The Importance Of Voting & Is Biden Alienating Young Voters?

This video was recorded before the UK General Election announcement
What is the international significance of Mexico's presidential election? Is Biden risking the support of young voters over his stance on Israel? And how did Rory find his silent retreat?!
Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more on this week's Question Time.
00:00 Pre-episode message
01:05 Intro
01:10 How was your retreat Rory?
06:23 New woman president in Mexico
10:34 Macaroon and New Caledonia
15:48 Has Biden turned off young liberal voters?
21:21 Should there be a maximum age for a monarch doing public functions?
24:10 Wales & Vaughan Gething
29:43 Why would Wilders pick a former Labour minister?
33:01 Does the lack of local and regional newspapers weaken democracy?
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[@markunderwood8368]

A large part of the success of these podcasts is the genuine affection that these men have for each other.

[@DuarteMolha]

Omg. That retreat is my definition of hell

[@laurajibson8945]

Sounds like prison!

[@ivydickson7596]

Nah, it's amazing to focus the mind and get rid of past reactions.

[@peterdollins3610]

My father brn in 1912 always said 'If you don't vote, you do vote. You vote for a Dictatorship.' In 67 I taught English under Franco, in Spain. I took the ideas and words of democracy to the schools and my pupils. I found life under a Dictator was no fun at all. An atmosphere of suffering, oppression, misery and just so boring. Vote. Your life and your loved ones lives depend on it.

[@joshyman221]

The world was different in 1912. Not voting in a FTP system isn’t voting for a dictator it’s just saying you don’t like your MPs and you lower the voter turnout which encourages MPs who lose to adapt their policies to motivate you to vote…

[@l4zrh4wk]

Amen

[@MazzaEliLi7406]

@@EveryCloud9999 The only obvious 'choice' is to vote with ones feet by leaving one country & arriving in another that is more democratic & there is a difference between parties or to stay in ones own country, stage a revolution & face ones own armed forces. Hobsons' choice!

[@Irisishunter]

I will not be voting for the first time in 30 years. I no longer have any confidence in any of them. Not voting is my protest at the options I am given

[@longhairfreak50]

😊

[@sallyreeve8712]

Everyone needs to vote, especially women, women died so that we have the right to vote. I have told my daughters that even if they spoil their ballot paper they should turn out.

[@RaRa-eu9mw]

People also died for the right to publish. Does this make publishing stuff a moral duty?

[@MegaMOUNDS]

Many, many men died for the right to vote too, keep your intersectionality.

[@sallyreeve8712]

@@RaRa-eu9mw I see this as a non sequitur, however I would stand up for anyone’s right to publish, should they wish to do so.

[@RaRa-eu9mw]

@@sallyreeve8712 Yes, and we stand up for the right to vote. It does not follow that "everyone needs to vote" any more than "everyone needs to publish."

[@juliangilbert5465]

"'Things Can Only Get Better' Blair-ing out in the background."

[@marumaru6084]

They wont the uniparty has the same policies i.e. massive immigration of very low standard employees, net zero high energy costs bad for the world and doing nothing for the environment.

[@buzzukfiftythree]

I was ROTFLOL the whole way through his speech. Surely his aides must have known about the guy with the ‘ghetto blaster’ and should have advised him to make the speech indoors.

[@ryu_san_]

July 4th being Independence Day in the US is meme material for the UK general election on the same day

[@nosuchthingasshould4175]

@@buzzukfiftythreeI suspect he is now alone. This was a massive f-you to most of his party and people like Levido. He has gone off the reservation and had to rush the whole thing before they pulled the plug on him.

[@edwalker598]

I absolutely hate that the "insert county" live newspapers seem to dominate local news, all they seem to report on is petty crimes and tragic accidents.

[@ian_b5518]

That sounds more like an American prison than a retreat! Alistair's bemusement was so funny.

