Tag Archives: Andrew

Starmer’s party has joined the fascists – it WON’T end Tory anti-protest law

David Lammy: he won’t stand up for your freedom and neither will Keir Starmer’s Labour.

Keir Starmer’s Labour Party will not reverse the Tory law that allowed police to arrest 64 people on the day of King Charles’s coronation – on suspicion that they might express anti-monarchist views in a way that other people might see.

That was the extent of their crime – if it can even be described as such. The police thought they might express a viewpoint that the State did not support, and that other people might notice.

Yes, there are claims that people were found equipped to glue themselves to street furniture in order to disrupt street activities – but this is the Metropolitan Police; it has lost all public trust or belief in its statements due to previous activities by its personnel which I do not believe I need to discuss here.

These are the police officers who arrested a group of people who are affiliated to them for handing out rape alarms to vulnerable women in Soho in the dead of night – on the pretence that they were going to set those alarms off and throw them at police horses. That shows how ridiculous their claims were.

There has been a public outcry against these draconian acts of suppression – quite rightly, because they are an expression of a fascist police state’s intent to crush any opposition to it. I put the argument in the strongest terms possible because I defy anybody to prove me wrong.

And the Starmer Party has gone full-fascist by supporting the new law.

David Lammy – who is the Shadow Foreign Secretary, bear in mind – said Starmer’s Labour would not repeal the Public Order Act, apparently because it doesn’t have time for it:

How strange. The Conservatives had time to pick apart any laws enacted by the previous Labour administration that actually helped people, during a five-year term in which they imposed unnecessary austerity on the UK that crippled the economy and invited unwanted private firms into the NHS, all while in an uneasy alliance with the Liberal Democrats.

But StarmerLabour doesn’t have time to halt the jackbooted march of fascism into this country – this nation that fought the totalitarianism that Lammy is welcoming now?

What a damning betrayal of the United Kingdom.

The Shadow Cabinet seems united in this betrayal: Shadow Minister for Public Health Andrew Gwynne told Andrew Castle on LBC that he was “all for freedom of speech” – except during the coronation, which he described as a “celebration”, “promoting British values across the world”.

So Gwynne’s idea of “British values” equates to suppression of free speech – never mind his claim that he’s “all for” freedom of speech later in the interview; he later added “but the coronation is a celebration,” and we all know that everything before the “but” is irrelevant.

Gwynne couldn’t care less about your right to oppose the coronation if you want to; his view is that it is a celebration of British values that include clamping down hard on free speech and arresting anybody who tries to express a dissenting opinion.

“Let’s wait and see what happens in the future as to whether this new law has properly curtailed people’s rights,” he said. So he considers it is “proper” for your rights to be “curtailed”.

These people give themselves away. See – and hear – for yourself:

And it’s not just protest that will get you arrested; journalists like myself could be detained for recording or filming it. Watch this, and take note of Labour Lord (yes, it seems there are still some voices of reason in that party) Prem Sikka’s comments:

In another tweet, Lord Sikka added: “Our rights were secured by protests/disobedience. Labour risks alienating its traditional voters. The country needs to jettison the toxic Tory policies, not perpetuate them.”

Also commenting on the clip, Richard Murphy of Funding the Future stated: “And Labour say they will not repeal the laws that allow our structurally racist and misogynistic (and so politically biased) police from doing this. What is happening to our democracy?”

On his website, Mr Murphy expanded on Labour’s betrayal of your universally-held human rights: “With a golden opportunity presented to him to make the news agenda and stand up for the inviolability rather than the conditionality of human rights, Lammy ducked it.

“What, after all, would a party born in the basis of protest want to do supporting the right of those who do so?

“And what, incidentally, is the “positive agenda” Labour will promote? Apparently it is growth, the cost of living and inflation. But inflation will go away anyway as it always does; Labour can do nothing about the cost of living unless it redistributes and it is already staying it will not; whilst on growth, we all know that the benefit of this will all go to those already wealthy.

“So, what is Labour for, now? I keep asking the question and still I can find no answer.”

It’s not for the unions any more – as seems clear from the following:

‘Tom London’ on Twitter also commented on the video clip: “‘Conspiracy to commit a public nuisance’ is an Orwellian phrase which can be used to cynically “justify” almost any arrest. The Tory Govt put this on the Statute Book knowing this. Starmer’s Party barely opposed. BBC and most of the rest of the media feebly nodded – or clapped.”

Other commentators, discussing the Starmer Party’s position, have universally opposed it. This is just one example:

We are left with a simple question: If Labour refuses to represent us, why should we vote for that party? Here’s Sue Jones:

There are still people in what’s left of the Labour Party who still support its founding values – like Prem Sikka (above) and Richard Burgon…

… but they are few and far between, and they are not in charge of party policy.

