Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
The Labour shadow cabinet has decided to vote against a bill introducing reform to the voting system, raising the prospect of a Commons defeat for one of the governing coalition's flagship policies.The decision, taken last night, followed two lengthy shadow cabinet discussions.It could herald a backbench Tory-Labour alliance designed to derail the bill either at its second reading or by rejecting the proposal that the referendum be held on the same day as elections in Scotland and parts of England and Wales next May.A total of 50 Tory MPs are opposing next May as the date for the referendum, and are coming under intense pressure from Tory whips to pull back from that stance.
The Labour shadow cabinet has decided to vote against a bill introducing reform to the voting system, raising the prospect of a Commons defeat for one of the governing coalition's flagship policies.
The decision, taken last night, followed two lengthy shadow cabinet discussions.
It could herald a backbench Tory-Labour alliance designed to derail the bill either at its second reading or by rejecting the proposal that the referendum be held on the same day as elections in Scotland and parts of England and Wales next May.
A total of 50 Tory MPs are opposing next May as the date for the referendum, and are coming under intense pressure from Tory whips to pull back from that stance.
If Scotland actually gains independence and ceases to contribute to the UK parliament, then they will never regain power.
Unless they embrace PR. But these are yesterday's mens with yesterday's thinking. but they are killing the possibility of having a brighter tomorrow. keep to the Fen Causeway
The coroner due to preside over the inquest into the death of Ian Tomlinson was tonight under pressure to step down from the hearing because he was responsible for appointing the pathologist who conducted a controversial postmortem on Tomlinson.Professor Paul Matthews instructed Dr Freddy Patel to carry out the first postmortem on the newspaper seller. Patel, who is under investigation by the General Medical Council, concluded he died from a heart attack. Two further postmortems said the cause of death was abdominal haemorrhage.
The coroner due to preside over the inquest into the death of Ian Tomlinson was tonight under pressure to step down from the hearing because he was responsible for appointing the pathologist who conducted a controversial postmortem on Tomlinson.
Professor Paul Matthews instructed Dr Freddy Patel to carry out the first postmortem on the newspaper seller. Patel, who is under investigation by the General Medical Council, concluded he died from a heart attack. Two further postmortems said the cause of death was abdominal haemorrhage.
Irrespective of the pathologist's professional standing, he will not be short of "work" in the future because he delivered when it was needed and that will not be forgotten. keep to the Fen Causeway
The Police Officer who struck and pushed Mr Ian Tomlinson is to face misconduct proceedings - The Guardian 27th July. Police Misconduct and Complaints is a complicated area of the law and a number of lawyers specialise in it. Perhaps the principal book on the law is "Police Misconduct, Complaints and Public Regulation" by barristers John Beggs and Hugh Davies. Such proceedings are normally held in private but there is a power under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2008 - Reg. 32(5) - for the IPCC to require this hearing to be held in public.
The police officer caught on video striking newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson during last year's G20 protests in London faces disciplinary proceeding, the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, told MPs today.Tomlinson later died. The announcement comes less than a week after the Crown Prosecution Service announced that it would not press charges against PC Simon Harwood, a member of Scotland Yard's territorial support group, a decision that sparked anger from Tomlinson's family and supporters.Stephenson said the officer has been told he will face a disciplinary hearing for gross misconduct after the force received an independent report into the incident. He told a meeting of the Commons home affairs committee that he was "disturbed" by the footage of Mr Tomlinson being hit with a baton and pushed to the ground
The police officer caught on video striking newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson during last year's G20 protests in London faces disciplinary proceeding, the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, told MPs today.
Tomlinson later died. The announcement comes less than a week after the Crown Prosecution Service announced that it would not press charges against PC Simon Harwood, a member of Scotland Yard's territorial support group, a decision that sparked anger from Tomlinson's family and supporters.
