Writing duties took a backseat to campaigning for Labour in this election, so to see the result go the way it has is an unbelievable disappointment. I've read and listened to a lot of reaction since Thursday night, but though I may now be more informed, my initial reaction as the first result was announced still rings true. The addition of the people's vote is what killed any chance of winning, and was political suicide. People will and have said it was Corbyn, but 2017's results disprove that, winning a higher number of votes than even Blair. Sure, a perception of unpatriotism played its role, but I doubt it would have been much different to the affect it had in 2017.
In this election, the PV addition was a massive own goal. That result came in and it was plain to see: the Brexit Party stole a few votes from Labour, and the 'Get Brexit Done' mantra stole a few for the Tories. The lesson wasn't learned from 2017, when Labour committed to respecting the referendum, or from the MEP elections this year when the Brexit Party romped it. Like it or not, this country voted to Leave in such great numbers, that it was always going to cut through any other issues. It's frustrating that Labour had a leader who could easily have championed Lexit, but was not allowed to. If that was weakness or short-sightedness on Corbyn's part, I'm not sure, but it is evident that PV was pushed upon the policy makers, despite the evidence that it was not going to work. How Thornberry could say on TV after the MEP results came in that the evidence is clear that Labour needed to be unequivocally remain completely defeats me - it was just a complete refusal to accept the facts staring her in the face.
And if the PV champions had any braincells they would have realised that, in this election, if it was so important, they should have turned it categorically into a PV vs Brexit election and created an alliance party made up of Lab, LibDem and Green. But they couldn't even do that in Parliament between themselves when they had the balance of power. There was a point, if everyone disgruntled with Boris, had dropped their party allegiances and called a VONC, they could probably have achieved their PV. Maybe. But that's moot anyway, because PV was the whole problem anyway, and appeasing anyone on this would still have resulted in what we have today.
Years of anti-scrounger and anti-migrant rhetoric from the right-wing press have stoked up division so much that the battle was already lost. No amount of careful or considerate debate could have won them back - largely because they wouldn't be watching! Or reading! Or listening! So entrenched is it now. This is not to denigrate Leave voters, it is just fact. They're on the streets believing that austerity was a symptom of immigration and the negative aspects of benefit culture, ignoring the facts of Tory cuts. Just days after, and there are reports and videos of emboldened racists attacking minorities, similar to just after the Brexit result. It is of course incorrect to paint every leave voter with this brush, but in much the same way that right-wingers and centrists have painted Labour party members as anti-semitic, the answer is to clean your house. Labour did and do. I see very few Tories denouncing Tommy Robinson's membership, or these attacks, though perhaps it is early yet. After the video of Boris not denouncing the member of public spouting xenophobic garbage at him, though, I'm not too hopeful. After all, they are quite happy to quietly reinstate someone who was previously sanctioned, if it suits their needs.
Maybe there's something to be said for the pride of not attracting these fringe racists and bigots, but with renationalisaton on the ticket, Labour were unlikely to draw over many of the Tory waverers. So again, PV was the over-arching pivot. No PV, no need for Farage to stand any MPs, as he expressly said the only reason he did so was to stop PV. Only he will know if he'd have formed a deal with Boris to stand some MPs anyway, which would then have made things difficult for the same reason as now, but I believe Labour would still have held those who normally could never bring themselves to vote Tory.
There'll also be a portion of the population well and truly fed up with the Brexit policies, wanting to get it done as soon as possible, and seeing Boris as the path forward for that.
In the end, I feel heartbroken for Jeremy and everyone who worked so hard during this election to elect a Labour government. And to think, this was just a few short weeks of hard work, and Jeremy has spent his life championing the kinds of policies and thought put forward in the manifesto. Those still piling on with the personal attacks should show some class; you may not agree with him, but he has always been the voice for those who needed it most. (Whatever country that has been - blind nationalism is as foolish as blind faith when you set your stable upon those foundations.)
Showing posts with label Corbyn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Corbyn. Show all posts
Sunday, 15 December 2019
Friday, 23 February 2018
The Economy of Trickle Down
Whenever you hear that there is going to be a tax-cut, what your government is actually doing is giving you a massive middle-finger. They're telling you in no uncertain terms that they don't give a damn about you, that they exist purely to line the pockets of the powerful.
