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Topic Summary

Posted by: Moses vs Pharaoh
« on: February 21, 2024, 05:52:36 pm »

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/world/europe/uk-trident-nuclear-missile-test.html

A British Nuclear Missile Test Fails, Again

Quote

An unarmed Trident missile splashed into the sea close to its launch site, the U.K. government confirmed on Wednesday, fueling scrutiny of the state of Britain’s nuclear deterrent.

Experimentation? Damnation.

https://www.precisionvaccinations.com/2024/02/21/englands-tuberculosis-outbreak-increased-10

England's Tuberculosis Outbreak Increased 10%

Quote

According to the annual report of UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on tuberculosis, there was a 10.7% increase in the number of tuberculosis cases in England in 2023, compared to 2022.


https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/21/met-office-issues-yellow-warning-of-heavy-rain-across-much-of-england

Met Office issues yellow warning for heavy rain across much of England

Quote
Southern, central and eastern England should brace for possible flooding and disruption amid predictions of rain, lightning and winds of 50-70mph

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-68362435

Yellow wind warning issued for south-east England
Posted by: 90sRetroFan
« on: January 24, 2024, 05:06:11 pm »

Better than nothing:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/01/19/channel-migrants-given-right-to-work/

Quote
Channel migrants have been quietly given the right to work in sectors including care, construction and agriculture and can still retain access to state-subsidised bed and board under a Home Office scheme.

Nearly 16,000 asylum seekers, including those who crossed the Channel in small boats, have been allowed to work in a single year, according to data obtained under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws.

They have been allowed to work in occupations in which there are recognised staff shortages, and are paid 80 per cent of the going pay rate.
...
The scheme allowing asylum seekers to take jobs after a year is a legacy of an EU law from 2005, which reversed a measure introduced by Sir Tony Blair in 2002 barring illegal migrants from any right to work.

16000 is of course a ridiculously small number:

Quote
Immigration experts believe the number of working asylum seekers for 2023 could have increased even further because of the extra demand for cheap foreign labour to plug staff shortages in care homes, the NHS, construction and agriculture. Backlogs of asylum seekers waiting over a year rose to 61,000 last year.
...
They have cited the potential economic benefits in boosting growth and savings from migrants no longer receiving state benefits and free accommodation and instead paying income tax on their earnings.

Peter Walsh, a senior researcher with the Migration Oberservatory at Oxford University, said he was surprised at the numbers granted but suggested it could be linked to the widening of the shortage occupation list to include care workers, where there was acuted demand for staff.

He said there were economic benefits in that it would reduce the cost of accommodation and asylum support as well as generating money for the Exchequer via taxes. “There are psychological positives because it is not very good for people to be out of the labour market,” he said.

“The longer people are out of the labour market, the harder it is for them to get back into the labour market. There is also another practical advantage that if you allow people to work legally, they are less likely to work illegally. It is potentially protecting against that.”

Who could possibly be against such obvious reasoning?

Quote
Miriam Cates, who co-chairs the New Conservatives Group of MPs, which has campaigned for a tougher approach to migration, said: “It’s understandable that asylum seekers might want to have a job while waiting for their claims to be processed.

“But we cannot solve the significant problems associated with irregular migration unless we deter people from crossing to the UK illegally – and this is the opposite of a deterrent.”

Cates also looks like what we would expect:

Posted by: England
« on: January 20, 2024, 07:40:22 pm »

^ This what happens when you keep trying to imprison me
Posted by: England
« on: January 20, 2024, 07:35:51 pm »

https://news.sky.com/story/storm-isha-to-batter-uk-with-80mph-winds-as-amber-warnings-issued-13052149

Storm Isha to batter UK with 80mph winds as amber warnings issued

Quote

A storm is forecast to hit parts of the UK with strong winds and heavy rain as multiple amber warnings come into force.

Storm Isha - the ninth storm since September - will bring winds of up to 80mph, according to the Met Office.


https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-health-agency-warns-very-real-risk-measles-outbreak-spreads-2024-01-19/

UK health agency warns 'very real risk' measles outbreak spreads

Quote

Britain's public health agency warned on Friday that an outbreak of measles in central England could spread to other towns and cities unless urgent action is taken to boost vaccination uptake.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has declared a national incident, signalling a growing public health risk.

Posted by: UK
« on: January 11, 2024, 09:29:20 pm »

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/storm-henk-causes-around-150-mln-pounds-uk-insured-losses-pwc-2024-01-10/


Storm Henk causes around 150 mln pounds in UK insured losses


Quote

Storm Henk, which battered Britain last week, caused around 150 million pounds ($190 million) in insured losses and damaged around 2,000 properties, consultants PwC said on Wednesday.

Heavy rain caused major rivers to burst their banks and the government issued more than 300 flood warnings, only weeks after Storm Babet also caused flooding in October.



https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/united-kingdom-maternal-deaths-in-uk-surge-to-highest-level-in-almost-20-years-study-4843102

Maternal Deaths In UK Surge to Highest Level In Almost 20 Years: Study

Quote

The number of women in Britain dying during pregnancy or soon afterwards has reached its highest level in almost two decades, a new study reported Thursday.

It also comes after a series of scandals at maternity units within the state-funded National Health Service (NHS).

A damning 2022 report into one found failures at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust in western England had contributed to the deaths of 201 babies and nine mothers over a 20-year period.

MBRRACE-UK found there were 13.41 deaths per 100,000 pregnancies reported from 2020 to 2022.

Excluding deaths from Covid-19 -- the second most common cause -- the maternal death rate for the period was 11.54 per 100,000.



https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/jan/11/uk-life-expectancy-falls-to-lowest-level-in-a-decade

UK life expectancy falls to lowest level in a decade

Quote

Life expectancy across the UK has fallen to its lowest level in a decade, mainly owing to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, data shows.

The Office for National Statistics said the decrease was primarily owing to the impact of the pandemic, where excess deaths increased sharply.

“Although most countries globally experienced devastating death tolls from Covid-19, several studies have shown that excess mortality in the UK during the pandemic exceeded that of most comparable western European and other high-income countries.

“As the UK’s relatively high mortality during the pandemic came on the heels of stalling life expectancy in the pre-pandemic decade, the result is a further slide in the UK’s already poor ranking relative to comparable countries by 2022.”

Posted by: uk
« on: January 04, 2024, 02:56:51 am »

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3246929/britain-bans-foreign-students-bringing-families-uk

Britain bans foreign students from bringing families into UK

Quote

British Home Secretary James Cleverly has said the “unreasonable practice” of overseas students bringing their family to the UK will end as restrictions on visa routes come into force on Monday.

He said the ban, which affects all but those enrolling on postgraduate research courses and ones with government-funded scholarships, will cut migration by tens of thousands.

The move could hit universities which rely on foreign student fees and could also harm the UK’s reputation as an international destination, experts have warned.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: “From today, the majority of foreign university students cannot bring family members to the UK.”

The Conservative Party leader said the announcement showed that the Government was “already delivering for the British people” in 2024.

Earlier in December, Cleverly set out a raft of new restrictions that he said would cut numbers by 300,000 a year



Posted by: uk
« on: December 09, 2023, 04:07:33 am »

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/07/uk/uk-immigration-minister-resigns-rwanda-asylum-intl-hnk/index.html

UK immigration minister resigns over controversial Rwanda asylum legislation, claiming it ‘does not go far enough’

Quote


UK immigration minister Robert Jenrick resigned over new government legislation on the Rwanda asylum transfer scheme published Wednesday, claiming that the proposed law “does not go far enough.”

In the latest blow to the scheme, Jenrick who works within the Home Office, said he would not be able to accompany this latest draft bill through the legislative process as he does not believe it goes “far enough” to ensure the policy’s success.

“The stakes for the country are too high for us not to pursue the stronger protections required to end the merry-go-round of legal challenges which risk paralysing the scheme and negating its intended deterrent,” Jenrick said in his resignation letter.

Jenrick had previously promised publicly to do “whatever is required” to clamp down on illegal migration to the UK, even if that meant withdrawing from the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).

A group of hardline lawmakers within Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party, including previous Home Secretary Suella Braverman, have all been lobbying for the UK to leave the human rights treaty, citing it as a barrier blocking the Rwanda policy.

In a blog post, Elliot described the bill as “hypocritical,” saying it “presupposes” Rwanda heeding its obligations under international law to treat asylum seekers humanely whilst allowing the UK to “breach its own obligations” under international law.

The government was also handed down a warning on Wednesday from the Rwandan government, who threatened to pull out of the arrangement if the UK does not adhere to international law, according to the British national news agency, PA Media.

Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta emphasized in a statement that “without lawful behavior by the UK, Rwanda would not be able to continue with the Migration and Economic Development Partnership.”



Posted by: England
« on: November 26, 2023, 02:46:46 am »

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/2023/11/25/gavin-esler-on-british-politics-weve-got-a-lot-of-fairly-rotten-people-in-parliament/

Gavin Esler on British politics: ‘We’ve got a lot of fairly rotten people in parliament’

Quote

The former BBC journalist wonders why the British public tolerate lies, and reflects on his surprisingly good relationship with the late Ian Paisley

Today, Esler, who has written Britain Is Better than This, which reflects despairingly on the state of today’s United Kingdom

Where once we had delusions of grandeur, we now often have delusions of competence,” he writes in his book.

Esler’s main argument in his book – that the UK needs a written constitution – is esoteric, he admits, and will be difficult for many to grasp.

For centuries the lack of a written constitution was argued as one of the UK’s key points of advantage, offering remarkable flexibility.

If that was true, says Esler, it was true only in the era of so-called “good chaps”, when conventions, however imperfect in their design or execution, were generally accepted.

“You didn’t lie in parliament. If you did, you resigned. If something went wrong in your department, you resigned, even if you weren’t responsible for it,” he says.

In the past decade, however, there has been “a behavioural change” that has allowed people, especially Boris Johnson, to demolish long-established conventions.

“We don’t have very many good chaps. We’ve got a lot of fairly rotten people in parliament,” he says. “The problem is structural. It’s partly due to British complacency and it’s due to a sense of British exceptionalism, and it’s also due to a kind of ignorance about our history and the place in the world.”

“This week we had a prime minister who said that we can just declare by law that Rwanda is safe. This is like the papacy in the 17th century telling Galileo that the Earth can’t move around the sun because they’ve decided it’s not.”

He wonders why the British public, and their counterparts in the United States, tolerate lies from some political leaders when they would not accept similar conduct in their day-to-day lives, and the evidence shows that they would not.

“I don’t think that there is a kind of a moral crisis about people lying any more than they used. There is certainly no evidence for it. In fact, it is actually quite the opposite. I find people very often incredibly helpful, ridiculously polite and constantly say ‘Sorry’ when they bump into you. Maybe that’s another book: “Why Do Decent People Let **** Run the Country?”


Posted by: England
« on: October 21, 2023, 08:36:54 pm »

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/19/british-pm-sunak-in-israel-whats-on-his-agenda

UK’s PM Rishi Sunak in Israel. What’s on his agenda?

Quote

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday landed in Tel Aviv to “express solidarity with the Israeli people” as non-stop Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip destroyed residential buildings and killed more than 3,400 Palestinians.

“I am proud to stand here with you in Israel’s darkest hour,” Sunak said in a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We will stand with you in solidarity. We will stand with you and your people. And we also want you to win.”

Britain has stood shoulder to shoulder with Israel

Reporting from Tel Aviv, Al Jazeera correspondent Alan Fisher said that Sunak’s declaration on wanting Israel to win was “pretty declarative”.

There was, Fisher noted, “no mention of the fact Israelis have cut off food water and energy from the Gaza Strip, which many would consider a breach of international law”.

Framing the current conflict as a battle between the “forces of progress and humanity” and “an axis of evil”, Netanyahu called Hamas “the modern barbarians, the worst monsters on the planet”.


Britain’s decision to abstain from Wednesday’s UN Security Council vote on a resolution calling for Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza largely passed below the radar. The resolution was blocked by the United States on the basis that it did not explicitly mention Israel’s right to self-defence.

Gerry Hassan, a Scottish writer and commentator, said the meeting highlighted the “mismatches” in British and Western politics. “In the post-Cold War world, the West claims it stands for international law and then stands for oppression elsewhere, showing its defence of democratic and human rights is threadbare,” he said.

Ask most Palestinians what lies at the root of their plight and they’ll likely blame Arthur Balfour.



England will face a very severe judgment, the sins of your past will now come back to bite you. Can these people even be cleansed from the heavy layer of blasphemy which they carry?
Posted by: b
« on: October 01, 2023, 07:15:52 pm »

https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2023/oct/01/britain-blighted-by-class-system-letters

Britain is still blighted by the class system

Quote

After a thousand years, will Britain ever recover from William the Conqueror and the feudal system he introduced?

