UK General Discussion

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

I don't recall a teacher (or lecturer or whatever) saying 'the welfare state is sacred, we must worship it', but maybe I wasn't paying attention at the time.

You get the general idea.

I certainly get that it's bullsh**t, and I'm not even British.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Very happy to hear that the Labour Party will no longer be whipping MPs to vote in favour of Gay Marriage. Apparently 3 shadow cabinet members threatened to resign if the vote was whipped!

...oh Christ. This could turn into a disaster.

I can't believe they've banned CoE/W churches from performing them; what a sham piece of legislature. It's the AV vote all over again.

Yeah, that's entirely redundant as well as stupid.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Wait, there's a David Davies in the Tory Parliamentary Party as well as a David Davis? Wonderful.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Things relating to a certain issue have taken a turn for the surreal:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/dec/13/anglican-church-protests-gay-marriage-ban

I'm not entirely surprised, since the fourth part of the so-called 'quadruple lock' is prima facie redundant and pointless as well as stupid, and it seems like the Church in Wales has enough of a vague sense of self-respect to know that.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

David Cameron's voting against the Queen's speech. This is madness. "He's in office, but he's not in power" indeed.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/05/10/david-cameron-european-union-referendum_n_3250666.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

That is absolutely absurd.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Most of the other people who were named as new Peers yesterday, however, pretty clearly bought their peerages in the traditional manner.

Abolish the f**king thing.

Bring back the Hereditary Peers.

The more the merrier - to be abolished.

Re-seating the hereditaries for a grand finale where the chamber is consigned to the dust of the grave would be quite romantic in its way.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Is it just me or does he sound like a Dalek?