Here in the UK, and recently in the USA, we have a corporation tax so low even Mini-me would struggle to limbo beneath without risk of decapitation. Additionally, both the Tories and the Trump administration, under different guises, have put more money into the pockets of the average Joe, through personal income tax threshold raises and higher allowances. A ruse, to make it seem as though we have more money when in fact we don't. It says, we're giving these corporations a break, and you too! Everyone wins!
Here in the UK, and recently in the USA, we have a corporation tax so low even Mini-me would struggle to limbo beneath without risk of decapitation. Additionally, both the Tories and the Trump administration, under different guises, have put more money into the pockets of the average Joe, through personal income tax threshold raises and higher allowances. A ruse, to make it seem as though we have more money when in fact we don't. It says, we're giving these corporations a break, and you too! Everyone wins!
Saturday, 24 June 2017
Jeremy Corbyn and IRA
This is not my own, but I thought it was good.
1. On 29th November 1994, Jeremy Corbyn signed a House of Commons Early Day Motion no.24 deploring the "terrorist atrocity & murderous violence" of the pIRA's Birmingham pub bombings.
2. In 1994, Jeremy Corbyn met four loyalist leaders including David Ervine whom he met five times both to discuss the wrongful imprisonment of UDR man Neil Latimer, and at Labour Party Conference in Blackpool in the October to receive notification of an impending ceasefire that was called just over a week later.
3. In an interview to the Belfast Telegraph on 10th October 2015, Ian Paisley's wife commented that Ian Paisley always found Jeremy Corbyn very courteous and polite. And that "he thought Jeremy Corbyn was a gentleman".
4. In February 1987, after initially incorrectly smearing him, Rupert Murdoch's The Times apologised to Jeremy Corbyn and admitted that he had ordered staff to phone the police to warn them of a suspected pIRA operative in London.
5. On 11th August 1988, the Irish Times ran an article praising Jeremy Corbyn as a "tireless campaigner for the Irish". Jeremy had worked to quash the wrongful conviction of the Guildford Four, and pushed for a reopening of the Bloody Sunday inquiry.
6. It was the Tory government who first spoke to Gerry Adams 11 years berfore Corbyn became an MP. MI5 files released under the thirty year rule showed that the Tory government released Gerry Adams from prison for secret talks in London. 476 people had died in 1972, the worst year of violence. MI5 files show that the Tory government concluded "there is no doubt whatsoever" that Gerry Adams "genuinely wants a ceasefire and a permanent end to violence". The British government also recorded that Adams's "response to every argument was reasonable and moderate".
7. Jeremy Corbyn only ever met Gerry Adams when the latter had entered electoral politics a full 14 years after the outbreak of the Northern Irish Conflict, in Adams's capacity as an elected MP. In the 1980s Margaret Thatcher placed a ban on elected Sinn Fein politicians' voices being broadcast. Jeremy thought this ran contrary to the principles of free speech. He was also keen that constituents from West Belfast were not silenced.
8. Gerry Adams visited Westminster in November 1996 to meet several Labour MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn. The only item on the agenda was to resurrect the ceasefire that had collapsed. The ceasefire was recommended months later and has lasted ever since. Bill Clinton had invited Gerry Adams to the White Hosue the previous year, thus Corbyn's actions fitted with the broader efforts for peace.
9. There were at least two controversies throughout all of this that do deserve explanation. Shortly after the Brighton bombing Corbyn along with other MPs met Republicans in Westminster. This is indeed insensitive and wrong. Corbyn's own motivation was to end the strip searching of female prisoners on remand.
10. On 13th May 1987, Jeremy Corbyn stood for a minute's silence to mark the eight people who had been killed by HM Armed Forces one week earlier in Armagh. One was an inoocent civilian but seven were pIRA men. The minute's silence was held at an intellectual gathering of Irish sympathisers in London. The bodies were not all yet buried, and the circumstances were not wholly clear. There was controversy at the time over whether or not this was a shoot to kill incident. Indeed, the European Court awarded £10,000 compensation to each of the eight families.
