70th Anniversary of Dunkirk - "Operation Dynamo"

Today is the 70th Anniversary of Dunkirk - On this day 1940: Dunkirk evacuation begins.

From the BBC Archives: WWII: Dunkirk Evacuation - How the 'little ships' helped rescue the Allied troops

The Association of Dunkirk Little Ships:
70th Anniversary Commemorative Return to Dunkirk

Hear stories from veterans who were there via the Imperial War Museum's YouTube channel

Codenamed Operation Dynamo, a flotilla of 900 naval and civilian craft – the latter were called “the little ships” – were sent across the English channel to rescue an entire army, the defeated British Expeditionary Force.

338,000 troops were rescued from the beaches between May 27 and June 4, 1940.

Prime Minister, Winston Churchill oversaw the incredible plan to rescue the British (and French) soldiers from the beaches of France via hundreds of seaworthy boats.

Events to mark the the 70th anniversary are being held around the country as well as in France and Belgium.

Fleet marks Dunkirk anniversary (via BBC News)

Ramsgate’s Dynamo Day 2010 - The 70th Anniversary of the Dunkirk Little Ships

2010 State Opening of Parliament

I'm not a royalist but I do enjoy watching all the pomp and circumstance of official events such as the Queens Speech from the Lords today for the State Opening of Parliament for the 2010-11 session.

A carriage procession takes the Queen to Parliament and back to the Palace. I wonder how comfortable it is to ride in that (magnificent) carriage.

Via BBC News: In pictures: State Opening of Parliament

Did you know a whip was held hostage? Top Ten Queen's Speech facts

The Queen's Speech consisted of reading the new government's 23 bills and one draft bill put forward by the coalition government today. The bills include tax, political reform, schools, civil liberties and immigration.

The full list of Bills announced

I'm particularly pleased with the Freedom (Great Repeal) Bill which will roll back the power of the state, restoring freedoms and civil liberties.

With parliament now officially open, there was a break until this afternoon when David Cameron made his first big appearance as Prime Minister.

I watched some of the Queen's Speech Debate. I thought David Cameron was on fire! I loved his retort concerning the House of Lords, saying former Labour PM Tony Blair had "appointed more peers than any prime minister in British history". And he added that Labour had 13 years to reform the House of Lords. Well said!

I didn't think it was particularly clever of Harriet Harman to mock the Cameron-Clegg coalition by saying:

"While the happy couple are enjoying the thrill of the rose garden, the in-laws are saying they're just not right for each other. We keep telling them that you can't pay couples to stay together. It's clear it will take more than a three-quid-a-week tax break to keep this marriage together."

One of Cameron's valid points was made early in the debate:

"Not one word of apology for the appalling mess that has been left in this country. Nothing to say about leaving Britain with a deficit that is bigger than Greece's. Not a single idea for getting to grips with it. Until they learn what they got so badly wrong I'm not sure people are going to listen to them again."

So, it's back to business now that the general election is over and Parliament is officially open with the new coalition Government in charge.

I think both parties (Conservatives and Liberal Democrats) are making a tremendous effort to form a coalition goverment and should be commended. Personally, I'm quite excited about what the future holds!

What do you think about the new coalition government? Are you optimistic or do you think they will have difficulty making it work?

And what are your thoughts about all the pomp and ceremony of the State Opening of Parliament? Do you enjoy the whole tradition or do you disapprove?

Prime Minister Cameron and Deputy PM Clegg hold first press conference

Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg have held their first joint press conference today.

I thought it was a very impressive press conference. They both seemed very comfortable presenting together and taking turns answering questions from the journalists.

A couple snippets:
Cameron : "the national interest is more important than the party interest."
Clegg: "until today we were rivals and now we're colleagues."

The best moment (and very funny) was when a Five reporter reminded Cameron about his reply to the question "What's your favourite joke?" Cameron had replied: "Nick Clegg". The reporter asked Cameron if he regretted saying that now.

"Did you really say that?" Clegg asked.

