Turned out nice again.

[mk1]

No one apart from mk1 likes how this is going, he has made a mockery of what was the towns premier local political forum, it's more and more likely he will succeed were Blackwood & Co failed and force the demise of The Hartlepool Post.

[diSme]

I agree, the mess is entirely of Labours own making.  Decades of coasting and taking the electorate for granted are coming hope to reap its rewards.  Mr Hill has been a coaster, Mr Houchin is showing him up as one and will probably continue to do so.  Its possible to turn it around but it depends on the personality and whether they are able to change, I have my doubts.

What angers me as a member is the collective inability of those in the party with influence to see how their own complacency is far more damaging to their grass roots support than anything Boris or Brexit can throw at it. Its so painfully obvious you would think they would react, its like they are all stood around looking at the hole in the bottom of the ship but not acknowledging there is a problem !

You seem to have a logical view of things, I'm assuming that it's become a frustrating position for you to be in? It certainly sounds frustrating.

I think that if labour had spent more time over the years taking care of the 'little things', then the bigger things wouldn't have become so much of an issue.

If the hull of the ship was properly maintained over the years, then the hole in the bottom will likely not have appeared.

[diSme]

Sorry, I know it's from the Sun, but potentially pertinent -

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10576141/boris-johnson-couldve-won-by-even-bigger-majority-after-nigel-farages-brexit-party-blocked-20-seats/

[mk1]

No one apart from mk1 likes how this is going, he has made a mockery of what was the towns premier local political forum,

You moderate a FB page where insults are allowed against  Labour politicians so why is it a problem when I do the same to your chosen political party?

t's more and more likely he will succeed were Blackwood & Co failed and force the demise of The Hartlepool Post.

Glad you brought that up.

When Harry first started posting here he was made very welcome nearly everyone fell over themselves (fawning does not even come close to describing it) to stroke his ego and tell him what a great bloke he was. I was the one who said right from the start  (in PMs to Steve) that he would cause problems and, as we all know, he did. I never moderated my attacks on the Andy Simms crowd at all here and I made sure I fought back  on the forum in public while most  the current bunch of keyboard warriors kept their heads down in case they got picked on.  I even got knock-backs when I asked people to post simple  question so I could expose Simms on the forum.  I will take no lectures from anyone about my 'wrecking' a Forum I fought very hard to preserve. I spoke to Steve a lot whilst he was here and I can tell you he was an unflinching enemy of the UKIP/Farage mob so please don't try and claim it is just me who saw them as  racists thugs . If anyone requires proof I can provide some of the more saltier ripostes from Steve to the UKIP shills.

I also have a mountain of PMs with all and sundry here and if I was so inclined could show a certain party-changing local politician explaining why he could never stand as an independent because he is, was and always will be a conservative or a message where he pointed out an unflattering  physical attribute of  CAB that he suggests I should mention because   'He knows I know so it wouldn't have the same result if I said it'

[Hubris]

So - are you suggesting that we censor the Post's Facebook page?

Not into censorship, but couldn't the Post somehow discourage, or maybe even ration those that are stupefyingly tedious? (and what are the odds of him breaking his 5.8K target by 9.00 tonight?)

[mk1]

Sorry, I know it's from the Sun, but potentially pertinent -

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10576141/boris-johnson-couldve-won-by-even-bigger-majority-after-nigel-farages-brexit-party-blocked-20-seats/

Which is what I keep saying. The Brexit Party was just another Farage Cult with no aim other than advance brand Farage. Nigel does not want anyone telling him what to do so The Brexit Party' was not even a proper political Party but a Organisation owned by Farage personally.
7 times failed General Election Candidate Farage  fcuks up everything he touches and within days of the start of the election he completely caved when Boris called his bluff. Then the local Brexit fools  swamped local media inflating their influence and numbers to try and trick voters into tactically voting for them as the best chance of beating Labour and as a result   Hartlepool Brexit Party handed the seat to Labour. An invisible Tory candidate got more votes than trounced Trice!

They are without doubt the most incompetent  bunch of  ''Brewery Premises Drinking Event Organisers' you could ever wish to meet.

[diSme]

If I might be so bold as to bump my question, on the off chance you missed it -

Can I ask a straightforward question and get a straightforward answer please mk1.

Do you actually support Mike Hill and do you think he is beneficial for the town?

