European Politics > Stunning Tory Defeat in UK; UK's Brexit Minister Resigns; EU Not Included in EU Security Talks; Gas Prices Surge in Europe; Bojo's Popularity Tanks

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Tories suffer stunning election defeat

17 Dec, 2021 06:48

Liberal Democrat Helen Morgan wins the North Shropshire parliamentary seat, in Shrewsbury, UK,

December 17, 2021. © Reuters/Ed Sykes

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party lost a by-election on Thursday in an area it firmly held for almost 200 years. The Tory government has been marred by a lobbying scandal and an internal revolt.

Liberal Democrat Helen Morgan won 17,957 votes in North Shropshire, central England, beating her Tory opponent, Neil Shastri-Hurst, by nearly 6,000 votes.

The result is a stunning upset for the Conservatives, who had represented North Shropshire in Parliament for the past 189 years, with the exception of the short period between 1904 and 1906, according to UK media. The party comfortably won the constituency in 2019, leading with a nearly 23,000-vote majority.

“Tonight, the people of North Shropshire have spoken on behalf of the British people,” Morgan said after the vote. “They have said loudly and clearly: Boris Johnson, the party is over.”

“Our country is crying out for leadership. Mr Johnson, you are no leader,” Morgan added.

The by-election was held after veteran MP Owen Paterson gave up his seat due to a lobbying scandal.

The defeat in North Shropshire, previously considered to be a safe Tory bastion, could be a sign of future electoral losses for Johnson’s party. The PM currently faces a revolt in Parliament, where nearly 100 Tories broke ranks this week and voted against the government’s proposal to introduce Covid passes for certain venues and events in England.

Shropshire, UK

Brexit minister resigns over ‘disillusionment’ with BoJo’s govt

18 Dec, 2021 20:47

FILE PHOTO: Lord David Frost walks outside Downing Street in London, Britain, September 15, 2021

© Reuters / Hannah McKay

Cabinet Minister Lord Frost has reportedly walked out of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government. Frost is believed to have grown disillusioned with Johnson’s Covid measures, tax hikes, and environmental policies.

Frost’s departure was reported by the Mail on Sunday, citing sources within the government. The minister, who negotiated Britain’s departure from the European Union, reportedly handed in his resignation a week ago, but was persuaded to stay on until January.

Frost’s resignation was prompted by his growing “disillusionment” with Johnson’s government, the Mail reported. Specifically, he disagreed with the introduction of ‘Plan B’ coronavirus restrictions, income tax hikes announced in September, and the high cost of Johnson’s plan to lower carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.

Of these gripes, the ‘Plan B’ restrictions have been the most contentious for Johnson. Introduced earlier this month, the suite of measures includes a mask mandate for indoor venues, vaccine passes for nightclubs and large events, and daily testing for the close contacts of infected people. 

The restrictions, which reports suggest that Johnson will soon be asked by ministers to expand into a full lockdown, have caused discontent even within Johnson’s own party, with 100 Conservative MPs refusing to vote on bringing in the vaccine pass system. Forty of these MPs voted against mandatory masking too.

The introduction of these measures was followed by a devastating loss for the Conservative Party at the ballot box. While the Tories had held the constituency of North Shropshire for nearly 200 years, Liberal Democrat Helen Morgan beat the Conservative's Neil Shastri-Hurst by nearly 6,000 votes in a by-election there on Thursday. 

Public anger against Johnson stems not just from the introduction of new restrictions, but also from the revelation that staff at Downing Street and a number of other locations held Christmas parties last year, while ordinary Britons were forbidden from gathering. The cabinet minister assigned to investigate these events, Simon Case, resigned on Friday after it emerged that he too held a party in his office.

Frost has not publicly commented on his apparent resignation yet. As of late, Frost had been locked into negotiations with European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic on post-Brexit arrangements between the UK and EU.

EU demands inclusion in Russia & US/NATO security talks

20 Dec, 2021 10:21 

© Getty Images / inakiantonana

The EU should play a major role in discussions between Russia and NATO on the future of security in Europe, the bloc’s foreign policy chief insisted on Monday, suggesting Moscow and Washington also invite his organization.

