British politics thread

[mikesiva]

'Britain is the most corrupt country in the world, according to journalist Roberto Saviano, who spent more than a decade exposing the criminal dealings of the Italian Mafia. Mr Saviano, who wrote the best-selling exposés Gomorrah and ZeroZeroZero, made the comments at the Hay Literary Festival. The 36-year-old has been living under police protection since publishing revelations about members of the Camorra, a powerful Neapolitan branch of the mafia, in 2006. He told an audience at Hay-on-Wye: “If I asked you what is the most corrupt place on Earth you might tell me well it’s Afghanistan, maybe Greece, Nigeria, the South of Italy and I will tell you it’s the UK."'

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 54851.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mikesiva]

'Interviewed by The Independent on Sunday, Mr Saviano said of the international drugs trade that “Mexico is its heart and London is its head”. He said the cheapness and the ease of laundering dirty money through UK-based banks gave London a key role in drugs trade. “Antonio Maria Costa of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime found that drug trafficking organisations were blatantly recycling dirty money through European and American banks, but no one takes any notice,” he said. “He found that banks were welcoming dirty money because they need cash, liquidity during the financial crisis. The figures are too big to be rejected …. Yet there was no reaction.”'

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/cr ... 66262.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mikesiva]

So, the House debates the issue of Britain selling cluster bombs and other weapons to Saudi Arabia, for their bombing of civilians in Yemen, which is leaving millions of Houthis suffering from famine. So, clearly the moral choice is to stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia. But does the Tory government do that? No, they argue that they should continue selling arms to the Saudis. I'm not surprised, because that's the Nasty Party...we don't expect better from them.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 82706.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But what about Labour? Emily Thornberry proposes a motion calling for a cessation of arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Predictably, the Tories oppose it. About 129 Labour MPs support Thornberry's motion, plus 49 SNP MPs...they are the ones I have respect for:

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2 ... Type=Party" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Abbott, Ms Diane
Abrahams, Debbie
Anderson, Mr David
Ashworth, Jonathan
Benn, rh Hilary
Betts, Mr Clive
Blomfield, Paul
Brennan, Kevin
Brown, Lyn
Brown, rh Mr Nicholas
Buck, Ms Karen
Burden, Richard
Burgon, Richard
Butler, Dawn
Byrne, rh Liam
Cadbury, Ruth
Campbell, rh Mr Alan
Champion, Sarah
Chapman, Jenny
Cooper, Julie
Cooper, rh Yvette
Corbyn, rh Jeremy
Creasy, Stella
Cruddas, Jon
Cryer, John
Cunningham, Alex
Cunningham, Mr Jim
Dakin, Nic
Davies, Geraint
Debbonaire, Thangam
Doughty, Stephen
Dowd, Jim
Dowd, Peter
Dromey, Jack
Efford, Clive
Ellman, Mrs Louise
Esterson, Bill
Farrelly, Paul
Fletcher, Colleen
Foxcroft, Vicky
Gardiner, Barry
Glass, Pat
Glindon, Mary
Godsiff, Mr Roger
Goodman, Helen
Green, Kate
Greenwood, Lilian
Greenwood, Margaret
Haigh, Louise
Hamilton, Fabian
Hanson, rh Mr David
Harman, rh Ms Harriet
Harris, Carolyn
Hayes, Helen
Hayman, Sue
Healey, rh John
Hepburn, Mr Stephen
Hodgson, Mrs Sharon
Hollern, Kate
Hopkins, Kelvin
Huq, Dr Rupa
Hussain, Imran
Johnson, rh Alan
Jones, Gerald
Kane, Mike
Keeley, Barbara
Lavery, Ian
Lewell-Buck, Mrs Emma
Long Bailey, Rebecca
Lucas, Ian C.
Lynch, Holly
Madders, Justin
Mahmood, Mr Khalid
Malhotra, Seema
Marsden, Gordon
Maskell, Rachael
Matheson, Christian
McCabe, Steve
McCarthy, Kerry
McDonald, Andy
McDonnell, rh John
McInnes, Liz
McMahon, Jim
Meale, Sir Alan
Mearns, Ian
Miliband, rh Edward
Morden, Jessica
Nandy, Lisa
Osamor, Kate
Owen, Albert
Pearce, Teresa
Pennycook, Matthew
Phillips, Jess
Pound, Stephen
Reed, Mr Steve
Rees, Christina
Reynolds, Jonathan
Rimmer, Marie
Rotheram, Steve
Shah, Naz
Sharma, Mr Virendra
Sherriff, Paula
Siddiq, Tulip
Skinner, Mr Dennis
Slaughter, Andy
Smith, rh Mr Andrew
Smith, Cat
Smith, Jeff
Smith, Nick
Smith, Owen
Smyth, Karin
Starmer, Keir
Stevens, Jo
Tami, Mark
Thomas-Symonds, Nick
Thornberry, Emily
Timms, rh Stephen
Trickett, Jon
Turner, Karl
Twigg, Derek
Twigg, Stephen
Umunna, Mr Chuka
Vaz, Valerie
West, Catherine
Whitehead, Dr Alan
Winnick, Mr David
Winterton, rh Dame Rosie
Wright, Mr Iain
Zeichner, Daniel

