Anxious
Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

What is the height of the average British MP now that Labour has won such a landslide?

My sister in law is quite distraught due to her being unfortunate enough to be living in an area which now has a labour politician representing the local community.

Aghast at the outcome of our countries recent general election, I watched the recent Prime Ministers question time to determine the true parameters of the horror that this country has decided to embark on.

However, my disconcerting apprehension was in a small way, mitigated by a big fat helping of mirth; all of the labour politicians (who are male) are so very diminutive in stature that it's hard to take them seriously!!!

For a split second, when I saw the rabble of labour MPs, clambering to get tj attention of The Speaker Of The House, I thought I was watching Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.

People of GB, this is who you have chosen to govern us for the next five years? Standards in this country are at rock bottom levels.
This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
Out of curiosity, what precisely has caused your sister-in-law such distress?
Northerner · 70-79, M
@Adeptlinguist i would think it's the thought of this awful left wing, lily livered excuse of a government.
@Northerner It's hardly left wing! Left of centre... just.

More importantly, it gives the impression of competence, seriousness and ethics.

Do you really miss the last lot?

What specific policies do you object to?
Northerner · 70-79, M
@Adeptlinguist people have short memories of what a labour government can do.
We are now reaping the rewards of Blairs policies and he is still pulling the strings of the very wet Starmer.
@Northerner With a few notable exceptions, the Blair government was pretty damn good.
GeniUs · 56-60, M
@Northerner Yeah bit of a conspiracy theorist aren't you?
@GeniUs Don’t forget the Illuminati. And the WEF.
GeniUs · 56-60, M
@Adeptlinguist Don't get me wrong I think that if a party (as Labour did previously) wins 2 consecutive elections they start feeling they are invincible and their behaviour worsens considerably. Remember how Blair got MPs expense records destroyed? I'd like to know what the overall bill for expenses was during that period. Having said that how the Tories were re elected for a second period I don't know Jeremy Hunt's treatment of junior doctors alone was enough to get them kicked out.
@GeniUs I am no great Labour fan (I voted for them tactically) but they have to be better than the last lot! I don’t think there is much to fear from them, however (other than their abject failure to have a proper policy to reverse Brexit as soon as humanly possible).

Starmer is not exactly a revolutionary!
GeniUs · 56-60, M
@Adeptlinguist And there's me absolutely behind Brexit! The public voted for it so it has to remain in place.
I know this is going off track but my only problem with Brexit and it is a terrible situation that no news outlet, politician from any party or even social media outlet asked the one question that needed asking before the vote. Tell the public exactly what the policies will be for leaving the EU.
@GeniUs As elections prove, votes can change, and all the indications are that a substantial majority of the electorate regret the decision of the referendum.

Brexit is - and obviously was always going to be - an unmitigated disaster. What rational country imposes sanctions on itself?

What did you expect would improve for you or the UK after Brexit?

What has improved for you or the UK after Brexit?
GeniUs · 56-60, M
@Adeptlinguist I disagree with your opening statement there is no good evidence to suggest this but a few videos on SM.
I disagree with your second statement there was no need for it to be a disaster and I don't understand what you mean by self sanctions. That countries such as France in particularly and I also hear Spain have been particularly making it difficult for people to travel from the UK to Europe but I have only heard this from people who have travelled there. In contrast a friend went to see Ramstein and flew directly to Germany without any problems.
What did I hope from Brexit;
1. The UK would no longer pay vast sums of money to the EU, supporting competing countries to take work away from the UK. IE grants being given to Eastern European countries to attract business there which could have come to the UK.
2. A more secure border and more rigorous scrutiny of who came to the UK.

It would be difficult to state what the changes are that Brexit has achieved given that alongside Brexit there has been Covid, war in the Ukraine, and unfathomable government choices (not managing energy companies or even subjecting them to a windfall tax) affecting changes to lifestyle (principally cost of living).
@GeniUs I’ll take your points one by one.

there is no good evidence to suggest this but a few videos on SM.

Not true: here is a summary from Statista of polling on the topic since 2020.


I disagree with your second statement there was no need for it to be a disaster and I don't understand what you mean by self sanctions.

It was always obvious that erecting barriers between the UK and our largest trading partner would have negative consequences. It is now far more complex and costly to do business with the EU than it was. Just an anecdote that is representative: I live in the EU and used to buy things from the UK regularly. Now I need to pay additional VAT and customs duty so I don’t order from the UK any more. Many small UK businesses are suffering or going out of business because of this. It is well covered in the press.

The issues with travel are real. Before Brexit, passport checks were minimal. Now, passports must be checked for prior visits not exceeding allowed day counts, and stamped. This will get worse when ETIAS comes in. Are you really not aware of this?

As for “paying vast sums to the EU” to accelerate the development of former Warsaw Pact countries - that is a very shortsighted view. By creating economic prosperity, the size and value of the addressable market was increased, as well as increasing living standards across the continent. Win-win! And of course, the hit to UK GDP from Brexit more than makes up for these “vast sums”. Lose-lose!

As for immigration, immigrants from the EU did many needed jobs in the UK, from health and social care to numerous other professions, that are now short staffed. And when the UK was in the EU, it could return cross-channel migrants to France under the Dublin Convention. Now it can’t. And immigration has gone up.

One last point - freedom of movement did not mean uncontrolled migration. The UK always had the power to remove EU migrants who did not work or were not self-sufficient. But it chose not to.
GeniUs · 56-60, M
@Adeptlinguist I'd need to know how Statista collect their data before I take any stock in it. Also what you have pictured there doesn't mean anything there is crucial data missing (I tried to get on statista and it wanted money).
If you don't even live in the UK then you aren't experiencing the 'changes' that having large areas of economic migrants and asylum seekers has made though like 'small businesses going out of business' the problems with them are well documented in the press. Try living in Boston for example so much fun they voted for Reform UK. However all this means nothing as the public voted to leave the European Union and unless a second vote is held that is what will happen.
@GeniUs I don’t pay for Statista. If I can get it, you can. The figures are well known anyway.

I lived in the UK recently. I see only positive contributions from migrants.

I can only conclude that you are a racist. Blocked.