"I'm afraid I did say that", Cameron told Clegg.

The Deputy PM then jokingly pretended to walk away, telling Cameron: "I'm off", as the PM shouted: "Come baaaack".

"We're all going to have things thrown back at us," Cameron said. "We're looking at the bigger picture. ... And if it means swallowing some humble pie, and if it means eating some of your words, I cannot think of a more excellent diet."

Watch the amusing moment here:

New coalition Government abolishing ID cards scheme!

This (fabulous) news made my day:

Hallelujah!! Identity cards and National Identity Register to be cancelled!! YES!

Identity cards

Both Parties that now form the new Government stated in their manifestos that they will cancel Identity Cards and the National Identity Register. We will announce in due course how this will be achieved. Applications can continue to be made for ID cards but we would advise anyone thinking of applying to wait for further announcements.

Until Parliament agrees otherwise, identity cards remain valid and as such can still be used as an identity document and for travel within Europe. We will update you with further information as soon as we have it.

Via Home Office - Identity and Passport Service (IPS)

Notice the wording. Not if they will be cancelled - but how this wll be achieved. Excellent news!

A New Day Dawns with Historic Coalition Government!

So, after all the hoopla since the General Election last Thursday, it all happened very quickly late yesterday. The Labour Party were unsuccessful with making a deal with the LibDems so Gordon Brown resigned and made way for David Cameron to become the new Prime Minister. Gordon Brown also resigned as leader of the Labour Party. Deputy Harriet Harman replaces him until a successor is elected

David Cameron is the youngest Prime Minister for 198 years, and Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader as Deputy Prime Minister, will be the first Liberal for nearly 90 years to hold power in Britain.

I find it all very exciting. A new day has dawned with a new government. The creation of a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition is a historic event. Today, they start working together for the good of the country.

David Cameron enters No10 as Prime Minister



What are your thoughts about the new Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government? Are you pleased? Excited? Worried? What are your expectations?

The Hoxton Hotel: next £1 sale, 13th May!

It's time again for the £1 sale at The Hoxton Hotel

Thursday 13th May at 12.00pm (midday)

500 rooms at £1
and
500 rooms at £29

Available 14th May - 31st August 2010

"How to book" guide

(You are only allowed to book one room, for one night at a £1 price).

Hoxton Hotel
81 Great Eastern Street
London
EC2A 3HU

Good Luck - this sale is extremely popular! During their last sale in January, they sold all 1,000 rooms within 13 minutes and had over 300,000 people trying to book.


Please note:
I have no connection with The Hoxton Hotel - I just like to pass along information about a great deal.

British politics and political jargon

Over the years, I've become very interested in politics in the UK and thought I knew quite a bit about how the British political system works but this latest General Election has made me realize how much I don't know.

I thought I would share a list of political terms and acronyms in this post since a lot of my readers are from various parts of the world and I'm sure they are even more bafffled by it all, than I am!

The United Kingdom (UK) is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional Monarch as Head of State.


There are three main political parties in the UK:

Conservative Party (also known as Tories)  Centre-right
The leader of the Opposition and Conservative Party leader is David Cameron.

Labour Party  Centre-left
The incumbent Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party is Gordon Brown

Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems) - a centrist to centre-left political party
The leader of the Liberal Democrats party is Nick Clegg

Other Political Parties:
Democratic Unionist Party - the DUP is the largest party in Northern Ireland
Scottish National Party - the SNP is fighting for Scottish Independence
Sinn Fein - Irish republican party seeking to end British rule in Northern Ireland
Plaid Cymru - the Party of Wales - in favour of Welsh independence.
Social Democratic and Labour Party - Constitutional Irish nationalist party in Northern Ireland
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland - Liberal party in Northern Ireland
Green Party of England and Wales - environmentalist party. Favours British republicanism
Ulster Unionist Party - Unionist party in Northern Ireland
UK Independence Party (UKIP) Libertarian, seeking Britain's withdrawal from the European Union
Scottish Green Party - Environmentalist party in favour of Scottish independence.
Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) is a small loyalist political party from Northern Ireland.
Green Party in Northern Ireland - Environmentalist party in Northern Ireland.
British National Party (BNP) - a far-right party, has its roots in the neo-Nazi group the National Front

The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom - the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The House of Commons is the name of the elected lower house. The party with the largest number of members in the Commons forms the government.
The House of Lords (also known as House of Peers for ceremonial purposes) is the upper house of the Parliament and is also known as "the Lords".

