Brexit and the waning days of the United Kingdom

[Sheilbh]

But really.
If you want to move out of London and are given the opportunity to work remotely...why would you move to just outside London?
That keeps you effectively within the London area with London prices but without the convenience of museums, restaurants, etc... right next door. It brings together all the negatives.
It seems far more logical to me that people will be seeking to go home or to other nice cities elsewhere in the country (or abroad- we're due a major reform/deform on how cross border employment is handled)

Oh on that we can broadly agree. I love London, hate the Home Counties

"Get Brexit done" wasn't so much loved in the sense the brexit zealots wish it was (Corbynistas are keen on this too ironically), that people really wanted brexit, rather more it resonated in the sense of shut up about this fucking thing and give it a rest. Oh how little they knew.
It also helped that it was a quick simple message that really gelled with the feeling of fatigue and annoyance vs. Labour throwing everything at the wall.

Yeah - I think it reflected a desire to stop talking/caring/voting about Brexit more than anything else. Just get something over the line, live with the consequences and move on rather than any more divisive standstill as in the 2017 parliament.

I was thinking today with Johnson's "Build Back Better" videos (and I think it was a Tory slogan before Biden started using it) about how much better the modern Tories are at slogans/themes. Most people don't pay attention to or care about politics unless they absolutely have to so you need to repeate your slogan/theme for it to cut through: New Labour, New Britain; Yes We Can; Make America Great Again; Take Back Control; Get Brexit Done; Build Back Better - for Biden and the Tories. They're all pretty slogan and have a relatively clear message/theme.

Compare that with the slogan from Labour conference: Stronger Future Together The one lingering influence of Blair on Labour is the abolition of verbs. I feel like they need to work out their theme and then get a Peter Mandelson in the room to come up with a slogan/strapline for it. It's just a set of words - I can't even work if it's a list of aspirations/things Labour is about or if it's meant to be "A stronger future together"

[Tamas]

Stoke Poges, the Buckinghamshire village name-checked in the prime minister's speech as a potential beneficiary of his "levelling up" policy, is an archetypal home counties spot: green, pleasant, affluent, ageing and unaffordable, with all the attendant benefits and drawbacks.

It is reportedly the eighth richest village in England and sits in the heart of the Conservative "blue wall". This area of Buckinghamshire has been relentlessly Tory-voting, at least until the byelection in neighbouring Chesham and Amersham when the Liberal Democrats overturned a big Tory majority.

Boris Johnson may well have calculated that the blue wall needed a bit of love. There were fears that levelling up would switch public investment out of south-east England and into the north and Midlands. There had been outrage at government plans to force through mass housebuilding in the shires.

Boris Johnson now has the chance to make 'levelling up' mean something
Andy Burnham
Read more
Johnson said his policy would "take the pressure" off places like Stoke Poges, which had in effect become the victim of its own success – or as he put it, people's "sheer lust" to live there. Invest outside the "overheated" south-east and people would live elsewhere. Thus, the logic goes, levelling up would leave south Buckinghamshire to its unspoilt green pastures.

"Boris Johnson has a very strong point," said David Anthony, a councillor and chair of the Beeches Community Board, which represents Stoke Poges on the county council. "If investment were taking place throughout the country, business would be more spread out."

Places such as Stoke Poges were overheating he said, though he accepted this was partly inevitable. It boasts beautiful countryside and excellent transport links. As the Telegraph, cited by Johnson, couched it: "It hits the sweet spot – a sliver of rural England slipped between the M25, M40 and M4, handy for Heathrow and Ascot."

The golf course at Stoke Park Country Club, Spa and Hotel.
The golf course at Stoke Park Country Club, Spa and Hotel. Photograph: Greg Balfour Evans/Alamy
Anthony has lived in the area since 1982 and remembers when Stoke Poges was "more of a rural village". It is now more of a commuter town. He said vigilance was needed to prevent encroachment from the likes of urban Slough. Anthony was pleased the mood music from government about greenbelt development appeared to be changing.

Homes in the new-build terraces and large gated estates here can sell for millions. The village has a sleepy feel with an ancient churchyard – St Giles was where Thomas Gray composed his Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, also cited by Johnson – and a manicured memorial lawn as a focal point. The village centre features a couple of shops and a Costa Coffee, and there are two pubs on the outskirts.

The greenbelt – about 90% of the village is protected from development – means there is little sprawl. After rapid growth after the second world war – ironically fuelled by postwar expansion in housebuilding – the population has grown little for 40 years. Instead it has got older, and the property more expensive.

Life expectancy is above the England average in the Beeches: people smoke less and drink less. Unemployment is 2.7%, compared with 5% for England. If it has an acute problem, according to local public health data, it appears to be loneliness.

