Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Manchester

2010-04-19T18:47:23Z

ColinK:

'''Manchester''' is a major industrial city in the North West of [[England]], in the metropolitan [[county]] of [[Greater Manchester]], and formerly a part of [[Lancashire]]. Greater Manchester is the UK's third largest metropolitan area. This, combined with its cultural importance, means it is generally considered to be the UKs 'third city'. More recently it has even laid claim to be the UKs 'second city', a source of ongoing debate, particularly between Manchester and [[Birmingham]]. It was formerly an important inland port, served by the [[Manchester Ship Canal]] beside the [[River Mersey]].

== History ==

Originally a Roman military settlement named ''Mamcumium'', and later of a tenth century [[burh]] (Anglo-Saxon fortified place), Manchester was of only regional importance until the [[Industrial Revolution]], when it became a major centre of the [[cotton]] industry and renowned as a "shock city", a place where new urban and social developments were undertaken. Manchester and its environs saw the first large-scale application of factory technology and organisation; Manchester was the first city to experience full-scale suburbanisation; it was (with Liverpool) the first city to have a fully locomotive-hauled public railway, in 1830. It also experienced in full measure the negative aspects of this headlong rush to modernise and urbanise in its terrible slums, described in a dramatic piece of reportage by [[Friedrich Engels]], ''The Condition of the Working Class in England'' (1844-45; first published in English 1892). In recent years the city centre has seen large scale renovation, including that of a quarter damaged by an [[IRA]] [[terrorist]] bomb in 1996. The city is home to the [[University of Manchester]] and [[Manchester Metropolitan University]].

The city was the home of the free trade, anti corn law movement, led by Cobden and Bright, and recalled in the Free Trade Hall. This movement sought to abolish government interference in the free market of goods (the 'Corn laws', which restricted grain imports to Britain, impeding industrialisation and the economic welfare of the population, in favour of the inetrests of a feudal landed clique of aristocrats), and can be seen as pioneering free market economics.

Manchester is world-renowned not only for its position as one of the most important cities during the industrial revolution, but also for the scientific progress made during the 20th century. Below are some of the most notable scientists:

* [[Ernest Rutherford]] (1871-1937) - First to successfully split the atom. Nobel Prize winner.
* [[John Dalton]] (1766-1844) - Pioneered atomic theory.
* [[Alan Turing]] (1912-1954) - Father of modern computer science and Cryptanalysis.
* [[James Joule|James Prescott Joule]] (1818-1889) - Converting work into heat.

== Culture ==

Manchester has a number of major museums and is also home to the John Rylands Library, now part of the University of Manchester, which has in its collection the earliest fragment of the [[New Testament]] known to exist. It is the home of the Halle Orchestra, which is based in the city's Bridgewater Hall, and it was formerly the headquarters of the ultra-liberal daily newspaper [[The Guardian]], known as ''The Manchester Guardian'' until it moved to London.

A number of significant bands have come from Manchester, including:

* [[The Hollies]]
* [[Freddie and the Dreamers]]
* [[The Buzzcocks]]
* [[The Fall (band)]]
* [[Joy Division]]
* [[The Smiths]]
* [[The Happy Mondays]]
* [[The Stone Roses]]
* [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]]
* [[The Chemical Brothers]]
* [[Mr Scruff]]
* [[The Doves]]
* [[808 State]]
* [[Oceansize]]

== Sport ==

*In 2002 Manchester hosted the [[Commonwealth Games]].

*It is the home of two major football teams, [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] and [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]].

*Lancashire County [[Cricket (game)|Cricket]] Club play many of their matches at Old Trafford, which has also been the venue of many test matches.

[[Category:United Kingdom Cities and Towns]]

Manchester

2010-04-19T18:46:26Z

ColinK:

'''Manchester''' is a major industrial city in the North West of [[England]], in the metropolitan [[county]] of [[Greater Manchester]], and formerly a part of [[Lancashire]]. Greater Manchester is the UK's third largest metropolitan area, this combined with its cultural importance, means it is generally considered to be the UKs 'third city'. More recently it has even laid claim to be the UKs 'second city', a source of ongoing debate, particularly between Manchester and [[Birmingham]]. It was formerly an important inland port, served by the [[Manchester Ship Canal]] beside the [[River Mersey]].

