UK News and Discussions

[wjfox]

Wow, even the hard-right Julia Hartley-Brewer is calling out the Conservative's BS.

Anyway, it looks like the Government is going to flip-flop on the standards review.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59163961

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

A worrying trend.

These numbers will only get worse as climate reality bites.

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Number of migrants crossing Channel to UK hits new daily record

32 minutes ago

Around 1,000 people crossed the English Channel by boat to reach the UK on Thursday, a new record for migrant crossings in a single day - as mild weather made the journey less risky.

Four Border Force vessels intercepted boats that were spotted off the coast and escorted them into Dover.

Three people are feared lost at sea as two kayaks were found adrift near Calais, French authorities said.

A Whitehall source accused France of losing control of the situation. The Home Office said British people did not want to see people die in the Channel as ruthless gangs profit.

More than 23,000 people have made the crossing from France to the UK by boat so far this year, a sharp rise on the 8,404 in 2020 - and far more than in years before the pandemic, when most asylum seekers arrived by plane, ferry or train.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59257107

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

Utterly moronic decision.

A great way to kill off the already deprived northeast.

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Rail upgrade pledge as Leeds HS2 leg to be scrapped

Published 21 minutes ago

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59320576

[wjfox]

Dozens of academics shun Science Museum over fossil fuel ties

Fri 19 Nov 2021 15.22 GMT

More than 40 senior academics and scientists have vowed not to work with the Science Museum as the row over its financial relationship with fossil fuel corporations escalates.

In an open letter, prominent figures including a former chair of the UN’s climate body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and several leading scientists, many of whom have worked closely with the museum in the past, say they are “deeply concerned” about its fossil fuel sponsorship deals and they are severing ties with the museum until a moratorium is announced.

“We are in a climate crisis and should not be doing anything to legitimise those companies that are still driving up emissions by exploring for and extracting new sources of fossil fuels when the science is clear that we need to be leaving them in the ground,” the letter states.

It is the latest blow to the museum, which has faced several resignations and growing protests over its relationship with Shell and a newly announced deal with the renewables company Adani Green Energy, part of the Adani Group, which has major holdings in coal. This week the Guardian revealed how two scientists had refused to allow their work to be featured by the museum.

Jess Worth of the campaign group Culture Unstained, which campaigns to stop fossil fuel sponsorship of the arts, said: “The Science Museum continues to dismiss all critics of its fossil fuel partnerships as wilfully misinformed activists, but in reality it is facing a profound crisis in confidence from the scientific community and losing the public’s trust.”

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/202 ... -fuel-ties

[Ken_J]

[caltrek]

As always, I will leave it up to Brits to determine if this report is accurate or not.

UK Climate Activists Jailed, With Controversial Protest Restrictions Coming
by Dominic Glover
November 19, 2021

https://www.courthousenews.com/uk-clima ... ns-coming/

Introduction:

(Courthouse News) — Nine climate protesters were jailed in the United Kingdom this week for contempt of court, following a campaign of civil disobedience which has disrupted the country's motorway network for months.

In defiant scenes outside London's Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday, activists from the group Insulate Britain claimed that their actions were justified, and said that the verdict demonstrated "cowardice" on the part of the government.

A High Court judge determined that "the balance between the protesters' right to protest and the right of members of the public to use the highways is to be determined not by the say-so of the protesters, but according to the law."

Since September, more than 150 Insulate Britain protesters have been arrested a total of 854 times whilst blocking critical transport arteries, such as London's orbital highway, the M25, and the Port of Dover, by gluing themselves to roads. Their actions have sparked frequent confrontations with commuters, and led to the government securing four separate High Court injunctions against the group to prevent the obstruction of traffic.

The group is calling on the government to fully fund the insulation of all houses in the U.K. by 2030, arguing that British housing is the least energy efficient in Europe, with home heating contributing to nearly 15% of the country's emissions.

[wjfox]

Govt to miss clean rail target by 235 years, claim Lib Dems

Thursday, 18 Nov, 2021

Only 179 kilometres of railway track were electrified last year, meaning it could take another 235 years to meet the Government’s own net-zero rail target, analysis by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

It comes as the Government published its strategy today confirming cuts to the HS2 high speed rail line in Yorkshire and the East Midlands.

Today’s plan has announced the electrification of “around 180 route miles” (289km), which is just 2.2% of the Government’s target of electrifying 13,000km of railway track by 2050.

Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson, Sarah Olney MP, said: “These figures are a huge embarrassment for the Government as they lift the lid on their shiny new rail plan. But it’s hardly a shock – the Conservatives haven’t hit their electrification targets in years.”

https://www.politics.co.uk/news-in-brie ... -lib-dems/

[wjfox]

Tory MPs try to trigger Boris Johnson leadership contest with ‘no confidence’ letters

2 hours ago

Boris Johnson's deputy has insisted the prime minister is "on great form" despite reports that Conservative MPs have written to their party asking for him to be replaced.

A dozen Tory MPs are said to have written to the chair of the Tory backbench committee, with one senior MP telling The Sun newspaper: “There is real anger. He has until Spring to get back on track or he will be in real trouble."

Under Conservative party rules a leadership contest is triggered if 15 per cent of sitting Conservative MPs write a letter to the chair of the 1922 committee demanding one – a figure which currently equates to 54 letters.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 63345.html

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[raklian]

Thinking about maybe moving there if they actually succeed?

[weatheriscool]

At this point Scotland probably would be better off going their own way. Do you agree?

[wjfox]

Thinking about maybe moving there if they actually succeed?

If they rejoin the EU, yeah.

England will only get worse, more polarised, more hate-filled and stupefied, the longer Brexit goes on. It'll be bad for my mental health to stay here.

At this point Scotland probably would be better off going their own way. Do you agree?

There are questions around the economics of going it alone, e.g. North Sea oil reserves are depleted now. But in the long run, I think it could work out.

[wjfox]

This is the kind of shit I'm talking about.

England is stuffed full of these disgusting, racist imbeciles:

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/ ... ed-258352/

[Cyber_Rebel]

If they rejoin the EU, yeah.

There are questions around the economics of going it alone, e.g. North Sea oil reserves are depleted now. But in the long run, I think it could work out.

Your situation and views regarding it kinda parallel mine and Canada's, so I hope this works out for you. Our northern neighbors do seem a bit more civilized yeah?