The United Kingdom

UKIP = United Kingdom Independence Party.
Are they Left Wing or Right Wing?

Me, I thought that UK is already Independent!

HTM

Michael Riddell wrote:Well, UKIP now has it's first MP:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29549414

[snip - htm]

Mike.

Howard T. Map-addict wrote:UKIP = United Kingdom Independence Party.
Are they Left Wing or Right Wing?

Me, I thought that UK is already Independent!

HTM

Generally right wing, and want the UK to leave the EU:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Independence_Party

They feel that Europe has too much say in the UK's internal affairs and that it's no longer a truly independent country. How true that is, is a matter of some debate. The party is hopeful for substantial gains in next years General Election.

At the other end, you have the SNP, which is generally center-left in the European social democratic model and very pro-EU, but is restricted to Scotland only.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_National_Party

They feel that Britain is becoming too eurosceptic and if it leaves the EU it will be detrimental to Scotland's economic interests. Therefore it wants Scotland to be an independent country, but within the EU. It was defeated in the referendum on the matter last month by 45% Yes to 55% No, but it's received as massive boost from the cack handed way the no campaign handled things. Party membership is currently running at something like one in fifty of the Scottish population.

If you wish to be a pessimist, the UK is starting to bust apart at the seams....

Mike.

That's MP number two for UKIP:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30140747

Former Conservative MP Mark Reckless wins a 2,920 majority for UKIP over his old party.

Possible growing pains for UKIP?

http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/ukip_s_wins_show_it_has_the_thatcher_factor

" However, if Nigel Farage wants a well-established party with a grip on Westminster in the long term, a coherent message across the country is imperative.

Showing different faces to different parts of the country (such as benefits and the NHS in Labour heartlands, gay marriage and lower taxes in Tory seats) will be unsustainable.

Already there are rumblings among UKIP high command that if too many Tory right-wingers defect to the party, it could put off Labour switchers."

If true, and there are plenty indications that it may well be, UKIP are moving from the British political right to the centre.

Good move - you don't win elections by pandering to the extremes.

In the meantime, up in Scotland, the new First Minister (and new leader of the SNP) Nicola Sturgeon appears to be moving from a less confrontational and tribal model of government to a more consensual one:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-30133829

Interesting times indeed.....

Mike.

What ails Westminster - anti-politics, or just plain indifference?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29805829

Or is it a more fundamental question?

Just what is the United Kingdom actually for these days? The article highlights that so many decisions are now being made outwith Westminster's control, people are beginning to think it's irrelevant. Add in devolution and conflicting and contrasting social and political attitudes across the four nations of the UK and you have quite a toxic mix.

I can't think of any other country that's experiencing such a degree of existential crisis....

Mike.

"Democracy Rocks" for Nicola Sturgeon as she appears before 12,000 people at Glasgow's Hydro arena:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-30157986

I did like the joke about the Lib Dem conference being held at Dunfermline:

'The new SNP leader said she was pretty sure her event had beaten the Lib Dems on numbers but she had heard that "the phone box they are holding it in is pretty full".'

Sturgeon also called for 'a "progressive alliance" with parties such as Plaid Cymru in Wales and the Green party in England to change the Westminster system.'

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/plaid-cymru-form-anti-austerity-bloc-8151311

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/sturgeon-lists-demands-westminster-support-200135273.html

In related news, the Radical Independence Campaign has made a "People's Vow" at it's own gathering:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...itics-30151363

The People's Vow

*The People's Budget - mapping the alternative to austerity
*Ending fracking before it takes hold
*Land for all - Put our natural resources in the hands of the people
*Equality not as an afterthought
*Democracy before profit - Work with other forces across Europe and the US to stop the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership

Both groups not only want Trident removed from Scotland, but also full blown nuclear disarmament for the UK. Sturgeon's said already that part of the price of SNP co-operation with Labour at Westminster (assuming Labour is the largest party after next year's General Election) would be scrapping Trident and Cat Boyd, Co-Founder of RIC want's Trident not only gone from Scotland, but gone completely from the UK:

"......we want to embark on a campaign of civil disobedience against Trident. People don't want Trident in Scottish waters and they don't want it in anybody else's either,"

Note that if such an event came to pass, as French nukes are not at NATO's disposal, a non-Nuclear UK would leave the US as the only power in NATO with such weapons.

