UK Politics Thread XIII: The Brexit Ship Departs

by **Celritannia** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 12:36 pm

The Huskar Social Union wrote:Seriously though, you get a block of cheddar cheese and a jar of silverskin onions. You cut the block up into little cubes and then you impale the yellow bastards with an onion each on cocktail sticks and it is fucking delectable. One of my favourite snaks of all time, its soooooo good.

I'm afraid I am all out of picked onions.
But I do have digestive biscuits, cathedral city mature cheddar cheese, and branston pickle small chunks chutney.

by **Salandriagado** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 12:36 pm

The Archregimancy wrote:
The New California Republic wrote:Out of interest, is it at a GP or at one of the vaccination megaclinics that's been set up?

GP; I wasn't offered one of the mass vaccination centres.

This surprised me slightly. Others with my medical condition were being offered an optional mass vaccination centre slot first, and then if they decided not to take it up were contacted by their GP a week or two later.

I was offered the GP straight away. Since the GP is a 10-minute walk away, but the vaccination centre would have required a 40-minute train ride (followed by a 10-minute walk), I'm happy.

How vaccinations are delivered is decided in each CCG separately, by the CCG: my parents' area is doing literally no vaccinations through GPs, routing everybody to separate hubs (some of which are... less than conveniently located, to say the least).

by **CoraSpia** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 12:50 pm

Salandriagado wrote:
The Archregimancy wrote:
GP; I wasn't offered one of the mass vaccination centres.

This surprised me slightly. Others with my medical condition were being offered an optional mass vaccination centre slot first, and then if they decided not to take it up were contacted by their GP a week or two later.

I was offered the GP straight away. Since the GP is a 10-minute walk away, but the vaccination centre would have required a 40-minute train ride (followed by a 10-minute walk), I'm happy.

How vaccinations are delivered is decided in each CCG separately, by the CCG: my parents' area is doing literally no vaccinations through GPs, routing everybody to separate hubs (some of which are... less than conveniently located, to say the least).

Since the vaccinations are presumably something the government wants you to take up (unlike, say, benefits) it would make sense for them to offer people free transportation to their vaccination appointment if the distance was long enough to discourage people from taking it.

by **The New California Republic** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 1:16 pm

There was a letter from over 70 organizations sent to BoJo a couple of days ago, protesting against the proposed coking coal mine in Whitehaven:

Dear Prime Minister,

We are writing to raise some very serious concerns about the decision to proceed with the Whitehaven coal mine in Cumbria.

As you know, the UK founded and co-chairs the Powering Past Coal Alliance and is President of this year’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. Given that our credibility, as host of the largest global climate talks since the signing of the Paris Agreement is at stake, it is mystifying that the government has decided not to intervene in the approval of the UK’s first deep coal mine in 30 years. This decision will make it much harder to fulfil the ambitions of the Powering Past Coal Alliance.

Alok Sharma MP, the COP president, when questioned before a Commons business select committee clearly understood that the mine approval was an embarrassment. The Climate Change Committee has urged the government to reconsider, highlighting that the increase in emissions from this mine alone would amount to more emissions than it has projected for all open UK coal mines to 2050.

New jobs need to be created, including in renewable energy, energy efficiency and alternatives to using coking coal in the steel industry. You have rightly talked about a green industrial revolution. The UK must lead the way with low-carbon technologies, rather than looking to the polluting industries of the past. It is crucial to support West Cumbria communities in their transition to genuinely sustainable employment. Research shows that concerted action and investment in green industries in the region would provide significantly more than the 500 jobs promised by the new mine.

The Climate Change Committee has said all coal, including coking coal, should be phased out by 2035. The government therefore risks allowing the creation of a stranded asset as the mine may be required to close only a few years after it opens. It also sends the wrong signal to all those countries who want to hold on to coal from Poland to China.

Furthermore, Secretary of State Robert Jenrick MP’s reasoning that it is a ‘local issue’ undermines UK leadership: it is widely understood that climate change and air pollution related to burning coal is a global problem.

MHCLG could still review the decision not to call in the mine because Cumbria County Council is yet to issue the final decision notice and subsequent planning permission. The grounds for this, including new information since the 6th January decision not to call it in, would be:

The Planning Unit had not had a chance to consider new information, notably the CCC letter of 29th January;

The national controversy caused by the mine, in particular since the 6th January decision – a stated reason for call-in is if it may “give rise to substantial cross-boundary or national controversy”;

If it involves the interests of foreign Governments – which is the case, given conflicts with COP26 diplomacy;

It “may conflict with national policies on important matters” – another stated reason for call-in – specifically climate change, as has been acknowledged both by the Chair of the Climate Change Committee and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Given that Cumbria County Council could issue its final decision notice very soon, time is of the essence. We believe strongly that the best way to resolve the issue would be for Secretary of State Robert Jenrick MP to call in the decision, and refer the matter to a public inquiry. Reversing this decision would help restore confidence in the UK government’s climate leadership both internationally and at home.

https://www.cpre.org.uk/news/our-letter ... coal-mine/

by **The Archregimancy** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 2:37 pm

Salandriagado wrote:
The Archregimancy wrote:
GP; I wasn't offered one of the mass vaccination centres.

