Definitely not needed for current military needs. Britain effectively operates a relatively small but relatively elite army - trying to incorporate a large number of untrained teenagers into that model would seem like an enormous and unhelpful distraction. The bigger issue the army faces today is a lack of funding.
This is really just a headline he's come up with to appeal to reactionary elderly Tory voters who are thinking about switching to Reform. It's the worst way to make policy. The more you scratch under the surface, the more problematic the policy is.
If you’re not doing great, wouldn’t it make more sense to try and weather the storm and work to make things sunnier before the next election rather than call for an election amidst the storm?
The latest possible date the election could have been is January 2025, but that was practically very unlikely as i) there is an extremely sharp generational divide in voting intentions (far sharper than in most Western democracies) and January would have meant the Tories having to get their elderly core voters to the polls in the middle of winter, and ii) a January vote would have meant a campaign running over Christmas, and everyone would have punished Sunak for that. The widespread expectation was for an autumn election.
It's unclear why Sunak jumped earlier but likely a combination of various factors:
them being worried the economy will not get better by the autumn (so avoids going to the polls after a summer of bad economic news);
going early means their main opponents on the right (Reform) don't have time to get their act together and select candidates in all seats (which they would have done by the autumn);
their flagship immigration policy is controversial and expensive, yet likely to have an underwhelming impact on illegal immigration levels, and they'll look like complete idiots for centring an autumn election on a 'stop the boats' slogan if there's another summer of small boat arrivals in the meantime; and
Sunak personally is fed up - he's very much a political child of the far-right (an avowed Brexiter long before Boris Johnson or Liz Truss converted to the cause) yet the far-right of the Tory Party don't see him as one of their own and have been constant thorns in his side throughout his leadership - he may just want out at this stage.
He did a great job with Burnley getting promoted from the Championship. But then they got immediately relegated from the Premier League, finishing 19th out of 20 (in a season where two of their relegation rivals took points deductions) and looking pretty out of their league most of the season. He's falling upwards.
I mean, is it? Under his leadership the Labour Party broke the law in relation to racism within the party - that was the finding of the independent Equalities and Human Rights Commission investigation. It found that on Corbyn's watch, the culture of the Labour Party 'at best, did not do enough to prevent anti-Semitism and, at worst, could be seen to accept it'. He was the leader, he is accountable. That was his doing.
He then chose to put out a statement rejecting this and dismissing the evidence of racism suffered by Labour members as exaggerated - as a result of which he was suspended. That statement was his doing too.
And now he has chosen to stand against the Labour candidate in an election - this choice was also his doing.
Reminder that the Equality and Human Rights Commission is not 'the media'. It's a non-governmental public body created by a Labour government in 2006 to promote and enforce equality legislation introduced by said Labour government.
It's a corrupt convention but it wasn't always the case. An important reform by the 2010-15 coalition government was the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, which took this incredibly important decision out of the prime minister's partisan hands and have elections on a predictable 5 year cycle (barring the government falling or a supermajority for early elections).
After Boris Johnson won the 2019 election though, he set about dismantling checks and balances such as this. He also changed the electoral system for mayoral elections to First Past the Post (with no consultation or referendum - which the Tories have always insisted was needed to change the electoral system away from FPTP...) because FPTP tends to favour Tories.
All of our constitutional law takes the form of Acts of Parliament that can be amended or repealed with a 50%+1 vote in Parliament - unlike most countries where the constitution sits above the parliament and changing it requires a supermajority and/or a referendum. Boris had a majority so he could change the constitution. It's a totally messed up system.
One reason British liberals as so passionate about internationalism and the European Union is that international treaties and EU law are some of the few mechanisms we have had for constraining executive overreach, since they sit outside and above Parliament's remit. For example, even if Parliament were to repeal the Human Rights Act, Britain remains a party to the European Convention on Human Rights (which is why some Tories now talk about withdrawing from this too). Without international safeguards external to the UK, in theory all that stands between Britain and despotism is a simple majority vote in Parliament.
I love whoever decided to drown out Sunak's speech (which was inexplicably done outdoors, on a rainy day) with 'Things Can Only Get Better' on loudspeakers from nearby.
I wonder if it was the same person who played the Benny Hill theme over Boris Johnson's resignation.
Because the Palestinian children had nothing to do with the killing of Israeli children? What you're describing and explicitly trying to justify here is collective punishment of all of the two million Palestinians in Gaza (more than half of whom are children) for the crimes of (by Israel's estimates) about 3,000 Hamas terrorists on 7 October.
What you're articulating constitutes a war crime under the Geneva Convention and that's exactly why the ICC is getting involved.
Let me try putting this another way. The population of the US state of Nebraska is about two million. Every year, there are about 6,000 violent crimes committed by Nebraskans. Should every Nebraskan be collectively punished for the crimes of those few thousand Nebraskans?
