Gransnet forums

News & politics

Are the UK electorate out of touch with reality?

(135 Posts)
James2451 Mon 15-May-17 21:31:55

I have only been on Gransnet a few weeks, but I have been most impressed with the articulate level of debates, one or two have been rather catty ( may I use that expression ?) but the majority of comments are very enlightening in their expression of views about the debates going on around this election and the reasons for calling same.

Our newspapers are so biased it is almost impossible to obtain a factual unbiased report. The political parties propaganda is appalling, yet influences millions of electorates.

I am now getting the feeling that the electorate are out of touch with reality and almost brainwashed. One simple question please, is this election a vote of support for Brexit or remain,or what it should be, that is a decision on political caring and needed policies we desire to be implemented by Parliament over the next five years?

I await your wise and honest unbiased views.

rosesarered Mon 15-May-17 21:40:12

Haha! Unbiased? Every single answer you get will be biased James from all of us.
Brexit comes into this GE big time, and those who don't see it may well be out of touch with reality.
The biggest single thing though is the Corbyn effect ,not nearly enough voters see him as a PM, and not nearly enough voters want a far left Government.

Luckygirl Mon 15-May-17 21:40:16

Well TM wants it to a vote to endorse her approach to Brexit.

There are others who would like to see it as an opportunity to vote for compassion and justice - but what do we know?

If you think the public is out of touch with reality, then how about the government who appear to have no concept whatsoever of how the other half lives?

Ana Mon 15-May-17 21:44:03

Why do you say 'what do we know' Luckygirl?

James was asking for views and opinions, which is what you have done.

Ana Mon 15-May-17 21:46:57

Or is this just going to be yet another anti-tory, let's have a go at T May thread? Sigh...

Anniebach Mon 15-May-17 21:46:59

Jsmes, seems all you listed

Bibbity Mon 15-May-17 21:49:48

I'm not a gran. However I have absolutely adored your politics threads. I'm still very undecided but I've been so educated here.

The political posts on the forums aimed at my groups never go this well.
On BC the torrid get called murders and then the lefties just chat for 40 pages.
They were absolulty shocked that the conservatives won the election because there were so many lefties there. The reality it turned out that there were a lot more Tories but they were just afraid to post.
Here it's so level and reasonable.

whitewave Mon 15-May-17 21:53:19

grin

rosesarered Mon 15-May-17 21:54:15

Of course Bibbity we are all wise and mature here! grin and I think that this election will go the same way as you mention.

rosesarered Mon 15-May-17 21:55:45

....and sometimes the lefties just chat for 40 pages here too.

Bibbity Mon 15-May-17 21:57:59

rosesarered I found here a lot more factual as well.

Haha So the boards will never grow out of it then. Alas.

dbDB77 Mon 15-May-17 22:14:41

James - I think this General Election is and should be about Brexit. You may think I'm brainwashed but I believe that the outcome of the Brexit negotiations will have such a strong impact on our economy that it will determine what the Government (of whatever hue) is able to achieve. Other issues are dependent on our position post-Brexit.

mcem Mon 15-May-17 22:32:52

Apparently the vast majority of questions put to TM on the live FB session today were not about brexit but largely focussed on domestic policy, particularly the NHS.
The interview is available on the ITV website.

MaizieD Mon 15-May-17 23:30:55

I think totally the opposite to dbBd77. I don't think May particularly needed it for Brexit.
I think there is far more at stake here than Brexit. I think that our public services and our parliamentary democracy will be badly damaged by an overwhelming tory landslide. We are pretty sure that the tories will win but we desperately need them to have a strong opposition to curb May's obvious strong desire to be in charged and unopposed.

daphnedill Tue 16-May-17 00:07:06

TM will claim that the election is about Brexit, but it isn't. It's about domestic policy and giving " Team May" a mandate to do what she wants. Unfortunately the result will be the same, because there isn't an effective opposition. It's tragic.

The turkeys who voted for Christmas will realise their mistake - too late.

daphnedill Tue 16-May-17 00:19:02

Of course there's more at stake Maizie. The Conservative Party is divided, but it's better at hiding its dirty washing from public gaze than the Labour Party. May is not popular with her back benchers, so wants to flood the HoC with people who will be loyal to her. Hence the "short lists" with which local Conservative Parties have been given. Strange isn't it (hmm] that the media hasn't made a big deal about what's been going on. Whenever the Labour Party has tried the same thing, a "hard left" take over has been headline news. Sad to say,some allegedly loyal Labour Party supporters have fallen for it.

