General British politics discussion thread

PommieBast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122049924#Comment_122049924

I agree with the bit about them not having much else to shout about. Six months is too short to pivot onto anything new.

As for Labour I don't sense much enthusiasm for them per-se. Had considered tactically voting but Kier Starmer coming out against rejoining the CU is one compromise too far.

Strazdas

Quite bizarre developments in London today. Seems St. George's Day has morphed into some sort of right wing / far right English nationalist event :

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13340887/Police-clash-St-Georges-Day-protesters-chanting-England-tie-die-Whitehall-far-right-groups-travel-UK-capital-mark-day.html

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122053732#Comment_122053732

Sky News link here:

https://news.sky.com/story/violence-breaks-out-at-st-georges-day-event-in-central-london-13121301

That's all the flag means here: loutishness, violence, alcoholism, and drinking. This just adds to the stereotype.

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122053752#Comment_122053752

There was an opinion poll during the week suggesting that even many Britons see the Cross of St George negatively and as a symbol of division.

The whole notion of "English nationalism" is something that seems to be coming more to the fore in recent times, especially since Brexit.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122053834#Comment_122053834

Indeed. The Conservatives have fully embraced and supported it as part of their culture war strategy. If the country as a whole keeps going this way, I don't see how it stays together.

breezy1985

These pointless riots are good for society.

Reminds people of the true face behind all these "I'm not racist but" political parties popping up all over the place.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122053881#Comment_122053881

People have short memories though. For instance, I read recently that some Conservative MP's want Boris Johnson back.

Sam Russell

I thought it was the Labour Party wanted Boris Johnson back again, or perhaps Liz Truss would do.

maik3n

I saw the St Georges Day riots trending but thought for sure it was just a repost of this

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/palestine-march-far-right-clashes-police-armistice-b2445662.html

I didn't realise it was a new recent incident.

Coming back to more normal operations, the Rwanda bill has passed

https://news.sky.com/story/sunaks-rwanda-bill-passes-what-impact-will-it-have-on-immigration-13121611

So is this it finished then or are there any other court cases/objections that might hold it up for another while?

PommieBast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122054395#Comment_122054395

Asking around about the latter. Labour peers caved in last night but it looks like the Crossbenchers were not far off the end of their tether either.

Timberrrrrrrr

After all the bru ha ha a few weeks ago about the flag on the back of the football and the uproar about "changing" it into a "woke" symbol

Reform post this today 🤣

Tony EH

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122053910#Comment_122053910

That's not just short memory though. That's full on bloody Alzheimer's.

HalloweenJack

In fairness, one could naively look back at 2019 from 2024 and think "No wars, no Brexit, no Covid, no cost-of-living crisis, no Trussonomics or Sunak's culture war pandering, 80 seat majority, just a posh lad who likes to waffle" and I could understand why it might appeal to them.

Boris was a disaster but the decline has certainly sped up since he left. He's responsible for driving wedge's between sections of the party and jettisoning a lot of the moderates while empowering and emboldening the more extreme fringes. A lot of the current Tory mess is just a result of the malaise that set in under his premiership but he was more charismatic than those who came after him and he didn't seem to have any pet projects that he pursued with unflappable stubbornness (though he "got Brexit done", it was a public idea, much unlike Truss trashing the economy and Sunak/Braverman's Rwanda dream).

Of course, people who want Boris back have a lot of problems and are very much disconnected from reality. The only thing for the UK right now is a break from the Tories.

PopePalpatine

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122054395#Comment_122054395

You just know Suella was hounding the Met for proof that there were any pro-Palestinian protesters in the area.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122054395#Comment_122054395

Almost certainly there will be further cases; why would there not be?

The Bill seeks to prevent broad challenges to the deportation policy as a whole, but it's still possible to challenge the decision to deport a particular asylum seeker, and I would be surprised if no such challenge were brought. But of course an individual chosen for deportation can't bring a challenge until he knows he has been chosen for deportation, and SFAIK the government hasn't yet told anyone that they are to be deported. So these challenges will come very late in the day.

There are also broader challenges possible. The Bill seeks to take away from the courts their core function of making findings of fact, by requiring them to treat Rwanda as a safe country without making any investigation into whether it is a safe country or not. There are objections to that both on the grounds that it violates the fundamental constitutional relationship between Parliament (makes the laws) and the courts (determine facts, and apply the laws to those facts) and on the grounds that it may put the UK in violation of treaties it has entered into, under which it commits to deport only to countries which are actually safe, rather than merely being deemed to be safe without any examination of whether they are or not.

