Goodbye 2019
Throughout the world 2019 was the worst year for the left since 1979. What will 2020 bring?
Politics
Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation
How To Get There: New Years Day edition
It’s tempting to think of the 2020s as the do or die decade, but deep, abiding, life affirming change will come from framing that also makes people feel good.
The power of positive campaigning
With the 2020 election just round the corner and recent complaints about the left’s treatment of the #TurnArdern campaign it is a perfect time to think about the importance of language and positive uplifting campaign themes.
Bridges and the Robertson trial
National has released a video of Simon Bridges talking about the trial he conducted against Tony Robertson and suggesting he is in politics to change the law. But the particular law he appears to be targeting was unchanged during the term of the last National Government.
Why the Tories won the UK election?
Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s blog
What if Trump wins again?
We may as well prepare ourselves for Trump overperforming his popularity again and winning. We’ve had to deal with left’s retreat in most of the world in 2019. So let’s prepare and plot some likely accelerated changes in Trump’s second term.
How To Get There 29/12/19
Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.
It Is the Thought That Counts
Antagonistic personalities are an obstacle to effective politics tackling major present problems.
T’was the day of Christmas
National’s social media team spent Christmas day deleting tweets suggesting there was any link between its MPs and members of the #turnardern campaign.
MMP Mark II*
What beats MMP? Open-list proportional representation with a low threshold would be a good option.
Democratisation by Social Media and the Internet Is Just Meaningless Waffle
Social Media and the Internet are literally in our faces 24/7 but our political engagement is diminishing.
The future of Capitalism
2019 has been a remarkable year for those wanting social, economic, and environmental renewal. The level of protest remains high, the idealism as […]
How To Get There 22/12/19
Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.
What Cheeto, Bojo and Scomo are up to
It has been a tough week for conservative leaders with Trump impeached and the evangelical magazine Christianity Today calling for his resignation, Johnson in the UK announcing voter fraud measures reminiscent of the American deep South, and in Australia Morrison being criticised for missing in action, upstaged by a 13 year old girl and pushing through protection for religious bigotry that Israel Folau would be pleased with.
The British Election result 2019
Democracy is a precious thing, and not something that can be taken for granted. Having an electoral system where every vote matters is crucial to creating a decent society. It is time that the UK started seriously debating electoral reform and how to improve its democratic systems.
Rush to Judgment redux
Barrister Maria Dew has delivered a strong conclusion in the report concerning allegations of sexual assault by one Labour Party member against another member. And Paula Bennett has not as yet apologised for her totally unfounded allegations against third parties.
No Right Turn: Impeached!
The US House of representatives has just voted to impeach Donald Trump.
Bridges fights losing twitter battle with Nigel Latta
Simon Bridges’s twitter account has chosen to celebrate Christmas by engaging in a twitter spat with well known Media personality Nigel Latta. And has not fared well.
Labour raise the minimum wage
“Around a quarter of million workers will be better off next year”
How to counter angry boomer campaigns
The UK election was won not by Russian bots but by older voters with limited technical skills circulating poorly designed ads. What can be done in New Zealand to counter what is clearly a right wing campaign tactic?
Listening to left wing dissent
What stands out for me are the voices of the people who are saying actually, there were solid reasons for abandoning Labour, this is why I did. There’s something important here about really listening to dissent and being willing to engage with views that don’t make sense in the context of our own personal ideologies.
What next after the White Island silence?
At 2.11pm on Monday December 16, New Zealanders are being invited to hold a minute’s silence to respect those who have died in the White Island/Whakaari explosion. Once that’s over, it’s time to start turning to what might occur to prevent this kind of disaster happening again.
How To Get There 15/12/19
Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.
Is it better to deliver in Government or better to shine?
Let’s frame this in leftie terms: can you get in, do grunty policy moves, and stay popular?
Lefties on The Standard: UK election edition
A dedicated post on The Standard providing a discussion space for left-wing people only.
Free Broadband
Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s blog
Brexit – sorry its not getting done anytime soon.
Can the Conservatives get brexit done by January 31st as they are promising in the election? The short answer is no. The slogan is catchy, and taps into public sentiment. But it is also pure unadulterated bullshit. If the Conservatives do form the next government these words will haunt them, especially Boris Johnson.
The Missing Millions
Millions of people and an entire region of the UK left out of polling calculations….
Bouganville and Brexit
The island of Bouganville has just had a vote towards independence from Papua New Guinea. The result has interesting similarities with the Brexit vote.
Thawing after the BRR
“The purpose of fiscal policy should be to ensure ongoing wellbeing for all and the health of our environment.”
Green Budget win backs public sector leadership on climate change
“We want to make sure hospitals, schools and other public institutions can use energy in a more climate-friendly way, cut emissions, and lower their energy bills.”
Pop Media Bullshit – another example.
It’s said that in times of war, the first casualty is truth. Well, since truth is taking such a pummeling these days, it follows that we are at war, no?
Then they came for public art
The conservative leadership in the United States and in Australia are both taking steps to attack the sustainability of public art. Shame on them.
The freedom to lie during an election campaign
Two recent National advertisements involving drastically inaccurate graphics have attracted attention. And at the same time National is opposing changes to the Electoral Law that would extend the time that it is an offence to publish a false and misleading advertisement during an election period.
The NHS and privatisation
The NHS is well loved by the British public. It is seen as something which makes British society decent and civilised. That the NHS is now stretched and badly underfunded is seen as a national outrage. Fears of even further privatisation of the NHS due to a US trade deal has unsurprisingly made the NHS the number one election issue.
Rent increased over 40% under National (Key years)
Now Simon Bridges as a bridge to sell you.