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 Jun 7th 2024 at 4:50:10 PM
I sort of feel like the argument that America would never integrate itself into a federated superstate like the European Union is slightly misleading because the USA is a federated superstate. It's much more homogenous than the EU, but it is somewhat comparable, and Obama has been given plenty of reason to be leery of state sovereignty being used as a banner for xenophobia.
edited 22nd Apr '16 11:45:54 AM by Iaculus
What's precedent ever done for us?Especially because the US has a common history (capital H optional). Well, kind of. Europe, however, doesn't even have a common story.
edited 22nd Apr '16 3:17:30 PM by Quag15
Post-Brexit UK-U.S. trade deal could take a decade, Obama tells BBC
"It could be five years from now, 10 years from now before we're actually able to get something done," Obama told the British broadcaster in an excerpt posted online.
Obama, who is in the last nine months of his presidential term, has spent the last three days in London urging Britons to remain part of the EU as a divided British public prepares to vote on whether to remain a member of the 28-country bloc.
He told the BBC that Britain would not get preferential treatment over the EU when it came to negotiating a new trade deal.
"The UK would not be able negotiate something with the United States faster than the EU," Obama said. "We wouldn't abandon our efforts to negotiate a trade deal with our largest trading partner, the European market."
Obama's visit and decision to intervene in the EU debate has angered the Eurosceptic "Out" campaign, which has repeatedly argued that Britain could easily negotiate deals and get better terms outside the EU.
Brilliant article, absolutely love it.
And that’s where Boris Johnson’s tirade against President Obama is so wonderfully clarifying. It tells us who the anti-EU wing of the Conservatives really are; it tells us not just that they are pretty close to UKIP, but that intellectually and emotionally they live in the same fever swamps as the American right. And they would, all too probably, take on a strong, even dominant role in British politics post-Brexit."
This is very true.
Although one of the comments may help when it comes to Boris:
Johnson's British parents were living in New York City when he was born, making him an American citizen in addition to his UK citizenship. His parents left the the US when he was 5 yrs old, and his not lived in the US since.
When Mr. Johnson sold a house in London in 2014 for £730,000 profit, a gain that is not taxable under UK law, the US IRS send him a massive capital gains tax bill, of reportedly £ 100, 000. The argument was that US tax law supersedes UK law, in the UK, and that Mr. Johnson had never renounced his US citizenship
Mr. Johnson, facing the possibility to be arrested when visiting the US, paid up.
However, this experience has left him with a sour taste about the US, that might explain his lecturing of President Obama.
Mr. Johnson has a good chance to become PM on of these days.
Was it wise for the IRS to hound someone who hasn't lived in the US since the age of 5 and made a non taxable transaction under the law of his country ?
So Nigel's rebuttal is "Who cares what Obama wants?"
My question is this: Who cares what you want?
"Yup. That tasted purple."Nothing about "superseding"; it's that FATCA
does treat that as an American transaction.
He's a US citizen, if he doesn't want to be bound by US law then it's up to him to renounce his citizenship. All US citizens have to pay tax on money they make, even if they make it outside the US.
As for Farage bring up Bush and Iraq, funny, I don't remember him protesting Iraq when it happened.
edited 24th Apr '16 6:56:49 AM by Silasw
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
And Patrick Stewart has updated the applicable Monty Python sketch:
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/video/2016/apr/25/patrick-stewart-sketch-what-has-the-echr-ever-done-for-us-video
What has BHS ever done for us?
Once a mainstay of the British high street, BHS has been in decline for years, unable to keep up with demand for fast fashion, online sales and improved customer services.
BHS employs about 8,000 people, while a further 3,000 contractors work with the company's 164 stores. Going into administration, a form of creditor protection, means it is Britain's most high-profile retail casualty since Phones4U in 2014 and Woolworths in 2008.
It could also increase scrutiny of BHS's former owner Philip Green, the billionaire retail boss who sold the firm for one pound last year to a collection of little known investors. He bought it for 200 million pounds in 2000.
Can Boris Johnson ever get on a train again?
- Boris Johnson ‘no platformed’ by King’s College London students over Barack Obama comments
- Betting odds move sharply towards Britain staying in EU after Obama warning
Doctor Revolution?
Junior doctors' leaders 'trying to topple the government'
edited 25th Apr '16 11:34:09 AM by Greenmantle
Keep Rolling OnWon't bother linking to the ECHR sketch as someone else has already done it. Some interesting things going on in Wales though.
Someone has gone around Cardiff taking down Plaid Cymru election placards
(this is a big story in Wales because it happened in 2011 and turned out to be a Labour MP who was doing it).
What the latest polling shows about the battle for the National Assembly with 10 days to go
(If you're wondering why UKIP are projected to go from 0 to 7 list seats it's because (in general) Lib Dem voters have switched to UKIP; some are creeping back to the Lib Dems, but most aren't).
Voting form misprint places Green Party at a disadvantage in election, say leaders
Voters say Plaid leader's doing well, PM very badly
Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood most popular leader in Wales, says poll

admittedly the majority of us can't... unless it said you should vote for other party's that are only fielding candidates in certain regions
advancing the front into TV Tropes