And I'll add:
The Gandhi Foundation International Peace Award 2013
The Gandhi Foundation International Peace Award for 2013 was awarded to Jeremy Corbyn, MP Islington North on 26th November 2013 at Portcullis House.
The Trustees of The Gandhi Foundation agreed to offer him our International Peace Award in recognition of his consistent efforts over a 30 year Parliamentary career to uphold the Gandhian values of social justice and non‐violence. Besides being a popular and hard‐working constituency MP he has made time to speak and write extensively in support of human rights at home and world‐wide. His committed opposition to neocolonial wars and to nuclear weapons has repeatedly shown the lack of truth in the arguments of those who have opposed him.
1. On 29th November 1994, Jeremy Corbyn signed a House of Commons Early Day Motion no.24 deploring the "terrorist atrocity & murderous violence" of the pIRA's Birmingham pub bombings.
2. In 1994, Jeremy Corbyn met four loyalist leaders including David Ervine whom he met five times both to discuss the wrongful imprisonment of UDR man Neil Latimer, and at Labour Party Conference in Blackpool in the October to receive notification of an impending ceasefire that was called just over a week later.
3. In an interview to the Belfast Telegraph on 10th October 2015, Ian Paisley's wife commented that Ian Paisley always found Jeremy Corbyn very courteous and polite. And that "he thought Jeremy Corbyn was a gentleman".
4. In February 1987, after initially incorrectly smearing him, Rupert Murdoch's The Times apologised to Jeremy Corbyn and admitted that he had ordered staff to phone the police to warn them of a suspected pIRA operative in London.
5. On 11th August 1988, the Irish Times ran an article praising Jeremy Corbyn as a "tireless campaigner for the Irish". Jeremy had worked to quash the wrongful conviction of the Guildford Four, and pushed for a reopening of the Bloody Sunday inquiry.
6. It was the Tory government who first spoke to Gerry Adams 11 years berfore Corbyn became an MP. MI5 files released under the thirty year rule showed that the Tory government released Gerry Adams from prison for secret talks in London. 476 people had died in 1972, the worst year of violence. MI5 files show that the Tory government concluded "there is no doubt whatsoever" that Gerry Adams "genuinely wants a ceasefire and a permanent end to violence". The British government also recorded that Adams's "response to every argument was reasonable and moderate".
7. Jeremy Corbyn only ever met Gerry Adams when the latter had entered electoral politics a full 14 years after the outbreak of the Northern Irish Conflict, in Adams's capacity as an elected MP. In the 1980s Margaret Thatcher placed a ban on elected Sinn Fein politicians' voices being broadcast. Jeremy thought this ran contrary to the principles of free speech. He was also keen that constituents from West Belfast were not silenced.
8. Gerry Adams visited Westminster in November 1996 to meet several Labour MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn. The only item on the agenda was to resurrect the ceasefire that had collapsed. The ceasefire was recommended months later and has lasted ever since. Bill Clinton had invited Gerry Adams to the White Hosue the previous year, thus Corbyn's actions fitted with the broader efforts for peace.
9. There were at least two controversies throughout all of this that do deserve explanation. Shortly after the Brighton bombing Corbyn along with other MPs met Republicans in Westminster. This is indeed insensitive and wrong. Corbyn's own motivation was to end the strip searching of female prisoners on remand.
10. On 13th May 1987, Jeremy Corbyn stood for a minute's silence to mark the eight people who had been killed by HM Armed Forces one week earlier in Armagh. One was an inoocent civilian but seven were pIRA men. The minute's silence was held at an intellectual gathering of Irish sympathisers in London. The bodies were not all yet buried, and the circumstances were not wholly clear. There was controversy at the time over whether or not this was a shoot to kill incident. Indeed, the European Court awarded £10,000 compensation to each of the eight families.
And I'll add:
The Gandhi Foundation International Peace Award 2013
The Gandhi Foundation International Peace Award for 2013 was awarded to Jeremy Corbyn, MP Islington North on 26th November 2013 at Portcullis House.
