RandoEFC

The bottom line is that the anti-Semitism issue in the Labour Party, but not directly from Corbyn, has been used as a stick to beat Corbyn with more than bigoted comments that Johnson personally made himself about a whole variety of minorities and subsets of the population, from Muslim women to children of single mothers, so it's a bit more than "being a bit cheeky at times with the ladies" which in itself is a pretty typical and foul justification of the behaviour of dirty, rich old men that have never heard the word no in their lives, but I digress. Most of this is because more of the media is biased towards the Tories than towards Labour, though most sources need to be taken with a pinch of salt. I don't think the BBC as an institution have been that untoward compared to most (hardly high praise though). Laura Kuenssberg as an individual has crossed the line many times and the BBC hasn't dealt with it. Come to think of it, this means that if Corbyn is personally responsible for the actions of every Labour Party member then maybe the entire BBC should be held responsible for the actions of a single employee, but I digress again. It's definitely a problem though. Forget about Tory this, Corbyn that. If you look at it objectively, why are ITV and Channel 4 held to task about impartiality when the newspapers can print whatever they feel like? How is the BBC impartial when they employ Andrew Neil who is/was the editor of a newspaper that previously employed one of the current party leaders? It's nonsense, but it's a symptom of the fact that we, the public, overwhelmingly choose to listen to or read the material of the people that tell us what we already think, rather than search for the people who offer a balanced opinion from both sides and allow us to make up our own minds. By the simple concept of supply and demand, this creates a massive incentive for journalists and media to pick a side and pander to their supporters rather than try and educate anyone by laying out the pros and cons. Sadly, if you look at other country's, you'll see pretty much the same thing to varying extents. It's probably been worse than other years in the UK during this election but you still see far worse in a lot of other nations.

The polls have shown almost exclusively for about 2 years that Remain is now the marginally more preferred option over Leave. The Conservatives have made it clear for a long time that Brexit is the hill they're willing to die on, not because of their fundamental beliefs necessarily but because that's just how the political landscape has fallen. If they get their majority they'll move forward with it so there's nothing 'we' can do. Labour have been tied up by the fact that their following is quite split between Remain and Leave. Too many voters in each category to pick a side, so even though I think having another referendum and letting people have their final say when an actual "this is what Brexit will be" is laid in front of them, do you want this or do you want to stay in after all, is objectively the democratic thing to do, but even they only stumbled into that position because that was the optimum strategy through all of the sea changes. Liberal Democrats went full on let's just revoke Article 50. Even as a Remainer, I think it's undemocratic and a dangerous precedent to cancel Brexit without a second referendum, and the majority of Remainers feel more strongly that that's the case than they feel desperate about stopping Brexit at all costs. I think leaving the EU is a terrible idea but ripping up democracy in that way leads us down a dark and dangerous path. This is why the Lib Dems have tanked in the election. So what we will either get is a Conservative majority government who move forward with Brexit, or a Conservative minority government with support from another party, which seems incredibly unlikely because Johnson has already pretty much back-stabbed any of the parties who would have been willing to prop him up, or the Conservatives will fail to get a majority even if they have the most seats, and when Johnson fails to form a government, Corbyn gets to try, and if he can get the support of SNP, Green, Lib Dems to form a government we will get a second referendum. This could play out a few ways. The current Lib Dem leadership is adamantly against Corbyn so they may offer Labour a coalition on the condition that he steps aside and a more centrist replacement is found to lead the Labour Party, which opens a massive can of worms in itself as all of the votes cast for Corbyn's Labour are undermined. Alternatively, the smaller parties could make a deal to form a government with Labour for long enough to have the second referendum on the condition that either Corbyn steps down or there's yet another election as soon as that referendum was done. Basically, it will be a total mess and a nightmare. If the Tories fail to form a majority it's anybody's guess what happens next.

Remind me Harv, was/is this your degree/career or are you just very well read on politics? Just curious.

Would also have said Melbourne because of the Fosters. Loved that Renault livery.