Josep Borrell, who has served as the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy since 2019, was reacting to a set of proposals published by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday, which asked the US and NATO for a set of security guarantees. Instead of dismissing the documents immediately, as some have suggested, Borrell is seeking to ensure the bloc is part of negotiations.

According to the ex-Spanish cabinet minister, “the EU must, of course, be at the table of any discussion on the European security architecture.”

It's insanely absurd that they are not. But then, Deep State would have a little less control.

“Russia’s Foreign Ministry this Friday released a draft proposal on security guarantees between Russia and the US as well as to European members of NATO. It is clear that the EU must be an integral part of such discussions,” his blog said.

Borrell noted that the Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter, as well as the OSCE, are “key principles” on which European security has been built for the last 50 years.

He also commented on the tensions between Russia and Ukraine and suggested that Moscow seeks to “threaten and weaken” Kiev, suggesting that the EU “hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”

“We cannot exclude Russia’s desire to use this crisis as leverage for its declared purpose to reshape the security framework in Europe, also excluding the Europeans [sic] from the discussions,” he said. “But we know that our American allies will not fall into this trap.”

On the other hand, it may be our American allies who are setting the trap.

On Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a draft version of two proposed treaties, one with the US and one with NATO. The documents are made up of a list of security guarantees, including a proposal that NATO won’t expand eastwards into states that were formerly a part of the USSR. If signed, it would also see troop movements near the Russian border be limited and would stop missiles from being placed near the frontier.

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Russia shows German diplomats the door

20 Dec, 2021 15:00 

Russia has declared two German diplomats persona non grata. Monday’s move is intended as a response to a similar decision taken by Germany last week, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow explained.

It comes just days after Berlin showed two Russian envoys the door after a German court sentenced a Russian national to life in prison over the murder of a Chechen separatist, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, in 2019. Khangoshvili had been wanted in Russia on multiple charges. Three years prior, he had moved to Germany and applied for asylum there.

Germany’s foreign minister reacted to the expulsion with a statement describing the step as “not surprising, and yet completely unfounded from the perspective of the German government.” However, Berlin insisted its own decision to boot out two Russian representatives was an “appropriate reaction” to a “major violation of Germany’s sovereignty.” The statement concluded by saying that Moscow’s decision would further “strain relations.”

After Khangoshvili was fatally shot in Berlin’s Tiergarten park, German authorities were quick to point the finger at Moscow. Russia has denied any involvement in the murder. Russian Ambassador Sergey Nechaev denounced the German court’s verdict as “politically motivated” and “biased.”

A statement published on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website on Monday dismissed the court’s claims of Moscow’s involvement in the crime as “baseless and divorced from reality.”

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European gas prices surge

20 Dec, 2021 12:00

Gas prices in Europe spiked more than 7% on Monday, with the price of January futures on the TTF hub in the Netherlands hitting $1,732 per 1,000 cubic meters, or €148.87 per megawatt hour in household terms.

In early October gas prices in Europe reached a record $2,000 per 1,000 cubic meters, which constituted an almost 400% rise since the start of the year.

Energy prices in Europe continue to spike as Germany keeps postponing the launch of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that was laid to deliver additional supplies of Russian natural gas to the continent.

The delay in approving the pipeline is not political, new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said last week. Its construction faced strong opposition from the US, Poland, and Ukraine.

Funny, it sure sounds political! And what does the USA have to do with it at all? 

The amount of gas in Germany’s emergency reserves has been decreasing, dropping to a “historically low level” of below 60% last week for the first time in years, according to the German association of underground gas storage operators INES.

BoJo’s popularity sinks to record low

20 Dec, 2021 17:13

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London, England. © Reuters / Peter Nicholls

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s woes grew on Monday, as new figures show his approval rating has declined to its lowest level since he took office, with most Britons expecting him to resign or be forced out in the near future.

An opinion poll released by Ipsos Mori found that six out of 10 respondents believe Johnson would not be prime minister by the end of 2022. The poll comes in the wake of a wave of allegations that a number of Conservative Party ministers and their staff – including Johnson and his office – had breached lockdown restrictions last year.

