There are so many reasons we don’t have authentic leaders in both the US and UK.
So many lobbyists, donors and this twisted notion of the ‘general public’ as always being conservative, at least mildly racist, misogynistic and homophobic and unwilling to do anything to save the planet if they think it will cost them something.
Then I guess there is the secret #shit going down that makes them age rapidly the moment they take office.
But the elections in both countries this year are major.
The election in the UK in July and US in November will determine how the rest of this decade will play out and beyond in a way like never before.
What is done now will impact all our futures in the immediate, medium and long term.
The leadership of these countries influence decisions beyond their native voters…including how the UN and NATO respond to conflict.
I want to vote with my heart, but still feel compelled to compromise because of crappy FPTP and not wanting to let the evil guys win.
@JugglingWithEggs While unfortunately the US election will indeed determine our collective futures (can this country become irrelevant already?) I'm not sure the UK's will have much of an impact beyond the UK (the little relevance the UK had ended with Brexit)
The UK is still a permanent member of the UN Security Council. There are 5 such members with the power to veto decisions. Our nuclear arsenal and geographic location also still make us a key player within NATO. Sadly we are no longer as influential on trade, safety standards or environmental laws due to pulling out of EU…but I would still argue who leads the UK has an impact well beyond its own electorate.
@JugglingWithEggs
You have my sympathy. It’s a horribly poor system.
@JugglingWithEggs For a given value of evil.
I have no way of influencing the outcome of the US election.
My take is that Labour will form the next govt. If "the left" holds their collective noses (as usually advocated by Trot parties) they'll likely have a supermajority and Britain will morph into a poundshop US.
My personal situation is I live in a red wall constituency that returned a left Labour MP in 2019. Unlikely to buck the swing so I effectively have a free vote.
@JugglingWithEggs Ironically this is the first time that we won't be forced to tactically vote Labour to get the Tories out. Tories are finished and Labour will win regardless.
It's now a matter of how much of a landslide victory do we give them. They'll do what they want but we decide how much opposition they face holding them to account.
The question now is, how much do we trust Labour?
The average Labour MP alone won’t influence the direction of travel of the party on key decisions such as how to save the NHS, our schools or our environment. This is where I think having a reasonably sized progressive opposition matters and totally agree a Labour wholesale landslide is not good for the country.
But I have one of the few Labour MPs (Lewis) who has spent his political career actively addressing green issues and is unafraid to call himself a socialist.
There is a brilliant, young and persuasive Green Party candidate standing against Clive Lewis in Norwich South - Jamie Osborn. But because Lewis is the environmental conscience of the Labour Party I feel I have no choice but to vote for him over the party I truly feel aligned with.
@JugglingWithEggs In a FPTP system, a vote cast for the acceptable and achievable is much more effective than one cast for the ideal but unlikely. Only vote with your heart if you think all candidates would be, at least to some degree, acceptable winners unlikely to do major harm to you and your community.