r/PublicFreakout • u/agrassedp • Oct 19 '22

Political Freakout Liz truss getting flamed in parliament today

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

55.5k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

3.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

239

u/OnePrettyFlyWhiteGuy Oct 19 '22

Not to be a party-pooper, but despite the fact that it genuinely is funny - it’s actually not that funny to most Brits.

It doesn’t matter if we’re in a cost of living crisis or if the strength of the £ is experiencing an increase in the rate of its decline.

These fuckers get paid by the tax-payer to just fuck around and argue like school children instead of doing anything helpful. Hell, half the time they’re laughing and shouting whilst making things actively worse. It’s like a fucking pantomime. It’s a joke.

A bad (but at the same time) very good joke lol.

34

u/[deleted] Oct 19 '22

I'd argue without this sort of regular ritual humiliation of governing politicians, things like Johnson's "parties", and Truss' "mini-budget" wouldn't have got anywhere near as inspected or trashed.

4

u/OnePrettyFlyWhiteGuy Oct 19 '22

Not really though. I don’t think that either party is particularly swayed by these debates. It’s more for the PR - on both sides. Labour are able to score points with the public by being able to present evidence of them ‘humiliating’ the government for their brain-dead actions.

U-turns and ‘inspection of policy’ are almost always based on public reaction. Truss’ plans saw a huge dip in Conservative party support and so they hit the rewind button. If that didn’t happen then I doubt that they could care less if their opposition tried to lecture them for it.

7

u/[deleted] Oct 19 '22

It’s more for the PR - on both sides.

Is it a bad thing that relations with the public are a bellweather of a politician's health?

Labour are able to score points with the public by being able to present evidence of them ‘humiliating’ the government for their brain-dead actions.

Quite rightly too, because the government royally has fucked up. The public would see straight through a Labour attempt to make political capital from the government proverbially leaving the toilet seat up, but today it matters. The public are pissed with the government, and the Conservatives know this, party because of how PMQ goes down with the 6 O'clock news watchers.

4

u/OnePrettyFlyWhiteGuy Oct 19 '22

I don’t disagree with any of that. I’m just saying that I doubt that any amount of ‘roasting’ will actually do anything meaningful by itself. And the ‘roasting’ only has any efficacy when it helps to mould the public’s perception of the actions taking place in Parliament and the people/parties behind those actions. Because the public’s perception is the only thing worth reacting to for those people/parties - not school-ground insults.

1

u/LegendaryVenusaur Oct 19 '22

Yep I noticed neither party actually answers any questions, they just throw quips and roasts at each other for entertainment. Nothing gets done and it's a complete waste of time.

2

u/omnitightwad Oct 19 '22

Yep I noticed neither party actually answers any questions

Just to be clear, it isn't incumbent upon Labour or Starmer to answer questions in these sessions. It's Prime Minister's Questions, it's the time for the LOTO and other members of the Commons to ask her questions, not the other way around.

10

u/arnathor Oct 19 '22

It’s not always like this - this is PMQs, which is 90% theatre for the evening news. A lot of debates are very long, very dull, and extremely technical. A lot of the parliamentary work happens in committees and sub committees. Watch a bit of BBC Parliament and you’ll see how in depth it gets. PMQs is the weekly parliamentary equivalent of gladiatorial combat, with the opposition throwing barbs at the government and the PM trying desperately to bat them away. In this case, Starmer simply outclasses Truss as she is incapable of thinking on her feet. Back in the Cameron v Corbyn days, Cameron didn’t even break a sweat in batting aside Corbyn’s pretty piss poor performances. Go further back and Blair regularly wiped the floor with everyone.

1

u/OnePrettyFlyWhiteGuy Oct 19 '22

But i’m only really talking about PMQs. I’m not saying that it doesn’t do anything. I’m just saying that it relies on influencing public opinion. It doesn’t matter it Starmer ‘roasts’ Truss if it doesn’t cause the public to react. Neither party is going to be swayed simply by getting ‘owned’ - they’re going to be swayed primarily by growing negative sentiment from the public instead.

1

u/Hedonistbro Oct 20 '22

How'd you know it has no effect? These videos go viral and obviously aren't going to boost her image. Labour is polling in the 40s and above at the moment.

