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
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To demand that the Home Office have no part in it.
It's still making a demand of the government.
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Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
But they are not demanding it of the United Kingdom, they are demanding that the side in the negotiations that represents them demands it.
Of course, if they do that is the decision of the EU Negotiators.
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It's more like long term tenants are getting pissed off because the landlord is tearing up their lease agreement for toilet paper.
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Well, that certainly makes more sense than making demands to the Brits in this case.
Kezia Dugdale MSP has stepped down from leadership of the Scottish Labour Party [1].
I have worked with many great people, not least the staff in our HQ led by Brian Roy and those in the Scottish Parliament, whose boundless energy, expertise and good humour has guided our party through some dark hours and difficult times.
I'd like to thank my shadow cabinet for their efforts, and in particular Iain Gray for his unflinching love and support and to James Kelly for the thankless but crucial job he does so well as our Business Manager.
Earlier this year I lost a dear friend who taught me a lot about how to live. His terminal illness forced him to identify what he really wanted from life, how to make the most of it and how to make a difference. He taught me how precious and short life was and never to waste a moment.
Being leader has always been a difficult but fulfilling challenge. One that until now I have enjoyed, driven by a clear guiding purpose and goals, many of which I have achieved.
I am proud of the fact that I've demonstrated how the parliament's powers can be used to stop austerity with progressive taxes and the creation of new benefits. Proud to have advanced the call for federalism across the UK. Proud to have delivered real autonomy for the Scottish Labour Party and a guaranteed voice for Scotland and Wales on the NEC.
Educational inequality is the number one issue in Scottish politics after the constitution because Scottish Labour under my leadership put it there.
I am proud to have delivered 50/50 slates of amazing and diverse candidates in both the Scottish and U.K. Elections and equally proud to have invested in the next generation of Labour activists and parliamentarians with leadership programmes.
These have already furnished us with two of our magnificent seven MPs. With that re-established Scottish Labour group at Westminster, and a talented and effective group in Holyrood, Scottish Labour has a bright future.
A marker of success for me was to leave as leader with the party in better shape than I found it and I have done that.
Emerging from the challenging times following the 2014 referendum, and the 2015 UK election, we now have a solid platform on which to build towards success, and government.
I have given the task of achieving this all that I have. But with nearly four years now until the next Scottish Parliament elections, I am convinced that the party needs a new leader with fresh energy, drive and a new mandate to take the party into that contest.
I will continue as a Labour MSP for the Lothian Region and I am already looking forward to spending more time with constituents and on constituency issues.
Too often our leaders leave in a crisis, with scores to settle. I love this party too much for that to be my way. There will be no press conference and no off the record briefing in my name. I choose to stand down because I believe it is best for me and best for Scottish Labour, at a time when we can be positive and optimistic about our future.
I remain in awe of all those party activists who devote their time to this movement without pay or reward. I thank them for their belief in me.
edited 30th Aug '17 10:05:05 AM by TommyR01D
So...third round of Brexit negotiations...and it doesn't look good. At all.
Though if I disengage myself from the real live consequences, some aspects of it were funny...I loved Barnier throwing the "Brexit means Brexit" line back in the face of the UK negotiators, who apparently still haven't understood that being part of the single market is a package deal with being a member of either EU or Efta.
It was also a little bit amusing that the guardian observed how surprised the reporters were about the antagonistic vibe between the negotiators. Really? They are actually surprised that after the UK systematically antagonizing the EU for months the EU is actually antagonized in the end? What a shocker.....
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It's like they're surprised that stuff that happens in the UK is noticed and reported on everywhere else.
Not Three Laws compliant.
edited 7th Apr '18 11:38:38 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.
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Good crossword, though.
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Oh, bother.
Britain’s cake-and-eat-it Brexit routine wears thin with Barnier
Headline says it all, really.
The former French cabinet minister said he saw “a sort of nostalgia” in the UK’s position papers: “Specific requests that would amount to continuing to enjoy the benefits of the single market and EU membership, without actually being part of it.”
