uk politics
What happened to the working class?
Written By: - Date published: 8:36 am, December 15th, 2013 - 175 comments
In post WWII UK, working class people were gaining a stronger voice in public life. Then came Thatcher and middle class capture of politics & the media. Something similar happened in NZ. How can those on low incomes and/or from the working classes gain a stronger voice in NZ politics?
Outsourcing poverty: Paula Bennett’s shame
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, October 29th, 2013 - 51 comments
A charity is taking on the funding of the essential work on monitoring poverty, in the face of Paula Bennett, Bill English and John Key et al failing to do their job: a return to Dickensian & Edwardian times.
NSA: ‘full spectrum dominance’
Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, October 28th, 2013 - 23 comments
Latest revelations about the NSA’s international surveillance show it is about “full spectrum dominance” of military, economic, business and political activities. The TICS Bill is the latest part of Key’s changes to NZ’s surveillance agencies, further enabling the US government dominance via NSA, especially in business & politics.
Obama and the UK
Written By: - Date published: 2:10 pm, September 1st, 2013 - 26 comments
So Barack Obama is going to adhere to the US constitution this time around ( unlike as was the case with Libya) and await the potential green light of Congress before commencing with any military action in Syria.
The innocent have nothing to fear?
Written By: - Date published: 10:50 am, August 21st, 2013 - 18 comments
It’s not just journos who should watch out if the GCSB Bill goes through. David Miranda, partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, was detained by British police yesterday while in transit through London. All his electronic equipment was confiscated. After the nine hour limit was up this “terrorist” was released into Britain! All because his partner has been the journalist who wrote about Snowden’s revelations about internet surveillance by GCHQ, NSA, and GCSB.
A king is born: Long Live Inequality!
Written By: - Date published: 10:54 am, July 25th, 2013 - 87 comments
UK children born on the same day as the new prince will get a silver penny: but their lives will be vastly different. Left foot Forward spells out the inequalities between these new born. John Key gushes over the new prince, while his government slashes, burns and fuels inequalities.
Outsourcing: Scamming the system
Written By: - Date published: 9:32 am, July 19th, 2013 - 23 comments
A new report on the UK government’s outsourcing of public sector work is damning. Necessary and basic work to fulfill individual and social needs, (eg social security, unemployment, health care, education) is being “gamed” and scammed by monopolistic private contractors. Key’s government favours outsourcing to private profiteers.
John Key, Crosby & corporate lobbyists
Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, July 16th, 2013 - 40 comments
Joining the dots: David Cameron is under fire for his links with lobbyists for big tobacco & big oil, via his link with Lynton Crosby. John Key, with links to Crosby Textor, has also bowed to big tobacco. Networks of Influence.
Why enhanced spying powers are bad
Written By: - Date published: 6:54 am, June 25th, 2013 - 62 comments
If one needs any more reason to worry about the government’s GCSB bill, here is the latest news from the UK: police there seemed to spend more time investigating the murder of innocent school boy Stephen Lawrence’s family to undermine their anti-racism campaign than they did his murder. An former undercover officer has said he […]
The corruption of democracy
Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, June 11th, 2013 - 69 comments
Similar neoliberal, corporate-friendly, beneficiary-bashing, anti-worker, anti-democratic & big-brotherish measures favoured by the US & UK governments have been adopted by Key’s government. Prism, Thin Thread and Kim Dotcom documents, show the GCSB & SIS need to be reigned in. How to ensure a fair, just & democratic society?
Swivel-eyed loons
Written By: - Date published: 2:44 pm, May 20th, 2013 - 24 comments
Why do right-wing leaders have such low opinions of their activist supporters?
Irony? Nah.
Written By: - Date published: 1:33 pm, May 17th, 2013 - 56 comments
Nigel Farage went to Scotland to promote UKIP. What the hell was he thinking?
I thank Margaret Thatcher …
Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, April 9th, 2013 - 314 comments
… for her major contribution to my political education: of the need to combat the extensive, destructive power of the “neoliberal” elites. I lived in London during the entire time Thatcher was prime minister. It was a time of major change; of political activism; of hope; of disillusionment.
The CV of a Spy Boss
Written By: - Date published: 5:14 pm, April 3rd, 2013 - 89 comments
Key & Rennie say Ian Fletcher was the most suitable candidate to head the GCSB? His CV includes working on intellectual property, globalisation and free trade, & was private secretary to the Blair minister who fudged the legal advice on attacking Iraq.