[@dant5690]

Sounds like British prison more like

[@-Gramps]

I was in charge of healthcare provision for 150,000 prisoners in Texas. They received (court ordered) care that was much superior to what the average American receives!

[@alst4817]

He’s referring to ‘vipassana’. I’ve been I think 3 times, extremely worthwhile! I understand that it’s not to everyone’s taste, just like lounging on a beach for a week is heaven for some, hell for others!

[@ivydickson7596]

Some have done longer Vipassana courses, 20, 30 and 45 days. Bliss.

[@JasonDemantHypnosis]

Really a comment for Rory. I was also on a silent retreat when you were. I was at Gaia house in Devon. It's 'Buddhist light ', with some wonderful teachers. I've done many retreats there and has become a real spiritual home for me. Your retreat sounded quite regimented. At Gaia house there is guidance but you are really treated like an adult. It's a beautiful supportive environment. My retreat was 5 nights. Just to mention, partly as I was concerned listeners got a negative impression of mindfulness and silent retreats, when they can be blissful and an opportunity for deep learning about the self! I do have to say I love that you value looking after your mental health. I was shocked and saddened to hear about the time you considered taking your life. It would be great to hear about how you guys feel mental health is viewed in the commons. Is it understood, is it just given lip service? Of course NHS provision is stretched, especially for children. Often people talk about mindfulness in schools, but I wonder if teachers doing that really truly get mindfulness fully, have any gone on silent retreats! As mental health is so complex, maybe MPs, just ignore it a bit?Love the podcast:)

[@nickyleach]

Thank you so much for pointing this out. Some of my favorite Vipassana teachers teach regular retreats at Gaia House in a beautiful part of Devon and they love going there, as do many repeat meditation students. I think Rory was at the Goenka retreat center, and there is a different approach to Vipassana there based on his teachings. Here in New Mexico, I attended regular weekly gatherings and one-day retreats for a long period. I have only done one longer four-day silent residential retreat, which was focused on lovingkindness (metta) and was in a beautiful center in the nearby foothills. We rose early, yes, and sat meditation from early morning to evening, but not for as long periods as Rory mentioned and interspersed there would be walking meditation, which is very lovely and calming, as well as dharma talks with the teacher and chance to go for walks and of course, eat very moderately without interacting with others. I too love that Rory goes on retreats, and the form it takes is very much a personal choice.

[@GeorgeCarlinsToothbrush]

Massive respect to Rory. 10 day retreats are such healing and beneficial things personally and for those around you.

[@ravenofra1114]

On the subject of voting I have always told people if you don't want to vote for any of the parties go and spoil your ballot paper spoilt votes are counted and have to be announced at the result. If the number of spoilt ballot papers was bigger than any candidate got in the election then it would undermine their mandate and send a message. I agree with Alister that not voting should never be an option, I also agree with compulsory voting but again you have to educate people that spoiling your paper is not the same as not voting its a legitimate expression of democratic freedom.

[@ranganramasamy6820]

Rory, amazing that you went through this and thanks for giving a realistic feed back 🎉 🎉🎉

[@R08Tam]

Voting should be compulsory, even if it means ticking a box for "none of the above". If you don't vote, don't complain about the result.

[@mikesmith-vb6fz]

Think none of the above would win this time around!

[@chaipup7045]

Rory's not the only Tory on a retreat!

[@mauvegreenwisteria3645]

Very witty !

[@MisterstereoOso]

I agree with Mr Campbell , one must vote, it’s a privilege, I shall be voting for an independent in the general election…

[@cjprince1]

So you're fine with a dictatorship.

[@fredleung616]

The discussion on New Caledonia was rather disappointing. Neither seems informed on the situation.