The Trustees of The Gandhi Foundation agreed to offer him our International Peace Award in recognition of his consistent efforts over a 30 year Parliamentary career to uphold the Gandhian values of social justice and non‐violence. Besides being a popular and hard‐working constituency MP he has made time to speak and write extensively in support of human rights at home and world‐wide. His committed opposition to neocolonial wars and to nuclear weapons has repeatedly shown the lack of truth in the arguments of those who have opposed him.
Friday, 23 June 2017
It's not me they fear... it's you...
There's a turning point on the horizon, it's hard to deny. The election has awoken people, young and old, or those in the middle like me. It was the first election in my lifetime that felt like I was voting for something different, and I'm sure it felt that way for many, not the few.
But it's not over yet. The Tories could miraculously pass their Queen's Speech next week, meaning the words debated this week and the pomp and ceremony were not just the hollow sentiments of people clinging to power. I don't know. It's such a desperate moment for May, and the Tories, and their Queen's speech is a gamble. They gambled before and lost. Hopefully we'll get the same result again.
Even if they win, good luck getting anything through Parliament. Unfortunately, one of the biggest concerns, the asset-stripping of the NHS, seems to be going on behind the scenes. The Queen's Speech needs to fail for the good of it.
Saturday, 10 June 2017
Stop patronising the youth - GE2017
Let's talk about the youth. Undoubtedly they (and do I include myself in that, a 34 year old?) came out in force to support the Labour leader. Let's make that clear. The leader. Not some unelectable hopeful. He is a leader. He is the reason many people, young and old, came out to vote. For everything he represents. Yes it was an exciting manifesto, but that was a reflection of Jeremy Corbyn.
The reason we talk about media bias is often not even about the content. It's the tone. Corbyn just inspired hundreds of thousands of young people to vote, and what's the explanation? Freebies, in the form of tuition fees, scrapping car parking fees, free nursery hours, and so on. NO. How dare you be so patronising: praising the campaign on one hand, then going on to grossly misunderstand the cause.
Social media exploded this election open. We searched for the truth and we found it, and we shared it. We got angry, and we engaged with friends, who engaged with their friends. We forced our information on others and got kicked from groups for doing so. Feeds were awash with politics like never before. Even my Nottingham Forest Supporters Page was rammed. "Not Forest Related - but make sure you vote Labour." The amount of 'fuck yous' was depressing, but once that door was open, we flooded in. I doubt the negative commentators were turned, maybe some, but it's the silent ones, who never say anything, who maybe saw one sourced link or meme and it got them to think.
We saw injustices and wanted to fight against it. We spread the word about how new labour and now the Tories, worse than ever, have been systematically asset-stripping this country. We don't want our pipelines owned by Qater. We don't want Virgin Care. We don't want to pay £30 to skip the queue. We woke up to what kind of world and country we were heading towards: an insular, capitalist, money making, money keeping, money hoarding machine.
And we didn't like it.
Tuition fee promise or no tuition fee promise, we'd have been there all the same, marking the the cross by Labour.
Something else too. We don't want to be at war. We never asked for it. It was thrust upon us by our foreign policy. As much as you can blame religious fanaticism, you cannot underestimate what dropping a few bombs or being complicit in it will do. And worse, leaving broken areas as breeding grounds for hate. The messes we have left behind smack of incompetence, and that's being kind - if we can't do it right, don't do it all. Or just don't do it period. We don't want to think ill of our own country. We don't wan tto consider that we are complicit in arming those who seek to harm us in turn. But some facts are hard to ignore. Things have to change.
We didn't vote because tuition fees may be abolished, as amazing for equality as that could be. We voted for a new kind of politics, so stop patronising us.
The reason we talk about media bias is often not even about the content. It's the tone. Corbyn just inspired hundreds of thousands of young people to vote, and what's the explanation? Freebies, in the form of tuition fees, scrapping car parking fees, free nursery hours, and so on. NO. How dare you be so patronising: praising the campaign on one hand, then going on to grossly misunderstand the cause.
