Current Affairs 2023

[paultheagle]

I couldn't sleep due to the fact that I wanted to get up early to watch the Coronation and then at 13.00 I am off to my one and only away match this season at Tottenham. I'm just so excited. But I have to cut the Coronation short to get to the ground on time. Hope I stay awake.

[Ray B]

Paul, your local council is buzzing with pretty ideas, Plans include a new water and light show installation on the Marine Lake, with the working title of ‘The Light Fantastic’. Thats nice.

[Onelife]

Rishi Sunak has said the Conservative party needs a change of direction if it is to win the next General Election…My advice to Rishi would be to step aside and allow Penny Mordaunt to try and salvage something from the disastrous local election results.

[towny44]

Rishi Sunak has said the Conservative party needs a change of direction if it is to win the next General Election…My advice to Rishi would be to step aside and allow Penny Mordaunt to try and salvage something from the disastrous local election results.

Rishi didnt say that, it was disgruntled ex Cabinet ministers who still pine to have Liz Truss as PM that have said that.
The next GE does not need to happen until 24th Jan 2025, plenty of time for inflation to be back under control and the economy to be improving, and it's even possible probable there will be a tax cut or 2 by then as well.

[Onelife]

If I have misrepresented what was actually said then I apologise…I was listening to a news report where Sunak was being interviewed and the quote, I posted was said during that interview….it must have been the interviewer quoting what ‘another’ had said.

The fact that calls for a change of direction are beginning to surface is a sure sign that the party is in dire straits, which, by and large is a self-inflicted consequence of a party which is plagued with internal power grabs. The public Imo can see though this and have become fed up with all the sleaze that has accompanied it. I personally don’t think any new or existing policies or indeed tax cuts are going to be enough to turn this around…. people Imo want to see some form of integrity restored within the party and for this to happen Penny Mordaunt would imo give them the best chance of achieving this.

[Ray Scully]

Are the gammons waking up to realpolitik ?

[Mervyn and Trish]

The guaranteed way to make the Tories popular again would be to put Labour in charge for 12 months.

[Mervyn and Trish]

So while people are moaning about the police arresting people on Saturday, it now emerges one group posing as stewards had bottles of white paint they intended to throw and others had rape alarms they planned to use to spook horses. Peaceful protest eh? The police had to make decisions on the spot. What would the critics be saying if someone had been blinded by paint in their eyes or killed by a bolting horse? Public safety trumps the right to protest every time in my book.

[Ray B]

They didn't have time to check the legality, had to make slit second decisions based on the new rule.
Did it correctly, lock them up, if you must do, apologize later. At least they could not disrupt other peoples enjoyment.

[Stephen]

A casual taser can also alert the senses.

[Onelife]

As I have already stated. I don’t agree with protests that use any kind of physical obstruction so if what Sir Merv has said is true (I have no reason to doubt it) then the police took the right action…my worry however, is that theses new laws could turn out to be discriminating against certain sections who wish to protest…. for instance, where do you draw the line… a doctor/nurse can withdraw their labour which arguably puts people’s lives at risk? Then you have protests such as rail strikes which stop people going about their work/leisure activities…do we ban them? I personally think with theses’ new laws we could be reaching the point where peaceful protest will not be judged on whether you have the right to protest but the occasion or issue you are protesting about.

[Stephen]

There is a difference between a peaceful protest and protest with intent.

[CaroleF]

Well said Stephen. Surely that's it in a nutshell, but difficult for the police to make an instant decision and always get it right.

[david63]

There is also a difference between protest and strike.

do we ban them?

In my opinion yes all strikes should be banned. A strike, by anyone, is a protest about an employer but it is Joe Public that suffer the consequences and they are in no position to do anything about the problem - in fact quite often the public exacerbate the problem by taking their business elsewhere.

If you are in a job and you do not like the pay/conditions then the answer is simple - find a job where you do like the pay/conditions or stop giving in to union leaders who have another agenda.

[Onelife]

There is a difference between a peaceful protest and protest with intent.

With respect Stephen I think you have missed the point I was trying to make…I have rephrased this sentence…

I personally think with theses’ new laws we could be reaching the point where peaceful protest will not be judged/policed on whether you have just cause/right to protest but the occasion or issue you are protesting about....e.g. finding every conceivable reason not to allow protests at state occasions.

[Onelife]

There is also a difference between protest and strike.

do we ban them?

In my opinion yes all strikes should be banned. A strike, by anyone, is a protest about an employer but it is Joe Public that suffer the consequences and they are in no position to do anything about the problem - in fact quite often the public exacerbate the problem by taking their business elsewhere.

If you are in a job and you do not like the pay/conditions then the answer is simple - find a job where you do like the pay/conditions or stop giving in to union leaders who have another agenda.

Hi David, I’m not sure what you say would be feasible or indeed desirable…. the only way it would have any chance of working would be if the Government accepted IPRB recommendations for the public sector workers and find a way in which workers in the private sector don’t get exploited by their employers….unrealistic, imo

[david63]

I’m not sure what you say would be feasible

Entirely feasible - if you don't turn up for work you are disciplined which eventually would lead to dismissal.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Dear Sir Keir. Is this worse than eating a birthday cake in the office? Is this Labour Sleaze?

BBC News - Paul Clark: Former MP jailed over child abuse images
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-65557543

[Manoverboard]

... not to mention the Labour Aide who kept his job after groping a Labour intern

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65572165

[Gill W]

Dear Sir Keir. Is this worse than eating a birthday cake in the office? Is this Labour Sleaze?

BBC News - Paul Clark: Former MP jailed over child abuse images
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-65557543

I take it that’s a rhetorical question. It’s obviously just plain disgusting.

Clark was my MP.

He lost his seat in 2010, and the last time he was a candidate was in 2015, long before Starmer’s time. I’m not sure why you expect Starmer to say anything about this.

Personally, I always thought Clark had a certain creepiness about him and never voted for him ( not just because of the creepiness)

[Mervyn and Trish]

Of course it is a rhetorical question and I'm glad that we finally agree on something.

I expect Starmer to say something because he is quick enough to comment if anybody in the party opposite steps out of line. Would be good if he condemned such behaviour on his own side.

[Onelife]

I’m not sure where you place the line of theses abhorrent crimes…but in my book those who hide behind the cassock of religion are the ones who take it to the next level.

I dislike Religion more than I dislike the Monarchy.

[towny44]

Dear Sir Keir. Is this worse than eating a birthday cake in the office? Is this Labour Sleaze?

BBC News - Paul Clark: Former MP jailed over child abuse images
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-65557543

I take it that’s a rhetorical question. It’s obviously just plain disgusting.

Clark was my MP.

He lost his seat in 2010, and the last time he was a candidate was in 2015, long before Starmer’s time. I’m not sure why you expect Starmer to say anything about this.

Personally, I always thought Clark had a certain creepiness about him and never voted for him ( not just because of the creepiness)

People will question Starmer because he is the current leader of the Labour party, just as they question the leader of the Tory party about every problem concerning past or present Tory MPs.

[screwy]

Watching Kevin Sinfield carry his mate Rob Burrows across the finish line had me in tears. This shows the meaning of true friendship,the man is a real legend. It’s time for Kevin to receive a knighthood,if anyone deserves one it’s him,not some two bit actor or someone who’s kicked a ball etc. Kevin has done more for sport and Robs illness than anyone.

[oldbluefox]

His knighthood is long overdue especially when you consider the individuals who have got one for doing the job they love and being handsomely rewarded for it.