So there is no reason to support Keir Starmer and his cronies. Their only interest seems to be their own personal gain and their attitude to anyone who wants a country that works for everyone is that there’s nobody else to whom you can give your vote.

But is that right?

The results of last week’s local elections in England show that the electorate is becoming increasingly willing to vote with its feet, taking support away from traditional – tribal – options and handing it to parties that offer better options – or people they know they can trust.

There’s nothing to stop that happening in Westminster – especially when both StarmerLabour and the Conservatives present themselves as equally poor options.

And look what MPs can say when they’re released from the tyranny of the party whip. Here’s Claudia Webbe, who was thrown out of the Labour Party by the Starmer crowd:

It’s time for voters across the UK to take a hard look around and, if necessary, find an alternative to the elites in Westminster from among ourselves.

The corruption of the party in office – and its main rival – has gone too far for reasoned argument to halt it. The coronation day arrests and the way they were supported by Lammy and Gwynne make that perfectly clear.

So we have to find a better way.

Nobody ever achieved change by cowering at home and kowtowing to the thug with the truncheon.

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Anti-vax MP Andrew Bridgen expelled from the Conservative Party

Andrew Bridgen: he’s not a Tory MP anymore.

The Conservative Party has expelled Andrew Bridgen for saying Covid-19 vaccinations were “the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust”.

A party disciplinary panel said he had to go for making the comparison, and for breaching lobbying rules.

He had failed to declare an interest in a firm called Mere Plantations while lobbying on behalf of that firm, He had also attacked the integrity of then-Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone, and he tried to claim that her investigation was part of a personal attack by whoever made the complaint against him (further details are here).

Everybody involved seems to be delighted, for a change.

The Tories are happy to be rid of Bridgen, with prime minister Rishi Sunak saying Bridgen’s comments were “totally unacceptable”. Whether that’s true or not, This Writer will leave for you to decide.

And Bridgen seems happy to be out of the Tory Party, saying he had been expelled under “false pretences” amid a “culture of corruption, collusion and cover-ups”.

He said the Conservative Party had made an example of him because of his vocal criticism of the vaccine rollout.

He said he would “continue to fight for justice for all those harmed, injured and bereaved due to governmental incompetence” – and he’ll campaign to be returned to his Parliamentary seat at the next general election.

It seems the House of Commons is filling up with MPs who have been cut loose from their parties, saying it is the parties’ dogma that is at fault.

How long before they become the largest group in Parliament?

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Tories have been … misleading … with ‘Welsh Government handout for asylum-seekers’ claim

Rishi Sunak: he made himself look like an utter halfwit by answering a question about Welsh Government policy in Prime Minister’s Questions.

Senior Conservatives have been telling porkies to get electoral advantage over the Labour Party in Wales, it seems.

Leader of the Welsh Conservatives Andrew RT Davies and Secretary of State for Wales David TC Davies both endorsed a claim that the Welsh Government is planning to give asylum seekers £1,600 per month.

But it seems the claim is utter bunkum, based on a letter that was not what The Sun had claimed. But then, why would anybody believe The Sun? Here’s Nation.Cymru:

The letter – which has been obtained by Nation.Cymru – was not an attempt to create a new asylum seeker policy, but involved three Welsh ministers seeking clarification on a pilot that already exists in Wales regarding 18-year-old care leavers.

The Welsh Government launched the Basic Income for Care Leavers scheme in July 2022 which ensures eligible young people leaving the care system receive £1,600 a month for the first 24 months of leaving care.

The Basic Income for Care Leavers only focuses on the category of care leavers which does include some unaccompanied asylum seeking children who were looked after by a local authority up until the age of 18.

The inclusion of asylum seeker children who were raised in care was always a factor that had been budgeted for by the Welsh Government from the outset of the pilot.

Eligibility for the scheme has not changed since it was set out in a written statement by the Welsh Government in February 2022.

Although it has not yet confirmed how many young asylum seekers leave care on average every year, a Welsh Government source said the number is “a very small proportion of those taking part in the pilot”.

So there’s nothing dodgy about this scheme at all.

But Andrew RT Davies said it was “creating an even bigger pull factor to bring people across the Channel”.

Welsh Secretary David TC Davies said: “Incentivising illegal migrants to risk their lives by crossing the Channel in exchange for taxpayers’ cash is wrong, dangerous and hugely irresponsible. That is why I have denied the Welsh Labour Government their request.”

One of the letter’s signatories, Mick Antoniw, pointed out to him: “This is nothing to do with you. No request has been made to you. Your permission is not required for anything.”

The lunacy even reached as high as prime minister Rishi Sunak, who said the pilot could incentivise people smuggling.