The ones I don't have respect for are the 100 or so Blairites who chose to abstain, thereby ensuring that the motion was defeated. Those Blairites, including the likes of Mark Hendricks, John Woodcock, Toby Perkins, Keith Vaz, Mike Gapes and Kevan Jones, are nothing more than Tories in Labour clothing...I have nothing but contempt for the likes of them. Even Hilary Benn voted for Thornberry's motion! Those who abstained are despicable....

Get rid of the Blairites!

[mikesiva]

Oxfam warned that Bermuda’s approach to international finance – and that of three other UK-protected territories on its “world’s worst” tax haven list – “undermines Britain’s efforts to be an outward-facing, responsible member of the international community”.

The charity examined practices such as having zero or low corporation tax rates, unproductive tax incentives, or lack of cooperation with international efforts to crack down on tax avoidance.

It warned that the existence of tax regimes like Bermuda's deprived countries with actual productive industry of the tax revenue from economic activity based in their borders.

The Western world has mostly been in a period of austerity since the financial crisis of 2008, with deep cuts to public services and social security budgets across the world.

In recent years, Britian has forced down its own tax rate on corporations' profits in order to compete with other countries, with its tax take from the levy falling by billions in the latest round of figures released in October.

Other UK territories on the list of 15 were the Cayman Islands, Jersey and the British Virgin Islands.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 69386.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mikesiva]

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond took a stake in a food technology business shortly before it received a government grant to develop low fat ready meals.

According to records at Companies House, Mr Hammond took a stake of 15 per cent in Hydramach, a food tech company based in Cambridgeshire, in October 2015 when he was still Foreign Secretary. In April 2016, the company received a share of a £560,000 grant from Innovate UK, a tech start up agency of the then Business department.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 23381.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mikesiva]

How the Tories are systematically destroying education, health, housing, the environment, human rights, and...(yes!)...the economy.

http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/ ... manifesto/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mikesiva]

Bernie Sanders has congratulated Jeremy Corbyn after Labour exceeded expectations in the general election and looks to be on course to increase its number of parliamentary seats.

The former Democratic presidential candidate said he had stayed up to watch UK results come in and was “delighted” at what he had seen.

“I am delighted to see Labour do so well”, he told the Washington Post. “All over the world people are rising up against austerity and massive levels of income and wealth inequality. People in the UK, the US and elsewhere want governments that represent all the people, not just the 1 per cent. I congratulate Jeremy Corbyn for running a very positive and effective campaign.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/News/uk/po ... 80771.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Gils]

North Kensington is where I grew up, in three separate locations, my elder brother and sister still live in Kensington and Chelsea, 5 mins east of Grenfell Towers. I now live 20 minutes West of that location, the company who manage/d the tower also manage my brothers 3rd floor flat.

