Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. Yes, the voters of Clacton have been fooled again!

I partly agree, but think he expected a much more ringing endorsement than he got butterandjam, enabling him to depart on a big high. He withdrew from the results ceremony when he realised his ploy had failed and he was going to look small and foolish.
He must be praying for a massive number of super dinghies this weekend, ironically.

Galaxy

They were being kind in the restaurant, they offered me a free shot. I took it as a compliment, I haven't drunk shots in about 30 years
I just meant talking about the increase in those claiming disability ( particularly young people) is important, it isn't 'knocking benefit claimants' etc, it is trying to.work out what is going on.

I agree. Particularly our young people between 18-25. It’s a proven fact that, in the main, having paid work has a positive effect on those with mild to medium mental health problems.

Sometimes people forget that working goes so much further than just having more income, though, of course, this is vitally important. But work brings with it a new environment, new colleagues, new learning, a sense of achievement, self esteem.

For me, it’s so important to get those of benefit who COULD work AND to find them sustainable and appropriate paid work.

Yes i agree. It also brings routine, and structure, I cant stress how important that is to most people, as boring as it may sound.

Casdon

I partly agree, but think he expected a much more ringing endorsement than he got butterandjam, enabling him to depart on a big high. He withdrew from the results ceremony when he realised his ploy had failed and he was going to look small and foolish.
He must be praying for a massive number of super dinghies this weekend, ironically.

Then fibbed about being told he was at risk! He’s also reported to the police now, after Ann Widdecombe's death, that his lit incendiary advice (allegedly) popped through the letterbox of one of his homes is linked to AW’s death.

Frankly, this man truly is a vile, disgusting excuse for a human who appears to believe the entire world revolves around him.

I NEVER condone violence of any kind, but nor do I condone self-serving narcissists who believe it’s all about them.

nanna8

Oh get a grip. Not everyone who voted for the man are fools. That is an unwarranted thing to say . You never know, he might turn out to be reasonably good ( not sure there but Andy Burnham is being given a chance and no one knows how he will turn out,either) I think they hate him because he threatens the two main parties, they don’t like change. Not many do.

His constituents - including businesses trying to survive in a somewhat deprived area that significantly lacks commercial investment for a variety of reasons - need representation in Parliament and Farage was their only choice, so of course they are not fools.

But it could be considered foolish to have faith in an MP who, during his first year in the Commons, mentioned Clacton a mere 4 times whilst taking 8 trips to the USA to shill for Donald Trump. Especially as his (Farage) central pitch when he first arrived was to scorn the 'Establishment' for ignoring his constituency... "Clacton is ignored, but my high profile will force the government to put you on the map" is what he said to a community pretty desperate for regeneration.

I don't think opposition to the man really has much to do with people not liking change, on the contrary, it's borne from scepticism about whether he's likely to do anything that will significantly bring about any change. If he doesn't hold constituency surgeries, he's hardly likely to know or understand what changes his voters would like to see.

Farage's behaviour is very similar to that of Trump. He was miffed by the result so he went into angry sulk mode.
One of his own party said that Nigel needs to control his anger.

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me, is a proverb about trust and consequences. It means that if someone deceives or takes advantage of you once, the blame is primarily on them. If you let the same person deceive you again, you bear some responsibility for not learning from the first experience. Simply, make a mistake once, but learn from it - don’t knowingly repeat the same mistake.

It does not call people fools.

Stop reading now if you don't want the history:

It's exact origin is uncertain, and the wording has evolved over time. The underlying idea is very old. Similar sentiments appear in ancient and medieval literature: someone who is deceived once is unfortunate, but someone who repeatedly falls for the same deception has failed to learn.

The English formulation “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” is much more recent. Variants are documented in English by at least the 19th century, although the precise first appearance of this exact wording is disputed.

A particularly interesting point is that the saying is often attributed to Chinese, Scottish, or Irish origins, but there isn't good evidence that any of those is definitively the original source. The proverb seems to belong to a broader family of sayings that developed independently or were translated/adapted across languages.

That doesn't make it any better I am afraid.

Strange OP.
The voters of Clacton voted for Farage, as was their democratic right.
Should we see the voters of Makerfield as stupid for choosing Burnham?

AGAA4

The people of Clacton voted Farage as there really was no credible alternative. I think they know he hasn't done anything for them but it can be a case of 'better the devil you know'.
How long will Farage last now the enquiries into the 5 million donation have resumed.
I hope the people of Clacton don't have to face another by-election.