[admin]

So - are you suggesting that we censor the Post's Facebook page?

Not into censorship, but couldn't the Post somehow discourage, or maybe even ration those that are stupefyingly tedious? (and what are the odds of him breaking his 5.8K target by 9.00 tonight?)

When it comes to pesky posters we can't cap the volume of their utterances; but we can put them on pre mod, which means that nothing gets onto the forum until an admin's approved it (on an individual post by post basis). That's what the late (and much missed) SteveL usually did when someone was flooding the forum.

[diSme]

So - are you suggesting that we censor the Post's Facebook page?

Not into censorship, but couldn't the Post somehow discourage, or maybe even ration those that are stupefyingly tedious? (and what are the odds of him breaking his 5.8K target by 9.00 tonight?)

When it comes to pesky posters we can't cap the volume of their utterances; but we can put them on pre mod, which means that nothing gets onto the forum until an admin's approved it (on an individual post by post basis). That's what the late (and much missed) SteveL usually did when someone was flooding the forum.

I'm also against censorship, except in extreme circumstances. I do think that moderators could step into some exchanges now and then, and politely suggest that people tone it down a little when things are getting out of hand or off-topic. Whether it be through PM or public comment, I've found that is usually the best way to get an individual to rethink or moderate their posts without staff having to resort to extreme measures.

I can think of a number of exchanges on this very forum where such intervention would have been beneficial.

[mk1]

Do you actually support Mike Hill and do you think he is beneficial for the town?

I have no idea what Hill or any MP does in a normal day. It would be easy to say he is useless but in truth I have no idea what 'not useless' is.
In general I do not think any MP can do much to turn around a town that has been in decline for 100 years. The best anyone seems to manage is to replace say 20 of the last 50 jobs lost. When your council gets a  front-page newspaper article out of a Cafe Opening then you know how bad it is. Party politics is all bollocks and I despise the simplistic fools who think that changing their party Allegiance means they have to become obsessive  proselytising ars*eholes for their new masters and bore us all to death with stories of future riches if we just follow their messiah.
I think every politician needs a bucket of s**t thrown over them at regular intervals whether they deserve it or not  and looking around I see much merde being lobbed in Labours direction. I think Labour are well covered (pun) in that area so decided I would mainly (but not exclusively) aim at the dominant local Political Party with a proven history of lies and deception. This has not got down well with recent converts to that party.
So do I support Hill?
No I support no one and I mock them all. If you want cloying endless praise then I am not your man.
Do I think Tice would have done anything for the town? Perhaps but only to establish Brand Farage and we would be a means to an end.  A  Tory MP would be equally ineffective and I guess you can say the town is fcuked no matter who it elects. The only real change will come when  a major employer with real well-paid jobs relocates to the town. Given the geography (we are at the end of a branch-road going nowhere) that is not going to happen.
Unlike most here I expect nothing from my politicians. I know they do not really care about me. I know they will not deliver on their election promises and I do not expect things will improve  in my lifetime. Given I do not place my hopes in anyone  no one is going to get me upset. I am not a pessimist I am a realist. You have no idea how liberating it is not to be worried about the latest vote on anything. I never ask for favours and thus am never put out when none are given. 
Schadenfreude is my only vice.

[diSme]

Do you actually support Mike Hill and do you think he is beneficial for the town?

I have no idea what Hill or any MP does in a normal day. It would be easy to say he is useless but in truth I have no idea what 'not useless' is.
In general I do not think any MP can do much to turn around a town that has been in decline for 100 years. The best anyone seems to manage is to replace say 20 of the last 50 jobs lost. When your council gets a  front-page newspaper article out of a Cafe Opening then you know how bad it is. Party politics is all bollocks and I despise the simplistic fools who think that changing their party Allegiance means they have to become obsessive  proselytising ars*eholes for their new masters and bore us all to death with stories of future riches if we just follow their messiah.
I think every politician needs a bucket of s**t thrown over them at regular intervals whether they deserve it or not  and looking around I see much merde being lobbed in Labours direction. I think Labour are well covered (pun) in that area so decided I would mainly (but not exclusively) aim at the dominant local Political Party with a proven history of lies and deception. This has not got down well with recent converts to that party.
So do I support Hill?
No I support no one and I mock them all. If you want cloying endless praise then I am not your man.
Do I think Tice would have done anything for the town? Perhaps but only to establish Brand Farage and we would be a means to an end.  A  Tory MP would be equally ineffective and I guess you can say the town is fcuked no matter who it elects. The only real change will come when  a major employer with real well-paid jobs relocates to the town. Given the geography (we are at the end of a branch-road going nowhere) that is not going to happen.
Unlike most here I expect nothing from my politicians. I know they do not really care about me. I know they will not deliver on their election promises and I do not expect things will improve  in my lifetime. Given I do not place my hopes in anyone  no one is going to get me upset. I am not a pessimist I am a realist. You have no idea how liberating it is not to be worried about the latest vote on anything. I never ask for favours and thus am never put out when none are given. 
Schadenfreude is my only vice.