The other point I forgot to make was about the electoral system again. I already made a post about proportional representation recently, but I really think if we're ever to be a progressive country where the 'right' and 'left' can actually be made to work together to find a centre ground with the best elements from both instead of this stupid game where whoever takes a narrow victory in terms of seats gets to decide everything for five years, proportional representation is necessary. The House of Lords needs to go. An absolute medieval institution, and it's an absolute disgrace that 'hereditary' peers get to have any say at all in the legislation of this country just because their great great great grandfather was a rich motherfucker, even though they barely do anything in reality.

There's elements of good points in what Fairy has to say in between the sporadic Mail/Sun front page shite about champagne socialism and Muslims raping every child in Rochdale. Before Brexit caused a quake down the middle of society, we were ticking over reasonably well under the centrist governments of Blair and then Cameron. Under our system having a bit of Labour then a bit of Tory every few years probably keeps us in equilibrium between the economy just about surviving without there being too much inequality. Getting a decade of one party tends to cause problems though, especially when they've gone as far left and right as they seem to have now. I think it's an undeniable fact that when people start hitting their mid 30s, with a solid career and a family, they start to think more about what they want their money to go towards and move towards a more Conservative mindset. We need to separate the majority of these people who are interested in leaving enough money behind for their kids to have a start in life from the elitist billionaires who wouldn't notice the extra money getting taxed from them. It makes a very real difference to people earning in the £30k to £50k region being able to keep a bit more money each month if they've got a couple of kids. That's a few grand over the course of a few years and you might end up needing it for any number of different reasons or emergencies. I think a major difference in our generation is housing prices. For our parents' generation, there was a natural progression where you get your job and start saving up for a house, which was realistic even when you were earning a mediocre salary. Now the majority of workers in their 20s are faced with the reality that even if they're on £30k and they save sensible, they aren't going to be able to afford a house for 15-20 years, so if there's a little bit more tax to nibble away at those savings, as long as they're comfortable enough day to day then they probably aren't as bothered about that money going to the NHS or schools because saving up for a mortgage seems so unrealistic anyway. If this was 30 years ago when nearly anyone could save up and buy a house by their early-mid-30s then it would probably piss you off more because the house is in sight and the government pinching more of your money is slowing you down from achieving a realistic goal. I'm in a different situation on the Isle of Man where getting to that mortgage is more achievable for a variety of reasons but I'm in the lucky minority. Fundamentally, I agree with meritocracy, and fundamentally, having a system where everyone keeps their money and pays for whatever goods, education and health they need is probably the most fair, in theory, but that relies on there being no outliers such as disabled people, others who are unable to work, an economy which doesn't change causing jobs to disappear in some sectors and crop up in others. In its own way, it's just as idealistic as communism or marxism. Obviously we're talking about two total extremes here and the real world moves across a spectrum. I don't live in England anymore so I can't vote. I mean I could make a postal vote in Chorley where I used to live but the Speaker occupies that seat now so there isn't any point in me going through the effort. I know that I would vote Labour (or Green in a proportional system where it would be worthwhile) even when I'm earning a more handsome salary in my 30s and 40s. Yes, part of this is because I'm a teacher and employed by the public sector, but it goes beyond that. If I won millions of pounds on the lottery, I would probably give each of my family members about £100k, keep a few of those for myself and my future kids and then put the rest to good work wherever I could. What brings me happiness is being healthy and my friends and family being healthy. Having enough money to make a living and never have to worry about cash flow is all I need from money to be happy. I don't buy new cars, I'm happy with my average Ford Fiesta, I don't splash out on holidays though when I have a family I'd probably want to be able to afford one or two a year. Beyond that, more money won't make me more happy. Other people struggling because they can't afford the things they need makes me unhappy though, even if I don't know them, and even if it's their own fault, because I believe people deserve another chance to get back on the ladder. I'm fundamentally a liberal person and I could quite easily have gone into accountancy or been an actuary instead of a teacher, be earning £50k a year already, and I would still say all of this, and act on it too. There's nothing tribal about my opinions. My parents are Conservative-leaning, my Dad more than my Mum who's a bit more open to both sides, but they haven't had to think about voting in the UK since way before I was born because they've lived over here. My grandparents on my Mum's side were definite Conservative voters back in their time living across, although that was a very different Conservative party to the one in front of us today. I make my own mind up and while it's inescapable that the majority of the country probably end up voting based on what they're surrounded by while they're growing up. I respect anyone else who makes their own mind up as well. Other minor points: I don't think you can hold it against the residents of Liverpool for standing together in favour of Labour for countless reasons over the years. There are still thousands of people there who vote Conservative as well though, they just get dominated by the Labour voters. Nobody needs to call anyone a rabid lefty bastard or a right-wing fascist. I think most of us would agree that the toxicity around right vs left these days is almost as bad as "the other side" getting into power, if not worse. I know passions run high but whatever the results are tonight, it's less important than trying to heal the divisions that have made their way from parliament into everyday life more than I've ever experienced. Didn't intend to waffle on quite this much...

