Archive for No Mandate

SNP and Northern Irish MPs outvote English MPs on Sunday Trading laws

March 11, 2016 No Mandate One comment

MPs elected in Scotland have once again outvoted MPs elected in England on an English-only law.

The SNP joined Labour and some Tory rebels to oppose the liberalisation of Sunday trading laws in England and Wales that would have allowed local councils in England decide whether there was enough local demand to allow a shop to open longer on Sundays. Without the 51 SNP MPs, one UUP, seven DUP and three SDLP MPs voting down the law it would have passed with a majority of 31.

In Scotland they don’t have restrictions on Sunday trading and shops routinely stay open all hours where the local economy supports it. A previous attempt to abolish the restrictions on Sunday trading in England in 2006 was blocked by Alistair Darling, then MP for Edinburgh South West and British Minister for Trade & Industry.

The ridiculous and fundamentally flawed convention of English Votes on English Laws that was recently introduced into the British Parliament has failed its first test by failing to prevent MPs elected in Scotland claiming voting rights for something that clearly doesn’t affect Scotland. The SNP’s claim that not having premium wages for working on Sunday enshrined in legislation in England might bring about the end of the common practice of paying overtime to Scots working on a Sunday in Scotland thus giving them the right to vote on it is frankly pathetic and exposes the inherent weakness of English Votes on English Laws and highlights yet again the need for a devolved English government.

SNP MPs will start voting on English laws after election

January 21, 2015 No Mandate 12 comments

The new First Minister of Scotland and leader of the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon, has announced that SNP MPs will start voting on devolved matters in England after the election.

Currently, the SNP have a self-imposed ban on voting on things affecting England that are devolved in Scotland. They have broken that rule from time to time but on the whole they have refrained from interfering in matters over which they have no moral or democratic mandate. However, this looks set to change in May and we can expect to see SNP MPs voting on things affecting England that they can’t vote on in their own constituency because it’s devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

Sturgeon’s argument that MPs elected in Scotland can claim a legitimate interest in English affairs because it affects the amount of money they get from the Barnett bribe isn’t a new one. A Scottish MP whose name I can no longer remember said the same on the day the Tories announced English Votes on English Laws as their policy many years ago and of course he and the SNP are absolutely correct – EVoEL is nothing more than a sop to voters to con them into thinking the British are righting a wrong without actually doing anything.

The only way to answer the West Lothian Question is to devolve power to England just as it has in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Not by reorganising local government in English cities and pretending it’s devolution but by creating an English Parliament with an English executive with at least the same powers as the Scottish Parliament and abolishing the outdated and discredited Barnett Formula. If devolution is needed at a sub-national level in England – and it probably does – then what is devolved and how it is done is a matter for the English Parliament to decide just like it would be for the Scottish Parliament to decide in Scotland, the Welsh Assembly in Wales and the Northern Irish Assembly in Northern Ireland. Local government is a devolved issue so it’s not an appropriate decision for the British government to make, especially as any devolved assembly within England would have to be subordinate to the English Parliament.

Sturgeon’s decision to start voting on devolved matters in England is a clever one because it will increase the already sizeable outrage on this side of the border at MPs elected in Scotland interfering with English domestic affairs. If the demands for change get loud enough the British will be forced to do something and that will go some way to closing the democratic deficit between England and Scotland. If the Scots think that they aren’t getting enough of an advantage over England then support for the SNP will increase. It will also allow the SNP to say that they had no choice but to abandon their principals and fight against the cuts in England to save the Scottish NHS which will again increase support for the SNP.

However this plays out, the SNP and Scotland can’t lose. As usual.

Nicola Sturgeon

Gordon Brown demands more money and influence for Scotland

September 15, 2014 No Mandate, Scotland 6 comments

Gordon Brown might not bother going to vote in the British Parliament more than a few times a year since he lost the last election but he’s still capable of screwing England over. Today he made the following demands for the British nationalist parties to sign up to before Thursday’s Scottish independence referendum:

[fruitful_tabs type=”accordion” width=”100%” fit=”true”]
[fruitful_tab title=”A permanent role for Scotland in the evolution of the UK”]The former prime minister has already argued that the UK is on course for major constitutional change even in the event of a No vote. He wants a guarantee that any future constitutional change will be made with Scotland’s involvement. Some will fear that without such a guarantee, calls for more powers for England could be debated without Scotland being consulted.[/fruitful_tab]
[fruitful_tab title=”A guarantee of "fairness"”]Gordon Brown wants politicians of all unionist parties to sign a statement that the aim of a “modern union” will be one that secures “security and opportunity for all” by “sharing equitably the resources of the nations and regions”.[/fruitful_tab]
[fruitful_tab title=”A guarantee that the Barnett formula will survive and Scotland will be able to raise taxes to protect spending on the NHS if necessary”]Nationalists are likely to point out that there can be no such guarantees given that the unionist parties have not reached agreement on which powers to give Scotland in future.[/fruitful_tab]
[/fruitful_tabs]

I didn’t think it was possible for Gordon Brown to be any more offensive or detached from reality than he has been over the last few years but he’s really excelled himself. We didn’t vote for him, we don’t want him yet he still pokes his nose into English affairs (or “the regions” as he calls England) making demands for his beloved Scotland.

