Week of July 14 – 20

Read Time:6 Minute, 26 Second

By Steve Parkhurst, Senior Editor, USDR.

Looking at the news and opinion out of London each day.

7-20-15

Calling all progressives: help us reform the welfare state

Britain can’t afford its out-of-control benefits system. Moderate Labour MPs should support our proposals

Hyperactive Tories are punching above their weight

While New Labour shied away from its contentious past, current ministers happily pay homage to Thatcherite policies

This cancer care lottery is unacceptable

Maybe we all need to become better patients, but the NHS has to up its game, too.

Tim Farron is a reminder of what it actually means to be liberal

The media complain about ‘career politicians’. Yet when politicians come along who aren’t Oxford PPEists, who have progressed via think tanks and spadships to safe seats without their feet touching the ground, journalists are shocked by their failure to conform to contemporary mores.

His grassroots popularity has rattled his colleages, but the leadership frontrunner offers his own version of the hope that swept Labour to victory in 1997

7-19-15

Could London’s next mayor really be another Old Etonian?

A triumph for direct democracy and localism or a posh-boy stitch-up? The rise of Zac Goldsmith divides even the Tory faithful

On welfare, Labour has shot itself in the foot

Resisting the Tory reforms is absurd because we know that showering the poor with money does no good

Beware plausible stories – there are times when only statistics will do

Media coverage of Greece glosses over reality

The BBC’s ridiculous threat: meddle with the licence fee and Strictly gets it

In wheeling out celebrities to spout the party line, the broadcaster demonstrates just how out of control it is

We can’t beat bullying with more bullying

Online kangaroo courts are ruining lives

7-18-15

Does Britain want to fight Isil or be internationally irrelevant?

Britain is not like Belgium: our actions matter to the rest of the world

Don’t let’s be beastly to Tim Farron

Why and how the Conservatives should work with the Lib Dems in this Parliament.

Greek debt crisis: A tale of ritual humiliation

The most perplexing part of the story is that it seemed as if the PM and his party, Syriza, were set to resist the orders being thrown at them

Our best private schools are still über alles

One German father may be less than impressed by my alma mater, but pupils there are blessed indeed

The youngest parliamentarian of modern times delivered a superb maiden speech, but she has failed to understand that Labour and the SNP cannot be allies

7-17-15

Labour needs saving from itself – and Cameron is the man to do it

With Jeremy Corbyn and the loony Left on the rise, the party is teetering on the edge of oblivion

Think British politicians talk tough on immigration? They’ve got nothing on Merkel

The German Chancellor just made a teenage girl cry on television. Any politician doing that in the UK would be crucified.

The Labour machine needs to understand that most people don’t care what happens to it

It’s not the party machine that supporters want, it’s what it can accomplish

No bailout can save Greece from itself – or from the German voters

Greeks will resist reform imposed from abroad – but Germans will demand it while their cash is on the line. So we go on, locked together in misery

7-16-15

Jeremy Corbyn’s extraordinary success is a coup for the Tories

It wasn’t meant to work out this way. A month ago, Westminster watched to see if Jeremy Corbyn could get the support of the 35 MPs he needed to enter the Labour leadership race. At the time, it seemed a sort of joke. After all, the people who were lending him their backing weren’t doing so for any great love of Corbyn.

Iran nuclear deal: Peace in our time? Not with this shoddy agreement

After more than a decade of intense negotiations with Tehran, we are still no closer to understanding whether Iran is really trying to build an atom bomb

How you can help Jeremy Corbyn win – and destroy the Labour Party

Sign up today to make sure the bearded socialist voter-repellent becomes the next Labour leader – and dooms the party forever

Labour in chaos: what are the party’s options?

Labour is in an almighty mess at the moment. Those involved in the leadership campaigns are surprised by how the mood in the party has changed from quite open acceptance of a need to change in the days after the election defeat to angry dissent when change is suggested, as evidenced by the reaction to Harriet Harman’s welfare policies this week.

Zac Goldsmith is against a London Mayoral shortlist. He is happy to compete in a primary against all comers.

We also have the running order for candidate interviews on Saturday week.

Two-party politics isn’t as durable as it first looked after the election

Look closer at the ‘healthy’ two-party system and you’ll see the Tories are rather anaemic

7-15-15

Iran nuclear deal: So what exactly does Iran want with all that enriched uranium?

We are looking at a ten to fifteen year gamble, and the odds are not tempting

This time, Iain Duncan Smith may be right

Even a broken clock is right twice a day, and Iain Duncan Smith may be worth listening to – this time.

Why Stephen Greenhalgh should be in the Conservative primary for London Mayor

Whether he is or isn’t on it is a test case of whether the Party practices the values it preaches.

60 million people are now displaced, fleeing from beheadings, torture and rape — migrant policies are failing

Governments must manage migration in a way that minimises suffering rather than creates it

7-14-15

Despite this setback, we must not play Sturgeon’s aggravation game

The SNP are trying to provoke noisy confrontations to deepen divisions they can exploit. On hunting, patience and politeness should be our weapons.

Getting around to be more productive

One of the biggest barriers to improved performance by all of us is the inability to get around the UK by road or rail. Thursday was a great example. Trying to get from central London to the busy Thames Valley, you had to run the gauntlet of the tube strike, the intrusive roadworks to replace general road with cycle lanes in central London, the strike on Great Western railway and a blocked M 25. If you wanted to go to Kent there was Operation Stack to contend with, closing one of the main motorways.

Greece debt crisis: The start of a long and hard road for the Greek people

 When the cuts do take hold, there will be riots, and then there will be strikes

We cast light on the mystery of the London Mayoral Conservative Candidate Selection

We list the committee members who will decide the Open Primary Shortlist. If it’s wide of the mark in any way, please direct your complaints to CCHQ.

As the world’s dangers escalate, Britain’s world view is shrinking

With Greece in crisis and Russia still rampant, we must regain the geopolitical outlook we once had if we are to tackle the worst global threats

– – – – – –

Across The Pond is edited daily by Steve Parkhurst. Steve is a political consultant, a writer at his blog as well as a Senior Editor here at US Daily Review. Follow Steve on Twitter  @SteveParkhurst

Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %
Videos