== History ==

Originally a Roman military settlement named ''Mamcumium'', and later of a tenth century [[burh]] (Anglo-Saxon fortified place), Manchester was of only regional importance until the [[Industrial Revolution]], when it became a major centre of the [[cotton]] industry and renowned as a "shock city", a place where new urban and social developments were undertaken. Manchester and its environs saw the first large-scale application of factory technology and organisation; Manchester was the first city to experience full-scale suburbanisation; it was (with Liverpool) the first city to have a fully locomotive-hauled public railway, in 1830. It also experienced in full measure the negative aspects of this headlong rush to modernise and urbanise in its terrible slums, described in a dramatic piece of reportage by [[Friedrich Engels]], ''The Condition of the Working Class in England'' (1844-45; first published in English 1892). In recent years the city centre has seen large scale renovation, including that of a quarter damaged by an [[IRA]] [[terrorist]] bomb in 1996. The city is home to the [[University of Manchester]] and [[Manchester Metropolitan University]].

The city was the home of the free trade, anti corn law movement, led by Cobden and Bright, and recalled in the Free Trade Hall. This movement sought to abolish government interference in the free market of goods (the 'Corn laws', which restricted grain imports to Britain, impeding industrialisation and the economic welfare of the population, in favour of the inetrests of a feudal landed clique of aristocrats), and can be seen as pioneering free market economics.

Manchester is world-renowned not only for its position as one of the most important cities during the industrial revolution, but also for the scientific progress made during the 20th century. Below are some of the most notable scientists:

* [[Ernest Rutherford]] (1871-1937) - First to successfully split the atom. Nobel Prize winner.
* [[John Dalton]] (1766-1844) - Pioneered atomic theory.
* [[Alan Turing]] (1912-1954) - Father of modern computer science and Cryptanalysis.
* [[James Joule|James Prescott Joule]] (1818-1889) - Converting work into heat.

== Culture ==

Manchester has a number of major museums and is also home to the John Rylands Library, now part of the University of Manchester, which has in its collection the earliest fragment of the [[New Testament]] known to exist. It is the home of the Halle Orchestra, which is based in the city's Bridgewater Hall, and it was formerly the headquarters of the ultra-liberal daily newspaper [[The Guardian]], known as ''The Manchester Guardian'' until it moved to London.

A number of significant bands have come from Manchester, including:

* [[The Hollies]]
* [[Freddie and the Dreamers]]
* [[The Buzzcocks]]
* [[The Fall (band)]]
* [[Joy Division]]
* [[The Smiths]]
* [[The Happy Mondays]]
* [[The Stone Roses]]
* [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]]
* [[The Chemical Brothers]]
* [[Mr Scruff]]
* [[The Doves]]
* [[808 State]]
* [[Oceansize]]

== Sport ==

*In 2002 Manchester hosted the [[Commonwealth Games]].

*It is the home of two major football teams, [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] and [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]].

*Lancashire County [[Cricket (game)|Cricket]] Club play many of their matches at Old Trafford, which has also been the venue of many test matches.

[[Category:United Kingdom Cities and Towns]]

The Times of London

2010-04-19T18:01:17Z

ColinK: An acceptable comprimise?

'''''The Times''''' is a leading, and well respected, British daily newspaper founded in 1785 as ''The Daily Universal Register'', changing its name to ''The Times'' in 1788. Nicknamed "The Thunderer", it is regarded as the newspaper of the British Establishment and traditionally follows the (often liberal) government line, sometimes embarrassingly so, as with its editorial support of [[appeasement]] in the 1930s. The paper was closed down by an industrial dispute between December 1978 and November 1979.

Since 1981, ''The Times'' and associated titles have been owned by [[News Corporation]], a giant global mainstream media conglomerate owned by [[Rupert Murdoch]], who owns newspapers and television stations around the world, including ''The Sun'' (UK), Sky TV (UK), Fox TV (USA), Fox News (USA) and Fox Movie Studios (USA). In 1986 the newspaper editorial and production facilities were moved from central London (near [[Fleet Street]]) to a new site at [[Wapping]] in east London, where modernised plant and working methods were to be employed. This prompted a year-long strike by printworkers, accompanied by picket-line violence, but production of the newspaper was never completely interrupted.

