Newspapers and wings

[tbourner]

Now I'm trying to learn about politics and stuff, can someone explain the papers and wings to me?

 

I've never really understood left and right wing for one thing, what's the difference? How do I know what I am?

 

Then people will comment about papers, like on here someone might say "Oh you're obviously a Guardian reader" or "More Daily Mail rubbish". I don't actually read any newspapers so I don't understand all that, do papers tend towards a particular political party or wing then? How can it possibly be news if it's slanted so much that people can actually see the bias! What about the Sun and Star etc. are they winged as well?

 

 

I've just been trying to find info on this Brown resignation and what it means for LibLab or ConLib, but I clicked the Guardian website and it seems very pro Lab and very anti Con?

[Chris Wilson]

Here are some students discussing this very topic (God help us, the poor dears think the Daily Mail is extreme right wing, they haven't met `er indoors yet).

 

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=516244

[JustGav]

So what is a sun reader then?

[Branners]

So what is a sun reader then?

 

at the moment, probably very confused and defo not a scouser.

 

Their only political views were directed to be towards labour by the sun, suddenly the Sun changed tack to Conservatives and now they probably dont understand why Gordon is the devil incarnate.

[Jake]

Now I'm trying to learn about politics and stuff, can someone explain the papers and wings to me?

 

How do I know what I am?

 

You're right wing, Trev.

[AndrewOW]

This may help to explain the wings, etc.

 

http://www.responsiblecitizen.co.uk/left-wing-right-wing-and-the-centre.html

 

And this for newspapers:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8282189.stm

[Purity14]

Right wing: http://www.stormfront.org

Left wing: http://www.revleft.com

 

Simples

[tbourner]

This may help to explain the wings, etc.

 

http://www.responsiblecitizen.co.uk/left-wing-right-wing-and-the-centre.html

 

Not really! Only the last paragraph actually makes any sense, which is what I would have assumed would be true. Does it mean if a party gets in who's seen to be a particular wing they have to stick to that side for ALL their policies? That's absurd!! Or are there no 'extreme politics' parties around any more?

[marbleapple]

Or are there no 'extreme politics' parties around any more?

 

My simplistic view was left was pro the masses, right was pro heirarchy/rich, middle was for the middleclass.

 

Thats what i see as the problem at the moment. Pre WW2 it used to be Liberals left, Conservatives right, Labour in the middle, hence why Labour became popular*. Now there is no difference between the parties. It was much easier for you to join a 'camp' when policies between the parties were clearly different.

 

 

 

*Hope i'm not getting liberals and labour the wrong way round.

[stevie_b]

Not really! Only the last paragraph actually makes any sense, which is what I would have assumed would be true. Does it mean if a party gets in who's seen to be a particular wing they have to stick to that side for ALL their policies? That's absurd!! Or are there no 'extreme politics' parties around any more?

There are probably still some extreme parties out there. Most get practicaly zero publicity, hence the public aren't aware of them.

 

A party doesn't have to stick to left-wing policies or right-wing policies. It's all very flexible. I guess the wing system was thought up so that people can informally describe the tendencies of the various parties without needing to quote large chunks of their manifesto. Left wing parties tend to favour a large welfare state having lots of rules, and providing a comprehensive safety net for citizens. Right wing parties tend to want to let people get on with it themselves, i.e. if you sink or swim it's down to you. Very lucrative if you swim, not good if you sink.

 

Many policies of New Labour could be seen as not left wing at all, but centre-politics or even occasionally mildly right wing.

[jagman]

75% of this great nations wealth is held by 6000 people , the remaining 25% is shared out between the remaining millions

 

This is the status quo- Left wing ,right wing ,any wing ,wars ,conflict, booms and bust ,policies come and go,-The status quo remains

 

I would love someone to explain this to me !! any one of the 6000 on here

[RiceRocket]

why Gordon is the devil incarnate.

 

Yeah the paper's sudden hostility vented towards him is so cringey

[AndrewOW]

In the years before the LibDems gained some popularity, and the fact that a lot less people vote these days, you were either a lefty or a righty really. IIRC If you supported the LibDems during those years it meant you were gay.

 

Since the rise in popularity of the LibDems clouding the issue, and none of the 'main' three parties having that much of a difference in their policies, I doubt very much that we'll ever have a clear winner in the future, unless someone completely messes up and loses all their support over night, or the opposite being true!

 

I think that the government should reduce the amount of seats required to win a 'majority', as I think this will be impossible in Elections to come. Democracy showing its weakness methinks.

 

My 2p.

[tbourner]

Is it true that lefties are all for helping out the little people, which results in the scrounging society we have today? And righties are all about every man for themselves meaning the people who really do need benefits have a harder time?

[stevie_b]

Is it true that lefties are all for helping out the little people, which results in the scrounging society we have today? And righties are all about every man for themselves meaning the people who really do need benefits have a harder time?

 

It's very simplified, but in short, yes.

 

Communism is on the extreme left wing, and its priniciples (AFAIK, correct me if I'm wrong) are the sharing out of money and goods equally among the people. This means you don't get flash buggers lording it over other people. It's initeresting how these principles of sharing out don't seem to extend to the policticians though: it makes the whole thing seem hypocritical. China currently has a mix of communism and capitalism, so we see characteristics of both.

[AndrewOW]

Yes Trev. The ideal government would be a coalition of all, but as we know that just doesn't work. Any party in for more than two terms is asking for trouble IMO.