This surprised me slightly. Others with my medical condition were being offered an optional mass vaccination centre slot first, and then if they decided not to take it up were contacted by their GP a week or two later.

I was offered the GP straight away. Since the GP is a 10-minute walk away, but the vaccination centre would have required a 40-minute train ride (followed by a 10-minute walk), I'm happy.

How vaccinations are delivered is decided in each CCG separately, by the CCG: my parents' area is doing literally no vaccinations through GPs, routing everybody to separate hubs (some of which are... less than conveniently located, to say the least).

I'm aware of that. The slight surprise on my part stems from the fact that we do have a well-organised local vaccination hub - quite distinct from the closest major vaccination centre - is in a prominent local building that's only a 15-minute walk away from where I live, and only a 10-minute walk from the GP surgery. So I'm not clear on why I was invited in to the GP surgery rather than the local vaccination hub.

My original post was poorly phrased on this point since I was struggling to find a way of not giving away where I live since our local vaccination hub is a fairly famous building (no, it's not Salisbury Cathedral); I think I've managed slightly better this time.

by **The Huskar Social Union** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 2:58 pm

PSNI officer suspended over Sean Graham memorial arrest

Mentioned the incident yesterday, one of the officers involved has been suspended. Another has been reassigned. Both officers were new recruits having only joined in June according to the Chief Constable. And the polcie ombudsman's office has launched an investigation.

by **Celritannia** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 2:59 pm

The Huskar Social Union wrote:PSNI officer suspended over Sean Graham memorial arrest

Mentioned the incident yesterday, one of the officers involved has been suspended. Another has been reassigned. Both officers were new recruits having only joined in June according to the Chief Constable.

Good!

by **The Nihilistic view** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:06 pm

The Huskar Social Union wrote:
Fartsniffage wrote:Found Huskar on Youtube

Woah woah woah woah woah woah woah woah

woah

I reject his notion, i would never be caught dead as a proud irish catholic atheist eating cheddar cheese and pineapple on a cocktail stick! The notion that i would is utterly sectarian and is a mockery of my community and our struggle.

I would rather have Cheddar cheese and Pickle on a stick! Like every true Irishman and dont you forget it!

Manchego and olives is the only snack on a stick worth fighting over.

by **Fartsniffage** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:16 pm

The Nihilistic view wrote:
The Huskar Social Union wrote:Woah woah woah woah woah woah woah woah

woah

I reject his notion, i would never be caught dead as a proud irish catholic atheist eating cheddar cheese and pineapple on a cocktail stick! The notion that i would is utterly sectarian and is a mockery of my community and our struggle.

I would rather have Cheddar cheese and Pickle on a stick! Like every true Irishman and dont you forget it!

Manchego and olives is the only snack on a stick worth fighting over.

Manchego? Isn't that black guys fighting in Django Unchained?

by **The Nihilistic view** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:18 pm

The New California Republic wrote:There was a letter from over 70 organizations sent to BoJo a couple of days ago, protesting against the proposed coking coal mine in Whitehaven:

Dear Prime Minister,

We are writing to raise some very serious concerns about the decision to proceed with the Whitehaven coal mine in Cumbria.

As you know, the UK founded and co-chairs the Powering Past Coal Alliance and is President of this year’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. Given that our credibility, as host of the largest global climate talks since the signing of the Paris Agreement is at stake, it is mystifying that the government has decided not to intervene in the approval of the UK’s first deep coal mine in 30 years. This decision will make it much harder to fulfil the ambitions of the Powering Past Coal Alliance.

Alok Sharma MP, the COP president, when questioned before a Commons business select committee clearly understood that the mine approval was an embarrassment. The Climate Change Committee has urged the government to reconsider, highlighting that the increase in emissions from this mine alone would amount to more emissions than it has projected for all open UK coal mines to 2050.

New jobs need to be created, including in renewable energy, energy efficiency and alternatives to using coking coal in the steel industry. You have rightly talked about a green industrial revolution. The UK must lead the way with low-carbon technologies, rather than looking to the polluting industries of the past. It is crucial to support West Cumbria communities in their transition to genuinely sustainable employment. Research shows that concerted action and investment in green industries in the region would provide significantly more than the 500 jobs promised by the new mine.

The Climate Change Committee has said all coal, including coking coal, should be phased out by 2035. The government therefore risks allowing the creation of a stranded asset as the mine may be required to close only a few years after it opens. It also sends the wrong signal to all those countries who want to hold on to coal from Poland to China.

Furthermore, Secretary of State Robert Jenrick MP’s reasoning that it is a ‘local issue’ undermines UK leadership: it is widely understood that climate change and air pollution related to burning coal is a global problem.