==External Links==

* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/ The Times Website]
[[Category:United Kingdom Newspapers]]
[[Category:Conservative Media]]
[[Category:Conservative news organizations]]

Conservative Party (UK)

2010-04-19T17:45:14Z

ColinK:

[[Image:Conservatives.png|right|thumb|300px|The Conservative Party logo]]
The '''Conservative Party''' is the largest right-wing party in the [[United Kingdom]], and is one of that country's three major political parties. Its full official name is the ''Conservative and Unionist Party'', and it is commonly referred to as the ''Tory Party'' after its historical predecessor. Its current leader is [[David Cameron]]. Its current policies are much nearer the centre than those of the [[America|American]] [[Republican]] Party, or even the [[Democratic]] Party.

==British conservatism==

British conservatism has its own distinctive tradition, separate both from that of continental European conservatism and from that of American conservatism. Traditional British conservatism is rooted in pragmatism, practicality and concrete experience: this reflects a broader historical preference in British culture for the practical over the theoretical and for the concrete over the abstract. In continental Europe, many conservatives in past times, such as the Frenchman [[Joseph de Maistre]], were strongly ideological and defended causes such as absolute monarchy and Roman Catholicism. By contrast, the heroes of British conservatism (such as Sir [[Edmund Burke]] in the eighteenth century, Sir [[Robert Peel]] and [[Benjamin Disraeli]] in the nineteenth, and Sir [[Winston Churchill]] in the twentieth) were moderate, pragmatic and non-ideological. While a more ideological strand of conservatism was in the ascendant during the leadership of [[Margaret Thatcher|Lady Thatcher]] (1975-1990), the older, pragmatic trend has reasserted itself in more recent years.

==The Conservative Party in recent years==

The modern British Conservative Party ran the United Kingdom for nearly 20 years, beginning with Margaret Thatcher's victory for the Party in 1979. She came into office facing a British economy that had been crippled by industrial disputes, strikes, high unemployment, and collapsing public services, especially during the so-called 'Winter of Discontent' of 1978-9. Mrs. Thatcher turned that around, broke the iron grip of the trade unions, and restored the British economy to a free enterprise system that has continued to this day. She was succeeded by John Major in 1990, and, to the surprise of the media, Major won the general election in 1992 and extended the Conservative Party's power until 1997.

By 1997 the Labour Party had finally embraced the more conservative direction for the country and abandoned many of its socialist economic policies of the past. Economic difficulties, including a dispute over whether the UK should join the currency of the European Union, hurt the Conservative Party further. This was coupled with a perception that the party had become corrupt, with a number of high-profile members of the party being involved in financial and sexual scandals. The Labour Party won in a landslide in 1997 and has held power ever since.

Major was soon after replaced by [[William Hague]], whose election as party leader was seen as an affirmation that the party wanted to continue with its Thatcherite policies. Hague was the victim of smears and attacks by a media which became Labour-biased to an extent never before seen in British history, and any attempt he made to state his policies or attack the government was routinely ignored (the UK has media regulations similar to the [[Fairness Doctrine]], but does not regulate what the media are supposed to report, only how much time they allocate to each party). The 2001 election went little better than the previous for the Conservatives, for which Hague accepted responsibility and stepped down as leader. [[Iain Duncan Smith]] replaced Hague, seemingly getting elected for no reason other than the fact that he was endorsed by Thatcher, and made no real impact as party leader. After passing up chances to attack the government for their role in [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]] (which had far less support in the UK than it did in the US), the party decided that enough was enough and Duncan Smith was removed as leader in late 2003. [[Michael Howard]] was seen by many as the only possible man to take the Conservatives forward, and was elected as the new party leader without opposition. A far more adept period of leadership saw a recovery at the 2005 election, halving Labour's majority in the House of Commons. A few weeks later, Howard announced that while the recovery of the Conservative Party had begun, he had done all he could as party leader, and so would step down once a successor had been elected.

