Tag Archives: falsehood

Boris Johnson’s conference speech: the lies, the bluster and the ridicule

This man knew, for one: Andrew Marr called out Boris Johnson on his false claims on the morning the Conservative conference began. In response, it seems Johnson doubled down, determined to dupe us with even more falsehoods than ever.

Did you watch Boris Johnson’s speech to the Tory conference last week? I didn’t.

I knew I would be able to get the gist from other sources later. And the satirical alternatives are so much more fun. For example:

For a more factual analysis, we may turn to the ever-reliable Peter Stefanovic:

With the benefit of fact checking, it’s now possible to go into Johnson’s false claims in more depth – if you have the stomach for it!

Let’s start with his misleading claim that the rollout of a vaccine for Covid-19 was only possible due to the greedy capitalist system, and to Brexit:

So his claims about the vaccines were lies. Happy? We’ll move on.

Let’s look at that analysis, starting with “We now have the fastest growth in the G7“.

The G7 is a group of big economies. If you compare GDP between April and June 2021 with the last three months of 2019, before the pandemic hit, the UK had the joint-fifth best growth in the G7, equal with Germany, and with only Italy doing worse.

So: not true.

How about “48 new hospitals, 50,000 more nurses“?

So far, construction has begun at six sites. One is a new cancer centre on an existing hospital site in Bath. The other five were hospital builds planned under pre-existing schemes (over the last decade) and include building work that stopped after the collapse of the construction firm Carillion.

Another lie, then.

The Conservatives promised 50,000 more nurses for England by March 2025. The latest figures show there were 310,251 full-time equivalent NHS nurses and health visitors in June 2021. While that is up 14,158 since December 2019, it still leaves 35,842 full-time equivalent posts to fill over the next three-and-a-half years.

Not going to make it, are they?

Let’s move on to “We have done 68 free trade deals, and that great free trade deal with our friends in the EU“.

Nearly all of these deals – 63 of them in fact – are “rollover” deals. That means they copied the terms of deals the UK already had when it was an EU member, rather than creating any new benefits.

So the actual number of new trade deals is five. And all of those apart from the one with Australia are only slightly changed from the EU deals they replaced.

By far the most important agreement – the one with the EU itself – creates additional barriers to trade which were not there when the UK was part of the EU single market, particularly for services. And the big Brexit hope of an early free trade deal with the United States has not been fulfilled.

Nor is it likely to be, while one of the additional barriers – connected with Northern Ireland – continues to threaten peace in the province. Johnson is doing nothing about that.

There was a ‘wild card’ attack on the Labour Party: “What’s Labour’s answer [to drug dealing] by the way? To decriminalise hard drugs apparently – to let the dealers off with a caution.”

Was it true? No.

The suggestion that Labour has a policy to decriminalise hard drugs is not true. The party has confirmed that it does not support this.

Finally, the big lie that Johnson keeps harping on about: “Wages are going up faster than before the pandemic began.”

They aren’t:

Since average salaries dipped in the first few months of the pandemic, comparing this July with last July looks like a record rise – but more because of lows back then than highs right now.

And rising inflation, meaning the cost of pretty much everything is increasing at a rate that outstrips Johnson’s claims about wage rises, mean that his talk is even more nonsense jabbering than usual; every day we are becoming less able to pay for the services we need.

The claims about wages struck a nerve in the general public, many of whom remember the contempt with which Johnson responded to NHS workers’ requests for a pay rise, after expressing such fake-heartfelt gratitude to them for their work fighting Covid-19:

But it didn’t stop there. Here’s a good question for every employee in the UK:

And now let’s have some facts. First this:

And now this:

One final note on the speech: He said he would “unleash the spirit of Britain” – a claim that was too rich for our wits to let lie:

And yes – he deserved both of those barbs.

The speech encouraged one commenter, Richard Haviland, to describe a series of “defining principles” of Johnson’s governing technique. Here they are:

Okay, I added a couple of comments on his list because I consider them insightful.

Speech? Johnson’s oration was a pack of lies from beginning to end!

The good news is we may soon see movements to curb Johnson’s insistence on lying to Parliament – and an end to the lies spoken by his ministers there as well – in spite of the reluctance of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle to rock the boat:

At the very least, such a debate will throw a spotlight on many of the hundreds of lies (according to respected right-wing journalist Peter Oborne) spoken by Johnson to Parliament since he became prime minister in mid-2019 – in line with Hoyle’s demand that such claims be part of a dedicated debate.