We have a monarchy and an aristocracy still owning much of the land the Conqueror gave them, with privileges reinforced by public schools, and we have a working class, inheritors of serfdom, for whom trade union leaders such as Mick Lynch, and just like Watt Tyler, see it as their role to fight. With people still defining themselves in terms of class, and with such social divisions persisting, can Britain ever be a mature empathetic society, fit for the 21st century?

Seven years ago, I moved to Ireland, and my experience here has increasingly saddened me for the country of my birth. Here, I have found a kinder and friendlier place

Britain has so much to give to the world, but until the concept of class, the privileges of the “upper class” and the entrenched thinking of too many of the “working class” are all consigned to history, inequality, anger and violence will persist.

Climate U-turn nonsensical

Rishi Sunak has decided to abandon the cross-party consensus on climate policy

Proud to cook Mexican curry
Appropriation is certainly theft. Cultural cross-pollination, however, is what has made humanity move forward.
Posted by: Labour
« on: September 21, 2023, 11:42:53 am »

Labour’s Plan for Brexit Explained
Quote
Brexit has been a difficult issue for the Labour Party, as Labour leader Keir Starmer has to regularly bat away accusations that he wants to take the UK back into the EU. But Brexit isn't going away anytime soon - so what are Labour's Brexit plans?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwWkDKMjmRA
Posted by: 2ThaSun
« on: May 27, 2023, 01:53:57 pm »

Why has UK Immigration Gone Up Since Brexit?
Quote
Despite the leave campaign promising that Brexit would bring down immigration, the latest figures could be at record levels. So in this video, we're going to break down the numbers and try to explain why immigration numbers are so high in the UK.

0:00 Intro
1:30 How migration patterns have changed over time
2:29 How immigration numbers have changed since Brexit
3:30 Why is immigration so high?
3:39 Why are there more students?
4:57 Why are there more workers?
7:06 Sponsor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v8k9OoTwag

Starmer tells Sunak he needs a ‘reality check’ as the PM blasts Labour for having ‘no ideas’
Quote
“The home secretary may need a speed awareness course, he needs a reality check.”

Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer clash at PMQs over immigration control, as the PM says Labour have “no ideas”, while Starmer accuses Sunak of having “no ambition for Britain”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr4Q0Yvybq8
Posted by: 90sRetroFan
« on: May 24, 2023, 02:55:10 pm »

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-65643684

Quote
Legal migration is too high, says Rishi Sunak
...
“The numbers are too high, and we want to bring them down,” Mr Sunak said, adding that figures were higher in 2022 due to Ukrainian refugees coming to the UK, something he said the country should be “proud of”.

Translation: when they are "white", we should be proud of accepting them, but when they are "non-white", numbers are too high.



Posted by: 2ThaSun
« on: May 21, 2023, 03:01:21 pm »

Most Brits Want Another EU Referendum: Will it Happen?
Quote
A steady majority of Brits regret brexit, but until recently most didn’t want a second referendum on the issue. However, new polling suggests that for the first time a majority of Brits are also in favour of a second referendum… but will it happen?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tabkoh1kbYc
Posted by: 2ThaSun
« on: May 15, 2023, 07:57:20 pm »

Why is Inflation Worse in the UK than the EU?
Quote
While most of the world is struggling with higher than average inflation, the problem is particularly pronounced in the UK. So in this video, we discuss why inflation is so high in the UK compared to its European neighbours and whether Brexit is to blame.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g4Xyn2fsf0

UK's Hunt says 'absolutely devastating' if US failed to raise debt ceiling
Quote
NIIGATA, Japan, May 13 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Saturday it would be "absolutely devastating" if the United States failed to reach agreement to raise its debt ceiling and had its gross domestic product "knocked off track".

Hunt told reporters that Group of Seven (G7) finance chiefs in Japan had "very frank and open discussions" about the challenges they face, including banking regulation and the impact of Russia's war in Ukraine on the global economy.

A standoff between President Joe Biden and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which has raised the prospect of a first-ever U.S. debt default, posed a "very serious threat to the global economy," Hunt said.

"It would be absolutely devastating if America, which is one of the biggest motors of the global economy, was to have its GDP knocked off track by not reaching agreement," he said. He said he hoped that Biden and Congress would be able to resolve their differences.

Hunt said G7 officials also discussed the impact of Western sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, and talked at length about the need to stop sanctions evasion, or leakage...
Entire article: https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uks-hunt-says-absolutely-devastating-if-us-failed-raise-debt-ceiling-2023-05-13/