Radical Independence Campaign (RIC):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_Independence_Campaign

Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Party_of_England_and_Wales

Scottish Green Party (aligned with, but not part of, the GPEW):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Green_Party

Plaid Cymru (generally pronounced plide cumry):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaid_Cymru

On the surface at least, the rise of UKIP is pulling England off to the political right, whilst the SNP is pulling Scotland to the left.

At this rate, I don't think the UK will survive....

The People's Vow

Anything official with a title including the word People's is bad news.

*The People's Budget - mapping the alternative to austerity

That would be bankruptcy.
The problem with Socialist governments is that they run out of other people's money to spend (attrib. Margaret Thatcher)

*Ending fracking before it takes hold

Thus denying access to a large amount of oil located underground that is not reclaimable by other means. Riiiiiight...

*Land for all - Put our natural resources in the hands of the people

...and how many of those people have a clue as to how to keep the resources productive? Or are interested in preserving sites of natural beauty rather than ripping them apart to get to the minerals underneath?

*Equality not as an afterthought

Equality of Opportunity - excellent idea, albeit rather hard to implement.
Equality of Outcome - Why the heck should people even try to work when it doesn't bring in any more money? Hello Dolist underclass! People's Republic of Scotland, here we come!

*Democracy before profit - Work with other forces across Europe and the US to stop the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership

Well, at least they know that they'll be so strapped for cash in supporting all the Dolists that they'll need to place huge import and export tariffs on everything entering and leaving Scotland. Although it is arguable that trade aids democracy in promoting freedom of choice, so why try to limit it?

If the Radical Independence Campaign gets into power, Scotland will rapidly become a third-world country (in economic terms) and if it gets bad enough, it will be invaded by England in order to prevent it being used as a beach-head by possible invaders.

And before anyone scoffs, please remember that the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament was promoted and partially funded by the USSR. The plan was that after the west disposed of all their Nukes in response to pressure from the CND, Russia would be able to invade and seize Europe in the knowledge that their cities wouldn't be turned into glassed craters.
Those plans are still on file in the Kremlin...

Interspersed;

That would be bankruptcy.
The problem with Socialist governments is that they run out of other people's money to spend (attrib. Margaret Thatcher)

The saving grace is that the RIC is currently little more than a campaign group which even the mainstream SNP regards as a raving loony, though useful, set of thugs (see Farage incident last year). Even Sturgeon agrees that in order to redistribute wealth, you have to create it. Hence the SNP want the required economic levers to grow Scotland's economy devolved to Holyrood. This would mean a balkanisation of UK economic policy, but the current "one size fits all" approach isn't working either. It isn't just Scotland that's chafing.

Thus denying access to a large amount of oil located underground that is not reclaimable by other means. Riiiiiight...

Not as if fracking isn't controversial in England either. It'll be a useful resource if it can be exploited cheaply and efficiently, but there is the minor issue of many of the identified reserves being under heavily populated areas. See NIMBY factor.

...and how many of those people have a clue as to how to keep the resources productive? Or are interested in preserving sites of natural beauty rather than ripping them apart to get to the minerals underneath?

Agreed. Land reform in Scotland seems to be some form of totem of the Left as revenge for the Clearances of the 18th-19th Centuries.

Equality of Opportunity - excellent idea, albeit rather hard to implement.
Equality of Outcome - Why the heck should people even try to work when it doesn't bring in any more money? Hello Dolist underclass! People's Republic of Scotland, here we come!

As an Aberdonian, I'm less than enamoured at the thought of all the wealth created here being used to support all the social programmes currently needed in the western Central Belt. One of Thatcher's major oversights was forgetting to remember about the workers after the industries were closed/sold off/made more efficient. The jobs go, but the people remain. Part of the blame for generational Dolistdom can be placed at her door. It isn't restricted to Scotland either, Wales and the North of England don't exactly venerate her memory either.

Well, at least they know that they'll be so strapped for cash in supporting all the Dolists that they'll need to place huge import and export tariffs on everything entering and leaving Scotland. Although it is arguable that trade aids democracy in promoting freedom of choice, so why try to limit it?

