Politics

Cameron’s Cowardice Is A Betrayal Of British Conservatism

Samuel Hooper2 Comments

2015 general election britain leaders debate

 

David Cameron and the Conservative campaign team believe that their record in government and 2015 manifesto will not withstand the scrutiny of a televised debate with  Ed Miliband. If they have so little faith in the appeal of conservative policies, why should we have faith in them?

When your estimated share of the vote hovers around the mid thirties and the opinion polls predict another hung parliament, a serious political party at ease with itself simply cannot afford to be risk averse. And yet that is precisely what both Ed Miliband and David Cameron are doing – the former by pursuing his 35% core vote strategy and the Prime Minister by throwing up as many obstacles as possible between himself and the prospect of taking part in the televised leaders’ debates.

The Guardian shows with one pertinent example why the debates, though a new tradition in British politics, have become an important part of our democratic process:

There is a broader and important point about the accountability of politicians. Tony Blair, ever the showman, held monthly press conferences in an attempt to explain himself. Sometimes, if the timing was right, these events were a very difficult hour for the prime minister. Gordon Brown broadly continued the tradition. Cameron abolished them. He remains available for the occasional newspaper interview with a friendly proprietor and, at conference time, finds time for a 20-minute breakfast inquisition. But his favourite forum is Good Morning Britain, a revealing discussion with a woman’s magazine about his cooking prowess or three questions on regional radio interspersed with a Barry Manilow song.

And Janet Daley, writing in The Telegraph, explains why Cameron’s latest dodge may be a political miscalculation:

Continue reading →

UKIP Is Right To Eschew Arbitrary Immigration Targets

Samuel HooperLeave a comment

UKIP Immigration Target UK Border Control

 

The launch of UKIP’s immigration policy was always going to be a newsworthy event, especially when it became clear that Nigel Farage’s party was not going to walk into the trap of humiliating the Conservative Party by committing to an arbitrary (and ultimately unachievable) target for net migration.

Many openly antagonistic commentators and journalists are painting Nigel Farage’s refusal to set a precise immigration target as a political error or missed opportunity. But in reality, this pragmatic stance – and advocacy of an Australian-style points-based immigration system – suggests a maturing political party that understands both the constraints of government and the need to be honest with the people.

Writing in The Telegraph this week, Nigel Farage revealed:

People want to know more about Ukip’s policies. The issue of mass migration is one of the most important to British people, and as we aspire to hold the balance of power after the election, we have an obligation to set out our stall.

So let me say we believe that migration into the United Kingdom is too high. It’s affecting the NHS. It affects policing, school places, infrastructure, wages, and the make-up of local communities. This is why Ukip wants to see a Migration Control Commission – with a remit to bring down net immigration, while assuring the right number of highly skilled workers from across the globe are able to enter.

This body will be tasked with establishing and controlling the Australian-style points system. While politicians and the people they represent determine the direction of travel for this country, we will not, unlike the other parties, seek to set arbitrary targets which only result in broken promises.

Continue reading →

Michael Sheen Does Politics: So Right, And Yet So Wrong

Samuel Hooper6 Comments

Michael Sheen British Politics NHS Healthcare 2015 Election

 

Michael Sheen was 100% right in his criticism of politicians lacking in conviction, but his sycophantic Aneurin Bevan worship and NHS fetishisation is the wrong prescription for Britain.

The British left has found itself a new saviour.

First came Owen Jones, rightly excoriating us for sneering at “chavs” while ignoring the failed policies through which we create and maintain a permanent underclass in Britain. “Our Generation’s Orwell”, as he was prematurely anointed by Russell Brand, offered us a rose-tinted stroll back to 1970s industrial strife and national decline.

But Owen Jones only baptises with water; Michael Sheen burst onto the political scene yesterday to anoint us with the Holy Spirit. That is, he sought to rally us around our true national religion, the National Health Service.