==The modern Party==

Since the early 2000s, the Conservative Party leaders have softened its conservative stance on social and fiscal issues, and this has increased its popularity with the voters. Particularly since David Cameron - a self-declared "liberal conservative" (which in British English means "moderate conservative") - became leader of the Conservative Party, their support in the country has risen dramatically, however this is also due to the media-perpetuated anti-war feeling within the United Kingdom following [[Tony Blair]]'s era, coupled with the unpopularity of [[Gordon Brown]]'s government<ref>http://politics.guardian.co.uk/speeches/story/0,,1869970,00.html</ref> and recent polls. <ref>http://www.icmresearch.co.uk/reviews/2007/Guardian%20-%20Jan/guardian-jan-2007.asp</ref> <ref> http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labour/story/0,,2016791,00.html </ref>

Cameron can be seen as a more moderate conservative than many previous leaders. His party policies have gravitated towards a more "green" outlook as the concern about [[global warming]] has grown within the UK. He has also praised Britain's socialized healthcare system, the [[National Health Service|NHS]]; but has also considered privatisation of sections of the service in an attempt to decrease the deficit at which it currently operates. The party has also continued to support some traditional elements of Conservative policy, such as support for the family.

David Cameron has established his own website. [http://www.webcameron.org.uk/]

==See also==

* [[British politics]]
* [[David Cameron]]
* [[Margaret Thatcher]]
* [[Conservative Party of New York State|Conservative Party of New York State (CPNYS)]]
* [[American Conservative Party|American Conservative Party (ACP)]]

==External Links==

* [http://www.conservatives.com/ Conservative Party Official Website]
* [http://www.conservatives.com/Policy/Manifesto.aspx Conservative Party Manefesto for the 2010 General Election]

==References==

<references/>

[[category:British Political Parties]]
[[Category:British History]]

Liberal Democrats

2010-04-19T17:35:42Z

ColinK:

The '''Liberal Democrats''', often known as the "'''Lib Dems'''", are a political party in the [[United Kingdom]]. They have traditionally occupied the center of the political spectrum, between the [[Labour Party]] on the left and the [[Conservative Party]] on the right ("liberal" in British political parlance means "centrist" or "moderate" rather than "left-wing", as it does in the United States). At the present time, the party is seen as being moderately left-leaning.

The Liberal Democrats' current leader is [[Nick Clegg]].<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/politics_show/7148179.stm Clegg nicks it</ref>

The Liberal Democrats were formed in 1988 by a merger between the centrist [[British Liberal Party]] and the moderately left-wing [[Social Democratic Party]], which had split off from the Labour Party in the early 1980s when the latter became too strongly socialist. The Liberal Party was one of the oldest political parties in the world, tracing its roots back to the [[Whigs]] of the era of [[William of Orange]].

== History ==
Since its foundation, the party has steadily increased its presence in the [[House of Commons]] at each successive election. The party won 62 seats in the 2005 general election<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/ukfs_news/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/ Election 2005</ref> - the most that the party or its predecessors had won since the election of 1923.

== Policies ==
Their policies can be broadly described as social-democratic, with a libertarian bent. They are in favor of legalization and government regulation of marijuana, and decriminalizing the possession (but not supply) of other illegal recreational drugs, believing that medical treatment for drug addicts is more helpful than prosecution or imprisonment. They also argue for a rationalization of the currently confused status of the various components of the [[United Kingdom]], such as simplifying the benefits system for disabled people<ref name="policies">http://www.libdems.org.uk/what_we_stand_for.aspx Liberal Democrat policies</ref>.

