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Rob Ford

@robfordmancs.bsky.social

50K followers 3.2K following 5.2K posts

Politics Professor, University of Manchester. Author of "The British General Election of 2024", "The British General Election of 2019" & "Brexitland" My Substack, "The Swingometer", is here: https://swingometer.substack.com/ https://www.robertford.net/

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · Jul 29

I have some good news for election nerds - "The British General Election of 2024" will be out this autumn, and if you're quick you can grab a 25% pre-order discount from Waterstone's by ordering your copy by 31st July, just enter code SUMMER25 www.waterstones.com/book/the-bri...

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 42m

I just dangled from the end of the rope and swung back and forth like a pendulum. Kids who could climb to the top were like weird aliens to me.

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Reposted by Rob Ford

Anthony Michael Kreis @anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 2h

For one, the federal government cannot constitutionally commandeer state officials to do its bidding.

But more importantly, the president does not see his political opposition as legitimate but rather as a target for a carceral and militaristic state. It is deeply undemocratic and authoritarian.

Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 2h

I will not back down.

Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.

What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?

Donald Trump Truth Social Post: Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also.

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 49m

Sure I have no issues with that. As I said before I am not claiming Thatcher as a race liberal.

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 4h

And it does I think matter that the framing and messaging from the Conservatives in this period was about downplaying race and emphasising broad civic national identity, whereas now it is about playing up race (and religion) and emphasising narrow ethnic identity. Elite messaging matters a lot!

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 4h

Oh, I certainly would not claim Mrs Thatcher as any sort of impeccable race liberal. But I think it matters that the Tory party of the Heath-Thatcher era regarded Powell as beyond the pale after Rivers of Blood, while the Tory party of today would probably make him a leadership front runner.

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 5h

Troubling in terms of elite behaviour - obviously a positive development that racial prejudice has declined a great deal since Powell’s time (and I agree it has on many measures)

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 5h

Yes it is a surprising and troubling inversion

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Reposted by Rob Ford

James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 5h

There is I think a sort of liberal comfort belief that the system is self-correcting; if the right does something bad then there will be an equal and opposite reaction restoring order. You see this a lot as a reaction to lots of things Trump does or proposes and… the belief just isn’t true!

Jenrick being the loudest member of the Conservative party has already been a huge contributor to the poisoning of our politics. We really don't need any four-dimensional chess about him becoming leader. When it happens, it will be a terrible day for our country.

[quoting the post below]

A Tory party under Jenrick might take a few of the racist votes from Reform, but they’d haemorrhage bucketloads to the Lib Dems.

So, on balance…

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 5h

Anyone in any doubt that Robert Jenrick has been using skin colour to judge people "not British" should read these forensic critiques from @stephenkb.bsky.social & @sathnam.bsky.social

www.ft.com/content/f588...

www.thetimes.com/life-style/c...

Thank the Tories for keeping Robert Jenrick out of high office

Shadow justice secretary’s comment about not seeing a ‘white face’ shows he does not understand integration

www.ft.com

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 5h

PS reposted after deleting previous post on this which erroneously dated the posted as 1978. My thanks to @philipjcowley.bsky.social for spotting and alerting me to the error - never trust the first date on a google search!!

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 5h

Thatcher Conservatives, 1983: "To the Labour party you're a black person. To the Conservative party you're a British citizen."

Jenrick Conservatives 2025? "To the Labour party (and vast majority of the public) you're a British citizen. To the Conservatives, you're a black person".

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 5h

A reminder of how Mrs Thatcher's Conservative party in 1983, an era featuring much more widespread racial prejudice in the public, approached the issue of race and national identity:

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 7h

Were you awake in May Rich? Reform won large majorities on multiple councils based on 30-35% of the vote, ie what they are polling now. FPP is now Farage’s best friend. If more Reform MPs is something you want to avoid you should support change to basically any other system

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 7h

Brilliant riposte to the narrow mindedness of a small man with big ambitions stoking old hatred.

Sathnam Sanghera @sathnam.bsky.social · 1d

I've responded to Robert Jenrick's vile comments in @thetimes.com

www.thetimes.com/life-style/c...

I sang Jerusalem with Robert Jenrick at school — he’s wrong about race

The Conservative MP has complained that, visiting Handsworth in Birmingham, he didn’t see ‘another white face’. You can’t judge whether someone is integrated by skin colour, argues fellow Wulfrunian S...

www.thetimes.com

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 7h

I don’t believe they are a panacea but I have entirely lost patience with people who engage in knee jerk opposition to electoral reform based on totally spurious “random thing I saw in the news this week” type nonsense. And I’m sorry Rich that’s you (alongside many others)

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 7h

On the whole yes, I would. They also lead to better policy outcomes, greater public trust in politics and greater voter satisfaction with election outcomes.

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 7h

True except Australia doesn’t have PR either. AV is a better system than FPP in many respects but it isn’t proportional

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 7h

“Don’t do specific reform because of chaos in country that doesn’t use specific reform.” Wow. There’s an argument you can use to oppose literally anything while looking like a moron. Great work.

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 7h

The point he is making is he is a reply guy who doesn’t let total ignorance of the subject matter prevent him from making confident sweeping claims on it. Many such cases!

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 7h

(3) There are masses of countries with PR systems that are not chaotic like France.

So well done Ric you caught a 30 second news bulletin on France and made an extremely dumb and obviously wrong sweeping generalization based on it. Great contribution. Much wisdom.

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 7h

People keep doing this which is really a way of saying “I know nothing at all about electoral systems and their effects” because (1) France doesn’t have PR for legislative elections (2) France chaos relates to being semi-Presidential system with directly elected President (not a PR issue!)

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 7h

It is already quite obvious which parties are most likely to be viable coalition partners. Not clear to me what the “tradition” is needed for. Con-LD coalition was the most stable and coherent govt of the last 15 years

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 7h

Yes it does. What exactly do you disagree with? Do you dispute that the Scottish Parliament is responsible for most Scottish domestic policy, including tax raising powers?

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 7h

In most systems the link between this and the composition of parliament and hence the most plausible post election coalitions would be pretty clear. In FPP it is not.

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 9h

Rich, pretending the kind of instability this split produces under PR and FPP are remotely similar is to completely miss the point of electoral reform

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