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and several other officials were found dead on Monday, hours after their helicopter crashed, state media reported.
The president isn't unimportant though. A sad fact about Iranian politics is that the two times they elected a reformist president - Khatami in 1997 and Rouhani in 2013 - it was followed by the election of a Republican president in the US who spat in the face of attempted conciliation.
Bush grouping Shia Iran into his 'axis of evil' and trying to link them with Sunni Al-Qaeda, and then Trump's binning of Obama's carefully negotiated nuclear agreement, has done an enormous amount to undermine the reformists as ineffective and to strengthen the hardliners around Khamanei. It doesn't get talked about enough: there's a weird sort of codependency going on between Khamanei's crew and the US Republicans.
The shock of an assassination attempt could heal deep divisions Fico exploited, but the omens are not promising, says author and broadcaster John Kampfner
“It is a total outrage that there are people who are attacking and looting these convoys coming from Jordan, going to Gaza to deliver humanitarian assistance,” US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.
"We are looking at the tools that we have to respond to this,” he added. “We are also raising our concerns at the highest level of the Israeli government and it’s something that we make no bones about – this is completely and utterly unacceptable behaviour.”
I find the far-right fear-mongering over 15 minute cities is such a bizarre battle for them to choose to fight.
To the average voter, if you tell them that urban planners want to ensure more of the key amenities people need - GPs, schools, shops, parks, etc - are within walking distance of their home, they would tell you that's a great idea. Why on earth would anyone pick that as a thing to oppose, unless they're a moron or they're paid for by carmakers?
The designation could allow Germany's intelligence agency to surveil and investigate members of the far-right party. The AfD says it plans to appeal the ruling.
Rishi Sunak’s national service pledge is ‘bonkers’, says ex-military chief (www.theguardian.com)
Criticism of proposed scheme comes as another blow to the party’s struggling election campaign
That's COMMANDER This Dude to you, Ensign. (lemmy.world)
Background actors posing in a group shot for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
UK’s Sunak promises mandatory national service for 18-year-olds if elected [26 May 2024 | Al Jazeera] (www.aljazeera.com)
cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/15826549...
Vincent Kompany agrees deal to become Bayern Munich head coach (www.theguardian.com)
Bayern Munich have agreed a three-year deal with Vincent Kompany to take over as head coach....
Corbyn confirms he will stand against Labour (www.bbc.co.uk)
Rishi Sunak announces UK general election for Thursday 4 July (www.bbc.co.uk)
Rishi Sunak’s snap election decision is likely motivated by damage control (www.theguardian.com)
PM’s only hope seemed to hinge on more time, but a summer poll could ramp up scrutiny of Labour and its policies
Janet Yellen urges EU to raise tariffs on Chinese solar panels and wind turbines (www.theguardian.com)
Complains about overproduction of green technology, because it’s important we don’t have too much green technology…
Donald Trump removes video on Truth Social with ‘unified reich’ reference (www.theguardian.com)
Trump campaign said video using Nazi-era language was posted by staffer who didn’t see wording, yet it stayed up for 15 hours
Netanyahu angrily rejects move to seek his arrest, lambasts the ICC saying it has compared Israel to "mass murderers" (www.bbc.com)
Iran's president, foreign minister and others found dead at helicopter crash site (apnews.com)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and several other officials were found dead on Monday, hours after their helicopter crashed, state media reported.
Three councillors resign over Labour's ‘lily-livered stand’ on Gaza (morningstaronline.co.uk)
Whether Robert Fico survives and resumes office or not, Slovakia stands on the brink (www.theguardian.com)
The shock of an assassination attempt could heal deep divisions Fico exploited, but the omens are not promising, says author and broadcaster John Kampfner
Biden hikes tariffs on Chinese EVs, solar cells, steel, aluminum (apnews.com)
Climate change and inflation are both important, so we’re going to make it as expensive as possible to switch away from fossil fuels.
‘Total outrage’: White House condemns Israeli settlers’ attack on Gaza aid trucks (www.theguardian.com)
Protesters block convoy, throw food into road and set fire to vehicles at Tarqumiya checkpoint near Hebron
Maria Caulfield faces calls to refer herself to ethics adviser over false ‘15-minute city’ claims (www.theguardian.com)
UK health minister ‘spreading baseless claims’ by saying local council planned to restrict freedom to drive, say Lib Dems
Trading democracy for prosperity is a false choice for Indians (www.ft.com)
Modi’s government is popular despite the lived economic experience of people, not because of it
German court upholds AfD 'suspected' extremist status (www.dw.com)
The designation could allow Germany's intelligence agency to surveil and investigate members of the far-right party. The AfD says it plans to appeal the ruling.