Darling of the Super-Rich
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Opposition Parties in the House of Commons
Opposition parties in the House of Commons Standard Note: SN/PC/06057 Last updated: 2 August 2013 Author: Mark Sandford Section Parliament & Constitution Centre This note describes the development of the roles and entitlements of the opposition parties, in particular the Official Opposition, in the House of Commons. It lists the current opposition parties and their electoral performance, and discusses how the procedures and practices of the House make allowances for the Opposition. This information is provided to Members of Parliament in support of their parliamentary duties and is not intended to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual. It should not be relied upon as being up to date; the law or policies may have changed since it was last updated; and it should not be relied upon as legal or professional advice or as a substitute for it. A suitably qualified professional should be consulted if specific advice or information is required. This information is provided subject to our general terms and conditions which are available online or may be provided on request in hard copy. Authors are available to discuss the content of this briefing with Members and their staff, but not with the general public. Contents 1 Background 3 1.1 History of the role of ‘official opposition’ 3 1.2 The British political system 3 2 Rights and privileges of the opposition 4 2.1 Opposition days 4 3 Public funding for opposition parties 5 3.1 Short money 5 3.2 Sinn Fein allowances 6 3.3 Policy Development Grants 6 4 The Liberal Democrat Party 6 5 Opposition parties 7 5.1 The Democratic Unionist Party 7 5.2 The Scottish National Party 7 5.3 Sinn Féin 8 5.4 Plaid Cymru 8 5.5 The Social Democratic and Labour Party 9 5.6 The Ulster Unionist Party 9 5.7 The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland 9 5.8 Green Party of England and Wales 10 5.9 Independents 10 6 Selected bibliography 12 2 1 Background 1.1 History of the role of ‘official opposition’ The UK has historically been characterised by an adversarial, normally two-party, system of politics. -
Socialist Fight No.21
Socialist Fight No. 21 Winter 2015/16 Price: Cons: £1 (€1) Waged £2.50 (€3) No French Tricolore in sight by Celtic supporters to sanitise the crimes of French imperialism against the peoples of South East Asia, the Middle East, North and Central Africa and the Caribbean, the millions killed, maimed and staved for the profits of their trans- national corporations; Well done the Bhoys and Ghirls! The other, forgotten, Paris Massacre, a police slaughter of 200+ Al- gerians led by Nazi collaborator police chief Maurice Papon (1961). Page 2 Socialist Fight Where We Stand (extracts) Socialist Fight is a member of 1. We stand with Karl Marx: ‘The emancipa- imperialism so to combat this threat we must tion of the working classes must be con- redouble our efforts to forward the world the Liaison Committee for the quered by the working classes themselves. revolution. Fourth International with the The struggle for the emancipation of the 11. We also support the fight of all other Liga Comunista of Brazil and working class means not a struggle for class specially oppressed including lesbians and gay the Tendencia Militante Bol- privileges and monopolies but for equal men, bisexuals and transgender people and rights and duties and the abolition of all class the disabled against discrimination in all its chevique of Argentina. rule’ (The International Workingmen’s Asso- forms and their right to organise separately in The Editorial Board is: ciation 1864, General Rules). The working that fight in society as a whole. In particular Gerry Downing, Ian Donovan, class ‘cannot emancipate itself without eman- we defend their right to caucus inside trade Carl Zacharia, Ailish Dease, cipating itself from all other sphere of society unions and in working class political parties. -
Manufacturing Dissent Single-Issue Protest, the Public and the Press
Protest is migrating from the streets in to the newspapers. Instead of simply reporting dissent, the media is starting to manufacture it Manufacturing Dissent Single-issue protest, the public and the press Kirsty Milne About Demos Demos is a greenhouse for new ideas which can improve the quality of our lives. As an independent think tank, we aim to create an open resource of knowledge and learning that operates beyond traditional party politics. We connect researchers, thinkers and practitioners to an international network of people changing politics. Our ideas regularly influence government policy, but we also work with companies, NGOs, colleges and professional bodies. Demos knowledge is organised around five themes, which combine to create new perspectives. The themes are democracy, learning, enterprise, quality of life and global change. But we also understand that thinking by itself is not enough. Demos has helped to initiate a number of practical projects which are delivering real social benefit through the redesign of public services. We bring together people from a wide range of backgrounds to cross-fertilise ideas and experience. By working with Demos, our partners develop a sharper insight into the way ideas shape society. For Demos, the process is as important as the final product. www.demos.co.uk First published in 2005 © Demos Some rights reserved – see copyright licence for details ISBN 1 84180 141 0 Typeset by Land & Unwin, Bugbrooke Printed by HenDI Systems, London For further information and subscription details please contact: Demos Magdalen House 136 Tooley Street London SE1 2TU telephone: 0845 458 5949 email: [email protected] web: www.demos.co.uk Manufacturing Dissent Single-issue protest, the public and the press Kirsty Milne Open access.Some rights reserved. -
RMT PG Report
