So the only thing the local elections do is show a trend. The trend is a move away from a Labour Government and a swing to the Conservatives. Don't hold your breath though, the Conservatives are only slightly to the right of Labour these days. On the plus side if they were to form the next government they could make a difference in various ways:
In opposition they have opposed or have said:
- They will opt out of the Brussels Human Rights Act
- Stiffer immigration controls
- They opposed the EU Lisbon constitution treaty
- They oppose the cult of multiculturalism
There will be more but that's all that springs to mind. Those four above are important enough to make some difference if not only a small step. In addition, Conservatives tend to be patriotic and support their country and culture especially amongst the grass roots. Those dyed in the wool Conservatives will not let the leadership betray us.
As for the giant leap, well, getting rid of Red Ken Livingstone is wonderful news, even for us non Londoners. Boris Johnson won the vote on the basis of the ordinary English people on the outer ring of London. Livingston won the inner ring on the back of ethnic votes. The Muslims in particular were told to vote for him. Anything that is good for the Muslims is bad for the rest of us so ,yes, that is a victory.In the inner ring the ethnic English turned to the BNP because Livingstone’s Labour Party was ignoring them, too busy trying to secure the Muslim vote. As a result the BNP now have a representative on the London Assembly, in the name of Richard Barnbrook
It will be interesting to see if Boris Johnson supports the London Mega Mosque, the building of which is opposed by even moderate Muslims. The point is the tide has turned in London and may turn in the rest of the UK in a couple of years time when there is a general election.
My feeling is that Gordon Brown will not be able to recover from these defeats, because the electorate have a long list of issues that are pissing them off, issues that he is incapable of dealing with.
(cross posted with CommonSense)
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Related: CBNNews.com - LONDON -
If you live in London, and you want to build the largest Mosque in Western Europe, that's great. But if you want to build the largest church, forget about it.
London's Kingsway International Christian Church, the largest church in Europe, no longer has a permanent home. Nor is there much prospect of it finding one in London.
This congregation of as many as 10,000 was forced off its property to make room for the 2012 London Olympics. And now it must hold six Sunday services jammed into a 1000-seat former theatre in East London.
"I'm probably one of the few pastors around the world who has to preach five times every Sunday," Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo.
When Kingsway had its old building taken from it for the London Games, it not only was forbidden to re-build nearby, where most of its church members live. But the London Development agency offered this predominantly black church land on the far outskirts of London, in a white suburb, where local officials didn't want a large black church and turned down Kingsway's planning request.
"We were left high and dry, to face the wrath of the community," Ashimolowo said. "When you have a church of our magnitude with 90 percent ethnic minorities from about 46 nations, the first thing that comes to the mind of the neighborhood is, 'Oh my God, this large church is coming to our neighborhood.'"
So for now, Kingsway has nowhere to move. Feeling more than just abandoned by the city, Pastor Ashimolowo contends government officials' treatment of the church amounts to racial discrimination and religious persecution.
"When the largest church has its property taken from it and made to operate from a small building, that is a form of persecution," Ashimolowo said.
"KICC is the largest church in Western Europe, and I think that ought to have been celebrated," Ashimolowo said. "Rather, I believe that we were victims of the fact that it was a Christian church that has succeeded. The megachurch growth of the large church is so unknown to them. In fact, they call KICC "the American style church led by a Nigerian pastor," he added.
Alan Craig, a Christian city councilman running for London mayor, calls it "a perfect illustration" of the City of London's "prejudice against Christianity."
"It's just appalling the way they've been treated," he said. "KICC are left swinging in the wind. They have no permanent home, as we stand here today."
So while London city government has literally told the largest church in the city to take a hike, it's still pushing the construction of the largest mosque in Europe.
Not far from Kingsway's former church property is land that has been set aside for a huge mosque complex for as many as 70,000 Muslims. The City of London wants it to be an integral part of the 2012 London Olympic site. This despite the fact that the so-called mega mosque is widely controversial, because it is being built by a secretive group called Tablighi Jamaat, which some have tied to terror.
"Mayor Livingstone is actively courting the Muslim vote. That's what he's doing. I also think our secular authorities are actively writing Christianity out of the script," Craig said.
Craig is referring to London's controversial Mayor Ken Livingstone, who backs the mega mosque project. Livingstone, sometimes known as Red Ken, has defended Palestinian suicide bombers, and his re-election campaign has the backing of many of Britain's Muslim leaders.
It's not surprising, then, that a leading Islamic cleric in Britain recently called on Muslims to support Ken Livingstone's re-election campaign.
In a video from Councilman Craig's campaign Web site, he tried to confront the Tablighis, in what was supposed to be a public open house to improve the image of the mega mosque project. Except that the Tablighi leaders refused to answer Craig's questions.
"I wanted to ask them about terrorism, I wanted to ask them about their separatism, I wanted to ask them about their ideology. I have 20 or 30 questions I want to ask them, but they wouldn't answer any of them. They said, no no, another day," Craig said.
"If they have this new mosque here it will do no good whatsoever for social cohesion, for community reasons in the area, because Tablighi Jamaat preaches separatism," he added.
As the mosque project goes forward, the London Development Authority has said it's doing all it can to find a home for Kingsway. But the church seems less than convinced.
"Here is the United Kingdom, which sent missionaries around the world. Suddenly, now, they tore down the largest church building, to permit, just next door, the largest mosque in Europe," Ashimolowo said.
"We're facing a clash of kingdoms in the realm of the spirit. Light will have to prevail, some way, over darkness," he said.
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Mega-Mosque Plans Could Make London "Muslim Capital of Europe"
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