We need a coup

Exactly Galaxy. Before the election there was a LOT of right wing abuse thrown at those who dared to suggest they believed in Jeremy Corbyn. There still is.

Comments made to and about me such as 'Have you lost your mind' and one memorable one 'Are you aware you are a laughing stock on here?'

Not that it bothered me. My political beliefs are based on evidence, not MSM manipulation. BUT it did happen.

Galaxy

I have been on threads where most have disagreed with me it's hard but it is what it is. I certainly didnt feel bullied. Actually Iwould say there are a lot of supporters of the government on this site compared to other sites.

They must be very silent then. Perhaps they are not prepared to put themselves through the abuse dealt out by the left wingers on here.

I think you might be right, lemongrove I guess that Conservatives are happy enough with this government so don't feel the need to post.
I wonder if it is also because Labour are no longer talking about policies of their own, whereas before the change of leadership there were many threads very critical of those Labour policies. (I am thinking of policies such as nationalisation, a four day week, every child to have an opportunity to learn a musical instrument, which received a lot of criticism)

I don't regard the provision of free meals for hungry children to be a particularly partisan issue, though, I think that most decent Conservatives would like to have said yes, if only to avoid a load of angry correspondence from their constituents, over such a relatively small sum of money.

I do hope I will not be accused of bullying for posting these thoughts.

Can’t agree Elegran ( but that’s ok) it’s been the same since
GN started.Not so much that Conservative voters are afraid to post but they cannot be bothered to by all the flak as I said earlier.
Plus I do think since the LP have been out of power, Labour GN members have become more frustrated and upset, therefore more inclined to lash out verbally.
I haven’t noticed any absence of critical left wing posters bar one, who used to post copious links.

lemongrove I can survive people disagreeing with me - I don't often pontificate a party line, anyway - but I do react to people ranting about whole sections of the community as drunken layabouts, or calling all labour voters communists or all middle-of-the-road conservatives far-right fascists. Polarisation kills debate and discussion.

It has been said that Tories are afraid to post. On the politics thread it has been true that almost everyone has been afraid to post! The most critical (and very left-wing) posters seem to have retired from Gransnet so the rightwingers ought to be posting now. I don't believe it is from fear, I think they don't have anything positive to say about the current crop of Tory bigwigs. It will be interesting in 2021 when Brexit is a done deal to see whether they post more.

Ellianne

Sorry, I called you Algerias .... in my mind from watching Michael Palin last night!

Och, close enough. I've been called worse .

Sorry, I called you Algerias .... in my mind from watching Michael Palin last night!

It’sthe constant ‘prove yourself’ Kind of comments that put so many posters off.
To an extent yes, lemongrove, there are times when some of us would like to contribute from the heart so to speak without always relying on facts, figures and evidence to back up everything we might say. Spontaneous comments seem to insense those on the other side and are criticised for having no substance, no value. It becomes tiresome.

Alegrias2

I posted a reply to a comment earlier today. A couple of other posters pretty quickly told me I was wrong. They know more about it than I do so I bow to their knowledge on this. I never felt bullied just because people disagreed with me. I'm an SNP voter so I've got lots of experience of very vocal people taking very different points of view than mine , but I don't throw my toys out of the pram and call "foul". On this forum I've been told to back off, I've been called scum and I've been told I'm over excited. All part of life's rich tapestry....

You might find it acceptable but others don't.

Alegrias I can often predict in advance which posters will call foul and throw their toys out of the pram when their views are not echoed and endorsed by all. It doesn't have any connection with which party they favour, and often goes with a narrow understanding of the subject being discussed.

No no Ellianne I didn't mean the Eton comments. I still don't think I was wrong there . We disagreed but we spoke to each other like adults.

I was wrong about something else and I've been put right.

It doesn’t bother me, am used to it on GN, but if anyone wonders why so few Conservative posters bother to comment, then now you know.

I posted a reply to a comment earlier today. A couple of other posters pretty quickly told me I was wrong. They know more about it than I do so I bow to their knowledge on this. I never felt bullied just because people disagreed with me.

Algerias if you are speaking about the Eton comments here I meant to get back to you this morning and thank you for your measured reply. I certainly wasn't looking for a fight like some, but just wanted to defend the school's statement, (and yes, I was an independent school Head!) There are blinkered and stubborn individuals in all areas.

And am sure there are some very stubborn and blinkered
Individuals on the Labour side Elegran
What you are more or less saying is that there may be a few
Conservative posters who are ‘alright’ in your view but if their views are wholly different to yours then they must be per se,
Very wrong.It’s the constant ‘prove yourself’ ! Kind of comments that put so many posters off.

