Monthly Archives: July 2017

Are Tories STILL banging on about Labour’s nonexistent student debt U-turn? Show them this [STRONG LANGUAGE]

We all know Jeremy Corbyn didn’t promise to write off student debt by now, don’t we?

Of course we do. Therefore he could not have U-turned by saying that he didn’t make such a promise.

Some Tories, and Tory supporters, still aren’t getting that they’ve lost this argument.

They don’t seem to understand that we all know it is based on a lie.

They don’t seem to understand that they are making themselves more unpopular by continuing to push it.

So show them this:

They probably still won’t understand but the look on their face will be worth putting on Instagram.


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Victim of anti-Semitism attacks right-wingers who make ‘mockery’ of the problem [STRONG LANGUAGE]

(Incidentally, this is the only definition of anti-Semitism anybody needs.)

Kerry-Anne Mendoza of The Canary put me onto this – a Twitter thread by Michael Segalov, prompted by the anti-Semitic and misogynistic Kevin Myers article in the Irish Sunday Times, and unrealistic right-wing attempts to blame the Labour Party.

Yes, that’s what they’ve done! See this tweet:

What an idiot. As someone who has been on the wrong side of Labour’s treatment of people accused of anti-Semitism, I can assure readers that the party takes all allegations seriously and acts upon them immediately – even nonsense claims like those that were raised against me.

Anyone accused of such behaviour is suspended pending investigation. That’s what happened to me in May, and I’m still suspended now; I have complained to the police that the allegations against me – made while I was a candidate in local elections – are criminal in nature and their slow and careful consideration of this is holding up everything else (or should be).

That’s my experience, as a person who has been accused of anti-Semitism by members of the uptight right.

Mr Segalov’s experience is that of a Jew who has been subjected to it – again, by members of the right-wing of UK politics. I hope I’m not overstepping the line by publishing his entire thread, which I think deserves to be preserved for posterity:

https://twitter.com/MikeSegalov/status/891716564784992257

https://twitter.com/MikeSegalov/status/891717286393991168

https://twitter.com/MikeSegalov/status/891717800271765506

https://twitter.com/MikeSegalov/status/891718241944563713

https://twitter.com/MikeSegalov/status/891719129534795776

https://twitter.com/MikeSegalov/status/891719819049017345

https://twitter.com/MikeSegalov/status/891720347506143232

https://twitter.com/MikeSegalov/status/891721212086431744

https://twitter.com/MikeSegalov/status/891721919862644736

https://twitter.com/MikeSegalov/status/891723091843457024

https://twitter.com/MikeSegalov/status/891735678865858560

https://twitter.com/MikeSegalov/status/891771595924090881

https://twitter.com/MikeSegalov/status/891773185301106690

https://twitter.com/MikeSegalov/status/891775591904628737

https://twitter.com/MikeSegalov/status/891776272354955264

https://twitter.com/MikeSegalov/status/891777375276544002

https://twitter.com/MikeSegalov/status/891778616337600512

Bravo.

Mr Segalov puts his Twitter finger on the point I made in my article yesterday – that allegations of anti-Semitism are being used to silence reasonable debate, with the culprits jumping on the bandwagon every time a genuine anti-Semite turns up, in order to claim some form of legitimacy for their own behaviour.

The Daisley tweet at the top of this article is a classic example as it straddles both lines of attack.

I was vilified and accused because I tried to discover the facts behind the accusations made against Naz Shah, Ken Livingstone and Jackie Walker. The aim was to silence me – or to put people off reading my work.

Instead, people are at last turning against the “trash” who are “weaponising anti-Semitism for political gain”.

It has taken a while because, as pointed out (again) in my article yesterday, a lot of people are very afraid – but it is happening. More and more people are speaking out against unreasonable outbursts like those of Stephen Daisley and Dan Hodges (whoever he is) – and there is a groundswell of investigation into the claims made by the anti-Semitism accusers.

Because we don’t need these people to point out an anti-Semite. We can see them perfectly clearly for ourselves.

And their lies are holding back the fight against that enemy.


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If Labour is blocking conference delegates, there should be an investigation

John Spellar: Is he the anti-democratic ‘rotten apple’ that has spoiled Warley CLP’s executive?

