Tory Country

[Arniepie]

2 minutes ago, Bjornebye said:

Don't the tories like them to be referred to as Food Pantries now? What are we something like the 5th richest country in the world? Like fuck we should have foodbanks and a society that needs them is a fucked society. Especially when we've got a prime minister who wrote off billions of lost* money over covid. 

 

*Stuffed into the back pockets of Tories and their cronies. 

 

 

That said, they are a life line for many people and we should all do our bit to help. Let's face it, the government aren't. 

The argument that just became we have more foodbanks,doesn't mean people are more poorer,is genuinely one of the most surreal things I've ever read.

[A Red]

1 minute ago, Rushies tash said:

 

Has anyone even tried? A society that leaves people so poor, they cannot even afford basic necessities is all we have to aspire to? Nah, that's accepting the austerity rhetoric the Tories used to usher in this kind of shite. The kind of society they have across the Atlantic that sees people shrug as others pick from bins? Fuck that.

From my experience, the majority of foodbank users are people with mental health issues and addictions, and to a lesser extent, people needing something tiding them over, such as needing a new fridge etc. 

 

Now, want to do something about addictions and mental health? Thats a different debate. Compulsory help is my solution.

[Rushies tash]

6 minutes ago, A Red said:

From my experience, the majority of foodbank users are people with mental health issues and addictions, and to a lesser extent, people needing something tiding them over, such as needing a new fridge etc. 

 

Now, want to do something about addictions and mental health? Thats a different debate. Compulsory help is my solution.

 

Your second point, absolutely. A joined up approach to treatment of mental health issues and addiction is long overdue in this country. Unfortunately, it requires the kind of investment that I fear this government are unwilling to make. Which is insane as it would save a load of money in the long run.

 

Your second point (and I am not disputing your experiences at all) sounds a bit like the "I've read" feller above. The fact that we need them at all is shameful. Full stop.

[Arniepie]

I think it makes complete sense to have a safety net,and foodbanks provide that.

However when you have a situation  when even working people,are struggling that much,they have to use one,and libraries,well the ones that are still open,are being used for old people not to freeze death,I'd suggest the government may not have our best interests at heart.

Still like the millionaire David Cameron said,we are at least all in this together. 

[Bjornebye]

I think the point being made was that they ARE a good invention and thats indisputable because people rely on them and they’re letting people eat. 
 

The debate about why we have them and how we can have a society without them is a completely different conversation. 

[Section_31]

You could easily get rid of food banks, either by ensuring people are paid enough to pay for at least the basics, or - if they're not working - pay them enough in benefits to do the same.

 

People are paid poverty wages and that's creeping into what used to be the middle classes. There's nurses and council staff using food banks. 

 

I'd be interested to know what the foodbank situation is in places like Finland.

[sir roger]

The ' I've read about the Tressell Trust ' narrative belongs to the ' Most homeless people are earning a fortune and getting picked up in BMW's every night ' sort of cobblers and is simply handy to believe for horrible cunts who don't give a shit about anybody worse off than themselves but don't want to acknowledge the fact.

[Kevin D]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nigel-farage-im-a-celebrity-tories-reform-party-smf6xdf02
 

For most of the celebrities who head into the jungle, the bushtucker trials are a price to be paid for the paycheck.

Yet in an unguarded moment Nigel Farage revealed a slightly different approach to the show still watched by seven million viewers each night. 

“Every trial you do, it’s 25 per cent of each programme … I’m jealous, I wanted to do it,” he told a fellow contestant, having missed out on the chance to scramble through a tunnel of spiders and rats.

 

Fifteen thousand miles away in London at the headquarters of Reform UK, the party Farage helped form five years ago, allies know why: after five years in the relative political wilderness, the former scourge of the Tories is using the show as the springboard for a political comeback.

 

“It is all about timing and Nigel has always been good at timing,” said one. “For him this is 2012 all over again. He’s using Celebrity to introduce himself to a whole new demographic.”

