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.
If you're new to OTC, it's worth reading the Introduction to On-Topic Conversations
and the On-Topic Conversations debate guidelines before posting here.
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
V
@ Silaw:
From what I've heard, it might actually be the case — and the money for the upgrade won't be directly coming from the public purse, either. It's the Minister's money that covers the upgrade, apparently.
But of course, the decision will still come in for criticism and will look bad for the Government — especially from the Daily Mail — in the light of "Plebgate".
edited 20th Oct '12 8:59:19 AM by Greenmantle
Keep Rolling On
Sneering Imperialist
It does give me a degree of comfort that the Daily Mail hates the Conservative Party only a little less than Labour. Unlike, say, Fox News fellating the GOP in America.
With cannon shot and gun blast smash the alien. With laser beam and searing plasma scatter the alien to the stars.
I thought the consensus was on 'gategate'?
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
V
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Not sure — I made it up just before posting...
![[down]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_down.png "[down]"){kind=icon}
Recognise my Avatar? 
edited 20th Oct '12 10:29:27 AM by Greenmantle
Keep Rolling On
Considering the BBC seems to have settled on or at least used Plebgate I'd say it's a thing.
Also, not sure if this counts as politics, but... Six police officers are in hospital after diving into a river to save people trapped in a sinking car. Who wants to bet they get disciplined for breaching health and safety rules and not waiting for the approved deep-water rescue personnel?
Or do we now live in a sane world not governed by red tape, the political correctness thought police and the Health and Safety Executive?
edited 20th Oct '12 10:36:24 AM by Deadbeatloser22
"Yup. That tasted purple."
We've never lived in that world.
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
The good one or the bad one?
"Yup. That tasted purple."
Heh.
With all due respect, this nicely demonstrates you clearly don't have a clue what you're talking about.
"When you cut your finger, I do not bleed." Response of a man who lived on the outskirts of a concentration camp.
Lyke srsly.
You think coppers are actually going to go out of their way to get what would at best be non-endorsable fnps, or section fives which are politically messy and discouraged, to bump up their 'incident stats' (which would be? because I can only think of one thing you might be talking about, and shockingly nothing we've been talking about would be measured in it).
And we all know how underworked they are. We've got way too many police, and way too few incidents or operations, so constables have to go out of their way to get offences to do people for right.
"When you cut your finger, I do not bleed." Response of a man who lived on the outskirts of a concentration camp.
The bad one.
Health and Safety saves lives, political correctness can more properly be called 'politeness', and while red tape can sometimes get in the way, it mostly serves useful purposes.
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Only when applied in moderation. If it gets to the point when people can't tell if Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep and schoolkids being required to wear protective eyewear when playing Conkers are parodies or not, something dun fucked up.
edited 20th Oct '12 11:34:15 AM by Deadbeatloser22
"Yup. That tasted purple."
The right-wing press are horrible liars (at best, heavily biased in their reporting), and if you repeat a lie often enough then people start to believe it.
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
I'm pretty sure not everything in the universe is a right-wing conspiracy.
"Yup. That tasted purple."
V
Life is a Right-Wing Conspiracy!
Keep Rolling On
Pronounced YAK-you-luss
Not everything that a broad swathe of the population believes is the truth, either.
V
What is the Truth? What you think it is?
Truth is a slippery thing, always changing...
edited 20th Oct '12 12:35:56 PM by Greenmantle
Keep Rolling On
V
Various Items:
Lord Tebbit, who served in Margaret Thatcher's cabinet, said Mr Cameron needed to impose "some managerial discipline not just on his colleagues but on himself. Had Ed Miliband concentrated his fire on a long list of muddles, from the proposed sale of our national forests to the BAE and energy policy muddles of recent days, it would have been far worse," he added.
- ...and the biggest Political Supporters of Scottish independence in England? The Eurosceptic Right.
- ...and the biggest Political Supporters of Scottish independence in England? The Eurosceptic Right
- Winston Churchill modified Land Rover sold for £129,000: Winston Churchill's Private Land Rover*.
- Scouts want to curb use of nicknames: Because they encourage bullying.
edited 21st Oct '12 12:40:59 AM by Greenmantle
Keep Rolling On
V
Double Post.
- BBC Newsnight editor steps aside over Jimmy Savile claims
- David Cameron: We must make prisons work for offenders
- Manganese Bronze calls in administrators: The manufacturers of the London Cab are in Administration.
Tories going on about making prisons "tough, but fit for purpose" sometimes comes across as "tough, tougher and toughest (on the cheap)". 
I'm going to watch Panarama before I make any judgements about the whole Jimmy Saville Newsnight thing. And, do some more reading around it. I do smell herring, but I think it's more a case of accidentally left fish. 
After all, similar problems can be said to have dogged every media publisher and broadcaster during his... well... spree. Not to mention the police-, health- and social services. Making the Beeb a scapegoat isn't helping.
Sneering Imperialist
Panorama has been guilty of sensationalism in the past. Let's not take its findings at face value.
With cannon shot and gun blast smash the alien. With laser beam and searing plasma scatter the alien to the stars.
V
More Savile:
- Jimmy Savile: Editor of Newsnight Peter Rippon steps aside
- Mark Thompson's future at New York Times questioned after Savile scandal: It might even lead to former BBC DGs being sacked...
...and other News:
- Birmingham City Council loses equal pay appeal bid
- Dundonald teenagers 'beaten by carloads of men': It's Northern Ireland, by the way.
edited 24th Oct '12 4:08:47 AM by Greenmantle
Keep Rolling On
Oh, god. I read about this.
Combined with the fact that effective Council budget cuts means that the City is trapped in catch-22; too much money to really work with, too little money to effectively cut things.
... And we had such good theatres.
Wait, the Supreme Court actually has power now?
edited 24th Oct '12 4:14:42 AM by Inhopelessguy
V
^
You've still got Symphony Hall, right?
Anyhow, another thought about Saville: won't some of the people they need to speak to be dead, or in Nursing Homes?
EDIT: There's just been a question in Prime Ministers Questions which covers something I have heard before — rumours of a Paedophile Ring in the Upper Levels of Government.
edited 24th Oct '12 4:32:39 AM by Greenmantle
Keep Rolling On
The reason why they need to go ahead is that quite a few probably are not too weak to face the music. Or too dead. Where you get a sexual predator, you find a ring. The remaining members of that ring will have other links to other rings. It's worth chasing up and closing them down.
The plus-side is... as it's been so long... the rings won't be able to get rid of all the evidence there is out there, as they won't know how much actually is incriminating them.
Well the Deputy Speaker is also a politician so clearly he's incomptent, out of touch scum
.
Now, truthfully, it's probably impractical to worry about every noise but also it's going to wind up different members and the deputy speaker maybe didn't employ a wide and general perspective and just went "Eh, I can hear fine".