Could we not separate news and politics?

Was it not political for the London Mayor at the time, Boris Johnson, to close three fire stations, and cut the number of fire staff in London?
I think you have chosen a wrong example.

Yes perhaps I have chosen a poor example DJ (although we should have been able to express our horror/sympathy etc. without it all becoming political) but you get my point?

So far nobody directly concerned with the tragedy has said that fire brigade cuts had any effect on the response to the Grenfell Tower fire. That has not stopped Gransnetters from bringing politics in, and I do not see how, or why, they can be stopped.

grumppa that was the first thing my husband said.

It was only a matter of time. It'll all be the tories' fault soon...

Austerity policies and council cuts to housing budgets may have played a big part in this tragedy. We don't know yet. But it is difficult to separate politics from the rest of life.

The fire went up the cladding so fast that the 250 firefighters on the scene were unable to control it, despite heroic efforts The first were on the scene in minutes. It has been said, by those in a position to know, that there were decficiencies in the fire defencers within the tower. I think it premature at this point to blame cuts in the fire service and party politics for this particular disaster.

If it weren't so sad it would be almost comical that every single piece of news or any tragic event becomes political.

I take your point gilly but look on social media and see what those survivors are saying. Would you deny them the right to blame politics, and the right for us to repeat what they are saying?

It could be a good idea to have separate forums. Then someone getting political on a News topic could be told to push off and start a topic on Politics.

Of course this is political, the recommendations of the committee which looked at fire regulations in tower blocks has been on the table of 3 housing ministers including Gavin Barwell, who is now May's chief adviser after loosing his seat in the election. None of them has acted on it or even commented or considered it.

Politics does affect so much of life, though, it's true.

Politics is about people - I guess most reported news is about people at some level.

I guess it is party politics that is bugging you though.

Didn't we have just this 'debate' after the Manchester bombing?

I still think that if you don't want a topic to become political it should go an somewhere like 'Chat'

I think it is better to do as the fire brigades and police are doing, not leaping in with accusations and wait . Let us hope if there is guilt they will be justice , sadly that will not bring the dead back.

I do think bringing politics into this on the first day is so wrong, the news has to keep rolling so they will make dozens of interviews and some viewers will leap on every interview if they sniff a political point. I will not . People have died, people are missing, victims are in hospital, so much grief , let's not use it to score political points, time enough for that.

I think many of us see all the power games and machinations....who is going to resign and who pushed who etc that dominates the press as some sort of expensive soap opera that is being broadcast on a loop by the tv and press.

Where 'politics' becomes more relevant is when the decisions these people make affects our daily lives. I think we can do with less of the 'soap opera' ....such as Diane Abbott moaning about people being nasty (if you cant take the heat etc etc) and more of the policies and strategies that will affect our NHS, finances, jobs etc.

anniebach that's a very good post, and I agree totally.People are too fond of jumping to conclusions and spraying blame around.

We did have this discussion on the Manchester thread MaizieD and I think some of us thought it would be a good idea to have separate news and politics threads; djen said there had been two separate threads at one time.

Such tragedies may involve politics but it would be good to have separate thread headings so the horrific news (or any news) can be discussed and the political implications could be aired on another thread.

'Chat' does not seem like an appropriate thread heading for tragedies such as these.

Breaking News?

Grenville Action Group - we have been warning about the perceived risk and asking for it to be given immediate and serious consideration. We have been ignored.

Other survivors are begging that when the flats are rebuilt that they are not built for the wealthy, as many of them believe that, that is exactly what will happen.

How about....'In the News' and then another one 'Politicians & Politics'

I honestly don't see how significant events like the terrorist attacks in London and Manchester, or today's dreadful fire, can be discussed without reference to the actions of central, local government, our health and emergency services.
I've seen nothing but praise for the emergency or health services. The cuts to their numbers, reduction in job security pay, pensions etc can't be ignored in the discussions.
This fire will inevitably lead to investigation and recommendations. There has to be political will to ensure recommendations are followed. I don't see how it's possible to discuss this without acknowledging The fact this tower block had only one staircase, no sprinklers or fire alarms .
Maybe as has been said, chat is the place to discuss this tragedy without reference to polittics

I think that you are on a hiding to nothing if you try to separate news and politics. It sounds like you are trying to tell people how to think about news.

Most news has a political aspect and those who are interested in it will discuss it. If I told you I had breakfast this morning it is a smidgeon of news which may not seem political but if I was the only person in my family who had breakfast because we can only afford one person a day to do so, it becomes news.

I might suggest the swallows are late/early this year. Interesting perhaps but more interesting if the change of habit appears to be a result of climate change.

We have newspapers and news programmes that set out to promulgate the political side of news so how do you stop that influence.

I think some people just want to close down the political interaction - which is almost certainly a political comment in itself.

because we can only afford one person a day to do so, it becomes news. political.

A news thread could discuss the tragic events and the search for missing etc. It might end up wallowing in the awful details. But surely it would be remiss if the discussion then didn't go on to try and find ways to prevent it happening again. Which is politics. Not necessarily party political politics - but it is politics.