Nation.Cymru has acquired a comment from the Welsh Government that makes Sunak look like a simpleton:

“It is disappointing that inaccurate and misleading claims are being used to trivialise these sensitive issues.”

Source: Senior Tories accused of ‘distorting’ truth over ‘inaccurate’ reports of £1,600 payment for asylum seekers in Wales

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Tory Andrew Murrison sits corrected on crime figures

Conservative minister for defence people, veterans and service families Dr Andrew Murrison tried to put forward the Tory line on crime to a BBC Question Time audience in Bristol – and failed miserably.

He wanted them – and the rest of us – to believe that crime has fallen by half since the Tories slithered into office in 2010. But to do that, he had to ignore fraud.

Vox Political has already pointed out that, in fact, crime has increased by 50 per cent over the relevant period – watch as host Fiona Bruce quotes the same figures back to Dr Murrison.

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Tory Andrew Bowie lies about recorded crime

Did you hear the Big Lie on the BBC’s Question Time last night (March23)?

Tory Andrew Bowie, asked to discuss the report showing that trust in the Metropolitan Police is at an all-time low because it is institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic, said crime has been halved between 2010 (when the Tories slimed their way back into government) and now.

If you missed it, here it is:

The facts demonstrate almost the exact opposite:

Here are the figures:

The change from 4,150,916 crimes in the 2010-11 financial year (remember the Tories came to office in May 2010) to 6,300,968 by March 2022 is an increase – a rise – of more than 51 per cent.

He must have known he would be asked about the police and crime; he must have been briefed on these figures.

So he must have known he was spouting falsehoods. Right?

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The politics we need: former Labour policy director on Keir Starmer – and the Tories

This is a video worth watching.

Former Labour Director of Policy Andrew Fisher has provided his opinions on Keir Starmer’s decision to unilaterally ban Jeremy Corbyn from standing for election as a Labour candidate again, on Starmer’s Labour generally, and on UK politics and the timidity of its politicians.

It’s a meaty interview, and you should probably bookmark it so you can dip in and return to it, because it is three-quarters of an hour long.

But it is well worth your time:

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Why did a government minister mislead us about BBC Chairman Richard Sharp?

Corruption? Richard Sharp (left) and Boris Johnson.

A Parliamentary committee has reached a damning conclusion about BBC Chairman Richard Sharp, who helped facilitate a very large loan to Boris Johnson while he was applying to Johnson for his current job.

The Commons’ Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee said Mr Sharp committed serious errors of judgement in his conduct. It clearly seems to have created a serious conflict of interest, if not outright corruption – arranging financial help for the person to whom he was applying for a job.

On the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, said Mr Sharp’s future as chairman was a matter for the BBC.

This is not true.

His was a government appointment – he was given the job by then-prime minister Boris Johnson (that’s why there was a conflict of interest) and only the government can remove him from office (although he may still resign of his own accord).

Watch Mitchell dump himself in the mire and try to talk himself out of it – and then enjoy the reactions of panellists on the show, including John Nicholson, the SNP MP who grilled Mr Sharp hotly at the DCMS committee session.

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Zara Aleena probation failings not political says Tory boy Bowie – but they are

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak was under pressure over the murder of Zara Aleena in Ilford – so one of his mouthpieces rushed in to claim there was no political element to the case.

Ms Aleena was murdered by Jordan McSweeney, who had been wrongly assessed as a “medium risk” offender, when in fact the violent, woman-hating racist should have been classed “high risk” and recalled to prison after missing probation appointments.

A Ministry of Justice review has found that probation officers were under mounting pressure at the time of McSweeney’s assessment, with staffing shortages and an increasingly-heavy workload.

These are both symptoms of government funding cuts – and, indeed, during PMQs, Keir Starmer raised a “botched, then reversed” attempt to privatise the service, and a decade of underinvestment.

And Ms Aleena’s family’s spokeswoman, her aunt Faraz Naz, made it perfectly clear that “Government bears responsibility too, it is not just the probation service. They have blood on their hands.”

But Tory MP Andrew Bowie, discussing the case on the BBC’s Politics Live, falsely claimed this had not been said – after trying to say that the failings of the Probation Service were not political:

Of course they were.

They were the result of political decisions to starve the service of staff and resources.

A Conservative MP was responsible. But once again, it seems, we are not likely to see anybody take responsibility.

Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.

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MP suspended over vaccine comments wants to take professional camel-muncher to court. Can he?

Well, yes he can, on the face of it.

Andrew Bridgen has threatened Matt Hancock with legal action after the former Health Secretary and I’m A Celebrity contestant accused him of using anti-Semitic language:

It is true that Hancock is protected from a lawsuit based on what he said in the Commons Chamber by Absolute Privilege – an exemption from the law that allows MPs to denounce dodginess committed by the powerful without fear of vexatious lawsuits against them.

