On Thu, 12 Feb 2026 13:27:30 -0500, Rhino
<no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

Jacob Rees-Mogg shares his thoughts on a Labour initiative to lower the >voting age in the UK to 16. As usual, he makes a number of very good
points that challenge the wisdom of lowering the voting age to 16 from
18 but also sees some potential benefits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeY3jtMeOAs [10 minutes]

By the way, I should point out that in British politics, platforms are >apparently ALWAYS called manifestos so don't be concerned that Labour is >actually advocating full-on Marxism as in the Communist Manifesto -
although they *do* share some of the same sentiments. ALL of the British >parties call their platforms "manifestos".

Thanks for pointing out that last part - I watch Youtubes of a lot of
British political stuff (I excuse myself as my daughter lives in the
UK in a S coast town where lots of "migrants" aka illegal immigrants
are landing) but the real reason is that I'm a political junkie going
back to my early teens.

(My late grandfather ran twice in the 1960s federally in what was then
but isn't now a "safe" Liberal seat as a Conservative which is how as
an 8 year old I got to be super-impressed meeting John Diefenbaker
personally - I expect Rhino to know who Dief was but he was Canadian
prime minister in the late Ike / JFK era - for me watching the
election results come in on TV was like Stanley Cup final round for
most of my friends) Notwithstanding how it's done in the US watching
returns is really more fun when it's just one level of government with
returns.

And much as I loathed both Pierre and Justin Trudeau one of Pierre's
best moves was also one of his last - he adjusted voting times in
Canada so that except for Yukon, the polls from coast to coast all
opened within a 1 hour time frame (1 1/2 hours in Newfoundland) which
did help since prior to that the national election was decided before
the votes even closed in BC - I assisted in the 1980 election and one
guy who was supposed to be counting votes with us ducked out to call
his headquarters saying "I don't care how it turns out here - we've
won the election" while we were barely 1/4 way through our count
locally.

And a new law that strengthens national unity while not costing a
penny to implement (just setting different polling times) is the best
of all political measures!

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Thu, 12 Feb 2026 19:20:53 -0000 (UTC), BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com>
wrote:

On Feb 12, 2026 at 10:27:30 AM PST, "Rhino" <no_offline_contact@example.com> >wrote:

Jacob Rees-Mogg shares his thoughts on a Labour initiative to lower the
voting age in the UK to 16. As usual, he makes a number of very good
points that challenge the wisdom of lowering the voting age to 16 from
18 but also sees some potential benefits.

Sixteen is the conservative approach. I've seen some UK politicians who are >advocating for 14.

Speaking personally I probably COULD have intelligently voted at 14
but then that was definitely not true of most of the kids in my
classes. And my grandfather was VERY good at answering Q+A on the
issues over dinner. Without that advantage I probably wouldn't have
had a clue.

The ONLY election I ever didn't vote in was one when I was moving 3-4
weeks after the election and didn't feel I had the right to bind those
who weren't moving to my choice :)

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Thu, 12 Feb 2026 15:37:52 -0500, Rhino
<no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

The thing is that this move is clearly and obviously because Labour
thinks they'll get the votes of the newly enfranchised voters. As
Rees-Mogg points out, this is was what the polls showed a couple of
years ago when Labour put that idea in its manifesto but *current* polls >show that people in that age group would split their votes between
Reform, Labour's arch-rival on the right, and the Greens, Labour's >arch-rival on the left. If enacted into law, this measure is more likely
to hurt them than help them! Virtually *everyone* now despises Labour
and they will lose very VERY badly in the local elections and in the
next national elections when they finally get held - unless, of course, >Reform screws up REALLY badly in the meantime.

You seriously think Nigel Farrage's sex life is suddenly going to
imitate Prince Andrew's?

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Thu, 12 Feb 2026 15:37:52 -0500, Rhino
<no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

The pundits have already counted 13 instances where Labour tried to
enact a policy in line with their manifesto and then had to back away
from it; they're calling these events U-turns. I predict this will be
yet another U-turn.

Federal prosecutors are normally extremely bright no-BS types of
people which is why I shake my head at Keir Starmer's performance as
prime minister.

Note that most of the British political pundits have a very low
opinion on how well Mark Carney ran the Bank of England.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Thu, 12 Feb 2026 20:48:53 -0000 (UTC), BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com>
wrote:

Changing the voter base in order to cheat in elections is a typically >3rd-world move. Let's apply the maxim: "Import the 3rd world and you get the >3rd-world" and see if that applies to the UK.

Oh, wow! Look at that. It lines up perfectly. The UK has been importing the >3rd-world for a decade or so and now they have a government using 3rd-world >election-rigging tactics to stay in power.

Are counting ALL the immigrants from the Muslim world or just the ones
that came legally? Because only the latter can vote.

I'm amazed that the hard left US Democrats are trying to get the vote
for American illegal migrants.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Thu, 12 Feb 2026 16:45:14 -0500, moviePig <nobody@nowhere.com>
wrote:

Oh, wow! Look at that. It lines up perfectly. The UK has been importing the >> 3rd-world for a decade or so and now they have a government using 3rd-world >> election-rigging tactics to stay in power.

Know any politician/potentate who'd reject such tactics on principle?

Farrage certainly would - Mark Carney would probably just shorten the
time for citizenship even further - it used to be 5 years, it got
reduced to 3 (by Justin Trudeau I think but not sure) which is bad
since it means the new citizens haven't seen a full election cycle in
action so are more easily led about by ethnic demagogues (the Canadian equivalent of "The Squad")

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Thu, 12 Feb 2026 17:28:06 -0500, Rhino
<no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

One of the many consequences of their policies has been to alienate a
key part of their base, the unionized workers, who had long been vocal >Labour supporters. (Some British ridings have been Labour since 1918
without a break and some British voters are 5th-generation Labour
supporters with EVERYONE in their family voting Labour for five solid >generations.) But given the decline of the British economy, most of the >union members have deserted Labour and are either gravitating to the
Greens or to Reform.

My daughter lives in Brighton which is both a Green stronghold and a
major landing spot for illegals (who are mostly Muslim)

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Feb 23, 2026 at 2:37:15 PM PST, "The Horny Goat" <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:

On Thu, 12 Feb 2026 20:48:53 -0000 (UTC), BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com>
wrote:

Changing the voter base in order to cheat in elections is a typically
3rd-world move. Let's apply the maxim: "Import the 3rd world and you get the >> 3rd-world" and see if that applies to the UK.

Oh, wow! Look at that. It lines up perfectly. The UK has been importing the >> 3rd-world for a decade or so and now they have a government using 3rd-world >> election-rigging tactics to stay in power.

Are counting ALL the immigrants from the Muslim world or just the ones
that came legally? Because only the latter can vote.

Theoretically.

I'm amazed that the hard left US Democrats are trying to get the vote
for American illegal migrants.

I'm not amazed. It's right in line with their insanity.



--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)