Tag: politics

To Prorogue, pro & con.

Proroguing the UK Parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit, against the will of the UK Parliament.
Tell me more.

I reblogged a piece from Pride’s Purge recently.

My friend The Secular Jurist requested, quite rightly, further information upon which to form a judgement, in the form of questions.

Rather than repeat the words of those whose wisdom I have sought, I will provide links to sources rather more authoritative than I am. I hope that the following will provide a degree of enlightenment on this vexed topic.

Please read one, or some, or all these pieces. I think that one will find that they all point in the same direction; namely, that while proroguing Parliament is an annual event to tidy and reset the process of government, proroguing Parliament for the purpose of pushing through primary legislation of a contentious nature is a rare occurrence, one that pushes against the boundaries of the unwritten constitution underpinning the process and procedure of legislature in the United Kingdom.

Since everything in the Houses of Commons and of the Lords is ritualised, there is little happening therein which cannot but be regarded as symbolic.

A read through any of the linked sources will reveal the grave concern of many that the use of this power, or perhaps loss of power, to push through something against the will of our sovereign government, could cause catastrophic constitutional problems.

A previous Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has raised the possibility that the next Prime Minister might be the last. Another former PM, Sir John Major, has vowed to fight this matter through the courts. Of course, the Queen is above challenge; the PM is not.

Adding to the brew are those government Members of Parliament who are beginning to resign so that they are free to vote against their 274 colleagues on the “List of Shame.”

Sir Alan Duncan, a Foreign Office minister, has resigned in the last two hours. It is widely expected that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, second only to the Prime Minister, will soon be resigning on the issue of Boris Johnson becoming PM and taking these extraordinary measures to subvert the will of the elected, sovereign government.

In this, it should be remembered that one of the claims promulgated in support of the British Exit from the European Union was the return of sovereignty to the UK Parliament; this rings hollow when one of the chief architects of the British Exit will, on his elevation to Prime Minister, subvert the will of Parliament.

As a final note, the Prime Minister will have been elected by approximately 0.25% of the population.

I just wish we had more sun here and that the bananas grew liberally on trees here.

Continue reading “To Prorogue, pro & con.”

I’m on my war horse

I’m on my war horse

https://berylkingstonblog.wordpress.com/2018/07/31/im-on-my-war-horse/
— Read on berylkingstonblog.wordpress.com/2018/07/31/im-on-my-war-horse/

I share this without comment beyond saying it is worth the read, and is a worthwhile read.

Sad Little England.

GOGWIT IS FEELING annoyed and downbeat today, this brief blog is the substance of what is getting under my skin.

I was born 10 minutes walk from the centre of Birmingham. I have never driven and my passport expired in the early 90s, I did not replace it, there seemed no need.

Fortunately I have my birth certificate.

Even so, a growing number of situations require production of valid photo ID and it is then that we encounter the true meaning of the “insolence of office” which is stressful in the extreme and which pushes me – yes, me – to the verge of losing my temper – which would be unfortunate, embarrassing and rather unpleasant.

But at least I do not have to prove, in addition, my residence status over several decades, failure to comply potentially resulting in losing employment, being detained or even being deported.

Compared to the trials being experienced by the so called “Windrush Generation” my problems seem insignificant.
They do not seem so when some functionary is required to tick boxes for documents I do not possess.

There is so much that is good about this country to be proud of and to rejoice in and celebrate.

However, the way this country has, in recent years, treated so many of its subjects of Commonwealth and New Commonwealth heritage is not among those matters for celebration. It is a matter for shame, it is a blemish and it summarises, most succinctly, where we are wrong and could do so much better.

Today, our Prime Minister apologised publicly to Commonwealth Heads of Governments for this outrageous state of affairs, until recent days UK Home Office policy. The current Home Secretary has already had to backtrack, in Parliament, on this toxic legacy from the days when the current Prime Minister was the then Home Secretary.

Fine words are, well, fine words but alone they butter few parsnips. Harm has already been done and action is required to make amends and to resolve this issue. There were fine words issued after the Manchester concert bombing.
There was an outpouring of fine words following the Grenfell Tower fire, so dreadful that one only need say “Grenfell” and everyone knows exactly what one is talking about; vanishingly few of the issues have been addressed and resolved, few of the promises have been delivered.

We often hear the call to “make a bonfire of the red tape” by which is commonly meant the checks, balances, safeguards and protocols that protect us from unscrupulous exposure to unsound and dangerous processes.

I would like to call for a bonfire of the red tape used to discriminate, deter and debar those resident in this land from living and thriving in productive and happy lives.

Gogwit.

April 2018, (c)

This is an opinion piece; it represents my views and was created as a sole enterprise.