Social media exploded this election open. We searched for the truth and we found it, and we shared it. We got angry, and we engaged with friends, who engaged with their friends. We forced our information on others and got kicked from groups for doing so. Feeds were awash with politics like never before. Even my Nottingham Forest Supporters Page was rammed. "Not Forest Related - but make sure you vote Labour." The amount of 'fuck yous' was depressing, but once that door was open, we flooded in. I doubt the negative commentators were turned, maybe some, but it's the silent ones, who never say anything, who maybe saw one sourced link or meme and it got them to think.
We saw injustices and wanted to fight against it. We spread the word about how new labour and now the Tories, worse than ever, have been systematically asset-stripping this country. We don't want our pipelines owned by Qater. We don't want Virgin Care. We don't want to pay £30 to skip the queue. We woke up to what kind of world and country we were heading towards: an insular, capitalist, money making, money keeping, money hoarding machine.
And we didn't like it.
Tuition fee promise or no tuition fee promise, we'd have been there all the same, marking the the cross by Labour.
Something else too. We don't want to be at war. We never asked for it. It was thrust upon us by our foreign policy. As much as you can blame religious fanaticism, you cannot underestimate what dropping a few bombs or being complicit in it will do. And worse, leaving broken areas as breeding grounds for hate. The messes we have left behind smack of incompetence, and that's being kind - if we can't do it right, don't do it all. Or just don't do it period. We don't want to think ill of our own country. We don't wan tto consider that we are complicit in arming those who seek to harm us in turn. But some facts are hard to ignore. Things have to change.
We didn't vote because tuition fees may be abolished, as amazing for equality as that could be. We voted for a new kind of politics, so stop patronising us.
Friday, 9 June 2017
DailyFlash: Hope
A man stood tall against the tide on sand of stone.
Garbage spewed from sewer pipes and floated all around.
Piranhas nipped at knee and thigh,
clamoured for chin as he held it high.
Rags of paper dripping bile swirled in a hurricane.
Acid poured down as rain.
But the sand rose,
it rose up,
it rose around,
it lifted the man into the air,
out of the tide into the storm,
out of the storm and into the clouds,
out of the clouds and into the sun.
Garbage spewed from sewer pipes and floated all around.
Piranhas nipped at knee and thigh,
clamoured for chin as he held it high.
Rags of paper dripping bile swirled in a hurricane.
Acid poured down as rain.
But the sand rose,
it rose up,
it rose around,
it lifted the man into the air,
out of the tide into the storm,
out of the storm and into the clouds,
out of the clouds and into the sun.
Wednesday, 31 May 2017
Do the Tories want power?
1. Didn't have to call a general election - did so anyway.
2. Said they wouldn't - did so anyway (flip-flop).
3. Brexit negotiations begin just a few days after. If these are so important then surely the last thing the government needed in the build up was turmoil.
4. What would be one of the most universally hated policies to bring back? Fox hunting.
5. Who gives the Tories most votes? The elderly? Hitting them as hard as they reasonably can.
6. Go on and on about negotiating Brexit - won't even debate one on one with Corbyn. Weak perception, or arrogant?
7. No calls to register to vote on their social media.
8. Attacking what was a logical, reasonable, and widely accepted view from Corbyn and Labour RE the Manchester attack and foreign policy influence.
9. Not costing their manifesto. Open for attack/easy target.
10. Positive comments about Corbyn filtering through from Tories and Tory-sympathisers.
11. Corbyn receiving a fairer share of media attention on the likes of the BBC and Sky, even showing him in a positive light for once.
12. Corbyn v May v Paxman - the perfect social media clip of that guy mouthing absolutely bollocks. Other cuts to the audience weren't as long. This guy wasn't cut when he began mouthing and shaking his head.
13. Leaks of images of May at 'rallies' devoid of attendees. Again perfect for social media. Many examples of these which when added up has a widespread effect.
2. Said they wouldn't - did so anyway (flip-flop).
3. Brexit negotiations begin just a few days after. If these are so important then surely the last thing the government needed in the build up was turmoil.
