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). The 2011 general election presented a watershed moment for Irish protesters. Opposition parties had challenged austerity and the conditions of Ireland’s bailout during the election campaign ( BBC 2011 ). With their campaign rhetoric, opposition parties contributed to a generalised sense among protesters that Irish governments had some measure of agency in European politics and in negotiations with EU
government. ● ● 152 ● Understanding British and European political issues It has always been assumed that the uncodified, flexible nature of the British constitution has allowed it to adapt naturally to the need for change. So, for example, the non-political role of the monarchy has gradually evolved for over a century. Similarly, parliament has rarely experienced any dramatic changes to its powers and procedures, but has adapted itself to the nature of modern government cautiously and gradually. Reform before 1997 The main changes in Britain’s constitutional
wanted to see re-unification with the Irish Republic. The Loyalists or Unionists were more concerned with resisting nationalism than with re-establishing devolved government. 172 Understanding British and European political issues The origins of devolution Much of the background to the devolution movement refers specifically to Scotland and Wales for reasons described above. Despite the long history of nationalism, the modern devolution story really begins in the 1970s. In that decade there was a distinct rise in nationalist devolution feeling. The most obvious
disputes could be settled. The cultural dimension would also go some way to preventing extremist movements, notably fascism and communism, from emerging again 192 Understanding British and European political issues in western Europe. The economic plan, on the other hand, would result in the great European powers having such a strong vested interest in peace, that war would become unthinkable. Put another way, once there was economic interdependence, the benefits of peace would always outweigh gains to be made through war. The debates over Europe’s future have to be
In May 1958, and four years into the Algerian War of Independence, a revolt again appropriated the revolutionary and republican symbolism of the French Revolution by seizing power through a Committee of Public Safety. This book explores why a repressive colonial system that had for over a century maintained the material and intellectual backwardness of Algerian women now turned to an extensive programme of 'emancipation'. After a brief background sketch of the situation of Algerian women during the post-war decade, it discusses the various factors contributed to the emergence of the first significant women's organisations in the main urban centres. It was only after the outbreak of the rebellion in 1954 and the arrival of many hundreds of wives of army officers that the model of female interventionism became dramatically activated. The French military intervention in Algeria during 1954-1962 derived its force from the Orientalist current in European colonialism and also seemed to foreshadow the revival of global Islamophobia after 1979 and the eventual moves to 'liberate' Muslim societies by US-led neo-imperialism in Afghanistan and Iraq. For the women of Bordj Okhriss, as throughout Algeria, the French army represented a dangerous and powerful force associated with mass destruction, brutality and rape. The central contradiction facing the mobile socio-medical teams teams was how to gain the trust of Algerian women and to bring them social progress and emancipation when they themselves were part of an army that had destroyed their villages and driven them into refugee camps.
for poor families. • 1975 Child Benefit Act. Replaced tax allowances for families with children with a child benefit to be paid in cash direct to parents. This extensive list of developments demonstrates the extent to which social security provision was changed and added to by both Labour and Conservative governments. As one would expect, most of the changes were made by 68 Understanding British and European political issues Labour, but the Conservatives played their part, with a key development being the introduction of the graduated, earnings-related pension
maintain its 2 Understanding British and European political issues dominance of the Middle East in the 1956 Suez crisis and the advent of Harold Macmillan as a realistic, pragmatic prime minister in 1957 provided a spur to this process. During the late 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s most of the empire in Africa, South-East Asia and the Caribbean was granted independence. Put simply, the empire had underpinned British prosperity for over a hundred years by providing both a source of cheap raw materials and ready markets for her own manufactured goods. Although
human rights of the Conservatives’ increasingly severe policies. 80 Understanding British and European political issues The election campaign of 1979 marks a clear end to the consensus. The Labour party was still arguing that economic prosperity and reduced unemployment would solve many of the problems of crime. Restoration of communities, better housing and social services were also seen as basic answers. This was rejected by the Conservatives who actually blamed many of the policies of the Labour government of 1974–79 for the rising crime rate. Labour’s ‘soft
-built power relations. The symbolic structuration of the political meaning of European elections cannot be separated from the institutional structuration of national political fields and the evolving European political field. Although considered to be weak in international comparison, French civil society has been revitalised by European integration. French intellectuals too have seen in the European Parliament elections an occasion to influence political decision-making and to put pressure on political parties. Some intellectuals, such as Pierre Bourdieu, have used these
Understanding British and European political issues could be made. Thatcher was also committed to avoiding large tax increases. This was both a philosophical motion, based on the idea that high taxes are a disincentive to enterprise, and a necessity as the economy needed greater stimulation. It was to take three years before the new government could take stock and decide what to do. HEALTH UNDER THE CONSERVATIVES, 1979–97 Funding The most obvious reaction to the growing crisis was to examine the whole basis upon which the NHS was being funded. There were a number of