UK News and Discussions

[wjfox]

GOP-style voter suppression has been defeated... for now.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-61017998

Voter fraud is almost a non-existent problem in the UK. This was purely an attempt by the Tories to exclude certain minorities/poorer constituents who are naturally more left-leaning.

[wjfox]

But things are getting so bad now, I think the Tories could actually be in major trouble next month.

Martin Lewis warns of ‘civil unrest’ amid worsening cost-of-living crisis

Alana Calvert
1 day ago

Britain’s self-proclaimed money saving expert Martin Lewis has warned of “civil unrest” amid the country’s worsening cost-of-living crisis.

The popular TV personality and founder of the MoneySavingExpert admitted to being “scared for people” as inflation continues to skyrocket across Britain.

https://www.independent.co.uk/business/ ... 54843.html

[wjfox]

Johnson's position is now completely untenable. How can he carry on as PM?? It'll be farcical if he stays on.

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Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak to be fined over lockdown parties

3 minutes ago

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak will be fined by the police for attending parties during lockdown.

No 10 confirmed the pair had received notification from the Metropolitan Police that they would be given fixed penalty notices.

But a spokesman said they had not been told which event the fine was for.

The force is investigating alleged Covid law-breaking at 12 gatherings in Whitehall and Downing Street.

So far, a total of more than 50 fines have been handed out.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-61083402

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[caltrek]

^^^Aren't members of Parliament paid to serve in that body? If so, then it is pretty nervy to insult somebody else with the line that they should "get a job." If anybody is on the public dole, it would be a somebody paid to serve in an elected body. Especially, when they are derelict in their duty, such as holding an incompetent and/or corrupt leader to account.

I suppose I shouldn't complain like this about what to me is a foreign country, except that it so much resembles what is wrong here in the United States. That this "foreign" country is where English is spoken only makes the situation more transparent.


Edit: Typographical spelling mistake correction.

[wjfox]

Tories face heavy local election losses over Partygate, PM told

Sat 23 Apr 2022 12.33 BST

Boris Johnson has been told public fury at lockdown-breaking Downing Street parties will result in the Conservatives suffering substantial losses at next month’s local elections, with the possibility that the prime minister may receive further police fines ahead of polling day.

Steve Baker, a prominent backbench Tory MP, said voters were repeatedly mentioning the Partygate scandal on the campaign trail and the Conservatives should prepare to “reap the whirlwind” of standing by Johnson.

The former Brexit minister, who called for Johnson to quit earlier this week, told the Daily Telegraph it was clear the prime minister was not sincere when he apologised to parliament for breaking lockdown rules, adding: “The problem is the contrition didn’t last much longer than it took to get out of the headmaster’s study. By the time we got to the 1922 Committee meeting that evening it was the usual festival of bombast and orgy of adulation. It took me about 90 seconds to realise he wasn’t really remorseful.”

He said members of the cabinet who want the prime minister gone are “sitting there fat, dumb and happy and letting me do the dirty work” rather than risk their careers by publicly trying to force Johnson out of office. The Guardian has reported how MPs believe allies of Tory MPs such as Penny Mordaunt and Jeremy Hunt are already making preparations for leadership bids.

Baker has represented Wycombe since 2010 but his seat is now a key target for Labour, with current polling suggesting Sir Keir Starmer’s party would win the constituency if an election was held tomorrow.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... te-pm-told

[Time_Traveller]

Tories face heavy local election losses over Partygate, PM told

Sat 23 Apr 2022 12.33 BST

Boris Johnson has been told public fury at lockdown-breaking Downing Street parties will result in the Conservatives suffering substantial losses at next month’s local elections, with the possibility that the prime minister may receive further police fines ahead of polling day.

Steve Baker, a prominent backbench Tory MP, said voters were repeatedly mentioning the Partygate scandal on the campaign trail and the Conservatives should prepare to “reap the whirlwind” of standing by Johnson.

The former Brexit minister, who called for Johnson to quit earlier this week, told the Daily Telegraph it was clear the prime minister was not sincere when he apologised to parliament for breaking lockdown rules, adding: “The problem is the contrition didn’t last much longer than it took to get out of the headmaster’s study. By the time we got to the 1922 Committee meeting that evening it was the usual festival of bombast and orgy of adulation. It took me about 90 seconds to realise he wasn’t really remorseful.”

He said members of the cabinet who want the prime minister gone are “sitting there fat, dumb and happy and letting me do the dirty work” rather than risk their careers by publicly trying to force Johnson out of office. The Guardian has reported how MPs believe allies of Tory MPs such as Penny Mordaunt and Jeremy Hunt are already making preparations for leadership bids.

