UK General Discussion II

[politicus]

The other one is 2300+, so I thought it was time for a new one.

[politicus]

UKIP going after the blue collar vote - British employers should be able to discriminate in favour of British workers and such, but still wants to slash inheritance taxes.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/sep/26/nigel-farage-ukip-conference-tax-cuts

How do you view their "new" platform?

[politicus]

Dannie Abse has died

Sad, but he had a full life.

[politicus]

Another Conservative MP, Mark Reckless, has defected to UKIP.

Alienating your party colleagues and resigning from your job with no guarantee whatsoever that you'll regain it?  There ought to be a word to describe the actions of Mr. Reckless.

http://metro.co.uk/2014/09/27/a-very-reckless-decision-second-tory-mp-defects-to-ukip-4884121/

[politicus]

Enjoy

lol

[politicus]

ScotsRail has just been nationalised. By the Dutch government.

Who already run Greater Anglia...

A regular Dutch invasion.

[politicus]

Black-faced -seriously?  In the early 21st century?  Are they still doing minstrel shows over there?

The cultural context for this is quite different in Europe. It was always part of a racist stereotype in the US, but is (or at least was..) a bit more innocent in Europe where the tradition for doing this predates a resident black population.

[politicus]

Thanks. So Labour is being isolated on income tax. What caveats do they have?

The Tory and LibDem party symbols (a kindergarden style doodle three and a golden bird..) don't make much sense. What was the thinking behind them? (if there was any).

EDIT: I see the LibDem supposed to be a "liberty bird"  and some marketing experts have voted it the best logo of the three major parties (with Labour's rose at the bottom!). Definitely not how I would have ranked them.

[politicus]

Labour have decided that they want to replace the House of Lords with a Senate elected from the English regions, Wales, Scotland and NI. What a ghastly thought.

But very logical.

[politicus]

It's better than the status quo, although I dislike the name "Senate".

How about Country House?

[politicus]

According to the Daily Mail Grace Mugabe's campaign to become President is bankrolled by cartoonishly evil British criminal Nicholas van Hoogstraten:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2870376/Nicholas-van-Hoogstraten-bankrolls-Grace-Mugabe-s-bid-power-Zimbabwe.html

[politicus]

According to the Daily Mail Grace Mugabe's campaign to become President is bankrolled by cartoonishly evil British criminal Nicholas van Hoogstraten:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2870376/Nicholas-van-Hoogstraten-bankrolls-Grace-Mugabe-s-bid-power-Zimbabwe.html

i thought he was in jail in Zimbabwe?

Not exactly. He lives in a mansion using a detachment of Mugabe's Secret Service as guards.

[politicus]

PR stunt for the bookies. I highly doubt Elizabeth II - a women who views her role with almost comic duty - would want to follow the footsteps of such a brilliant role-model as, err, Edward VIII.

It could be health reasons the public doesn't know about.

[politicus]

PR stunt for the bookies. I highly doubt Elizabeth II - a women who views her role with almost comic duty - would want to follow the footsteps of such a brilliant role-model as, err, Edward VIII.

It could be health reasons the pubic doesn't know about.

The precedent if the monarch has health issues is for a regent to be appointed. I guess we could break with that tradition, but knowing the Windsor family I doubt it.

Okay, pretty embarrassing I actually wrote pubic in that post

[politicus]

Mandy Rice-Davies has died.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/dec/19/mandy-rice-davies

“My life has been one long descent into respectability”

[politicus]

Basically there are all sorts of stories out there.  Some of them may be true, and if they are and they actually get out before the people concerned die, there's going to be a huge fuss.  But obviously you have to be very careful with them.

"A witness who has played a critical role in the inquiry so far, known only as “Nick”, is understood to have told detectives he saw a Conservative MP strangle a 12-year-old boy to death at an orgy in around 1980."

If proven stuff like that should guarantee "a huge fuss" whether the perpetrator was dead or not.

[politicus]

Both Scots Wha Hae and Scotland the Brave are better. I would have gone with A Man's A Man for A' That.

[politicus]

In case anybody is wondering, Labour Students does not support free education.

Labour Students probably being one of the most Blairite affiliates.

Are there any actual left wing student organizations in the UK with significant support?

[politicus]

In case anybody is wondering, Labour Students does not support free education.

Labour Students probably being one of the most Blairite affiliates.

Are there any actual left wing student organizations in the UK with significant support?

No

Heck, I don't even think the NUS position is free education.

It was in September

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/nus-to-hold-free-education-demo/2015813.article

"Last year’s national conference in Liverpool voted narrowly support to free education, though there remains significant support for a graduate tax within the NUS. Supporters of a graduate tax see it as a more progressive policy than funding higher education through general taxation."