He may then face pressure to enforce existing conventions on Parliamentary liars – or to devise new penalties. And then we’ll get to watch Johnson falling foul of them every Wednesday lunchtime.

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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Far-right bully Ian Austin’s dishonest attack on centre-left journalist DEMOLISHED

Dishonest: Ian Austin.

I’m grateful to the Twitter account @leftworks for this excellent work in demolishing the dishonesty of far-right former Labour Lord Ian Austin, who has been fibbing about This Writer and anti-Semitism.

He did it in an article in the Jewish Chronicle, which should know better when it is already facing penalties from press regulator IPSO for repeatedly publishing factually inaccurate articles.

The piece on August 17 was another such screed, in which Austin wrote: “Just last week, decent Brighton councillor Peter Atkinson quit the party in protest at the readmission of Councillor Anne Pissaridou who had been suspended for sharing material picturing Jacob Rothschild and referring to the collapse of the banking system and an article claiming “pro-Israel propagandists have ‘taken out contract’ to stop Jeremy Corbyn being elected.””

It’s a reference to this Vox Political article – and if you’re familiar with it, you’ll already know how he has distorted my statement.

Leftworks explained the falsehood, on Twitter, in detail:

This is important, not only because Austin (does he really deserve to be called “Lord”?) was lying about me – I didn’t say anybody was taking out a contract to stop Corbyn; it was a highly-respected Jewish journalist whose contribution Austin was trying to erase – but because it calls into question all the other quibbles he raised in his attack piece.

I understand the allegation against me is taken from an accusation of anti-Semitism made against Cllr Pissaridou by the Labour Party, and published by the Brighton and Hove Argus. In so doing, it is perpetuating Labour’s libel against me – for which I am grateful as I have not been able to address it while I have been dealing with the vexatious case brought against me by TV parlour game-player Rachel Riley.

It may provide me with an opportunity to take Labour to court (again) over its false accusations against me. I’ll have to have a chat about it with my solicitor.

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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Atkins falsehoods are quietly edited out of Hansard. Will she now be dragged to the Commons to apologise?

Speaker: Lindsay Hoyle in action. He looks fierce in this image – but will he be quite so fierce in defending the reputation of the House of Commons, that Victoria Atkins has so casually besmirched?

After This Site highlighted the fact that the official record of Parliamentary proceedings had been ‘doctored’ to misrepresent Home Office minister Victoria Atkins’s smear against Jeremy Corbyn, we learn today that it has been quietly edited again.

Now the record presents her words as she said them, as this tweet from Leftworks shows:

Sadly, this has been done without a word of apology or explanation from the authorities, and this is not acceptable.

Furthermore, Atkins’s speech means she knowingly lied to Parliament – she misrepresented Jeremy Corbyn as a racist, wrongly using the EHRC investigation of the Labour Party as supporting evidence.

Lying to Parliament is a serious offence, and it is also considered extremely poor behaviour to accuse another member of Parliament in the way Ms Atkins has.

She should be dragged back to the Commons to apologise for her speech and explain why she thought it was acceptable to lie that Jeremy Corbyn was a racist in the same debate where she defended Boris Johnson, the prime minister, against the same charge, despite the many known occasions where he has exhibited such behaviour.

I have written to Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to that effect. Here’s the text of my letter:

I published an article on my website Vox Political yesterday, referring to surreptitious editing of Hansard to misrepresent the debate on the Urgent Question about racism in the social media, in the Commons on July 14.

In that debate, Home Office minister Victoria Atkins stated, “I remind the House of the findings of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission under his [Jeremy Corbyn’s] watch: Labour ‘unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised people because they are Jewish’.”

This was edited in Hansard with three words added as follows (I have capitalised them for ease of identification): “I remind the House of the findings of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission under his [Jeremy Corbyn’s] watch, TO DETERMINE WHETHER Labour ‘unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised people because they are Jewish’.”

In the debate, Ms Atkins went on to say, “I will listen to many people about tackling racism and I will work with pretty much anyone, but I will take a long spoon with which to sup with this particular member.”

The effect of her speech as a whole was to falsely present Mr Corbyn, a lifelong campaigner against racism and discrimination of any kind – as I am sure you, being a Labour Party member, are awre – as a racist.

The effect of the editing of Hansard was to corruptly mitigate that falsehood in the record, making it seem she said Labour was only investigated by the EHRC when in fact she presented Labour, and Corbyn, as having been found to have committed the offence stated.