English people have had no input whatsoever into the promises the British government have made to give Scotland extra powers if they vote no so why should Scotland have any influence over how England is run? And why should the Barnett Formula – an arbitrary, temporary way of giving Scotland extra money drawn up on the back of a fag packet in the 70s – be guaranteed forever? It isn’t based on need, it’s based on greed; the irrational belief that the Scots are entitled to a share of England’s wealth just because they want it.

Gordon Brown signed the Scottish Claim of Right in 1989, promising to put the interests of the Scottish people first and foremost in everything he did. He honoured that promise throughout his tenure as Chancellor of the Exchequer, during his brief but destructive stint as Prime Minister and he’s still honouring it now.

But we are the people of England; and we have not spoken yet. Smile at us, pay us, pass us by. But never forget.

CEP: Mandelson considers increase in English tuition fees

July 27, 2009 Education, No Mandate No comments

Peter Mandelson, the unelected Minister for English Business and Enterprise, who also has responsibility for English Higher Education, is considering allowing an increase in English university tuition fees.

Tuition fees were introduced in England after Scottish Labour MPs were whipped to vote in favour because a majority of English MPs were opposed to them.  Without Labour’s MPs from Scottish constituencies, English MPs would have defeated the bill and university students in England wouldn’t be leaving education with tens of thousands of pounds of debt.  Labour’s MSPs subsequently voted against the introduction of tuition fees in the Scottish Parliament.

We’re constantly told by the British government that we don’t need an English Parliament because we have more MPs elected in England than the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs put together.  The original introduction of tuition fees in England, with Scottish MPs overturning a majority vote of English MPs, destroys that argument.  That an unelected peer who has twice resigned from the British government in desgrace can have responsibility for a review into increasing the illegitimate fees makes a mockery of any claim the British establishment might have that democracy exists in England whatsoever.

With national debt running at 150% of GDP, tax income down by 8.2% and the social security burden up 9.7%, perhaps adopting the American revolutionary policy of “No Taxation without Representation” would force the Scottish Raj to listen to the voice of the English majority?

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Scottish doctor calls for compulsary vaccinations in England

June 3, 2009 England, Health, No Mandate 10 comments

Sir Sandy Macara, former Chairman of the British Medical Association, has called for MMR vaccinations to be made compulsary by making an immunisation certificate a pre-requisite to being accepted for a school place.

He says that doctors have tried to convince parents but it’s not working so it has to be made compulsary, which begs the question: if the entire medical establishment can’t convince parents that the MMR jab is safe then someone, somewhere is doing something wrong.

We decided to have our children immunised even though there were doubts being cast in the media about the safety of the combined-MMR vaccination. We took a calculated risk, as we all do with any medication no matter how long it’s been around or how safe it’s been considered to be in the past. I used to have painkillers on repeat prescription when I was a teenager that were taken off the shelves a few years ago because they do nasty things to your insides. We also took a calculated risk in allowing one of our children to have his tonsils taken out even though there was a suggestion at the time there might be a risk of contracting CJD from metal surgical implements. And long time readers of this blog may recall that we took a calculated risk in allowing another one of our children to have open heart surgery even though he would be the youngest child in the UK to have had the Ross Procedure performed on him. This is what parents do – they weigh up the risks and benefits of many things every day where their children are concerned and come up with the answer they are most comfortable with. That’s what being a parent is about – caring for your children, deciding what is right and wrong for them and making the decisions for them that they can’t make.

Vaccinations are something a parent should decide on, not the state. One parent’s decision affects one child, the state’s decision will affect millions and if they get it wrong the ramifications are far greater. And, of course, the British government could only make vaccinations compulsary in England and I’m sure it won’t surprise you to learn that Sir Sandy Macara is Scottish.

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CEP: Gordon Brown will make slaves of English children

April 12, 2009 Britain, England, No Mandate, Police State No comments

The British Prime Minister has announced plans to force all English children to carry out at least 50 hours of community service before the age of 19.

Luckily, the plans are in his manifesto pledge for the next British elections and are therefore extremely unlikely to ever come to fruition for the two very good reasons that Labour is unlikely to win a general election again for a long time and they have already told us that their manifesto promises aren’t actually promises, but more sort of vague ideas of things they’d do if they didn’t hold us all in such contempt.

