UK General Discussion

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Judging by those graphs, Cameron is sort of like democracy now: he's the worst possible choice for PM except for all the others.  Labour needs to ditch Milliband.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Just nationalize all the schools... far easier solution.

Wouldn't privatizing the state-sun schools also be easy?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I do think the Lords proposal is interesting. I'd prefer it to be 100% elected, not 80% elected and would rather the Bishops be booted. They seem to be trying to go for a pre 2004 style French Senate which makes sense if you want to create a neutered upper house almost from scratch.

The Lords is to be elected in 3rds, every 5 years with members having one 15 year term. As a result, it will probably not be a place in which to build a career. The problem is though, if it becomes a carehome for old politicians the number of by-elections would be enormous. Given that the proposals suggest large STV constituencies so that Scotland for example would be one constituency, that means setting up polling stations nationwide to fill one seat.

Having 5-7 elected per seat every 5 years means that smaller (read: crazy) parties would have a chance to get in. 3-4 per seat would mean smaller more manageable seats and less crazies.

Why bother with by-elections for a toothless body?  If the voters (or the parties) pick people who die in office, tough luck.  If the Lords would actually have some power then I could see the need for by-elections, but as it is, there is no need, or at least none that could not be put off until the next nationwide vote.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

If you needed any confirmation that he's unqualified to be Health Secretary:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/10/05/jeremy-hunt-abortion-restrict-time-limit-no-concern-for-women_n_1944010.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

As long as legitimate medically-necessary abortions are still available, and there's nothing in his comments to suggest he thinks they should not be,  how does wanting to reduce the period in which elective abortions are available from 24 to 12 weeks make one unqualified to be health secretary?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Is the cover price of the Daily Mail a round sum, or do they need to make change when you buy it at the newsstand for a change?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

It's a calculated remark: he has many Muslim constituents (they mostly voted for the Tory in 2010, which is how he won in the first place) and his majority is tiny. Arsehole.

I assume that you're talking about the MP for Bradford East here, as there can't be many constituencies that fit, but I can't see what post you're replying to...

Looking at the BBC website, I presume you're talking about this?

They condemn him for "his use of language"? What would they prefer he have used, lethal force?

Alas there are some who think pointing out that victims can become victimizers is terribly unfair.  Altho calling what Israel does to the Palestinians "atrocities" is slightly excessive.  It's merely ethnic oppression at this point.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Sources suggest 140 Tories against, 132 for. If confirmed I'll resign my membership.

I thought you were a Scots Tory, so shouldn't it be how David Mundell would have voted that matters?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Of the 22 Labour No's, 7 were in Scotland. Of the 16 who did not vote, 3 were from Scotland. My own MP, who has been very helpful in trying to sort out the UKBA's clusterf-ck with Michael's residency visa voted in favour.

Biggest shock? George Galloway actually showed up and voted in favour.

What were Scottish MP's doing voting on a measure that affected only England and Wales (or so I thought)?  I was under the impression that non-English MP's didn't vote on such things.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Well considering that the message was, here's the referendum you idiots want, but it'll still be several years away and we'll try to educate you ignorant louts to vote to stay in the EU, it's no surprise.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I disagree.  Labour is not all that funny.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Just seen a random tweet saying that UKIP are in the same position Labour was in 100 years ago. They're a hilarious bunch.

100 years ago, Labour had over 40 MPs.

To be fair, UKIP is polling better than Labour did in the PV in the Dec 1910 election.

What electoral reform will be undertaken in the UK, which will allow the UKIP to gain voters (or the other parties to lose voters), in the way that universal suffrage allowed Labour to gain voters in the years following 1910?

Proportional representation.  It's not simply that people are protesting the EU by voting UKIP in European Parliament elections. It's that unlike with FPTP, people don't feel that a vote for UKIP is a wasted vote there.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

PR would certainly help them enormously, but other parties would start taking them seriously and shine a light on their more unpopular policies (NHS-dismantling, banker loving, austerity max to a pick a few).  

True, but once they actually have seats and can keep them, UKIP might well change those parts of its platform that are not inseparably linked to Eurosceptism in order to broaden their appeal.  The same is true of course for the other UK parties.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Mwahaha!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325679/Nigel-Farage-bundled-police-van-barricaded-inside-pub-going-promote-Scottish-election-candidate.html

God bless Scotland.

I thought it was England who had the hooligans, not the Scots.  Or is that only in football since there isn't anything to get excited about in Socttish football.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Has the law regarding royal succession been passed yet? Kate's baby is due soon, right?