Stephenson said the officer has been told he will face a disciplinary hearing for gross misconduct after the force received an independent report into the incident. He told a meeting of the Commons home affairs committee that he was "disturbed" by the footage of Mr Tomlinson being hit with a baton and pushed to the ground
A British judge is to rule on whether Ejup Ganic, a former Bosnian leader, should be extradited to Serbia over alleged war crimes. The 64-year-old is accused of ordering the killing of more than 40 Yugoslav army soldiers retreating from Sarajevo at the start of the 1992-95 Bosnian war, when he was president. His defence lawyers have previously argued that two previous investigations found he had no case to answer and there was insufficient evidence to warrant a trial.
A British judge is to rule on whether Ejup Ganic, a former Bosnian leader, should be extradited to Serbia over alleged war crimes.
The 64-year-old is accused of ordering the killing of more than 40 Yugoslav army soldiers retreating from Sarajevo at the start of the 1992-95 Bosnian war, when he was president.
His defence lawyers have previously argued that two previous investigations found he had no case to answer and there was insufficient evidence to warrant a trial.
The extradition from the UK of a former Bosnian president wanted for alleged war crimes in Serbia has been blocked. Ejup Ganic faced extradition and prosecution for atrocities he denies committing in Sarajevo in 1992. District Judge Timothy Workman blocked the extradition bid at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court.
The extradition from the UK of a former Bosnian president wanted for alleged war crimes in Serbia has been blocked.
Ejup Ganic faced extradition and prosecution for atrocities he denies committing in Sarajevo in 1992.
District Judge Timothy Workman blocked the extradition bid at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court.
David Cameron has promised to "fight" for Turkey's membership of the European Union, saying he is "angry" at the slow pace of negotiations. On his first visit as prime minister, he said the country could become a "great European power", helping build links with the Middle East. He compared hostility to the membership bid in some parts of the EU with the way the UK's entry was once regarded. After his visit to Turkey, Mr Cameron will travel on to India.
David Cameron has promised to "fight" for Turkey's membership of the European Union, saying he is "angry" at the slow pace of negotiations.
On his first visit as prime minister, he said the country could become a "great European power", helping build links with the Middle East.
He compared hostility to the membership bid in some parts of the EU with the way the UK's entry was once regarded.
After his visit to Turkey, Mr Cameron will travel on to India.
Uh, I thought he was trying to sell the idea of Turkey entering?
The Greek authorities should immediately review their policy of locking up irregular migrants and asylum-seekers, including many unaccompanied children, Amnesty International said in a new report on Tuesday. Greece: Irregular migrants and asylum-seekers routinely detained in substandard conditions, documents their treatment, many of whom are held in poor conditions in borderguard stations and immigration detention centres with no or limited access to legal, social and medical aid.
Latest Ipsos MORI poll puts Labour on 38 per cent, with Tories just ahead on 40 per cent. If more evidence were needed that Lib Dem voters are rapidly defecting to Labour, the latest Ipsos MORI political monitor should provide it. The poll puts Labour on 38 per cent, up seven points since June, with the Lib Dems falling five to 14 per cent. The Tories are up one to 40 per cent.If repeated at an election on a uniform swing, the figures would put Labour on 310 seats, the Tories on 294 and the Lib Dems on 20.
Latest Ipsos MORI poll puts Labour on 38 per cent, with Tories just ahead on 40 per cent.
If more evidence were needed that Lib Dem voters are rapidly defecting to Labour, the latest Ipsos MORI political monitor should provide it. The poll puts Labour on 38 per cent, up seven points since June, with the Lib Dems falling five to 14 per cent. The Tories are up one to 40 per cent.
If repeated at an election on a uniform swing, the figures would put Labour on 310 seats, the Tories on 294 and the Lib Dems on 20.
Speculation that there will be some sort of Tory-Lib Dem pact in 2015 has been growing for several weeks, with Michael Portillo recently suggesting that the two parties should fight the next election under the banner of "the coalition".Now, in a fascinating post on ConservativeHome, Tory MP Mark Field has said that his party is almost certain to give "most Liberal Democrat incumbents" a free run in their seats, with the Lib Dems reciprocating by not standing against the most vulnerable Conservative MPs. Field may only be one MP but his piece could be indicative of thinking elsewhere in the party.