[@ArodWinterbornSteed]

The press ownership model should be inverted. Local news outlets should collectively own regional and national papers not the other way around. Financial support should be prioritised for small local newspapers and based on local engagement, and news with widest ranging interest should trickle up to the larger publications

[@dgun3660]

I burst out laughing at the fade to grey & zoom at 23:37 - kudos to the video editor 👏

[@motionthings]

You can not "shutdown" TikTok. The internet does not have borders. You can remove the app from the app stores, but you can download the app from somewhere else. Even if someone goes for a more serious ban like blocking TikTok's servers, I can use a VPN and make it look like I'm accessing internet from another country. Then you have to ban VPN (not even China or Russia does that). And even if you ban VPN I can use things like tor (the onion router) to access an uncensored internet. Now do all this and argue with me how we have a free and open society.

[@fndthousing]

My mate has done three of those retreats, he's a pretty working class odd jobs man who currently is a tree surgeon. From what I can tell it really is all sorts who do it. There is definitely something special about stripping everything away like that and focusing on being a human. I am afraid but intrigued!

[@MofoJamie]

Well said totally agree!

[@anthonycross161]

I hate to correct Rory, but I was surprised to hear him refer to New Caledonia being in Polynesia. I'm in Polynesia here in New Zealand, but New Caledonia (only three hours flight to the northwest when flights are operating, which they're not at the moment except for military evacuation flights) is actually in Melanesia. As distinct from French Polynesia (Tahiti being the most populous island) which is five hours flight to the northeast of NZ.

[@mauvegreenwisteria3645]

Indeed so.

[@alanb9443]

That’s funny when I listened to the podcast I could have sworn he said Melanesia, and I looked at the podcast transcript and it too said Melanesia, however when I listen to this version on KZbin it does sound like Polynesia.

[@anthonycross161]

@@alanb9443 How curious!

[@dorisw5558]

I‘d never not vote either. I consider it my civic duty. After all, in a democracy the people, i.e. all of us including me, are the sovereign.

[@aion5837]

Voting empowers the establishment - nothing more. You don't live in a democracy. You live in an Oligarchy. They OWN you.

[@VaucluseVanguard]

Perhaps the one thing Campbell and I agree on is the need for electoral reform. I find it interesting that the two countries which are about to have elections where a majority would like to vote ‘none of the above’ are those with first past the post voting systems.

[@jahcotaykefentse6156]

if you vote you are simply validating a two party system that is not effective. if you vote don't be upset with the issues of a two party system, you voted for it.

[@adadinthelifeofacyclist]

I felt that all the red in the king's portrait represented the public image of him, the royalty, the pomp, the official duties, politics, family; and that the face, so amazingly detailed and lovingly painted, shows his human side, the actual man rather than the figurehead. I think it's an amazing painting, the face is mind blowing.

[@KingCharles3]

12:07 Captain Cook was from Yorkshire, his dad was from Scotland!

[@pecansandies9521]

Rory's concentration face is hilarious 7.30

[@grahampaulkendrick7845]

I don't know which is worse. Alastair's cold water swimming or Rory's retreat. No thanks.

[@tulyar57]

How about cold water retreats????

[@DavidBrown-ts2us]

21:20 i strongly disagree with Alistair that you have to vote, the level of tuenout is noted and is essentially a quasi vote for none of the above. It sends a signal that theres room for a new party that isn't reform.

[@davidgibbs8605]

New Caledonia is Melanesian not Polynesian

[@Fatsimbacat]

I thought it was French?

[@catherinehanner284]

If anyone really needs to eat it's Rory.

[@MiningForPies]

I hate the argument that people must vote. No, politicians should do more to justify being given a vote. Refusing to vote is expressing your democratic right to not accept any of the candidates on offer.

[@anglaismoyen]

So spoil your ballot. Not turning up means they'll just assume you're lazy. Spoiling your ballot is a positive signal that you're disaffected.

[@jonathangammond3019]

It is really hard to find out about local.politics in the UK. The local news websites and the few remaining decrepid newspapers just copy and paste press releases from councils, businesses and lobby groups. Apart from occasionally pursuing vendettas, they don't show much real interest in local politics.

[@clivemitchell3229]

How good is broadband where there are local newspapers?