MHCLG could still review the decision not to call in the mine because Cumbria County Council is yet to issue the final decision notice and subsequent planning permission. The grounds for this, including new information since the 6th January decision not to call it in, would be:

The Planning Unit had not had a chance to consider new information, notably the CCC letter of 29th January;

The national controversy caused by the mine, in particular since the 6th January decision – a stated reason for call-in is if it may “give rise to substantial cross-boundary or national controversy”;

If it involves the interests of foreign Governments – which is the case, given conflicts with COP26 diplomacy;

It “may conflict with national policies on important matters” – another stated reason for call-in – specifically climate change, as has been acknowledged both by the Chair of the Climate Change Committee and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Given that Cumbria County Council could issue its final decision notice very soon, time is of the essence. We believe strongly that the best way to resolve the issue would be for Secretary of State Robert Jenrick MP to call in the decision, and refer the matter to a public inquiry. Reversing this decision would help restore confidence in the UK government’s climate leadership both internationally and at home.

Anna Vickerstaff, UK lead, 350.org

Siobhan Harley, Campaigns Director, 38 Degrees

Andy Atkins, CEO, A Rocha UK

Gillian Kelly, Chair of Trustees, Ambleside Action For A Future

Dr Tony Gent, Chief Executive Officer, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Trust

Paul Pacifico, CEO, Association of Independent Music

Lucy Bywater, Chair, Bedfordshire Climate Change Forum

Neil Thorns, Director of Advocacy, CAFOD

Claire James, Campaigns Coordinator, Campaign against Climate Change

Laurie Lee, CEO, Care International

Peter Tyldesley, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Alternative Technology

Pete Moorey, Head of Campaigns and UK Advocacy, Christian Aid

James Thornton, CEO, ClientEarth

Ruth Balogh, Chair, Climate Emergency West Cumbria

Rachel Berger, Chair, Climate Friendly Bradford on Avon

Andy Atkins, Chair, Climate Sunday Initiative

Anne Harris, Campaigner, Coal Action Network

Revd Dr Kevin Snyman, Programme Officer, Commitment for Life, United Reformed Church

Crispin Truman, Chief Executive, CPRE The countryside charity

Karen Mitchell, CEO, Cumbria Action for Sustainability

Stephen Trotter, Chief Executive, Cumbria Wildlife Trust

Ellie Wyatt, Eco Action Families

Phil Macdonald, COO, Ember

Seán Mallon, Climate Change Specialist, Environmentally Conscious

Dr Shanon Shah, Director, Faith for the Climate

Jeffrey Newman, Emeritus Rabbi, Finchley Reform Synagogue

Miriam Turner & Hugh Knowles, Co-Executive Directors, Friends of the Earth England, Wales & Northern Ireland

Douglas Chalmers, Chief Executive, Friends of the Lake District

Nick Dearden, Director, Global Justice Now

Shaun Spiers, Executive director, Green Alliance

Deborah Tomkins and George Dow, Co-chairs, Green Christian

Graham Petersen, Secretary, Greener Jobs Alliance

John Sauven, Executive Director, Greenpeace UK

Paul Chitnis, Director, Jesuit Missions

Alison Tickell, Director, Julie’s Bicycle

Richard Solly, Co-ordinator, London Mining Network

Adrian Ramsay, CEO, MCS Charitable Foundation

Sophie Neuburg, Executive Director, Medact

Maddy Read Clarke, Campaign Director, Music Declares Emergency

Melissa Green, General Secretary, National Federation of Women’s Institutes

Miatta Fahnbulleh, Chief Executive, New Economics Foundation

Andrew Simms, co-director, New Weather Institute

Dr David W. Golding CBE PhD DSc DCL, Development Coordinator, North East Call to Action on Global Goverty and Climate Change

Jamie Drummond, Co-founder, ONE

Jacqueline Bourne, Founder Member, One World Voice

Sarah Hirom, Trustee, One World Week

Revd Dr Darrell Hannah, Chair, Operation Noah

Sam Nadel, Head of Policy and Advocacy, Oxfam GB

Carly Leonard, CEO, PECT

John Bodger, Chair, Penrith Action for Community Transition

Laura Clayson, Climate Change Campaigns Manager, People and Planet

Ian Dunn, CEO, Plantlife

Lauren MacCallum, General Manager, Protect Our Winters UK

Paul Parker, Recording Clerk, Quakers in Britain

Rosanne Palmer-White, UK Director, Restless Development

Beccy Speight, CEO, RSPB

Kirsty McNeil, Executive Director – Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, Save the Children

Dr Stuart Parkinson, Executive Director, Scientists for Global Responsibility

Craig Gamble Pugh, Co-Chair, Sheffield Climate Alliance.

Lindy Stone, Coordinator, Sheffield Friends of the Earth

Shane Holland FCMI FRSA, Executive Chairman, Slow Food in the UK (SFUK)

Jack Woodruff, Campaigns Representitive, Student Christian Movement

Chaitra Dinesh, National Director, Students for Global Health

Jamie Agombar, Executive Director, Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK)

Hugo Tagholm, CEO, Surfers Against Sewage

Henry Goodwin, Chairperson, Sustainable Carlisle.

