Britain- a new speaker of the house: 'Order!' - UK parliament to elect new Speaker for Brexit hot seat

British lawmakers will elect a new Speaker on Monday to take on the role of refereeing the next parliamentary instalment of the country's protracted struggle over Brexit.

Read more at :
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-speaker/order-uk-parliament-to-elect-new-speaker-for-brexit-hot-seat-idUKKBN1XE0VV

Brexit: Lord Sugar: I'd fire Theresa May and send Jeremy Corbyn on a nice little trip to Siberia

Lord Sugar has said that if the general election was an Apprentice task, he would fire Theresa May and that Jeremy Corbyn would have won.

However, he did say the prize for Mr Corbyn's win should be a trip to Siberia.

The businessman, who used to be a Labour Peer before he resigned under Ed Miliband and became independent - and supported the Conservatives in the recent general election, was speaking to Emma Barnett on BBC Five Live.

He also said that Boris Johnson and Michael Gove should be in prison, or at least have criminal records, for their claim during the referendum campaign that £350million a week would go to the NHS post-Brexit.

Lord Sugar also said that he thinks that he should be on the negotiating team for Brexit, and that the current team isn't up to the job as they are politicians rather than businessmen and women.
 
He said that it is unlikely he will be asked, however, because he has never even met Theresa May.

He explained that David Davis and Liam Fox aren't up to the job,"not because they're bad people, but because they're businesspeople, they're politicians, not negotiators. They've never been anything apart from politicians.

"You need to have the right people doing the job properly.

"I see this departure from the EU is one of the biggest things that has happened to the adult population in this country. It's near to something as big as the Second World War really. When the country goes to war...the Government overall, oppoisition and the whole of the House of Commons [work together].

"All of the brains of the Labour Party and all of the brains of the Tory Party need to get together and get a good deal, push aside all the politics, push aside all the jibing at each other and put the best negotiators together that we have in the country.

"When that's done, they can knock each other's brains out".

Read more: Lord Sugar: I'd fire Theresa May and send Jeremy Corbyn on a nice little trip to Siberia

Norway - Hacking: Norwegian Labour hacked by foreign group

The Norwegian Labour party's parliamentarian group has confirmed it was subjected to an attempted digital attack last autumn, which the Norwegian Police Security Service tied to 'foreign intelligence'. According to a report in Norwegian daily Dagbladet it was the same group that hacked the US Democrats that carried out the attack. It's not yet known whether the attack was successful, ahead of Norway's general elections in September.

Read more: Norwegian Labour hacked by foreign group

Britain: Sadiq Khan: London has chosen ‘hope over fear’ - by Robert Booth

Sadiq Khan: London's new Mayor

Sadiq Khan has been elected mayor of London, reclaiming the post for Labour after eight years of Conservative rule and becoming the first Muslim mayor of a major western capital.

Khan took 1,310,143 votes (57%) after second preferences were taken into account, beating Conservative Zac Goldsmith into second place on 994,614 (43%). His tally gave him the largest personal mandate of any politician in UK history.

The 45-year-old son of a Pakistani bus driver beat Zac Goldsmith at the end of a sometimes bitter campaign during which the Conservatives accused Khan of being “dangerous” and “pandering to extremists”. Labour complained that Goldsmith’s campaign was Islamophobic.

In his victory speech Khan said he was “deeply humbled by the hope and trust” voters placed in him, adding: “I want to thank every single Londoner for making the impossible possible.”

He added: “I’m so proud that Londoners have today chosen hope over fear and unity over division.”

The convincing win will provide solace to the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, after a poor set of election results overnight in Scotland, England and Wales. Khan becomes the first Labour leader at City Hall since the Conservatives’ Boris Johnson unseated Ken Livingstone in 2008.

Note EU-Digest: This is a fantastic victory of hope over fear and bigotry. All Londerers can be proud about this success which shows that there still is hope for a united, multi-cultural, multi-religious EU.

Read more: Labour's Sadiq Khan elected mayor of London | Politics | The Guardian

Brexit: EU referendum: Jeremy Corbyn warns of workers' rights 'bonfire' if UK leaves

To Be Or Not To Be

Jeremy Corbyn has warned there could be a "bonfire" of workers' rights if the UK votes to leave the EU in June.

The Labour leader claimed the Conservatives would "dump" equal pay, annual leave and maternity pay rights.

And he did not think "too many people" had come to the UK from inside the EU.

David Cameron said they disagreed on "lots of things" but welcomed Mr Corbyn's backing for EU membership - as Leave campaigners said the Labour leader "does not really mean it".

