This thread exists to discuss British politics.
Political issues related to Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies (the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) are also considered on-topic here if there's no more appropriate OTC thread for them.
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As with other OTC threads, off-topic posts may be thumped or edited by the moderators.
- There is a dedicated thread to discuss LGBTQ+ rights in the United Kingdom. That doesn't mean it's always off-topic here, but unless something's directly linked to political events, that's probably a better thread for it.
- There's also a separate thread to talk about your favourite British Prime Ministers.
Recent political stuff:
- The vote to see if Britain should adopt Alternative Voting has failed.
- Lib Dems lose lots of councils and councillors, whilst Labour make the majority of the gains in England.
- The Scottish National Party do really well in the elections.
A link to the BBC politics page containing relevant information.
Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 3rd 2023 at 11:15:30 AM
Apparently it's a similar rate of flow to a household tap left running.
"Yup. That tasted purple."
The Baroness Sharples retired from Parliament yesterday.
Lord Buckethead, Great Britain's unsung political hero, wishes you a merry Christmas:
Praise be.
"All you Fascists bound to lose."
Disappointing. I was hoping for some biting political commentary.
Rt Hon Damian Green MP has resigned as First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office. [1]
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
He's satirising the whole of British society instead.
Oh, that was hilarious. ![[lol]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lol2v12_4863.png "[lol]"){kind=small}
The schlock Christmas special vibe had me in stitches from the start, from the fontage onwards. The Pogues via Peter Kay and Private Eye, that is.
edited 20th Dec '17 3:07:37 PM by Euodiachloris
He's challenged May and Corbyn to release one, too.
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
A procrastination in of itself
Dam, Bucket can sing.
"And the Bunny nails it!" ~ Gabrael "If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we." ~ Cyran
The Lord Condon retired from Parliament today, aged 70.
The Lord Quirk died yesterday, aged 97.
edited 21st Dec '17 5:00:28 AM by TommyR01D
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
I'm sorry could you please give more context instead of just posting names like that?
Just "The Lord X did Y today" is incredibly non-informing to anyone who has no idea who this people are already.
"You can reply to this Message!"
Oh, bother.
<watches the vid>
That was way catchier than it had any right to be.
Disgusted, but not surprised
So Green is gone, thanks to the porn on his computer, and now May is taking flak for having not sacked him a good deal earlier. There is no way that this farce should have been dragged out so long.
Yet another case of where the cover up hurts more than the actual scandal (it was legal porn, correct?).
Will they ever learn?
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
He's also been accused of sexual harassment though, so this is a clear case of a typical Tory sleazebag. His resignation letter included words to the effect of "I'm going to pretend I have no idea what you're talking about, but we both know you're right and I was a cockwomble so here's a half-hearted apology in hope that you go away now".
British passports will be navy blue after Brexit, says Home Office
The British passport is redesigned every five years, and the new version will come into production next autumn when the current contract expires, the Home Office has announced.
The return of the navy cover, first used in 1921, is being hailed as a victory by pro-Brexit M Ps, who had campaigned for a return to the colour.
The government said the new passport, which would include updated features and technology, would be one of the most secure in the world.
Brandon Lewis, the immigration minister, said: “Leaving the EU gives us a unique opportunity to restore our national identity and forge a new path for ourselves in the world.
“That is why I am delighted to announce that the British passport will be returning to the iconic blue and gold design after we have left the European Union in 2019.”
After the UK leaves the EU in March 2019, burgundy passports will continue to be issued but with no reference to the trade bloc.
The blue and gold passports will be issued from October 2019, when the £490m passport contract begins, to British nationals renewing or applying for a new passport.
The Home Office said British passport holders would not need to take any action before their current renewal date. More details would be released in spring 2019 when the supplier had been appointed. A brief history of the passport Read more
The first burgundy machine-readable passports were issued in the UK in 1988, after the common format introduced by the European Economic Community.
Speaking in April, the Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell said the burgundy EU passport had been a source of national “humiliation”.
“The restoration of our own British passport is a clear statement to the world that Britain is back. Our British identity was slowly but surely being submerged into an artificial European one that most Brits felt increasingly unhappy about,” he told Press Association.
“The humiliation of having a pink European Union passport will now soon be over and the United Kingdom nationals can once again feel pride and self-confidence in their own nationality when travelling, just as the Swiss and Americans can do.
“National identity matters and there is no better way of demonstrating this today than by bringing back this much-loved national symbol when travelling overseas.”
Truly a victory to be celebrated by Brexit MP's, what could be more important after leaving the EU than beig able to change the colour of passports?
Actually, the colour of the passport is not one of the rules of the EU. You can pick whatever colour you want, the reason why most states except Croatia, I think, go for a variation of the burgundy (not even the same shade in all countries) is because the colour signals immediately "yep, EU citizen". Though I am honestly not sure why they went for burgundy instead of EU blue with the emblem of the member start in gold...most likely because the US is already using blue. Anyway, the point is that the kind of data and where it is in the passport as well as spelling is standardized (though, believe it or not, England and Ireland has an extra rule for that, too!!!) the colour is NOT. The UK could have had blue passports all along if they really felt that it is THAT important.
The Lord MacLaurin of Knebworth retired from Parliament today.
note
edited 22nd Dec '17 5:56:45 AM by TommyR01D
Oh, bother.
So it's yet another one of those things the UK complained about that was actually something they had control of even as part of the EU all along.
A procrastination in of itself
Someone on reddit pointed out that if Cameron had announced a change in passport colour before the referendum (and claimed that it was a victory he’s gained in his negotiations with the EU) than Remain might have won.
"And the Bunny nails it!" ~ Gabrael "If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we." ~ Cyran
I don't know if getting blue of all things is going to help.
◊
Apparently people also don't know the difference between pink and burgundy. :/
I mean, why would anyone be pissed about his passport being burgundy? It's a nice colour.
Welcome to Estalia, gentlemen.
Oh, bother.
Nationalism is weird like that.
That's the whole point of a shakedown tour - you catch stuff that you really don't want to discover in the middle of high tempo operations.
I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot