UK General Discussion

[afleitch]

Urgh.

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/section-28-returns-uk-schools-ban-promotion-gay-issues170813

'Three UK academies have stepped back to the 1980s by banning teachers from saying anything positive about gay life.

Gay Star News can reveal Castle View Enterprise Academy in Sunderland, Colston Girl's School in Bristol and Swindon Academy have re-introduced anti-gay language from Section 28, which banned the ‘promotion of homosexuality’, into their Sex and Relationships Policy.

The schools’ policy states while ‘objective discussion of homosexuality may take place in the classroom,’ ‘the governing body will not permit the promotion of homosexuality’.'

[Leftbehind]

The way forward - you anti-reform dinosaurs are against progress(!).

So academies offer not just pissing away money when we're withdrawing needed money elsewhere, the removal of local accountability, anti-workers rights but now discrimination too. Yet they're fait accompli to the political class.

[Hifly]

Who makes up the Governing Bodies in those schools?

[You kip if you want to...]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

From UKPR, blimey!

Would love to see the response to "British people should be allowed to work in the EU" though

[Peter the Lefty]

Urgh.

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/section-28-returns-uk-schools-ban-promotion-gay-issues170813

'Three UK academies have stepped back to the 1980s by banning teachers from saying anything positive about gay life.

Gay Star News can reveal Castle View Enterprise Academy in Sunderland, Colston Girl's School in Bristol and Swindon Academy have re-introduced anti-gay language from Section 28, which banned the ‘promotion of homosexuality’, into their Sex and Relationships Policy.

The schools’ policy states while ‘objective discussion of homosexuality may take place in the classroom,’ ‘the governing body will not permit the promotion of homosexuality’.'

God.  And I thought we were the only 1st-world country where this crazy sh*t went down.

[Leftbehind]

Our political class know little more than to imitate yours.

Miliband's ratings are close to Clegg's in toxicity in the latest YG.

[Frodo]

It's interesting (as an American) to see that UK Conservatives are having the same problems trying to appeal to ethnic minorities that our own Republicans are wrestling with. 

[Supersonic]

Out of curiosity, are any UKers going to the Party Conferences this year?

[You kip if you want to...]

Our political class know little more than to imitate yours.

Miliband's ratings are close to Clegg's in toxicity in the latest YG.

Not to sound complacent, but imagine the Tories of August 2000 moaning about only being 6 points clear.

[You kip if you want to...]

"But the public just won't trust the Eds with the economy!"
http://www7.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2013/08/18/two-poll-findings-from-april-1997-on-the-electoral-impact-of-leading-on-the-economy/

[Supersonic]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23745539

CBI predicts 2.4% growth by 2014. 1.2% for this year.

[You kip if you want to...]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23745539

CBI predicts 2.4% growth by 2014. 1.2% for this year.

There's been many predictions made about the economy over last three and a half years.

[You kip if you want to...]

Silly season everybody.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-23755007

[You kip if you want to...]

And Caroline Lucas has been arrested.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

...at, it ought to be pointed out, a demo.

[YL]

So, just what was going on with Glenn Greenwald's partner at Heathrow yesterday?

[afleitch]

Yey. Scotland finally publishes the first wave of usable census data

[afleitch]

The 'Ed is crap' story of the last few weeks years is gaining further traction with Alastair Darling being the newest name on the list of critics.

Fixed.

[YL]

The 'Ed is crap' story of the last few weeks is gaining further traction with Alastair Darling being the newest name on the list of critics.

Several of these have had comments taken out of context.  (I don't know about Darling.)  Of the others, some fall in the "who cares?" category; I mean, why should anyone take any notice of Lord Glasman?

I don't, as it happens, think Ed Miliband is the best Leader of the Opposition ever.  But I see no evidence that any other realistic candidate would be any better, and the efforts of the left (in general) ought to be directed at defeating this thoroughly nasty and rather incompetent government rather than sniping at him.

[YL]

It isn't easy to measure media bias objectively,  but here's a study questioning the stuff you get from the Right about how biased against them the BBC is:
https://theconversation.com/hard-evidence-how-biased-is-the-bbc-17028

[Silent Hunter]

The 'Ed is crap' story of the last few weeks is gaining further traction with Alastair Darling being the newest name on the list of critics.

Several of these have had comments taken out of context.  (I don't know about Darling.)  Of the others, some fall in the "who cares?" category; I mean, why should anyone take any notice of Lord Glasman?

I don't, as it happens, think Ed Miliband is the best Leader of the Opposition ever.  But I see no evidence that any other realistic candidate would be any better, and the efforts of the left (in general) ought to be directed at defeating this thoroughly nasty and rather incompetent government rather than sniping at him.

Hear hear. Half this stuff is exaggerated by the Tory press anyway in the hope that it will turn into something bigger. We don't need a leadership contest at this time.

[Leftbehind]

It isn't easy to measure media bias objectively,  but here's a study questioning the stuff you get from the Right about how biased against them the BBC is:
https://theconversation.com/hard-evidence-how-biased-is-the-bbc-17028

Really, that's basically all known to everyone who's ever watched the channel for a sustained period of time, and isn't a blinkered right-winger.

The 'Ed is crap' story of the last few weeks is gaining further traction with Alastair Darling being the newest name on the list of critics.

Several of these have had comments taken out of context.  (I don't know about Darling.)  Of the others, some fall in the "who cares?" category; I mean, why should anyone take any notice of Lord Glasman?

I don't, as it happens, think Ed Miliband is the best Leader of the Opposition ever.  But I see no evidence that any other realistic candidate would be any better, and the efforts of the left (in general) ought to be directed at defeating this thoroughly nasty and rather incompetent government rather than sniping at him.

Hear hear. Half this stuff is exaggerated by the Tory press anyway in the hope that it will turn into something bigger. We don't need a leadership contest at this time.

I'd have said the same two years ago, and probably did, but we're a fair bit on now and all sorts of warning signals have gone off since. Whether it's Labour's increasing acceptance of austerity and Ball's promise to match Tory spending; further climbing down from policies of universalism; Byrne's race with IDS to see who can be the biggest wankstain and Labour's collaboration with that; the bizzare Blairite coup regarding the union link and last but not least Miliband's deafening silence as opposition and refusal to be seen to commit to anything. I'm not about to rally around another bunch of triangulators who can't even bring it in themselves to distinctly differ from a radically Right government - even if there are no obvious appealing frontrunners to replace Ed Miliband, he needs to feel the heat.

[Silent Hunter]

Why do people keep saying Ed Miliband is unelectable? Every poll by a reputable firm this month puts Labour ahead by at least 3 points and in many cases higher than in 2005 (when they won with 36% of the vote); the stuff about "Labour should be higher with this government" is rubbish as we're in uncharted political territory and he is on precisely one ballot paper come May 2015.

In fact, most people aren't really tuning into all of this; if we're having debates this time then that will be the time people really start paying attention.

[MaxQue]

Why do people keep saying Ed Miliband is unelectable?

Tory propaganda being effective.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Ordinary people don't pay attention to politics during the summer (and, frankly, hardly do until a General Election is called).