All posts tagged: party

A moment that changed me: I walked into the party, shy and anxious. I walked out a whole new woman | Life and style

A moment that changed me: I walked into the party, shy and anxious. I walked out a whole new woman | Life and style

Published by skeptic

In 2001, after spending a year studying in Beijing as part of our degree, two friends and I decided to travel to Mongolia and Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway. We did everything as cheaply as possible, to the extent that I was terrified we were going to be flung off the train at the Mongolia-Russia border, because we’d got our visas from a tiny, dodgy-looking agency in a random tower block in Beijing. Being worried was pretty much my default state at that time. I found talking to strangers difficult, and struggled to raise my hand in class. I was always terrified of making mistakes. Though it wasn’t a devastating shyness, I envied the way that friends and classmates always seemed at home in different groups and situations – a feeling that had always eluded me. Studying Chinese was both a way of facing my fears head-on and a constant source of anxiety, as it demanded a willingness to make a complete fool of myself (the perils of a tonal language) and a confidence that …

Deepfake video of Nigel Farage playing Minecraft ‘of course’ not real, party says | Artificial intelligence (AI)

Deepfake video of Nigel Farage playing Minecraft ‘of course’ not real, party says | Artificial intelligence (AI)

Published by skeptic

The video is clear: Nigel Farage, appearing on screen as a gaming livestreamer, is commentating as he plays Minecraft. The Reform UK party leader explains that he has logged on to Rishi Sunak’s server, tracked down the prime minister’s virtual home in the video game, and intends to blow it up. Farage’s distinctive voice can be heard as he explains what he’s about to do: “I filled it to the brim with TNT. And for everyone’s information there were absolutely no traces of Sky TV services in or around the house.” A mildly exasperated spokesperson for Farage confirmed that the video was “of course” not real and the Reform party leader had not been spending the campaign livestreaming Minecraft commentary. “Quite funny though,” the spokesperson added. The spokesperson’s reaction sums up the role of deepfake videos during this general election, as they so far fail to cause the disruption that some had predicted before the campaign. Instead, deepfakes – digital content that has been manipulated using artificial intelligence, often to purportedly show famous people in …

What each party promises voters in its UK general election manifesto | Manifestos 2024

What each party promises voters in its UK general election manifesto | Manifestos 2024

Published by skeptic

Of the big parties contesting the election outside Northern Ireland, all but the Scottish National party and Reform UK have now released their manifestos. So what is on offer thus far to voters on 4 July? Economy, tax and spending You could very broadly split the fiscal offerings into two camps: the disinclination to raise taxes among Labour and the Conservatives; and the less rigid approach of the Liberal Democrats and Greens. Within this, of course, are many other distinctions. Labour’s manifesto promises £7.4bn of tax rises, including a pledge to levy VAT on private school fees, one to tighten the taxation of non-doms, and one to widen the windfall tax on oil and gas companies. That pays for just £4.8bn in new spending, which will pay for more teachers and nurses as well as green investment. The Tories have much bigger commitments on both spending and raising money. The party is planning to cut £17bn in taxes, mainly by reducing the rate of national insurance. But it is less specific on how it will …

It’s your funeral! How to plan ahead for the best party you’ll never attend | Australian lifestyle

It’s your funeral! How to plan ahead for the best party you’ll never attend | Australian lifestyle

Published by skeptic

Years before the indomitable Joan Rivers died in 2014 she immortalised hopes for her own farewell in her memoir. “I want my funeral to be a huge showbiz affair with lights, cameras, action … I want Meryl Streep crying, in five different accents. I don’t want a eulogy; I want Bobby Vinton to pick up my head and sing Mr Lonely.” Needless to say some details were changed, but the resulting affair was perhaps even more spectacular than the queen of snark would have hoped for. Along with performances from Hugh Jackman and Broadway star Audra McDonald, it featured a eulogy from notorious shock-jock Howard Stern and the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus singing Big Spender. The bagpipers of the New York police department played as mourners escorted her body from the synagogue. Hunter S Thompson’s ashes go up in smoke in Colorado in August 2005. Photograph: Peter Mountain/AP Whether you would like to be shot across your favourite vista in the form of a firework (à la Hunter S Thompson), compressed into a …

UK voters: share if you are still undecided which party to back in the general election | General election 2024

UK voters: share if you are still undecided which party to back in the general election | General election 2024

Published by skeptic

We’re keen to hear from people who are eligible to vote in the UK general election but are still undecided which party they will support. We’re keen to hear what is driving their indecision – be it particular political issues, confusion over what the parties are offering or simply that they haven’t yet had the chance to read the different party manifestos. Whatever the reason behind your indecision regarding your vote, we’d like to hear from you. Share your experience Tell us if you are still undecided whom to vote for at the UK 20204 general election, why, and what you make of the different party manifestos. Your responses, which can be anonymous, are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. We will only use the data you provide us for the purpose of the feature and we will delete any personal data when we no longer require it for this purpose. For true anonymity please use our SecureDrop service instead. If you’re eligible to vote in …