RMT PARLIAMENTARY GROUP Parliamentary Convenor: John McDonnell MP RMT Parliamentary Group Report July 2006 – 1st December 2006 (Inclusive of the Summer and party conference season recess) 1 RMT PARLIAMENTARY GROUP Parliamentary Convenor: John McDonnell MP Contents Executive Summary 3 Parliamentary Group 5 Rail 8 · Public Ownership of Rail · Rail Workers’ Pensions · Expanding the Rail Network · Rail Franchises · GNER franchise · Greater Western Rail Franchise · Crossrail · Environmental Case for Rail · Anti- Social Behaviour on Northern Rail London Underground 18 · Fire Safety Regulations · East London Line Maritime 21 · Tonnage Tax · Thames Boatmaster licensing · Race Relations Act · Work Permits · Irish Ferries Other Campaigns 24 · Trade Union Freedom Bill · Public Service Not Private Profit · Hope Not Hate Tour · John 4 Leader Campaign Annex 1 – EDMs 26 Annex 2 – Letters 47 Annex 3 – Hansard and Group Members 53 2 RMT PARLIAMENTARY GROUP Parliamentary Convenor: John McDonnell MP Executive Summary This report covers the activities of the Group from 24th July to 1st December 2006, which has included the summer recess and party conference recess. The 2005-06 parliamentary session ended on 8th November 2006 and following the Queen’s Speech, the 2006-07 parliamentary session began on 15th November 2006. In this period, we have held one Group meeting on 31st October. The next meeting of the Group is scheduled for 12th December 2006 – and will be the final meeting of 2006. The House returns from the Christmas recess on Monday 8th January 2007. The Group meeting on 12th December will be attended by the new Rail Minister Tom Harris MP (who replaced Derek Twigg), and the Group is presently seeking further ministerial meetings on a number of issues including: · Gillian Merron (Transport Minister) re: Bus policy · Stephen Ladyman (Transport Minister) maritime policy The Group has also written to the London Mayor on the East London Line and fire safety regulations – following a meeting earlier in the year. -
Conduct of Mr George Galloway
House of Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges Conduct of Mr George Galloway Sixth Report of Session 2006-07 Volume I Report and Appendices, together with formal minutes and oral evidence Ordered by The House of Commons to be printed 16 July 2007 HC 909-I Published on 17 July 2007 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £22.00 The Committee on Standards and Privileges The Committee on Standards and Privileges is appointed by the House of Commons to oversee the work of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards; to examine the arrangements proposed by the Commissioner for the compilation, maintenance and accessibility of the Register of Members’ Interests and any other registers of interest established by the House; to review from time to time the form and content of those registers; to consider any specific complaints made in relation to the registering or declaring of interests referred to it by the Commissioner; to consider any matter relating to the conduct of Members, including specific complaints in relation to alleged breaches in the Code of Conduct which have been drawn to the Committee’s attention by the Commissioner; and to recommend any modifications to the Code of Conduct as may from time to time appear to be necessary. Current membership Rt Hon Sir George Young Bt MP (Conservative, North West Hampshire) (Chairman) Rt Hon Kevin Barron MP (Labour, Rother Valley) Rt Hon David Curry MP (Conservative, Skipton & Ripon) Mr Andrew Dismore MP (Labour, Hendon) Nick Harvey MP (Liberal Democrat, North Devon) Mr Brian Jenkins MP (Labour, Tamworth) Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP (Plaid Cymru, Meirionnydd Nant Conwy) Mr Chris Mullin MP (Labour, Sunderland South) The Hon Nicholas Soames MP (Conservative, Mid Sussex) Dr Alan Whitehead MP (Labour, Southampton Test) Powers The constitution and powers of the Committee are set out in Standing Order No. -
Labour Mps Call on Blair to Quit Tony Blair Has Been Urged to Quit As Prime Minister Before His Third Term Just Days After Labour's Election Win
Labour MPs call on Blair to quit Tony Blair has been urged to quit as prime minister before his third term just days after Labour's election win. Despite securing a historic third victory, the government's Commons majority was slashed from 161 to 67. Several Labour MPs have called for Mr Blair to resign, saying he has become an electoral "liability". Downing Street declined to comment on the reports but said there had been "no change" since Mr Blair stated last year he would serve a full third term. John Austin, MP for Erith and Thamesmead, told The Sunday Times the prime minister was "a liability and not an asset during the election". 'Negative factor' He said: "You can't beat about the bush. Blair was a negative factor on the doorstep, time and time and time again. "We need a mechanism like the Tories where the grandees go round and tell the leader it is time for him to go." Jeremy Corbyn, MP for Islington North and a fierce critic of the Iraq war, predicted Mr Blair could be out of Downing Street within a year. He told Channel 4's Morgan and Platell Programme: "The idea that we're going to go for several years with a prime minister who has said he's going to resign at some point is really not acceptable. "I think he might well decide that the end of the G8 presidency (at the end of 2005) is the time to go. I don't think he would want to go in the middle of it." Ian Davidson, MP for Glasgow South West, said: "The sooner we could have a reasonably smooth handover the better." 'Absolute animosity' John McDonnell, chairman of the Socialist Campaign group and the MP for Hayes and Harlington, said: "In terms of Tony Blair's rating personally on the doorstep, I encountered absolute animosity right across the board, you could cut it with a knife." Bob Wareing, MP for Liverpool West Derby, said: "I think the chickens are coming home to roost for Blair. -
Workers of All Countries, Unite!
