Op-ed; Ukip's former Tory MP Douglas Carswell is quitting the party and hopes he will continue representing his constituency of Clacton without having to face a by-election. He plans to stand as an independent but how independent will he really be? He has already shown himself a die-hard Tory during his time with Ukip. On the BBC news channel Saturday morning he stuck the knife in Ukip firmly and squarely. He assessed Ukip as a one trick pony that is finished now that PM Theresa May is about to trigger Article 50. In October 2014 we reported "Ukip and its party leader are celebrating Friday morning. The party secured its first seat in the Commons in Thursday's vote boosting the party's image and ego. Tory defector Douglas Carswell won Clacton in the South of England but was the electorate voting for their tried and tested old Tory MP or UKIP?" Carswell was full of praise for unelected Tory PM Theresa May Saturday. His words re Ukip "job done" obviously do not reflect his full view. Carswell is hoping his constituents remain a one MP set of voters who are intrinsically right-wing but what about local Ukip supporters? If Carswell has his way they will not get a chance to elect a Ukip MP or one of any other political colour. Is he so desperate to stay in politics and if so why? Did Carswell discuss his resignation with Theresa May and other Tories? Was he hoping to simply cross the floor of the House and join his Tory chums? Such a move would trigger a by-election. He did not discuss his imminent departure with his Ukip colleagues who found out he had quit along with his blog readers and the mainstream media. Carswell posted his intention to resign on his blog saying; It has been an extraordinary achievement. UKIP, my party, which was founded in 1993 in order to get Britain out of the European Union, has now achieved what we were established to do. Later Saturday there are claims that Mr Carswell jumped before he was pushed and that he had been summoned to appear before Ukip bosses and answer questions Monday.
Finally thoughts from Twitter › owenjbennett "As I revealed in #thebrexitclub Carswell joined Ukip to lessen Farage 's role in the EU ref. Job done, now he's off. Astonishing infiltration" http://www.talkcarswell.com/ http://www.tekjournalismuk.com/where-but-the-uk/ukip-election-win-rocks-westminster
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The judges have faced a series of attacks since the ruling, in one case citing one of the judge's sexuality. Thursday the Daily Mail went with "The unelected 'activist' judges who mounted a 'power grab': High Court trio who blocked Brexit are led by one who founded group dedicated to furthering European integration." In that report the Daily Mail says: The bombshell court ruling which has bogged down Britain's exit from the EU in a legal quagmire has sparked a row over how UK judges are appointed. In truth it has nothing to do with how judges are appointed but all to do with the judges making a ruling they do not like. But the Bar Council has said that the "serious and unjustified" attacks on senior judges should be condemned by Tory Lord Chancellor Liz Truss. Ms Truss has responded by saying an independent judiciary is the "foundation" of the law. That response was quickly condemned as insufficient and far from satisfactory. There had been calls for PM Theresa May to make a statement but according to the Mail she is unavilable as "British PM heads to India with eye on post-Brexit ties." The ill-thought out and badly handled EU in or out referendum was always going to lead to trouble. If a majority of voters had opted for BRemain perhaps it would have been plain sailing. That however would have depended on how close the result was. But Pandora's Box is open and the UK will look a laughing stock on the world stage unless the government gets its act in order. Unless the government win an appeal in the Supreme Court Parliament will have a final say and vote on when or perhaps if Article 50 is triggered so that the process of the UK actually leaving the EU can commence. SNP MPs representing Scottish constituencies in Westminster are not expected to support the triggering of Article 50. In Scotland more than 60% of those who voted chose BRemain. Whatever the outcome there will be a lot of disappointed people in the UK. More: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bar-council-liz-truss-brexit-ruling-decision-serious-unjustified-attacks-judiciary-judges-high-court-a7399356.html http://www.newtekjournalismukworld.com/eileen-kersey/theresa-may-and-her-ministers-clueless-over-brexit http://www.newtekjournalismukworld.com/british-political-scene/unelected-pm-theresa-may-suffers-brexit-court-defeat Op-Ed: The political and ruling class of the UK are pushing for the country to remain a part of the European Union. You may or may not agree with that position but you must have realised that is the result they want. At its annual conference in September 2015 the Labour Party decided its official EU referendum position was to support the remain in Europe camp. Jeremy Corbyn was a newly elected party leader in September 2015 and has been out and about around the country making his case for the UK to stay a part of the European Union and then work to reform that institution. He has faced a barrage or criticism almost for waking up and breathing each day from the moment he became the new Labour Party leader. This week he even faced Twitter abuse from Simply Red front man Mick Hucknall, a confirmed Blairite, who called him a coward for allegedly staying out of the EU debate. Mr Hucknall has now set his tweets to protected as presumably he experienced the