| Do you need an education to govern the country? 10:25 - Aug 4 with 602 views | saint901 |
I read an interesting article over the weekend.
This article claimed that over 70% of those supporting Reform have been educated to GCSE level or below. (I'm assuming "below" means having failed GCSE's or perhaps left school before taking exams).
The article suggested that those with a lower educational attainment were more likely to believe the unsupported word of Farage and his clowns and more likely to be stirred to action by his (often) false claims.*
In your experience is there a link between low educational attainment and taking what might be called an extreme position on political issues?
*As an example, this weekend Farage claimed that 1 in 3 Londoners have been a victim of phone theft. It would seem to a fact that with around 80,000 thefts in London per year, the real rate is about 1 in 112. |  | | |  |
| Do you need an education to govern the country? on 10:48 - Aug 4 with 558 views | saintmark1976 |
Farage’s political skill is identifying what he considers to be a problem, falsely promoting that view (as in Brexit) and then running away ( along with the Circus Clown Johnson ) when something needs to be done about it.
He appeals very strongly to the hard of thinking and senior citizens who still believe that we are fighting the Second World War. Will enough of these people vote for him at the next General Election to make him Prime Minister ?
Frighteningly, quite probably. | |
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| Do you need an education to govern the country? on 11:06 - Aug 4 with 537 views | Bazza |
Don’t know how anyone can know political party members education levels since this info is not required on joining. Also many poll results are based on samples too small to be statistically significant e.g. typically 5% or less.
Regards Farage’s false ‘ claims, what about consecutive governments false promises. | | | |
| Do you need an education to govern the country? on 11:23 - Aug 4 with 520 views | saint901 |
| Do you need an education to govern the country? on 11:06 - Aug 4 by Bazza |
Don’t know how anyone can know political party members education levels since this info is not required on joining. Also many poll results are based on samples too small to be statistically significant e.g. typically 5% or less.
Regards Farage’s false ‘ claims, what about consecutive governments false promises. |
To believe the promises of political parties in the run up to an election is surely the triumph of hope over experience?
All political parties lie and all of them blame the "previous lot" for having to backtrack.
All of them react to the headlines in the Sun or the Mirror or the Daily Liar and as a result we get very short term measures without thought for the consequences.
The suggestion in the article is that the "mainstream" parties are competing for the votes of those with more than a basic education and are under threat from parties who attract those with a lower standard of education because they are more likely to see matters as black and white rather than the multiple shades of grey it actually is. | | | |
| Do you need an education to govern the country? on 15:39 - Aug 4 with 451 views | kingslandstand1 |
| Do you need an education to govern the country? on 11:23 - Aug 4 by saint901 |
To believe the promises of political parties in the run up to an election is surely the triumph of hope over experience?
All political parties lie and all of them blame the "previous lot" for having to backtrack.
All of them react to the headlines in the Sun or the Mirror or the Daily Liar and as a result we get very short term measures without thought for the consequences.
The suggestion in the article is that the "mainstream" parties are competing for the votes of those with more than a basic education and are under threat from parties who attract those with a lower standard of education because they are more likely to see matters as black and white rather than the multiple shades of grey it actually is. |
That's probably true though isn't it, especilly with the latest bombshell that 16 year olds can now vote? You're obviously in to your politics a lot more than I am but your hope over experience comment surely confirms that? |  |
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| Do you need an education to govern the country? on 16:42 - Aug 4 with 431 views | saint901 |
Votes for 16 year olds was part of the Labour Party manifesto. So here we have a political party making good on a promise.
Do I agree with this?
I can see why people who can get married, join the army, have children, pay tax etc should be entitled to a vote.
I can see that many young people are uninterested in politics, see things too simplistically and when they do are perhaps more inclined to be "lefties". As such from the Labour Party this could be seen as a cynical move designed to increase their vote.
I can't say I know too many people in this age group to judge their political thoughts, knowledge etc. I get the impression that many of them are much more switched on than I was at that age, but I have no evidence for that.
There is also a slippery slope here. When women got the vote in 1918 it was only for some. Over 30, property owner or married to a property owner. Universal suffrage arrived ten years later when men who had been denied the vote (not property owners) were also allowed to vote. If we are to make some arbitrary rules about who can/cannot vote, then where do we stop?
Many European countries have rules which prevent people running for election unless they have a degree from a university. Should we limit voters in the same way? As it is you cannot run for UK parliament before you are 18. Would we want a 16 year old MP?
So any measure which allows/denies a vote is going to be crude. | | | |
| Do you need an education to govern the country? on 17:42 - Aug 4 with 404 views | 1885_SFC |
I was listening to a debate on the radio the other night & by all accounts, 16-18 year olds are far more likely to vote for Jeremy Corbyn's 'new' party (whatever it's called today) than they are for Starmer.
Now that would be ironic. |  |
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| Do you need an education to govern the country? on 21:15 - Aug 4 with 303 views | Joiedevivre |
| Do you need an education to govern the country? on 16:42 - Aug 4 by saint901 |
Votes for 16 year olds was part of the Labour Party manifesto. So here we have a political party making good on a promise.
Do I agree with this?
I can see why people who can get married, join the army, have children, pay tax etc should be entitled to a vote.
I can see that many young people are uninterested in politics, see things too simplistically and when they do are perhaps more inclined to be "lefties". As such from the Labour Party this could be seen as a cynical move designed to increase their vote.
I can't say I know too many people in this age group to judge their political thoughts, knowledge etc. I get the impression that many of them are much more switched on than I was at that age, but I have no evidence for that.
There is also a slippery slope here. When women got the vote in 1918 it was only for some. Over 30, property owner or married to a property owner. Universal suffrage arrived ten years later when men who had been denied the vote (not property owners) were also allowed to vote. If we are to make some arbitrary rules about who can/cannot vote, then where do we stop?
Many European countries have rules which prevent people running for election unless they have a degree from a university. Should we limit voters in the same way? As it is you cannot run for UK parliament before you are 18. Would we want a 16 year old MP?
So any measure which allows/denies a vote is going to be crude. |
You can’t get married until 18; you can’t fight in the army until 18; you can pay tax at any age through most purchases. But yet they won’t use the same arguments for those even younger voting. With having kids at 16, you’d have to be very eager.
The manifesto pledge was plainly gerrymandering to get more left wing votes. But it will backfire - the young are mostly polarised to extremes.
I remember school mock elections. No detail put into the issues or reality - just vote Corbyn for freebies was the call! I wish I was joking. Now this age of people will be voting for real. [Post edited 4 Aug 21:16]
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| Do you need an education to govern the country? on 22:32 - Aug 4 with 261 views | DorsetIan |
I think all of us - of all political outlooks - despair about idiots having the vote.
But we all disagree on who the idiots are.
So I'd rather that my idiots get to elect their people sometimes, than to have some sort of intelligence test before you get the vote.
(Although they were taking the piss with Liz Truss). | |
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