Category Archives: Britain

Britain, Government, Politics

Theresa May calls for snap General Election on June 8

UNITED KINGDOM

Theresa May calls for a snap General Election on June 8. Because of the Fixed Term Parliament Act the House of Commons will need to vote and the Government will need a two-thirds majority for a General Election to be held as proposed.

This is the full statement made by the Prime Minister announcing that a general election is to be held on June 8:

“I have just chaired a meeting of the Cabinet, where we agreed that the Government should call a general election, to be held on June 8.

“I want to explain the reasons for that decision, what will happen next and the choice facing the British people when you come to vote in this election.

“Last summer, after the country voted to leave the European Union, Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership, and since I became Prime Minister the Government has delivered precisely that.

“Despite predictions of immediate financial and economic danger, since the referendum we have seen consumer confidence remain high, record numbers of jobs, and economic growth that has exceeded all expectations.

“We have also delivered on the mandate that we were handed by the referendum result.”

“Britain is leaving the European Union and there can be no turning back. And as we look to the future, the Government has the right plan for negotiating our new relationship with Europe.

“We want a deep and special partnership between a strong and successful European Union and a United Kingdom that is free to chart its own way in the world.

“That means we will regain control of our own money, our own laws and our own borders and we will be free to strike trade deals with old friends and new partners all around the world.

“This is the right approach, and it is in the national interest. But the other political parties oppose it.

“At this moment of enormous national significance there should be unity here in Westminster, but instead there is division.

“The country is coming together, but Westminster is not.”

“In recent weeks Labour has threatened to vote against the deal we reach with the European Union.

“The Liberal Democrats have said they want to grind the business of government to a standstill.

“The Scottish National Party say they will vote against the legislation that formally repeals Britain’s membership of the European Union.

“And unelected members of the House of Lords have vowed to fight us every step of the way.

“Our opponents believe that because the Government’s majority is so small, our resolve will weaken and that they can force us to change course.

“They are wrong.

“They under-estimate our determination to get the job done and I am not prepared to let them endanger the security of millions of working people across the country.

“This is your moment to show you mean it, to show you are not opposing the Government for the sake of it, to show that you do not treat politics as a game.

“Let us tomorrow vote for an election, let us put forward our plans for Brexit and our alternative programmes for government and then let the people decide.

“And the decision facing the country will be all about leadership. It will be a choice between strong and stable leadership in the national interest, with me as your Prime Minister, or weak and unstable coalition government, led by Jeremy Corbyn, propped up by the Liberal Democrats – who want to reopen the divisions of the referendum – and Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP.

“Every vote for the Conservatives will make it harder for opposition politicians who want to stop me from getting the job done.

“Every vote for the Conservatives will make me stronger when I negotiate for Britain with the prime ministers, presidents and chancellors of the European Union.

“Every vote for the Conservatives means we can stick to our plan for a stronger Britain and take the right long-term decisions for a more secure future.

“It was with reluctance that I decided the country needs this election, but it is with strong conviction that I say it is necessary to secure the strong and stable leadership the country needs to see us through Brexit and beyond.

“So, tomorrow, let the House of Commons vote for an election, let everybody put forward their proposals for Brexit and their programmes for Government, and let us remove the risk of uncertainty and instability and continue to give the country the strong and stable leadership it demands.”

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Britain, India, Military, NATO, Photography, Russia, United States

The T-50 and F-35 warplanes

RUSSIAN MILITARY

Sukhoi

T-50 is a joint military collaboration between Russia and India.

The Sukhoi aircraft have an impressive track record in Russian military history. The newest model, the T-50, is currently in joint development with India.

The aircraft is expertly equipped to sustain supersonic flight, better than any Russian plane built in years past. Its range at supersonic speeds is 930 miles. At subsonic speeds, it can go 2,175 miles.

It’s also deemed a versatile and aerobatic fighter jet. Its life-support system can sustain 9G manoeuvres for a period of up to 30 seconds. Meanwhile, a pilot ejection is possible from an altitude of 60,000 feet.

T 50 engine

A quarter of the aircraft’s body weight is made of composite materials that help reduce its overall weight.

Sharp angles help minimise its radar detection, making it tough to be spotted from far away distances.