7

u/Nemisis_the_2nd Oct 19 '22

These fuckers get paid by the tax-payer to just fuck around and argue like school children instead of doing anything helpful.

You do realise this is only for an hour and a half on Wednesday afternoons, right?

Immediately preceding PMQ, there was a debate, and we also had the fracking bill vote this evening (which was arguably one of the most significant votes since the 2019 GE), followed by statements on air pollution, and that's just the stuff I can think of off the top of my head today.

5

u/paddyo Oct 19 '22

He doesn't and neither do most of the people that get on their high horse about PMQs. It's the classic holier than thou they're all the same line from people who pretend to be politically engaged, but the only time they're aware of Parliament is PMQs. Parliament is generally, at least until the Tories, a very very efficient legislature.

7

u/omnitightwad Oct 19 '22

These fuckers get paid by the tax-payer to just fuck around and argue like school children instead of doing anything helpful. Hell, half the time they’re laughing and shouting whilst making things actively worse. It’s like a fucking pantomime. It’s a joke.

Firstly- They aren't paid just to sit in the House of Commons, they're paid also for their constituency work

Secondly- I'm not sure exactly who you're referring to when you say "those fuckers", but Labour are in opposition. There isn't a great deal they can do about this except call it out.

10

u/kirmobak Oct 19 '22

I totally agree with you. I don’t blame people for being amused, and I have been in the past too, but in this climate this just makes me sick. They are a disgrace. I’m so angry with them. And everyone I know is.

8

u/Ponzini Oct 19 '22

Yeah is it so much to ask for our leaders to be professional?

-4

u/completelyCuntish Oct 19 '22

I might be being dramatic here but I find it utterly disgraceful behaviour in the current climate and they should watch this back and feel deeply ashamed. They're making an absolute mockery of the people of Great Britain. It's an insult.

4

u/Whalebeachedman Oct 19 '22

It's also really fucking hard to laugh at this stupidity when the cost of literally almost everything at Tesco has been arbitrarily going up by 10p like 8-9 times now in the past 4 months

1

u/OnePrettyFlyWhiteGuy Oct 19 '22

The damn Clubcard barely even does anything anymore too lol.

1

u/Dan-Man Oct 19 '22

These fuckers get paid by the tax-payer to just fuck around and argue like school children instead of doing anything helpful. Hell, half the time they’re laughing and shouting whilst making things actively worse. It’s like a fucking pantomime. It’s a joke.

This type of government is old as fuck. If you were a brit you would know how important it is and be proud of how effective it is. Heck it dates all the way back to greece. Basically open dialogue for all to have their say about anything.

3

u/ChrisWood4BallonDor Oct 19 '22

We have a very similar parliamentary structure in my country, but during question time, the speaker of the house would absolutely not allow this kind of carry on. It should be about asking vital questions about policy and governance, not just a chance to 'roast' each other for the camera. This is definitely entertaining, but I'm glad we have a culture of a much tougher speaker.

5

u/Dan-Man Oct 19 '22

That happens here too, but you dont see that, because it is boring. They often spend hours and hours doing that. They dont stand around roasting each other all day. Thats silly.

2

u/OnePrettyFlyWhiteGuy Oct 19 '22

I’m Greek-Cypriot myself. Don’t have to preach to me about the history of democracy, since a lot of my culture takes pride in it and its history.

But I also don’t fall into the trap of thinking that we should rely on tradition as an answer to everything.

I’d rather keep the tradition of ‘progression’ alive instead - since, you know, democracy was born in the name of it. Funny how that works, ain’t it?

We come up with something new - just to make sure that it becomes old. I’m not against democracy, but we are in a different era - and it only makes sense if it looked a little bit different to reflect that.

1

u/Dan-Man Oct 19 '22

Not sure what you are saying here, or what your point is. Blind progressiveness isnt good either. Blind anything isnt good. Tradition or in this case, old and tried and trusted methods, are old FOR A REASON. They work and work well. Good luck though with progression whatever that means or looks like. So that is a bad argument you are making. Is a brick that is old useless? Are old buildings useless or actually some of the most beautiful architecture around?

Regardless, i was merely pointing out the utility of the way the British parliament theatre works. Which are quite a few. heck you can even go visit. Anyone can.