Speculation that there will be some sort of Tory-Lib Dem pact in 2015 has been growing for several weeks, with Michael Portillo recently suggesting that the two parties should fight the next election under the banner of "the coalition".
Now, in a fascinating post on ConservativeHome, Tory MP Mark Field has said that his party is almost certain to give "most Liberal Democrat incumbents" a free run in their seats, with the Lib Dems reciprocating by not standing against the most vulnerable Conservative MPs. Field may only be one MP but his piece could be indicative of thinking elsewhere in the party.
I just can't see the Tories who run the local constituencies buying it for one greasy second. keep to the Fen Causeway
The UN's former chief weapons inspector Hans Blix has said it is his "firm view" that the Iraq war was illegal.
The education secretary, Michael Gove, ignored advice to check an error-strewn list of cancelled school building projects before it was published, a quango chief claimed today.Tim Byles, chief executive of a quango responsible for an axed £55bn initiative to rebuild the country's schools, told MPs he had warned Gove's office to check his facts before telling hundreds of schools whether their new buildings would go ahead.But he said that Gove's staff disregarded this, and published a list earlier this month that was found to have 25 errors.
The education secretary, Michael Gove, ignored advice to check an error-strewn list of cancelled school building projects before it was published, a quango chief claimed today.
Tim Byles, chief executive of a quango responsible for an axed £55bn initiative to rebuild the country's schools, told MPs he had warned Gove's office to check his facts before telling hundreds of schools whether their new buildings would go ahead.
But he said that Gove's staff disregarded this, and published a list earlier this month that was found to have 25 errors.
Nicolas Sarkozy has been accused of stigmatising one of France's most marginalised communities as he prepares to hold a meeting at the Elysee Palace tomorrow to discuss tough new strategies for dealing with the Traveller, Gypsy and Roma populations.In a sign that the right-wing president is looking for fresh ways to boost his law and order credentials, Sarkozy announced the meeting last week in a bid to evaluate the situation nationwide and to order "the expulsion of all illegal encampments".After a group of Travellers went on the rampage in the quiet village of Saint Aignan on 18 July - burning cars, attacking the police station and hacking at trees - the president said events had underlined "the problems caused by the behaviour of some Travellers and Roma".
Nicolas Sarkozy has been accused of stigmatising one of France's most marginalised communities as he prepares to hold a meeting at the Elysee Palace tomorrow to discuss tough new strategies for dealing with the Traveller, Gypsy and Roma populations.
In a sign that the right-wing president is looking for fresh ways to boost his law and order credentials, Sarkozy announced the meeting last week in a bid to evaluate the situation nationwide and to order "the expulsion of all illegal encampments".
After a group of Travellers went on the rampage in the quiet village of Saint Aignan on 18 July - burning cars, attacking the police station and hacking at trees - the president said events had underlined "the problems caused by the behaviour of some Travellers and Roma".
FRIENDS of an acclaimed Scottish writer have accused the new government's crackdown on welfare benefits of being a factor in his suicide. Paul Reekie, who, along with Irvine Welsh, was part of a wave of young Scottish authors who rose to international prominence in the 1990s, killed himself in his Edinburgh home last month.The Leith-based writer and poet, who was 48,left no suicide note but friends say letters informing him that his welfare benefits were to be halted were found close to his body
the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway, an "Iron Silk Road" that will connect the oil-rich Caspian Sea region to Turkey--and beyond to Europe.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/08/new-silk-road/forrest-text
Kettering MP Philip Hollobone has been told to focus his priorities on matters which affect the people living in his constituency, rather than pursuing a ban on the burka. Kettering Parish Priest Dominic Barrington and chairman of the Kettering Muslim Association Iman Khan have both said there are more important issues the MP should be addressing, rather than pursuing an issue which has little direct impact on any of his constituents.In a joint letter to a national newspaper, Mr Barrington and Mr Khan said: "We were struck by the irony of our MP's plans to refuse to meet any of his constituents who wear a veil."Such a form of dress is not, to our knowledge, worn by anyone in the local community. "Not a single Muslim female has visited Mr Hollobone, veiled or unveiled, since he was elected.
