NEIL Atkinson hosts another hectic AFQ where everyone’s questions get answered.
He is joined by Mike Nevin, Steve Graves, Kate Forrester, Timo Tierney and Gareth Roberts. Everything gets touched upon. Everything.
NEIL Atkinson hosts another hectic AFQ where everyone’s questions get answered.
He is joined by Mike Nevin, Steve Graves, Kate Forrester, Timo Tierney and Gareth Roberts. Everything gets touched upon. Everything.
For the record Foster’s isn’t sold in Australia as we know it’s shit. Apart from that we’re great at craft beers.
Enjoyed your talk about Liverpool, conservatism and the 80s. Was glad to hear Steve try to balance his loathing of Jeremy Corbyn too but he was once again totally wrong. If he knew anything about his constituency (poor, multicultural, plenty of racists) he wouldn’t compare him with Tony Blair, but hey, why question your prejudices?
Nonetheless you all spoke a lot of sense. The Liverpool I left in the late 80s was deeply conservative: racist, homophobic, intolerant. Just to wear something different prompted cries of ‘eh you fucking queer!’ (and I wasn’t that different, nor was I gay). It was, in short, full of twats. It seems a much better place today, thank God. But there’s nothing unique to Scouse socialism, it’s just the same as East End socialism or any other working class socialism. There will always be pockets of conservative socialists, to imagine otherwise is absurd. But you don’t win the arguments by giving in to them: you may as well become UKIP if you think that. You have to win hearts and minds and it’s bloody hard work.
As for Tories: like you say, Thatcherism was a concerted attempt to destroy the city and its culture. That’s why I’ve got no time for those who attack Militant. They knew what was going on and tried to defend the city and raise its profile. If Labour had supported them they might have actually achieved something. The late 80s and early 90s were a disaster. It’s so good to see the city looking forward again after facing the other way for far too long.
Took great pleasure in Mike Nevin’s comments at the end of that show. There’s nothing more impressive for me than the ability to wear your intellect lightly.