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Why I Think The Conservatives Won the General Election

By Political2 Comments

I’m a Labour Party supporter. So I was obviously disappointed with the General Election result. But I like to understand the why? Why did so many people vote for The Conservative Party, when it feels like Turkeys voting for Christmas? Here are some of the reasons I think The Conservatives won the General Election:

  • A lack of political education in schools. Especially political history.
  • Brexit – The Conservatives reached hard core Brexiteers by clearly promising the leave the EU. It doesn’t seem to matter that it’s a promise they won’t be able to keep. Labour weren’t initially clear on their plans for Brexit.
  • The all-powerful right wing media. If you read, hear or see something enough you’ll begin to believe it. The was a horrendous campaign of lies and misinformation about Jeremy Corbyn and The Labour Party. Every outlet, including the BBC failed to give a balanced view or hold the Conservatives to account.
  • Traditional Labour voters opted for other parties such as the National Scottish Party, The Green Party and Independents. Therefore diluting Labour’s vote share.
  • Businesses thought only of profit, putting their confidence in the Conservatives. This is likely because of the business-friendly policies of The Conservatives such as lowering corporation tax. Whereas Labour wanted to increase the tax rate for top earners to pay for some of their investment plans. This is capitalism at its worst and is driven by greed.
  • Acceptance of reality as it is and that it can’t be changed. No matter how miserable reality is. This is driven by a fear of change.
  • Older people tend to vote and tend to vote Conservative.
  • The bad weather on the day; the cold, wet and darkness probably put some people off going out to vote. It’s sad but it’s true.

What are your thoughts on why The Conservatives won the election? What do you worry about now? Leave a comment below to let me know.

Write soon,

Antony

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Saturday 14 December 2019

The General Election Result – In Images

By PoliticalNo Comments

This will be my last political blog post for a while. Here are my thoughts about The General Election result in images:

What we got:
hung-parliament-2017

What we got: A Hung Parliament.

What I hoped for:
welcome-to-government-labour-2017

What I hoped for: a Labour Government.

What I fear:
5-disastrous-years-ahead-conservatives-2017

What I fear: 5 Disastrous Years Ahead.

Blog Nonpolitically soon,

Antony

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Sunday 11 June 2017

Book Review: Misery by Stephen King

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
misery-stephen-king-book-cover Misery by Stephen King is compelling, creepy and will have the reader on the edge of their seat with anxiety and fear.

In Misery Author Paul Sheldon has a dreadful car accident. When he finally wakes up, he finds himself in the guest bedroom of Annie Wilkes.

Annie Wilkes is a psychopath and Paul’s number one fan. She has dragged him from the wreckage, set and splintered his mangled legs. Paul is in an incredible amount of pain and knows that he should be in hospital. Anne Wilkes used to be a Nurse has a stash of painkillers.

Annie is reading Paul’s latest book. Paul’s bestselling books about Misery Chastain have made him a lot of money, but he hates writing them despite their popularity. He see’s the Misery Chastain books as making the money he needs to live, so that he can get on with some real writing. So in this latest book Paul has done something drastic: he has killed Misery Chastain.

Annie doesn’t know about Misery’s death yet, but when she does she calls Paul a dirty bird and demands another Misery book, just for her, called Misery’s Return. And she won’t take no for an answer.

Nobody knows that Paul is at Annie’s remote mountain home. It will be months before the snow melts to allow Paul’s wreck of a car to be found. And meanwhile Annie makes it clear that she is prepared to make him suffer, severely, if he doesn’t cooperate. Paul does the only thing he can: write as if his life depends upon it (which it actually does).

The idea behind Misery is brilliant, clever and excellently expressed through King’s writing. He has turned Misery into a horror classic, with some traumatic scenes that will stay with the reader for a long time after they’ve finished the book. So people with a sensitive disposition be aware.

Misery is told in the first person perspective of Paul, meaning that there is an awful lot of internal monologue, especially at the beginning where Paul is bedbound. The description of pain from Paul’s perspective does lack variety and begin to feel a bit repetitive. The plot is fast-paced, full of tension and has plenty of hooks to make the reader be compelled to read on.

I read Misery in about a week, often staying up far later than I intended to, to find out what happens next.

Misery is gripping and a must read. Misery is available to buy on Amazon and at all good book shops.

Review soon,

Antony

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Sunday 1 January 2017

Book Review: The Stand by Stephen King

By Amazon, Books & Authors, Reviews2 Comments
stephen-king-the-stand-book-cover The Stand was originally published in 1979. I’m reviewing an extended version with approximately four hundred additional pages. The original was cut by four hundred pages to save on printing costs.

Stephen King decided to release this extended version as Readers have asked for it.

The Stand starts with an infected Solider escaping a chemical lab in a military base. He’s infected with Project Blue, a pathogen which has a 99.4% kill rate and that spreads alarmingly quick through the US and rest of the world.

King starts to introduce characters as the world disaster plot begins. With just a few sentences, King gives each character a believable backstory and makes them feel completely real.

We watch each of these characters deal with the loss of their loved ones, seek out other survivors, attempt to make connections with them and adapt to this new world.

It’s then that the dreams start. A dream about a Dark Man that strikes fear into the heart. A dream about a kind old woman named Mother Abagail.

The different characters have now mostly come together and formed groups. They start their journeys towards the Dark Man or away from him – travelling in the direction of Mother Abagail.

Mother Abagail’s group set up Free Zone in Boulder, Colorado. It’s a democratic community, that grows day by day.

The Dark Man (known as Randall Flagg)’s group set up in Las Vegas. His community is a dictatorship, with severe punishments for minor rule violations. It grows day by day, but not as quickly the Free Zone. The Dark Man is intent on waging war on the Free Zone.

The first two thirds of The Stand are beyond brilliant. The plot is fast-paced and the characters are captivating. But the last third of The Stand felt like King didn’t know where the plot was going. The ending did satisfy somewhat, but had a tinge of disappointment as only two of the numerous main characters had a good conclusion.

The Stand is a large book, totalling 1,325 pages. I read it in about three weeks – which isn’t bad considering my other commitments. There were many times when I simply couldn’t stop reading The Stand.

There were two minor aesthetic annoyances with my copy of The Stand. Firstly, the cover has started peeling. Anyone who knows me, knows I look after my books. So I can only put this down to the cheap production. Secondly, the black and white illustrations randomly dotted throughout book were pointless and of a poor quality.

The Stand is an enjoyable read. It’s a great book that will entertain the reader. It will absorb the reader into an apocalyptic world where good and evil are engaged in their a final battle. The Stand is available to buy on Amazon and at all good bookshops.

Review soon,

Antony

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I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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Friday 9 September 2016
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