I have been on threads where most have disagreed with me it's hard but it is what it is. I certainly didnt feel bullied. Actually Iwould say there are a lot of supporters of the government on this site compared to other sites.

Perhaps if those few who do post all wrote in a way that proved they didn't apparently agree with Johnson's comments in The Spectator in 1995 ( 'working class men are “likely. to be drunk, criminal, aimless, feckless and hopeless' ) they would get more of a hearing? (I am aware that there are posts from Conservative voters who have hearts and brains, some of them I have met and made friends with, but there are also some very blinkered and stubborn individuals)

I may not agree with every post but strongly dislike 'bullying' tactics. Discussion/debate is a good thing if we respect the views of others.

I posted a reply to a comment earlier today. A couple of other posters pretty quickly told me I was wrong. They know more about it than I do so I bow to their knowledge on this. I never felt bullied just because people disagreed with me. I'm an SNP voter so I've got lots of experience of very vocal people taking very different points of view than mine , but I don't throw my toys out of the pram and call "foul". On this forum I've been told to back off, I've been called scum and I've been told I'm over excited. All part of life's rich tapestry....

LaraGransnet

Hello <waves white flag>. There are a large number of personal attacks flying around. Please debate the issues but don't resort to attacking people because their views are not the same as yours. Thanks

It's time something was done about this.

AGAA4 Mon 26-Oct-20 16:10:06
I would like to see a range of views on the political threads. It seems that many don't post as their ideas will be 'blown out of the water' by those who disagree.

Add comment | Report | Private message | Quotelemongrove Mon 26-Oct-20 16:17:54
Yes AGA sadly that is exactly the case....
That’s a sweeping statement Elegran ( last paragraph)
There are many Conservative voters on this site but most really cannot be bothered by all the flak that ensues.It doesn’t mean they think ‘So what, let them go to the wall’ at all.
Often easier to scroll past and leave a thread to be an echo chamber.

Add comment | Report | Private message | QuoteJanpt Mon 26-Oct-20 16:18:17
AGAA4

I would like to see a range of views on the political threads. It seems that many don't post as their ideas will be 'blown out of the water' by those who disagree.

Yes, you only need to see the bullying comments I receive on here as a minority Conservative voter. I was warned that this would happen and that many right wing voters have left because of it. It says it all about the quality of the Labour left on here. We have witnessed what they see as acceptable from the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party last week.

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AGAA4

I would like to see a range of views on the political threads. It seems that many don't post as their ideas will be 'blown out of the water' by those who disagree.

Yes, you only need to see the bullying comments I receive on here as a minority Conservative voter. I was warned that this would happen and that many right wing voters have left because of it. It says it all about the quality of the Labour left on here. We have witnessed what they see as acceptable from the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party last week.

Yes AGA sadly that is exactly the case....
That’s a sweeping statement Elegran ( last paragraph)
There are many Conservative voters on this site but most really cannot be bothered by all the flak that ensues.It doesn’t mean they think ‘So what, let them go to the wall’ at all.
Often easier to scroll past and leave a thread to be an echo chamber.

I would like to see a range of views on the political threads. It seems that many don't post as their ideas will be 'blown out of the water' by those who disagree.

Those commenting from a viewpoint to the right of centre don't seem to have any constructive things to say at the moment. I have always regarded the right as having solid policies for maintaining a sound legal and financial basis for the national community and economy, while those on the left had the stronger policies for distributing the results of that financial success and ensuring that everyone benefits from the legal framework.
However this current government has put our financial position into jeopardy with their exit from the EU, and is in process of removing much of the legal and financial safety nets that protect the citizens. With the impending trade chaos of Bexit and the social and economic destruction caused by coronavirus, there could be less in the pot to distribute, either through trade and employment or through benefits.
Left-wingers have more to say on this than right-wingers, whose response in general seems to be, "So what? They'll just have to go to the wall." If anyone has any constructive, not vituperative posts to make from the right, they will be most welcome.

janpt you are correct about that....all the politics threads tend to be left wing dominated, many posters who vote otherwise can hardly be bothered to comment because they know the interminable wrangling that will follow.
However when posters do comment, surely it can be done (by all) to do it without all the personal stuff.
Am not sure why this is so, but it could be that since GN started ( just about) the Labour Party have been out of power,
It’s a very long time ....this may account for it.
Other forums seem to have a wide range of political views so it’s puzzling.

Poor quality housing
And poor quality housing does not mean it is cheap, either.

Rents are high even for places which, quite honestly, aren't fit for habitation in some cases.
That means that little is left over for so-called luxuries such as food.