If your can't "kick the bastards out" because actural votes don't matter, you no longer have a democracy of any sort. Like Russia.

When the leader doesn't change.

Yes. Deeply foored, but yes. That's why there was Jan the 6th to try and over throw it. Yes they thought they were protecting it, but those directing them knew it was an insurrection.

Despite all the corruption and duopoly, it is a democracy and way better than the forms of non-democracies.

Exactly. What happens if American democracy falls? We'll have a non-democracy deeply entwined. American Christian fundamentalism is completely alien to British values.

The market is never going to work with massive monopolies like this. Markets need competition, lots of competition. Spotify and the tech world isn't capitalist, it is feudalist. Carving up digital fiefdom for themselves. Complete failure of regulators and governments.

Modern "Broken window fallacy". Not buying new devices to replace working existing devices is good for the economy. Buying stuff just to keep still is "lost opportunity cost". That money could have been better spent moving forwards instead.

How could I know either? Just search "Google caught using data" or any of them. Those are just the cases they get caught. There is money to be made with that juicy data. Snowdon, EFF, OpenRightsGroups, campaigners like Cory Doctorow, etc, keep tells us to not trust these guys with this kind of data.

Pretty sure Google, Apple, Microsoft, all look at data they don't legally own, but host. Who would know? Also, they are so big, what's a small government like the UK going to do? They could just buy the politicians making a noise anyway. If they even understood the problem, let alone aware of it.

Those who supply the IT infrastructure, if it's closed and hosted by them, effectively own it. Governments shouldn't be in serfs to big tech. Also, don't create data troves you wouldn't want in the wrong hands. Which, if Reform become the government, could be the government real soon.

To compare:

LitresInGallon * LitreTax / MPG

4.54609 * 52.95 / 38.6

6.2p tax per mile

So double the absolute cost per mile, but wait:

Take cheap petrol of 127.7p per letre

127.7 * 4.54609 / 38.6

15p of fuel per mile

6.2p/15p = 41% tax

Compared to the 150% tax on EV’s.

To compare:

LitresInGallon * LitreTax / MPG

4.54609 * 52.95 / 38.6

6.2p tax per mile

So double the absolute cost per mile, but wait:

Take cheap petrol of 127.7p per letre

127.7 * 4.54609 / 38.6

15p of fuel per mile

6.2p/15p = 41% tax

Compared to the 150% tax on EV’s.

At the same time they put 150% tax on EV charging at home. Making the running cost only x4 cheaper, not x10 as it was. This will slow the EV transition, when we don't have time for that.

Brexit was utterly stupid, but it was the 2008 crash that broke us and caused people to vote Brexit. "Things can't get any worse." was on many a Leaver's lips. They can always get worse, and did.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmxo...

I wish I had your faith. Tactical voting might not work if everything votes for different parties. Labour are hoping the progressive vote defaults to them for safety, but looks like it won't. FPTP is a ticking time bomb.

Unless there is planning who is representing where, FPTP will just result in Reform (who will eat Conservatives) winning with less than 30%. FPTP is basically designed for unrepresentative governments.

This is my family too. My German grandfather was a political refugee from Nazi Germany and settled here. This gammon pandering only panders to voters unlikely to vote Labour anyway, while driving those who do to the Greens or LibDems.

So?? That is not the problem with them! Maybe this is an American cultural thing, but if so, maybe that focusing on the wrong problem, is part of the wider problem. Of all the things to lead with....