No cakes on the table, indeed. Only salt and vinegar.
Disgusted, but not surprised
In the news this morning, Heseltine described the situation as 'humiliating' (for the British government). The BBC asked someone else (can't remember who) what they thought of Heseltine's assessment, and the fellow said that he thought Heseltine was overdoing it a bit to claim it was humiliating.
edited 7th Apr '18 11:39:20 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.
To be fair to the Daily Express reporter, he probably only went to that press briefing because he assumed that the EU spokesperson was going to announce that it was actually they who were responsible for the death of Diana.
So now Fox accuses the EU of Blackmail. No surprise there.
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
Its like telling the cliff you're about to fall off that gravity is blackmail
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Uh, guys? We're not the ones with the bigger stick... -_-
Egads, I can't stand this pervasive delusion that we're somehow more of a giant than the EU is.
Oh, bother.
Fitting analogy, given that exiting the EU with negotiations incomplete is called the "cliff edge" scenario.
So they started negotiating months late, had no clear idea on what they even wanted out of them, spend more time sniping at the other side of the table instead of actually compromising and negotiating...
SMH
Disgusted, but not surprised
Pretty much, yeah. They also didn't listen. The EU was pretty clear what Brexit would mean, even before article 50 was officially triggered. And it was very clear that trade deals wouldn't be a topic until the basics (Citizenship, Ireland and financial obligations) are cleared up. Now we seem to be in a never-ending loop of the UK turning up with suggestions the EU can't accept without destroying the single market, then being surprised that the EU says no, then starting to negotiate among themselves just to go back with another suggestion which is pretty much impossible.
edited 1st Sep '17 1:29:47 AM by Swanpride
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
The main issue, at this point, seems to be that the UK seems unwilling to consider that the EU is unwilling to do anything until certain points are decided.
They want to talk trade, the EU wants to deal with the Irish Border
They want to talk business, the EU wants decisions on citizens in each other's territory and their rights
When the UK demands 'flexibility' in the talks its the same song and dance we're having since fucking March, namely them trying to defer topics the EU considers of core interest for topics they need to score points at home with.
What they don't get, I think, is that every time they do that, every time they burn the bridge a bit more, is chipping away at the chance of even getting a stay on the March 2019 deadline
In short: They act as if the EU was a paper cartboard cutout to set their little theatre play to and then act incensed when the EU has its own ideas
edited 1st Sep '17 1:34:18 AM by 3of4
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Pretty much, yeah. They also don't seem to get their own position in this whole mess. They are like the hostage taker who shot the hostage and is now surprised that the police is moving in. Or the spouse who decided to leave his family because he wants to "find himself" and "be free from your demands" and is now surprised that nobody is cooking for him anymore.
Oh, bother.
A spouse who ditches the family and expects them to deliver food to him.
Cake, to be exact.
Disgusted, but not surprised
Two cakes, so that he can eat one and keep the other one.
In an attempt to lighten the mood from the Brexic farce, here is some good news from a couple of days ago: Sky stops broadcasting Fox News in UK
21st Century Fox, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, said the channel was being withdrawn as it was not commercially viable.
The decision was not related to Fox's takeover bid for Sky, a source told the BBC.
Culture secretary Karen Bradley has previously said she may refer the bid to competition regulators.
"[Fox] has decided to cease providing a feed of Fox News Channel in the UK," a company spokeswoman said.
"Fox News is focused on the US market and designed for a US audience and, accordingly, it averages only a few thousand viewers across the day in the UK.
"We have concluded that it is not in our commercial interest to continue providing Fox News in the UK," she added.
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With the EU, it's not even really "the UK" at this point, it's the Cabinet, because they're refusing to let any other party or by the sounds of it the civil service get involved. Without even having a majority.
It's been a farce since the election.
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If I read the abstracts of the article correct they have contacted the EU side of the Negotiation?
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