Meanwhile, a separate YouGov tracker poll has shown that the prime minister’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level, 29%, since he entered Downing Street in 2019. Some 64% of respondents said they felt he was doing “badly” as PM.

The latest figures mark a steep decline in support for the Conservative leader, who, in April 2020, secured a record-high approval rating of 66% as he worked to combat the Covid pandemic.

The findings also come a day after The Guardian published a photo purportedly showing Johnson, his wife, and 17 Downing Street staff members violating the government’s own rules during the first lockdown in May 2020. Downing Street has defended the image, claiming it shows a “work meeting.” despite bottles of wine and a cheese board being visible.

Maybe that's the problem, the work meetings are all drunken parties!

This is the latest alleged infringement of the rules to rock the government, with an investigation already underway into reports a number of parties were held in violation of Covid restrictions during November and December 2020.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, who was leading the probe into the alleged parties, was forced to step aside last week after it was claimed he was aware of or attended two gatherings at his own office in December last year. Senior civil servant Sue Gray has taken over the investigation.

Anti-Semitic, Muslim, British MP Calls Tories Islamophobic, and Gove, Extremist

Baroness Warsi, the Muslim former Tory Minister at the centre of claims that the Conservative Party is riddled with Islamophobia and racism, has made further incendiary claims in an exclusive interview held yesterday with Business Insider.

During the interview, Warsi, who was David Cameron’s Former Minister of State for Faith and Communities amongst other roles, hit out at the Tories in a blistering attack, accusing her own party of deliberately whipping up anti-Muslim hatred in order to win elections, and even claiming that the current Environment Secretary Michael Gove – who is the bookies’ joint favourite with Jacob Rees-Mogg to be the next Tory leader – hides ‘extreme’ views about Muslims.

Sayeeda Warsi, who resigned her cabinet post over the UK government’s failure to condemn Israel’s assault on Gaza, has called for British volunteers for the Israeli army to be treated as foreign fighters and prosecuted on their return to the UK.

Speaking about Gove’s role in what she described as the ‘Ukipification’ of the party, Warsi told Business Insider:

“I sometimes joke that Michael Gove radicalised David Cameron

In private conversations [I know that David] had some concerns about some of the extreme views that Michael had but over time [Gove] influenced a lot of his views.”

Warsi also goes on to describe how she feels she was treated as a ‘sleeper cell‘ by the party, and made to feel like ‘the enemy at the table’ by certain high-ranking members, saying:

“Things would be held back and I wouldn’t be informed about things,

There was always a sense that there were people in the party who questioned ‘where do her loyalties lie?’ ”

Before adding that:

“I remember being told once in Cabinet ‘colleagues are uncomfortable with the amount of notes you’re taking around the cabinet table. You seem to take a lot more notes than anybody else’.”

During the explosive interview, Warsi also claims that anti-Muslim hatred is ‘very widespread‘ throughout the entire party, “from the grassroots, all the way up to the top“, adding that:

“I don’t think it’s something that Theresa is a part of, but I do believe it is something the leadership feels can be easily ignored.”

Warsi went on to explain that the party were disgracefully ignoring the problem because Muslims generally don’t “vote for them in any great numbers“, adding that:

“I think that there is a general sense in the country that Muslims are fair game and it is not the kind of community where you can treat really badly and have many consequences. You can get any with it”

The former Tory Minister also described how the party shamelessly and intentionally divided ethnic communities in Britain, stating:

“It has been a classic case of ‘we’re not racist — we like brown people but we like this kind of brown people as opposed to this kind of brown people,

It’s saying ‘these are the acceptable brown people and those are the unacceptable brown people’ and I think that is really dangerous.”

And citing the Tories’ ‘dog whistle‘ 2016 London Mayoral campaign against Sadiq Khan, Warsi said:

“We specifically went out for Hindu voters saying ‘Sadiq’s after your jewellery and I love Modi and by the way, Sadiq is an extremist’. It was really amateur dog whistle politics”

Adding:

“I just feel that somebody in campaign took a decision that if we throw enough dirt at him tied to the fact that he’s a Muslim then people will say this man can’t be trusted and he won’t vote for him. Terrible, terrible campaign which I think still has an effect.

