Evolved

I have been researching how general elections are triggered and am a little shocked to find out that it is harder than I thought, and than it was up until 2011. The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 came into force on 15th September 2011. Amongst other things the Act removed the power of the Queen to dissolve Parliament and trigger a general election and neither can a government trigger a general election anymore.  Early elections can now only be held if either a motion for an early general election is agreed by at least two thirds of the whole House or if a motion of no confidence is passed and no alternative government is confirmed by the Commons within 14 days. Currently general elections are set to take place in May of every 5th year and as such the next election will be May 2020. There has been a petition circulated recently calling for the matter of a general election to be debated in Parliament however despite high levels of support the topic is not going ...

It would seem that there is no official Blog Action Day or theme this year however the event is set to return next year and the small team of volunteers who set up and manage the event have encouraged bloggers to post today anyway, about something of significance to them. I have thought about this and chosen to promote compassion and tolerance with regard to the massive issue of immigration. Image Credit: IB Times This has been a hot topic for such a long time, however things seemed to have escalated in recent years and become out of any sense of control. In addition the recent vote in the UK to leave the European Union, with immigration seemingly a strong driving force for some peoples decision to vote leave, seems to have sparked an outbreak of racial attacks throughout the country. While I am sure terrorist events have not helped with this matter immigration is a completely separate issue. I read daily news stories about the immigration camp at Calais, immigrant...

In two days time it is Blog Action Day (BAD). I have come across some conflicting information regarding the theme for this year and also a post stating that BAD are now partners with Article 19, a charitable organisation who defend the right to freedom of expression. It is a little difficult to piece the whole story together at this time for two reasons; firstly I have not participated for several years and as such have been unaware of the changes as they have occurred, and secondly I do not use Facebook or Twitter and have become aware recently how much that excludes me from certain information. Although you can view Facebook pages to some extent without being a member the information is limited and something I have to actively seek out rather than coming to me via regular feeds. I am delighted that I have looked this up at this time, and as such not missed out on BAD for this year however while I am considering what to post and trying to confirm if there is actually ...

I am really worried about the upcoming EU Referendum. Its seems like it will be very close and I have clear and passionate feelings about which way I would like it to go. I don't usually do political canvassing, but I really felt I ought to put my argument across in short before the vote, as there are also apparently many people who are undecided, and it may help give them another perspective. These are my main thoughts: Better together - surely if we are going to move forward as a race of people we are better together. A world divided is no way to go forward, particularly given current climatic and social issues. The EU represents a union of nations and that should be encouraged. You've got to be in it to win it - how can we have an impact on the shape of a united future if we are no longer at the debating table? Could it be that the spotlight on this issue, highlighting many failures of the EU, is just the time when we could effect change for the better? It s...