UKuncutter arrested for holding a banner
Blogger and UKuncut protester Alasdair Thompson was arrested this morning by Lothian & Borders Police for merely displaying an anti-cuts banner at a BHS store in Edinburgh’s Rose Street.
The editor of Bright Green Scotland blog was the only protester who was arrested. He was there as part of Edinburgh Uncut, who were planning to stage an instore comedy gig at the store, owned by Philip Green.
A woman was also physically restrained but not arrested for photographing the police.
Gary Dunion writes that police confirmed to Uncut activists that they had been ordered to make an arrest to “set an example”, even before the action had begun.
Alasdair Thompson was later released after a sit-down protest outside St Leonard’s police station, where he was being held.
Edinburgh Uncut say they have a recording of the police admitting they had pre-orders to arrest someone.
A clip is now being uploaded to the web.
Update: Alasdair A fellow protester has written up his first-hand experience of what happened.
Why protesters are now more likely to be defined as “terrorists”
contribution by Bradley Day
When policing minister Nick Herbert admitted in January that something had gone “very wrong”, after revelations the police had spent years building up a network of undercover officers to infiltrate environmental groups, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) shouldered much of the blame.
ACPO housed the three units responsible for monitoring what the police refer to as “domestic extremists”, and what you or I refer to as “protesters”.
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Why is the govt trying to block an independent credit ratings agency?
The (Economic and Financial Affairs and International Trade Sub-Committee) of the House of Lords has had the good sense to launch a Call for Evidence on Credit Rating Agencies and EU Sovereign Deb recently. They asked two key question areas:
What is their purpose and role with regard to sovereign, as opposed to commercial, debt? How do CRAs determine their sovereign ratings, and who pays for these ratings? Is there an over-reliance on the judgement of CRAs?
What are the potential benefits and downsides of creating a European Credit Rating Agency? Might there be any unintended consequences from its creation?
But the goverment has already made its mind up.
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Pictures from the poor #rallyagainstdebt
Today’s “Rally Against Debt” was a master-class in right-wing failure to convince even their loyal constituents to come out and support their cause.
I turned up around 11am to see a few dozen people milling around, trying to fill up the minuscule area allotted to them.
Blogger Guido Fawkes and Matthew Wallace (formerly TPA) even tried to get a chant going: ‘Balls Balls Balls, Wrong wrong wrong!’ – but even their own mates couldn’t be arsed to join in.
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From across the road
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Record turnout!
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@Lefty_Lisa trying to help the crowd double their numbers
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Red Chinos! And look how much spare space there is!
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I have no idea what this banner was meant to be about but it was awesome
Some more pictures and a cutting write-up from a right-wing perspective here by Thomas Byrne.
More pictures here by Jono Warren
Thatcherism is dead (or why we need higher wages)
This useful site tells us that Lady Thatcher is not yet dead. However, in one important but under-appreciated sense, Thatcherism certainly is dead. I mean its macroeconomic strategy.
By this I mean not monetarism but rather the idea that if the power of the working class could be broken, then corporate profitability would be restored.
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The stark impact of Osborne’s austerity drive
Today’s European GDP figures provide a stark reminder of how weak the UK recovery has become. German GDP is now back above its pre-crisis level, a feat the UK is not forecast to match until 2013.
The graph below vividly illustrates how the UK has fallen into the international slow lane in the past six months.
We are now right at the bottom with Portugal and Greece, and behind Spain.
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Can the UK take a lead in backing human rights, not repression?
contribution by Kate Allen
The world is right now on the threshold of real change that could transform the lives of millions of people for the better. As Amnesty releases its annual report on The State of the World’s Human Rights today, I cannot remember a more exciting time for human rights.
A new generation has come of age and, aided by social media and networking tools, said “enough” to repression, poverty and corruption. But while people take to the streets with slogans and placards, they are increasingly met with tear gas, beatings, bullets and tanks.
continue reading… »
Revealed: how the Yes2AV campaign malfunctioned behind the scenes
contribution by Andy May
The first ever national UK referendum on our voting system was always going to be a difficult affair. But the size of the loss cannot just be attributed to the political environment we were in. Those who ran the Yes campaign must take a long hard look at themselves.
From the very start the self interest of the major funders and the senior management’s lack of creativity, lack of experience and inability to listen to staff and activists’ concerns had a very negative impact on the chances of success. These are just some of the contributing factors.
continue reading… »
Could Clegg’s system of choice for Lords Reform kill it?
I am delighted to see that Nick Clegg is proceeding with reform of the House of Lords. It is vital to our being (becoming) a democratic country.
But, Lords reform might be severely hampered if it is perceived to be bringing in a variation of the very system that the British electorate has just voted down. This makes AV-Plus or STV (which is simply AV in multi-member constituencies) extremely undesirable as potential methods for use in elections to the upper house.
continue reading… »
73% of Libdem members hate NHS plans
73% of Libdem party members are unhappy with the government’s NHS plans and thought it was doing a bad job on them.
The figure is just below the 77% who are unhappy with the Libdem u-turn on tuition fees. The sentiments were polled by YouGov, out today.
David Cameron will find it very difficult to push NHS plans as planned without Libdem support in Parliament.
66% of Libdem party activists think the Coalition has been bad for the Lib Dems, including 21% who thought it has been disastrous.
Keep in mind that these are activists and party members who still remain loyal, not the ones who have left already.
AV campaign
Nick Clegg also received a thumbs-down from his own party, with 56% of activists thinking he was a liability to the Yes2AV campaign.
Only 50% think he is doing well as Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Democrats.
Political compass
And this is rather startling. 24% of Libdem activists who still remain within the party see themselves as ‘fairly left-wing’, with another 40% thinking of themselves as ‘slightly left-of-centre’ and 21% at the centre.
Only 8% of Libdem activists thought of themselves as ‘slighty right-of-centre’. But nearly a quarter thought Nick Clegg was right-of centre. In fact most Libdem members think Clegg is to the right of them.
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» Revealed: govt to restrict abortion counselling despite Nadine Dorries vote
» Would raising the tax threshold actually help the poorest?
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» This trade agreement with India will destroy thousands of lives
» UK debt hasn’t hit £1 trillion – mostly because of QE
» The benefits of being a “burden” on society
» Today’s economic figures will simply confirm UK’s “lost decade”
» Have Labour realised the election is more than three years away?
» Violence in the office
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» The world is entering the third phase of the crisis, warns ILO
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