Politics

Politics is raw in Britain today. Remainers rage against Brexiters and vice versa. Pensioners are set against millennials; nationalists against immigrants; populists against elites; rural traditionalists against city liberals. Party politics is characterised by contempt and dogma. To his many enemies, Jeremy Corbyn is an extremist and will never be a legitimate national leader. To Corbynistas, his internal critics are bad losers and traitors to Labour. To many non-Tory voters and MPs, Theresa May’s government is an immoral experiment in austerity and pandering to prejudice. On seemingly every fundamental issue, the country feels even more divided than it did in the turbulent 70s and 80s. There are furious battles over free speech, minority rights, the size of the state, the shape of the economy, social and cultural values, even the truth and selection of relevant political facts. In many other democracies, from the US to Italy to Australia, politics has become just as tribal, … [Read more...] about The death of consensus: how conflict came back to politics

Wales politics 15 October 2019 Share this with Facebook Share this with Messenger Share this with Twitter Share this with Email Share this with Facebook Share this with WhatsApp Share this with Messenger Share this with Twitter Share Share this with These are external links and will open in a new window Email Share this with Email Facebook Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with Messenger Messenger Share this with Messenger Twitter Share this with Twitter Pinterest Share this with Pinterest WhatsApp Share this with WhatsApp LinkedIn Share this with LinkedIn Copy this link https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-50055927 Read more about sharing. These are external links and will open in a new window Close share panel The Welsh secretary has been criticised for mailing out a sticker for his constituents' front doors warning political … [Read more...] about Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns’ no political cold-callers sticker criticised

Footage has emerged of a Hungarian mayor engaging in sex acts with a bevy of prostitutes during an orgy on a yacht. Zsolt Borkai, a 54-year-old married father-of-two, has become embroiled in a sex scandal just days before Hungary's election after footage of the allegedly cocaine-fuelled party appeared on porn websites.  The mayor of the Hungarian city of Gyor is an ally of the country's Prime Minister, Victor Orban, and has refused to resign from his role.  Orban's chief of staff called the release of the sex videos the 'low point of Hungarian political life'.  Zsolt Borkai, a 54-year-old married father-of-two, has become embroiled in a sex scandal just days before Hungary's election The mayor of the Hungarian city of Gyor is an ally of the country's Prime Minister, Victor Orban, and has refused to resign from his role And another sex video was leaked featured an opposing politician, Tamas Wittinghoff, the mayor of a town near Budapest. Both men said they had … [Read more...] about Video footage of an orgy aboard a yacht involving Hungary PM Viktor Orban’s political ally threatens to loosen long-serving leader’s grip on power

The writer Zadie Smith laid into identity politics in a headline session at the 14th Hay Cartagena festival, insisting novelists had not only a right, but a duty to be free. Asked how she felt about cultural appropriation, she told an audience of nearly 2,000 at the festival in Colombia on Friday: “If someone says to me: ‘A black girl would never say that,’ I’m saying: ‘How can you possibly know?’ The problem with that argument is it assumes the possibility of total knowledge of humans. The only thing that identifies people in their entirety is their name: I’m a Zadie.” She conceded that the assertion of a collective identity was sometimes necessary “to demand rights”, but cited the dismay of her husband – the poet and novelist Nick Laird – at finding himself increasingly categorised. “He turned to me and said: ‘I used to be myself and I’m now white guy, white guy.’ I said: ‘Finally, … [Read more...] about ‘Identity is a pain in the arse’: Zadie Smith on political correctness

Prison reform charities have condemned the government’s enthusiasm for extending minimum prison terms as “the politics of the lynch mob” and an unnecessary duplication of existing judicial powers. Proposals in the Queen’s speech to ensure violent and sexual offenders serve a minimum of two-thirds of their sentence – compared with half under current guidelines – before becoming eligible for release on licence have attracted widespread criticism. Frances Crook, the chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “This is not a sensible, evidence-based policy; it is the politics of the lynch mob. This is about making people spend more time in prison, which will affect thousands of men and will probably put staff in danger by taking hope away from people. “We already know that prisoners are in appalling conditions, with a lot of violence, injury and suicides. A lot of it is directed at staff. This is very irresponsible.” … [Read more...] about ‘Lynch mob politics’: experts denounce plans for longer jail terms