The Official Politics Thread

[Colm]

Talk about Politics in this thread

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5353092.stm

Moderate Centre-Right party wins the Swedish general election.

[Colm]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5376760.stm

What did people think of Gordon Brown's speach?

[pookspur]

Talk about Politics in this thread

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5353092.stm

Moderate Centre-Right party wins the Swedish general election.

sonofabitch.

i've been saying for months that if the swedish center-right ever got their hands on the levers of power, i'd be taking to the streets. well ... now it's on.


now, where did i put my truncheon?

[pookspur]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5376760.stm

What did people think of Gordon Brown's speach?

i found interesting the manner in which he came across so moderate at this stage in the process. it's an interesting contrast with american politics.

that's not to say, of course, that we're not accustomed to politicians trying to be all things to all people - it's a staple of two-party democracies. but here in the states, it's much more common for a figure who is pursuing his party's position of leadership (the presidential nomination, if you will) to be far less centrist at that particular point. mr brown's speech doesn't appear to be an appeal to the base of his party for it's leadership so much as a more broad appeal to britain as a whole - more a part of the election campaign than of an intra-party process.

i can't claim to follow the internal dynamics of british party politics terribly closely these days (that probably shows). is this natural? or is brown's LP leadership a foregone conclusion, and he's getting a headstart on the general election?

[Colm]

or is brown's LP leadership a foregone conclusion, and he's getting a headstart on the general election?It's not a foregone conclusion but he is the hot favourite and has been tipped for the job for many years now. There will be an election to decide the new leader and prime minister of the labour party.

Brown and Blair have had to move the Labour Party to the centre and mabey centre-right some people say to get elected. Before 1997 when Labour got elected for the first time in 18 years they were a left-wing party and have generally been the left-wing party of Britain but they aren't so anymore because nobody was going to elect there nutty left ideads between the years of 1979-1994 (when Blair became leader of the Labour Party)

other candidates for the job are

John Ried (Home secretary)
Alan Johnson (Education secretary)
and some say John Hutton

[Colm]

Tony blair just had his last Labour party conference today.

Going on about how Labour have supposedly improved the country etc..

[Colm]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5380366.stm

Japan elect a new prime minister, a conservative.

[pookspur]

is labour (in its traditional sense) really that dead and buried?

[Colm]

is labour (in its traditional sense) really that dead and buried?Well kinda, since Brown (the favourite to takeover as prime minister) is new labour along with Blair.

[pookspur]

are there any serious threats or likelihoods of a more class-conscious labor faction breaking off into its own party?

[Danners9]

Seriously, politics bores me. It's something that happens TO me rather than FOR me if that makes sense... regardless of what needs to happen it seems that some have their own agenda and do whatever they want anyway.

Partly it bores me because I don't pay council tax, haven't been able to vote in a general election yet (for various reasons) and any policy change has such a small effect on me, individually, that I just don't care.

I'll be glad when Blair goes, but only because he's been there for a long time and we need some freshening up. They did some good but also a lot of sideways and backwards steps... but then again they were starting from a disaster created by Thatcher and then the Tories.

My major gripes are:

The transport systems. Increase prices yet the standard slips, or at least stagnates.

The war. If there was a chance to step out of Bush's shadow it was then, and especially since the evidence was by no means concrete it seems as if Britain under Blair has become a little dog that follows on behind Bush happily eating up any scraps he may throw down in exchange for unshakeable loyalty. Bugs me a lot...

Immigration policy also bugs me. Not that there ARE immigrants, because that's fine.. but it's the loopholes people can get in, Britain being the last stop on the European line for any immigrants and they don't close the doors to those they should. Hard to explain without being called a 'racist' but there should be more checks and balances... no surprises that as many people leave the UK each year as they do come into the kingdom. I will be one of them in the coming years too, sorry Britain.. f**k you. ;)

[Colm]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5383456.stm

Romania and Bulgeria to join the EU on jan 1st 2007, i'm quite sceptical about this.

[Danners9]

Broadening the boundaries... it will mean that more eastern europeans come to britain to "take the jobs", but in many cases that's a good thing. If the Poles are anything to go by, they are harder working and slightly cheaper than the local population.

Where I live there is a mass construction project, and the company I am associated with have found it hard to hire local people because they are lazy and unreliable - as well as needing to be trained. The Poles that have come over are already trained, work harder and are reliable.

Has Turkey joined the EU yet? That's the real worry, it then opens up Europe to much of the Middle East (more so, anyway).

[Colm]

Has Turkey joined the EU yet? That's the real worry, it then opens up Europe to much of the Middle East (more so, anyway).It'll be atleast another 10 years before they get in and it wouldn't suprise me if they turn towards the middle east instead of the eu in the upcoming years.

Most Romanians will go to Italy due to the languages been very similar and the culture being similar too, a lot of them might go to Spain too, I don't expect them to flock Britain like migrants from the the new 10 eu states in 2004.

The problem with these 2 countries is they both have high levels crime and corruption and the fear they might bring that to other countries due to immigration.

[Colm]

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13545194,00.html

David Cameron delivers his first Conservative Party conference speech.

[Colm]

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1236038,00.html

David Cameron conference speech.