DEM not gonna CON dis NATION: Rolling UK politics in the short-lived post-Murdoch era

OK, so the water-cannons-in-London thing we keep hearing about, that nobody who isn't a top cop or Boris Johnson seems to want (or to vote for if on the GLA) ?

They're inviting the public to respond to the consultation. Also, if any of you have experience with consultation docs, does it appear to you as if they're trying to get the cannons in by hook or by crook?

https://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/policing-crime/mission-priorities/water-cannon

are fourth place parties able to form coalitions?
xpost

TS: Conservative majority or Lab/LibDem/UKIP coalition?

the latter wd be funnier

It's gonna be Con/UKIP

nigel farage, deputy prime minister

still don't think UKIP are capable of turning their comedy protest vote into actual parliamentary seats, god knows they've had enough goes at it

Also I'm guessing that any actual parliamentary seats for UKIP will come at the expense of Tory seats (?). Which doesn't help much for coalition building.

But they won't get any seats

sure, that too.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26256971

Labour concede they won't give a fuck about the unemployed after you've voted for them.

hey, it's still important to vote for them as they will make a very real difference to people's lives

Blair 'advised Brooks before arrest'

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair gave advice to News International boss Rebekah Brooks on handling the developing phone-hacking scandal days before her arrest, a court hears.

^ Something so depressing about this.

it's okay, he says it was informal so no big deal eh?

as advices go though, they were pretty crap

hey guys, he was on a journey, just back off mmmkay?

You're surely not implying that the sacked manager of Cardiff City was party to this hell on earth?

something something shady club with history of combustible supporters something

It's probably exactly same advice he gave to Gadaffi when it all kicked off in Libya.

Rebekah Brooks has a terrible grasp of the English language based on that memo.

no that is how her name is spelt

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/feb/20/people-stripped-benefits-charged-decision

Cunts

the borough of islington were running assistance for welfare appeals and had >80% success

this is only blue sky dogshit that will never happen but charging for access to public tribunals lik this seems like an obvious human rights act violation

Immigration appeals require a fee, iirc.

"[Women] don't have to feel unfeminine," she said.

"There are some wonderful sports which you can do and perform to a very high level and I think those participating look absolutely radiant and very feminine such as ballet, gymnastics, cheerleading and even roller-skating.

"We really need to take a step back and actually ask women what they want and give it to them.

"Whether it's a Zumba class or a game of rounders after they've dropped the kids off. That's the approach we need to take - what works for them."

Helen Grant, Minister for Sport and Equalities, Ladies and Gentlemen

fuck's fucking sake

the aggravating thing is that there's a real point underneath all the 1950s "women know your place" bullshit

Immigration appeals require a fee, iirc.

― Ramnaresh Samhain (ShariVari), Friday, February 21, 2014 6:12 AM (1 hour ago)

and under current legal aid rules, as i understand it, people making immigration appeals are only eligible for legal aid if they're judged to have a more than 50% chance of success (not sure how this fits with the govt's earlier move to deny legal aid to non-uk residents, which I guess you could argue a new asylum seeker is by default).

It's not just the ConDems that have that opinion about women. The Labour policy document:

http://www.sportsthinktank.com/uploads/labour-sports-manifesto.pdf

There are now sports centres specifically for teenage girls; programmes such as “Back 2
Netball” offering flexible formats to appeal to women who may not have played sport since
school; and a UK Athletics Women’s Running Network, providing a safe an accessible
environment for women of all ages to enjoy running in their own time.
We will ensure that the Active Women programme, backed by £10 million of lottery
funding, delivers more opportunities to get women from disadvantaged communities and
those caring for children to play sport – including providing crèche facilities onsite for small
children, or sports activities for children while their mums play.
We will work closely with sports’ governing bodies to enable more women to take part both
in traditional sports such as hockey and netball, as well as trying a wider range of new
sports and activities such as aerobic dance.

iirc the main thinking at one point for why women didn't carry on with sport into adulthood was that communal changing rooms put teenage girls off sport because they didn't want to be seen in their underwear by girls they thought were more attractive than them. (or, rephrased, that looks were the thing that defined their decisions and not wanting to do sport)

(I am not playing the Tory card on this btw, just pointing out that our politicians these days try and make hay from minor linguistic differences while having virtually identical policies.)

as i said, i totally agree with the idea that anything that encourages people to be more active is good, and that women's sport needs to be taken more seriously by broadcasters and journalists. the language in that Helen Grant interview is counter-productive to those aims.

Unfortunately this is soundbiting off the main interview and taking a couple of quotes out of context. Interview here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/10636527/Sochi-2014-Give-British-women-the-sport-they-want-even-if-its-more-Zumba.html?placement=CB1

Presents pretty much the same thing you're talking about is good. Femininity issue appears/ to be in the context of this report:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/unfeminine-school-sports-leave-girls-on-the-sidelines-7704402.html

Which makes it seem like perfectly acceptable language to use.

That second report is two years old but is directly referenced by the interviewer for the first and it's in the context of that that the word "feminine" seems to have been first used, by the interviewer.

SCOTLAND's biggest food bank has run out of food

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/atos-crisis-fit-to-work-checks-shelved-3180876

people should go to prison for this shambles, and for the pain its caused the country's most vulnerable.

It'll be interesting to see which company (if any) takes on the assessments moving forward. The potential for bad publicity is so great it might have to get reabsorbed into the state if they can't find a business thick-skinned enough.

free government money for shoddy unpopular work? they'll be queueing up

ATOS have already renamed themselves, haven't they?

Yes, the brand is so contaminated they're going to be called OH Assist in the UK from now on.

"Atos have announced that they want to end their £500million contract with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) a year early, blaming death threats."

surely if you're fit enough to kill someone, you'd be fit enough to work

The FT is reporting today that, even by official Treasure models, there's a £20bn hole in Osborne's finances, which is kind of hilarious until you remember his solution is inevitably going to be "great, more austerity!"

official Treasure models luvin it brah

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-26480506

Bus Pass Elvis Party beats Lib Dems in election.

Don't Be Cruel

'Baby Let's Play House (of Commons)'

RIP Bob Crow http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26527325

anyone know how he died?

heart attack.

RIP Bob. Deserved his own thread.

Only 22 MPs voted against the annual welfare cap. If the Labour Party wasn't dead before it is now.