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By The Weeping Angel
#87742
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... AuFoFDOhKQ
A Green party council candidate is attempting to evict his Labour opponent from a house he owns using a no-fault notice, despite his party supporting a ban on exactly such kinds of eviction.

William Pedley, who is standing for the Greens in the Victoria ward of North Northamptonshire council, has served a section 21 notice on his tenant and political rival Kelly Duddridge, who has lived in the property for 10 years.

Duddridge remains in the property but says the threat of eviction has caused her and her family significant stress, while Labour has accused Pedley of hypocrisy given his party’s opposition to no-fault evictions. Other Green party politicians have been accused of showing hypocrisy by calling for more clean energy while opposing solar farms and electricity pylons in their local areas.
By Youngian
#87795
I'd assume Green Party voters are in a higher state of anxiety than voters of other parties. Especially if they're reading the likes of George Monbiot every week. You're now a planet trasher for buying tomatoes according to one of his columns. Adjusting your lifestyle choices to be kinder on the planet and animals is however an admirable trait.
Last edited by Youngian on Sun Apr 20, 2025 6:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By Abernathy
#87988
Killer Whale wrote: Thu Apr 24, 2025 8:00 am I've always wondered if there's anything less English than celebrating St George's day.
Very good point. Broadly speaking, it's not a typically "English" thing, if such a thing can be said to exist. Samuel Johnson famously opined that patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel, and that certainly fits with reference to the likes of Farage, Yaxley-Lennon, and those hateful weirdos of the EDL.

Edwina Currie, of all people, said something interesting about this the other day, which is that nationalism - any nationalism - is okay as long as it's just fun. Light-hearted, having a laugh. Cardboard helmets and home-made chain-mail smocks. See-you Jimmy hats, glengarrys, and kilts. Big rubber leeks and daffodils. French rugby fans in cockerel hats.

It only becomes problematic when it is conflated with, and infected by, hatred, racism, and xenophobia like that espoused by Farage and the EDL. And there's the whole problem with the whole St George's Day and English nationalism thing. It has been so infected by thuggery and xenophobia that decent English people are reticent to get on board with it, or even actively repulsed by it. Scots football fans, aka The Tartan Army, were famously so disgusted by the behaviour of belligerent England supporting gammons abroad that they basically re-invented themselves as a totally contrasting fan body, going abroad to support the national team and well, being conspicuously well-behaved, embracing local customs, and local people, wherever they were. Having fun, to echo Edwina Currie's point.
By Youngian
#87989
The RoW absorbed England's language, sports, dress, inventions etc that there's not much point in flaunting it.
David Starkey in a rare moment of clarity is an interesting proponent of this view. So England doesn't have a colorful national costume because trousers were once the English national costume. But then adopted everywhere. (Haven't checked this claim but will unwisely take Dr Starkey's word for it).
And then there's the absorbtion of transnational cultures such as medieval knights trotting off to Jerusalem to loot and pillage.
Even Anglo Saxon progression was about apeing the mores of the Franks and Rome.
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By Tubby Isaacs
#87994
That's an interesting argument by Starkey, and I'm inclined to take it seriously because it's very much not "well he would say that, wouldn't he".

I've only seen St George's Day made anything of in two places. One was Hayes, which reflected either local far right influence or some sort of reflection that Southall is next door, so let's both have parties, depending on your point of view. The other was Tower Hamlets, at the school right by my flat, which I thought was a nice touch.
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