TTIP is controversial in England as well, mainly due to it's potential affect on the NHS, amongst others.

Here's a nice little Spectator article from a few years back:

http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/alex-massie/2013/04/margaret-thatcher-and-scotland-a-story-of-mutual-incomprehension/

Where the Conservative Party falls flat, is that despite labeling itself as the "One Nation" party, it doesn't understand all areas of said nation, primarily due to it's Anglo-centricity. A lack of true understanding of the situation is what led Cameron to give Salmond a clear shot at breaking the Union. If he'd been a bit more savvy he would have left "Devo-Max" (properly defined, rather than the current fudge) on the ballot paper. The current constitutional mess can be laid at Cameron's feet.

"English Votes for English Laws" sounds good in theory and does appear to be the most popular solution according to polling. Unfortunately, I predict that it'll fall down flat when it's realised that extricating what is English from what is British will be difficult, at best. In particular when it comes to matters of funding, due to how the Barnett formula is calculated. Doing away with it is, IMHO, the best option, but it'll hit Northern Ireland the worst (in terms of what they get versus what they actually contribute, NI gets the best deal) and that's a powder keg at the best of times.

I still maintain that an out and out English Parliament, though I feel it's needed, is currently unlikely. This is due to the current Westminster set not wanting to create a potential rival.

Either way, we'll see, that's all that can be done.

Mike.

So is Dame Vivienne Westwood the secret great great granddaughter of Marie Antoinette?

biochem wrote:So is Dame Vivienne Westwood the secret great great granddaughter of Marie Antoinette?

Meh.

Typical fashionista - an oxygen sink who opened her mouth and let her stomach rumble.

In the meantime, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne has made what's called the "Autumn Statement". Actually it's a bit late, but we do have a General Election in five months time, so it's more about the politics, rather than the economics.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30094403

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-30323279

From my own perspective as an Aberdonian, I welcome the tax cuts for the North Sea:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-30313108

Could be a bit more extensive, but something needs to be done as the current low oil price wasn't helping exploration and investment. Note that the SNP are still sticking their fingers in their ears about oil revenue.

He's also announced changes to what's known as "Stamp Duty" which is actually a property based tax:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30291460

The irony here is that the system he's introducing from midnight (UK time) tonight is somewhat similar to that which the SNP led Scottish Government announced a few weeks ago:
http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Land-and-Buildings-Transaction-Tax-1118.aspx

The primary difference is that the SNP plan will be more punitive once it comes into force in April next year.

Speaking of property, the SNP has announced that there will be a public consultation over land ownership in Scotland:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-30193791

This includes plans to reform inheritance, the Scottish Conservatives are not amused:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-30268536

As well as restrictions on land ownership:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-30297930

There will also be an end to tax breaks for Sporting Estates. Naturally the big land owners and many in the rural community aren't exactly jumping for joy, but they have said that they will participate in the Public Consultation in good faith.

There's also been some embarrassment for the SNP over the conduct of four of their Councillors in Renfrewshire, who burned a copy of the Smith Commission on Scottish Devolution in protest:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-30310906

This actually highlights that there is split in the SNP which is generally kept very well hidden. There are actually two camps in the party, the pragmatists and the radicals. The former are perhaps the right wing of the party, who prefer a gradual, steady move to independence and view the Smith Commission as useful tool. The latter are the left wing and want things to move much faster and view the Commission as a pack of lies sold to the Scottish people by the untrustworthy Westminster parties. These are the ones who would support Scotland making a "Unilateral Declaration of Independence" (as if that worked for Rhodesia! ) and consist of most of the loony socialist types.

For info, here's a link to the Smith Commission report:
https://www.smith-commission.scot/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/The_Smith_Commission_Report-1.pdf

Mike.

Alex "Lazarus" Salmond will be making a comeback:

http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/alex_salmond_to_stand_as_mp_at_general_election

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-30364575

A predicted move. He does have a reasonable chance of winning the seat as the current Liberal Democrat incumbent is retiring and the replacement LD candidate is both new and an unknown.

May 2015 is shaping up to be a very interesting General Election.

Mike.