might of Twitter in angry response. Within the party backstabbers lurk planning some future coup when they hope to take back the Labour Party and water down any left wing politics. PMQs each Wednesday lunchtime Mr Corbyn has faced a torrent of abuse from a smug-faced David Cameron but we tuned in today and were somewhat surprised. It was an almost civil or is that civilised political PMQs but then we remembered Cameron currently needs Corbyn. No surprise perhaps then that Jeremy Corbyn will now face a Q and A. Sky news is reporting "EU Vote: Corbyn To Face Live Sky News Audience." That event will take place June 20. So close to the actual voting the cynic in me wonders if it is another trap to lay the blame. Tuesday Farage and Cameron took part in a so-called debate that was anything but. It was at best a Q and A of two halves with neither man sharing the same stage at any point. Catching that session briefly I noted Cameron's dumbed down accent. A few weeks ago he was verbally attacking Corbyn in the House of Commons and his plummy Etonian voice rose to the fore. Not on Tuesday night however when he ran true to talking to the plebs form and used words like 'wanna' instead of 'want to'. Chancellor George Osborne often does this. He tempers his vocabulary and accent to suit the crowd. That is such a patronising modus operandi. When it come to the EU referendum some are looking to blame Mr Corbyn if we leave the EU and pull up the drawbridge. Yes they like to blame him if the sun does not shine too. But in the end it is the likes of Nigel Farage and David Cameron who will be to blame. They both pushed for an EU referendum for their own reasons. Cameron is also one reason Corbyn will not share a platform with the IN campaign. Cameron used Labour leader Ed Miliband shamelessly in the Scottish independence referendum and then hung him out to dry. Wednesday with reports of a 48-hour registration deadline extension, a series of non-eligible foreign residents incorrectly receiving ballot cards to vote and reports that MPs may ignore a BRexit vote the UK is in danger of becoming a laughing stock. Allegations of tory election expenses overspending in 2015 still hang over British politics casting doubts over our very democracy. But for this writer suspicions that other political parties are pretty quiet on that perhaps indicates they have all broken those rules and more than once. Can Mr Corbyn save the EU day? Then again, why should he? If we leave or stay it should be down to the will of the people or why have we spent so much money on a referendum. If post EU referendum the proverbial hits the fan it must surely plaster David Cameron and the Tories first? [A friend in London, a German lady, received a voting card along with a government IN campaign leaflet] Check out: Will MPs let the United Kingdom exit the European Union Jeremy Corbyn damned if he does and damned if he does not Is extending voter registration deadline even legal? Op-ed: If you are British or have a vote in the UK EU In / or referendum there is a fair chance you are sick to the back teeth with scaremongers, threats and downright lies. Both the in and the out camps have been playing fast and loose with the truth. The fact is no person has the benefit of a fully working crystal ball and what happens should we stay or leave is open to debate. Maintaining the status quo could be the best option if you are one of those "better the devil we know" types of vote. If you have been turned off the European Union over successive years and bad news stories you may believe it cannot get much worse if we skid addle. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is between a rock and a hard place on many matters and that includes the EU and the referendum. Some party members and his own MPs simply want him gone and fast and they are prepared to sacrifice our futures and future elections for that end. Saturday the Daily Mirror posted a piece titled” Jeremy Corbyn angers Labour MPs AGAIN by 'hijacking' appeal for unity over EU referendum" which begins "The Labour leader has been under fire over his 'lukewarm' campaigning on the EU issue and his latest meddling has further alienated his own MPs." Note the word meddling! That is a report from the Daily Mirror a left wing supporting publication at this time. It is not truly a Corbyn supporting publication though. That Mirror piece says: Jeremy Corbyn has angered his own MPs again over the EU referendumJeremy Corbyn was at odds with his own MPs tonight - after hijacking an appeal for party unity over the EU referendum. Part of the problem appears to be that Labour officials and MPs are not used to a man with principles leading the party; a man who is a stickler for his beliefs. Then there is the fact that many in the PLP, parliamentary Labour Party neither wanted nor support Mr Corbyn. The mainstream media has been quick to post damning reports on Corbyn in part as they get plenty of eyeballs and make money but in some cases as they prefer a watered down Tory Party in opposition rather than a true Labour Party. Labour MPs should consider blaming the Tory Party for the current EU referendum mess. UK PM David Cameron opted to allow his party to split over Europe; it was the only way to keep them in government. But both sides have said a great deal in anger that will be hard to ignore post the referendum June 23. The Tory Party is not just fractured it is collapsing. The MSM is pushing the two Tory campaigns, leave and stay and by and large ignoring the Labour Party, Lib Dems, Greens and others. So let the Tories get on with it. It is there referendum; Cameron promised it to win the GE2015 and it worked although