[@DoriZuza]

“It’s free?” 😂 Great reaction

[@laetitiavisagie-gg6kk]

Not wanting to vote shows political immaturity. I live in South Africa and we are going to vote next week. Many people do not want to vote for the utterly corrupt ANC but they cannot vote for another party, so they won't vote. To give you an idea: when the ANC released their list of candidates, people made a big fuss about the fact that 100 people on that list are tainted by corruption and fraud. The ANC's answer to that was "they are our best"

[@HomemadeBrownies1]

Abstaining from voting is just as much a right of universal suffrage as voting is.

[@karatsurba4791]

No it's not, unless there isn't an option that's similar to "None of these buffoons" who don't represent their constituentcy and are standing as a proxy for a corporate benefactor. Doing the same thing over n over n expecting a different result, is immaturity

[@steveg8522]

sounds like the Tory party

[@HomemadeBrownies1]

Not voting is a right just as much as voting is.

[@portreemathstutor]

How do you know the retreat isn't run by sadists and masochists. What makes you think there is anything deeper than cruelty going on.

[@buzzukfiftythree]

Those were exactly my thoughts.

[@rudymatheson1415]

Perhaps because self-negation is part of meditation.

[@cybersurf5]

Surprised by the poor discussion in New Caledonia-it has much more to do with the balance of indigenous voting rights vs those from the metropole than purely re independence or economic issues although those surely play a part. While I always enjoy their riffs I think this discussion exposes the fallacy that people who are expert in one area should be considered incisive in all areas that they pontificate about (politics for example is a massively broad area). Their views should be (particularly) checked when they stray outside their speciality, because we too readily accept that the veneer of expertise extends well beyond its actual boundaries.

[@SL89999]

The FT has an interesting podcast on this particular retreat and form of meditation which covers the tragic experiences of some attendees. Glad you are OK.

[@drasticplasticaustin]

In voting You are giving a thumbs up to the ever diminishing calibre of British Politics and helping give a green light for it to get worse. People usually moan about who they voted for and then go out and help perpetuate whatever they are moaning about with their votes. Where's the quality control and where's the joined up thinking? Look at the level where such pro-vote logic has dragged us down to.

[@sfactory8253]

It's your system thats why . Keep it. You won't even set up a fairer version of it. Suits you fine. Clever people's gravy train .

[@fergusbyett8088]

Same issues with disintegration of local newspapers in NZ, really sad

[@tilmanvondelft]

What a bonkers retreat

[@ivydickson7596]

He doesn't explain it well. It's actually really amazing to get some control of the monkey mind.

[@dannyedmunds8528]

Fact checking in Alastair's brief history of New Caledonia. It was discovered (in the European sense) by James Cook, who was not from Scotland. He was born in the North Riding of Yorkshire. His father (also called James) was from Ednam in Scotland and his mother was from Thornaby in North Yorkshire. At most, James Cook was half Scottish...

[@sluglife9785]

I get why Rory would do that. It's ultimately a religious observance. A trial and a detox. It might not make you feel better, but you'll get some kind of insight out of it. Appreciate him sharing the story with us. We could inevitably do with some kind of normalised detox ritual in our hyper-stimulated culture. Though I suspect that version of it would break me, and not in a productive way.

[@user-sd3ik9rt6d]

' Blair-ing in the background ' see what you did there...

[@steveg8522]

going forward, I would appreciate your thought on the question "when (if ever) will Westminster move the UK to a more democratic system?" For me, that would include PR, dissolution of the House of Lords, establish a second [elected] house which is populated by representatives from each of the four countries and which has a level of independence and authority separate from Westminster - it should also be located outside London and thirdly, a cross-party oversight body - with teeth.

[@joshyman221]

The dissolution of the House of Lords would be an awful move for the government. The balance of democratic and expert opinions is what has made the UK so successful. PR however is needed. Without it, there really is no democracy.

