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Welcome to the number one United Kingdom news blog where you will find only the most current news and happenings in the U.K. On our site you will find links to other top up news sources such as BBC and CNN, as well as historical referrences like the CIA Factbook. Be sure to continue to visit our site for the latest in English news!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Northern Rock bill gets approval


The bill to allow Northern Rock bank to be nationalised has become law after peers backed down in their demands for extra safeguards.

The Banking (Special Provisions) Bill, which cleared the Commons on Tuesday, ran into opposition in the Lords.

But MPs rejected peers' demands for an independent audit, and for the bank to come under Freedom of Information laws.

The Conservatives said it was a matter of "deep regret" that ministers had rejected the amendments "out of hand".

A third amendment requiring the Office of Fair Trading to report annually to Parliament on the impact on competition in the UK's banking market, was rejected without a vote by MPs, after ministers offered a compromise.

This article is a prime example of how strict the U.K. is about allowing foreign companies to become naturalized within the country.

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Judge YouTube


As a man who posted video online of himself speeding at 130mph has been handed a four-month suspended prison term, police are increasingly relying on YouTube as a crime fighting weapon.
When an anonymous e-mail dropped in the inbox of Suffolk Police last autumn the fate of Danny Hyde was sealed.
It drew to the attention of officers a video posted on YouTube of Hyde, 18, driving his Astra one-handed at 130mph along the A14 near Ipswich. He filmed it himself on his mobile phone and the footage included shots of the speedometer and the road ahead as he sped past other vehicles.

It's good evidence as long as you can get some proof that it's the person in the picture
Police managed to identify Hyde and he admitted the offence to magistrates, earning a four-month suspended prison term. It is another instance where police have used video-sharing sites like YouTube to track down bragging criminals.


This is just proof of how Great Britain is the most intrusive society on earth , If you put something on Youtube they will find you, This really shows how tight nit most areas of Britain really are

Why Churchill Lost in 1945


Between 1940 and 1945 Winston Churchill was probably the most popular British prime minister of all time. In May 1945 his approval rating in the opinion polls, which had never fallen below 78 per cent, stood at 83 per cent. With few exceptions, politicians and commentators confidently predicted that he would lead the Conservatives to victory at the forthcoming general election. '... it is hard to imagine anyone who could have played the role of national leader with greater success than Churchill ...'

In the event, he led them to one of their greatest ever defeats. It was also one for which he was partly responsible, because the very qualities that had made him a great leader in war were ill-suited to domestic politics in peacetime.Politicians are often rejected by voters because they have failed in office. But one of the reasons why Churchill lost the general election in 1945 was because he had succeeded in completing the almost superhuman task he had taken on in 1940, and in a way this made him redundant.

His first act as prime minister in 1940 was to invite the leaders of the Labour, Liberal and Conservative parties - Attlee, Sinclair and Chamberlain - to serve in a Coalition Government. This became the administration, robustly surviving external shocks and internal quarrels, that mobilised the British for total war, and it is hard to imagine anyone who could have played the role of national leader with greater success than Churchill did at that time.




This article is important because it focuses on one of if not Britains most like Prime Ministers and why he was not re-elected after his big World War II victory , this is one of historys biggest mystery. I suggest reading this full article.

Wright guilty of Suffolk murders

Steve Wright has been found guilty of murdering five women in Suffolk. The bodies of Gemma Adams, Tania Nicol, Anneli Alderton, Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls were found in Ipswich over a 10-day period in December 2006.

Wright, 49, of Ipswich, said during his trial that he had sex with four of the five women, who were working as prostitutes, but denied killing them.
Ipswich Crown Court jurors unanimously found him guilty of all five murders and he will be sentenced on Friday. 'Crucifix pose'

The trial heard the bodies of Miss Alderton and Miss Nicholls were found arranged with their arms outstretched in a crucifix pose. The prosecution said Wright "systematically selected and murdered" all five women over a six-and-a-half-week period.

Suffolk police began an inquiry after Miss Nicol, 19, vanished in late October 2006.
Two weeks later, Miss Adams, 25, vanished and detectives began a "major inquiry", saying there were "obvious similarities".
This was followed by the disappearance of Miss Alderton, 24, Miss Clennell, 24, and 29-year-old Miss Nicholls.

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This article is signifigant because it shows how bad crime can be even in countries where people have high amounts of security like in The U.K. No matter how much security you impose there will still be people who will do insane things.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

British citizenship tests planned


Immigrants who want to become British and settle permanently in the UK will need to pass more tests to "prove their worth" to the country under new plans.