‘D-day was the final straw’: Sunak’s blunders ignite Tory party fury | General election 2024

‘D-day was the final straw’: Sunak’s blunders ignite Tory party fury | General election 2024

Published by skeptic

Conservative candidates and aides have looked on aghast at the missteps of Rishi Sunak’s campaign over the last fortnight. Anger has been building over Sunak allies being parachuted into safe seats, including the party chair, Richard Holden, the lack of preparation for the snap campaign within Conservative party headquarters (CCHQ) and the avoidable row over Frank Hester’s donations. But nothing has come close to the fury within the party over the prime minister’s decision to skip part of the D-day ceremony in France, leaving the stage clear for Keir Starmer to show leadership and patriotism, as well as for Nigel Farage. Ultimately, the choice was the prime minister’s: to come home for an ITV interview or stay to honour veterans and the fallen. However, many candidates are apoplectic with rage at the strategists who allowed such a misstep to take place, questioning the quality at the heart of the Conservative party campaign. “The spads and clown advisers who are making these decisions will never work on so much as a Tory councillor’s campaign again in …

Who are the wealthy climate sceptics funding rightwing UK politics? | Party funding

Who are the wealthy climate sceptics funding rightwing UK politics? | Party funding

Published by skeptic

A number of wealthy climate sceptics are giving funding to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, rightwing Conservatives, and the climate science-denying thinktank the Global Warming Policy Foundation. But who are they and how are they linked? The biggest donor to the Reform party this year is the shipping magnate Terence Mordaunt, the head of First Corporate Shipping. His personal company, Corporate Consultants Ltd, has given £200,000 to Reform over the past 12 months. He was previously chair of the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) and is now a trustee. Reform was formerly known as the Brexit party and is the third highest polling political party, aiming to win over rightwing voters who are disenchanted with the Tories. It states on its website: “Net zero means reducing man made CO2 emissions to stop climate change. It can’t. Climate change has happened for millions of years, before man made CO2 emissions, and will always change. We are better to adapt to warming, rather than pretend we can stop it. Up to 10 times more people die of cold …

Indian election results in stunning setback to Modi and his BJP party

Indian election results in stunning setback to Modi and his BJP party

Published by Sam

NEW DELHI — Indian voters have delivered an unexpected repudiation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership as electoral tallies Tuesday showed his Hindu nationalist party falling short of a majority in Parliament, piercing the aura of invincibility around the most dominant Indian politician in decades. While Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party finished first and is still well positioned to form a government with its allies in the coming days, the BJP’s performance paled in comparison to its showing in 2014, when Modi swept to power on a wave of national anger over corruption, or 2019, when he was buoyed by nationalist sentiment over a border clash with Pakistan. The shock result sparked feverish celebrations among India’s opposition parties and marked a rare setback for an Indian politician who had never failed to secure a majority in state or national elections over a 23-year political career. As prime minister for the past decade, Modi has cultivated an image as a popular strongman and a serial winner, and most political analysts had expected him to easily brush aside …

Will Labour or the SNP serve Scots and their families better? | Scottish National party (SNP)

Will Labour or the SNP serve Scots and their families better? | Scottish National party (SNP)

Published by skeptic

Dani Garavelli says the Scottish National party has not eradicated child poverty in Scotland (The SNP’s woes are a boost for Starmer. But he’s not promising the change Scotland wants, 27 May). Maybe not, but it has made great strides in this direction, within the budgetary constraints imposed by Westminster. The Scottish child payment is the policy of the SNP-led Holyrood government and is paid to all families on benefits in Scotland at £26.70 per week per child. And all children in primary 1 to 5, at schools run by their local council or funded by the Scottish government, can get free school lunches in term-time. Moreover, money has been invested into this to ensure that the meals are of good quality. As Garavelli goes on to say, Keir Starmer will not even commit to abolishing the two-child benefit cap. Child poverty is a scandal in a rich country like the UK, but it is less of a scandal in Scotland than elsewhere. No one in Scotland who cares about this should vote Labour.Sue HawthorneHaddington, East Lothian Dani …

Has there been a purge of the left wing of the Labour party? – podcast | News

Has there been a purge of the left wing of the Labour party? – podcast | News

Published by skeptic

It’s been a torrid week for Labour. Back in April 2023, Diane Abbott, the first black woman to be elected to the UK parliament, was suspended from the party in a row over antisemitism. In the last few days a furore over whether she would or wouldn’t be reinstated, and would or wouldn’t be allowed to stand for re-election, reached boiling point. At the same time, Faiza Shaheen, who had already started campaigning in Chingford and Woodford Green, was told she had been deselected. She said she had apologised for liking a tweet that played into an antisemitic trope, and believed she had done it mistakenly, but had been told her candidacy was being blocked. Helen Pidd hears how the pair are far from the only left-leaning MPs worried about their political future. Aletha Adu was on the campaign trail with Keir Starmer in Bury, Greater Manchester to hear how he was dealing with claims he was trying to undertake a purge of leftwing candidates. Aditya Chakrabotty explains how some of Starmer’s allies have had …