[@steveg8522]

@@joshyman221 would appreciate your qualification of the values "balance of democratic and expert opinions". Take the exiting PM nominations to the House over say, that last 20 years. Known Russian operatives, personality cronies, inability to hold sway against criminally formulated edicts... you can tell, I may take some persuading as to this chamber's credentials both as either democrats or as experts

[@joecurran2811]

​@@joshyman221Has the UK really been successful these last 8 years? Seriously?

[@dennisbrown3824]

For Chrissake! there is only ONE candidate with credibility in the US election. RFK Jr. To not objectively evaluate his candidacy is a shame. Or have I missed it?

[@ioart33]

Yes - these two seem to have decided not to cover his candidacy - its absolutely shameful.

[@Paranoid_Found]

30:59 Alister it’s VVD (of Mark Rutte), not WD

[@michaelbrophy]

Was the video faded to grey when they spoke about Burnley relegation? 😂

[@NervedMusic]

Just a quick addition - the libertarian party in the coalition in The Netherlands is not the WD but the VVD!

[@portreemathstutor]

If you deliberately ignore pain and cause yourself long-term damage, more fool you.

[@stephensmith7068]

In UAE until 6 July Trying to vote v difficult as no postal system here! Not missed a vote in 40 years What to do Family also have pre booked holiday then so cannot vote by proxy!

[@jowo2007]

Captain Cook was English, from Yorkshire. He named New Caledonia because it reminded him of Scotland.

[@kathrynhobbs8874]

I ,as a woman consider it important to vote…….but part of the deal of voting is that the PEOPLE’S representatives do just that….represent their electorate. When we have MPs representing a constituency that voted clearly, in a referendum, for a particular view, it is NOT the business of their MP to vote in opposition to that clear view and least of all is it their business to justify their actions by saying ‘I cannot vote against my personal view’. Many of the MPs did just that, and no matter how many years pass, that betrayal does not dim. Add to which…..I still have the little red card of pledges…………would you like to guess how many have been fulfilled? I understand all about party loyalty of the MP, and who funded their stump, but it is now dreadfully clear that words issued by a prospective MP/ party of any stripe, mean nothing when they get their bums on that green leather. Thus, People consider not voting for any of the rabble on the basis of……Fool me once, shame on you, Fool me Twice, shame on me.!

[@fburton8]

What’s wrong with intifada, particularly the non-violent forms? Maybe because it is / has been ineffective?

[@dale6947]

Saying "intifada now" expresses support for the use of violence and fear to achieve a political goal. We usually call that terrorism.

[@fburton8]

@@dale6947 Does it indeed? Oh dear, I must be a terrorist because I just said "intifada now" sotto voce. Do you believe the Palestinians have a right to resist foreign occupation, as they apparently do according to international law? Do they even have a right to mass demonstrations?

[@johnvaleanbaily246]

Retreat... sounds like hell... and why ?!

[@FireflyOnTheMoon]

observing your mind and learning

[@markfoster2033]

I have always voted,sadly with a heavy heart in recent elections,I really think that the country would be in a better / less bad state if we had PR instead of first past the post. According to the time stamp,you've got a section of the video on 'Macaroon & New Caladonia'...

[@jpgpearson]

Boarding school when your home work is too hard

[@1574john]

Voting is an utter waste of time. Every person who is serious about politics should stay home 👍

[@kimholder]