Interesting allegations have been published in Skwawkbox today (July 31), concerning a Constituency Labour Party that has apparently blocked members from electing Corbyn-supporting delegates to attend the national party conference in the autumn.

Warley CLP, whose MP is the rabidly anti-Corbyn John Spellar, apparently discovered that its executive committee had bypassed democracy by changing the venue for the elections and not announcing the decision to members.

So, having decided to send five delegates, including three who would be self-funding, Warley CLP branches nominated candidates and expected to carry out elections at the next meeting of their general committee.

But they were then informed that the election had been moved (for no reason) to the executive committee meeting – and when members attended that meeting they were given minutes of an officers’ meeting at which the delegates had already been chosen.

According to a source inside the CLP, “The minutes stated that this was because Momentum was going to “flood” the conference with it’s own supporters. Although the treasurer had said that the CLP can only afford to fund 2 people, they’d now increased this number to 3 and have refused self funders.”

When CLP members objected at the general committee meeting, their complaint was said to have been “rudely dismissed”.

If true, this is a clear breach of Labour Party democracy. The course of action taken by officers was not agreed with the members – indeed, it was a direct, anti-democratic, contradiction of the agreed plan.

In these circumstances, This Writer would consider it appropriate to contact the National Executive Committee and demand action similar to that taken during the leadership election last year, when members who were considered to have acted inappropriately were suspended, pending investigation by an NEC team.

The officers of Warley CLP who pushed through this offence to democracy should be suspended and the elections run again – in a democratic manner.

I would strongly urge anybody who has been affected by this offence – or similar offences in other CLPs, if they have taken place, to contact the NEC and initiate proceedings.


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NHS: No improvement – just get ready for brutal cuts to your health

Protesters at a demonstration against cuts to NHS funding in central London [Image: Getty Images].

These BMA doctors are right.

If NHS Improvement had anything good to report, you can be sure these Freedom of Information requests would have been serviced in full.

Instead: No comment.

Your minority Tory government is selling your health – and not even for a profit.

Doctors have warned that plans for “brutal” NHS cuts are shrouded in secrecy and will cause uproar once revealed.

The British Medical Association (BMA) says health service leaders have refused to publish details of the proposals that could extend waiting times, reduce access to services, cut down on prescriptions and treatments, and even merge or close hospitals and facilities.

The proposals are being discussed under the capped expenditure process, which was introduced this year to cap NHS spending in some areas in order to meet so-called “control total” budgets in 2017-18.

The BMA submitted Freedom of Information requests to NHS Improvement and each of the 13 areas, asking for the proposal documents.

Eight of the 13 areas responded but, according to the BMA, none of them provided the full document or any significant details.


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Further fear of Grenfell stitch-up as new taskforce as based in council office

A vigil near Grenfell Tower in London [Image: Victoria Jones/PA].

It’s a good point, and the Lancaster West Residents Association is right to make it: How can the Grenfell recovery taskforce by independent if it is based in the local council’s offices?

They’re right to fear a stitch-up.

But these are people who have been vigilant all the way down the line since the fire, back in June.

Let’s hope they stand strong, and get the result they need.

Residents of the estate surrounding Grenfell Tower have condemned the decision to base the the newly appointed recovery taskforce in the offices of Kensington and Chelsea council, warning this undermines the impartiality of the team.

Members of the Lancaster West residents’ association say they were told that the recovery taskforce, as well as being responsible for returning powers from the multi-agency Grenfell fire response team back to the council, would scrutinise council structures and processes.

The government set up the Grenfell fire response team in the wake of the disaster, after Kensington and Chelsea council was severely criticised for its inadequate response.

“We insist that for people appointed to be independent, or allowed to be truly independent, the taskforce should not be located in Kensington Town Hall,” said Andrea Newton, vice-chair of the Lancaster West residents’ association.

Newton said office space near the tower was available and could be used by the team.

Source: Grenfell residents condemn basing of new taskforce in council office | UK news | The Guardian


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Are Tories manufacturing a struggle within their ranks to make themselves look less mean?

Robert Halfon says fuel duty rise would hit small businesses, bus fares and food prices [Image: Hannah Mckay/EPA].

No doubt many people will see Robert Halfon as a champion of working people, after he spoke out against tax rises.

Isn’t it more likely that he is simply trying to make the Conservatives look more acceptable?