Some migrants may also have to pay into a fund towards public services and have a period of "probationary citizenship".

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the UK should expect a "demonstration of commitment" and the process of becoming a citizen should be "more exacting".

The Tories called the plans, which do not cover EU citizens, a "gimmick".

Unveiling the proposals, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said future migrants would need to "earn" citizenship.

This scraps the current system which allows people to apply for naturalisation on the basis of how long they have lived in the UK.

Well, I guess the U.K. is going to have a drop in citizenship applications.

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Ex-MI6 boss denies killing Diana


MI6's former chief has denied that the intelligence service murdered Diana, Princess of Wales.

At the inquest into her death, Sir Richard Dearlove insisted he had not been aware of MI6 assassinating anyone in his 38-year career there.

He rejected claims by Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed that Diana was killed by MI6 on the orders of Prince Philip.

Mr Al Fayed's son Dodi and driver Henri Paul were also killed in a car crash in Paris in August 1997.

Sir Richard told the inquest that this was a "very personal allegation" given his role at the Secret

Intelligence Service - otherwise known as MI6 - at the time.

He was MI6's director of operations from 1994 to 1999, and served as head of the agency from 1999 to 2004.

He denied that any assassinations took place under his authority.

Once again, another conspiracy theory about the death of Princess Diana has been disproven.
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Monday, February 18, 2008

Friday, February 15, 2008

History of the Labour Party


The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. Founded in the early 20th century, it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the left in England, Scotland and Wales (but not in Northern Ireland, where the Social Democratic and Labour Party occupies a roughly similar position on the political spectrum). It has formed the national government of the United Kingdom since 1997. It is also the largest party in the Welsh Assembly Government in Wales and the second largest party in the Scottish Parliament. It holds the London mayoralty and is represented in the European Parliament. Its current leader is Gordon Brown.

The Labour Party surpassed the Liberal Party as the main opposition to the Conservatives in the early 1920s. It has had several spells in government, first as minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-31, then as a junior partner in the wartime coalition from 1940-1945, and then as a majority government, under Clement Attlee in 1945-51 and under Harold Wilson in 1964-70. Labour was in government again in 1974-79, under Wilson and then James Callaghan, though with a precarious and declining majority.

New Labour won a landslide 179 seat majority in the 1997 general election under the leadership of Tony Blair, its first general election victory since October 1974 and the first general election since 1970 in which it had exceeded 40% of the popular vote. The Labour Party's large majority in the House of Commons was slightly reduced to 167 in the 2001 general election and more substantially reduced to 66 in 2005.

Read the full article here.

The British Labour party has been one of the single most influential parties in the U.K. It has been the primary political leader in Parliament since its existance.

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Brown considers training payments


Gordon Brown wants to see poor families paid extra benefits if they take on work or skills training.

During his first visit to Wales as PM, he will call for a "contract" between government and the worst-off families.

He is examining a New York scheme which offers cash to encourage people back into work and education.

For the Tories, Chris Grayling said Mr Brown was "chasing headlines" after warning last month of benefits cuts for those who refused training.

Later Mr Brown will tell Welsh Labour's Llandudno conference that people must do what they can to take up work and acquire the skills to become employed.


If Brown's plan is enacted then it may reduce the crime rate even further than it is now. Also, this plan may help improve the economy as well.

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Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Food and petrol push up inflation

Rising food and petrol prices pushed up UK inflation in January, figures show.
Last month's Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation figure rose to 2.2%, up from 2.1% in December. The rate is the highest since June 2007. The Retail Price Index (RPI), which includes mortgage interest payments, rose to 4.1% from 4% in December.

However, while price growth was strong, it was not as quick as many analysts had feared, boosting hopes of further interest rate cuts in the UK this year. Below trend The Bank of England cut UK interest rates last week to 5.25% from 5.5% in an attempt to prevent a major slowdown in the economy.

But the Bank signalled that it was unlikely to cut rates as sharply as the US Federal Reserve - which has slashed borrowing costs to 3% - because of fears over inflationary pressures. "It will be some time yet before the MPC's inflation concerns evaporate," said Jonathan Loynes at Capital Economics. Many analysts are predicting that the Bank will keep rates on hold in order to get a clearer picture of long-term economic and inflationary trends, and the impact slower growth will have on consumer prices.

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This article is about the rising inflation in Great Britain. In Britain Their is a direct effect between our economy and theirs . These rates could be cause by our problems right now.