This thread exists to discuss British politics.
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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
Happy Ed Balls Day, from Ed Balls
@Ko BB That link is a good example of a misleading headline. The article's take-home message is that Obama appears to have had little impact on polls and voting intention and, as usual, online polls put Out marginally ahead while telephone polls put In ahead by wider margins.
Neither piece of information will be particularly surprising although the quote of the German foreign minister indicates someone who is take the most sensible path possible - if European politicians say anything at all the Brexit supporters (including the mainstream news) will use it to their advantage.
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.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
The poem was the best part.![[lol]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lol2v12_4863.png "[lol]"){kind=small}
(Avatar by Coffee)
Unsurprising, to say the least.
A procrastination in of itself
Well there goes any credibility that the story might have had.
"And the Bunny nails it!" ~ Gabrael "If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we." ~ Cyran
V
* Sigh *
Does any British/Scottish/Welsh newspaper have any credibility here?
edited 29th Apr '16 10:13:31 AM by Greenmantle
Keep Rolling On
A procrastination in of itself
I'll trust the broadsheets, not much when it comes to Corbyn (that's what happens when I see even the left wing papers make up quotes) but enough that my response is going to be "I wonder what spin they're putting on this" instead of "I can't trust a word".
"And the Bunny nails it!" ~ Gabrael "If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we." ~ Cyran
Indy tends to be good so long as you're prepared to verify.
And the red tops can just fuck off.
"Yup. That tasted purple."
Field Marshal of Cracked
Guardian ain't too bad, though it has been flip flopping on Europe and seems surprisingly hostile to Corbyn
advancing the front into TV Tropes
Pronounced YAK-you-luss
In particular, don't trust the Mail on matters of anti-Semitism. It's not just their little flirtation with Mr. Mosley eighty years ago - more recently, their coverage of Ed Miliband, a secular Jew, was ever-so-slightly... flavoured.
What's precedent ever done for us?
(Avatar by Coffee)
Apparently Farage uses the whole anti-Israel/anti-Semitism thing to attack Corbyn. I'm ashamed that this guy puts himself up as a supporter of Israel. With friends like these...
Interpal has cropped up a lot over the years. The US blacklisted it for indirectly funding terrorism (Hamas) in 2003, but refuses to elaborate on any evidence it might have to do so. Since 1996, the Charity Commission has investigated and cleared Interpal three times, in part because the the US refuses to provide evidence of any links.
What is known is that the US blacklisted Interpal after lobbying by the Israeli government. Back in 2013 or 2014, a group of 38 MPs petitioned the US to ease up on Interpal, but the US refused.
I don't know who those 38 MPs were; it would be in character for Corbyn to have been one of them. However, given the history of the accusations against Interpal, and the fact the UK Charity Commission keeps clearing them of terrorism links or non-compliance with any orders they're given about their activities, I don't think any MPs of any party could be accused of supporting terrorism just because they've worked with Interpal — at the moment, the UK justice system regards Interpal as innocent on the grounds that no evidence has ever been provided to confirm the accusations.
edited 29th Apr '16 11:51:20 AM by Wyldchyld
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.
after lobbying by the Israeli government.
That suggests to me that their crime is "The Israeli government doesn't like them".
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
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Jeremy Corbyn sets up inquiry into Labour antisemitism claims
In a defiant interview, Corbyn told the Guardian the crisis that led to the suspension of his long-time friend and ally Ken Livingstone would not blow his leadership off course. The Labour leader also insisted he would not be held to “arbitrary” measures of success in Thursday’s polls.
Corbyn said the review would be led by Shami Chakrabarti, the former head of the rights group Liberty, and that he was determined to root out antisemitism and racism in every form.
Chakrabarti will talk to the Jewish community and members of other groups, and report back to the party within two months about how it can best tackle antisemitism and other forms of discrimination, including Islamophobia.
Labour sources said she would be asked to recommend guidance on the boundaries of acceptable behaviour and language; and, “action to ensure Labour is a welcoming environment for members of all communities”, including training for new councillors and M Ps.
Chakrabarti’s deputy chair will be Prof David Feldman, director of the Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism. A separate investigation into antisemitism at the Oxford University Labour club, led by Lady Royall, will feed into the new, wider inquiry.
Labour will also immediately draw up new rules, banning antisemitic behaviour and other forms of discrimination, which will be submitted to its national executive committee in the coming weeks. The code will be aimed at making it easier to discipline members, rather than relying on the charge brought against Livingstone, of “bringing the party into disrepute”.
Corbyn made clear he regards himself as representing the same anti-austerity, anti-politics forces that led to the rise of Bernie Sanders, the leftwing challenger to Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries in the US; and populist parties across Europe, including Syriza in Greece, and Podemos in Spain.
