uk politics

Categories under uk politics

Austerity (25)
Brexit (42)

Kiss and makeup

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 7:32 pm, July 26th, 2012 - 4 comments

In honour of Tony Blair and Sam Cam’s attempt at an affectionate greeting at Tuesday’s lunch at No 10, The Guardian amassed a small but disgusting collection of political leaders essaying similar tasks. Warning: not for the squeamish or fainthearted.

Austerity in Britain

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:59 am, July 26th, 2012 - 45 comments

Gosh, isn’t government austerity working well in Britain. Thank goodness we’re following in their footsteps.

Sunday Reading

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 10:17 am, June 17th, 2012 - 2 comments

I’m going to try and put up a piece each Sunday 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 (no linkwhoring). This week is quite an international edition: the situation in Tonga, China & the UK…

Admitting that austerity has failed

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:10 am, June 16th, 2012 - 56 comments

Austerity has failed in both the UK and NZ. But at least Cameron’s Conservatives have the wit to realise it, and the courage to act.

Bliar on Leveson tonight

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 1:33 pm, May 28th, 2012 - 9 comments

Riveting television for politicos on-line at the Leveson enquiry tonight at 9pm as Tony Blair is questioned by the silken Robert Jay QC. More details on the mating of porcupines will no doubt come up. Revelations of the hidden relationship based on mutual interest between Murdoch-owned media and British politicians are very disturbing. While prosecutions and resignations may follow there, the lessons apply here as well.

Austerity will increase inequality

Written By: Ben Clark - Date published: 10:12 am, May 18th, 2012 - 42 comments

Austerity is reducing the opportunities for social mobility, for reducing income inequality, for a fair society. The increased class sizes, the removal of Adult and Community Education, the removal of Training Allowances, and many more things National are doing in the name of “austerity” are undermining our society.

Brooks charged with perverting justice

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 10:03 pm, May 15th, 2012 - 19 comments

Rebekah and Charlie Brooks have been charged with perverting the course of justice in relation to the News International phone-hacking affair. Now it’s in the courts, this albatross will hang around Cameron’s neck through to the next election.

Firewalls up in smoke

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 6:35 pm, April 30th, 2012 - 34 comments

David Cameron’s defence of embattled Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has been called a “firewall” that’s failing to hold.

Cameron needs Hunt to stay or else Cameron is the next to go. It is the same for John Key.

As the stench of corruption around John Banks grows, he desperately needs him to stay or else all he loses legitimacy for asset sales and potentially his majority on the issue as well.

Filleted Murdock

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 4:46 pm, April 27th, 2012 - 37 comments

Stayed up last night to watch Robert Jay QC question Rupert Murdoch at the Leveson enquiry. It was riveting – you can see why top lawyers like Jay are called silks. Murdoch denied, deferred, demeaned, derided and defended but couldn’t help himself – ended up with more damage than control. This affair has more legs than a millipede.

ImperatorFish: To Save We Must First Kill

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 1:19 pm, April 26th, 2012 - 40 comments

Scott at Imperator Fish has kindly given us permission to syndicate posts from his blog – the original of this post is here.

The United Kingdom is in recession again. Thanks austerity!

Murdoch did discuss BSkyB with Cameron

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 10:11 pm, April 25th, 2012 - 7 comments

James Murdoch has confirmed to the Leveson enquiry that he did discuss News International’s bid to take over BSkyB with Cameron at a dinner at the home of Rebekah Brooks. Cameron had previously denied this. Also Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, charged with ensuring that the takeover was according to law, was briefing Murdoch on the back channel via his staff. His tenure looks very shaky. Cameron will also be under severe pressure. There are lessons for us as well.

Private Welfare to Work – how well does that work?

Written By: Ben Clark - Date published: 8:15 am, March 24th, 2012 - 42 comments

The government has introduced their welfare changes to parliament. In addition to making mums of 1 year-olds seek paid work in addition to raising children, it introduces private companies profiting from unemployment misery with welfare to work schemes. The UK has been trying this for a couple of years – let’s look at how that’s going…

Disgusted by the Poor

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 7:40 pm, February 16th, 2012 - 46 comments

“The idea that ultimately the poor must help themselves as social mobility grinds to a halt is illogical; it is based on a faith for which there is scant evidence. Yet it is the one thing that has genuinely ‘trickled down’ from the wealthy, so that many people without much themselves continue to despise those who are on a lower rung.”

Inequality: a big issue for our time

Written By: Ben Clark - Date published: 6:43 am, February 7th, 2012 - 218 comments

The Herald looks like it has an excellent series this week, on Auckland: A city divided by income. It’s an issue that has been waiting to be examined in the local context in more depth. It’s been quite a big issue in the UK for a while, with The Spirit Level making an impact before […]

What a riot.

Written By: Bill - Date published: 11:16 am, December 17th, 2011 - 14 comments

A quick post on sentences handed down in the wake of riots in England.

Bell Pottinger: Lobbying unmasked

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 11:36 pm, December 16th, 2011 - 5 comments

Investigative journalism (remember that?) has opened up Bell Pottinger, the UK’s top PR/lobby firm. Inside they’ve found some seriously dodgy dealing that goes right to the top of British Government. There’s a call for a register of lobbyists and their interests – isn’t that something we should have here as well?