WORKERS OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE! No 1400 Week commencing 11 August 2006 Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain 50p STOP ISRAELI TERROR NOW! By our Arab Affairs Correspondent Parliament certainly ISRAELI tanks are must be recalled and at the pouring into Lebanon as governing coalition in territories in Palestine and same time millions must be the Zionists intensified Beirut, endorsed the Leba- it has called on trade unions mobilised for mass protests their strikes on Beirut nese government’s pro- all over the world to stand throughout the country to and southern Lebanon posal to deploy 15,000 on the side of Lebanon and end Britain’s slavish col- on Monday, killing at troops along the frontier Palestine. laboration with Israeli ag- least 33 people in what once a ceasefire is in place In the Middle East, the gression, demand the im- is being called one of the and Israel has withdrawn. Popular Front for the Lib- mediate withdrawal of all bloodiest death tolls in But he was dismissive of eration of Palestine Israeli forces from Leba- Tel Aviv’s ongoing war the Franco-American draft (PFLP) gave its full sup- non and the unconditional of aggression. Israeli proposal at the UN. “The port to the Hezbollah resis- and immediate withdrawal warplanes repeatedly least we can describe this tance fighters. Wisal Farha of all British troops from bombed Beirut’s south- is as unfair and unjust. It Bakdash, the leader of the Iraq and Afghanistan. ern suburbs and has given Israel more than Syrian Communist Party, pounded other areas of it wanted and more than it called on the Arab masses Lebanon, wounding an was looking for,” he de- to unite their efforts and unknown number of ci- clared. -
Identity Cards and Political Commitment: a Study in the Formation, Operationalisation and Measurement of a Concept
Identity Cards and Political Commitment: a study in the formation, operationalisation and measurement of a concept by Robert Denny A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of Nottingham Trent University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2011 This work is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the owner of the Intellectual Property Rights. Acknowledgements I would like to thank some of the many people who have kindly helped me with this thesis. In particular, I offer my thanks to: Those individuals who, despite incredibly busy work loads, gave their time for interviews. To Professor Perri 6, Professor Chris Bellamy, and Dr. Steph Walker for their excellent supervision. I have benefited greatly from their many useful comments on this work, and I could not conceive of a better supervisory team. To Chereece for her love and support over this long process, and without whom this thesis would not have been at all possible. Finally, to my family for their gentle optimism, kindness, and unswerving belief in my ability to finish. This thesis is dedicated to the memory of my father. Identity Cards and Political Commitment: a study in the formation, operationalisation and measurement of a concept by Robert Denny Abstract This thesis presents a new definition of the concept of political commitment. -
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UNIVERSITY OF CHICHESTER An accredited institution of the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF BUSINESS, ARTS AND HUMANITIES The British Labour Party and the Break-up of Yugoslavia 1991-1995: A Historical Analysis of Parliamentary Debates by Ann Marie Schreiner Thesis for the Doctor of Philosophy This thesis has been completed as a requirement for a higher degree of the University of Southampton November 2009 'HE: WS 2281320 9 9 q.9 .. ~IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 10 .s CH " ... differences between the parties have almost disappeared. Most of the differences between the parties are on foreign affairs, and often they are greater inside the parties than between them."l "Foreign policy has always contained a reliable left-right fracture. Now the fracture was along some more obscure axis, and within both the left and the right.,,2 ~Denis Healey in an interview in TheDaily Telegraph, 24 January 2009, p20. John Majo~ writing about the break-up of Yugoslavia, in John Major - the Autobiography, (London: Harper Collms, 1999. Paperback 2000) p535. 11 UNIVERSITY OF CHICHESTER An accredited institution of the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF BUSINESS, ARTS AND HUMANITIES Doctor of Philosophy THE BRITISH LABOUR PARTY AND THE BREAK-UP OF YUGOSLAVIA 1991-1995: A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES by Ann Marie Schreiner The break-up of Yugoslavia, and the ensuing wars, dominated the British foreign policy agenda for the first half of the 1990s. The way in which the British Government reacted to the series of crises was a matter of ongoing scrutiny by those within and outside of Parliament. The complex nature of the conflicts, in the early years of the post Cold War world, meant that responses by British politicians were in no way based on traditional ideological divisions, that is, M.P.s did not form neat, homogenous groups reflecting the three political currents. -
THE LABOUR LEFT PATRICK SEYD Ph. D
