I hear you

and I'm sure there will be a God Not Him cohort at the next election (assuming he's still there - which I do).

But there's been this corrosive narrative since Blair that politics is all about owning the Centre. Endless focus groups try to define what the Centre actually is and there's this spiral of pseudo-intellectual "analysis" which is actually the precise opposite, in the sense that it doesn't analyse anything useful.

What's a United Kingdom for? Why do we have a government of any kind at all? What should its powers be and not be? What should it try to achieve for the people who live in the UK and as a player on the world stage? There are economic and ethical drivers which sometimes conflict - how do we resolve that? How do we deal with states which seek to destroy us? To what extent should we risk and spend the lives of young men and women to protect citizens of other countries? If great evil is happening somewhere do we sit back and watch or take a proactive stance?

None - literally none - of the discussion at the last election was about any of that.

I'm not saying Corbyn will wave a magic wand and get the conversation in every pub onto any of this. But I do think his election will jolt us as a nation back into discussing the kind of things we should be - ideally in the way we should be.

Posted By: Old Man on September 17th 2015 at 23:51:34

Message Thread

Question Time now on, great panel, get on it!!!! (n/m) (General Chat) - shoddy, Sep 17, 22:41:46
- Telegraph Tory boy is getting owned every time he makes a point. Bet he's rubbish at... (General Chat) - DrDublin, Sep 17, 22:55:59
  - Intriguingly he stood for Labour in GE 2005 (n/m) (General Chat) - King, Sep 17, 23:15:13
    - Plenty of Tories did! (n/m) (General Chat) - Garry Brooke, Sep 17, 23:39:03
  - Disagree..... (General Chat) - Cheltenham_Canary, Sep 17, 23:04:11
    - The majority of the electorate who voted last time. Corburn is engaging... (General Chat) - DrDublin, Sep 17, 23:06:16
      - Fair enough (General Chat) - Cheltenham_Canary, Sep 17, 23:09:35
        
        Umm, have to agree to disagree on that. (n/m) (General Chat) - DrDublin, Sep 17, 23:10:27
        
        Again fair enough.... (General Chat) - Cheltenham_Canary, Sep 17, 23:12:16
        
        I'd like to see the actual figures on that majority you mention. (General Chat) - APB, Sep 17, 23:16:39
        
        'Majority' (General Chat) - Cheltenham_Canary, Sep 17, 23:18:22
        
        You mentioned the majority being better off. (n/m) (General Chat) - APB, Sep 17, 23:19:46
        
        I didn't see the "if". Reading glasses needed. (General Chat) - APB, Sep 17, 23:22:09
        
        *Rich* are better off, the poor getting screwed a little more. (n/m) (General Chat) - harry boulders, Sep 17, 23:21:37
        
        A majority feeling better off (General Chat) - Cheltenham_Canary, Sep 17, 23:21:22
        
        TBF there was a significant "I can't possibly vote for Miliband" factor (General Chat) - Old Man, Sep 17, 23:27:51
        
        Your title statement here is true..... (General Chat) - Cheltenham_Canary, Sep 17, 23:32:44
        
        I hear you (General Chat) - Old Man, Sep 17, 23:51:34
        
        Well, it will certainly be more 'fun', if you hats what you're trying to say! :-) (n/m) (General Chat) - Cheltenham_Canary, Sep 17, 23:58:07
        
        Fair comment I think. (General Chat) - APB, Sep 17, 23:30:17
        
        indeedy, times could well be changing. (n/m) (General Chat) - DrDublin, Sep 17, 23:30:50
        
        Or told they're feeling better off. (General Chat) - APB, Sep 17, 23:23:59
        
        Well, maybe.... (General Chat) - Cheltenham_Canary, Sep 17, 23:28:28
        
        Chelts is Tory boy reincarnated dubs , you ask his butler. (n/m) (General Chat) - Men without hats, Sep 17, 23:16:30
        
        Re-incarnated from what? (n/m) (General Chat) - Cheltenham_Canary, Sep 17, 23:20:18
        
        Sometimes Tweet a Butler. ;) (n/m) (General Chat) - DrDublin, Sep 17, 23:18:22
        
        Hence that's hypothetical thus can't agree, unless you have a crystal ball Chelts... (General Chat) - DrDublin, Sep 17, 23:13:46
        
        Think we'll lose saturday but play well.... (General Chat) - Cheltenham_Canary, Sep 17, 23:15:42
        
        At least no Suarez, that's a hooooge bonus. (n/m) (General Chat) - DrDublin, Sep 17, 23:17:30
        
        God yes. We could offer them a couple of free goals in return for not playing him (General Chat) - Old Man, Sep 17, 23:22:02
        
        I reckon this early stage of the season is a good time play them. (n/m) (General Chat) - DrDublin, Sep 17, 23:28:38
  - He's an arrogant twit, isn't he? (n/m) (General Chat) - Garry Brooke, Sep 17, 22:56:38
    - Yup! (n/m) (General Chat) - DrDublin, Sep 17, 23:00:06
    - #LanceTheBoil (n/m) (General Chat) - harry boulders, Sep 17, 22:57:45
- ST has lost a bit of timber, she looks much better for it. (n/m) (General Chat) - harry boulders, Sep 17, 22:44:56
- Any City fans? (n/m) (General Chat) - Old Man, Sep 17, 22:44:06
  - There's a Liverpool fan who went to school in Yarmouth... (n/m) (General Chat) - Garry Brooke, Sep 17, 22:45:13
    - Apologies galore over his past comments on Thatcher and the ira (General Chat) - Cheltenham_Canary, Sep 17, 23:01:35
      - Even apologising for corbyn not singing the anthem now!!! (General Chat) - Cheltenham_Canary, Sep 17, 23:33:57
        
        Shouldn't have had to justify it at all would have been my response, a nonsense. (n/m) (General Chat) - DrDublin, Sep 17, 23:37:52
        
        He make a better leader than corbyn.... (General Chat) - Cheltenham_Canary, Sep 17, 23:41:39
        
        All possible! (n/m) (General Chat) - DrDublin, Sep 17, 23:42:25
      - See, saying things in the past shouldn't be held against you forever. (General Chat) - APB, Sep 17, 23:12:36
        
        Wes!! :) (n/m) (General Chat) - DrDublin, Sep 17, 23:14:45
      - Good for him (General Chat) - Old Man, Sep 17, 23:08:56
        
        Absolutely. (General Chat) - Cheltenham_Canary, Sep 17, 23:10:17
    - And Liz Truss is MP for South West Norfolk... (n/m) (General Chat) - Garry Brooke, Sep 17, 22:46:31
      - My MP, she isn't very good (n/m) (General Chat) - emmaroyds, Sep 17, 22:48:45

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