4. What would be one of the most universally hated policies to bring back? Fox hunting.
5. Who gives the Tories most votes? The elderly? Hitting them as hard as they reasonably can.
6. Go on and on about negotiating Brexit - won't even debate one on one with Corbyn. Weak perception, or arrogant?
7. No calls to register to vote on their social media.
8. Attacking what was a logical, reasonable, and widely accepted view from Corbyn and Labour RE the Manchester attack and foreign policy influence.
9. Not costing their manifesto. Open for attack/easy target.
10. Positive comments about Corbyn filtering through from Tories and Tory-sympathisers.
11. Corbyn receiving a fairer share of media attention on the likes of the BBC and Sky, even showing him in a positive light for once.
12. Corbyn v May v Paxman - the perfect social media clip of that guy mouthing absolutely bollocks. Other cuts to the audience weren't as long. This guy wasn't cut when he began mouthing and shaking his head.
13. Leaks of images of May at 'rallies' devoid of attendees. Again perfect for social media. Many examples of these which when added up has a widespread effect.
Tuesday, 12 July 2016
My thoughts on the EU and the UK government
It's been two and a half weeks since the EU referendum, and we've seen a lot of change (what an understatement). Most of us would not have watched BBC News 24 or Sky News so much in our lives before. (How many of us have wished for an alternate, exasperated by the continuing propagandising - have we not learned anything from the referendum result?!) I think first and foremost that it's great that so many people are actively involved in politics, in discussions, in debate. That's why it's taken me this long to even contemplate writing anything down. There's been so much talk and upheaval I'm not even completely sure what I think of it all.
When it was announced that Leave had won, I do remember that my first thought was of this video:
When it was announced that Leave had won, I do remember that my first thought was of this video:
Friday, 30 October 2015
Scrounger Danger!
It's becoming something of a dirty word; scrounger: countless times it's reared its head in discussions over the country's economy, and so often in tones of anger. So often it's the voice of the moderate, turned vexed by the thought of someone getting something they're not entitled to, while they themselves are losing out (so hungry and emaciated, so homeless and destitute, with bleeding gums no doubt).
Friday, 16 October 2015
Friendly debate part 2
Questions from a UKIP supporter.
The more I offer replies to disputes put forward, the more it feels like I'm reaching out to some intangible ideal - but what is politics if it's not about aspiration?
"Immigration will always be detrimental in my view," he says. "Either you have to give them a job (if there are any available) so they can support themselves, which means taking a job off a British citizen, or cause more strain on the housing market to give them somewhere to live. Australia is the best place to live; based on a points system and without benefits."
The more I offer replies to disputes put forward, the more it feels like I'm reaching out to some intangible ideal - but what is politics if it's not about aspiration?
"Immigration will always be detrimental in my view," he says. "Either you have to give them a job (if there are any available) so they can support themselves, which means taking a job off a British citizen, or cause more strain on the housing market to give them somewhere to live. Australia is the best place to live; based on a points system and without benefits."
Friendly debate
How do you debate with a UKIP supporter who says Corbyn is an extremist?
"You can't give what you don't have." It's the same old excuse. I'm sure if we wanted another war we could find the funds for that. Enough with the breaks to the rich already!
"Labour left us with a country that was bankrupt." That one. Not directly Labour's fault, as previously mentioned in my earlier blog.
"You can't give what you don't have." It's the same old excuse. I'm sure if we wanted another war we could find the funds for that. Enough with the breaks to the rich already!
"Labour left us with a country that was bankrupt." That one. Not directly Labour's fault, as previously mentioned in my earlier blog.
Thursday, 1 October 2015
Jeremy Corbyn: renewed interest and media weirdness
I'm a 32-year-old male, and for my entire adult life I have wanted to feel engaged with politics. We grow, we get decent jobs, we start families - this is the norm and I am no exception. Throughout, I have wanted to want to vote. I have wanted to make a mark on the ballot with conviction, but whenever I have voted, and it's not as often as it should have been, I've barely been impressed by anyone, or any party. I have never felt as though a single individual, much less a party, has reflected any of my political values. Some have come close, I think. I look back at pre-coalition Nick Clegg and remember that he seemed to stand for something, and I think I've always leaned towards Lib Dem anyway. But it became clear there was no real voice there; the coalition was just a lighter shade of blue than the government today.
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