And there are clear similarities between now and decade ago when Farage went from being a relatively minor figure on the right of British politics to a serious electoral force.

 

Ukip, the party he led at the time, went from 5 per cent in the polls at the start of that year to as much as 15 per cent the following December on the back of concerns over immigration and the free movement of people.

At the start of this year, Reform, of which he is honorary president, was polling at around 5 per cent. A YouGov survey for The Times this week put the party on 10 per cent. 

 

And that is without the “Farage factor”. The YouGov survey shows that were Farage to return to frontline politics and take over from Richard Tice, Reform’s current leader, its support would increase to 14 per cent. Among Tory 2019 voters Farage’s favourability ratings are currently higher than those of Rishi Sunak.

 

Such figures, political analysts say, could make Reform UK a serious player at next year’s electionand potentially cost the Tories around 100 seats in “red wall” areas taken by Boris Johnson in 2019. 

“If you go beneath the bonnet of the polling, you find around one in eight people who supported Johnson in 2019 now say they are going to vote Reform,” said Matthew Goodwin, professor of politics at the University of Kent.

 

“At the next election, if Reform is anywhere between 5 and 10 per cent it will spell the death of Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives.”

 

It is a threat that Tory MPs are taking increasingly seriously.

 

“I surveyed my members and people were saying things like, ‘You promised to stop the boats. You haven’t stopped the boats, so I’m not going to vote for you’,” said one former minister. “It’s hard to argue with the simplicity of that. It’s hardly surprising that Reform is on the up when we aren’t delivering things that we’ve promised. Tice is useless but you can see that Farage’s game plan is to come back, and then the whole thing will go ‘whoosh!’ and we’re finished.”

 

Another former cabinet minister added: “It’s very serious — if they mobilise properly. They won’t win a single seat but they will hand lots to Labour. The mood on the doorstep is toxic. I have taken to telling people, ‘It’s OK, you can vote for me because we are going to lose the election, get a new leader and then we can have some proper Conservative policies’.”

 

Those close to Farage say he agreed to take part in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! not only to reestablish his profile but because of the demographics of the show. While he has always had a strong segment of support among older voters, I’m a Celebrity exposes him to younger working-class voters who are not so politically aware but may be sympathetic to his hardline stance on immigration and anti-woke issues.

 

He even now has his own TikTok which has had over 400 million views. 

“Look at the demographic of the people who watch it,” said one. “He knows that the under-40s are not his audience but no one speaks to that demographic. If he comes across as ordinary and reasonable then it’s worth the risk.”

And the YouGov polling polling suggests that he may be right. Around a third of that demographic are already sympathetic to his arguments. Some 38 per cent support sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, while 28 per cent think Britain’s international legal obligations should come second to stopping the boats.

 

But only about 10 per cent of that age group say Farage is the politician that most shares their own views on immigration, compared with an average of 18 per cent across all age groups. Those who have known Farage for a long time say he sees the political stars aligning again and cannot resist another tilt at disruption.

 

Look what is happening in Holland, in Germany and across Europe,” said one. “Right-wing parties are surging in popularity because mainstream politicians are not listening to the concerns of the people about immigration. Nigel is not dumb. He travels around the country probably more than any politician and knows how disillusioned people are about immigration here. But who is representing them?”

 

Among Tories the fear is that if Farage were to announce a return to frontline politics, money would follow him. Reform UK has already recruited about 250 parliamentary candidates and promised them the party will cover any losses of their deposits. 

 

While money is still tight, sources suggest there are a number of former Tory donors infuriated with the party’s direction under Sunak who are prepared to fund Reform with one eye on what happens after the next election. Jeremy Hosking, the former Tory donor who has in the past given more than £1.5 million to pro-Brexit causes, gave money over the summer — as did Sir David Ord, who has previously given the Tories almost £1 million. 
 

