you guys love routines.

[–] TassieTosser@aussie.zone 14 points 2 years ago (11 children)

We have the same system in Australia. Constitution sets a maximum govt term but a parliamentary majority can call an election at any time before then.

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[–] Minarble@aussie.zone 35 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Is that because he is a twat?

[–] wewbull@feddit.uk 12 points 2 years ago (2 children)

No, it's because he's a Conservative MP

[–] veganpizza69@lemmy.world 23 points 2 years ago

A distinction without a difference

[–] reverendsteveii@lemm.ee 22 points 2 years ago

did you know that any time a child is born in britain that child has a 10% chance of becoming a tory PM when the sitting one resigns in shame?

[–] UserMeNever@feddit.nl 18 points 2 years ago

What do you mean "any longer" ?! We never wanted him. 4th choise of one party.

[–] Lophostemon@aussie.zone 18 points 2 years ago

He wasn’t even elected in the first place.

[–] Netrunner@programming.dev 15 points 2 years ago

Hardly feels like it matters....is the next person going to be just as bad, it's exhausting...

[–] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 14 points 2 years ago

Start the lettuce.

[–] inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world 11 points 2 years ago (3 children)

I mean okay but just like the US, you get what you voted for.

[–] BaronVonBort@lemmy.world 28 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Honestly that’s the thing about when the UK talks shit about US politics - yeah, we have our problems but yall VOTED to destroy your economy and close your borders to your own detriment and you currently have a revolving door PM where one of them got outlasted by a head of iceberg.

[–] Aceticon@lemmy.world 15 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

In all fairness Britain are the only self-proclaimed Democracy ("Oldest in the World", they tell us) with an even more undemocratic political system than the US, because in addition to a First Past The Post voting system, they also have a monarch with - as was exposed a couple of years ago - real power as head of state, an unelected Second Chamber with inherited and nominated-for-live positions and, probably worse, no written Constituition so any party in Parliament with a simple 50% + 1 majority can pretty much do whatever they want.

The FTPT + No Constitution combination is probably the worst part, as it means that a party with a mere 41% of votes of cast (so about the votes of only 1/4 of voters, due to abstention) - such as the current ones - can get a parliamentary majority (so, more than 50% of seats) and do things that in other countries would require constitutional changes (which generally require 66% or 75% of votes, depending on country), so things like changing the local definition of Human Rights.

Mind you, the Brexit vote isn't at all affected by these things, so your point still stands unaffected by those considerations.

[–] BaronVonBort@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I appreciate the response, because this is actually fascinating. As much as I think America’s system is broken, it’s more to do with political spend and gerrymandering than literal centuries of aristocracy deciding it.

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[–] FluffyPotato@lemm.ee 11 points 2 years ago (3 children)

I'm not from the UK but from what I have seen the UK seems to really be heading in the same direction as the US where there are two absolutely awful parties to vote for and one is like 10% better.

[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

The last labour government that was in power was the most right wing, neoliberal one there has ever been, and yet they still massively improved the country over the shit state that Thatcher and Major got it into.

  • Over doubling of NHS funding, bringing it up to being the highest ranked health service in the world for a time.

  • Homelessness massively cut down, with rough sleeping virtually ~~irradiated~~ (EDIT) eradicated. Bizarre autocorrect there lol

  • The minimum wage and a bunch of other workers rights improvements.

  • Parliamentary processes made more transparent

  • Devolution of powers to Scotland, Wales, NI

  • Massively improved schooling

  • Massively reduced crime, especially violent crime.

  • Longest period of sustained low inflation since the 60s despite having a rapidly growing economy

  • More years in economic surplus than the Tories

  • Didn't interfere with the BBC, even going as far as to put in place a Conservative chairman, because he was the best suited for the job, rather than appointing a mouthpiece for the Labour party.

  • Help for childcare costs

  • Drastic improvements for people with disabilities in terms of infrastructure, schooling, care

  • Expansion in LGBT rights, including the right to adopt

  • probably a bunch of stuff I've forgotten.

I'd much, much much rather have an actually competent government that broadly seeks out to improve people's lives, even if they do have failings (e.g. failure to do much about the housing crisis) rather than the Conservative party, under whom the UK has got worse in practically every single way.

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[–] Contestant@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Seems like a simple answer to vote for the one that's 10% better

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[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 11 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Then call for an election and kick the Conservative sods out of the chambers.

[–] YoBuckStopsHere@lemmy.world 14 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Looking as who is voting, you're not going to remove any Tories.

[–] crapwittyname@lemm.ee 6 points 2 years ago

The blue Tories are absolutely finished. The red Tories are definitely getting in next election.

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[–] Navarian@lemm.ee 10 points 2 years ago (1 children)

For what it's worth, in 2019 a majority of people voted for parties other than the Tories. They received 43% of the vote, and their leader at the time was Boris Johnson.

The last two Prime Ministers weren't elected by voters, though I suppose you could argue that the majority of voters didn't elect Boris either.

The comments I'm seeing saying something like "well you voted for this" are incredibly misguided. We have a fucking terribly archaic voting system that doesn't serve us at all, there are several large pushes throughout the UK trying to change that.

[–] crapwittyname@lemm.ee 9 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

First past the post has to go. I believe it's the most important issue in our country right now, because it's stopping us from dealing with the actually important issues. To wit: we're debating sending 100 refugees or less a year to Rwanda as a matter of the utmost urgency while the world is catching fire, in any metaphorical sense you care to mention. Geographical concentration of voters should no longer confer political power where the open internet exists.

There are two problems with the urgent need to change this broken broken system though: 1. I don't know what better to replace it with, and 2. I don't have enough faith in the British public anymore to actually agree on the more important issues once it's gone.

Side note: the argument doing the rounds about "but the far right will get in" is irrelevant because our last two home secretaries have been irreconcilable, despicable far-right headbangers. They're already in.

[–] Jaysyn@kbin.social 10 points 2 years ago (1 children)

That number seems low considering how incompetent the Tories are.

[–] YoBuckStopsHere@lemmy.world 12 points 2 years ago

When only the elderly vote, you get shit government.

[–] killeronthecorner@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago

That's 30% lower than members of Rishi's personal bathroom.

[–] spiderkle@lemmy.ca 8 points 2 years ago (1 children)

just skip to the next already.

[–] ours@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago

And prepare his replacement straight away and streamline the process.

[–] steeznson@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Surprised it's not higher given how catastrophically badly his party have been running things

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