A Member of Parliament (MP) is a representative of the voters to a parliament.

The Prime Minister is not elected by the people. The political party is elected and the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons usually becomes the prime minister.

A hung parliament (also known as a minority parliament or balanced parliament) is a legislature in which no political party has an absolute majority of seats.

A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several parties cooperate.

The UK is one of 27 member states of the European Union and is subject to European Union (EU) legislation.

A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament, one of the European Union's two legislative bodies.
UK Office of the European Parliament

The single transferable vote (STV) is a preferential voting system designed to minimize "wasted" votes, provide proportional representation, and ensure that votes are explicitly cast for individual candidates rather than party lists.

Proportional representation (PR) or full representation, is a type of voting system aimed at securing a close match between the percentage of votes that groups of candidates obtain in elections, and the percentage of seats they receive.

First past the post (FPTP or FPP) voting refers to an election determined by the highest polling candidate(s). The British electoral system is based on the "First-Past-The-Post" (FPTP) system.

The West Lothian question - refers to the constitutional anomaly created by the devolution of power to Scotland. Because laws for issues such as health care, education and crime are now made in the Scottish Parliament, MPs representing Scottish seats cannot vote on them. But they can still vote on laws affecting those issues in England, which are still made in the House of Commons.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own assemblies, while England does not.

England doesn't have its own parliament. Issues that affect England are decided by the UK government, which consists of MPs from all over the UK.

The Barnett Formula was designed as a temporary measure by Lord Barnett, then the Labour chief secretary to the Treasury, in 1978 as a system for the division of public spending. It has been retained as the basis for funding the three devolved (Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) governments.

The Day After the Election - and the results are in: a Hung Parliament!

Well after all that, the election results are in but with no clear majority. Britain has a hung Parliament for the first time in 36 years. (link via Channel 4 News)

Gordon Brown is still Prime Minister - but for how much longer? Should Brown resign?

The Conservative Party has the most votes and the most seats and have the right to govern but the Conservatives are 20 short of the 326 seat threshold for an outright majority.

Brown is waiting to see if David Cameron will be able to form a government with the Liberal Democrats. Their leader, Nick Clegg, now has the nickname "Kingmaker" because both the Tories and the Labour parties need the Liberal Democrat's support to to form a government.

Nick Clegg announced today that the Tories have earned the right to govern (the Conservative Party has most votes and most seats) by coalition, and that he had promised he would support the Party that got the most votes. Nick Clegg is doing the honourable thing, even though he knows it's not a popular decision.

And Brown acknowledged that the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have the first chance to establish a coalition but also made it clear that he would be willing to form a coalition with Nick Clegg, if the Liberal Democrats and Conservative deal breaks down.

Mr Cameron spoke today about a possible deal: "I want to make a big, open and comprehensive offer to the Liberal Democrats. I want us to work together in tackling our country's big and urgent problems - the debt crisis, our deep social problems and our broken political system." David Cameron also pointed out their common agreement about issues such as civil liberties and getting rid of the ID cards.

So, is a Conservative/Liberal Democrats coalition a real possibility? I have to say that I'm hoping it is. I'm particularly happy about the promise to get rid of the ID cards.

What are your thoughts about the election? Did you vote? There were reports about some people who tried to vote but were turned away at 10pm when the polling stations closed even though they arrived well before closing time. Were you one of those people who were turned away?

What do you think about a hung Parliament?

Do you think a Conservative/Lib Dems coalition could work?

Do you think another Genaral Election will be called soon? 

It will be very interesting to see what happens next!