Is he a bot or merely incapable of thinking for himself?

MaizieD

P.S It's possible that a 'warped view' of Conservatism stems from the views of tory posters on this site...

Sometimes I feel embarrassed to be a Labour voter when I read puerile stuff like this.

Oreo

MaizieD

P.S It's possible that a 'warped view' of Conservatism stems from the views of tory posters on this site...

Sometimes I feel embarrassed to be a Labour voter when I read puerile stuff like this.

Perhaps you don't notice some of the appalling stuff posted by tory voters...

Callistemon21

My feeling is that he is more like a caretaker Prime Minister, keeping everything ticking over between the last two disastrous occupants of No 10 and the next election when he can gracefully make his escape.

That feels about right, he’s trying to keep the ship steady until that time, which tbf he’s managing to do.
He may want to keep going as opposition leader but I bet they will choose a new leader if badly beaten at the election.

No MaizieD I’ve seen no ‘appalling stuff’ by tory voters on this site, in any case how would I know they were tory voters unless they say so. There’s a certain mindset on SM tho, who are very left wing and go all out to insult others who have different political views, I try and distance myself from them.😬

Germanshepherdsmum

Facts please Daisy.

Did you not read what I said, or do you just set out to be as rude as you can as quickly as you can?

Why not do some research of your own?

No Daisy, rudeness is very much your preserve.

You made a statement which you haven’t backed up, which you took me to task for doing last week. I then supplied a link to a House of Commons briefing note which confirmed what I had said - not that you acknowledged it. If you stand by your statement then you should be willing to provide proof of what you say beyond ‘what the millennials are saying’ and ‘do some research of your own’.

Callistemon21

My feeling is that he is more like a caretaker Prime Minister, keeping everything ticking over between the last two disastrous occupants of No 10 and the next election when he can gracefully make his escape.

Can we afford to wait?

Applegran

Do you think the political parties monitor GN and MN and other sites, to get a sense of what at least some of us are feeling? And if they do, how much impact does it have? I suppose, should they be doing this, it is all fed into the system along with opinion polls and may or may not make any difference. This is just a thought which occurred to me, reading what has been added to this thread. There may be others here who actually have an answer to this.

Just my thinking but I would guess they will generally be taking an interest in floating or floatable voters in significant seats.

If we had a very large active membership they might just check occasionally.

DaisyAnne
No we can’t.
This poor country is stagnating at best, decaying at worst

Oreo

MaizieD

P.S It's possible that a 'warped view' of Conservatism stems from the views of tory posters on this site...

Sometimes I feel embarrassed to be a Labour voter when I read puerile stuff like this.

But Maizie is right. I am sure I am not the only one who is influenced in my opinion about Conservative voters, by those who post on here. There are very few times in real life where people would be as honest about their views. If anything that view is moderated by Conservatives I know and then aggravated once again when I come into close contact with our local Consevative politicians.

There was nothing childish in the observation, as far as I can see. The reply ...

That being the case DaisyAnneReturns which doesn’t surprise me at all, there will be many Conservative GN members who are influenced in their views by what left wing posters on this site say and come away with a very negative opinion of them sadly.

Very true Oreo. Some have left due to the bullying of the left wing posters.

Germanshepherdsmum

Very true Oreo. Some have left due to the bullying of the left wing posters.

Evidence, GSM?

You could name a few names (usernames, of course). Then we might be able to judge if it was 'bullying' or just exchanges of views...

Whatever your political persuasion you have to be pretty robust and knowledgeable to post on politics threads because you’re going to get challenged - but I find it hard to believe that Tory posters are less robust than Labour posters - why would that be the case? My observation is that people on the political threads don’t agree with each other over a topic just because they are a Labour or a Tory voter, it’s much more nuanced than that - in fact I don’t think very many people at all are what I’d call left Labour, and those that are have to fight their corner hard against the more moderate amongst us too. It’s like a mini House of Commons.

No Maizie, I won’t name people even by username. That would be wrong. I don’t lie. People have left because of the bullying behaviour of Labour supporters. It’s sad that you don’t seem to notice their absence. There should be room for polite and respectful debate but sadly there isn’t. It’s rather like a school playground.