There is also the prospect of the return of Christopher Harborne, a British businessman based in Thailand who gave Reform — then known as the Brexit party — more than £10 million in the run-up to the 2019 election.

 

Goodwin cautioned that many of the donors who supported Farage in his previous incarnations had yet to make up their mind about whether to back Reform this time round. “I think they are considering it but nothing is certain,” he said. “If Reform are going to mount a serious challengethey probably need to bring in £10 million to £15 million.”

Money is not the only issue. In this year’s local elections, Reform won only six seats out of the 8,519 up for election and unlike Ukip in the past, it does not have the base of activists necessary to maximise its vote.

 

“At the moment Reform doesn’t have any kind of infrastructure on my patch,” said one Tory MP. “You get the far-right handing out leaflets but there is nothing like that from Reform. I may be wrong, but at the moment I’d say they’re not too much of a threat.”

 

Another added: “At the moment they don’t have the organisation but Farage is the game-changer. If he comes back then his impact will be huge and will motivate people in a way that is inconceivable under Tice.”
 

However, one Tory strategist said that their private polling showed that among Reform supporters the one outcome they wanted least of all was a Labour majority.

 

“At the moment they’re saying they’ll support Reform because they think Labour are going to win anyway,” they said. “They could come back but the polls have to tighten.”

 

Tice himself seems to think Farage will come back from the jungle re-energised for the fight — even if that could put his own position as party leader in peril.

 

“I think he’ll be absolutely furious when he comes out [of the jungle] because of course he knows nothing of what’s going on [about Rwanda and legal migration figures]. I hope he finds it irresistible to not want to put his shoulder actively behind the wheel.”

 

 

[Anubis]

7 hours ago, A Red said:

He was an uneducated uncaring prick. Did he really think that a tin of beans donated was going to be monetarised for the Trussell Trusts benefit? No, I'm sure not, he wanted attention.

He probably thinks that your wife cherry picked the good stuff and it’s sitting in your kitchen cupboard.

[Kepler-186]

The scene in The Wire where Bubbles is showing the journalist around and they’re at a church kitchen and the journalist asks “are these people all

homeless?” and Bubs replies “no, most of these people here be working poor” with the inference being they were waiting for paychecks or just making things go a little further. 
 

Hard to save for a rainy day if your pay doesn’t cover the basics but then that’s an opportunity for the absolute vultures who run this country. 

[TD_LFC]

9 hours ago, A Red said:

From my experience, the majority of foodbank users are people with mental health issues and addictions, and to a lesser extent, people needing something tiding them over, such as needing a new fridge etc. 

 

Now, want to do something about addictions and mental health? Thats a different debate. Compulsory help is my solution.

 

Steady on Dominic Raab.

 

I'm sure it convenient for Tories to believe that people only need food banks while they buy a new fridge or because of mental health issues because the reality of it being used by families on one meal a day or kids who are watching their parents skip meals so that they can get 3 semi-decent meals is too unpalatable for your kind to consider but tough shit.

 

Around 60,000 packages were sent out in 2010, a figure that was still too high but once the Tories got their corrupt hands on his country and started milking it for everything it was worth we're now at 3 million.

 

Any Tory supporter should just hold their hands up and feel fucking ashamed, a Liverpool supporting Tory supporter should feel doubly ashamed.

[Curly]

13 hours ago, an tha said:

Fucking hell.

 

Where do they find them?

 

Prepare to laugh but want to cry.....

 

 

 

Tories saying “I come from a background of poverty” is akin to the old “I’ve got loads of black mates” line to try to diffuse any notion of racism before saying something racist.

 

It’s actually more loaded in a way, because while it’s similar in saying “this is my experience, I get it” it’s also alluding to the message of “and look at me now - if I can, then what’s their issue? Ask yourself that”.

 

It pisses me off every time I hear it

[Jairzinho]

We had a society where they were barely needed. Then we had 13 years of Tories. 

