General UK Politics Thread

[Lyanna Stark]

Gordon Brown must be so proud. It's surely only a matter of time before they're being beaten by the likes of the Monster Raving Loony Party or the Duck Island Liberation Party.

I could definitely get behind the Duck Island Liberation Party!

[Usotsuki]

And that's why we only allow you Vikings to vote in European and local elections, however we will permit you to buy the original Duck Island :P

An MP who claimed £1,645 on expenses for a floating duck island is to sell it to raise money for charity.

In non-duck news: Gordon Brown survives. Long-running farce to continue for another year, nation turns to drink ... again.

[Lyanna Stark]

And that's why we only allow you Vikings to vote in European and local elections, however we will permit you to buy the original Duck Island :P

In non-duck news: Gordon Brown survives. Long-running farce to continue for another year, nation turns to drink ... again.

Five more years married to a Briton and I can apply for dual citizenship. And then I will endevour to destroy two countries' political systems. More duckponds need to be liberated!!

[Blue Roses]

In non-duck news: Gordon Brown survives. Long-running farce to continue for another year, nation turns to drink ... again.

Watching and listening to the MPs coming out of the PLP meeting last night was completely nauseating. "Oh Gordon's promised to do better now and there was a lot of genuine warmth for his leadership and we will come up with a load of new policies which will re connect with the electorate blah blah blah"

sub text: we just want to hang on to our jobs for as long as possible.

:bang:

[Daeric]

Nick griffin pelted by eggs

Not as good as what happened to Kilyroy-silk but still funny :P

[MinDonner]

Hilarious interview with the new mayor of Doncaster (there's a transcript if, like me, you can't be arsed to listen to the whole thing) - proper grilling by the interviewer, really shows up how utterly clueless the guy is. Why can't the national media do interviews like this?

TF: Well, I mean… these are the reasons people voted for you. Very bold points, as you said. Er, you’re going to cut translation services for non-English speakers - that’s a very bold point. It’s more than likely illegal, isn’t it?

PD: I dunno… again, I’ve got to find this out. It’s-

TF: Well it is - let me tell you it is, under the European Court of Human Rights it’s illegal.

PD: -Well, well, well let… we’ll look into this - we’re getting council’s opinion on what I can do and what I can’t do, and that’s…

TF: No, no, you said in your manifesto you would definitely do it.

PD: Yeah, well, I… well, I, er, if, if somebody comes in the way and stops me doing these things, then that is an insult to democracy.

TF: So what was the point of your manifesto? You might as well have said you were going to fly to the moon if you’re just going to say now that you can’t do it.

[williamjm]

Hilarious interview with the new mayor of Doncaster (there's a transcript if, like me, you can't be arsed to listen to the whole thing) - proper grilling by the interviewer, really shows up how utterly clueless the guy is. Why can't the national media do interviews like this?

I'm getting the impression he hadn't really been expecting to be elected (I'm guessing his election might have been mainly a protest vote), and thus hadn't bothered to think through any of his policies. I suspect he won't be very popular if he ever does actually make it into the office, as I can't imagine his fellow council workers being too thrilled with him arbitrarily declaring some of them should be fired (when he has no power to enforce that).

I think the ending sums it up nicely:

PD: Okay, I’m stopping this interview, it’s a complete waste of time, er, you’re not asking any sensible questions, and er, I really don’t want to continue.

TF: Peter, all I’m asking is how you’re going to deliver on your election manifesto?

>Silence<

TF: Well, I can assure you, that’s going to be one of the easiest he gets.

[Usotsuki]

And turning from Iran to another regime under pressure:

Opposition parties and campaigners have condemned Gordon Brown's decision to hold an independent inquiry into the Iraq war behind closed doors.Tory leader David Cameron accused Mr Brown of "an establishment stitch-up", while the Lib Dems threatened to boycott the "secret" inquiry

There is nothing quite as convincing as an independent inquiry whose membership includes the academic who wrote Tony Blair's address on intervention and another who described him as potentially a Roosevelt or Churchill.

And your daily doggerel:

You cannot hope to bribe or twist

(thank God!) the British journalist.

But, seeing what the man will do

unbribed, there's no occasion to.

[MinDonner]

Gordon had an article in the Times today (I spotted it over a fellow commuter's shoulder). Didn't read any of the text, but it was amusing to see the little note right at the end: "Gordon Brown is the Prime Minister". Thanks for that.

[Hereward]

In other words:

GORDON Brown continued his political fightback last night by somehow finding a brand new thing to make an arse of. The deputy prime minister had hoped to restore confidence in his leadership by announcing a full public inquiry into the Iraq War, but changed his mind at the last minute and decided to make a total arse of it instead...

Labour backbencher Julian Cook added: "As arseings go it's on a par with the election that never was and could even be up there with the absolute, balls-out fuck-up that was the abolition of the 10p rate of income tax. I really thought we'd have to wait until after the summer holidays before he got hold of a new thing and reconfigured it into the shape of a pair of big fat hairy buttocks. He's some guy."

[mormont]

:lol:

I did have to smile at the (genuine) interview on the radio this morning. It was put to one Conservative spokesman that some people might be unwilling to speak frankly to a public inquiry. He declared that surely this just showed what 'Brown's Britain' had come to. When you find you're being given the blame for the fact that people don't joyfully seize an opportunity to incriminate themselves in public, it could be time to quit. :P

(As if to top this the Lib Dem spokesman condemned the makeup of the inquiry on the grounds that it contained five knights, scornfully declaring that you 'don't get to be a knight if you're the sort of person who'd challenge the establishment'. I'm sure Sir Menzies Campbell and Sir Alan Beith were choking on their cornflakes at that one.)

[Gilgamesh]

The guy who was elected mayor of Doncaster was first on the officially-distributed information leaflets (so one wonders if he got the "lazy voter" sector). He also promised to slash his own salary from £62,000 to £30,000 pa, and to get rid of commemorations for things like "Gay, Lesbian and Transgender day" and various other rather unusual measures.

I don't think anyone expected him to be elected.... He benefitted a lot from the 'second preference' system that was in place. The Lib Dems didn't even have a candidate. Bizarre.

I saw an interview with him on Look North, and tbh, I thought he was fine.

Still, it was most amusing when he won.

[williamjm]

Gordon had an article in the Times today (I spotted it over a fellow commuter's shoulder). Didn't read any of the text, but it was amusing to see the little note right at the end: "Gordon Brown is the Prime Minister". Thanks for that.

It seems a bit of a risky statement to make in the current circumstances. "Gordon Brown was the Prime Minister at the time of the writing of the article, and might still be by the time it is published" might be safer.

[Daeric]

The great thing about all the now official released expense information (you know despite alot of it being blacked out) is that we got to see that Darling got threatened with loss of credit rating for not paying a bill :lol:

[The Iceman of the North]

You know this wouldn't have happened if the refund process had worked more smoothly.