How do you know I have no idea how liberating it feels to not be worried about the votes? You have no idea what goes on in my mind...

I actually agree with the majority of your answer, it is testament to how broken the political system is, so don't for one second think that you are the only realist on this board. Unfortunately, we are currently lumbered with this system, with seemingly no easy way out, so I'm minded to think that this board exists for people to discuss the political climate as it is, which is all I am trying to do.
Berating people for discussing party politics really isn't fair, as we are dealing with party politics, whether we like it or not. And when I say "we", I mean the people of Hartlepool and the members of this board. Are we not all in the same boat? Do we not all desire the best for this town?

Perhaps we would achieve something a little more constructive if we ascended beyond condescending attitudes and calling each other out on disagreements of opinion...

[mk1]

Berating people for discussing party politics really isn't fair, as we are dealing with party politics, whether we like it or not. And when I say "we", I mean the people of Hartlepool and the members of this board. Are we not all in the same boat? Do we not all desire the best for this town?

Perhaps we would achieve something a little more constructive if we ascended beyond condescending attitudes and calling each other out on disagreements of opinion...

When Shane was elected he very soon started a course of action that seemed to me to bode ill for the future. I noticed things and in PMs discussed it with fellow members. I actually had a local  link to him and Farage that everyone else seems to have missed and I mentioned in a pm how I would not bring it up on the Forum so I did 'give him a chance'. However I noticed the FB page had gone completely overboard with support for Shane and that any criticism of Shane got a very frosty reception. I again (by PM) contacted others here and  got confirmation I was not alone in my fears. I saw how David's posts on FB were getting increasingly harsh replies and at times he was directly insulted and his intentions questioned. The last straw for me was two posts days apart where David  used an old post by Shane to show how he had lied and he was attacked for dragging up the past etc. Yet when someone else used an old Corbyn quote to show he had also lied the very same people who attacked David for 'dragging up the past' were now praising the new poster for exposing Corbyn as a liar. That was the final straw for me.

[admin]

Suggest we cool it ... just saying.

[Johnny Bongo]

Excellent replies from both Mk1 and diSme.  So, when the Brexit party in Hartlepool decides that 'The Party is over', will they change their name to whatever Farages latest idea is, or will, as Mk1 suggests (at least for Shane), join the Conservative party?  Or will they go back to being Independents ?   

[akarjl2]

Unlike most here I expect nothing from my politicians. I know they do not really care about me. I know they will not deliver on their election promises and I do not expect things will improve  in my lifetime. Given I do not place my hopes in anyone  no one is going to get me upset. I am not a pessimist I am a realist.

Actually you have summed up my views....But I expect things will improve for ME in MY life time- working on the basis you make your own luck.......

Also

I wanted out of Europe- it is happening.
I did not want an antisemitic 1970 "power to the people" with links to terrorist organisations clown in power- result

Given your position regarding politics in general I can not understand your fixation on Farage etc.....I mean why would you care- apart from "I told you so" or " I am always right and never wrong"?

Constant references to Blackwood and others in the dim and distant past is frankly boring...

Old news is just that- Old News.

As I said before maybe time you took up a hobby?....got out more?

As a peace offering see template below for future posts:

*********************************
Insert here:
Pigs head
Skin head images
Farage Bus
Some sh**e about Blackwood/Steve
2 x irrelevent Youtube video
1 x Latest expression discovered on Wikipedia
Smattering of quotes from posts months ago about events that have passed.
Close with of course....Bong Eyed Looney/Little Englander statement as click bait.
**********************************

Alternatively move on...and cool it.

You are welcome.