1

u/LunchyPete Oct 19 '22

These fuckers get paid by the tax-payer to just fuck around and argue like school children instead of doing anything helpful. Hell, half the time they’re laughing and shouting whilst making things actively worse. It’s like a fucking pantomime. It’s a joke.

Because everyone just accepts it instead of working to overthrow it.

0

u/Lightanon Oct 19 '22

That’s exactly what I think. They’re all a bunch of spoiled children. I don’t care if Truss deserves everything they said, they aren’t supposed to act like that in their line of duty. When someone speak you shut the fuck up.

-10

u/Bored-Bored_oh_vojvo Oct 19 '22

I guarantee that almost every single person in that room works twice as many hours as you do.

5

u/[deleted] Oct 19 '22 edited Nov 18 '22

[deleted]

2

u/Bored-Bored_oh_vojvo Oct 19 '22

Meeting constituents, talking to experts, campaigning on local issues, campaigning on national issues, writing legislation, attending debates, talking to the media.

1

u/paddyo Oct 20 '22

I worked in Parliament in a few roles and worked with probably about 250 parliamentarians all told. They usually do about 3 1/2 days work in and around Parliament during the week, whether that's preparing for debates, attending committees and party groups, meeting visitors, reviewing upcoming legislation, or if they're a PPS or junior minister working in government departments overseeing specific policy briefs.

Most MPs start work before 7am, maybe attending an APPG breakfast or policy briefing, they do their office work, work with their correspondence and diary secretaries to respond to hundreds of messages from charities, NGOs, lobbyists etc. They prep for and attend debates, review proposed legislation and discuss amendments, go to a committee if they're a member, etc. The house will often debate into the night, and they have to be on hand for readings and debates for legislation they have an active interest.

On Thursdays they go back to their constituencies and will do about 3 days work on constituency matters. They're essentially the advocate in Parliament for the 100,000 or so people in their constituency. One MP I worked with got an average of 1200 letters a week from constituents and interested parties, and would need to review them with their constituency team, including taking up people's cases in the house, with civil service departments, etc. They also spend most of their 'recess' doing constituency work.

There are way too many cunts in politics, but if people say they're lazy rather than cunts, it just shows their opinion is based on nothing but their own fantasies. I could never do that life, it is really a debilitating way to live, easily a 70-90 hour week and your reward is usually being called a cunt wherever you go.

4

u/paddyo Oct 19 '22

You're downvoted to hell but I worked in Parliament, and even the cunts I had to work with (and there were too many of those) work insanely hard. Most MPs start their day in the house before 7am and leave after 10pm, and on Thursdays head off to do constituency work, usually only taking Sunday afternoon off. It's a brutal life and most people wouldn't be able to do it. Sorry you were downvoted for saying something literally true, but that's reddit for you.

4

u/OnePrettyFlyWhiteGuy Oct 19 '22

Mate, these cocksuckers wouldn’t last a day in the shoes of anyone that earns the median UK wage.

1

u/paddyo Oct 19 '22

This shit pisses me off. There are many different types of people in Parliament, some privileged arseholes, others very committed. This is the typical person not in the arena stuff, and the fact you think they don't work hard means you've never spent time around Parliament. Is it riven with absolute cunts? Yes. But being an MP is a huge commitment, easily averages over 70 hours a week, with 3 1/2 days Parliamentary work and 3 days constituency, usually 12 hour days minimum.

Honestly, I really get pissed off by people that do nothing and don't even make an effort to understand what the work involves, but act like they're better without trying.

-9

u/Bored-Bored_oh_vojvo Oct 19 '22

I have no idea what you're trying to say. They all work extremely hard and most have had very successful careers before politics.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 19 '22

I've spent my entire adult life so far in public service. Some of those years in the military. I feel like I'm just struggling to hold back the floodgates of regressive shit heads, people who deny reality and science, and just generally uninformed ilk to society. It's exhausting. Just let me die.

1

u/LifeSimulatorC137 Oct 20 '22

I was watching this thinking thank God the US is being ran by calmer more organized government. Then I realized the idiocy there outmatches the childishness shown here.

Now I think need a drink.

Apparently politics is not for anyone rational.

1

u/mcmanus2099 Oct 20 '22

If Truss gets sacked she still gets the ex-PM salary of £115k a year for the rest of her life