There are also non-court avenues which might delay deportations. For example, the government is said to be having difficulty finding an air charter operation willing to operate the required flights.

And there could be court actions that indirectly impede deportations. For example, if an air charter operator does accept the contract, there might be court action from the lessors of the aircraft it operates, who don't want their aircraft employed in ways that might violate international humanitarian law, that might see them targetted in other countries.

There is the possibility of the UK defence forces being ordered to operate the flights directly, but my impeccable War Office sources[*] tell me that commanders are resistant, since they don't want service personnel to be involved in actions which may be violations of international humanitarian law, and which could expose them to legal repercussions.

[*] Gossip on Twitter.

breezy1985

Its the Tories. I'm sure at least one of them went to school with someone they can give a multi billion pound contract to in exchange for flights that will never take off.

It could even be awarded to people who don't even own a plane.

aidanodr

Breaking NEWS

Scotland's SNP-Green government coalition collapses - Sky News

LONDON, April 25 (Reuters) - The Scottish National Party (SNP) will lead a minority government in Scotland after its coalition with the Green Party collapsed on Thursday over tensions about climate change targets, Sky News reported.Scotland's move to scrap its climate change goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030 last week had put pressure on the coalition agreement which was struck in 2021 after the nationalists failed to secure an outright majority.

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/scotlands-snp-green-government-coalition-collapses-sky-news-2024-04-25/

Danzy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122060764#Comment_122060764

They'll probably last as a minority govt but the Greens may well side with the Tories to bring it down eventually.

Snp support is in freefall now so maybe they want an election before it drops even further and more comes out about Nicola and her clique of crooked quislings.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122061368#Comment_122061368

I doubt any small party will collapse Holyrood before the general election. They won't want to waste the money, energy and manpower.

political analyst

If Sunak calls the UK general election for June or July then the legislation for clearing sub-postmasters' names won't be passed by the end of the current parliament. Those Tory MPs on the right in the party wouldn't do anything to effect the passing of that legislation, would they?

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122061909#Comment_122061909

Why would they? What do they gain by doing so?

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122061931#Comment_122061931

A typo on my part - I meant "They wouldn't do anything to affect …".

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122061943#Comment_122061943

Can't say that I noticed. My question remains, why would they bother?

hotmail.com

Pretty reckless for Humza Yousaf to collapse the coalition.

The SNP in free fall. They don't seem to be able to pin any of this on the Tory Party.

Mod edit: Humza Yousaf's name typo corrected

PommieBast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122061409#Comment_122061409

For small parties it is now just the Greens and LibDems. Can foresee LDs not wanting the distraction but not sure which ways the Greens will go.

Danzy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122062940#Comment_122062940

The Scottish Greens would be nuts to pull the plug, it was SNP transfers on the list vote that got them elected.

Problem is that the Scottish Greens are absolutely full of fuc79ng nuts and they are going to vote no confidence out of anger more than anything else.

It looks like that the deciding vote will be in an Alba MSP's hands, as a Scottish nationalist I can't see her backing Lord Humza or the other quislings of the SNP.

The SNP want an election now, they'll lose a lot of seats but as more comes out it would be worse in 2 years time and probably be a complete wipeout. Some achievement by Nicola and friends to be looking at coming 3rd behind the Tories and Labour as a result.

A Dub in Glasgo

Ash Regan has already set out what she wants in order to support HY next week. A demonstrable focus on independence and womens rights. If she does not get it, HY is toast next week. The parliament will have 28 days to elect another FM and if it does not, there will be an election

In summary, what a strange day - Labour voting with the Tories, Scottish Greens voting with the unionists and the SNP needing Alba support to survive

PommieBast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122063376#Comment_122063376

Ah yes, forgot about that Alba defection. Unsure why that lot are still hanging around.

The Scottish Greens are now a spent force so can't blame them for wanting to go down the vengeance route. Not my type of party but fresh memories of how they were screwed over might work in their favour.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122064159#Comment_122064159

Alba exists as a way to game the stupid list system.

A Dub in Glasgo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122064586#Comment_122064586

The list is how the majority of the other parties are elected to the Scottish Parliament. If anything, the Greens are the main beneficiaries of 'gaming' the system