Teaching Comparative

Keeping up with the Brits

Every once in awhile it's good to get a sense of what is going on without paying too much atttention to details. It's sort of like me asking my cousin, "So, how's the family?"

Today I made a quick survey of politics in the UK using The Guardian's "Unlimited Politics" page. Here are the headlines:

• Prescott escapes sanctions over ranch visit "John Prescott [Deputy Prime Minister] has escaped sanctions for failing to immediately declare his stay at the ranch of a US billionaire bidding to open a super-casino in the Millennium Dome... [and] "shortcomings" requiring 'urgent attention' within Mr Prescott's department concerning the recording of ministerial gifts... But he was not obliged to register a cowboy outfit presented to him during the visit because it was received in his ministerial capacity, the MPs noted..." [I'll bet the Tories really loved that line about the "cowboy outift."]
  
  
• Reid under fire over Home Office 'failures' "The home secretary, John Reid, came under fresh fire today after a powerful Commons committee found his department guilty of "basic failures of financial stewardship", which led to a £3m discrepancy in its accounts..."
  
  
• Yesterday in parliament: Criminal justice reforms "Wide-ranging changes to the criminal justice system were announced by the home secretary, John Reid, to put victims' rights ahead of those of the offender..."
  
  
• Labour's rural idyll buzzes with biodiversity targets "Jack Straw [Leader of the House of Commons] yesterday took credit for the recent hot weather. "There has been a lot more sunshine since people voted Labour in 1997," he said. It was a joke, it's never a good idea to say you've improved the climate, even in jest... What was surprising about Mr Straw's remark was that it followed a session of environment questions in which global warming was regarded as an imminent threat - not just another government pledge delivered."
  
  
• Ministers pave way for GM crops as 'zero cross-pollination' ruled out "Ministers yesterday paved the way for genetically modified crops to be grown commercially in Britain from 2009 and warned consumers of organic and conventional food they might have to put up with some GM contamination..."
  
  
• Ministers split on regional government "Differences are emerging between Treasury ministers and the local government secretary, Ruth Kelly, over government policy towards cities and regional government..."
  
  
• Clarke to set personal agenda with nuclear challenge to Blair "Charles Clarke, the former home secretary, is planning a series of speeches setting out a personal political agenda that will set him at odds with the prime minister and the chancellor over civil nuclear power and a replacement for the independent nuclear deterrent Trident.
  He is said to be sceptical over the safety of civil nuclear power and doubtful over the value of spending as much as £20bn on an independent deterrent..."
  
  
• Go green, Miliband tells supermarket bosses "Environment secretary David Miliband yesterday summoned bosses from the big four supermarkets to demand they work harder to make their businesses more environmentally friendly..."
  
  
• Split reaction to scrapping of toll road plan "The government has scrapped plans for a £3.5bn toll road through one of Britain's most congested areas, to the relief of environmentalists and the annoyance of motoring groups..."
  

And there you have a snapshot of politics in the UK on a summer day in 2006. Now, you should do what the MPs and the Cabinet are going to do, take some time off. Enjoy.

posted by Ken Wedding @ 7:27 AM