How austerity is destroying Britain… coming soon near you
Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, April 1st, 2013 - 79 comments
A raft of Tory policies have been dismantling the British welfare state: bedroom tax, privatising the NHS: NZ’s NAct government is following the same pattern of slyly changing small things, adding up to major changes that are ultimately socially & economically destructive.
News media: shifting ground
Written By: - Date published: 12:44 pm, March 19th, 2013 - 13 comments
The withdrawal of News Corp from SkyNZ, & the new deal on press regulation in the UK are part of various shifts: from media moguls to financial investors, rise of the internet, & the balance between corporate media and politicians – not a fourth estate revival. [Update: tweeters/bloggers excluded]
The Brits are smarter than us
Written By: - Date published: 9:41 am, March 11th, 2013 - 44 comments
All sorts of bad polling news for the British Conservative government, as the Brits lose faith in the politics of economic austerity.
A Labour leader in Britain
Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, February 17th, 2013 - 49 comments
I wasn’t initially impressed with Ed Miliband, but I am impressed with his success, and with his latest policies he’s re-establishing British Labour’s credentials on the left. What are the lessons for us in NZ?
Britain – gay marriage bill progresses
Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, February 6th, 2013 - 9 comments
After a fascinating debate in Britain, their gay marriage bill has passed it’s first hurdle with a huge majority. This bodes well…
Sunday Reading
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, December 2nd, 2012 - 7 comments
My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. Those stimulating links you wanted to share, but just didn’t fit in anywhere. This week: Child poverty, malnutrition, austerity, Israel in the media and stoicism.
In the UK…
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 pm, November 29th, 2012 - 12 comments
The big story for the day is the likely change in press regulation as the Leveson Report on questionable media ethics is about to released. But the next couple of stories are also interesting with similar (unresolved) stories here this year: Minimum Price for Alcohol, and Caps on Payday Loans
Don’t panic
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 pm, November 11th, 2012 - 77 comments
Twice this year we have seen Labour leaders turn around perceptions of them and their party with one speech; Ed Miliband at the UK Party conference in November and Julia Gillard in the Australian parliament in October. I think that calling for David Shearer’s head in the week before the Labour party conference is a sign of panic.
Thin and effeminate statistics
Written By: - Date published: 4:05 pm, November 8th, 2012 - 25 comments
While the professional mainstream media were all chanting in unison that the American presidential election was “too close to call”, one (famous!) blogger correctly predicted the result – for every state.
Spreading privilege
Written By: - Date published: 8:27 am, October 12th, 2012 - 10 comments
This week I’ve been to see the surrealists at the Tate Modern in London, and read about the surrealists at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham. God knows what Cameron was talking about, with his line about spreading privilege – Knighthoods for all? Everybody off to Eton and Oxbridge?
Labour leadership
Written By: - Date published: 3:02 am, October 2nd, 2012 - 33 comments
I’ll be in Manchester tomorrow to hear Ed Miliband speak at the UK Labour Party conference. Labour are ahead in the polls, and Miliband’s leadership is more secure than Cameron’s or Clegg’s. Ed Miliband has surprised those who thought Labour chose the wrong brother. Ed is receiving plenty of free advice about what he should say; I suspect he will continue to be himself. Interesting parallels to New Zealand; I’m looking forward to it.
Sunday Reading
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, September 30th, 2012 - 17 comments
My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. This week: Obama the Tory, fish, Planet Key and the UK’s hit political single.
Austerity vs. stimulus
Written By: - Date published: 1:15 pm, September 27th, 2012 - 53 comments
The UK and USA make for interesting case studies in their differing responses to the global recession. A pity that NZ followed the wrong leader.
Implausible deniability
Written By: - Date published: 10:11 pm, September 26th, 2012 - 16 comments
There’s a lot of it about in right-wing parties at the moment. For John Key, John Banks and David Cameron it appears to be becoming the strategy of choice. It’s not working very well for any of them.
Politician subtitled for honesty
Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, September 22nd, 2012 - 15 comments
When parties that claim to have a social conscience end up propping up right-wing governments it doesn’t usually end well. Here is the Lib Dems leader Nick Clegg, apologising to his supporters for breaking a core promise. He has been subtitled for honesty.
Sunday Reading
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, September 16th, 2012 - 8 comments
My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. This week: torture, charter schools, economics and development.
Sunday Reading
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, September 9th, 2012 - 11 comments
My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. This week: cars, the UK’s ‘Big Willy’ politics and Fear of a Black President. Oh, and laughter.
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