We're going to have a Ukip-lite Conservative government for the next five years. Nobody except UK voters will be to blame - apart from the billionaires who've brainwashed them!

thatbags Tue 16-May-17 07:07:07

This election is happening because of the EU referendum and the fact that David Cameron retired from being prime minister after it, so yes, in that respect, it must have a large element of Brexit in it and that element will be influencing how people vote. I've seen several people on Twitter say that, for them, the election is all about Brexit. Hardly surprising when the issue has exercised the nation so much over that last year.

I think all media contains biases. Of course it does since it is full of people's opinions. So read/listen widely and make judgments for yourself. It's people's own fault if they stick to one publication of 'news' and end up with prejudices and intolerances as a result. Well... maybe they were prejudiced and intolerant to begin with and that's why they self-limit their intake. Yes, I think that's probably more likely.

Anya Tue 16-May-17 07:24:31

Out of touch with reality? Possibly.

Politically naive? Definitely.

Not a clue? Most certainly, judging by some of the comments on the street when being interviewed eg 'Jeremy Corbyn, which party's 'e then?'

Cindersdad Tue 16-May-17 07:32:06

James2451 my impression is similar to yours. Of course my opinion is tainted by being a long time supporter of the Lib. Dems., a strong believer in PR and very much against Brexit. There are many flaws in the EU but as country we need to make our case from within and not sniping from the outside. Most of the so called problems can be laid squarely at the doors of Westminster rather than Brussels and traced back to the late 1940's.

The run down of manufacturing, over reliance on services and complacency are all reflections of the establishment. In the 40's and 50's the UK had a relatively strong position but instead of investing and innovating as the Germans and Japanese did they tried to get every last bit of profit out of old plant and models; productivity suffered.

The electorate has become disillusioned because under FPTP the majority simply feel their votes don't count so why bother. They therefore have lost interest in politics and feel ignored by the establishment. Swings from left to right are utterly destructive. As for Brexit the referendum was not so much anti EU but a chance to cock a snoop at the establishment, aggravated by rabble rousing lies all round.

We know from the past that Labour tend to leave a mess and the the Tories without a moderating influence pursue capitalism sometimes at the expense of the real national interest. So who do we vote for....there is no real answer!!!!

thatbags Tue 16-May-17 07:52:15

Oh dear, anya! That post sounds awfully elitist and judgmental about the hoi polloi!

I don't think one needs to know to which Party Jeremy Corbyn aligns himself to know what one thinks of the issues that one feels are important. JC isn't the whole of the Labour Party even if he is a bit of a drain on it. Ah...would that I could have said brain instead!

Welshwife Tue 16-May-17 08:00:16

I shall be out of range today as travelling - dread to think how many pages I shall have to read when I can log on again!

Have a good day folks.

Anya Tue 16-May-17 08:13:46

Does it bags? Well there are a lot of Very Stupid People out there, so it's more a case of reporting facts than being judgemental.

So you think that the woman who didn't even know who JC was had an opinion about 'the issues'? Somehow I doubt it.

whitewave Tue 16-May-17 08:41:27

I think that the tragedy is that those who have taken the brunt of the bankers cock up over the past 7 years, are also being taken as patsys over the Brexit cause. They have played nicely into the Hard rights hands in being persuaded in voting for it, but will soon find that once again they will have most to lose as the economy slows and inflation takes off.

The hard right ideological stance of a small state is coming along nicely - Britain will be unrecognisable in 10 years time.

varian Tue 16-May-17 10:02:49

Anya tells us there are a lot of very stupid people out there. I was flabbergasted when I saw film director Guy Ritchie being asked on tv what he thought about Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn and he claimed he didn't know who they were, said he'd never heard of either of them. I'm hoping that was just a wind up.

whitewave Tue 16-May-17 10:07:08

It isn't quite fair to call people politically illiterate. What is true though is that they are poorly educated, and don't feel that they have a stake in society -so why bother to inform themselves. Many do not bother to vote, and many vote by tabloid headlines as that is largely where they get their information from.

A lot boils down to inequality and poverty.