People always go back to it. People who were Conservative candidates and members couldn’t bring themselves to vote for us.”

Despite calls from numerous Muslim organisations, as well as both former Tory Minister Baroness Warsi, Tory Peer Lord Sheikh, and the Conservative’s own Muslim organisation, The Conservative Muslim Forum, the Tories have so far refused to hold an inquiry, with Home Secretary Sajid Javid essentially denying that any such problem existed within the party.

Despite the denials, and despite numerous politicians and representatives having already been suspended for anti-Muslim hatred, just yesterday it was also revealed that 10 current serving Tory MPs and 25 Tory Councillors were all members of an openly racist, anti-Muslim Facebook group.

Should I point out the being anti-Muslim is not being racist! Islam is not a race, it's an ideology like Scientology.

Members of the Conservative Debating Forum were exposed discussing how they wanted to ‘ban Islam‘ and compared Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott to a gorilla.

OK, the gorilla thing might be racist.

High profile Tory MPs such as Jacob Rees-Mogg and Ben Bradley were both found to be members of the group, but who are both reported to have left after being made aware of the heinous nature of some of the content.

However, despite the mountains of evidence showing widespread Islamophobia, Baroness Warsi said the party were in denial about the problem and that the atmosphere within the party meant that many Tory Muslims were frightened to speak out.

“There was a radio phone-in this morning [on the issue] and the number of people who came on and I recognised their voices and they said their name was Raj or Dave, but they wouldn’t say their real names, and I actually recognised two of the people from the party.

“And one of them was asked why they don’t reveal their name and they said ‘because I would be finished because they’re so far down the food chain we would be finished.”

Before finally adding:

“Isn’t it outrageous that people feel they can’t even own these concerns?”

The Conservative Party reportedly refused to comment on Baroness Warsi’s latest extraordinary claims.

The latest 'scandal' is that Warsi's remarks were not front-page news on every news outlet in the country. It's a mystery to me why they weren't as MainstreamMedia, (MSM), loves to trash anyone and anything that complains about the peaceful invasion of Europe by Islam. 

Perhaps it has something to do with Warsi's anti-Semitic tendencies, or her hyperbolic complaints that the Tories are not warm and fuzzy enough to satisfy her Muslimism. For all her complaints, London has a Muslim Mayor, something unimaginable 20 years ago. There are numerous Muslim MPs and Councillors in the UK and their numbers are increasing with every election. 

This is a concern for sensible Tories as the inevitable becomes obvious. If they weren't concerned about it, they would be the ones to hold the blame for the Islamization of Briton. When their great granddaughters are required to wear a niqab to go to school, they will be held accountable. 

It is fear of being called a racist that keeps such things from being discussed openly. Even discussing them privately evokes calls of racism from Warsi and others. This is the real danger in the UK, and it is hopeful that MSM may be beginning to realize that. 

Or, perhaps, it is just that Warsi has no credibility on Fleet Street.

UK Tories Jump Both-Feet Into the Loony Bin

One could argue that with Theresa May as leader of the Tories,
jumping into the loony bin was inevitable

Tories promote the right to choose your own sex

Transgender reforms for birth certificates

Tim Shipman and Jason Allardyce

Adults will be able to change their gender legally without a doctor’s diagnosis under government plans that will transform British society.

Men will be able to identify themselves as women — and women as men — and have their birth certificates altered to record their new gender.

Ministers plan to tear up the existing rules that mean people have to live for two years as their desired gender before they can officially change sex.

A consultation on the Gender Recognition Bill, to be published in the autumn, will also include proposals to scrap the requirement that people get a formal medical diagnosis of “gender dysphoria” before applying to switch gender.

Critics warned that allowing people in effect to “self-identify” as a member of the opposite sex, while maintaining the anatomy of their birth gender, would unleash a firestorm of legal cases over access to women-only hospital wards, prisons, lavatories, changing rooms and competitive sports.

Not to mention churches and religious schools.

Justine Greening, the minister for women and equalities, called the move to give more rights to transgender people the third great “step forward” after equality for women and the legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2013.

The third step into the loony bin! 

