"Some of you may die,
but it's a sacrifice
I'm willing to make."
Thanks Rishi.
The £120,000,000 in increased personal wealth over the last year is thanks enough.
The Labour Party do not need a social media department the Conservatives are doing that job for them.
Nothing the Labour Party can do or announce would be better at getting people to vote for them, than Rishi announcing national service, and we're only on day four.
I’m hoping for at least one solid meme a day all the way to the election. With a start like this where it’s hard to pick a favourite meme of the day I just don’t know how this level of comedy can be sustainable.
It’s a really funny post and I’m not a Tory voter.
That said, I do wonder what it will require for Britain to reintroduce some form of conscription?
I’ve grown up in countries where it was second nature for some to get drafted (forced to join) and many volunteered (80% of the people in my platoon were volunteers), with a mandatory “Forces Day” that you were required to attend not long after your 18th birthday. Even the people who were forced to join accepted it as “oh well, it will be a gap year, I suppose”. There was an option to become a conscientious objector but very, very few took it (it meant spending 10 months working for the same salary in a library or similar).
How bad does the UK’s security outlook have to be before young people will understand a necessity?
People turning 18 this year have the lowest wages to housing cost ever, house buying is a distant dream for anyone without £100k+ from the bank of mum and dad, and mum and dad have been squeezed too, most middle class families do not have that sort of money available per child.
Buying a car is beyond the reach of the vast majority, fuel is at record prices and insurance is mandatory and has increased well above inflation. 18 year olds are looking at average insurance of £3000 or 10 weeks of working full time at minimum wage.
The social contract for young people in the uk has been broken, if you are not already wealthy or incredibly lucky you cannot afford to live a fulfilling life. Children, holidays, personal transport, home ownership all out of reach.
Before forcing people to fight for their country, you need to make it something worth fighting for.
If a between A-Level and university 6 week PAID training position in the military were offered, where your housing, food, basic training are provided, and you are able to save some money at the end of it, would probably be a good policy.
The social contract for young people in the uk has been broken
Yes 100% agree.
Before forcing people to fight for their country, you need to make it something worth fighting for.
Again 100% agree.
If a between A-Level and university 6 week PAID training position in the military were offered, where your housing, food, basic training are provided, and you are able to save some money at the end of it, would probably be a good policy.
Completely agree that the volunteer service (whether forces or in a civilian volunteer position) could be combined with education credits, or pay, or housing, it would be much more attractive. Certainly where I served, I was housed and fed and had a salary (£650/month equivalent to £1300-ish today). It allowed me to save most of the money.
Initial reports of the Tory plan is over multiple weekends so no accommodation, unpaid, mandatory and punishment for non compliance.
Basically slave labour under the guise of community and service.
If it’s unpaid and mandatory they can fuck right off.
Unpaid and mandatory is literally slave labor. It's basically the definition of it.
Part of the problem people have is that the only reason the security situation is so bad is because of the Tories cutting funding to the regular military. It's going to cost 2.5 billion to implement this scheme, well wouldn't it be better to spend that money on professional soldiers, before telling everyone they have to conscript?
If conscription is still required at that point then maybe it will be tolerated, because there'll be an understanding that it's now actually necessary. As opposed to just covering up for previous governmental mismanagement.
It’s not just the U.K. that’s been neglecting its duties; the whole western world has been sleeping at the wheel. £2.5bn is a drop in the ocean that we, collectively in the west, need to invest to stand up a credible defense posture.
Ignoring for a second the paid/unpaid status of the proposal (which won’t happen anyway as the tories will lose this one), the notion of training some conscripts for a possible mobilisation isn’t the worst idea in the world - it’s how most of the states bordering Russia balance peace vs possible war.
Looks like the Labour Party have finally hired....
Have they. Is this an official Labour party post.
As far as I can tell.
Sorta cool but risky. As tories can claim its a lie. IE no one is forced towards the military under their policy(yet).
So the most dishonest party can claim Labour is being dishonest with voters. Something tories are very good at is whataboutism to distract their own actions. Their voters seem tuned to it.
Labour are almost better of letting the voters and party members have their own fun. And unofficially encouraging MP candidates to link.
Well it’s pretty funny, and they did literally announce military service and people do die in military service, not a lot of ambiguity there.
I just love how perfectly represented Richi is by the evil and diminutive Lord Farquaad.
Agree fully.
Just dose not seem to match the caution we have seen from starmers labour.
If the Tories decide to waste their time debunking a meme, I reckon Labour would be pretty happy with that outcome!
Tory voters fell for bacon sandwich bullshit.
And many of the traditional tory safe seat voters. Are very prown to whataboutism as an argument.
The tory party are good at distraction politics.
Some silly distractive comment or mean is almost garrenteed to be what narrows the gap in the last 2 weeks.
Seriosly over confidence in shy tory voters learning their lesson. Really is something to take care over. At 53yo I have spent far far to much time under tory governments that more then 50% of voters hate.
Tories are good at this crap.
