UK Politics Mega-thread - Page 5

On July 11 2013 04:04 Zaros wrote:

Noisiest PMQs i've ever heard, a good bit of theatre but probably a bit too much this time.

On July 11 2013 06:12 Pandemona wrote:


Of course but how do you suppose to survive on your own ;_;
Yes you want go in a different way but how are you going to afford to do that...

On July 11 2013 07:48 LiberumScotiam wrote:


I always find this question quite bamboozling. Independently we would be one of the richest nations on earth. We have vast amounts of north-sea oil. We occupy the greatest areas on earth for both wind farms and tidal power. The latter is something we are investing in heavily to the point where are already at the stage where we can power 20% of the countries homes by tidal power alone. Whether we remain part of the EU is yet to be seen but if not we would save a pretty penny each day not forking out millions for membership. Scotland is a very technologically advanced country and is investing heavily in research and engineering. Our overall budget is crippled by Westminster yet we still manage to give our young students free University level education. I could go on.

Bottom line is that we would have absolutely no problem what so ever supporting ourselves.

On July 11 2013 07:48 LiberumScotiam wrote:


I always find this question quite bamboozling. Independently we would be one of the richest nations on earth. We have vast amounts of north-sea oil. We occupy the greatest areas on earth for both wind farms and tidal power. The latter is something we are investing in heavily to the point where are already at the stage where we can power 20% of the countries homes by tidal power alone. Whether we remain part of the EU is yet to be seen but if not we would save a pretty penny each day not forking out millions for membership. Scotland is a very technologically advanced country and is investing heavily in research and engineering. Our overall budget is crippled by Westminster yet we still manage to give our young students free University level education. I could go on.

Bottom line is that we would have absolutely no problem what so ever supporting ourselves.

On July 11 2013 16:07 sc4k wrote:


So much propaganda in your post. Quite sad if you are over 18 that you genuinely believe this.

On July 11 2013 19:26 LiberumScotiam wrote:


It's not propaganda it's fact. Go do some research.

On July 11 2013 09:35 KwarK wrote:
I don't believe the BBC has any political leanings although that could just be that it generally agrees with me. I'm reasonably centrist by British standards.

The government's gay marriage Bill is expected to become law by the end of this week, after the legislation cleared the House of Lords on Monday afternoon.

Peers gave the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill its third reading without a formal vote after approving an amendment that would see ministers examine the pension arrangements for gay couples.

The legislation will now return to the Commons on Tuesday evening where it is expected to be rubber stamped by MPs and sent to the Queen for Royal Assent by Thursday at the latest.

The government expects the first gay weddings to be able to take place in Summer 2014 following the completion of implementation work.

Speaking to a jubilant pro-gay marriage rally opposite parliament, Nick Clegg thanked campaigners for "keeping politicians feet to the fire" to ensure the Bill was not derailed by opponents.

"Once what was felt, or considered, to be a radical will soon be the law of the land," he said. "People will look back on it and think, 'what on Earth was the fuss all about'."

David Cameron has been accused of lying to the people of Britain by an angry woman at a celebration in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

The Prime Minister was surrounded by excited volunteers from the London 2012 Olympic Games, and was accompanied by London Mayor Boris Johnson and Lord Coe, when Hilary Kerr unexpectedly began shouting at him about the NHS.

She said: "Mr Cameron, why did you say the NHS would be safe in your hands?

"You're privatising it."

The Prime Minister, who was right next to Ms Kerr, said: "Well, it is safe. We are saving the NHS. We're putting more money into it."

Ms Kerr shouted back: "Why do you lie to the British people?"

As the dense crowd around Mr Cameron looked on, one man shouted in support of him, saying: "We're with you!"

Grateful for the support, the Prime Minister said: "Thank you very much. It's not about politics today. It's about the Olympics. It's about volunteering."

It is not known whether Ms Kerr was a London 2012 volunteer.

On July 11 2013 07:48 LiberumScotiam wrote:


I always find this question quite bamboozling. Independently we would be one of the richest nations on earth. We have vast amounts of north-sea oil. We occupy the greatest areas on earth for both wind farms and tidal power. The latter is something we are investing in heavily to the point where are already at the stage where we can power 20% of the countries homes by tidal power alone. Whether we remain part of the EU is yet to be seen but if not we would save a pretty penny each day not forking out millions for membership. Scotland is a very technologically advanced country and is investing heavily in research and engineering. Our overall budget is crippled by Westminster yet we still manage to give our young students free University level education. I could go on.

Bottom line is that we would have absolutely no problem what so ever supporting ourselves.

Draft guidance for the website NHS Choices warning that there is no evidence that homeopathy works was suppressed by officials following lobbying by a charity set up by the Prince of Wales.

Homeopathy, which involves the use of remedies so heavily diluted with water that they no longer contain any active substance, is "rubbish", said chief medical officer Sally Davies in January to the House of Commons science and technology committee. She added that she was "perpetually surprised" that homeopathy was available in some places on the NHS.

But the government's NHS Choices website, which is intended to offer evidence-based information and advice to the public on treatments, does not reflect her view. A draft page that spelled out the scientific implausibility of homeopathic remedies was neutered by Department of Health officials. It is now uncritical, with just links to reports on the lack of evidence.

Lobbying by opponents, and the response from DH officials who did not want to take on Prince Charles's now defunct Foundation for Integrated Medicine and other supporters of homeopathy, is revealed in correspondence from the department discussing the new guidance. It was released under the Freedom of Information Act to Prof David Colquhoun of University College London, a Fellow of the Royal Society and prominent science blogger.

There is no evidence that Prince Charles was involved personally in the lobbying.

By the end of next year, all 19million UK homes currently connected to the net will be contacted by service providers and told they must say whether family-friendly filters that block all porn sites should be switched on or off.

From the end of this year, all new customers setting up a broadband account or switching provider will have the filters automatically switched on unless they opt to disable them to allow sites with ‘adult content’.

‘The Daily Mail has campaigned hard to make internet search engine filters “default on”. Today they can declare that campaign a success,’ Mr Cameron said.

‘We are taking action to help clean up the internet and protect a generation of children from often extreme online pornography.’

I'd say the BBC is somewhat (not massively) to the left of our country's 'mainstream' opinion.