UK Politics Mega-thread - Page 76

On November 26 2015 14:39 corumjhaelen wrote:
I don't get it, sounds like standard political rhetoric.

On November 26 2015 11:41 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
So how bad is this for Labour?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2KsuENx8rI

Whichever party emerges as the victor in this week’s Oldham by-election, we know that the top two places will be occupied by Labour, the current incumbent, and Ukip.

That’s quite a remarkable observation when you consider that Nigel Farage’s party is barely 20 years old. The role of anti-establishment party in British by-elections is traditionally given to the Lib Dems and their predecessors, the Liberal Party, with its campaigning tradition stretching back not decades, but centuries.

But Ukip is the new insurgent.

Whether it can snatch the late Michael Meacher’s seat from Labour or not, Ukip has already transformed party politics in the 21st century. It holds the largest number of seats of any UK party in the European Parliament, has 500 council seats and, while taking a meagre single seat in this year’s general election, chalked up nearly four million votes, knocking the Lib Dems into a humiliating fourth place in share of the vote.

But is Nigel Farage’s claim this week – that Ukip is about to do to Labour what the SNP has already done to it in Scotland – mere boasting? Or are there genuine grounds for Labour to start preparing to cede more of those green benches to the purple people?

The army and emergency services were deployed in towns and cities across the north of England on Sunday to lead recovery efforts as devastating floods continued to bring chaos to thousands of homes and businesses.

Three major cities were hit, alongside scores of towns and villages, forcing the evacuation of thousands in what David Cameron described as an unprecedented situation.

Three hundred troops were already on the ground in the worst-hit areas on Sunday with a further 200 on the way. In York, 3,500 homes were at risk near the rivers Ouse and Foss with hundreds of people being taken to safety, as water levels in the city continued to rise.

The Environment Agency said it was forced to lift a flood barrier allowing water to flow into the Ouse and flood part of the city, after a pumping station was “overwhelmed by water”. The decision led to the flooding of large swaths of the historic city.

In Leeds, main roads in the city centre remained underwater in what the local MP Hilary Benn said were the worst floods the city had seen. In Greater Manchester, 7,000 homes were still without power after rivers burst their banks.

Speaking after chairing an emergency conference, the prime minister promised everything would be done to help those worst hit.

David Cameron has been urged to "come clean" over the role the UK Government played in voting Saudi Arabia on to the UN Human Rights Council in an alleged secret deal.

The Saudi Government executed 47 people on Saturday causing outrage across the Middle East and sparking renewed concerns over its human rights record.

In response, the leaders of the Liberal Democrat and Green parties have demanded a public inquiry into whether the UK was involved in a secret vote-trading deal in 2013 to secure both countries a place on an influential UN panel.

Diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks last year purported to show that UK initiated secret negotiations by asking Saudi Arabia for its support ahead of a ballot.

The exchanges have never been commented on by UK officials. Both Britain and Saudi Arabia were later named among the 47 member states of the UNHRC following the secret ballot.

One of Britain’s most eminent former diplomats has described the country as a fading power, saying that cuts to the Foreign Office have undermined its standing on the world stage.

As the UN security council celebrates its 70th birthday on Sunday, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, a former British ambassador to the UN, said this and the previous government had shown a worrying lack of concern for foreign affairs, which had hurt Britain’s standing abroad.

“It has always been in the traditions of the UK to be part of the search for global solutions. I don’t get the same feeling from the last government or this government. Immediate domestic concerns are coming first and foremost.

“We are not so much a power any more, our relative power has faded, put us into the shade. The Foreign Office is constantly being cut, our military being cut,” he said. “The number of armed forces has gone down, our contribution to peacekeeping is negligible, we haven’t succeeded in our interventions in Iraq, in Afghanistan.”

Greenstock served at the UN as Britain’s special representative from 1998 to 2003 – during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq – and was then special representative in Iraq until 2004.

Nicky Morgan reportedly "waged a valiant battle" with David Cameron over his decision to block compulsory sex education in classrooms across the country.

On Wednesday the Education Secretary rejected MPs’ calls to make sex and relationship education compulsory in all schools, to the dismay of many campaigners. At the moment the lessons are not mandatory in academies or faith schools – where parents can refuse to allow their children to participate.

The National Aids Trust said it was “extremely disappointed” at the decision.

But, according to Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman, the Education Secretary “waged a valiant battle” to persuade the Prime Minister for the case of mandatory sex education classes in all schools. Newman adds: “What's worse is David Cameron decided to ignore the entreaties not only of his Education Secretary – and the aforementioned assembled ranks of supporters and experts – but also several other senior women in the Cabinet.”

According to the report, the Home Secretary Theresa May, the Business Minister Anna Soubry and International Development Secretary Justine Greening all backed the change in policy.