there are allegations of Tory election overspending which is a criminal offence. Whichever way Mr Corbyn jumps as he tries to remain true to those who elected him party leader and himself he will be castigated. You can never please them all and in many ways Jeremy Corbyn cannot please many of them! Op-ed: Ex-pats have lost their legal challenge to their exclusion from the UK EU in / out referendum but vow to fight on. They will have to get a move on as the referendum is scheduled for June 23. It seems even ex-pats who have lived outside of the UK for many years feel they should have a say in the upcoming EU referendum. The reason for exclusion is obviously as many are expected to be heavily biased in favour of the UK opting to stay a member of the EU According to BBC News the legal challenge was launched by two Britons living abroad, World War Two veteran Harry Shindler, 94, who lives in Italy, and lawyer and Belgian resident Jacquelyn MacLennan. This week they lost a High Court battle over the right to vote in June's EU referendum. But only ex-pats who have been resident outside of the UK for more than 15 years are excluded. Both argued that the EU referendum directly affected them although why Mr Shindler aged 94 is greatly concerned is not clear. But age is not a factor in the EU referendum though it is safe to say the younger generations of the UK and the EU will bear the brunt of the vote in the coming years. Will the BRemain and BRexit camps both going strong the EU referendum is still a tough one to call though gut instinct tells me the 'in' vote will win on the day. As many people struggle deciding which way to vote British people are being bombarded with advice from at home and abroad. Some is fact based other self-serving. One website that tries to offer true facts is Full Fact More: Register to vote Labour supporters get out and vote May 5 UK EU referendum news You have to be in it to win, vote May 5 Join me and vote for UK to stay in EU International Women’s Day, why European Union matters [Shindler and MacLennan's case] They asked the two judges to declare that Section 2 of the EU Referendum Act 2015, which established "the 15-year rule", unlawfully restricted their right to freedom of movement under EU law. Thursday May 5, 2016, the electorate in some parts of the UK goes to the polls for local and Police Commissioner elections. That is some people will go to the polls but many more will not bother. Talk to people as you go about your daily business and you may be told, "I will not vote because”:
The public performances of certain politicians and so much negative news of sleaze and corruption has done its work. The majority of people in the UK could not care less who is governing the country and especially their local city hall. In some cases it is not so much that they don't care who but that they view all our politicians in the same light. Personally this blogger always votes, be it sometimes simply for the lesser of the evils, and here is why. Politics concerns us all. It affects our Internet freedoms or lack of them. It decides whether or not the country will go to war. It manages the UK economy which if mismanaged can cost us all an arm and leg due to high energy costs, fuel and grocery prices, rents and local public service funding or lack of it. It sets the level of taxation and what benefits revenue may or may not provide. It affects us ALL. And never underestimate the importance of local elections. If you are jaded or worn down with cynicism you may believe that politicians will simply feather their own nests and you will struggle no matter who we elect. That is not true though. It is however one reason why we have a widely hated Tory government with a small majority in the Commons running the country and some would say running the country into the ground. Some politicians will always have more of a tendency to help those in need than others. Right now it is important to send a message to our politicians that we have had enough of their nonsense. It is time for them to behave like statesmen and women rather than squabbling schoolchildren. This blogger also holds the probably outdated view that as a woman people fought for her to have the right to vote. It was not given to women as a right but rather fought for. But look back even further and that is true for working class men also. Perhaps the single most important reason to vote now though is to send the Tory party a message; a message that we the people have had enough of the false flag of austerity to pay the deficit down. How you vote locally will affect local services but also send Westminster a message; if enough people bother to vote that could be a message of no confidence. Another reason to vote also has to be to stop an extremist party gaining a foothold in the UK. Apathy may be rife in the UK but not amongst those who support any extremist party. Fringe parties can all too soon become accepted mainstream political parties. When the going gets tough such people tend to increase their popularity. They offer what they think the people want to hear. By the time you realise how bad they are, it is too late. Voting has never been easier than it is in the UK right now. Most polling stations are situated close to where you live. Postal voting is another option readily available. Monday April 18 is the cut-off date for registering to vote in the May elections; you have until June 7 to register if you want to vote in the June EU referendum. Remember you have to be in it to win it. The effort will be minimal but believe it or not some will simply not vote, "because it was raining" Make sure you use your vote and use it