Wish I had a job where I could take Friday off as I'd like to see things unfold but I'll probably make it until about 2am before I pack it in. It's a bit mental the timings of it all. Better if they opened the polls from midday to midday the next day, counted the votes in the afternoon and had the results as people get home from work.

Yeah the Labour Party don't understand economics when it's the Tories who have had 9 years to serve us up stagnant economic growth, increased poverty, worse inequality, a downgraded credit rating, a weakening of the pound, the list goes on. They're both as bad as each other. I pray that we get a hung parliament on Thursday and that something mental happens like the Queen coming in and saying no more fucking elections for the next 5 years, you can sit in the House of Commons and find a way to run the country together like grown ups. Labour ministers gobbing off about Corbyn in private, Tory (probably Russian) bots spreading fake news on social media and the prime minister hiding in a fridge, what a sensational election campaign this has been on all sides. Literally every party looks worse by the day. Farage can't make his mind up on who to support, the SNP think now is the time to push for independence again, Labour could probably have won this election if they'd changed their leader, the Lib Dems had an open goal with campaigning as the party of Remain and have somehow managed to make no ground, and the Tories have resorted to Trumpian gutter tactics and hiding from scrutiny. I don't want any of these parties to win a majority so Thursday is about supporting everything Red, Yellow, Orange, Green and any other colour but Blue to stop the only majority that can happen. Have your second referendum, get Brexit done by chucking the cunt in the bin and try and restore some normality. Too bad all of this is a complete pipe dream but it would be lovely to see both of the major parties rip up their current blueprint. I used to groan during the days of thinking Labour and Conservative were two fairly similar shades of grey but this extremism on both sides is an awful lot worse.

Also BBC hosted an Under 30s special of Question Time last night. You'd have to assume the point of this was for Under 30s to have their views represented on national television. Under 30s voted 73% to Remain in the referendum, but the BBC decided it would be more 'representative' to ensure that the crowd reflected the result of the referendum instead so just over half of the audience were Leave voters. What a great shame, as having an Under 30 Question Time was an opportunity for older viewers to hear about the under-represented views of younger people (my age group, incidentally) and to be exposed to the thoughts of the people who overwhelmingly want to stay in the European Union, and will also have to deal with the consequences to their lives and careers of Brexit and the next government more than anyone else. Those who have established careers, have already financially supported their offspring through the early stages of their lives and are probably home owners will probably be able to survive the economic shocks caused by Brexit without too many problems (until they need the health service anyway). Those of us still earning less than £30,000, renting or even living with parents with very little prospect for many of us to even think about being home-owners in the near future (thankfully I'm probably not quite in this boat but I'm in the minority), could probably do without the economic shocks and increased cost of living that pretty much every forecast of Brexit predicts. You like to think that a Question Time for Under 30s only would reflect some of the issues facing Under 30s and older viewers could get a greater insight into what their vote is inflicting upon their kids and grandkids. Instead you get just another Question Time but with Under 30s asking the same questions as the usual audience, with the same reactions, to create the illusion that this demographic is being fairly represented.

There's actually three Conservative MPs standing who are currently under investigation over anti-semitism themselves but I bet you didn't read that on the BBC or in the Telegraph. If you have Twitter, go and look up anything related to the hospital photo story. There are hundreds of bots online posting the exact same story about how "my sister is a nurse working at Leeds General hospital and this photograph was staged by the mother". Literally word for word the same post by a series of completely unrelated accounts. I don't have the exact wording but once again, welcome to the disinformation age spear-headed by the Conservative party and probably Russia. There was also furore last night that when the BBC Newsnight woman was speaking to Barry Gardiner from Labour she spent more time criticising Corbyn for "not making the NHS a priority in his campaigning" and justifying it "because he hasn't visited 10 hospitals during the campaign like Johnson has". How she decided this was a more pressing matter than senior Conservatives spreading lies to prominent journalists, and said journalists sharing these lies to millions on social media without checking that it was true first. Laura Kuenssberg is coming in for a lot of criticism and rightly so, with #sackkuenssberg trending on Twitter yet again last night. Some people actually call the BBC 'typical lefty BBC' sometimes. I imagine these must be the people who think the Sun, Telegraph and Mail are fair and balanced 'central' sources. If the Conservatives win a majority on Thursday then it's time I start distancing myself from UK politics again, because everything that's worrying me now is only going to get worse over the next 5 years. The Tories and their supporters will continue to hold a disproportionate influence over the flow of information in this country, in fact they will probably try and make it worse and succeed. The majority of the horror stories you hear about the NHS, public services and the increase in hate crimes stemming from Brexit and general white English bitterness and intolerance will come true, and to be honest, a country that votes for austerity for a fourth time, A FOURTH TIME, after seeing the mess this country has been left in over the last decade, is going to get what it deserves for allowing this to happen. I haven't given up hope that an influx of young voters and some tactical voting can make a difference and prevent the majority on Thursday, but it looks unlikely, and I'm very glad I no longer live in England. I will still be affected by most things over here as we're heavily dependent on the UK, but to a lesser extent than actual UK residents as we have our own government and contingencies over here.

She wasn't the only one who tweeted it. And guess where the misinformation came from? This the latest faux pas, on top of the 88% of Facebook adverts that they've been pushing being inaccurate according to independent Fact Checkers. What we've laughed nervously at across the Atlantic for the past 5 years has become an absolute blueprint for our own country. Hope the message about tactical voting gets spread wide enough.

We can only dream of a progressive alliance like this in the UK. I've seen or heard a lot of people suggesting that they'd vote for a hung parliament if there was an option. We would be so much better off with proportional representation instead of first past the post. It would require a huge overhaul logistically but can you imagine a parliament where Johnson, Corbyn, Swinson and the better-represented minor parties were forced to find compromise and implement policies and laws that are agreed upon by the majority of MPs and therefore always voted for by more than half of the electorate? It's almost unthinkable as the government vs opposition format is so entrenched in our politics, but it would be nice to think that the non-parliamentary majority MPs could actually play some role in the House of Commons beyond voting against anything the government tries to do because they're the opposition.

Ouch. That's one marginal seat lost for the Tories (you'd hope at least, nothing surprises me these days).

It's the BBC who have disappointed me really. I cant remember the last time I went on their News page without seeing something about anti-semitism somewhere in the headlines. Any racism is terrible, but on the Conservative side the concerns surround the actual prime minister's words over a number of decades and come as part of a wider package of bigotry rather than the problem lower down the party just being dealt with insufficiently.

Finally confirmed. By everyone apart from the club itself.

What on earth is going on? What are Moshiri, Kenwright and co. spending so much time on? There's nothing to discuss. It's just cruel potentially leaving Silva in charge for Saturday at Goodison. We've got to be the most ponderous, dithering club in the country. I don't want us to be Watford but please just make a decision and get it done. The worst part about us taking so long to make a decision is that last time we spent all that time faffing around over a manager and ended up with Fat Sam. This time it'll be the same except Moyes instead. If Moshiri is in charge of selecting the next manager as well then what is the actual point in Brands?

The coverage from certain media outlets is becoming absolutely embarrassing. Corbyn saying that he doesn't watch the Queen's Speech making front page news on multiple newspapers who refuse to mention the fact that it's because he spends his time with homeless people or at food banks instead. It's a good job the current prime-minister has never shown such flagrant disrespect towards the Queen or royal family in recent history in any way, isn't it . You'd hope at some point that the smear campaign becomes so obvious that people start to see through it as being absolutely ridiculous but I fear that this has become a pipe dream. One can only hope that once more Tory cuts decimate the education system even further, that future generations grow up to be too stupid to notice the puppet strings attached to their conscience.

Silva came in just before Brands, although negotiations were underway I think. Moshiri was really set on Silva so I think that was happening whether Brands likes it or not. Brands is now on the board as the Director of Football. Really he should be choosing the next manager himself, otherwise what's the point? There have been some concerning rumours though about who is still influencing what. This goes way back to before Brands' time when Walsh was the Director of Football. Apparently Koeman was adamant on bringing in Sigurdsson, Walsh wanted Klaassen and Kenwright was the driving force behind Rooney's return. So who is in charge really? Apparently this summer Moshiri was the one who wanted Zaha because he wanted a statement signing, even though Brands didn't necessarily want him. We didn't sign him but the club did enter negotiations which shows, if the rumour is true, that Moshiri has some influence on transfers still. Amidst the growing rumours of Silva's demise there were further reports the other week that Kenwright was pushing for a Moyes return, Moshiri pulled the plug when he realised the fans were against it. Again, rumours, but probably a little bit true at least. For me, the decision should lie with Brands, he is a football man with a track record at PSV. Moshiri and Kenwright are not. Recruitment... hopefully things have changed since the summer of number tens and this is more closely controlled by Brands and the manager. Since they've been working together, we've generally got good deals for incomings and outgoings and the average age of the squad has been resolved, so Brands has had the credit for good negotiating. Bernard on a free, Digne for £18m, while fetching £30m for Gueye, £20m+ for Lookman, £15m for Vlasic and £10m for Rooney. The targets though, I can't honestly be sure whether it's him or Silva who have overseen it. I definitely think Brands and his team fucked up on the centre back issue this summer, I'll say that much. I wouldn't blame him yet besides that. I still think the players we've brought in over the last two summers have a lot of potential. I would say that when Silva gets sacked, the time has come for him to prove himself. He needs to get the right manager in to get the best out of an expensive and talented set of players. I just hope he's allowed to control it because I dont like the sound of Moshiri and Kenwright driving the discussions a week or two back. If those two don't let Brands get on with it then I'd blame them more than I'd blame him to be honest. Silva's downfall is a great shame. The players seemed to really buy into him and several of those who joined last summer said that he was a deciding factor in their choice to come. He's been unlucky but ultimately he hasn't done enough to arrest the slide. I like him as a bloke because he seems to concentrate on his job and keeps the media stuff low key. A similar personality to me really. I think he'll eventually be successful elsewhere but he probably needs to retreat from the Premier League for now. The players, yeah, seems like they're shithouses but I've been saying that since the late Martinez era and we've pretty much changed the whole squad since then. There's clearly a rot in the dressing room that has passed through a generation of our squad now. Clearly changing all of the players doesn't fix it so you have to get a manager in who can revive the vast majority of them and then sack off the real dead wood. We're still suffering from the Koeman/Walsh spending spree because players like Keane, Schneiderlin and Sigurdsson were brought in to play a style of football that just doesn't cut it if you want to take risks and push on from mid table. Brands' job now is to make sure the general philosophy of using young, footballing players remains in place even while the manager changes. Probably the biggest role he has at the club as the mad jumps between style of football between Martinez then Koeman then Allardyce then Silva and their respective signings has left us in this mess. Silva has started to go down a progressive route even if the results haven't accompanied the philosophy, so we need to maintain that trajectory for a few more years and then we will ideally have removed that issue. As for Sinclair, was very surprised to see that tweet. Very disappointing.