Expect arguments to be aired, making it seem there is no alternative (remember TINA?) to taxing the poor and the middle classes, while giving the rich everything they could possibly want.

The real solution was put forward by Jeremy Corbyn in the run-up to the general election, of course: Increase taxes for the top five per cent of earners.

A Tory MP and former minister who has been a cheerleader for so-called “blue-collar Conservatism” has warned against any tax rises that would hit working families.

Robert Halfon spoke out after it emerged that the chancellor, Philip Hammond, was considering additional levies on fuel, homes and pension relief as a way of plugging the hole in public finances.

Responding in particular to the suggestion that Hammond could end a long-term freeze on fuel duty increases, the Harlow MP said: “This war on motorists has got to stop.”

Halfon, who has been credited as a key campaigner on fair fuel prices, argued that the Conservative party ought to be reducing the burden on drivers not increasing it.

Source: Tory MP and former minister speaks out against tax increases | Politics | The Guardian


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The battle against anti-Semitism is wrapped up with aggressive Zionism, not bigots like Kevin Myers

Alan Hart: His book suggests the real way to fight anti-Semitism is by defeating aggressive, nationalist Zionism.

With anti-Semitism on the rise again in countries around the world, a book written more than a decade ago seems to provide the reason.

Entitled Zionism: The Real Enemy of the Jews, BBC and ITN reporter Alan Hart’s book was published in 2005, and suggests that anti-Semitism is on the rise because of the abhorrent behaviour of aggressive – or, as he describes it, nationalist – Zionists in Israel.

This Writer reckons it is worth reminding people of this, on the day Holocaust denier Kevin Myers was sacked as an Irish Sunday Times columnist for anti-Semitic and misogynist comments.

And at a time when Israel has risked “religious war” with Muslims after trying to install metal detectors and CCTV cameras outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, recognised as Islam’s third most holy site, the book’s message seems entirely up-to-date.

According to the Independent: “The new security measures were introduced after two Israeli policemen were shot dead by three Arab-Israeli gunmen on July 14. Then 113 people were injured outside the Al-Aqsa mosque on Thursday after Muslims returned to prayers, having initially boycotted services because of the new security measures. The site’s religious authority encouraged worshippers to attend after saying Israel had removed the controversial new security measures.

“Violent clashes broke out as crowds flocked back to afternoon services, and security forces used stun grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets in attempting to control the crowd.”

This was an attempt by the Israeli government to stop innocent people from attending their place of worship – on the flimsy pretext that some of them might be carrying weapons. Would you carry a gun into a church? For what purpose?

Mr Hart’s book shines a light over similar behaviour by Israel. In a review on his own site, Beastrabban states: “Hart is outraged at the bullying and intimidation of decent, non-racist people, by the Zionists, who use false accusations of anti-Semitism to silence their critics.”

There’s an implied accusation against the peaceful worshippers at Al-Aqsa, isn’t there? And doesn’t it appear to be false, if the aggressors were all Israeli security forces?

It is incidents like this that resonate around the world. Remember the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, often known as Operation Protective Edge?

That fight led to the deaths of 67 Israeli soldiers, with 468 wounded, while six Israeli civilians were killed and 36 wounded. Compare that with United Nations figures that show 789 Palestinian militants killed, along with 1,462 Palestinian civilians. The Gaza Health Minister suggested that 10,626 militants and civilians were wounded.

These figures are completely disproportionate. While nobody should condone violence carried out by anybody, because armed conflict of any kind is a failure, when one side suffers 577 casualties while the other suffers 12,877 – 25 times as many – outrage seems more than justifiable.

And – unfortunately – that outrage seem to find its expression, not in Israel where it could be used to fuel efforts to find a peaceful end to such conflicts, but in Europe and America, where most Jews live as spiritual Zionists, looking on Jerusalem as the centre of their religion and spiritual capital, but with no further ambition towards that part of the world.

That is the thesis of Mr Hart’s book – “that the behavior of political Zionism’s child, Israel, where only a minority of the world’s Jews live giving substance to Jewish nationalism in action, is the prime cause of the re-awakening of the sleeping giant of anti-Semitism” [from the book’s dust-jacket].

The author was heartened by the result of a debate on the subject “Zionism is today the real enemy of the Jews”, when the motion was carried. For him, it meant “the silence of mainstream diaspora Jews on the matter of the Zionist state’s behavior had been broken”.