However, as unlikely as it is that his proposals will ever come to anything, it just goes to show the lengths this illegitimate Prime Minister will go to to grab a headline.  He is putting a promise in his British general election manifesto, on which he will ask the voters of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath in Scotland to elect him, to compel English children to carry out unpaid “voluntary” work by making it a compulsory element of the English school curriculum.

Of course, you won’t read any of this on the BBC News website.  They have helpfully (for Gordon Brown) quoted the British Prime Minister word for word without correction:

It is my ambition to create a Britain in which there is a clear expectation that all young people will undertake some service to their community, and where community service will become a normal part of growing up in Britain.

And, by doing so, the contributions of each of us will build a better society for all of us.

That would mean young people being expected to contribute at least 50 hours of community service by the time they have reached the age of 19.

This will build on the platform provided by citizenship classes as they develop in our schools. But because the greater part of what I envisage as community service takes place outside the school day, it will require the close involvement of local community organisations and charities.

He also said the community work would be linked to a “clear system of accreditation” meaning that children who refuse to take part in the slave labour would fail or marked down in their Citizenship exams.

The following complaint has been made to the BBC:

You quote Gordon Brown saying:

“It is my ambition to create a Britain in which there is a clear expectation that all young people will undertake some service to their community, and where community service will become a normal part of growing up in Britain.”

The article explains that he would do this by way of changing the school curriculum which, as anyone with even a passing knowledge of UK politics (let alone a professional journalist) knows, would only apply to England.  Despite this clearly being an English-only proposal, there was no explanation of this on the BBC website, nor was Gordon Brown’s use of the word “Britain” when he meant “England” challenged or corrected.

There was also no mention of the fact that the British Prime Minister, representing a Scottish constituency, is making this policy that only applies to England a cornerstone of his general election manifesto when he seeks re-election in his Scottish constituency next year.

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No mandate reforms from no mandate PM

May 14, 2008 No Mandate No comments

No Mandate Brown has set out his no-mandate “reform” programme (there’s that fucking word again – reform) to try and recover from the devastating trouncing Liebour had in the last by-election and nosediving support from traditional Liebour voters.

Let’s take a look at what batshit ideas he’s pulled out of his arse this time. I’ll use the BBC’s list …

Help for homebuyers
Great, what help will that be? Mortgages for cardboard boxes? House prices are too high and most of the council houses have been sold so people just don’t have anywhere affordable to live. Gordo’s answer is to buy unsold new houses and rent them to social tenants. But why are there unsold houses and why are they pushing for millions of new houses to be built over the next decade if they can’t sell the houses that are already built? Doesn’t apply to Scotland.

A savings scheme for low earners
What fucking planet do you live on Gordo? Low earners don’t have money to save, especially after you – sorry, your sockpuppet Darling – took the 10p tax band away.

New rights for workers to request training
Ok, here’s how things work in business Gordo. The Treasury might be able to borrow a few billion quid whenever it can’t pay the bills but companies can’t and training costs money. Running a business is getting harder and more expensive thanks to stupid regulations and ever increasing taxes. What our struggling businesses don’t need is even more legislation making them less competitive.

Hospital funding will be linked to performance
Genius. A hospital under performs so rather than give them some cash to get their arse into gear, you take money off them. Too much stick and not enough carrot as per fucking usual. Doesn’t apply to Scotland.

Elected police chiefs
Great. Will this be “indirectly elected”, ie. voted for by their peers? Or will us peasants be given a vote? Politically aligned police chiefs, just what we need. Doesn’t apply to Scotland.

£2.7bn tax cut
An entirely unfunded tax cut paid for by borrowing £2.7bn on the private market increasing public debt significantly. The Treasury is insolvent, how long before one of the high street banks files for a winding up order? To be fair, that might not be such a bad thing – we might get someone running the Treasury who’s got even a vague idea of how to run the fucking economy.

Jobless training and skills assessments
Sorry but about 10 years ago I had an operation and I was left unemployed as a result (I think I must have been temping). I hadn’t paid enough national insurance so I had to go on Jobseekers instead of getting Income Support or Incapacity. Despite being medically unfit I had to sign on once a fortnight and they even made me go on a training and skills assessment. This is nothing new … unless Liebour abolished them? Doesn’t apply to Scotland.

Parents councils to help runs schools
Erm … I can’t actually pick fault with that, parents need to be more involved in their children’s education – especially when they’re getting filthy propaganda shoved down their throats. Doesn’t apply to Scotland.

Rights to flexible working for parents
See the above comment on the right to training. Employers need people to work set hours to fit in with their business. Doesn’t apply to Scotland.

Tests for immigrants
Yeah because the citizenship test has been such a success. Perhaps the rule that exempts immigrants from taking the test if they don’t speak English wasn’t such a good idea after all.