Leadership Elections: Getting it Right

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 4:35 pm, November 28th, 2011 - 37 comments

In 2005 the UK Conservatives badly lost a third election in a row and their leader announced his intent to resign. But they organised a well-run contest to replace him, and by the time he won David Cameron had gone from unknown outsider to popular public figure, and the once ‘toxic’ Conservatives were electable again.

Is Key going where Gove’s gone?

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 1:33 pm, October 31st, 2011 - 78 comments

National’s “Future Fund” asset-sale money will be spent on modernising schools we are told. Is the future they have in mind like Conservative Education Minister Michael Gove’s so-called “free schools” now being set up in Britain? It would be no surprise if our public assets were sold down by National to pay for private interests to get a stake in the school system here. We shouldn’t be under any illusions that the agenda is just short-term.

Ashcroft – the photo-op Key didn’t want

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 9:08 pm, October 26th, 2011 - 24 comments

Paddy Gower at TV3 reveals Lord Ashcroft, billionaire Tory donor and International Democratic Union treasurer, has come to talk to Key again. Just discussed politics generally, said Key. Politics yes, generally no. Ashcroft’s interests are now devoted to polling and blog communication, and he is very interested in our election. Having seen Cameron miss out on a majority, he’ll want to help Key to one here.

Cameron cancels Key photo-op

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 7:06 pm, October 24th, 2011 - 16 comments

David Cameron has cancelled his planned trip to Japan and New Zealand. He is facing a backbench revolt over European Union membership at the same time as he is trying to intervene in the crucial financial summit trying to sort out problems in the Euro zone on Wednesday. Oh well, one less photo op for John Key – perhaps its just as well as Britain’s future isn’t getting brighter.

Inciting a riot

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 11:20 am, August 18th, 2011 - 46 comments

Cases being tried in England raise the question – what is an appropriate punishment for inciting a riot on Facebook?

3370 comments

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 11:37 am, August 13th, 2011 - 35 comments

This editorial by Peter Oborne in the Telegraph on the riots and moral decay in Britain is up to 3370 comments. It’s worth a read.

London riots: a guest post

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 1:51 pm, August 10th, 2011 - 229 comments

A standard reader based in London has sent us this account of the riots.

Good to get some of the context the UK media doesn’t seem to want to talk about…

London riots

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:19 am, August 9th, 2011 - 201 comments

There have been two nights of rioting, looting and burning in London. The trigger was the police shooting of Mark Duggan. But the cause is the alienation of the permanent underclass, and the stresses of the current austerity programme.

I never inhaled “inappropriately”

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 12:26 pm, July 21st, 2011 - 5 comments

When David Cameron was asked did he ever discuss the BSkyB bid with News International, he said “I never had an inappropriate conversation.” It would be interesting to know whether he had an “appropriate” conversation about it with Rupert Murdoch when they met after the recent British election. Murdoch, who was asked by Cameron to go in the back door, said they had a cup of tea and no other conversation took place”. He was asked to go in the back door and they just chatted about the weather?

Newscorpse

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 2:56 pm, July 10th, 2011 - 9 comments

Murdoch-watchers have long known there’s something rotten in the Newscorp media empire. The extent and reach of the phone hacking scandal in Britain has finally seen the biter bit by its own corruption. Murdoch sought power over governments around the world to entrench his extreme right-wing ideology. From Thatcher to Cameron, all were supported by Murdoch’s tabloid papers into Parliament. Now Murdoch may need the BSkyB deal to provide enough cashflow to stay alive as Miliband proposes to introduce legislation to stop it.

It gets much much worse

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 8:47 pm, July 5th, 2011 - 14 comments

New revelations out today that hacker Glenn Mulcaire who bugged celebrity phones for Murdoch’s News of the World also hacked into the phone of murdered teenager Milly Dowler after she went missing. NoW journalists deleted messages which gave Milly’s parents false hope that Milly might be alive. This happened when Rebekah Brooks, friend of David Cameron was the paper’s editor, and Andy Coulson, later Cameron’s communications director was deputy editor. This won’t stay under the carpet.

Lib Dems hammered

Written By: r0b - Date published: 10:07 am, May 7th, 2011 - 22 comments

Hard to feel sorry for Britain’s Liberal Democrat Party, who have just been hammered in local elections. Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas.

Interesting election May 5

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 9:36 pm, May 6th, 2011 - 15 comments

Results are coming in for council elections in England and for the Welsh and Scottish Assemblies.

The most interesting result will be the referendum on Alternative Vote for the whole UK.

It is likely to go down according to the polls.

Cleaning up after the royals

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 6:00 pm, April 22nd, 2011 - 14 comments

Buckingham Palace cleaners aren’t even paid the London living wage while the British taxpayer will have to pay for the royal wedding cleanup. That’s one reason why I’m a republican. The Globe and Mail reports: “The cost of cleaning the streets of Westminster the day before the wedding is estimated by the council at $83,000.”

Phone hack saga now Pandora’s box

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 6:03 pm, April 17th, 2011 - 4 comments

The News of the World phone hacking saga involving the Murdoch media has opened up with news that there could have been over ninety people whose phones were affected. The police have announced that they are looking into possible criminal activity following Rebekah Brooks’ earlier statement that papers paid police for tips. James Murdoch hasn’t […]