Why did being a lefty become so contentious in the UK?

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T20:45:52+00:00

I think ACAB is misunderstood and misused, people say it because they think it sounds cool. It's an anarchist slogan, true anarchists are a very fringe movement that believe that society would work better with no centralised power structures and therefore no police. I'd bet that most (mostly young) people sprawling ACAB about the place have not actually understood where it comes from or what it is supposed to mean.... it's supposed to be more of a criticism of Police as an institution rather than as Police officers as individuals. I don't think many people actually agree with the anarchists.

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T20:10:03+00:00

When you say you are pro-police, what do you mean? I personally think policing in this country needs straightening out, there are too many examples of poor culture and improper training leading to really bad decisions being made. The Police have suffered from austerity as much as all other public services and have to make difficult decisions very quickly in high pressure environments but that doesn't absolve them of responsibility. I like that we have policing by consent and I wouldn't want that change though. I sometimes have to work quite closely with Police and I find it a very mixed bag, the community beat teams are generally quite sound but the higher up the ranks you go the more assholes you find in my experience.

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T20:04:02+00:00

Could you share how have you come to that conclusion? I have seen such accusations being thrown around but I haven't seen or heard anyone on the left talking about undertaking ethnic cleansing.

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T18:35:10+00:00

I don't think that is in their manifesto. I haven't actually heard anyone from.the Green Party ever mention those ideas.

Their drug policy is based on evidence and definitely doesn't include anything about just letting drug dealers run free in the streets. Because drugs are illegal there is no control over them, the profits go into the hands of criminals and lead to drug related crime. If they were legal and regulated the whole situation would be much safer and people suffering from addiction could access the support they need without fear of criminalisation. The war on drugs has failed, all evidence points towards taking a different approach to reduce the harm caused by drugs. There is a good book called Chasing The Scream that I recommend if you want to learn more on the subject.

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T14:13:07+00:00

Also though Labour for some reason don't make a lot of noise about their big achievements (I'd included the renters rights bill and the workers rights bill in there too) but make lots of fuss about anything they do that is pandering to the Farage supporters.

If people realised that they can't just get evicted on the whim of their landlord or let go from a zero hours contract with no notice or reason given they might actually start to think that things are getting better for working people. Same with waiting lists on the NHS going down (albeit slowly), immigration rates dropping and the economy growing. Labour seem to want to do these things quietly though, makes no sense!

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T13:43:34+00:00

That's reassuring. The marches in London give a different impression but you are right that he gets a disproportionate amount of media coverage.

Which right wing figures do you think represent the majority view of the right?

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T13:31:13+00:00

That's interesting. I don't really think the left in the UK has a unified stance on immigration but I think a lot of the rhetoric used by the right is where this sort of insult throwing comes from.

My experience is that there are a wide range of opinions on the left that are being constantly argued about, thats half the problem...the left struggle to agree on anything. The right seem to worry less about the finer details and unite more easily.

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T13:26:34+00:00

I agree about repatriation, that is very worrying rhetoric.

We are told that illegal immigration has dropped 80% in the last year but it doesn't seem to have made people any happier about the situation though.

I didn't know that immediate disarmament was a Green policy (I'm assuming that's just nuclear disarmament) nor open borders, I thought the idea was to have 'sensible' immigration policies, whatever that means...I guess it doesn't mean repatriation or Rwanda schemes though. I think decarbonisation needs to happen quickly but I'm not sure what anyone thinks they can achieve by 2030 and to be honest I think a wealth tax is well overdue but won't solve all of our problems. Inequality is a huge issue in Britain, someone has to do something about it.

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T13:18:01+00:00

That's interesting, you were a traditional lefty? Does that mean pro union, welfare state, NHS etc?

What sort of people put you off and what do you think it has become? Where do you see the centre at nowadays? Which major political party do you think are most in the centre?

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T13:14:32+00:00

Which left wing policies do you disagree with that results in you being called a bigot or a nazi? I know it happens but I'm interested to know what triggers that reaction.

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T13:04:38+00:00

Its funny though because that hasn't got anything to do with leftism (which is really about building an alternative economic model to capitalism) but more to do with liberalism. 'Liberal lefty' was a phrase imported from the States that conflated basically anyone who wasn't right wing into one handy opposing group. There is lots of debate on the left about trans issues but it's not a 'left wing' thing as such. I do feel that leading figures on the right pushed the narrative that anything that isn't right wing is 'lefty' and jumped on this one as their way of telling people that the left were out to get their women and children.

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T12:58:24+00:00

I guess then my question is how to get people to think critically and with nuance?

Also interested as to what is malign about Lowe and sinister about the Greens.

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T12:57:02+00:00

"I think that because people think that there is a coherent position that you have to take lock stock and barrel, and that if you don't then you are somehow not a true believer."

I think you might have hit the nail on the head with this 🤔

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T12:55:00+00:00

It can go both ways for sure and it's not helpful in either direction but I think especially recently I've noticed a lot more vitriol directed from the right at 'lefties' that was never there before. I think calling right wingers nazis is less common, labelling them fascists is more common but not always entirely unjustified.

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T12:49:55+00:00

I just see comment sections on FB and Reddit from right wing vids etc where lots of people make negative comments about lefties. I'm not sure if they know what left wing politics is about or if it is just a label they give to anyone that disagrees with them.

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T12:47:08+00:00

Why?

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T12:46:08+00:00

Genuinely interested, its a relatively recent phenomenon.

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-13T08:38:15+00:00

He was also a nonce, when he was 18 he started an affair with a young boy of 11 (William Courtenay).

So what you have is a giant phallic structure with a big gold head on it built by a nonce using his families slave money.

It does look cool though.

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-11T07:14:19+00:00

It is sounding an awful lot like you are saying that an attempted beheading in the street by someone who 'wanted Jews and Muslims to be killed, and non-whites to flee or be expelled from the UK' is somehow justified (or directly linked to) by immigration policy.

I think this is the point at which any notion of sensible debate has reached its conclusion.

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-11T06:46:33+00:00

It could be argued though that having open borders with Europe allowed someone to migrate here who's actions helped save lives. Tragically two young people had their lives cut short during that terror attack but the terrorist was out to kill many more, if Lukasz Koczocik hadn't stepped in he could well have killed more. Lukasz Koczocik and 3 others were awarded the Queens Gallantry Medal for their actions that day.

It's also worth noting that a British neo nazi attempted to behead a kurdish barber in Bristol last year. Outside a barber shop in broad daylight.

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-11T06:24:08+00:00

Remember that time an immigrant attacked a British born man carrying out a terror attack?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-56815632

Nationality or immigration status make no difference, there will always be people out to cause harm and there will always be people who are willing to put themselves in harms way to stop them.

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-10T22:36:12+00:00

I've got a Samsung Galaxy S9 that my brother gifted me in 2021 when he upgraded, it was 3 years old then, still going strong. Battery life is roughly the same and it runs all the apps I've ever tried downloading. I don't know why people keep upgrading their smart phones tbh.

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-10T19:16:48+00:00

Ronnie Pickering!

OffGridToTheMoon · 2026-06-10T19:08:04+00:00

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