Queen Elizabeth II’s speech outlining plans of the British government comes at a time of intense flux in the country of 65 million. The referendum to decide if Britain should remain part of the European Union is set for June 23 and the Brexit debate, as it has been popularly called, has raised the stakes for all political parties. The fraught question comes at a time Britain is grappling with issues like migration, treatment of Muslims, a changing crime curve, fears of militancy. The political debate over Brexit has straddled intra- and inter-party divide, pulling apart the taxed British polity.
The Queen, uncharacteristically in the spotlight over the last few days over comments spilling into the public domain, read out Cameron’s agenda on spaceports, schools and driverless cars. Prison reforms was one subject that stood out.
She spoke about replacing the hulking Victorian-era prisons and giving inmates more opportunities to work and learn. The British public would certainly look forward to changes announced in the speech, hoping it is more than just rhetoric.
A passing mention was made of the most vexed issue — the tangle to leave or not to leave the European Union. My government will hold a referendum on membership of the European Union, the Queen said. It came on the day a leading newspaper — The Sun — faced-off a press group over publishing a purported remark by the Queen. The tabloid claimed in a story that the British monarch was in favour of UK leaving the European Union. The Queen is supposed to remain politically neutral and Buckingham Palace was quick to issue a denial. The paper, however stood its ground, citing the infallibility of its source.
By virtually skirting the Brexit issue in the address, Cameron has tried to obfuscate what is for everyone to see. As critics stewed, the British Prime Minister tried to fend off a subject that is at the heart of the political discourse.
Cameron’s pledge to give better life chances to citizens, however, deserves applause. So does his propensity to bring about change with futuristic technologies such as spaceports and driverless cars. Such vehicles are being tested in the UK and the world laps up any advance in the field.
An attempt by Scotland to separate from UK was defeated and the country seems to have left it behind in time. By trying to keep the nation within the European Union, Cameron is doing what is right. But the spirited British premier needs to do it with aplomb.
Queen Elizabeth II’s speech outlining plans of the British government comes at a time of intense flux in the country of 65 million. The referendum to decide if Britain should remain part of the European Union is set for June 23 and the Brexit debate, as it has been popularly called, has raised the stakes for all political parties. The fraught question comes at a time Britain is grappling with issues like migration, treatment of Muslims, a changing crime curve, fears of militancy. The political debate over Brexit has straddled intra- and inter-party divide, pulling apart the taxed British polity.
The Queen, uncharacteristically in the spotlight over the last few days over comments spilling into the public domain, read out Cameron’s agenda on spaceports, schools and driverless cars. Prison reforms was one subject that stood out.
She spoke about replacing the hulking Victorian-era prisons and giving inmates more opportunities to work and learn. The British public would certainly look forward to changes announced in the speech, hoping it is more than just rhetoric.
A passing mention was made of the most vexed issue — the tangle to leave or not to leave the European Union. My government will hold a referendum on membership of the European Union, the Queen said. It came on the day a leading newspaper — The Sun — faced-off a press group over publishing a purported remark by the Queen. The tabloid claimed in a story that the British monarch was in favour of UK leaving the European Union. The Queen is supposed to remain politically neutral and Buckingham Palace was quick to issue a denial. The paper, however stood its ground, citing the infallibility of its source.
By virtually skirting the Brexit issue in the address, Cameron has tried to obfuscate what is for everyone to see. As critics stewed, the British Prime Minister tried to fend off a subject that is at the heart of the political discourse.
Cameron’s pledge to give better life chances to citizens, however, deserves applause. So does his propensity to bring about change with futuristic technologies such as spaceports and driverless cars. Such vehicles are being tested in the UK and the world laps up any advance in the field.
An attempt by Scotland to separate from UK was defeated and the country seems to have left it behind in time. By trying to keep the nation within the European Union, Cameron is doing what is right. But the spirited British premier needs to do it with aplomb.