Hancock made the same claim on Twitter, using no different words – but he may be sued by Andrew Bridgen for this – as I understand it – because tweets are not protected by Parliamentary Privilege.

It doesn’t matter whether the tweet was, almost word for word, what was said in Parliament.

As it happens, though, it is true that Parliamentary Privilege was successfully used to make allegations about the Teesside Free Port:

An MP has called on the Prime Minister to launch an inquiry into the transfer of publicly owned shares in the Teesworks site to private ownership in what he calls “crony contracts”.

At Prime Ministers’ Questions today (Wednesday January 11), Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham told Rishi Sunak that “taxpayers are set to lose tens of millions of pounds” as a result of the transfer of public assets to two Teesside businessmen.

But Simon Clarke and Jacob Young, two neighbouring North East Conservative MPs, accused Mr Cunningham of using parliamentary privilege to make a series of “damaging insinuations”

Here are the “insinuations”:

In a statement to The Northern Echo, Ben Houchen disputed Alex Cunningham’s claims, saying: “The Joint Venture Partnership Alex refers to, which it should be said was signed off by all local authorities, including Labour led Stockton Council, has been instrumental in unlocking the site which without them would still be sat empty costing the taxpayer at least £20m a year to keep safe.

“From the devastation seven years ago to the transformation that we promised and are delivering now is incredible.

If there is anything in the Teesside allegations, then we may have Bridgen and Hancock to thank for drawing them to our attention.

Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.

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Tory Bridgen facing Commons suspension over lobbying – but is the penalty strong enough?

Suspension threat: Andrew Bridgen.

Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen may be suspended from the House of Commons for five days after he failed to declare a financial interest in a firm while writing to ministers about it.

The Commons Standards Committee found that Bridgen had breached lobbying rules “on multiple occasions and in multiple ways” – and that he had also made an “unacceptable attack on the integrity” of Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone.

A BBC report stated:

The committee said Mr Bridgen had called the integrity of Ms Stone into question on the basis of “wholly unsubstantiated and false allegations, and attempted to improperly influence the House’s standards processes”.

According to the BBC (again),

It was recommended he be suspended for three days for this – in addition to two days for three breaches of the code of conduct, including failing to declare a relevant interest in emails to ministers.

The committee said Mr Bridgen should have told ministers and officials he received a donation and a funded visit to Ghana from the Cheshire-based firm Mere Plantations, and had a £12,000 contract to be an adviser.

Bridgen appealed against the decision, but a panel has dismissed this, saying the proposed penalty was appropriate. MPs will vote on whether to uphold the recommended five-day suspension.

It seems Bridgen had had questioned whether his reputation as an outspoken critic of then-prime minister Boris Johnson could have influenced Ms Stone’s findings:

He wrote to her saying: “I was distressed to hear on a number of occasions an unsubstantiated rumour that your contract as Parliamentary Standards Commissioner is due to end in the coming months and that there are advanced plans to offer you a peerage, potentially as soon as the Prime Minister’s resignation honours list.

“There is also some suggestion amongst colleagues that those plans are dependent upon arriving at the ‘right’ outcomes when conducting parliamentary standards investigations.

“Clearly my own travails with Number 10 and the former PM have been well documented and obviously a small part of me is naturally concerned to hear such rumours.

“More importantly however you are rightfully renowned for your integrity and decency and no doubt such rumours are only designed to harm your reputation.”

The committee said Mr Bridgen’s email “appears to be an attempt to place wholly inappropriate pressure on the commissioner” which is “completely unacceptable behaviour”.

In his appeal, it seems Bridgen criticised the investigation as “flawed”, arguing that it had not fully considered the motivations of the person who had made the initial complaint.

He also said he had been carrying out the duties of a constituency MP.

But the Independent Expert Panel, that had been asked to consider his appeal, concluded that the motivations of the complainant were “completely irrelevant” and that an exemption for an MPs constituency duties did not apply in his case.

Its members added that sanctions “could properly and fairly have been more severe”.

Then why weren’t they?

There are three fairly serious misdemeanours here:

  • he failed to follow lobbying rules (on multiple occasions, we’re told);
  • he tried to exert pressure on the Standards Commissioner by attacking her integrity; and
  • he tried to claim the investigation was part of a personal attack by whoever made the complaint about him.

So this is not just about lobbying, and possibly benefiting financially from such activities; it’s also about bullying and deflecting blame.

If a five-day suspension is the worst sanction that the Parliamentary standards system can impose, then perhaps there should be legislation to formally criminalise this behaviour, with jurisdiction on any punishment handed over to the courts?

Or would this simply give the police another opportunity to kowtow to the Conservatives?

Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.

https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/mike-sivier-libel-fight/

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