Voice from Mexico here. Your Mexico analysis was quite a bit better than the distorted slop I'm accustomed to, but it's still rather problematic. When speaking of Mexican politics, it's important to remember that corruption is soaked in to all institutions - the press, the courts, everywhere. AMLO won on an anti-corruption platform, and he did in fact bust up a number of dirty systems. Corruption did go down on his watch. But his party was new, and so the elite weren't his supporters. Elites in Mexico are closely linked to a political party, they have to be to have the networks needed to get favorable treatment for their businesses, to get good work positions for their relatives - hell, just to shield themselves from crime. Since Morena was new, and such allegiances are developed slowly, and involve huge webs of favors and often considerable monetary investment, Morena didn't tap very much of it while it was still an upstart. Thus, even after they were in power, most of the press railed against them in a very FOX news kind of way. Be very, very suspicious of attacks on AMLO that come from there. Or from elites in Mexico. None of the issues you mentioned are clear-cut, far from it. The top judiciary is corrupt already, AMLO was considering schemes to change that - possibly amounting to a different kind of corruption, but definitely defensible as better under the circumstances. The same can be said for all the issues mentioned. Democracy in Mexico is slowly getting cleaner, not dirtier. It's tough, it remains very dirty, and there will surely be backsliding. But ask yourself this. What does it say about the courage and will of a people, when there is a wealth of parties and candidates even when they know that it risks there lives?

[@adamfrankowski2768]

Thank you for that. Very interesting.

[@zacanger]

If the DNC wants to win over young voters, they could start by just not being so condescending all the time. We all know what another Trump presidency would mean. Most of us will grit our teeth and vote for Biden even though we're sick and tired of just voting for the less-bad option. They gotta stop telling us that we're idiots for not believing that everything is perfect right now.

[@chrislesiter4531]

The politician with the best hair ever was James Traficant. After his release from Prison, he held a dinner with an Elvis impersonator.

[@VideoHero]

not voting for a broken and antiquated system - a party system whipping people to support things they dont believe in - should be a system where you vote for solid people in the community then ALL of those people have an equal vote on issues in parliament / they vote for the best people to hold posts/ chair etc - not voting is a human right

[@rhysalexander182]

We have the answer to the question “What is the opposite to an advert for a meditation retreat?”

[@tau3457]

21:50 you make it sound like there is still space for future monarch/regent/heir shenanigans.

[@-Gramps]

Your appreciative Texan again! Thanks SO much for sharing your British opinions on the news of the world & of GB! I gain so much from hearing from you 2 plus your guests! Yes, the US is (& has forever been) hypocritical regarding foreign policy, but are you implying that GB is different? Also the university Gaza protests are *not* huge! They comprise less than 0.2% of our university students. Our media, as usual, is emphasizes the few…

[@dale6947]

About the university protests, it is all a matter of being relatively huge. Usually, it is impossible to get 0.2% of students to do anything, so these protests (if they really only comprise 0.2%) are still significant. Also, they include many people from outside the universities who contribute to the chaos, and they are objectively violent which is not normal or ideal. If nothing else you have to agree that their impact is huge.

[@dexstewart2450]

Rory back in school

[@t.p.mckenna]

That 18 is somehow a line that cannot be crossed, is as tenable an argument, as that which went 'only property owning males of 21 and over are fit to vote'. The complete injustice of denying a young person of 16/17 the vote, no matter that the State thinks they're old enough to pay tax, was no better illustrated than in the EU Referendum. Denied a voice in a vote by older voters who have since died. Left to face the consequences of an insane decision in which they had no say.

[@cjprince1]

We'll see how alienated they feel living under authoritarian rule.

[@rw4754]

The Portrait background is a fuschia pink red - royal colour.

[@grahampaulkendrick7845]

I: always vote. Altho' I did forget in the last parish council by-election, but the Independent (Tory) candidate won by a mile.

[@jeanhopman5659]

I just can' t - in all good conscience. :/

[@wattyler6075]

Why?

[@EmanueleC_BR]

How does all the recent resignations affect the composition of the Conservative Party? For example, Gove and Leadsome were prominent Brexiteers. Have the departures left the party more one nation, centrist or more right wing?

[@paullaing5154]

There is no party at the moment that offers the policies I would like to see so I will go to the voting station but spoil my ballot paper rather than vote for the least worst party.

[@ioart33]

American presidential election - Robert Francis Kennedy - Junior ( RFK) - isn't it about time you did a proper full and unbiased coverage of his candidacy gentlemen? And if not why not?

