My woes are reading this bile
I'm oppressed.
Vote-rigging at Peterborough? Page 2
Quote: Stephen Goodlad @ 9th June 2019, 7:37 PMMy woes are reading this bile
I'm oppressed.
No bile here, Stephen - certainly not on my part, anyway.
Who knows what lurks in the hearts and minds of other contributors, however? Perhaps you detect things that I myself do not? I am, it seems, sometimes a little too naive for my own good.
Having said that, I'm sure all contributors to this thread are civilised, well-meaning people who simply enjoy debate and/or the posting of sparkling witticisms.
"Good old Chip! Good old JSG! Good old Michael Monkhouse! Good old Firkin! And even good old you!" I say.
Let friendship and bonhomie be unconfined!
This is ridiculous. Labour is not an extreme party. Many Remainers see them as too much like the Tories.
Or maybe it's some sort of satire?
In my opinion, Labour has indeed become an extreme party. Sad thing is, it looks as if the extreme left is trying to zap those who are not extreme.
Quote: Paul Wimsett @ 9th June 2019, 8:13 PMThis is ridiculous. Labour is not an extreme party. Many Remainers see them as too much like the Tories.
Or maybe it's some sort of satire?
All things are relative (especially incest) and the question of whether or not Labour is an extreme party depends very much on how you define "extreme". The party's cultivation of anti-Semitism, bullying and political correctness gone mad are seen by many as defining characteristics of an extreme party.
On the other hand, others say that the levels of anti-Semitism, bullying and political correctness are no greater in the Labour Party than they are in in the country as a whole and that therefore the party, by definition, cannot be deemed extreme.
Like so much else in life, it depends how you look at it.
Take this thread, for example: I have opened a discussion about allegations of vote-rigging at Peterborough and, despite the demonstrable fact that nothing I have said in this thread has in any way suggested that a non-white vote is somehow less legitimate than its white counterpart, I have been accused of "dog-whistling about the subject as if the non-white vote is less legitimate". If that's not an accusation of racism, I don't know what is.
I don't think I, or anybody else I know, could give a damn who voted for the current MP for Peterborough: all I'm talking about is the question of whether or not the votes she received were cast legitimately.
The legitimacy of our electoral system matters - and the accusations of voter-fraud would be equally as important and equally as discussable on BCG if a snow-white fixer had used his influence among thousands of snow-white voters to corruptly influence the outcome of a parliamentary election.
But look, here's what I'm up against:
A few hundred years ago there were people wandering around Europe whose raison d'etre was the discovery and exposure of people in league with the devil. Some 50,000 people were convicted of witchcraft and put to death.
How could that possibly happen? Simple! It happened because if you are sufficiently determined to find a characteristic in somebody, you will most surely find it.
It's the same in Britain today (and on BCG) except that the witchfinders have been replaced by equally dedicated - and equally fallible - racist-finders misogynist-finders and homophobe-finders.
Clearly however, not everybody on BCG falls into such a category just as not everybody in mediaeval Europe was a witchfinder.
Well as more people voted against Labour than for them There should be a new election.
I believe somebody has asked how the bribed or coerced voters could be relied upon to vote in the manner required.
The answer appears to be that such voters are ordered to take a confirmatory photograph of their ballot paper after making their mark upon it.
In other news, it seems somebody on social media has posted a message saying that he and a couple of accomplices burned 1000 votes for the Brexit party.
Several Peterborough politicians and would-be politicians past and present seem to agree that it's a thoroughly corrupt area of the country when it comes to the voting process
Quote: Rood Eye @ 12th June 2019, 10:20 AMI believe somebody has asked how the bribed or coerced voters could be relied upon to vote in the manner required.
The answer appears to be that such voters are ordered to take a confirmatory photograph of their ballot paper after making their mark upon it.
In other news, it seems somebody on social media has posted a message saying that he and a couple of accomplices burned 1000 votes for the Brexit party.
Several Peterborough politicians and would-be politicians past and present seem to agree that it's a thoroughly corrupt area of the country when it comes to the voting process
Quite frightening actually.
An unsubstantiated report that someone said something on social media is hardly a reliable source!
Quote: beaky @ 12th June 2019, 1:23 PMAn unsubstantiated report that someone said something on social media is hardly a reliable source!
Equally, an unsubstantiated report that somebody said something on social media is no indication that what that unknown somebody allegedly said is in any way untrue.
It's entirely usual for great and momentous news stories to start life as unsubstantiated reports.
Police in Peterborough have now confirmed the posting on social media of a message referring to the election of Lisa Forbes and saying "3 people including me burned over a 1000 votes for TBP [The Brexit Party], and laughed while doing it".
The man has been named and investigations continue.
If someone wanted Labour to win, they wouldn't advertise the fact they did this. Do you remember the cranks letters some papers would publish, one reader wrote in saying that rugby should be banned, because the studs were killing worms. 
I've always thought that rugby should be played in bedroom slippers.
No, no, no. Rugby players should be hung up by the balls till they stop boring us. (along with Boris Johnson)
Reports today suggest that voting practices in the Peterborough by-election were typical of those of "corrupt Kazakhstan".
It seems that police are currently investigating five allegations of electoral fraud at the recent by-election: one of bribery and corruption, one of breach of voters' privacy and three of postal vote fraud.
Many years ago, Guy Fawkes and his colleagues decided to remove the lawful government of Britain in one fell swoop: their ambitious plan was unsuccessful.
Today, the same plan is being carried out more slowly but, it seems, rather more successfully - one constituency at a time.
Another difference is that when Guy's plan was discovered, none of the intended victims had the slightest hesitation when it came to complaining about it. Today, however, very few people are complaining about it because it's not nice to criticise the people who are doing it.
Goodbye, England - you were good while you lasted! 