Terry Sloan, Chair, Sustainable Keswick

Hugh Ellis, Director of Policy, TCPA

Paul Cook, Head of Advocacy, Tearfund

The Revd Margot R Hodson, Director of Theology and Education, The John Ray Initiative

Craig Bennett, Chief Executive, The Wildlife Trusts

John Bell, Officer, Transition Town Berkhamsted

Dr Alison Whybrow, Chair, Transition Town Kingston

UK Youth Climate Coalition

Ruth Balogh, Chair, West Cumbria and North Lakes Friends of the Earth

Richard Benwell, CEO, Wildlife and Countryside Link

Chris Holloway, Chair, WinACC

Kate Metcalf, Co-Director, Women’s Environmental Network

Abi Bunker, Director of Conservation and External Affairs, Woodland Trust

Katrina Judge, Founder, Young Climate Warriors

https://www.cpre.org.uk/news/our-letter ... coal-mine/

So Margaret Thatcher was an environmental visionary ahead of her time.

by **Major-Tom** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:21 pm

The Nihilistic view wrote:
The Huskar Social Union wrote:Woah woah woah woah woah woah woah woah

woah

I reject his notion, i would never be caught dead as a proud irish catholic atheist eating cheddar cheese and pineapple on a cocktail stick! The notion that i would is utterly sectarian and is a mockery of my community and our struggle.

I would rather have Cheddar cheese and Pickle on a stick! Like every true Irishman and dont you forget it!

Manchego and olives is the only snack on a stick worth fighting over.

Thank god we outgrew your...eccentric culinary habits overseas here.

by **The Nihilistic view** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:22 pm

Fartsniffage wrote:
The Nihilistic view wrote:
Manchego and olives is the only snack on a stick worth fighting over.

Manchego? Isn't that black guys fighting in Django Unchained?

Mandingo? I think I'll stick to cheese if you don't mind.

by **The New California Republic** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:27 pm

The Nihilistic view wrote:
The New California Republic wrote:There was a letter from over 70 organizations sent to BoJo a couple of days ago, protesting against the proposed coking coal mine in Whitehaven:

Dear Prime Minister,

We are writing to raise some very serious concerns about the decision to proceed with the Whitehaven coal mine in Cumbria.

As you know, the UK founded and co-chairs the Powering Past Coal Alliance and is President of this year’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. Given that our credibility, as host of the largest global climate talks since the signing of the Paris Agreement is at stake, it is mystifying that the government has decided not to intervene in the approval of the UK’s first deep coal mine in 30 years. This decision will make it much harder to fulfil the ambitions of the Powering Past Coal Alliance.

Alok Sharma MP, the COP president, when questioned before a Commons business select committee clearly understood that the mine approval was an embarrassment. The Climate Change Committee has urged the government to reconsider, highlighting that the increase in emissions from this mine alone would amount to more emissions than it has projected for all open UK coal mines to 2050.

New jobs need to be created, including in renewable energy, energy efficiency and alternatives to using coking coal in the steel industry. You have rightly talked about a green industrial revolution. The UK must lead the way with low-carbon technologies, rather than looking to the polluting industries of the past. It is crucial to support West Cumbria communities in their transition to genuinely sustainable employment. Research shows that concerted action and investment in green industries in the region would provide significantly more than the 500 jobs promised by the new mine.

The Climate Change Committee has said all coal, including coking coal, should be phased out by 2035. The government therefore risks allowing the creation of a stranded asset as the mine may be required to close only a few years after it opens. It also sends the wrong signal to all those countries who want to hold on to coal from Poland to China.

Furthermore, Secretary of State Robert Jenrick MP’s reasoning that it is a ‘local issue’ undermines UK leadership: it is widely understood that climate change and air pollution related to burning coal is a global problem.

MHCLG could still review the decision not to call in the mine because Cumbria County Council is yet to issue the final decision notice and subsequent planning permission. The grounds for this, including new information since the 6th January decision not to call it in, would be:

The Planning Unit had not had a chance to consider new information, notably the CCC letter of 29th January;

The national controversy caused by the mine, in particular since the 6th January decision – a stated reason for call-in is if it may “give rise to substantial cross-boundary or national controversy”;

If it involves the interests of foreign Governments – which is the case, given conflicts with COP26 diplomacy;

It “may conflict with national policies on important matters” – another stated reason for call-in – specifically climate change, as has been acknowledged both by the Chair of the Climate Change Committee and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Given that Cumbria County Council could issue its final decision notice very soon, time is of the essence. We believe strongly that the best way to resolve the issue would be for Secretary of State Robert Jenrick MP to call in the decision, and refer the matter to a public inquiry. Reversing this decision would help restore confidence in the UK government’s climate leadership both internationally and at home.

