British Politics Thread

...What? You were expecting a Tory Government not to bend over backwards for a chance to tongue US arse?

Right now, Obama could ask Cameron to bark like a dog, and the Thatcherite would ask what breed.

I seem to remember the exact same being said of Blair.

edited 13th Mar '12 2:07:26 PM by GameChainsaw

Yeah, but that was more a surprise than anything; John Smith and Neil Kinnock weren't really exactly toadies - Kinnock was planning on removing American Nuclear Weapons from Britain within a year of getting into office. In contrast, both John Major and Thatcher were basically best friends with Regan and Bush (metaphorically; don't go yanking up news articles about how Reagan's best friend was a leek in a wheelbarrow or something).

Blair came in and pandered to the US with the Iraq War; not too surprising if you followed the 'New Labour' movement.

With Cameron, you know what you're getting.

edited 13th Mar '12 2:24:31 PM by Minister

This Treaty was signed up to by Tony Blair's Government, by the way — in fact, part of the Coalition Agreement was to end this Treaty...

Honestly, being Atlanticists ain't doing us favours...

FTFY

And neither is being Europhiles; because we're different from them, too. So, our plan is to somehow be in the middle and maintain the 500+-year old Balance of Power.

Same as always.

The "FTFY" format of responding to someone else's posts is rather disrespectful. It's not against the rules, but I would recommend everyone to avoid using it in a serious discussion, except if you're just pointing out a little joke that can be derived from the other person's post of something (as humorous use of "FTFY," without the intention of making any great point about anything, isn't excessively confrontational, while the other use of it often is.)

You can fix spelling mistakes and the like from another person's post; but don't go changing the content.

I always wondered if an extradition case to the US could be fought on the basis that the US prison system qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment. Though one hopes it isn't that grim.

Yes, I know. The entire point of the post is that Tony Blair's attitude towards America was unexpected if you look at traditional Labour values, traits and past Governments, whereas the Tories have a long history of this sort of thing.

Merely pointing out an extraneous detail just makes me seem like an arse. Admittedly, rather easily.

edited 14th Mar '12 12:32:59 AM by Minister

Perth to become Scotland's seventh city

Thanks, animal right extremists: yes, it's important. But, is it really that important you need to stall medical science?

I think you can't have complex cures without animal testing. Computer models can only get you so far, after all.

Labour loses its 40 year old majority in Glasgow City Council after a seventh resignation.

"A spokesman for Scottish Labour said: "Mr Butt was suspended from the party last September after being charged with assaulting his wife. "

Fairly sure that came up in Private Eye.

If the SNP manage to make inroads into the council in May, it will be a massive boost to them; while Labour have such a stronghold over the Glasgow, their efforts are impeded in the city.

Something curious: There have been plans, on and off, to build an aiport in the Thames Estuary since 1943.

It's worse than sorting out the water distribution...

BBC leaks Hillsborough documents

Cabinet Office papers from 1989 seen by the BBC show how Margaret Thatcher's government was misinformed about the cause of the Hillsborough disaster - and illustrate why the Information Commissioner demanded the disclosure of these secret documents.

Last July the commissioner ruled that it was in the public interest for documents about the Hillsborough tragedy to be released, since it would "add to the public knowledge and understanding about the reaction of various parties to that event, including the government of the day".

This followed a freedom of information request from the BBC that had been rejected by the Cabinet Office. That FOI case was dropped after a government pledge to publish its files on Hillsborough via an independent panel later this year.

The BBC has seen now some of this material and on Thursday is reporting details from these documents.

It seems that the Wicked Witch of Westminster and her government wanted to use Hillsborough as an excuse to press on with their ID card scheme. It appears that Lord Taylor, to his credit, put the brakes on it.

edited 15th Mar '12 6:41:12 AM by TheBatPencil

And, on a more recent note: Literacy progress has stalled, Ofsted's chief inspector says, Police could be disciplined if they fail fitness tests, Tesco's UK chief executive quits, and Sian Williams presents her final Breakfast programme.

Devon NHS childrens services to be privatised

Could they have picked a creepier image of Richard Branson's leering, raptor-like head?

Politicians sometimes manage to look really fucking creepy, and of course the press wants to publish those pics.

Here's the leader of a Finnish populist party "smiling" about their victory in our Parliamentary election last year.

Everytime Gordon Brown smiles, a puppy dies.

I bet you he still doesn't smile much. By the way, has anyone heard anything from him recently up there in Scotland?

As per almost all former Prime Ministers, he's pretty much gone from the public eye.

The worst thing about Gordon Brown's speeches was the utterly gormless look his face acquired upon breathing in after every sentence. It was the way his chin retracted into his throat.

Honestly, though, on the politicians looking creepy front: nobody, but nobody, has George Osborne beaten.

edited 15th Mar '12 11:54:10 AM by pagad