Carol Cadwalladr follows up on the story about how big data has been bought by the ultra rich and is being used to buy democracies and breakup the European Union.
How to help Labour’s campaign in Deptford to re-elect Vicky Foxcroft a Lewisham Deptford’s MP.
In the aftermath of the Downing Street dinner and its fallout, the Daily Mash has some words of wisdom.
Applying for a postal vote now requires access to a computer printer it would seem! Not exactly an attempt to bridge the #digitaldivide. What am I talking about, it requires an internet connection to access the form. …
The Tories have resurrected their tax bombshell meme, but use the slogan “No bombs for the Army”; the Army don’t use bombs, and this is a slogan brought to us by a party whose government has ensured we don’t have a bomber fit to fly.
For more on what I think about the Tories disarmament programme see here & here, and all this is before we consider Fallon’s amazingly stupid statement that the UK will now consider a nuclear first strike. …
Dianne it seems got here finance numbers mixed up when stating that a Labour Government will recruit another 10,000 policeman but the short answer to how a Labour Government will pay for its programmes, is that they’ll grow the economy and thus increase taxes collected, they’ll borrow for infrastructure, they’ll print money for liquidity they’ll collect more taxes from the rich and close tax loopholes to ensure the rich and that companies pay their share. …
The Independent reports that Dr. Andrew Watt plans to go to court to see if any agreement replacing the Lisbon Treaty as a result of the UK’s Article 50 notice requires a referendum under the European Union Act 2011. The parliamentary draftsman carelessly states that a treaty or decision amending the “Treaty of the European Union” cannot be ratified unless there’s a referendum. In the pre-amble, it states that amendments include amendments taken under Articles 48 & 49, but it’s not exclusive i.e. other amendments to the Treaty also trigger the Law. Part 1 §4 lists the type of changes which must trigger a referendum and they do not include any arrangements on leaving, but they do include “extensions of competence”, new obligations (for the UK) and new sanction powers for the EU.
I would argue that any transitional treaty which does not extend time of the UK’s rights to appoint a Commissioner, appoint Judges to the CJEU and elect MEPs will require a referendum and other clauses may also do the same. Even if some disagree, there can be surely no doubt that it will require a statute mandated Parliamentary statement and an Act of Parliament and it’s the Act of Parliament that determines if there should be a referendum.
This could be one reason why they are so keen to be thrown out. …
I went to the Labour Campaign for Human Rights meeting in the Commons yesterday, the keynote speaker was Kier Starmer, the Labour Brexit spokesman. He opened his speech stating he had voetd “Remain” based on jobs and rights and woke up on 27th June asking what world we live in. He argued that now we needed to accept democracy and that UK’s politics is about the new relationship with the EU. He argues we need to re-root our rights in UK law! (What like the Human Rights Act?) Labour is proposing a new Law to transcribe the EU’s rights and protections into UK law, but under the Tories this will be weak since the Tories are not planning to bring the “Fundamental Charter of Rights” across into UK law. …
The neighbouring constituency of Lewisham West & Penge’s MP stood down and this created an unseemly rush to replace him. It was won by Ellie Reeves, an ex member of the NEC, a sub-committee of which appointed her but a local resident it would seem.
Delighted to have been selected as the @UKLabour candidate in Lewisham West & Penge - the area that I live in and that I love.
— ellie reeves (@elliereeves) April 26, 2017
At least one friend of mine applied, and unsurprisingly wasn’t short listed. …
Just back from the Commons and looked up the debate on the early election, nine Labour MPs voted against, including Dennis Skinner, Anne Clywd, Clive Lewis and Fiona McTaggart, They broke it, they should fix it. …
