Category: Sputnik Radio

‘We are the UK of Great Britain and N Ireland… That Includes Scotland,’ – Sputnik Radio Interview

Scotland’s government has threatened to defy Westminster’s attempt to unilaterally control food and environmental standards post-Brexit, setting the stage for the biggest constitutional stand-off between London and Edinburgh, since the 2016 EU referendum. Sputnik spoke to Michael Swadling from the Croydon Constitutionalists, about this.

“Ultimately, Britain is a united nation. There was a referendum, independence lost that and they voted to be part of the UK and part of that is in international treaties, Scotland is with the rest of the UK.”

“I don’t think, unfortunately, we really have a judicial system that’s apolitical anymore and there are many judges who will grab the headlines given the opportunity.”

“My own personal view is that much more government everywhere in the United Kingdom should be devolved and local people should have real responsibility but also consequences for local actions.“

“They are partaking in the theatre of politics all of the time. I’m not really sure I can pinpoint anything they’ve actually done for Scotland, and sooner or later, the people of Scotland through the Holyrood elections will reflect that fact and I’m sure that will be a bad time for the SNP.“

Full article – https://sputniknews.com/analysis/202007081079830229-we-are-the-uk-of-great-britain-and-n-ireland-that-includes-scotland-commentator-says-on-brexit/

Audio:

‘UK Gov’t Has to Get a Grip of Situation’ – Sputnik Radio Interview

A UK government adviser stated on Tuesday that Britain must be braced for widespread riots this summer, warning that poorer people and areas will be hit harder by the fallout of the coronavirus – Michael Swadling from The Croydon Constitutionalists has shared his views on the matter.

“it’s reasonable to think it’s a scenario that could happen. I think also the feeling that we’ve had enough of experts is ringing true here again. “Likely to take place” is a stretch and we clearly should hope that everything happens to avoid that, but right now everything is there for things to go wrong”

“I remember those riots very well. I live in Croydon and there were a couple of major fires in Croydon and I could indeed see them from the back of my house. Do I expect them to happen again? I would hope not, but the government needs to act quickly to make sure it doesn’t and there’re some very basic things it can do. Lift the lockdown; get people back to work – it’s very hard to be rioting when you’re in your job, people will be busy and tired and that’s a much better place for people to be than bored and angry.”

“a decent protest – a protest against racism is a perfectly righteous thing to do, but if you’re throwing bricks at police horses, you need to be stopped. If you’re vandalising property, you need to be stopped.”

Full article – https://sputniknews.com/analysis/202006101079577803-uk-govt-got-to-get-a-grip-of-situation-amid-warnings-of-covid-inequity-riots/

Audio:

Long term implications of UK Coronavirus lockdown “disastrous.” – Sputnik Radio Interview

Mike Swadling was interviewed on Sputnik Radio about the Coronavirus lockdown.

Teachers Unions and local councils are putting pressure on the British Government to amend their decision to allow certain schools to re-open in June, amid the ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic. Questions have been asked about whether social distancing could realistically be enforced in areas such as classrooms and playgrounds, and if enough personal protective equipment for teaching staff would be provided.

British Government Has Done ‘Tremendous Job’ in Meeting Unprecedented Demands – Sputnik Radio Interview

Mike Swadling was interview by Sputnik Radio about Government’s plans to procure more personal protective equipment for the NHS, the overall handling of the pandemic, and how the economy will recover from the impact of Covid-19?

“I think the Government has done a tremendous job in meeting our unprecedented amount of demands, and it does appear that some more manufacturing could be done in the UK, but we haven’t yet hit a crisis when frankly it wouldn’t have been unreasonable if we had.”

“the comments about there being no risk of a second peak worry me immensely; to my understanding, there is always a risk of a second peak, that needs to be measured, and this came out the same day that Nadine Dorries put out a tweet saying that we can’t end the lockdown until we find a vaccine, but what happens if we never find a vaccine?”

“the best way to bring in more tax revenue is to lower tax rates if you raise tax rates; you see investment dry up, the most capable people will leave the country, and you remove incentives for people to work harder, so it’s absolutely critical that we lower tax rates to collect more tax revenue”

Full article – https://sputniknews.com/analysis/202004221079057380-british-government-has-done-tremendous-job-in-meeting-unprecedented-demands–politician/

Audio:

Sputnik Interview – British Public ‘Should Trust Government’ on Coronavirus

The British Government could be set to ramp up its measures to control the spread of the Coronavirus, amid mounting criticism of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s handling of the situation. Mike Swadling, School Governor and member of the Croydon constitutionalists, reflects on the subject.

