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Politics

Posts on government and governence at national and local level, political parties,politicians, and political participation

Categories under Politics

McClay accused of supporting China’s mass detention of muslims

Written By: - Date published: 8:26 am, January 17th, 2020 - 51 comments

Freedom House has criticised National MP Todd McClay for reinforcing Chinese descriptions of the mass imprisonment of Muslim minorities as vocational training centres.

Why UK Labour lost?  Part 8: What it takes to win

Written By: - Date published: 7:18 am, January 16th, 2020 - 6 comments

Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s blog 

The UK Labour Party in the 2019 election assumed that like in 2017, the release of their policy manifesto would see their support increase significantly. Assuming that 2019 would be a re-run of 2017 was a foolish mistake.

Why UK Labour lost?  Part 7: Momentum and the Corbynistas

Written By: - Date published: 10:23 pm, January 15th, 2020 - 10 comments

Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s blog 

Momentum and its supporters need to find a way of selling genuine social democratic politics to a conservative English public.

Why UK Labour lost? Part 6: New Labour & Blairism

Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, January 15th, 2020 - 10 comments

Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s blog

Fact is that the world has moved on from the 1980s and 90s. Politics certainly has. The types of 3rd way or centre/centre right positions that Blair and Campbell think will win just won’t anymore.

Housing consents at highest level since 1974

Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, January 15th, 2020 - 20 comments

Statistics New Zealand has confirmed that in the last year the number of new housing consents was the highest since 1974.

National politicises police by claiming Government is politicising police

Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, January 14th, 2020 - 19 comments

Simon Bridges has alleged the police of being politicised after a person who holds rather right wing views and libertarian views on gun ownership had a search warrant for illegal firearms executed on his property.

Why UK Labour lost? Part 5: Antisemitism

Written By: - Date published: 6:29 am, January 14th, 2020 - 13 comments

Originally posted onNick Kelly’s blog

Why UK Labour lost? Part 4: Ooooh Jeremy Corbyn

Written By: - Date published: 3:13 am, January 14th, 2020 - 12 comments

Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s blog

Why UK Labour lost? Part 3: Its Brexit innit

Written By: - Date published: 6:14 am, January 13th, 2020 - 28 comments

Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s blog

Why UK Labour lost? Part 2: UK Labour’s Strange loyalty to First Past the Post.

Written By: - Date published: 2:56 am, January 13th, 2020 - 13 comments

Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s Blog

Why UK Labour lost? Part 1: historical context

Written By: - Date published: 10:34 am, January 12th, 2020 - 2 comments

Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s blog

How To Get There 12/01/20

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, January 12th, 2020 - 42 comments

Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.  

Guest Post – What is wrong with the left?

Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, January 10th, 2020 - 168 comments

Guest post from old maaaaate cans about recent Stuff guest columns attacking the left for not civilised enough and wondering if it is because of right wing insecurity.

 

Royal Move

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, January 10th, 2020 - 28 comments

It’s great to hear Prince Harry and Meghan quitting as senior royals and going off on their own.  Maybe others in the Royal Family should think of doing the same.

Iran attacks US bases in Iraq

Written By: - Date published: 2:11 pm, January 8th, 2020 - 174 comments

There are reports of two US bases being hit by missiles launched from within Iran and it is being reported that Iran’s air force is in the air.

Simon Bridges went to China

Written By: - Date published: 11:21 am, January 8th, 2020 - 44 comments

It has been revealed that Simon Bridges’trip to China last year was organised by National MP and former teacher of English to Chinese spies Jian Yang and that an offer of assistance from MFAT was declined.

Qasem Soleimani murdered by the United States.

Written By: - Date published: 2:04 am, January 8th, 2020 - 11 comments

Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s blog

LBJ Redux

Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, January 7th, 2020 - 36 comments

What if the American assassination of General Soleimani results in the complete withdrawal of US troops from the Middle East?

Get out now

Written By: - Date published: 2:21 pm, January 6th, 2020 - 76 comments

General Soleimani was visiting Iraq at the request of the Iraqi Prime Minister to discuss mediation between the US and Iran. Following his assassination by the US the Iraqi Parliament has voted to ask all foreign troops to leave the country. New Zealand’s remaining troops should bring forward their scheduled departure and leave immediately.

 

How To Get There 05/01/20

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, January 5th, 2020 - 24 comments

Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.  

Known Knowns and All the Other Ones

Written By: - Date published: 12:49 am, January 4th, 2020 - 6 comments

We cannot know everything and our only option is to trust others who know stuff that we don’t.

That 1914 Feeling

Written By: - Date published: 10:28 pm, January 3rd, 2020 - 104 comments

President Trump personally ordered the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s elite military Quds force. He was killed by rockets fired from US drones over Baghdad Airport.  This is unlawful by any standards, as well as an act of war. Iran has promised retaliation.The doomsday clock just moved closer to midnight.

New book reveals Le Carré’s bleak view of post-Brexit world 

Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, January 3rd, 2020 - 5 comments

John le Carré’s 26th book, Agent Running in the Field, which, according to the publishers is his take on Brexit, and suggests a dystopian future for European liberal democracies in a post-Brexit world. It follows John le Carré’s overarching theme – with friends like these, who needs enemies?

Goodbye 2019

Written By: - Date published: 3:04 pm, January 1st, 2020 - 8 comments

Throughout the world 2019 was the worst year for the left since 1979. What will 2020 bring?

How To Get There: New Years Day edition

Written By: - Date published: 10:17 am, January 1st, 2020 - 63 comments

It’s tempting to think of the 2020s as the do or die decade, but deep, abiding, life affirming change will come from framing that also makes people feel good.

The power of positive campaigning

Written By: - Date published: 2:42 pm, December 31st, 2019 - 123 comments

With the 2020 election just round the corner and recent complaints about the left’s treatment of the #TurnArdern campaign it is a perfect time to think about the importance of language and positive uplifting campaign themes.

Bridges and the Robertson trial

Written By: - Date published: 8:53 am, December 30th, 2019 - 22 comments

National has released a video of Simon Bridges talking about the trial he conducted against Tony Robertson and suggesting he is in politics to change the law.  But the particular law he appears to be targeting was unchanged during the term of the last National Government.

Why the Tories won the UK election?

Written By: - Date published: 2:29 am, December 30th, 2019 - 9 comments

Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s blog 

What if Trump wins again?

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, December 29th, 2019 - 124 comments

We may as well prepare ourselves for Trump overperforming his popularity again and winning. We’ve had to deal with left’s retreat in most of the world in 2019. So let’s prepare and plot some likely accelerated changes in Trump’s second term.

How To Get There 29/12/19

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, December 29th, 2019 - 6 comments

Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.  

It Is the Thought That Counts

Written By: - Date published: 12:33 am, December 28th, 2019 - 70 comments

Antagonistic personalities are an obstacle to effective politics tackling major present problems.