[@Skyebadoo]

Finding out that David Gauke is an Ipswich fan has instantly put me off him. Sorry David, East Anglia is yellow and green.

[@joannemoore3976]

Kudos to you Rory for your continued spiritual commitment but those retreats sound very extreme. I practice Sahaja Yoga meditation which is much gentler and easy to incorporate into your life 🙂

[@docastrov9013]

Rory's retreat sounds incredibly stupid and boring. Reminds me of Harry Enfield's I Saw You Coming.

[@norsdun]

I'm proud to have been born, bred and live in Ireland. However, if I were an American I would either vote for a third presidential candidate or spoil my vote. By doing so I would then have the moral right to criticise whoever won the election. I could not vote for either Biden or Trump.

[@oafee1053]

I could easily bear to vote for Labour under Corbyn, its now I cant vote for them. I'll be voting uniion and independents.

[@buzzukfiftythree]

Well, at least you’re voting. I understand your concerns about Labour as it is now. In many ways I agree with you. But, for me, it’s about voting for the least worse. As it happens, Labour have no hope here where I live, so will be voting Lib Dem, just to get the Tories out. LD stand a real chance here as they now control the council and have three times the number of Tory councillors.

[@tomthornton6259]

@@buzzukfiftythree that's how we have to vote - tactically. Vote not for your favourite, but for your least unlikable candidate with a chance of winning! Sometimes that means voting for someone (or a party) you actually like, other times for one you're not so keen on. But as the aim for most of us is to get the Tories out, the best option is to vote for the strongest non-tory candidate. Voting for independents under FPTP (as the OP @oafee1053 says they'll do) will only split the non-tory /reform vote, excepting certain anomalies like Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn's constituency). Until we (hopefully) one day get a PR system, this is how we have to vote.

[@jamesbarry1673]

In a country with a shrinking population who really is the younger voter?

[@arta1362]

Hi, Tania Mathias , what do you know about her ?! She keeps her parents and marriage very private , do you think that should affect the voters?! As a mum I like to know if someone is a mum or not and not details name of the kids or where they live, would be nice to know if she is half English or full so again I could relate and understand the thought process, very interested in your opinion?! Thanks

[@bb2021]

Oh lor. :( I can't not see (the wonderful) Antony Gormley in every show now! 😬

[@VaucluseVanguard]

On the Wilders issue. At the election he got 24% of the vote. The latest polls are putting his party on 33% of the vote. Not sure how the Dutch electoral system works, but if Wilders was to call another election right now, it would be increasingly hard not to appoint him as PM.

[@GRB-tj6uj]

Wilders cannot unilaterally call an election. What he could do is pull back from the coalition agreement and hope the other parties won't form a government with the centre-left. But at this point he will not pull back from an agreement that was well received by his voters.

[@CM-hp5nk]

On social media usage - please look into Jonathan Haidt's work. He has presented very compelling evidence supporting a ban on it for anyone under 14.

[@snotwurfit]

I'm sorry, but I would consider not voting if the only options were abhorrent to me. For example, in a hypothetical election where the only options were Reform, Tories, UKIP I would not vote, even for the party I found least offensive. Because that would show I support that party when I do not. I would consider it my civic duty NOT to vote in that instance, as the absence of my vote in that instance would be more powerful than just going for the best of a bad bunch. Thankfully, in reality, we do not live in that scenario and there is always a party who, although I may not fully agree with, would get a vote because they are not one of the parties that I find unpalatable, for example Labour, Greens or LD. But yes, in my scenario above there would be occasions hypothetically where I simply wouldn't vote

[@khar12d8]

Mass democracy is an incredibly new thing, and the truth is you can't always get what you vote for because you have to face the realities of demographic change, the global economy, the policies of other countries etc... Britain in the 18th and 19th Centuries was not a mass democracy but we were not an authoritarian dictatorship either. And the system produced the enlightenment and industrial revolution.

[@WVislandia]

Rory, magnesium could help with migraines. I started taking it for that reason and have fewer migraines now.