Baker has represented Wycombe since 2010 but his seat is now a key target for Labour, with current polling suggesting Sir Keir Starmer’s party would win the constituency if an election was held tomorrow.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... te-pm-told

May this continue in the 2024 election

[wjfox]

Sue Gray report ‘so damning Boris Johnson will have to quit’

Sunday April 24 2022, 10.30pm

A Whitehall report into lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street is so damning that senior officials believe it could leave Boris Johnson with no choice but to resign as prime minister, The Times has been told.

The report by Sue Gray, a senior civil servant, is understood to be highly critical of Johnson both for attending some of the events and the culture in No 10 under his leadership.

The report has been put on hold until Scotland Yard has completed its own investigations, but a senior official familiar with its contents said the findings are “damning” for Johnson.

“Sue’s report is excoriating. It will make things incredibly difficult for the prime minister,” the official said. “There’s an immense amount of pressure on her — her report could be enough to end him. No official has ever been in a position like this before.”

Johnson attended at least six of the 12 events in Downing Street that are being investigated by the Metropolitan Police. He has already been fined for one, a celebration for his 56th birthday held in the Cabinet Room.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sue- ... -9r372zdmm

[Time_Traveller]

Lords rally to protect independence of UK’s Electoral Commission

Sun 24 Apr 2022

Boris Johnson is facing another damaging parliamentary defeat on Monday over controversial plans that would give ministers new powers to determine the remit of the independent watchdog that oversees UK elections.

A cross-party group of peers is this weekend rallying behind an amendment to the elections bill that would strike out key clauses which, they believe, would seriously undermine the Electoral Commission’s independence and open the way for political interference in the conduct of elections.

The increasingly bitter row is threatening to further tarnish the government’s reputation over constitutional issues, following the unlawful prorogation of parliament in 2019, the Owen Paterson lobbying controversy last year and the ongoing “Partygate” scandal.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... commission

[wjfox]

Whenever I think the Tories can't possibly get any lower or more debased, they somehow manage to surprise me. Again and again.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... of-commons

And this is a front bencher (!). Wonder who it is.

[Time_Traveller]

BBC licence fee faces the scrap from 2028 as Tories suggest it's 'unsustainable'

12:37, 29 Apr 2022

Tory ministers have unveiled new detail this week of their plans that could scrap the BBC licence fee from 2028.

A White Paper on broadcasting was published yesterday that warned the £159-a-year levy may be “unsustainable”.

The fee received an extension until 31 December 2027 but Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries warned that announcement “will be the last”.

She tweeted in January: “The days of the elderly being threatened with prison sentences and bailiffs knocking on doors are over.

"Time now to discuss and debate new ways of funding, supporting and selling great British content."

Now the government has published its White Paper which, while stopping short of axing the fee, further suggests it will be abolished.

It says there will be a “review of the licence fee funding model”, details of which will be set out in the coming months.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/ ... rap-268319

[wjfox]

Excellent piece by Jonathan Freedland:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... is-johnson

[wjfox]

The Queen (Elizabeth II) is now a week away from joining the top 3 longest-reigning monarchs in world history.

And, assuming she survives, two years away from overtaking Louis XIV of France and reaching first place.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_l ... g_monarchs

[Ozzie guy]

An insane fact I heard about England is that an English football manager has never won the premier league.

I would assume the premier league is England's most popular sport (division 1 pro football). The premier league has never been won by an English manager since it's start in 1992.

It has been won by UK managers through for example Alex Ferguson is Scottish.

[wjfox]

Finally...

This thing has been delayed over and over.

-----

Crossrail: Elizabeth line due to open on 24 May

Published
45 minutes ago

The delayed and over-budget Crossrail project will finally open this month, Transport for London (TfL) has said.

The Abbey Wood to Paddington section will open to passengers on 24 May, although initially trains will not run on Sundays or call at Bond Street.

Known as the Elizabeth line, it was meant to start running in December 2018 but the £18.8bn project has missed multiple targets amid ballooning costs.

The railway will link Reading and Essex via central London.

The latest London Underground line will slash journey times from Abbey Wood in south-east London to Paddington by almost half - to 29 minutes.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-61095510

[wjfox]

UK news today:

– Local elections are taking place right now. Won't affect Parliament, but may be an interesting bellwether of public opinion. The Tories are forecast to lose a significant percentage of the 4,360 local council seats.

