
Originally posted by yuri31:I wonder how long it will take the flame war to start properly.
Originally posted by Risto:Just to be clear, there will be no warnings from now on.
Either everyone behaves or this thread will be closed.
Originally posted by Risto:Lyndon, please contact the mods first if you are about to reopen a closed thread. We have reasons to close topics and we would appreciate if you ask us first next time
Originally posted by yuri31:[..]
Very much indeed.
In response to what Harry posted earlier, I did catch some info about the protests and was wondering how the students feel about LibDem, who got massive support among the youth as far as I know, now that they are in the government and tuition fees are going to be higher despite them promising such thing would not occur.
Originally posted by LikeASong:[..]
I wouldn't count on that.
Originally posted by yuri31:In response to what Harry posted earlier, I did catch some info about the protests and was wondering how the students feel about LibDem, who got massive support among the youth as far as I know, now that they are in the government and tuition fees are going to be higher despite them promising such thing would not occur.
Originally posted by KieranU2:Wasn't it Torries as well that the students were upset about?
But man, those students caused a riot. Windows smashed, people injured. They managed to get on the roof and started letting off fire extinguishers then someone threw an empty one from the rooftop. Could have killed someone. I suppose, they have to get a point across. Done very well I may say.
Originally posted by WojBhoy:[..]
[..]
Indeed. The protest was against the rise in tuition fees being put forward by the coalition government, so yeah, most of us students are generally pissed off with the Lib Dems AND the Tories at the moment; the Lib Dems moreso because nearly all of those who won seats signed a pledge before the elections to vote against any proposed hikes in fees (as did a fair few Labour candidates and a few Tories), and hey presto, what happens when they got in? Most are going against the pledge. That and the fact they won a lot of seats in student-heavy constituencies because of the pledge signed. Doesn't do much to help the profile and reputation of British politicians, which has been pretty hammered in recent years. The Lib Dems have lost massive support (students have historically never been overly keen on the Tories generally speaking), and in light of the Phil Woolas scandal (Labour MP who's - in all likelihood - about to lose his seat because he put false information in his campaign leaflets regarding his opponents, one of whom has now used some age-old unknown loophole to have him prosecuted by the courts), there's a campaign being mooted to call re-elections in those constituencies where Lib Dem MPs won seats should the rise be voted for by Parliament.
Re. the violence, it was a minority who actually caused the damage, and quite frankly, shame on them all. I know a lot of people who went on the march, and they did it in the proper manner. The stuff at Millbank etc. was, in my opinion, completely irrelevance to the protest itself and the goals they set out to achieve - it was just a cheap stunt by attention-seeking arseholes who wanted to make a scene. I'm lead to believe by those that went that some of those who caused the damage were anarchists, and it's beautifully ironic to think that the only thing they achieved was to invoke insurance claims for the damage, which will be paid for by the British taxpayer. The protest was not to get media coverage or anything, and I think anyone who went with that frame of mind shouldn't have gone because they had completely the wrong intention - it was to warn the politicians sat in Parliament that there are a lot of pissed off people in the country at the moment feeling betrayed, and if they continue to spit in our faces, we're going to start taking action, i.e. calling for by-elections and the like. The aggressive behaviour was unnecessary and futile in achieving political ends - it might have got the TV cameras of the world media on them, but that's not going to change the government's mind, because as far as I can tell, no one else outside the UK gives a flying toss about uni. tuition fees. The people who the protest was aimed at heard it, and would do well to take heed.
I hope it's clear that I feel pretty passionately about the whole business