Anna Vickerstaff, UK lead, 350.org

Siobhan Harley, Campaigns Director, 38 Degrees

Andy Atkins, CEO, A Rocha UK

Gillian Kelly, Chair of Trustees, Ambleside Action For A Future

Dr Tony Gent, Chief Executive Officer, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Trust

Paul Pacifico, CEO, Association of Independent Music

Lucy Bywater, Chair, Bedfordshire Climate Change Forum

Neil Thorns, Director of Advocacy, CAFOD

Claire James, Campaigns Coordinator, Campaign against Climate Change

Laurie Lee, CEO, Care International

Peter Tyldesley, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Alternative Technology

Pete Moorey, Head of Campaigns and UK Advocacy, Christian Aid

James Thornton, CEO, ClientEarth

Ruth Balogh, Chair, Climate Emergency West Cumbria

Rachel Berger, Chair, Climate Friendly Bradford on Avon

Andy Atkins, Chair, Climate Sunday Initiative

Anne Harris, Campaigner, Coal Action Network

Revd Dr Kevin Snyman, Programme Officer, Commitment for Life, United Reformed Church

Crispin Truman, Chief Executive, CPRE The countryside charity

Karen Mitchell, CEO, Cumbria Action for Sustainability

Stephen Trotter, Chief Executive, Cumbria Wildlife Trust

Ellie Wyatt, Eco Action Families

Phil Macdonald, COO, Ember

Seán Mallon, Climate Change Specialist, Environmentally Conscious

Dr Shanon Shah, Director, Faith for the Climate

Jeffrey Newman, Emeritus Rabbi, Finchley Reform Synagogue

Miriam Turner & Hugh Knowles, Co-Executive Directors, Friends of the Earth England, Wales & Northern Ireland

Douglas Chalmers, Chief Executive, Friends of the Lake District

Nick Dearden, Director, Global Justice Now

Shaun Spiers, Executive director, Green Alliance

Deborah Tomkins and George Dow, Co-chairs, Green Christian

Graham Petersen, Secretary, Greener Jobs Alliance

John Sauven, Executive Director, Greenpeace UK

Paul Chitnis, Director, Jesuit Missions

Alison Tickell, Director, Julie’s Bicycle

Richard Solly, Co-ordinator, London Mining Network

Adrian Ramsay, CEO, MCS Charitable Foundation

Sophie Neuburg, Executive Director, Medact

Maddy Read Clarke, Campaign Director, Music Declares Emergency

Melissa Green, General Secretary, National Federation of Women’s Institutes

Miatta Fahnbulleh, Chief Executive, New Economics Foundation

Andrew Simms, co-director, New Weather Institute

Dr David W. Golding CBE PhD DSc DCL, Development Coordinator, North East Call to Action on Global Goverty and Climate Change

Jamie Drummond, Co-founder, ONE

Jacqueline Bourne, Founder Member, One World Voice

Sarah Hirom, Trustee, One World Week

Revd Dr Darrell Hannah, Chair, Operation Noah

Sam Nadel, Head of Policy and Advocacy, Oxfam GB

Carly Leonard, CEO, PECT

John Bodger, Chair, Penrith Action for Community Transition

Laura Clayson, Climate Change Campaigns Manager, People and Planet

Ian Dunn, CEO, Plantlife

Lauren MacCallum, General Manager, Protect Our Winters UK

Paul Parker, Recording Clerk, Quakers in Britain

Rosanne Palmer-White, UK Director, Restless Development

Beccy Speight, CEO, RSPB

Kirsty McNeil, Executive Director – Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, Save the Children

Dr Stuart Parkinson, Executive Director, Scientists for Global Responsibility

Craig Gamble Pugh, Co-Chair, Sheffield Climate Alliance.

Lindy Stone, Coordinator, Sheffield Friends of the Earth

Shane Holland FCMI FRSA, Executive Chairman, Slow Food in the UK (SFUK)

Jack Woodruff, Campaigns Representitive, Student Christian Movement

Chaitra Dinesh, National Director, Students for Global Health

Jamie Agombar, Executive Director, Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK)

Hugo Tagholm, CEO, Surfers Against Sewage

Henry Goodwin, Chairperson, Sustainable Carlisle.

Terry Sloan, Chair, Sustainable Keswick

Hugh Ellis, Director of Policy, TCPA

Paul Cook, Head of Advocacy, Tearfund

The Revd Margot R Hodson, Director of Theology and Education, The John Ray Initiative

Craig Bennett, Chief Executive, The Wildlife Trusts

John Bell, Officer, Transition Town Berkhamsted

Dr Alison Whybrow, Chair, Transition Town Kingston

UK Youth Climate Coalition

Ruth Balogh, Chair, West Cumbria and North Lakes Friends of the Earth

Richard Benwell, CEO, Wildlife and Countryside Link

Chris Holloway, Chair, WinACC

Kate Metcalf, Co-Director, Women’s Environmental Network

Abi Bunker, Director of Conservation and External Affairs, Woodland Trust

Katrina Judge, Founder, Young Climate Warriors

https://www.cpre.org.uk/news/our-letter ... coal-mine/

So Margaret Thatcher was an environmental visionary ahead of her time.

