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

why do you hate him so much? Is it his personality or what he stands for?

Where do you start?

- Not actually that left-wing but plays up to it for the benefit of voters
- "I salute your strength, your courage etc etc"
- Standing against Jewish candidate in Bethnal Green & Bow knowing he could take advantage of racial tensions in the area etc etc

- just a terrible mp, does nothing for constituents, never attends parliament
- raised money to help an iraqi girl with leukaemia and used it for political campaigning
- took money from the oil to food programme while protesting the effects of sanctions
- "syria is, as I have often said, the last castle of arab dignity"
- embarrassing cat impersonation on tv

etc...

What racial tensions, Matt? King was elected twice as MP for BG&B, and got voted out because she supported a war that made most of her constituents apoplectic with rage. Always good to remind the MPs even in the safest seats that they're not invulnerable- see also Neil Hamilton in Tatton.

Would also disagree to an extent about him being a terrible constituency MP, his backroom staff were pretty active on local stuff when I lived in BG&B. And if you're a commons party of one, I can see the logic that much parliamentary business is a waste of time.

The Telegraph, among others, had to pay out a fair bit in damages for claiming Galloway took money from the oil for food programme.

<em>always</em> good?

I'll go with yes until you come up with an example which makes me go 'hmmmm...'

germany in the 1930s

that time in 2010 when the conservatives won the general election

Yeah, a lot of the reasons you guys have listed are untrue or just regurgitated spins from the media. I'm interested in hearing more facts on this one, though: - Not actually that left-wing but plays up to it for the benefit of voters. I have had my doubts about this too, and would be swayed off the fence if you can back it up with evidence. I mean, don't get me wrong, the man is a smarmy self-publicist, but if you have to take that for some left-wing policies then I can deal with it. If you don't actually get the promised policies, then dude can piss off.

I think he is "left wing" but that's about the only good thing I can think to say about him

in a two horse race between him and david cameron i would vote for cameron

"syria is, as I have often said, the last castle of arab dignity"

^ how much more do you need really?

Of course it isn't "always" good - at local level BNP councillors get in partly because of dissatisfaction with mainstream incumbents. But generally I agree that MPs in safe seats shouldn't complacently assume they'll get back whatever they do.

There were plenty of Labour MPs who voted for the war and enraged their constituents, Galloway made a conscious decision to pick Bethnal Green & Bow and I'm not sure you can separate that from racial tensions in the area around 2005. At the heart of this is whether you think Galloway actually does anything for his constituents. I opposed the war and think it's quite right that MPs who voted for it against the wishes of their constituents got voted out, but those constituents deserved better than Galloway frankly.

"syria is, as I have often said, the last castle of arab dignity"

This quote could mean many things tho!!! If he'd said that Assad was the last castle of Arab dignity then it is obv reprehensible, but he didn't.

There were plenty of Labour MPs who voted for the war and enraged their constituents, Galloway made a conscious decision to pick Bethnal Green & Bow and I'm not sure you can separate that from racial tensions in the area around 2005.

I'm not sure you can separate it from the fact that 40%+ of Bethnal Green is Muslim but, as they overwhelmingly voted for a Jewish MP before that, i don't know if racial tension is really the right term here.

in a two horse race between him and david cameron i would vote for cameron

― caek, Friday, March 30, 2012 3:21 PM (15 minutes ago)

that sounds like the uk verzh of a french presidential runoff, metropolitan smarm vs stalinist rabble-rouser

The Telegraph, among others, had to pay out a fair bit in damages for claiming Galloway took money from the oil for food programme.

― Bananaman Begins, Friday, 30 March 2012 15:05 (26 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

a parliamentary inquiry ruled that it was "undeniable" that he and the mariam appeal had taken oil for food money. the telegraph lost its case because it relied on a public interest defence rather than trying to claim justification: it paired the story with a swivel-eyed editorial that called galloway a "traitor", which destroyed its public interest claim of merely bringing allegations to light for public debate.

but the only time anyone has had to make a ruling on the facts of whether galloway took oil for food money was the parliamentary inquiry, and it said he did.

i'm getting deja vu because i'm sure we've been through this before. the fact that it isn't better known that galloway did indeed take money from saddam - and away from the iraqi people when they needed food and medical supplies - is just an example of the chilling effects of his litigiousness.

"syria is, as I have often said, the last castle of arab dignity"

This quote could mean many things tho!!! If he'd said that Assad was the last castle of Arab dignity then it is obv reprehensible, but he didn't.

― Grandpont Genie, Friday, 30 March 2012 15:33 (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

he said that in a letter to assad. it's pretty unambiguous!

the man is a smarmy self-publicist

call me an unreconstructed Trot, but this is the point at which you cease to qualify as legitemately left wing

George Galloway is still an indelible CUNT.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/9176237/Even-Im-starting-to-wonder-what-do-this-lot-know-about-anything.html

Have we done this one already?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/mar/30/police-racism-black-man-abuse

The CPS initially said charges should not be brought against MacFarlane because the remarks did not cause the man harassment, distress or alarm.

when they've sacked the police officer, they shd sack whichever cunt came to this decision too

It is in this murky light, surely, that one must interpret all the current mutterings about class. Most voters do not have an absolute objection to any politician on the grounds of his social, regional or racial origin. But such origins can arouse suspicions or prejudices which may then be confirmed by certain actions. Once upon a time, for example, I barely noticed whether a British politician was Scottish, but once devolution got going and yet more Scots seemed to swell the Cabinet in London, I became uneasy. “What are you doing down south? Why are you giving so many jobs to your chums?” I found myself asking.

Charles Moore you are a weird, sad little dude

Someones been reading the Protocols of the Elders of Cowdenbeath.

Ha ha.

Once upon a time, for example, I barely noticed whether a British politician was Scottish, but once six geldings and a coach with four horses were dispatched to bring the king to England and James left Edinburgh for his month-long journey through his new kingdom through the beautiful spring weather, and all the prisoners in Newcastle were released except those accused of "treason, murther and papistrie", and all those gaoled for debt had their debts paid off, and in York a conduit ran all day with white wine and claret and at Worksop the king was entertained by "excellent, soule-ravishing musique" by the Earl of Shrewsbury, I became uneasy.

i wd Excelsior that but, y'know, pearls and swine

The CPS initially said charges should not be brought against MacFarlane because the remarks did not cause the man harassment, distress or alarm.

I'm fairly sure that the test isn't whether the words caused distress, etc, but whether they were likely to. Whether he was alarmed isn't really the point. It's difficult, going on the facts given, to see how that decision could have been reached.

Email and web monitoring laws 'to be brought in soon'

Lord Carlile, the former official reviewer of terrorism legislation, said that "having come into government, the coalition parties have realised this kind of material has potential for saving lives, preventing serious crime and helping people to avoid becoming victims of serious crime".

So stick your civil liberties up yer arse. Vote Lib Dem.

http://www.karoo.co.uk/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=N0193991333956312495A&category=UK

shd be a separate thread for "things that cost the UK economy billions according to Friedmanite scumbags". i wd wish actual harm on these people but hey i'm on holiday so fuck 'em.

Scrapping public holidays could add £18 billion to the nation's annual economic output, according to a think-tank.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research said each bank holiday costs the United Kingdom economy in the region of £2 billion.

Too much annual leave clearly the problem here.

Denmark 39.5
Austria 38
Sweden 36
Slovakia 35
Luxembourg 35
France 35
Germany 34-39
Portugal 34
Czech Republic 33
Slovenia 33
Italy 32
Spain 32
Greece 32
Poland 31
Finland 31
Bulgaria 31
Belgium 30
Hungary 30
Romania 30
Ireland 29
Netherlands 28-29
UK 28

If we scrapped weekends we could add 200 billion more!

the sheer nebulousness of anything quality of life related "losing" the "economy" money is a nice lens, you can look back thru it and see straight into the insect brains of the economists who wish they ran the government

Short-sighted too as i'm fairly sure at-work productivity would increase if people didn't hate their fucking bosses / jobs so much.

And this 'research' gets wheeled out every bank holiday...

scrapping them? hell we get loads too few as it is. Spain has 13! i always thought a great sweetener to put in a pre-election manifesto would be to offer more public holidays. i mean if party X were going to give you 3 more Bank Holidays that'd be such a big deal in the UK. there should at least a couple more in Autumn/ Winter.

there shd be a few more. i guess the subtext of the "taking holidays will not make us the economic master race" guys' report is that they want the existing holidays spread out thru autumn and winter but tbh let's have them when there's at least the possibility of sunshine and warmness?

We should move the late May one to the end of June / start of July

I suspect what they really want is to kill Mayday, as proposed last year. Too much association with radicalism. Well, they can fuck right off.

bank holidays were invented or codified by a victorian banker iirc

nv is apt with 'insect brains of the economists', fuck all those bawheid dorks, esp the selfconsciously reasonable and modest behavioural economists that the restoration enjoys

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/georgeosborne/9194558/George-Osborne-Im-going-after-the-wealthy-tax-dodgers.html

of course you're 'shocked'.
we believe you george.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/apr/19/metropolitan-police-accused-racism-firefighter

hey, the chief super said that half the allegations of racism against the Met were raised by police officers so obv they've got this shit sorted

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17815769

never thought I'd find myself agreeing with Nadine Dorries in any way!

she's been running with this line for a while now hasn't she? makes total sense that she's embracing the ~maverick backbencher~ role (and all she;s doing is aligning herself with the tory grassroots)

passion to want to understand the lives of others
passion to want to understand the lives of others
passion to want to understand the lives of others
passion to want to understand the lives of others
passion to want to understand the lives of others

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2133369/Eric-Joyce-gives-astonishing-interview-MP-youll-read.html

somewhat worrying that this twitchy psycho became a major and then a labour mp