But, after reaching out to Jewish groups and organisations, he had to admit that he was facing a long struggle, as he “learned that most Jews, because of the past, are so fearful of the future – unspeakably terrified – not just frightened – that they are frozen in silence, unable more than unwilling to criticize Israel”.

The Beast adds: “This passage therefore shows just how immensely courageous Jewish critics of Zionism… are, in defying this fear. And it also shows just as clearly how utterly wretched and despicable [are] those would try to silence Israel’s critics by denouncing them as anti-Semites, when they are nothing of the sort, and constantly trying to invoke fears of a renewed holocaust. These are the tactics used by the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism and the Jewish Labour Movement.”

I should not have to remind anybody reading this of the names of people who have been denounced as anti-Semites for criticising the behaviour of the Israeli state – or of the fact that I was denounced as one, simply for trying to uncover the facts behind the defamation of some of those people.

A definition of anti-Semitism that includes criticism of Israel among its criteria has been approved by the UK government for no very good reason. What other definition of racism refers to a specific country in such a manner?

So we can see that good people are being terrorised by the threat of being labelled as anti-Semites (or “self-hating Jews”, which is another term directed at Jews who criticise the Israeli political regime).

And organisations like the Campaign Against Antisemitism legitimise their behaviour by joining those who accuse genuine anti-Semites like Kevin Myers.

His abhorrent behaviour has nothing to do with criticism of Israel and everything to do with historic stereotypes that have no place in society – any society. But the CAA can use him to justify its campaign to silence critics of Israel.

That is why most of the fight against anti-Semitism in the modern world is a struggle against those who would abuse the term, applying it to those who don’t deserve it, in order to silence a vast majority of others.

You all know that This Writer is taking part in that struggle. I have been trying to get my local police force to investigate the false statements that were made against me when I was standing as a candidate in the county council elections last May.

The police have been sluggish, to say the least. I had to lodge an official complaint against a wrong decision not to investigate the crime. I was told a week ago that a decision had been made by the force’s legal department but have not been contacted by the Professional Standards Department, which handles complaints, with the details of that decision.

If it comes down against me, I have further legal arguments to put forward. will have justice.

And I know it will take time. It seems I am trying to change an entire culture that is standing against me, solely to perpetuate a lie.

It would be easy to give up, but I won’t.

If I don’t go through with this, how can I expect anybody else to?


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Right-wing paper shows how REAL anti-Semitism is perpetrated

Kevin Myers [Image: Irish Times].

Look at that! All the strident whining about anti-Semitism having found a home on the Left has just been shattered by a puff of reality.

No doubt it will be back as soon as its proponents have recovered, but Kevin Myers’s article in the Irish edition of the Sunday Times really is the kind of showstopper that could shut down the whole argument altogether.

This is a right-wing Holocaust denier, writing stereotypical fact-free anti-Semitic comments, in a Conservative-supporting newspaper run by Rupert Murdoch.

There is no ambiguity about it – no room for argument, as there has been in my own case, or those of Ken Livingstone, Jackie Walker or any of the other Lefties who have been maligned by (right-wing) crusaders claiming to be fighting anti-Semitism.

The article, headlined Sorry ladies, equal pay has to be earned, states: “I note that two of the best-paid women presenters in the BBC – Claudia Winkleman and Vanessa Feltz, with whose, no doubt, sterling work I am tragically unacquainted – are Jewish. Good for them.

“Jews are not generally noted for their insistence on selling their talent for the lowest possible price, which is the most useful measure there is of inveterate, lost-with-all-hands stupidity. I wonder, who are their agents? If they’re the same ones that negotiated the pay for the women on the lower scales, then maybe the latter have found their true value in the marketplace.”

While it may be true that Ms Winkleman and Ms Feltz are Jewish, and highly-paid (these facts being, respectively, public knowledge and revealed by the BBC recently), the remaining assertions have no basis in reality, other than in the fevered brains of anti-Semites like Mr Myers.

The claim that Jews demand higher pay than their worth is a pillar of anti-Semitic belief. The inference that they have done so, in this instance, for that reason, is at best a distortion of the facts and at worst an outright lie.

