'An official study of low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) ordered by Rishi Sunak amid efforts to stop them being built has instead concluded they are generally popular and effective and the report was initially buried, the Guardian has learned.'
"The Black Sea is not safe for Putin's fleet. Until recently, this was unimaginable. If we give Ukrainians what they need, the bravery and skill of the Ukrainian Armed Forces can unlock victories once thought impossible."
The Lords have 'defeated' the #RishiSunak#Rwanda bill, by making it confirm to #internationallaw and ensuring there is proper oversight of its provisions... should it ever actually become practical policy.
So presumably when it comes back to the House of Commons we'l see the unedifying attempt by (some) MPs to remove the requirement that the bill conforms to international law, thereby further contributing to the decline of the UK international reputation?
"[W]hat Britain got was a masterclass in gaslighting. Sunak’s performance made a new art form of rank hypocrisy, as he pretended not to know that the very extremism he criticised was being actively driven by his party and peddled in his speech."
In the face of a history in which protests have shifted the agenda of #politics, it should be no surprise that the political elite don't want them taking place except under controlled conditions.
No-one will be surprised that the UK public have little faith in #political parties, but given the current travails & criminal activity in the #police, its notable how that doesn't seem to have dented whether people trust them as much as one might have expected (although this is last year's data); but I'd be interested to see that data broken down by #gender & by #ethnicity.
When #RishiSunak warns against 'mob rule' its pretty clear who the UK public at large think the mob actually is!
Yasmine Ahmed, (Human Rights Watch) on #RishiSunak joining a #farmers demo. while complaining of 'mob rule':
'The idea that politicians are celebrating one set of protesters while cracking down on others is chilling. A country that only allows you to demonstrate on issues it agrees with is the very definition of authoritarian. For a government that prides itself as a defender of free speech, it seems this defence is conditional on you agreeing with the government'
"There is a growing consensus that mob rule is replacing democratic rule. And we’ve got to collectively, all of us, change that urgently"
Rishi Sunak
Translation:
Me and my wealthy mates are getting spooked by the hoi polloi exercising their democratic right to protest at our gates. So we're going to crack down and call it a consensus.
Its all getting even more Orwellian isn't it... the #Tories have announced a Democratic Policing Protocol which (surprise, surprise) offers a widened notion of what intimidation looks like....
And of #RishiSunak is claiming that there is a 'growing consensus that mob rule is replacing democratic rule'.
All of this sounds not so much about saving #democracy as stifling it... is it an exaggeration to wonder if 'mob rule' will be used to justify a delay to the next #election?
One way of understanding #KemiBadenoch's week is to see it as part of a leadership campaign by the #Tory's 'ant-woke, black woman' beloved of the ageing white party members (the FT's description).
Realising that post-truth #politics served Boris Johnson well & that she can count on the right wing press to muddy the waters on 'facts', I was about to say #RishiSunak should watch out, but perhaps (as so often) when things are failing, its time to hand over the reins to a #woman to take the fall?
You can see why the Tories are pushing conspiracy theory and lies on the Social Medias today, they have nothing else to campaign on.
They are like the GOP in that sense, nothing positive, just fascist bullshit.
Trouble is, the other team doesn't really have anything positive that won't disappear in the flash of a dropped pledge, apathy will win this Election for sure.