I havent been in the tower more than 15 times since 1990 but I do know an as yet undisclosed number of people who lived there.

For close to 3 days the MSM reported the number of bodies found as a minimal amount and for the most part I had to accept the small numbers reported because I didnt have any first hand corroboration, even though there are 120 apartments in the block. On saturday I finally spoke to people who grew in the surrounding area and were present when the building hadn't been consumed and their stories are much different.

The police although outnumbered insisted the local residents should not reenter the building to recover possessions, family or friends who may be in danger and in the event of a fire the policy is for all residents to stay in place and wait for the fire services to rescue them however, many residents didnt comply with this order while many others had cars parked beside the building which had to be moved before the fire services could get closer. There are also traffic bollards around the building which the fire engines couldnt get past so they had to go around which took up more time before they could begin attacking the blaze.

Space is limited around the tower and surrounding area so when I arrived their were 40 ambulances and 40 fire engines backed up along St Anns/Bramley Road. As you saw on TV the fire hose only hit one side of the building, that's because the obstacles around the building wont allow it.

I woke at 5 am on the morning in question to the sound of a helicopter in the distance, I didnt think much of it untill I turned on the radio and the news which was reporting a large tower block fire that had been raging in West London for some hours, I looked out of the window, when I saw the large plum of smoke I knew almost exactly where it was - I'd lived in one of the three smaller blocks that surround it when I'd first Ieft my Fathers home.

I put my cloths on and cycled up there. The fire was raging and had engulfed the whole building, the debris from the cladding was coming down over 800 metres away, police had set up a cordon to keep back onlookers and there were quite a few news teams on the scene. I've since seen a brother on the 15th floor who said he got out at the 4th attempt - around 4.30AM - but from what I saw after I arrived the fire services were basicaly forced to watch it burn out. Later reports confirm that many reentered the building without water to get more people out.

I, and many other more informed persons, believe there are no less than another 250 as yet unreported deaths as a cause of the fire that the MSM ( BBC / SKY ) in concert with the police, central and local government officials have colluded to conceal. They have been too willing to repeat the news that emergency services arrived on the scene in only 6 minutes but how many details have they provided since ? Diluting the seriousness of the disater by framing it around teresa mayhems inept attempt at self preservation is a severe deriliction of duty they must not be downplayed. Make no mistake, the BBC are paid for by taxpayers, who they clearly answerable to. Most people who've visited the area over the last week would agree the MSM is tailoring the story to fit their own narrative and the victims and their families who've suffered tremendous pain as a result of this preventable incident are not their primary concern.

Have no doubt, the relief effort on the ground is being propelled solely by the people of the country, the community. NOT local or national government or KCTMO - the local tenant management organisation, who have now taken down information from their website.

From government and central bank inspired auterity measures that reduce emergency services in the capitol, thru 3 decades of torynazi housing policies that margnalise the less wealthy in the borough, past the lack of safe construction practices and regulations that were fractured and broken for financial gain and stopping at the bully boy tactiics of the tenant mangement organisation and local councilors, there is much suspicion and many as yet unanswered questions. Already there is a claim circulating locally that the victims who jumped from the building did not die as a result of the fire so the local authority will be positioning iself to deny their families eligibility for compensation at the trial.


There are a number of other rumors I've heard but what I can tell you with certainty is property prices in RBKAC are among the highest in the country, westfield shopping centre had plans in 2013 to build from Shepherds Bush all the way to Ladbroke Grove, plans that the residents of the area managed to scupper - there are 3 more towers in the immediate vicinity and RBKAC had also drawn up plans to clad their homes. There is a long history of RBKAC covertly clawing back land which had been promised to the community who had beed displaced after the Westway flyover was opened in 1973.

73 deaths after 5 days is taking the people for fool, this is a national disater and a international event. Many people from all over the country have come to visit the area since wedsnesday, their unease added to the history of resistance to establishment in the area plus the concern many hundreds of thousands of people who also live in tower blocks and you can be sure this will not go away any time soon. Believe.

[Gils]

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[Gils]

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