Residents who spoke to the Guardian were unsurprised to learn that Stoke Poges had been cited as a shining example of levelling up. Several described the area as quiet and peaceful, and a "desirable place to live", with easy access to nature, low crime rates and a close-knit community.

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But they added that the popularity of the village had changed its character in recent years. Sandra Galatola, who works at the local preschool and has lived in Stoke Poges for 20 years, said high demand for housing had resulted in a parade of shops, including a popular pub, being shut down to make room for new flats. "There are more people coming from far away because they know about Stoke Poges," she said. "House prices are expensive: people pay for them with family money."

Wayne Mitchell, a decorator, also identified high housing demand as a problem, with prices often surpassing £1m for a family home. "Once you have a property, nobody sells. There are no properties for sale so you have to live outside the village," he said. However, he added that his business benefited from being located in a "well to do'' area. "We can charge top prices for decorating."

[Josquius]

Amazing how they've stolen all my lines.
The thing is though, they're known liars.

[The Larch]

So, um, can somebody explain to me what "leveling up" actually means inthe context of contemporary British politics?

[The Brain]

So, um, can somebody explain to me what "leveling up" actually means inthe context of contemporary British politics?

Cheerfully taking it up the arse from a pseudo-intellectual buffoon. At least that's my understanding of the term.

[Josquius]

So, um, can somebody explain to me what "leveling up" actually means inthe context of contemporary British politics?

False faced Tory hijacking of left wing politics of tackling regional inequality. Particularly apt given the EU was doing far more to help many of these places than they ever did.
Basically about bringing the wealth levels of the se to the rest of the country. Also taps nicely into the tories hijacking and perversion of Northern hate for London: traditionally based on them being tories and so obviously taking everything for themselves.

[Sheilbh]

So, um, can somebody explain to me what "leveling up" actually means inthe context of contemporary British politics?

I don't know if it has or needs a clear definition - but basically the idea of reducing regional inequality (especially in Red Wall seats the Tories won) by "levelling up" those areas rather than holding London back/down.

In tersm of key metrics Johnson has said the one he wants to be judged on is real wage growth in those areas. Michael Gove (who is the minister in charge of this) has set out for objectives - which are broad and almost certainly going to face a fight with the Treasury (which the Treasury will almost certainly win):

"We want to strengthen local leadership to drive real change. We will raise living standards especially where they are lower. We will improve public services especially where they are weaker.

"And we will give people the resources necessary to enhance the pride they feel in the place they live."

[Josquius]

In other tory news...
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/tories-put-lgbt-society-section-25149839

The tories put the LGBT Conservatives in section 28 of their conference.

Am I becoming a bit of a conspiracy nut to guess this was intentional to wind up the far left on twitter and score some culture war points with cunts over how awful and overly sensitive those nasty lefties are?

We want to strengthen local leadership to drive real change. .

Which even a neutral observer would agree they're doing the opposite of...
The others too albeit less overtly trying to.

[Jacob]

They want people outside of London to grind mobs and optimize their specs.

[The Brain]

Feels like centuries since there was a good raid in England.

[PDH]

Does all this mean that England can return to the glory days of football hooliganism?

[Sheilbh]

New General Secretary of Unite getting into the drivers shortage
https://twitter.com/UniteSharon/status/1445830771126775811?s=20

Why I think they were very sensible to choose someone with a reputation as a workplace organiser who is not very interested in Labour factional fights over the Labour left and Labour right candidates.

[Jacob]

New General Secretary of Unite getting into the drivers shortage
https://twitter.com/UniteSharon/status/1445830771126775811?s=20

Why I think they were very sensible to choose someone with a reputation as a workplace organiser who is not very interested in Labour factional fights over the Labour left and Labour right candidates.

A time of labour shortages is not a bad time for drivers to organize and push for better pay and conditions, no. Seems pretty sensible.

[Sheilbh]

Also interesting Sky had polling of voters who were made to watch the leaders' speeches. Starmers won on every category and was rated 5.9 to Johnson's 4.7.

They agreed with Starmer 63/29 (to 51/41 for Johnson), thought Starmer came accross as strong (57/26 to 53/30), competent (62/23 v 49/37), as caring about ordinary people (68/19 to 46/42) and in touch with ordinary people's concerns (60/29 to 44/45).

The only one that was close was that 41% thought Starmer came across as interesting and 28% as boring v 40/22% for Johnson.

As I say I feel like this government are there for the taking - if Labour can start doing the basics: work out a message, focus on things the people care about not niche Labour interests, develop some clear dividing lines with the Tories and attack.

[Josquius]

As the American example shows sometimes boring is good.