More made up problems for a fundamentally inept government to solve because fixing real problems like a broken healthcare system is hard and not a guaranteed political win.

Thanks Starmer, you're a worthless turd and no different than your predecessor.

▲

FridayoLeary 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

I think it was an agenda years in the making. I saw the groundwork being laid for this in 2021 and it somehow survived a general election and an entirely new government with a different political alignment. Ive seen other laws like this. It was nothing to do with the politics or the politicians, it has to do with civil servants who are working with their own agenda. Just like yes prime minister.

▲

nly 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

It's building on the Snoopers Charter 2016

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investigatory_Powers_Act_201...

People seem to have forgotten that all major UK ISPs are now logging TCP connection metadata and all DNS queries

ISPs will send you warning letters if you're using bittorrent

	▲	immibis 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		We should have something that sets the TCP SYN bit in every packet (between participating hosts) so that it overloads surveillance systems. Bittorrent letters aren't from a generic surveillance system - it's participating copyright holders downloading the files from you and then pressing charges for you sharing it to them.

▲

ascorbic 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

This law was passed in 2023.

▲

pessimizer 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I still can't believe the UK got suckered into the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act. All it took was like two years of making you vote every three months and you gave up your democracy.

You're not like the US. The US turns over a good portion of Congress every two years, and re-elects what is basically a active King every four. All you did was make sure that no one in government has to think about the public for a second, while they do what their backers and buddies ask, then retire in five years.

There's no way out of it. Starmer should try to get down to an <10% approval rating just to make the history books.

	▲	frereubu 4 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I can't quite tell whether you know this from the way you wrote your comment, but the Fixed-Term Parliaments act was repealed in 2022: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed-term_Parliaments_Act_201...
	▲	Nursie 4 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		The fixed term act, as the other poster pointed out, was repealed in 2022 It was also a hilarious failure given that during the 11 short years it was active there were two two-year parliaments. It also didn't stop PMs being deposed from within, during that same period there were 5 different prime ministers. So I think your read on it is a little exaggerated there.

▲

girvo 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> Thanks Starmer, you're a worthless turd and no different than your predecessor.

It’s amusing/depressing that Labor in Australia is doing the same nonsense too. They’re not actually much better than their alternative, which is why they continually get voted out and kept out of power.

▲

Nursie 4 days ago | parent [-]

> They’re not actually much better than their alternative, which is why they continually get voted out and kept out of power.

Labor won the last two general elections though? And the alternative is currently in disarray.

I'm not going to argue that Labor Australia are doing god's work - particularly on health at the system seems to be in crisis and need a lot more funding. But the opposition are in total disarray and desperately trying every wedge-issue in the book in an attempt to ignite culture-wars style partisanship here, which is (thankfully) falling on barren soil.

▲

girvo 3 days ago | parent [-]

> And the alternative is currently in disarray.

That is more of an own goal situation than it is a Labor mandate for their Good Works, in my opinion, the opposition is beyond woeful, for all the reasons you've rightfully pointed out. Muppets, for sure.

But they've been in power before (especially at the state level), and when they make similar mistakes and are too close to the opposition, they get the boot. Labor should be smarter and care about labour, because the centre-right NSW faction that runs the federal party worry the hell out of me long term for the health of the party. We cannot trust the LNP ever, but we need Labor to be good stewards too, and in my experience they really aren't if they get complacent

	▲	Nursie 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Yeah that seems a valid observation. If I had to use two words to sum up the Albo years so far I think it would probably be "a bit disappointing". Which is still a lot better than the LNP were promising. But then I'm not in NSW and I must admit what I hear coming out of NSW is worrying - protest clampdowns, police effectively putting an end to a lot of festival culture by charging enormous amounts and illegally strip-searching teens. Minns seems like a right arsehole. Cook's a right arsehole too, mind, but more in the "Sell everything out to the mining corps, environment be damned" way than the authoritarian way.

▲

basisword 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The Online Safety Act was passed when the Tories were still in government.

