Mock Election 2008

Theresa May bans a right-wing group from Bradford march

The British Home Secretary Theresa May banned a right-wing group from taking part in a march in the city of Bradford. The EDL (English Defence League) was planning to make a demonstration in the city on the same day that the group Unite Against Fascism was also planning to arrange an organised protest. Fears began to arise over the possibility of a repeat of the violent 2001 riots, an event which many Bradford residents will never forget.

Many people may see this as a decision driven by the parties financial advisor, one more about cost than actual public interest. Personally, I believe this is a decision which has been taken with careful consideration for public safety. Theresa May was right to ban the group from marching, especially when the United Against Fascism organisation was planning a march on the exact same day. One can only imagine the level of violence that could have resulted if the two groups clashed with one another. The government has a responsibility to maintain public order. It is essential if we are to avoid seeing repeated riots comparable to those witnessed in Bradford in 2001 or in Birmingham back in 1985.

Of course, some will consider this an infringement of ’freedom of speech’, however hateful and despicable the rhetoric of these far-right groups may be. Everything has its limits - no freedom is without responsibility and the government cannot simply ignore or permit an event from taking place simply because of the need for freedom of expression. Freedom of speech is supposed to enlighten us, it is supposed to be an essential component of a free world, in which people can have a free say on issues that matter to them. It gives people the liberty to let the government know that they want change and that something needs to be done on a wider scale to help solve major social issues.

Using freedom of speech to express hatred to such an extent that it puts the emotional well-being of different groups at serious risk is a serious abuse of this liberty. The Home Secretary’s role is to monitor and to take action against an individual or a group which poses a realistic threat to public safety. While the Conservative-Liberal Democratic coalition has its flaws and has a great deal of challenges to face in the future, I am pleased to see that on this matter Theresa May is clearly doing her job.

Unethical Dawn Raids on Families Facing Deportation

Dawn raids are becoming a habit among immigration officers who come to families faced with deportation during the wee hours of the morning. They usual arrest families at anytime between For immigrant families, More

Brown failed to renew Labour, says Milliband

David Milliband, leadership candidate for the Labour Party accused former Prime Minister Gordon Brown of failing in his promise to restore public confidence in Labour through his public relations. He claimed Mr Brown lacked the ’moral crusade'to win public support during his quest to solve the banks crisis and urged Labour to renew its political morality and to promote a more open, honest conduct in the future.

Speaking at the Keir Hardie lecture in Mountain Ash in the valleys More

Paternity Testing: Some Legal Issues

A recent new story where the body of Bobby Fischer was to be exhumed in order to determine whether a nine year old girl is his daughter had me thinking about paternity testing in this country and the legal issues associated with it.

When it comes to paternity testing here in the UK, there are some legal issues involved, and they should never be overlooked. Given the circumstance of the paternity testing, you may have a different situation versus the More

Will The New UK Coalition Government Hold Together?

The new UK coalition government is only a few days old and on its honeymoon so to speak. But once this ‘getting to know you’ period is over, it’s down to the seriousness of the situation the UK is in. With both sides of the coalition having different views on certain things how will they resolve them for the good of the country? To that end will the new government hold together?

If you listen to what the leaders of More

Immigration is a hot topic for a good reason.

With the way that the American economy is it is hard to decided to support the new Arizona immigration law or not. In some ways it could be good and in some ways bad. There are some people who are suggesting that illegal immigrants who are already here and living a law abiding life should be allowed to stay in the United State and become legal Americans. Other people are saying that these people should be sent back to their More

British MP’s Face Charges Over Expenses: Are We Surprised?

Keir Starmer, Director of Public Prosecutions, has said four MPs – three from the Labour party and one from the Conservatives - are facing criminal charges pertaining to their expenses, under the Theft Act.

Lord Hanningfield, David Chaytor, Jim Devine, and Elliot Morley have all denied these charges and plan to defend themselves against such accusations. John Devine has pronounced just how ‘distraught’ he is about the decision that’s been taken. Also in the same vain, Lord Clarke released a More

Let’s Have Election By TV!

The General Election is looming, our political leaders are announcing their slogans and drawing up the battle plans, opinion polls are being published on a daily basis and the United Kingdom is a mass of political– apathy!

This promises to be one of the most exciting and closely contested election for decades. Just six months ago the Conservative Party had a lead of over twenty percentage points and seemed guaranteed to win a large majority in the 2010 mandate. Labour More

Home Secretary Gets Tough On Student Visa Abuse

Home Secretary Alan Johnson MP today outlined tough new restrictions designed to clamp down on student visa abuse.

A growing number of overseas students enter the United Kingdom every year, and there has been widespread concern that the system was being abused by would-be immigrants who are staying in the country long after their temporary visas have expired.

In an earlier attempt to address the problem, the Government last year announced that it was introducing a ’poins scoring’ system whereby More

Labour Minister To Step Down

A Labour minister has today announced that he plans to quit as a Member of Parliament and intends to run to become the first elected mayor in Birmingham.

Sion Simon MP has represented the constituency of Erdington, in the West Midlands, for nine years and is currently a junior minister in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

The practise of electing mayors is relatively new in the United Kingdom but the success of mayoral elections in London and Doncaster More