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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
I sincerely doubt that the timing of the announcement that the Duchess of Sussex is expecting a child had anything to do with Brexit. If there was some thought put to the timing, it would have been delayed till now so as not to overshadow Princess Eugenie's wedding.
The royal family are not political actors in the main. Sadly however that just means that this allows other people to project their own opinions into their actions.
On the other hand, according to the ERG there are no Brexit disagreements, just Brexit theatre. They have briefed their members that the breakdown of talks is a sham so as to spook the markets, threaten a no deal and then be used to strong-arm Tories back to Chequers.
This is the level of paranoia we are dealing with here. No one can negotiate with the ERG when they believe every statement to be a political plot against them personally.
Edited by singularityshot on Oct 15th 2018 at 7:52:12 PM
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
You know, given how some Tories still go 'Technical Solutions!' for the Irish Border...maybe someone ought to see who *produces* these 'solutions' and who they are friends with...
"You can reply to this Message!"
And then you get articles like this...
The puzzle of the people least likely to vote Tory (BBC)
He told me: "When we looked at all the different variables that determine how people vote - policies, issues, leaders, party brands, all the rest of it - we found that the single strongest driver of not voting Conservative was not being white."
More recent events such as the Windrush Scandal - when some migrants from Commonwealth countries were wrongly categorised as illegal immigrants - and Boris Johnson's comments comparing Muslim women wearing Burkas to letter boxes, make this issue of perception an ongoing challenge.
"In 1987 there were no constituencies in the UK with 30% or more ethnic minority populations, but it has been estimated that by 2022, the next election… there could be as many as 120."
If the party cannot increase its appeal, the consequences could be felt for years to come.
Otherwise, in the words of Lord Cooper, a point may come when "there are not enough old white people in the country for there to be a Conservative government any more"
AstraZeneca will keep UK investment freeze if no Brexit clarity (Reuters)
“A Brexit agreement will need to ensure that Britain does not become an isolated island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean,” he added.
A spokesman for AstraZeneca said Johansson was referring to a freeze on investments in manufacturing announced in 2017.
Edited by Wyldchyld on Oct 15th 2018 at 8:54:47 PM
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.
If Harry and Meghan announced their child just to distract from Brexit, then that'd be really weird.
And horrible, of course.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
The odds of that are flipping slim.
We're looking at a very likely honeymoon baby. They happen. It's a tradition older than mince pies.
Figure of Hourai
I mean you have to announce it at some point. It'd be noticed.
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If they wanted to distract they would have waited till Wednesday. That's when they really need something distracting.
There had already been speculation due to the heavy coat Megan wore to the wedding the other day, and on their current trip they are going to be going to some places that the Foreign Office has advised pregnant women don't go to so this was probably the best time to release the information.
Bercow is in trouble again. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45874284]
<plays a microscopic violin for him>
He needs to go. He needed gone even before this latest cherry on the top of the bullying sundae came up.
Mr Speaker gives advance notice of his retirement. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45880134]
Of course this is a long way off, especially when one considers that, according to the statement he made upon his original election, he should already be gone by now.
I don't know... I agree he needed to go in the sense that no one should be in a position of absolute authority for that length of time, and certainly the bullying allegations really need a fresh leader so as to ensure that the culture of the Commons is brought into the 21st century. I just do have some sympathy with his argument that Brexit was no time for a new speaker to take the reins. Given that he does have a history of getting under the skin of the Tory government it seemed like he was the perfect foil for a government whom initially thought that the best way to handle Brexit was to try and bypass Parliament altogether; both now and into the future with the proposed "Henry VIII" powers.
But enough of that. Who do you think should be his replacement? Going to be tricky what with all the factionalism going on - it's probably going to be the case that whichever candidate can appeal to Labour the best will get the nod given how split the Tory party is at the moment. Face it, no one from the ERG is going to accept a remainer, and likewise should the ERG supply a candidate it really will be the situation where the lunatics have taken over the asylum. It'll have to be someone who has kept their cards close to their chest whilst not actually having any political ambition since Speaker is pretty much a career killer in terms of climbing the greasy pole to executive power. I'm honestly stumped on this one...
So, the Heute Show had a segment on Brexit and has now decided to reupload it with English subtitles...in case someone is interested in the German perspective…
Figure of Hourai
So it's a satire show?
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Basically our equivalent to the Daily Show.
Figure of Hourai
I don't know what that is, either. ![[lol]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lol2v12_4863.png "[lol]"){kind=small}
Yes. It is basically the news in a fun format for those who think the Tagesschau is too boring. Most of the time they call out politicians on their BS.
An interesting New York Times op-ed about Brexit and the Irish border:
I Didn't Hate The English - Until Now
One line in particular killed me:
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
English MP thinks he's entitled to a Irish Passport after Brexit
Oh, bother.
...This does not surprise me. It should...but it does not.
Tories... and an unfortunate percentage of the population who never got taught any of our combined History in school at all.
Most of the Irish-related messes we've caused comes up only at A-level... if that. And, the bulk of the population doesn't do A-level History.
Edited by Euodiachloris on Oct 18th 2018 at 2:39:17 PM
My A-level history had basically no Ireland in it aside from a few lessons on the Troubles and how they related to British politics, since I suppose they couldn't really ignore two Prime Ministers nearly getting exploded.
In the meantime John Mc Donnell is promising a permanent budget surplus over a five-year rolling average, which is basically impossible, so he doesn't "lose the confidence of" the City of London. I was unaware he'd suddenly been possessed by the ghost of Ramsay Macdonald and decided to carry on with austerity.
Edited by DeathorCake on Oct 18th 2018 at 2:41:29 PM
Dinosaur Supervisor
As they say "The English never remember and the Irish never forget".
Figure of Hourai
If it was just thinking that he's entitled to a passport, then there might be some basis in fact to claim such. But thinking that the whole of England (or, probably, the rest of the UK) is? That's impressively unaware.
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You're right to point out my comment is inaccurate. I should have said privatisation started under Thatcher.
The restructuring and sell-offs that kicked off the process of privatisation began in the 1980s in roughly this order:
So, under Thatcher: Firstly, the railway's hotel and catering services were privatised. Then control and ownership of the shipping and ferrying services between Ireland and the Continent were privatised. Then BR rolling stock was sold off to Foster Yeoman, although it continued to be run by BR on behalf of the private owners. Then talks with private companies began to fully break up BR for privatisation (I know for a fact this was in 1986, and everything I've already mentioned occurred in the years prior). Then the first privatisation occurred when BR's only steam-powered line in the entire country, the Rheilffordd Cwm Rheidol (Vale of Rheidol Railway), was sold off (I also know this date — 1988).
Thatcher was kicked out of power by her own party in 1990 and replaced by John Major. Somewhere just before Thatcher was kicked out, Sweden split its railway into two parts, administrative control of the tracks and then train operations. Just after Thatcher was kicked out, the EU brought in a regulation based on the Swedish model for all EU member states. In the 1992 General Election, Major promised full privatisation of the railway, but didn't give details on how. When he unexpectedly won the election, the government came up with a privatisation plan very quickly and enacted the law in 1993 — but it wasn't based on the Swedish model, it was based on a plan cooked up by the Adam Smith Institute (a Tory think-tank that is still active today). The full privatisation then occurred between 1994-1997.
Labour's promise in the 1997 general election was to re-nationalise the railway, but only when circumstances allowed. Labour won the election, but Blair didn't pursue re-nationalisation. It was only put back on the Labour Party's agenda after Corbyn became party leader in 2015. Whether or not Labour would uphold that promise if they came into government is unknown.
Regarding Thatcher's era, I believe the privatisation of the railways was actually pushed by Cecil Parkinson (her transport minister) rather than Thatcher.
Huh. I actually did type 'state funeral'. My brain was telling my fingers 'ceremonial', honest. Never mind. Not the first time my fingers have disobeyed my brain.
Edited by Wyldchyld on Oct 15th 2018 at 6:50:59 PM
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.