The UK law has,and so has that of Canada.  A few minor realms have stated that their law already calls for the heir to be whoever British law says it should be so they don't need to pass new law.  New Zealand and Australia are the principal laggards here, tho to be fair unless Kate has fraternal twins of opposite sex, it doesn't have to be done before the birth.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The Church of England has effectively given up opposing equal marriage, at least politically.

If they did, they risk splitting both themselves and the Communion over the issue wouldn't they?  (Not that the latter isn't likely to happen anyway.)

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Convicted criminal Brian Coleman (ex-GLA member for Barnet & Camden, current Barnet councillor and general egotistical arsehole - but then you all knew that) has been expelled from the Conservative Party. He has, however, stated his intention to run for re-election next year on a 'platform of proper Conservative values'. Presumably these values include running up vast taxi bills at public expense and beating up women who have the temerity to film him illegal parking in loading bays.

Will he be joining UKIP or be an independent asshole.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Another hugely unpopular privatisation that in all likelihood won't get reversed. Hard not to despair.

It's not as if government mints make real money these days.  Still. privatization only makes sense if the government is to going to have competition in coin-making.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

In other news, three Tory councillors in Havering (my home borough) have defected to UKIP, quadrupling their representation on the council.

The grammar nazi in me wants to know how those councilors quadrupled their votes, even tho I realize that you meant the UKIP quadrupled its representation on the council.  (Yes, I am aware that some English dialects use plural pronouns for groups, but even in that case, your pronoun choice is merely ambiguous instead of wrong.)

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

In other news, three Tory councillors in Havering (my home borough) have defected to UKIP, quadrupling their representation on the council.

The grammar nazi in me wants to know how those councilors quadrupled their votes, even tho I realize that you meant the UKIP quadrupled its representation on the council.  (Yes, I am aware that some English dialects use plural pronouns for groups, but even in that case, your pronoun choice is merely ambiguous instead of wrong.)

It's incredibly uncommon to say the UKIP. Just saying.

Well I'd hate to say a UKIP as that would imply there were other UKIPs.  One is enough.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

In other news, three Tory councillors in Havering (my home borough) have defected to UKIP, quadrupling their representation on the council.

The grammar nazi in me wants to know how those councilors quadrupled their votes, even tho I realize that you meant the UKIP quadrupled its representation on the council.  (Yes, I am aware that some English dialects use plural pronouns for groups, but even in that case, your pronoun choice is merely ambiguous instead of wrong.)

It's incredibly uncommon to say the UKIP. Just saying.

Well I'd hate to say a UKIP as that would imply there were other UKIPs.  One is enough.

It's usually UKIP, without a or the.

I gathered that.  British English tends to drop the's in places American English would use them, most famously before the word hospital.  Still does what sounds strange to my ears also apply to other political parties in British Engish when their name is used as a noun and not as an adjective such as in "Loony Party candidate"?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I think we're learning what it was like to be French in 2003...

(Ironically enough, the character who first uttered the term "cheese eating surrender monkeys" was Scottish).

I would have thought it would have been a beefeating appeasement apes rather than a Scot who came up with that phrase.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Did that survey also ask if they expected to be worse off in either event?  Those particular numbers can be best explained if those who thought it wouldn't matter to them who won answered disagree to both questions, so just simply asking would you be better off doesn't give good insight into whether people think they would be worse off.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

That is largely a fair comment with regards to Blackadder goes Fourth (although, not neccessarily left-wing myths in particular, after all, that phrase 'lions led by Donkeys' was coined by Alan Clark). I did indeed have to watch that in a Year 9 history lesson.

As did I - we had to get parental permission first though.

"The ruthless social Darwinism of the German elites, the pitiless approach they took to occupation, their aggressively expansionist war aims and their scorn for the international order all made resistance more than justified."

Er, I think he's talking about the other war...

Not really.  Ever hear of the Rape of Belgium?  Granted, a large portion of it was exaggerated war time propaganda, but there was a kernel of truth to it and even the exaggerations were mostly believed at the time by the propagandists.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Scotland could tie it's currency to whatever it wants to. Hypothetically the government is simply offering a deal to work with the rest of the UK for a transition, particularly when dealing with debt which legally we could simply walk away from.

Do you seriously think that Scotland would be granted independence without some arrangement on debt being made? Now, I suppose it would be possible that it might have to head to the Permanent Court of Arbitration or some other similar body to determine the split of debt if Scotland and the UKENI were unable to agree how to do it, but that Scotland would get a clean slate on debt in preposterous in the extreme.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

For me Nigel always conjures up a particular fictional civil servant: