Archive for the ‘British current affairs’ Category
Who won at Oldham? Jim or Jeremy?
December 5th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
In Thursday’s by-elcction at Oldham West and Royton, Labour not only confounded most expectations by winning comfortably, but it actually increased its share of the vote compared to the General Election from 54.8% to 62.1%. So whose victory was this? The popular and moderate leader of Oldham council Jim McMahon or the Labour Leader substantially […]
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Whatever you think about bombing in Syria, you have to admire this speech by Hilary Benn
December 3rd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
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What’s the UK doing about Syria? – 11 key questions answered
November 30th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Whether or not the UK should join bombing operations against ISIL in Syria is not a simple matter. There are strong arguments for and against and many considerations to weigh. Usefully the BBC web site has provided a short guide to some of the key questions.
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The news for Labour just gets blacker and blacker
November 30th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“Here is the really bad news for Labour. It has nothing to do with Syria, which is unlikely to influence the outcome of the next general election. Nor is it to do with Europe, providing that we vote to stay in the EU, as now seems likely although far from certain. The bad news concerns […]
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The growing despair of a Labour loyalist
November 28th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“… what enrages Corbyn’s critics most is not a doctrinal difference with the leader, but their assessment of the damage he is doing to the party. Their chief concern is over Labour’s prospects of ever again winning the trust of the British people and forming a government. And they want a Labour government very badly. […]
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The moment John McDonnell pulled out Mao’s “Little Red Book”
November 26th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Can the performance of John McDonnell as Shadow Chancellor become any more embarrassing? View this clip and, like most of the Labour MPs in the Commons chamber, just cringe. Before anyone takes any advice from Chairman Mao, it would be a good idea to read this biography of the ‘Great Helmsman”.
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Is Jeremy Corbyn good or bad for the Labour Party?
November 25th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Well, it depends on your perspective and there is evidence to support both views. The most recent evidence is from two polls: a YouGov poll for the “Times” and a ComRes poll for the “Daily Mail”. On the one hand, the first poll finds that 66% of those who were eligible to vote in this summer’s leadership […]
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Why did the forecasts of the opinion pollsters get the result of the British General Election so wrong?
November 17th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
So far, we still don’t know. An official study commissioned by the British Polling Council, being chaired by Professor Patrick Sturgis, is due to report its initial findings in January. But a survey by the British Election Survey (BES) seems to offer some useful indications. It looks as if the BES approach of random sampling […]
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Jeremy Corbyn’s speech to the Labour Party Conference
September 29th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
We were told that it was not going to be a long speech, but it lasted an hour. We were told that it was his first use of the autocue and that went well enough. Corbyn certainly thanked a lot of people, he name-checked a lot of colleagues, he made a special point of welcoming […]
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John McDonnell’s speech to the Labour Party Conference
September 28th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
At today’s Labour Party Conference in Brighton, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell made a serious speech with no jokes, no knockabout, none of his usual colourful language and a remarkably mild delivery. He called it “the new politics”. There were lots of good ideas in the speech but very little detail. Hopefully he will listen to […]
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