Casdon, Conservative posters are no less robust than others but the overwhelming majority here are left-leaning and some take advantage of that majority to bully others, to be rude and to insult. Some can cope with that, some can’t. Everyone here is a person with feelings. There is no Speaker to deal with those who cross the line, unlike the HoC.

No Maizie, I won’t name people even by username

I'm shocked that anyone could even ask!!

Callistemon21

^No Maizie, I won’t name people even by username^

I'm shocked that anyone could even ask!!

Of course you're shocked. You're a reasonable person.

Germanshepherdsmum

No Maizie, I won’t name people even by username. That would be wrong. I don’t lie. People have left because of the bullying behaviour of Labour supporters. It’s sad that you don’t seem to notice their absence. There should be room for polite and respectful debate but sadly there isn’t. It’s rather like a school playground.

Casdon, Conservative posters are no less robust than others but the overwhelming majority here are left-leaning and some take advantage of that majority to bully others, to be rude and to insult. Some can cope with that, some can’t. Everyone here is a person with feelings. There is no Speaker to deal with those who cross the line, unlike the HoC.

I’d say there are maybe 10 regular posters who lean slightly or further to the left Germanshepherdsmum, I don’t think that could be classed as an overwhelming majority. I do understand what you mean about posts getting too personal on occasion, but I haven’t seen ganging up, and I have seen plenty of differences of opinion between left leaning posters too, it’s not a homogenous mass of anti Tory posters.
I have to say too that by far the worst bullying I’ve seen on Gransnet is on seemingly innocuous threads where the ganging up is merciless on occasion. I do know several people who have left as result of that.
Isn’t GNHQ the Speaker in this context when people go too far, I’ve seen them intervene when people get too personal?

I'm baffled by the whole "left wing people are bullies" thing

There seems to be a concerted effort to make it appear so

People just come back on different names anyway

People just come back on different names anyway

You may have done (I know because you told us) but so many posters have gone, never to return.

Unfortunately so, Callistemon.

Sorry, I guess I don't know any of them

Germanshepherdsmum

No Daisy, rudeness is very much your preserve.

You made a statement which you haven’t backed up, which you took me to task for doing last week. I then supplied a link to a House of Commons briefing note which confirmed what I had said - not that you acknowledged it. If you stand by your statement then you should be willing to provide proof of what you say beyond ‘what the millennials are saying’ and ‘do some research of your own’.

I explained that I was going off-line and yet the first post I see, as the immediate post after the one telling you that, is your latest 'order' for facts.

I am, unsurprisingly, not a millennial. If you want to get some information about them look it up. There are no "facts" just their feelings about "the olds"and what we have left them with. There are many articles written by them or about them. I don't know what your last servant died of but I am not their replacement.

Ten against how many Casdon?

Someone said on another thread that they took a middle view (of a totally different topic), and I think my view of that applies here too. We mostly do see ourselves as in the centre, think that our views are reasonable, and that anyone to either side of them is straying from that. In this case to the Left or the Right, but in other discussions it might be rich/poor, or lax/fastidious when it comes to housework or fashion.

I count myself as a bit of a leftie, but to a Communist I won't be, and someone with far right views might think I am at the 'loony' end of left. It's maybe not surprising then that I don't see GN as 'overwhelmingly left-leaning' by any stretch. I see far more views that I consider right wing (as in more likely to be seen in the Mail than the Guardian, trans issues aside, on which topic the Graun seems to me rabidly to the right, and the Mail talking rare common sense ). It's all about perspective, I suppose.

I'm sorry if people have left because of actual bullying, but I do wonder sometimes whether there are a lot of people who see any disagreement as a personal slight. There are often posts about how you have to be 'brave' to post in N&P, which I find incomprehensible. I don't expect that people will all agree with me, so I'm not upset when they don't.

There is no need for rudeness though (and there is plenty of that on this thread!), so I'm not surprised if that puts people off, rather than political differences.