Oh, and the swipe at women in general – claiming that they may deserve to be lower-paid than men – is just plain, old-fashioned mysogyny.

Apparently the article is full of it, but it’s behind a paywall. I’m having to settle for pulling quotes from the Wikipedia article about this controversy, such as: “Is it because men are more charismatic performers? Because they work harder? Because they are more driven? Possibly a bit of each”. He also claimed men may be paid more because they “work harder, get sick less frequently and seldom get pregnant”.

The article prompted a storm of protest, resulting first in an apology from News UK, publishers of the Irish edition of the Sunday Times:

Then came the announcement that Mr Myers has been fired as a columnist for the newspaper:

Finally – an apropos of nothing much, it seems – we learned that his nickname at the Irish Independent was “My Arse”:

(I mention that as light relief because there’s very little of it coming up.)

Unfortunately for the fight against anti-Semitism, the article attracted the attention of the so-called Campaign Against Antisemitism, an organisation that more commonly targets people who make legitimate criticism of the state of Israel and smears them with accusations that they hate Jews. I have experienced this scurrilous and disreputable tactic firsthand.

It also handles some cases of actual anti-Semitism, such as this. I’ll not comment on whether this is because the transgression is so obvious it can’t be ignored.

The CAA demanded an investigation and apology from the Irish Sunday Times – which would be fine, if the tactics employed by Mr Myers were not so similar to those employed by that organisation.

I’m sure you all remember the CAA’s article about me, in which it was stated: “He writes prolifically on issues relating to Zionism and Jews and is an ardent defender of members of the Labour Party who are suspended or expelled over allegations of antisemitism. He has defended Jackie Walker, particularly for her comments that Jews were the chief financiers of the the slave trade. He endorses the views and cross-posts the writing of Tony Greenstein.

“Concerning the late Tam Dalyell’s comment that Tony Blair may have been “unduly influenced…by a cabal of Jewish advisers”, Mr Sivier suggests that this may have been “entirely justified”. He has defended some of the antisemitic tweets of Naz Shah, despite that MP accepting that what she had said was indeed antisemitic. He has asserted that the Socialist Workers’ Party’s omission of Jews from a list of victims of the Holocaust may have been “politically correct” and defended NUS President Malia Bouattia’s reference to the “Zionist-led media”. He regularly accuses Jews and others who point to antisemitism in his Party of acting in bad faith.

“In fact, it seems there are virtually no allegedly antisemitic incidents or individuals on the Left that Mike Sivier has not either defended or supported.”

All of the above claims are either lies or distortions, based on half-truths. There is not a single accurate fact there at all.

I wrote an article that addressed and dismissed all the issues raised by the CAA, and I strongly advise you to read it for yourself.

It is sad that such hypocrites put themselves forward as defenders and representatives of Jewish people, and cynical that they would exploit an obvious case of anti-Semitism like that of Kevin Myers to legitimise their own unacceptable – and similar – behaviour.

Fortunately – at least regarding Mr Myers – we may turn to more acceptable opinions:

https://twitter.com/MxJackMonroe/status/891583970059726848


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Right-wing press must shape up or shut up after Abbott targeted for abuse AGAIN

Diane Abbott pleaded for peaceful protests after the death of Rashan Charles – she certainly did NOT defend rioting.

When right-wingers- especially right-wingers running newspapers – find a metaphorical dead horse to flog, they really put their back into it, don’t they?

Editors of the Daily MailThe Sun and the Daily Express took it upon themselves to misrepresent Diane Abbott after she spoke up about rioting that has taken place in London after the death of Rashan Charles, a 20-year-old man who died after being “restrained” by police.

The trouble started shortly after around 150 people gathered in Dalston, near where Mr Charles was tackled by officers on July 22.

Protesters threw bottles at police and barricaded Kingsland Road, a long main road which runs past the police station where the protest started peacefully and also through the area where Mr Charles died. The disorder is said to have lasted around an hour, between 10pm and 11pm on Friday (July 28).

The Metropolitan Police said a 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm, while a police officer suffered an eye injury but remained fit for duty.

Ms Abbott, in whose Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency the rioting took place, put out a press release saying: “The anger and upset at the death of Rashan Charles is understandable. But Rashan’s family have explicitly spoken out against hostile actions. We must respect their wishes and any protests must be peaceful.”