 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/382695/uk-foodbank-users/#:~:text=Number of people using food banks in the UK 2008-2023&text=In 2022%2F23 approximately 2.99,to more than 2.56 million.

[TD_LFC]

The connection young Hyacinth Bucket isn't making is that the majority of her life would have been under Tory rule. She just see's Tory support as aspirational of who she wants to be not who she is and who the people around her are (or how their lives are directly impacted by the party she supports)

 

Bet she's a nightmare at family gatherings.

 

Same goes for the first guy on the video who wants to keep more of his wages, how's that going nob head?

 

 

[lifetime fan]

13 hours ago, an tha said:

Fucking hell.

 

Where do they find them?

 

Prepare to laugh but want to cry.....

 

 

 

 

[A Red]

3 hours ago, TD_LFC said:

 

Steady on Dominic Raab.

 

I'm sure it convenient for Tories to believe that people only need food banks while they buy a new fridge or because of mental health issues because the reality of it being used by families on one meal a day or kids who are watching their parents skip meals so that they can get 3 semi-decent meals is too unpalatable for your kind to consider but tough shit.

 

Around 60,000 packages were sent out in 2010, a figure that was still too high but once the Tories got their corrupt hands on his country and started milking it for everything it was worth we're now at 3 million.

 

Any Tory supporter should just hold their hands up and feel fucking ashamed, a Liverpool supporting Tory supporter should feel doubly ashamed.

Fuck off, a couple of points for you.

 

I'm not a Tory supporter although I've voted for them before and I'm certainly not defending them. My comments about who use food banks are based on me having worked in one and doing deliveries for the past 4 years.

 

I am not playing down the need for foodbanks and my comment about fridges was to point out that many people live hand to mouth and it only takes 1, often small, unexpected event to blow their budget.

 

Fuck off with your snide shit, I've got nothing to feel ashamed about.

 

 

[TD_LFC]

22 minutes ago, A Red said:

I've voted for them before

 

[Section_31]

The Tory mindset in a nutshell. Shit on anyone except me and mine. 

 

 

[TD_LFC]

3 hours ago, Section_31 said:

The Tory mindset in a nutshell. Shit on anyone except me and mine. 

 

 

 

Wait until the conservative voting old timers planning their sordid holidays to Thailand find out they can't bring a wife back

[Kepler-186]

Never gets old. 

[an tha]

Little ingerlund, racist, xenophobic fuckwits everywhere....although if it fucks the tory vermin vote up then ok but still fucking hell

 

[Section_31]

The red wall should have white phosphorus dropped on it. 

[Section_31]

Blackpool Tory MP no.2 in hot water too potentially.

 

Calls have been made for the prime minister to suspend the whip from a minister while claims he used his taxpayer-funded constituency office to campaign for the Conservative party are reviewed.

Paul Maynard, the pensions minister, has been referred to an investigator by the parliamentary expenses watchdog over reports that he charged taxpayes when producing political materials

The Sunday Times, which broke the story, also reported that the Blackpool North and Cleveleys MP claimed rent for an office that doubles up as his local Tory association’s headquarters.

[Kevin D]

https://news.sky.com/story/three-quarters-of-britons-think-country-in-a-worse-state-now-than-when-tories-came-to-power-13044239?dcmp=snt-sf-twitter
 

Three quarters of Britons think the UK is in a worse state now than when the Conservative Party came to power in 2010, according to a YouGov poll.

 

The survey asked over 2,000 adults whether they think things are better, worse or the same as they were 13 years ago.

 

In a damning assessment of the Tories' record in government, 75% of people said things were either much worse (41%) or somewhat worse (34%).

 

By comparison just 1% of voters said the party has left the country in a much better state, while 6% said that it is somewhat better.

 

A breakdown of the results by political affiliation suggests the dissatisfaction was even felt by a majority of Conservative voters, with 68% of people who voted for the Tories in 2019 saying things are worse.