wisely. The Week Op-ed: The latest man to play the Tory party's Despicable Me, David Cameron, is at odds with his ministers over the EU in / out referendum and the battle lines are drawn. It is way past the time when Labour Party backstabbers within the ranks did what they are quick to tell all of us to do and that is attacked the Tories. Those disgruntled and seemingly self-serving Labour MPs such as John Woodcock who criticise Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for not holding Cameron to account in the Commons exactly how he would have liked to have played it need to get a grip. We can all stand behind any leader criticising and saying 'no do it this way' but it is not helpful and in this case feeds the Tory propaganda machine. But Labour should be on the attack now that it is public knowledge that Tories are stabbing each other left, right and centre. According to the Independent Monday civil-war has broken out in the tory party and it is all over Europe. The Europe issue is a major concern across political parties in the UK but it was Cameron and his Tory government that promised a referendum to pull back voters ahead of the 2015 General Election. Cameron has until the end of 2017 to hold a referendum but this is one promise he wants done and dusted this year. It could be that he will then shuffle off to the backbenches as promised but remember not all Tory promises are created equal. He had to promise an EU in / out referendum for many reasons not least to appeal to vast numbers of Tory BRexiteers. Cameron and his ministers now enjoy a limited relationship; the Independent claims he no longer makes eye contact with Tory BRexiteers as they pass each other in the hallowed halls of British Parliament. This means of course that if we the people vote to stay in the EU Cameron will need a huge cabinet and parliamentary shuffle. If we vote to leave perhaps there will be resignations and the BRexiteers will fill the gaps. Either way unless you are a fan of the Tories it will be more of the same. That will only change when we have the next general election hopefully before 2020. With a slight majority the Tories could be in trouble if there are resignations, MPs crossing the house, deaths or the like. And it is in many ways good to know that backstabbing political rats who feed the mainstream media snippets of gossip also occupy Tory benches; Tensions that bubbled to the surface following George Osborne’s Budget and the subsequent resignation of Iain Duncan Smith now look set to leave a lasting imprint on Mr Cameron’s legacy. Happy Easter Comrades!
Op-Ed: It is unusual for this writer to agree with former London Mayor and top Tory Boris Johnson on anything but she does agree with him Monday as he "urges Obama not to intervene in EU debate." US President Barack Obama is expected to make a visit to Great Britain in April. It will be his last as President of the USA as he winds down his second and final term in office. He has already made it plain that he believes the UK is better staying a member country of the EU than leaving and so have some of his advisers. In February NEWTEKWORLDNEWS wrote "John Kerry may want Britain in EU but do you?" But if POTUS allows himself to be dragged into the in /out EU debate here in the UK it will be a mistake and could act like reverse psychology on some voters. Part of the problem is we Brits are fiercely independent and stubborn. We do not and will not take kindly to foreign interference in any shape or form. Will the fact that form of interference from Obama will be advice from the leader of the country often called 'our greatest ally' make it acceptable? Hardly, when only last week he raised a few hackles-"Obama criticises Cameron for having no long term Libya strategy after Gadaffi overthrow" wrote the IBTimes. Seems we are not such great allies after all. At time of writing BBC News says “No 10 has refused to comment on reports that the US president will use the visit to argue for the UK's continued EU membership.” So how come his name in being bandied about and Boris Johnson is saying “it would be "outrageous hypocrisy" for US President Barack Obama to intervene directly in the EU referendum debate.” “The London mayor wrote that it would be "wholly fallacious" of Mr Obama to use any trip to warn that the UK will lose global influence if it quits the EU.” Downing Street, in other words David Cameron’s office, has said Mr Obama and other leaders are "worth listening to" but it will be a fine line between debate and interference. Johnson supports the Brexit group campaigning for the UK to leave the EU whilst PM David Cameron is leading the BRemain campaign for the UK to stay in the EU. But with the Tory government and in fact that political party spilt over Europe the waters are more than muddied. The British electorate face a tough old time deciding whether Cameron’s alleged EU deal warrants an in / out vote on June 23 without everyman and his wife sticking their oars in. For some voters though their minds and so their vote has been decided for years and the deal and views of others will not matter one iota. Obama is due to attend a technology fair in Germany in late April and a source told the Independent on Sunday he would visit the British capital around that time. |
British political scene
The next General Election in the UK may not be scheduled any time soon but the British political landscape is changing. With that in mind this blog will concentrate on the political scene but with a left wing perspective. Opinion pieces and news will bring you the stories that the MSM prefer to ignore. Archives
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