From: no_offline_contact@example.com
On 2026-01-22 2:39 p.m., Adam H. Kerman wrote:
> BTR1701 wrote:
>> Jan 22, 2026 at 10:11:25 AM PST, Rhino :
>
>>> Local elections have been delayed in some areas of England *again* this
>>> year; there were a number of local elections delayed last year as well.
>>> Some of the elections delayed this year are in the same areas as were
>>> delayed *last year*. And as if that isn't bad enough, the Labour
>>> government that dominates Parliament has launched a plan to delay
>>> NATIONAL elections as well, even though they aren't due until 2029 at
>>> the latest.
>
>> "But... but... muh democracy!!!"
>
>> How is this not worse than January 6th?
>
> Plenty of Americans objected to the riot and storming of Capitol Hill
> and the policemen who were attacked.
>
> Is everyone in the UK sitting on his hands? That's truly sad.
I've seen predictions that the Brits definitely will NOT stand for it,
although they are not out in the streets yet. I think they're waiting
for the opposition parties and the House of Lords to respond first
before they feel the need to act, at least with respect to the potential
of postponed national elections. The Opposition are outnumbered in
Parliament but still get heard on some media outlets and therefore carry
significant influence. The Lords have some power, too. I'm not sure if
the courts can be of assistance or if Labour has so much sway in the
courts that they are more likely to side with Labour at this point.
[Did you know that Labour is also working on legislation to end jury
trials? I'm not sure if it is across the board or only for certain
crimes but that is a horrifying assault on freedom. Having no hope
except for the compassion/reason of the judge is not a good position for
any defendant.]
There is definitely a lot of talk about the postponement of local
elections but it was a LOCAL decision to postpone them, not (officially)
a Starmer decision. Legislation was enacted in the time of covid that
enabled local councils to defer elections in emergencies and that's what
the councils are using to delay their elections. (Mind you the
"emergency" being used is the need to reorganize local governments to
some extent, so they claim that it would be "wasteful" to have an
election on time and then have another the next year. Hardly an
emergency in my book!) The large majority of councils postponing their
elections are dominated by Labour; the rest are Conservative. The
Conservatives are NOT popular either after 14 consecutive years. Both
parties expect to lose big in the next local elections, mostly to Nigel
Farage's upstart Reform Party. Of course I'm sure the national Labour
Party is urging the Labour-dominated councils to defer elections behind
the scenes: Starmer is petrified of losing a large number of councils
because local elections are widely seen as a bellwether of how the
national parties will do in the next national elections. Of course
Starmer is so despised that pretty much everyone expects he'll be booted
out of the leadership in short order. Some said he wouldn't make it to
this past Christmas; many are certain he'll be bounced immediately after
local election that are being held if Labour loses any significant
amount of seats.
And that's actually my nightmare. I was counting on Trudeau to still
hang on and contest our last election but the Liberals pulled a
switcheroo and swapped Carney in. In a miracle that defies reason, the
electorate apparently decided that was good enough despite the fact that
the same clowns had slavishly agreed with everything Trudeau wanted to
do and should have been held to account. I'm terrified that the same
will happen in the UK and forgive Labour as soon as it has a new leader.
--
Rhino
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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