He talked about some of these issues with Barack Obama when the pair met in London last weekend. “Most of it was a discussion about global corporate power as opposed to political power, and the disengagement of a lot of people from the political system, because they felt disempowered,” he said. “He was very relaxed, very friendly, and he wanted to engage with us, so it went on much longer than it should have done.”
Some M Ps are concerned that his radical stance of facing down corporations and taking on Tory cuts will have little resonance in areas where Labour is facing a tough electoral challenge from Ukip; but asked if the party should tailor its message for different audiences, Corbyn said: “No: you’ve got to give fundamentally the same message, of the injustice of economic austerity, and the way in which local government is being punished”. In every constituency, he would “make the point that austerity is not necessary”.
The Labour leader also made clear that he wants to tighten the grip of grassroots members over the party’s decision-making: “The Labour party should be run by its members and supporters.”
He said: “There used to be a pub called the Pillbox pub where, in 1970, we founded the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy.” The Bennite CLPD has spent 40 years arguing for changes to be made to the party’s constitution, and Corbyn made clear he wanted to use his position to pursue some of its longstanding aims. “There is an issue about democracy in the party.”
Nigel's being a stuck record again.
Field Marshal of Cracked
that is just pissing me off, the Yanks didn't blacklist Noraid, yet they were willing to blacklist a charity because Israel threw a hissy fit
He's been interviewed before about why he spends so little time at Westminster. He's given a two-fold answer regarding that: he wants to stay connected to people and what they think, and he also hates paperwork - the longer he stays at Westminster, the more paperwork he gets stuck with, so he likes to escape the place to avoid it. The last point was mentioned with humour, but I get the impression that his more serious point is that Westminster bureaucracy gets in the way of what he feels an MP's job is supposed to be, which is representing people, and the only way to know what people want is to get out there and talk to them.
edited 30th Apr '16 11:53:45 AM by Wyldchyld
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.
V
Israeli Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog writes to Jeremy Corbyn about 'sickening' anti-Semitism row
Isaac Herzog, whose party is in the same international federation of socialist parties as Labour, invited Mr Corbyn to visit Israel’s holocaust museum to help Labour “better understand the scourge of anti-Semitism”.
Labour has been rocked over the last week by the suspension of MP Naz Shah, and then Ken Livingstone, a Labour national executive committee member and former MP.
“By doing this, perhaps we can ensure that the anti-Semitism expressed in recent days is not the example to set to [sic] British young generation, but rather one of tolerance and acceptance of all people, regardless of faith.”
Mr Herzog added: “As someone whose father served in the British army and risked his life fighting against Hitler and the Nazis, the views expressed by Ken Livingstone, the former Mayor of London and member of Labour’s national executive, in which he claimed that Hitler 'was supporting Zionism before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews' were particularly horrific, and unthinkable for a British politician and the 21st century.”
Such a visit would likely be a test for Mr Corbyn, who has long been a vocal critic of Israel’s policies towards Palestinians.
Over the last week Mr Herzog himself has been subject to criticism after he was filmed telling activists “we need to stop giving the impression that we are ‘Arab-lovers’”.
In February Mr Herzog distanced himself from Mr Corbyn, describing him as “naïve” and said he did not understand the reality of the Middle East.
In September Michal Biran, an MP from the party, told a fringe event at party conference that Mr Corbyn’s election would be a “disaster” for Israel.
Field Marshal of Cracked
so why isn't he writing to the Tory's about their horrible racism problem in Boris Johnson? that man has said 10x worse than Ken or what's-her-face ever did (and Ken's real problem is his mouth lacks a filter) but gets away with it every time
advancing the front into TV Tropes
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Because he's from the Israeli Labour party, of which our Labour is part of the same international group. The Conservatives are a different party, of which Hertzog wasn't asked about.
Field Marshal of Cracked
huh, didn't know there was of those, thought it was just a party with the same name, but they do fall into the old rhetoric of "all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic because we say so", and the actions of those two members of Labour were stupid, and in no way anti-Semitic
advancing the front into TV Tropes
Pronounced YAK-you-luss
While some Labour folks have said some remarkably dumb things in the past couple of days, I'm starting to wonder if 'Labour's anti-Semitism problem' might be a bit of a dog-whistle.
What's precedent ever done for us?
V
You didn't know Socialist International existed? I expected you to be better informed than that...
Field Marshal of Cracked
- shrug* never seen it brought up before, never been mentioned on anything I've watched or read
it is, the Tory's will try and discredit Labour by using whatever underhanded tactics and smears they can, remember how it used to be accusations of them being terrorist sympathisers?
plus the Standard was infamous hostile to Ken, it would have run a several page smear piece if he put something in the wrong recycling bin
advancing the front into TV Tropes