Rolling that back essentially makes you a prime minister that believes children should have unfettered access to porn, self-harm material, gore, and that the outspoken parents of kids who've killed themselves after accessing this material shouldn't be listened to. At least, that's how the media (on all sides) would spin it. Not really a fight worth picking.

▲

MrGinkgo 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

The way to fight it without coming off that way is by advocating for a form of age check that doesn't require personal information, which I haven't heard any really water-tight suggestions yet.

If their real interest was in protecting children, they'd make a free, publicly accessible age blocking system that parents could choose to opt into, that isn't thrust upon all citizens at once

▲

ascorbic 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

I've only done one of these age verifications (for Bluesky) and that didn't require any personal information beyond seeing my face.

The digital credentials API trial seems interesting though: letting the browser verify your age without sharing any other personal details. https://developer.chrome.com/blog/digital-credentials-api-or...

▲

zahlman 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

>a form of age check that doesn't require personal information

But your age is personal information.

	▲	MrGinkgo 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		sure, but it's far from the most identifying information you can hand over to a government, though

▲

o11c 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

> The way to fight it without coming off that way is by advocating for a form of age check that doesn't require personal information, which I haven't heard any really water-tight suggestions yet.

Given the spread of explicit "give us our pedo games" and "let kids watch porn" voices, I don't think there's any demand for a moderate solution.

And when the moderate solution is actively rejected for a very real problem, nobody has a right to complain when the problem eventually is addressed using extreme solutions.

	▲	immibis 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		Where are you hearing those voices?

▲

YurgenJurgensen 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

That’s populist talk, and if the PM wants to play populism, he’s not doing a very good job of it.

▲

basisword 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

The problem the majority of people have with this law is "I can't easily access my free porn anymore". The counter-argument is "child kills self"[1] because shitty tech companies can't control their thirst for money. Like I said, I don't agree with the legislation but it's not an easy argument to make.

[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-62998484

▲

cm2187 5 days ago | parent [-]

In a world where you can cast your vote anonymously in the voting booth, it’s a dangerous game to piss off a large number of voters, even if they can’t admit publicly why. They will be reminded every day of that idiotic policy. Like cookie consent banners.

	▲	afavour 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		I think you’re correct and the person you’re replying to is correct too. Voters aren’t all that rational. They could choose to vote against the person that blocked their access to porn but also choose to vote against the person who made porn available again because doing so puts children in danger or whatever the scaremongering line would be.

▲

FridayoLeary 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

He's not doing a very good job of anything. His main problem is he has very few fundamental beliefs. All he has is some vague left wing aligned principles which he allows others to advise him on and then selects whatever position will gain himself the most goodwill. Which is why his ministers can propose atrocious ideas and he will go along with them. It's not as if he has anything better to suggest.

▲

miohtama 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Nick Farage from Reform plans to pick this fight. Of course whether he does it or not will be seen.

▲

grues-dinner 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

He says he's against the OSA but he's also funded by religious right nutters who think it's a great first step. So if/when he gets into power, don't expect anything better to replace it. Not that I would expect him to uphold a single promise: as I understand it, Reform doesn't even commit to a formal manifesto, anyway.

▲

monkey_monkey 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Farage is a moral-free scumbag who will be known in history as one of the architects of Britain's period of decline. The fact that he hasn't been held to account is one of the great scandals of our age.

▲

BLKNSLVR 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

I like the fact that as soon as his cause 'won' he stepped down so that he didn't need to do any of the actual hard work in implementing the disaster.

	▲	Nursie 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		He had no power. I'm no brexiteer but ... it's not like the Tories were going to hand him the keys to Number 10 and say "Have at it". He wasn't an MP at all at that point. It's like the "Idiots didn't even know what they were voting for!" argument. Sure, they didn't. Because the people who actually had the power to make a plan to vote for, declined to do so, specifically to increase uncertainty and perception of risk for voting leave. You can blame Farage and brexit voters for a lot (and you should!) but neither he nor they ever had the political power to make or execute a plan.