Politics

By Pieter Cranenbroek In 1975 Britain overwhelmingly voted in favour of staying in the European Economic Community in a referendum organised by Harold Wilson’s Labour government. Forty years on, the British people will soon face the choice of renewing their vows or filing for divorce. In many ways it looks like a rerun of those past events: there’s a divided governing party, a prominent right-wing populist campaigning against Europe and a left that looks increasingly likely to campaign on both ends....

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor After watching 20-year-old Mhairi Black’s maiden speech, when she showed how a young politician should conduct oneself, in a non-precocious or cringe worthy way(William Hague take note) I settled down to the last PMQs until after the summer recess. I hoped that established politicians had seen her speech and a breath of fresh air had blown through politics, which would enlighten me. Obviously they didn’t and I wasn’t. Harriet Harman, who was cheered by the...

Satire: Foxes Offered Last Minute Bailout Deal Britain’s wild foxes have been offered a last minute bailout deal by The Conservatives after talks to save the species from privileged countryside toffs reached a drawn-out conclusion. Leaders have agreed to keep the current legislation in place after marathon talks went on well in to the night. Under the deal, hunters will continue to overlook legal restrictions as long as anti-campaigners promise to restructure their attacks to focus exclusively on class warfare,...

By Nathan Lee, TLE Correspondent  Queen guitarist and animal campaigner Brian May is set to lead a protest urging policymakers to keep the Hunting Act intact outside Westminster on Tuesday. The musician and activist - along with May's Save Me Trust, PETA, the RSPCA, the League Against Cruel Sports, Born Free, Lush and Humane Society International – will descend on Westminster in an attempt to make the public aware of the high stakes of the vote: that amending the existing rules to...

By Nathan Lee, TLE Correspondent  Social media sentiment graphs have revealed that there has been a shift towards a more positive mentality in the latest London Underground Tube Strike, with the British 'keep calm and carry on' sentiment prevailing. Research by Falcon Social found sentiment on Wednesday evening as disruption first started was mostly negative.   However, that took a complete shift this morning when a lot of humour and good natured reactions featured amongst the top Twitter mentions. Not...

By Ben Gelblum, TLE Correspondent @BenGelblum What an excellent budget. As long as you are long-term employed, in a well paying job, under the age of 25, live in the South East and aren't ill or disabled then your chum George Osborne, king of the middle class elite, has delivered an absolute corker. Of course, that leaves a lot of people unaccounted for. The living wage (that isn't the living wage) is one of very few concessions offered to the...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor People expected an iron bar smashed across their face, instead they got a solid head butt. So, strangely, lying on the floor wiping the blood from your nose, you might feel slightly relived at today’s budget. PMQs was fairly flat as everyone waited for Osborne’s emergency budget, has there ever been a positive emergency? Of all the welfare cuts, inheritance tax give-aways and war on pot holes (we have worse roads than Namibia apparently), one...

By Rohan Chatterjee @RohanChatterje1 On Saturday, all eyes in Latin America turned to the Copa América final in Santiago, Chile. The tournament hosts, Chile, beat Argentina from spot kicks in the Estadio Nacional as La Roja booked their place in the history books by winning their first Copa in its 99- year history. As is customary in Chilean football, the entire country was abuzz with excitement as 47,000 expectant fans crammed into the Estadio Nacional, creating a carnivalesque atmosphere. That is, all...

By Sean Michael Wilson Has any one else picked up on a perverse territorial defence mechanism being used against immigrants who challenge aspects of their adopted country? I recently saw a Japanese person say the following to a foreign person on Facebook during a long debate involving several people, both Japanese and non-Japanese: “…if you don't like Japan, you can get out from Japan any time you want!!! This is not your country. Why don't you go back to your country…” It was...