No.

by **Hurdergaryp** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:50 pm

The New California Republic wrote:
The Nihilistic view wrote:So Margaret Thatcher was an environmental visionary ahead of her time.

No.

More like an unintended collateral of her strict and unrelenting policies.

by **The New California Republic** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:55 pm

Hurdergaryp wrote:
The New California Republic wrote:No.

More like an unintended collateral of her strict and unrelenting policies.

It'd be like when the pollution levels went down during the first Covid lockdown, and the government claiming "yeah that was totally the intention!"

by **Dresderstan** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 7:48 pm

The New California Republic wrote:
Hurdergaryp wrote:More like an unintended collateral of her strict and unrelenting policies.

It'd be like when the pollution levels went down during the first Covid lockdown, and the government claiming "yeah that was totally the intention!"

It was an unintended plus tho.

by **The Huskar Social Union** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 5:42 am

Gregory Campbell: DUP MP's BLM remarks over Songs of Praise 'irresponsible'

by **An Alan Smithee Nation** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 6:41 am

Hauliers, who have a motive to play this up, say UK exports to the EU are down 68% since the Brexit trade deal.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brit ... A70G3?il=0

by **The Huskar Social Union** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:46 am

Revealed: Queen lobbied for change in law to hide her private wealth

The Queen successfully lobbied the government to change a draft law in order to conceal her “embarrassing” private wealth from the public, according to documents discovered by the Guardian.

A series of government memos unearthed in the National Archives reveal that Elizabeth Windsor’s private lawyer put pressure on ministers to alter proposed legislation to prevent her shareholdings from being disclosed to the public.

Following the Queen’s intervention, the government inserted a clause into the law granting itself the power to exempt companies used by “heads of state” from new transparency measures.

The arrangement, which was concocted in the 1970s, was used in effect to create a state-backed shell corporation which is understood to have placed a veil of secrecy over the Queen’s private shareholdings and investments until at least 2011.

The true scale of her wealth has never been disclosed, though it has been estimated to run into the hundreds of millions of pounds.

Evidence of the monarch’s lobbying of ministers was uncovered by a Guardian investigation into the royal family’s use of an arcane parliamentary procedure, known as Queen’s consent, to secretly influence the formation of British laws.

Unlike the better-known procedure of royal assent, a formality that marks the moment when a bill becomes law, Queen’s consent must be sought before legislation can be approved by parliament.

It requires ministers to alert the Queen when legislation might affect either the royal prerogative or the private interests of the crown.

The website of the royal family describes it as “a long established convention” and constitutional scholars have tended to regard consent as an opaque but harmless example of the pageantry that surrounds the monarchy.

But documents unearthed in the National Archives, which the Guardian is publishing this week, suggest that the consent process, which gives the Queen and her lawyers advance sight of bills coming into parliament, has enabled her to secretly lobby for legislative changes.

Thomas Adams, a specialist in constitutional law at Oxford University who reviewed the new documents, said they revealed “the kind of influence over legislation that lobbyists would only dream of”. The mere existence of the consent procedure, he said, appeared to have given the monarch “substantial influence” over draft laws that could affect her.

=CONTINUES=

by **Souseiseki** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:48 am

The Nihilistic view wrote:
The New California Republic wrote:There was a letter from over 70 organizations sent to BoJo a couple of days ago, protesting against the proposed coking coal mine in Whitehaven:

Dear Prime Minister,

We are writing to raise some very serious concerns about the decision to proceed with the Whitehaven coal mine in Cumbria.

As you know, the UK founded and co-chairs the Powering Past Coal Alliance and is President of this year’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. Given that our credibility, as host of the largest global climate talks since the signing of the Paris Agreement is at stake, it is mystifying that the government has decided not to intervene in the approval of the UK’s first deep coal mine in 30 years. This decision will make it much harder to fulfil the ambitions of the Powering Past Coal Alliance.

Alok Sharma MP, the COP president, when questioned before a Commons business select committee clearly understood that the mine approval was an embarrassment. The Climate Change Committee has urged the government to reconsider, highlighting that the increase in emissions from this mine alone would amount to more emissions than it has projected for all open UK coal mines to 2050.

New jobs need to be created, including in renewable energy, energy efficiency and alternatives to using coking coal in the steel industry. You have rightly talked about a green industrial revolution. The UK must lead the way with low-carbon technologies, rather than looking to the polluting industries of the past. It is crucial to support West Cumbria communities in their transition to genuinely sustainable employment. Research shows that concerted action and investment in green industries in the region would provide significantly more than the 500 jobs promised by the new mine.

The Climate Change Committee has said all coal, including coking coal, should be phased out by 2035. The government therefore risks allowing the creation of a stranded asset as the mine may be required to close only a few years after it opens. It also sends the wrong signal to all those countries who want to hold on to coal from Poland to China.

Furthermore, Secretary of State Robert Jenrick MP’s reasoning that it is a ‘local issue’ undermines UK leadership: it is widely understood that climate change and air pollution related to burning coal is a global problem.

