waiting for p p mans comments on

[pabloback]

the labour mp paul marsden , defected from the government to the lib dems this weekend because of bullying by the labour party over his disagreement with the government over the afghanistan war. he has been threratened and verball and physically aboused by other labour mps
minister david blunkett also caused a storm by saying that immigrants should learn english and be literate within two years of arriving in the uk .
the moslims are complaining that it is a racist attack against them
the british national party [racists] are complaining that he is stealing their ideas

 

[p_p_man]

the labour mp paul marsden , defected from the government to the lib dems this weekend because of bullying by the labour party over his disagreement with the government over the afghanistan war. he has been threratened and verball and physically aboused by other labour mps
minister david blunkett also caused a storm by saying that immigrants should learn english and be literate within two years of arriving in the uk .
the moslims are complaining that it is a racist attack against them
the british national party [racists] are complaining that he is stealing their ideas

Politically I hover between the LibDems and the Labour Party anyway. Anything but them damn Tories!

So for Paul Marsden to "cross the floor" doesn't really make much impact on me. In fact if anything he's travelled further to the Left as the LibDems have been going down that road for a while now.

What I do think should happen when an MP does this sort of thing is for Marsden to resign his seat and force a bye-election where he would have to seek re-election.

After all the people in his constituency voted for the Party he was standing for as well as giving him a certain number of personal votes, and if he changes that Party, they should be able to agree or disagree with him.

As for Blunkett's announcements we've had the usual expected outcry from the immigrant population and the extreme Right but all in all I reckon the situation has been getting out of control for a long time and our own British society needs to be dragged back on track to what we, as a nation, stand for and represent.

Norman Tebbit gave a clever comparison some years ago when he said that if an immigrant shouts for the cricket team which comes to play England, then that immigrant does not have the true interest of the UK at heart. Superficial comparison perhaps but a lot to be said for it.

You've seen yourself the UK born Pakistanis riot and cause pitch invasions whenever the Pakistani team plays England. And yet they profess to be English!

If anyone reads my response to pabloback's post and wishes to descend upon me from a great height on the grounds that I am now talking like a Right wing racist, I should point out, as I have done before, that being a Socialist does not blinker me from the realities of life.

And that sometimes those realities which are in direct conflict with an "acceptable way of life" need to be rectified by what would be considered Right wing solutions.

The Left will always be there to ensure the situation doesn't swing too far the other way.

 

[Moridin187]

Re: Re: waiting for p p mans comments on

and our own British society needs to be dragged back on track to what we, as a nation, stand for and represent.

What DOES your nation stand for and represent?

I could say a few things.. but I'm trying my hardest to overcome my anglophobia, thus the question.

 

[p_p_man]

Re: Re: Re: waiting for p p mans comments on

What DOES your nation stand for and represent?

I could say a few things.. but I'm trying my hardest to overcome my anglophobia, thus the question.

"stand for and represent" is, if you like, an intangible concept.

It's a sense of a shared history, an acceptable way of life, an evolved social system built up over years of national development, relations with other countries, vested interests, the political system, the judiciary, law enforcement, education, health, labour laws and on and on and on...

At the moment, politically, the UK is standing for further integration into Europe and to the Arab nations in the Middle East the UK represents a close friend.

But I suppose really it's how the UK born population perceives a way of life they are comfortable with which really defines the term.

 

[Moridin187]

Ahh... I thought you meant stand and represent, in the sense that American stands for and represents democracy, freedom, justice....

Although with our new administration, that's becoming QUITE a laugh.

 

[pabloback]

my politics would make me a tory wet , i believe that what david blunkett said is fundamentally true and needs to be discussed out in the open without the p c brigade screaming racist at every opportunity.
even though my views are the exact opposite of paul marsden ,i was horrified to hear of his experiences at the hands of the whips, when i read his account in the papers on sunday.
after hearing of his defection yesterday i am inclined to believe it was a cynical ploy to smooth over his defection