Making his first major speech of the EU campaign, Mr Corbyn stood by past criticisms of the EU but said Britain had to remain in to fight for social reform.

Read more: EU referendum: Jeremy Corbyn warns of workers' rights 'bonfire' if UK leaves - BBC News

Britain: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn brings quiet, calm manner to Parliament - CSMonitor.com

Jeremy Corbyn, the new leader of Britain's Labour Party, made good on his promise to introduce a more measured tone to the usually raucous 'prime minister's question time.'

David Cameron welcomed a more serious forum for posing and answering questions.

On his first appearance at the dispatch box, Jeremy Corbyn, the new leader of Britain's Labour Party, made good on his promise to introduce a more measured tone to the usually raucous "prime minister's question time."

Facing off against Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday, Corbyn asked a series of questions in a quiet and calm manner that invited a measured response, not a cutting one-line riposte.

It certainly made a change for one of the most recognizable features of British democracy, which has over the decades been nothing more than a shouting match between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.

Read more: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn brings quiet, calm manner to Parliament - CSMonitor.com

Britain: exit polls suggest Conservatives will win but without a majority - by Sarah Joanne Taylor

 Voting has closed in the UK’s tightest general election in decades. Exit polls suggest The Conservatives will come out on top, with a predicted 316 seats. Labour are expected to come out second, on 239 and the Scottish SNP third, with some 58 seats.

Read more: [LIVE] #GE2015: exit polls suggest Conservatives will win but without a majority | euronews, world news

Britain's 2015 Election Polls Show Closest Result In a Generation - by Alastair Jamieson

Britain is less than three weeks away from voting in its closest general election for almost a quarter of a century, with no obvious winner emerging despite clear differences on austerity, immigration and tax.

Polls suggest Prime Minister David Cameron hasn't done enough to secure an outright majority for his Conservatives after five years of power-sharing with the smaller Liberal Democrats — even after returning the U.K. economy to steady, if unspectacular, growth. 

Nor has Britain's main opposition Labour Party, steered to the left by a faltering Ed Miliband, established enough momentum to secure the 326 seats needed for victory in the House of Commons, Britain's lower house of parliament. 

Miliband himself said he was fighting the "tightest general election for a generation" and The Economist magazine called it "wildly unpredictable."

Read more: Britain's 2015 Election Polls Show Closest Result In a Generation - NBC News.com

Election fever hits Britain with start of general election campaign | euronews, world news

The countdown began on Monday to the UK general election due to be held on May 7.

The poll is being described as the most closely fought election in decades.

Parliament has been officially dissolved and Prime Minister David Cameron was driven to Buckingham Palace for a traditional audience with Queen Elizabeth.

Current polls suggest the ruling Conservatives and the main opposition Labour Party are neck and neck.
A latest Populus poll showed the number of seats each party is likely to win in the 650-member lower house of parliament.

As day one of campaigning gets underway, here's the latest poll projection http://gu.com/p/474a7?CMP=dis_2981 … #GE2015 

Read more: Election fever hits Britain with start of general election campaign | euronews, world news

Britain: Ukip To Win EU Parliament Election, Opinion Poll Reveals - by Aaron Akinyemi

The UK's right-wing eurosceptic UK Independence Party (Ukip) will win a majority of votes in the European Parliament election in May, according to a new ComRes poll.

The opinion poll, commissioned by the Independent on Sunday and the Sunday Mirror, puts Ukip  in the lead with 30%, two points ahead of Labour, which is on 28%.

The Conservative Party is in third place with 21%, followed by the Liberal Democrats on 8% and the Green Party on 6%.

A victory for Nigel Farage's Ukip Party, which currently has no seats in the UK House of Commons, could mean that the party doubles the 13 seats it won in Brussels in 2009.

The ComRes poll also found that Labour's poll lead for the 2015 UK general election has fallen by 2-3 points, but it is still in the lead at 35%.

Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party is in second place at 32%, followed by Ukip at 16% and the Liberal Democrats at 9%.

Click here to show your preference for which party you believe is best suited to lead Europe in the coming 5 years  in our EU-Digest poll.

Read more: Ukip To Win EU Parliament Election, Opinion Poll Reveals

The Netherlands: Diederik Samson elected new Dutch Labor Party leader

Diederik Samson

MP Diederik Samsom was elected the new leader of the Dutch Labor Party. He won with 54 percent of the vote in the first round of a members’ poll. Former culture minister Ronald Plasterk came second with 31.6 percent.