About this GDPR you may have heard of…

debtcamel.co.uk/free-access-data-gdpr/

DIGITAL INFORMATION and the marketisation of such has become commonplace in our times. The headlines at present (Q1, 2018-19) have been dominated by Facebook, Cambridge Analytica and other data harvesting outfits.

Back in your living room and my kitchen, when the blood stops boiling and the bile is spent, take a sober look at to whom else you have freely doled out your personal information and ask the question: just what do they have on you, how much of it is current or accurate.

What do they do with it, besides sending you personalised offers and nuisance phone calls risibly wide of the mark?

Gogwit’s Blog is pleased to reproduce DebtCamel‘s useful and informative article on how to review and to challenge, have corrected or deleted, data the many organisations in your life hold about you.

Interested? Follow the link at the head of this page for the low down.

Why is the obesity rate continuing to rise in the U.S.?

Fascinating. Everything nice that one would hope to find in a well researched, referenced but readable article. A bit like Eton Mess or one of those desserts served in a metal pail with ice cream, chocolate, brownies, M&Ms and sparklers stuck in the top.
As a Brit I confess that the sentiment expressed in the opening paragraph about the ‘build’ of the average American does appear to be held as true this side of the pond.
However, I’m in no position to talk on this subject; too much ice cream.
It will take me a while to digest (no pun) and, as always, you have provided food for thought. (Sorry!)
The risk factors are pretty much universal across the developed world. It is not always explicitly stated that individuals may be exposed to multiple risk factors; also that medication prescribed for many mental health disorders themselves disorder appetite, reward and goal oriented behaviour. Pleasure to reblog on Gogwit’s Blog!

The Secular Jurist

By Robert A. Vella

There is a long-held international view of Americans as being fat, lazy, and obnoxious.  How this perception originated and evolved over time is open to speculation, but opinion polls have consistently showed a marked decline in favorability for both the U.S. and Americans since the turn of the millennium.  What initially triggered the world’s negative opinion of Americans can probably be traced back to the early 20th century when U.S. involvement in global affairs rose in ascendancy, and when the image of the nation was portrayed by powerful and overindulgent industrialists like Wall Street banker J. P. Morgan.

However, widespread obesity in the U.S. is a relatively new phenomenon.  Prior to World War II, malnutrition and disease were much bigger problems.  From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

The latest statistics clearly indicate a continued rise in obesity.  From The New York Times…

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Thoughts from a retired headteacher…

I reblog this with sadness. Sadness that a headteacher should feel motivated to write in this vein; sadness that the argument of this piece is essentially true. The keyword here is, I think, sadness.

Tory vice chair deletes comment saying unemployed should have vasectomies

I reblog @ThomasPride ‘s blog without further comment.

Pride's Purge

Tory Britain:

The directors responsible for the Carillion bankruptcy should get MILLIONS in pay-offs:

Carillion fat cats still earning up to £55,000 a MONTH even after quitting

The workers made redundant by the Carillion bankruptcy should get VASECTOMIES:

Tory vice chair urged jobless to stop having kids or UK would ‘drown in wasters’

Yet more Tory eugenics …

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The Letter David Gauke will not be expecting and won’t want to receive – blueannoyed

https://blueannoyed.wordpress.com/2018/01/07/the-letter-david-gauke-will-not-be-expecting-and-wont-want-to-receive/amp/?__twitter_impression=true#top

The Council plans closures of Children’s Centres and Nurseries – Have your say at the consultation meetings

An opportunity for concerned parents, professionals and Council Tax payers in Birmingham to lend their voices to the children of Birmingham.
While the Council may have sparse room for manoeuvre, they can register the displeasure and dissatisfaction of the people of Birmingham.
It is true that children cannot vote; however, the adult population can, at parish, municipal, regional and national level; and in Birmingham there was elected a council opposed, in principle, to cuts of this nature that are being enforced by a divisive and hostile UK Government.
The Education, Health and Welfare provision of the United Kingdom only work when predicated on an understanding that the economy serves society, not the other way round.

Birmingham Against The Cuts

They say:

The way that we deliver children’s centres, health visiting services and parenting support services in Birmingham is changing. Have your say on our proposals for a new service model that will bring these services together, for you, in your local area.

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Cut Benefits to Stir Up the Skivers?

So will cutting benefits push the work shy into employment, as we are told by the UK Coalition government, or will the effect of doing this make life even more grim for hard-working employees whose meagre wages are subsidised currently by benefit payments?

Here is ‘Ripped-Off Britons’ analysis of how benefits subsidise the low wages of millions of working Britons and it is shocking to see how many in employment are paid at below the minimum wage.

It is also eye-opening to realise, as I did for the first time, that the assumption made in the living wage calculations is that the recipient is in receipt of benefits. This is not the case, universally and the shortfall for those on this minimum level but not in receipt of benefits is substantial.

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