 

It comes after a senior Tory MP warned his party faces "obliteration" at the next election after leaving the country in a worse state than they inherited it in.

 

Danny Kruger, co-founder of the New Conservatives and a leading figure on the right of the party, told a private event of Tory members that "the narrative that the public has now firmly adopted - that over 13 years things have got worse - is one we just have to acknowledge and admit".

He said while some things have been done right, such as free schools and Brexit, "overall... if we leave office next year, we would have left the country sadder, less united and less conservative than when we found it".

 

Mr Kruger made the comments in October but they emerged on Monday after being passed on to The Guardian.

He told the newspaper he was making the "case for realism and for honesty with the public" and his party faces "obliteration" if it does not "remember the people we work for".

The comments reflect the pessimism of many Tory MPs ahead of the next general election, expected in the second half of this year.

 

Polls suggest the Conservatives are on track to lose, which would bring to an end 14 years in power under five prime ministers.

 

However Rishi Sunak has insisted he is confident of a victory, telling voters in Accrington, Lancashire, on Monday that the choice they face is between sticking with the Conservatives' long-term plan or going "back to square one" under Labour.

 

In an indication of how bitter and personal this year's election campaign could be, the prime minister said: "The alternative is Keir Starmer, who would just take us back to square one.

 

"He has been leader of the Opposition for four years now and in that time, he hasn't said what he would do differently. That's because he doesn't have a plan. He just snipes from the sidelines instead."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Arniepie]

55 minutes ago, Kevin D said:

https://news.sky.com/story/three-quarters-of-britons-think-country-in-a-worse-state-now-than-when-tories-came-to-power-13044239?dcmp=snt-sf-twitter
 

Three quarters of Britons think the UK is in a worse state now than when the Conservative Party came to power in 2010, according to a YouGov poll.

 

The survey asked over 2,000 adults whether they think things are better, worse or the same as they were 13 years ago.

 

In a damning assessment of the Tories' record in government, 75% of people said things were either much worse (41%) or somewhat worse (34%).

 

By comparison just 1% of voters said the party has left the country in a much better state, while 6% said that it is somewhat better.

 

A breakdown of the results by political affiliation suggests the dissatisfaction was even felt by a majority of Conservative voters, with 68% of people who voted for the Tories in 2019 saying things are worse.

 

It comes after a senior Tory MP warned his party faces "obliteration" at the next election after leaving the country in a worse state than they inherited it in.

 

Danny Kruger, co-founder of the New Conservatives and a leading figure on the right of the party, told a private event of Tory members that "the narrative that the public has now firmly adopted - that over 13 years things have got worse - is one we just have to acknowledge and admit".

He said while some things have been done right, such as free schools and Brexit, "overall... if we leave office next year, we would have left the country sadder, less united and less conservative than when we found it".

 

Mr Kruger made the comments in October but they emerged on Monday after being passed on to The Guardian.

He told the newspaper he was making the "case for realism and for honesty with the public" and his party faces "obliteration" if it does not "remember the people we work for".

The comments reflect the pessimism of many Tory MPs ahead of the next general election, expected in the second half of this year.

 

Polls suggest the Conservatives are on track to lose, which would bring to an end 14 years in power under five prime ministers.

 

However Rishi Sunak has insisted he is confident of a victory, telling voters in Accrington, Lancashire, on Monday that the choice they face is between sticking with the Conservatives' long-term plan or going "back to square one" under Labour.

 

In an indication of how bitter and personal this year's election campaign could be, the prime minister said: "The alternative is Keir Starmer, who would just take us back to square one.

 

"He has been leader of the Opposition for four years now and in that time, he hasn't said what he would do differently. That's because he doesn't have a plan. He just snipes from the sidelines instead."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

so 1% of that survey thinks things have improved,and he think taking us back to the time when everything was better,is a negative.

 

genius.