Current Politics in the United Kingdom

[Devius]

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[foxbat1]

Originally Posted by anothercustom

Surprised you are so supportive of migrants from countries that are primarily Islamic. They may pretend to be gay or Christian when they land in the UK, but your support for alphabet minorities is so misaligned with their views. I think another solution to this would be for every economic migrant that we receive from, say Afghanistan, a UK citizen who supports their right to come here should move to Afghanistan.

Over 90% of asylum applications succeed, so either our system is extremely lax and bad at detecting frauds (unlikely given how every Home Secretary for the last 20 years has been making it harsher), or they are genuine refugees and not economic migrants.

It's funny you cite Afghanistan, a country that we fucked up and abandoned to the Taliban.

The fact that many of them coming from Afghanistan are Muslims doesn't mean anything to someone who isn't Islamophobic. The Taliban are well known to have regressive views so anyone who is LGBTQ+, or who is female and e.g. wants an education, is likely to have a pretty good claim. Again, since I'm not Islamophobic, I see them as individuals with a diverse set of beliefs, not as whatever it is you think they are. I dare not speculate.

[foxbat1]

Originally Posted by BondJmsBond

How about requiring those who support them to pay for all costs while leaving all who don't unburdened.

They did something like that for Ukraine. UK citizens could volunteer to host Ukrainian families fleeing the war.

The UK also agreed to accept an unlimited number of Hong Kong citizens, with fast track visas. Last I checked hundreds of thousands had come to the UK, after China cracked down on democracy there.

If that seems strange to you, just understand that's about racism. Ukrainians are mostly white, Hong Kong was a former colony and many of them speak English already. Not like the dirty Afghanis. We don't want them here.

[foxbat1]

Originally Posted by Devius

Regardless of the background behind Gideon Falter's presence on the day, the police officer's response was still cringe-worthy.

I wonder - if this had been Doreen Lawrence being told she was "openly black", or India Willoughby being told she was "openly trans" in similar circumstances, would our fellow member be so dismissive?

It was poorly worded, but if you look at the context it was clear that the policeman was saying that given several of his colleagues had already had the same conversation, and that Falter was trying to deliberately confront the protestors with his Mossad henchmen, it was clearly an attempt to antagonise.

The police are supposed to keep the peace, and that included intervening if someone is trying to start a confrontation.


Meanwhile...



In celebration of St. George's day, some white nationalists decided to climb all over some sacred monuments. Remember when they went ape-shit because some leftists came within a few miles of one?

There was violence too, most of it directed against the police.

[Devius]

PM's dementia adviser quits over benefits clawback policy

One of the prime minister's dementia champions has quit in protest over the treatment of disabled people.

Johnny Timpson, who was the UK's inaugural disability ambassador, said clawing back benefits overpayments was "devastating" for families.

He was shocked by the case of a 92-year-old with dementia, who was reportedly told to repay £7,000 by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The DWP said it was committed to fairness in the welfare system.

Mr Timpson spoke to the BBC ahead of the work and pensions committee grilling disabilities minister Mims Davies and the DWP's director of fraud, error and debt strategy Vikki Knight.

The pair are expected to face questions over thousands of cases of clawbacks, particularly from those who are unpaid carers.

Mr Timpson said an overly complex benefits system that relied on people realising they had been overpaid was at the root of the problem.

He said: "When you're dealing with someone in your household who's got dementia… that's a big heavy caring ask, so that carer has a lot going on in their life.

"The last thing that they're probably able to get their head around is the complexity of their benefit entitlement."

Overpayments were being allowed to continue for years, he said, and with carers often having to give up work, "they no longer have the savings or the means to maybe repay these debts".

'Within the gift of the DWP to help'

Mr Timpson said every organisation has a duty to identify its vulnerable customers and intervene to prevent harm but the government was "out of step with all other regulated sectors in the UK".

"It's within the gift of the DWP to intervene and help them," he said. "One of the key things about having a vulnerable customer policy is using your data to ensure you know your customer, identifying a potential harm and intervening quickly before a drama becomes a crisis."

He said the number of these cases "really hit home" to him and highlighted how allowing families to get into financial crisis also has a knock-on impact on the public purse.

"I was quite gobsmacked at the amount of GP time that's already taken up with financial health issues," he said. "It's about 20% of appointments."

He called on the government to appoint a disabilities commissioner and suggested separating welfare payments from the DWP's current portfolio altogether.

'Scandalous'

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, who has been a carer for most of his life, said Mr Timpson's resignation showed the current treatment of unpaid carers is "scandalous".

"Ministers should value and support our wonderful carers, not treat them like criminals," he said.

"They must fix the flawed and failing Carer's Allowance system as an urgent priority."

A DWP spokesperson said Carer's Allowance had increased since 2010 and additional funding has been made available to support the social care sector.

"We are committed to fairness in the welfare system, with safeguards in place for managing repayments, while protecting the public purse," they said.

"Claimants have a responsibility to consistently inform DWP of any changes in their circumstances that could impact their award, and it is right that we recover taxpayers' money when this has not occurred."

Source:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68885241

[foxbat1]

Military horses running loose in central London caught by police

Military horses have bolted through central London after a number of the animals got loose.

Army personnel and horses were hurt and vehicles damaged when chaos broke out on Wednesday morning. Reports indicated that up to five people had been injured.

Two horses were seen running in the road near Aldwych, one of which appeared to be covered in blood. A taxi driver waiting outside the Clermont hotel in Buckingham Palace Road had the windows of his car smashed after a spooked horse collided with the Mercedes people carrier.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...central-london

That's a lot of blood, I hope everyone is okay.

[foxbat1]

UK accused by Amnesty of ‘deliberately destabilising’ human rights globally

The UK has been accused by Amnesty International of “deliberately destabilising” human rights on the global stage for its own political ends.

In its annual global report, released today, the organisation said Britain was weakening human rights protections nationally and globally, amid a near-breakdown of international law.

“The UK is deliberately destabilising the entire concept of universal human rights through its appalling domestic policies and politicking,” said Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s chief executive.

The damning Amnesty report also criticises Israel’s allies for the failure to stop the “indescribable civilian bloodshed” in Gaza. In a stark warning to world leaders, the organisation said the world was reaping a harvest of “terrifying consequences” from escalating conflict and the near-breakdown of international law.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-d...-sudan-myanmar

[foxbat1]

Nigel Farage can host GB News show during election, says Ofcom

Nigel Farage will be allowed to present his nightly GB News programme throughout the general election campaign, Ofcom has confirmed, after the media regulator said there was no clear consensus among the British public to stop politicians presenting shows on news channels.

The founder of the Reform UK party, which has the backing of 10% of voters in opinion polls, will be allowed to keep broadcasting until polling day providing he does not stand as a parliamentary candidate.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/20...esenters-ofcom

He won't stand because he will lose, but even so this doesn't seem at all right.

In related news Julia Hartley Brewer, of all people, was taking one of their candidates to task for saying he would allow migrants to drown. When you are to the right of even the far right...