+++ As so often is happening at the moment events overtook what was said +++

“There is an importance to keeping these children educated, there is an importance to allow their parents and families to work and schools provide a lot of facilities for children beyond just their education, and the longer we can keep that going; the better”

“I think that it’s important that the British Government tries to get things as back to normal as possible, as quickly as possible and that we aim for that bounce back”

“It’s not like you can’t have a video conference or an audio conference and agree on the way forward, there is nothing that has fundamentally changed about the fact that the UK has left the EU, and frankly the European’s completely inept response so far, suggests all the more reason for us to free ourselves quicker”

Full Article – https://sputniknews.com/analysis/202003181078616080-british-public-should-trust-government-on-coronavirus–school-governor/

Audio:

Sputnik Radio Interview – Most Businesses ‘Would Have Already Implemented Their Brexit Plans’

Mike Swadling from the Croydon Constitutionalists was interviewed on Sputnik Radio about the Confederation of British Industry call on the UK’s government to make businesses aware about potential changes to bureaucracy after Brexit.

“we are talking almost four years now since the referendum, and obviously the referendum had a running period itself, businesses have had lots of opportunities, and I think that most big businesses would have already implemented their Brexit plans”

“The only sensible decision for the EU countries is to have a Canada style free trade deal with the UK, but I’m not sure that they will do that, and I fear that the dictatorship in the Commission may win, but for Britain, it works either way”

“it just depends on whether the EU has any vestiges of democracy left in it or not”

Full Article – https://sputniknews.com/analysis/202002241078395831-most-businesses-would-have-already-implemented-their-brexit-plans–politician-/

Sputnik Radio Interview – EU Not Prepared for Brexit Under WTO Terms

On 27th January Mike Swadling was interviewed in Sputnik Radio on Leo Varadkar’s comments on the Brexit talks and Civil Service and Lords Reform.

“A good trade deal is important for the UK, but frankly we are in a more economically positive situation than the EU”

“It might come down to 30 December, but I suspect that we might see something come through just at the last moment”

Full article – https://sputniknews.com/analysis/202001271078155750-eu-not-prepared-for-brexit-under-wto-terms—pundit/

Audio:

‘Boris Johnson Won’t Extend Brexit Transition Period’ – Sputnik Radio Interview

EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan has claimed that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will go back on his promise not to further extend the so called Brexit transition period.

Sputnik spoke with Michael Swadling from the Croydon Constitutionalists to get his views on the matter.

“the EU is frankly the past and maybe it just doesn’t know it yet”

“the UK will want to prove economically the huge benefit of trading with the part of the world that’s working and growing, which is basically everywhere other than the EU, rather than being tied to the part of the world that has stagnated for a decade and that is the EU”

Full article at https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201912311077910300-boris-johnson-wont-extend-brexit-transition-period–political-commentator/.
Audio below:

Sputnik Interview – UK Election: ‘The Polls Are Getting Tighter, There is Some Reflection of Truth There’

Michael Swadling, from the Croydon Constitutionalists, offers his forecast for the election outcome in an interview with Sputnik Radio.

“The Conservatives clearly need to play the expectation game. They want to make sure their voters come out on what might be a miserable winter’s day next week and they need people scared slightly of a Corbyn government”

“Labour’s campaign change doesn’t appear to particularly have worked. They have attempted to become a more Brexit-y party with some of their core voters – I think people see through that very clearly”

“the biggest democratic vote on any subject in British history, which needs to be honoured for Britain to remain a democracy, and even if he [Jeremy Corbyn] was in a restrained manner in government, that would be a real systemic risk to the British economy”

Interview – https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201912041077484778-uk-election-the-polls-are-getting-tighter-there-is-some-reflection-of-truth-there–activist-/

Audio:

Sputnik Radio Interview – Labour’s Economic Policy ‘Farcical’ – Croydon Constitutionalists Member

Michael Swadling of the Croydon Constitutionalists spoke again with Sputnik Radio on the 7th November 2019 about the upcoming general election.

“This isn’t planned about striving and having aspirations, the Labour Party policy is really just about cutting the cake that we have today and redistribution – that doesn’t generate wealth”

“In 1997, Labour became electable because Tony Blair put out a positive message, and he put out an aspirational message, going back to the 1960’s.That’s how Wilson got elected, he talked about technology and the future of Britain. …and the modern Labour Party just looks like an unhappy party. Why would anybody vote for that?”

Full article https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201911071077249214-labours-economic-policy-farcical—croydon-constitutionalists-member/