– Bank of England just raised the interest rate from 0.75 to 1.0%, the highest since 2009. The BoE is also forecasting inflation to hit 10% by year end, the highest rate since 1981, and is warning of a recession.

More worryingly, ONS data now shows that the UK can expect almost ZERO economic growth from 2023 to 2025 and unemployment is likely to increase by 2 million during the same period. I don't see how the Conservatives could win a General Election in 2024 in that scenario, given one of their principal talking points has always been you can trust them on the economy.

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

Enjoy your radioactive fish & veg.

Boris Johnson munches ‘Fukushima popcorn’ as radioactive food rules scrapped

Japanese PM arrives with a gift as regulations restricting the import of produce grown near the tsunami-ruined nuclear plant are lifted
Fish and vegetables grown near the old Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan can be freely sold in Britain after the Food Standards Agency (FSA) scrapped a rule on radioactivity levels in produce.

Controls on a wider range of products, including baby food and breakfast cereals, were lifted several years ago but the FSA maintained tight restrictions on 23 farm products, including bamboo shoots and bracken.
After consulting on the issue, the agency decided to remove a threshold that limits Japanese imports that contain more than 100 becquerels, a measure of radioactivity, per kilogram.

The FSA said: “Our risk assessment shows that removing the 100 becquerels per kilogram (Bq/kg) maximum level of radiocaesium for food imported from Japan to the UK would result in a negligible increase in dose and any associated risk to UK consumers. Without specific import controls, the emphasis would fall on food businesses to ensure food is safe under General Food Law. However, we would not recommend businesses need to take any precautions beyond their normal due diligence
Tesco and Waitrose said they had no immediate plans to introduce the items in store. They are already available in limited quantities at some specialist Japanese grocers.

Boris Johnson and Fumio Kishida, the Japanese prime minister, shared some popcorn from the region to mark the lifting of all of the remaining restrictions.
Meeting in London, the leaders confirmed a new defence agreement, which will allow British and Japanese forces to deploy together to carry out training, joint exercises and disaster relief activities.

Downing Street said that the Prime Minister “was pleased Great Britain would soon lift the remaining restrictions on Fukushima”.
The Fukushima nuclear disaster was the most severe nuclear accident since the Chernobyl meltdown in 1986. In 2011, active reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma shut down their fission reactions when the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami caused the power supply to fail. The Japanese government has enforced a strict regime on food from the Fukushima prefecture since the accident.

Japanese leaders have been calling on governments to lift all remaining bans. In 2019, the EU relaxed its rules as part of a wide-ranging trade deal. Brussels scrapped the need for radiation inspection certificates, apart from for certain fish products, mushrooms and wild vegetables. In exchange, the EU was allowed to sell limitless quantities of reduced tariff French champagne, foie gras, cognac, and wine in Japan. Britain agreed to mirror the food regulations during the Brexit transition period.

The rules on radioactive foods
The FSA previously set its maximum level of radiocaesium for food imported from Japan to the UK at 100 becquerels per kilogram (Bq/kg). However, it has decided that the limit can be removed without harming consumers.
The harm from consumed radioactivity is estimated in terms of the dose, measured in millisieverts (mSv). The dose is a combination of the amount of radioactivity in a person’s diet (measured in becquerels per year), and a factor which depends on the radionuclide present (for example caesium-137) and the age of the person. A higher dose represents an increased lifetime risk of cancer.
The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommends that members of the public should receive no more than the lower end of 1 to 20 mSv per year.

The FSA estimates that the dose to UK consumers would be no more than 0.016 mSv per year as a result of consuming food from Japan. Typically, individuals receive an average radiation dose of 2.7mSv a year from “all natural and artificial sources”.
Downing Street said the leaders also discussed the recent ballistic missile launch by North Korea. “The Prime Minister condemned the provocative actions and said the UK stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Japan and our Indo-Pacific allies,” a spokesperson said.
“There is direct read-across from the actions of autocratic, coercive powers in Europe to what may happen in East Asia,” Mr Johnson said. “That’s why we want to work more closely together.”

The Prime Minister added: “As two great island democracies, and the third and fifth largest economies in the world, the UK and Japan are focused on driving growth, creating highly skilled jobs and ensuring we remain technology superpowers.
The visit of Prime Minister Kishida will accelerate our close defence relationship and build on our trade partnership to boost major infrastructure projects across the country - supporting our levelling up agenda.”



https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/0 ... VLHEV1rJHs (Sorry it's the Torygragh, this is through ToryGate on Facebook)