MHCLG could still review the decision not to call in the mine because Cumbria County Council is yet to issue the final decision notice and subsequent planning permission. The grounds for this, including new information since the 6th January decision not to call it in, would be:

The Planning Unit had not had a chance to consider new information, notably the CCC letter of 29th January;

The national controversy caused by the mine, in particular since the 6th January decision – a stated reason for call-in is if it may “give rise to substantial cross-boundary or national controversy”;

If it involves the interests of foreign Governments – which is the case, given conflicts with COP26 diplomacy;

It “may conflict with national policies on important matters” – another stated reason for call-in – specifically climate change, as has been acknowledged both by the Chair of the Climate Change Committee and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Given that Cumbria County Council could issue its final decision notice very soon, time is of the essence. We believe strongly that the best way to resolve the issue would be for Secretary of State Robert Jenrick MP to call in the decision, and refer the matter to a public inquiry. Reversing this decision would help restore confidence in the UK government’s climate leadership both internationally and at home.

Anna Vickerstaff, UK lead, 350.org

Siobhan Harley, Campaigns Director, 38 Degrees

Andy Atkins, CEO, A Rocha UK

Gillian Kelly, Chair of Trustees, Ambleside Action For A Future

Dr Tony Gent, Chief Executive Officer, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Trust

Paul Pacifico, CEO, Association of Independent Music

Lucy Bywater, Chair, Bedfordshire Climate Change Forum

Neil Thorns, Director of Advocacy, CAFOD

Claire James, Campaigns Coordinator, Campaign against Climate Change

Laurie Lee, CEO, Care International

Peter Tyldesley, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Alternative Technology

Pete Moorey, Head of Campaigns and UK Advocacy, Christian Aid

James Thornton, CEO, ClientEarth

Ruth Balogh, Chair, Climate Emergency West Cumbria

Rachel Berger, Chair, Climate Friendly Bradford on Avon

Andy Atkins, Chair, Climate Sunday Initiative

Anne Harris, Campaigner, Coal Action Network

Revd Dr Kevin Snyman, Programme Officer, Commitment for Life, United Reformed Church

Crispin Truman, Chief Executive, CPRE The countryside charity

Karen Mitchell, CEO, Cumbria Action for Sustainability

Stephen Trotter, Chief Executive, Cumbria Wildlife Trust

Ellie Wyatt, Eco Action Families

Phil Macdonald, COO, Ember

Seán Mallon, Climate Change Specialist, Environmentally Conscious

Dr Shanon Shah, Director, Faith for the Climate

Jeffrey Newman, Emeritus Rabbi, Finchley Reform Synagogue

Miriam Turner & Hugh Knowles, Co-Executive Directors, Friends of the Earth England, Wales & Northern Ireland

Douglas Chalmers, Chief Executive, Friends of the Lake District

Nick Dearden, Director, Global Justice Now

Shaun Spiers, Executive director, Green Alliance

Deborah Tomkins and George Dow, Co-chairs, Green Christian

Graham Petersen, Secretary, Greener Jobs Alliance

John Sauven, Executive Director, Greenpeace UK

Paul Chitnis, Director, Jesuit Missions

Alison Tickell, Director, Julie’s Bicycle

Richard Solly, Co-ordinator, London Mining Network

Adrian Ramsay, CEO, MCS Charitable Foundation

Sophie Neuburg, Executive Director, Medact

Maddy Read Clarke, Campaign Director, Music Declares Emergency

Melissa Green, General Secretary, National Federation of Women’s Institutes

Miatta Fahnbulleh, Chief Executive, New Economics Foundation

Andrew Simms, co-director, New Weather Institute

Dr David W. Golding CBE PhD DSc DCL, Development Coordinator, North East Call to Action on Global Goverty and Climate Change

Jamie Drummond, Co-founder, ONE

Jacqueline Bourne, Founder Member, One World Voice

Sarah Hirom, Trustee, One World Week

Revd Dr Darrell Hannah, Chair, Operation Noah

Sam Nadel, Head of Policy and Advocacy, Oxfam GB

Carly Leonard, CEO, PECT

John Bodger, Chair, Penrith Action for Community Transition

Laura Clayson, Climate Change Campaigns Manager, People and Planet

Ian Dunn, CEO, Plantlife

Lauren MacCallum, General Manager, Protect Our Winters UK

Paul Parker, Recording Clerk, Quakers in Britain

Rosanne Palmer-White, UK Director, Restless Development

Beccy Speight, CEO, RSPB

Kirsty McNeil, Executive Director – Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, Save the Children

Dr Stuart Parkinson, Executive Director, Scientists for Global Responsibility

Craig Gamble Pugh, Co-Chair, Sheffield Climate Alliance.

Lindy Stone, Coordinator, Sheffield Friends of the Earth

Shane Holland FCMI FRSA, Executive Chairman, Slow Food in the UK (SFUK)

Jack Woodruff, Campaigns Representitive, Student Christian Movement

Chaitra Dinesh, National Director, Students for Global Health

Jamie Agombar, Executive Director, Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK)

Hugo Tagholm, CEO, Surfers Against Sewage

Henry Goodwin, Chairperson, Sustainable Carlisle.