By the way, what a mess this campaign has been for the Lib Dems. I can't quite put my finger on what's so off putting about Swinson but whoever decided to base their campaign so heavily around her as a personality has grossly misjudged things. Maybe I'm being harsh and this would have happened to them anyway, but there's genuinely talk about her losing her seat.

Labour creeping up in the polls, just not enough. Can Corbyn take enough of a chunk out of Johnson in Friday's debate? Wouldn't bet on it. He has the ammo though if he's willing to. Most experts seem to reckon that a 6-7% deficit for Labour would be enough to force a hung parliament. Most polls still have them around 10% behind. One can only hope the surge in under 25 voter registrations take the polls by surprise. It's a slim hope, but still a hope.

Turning water into wine is probably easier than turning Everton into a respectable outfit.

Moyes - no, couldn't even be fully confident he'd improve us and don't trust Bill not to give him an extension in the summer. Gallardo - don't know anything about him. Howe - not convinced, think he'd go the same way as Martinez and Silva. Decent 6-12 months before the same old flaws are exposed. Benitez - would have him tomorrow if he's a genuine possibility. Simeone - lol. Poch - lol. Arteta - yes please but also maybe not because we're 18th and could genuinely go down if he's bad. Hughes - fuck off. Emery - no thanks, could still see us going down if he took over. Jesus - know nothing about him.

@Dr. Gonzo @LFCMadLad there doesn't seem to be any major consensus from the usual sources on Twitter so I don't know. There has been a lot of talk about Gallardo who has just won the Copa Libertadores, but nothing more than shortening odds and longing stares from some of our fans that follow South American football a bit. I doubt Silva would actually get sacked if he won at Anfield, not that he will. Perhaps if he did then they'd still be waiting for the next loss as the excuse to give him the boot. I still like the bloke, think he's very misunderstood and has been very unlucky this season. It would still be underachieving but we've been good enough to be comfortably mid-table, not 17th. A lot of stuff has happened that's not his fault. The club failed to secure a Zouma replacement because David Luiz had a hissy fit which cost us our plan A (Zouma) and our plan B (Tomori loan) for the CB position. Gbamin was signed to replace Gueye and he gets injured for months. Gomes out for the season. Delph unable to stay fit for more than 2 games in a row. Individual mistakes by players, VAR at Brighton, what a season it has been. It's a results business though, as they say.

2019-2020 Round 3 Update 1. @Lucas - 17 points 2. @nudge - 16 points 3. @Eco - 14 points 4. @Teso dos Bichos - 10 points 5. @Bluewolf - 8 points 6. @JOSHBRFC - 7 points 7. @Storts & @Tommy - 6 points 8. @RandoEFC & @DeadLinesman - 5 points 9. @Dan & @SchalkeUK & @...Dan & @CaaC (John) - 4 points 10. @Stick With Azeem & @Rucksackfranzose - 2 points 11. @Batard & @Michael & @Mel81x & @Viva la FCB & @Pyfish - 1 point 12. @Stan - 0 points It's all to play for going into Round Four.

I'd love to do your post justice and maybe I will later in the week but I'm so fatigued by the whole thing that I genuinely don't have the energy any more to offer much more than moaning, but I suppose I can take something from the fact that I'm able to recognise that. I'll sum up my feelings - above all else, Brexit, austerity, even Johnson himself, it's this disinformation culture becoming normalised that terrifies me having seen what's happened in the US in recent years, and I don't think it's much of a stretch to point to the Conservative/Johnson/Brexit axis as the one that's most likely to employ these tactics which is why I'm desperate not to see them in power. I mean, it's not ambiguous that Vote Leave broke the law or that Johnson has a terrible track record for lying through his teeth even for a modern politician. The Tories threatening to look into C4's licence for what I think were cheeky but not disgraceful actions is the latest example of this and it just seems to be another thing every day. Meanwhile, the BBC, having initially refused to let Johnson go on the Andrew Marr show until he agreed to be interviewed by Andrew Neil as well, have bottled it within 24 hours, apparently because "it's important for the country to hear from the PM after yesterday's terror attack". Utterly pathetic.