I notice that Hansard has now been surreptitiously edited for a second time, with the offending words removed. I welcome this, although I believe the people of the UK deserve an explanation as to why the falsehoods appeared in the official record in the first place. In fact, I am writing to demand one. How many other falsehoods have been edited into Hansard, unnoticed?

Additionally, the new version makes Ms Atkins’s false claim against Mr Corbyn clear again. It is unacceptable and hypocritical for a UK government minister, who defended the prime minister against allegations of racism in the face of documented historical records of it, to also falsely accuse a former Labour leader of racism in the way she has.

In addition to my demand for an explanation of the editing-in of falsehoods into Hansard, I am therefore also writing to demand that Ms Atkins be brought back to the Commons to apologise for smearing another member of Parliament in the despicable way she has.

Let me make myself clear: I am not requesting these things – I am demanding them. Ms Atkins’s behaviour has seriously harmed the reputation of the House of Commons and if you fail to act, that institution will suffer further reputational harm.

I await your confirmation that you will comply with my wishes and look forward to seeing them carried out.

I don’t expect Hoyle to comply with my demands.

Like all tribes, MPs tend to stick together when they perceive they are being attacked by someone else.

But he knows that this offence has been seen, and he’ll have to record that he received a complaint about it.

Whatever happens next, I think we should all follow some of the prime minister’s advice, and be vigilant.

Let’s make it clear to our MPs that we’re sick of their antics. They were elected to represent us in a responsible way – not to engage in playground insults and lie about it afterwards.

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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WHY YOU NEED ME: Johnson’s government is out of control and the mass media are his cheerleaders

It’s not just Vox Political that you need – any social media commentary site that actually criticises the government rather than acting as its stenographer will do.

Professor Simon Wren-Lewis has put the situation in a nutshell with his own latest blogpost on Mainly Macro.

He states that Boris Johnson’s dictatorship is beyond Parliamentary control, and he has the mainstream media in his pocket.

He uses the decision to cut aid funding to foreign countries from 0.7 per cent of GDP to 0.5 per cent as an example:

A large number of Conservative MPs were unhappy with this, and wanted to use parliament to reverse this cut. The parliament’s speaker ruled their attempt invalid, but requested the government to allow a vote on the issue. The government refused.

The executive increasingly views parliament with contempt.

We knew this government thought little of parliamentary sovereignty when it closed it down, illegally, before the last election. The courts forced it to retract that measure, so now the government is intending to pass laws that would prevent the courts doing so again.

Of course, Parliament could pass a motion of “no confidence” in this dictatorship – but Prof Wren-Lewis rightly points out that “that is never going to happen while Johnson looks like winning the next election. As a result, parliament has no effective control over what this government does.”

Yes, it’s corrupt. But it’s the system we have.

Prof Wren-Lewis goes on to mention a series of scandals involving Johnson’s ministers: Michael Gove, Matt Hancock, Gavin Williamson, Priti Patel, and Robert Jenrick.

Did he sack any of those ministers for corruption and dishonesty? Of course not – and Prof Wren-Lewis puts his finger on the reason: “They are his people, and nothing bad is going to come from keeping the ministers he chose in the job… The key is that this government is totally unaccountable, and does just what it likes.”

And the reason it can do what it likes – more than any other – is the fact that Johnson controls the UK’s mass media. And that means he can control what you think about him:

For a large part of the press, Johnson is their Prime Minister. They became propaganda outlets to persuade people to vote for Brexit, and they have remained propaganda outlets supporting the government ever since.

The extent to which the right wing press has become the propaganda arm of the right in the Tory party has steadily increased over the last few decades.

Prof Wren-Lewis rightly narrows his focus down to the BBC. The corporation has a huge, 70 per cent, share of the current affairs information that gets into your home and into your head:

The big change, begun by Thatcher and Cameron and completed by Johnson, is to tame the BBC. This is hardly surprising, when party donors are appointed to key positions and the government keeps attacking the BBC’s outputs, income and even its existence.

The BBC does not push propaganda, but they do not take it on either, giving the press a largely open field for their propaganda to work.

They avoid the truth if it embarrasses the government, and when its reporters do tell things straight, they are put down by the BBC’s leadership.

Because of the way the BBC fails in its reporting, even things that do have a large impact on voters, like tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths, will never be described in those terms.

