u3a

South East London

U3A Current affairs discussion group 24 June 2024

2024 General Election.  Twenty-six days in – how’s it going?

 Week 1  3/6Week 2 10/6Week 3 17/6Week 4 24/6Week 5 1/7
How many voting211712  
Cons, Governing majority000  
Cons Largest Party01  (6%)0  
Lab Governing Majority13 (61%)13 (76%)12 (100%)  
Lab Largest party8 (38%)2 (11%)0  
SNP Do Well?000  
Reform to get MPs?0-11(52%)6 (35%)1 (8%)  
1-8(38%)8 (47%)3 (25%)  
> 13 (17%)6 (50%)  
Will Nigel Farage get elected? 9 (53%)8 (66%)  
Green Party, how many MPs0-5(23%)1 (6%)0  
1-14(66%)11 (64%)4 (33%)  
2-1(4%)5 (29%)6 (50%)  
We are keeping a tally of what we expect the of the outcome of the election.

1.      Election

Major Tory donor tells BBC he is voting Labour

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw00rgq24xvo

Ipsos poll shows just how deep a hole the Conservatives are in

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/18/ipsos-poll-shows-just-how-deep-a-hole-the-conservatives-are-in

Tories brace for brutal civil war

https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-general-election-conservative-party-tories-rishi-sunak-successor

Inflation falls to lowest level in almost three years

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjrrk8j7pwxo

Rishi Sunak’s public humiliation is as mortifying as it is satisfying

https://inews.co.uk/opinion/rishi-sunaks-public-humiliation-mortifying-satisfying-3120310?ito=email_share_article-top

Starmer fighting one seat, Corbyn the one next door: a schism and a symbol of battles to come

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jun/20/keir-starmer-jeremy-corbyn-labour-london-rift

Why the Conservative Party’s manifesto will mean £4,800 more on your mortgage

https://labour.org.uk/updates/stories/why-the-conservative-partys-manifesto-will-mean-4800-more-on-your-mortgage

2.      Israel and the War in Gaza

Benjamin Netanyahu dissolves Israeli war cabinet

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/17/benjamin-netanyahu-dissolves-israel-war-cabinet

Israel and Hezbollah play with fire but neither wants another war

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv22wz7e2z2o

Israeli military spokesman’s Hamas defeat remarks widen rift with Netanyahu

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/20/israeli-military-spokesmans-hamas-defeat-remarks-widen-rift-with-netanyahu

3.      Genetics and freewill.

The big idea: can you inherit memories from your ancestors?

https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/jun/17/the-big-idea-can-you-inherit-memories-from-your-ancestors

4.      Would you queue for hours to see a flower that smells strongly of a rotting corpse?

Queues gather at Kew to sniff 'corpse flower' stink

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cxxx5l0xly6o

5.      Climate issues.

Landmark ruling could threaten future UK oil drilling

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cxwwzmn12g9o

Stonehenge covered in orange paint by Just Stop Oil

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw44mdee0zzo

6.      AI film script gets a film banned.

London premiere of movie with AI-generated script cancelled after backlash

https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/jun/20/premiere-movie-ai-generated-script-cancelled-backlash-the-last-screenwriter-prince-charles-cinema

7.      American Elections.

The question isn’t whether Trump or Biden is declining faster: it’s why the US is faced with this choice

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jun/19/donald-trump-joe-biden-us-choice