Some people being interviewed say he’s not done anything for Clacton, but voted for him anyway because they believe he may solve the migrant boat crisis.

Galaxy

That doesn't make it any better I am afraid.

It doesn't make it better or worse than it was originally Galaxy. It wasn't intended to. It's just facts.

No i am sure you didnt intend to make it better.
They dont think it was a mistake DAR, or certainly no more a mistake than voting Labour, tory, etc.

BlueBelle

Nana8 you really are talking nonsense when you say he might turn out to be reasonably good do you know anything about his politics, or him if you think he’s good then you are liking a misogynist, a cheating, lying racist, who has been likened to how Hitler started out, there are photos of him do the goose step etc etc
Please concentrate on Australian politics.

Just looked at this thread and straight away we have nasty comments like this. BB has already had one post removed by GN for mentioning Hitler and here we go again.

Not only the nastiness but people setting themselves up as the Thread Police and telling others what they can post really does GN no favours.

It is an unpleasant personal attacks.

my daughter has told all her carers I do shots
She has also told them I have a gun

Sensible. She will be assured of excellent care. Who is going to want to upset her drunk gun toting mother

Chestnut

BlueBelle

Nana8 you really are talking nonsense when you say he might turn out to be reasonably good do you know anything about his politics, or him if you think he’s good then you are liking a misogynist, a cheating, lying racist, who has been likened to how Hitler started out, there are photos of him do the goose step etc etc
Please concentrate on Australian politics.

Just looked at this thread and straight away we have nasty comments like this. BB has already had one post removed by GN for mentioning Hitler and here we go again.

Not only the nastiness but people setting themselves up as the Thread Police and telling others what they can post really does GN no favours.

👏👏👏👏👏
Well said!

Galaxy

Sensible. She will be assured of excellent care. Who is going to want to upset her drunk gun toting mother

Wonder how they will vote, if Farage is sanctioned for the non declaration of the 5 million?

Meant to say, thanks DAR, for the history.

JaneJudge

This is what democracy is People fought hard for votes for women, the working men, then working class women.

I think people are manipulated too but democracy gives people a choice and that choice is their own

It should always be an informed choice.

Otherwise it makes a mockery of the fight for democracy and the right to vote.

And who decides who is informed enough. Should we ban the labour voters who thought the appointment of mandelsson was wise.

For me there is a big difference between opinion and verifiable information. Any of us can express whatever opinion we like, but when people post things as though they are fact when they are verifiably not, it grates on me (whether or not I would prefer what they say to be the reality or not).

I don’t see anything wrong in providing correct data or information - and I’m equally happy to be corrected, and to apologise when I get things wrong. That should be the end of it though, there is never a justification for a pile-on.

Gracey

Strange OP.
The voters of Clacton voted for Farage, as was their democratic right.
Should we see the voters of Makerfield as stupid for choosing Burnham?

Why would someone vote twice for an MP who doesn’t care about them? Only they know.

Nobody knows how many did.

The total electorate of Clacton is 79,785.

In 2024, 21,225 people voted for Farage. On Thursday, 22,230 voted for him, an increase in raw votes of only 1,014.

It could be that a completely different lot of people voted for him this time. I’m joking, of course, but the reality is that he will have lost some supporters and gained others.

Clacton has an elderly population, much higher than the national average. General voting statistics show that around 60% of elderly people vote either Tory or Reform.

Official demographic estimates for Tendring record approximately 2,264 deaths over a one year tracking period say 5,000 over two years. The law of averages means some Reform voters from 2024 will have died.

In 2024, 12,820 people voted Tory. Where has their vote gone? Have any transferred their allegiance to Reform?

That only 28% of the Clacton electorate voted for Farage isn’t a ringing endorsement and he knows it despite all the hyperbole.

The real test will be if there's another by-election as a result of the investigation and the Tories put up a strong candidate. We shall see.

I think we need to get away from saying “the people want this” and “the people say that” or "the voters want this or that" when, in so many cases, only a minority do.

Our FPTP voting system doesn't work in a multi party democracy and we need to get rid of it. Had we had PR, then the major parties would not have ignored this by-election and nor would Farage have wanted it.

the slope is slippery if we start passing judgement who is informed enough..people may feel they are informed.