They support laws against discrimination based on race, gender, disability, religion and sexuality.<ref>http://www.libdems.org.uk/media/documents/policies/11CivilLiberties.pdf Protecting Civil Liberties</ref> The party traditionally advocated higher spending funded from higher taxes, but from 2007 onwards have advocated replacing or cutting some taxes, particularly Council Tax, which takes a higher proportion from the poor than the rich.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3130988.stm Lib Dems vote to axe council tax</ref> They opposed the [[Iraq War]], but were in favour of the Bosnian and Kosovo wars. They are the most pro-European Union party in [[British politics]], and support an amnesty for illegal migrants that have lived in the UK for a decade without a criminal record,<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/18/nlibdem718.xml Lib Dems want amnesty for illegal immigrants</ref> however, they wish to tighten control on immigration, especially illegal immigration, through reforms of immigration law and the creation of an integrated border police force, returning the UK to a policy of entry and exit controls, to monitor movement in and out of the UK<ref name="policies"/>. Lib Dems, like most other parties in the UK, want the UK and the EU to take the lead in combating [[Global Warming]]. The Lib Dems want to stop global temperatures rising more than 2 degrees Celsius above the 1990 average, by making the UK a zero-carbon economy by 2050, and having more efficient buildings and transport.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2007/aug/29/uk.greenpolitics Lib Dems see zero-carbon Britain setting the global green agenda</ref>

The most realistic chance of power for the party is to be part of a coalition government in a hung parliament, and they always state their terms for such an event at General elections. This has always included introducing [[proportional representation]] for elections, and their terms for the 2009/10 election include: to reform government by capping private donations, reducing the number of MPs, having a 100% elected [[House of Lords]] (it is currently made of bishops, party appointees, and hereditary peers), and having a written [[constitution]] and a [[Bill of Rights]], as current UK constitutional law is confusingly spread out over parts of several legal documents.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/mar/10/liberaldemocrats.nickclegg Clegg's terms for deal in hung parliament</ref>

==Funding==
The party is poorly funded in comparison to its main rivals, leading to them accepting money from almost any source.

Their largest ever donor is convicted fraudster Michael Brown<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4424450.ece Arrest warrant issued after Liberal Democrat donor Michael Brown skips bail], TimesOnline, July 30, 2008</ref>, a former bonds dealer who was convicted of stealing £30 million from his clients, who donated £2.4 million to the party.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article5252726.ece Lib Dems face repaying £2.4m after Michael Brown, party's biggest donor, convicted], TimeOnline, November 29, 2008</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7754234.stm Top Lib Dem donor stole millions], BBC, November 28 2008</ref>. They managed to avoid repaying the money after exploiting a technicality in the rules after a year long battle. <ref>[http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/news-and-media/news-releases/electoral-commission-media-centre/news-releases-donations/donations-by-5th-avenue-partners-limited-to-the-liberal-democrats-statementreindex1 Donations by 5th Avenue Partners Limited to the Liberal Democrats: statement], November 20, 2009</ref>

==References==
<small><references/></small>

==External Link==
* [http://www.libdems.org.uk/ Official Liberal Democrats website]
* [http://www.libdems.org.uk/our_manifesto.aspx Liberal Democrat Manefesto for 2010 General Election]
[[Category:British Political Parties]]
[[Category:British History]]
[[Category:British Politics]]

The Times of London

2010-04-19T17:12:32Z

ColinK: The times tends to mirror the governments position, being the 'voice of the establishment', often this is a liberal viewpoint, but not always

'''''The Times''''' is a leading, and well respected, British daily newspaper founded in 1785 as ''The Daily Universal Register'', changing its name to ''The Times'' in 1788. Nicknamed "The Thunderer", it is regarded as the newspaper of the British Establishment and [[Tories]] and has traditionally followed the governments political line, sometimes embarrassingly so, as with its editorial support of [[appeasement]] in the 1930s. The paper was closed down by an industrial dispute between December 1978 and November 1979.

Since 1981, ''The Times'' and associated titles have been owned by [[News Corporation]], a giant global mainstream media conglomerate owned by [[Rupert Murdoch]], who owns newspapers and television stations around the world, including ''The Sun'' (UK), Sky TV (UK), Fox TV (USA), Fox News (USA) and Fox Movie Studios (USA). In 1986 the newspaper editorial and production facilities were moved from central London (near [[Fleet Street]]) to a new site at [[Wapping]] in east London, where modernised plant and working methods were to be employed. This prompted a year-long strike by printworkers, accompanied by picket-line violence, but production of the newspaper was never completely interrupted.

[[Category:United Kingdom Newspapers]]
[[Category:Conservative Media]]
[[Category:Conservative news organizations]]