The 40-year-old MP has been a parliamentarian since 2003. He succeeds Job Cohen, who stepped down following continuous criticism of his weak and often unappreciated bi-partisan leadership.

Immediately following his election win Mr. Samson announced he would be on the attack against what he saw as “foolish and sometimes outright indecent cabinet policies" of the present Dutch Government headed by conservative Mark Rutte, supported by the anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim PVV party of Geert Wilders.

Following his win Mr Samson was officially crowned the leader of the Labor Party today during a festive party congress in Rotterdam.

The other candidates in the labor party leadership race, Nebahat Albayrak ( a Dutch citizen from Turkish descent), Ronald Plasterk, Martijn van Dam and Lutz Jacobi all said they would back Samson’s leadership.

In his acceptance speech in Rotterdam today Samson told party members "Labor will only support the Rutte government in its European policy if it adopts a more pro-European stance". Samson said,“Europe should once again become a project of hope and also a social project, that goes well beyond markets and money”.

The Rutte minority government could face some stormy weather ahead. In the past it had always relied on Labor and other opposition parties for support when it came to their European policy, rather than on that of  its official ally, the Freedom Party of Geert Wilders, which sees Europe as a source of unwelcome immigrants and costly commitments.

EU-Digest

The Netherlands: Turk to stand for Dutch Labor party leadership in Netherlands

Nebahat Albayrak, an ethnic Turk, will stand for the election of chairman of the Netherlands’ main opposition, the Social Democratic Labor Party, after the resignation of Job Cohen, daily Hürriyet has reported.

Speaking to news web site Nu.nl, Albayrak, 43, said the minority government had been unable to produce solutions to the country’s problems.

Already the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Albayrak said the country could be saved by a coalition government composed of progressive parties. “I want to build a bridge between all parties that will make the Netherlands a more powerful and social country,” Albayrak said.

Note EU-Digest: maybe we should refrain from identifying people by their ethnic origin. This has been the cause of many nationalistic problems in the past.  Mrs. Nebahat Albayrak is a Dutch citizen, born in Turkey, who has worked her way up in becoming a respected Dutch politician, and that is what is most important.

For more: POLITICS - Turk to stand for Dutch Labor party leadership in Netherlands

Netherlands: Labour leader Job Cohen stands down and quits parliament

Labour leader Job Cohen is standing down as both head of the parliamentary party and as an MP with immediate effect, the PvdA announced on Monday afternoon.

Cohen, the former mayor of Amsterdam, took over the job before the 2010 general election, winning the party 30 seats in parliament, just one less than the ruling VVD. Since then, however, the party's fortunes have plummeted and last week there was renewed speculation about the direction of the party and Cohen's position

Cohen said in a statement on the PvdA website he wanted to contribute to a 'decent society' but had been unable to bring that message across sufficiently. Matters came to a head last week when Cohen and new party chairman Hans Spekman gave an interview to Trouw which seemed to indicate they planned a move to the left. The interview was criticised by a number of PvdA stalwarts and according to some reports, over half of the Labour MPs wanted Cohen to quit.

For more: DutchNews.nl - Labour leader Job Cohen stands down and quits parliament

Britain: New labour Leader Ed Milibands optimistc speech : "ready to lead a new generation"

"Freedom and opportunity are precious gifts and the purpose of our politics is to expand them, for all our people. That faith is not something I chose. It's not something I learned from books, even from my Dad's books. It was something I was born into."

"I come from a generation that suffered school lessons in porta-cabins and crumbling hospitals. I tell you one thing, for the eighteen years they were in power the Tories did nothing to fix the roof when the sun was shining. Our legacy is a generation for whom newly built schools and modernised hospitals are an everyday fact of life. I am proud of the fact that because of what we did, yes we did save the National Health Service in this country."


"You saw the worst financial crisis in a generation, and I understand your anger that Labour hadn't changed the old ways in the City which said deregulation was the answer."


"This generation wants to change our economy so that it works better for working people and doesn't just serve the needs of the few at the top. This generation wants to change our society so that it values community and family, not just work, because we understand there is more to life than the bottom line. This generation wants to change the way government works because it understands the power of the state to change lives but also how frustrating it can be if not reformed."

"This generation wants to change our foreign policy so that it's always based on values, not just alliances."

Note EU-Digest: an excellent optimistic speech  by Ed Mileband which can serve as an example for every moderate European politician to take in combating the rising wave of nationalistic right-wing doomsday rhetoric.

For the complete speech click on this link : Labour conference: Ed Miliband speech in full | Politics | guardian.co.uk