Well it’s on the official LabourParty YouTube channel. I don’t work for the Labour Party if that was what you are asking, just fed up of the Tories.
Honestly on a tablet with bad vision atm. So could not tell it was the official channel. Thanks for confirming.
Honestly I am just surprised starmers party has the currage to play negative this early. I def grinned. And would like to see more of this sort of thing.
I just think letting creative folks less connected with the party is more effective in many ways.
Need to head home and repair my desktop PC so I can enjoy the next 6 weeks at this rate. ;)
I know memes have become, well, memes these days but it says a lot that in a major general election voters are being courted on the strength of either party's memes.
I mean, forget policy or manifestos or explaining tough choices to the electorate: as long as it make makes ya giggle, eh? Jaysus our politics is dire.
Labour has a lot of information available on their policies and there was that 6 first steps last week. The election was only called 5 days ago, and I don’t think any major party has a full manifesto published yet.
Maybe we can have memes and politics?
Oh don't get me wrong this isn't a dig at Labour. This is politics in general. The same shit is happening with the US elections. It's just an election about personality and nothing else over there. Perhaps parties could spend more time on the boring stuff rather than memes which inherently don't paint the full picture and simplify often complex subjects into the visual equivalent of sound bites.
I don’t think any major party has a full manifesto published yet.
And this is totally shit and unacceptable. They knew an election would happen this year. Why haven't they got manifestos ready to go on day one? In a draft where they can update it quickly after it was called. We've got a little over a month to digest it and scrutinise and challenge it. I actually know why they haven't. Because neither party wants to be challenged on the substance of their policies. You can hear it when interviewed on the radio or telly. They just delay and delay their answers and ultimately don't say anything.
Maybe we can have memes and politics?
😜 We have more memes than politics at the moment.
It's totally unacceptable from the Conservative Party since they're the ones that called the election. In Labour's case however they probably have the excuse that they genuinely didn't think the election would be called until the end of the year. They thought they had months yet.
Totally agree the ‘good chap’ principle really doesn’t work these days where we have such a corrupt and dishonest government willing to sabotage their opposition at the expense of the country.
Personally I like the more meme style videos, up until this last week the LabourParty shorts and main channel videos have been very dry, boring policy stuff presented in a way that is just not engaging to a YouTube audience. Don’t get me wrong I really want to have the information contained in the videos, but you need to engage with your audience on YouTube, if they are not entertained or effectively informed, then the chances of them clicking on another video is very small.
If only Labour would actually act as an opposition in Parliament, that might mean something, but they aren't, making them complicit, and this meme slinging in an attempt to seem "with the kids", pretty pathetic.
What is the single most important thing to you, that you believe Labour have been a bad opposition to?
Lol, literally all of it.
If anything, I can't think of a single example of them opposing anything the tories have done in any substantial way, they don't stand for the working class or the services we depend on, they don't stand for marginalised people (not stepped up to protect disabled people, trans people, immigrants against the cuts and abuse we face, think BLM was a joke, just off the top of my head, I'm not doing your research for you), they're neoliberal cons pulling the wool over the public's eyes pretending to be an "alternative" when they literally serve the same people, and it isn't you or me.
Maybe try actually taking your head out of the sand of privilege protecting you from seeing the reality, and paying attention instead of buying in to and pinning your hopes on this charade, because Labour ain't fixing shit for you.
I don’t mean to be dismissive but every time I ask this question the reply is the same: Everything!, long list of things, links to articles, “do your own research”.
Unfortunately the media have programmed you to hate Keir Starmer in the same way they programmed you to hate the EU.
I’m going to respond to your first sentence, I know this will result in you not replying, or saying “what about xyz”, but I don’t think I can reprogram you out of everything, which I why I ask for one single thing.
I’m working class and disabled, I rely on my GP and specialist services. I’m currently waiting 2 years for treatment on the NHS, and my doctors surgery makes every excuse under the sun as to why I cannot get an appointment. Labour have just this week pledged 40,000 more NHS appointments. They are constantly holding the Conservatives to account in PMQs on their terrible record of not willing to negotiate with doctors over pay, NHS mismanagement, and their “40 new hospitals” lie. If I get treatment I might be able to start working again, the Tories want to cut my benefits so I am forced back to any type of work where I will get sicker.
I can’t think of a single example of them opposing anything the tories have done in any substantial way
Would you agree that consistently voting against something and promising to repeal it would constitute a substantial opposition?
The opposition party don't have any power to implement policy all they can do is try and direct things in a slightly different manner but the conservatives are not interested in listening so there's not a lot that labour can do.
Frankly you seem like you've decided that you don't like the labour party and are now flailing around trying to look for reasons. At some point you've probably said "they're all the same" or "they're Tory Lite", probably because someone said it down the pub once, and now you're going to parrot it, ad infinitum.
Let's just focus on this policy announcement shall we? The conservatives are threatening to introduce national service, meanwhile Labour are not threatening to do that, they are saying they will lower the voting age 16. How are they not opposing the Conservatives?
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