...politics

Do you have a good idea who you’ll vote for this year?

‘Yes and I just hope the Tories are served their sorry arses up on a plate.’ Ped, 47

‘Green.’ Joe, 27

‘Mainstream parties are basically forcing me to go full communist revolutionary at this point.’ Matt, 33

‘Yes, Labour for better or worse. Hopefully Keir Starmer is just pretending to be vanilla boy and has some hidden tricks up his sleeve.’ Nick, 56

‘Reform UK.’ Alex, 26

‘I’ll vote Labour. I don’t love the current leadership, but we need the Tories out. Not very inspiring, I know.’ Joe, 35

‘I suppose so, but reluctantly and fully aware that I am contributing to the further demise of civilisation.’ Josh, 34

Does our political system work?

‘I think it would be much better if we had proportional representation and an elected House of Lords.’ Peter, 38

‘No. I’m a believer in democracy but there should be a vetting system in place on who is qualified to vote (see Brexit).’ Ped, 47 ‘Nope, too many people only get to vote for politicians they don’t really like, and that’s the limit of their choice.’ Nick, 56

‘What political system?’ Alex, 26

‘No because it is set up to favour the wrong people and run by politicians who by their very definition are not to be trusted.’ James, 39

‘There’s work to be done to make our government and our institutions more democratic. I think a break with capitalism will be necessary to effectively respond to challenges like the climate crisis.’ Joe, 35

‘Yes and no, we have a functioning democracy but it’s outdated and full of leeches.’ Alf, 41

‘Absolutely not. Just look at how decisions are made and imposed on us — 20mph speed limits, LTNs, sewage discharge quotas into our rivers and seas, overloaded resources (housing, NHS), plus none of the political parties ever deliver on their promises. I don’t think taxpayers get enough say in how their money is spent and the politicians just squander it.’ Patrick, 64

‘Yes, and no. Every political system is up to its neck in corruption. The US is f***ed, the UK is f***ed… A lot of work could be done to improve it, but at the end of the day money is power and the little guy generally gets the brunt of it.’ Nic, 25

What are men thinking about right now? “Manchester United becoming shit” Balazs, 20

“That Kermit has outlived many of his puppeteers” Sen, 43

“Kate Moss, always” Lozza, 28

In da house: could Ali G do any worse than the previous incumbents?