The Express misrepresented her with this headline: “‘It’s understandable!’ Diane Abbott defends anger as violent rioters HIJACK protest“.

Of course, Ms Abbott wasn’t saying that rioting was “understandable”. She said “anger and upset” was. She was asking for protesters to respect the wishes of Mr Charles’s family – in fact advocating peaceful protest, not “hostile actions”.

Ms Abbott herself responded to similar lies in the Mail

– and also in The Sun:

Perhaps these right-wing propagandists have been emboldened by the apparent success of the Tory Party lie that Jeremy Corbyn promised to write off student debts if elected into office in June. In fact, he said no such thing and there was no such promise in the Labour Party manifesto.

Another recent right-wing lie is the Tory claim that parents having a job lifts children out of poverty, when in fact the rise in the number of working families simply means there has been an increase in working-household poverty.

They try to pretend that valid arguments – like those presented in a recent Momentum video about the selective amnesia suffered by certain middle-class Tory voters about the help they had to become comfortably wealthy – are “hateful” attacks on bourgeois “caricatures”, but are able to mount no coherent argument against its claims.

And does anybody remember the squawks of upset after This Site pointed out the political aspects of the disastrous fire that engulfed Grenfell Tower last month? Again, this had no basis in fact – the fire happened because safety regulations had been relaxed to the point where landlords could put flammable cladding on the building without being questioned over it, while neither council chiefs nor MPs reviewed safety rules.

Yes, it seems I was the first to point out specifically that there was a political angle to the disaster, on the morning after it happened. The Tories and their lapdogs in the press only picked up on articles that followed in other sites, again claiming that these criticisms were inappropriate.

And yet now – because of pressure from myself and the others – it’s the only story to be told about Grenfell.

Perhaps the uptight right believes Ms Abbott is fair game because she has carried out a few poor performances, notably in a radio interview about police funding and personnel. It was what’s known as a “gotcha” interview – one in which politicians are criticised for failing to memorise relevant information about a policy, rather than for the policy itself. Many Conservative politicians suffered the same fate in the run-up to the general election, but did not receive nearly as much negative attention.

It was later revealed that the MP has been suffering from a long-term illness – but This Writer does not recall seeing any apologies from the gutter newsrags.

Really, the tone of political debate needs to be improved, and massively.

Emotion-based, evidenceless claims from the right are pointless; we can all look up the facts.

And personal attacks that deliberately misrepresent comments by any politician are also ridiculous, because they can use the social media  – as Ms Abbott has – to dismiss these claims, almost before the printing presses have finished churning out hard copies of the lies.

The choice facing the right-wing media is very simple, then:

Shape up – or shut up.


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Private Eye: Degrees of gullibility (OR ‘You can’t hide your lyin’, Eye’*)

*With apologies to fans of The Eagles.

The new issue of Private Eye (1449, dated July 28-August 10) features a cartoon by Ken Pyne indicating that he – and the magazine’s editorial staff – are as gullible as everyone else who believed the Tory lie about Jeremy Corbyn and tuition fees.

The illustration (above) is doubly inappropriate in that it confuses the issue it is trying to ridicule.

As you can see, it shows two students discussing a third, who is holding a “Degree in Gullibility”. One is saying, “He believed Nick Clegg AND Jeremy Corbyn”.

The implication is that both Mr Clegg and Mr Corbyn have lied.

But the only liar is Mr Clegg (and the Eye, for publishing the cartoon).

The subject matter is clearly university tuition fees. Mr Clegg promised to cancel them if the Liberal Democrats were elected in 2010 – but instead, after going into coalition with the Conservative Party, he and the Liberal Democrats voted to triple them. So he lied in the run-up to the election.

In the 2017 election, Mr Corbyn also promised to cancel tuition fees, if elected. But he wasn’t elected so he couldn’t do so.

Perhaps Mr Pyne has confused tuition fees with student debt. Why not? After all, that’s what the Tories did.

Even then, Mr Corbyn isn’t a liar. Despite the claim that he promised to cancel student debts, it is clear that he never did, and it is the Conservatives who are the liars in that respect.

So perhaps the caption should read, “He believed Nick Clegg AND Theresa May”?

Either way – at least where Mr Corbyn is concerned, it seems nobody should believe Private Eye for the time being.


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