[@DrCaits]

or/ and a shiatsu?

[@mildlydispleased3221]

23:37 Give that editor a pay rise.

[@puglia5375]

Thoght rorys retreat was in kashmir or the gobi desert ...nor Herefordshire!

[@onr28]

I will be able to vote for the first time at the election, and although I am somebody deeply interested in politics, I won't vote, as I don't think there is anybody worth voting for. I think a problem is that people who don't want to vote because of their opinion on those standing, get put in the same category as those who don't vote because they are uninterested (or whatever other reason), which is the category of people that arent interested in politics, and that we all arent contributing to our democracy. However, I see what I will do as excersing my right to not vote, which was gained when we gained the right to vote. There needs to be a halfway solution, which is a box on the ballot that is basically a protest box, where you can show that you are interested but unwilling to vote for any of the candidates. Binface got 25k votes at the London election, some of those will be people voting for a joke, but many will be genuine protest votes against those running. To lump all the people that vote into one category is dangerous, and I think making not voting illegal would be a terrible twisting of democracy, because it would validate the candidates that arent actually worth voting for. For those that say "I would never not vote", I think just wait until there isn't a candidate for you (tbh idk how there is one atm).

[@davidtabrett1715]

the election system needs to change making every vote count.if candidates had more credibility a higher percentage would vote.voting in usa is a simple matter unless you want to lose your democracy.now if rory was was running for prime minister i would vote for him,because listening to him you get the impression he has the whole countrys welfare in mind,not just his own agenda

[@alanfarrance8639]

All well and good Alastair but in 2019 we had to chose between Boris and his Brexit clowns or Jeremy Corbyn and Momentum. I detested having to vote for either of them.

[@roguetrooper5401]

Sounds preety much like most deployments I was on while in the milatry only difference is you went there willingly I had no choice it was my job

[@hilaryraza4561]

I hope Rory will stand in the general election

[@andyevans8585]

I think that voting is incredibly important, but if no candidate reflects what I want in government then of course I wouldn't vote. That having been said I've never been in that position as there is such a wealth of options in the UK outside of the main parties that I would struggle to find no one I would want to back.

[@sfactory8253]

In fptp it often makes absolutely no difference anyway and never will. Had a Tory mp since about 1950. Not changing anytime soon.

[@andyevans8585]

@sfactory8253 I get this; there will always be areas that are more one way than another politically. But then the only way to guarantee failure is to do nothing. We've had 13 years of tory government and I've never once voted tory. Doesn't mean my vote was not important.

[@sfactory8253]

@@andyevans8585 By not voting you withdraw the legitimacy they crave. A turnout of less than 10% would send more of a message than any protest vote . Then Alistair and Rory would have something to talk about.

[@andyevans8585]

@sfactory8253 But would it change anything. Someone would still win that you didn't like and while it might be news for a week or so in the long run it won't change that the person in power is not someone you want in power.

[@sfactory8253]

@@andyevans8585 I don't see how a choice of two where you are cajoled into voting against the one you like the least changes anything either. Plus an unelected second chamber with a 1000 appointees all dipping their hand in the pot . Including someone's daughter/ hairdresser and a cricketer and Michelle Mone . Don't vote . Don't legitimise this rotten system .

[@ejc636]

Turned off when this retreat rubbish got pushed

[@aidanknox122]

I've never lived anywhere where there has been any point in voting at all and that counts for both red and blue permanent incumbents. The last constituency I lived in had a 20k Tory majority, might still be safe this time... .Did vote last time but truly pointless. Feel like the refusal of both election winning parties to look at electoral reform is a Turkeys voting for situation.. This keeps eroding the populations engagement with politics and I cannot help think is a risk for people valuing democracy at all. Good job we live in such a stable time accross the West and wider world.....

[@93lucid]

I imagine the Dutch government under Mussert was worse

[@davidevans3227]

whats going on with the American rest is politics? just seems to have replaced this on my podcast app...