THE LABOUR LEFT PATRICK SEYD Ph. D. DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL THEORY AND INSTITUTIONS Vol-- SUBMITTED JUNE 1986 -252- CHAPTER SIX DEMOCRACY IN THE PARTY(2): The Rank and File Mobilising Committee and electing the Party leadership Two days after the decision, at the 1979 Party conference to introduce reselection CLPD issued a newsletter to conference delegates entitled 'The Fight for Democracy Must Go On' in which it stated that "the rank and file must organise to defend, secure and advance the gains already achieved".(1) It's first object was to defend the new reselection procedures from a Right wing counter attack but it also intended to advance the constitutional reforms by removing the PLP's sole right to elect the Party Leader and by establishing the NEC's right to have final responsibility for the Party's election manifesto. We have already examined in the previous chapter the campaign to introduce automatic reselection procedures and we now consider the campaign to advance the Party reforms in these other areas. This campaign to further extend the accountability of the parliamentarians to the Party activists resulted in a single, organised Labour Left grouping which brought together as an alliance a wide range of groups which had previously developed their own strategies and had sometimes been in open conflict. -253- The Rank and File Mobilising Committee In May 1980 the Rank and File Mobilising Committee (hereafter RFMC) was established to defend the constitutional reforms agreed by the 1979 Party conference and to campaign for additional Party reforms. The Left feared that the Party leadership, in alliance with certain trade union leaders, and encouraged by the majority of political commentators, would deflect and defeat the demands for constitutional reform. -
Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
Wednesday Volume 510 2 June 2010 No. 8 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Wednesday 2 June 2010 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2010 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Parliamentary Click-Use Licence, available online through the Office of Public Sector Information website at www.opsi.gov.uk/click-use/ Enquiries to the Office of Public Sector Information, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU; e-mail: [email protected] 417 2 JUNE 2010 418 In respect of my hon. Friend’s question, value for House of Commons money will be at the heart of everything we do. We are examining all expenditure in every single country, starting Wednesday 2 June 2010 with our country review shortly. Mr Douglas Alexander (Paisley and Renfrewshire The House met at half-past Two o’clock South) (Lab): With your permission, Mr Speaker, let me return the compliment offered to me by the Secretary PRAYERS of State by extending my congratulations to him and his team of Ministers. The Department for International Development is one of Labour’s proudest achievements [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] and I wish him well in his stewardship of that important Ministry.I welcome the answer that he just gave emphasising value for money. May I ask whether he regards educating MEMBER SWORN young girls in Afghanistan as a valuable part of that The following Member took and subscribed the Oath comprehensive approach or whether he agrees with the required by law: Defence Secretary that it is simply Anne Caroline Ballingall McIntosh for Thirsk and “education policy in a broken 13th-century country”? Malton Mr Mitchell: I thank the shadow Secretary of State for his kind remarks. -
LRC Conference
WORKERS OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE! No 1351 Week commencing 22 July 2005 Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain 50p This is the last issue of the New Worker before the IMPERIALIST two week summer break. The next issue will be out on DREAMS FADE Friday 12 August. his statement, which was by our Arab Affairs Correspondent invade “politically illegiti- dismissed as “irrespon- mate”. sible”. IMPERIALIST troops came under a hail of resis- On Monday Defence More that two dozen Secretary John Reid con- tance rockets, bombs and bullets throughout oc- doctors walked out of one cupied Iraq this week. American troops were re- firmed that Britain was of Baghdad’s busiest hos- likely to begin reducing its peatedly beaten back as they tried to advance into pitals on Tuesday in protest forces in Iraq within the the western town of Rawah. Partisans bombed against abuse from the pup- next 12 months. Reid in- American camps and ambushed US patrols in pet army. On Monday pup- sisted that Britain had no Fallujah, the city stormed and “pacified” by US pet troops barged into a “long-term imperialist am- Marines last year. women’s wing of the bitions” in Iraq but added Yarmouk Hospital to con- that British and American A collaborator judge was Baghdad bombing that duct searches at gunpoint. forces would stay as long killed in Nasiriyah and three killed 32 children and in- “We know citizens may be as they were needed. Sunni Arabs on the puppet jured many others and the a little upset but we have Blair and the rest of the team charged with writing bombing of a fuel station in our rights too and we can’t th British war party establish- the stooge constitution were al Musayyib on 16 July operate and provide a ser- ment may bleat that the shot dead as they left a that killed dozens more.