Lords reform
No. No, no, no. Fucking NO! Put it back to how it was before the grinning monkey faced fuckwit that preceded you broke it. Elected Lords or appointed Lords are a disaster for democracy because it ensures that the party controlling the Commons controls the Lords as well. Hereditary peers mean the political make-up of the Lords is decided by an accident of birth, not by toadying up to fuck face Brown or coming with stupid populist ideas to appeal to idiot voters who’d vote for a monkey if it had the right colour rosette.

Party funding reform
This had better not include state funding for parties or I seriously am going to pop a vein. By far and away the biggest bunch of thieving bastards in the Commons are the Liebour Party. The only reason harsher rules are needed on party funding is because Liebour are so fucking corrupt.

Consultation on the Bill of Rights
WE. ALREADY. HAVE. A. BILL. OF. RIGHTS. We don’t need another Bill of Rights, we just need the existing Bill of Rights honoured. That means abolishing all forms of summary justice, including parking fines and speeding tickets. No conviction, no fine. End of.

Introduction of a National Coroner Service
Riiiiight. And this is vitally important and worth spending money on when you’ve just borrowed £2.7bn for a by-election bribe is it? Doesn’t apply to Scotland.

I make that 14 pledges, only 7 of which apply to the people in Scotland who voted for him. Democracy? What democracy? Come the revolution, he’ll be the first against the wall.

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Brown plans more regionalisation in England

March 30, 2008 Britishness, England, No Mandate, Regions, Traitors No comments

According to the Times, Gordon Brown is planning to create a network of London-type mayors in the “English regions” to combat Englishness and promote the Britishness agenda he has become obsessed since being parachuted into the post of Prime Minister without a mandate.

England has always been considered expendable by the Labour Party, hence their willingness to embrace the EU’s regionalisation agenda.  Balkanising England suits Labour’s political agenda – England doesn’t vote Labour but enough of “the regions” probably would making it easier possible for Labour to win another election.

The North East euroregion rejected regionalisation in a referendum a couple of years ago but that decision has been ignored.  Only 22% of people in the North East wanted regional government and that was the euroregion that the British government said had most support for regional government.

The people of England don’t want regionalisation, the British government has no democratic or moral mandate to impose it on us.

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No, no, no

March 25, 2008 Anglophobia, Britishness, No Mandate, Regions, Traitors No comments

No Mandate Brown is appealing to “middle England” to support more devolution for Scotland and support the union.

The One Eyed Wonder of Wankistan says that the UK is “the world’s most successful multi-national state” but that the union isn’t “a contract of convenience that can be renegotiated”. Multi-national or multi-regional? Remember, as far as Liebour is concerned there is no such thing as England.

Also today, Jack Straw is going to set out a “statement of British values” that define British citizenship and press the non-existent case for a British Bill of Rights and Responsibilities. There’s that word again – responsibilities. It’s no longer enough that you live here, work here, pay your taxes here or were even born here – you must have some good old British responsibilities for the British good.

The Demon Headmaster will be pressing for more power at local, regional and national level with more power for city governments. The national level is, of course, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (which isn’t even a nation). The regional level, obviously, is England which must never be given any form of acknowledgment as a national entity. City government (aka City Regions – the EU’s favoured form of “local” government) will only apply to England … sorry, the English Regions … because local government is devolved.

Apparently, today is the first day of Jack Straw’s consultation on Britishness, British values and a British Bill of Rights. Has anyone English been invited to take part in this “consultation”? If Jack Straw and Gordon Brown get away with what they’re trying to do right now then that’s the end of England forever.

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Nuclear Family

January 10, 2008 England, Labour, No Mandate 16 comments

No Mandate Brown will announce today that the British government intends to build nuclear power stations in England.

He won’t be making the same announcement about Scotland, of course, because it’s a devolved matter and the Scottish Parliament has decided that Gordon Brown’s constituents and their fellow countrymen won’t be getting nuclear power stations.

Now, I agree with building nuclear power plants.  They produce very little pollution during their operation if you discount the radioactive waste that is left over once they’re decommissioned.  Nuclear plants have an excellent safety record, they don’t rely on fossil fuels and the electricity they produce is reliable and relatively cheap.  And I’m not a NIMBY either, there has been talk of replacing the Ironbridge B coal-fired power station with a nuclear plant and that’s close enough to my house for me to be able to see the plume of smoke it produces round the clock.

However, like I said the other day when the Goblin King announced that health screening was to be increased in England, I don’t care whether what he is announcing is a good thing, he has no mandate to do it.

Socialist Unity points out that this isn’t a devolved issue in Wales so it would be possible for the British government to build nuclear plants there.  But they won’t build them in Wales because the Welsh government doesn’t want it and the last thing Liebour wants is to lose more support in Wales where they have already been forced to form a coalition government with the nationalist Plaid Cymru.  Going against the wishes of the Welsh government on such an important issue will seriously damage Liebour and put them in the nightmare position of losing control of both Wales and Scotland, the source of their Westminster majority.

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Brown interfering in English NHS again

January 7, 2008 England, Health, No Mandate 3 comments

No Mandate Brown has announced that the (English) NHS will start offering health screening for heart disease, strokes and kidney disease as well as increasing the screening for some types of cancer.

Health screening is good but it’s still wrong the Gordon Brown is interfering in the English NHS.  He has no say over the NHS in his own constituency in Scotland and whether it’s a “good” or “bad” thing that he’s doing, he still has no mandate.

However, there is little point in offering health screening if there is nothing to back it up with.  The English NHS is underfunded and the service provided is inferior to that in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.  What is the point in getting an early diagnosis for cancer if you can’t get the right treatment because you live in England and not Scotland?

I don’t care whether this is, on balance, a positive move or not – Gordon Brown has no mandate to interfere with the English NHS.  If he wants to meddle with the NHS then he should stand for election to the Scottish Parliament where his constituents can give him a mandate over the Scottish NHS.

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NHS Constitution

January 1, 2008 England, Health, No Mandate 7 comments

Read this then read the letter I just sent to my turncoat Liebour MP.

Dear David,

Your Prime Minister has somehow, against all the odds, managed to make me even more annoyed today than he has since he was appointed as your leader.

I was pretty incensed when he announced that his priorities as Prime Minister would be the English education system, the English health system and the English housing system even though he has no mandate over any of them.  Today I see that in return for the health system that we are paying for through our taxes, your Prime Minister has decided that we must have “responsibilities”.  But only in England.

The medical treatment which the English will be entitled to will still be inferior to the medical treatment his own Scottish constituents are entitled to and they will continue to receive their superior service without the “responsibilities” that the English must have.

David, YOU have a responsibility.  Your responsibility is to your constituents, NOT your party.  Gordon Brown was not given a mandate by his Scottish constituents to tell English people what they must do to receive medical treatment.  I assume you do understand that none of your Prime Minister’s proclamations on health, education, housing, etc. affect his own constituents – he has no more right to tell your constituents what medical treatment they can and can’t receive than you have to tell his constituents what medical treatment they can and can’t receive.

I cannot adequately express in polite terms how disappointed I am that you condone this unconstitutional, undemocratic and immoral system of apartheid.  How can you continue to support your party when it is doing everything it can to maintain the system that allows the Scottish ruling elite to make decisions in your constituency when neither they, nor you, can make the same decisions in their constituency?

If you play a part in breaking our health, education and housing systems I can – and will – vote for someone else who won’t do the same.  Gordon Brown’s constituents won’t care what he does to the English NHS or schools – they’re more likely to vote for him if they can see that he’s screwing the English over!

Poll after poll has shown that English people are fed up with your Scottish MPs interfering in English-only legislation.  Poll after poll has shown that English people want their own government like the one your party gave to Scotland.  It’s time you started doing your job David – represent your constituents, not your party.

Stuart

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Lib Dums appoint Welsh MP to English housing portfolio

December 22, 2007 Lib Dems, No Mandate 2 comments

The Illiberal Dipshits have appointed Lembit Öpik, MP for Montgomery, to their shadow cabinet with responsibility for housing.

Housing is devolved to the Welsh Assembly in Mr Öpik’s own constituency so his constituents were unable to give him a mandate on English housing.  I’ve just sent the following email to his constituency office:

Dear Mr Öpik,

I note with dismay that you have accepted a job in the Lib Dem Shadow Cabinet with responsibility for housing.

In your own constituency in Montgomeryshire, housing has been devolved to the Welsh Assembly.  When you were elected, you were given a mandate by your constituents on those matters that are reserved to the British government.  They did not – and can not – give you a mandate on matters that are devolved to the Welsh Assembly.

If, by some bizarre twist of fate (such as all the other parties forgetting there was an election) the Lib Dems were to win an election, how would you claim a moral or democratic mandate to interfere in English housing when you have no say on the same policies in your own constituency?  Would you be happy for an MP elected in England to have responsibility for housing in your constituency but not in their own?

Stuart Parr

I’ve also sent this to my local paper which Öpik sometimes writes for:

I read with dismay that Lembit Öpik has accepted a position on the Lib Dem shadow cabinet with responsibility for housing.

In Montgomeryshire, where Lembit Öpik was elected, housing is the responsibility of the Welsh Assembly.  When Mr Öpik was elected, his constituents elected him to represent their interests only on matters that aren’t taken care of by the Welsh Assembly.  They did not – and can not – give him a mandate on English housing.

My MP, David Wright, has no say on housing anywhere other than England – neither does Lembit Öpik.  The difference is, my MP has been given a mandate by an English electorate on housing, Lembit Öpik hasn’t.

The sooner we get an English Parliament and stop no-mandate foreign MPs from interfering in English affairs the better.

Stuart Parr
Campaign for an English Parliament

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A nation of Goldfish?

December 20, 2007 Come the revolution, Labour, No Mandate, Sleaze, Traitors No comments

No Mandate Brown thinks that the English are a nation of goldfish who will forget the recent scandals – fraud, sleaze, incompetence, treason – that have marked his first few months in power.

He actually had the gall to say “I think people know that when a problem arises we will deal with it” – it’s his Liebour Party that is the cause of all the recent problems.  His party took illegal donations, his party is drowning in sleaze, his party full of incompetent failures, his party has committed treason.  The best way to deal with these problems is to nip them in the bud before they happen by resigning and calling an election.

The Goblin King says that he doesn’t want recent events to divert them from their long-term aims on housing, health and education.  None of which he has a mandate for because they’re all devolved in Scotland where he was elected.

Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you Gordo but I’ll make sure that every one of your failures, every criminal act, every act of treason, is remembered for as long as you manage to cling desperately onto the position that you have been given by your corrupt party.

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EDM266: CONDUCT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND THE SCOTTISH CLAIM OF RIGHT

November 15, 2007 No Mandate 5 comments

Worm your way out of this Gordon …

That this House recognises that the Prime Minister is a signatory to the Scottish Claim of Right in which he declared and pledged that in all his actions and deliberations the interests of the Scottish people `shall be paramount’; believes that by declaring that the interests of the Scottish people should come first he has committed himself to discriminating against the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland; considers this to be incompatible with being the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in which office the interests of all UK people should be equal; and calls on him publicly to disassociate himself from and withdraw from the Scottish Claim of Right.

How can this MP, elected in Scotland on a narrow mandate of reserved matters, ever claim to be representing the whole of the UK?  He has no mandate to govern England and signed the Scottish Claim of Right pledging to put the interests of Scottish people first and foremost in all his actions.

Simple answer is, he can’t.  No mandate, no job – seems pretty simple to me.

 

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Queen’s Speech

November 7, 2007 No Mandate No comments

The Queen was put through the indignity of having to read the One Eyed Wonder of Wankistan first (and hopefully last) Queen’s Speech.

The BBC, to my utter amazement, have actually identified which bills are only applicable in England although there is no explanation of why this is so utterly reprehensible, undemocratic and morally wrong.

First up is the Apprenticeships (draft) Bill which only applies to England. 16-18 year olds will be given an entitlement to an apprenticeship. Who they will be apprenticed to, how companies will be convinced or forced to take on apprentices and why this is neccesary when kids will soon have to be in school until they’re 18 isn’t explained.

Mandate Rating: 0/5

Next is the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Bill which will “clarify the legal and regulatory position of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, ahead of the restructuring of the company which built the link”. The BBC says this applies to the whole of the UK although the Channel Tunnel is actually in England and Eurostar doesn’t go to Scotland or Wales. And I thought the situation was pretty simple – it cost a horrendous amount of public and private money, won’t break even for decades and the taxpayer will see little or no return ever on the “investment”. 

Mandate Rating: 0/5

The Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill comes next which will reform (god, I hate that word) the child maintenance system. Can’t really pick fault with that provided it actually works, unlike the piss poor job the CSA does. Applies to England, Wales and Scotland. 

Mandate Rating: 1/5

Next is the Children and Young Persons Bill which will prevent children from moving schools in years 10 and 11 (the last two years for 16 year old school leavers). There is no explanation of how the state will prevent you from moving home or if they, perhaps, intend to take your child into care if you try to move when your child is that age. Also requires local authorities to provide children leaving institutional care continued support. Only applies to England and technically to Wales. 

Mandate Rating: 0/5

Possibly the most unbelievable one is the Citizenship and Immigration (draft) Bill which will “take forward any recommendations” from a review by Lord Goldsmith. Nobody knows what those recommendations are going to be but it looks like it’ll be pushed through regardless of what it contains. Probably applies to the whole of the UK but policing is devolved so possibly not. 

Mandate Rating: 1/5

Next up is the Climate Change Bill which is going to decimate our economy. Statutory targets are going to be introduced to reduce our CO2 emmissions by 60% by 2050, effectively making the country a no-go for any type of heavy industry. Also provides for pilot schemes such as pay-as-you-throw rubbish tax by local authorities which the British government believes will result in less household waste rather than more fly-tipping. “Much of the bill” applies to the whole country according to the BBC although the bits intended to directly empty our pockets will only apply in England. 

Mandate Rating: 1/5

The Constitutional Renewal (draft) Bill will apparently give more power to Parliament to hold the government to account and decide where to deploy troops. Doesn’t abolish the party whip or stop the British government from telling blatant lies to secure the answer they want so pretty pointless really. Also changes the way judges are appointed … because that’s something we all want to see changed (he said, sarcastically). “Most of the bill applies to the whole UK” says the BBC. We’ll see. 

Mandate Rating: 4/5

The Counter Terrorism Bill is the most dangerous bill proposed giving the state more power to obtain and use DNA, assumes terrorist suspects are hiding something if they refuse to answer and (you’ll like this) bans convicted terrorists from travelling abroad. Firstly, why would convicted terrorists not be in prison? Secondly, why would we want to keep them here if they’re not? Applies to the whole UK apparently but policing is devolved, remember. 

Mandate Rating: 4/5

Next, the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill. This will allow non-dangerous criminals who’ve been released early from prison but breach the terms of their release to be jailed for only 28 days rather than having to serve the rest of their sentence. That’ll teach them. Also gives convicted terrorists a new immigration status … did I already ask why we want convicted terrorists here? “Extreme” pornographic images on the internet will be made illegal and people who defend themselves in their own home will be “fully protected” by the law. Mostly relates to England but partly applies to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 

Mandate Rating: 1/5

The Crossrail Bill is still floating atop all the other turds and has been since February 2005. Only applies to England apart from the bit where Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland get chucked a couple of billion extra in their subsidy for the privelege of spending English taxes on England. 

Mandate Rating: 0/5

The Cultural Property (armed Conflicts) (draft) Bill is a meaningless ratification of a convention protecting cultural artefacts during wars. Probably applies to the whole UK. 

Mandate Rating: 5/5

The Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Bill will be met with dismay by our beleagured banking industry who will lose have to hand over cash from dormant accounts for the British government’s slush fund instead of investing it. Applies to the whole of the UK. 

Mandate Rating: 5/5

The EC Finance Bill will allow the British government to hand over the £27.1m per day contribution they give to Federal Europe from their own bank account, the “Consolidated Fund”. Applies to the whole of the UK. 

Mandate Rating: 5/5

Next is the Education and Skills Bill which will require all children to remain in school until the age of 18 by 2015. Also requires employers to release young people for one days training a week and requires parents and local authorities to make them do it. Applies to England. 

Mandate Rating: 0/5

The Employment Bill aims to strengthen employment law and improve dispute resolution. Applies to England, Scotland and Wales. 

Mandate Rating: 1/5

The Energy Bill will offer greater incentives for renewable energy generation such as ridiculously inefficient and cost-ineffective wind and solar power. Applies to the whole of the UK. 

Mandate Rating: 5/5

The EU Reform Treaty Bill will pass the EU not-a-constitution into law making every MP that supports its passage through Parliament a traitor. Applies to the whole UK. 

Mandate Rating: 5/5

Next, the Health and Social Care Bill. This merges three existing health regulators into one “super regulator” and which will have more power to intervene in failing hospitals. Only applies to England. 

Mandate Rating: 0/5

The Heritage Protection Draft Bill will unify the two different heritage schemese – scheduling and listing – into one. Applies to England, Wales and partly to Northern Ireland. 

Mandate Rating: 0/5

The Housing and Regeneration Bill paves the way for massive house building by merging the national land bank, English Partnerships, with the Housing Corporation which hands out money for social housing. Technically applies to England and Wales but realistically only applies in England. 

Mandate Rating: 0/5

The Human Tissues and Embryos Bill will ban sex selection for non-medical reasons and will recognise same-sex couples as legal parents of children made from donated eggs and sperm. Applies to England and Wales and partly to Scotland and Northern Ireland. 

Mandate Rating: ½/5

The Local Transport Bill will allow local authorities to introduce local road pricing schemes. Applies to England, technically to Wales and tehcnially, partly to Scotland and Northern Ireland. However, transport is devolved so actually only applies to England. 

Mandate Rating: ½/5

The Marine (draft) Bill will introduce a new system for planning marine and offshore developments. Applies to the whole of the UK. 

Mandate Rating: 5/5

Next us is the Marine Navigation and Port Safety (draft) Bill which will “reform” lighthouse authorities and clarify the legal framework for port safety. Applies to the whole UK. 

Mandate Rating: 5/5

The National Insurance Contributions Bill will make the National Insurance upper limit match the Income Tax upper limit over a period of about 18 months. Applies to the whole UK. 

Mandate Rating: 5/5

The Pensions Bill will force all employees into a private pension scheme with minimum employer contributions. Applies to England, Scotland and Wales. 

Mandate Rating: 3/5

The Planning Reform Bill will create a two-tier planning system – one for major infrastructure works and one for minor home improvements. Should result in less formal planning permission requirements for minor works but will probably mean more regional planning decisions by unelected quangos. Only applies to England. 

Mandate Rating: 0/5

The Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill aims to “reduce unnecessary burdens” placed on business by local authorities, probably by moving more powers from elected local authorities to unelected regional quangos. Applies to the whole UK. Allegedly. 

Mandate Rating: 5/5

Finally, the Sale of Student Loans Bill will allow the British government to sell the student loan portfolio to private companies. This is expected to raise £6bn over 3 years but there are no figures given on how much interest would be earnt in the long term. Applies mainly to England. 

Mandate Rating: ½/5

Total mandate rating for the whole Queen’s Speech: 62½/145 (43%)

Go home Gordon, England doesn’t want you.

 

 

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Leave our schools alone Gordo

October 31, 2007 Education, England, No Mandate No comments

The One Eyed Wonder of Wankistan has proclaimed that all failing schools in England will get a visit from a specialist management team to help turn them round.  If that doesn’t work then a change of “management” will be instigated and if that doesn’t work then the school will be shut down.

It was pointed out this morning on GMTV or some morning Trash TV programme that roughly 50% of schools are underperforming.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t pointed out that he has no mandate on the English education system.

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Like Flies Round Shit

October 14, 2007 Labour, No Mandate One comment

Liebour Ministers are desperately trying to encourage Liebour Party members to rally round the One Eyed Wonder of Wankistan after the latest opinion poll put the Conswervatives seven points ahead of Liebour.

Like flies round shit, Liebour ministers have spontaneously told the media how great their Prime Minister is.  Jim Murphy, Minister for Europe, even went as far as saying “The population of the United Kingdom will be very clear who they want the be their leader and I’m certain it would be Gordon Brown”.  When will they be very clear about this Jim?  No Mandate Brown has already ruled out an election because he didn’t think he’d win.  If Liebour is that confident then surely now would be a perfect time to call an election?

The fat sweaty shit, Charlie Falconer, intimated that it’s not just the Liebour Party leadership that needs to change but the whole fetid, corrupt party.  He said that Liebour needs to set out its vision – Gordon’s vision – for the future of the UK.  The vision for the future that Liebour’s Prime Minister has no mandate to carry out.

Tessa Jowell said that No Mandate Brown was right not to call an election because we “need longer to get to know him, to lay out the vision for the country before calling an election”.  Apparently 10 years of being mugged by the Tartan Taxman isn’t enough to get an idea of what a contemptable shit he is.

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Petition: Hold a general election in 2007 – Update

October 12, 2007 No Mandate No comments

The 10 Downing Street petition to hold a general election in 2007 is gathering pace.

The One Eyed Wonder of Wankistan laughed off the petition the other day because it only had 26 signatures.  Overnight it grew to 3,400 signatures and by today over 10,000 people have signed it.

What is nice to see, though, are the number of people who have suffixed their name with “I want an English Parliament”.  How will the unelected tartan traitor explain this one away?  He wants more time to set his agenda into action but the people of this country quite obviously don’t want him to – that’s why over 10,000 of them so far have signed a petition to get him to call an election and that is why he had to cancel the general election that he admits he was planning because he knew he was going to lose.

He has never had a mandate to run the country and he never will, that is why he won’t call an election.

While you’re on the 10 Downing Street website, make sure you also sign this one:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to stop saying ‘Our country’ or ‘This country’ when he is talking in relation to devolved issues such as health, education and housing. If Mr Brown is talking about English matters then he should say ‘England’, even if it is politically inconvenient for him to do so.

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Thanks for nothing Darling

October 10, 2007 No Mandate No comments

Alistair Darling, the latest Scottish Chancellor of the Exchequer, has announced his first pre-budget review.

In his mini-budget he has decided to double the inheritence tax thresholds for couples, small comfort for those who don’t fall into that bracket – widows, young children who have just lost their parents, etc.

A tax allowance for private equity firms has been abolished resulting in an expected £350m rise in the amount of capital gains tax paid by private equity companies over the next year.  Private equity firms are responsible for a large percentage of the insolvent companies rescued, saving jobs and protecting consumers.

Corporation Tax is being cut by 2p to 28% so large companies get to pay less tax.

Local Authority grants for local services will increase to £26bn by 2010 but this will still be preceded by a mandatory cost-cutting exercise in the next financial year which will see council tax bills rise substantially to cover the cuts.

An “extra” £2bn has been given to English health and education.  Gordon Brown’s last act as Chancellor was to cut £2bn off the English NHS buildings budget whilst leaving the Scottish and Welsh budget intact.  The £2bn “extra” for England will mean extra for Scotland and Wales under the Barnett Formula, further widening the gap between health spending in England compared to the rest of the UK.

Net borrowing will be £23bn by 2012.

£460m is being spent on the British Council (no representation for England of course), the BBC World Service BBC Farsi and Arabic channels.  Durka Durka.

So, what can the average man on the street expect to gain from the Tartan Taxman the Second?  Bugger all of course, except higher bills and, if you’re English, more discrimination.  Why is an MP elected in Scotland deciding how much money should be spent on English health, education, environment, etc?  He can’t decide how much is spent in Scotland where he was elected.

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