The Saturn izdeliye 117 engines (pictured) provide vectored thrust for the plane. The engines originated as part of the original AL-41F program which was launched way back in 1982.

AMERICAN MILITARY

US F35

U.S. F-35 warplanes arrive at RAF Lakenheath, England.

A fleet of F-35 stealth fighter jets has arrived in Europe from the United States as part of a planned NATO exercise aimed at “deterring” Russia.

The F-35A Lightning II jets landed at RAF Lakenheath, England, having made the journey from Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

This deployment marks the first time American F-35A fighter jets have made an appearance in Europe, though a few countries already use them as part of their air fleet.

The deployment will last several weeks and is part of the European Reassurance Initiative, a US build-up of troops and weapons in Europe launched in 2014 to “deter Russian aggression.”

Though apparently scheduled months in advance, the deployment was announced as relations between Washington and Moscow have been described as “at an all-time low” by US President Donald Trump.

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Arts, Britain, Films

Film Review: ‘Another Mother’s Son’

SS CHANNEL ISLANDS

Mothers-Banner

– Captives: Susan Hampshire, Izzy Meikle-Small and Jenny Seagrove in Another Mother’s Son.

Intro: The gripping true story of how a mother risked her life to save a PoW as the Nazis’ jackboots trampled over Jersey in WWII.

THE BBC1 drama SS-GB which recently concluded, was an eerie vision of what a German-occupied Britain might have looked like in 1941. It was undermined slightly by the sound quality – ‘ve haf vays of making you mumble’.

Arriving on the silver screens now is an accurate and absorbing account of what it was actually like for British citizens to hear the stamp of Nazi jackboots on their own streets.

The German occupation of the Channel Islands has had surprisingly little cinematic attention down the years. Another Mother’s Son is a hugely welcome redress of that oversight. Moreover, it tells an extraordinary true story, that of Louisa Gould (Jenny Seagrove), a middle-aged shopkeeper in a rural Jersey village.

Shortly after receiving the devastating news that one of her own two boys had been killed at sea, she took an escaped Russian prisoner-of-war into her home, and, even as the Gestapo closed in, lavished on him the protective love of a mother for a son.

Apart from the tear-jerking human dimension of this story, it also offers a valuable history lesson. Who knew that there were barbaric labour camps for Russian PoWs in the Channel Islands? I certainly didn’t. Nor had I realised the moral depths to which a handful of the islanders sank, settling petty jealousies and grievances by writing anonymously to the occupiers, telling tales of hidden wireless sets, or worse, hidden prisoners.

As far as one can gather, and albeit with Somerset standing in convincingly for Jersey, the film sticks staunchly to the facts. Ably directed by Christopher Menaul, it is written by Gould’s great-niece Jenny Lecoat, who of course had a vested interest in getting the details right. Her remarkable kinswoman would be proud. Yet there was nothing conspicuously remarkable about Louisa. Seagrove plays her splendidly, as an ordinary, decent, careworn woman appalled by German brutality.

A fine supporting cast includes Sherlock’s Amanda Abbington as Louisa’s sister and the ever-watchable John Hannah as her brother-in-law, both very good at conveying the anxiety of people with much to be anxious about.

That eternal English rose Susan Hampshire, wearing her 79 years with ineffable elegance, pops up, too. In an oddly inspired casting choice, the Irish singer Ronan Keating plays Louisa’s brother Harold, and a caption at the end testifies to his own singular part in history.

 

BUT if the film belongs to anyone other than Seagrove, it is Bulgarian actor Julian Kostov. He is tremendously affecting in the part of the terrified, emaciated escapee, whose complicated Russian name is conveniently anglicised, in one of the film’s more light-hearted moments, to Bill.

Gradually, as Bill’s command of the English language improves and he acquires forged papers, Louisa becomes more brazen at hiding him in plain sight. He accompanies her to St Helier, and even helps out in her shop. This seems like folly, yet it’s another example of Louisa’s innate goodness; she instinctively trusted people.

Whether she was right to, I will let you find out for yourselves, but I do urge you to see a film which chronicles such an overlooked chapter of World War II. Hats off to another Bill, producer Bill Kenwright, for bringing this amazing story to public attention.

 

Another Mother’s Son (12A)

Verdict: Compelling war story ★★★★

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