Terry Sloan, Chair, Sustainable Keswick

Hugh Ellis, Director of Policy, TCPA

Paul Cook, Head of Advocacy, Tearfund

The Revd Margot R Hodson, Director of Theology and Education, The John Ray Initiative

Craig Bennett, Chief Executive, The Wildlife Trusts

John Bell, Officer, Transition Town Berkhamsted

Dr Alison Whybrow, Chair, Transition Town Kingston

UK Youth Climate Coalition

Ruth Balogh, Chair, West Cumbria and North Lakes Friends of the Earth

Richard Benwell, CEO, Wildlife and Countryside Link

Chris Holloway, Chair, WinACC

Kate Metcalf, Co-Director, Women’s Environmental Network

Abi Bunker, Director of Conservation and External Affairs, Woodland Trust

Katrina Judge, Founder, Young Climate Warriors

https://www.cpre.org.uk/news/our-letter ... coal-mine/

So Margaret Thatcher was an environmental visionary ahead of her time.

actually, yes

by **The Blaatschapen** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:53 am

The Huskar Social Union wrote:Revealed: Queen lobbied for change in law to hide her private wealth

The Queen successfully lobbied the government to change a draft law in order to conceal her “embarrassing” private wealth from the public, according to documents discovered by the Guardian.

A series of government memos unearthed in the National Archives reveal that Elizabeth Windsor’s private lawyer put pressure on ministers to alter proposed legislation to prevent her shareholdings from being disclosed to the public.

Following the Queen’s intervention, the government inserted a clause into the law granting itself the power to exempt companies used by “heads of state” from new transparency measures.

The arrangement, which was concocted in the 1970s, was used in effect to create a state-backed shell corporation which is understood to have placed a veil of secrecy over the Queen’s private shareholdings and investments until at least 2011.

The true scale of her wealth has never been disclosed, though it has been estimated to run into the hundreds of millions of pounds.

Evidence of the monarch’s lobbying of ministers was uncovered by a Guardian investigation into the royal family’s use of an arcane parliamentary procedure, known as Queen’s consent, to secretly influence the formation of British laws.

Unlike the better-known procedure of royal assent, a formality that marks the moment when a bill becomes law, Queen’s consent must be sought before legislation can be approved by parliament.

It requires ministers to alert the Queen when legislation might affect either the royal prerogative or the private interests of the crown.

The website of the royal family describes it as “a long established convention” and constitutional scholars have tended to regard consent as an opaque but harmless example of the pageantry that surrounds the monarchy.

But documents unearthed in the National Archives, which the Guardian is publishing this week, suggest that the consent process, which gives the Queen and her lawyers advance sight of bills coming into parliament, has enabled her to secretly lobby for legislative changes.

Thomas Adams, a specialist in constitutional law at Oxford University who reviewed the new documents, said they revealed “the kind of influence over legislation that lobbyists would only dream of”. The mere existence of the consent procedure, he said, appeared to have given the monarch “substantial influence” over draft laws that could affect her.

=CONTINUES=

"private interests of the crown."

That right there is good enough reason to abolish the monarchy. There is no private interest. The crown, as the head of state, only has one interest. The state. Whose affairs should be as public as possible.

by **The Huskar Social Union** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:55 am

The Blaatschapen wrote:
The Huskar Social Union wrote:Revealed: Queen lobbied for change in law to hide her private wealth

"private interests of the crown."

That right there is good enough reason to abolish the monarchy. There is no private interest. The crown, as the head of state, only has one interest. The state. Whose affairs should be as public as possible.

Cast the crown into the gutter and be done with it. Lets be honest though, nothing will happen.

by **The Nihilistic view** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 9:07 am

The Blaatschapen wrote:
The Huskar Social Union wrote:Revealed: Queen lobbied for change in law to hide her private wealth

"private interests of the crown."

That right there is good enough reason to abolish the monarchy. There is no private interest. The crown, as the head of state, only has one interest. The state. Whose affairs should be as public as possible.

Discussing the crown's wealth is unseemly.

by **The Blaatschapen** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 9:19 am

The Nihilistic view wrote:
The Blaatschapen wrote:
"private interests of the crown."

That right there is good enough reason to abolish the monarchy. There is no private interest. The crown, as the head of state, only has one interest. The state. Whose affairs should be as public as possible.

Discussing the crown's wealth is unseemly.

Nah, if the POTUS can have their tax declarations discussed, so can the head of state of your country. I can only assume that their wealth be shown on such documents

by **The Nihilistic view** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 9:27 am

The Blaatschapen wrote:
The Nihilistic view wrote:
Discussing the crown's wealth is unseemly.

Nah, if the POTUS can have their tax declarations discussed, so can the head of state of your country. I can only assume that their wealth be shown on such documents

Why are we comparing a republic to a monarchy?

UK Politics Thread XIII: The Brexit Ship Departs

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