The actor Michael Sheen is best known for playing the role of Tony Blair on film and television (though he is far more entertaining as the character Wesley Snipes in NBC comedy 30 Rock). But he is now being praised to the rafters for this impassioned critique of our modern politicians at a St. David’s Day event to celebrate (or borderline worship) the life of Aneurin Bevan, founder of the NHS:

Continue reading →

Review: The Great European Disaster Movie, BBC Four

Samuel Hooper4 Comments

The Great European Disaster Movie BBC EU UKIP bias 2

 

Imagine that you are a young child in an alternate universe, a future world in which the European Union has been disbanded amid popular uprising and economic depression.

Then imagine that you are circling Berlin in an airplane suffering a technical emergency, while Angus Deayton (of all people) sits next to you and bores you to tears with dull morsels of selectively-remembered EU trivia, interspersed with told-you-so left wing laments about how everything would have been so much better if only his generation had spent more time loving the European Union.

Even the most happy-go-lucky child would be willing that aircraft into a terminal nosedive and sweet oblivion after an hour of such torture. I certainly was, after just ten minutes watching The Great European Disaster Movie on BBC Four last night.

The Telegraph says that the rare elements of truth contained in the film were completely overshadowed by the condescending delivery:

Continue reading →

It’s The End Of The World As EU Know It

Samuel HooperLeave a comment

The Great European Disaster Movie BBC EU UKIP bias

 

Full review of the programme here.

You wait years for an apocalyptic mockumentary where Nigel Farage ushers in the end of western civilisation, and then two come along at once.

Hot on the heels of Channel 4’s alarmist and liberal bias-reinforcing docudrama “UKIP: The First 100 Days” comes a new offering from the BBC, with the sober and reflective title “The Great European Disaster Movie”.

As often happens with propaganda and political hit pieces, the BBC downplays the documentary as being thought-provoking and witty, falling back on the satire defence while revealing its true bias by never attempting to satirise the opposing side of the argument:

The film includes fictional scenes, set in a post-EU future, which feature archaeologist Charles Granda (played by Angus Deayton) travelling on a flight through a menacing storm, explaining to a child passenger what the EU was. Sombre, thought-provoking and witty, the film frames Europe through the eyes of those who have most at stake – the Europeans themselves.

The Daily Mail views this latest offering with natural scepticism:

An army of Islamic State terrorists has advanced to the outskirts of Vienna, Spain has cut off routes to Gibraltar and Nigel Farage – prime minister of ‘Great England’ – has deported all immigrants who have arrived in the past ten years.

This, according to the BBC, is what the world would be like if the European Union were to collapse.

The apocalyptic vision of a continent in which social order has broken down – to be screened on BBC4 tonight at 10pm – has been condemned by Eurosceptic critics as ‘scaremongering’.

Among the issues and contradictions apparently not explored in the documentary:

  1. Why European countries alone face economic ruin and civil unrest if they fail to pool their sovereignty and dilute their national identities
  2. How other geographical regions such as Asia and the Americas prosper without powerful, pan-national and undemocratic institutions, while Europe would face ruin without them
  3. Why UKIP would countenance the upheaval of deporting “all immigrants who arrived in the past ten years” when they have stated repeatedly and often that they favour a points-based immigration system that focuses on skills and quality
  4. Why the economic disruption caused by dismantling the European Union would lead to more anarchy and chaos on the streets than the EU’s calamitous policies, one-size-fits-all monetary policy and lack of democratic accountability are already causing every day

If you sincerely believe that the age of the nation state is over, that Britain is in no way special and cannot compete in the global economy in the same way as, say, Switzerland or South Korea, then fine. But own your position and make your case accordingly from that starting point, not by masquerading as a dispassionate observer with no political bias or financial interest.

More importantly, an organisation like the BBC, in receipt of billions of taxpayer pounds and under a mandate to inform and entertain the whole nation, must recognise that acting as a shill for pro-EU propaganda is incompatible with its founding mission and charter, and renounce all public funding so that it can become a full time political pressure group.

Once the short election campaign is underway everything will become a lot more restricted, and UKIP specifically will benefit from being afforded “major party status” and given the right of rebuttal and increased coverage on broadcast television news programmes.

But until then, expect a lot more hysteria and misinformation of this type, insidious propaganda presented as “just a bit of fun”.

This blog’s full review of “The Great European Disaster Movie” can be read here.