The announcement is timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967. Greening said ministers want to “streamline and demedicalise” gender change to make it easier for people to switch their identity legally.

In future people are expected to be required only to make a statutory declaration that they intend to live in the acquired gender until death — in line with arrangements already adopted in Ireland.

The consultation will address whether those whose gender is “non-binary” should also be able to define themselves as “X” on their birth certificates.

Non-binary gender (loony bin)

Non-binary gender (see also genderqueer) describes any gender identity which does not fit the male and female binary. Those with non-binary genders can feel that they:

Have an androgynous (both masculine and feminine) gender identity, such as androgyne.

Have an identity between male and female, such as intergender.

Have a neutral or unrecognized gender identity, such as agender, neutrois, or most xenogenders.

Have multiple gender identities, such as bigender or pangender.

Have a gender identity which varies over time, known as genderfluid.

Have a weak or partial connection to a gender identity, known as demigender.

Are intersex and identify as intersex, known as amalgagender

Have a culturally specific gender identity which exists only within their or their ancestor's culture.

A separate consultation in Scotland will go further than England and Wales by recommending that “non-binary” people should be able to define themselves as “X” on passports. It will also propose a cut in the age at which people can change their gender from 18 to 16.

Anti-woman?

The plans will be controversial. Prominent feminists including Germaine Greer and Dame Jenni Murray, the presenter of Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, have questioned whether men can become women even if they undergo a sex-change operation.

And if they don't undergo a sex change operation, it would appear these two iconic feminists would be loath to call them women.

Stephanie Davies-Arai of Transgender Trend, a parents’ group, said: “This has huge implications for women. There will be legal cases. The most worrying thing is if any man can identify as a woman with no tests and gain access to spaces where women might be getting undressed or feel vulnerable — like women’s hospital wards, refuges and rape crisis centres — women will just stop going to these facilities.”

Self-identifying was recommended by a parliamentary committee last year chaired by the former cabinet minister Maria Miller and it has the backing of Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn.

Greening also announced the government will make it easier for gay men to give blood. At the moment men who have had sexual contact with other men are barred from donating for 12 months. That will be reduced to three months.

Anti-religion

Ministers will launch a national survey of Britain’s estimated 1.5m LGBT people to help inform policy.

The education department has also announced £3m will be spent on “anti-homophobic and transphobic programmes”. Schools, including faith schools, will be required to include LGBT issues in relationships and sex education.

Oh, that should be fun!

Greening, who is in a relationship with a woman, said: “This government is committed to building an inclusive society that works for everyone, no matter what their gender or sexuality.

It won't work for people of faith. 60% of Brits identify as Christians although the vast majority of them are nominal Christians only. But the devout Christians probably number only about 10% of that. Even so, that is 2-3 times as many devout Christians as there are LGBTQs. But Christians are being selectively excluded from society, not included. 

Then there is the question of how neo-liberals are going to keep Muslims included in society while undermining the Quran?

“We will build on the significant progress we have made over the past 50 years, tackling some of the historic prejudices that still persist in our laws and giving LGBT people a real say on the issues affecting them.”

Not all 'progress' is good. Islam is progressive - progressive toward Sharia; and sin is progressive, for instance, pornography often progresses toward child pornography which progresses to younger and younger children and more and more violent sexual assaults.

Ruth Hunt, chief executive of Stonewall, the lobbying organisation, welcomed the plans. “We need a simple process which isn’t medicalised, intrusive or demeaning,” she said.

The move will put the government on a collision course with some religious groups. Simon Calvert of the Christian Institute said: “It is worrying when the leaders of the main political parties are so out of touch with the concerns of ordinary people."

“Allowing men to self-identify as female without any medical diagnosis allows them to invade the privacy of women and girls."

“It’s time for a reality check. Some things can’t be changed. May and Corbyn want to elevate the principle of ‘gender self-declaration’. But it is wrong, it is anti-scientific and it is dangerous.”

A source who is close to Greening acknowledged that the proposed changes could be problematic. “That’s why we are going to have a consultation, so we can examine all the implications,” the source said.

A Scottish government spokeswoman said it hopes to have “new arrangements in place by 2020”.