That lack of media accountability allows Johnson to ignore his scientists, and put personal ‘freedom’ above saving lives and the economy. This is what happens when the government becomes unaccountable. It is allowed to make mistakes costing lives, and pays no price for these mistakes.

What does this mean for you – the news viewer/reader and voter?

See for yourself:

The only accountability that has any influence on this government is the electorate. But because of its natural advantage in the media, and unfortunately an opposition that seems pretty ineffective beyond PMQs, that influence on the government is partial and weak.

Issues most voters will not notice, because their only sight of them is a news item towards the end of a bulletin (like the government breaking the law on contracts), can be safely ignored by the government.

That means your attention is diverted away from criticism of the Johnson government’s many failings.

You are told that everything is running swimmingly by the government’s front man, whose upbeat turn of phrase and mop of deliberately-messy blond hair hides his “duper’s delight” smile that says he is lying to you.

You believe him when he tells you the vaccination programme is keeping you safe, even though cases of Delta Variant Covid-19 infections are skyrocketing.

You don’t believe he has screwed up the economy with his duff Brexit trade deals, or that he has jeopardised the peace in Northern Ireland, or any number of other idiocies for which he is responsible – because you simply don’t know about them.

That’s where I come in.

Vox Political has provided consistent criticism of the UK’s politicians for very nearly 10 years.

That means when Daniel Kawczynski apologised for bullying, I was able to put it in context and point out it is not a minor incident.

It means when Priti Patel supports football fans who boo protests against racism, I can point out all the incidents in her career that show she is a racist too.

It means I can highlight Tory corruption whenever it surfaces.

And that means the UK’s electorate should be reading Vox Political – right?

But only a tiny fraction of the politically-oriented public does – because the mass media ignore the work done here (for obvious reasons – they support the Tories and don’t want to publicise anybody who doesn’t) and the social media platforms push sites like this one down your newsfeeds so you don’t realise we’re here.

The ultimate aim is to starve us out of business so there’s nobody left to object when they spoonfeed you their Tory-approved falsehoods, anaesthetising you into supporting Johnson’s crowd while they strip you of all the hard-won freedoms your ancestors gained over the last hundred years and more.

As I say, Vox Political isn’t the only critical social media site available. But times have been hard over the year (and more) of Covid-19. Readerships have fallen and some of us are in danger.

So, please do yourself – and everybody you know – a favour.

Give us a boost, every chance you get.

Promote us to your friends and family members when we highlight the facts that contrast so strongly with the fairy stories you see on the BBC News.

The only way to change people’s minds is one at a time – but that can’t happen if everybody is ignoring the facts and turning down the chance to explain them.

Source: mainly macro: A government out of control

Boris Johnson’s Lie of the Day: he never cut the number of lorries queuing in Kent


Why does he do it?

In his latest car-crash (please don’t groan) TV press conference, Boris Johnson told us that he had taken action to reduce the number of lorries queuing in Kent to be transported to continental Europe, as both the UK and the EU prepare for new trading conditions from January.

Oh, really?

What are all these, then?

Those of you who saw the broadcast might be saying, “Ah, but! Johnson was referring to lorries on the M20 – and that’s some airport runway, from the look of it!”

Yes indeed. These appear to be the overspill from the M20 – lorries that have been diverted to park elsewhere.

But it doesn’t mean that Johnson wasn’t misleading us. Oh, and let’s make it clear – it’s Boris Johnson who made the misleading statement (this for the benefit of the BBC):

For clarity:

The tailback was precipitated by Johnson’s (him again!) announcement on Saturday (December 19) that he was cancelling a planned relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions for Christmas because of the unexpected virulence of a new mutation of the virus – a situation of which, it transpires, he has only been aware for four months (since late September).

The international response from around 40 countries now has been to close their borders to any and all traffic to and from the UK – hence the queue in Kent.

Why did Johnson lie?

Well, that’s a very good question:

One aspect of this situation that isn’t being discussed by Johnson is the fact that he is creating a huge health risk by failing to provide emergency food and sanitation facilities for more than a thousand stranded lorry drivers:

Isn’t Johnson begging for a new outbreak of Covid-19 – right there among the drivers – by failing to provide basic facilities for cleanliness?

He is responsible for this; it was his decision that created the situation.

I wonder how he will talk his way out of it.

With a lie, I expect…

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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As police get access to #trackandtrace data, the public swaps stories about #ToryLiars

A load of bull: how many people believe the childish chatter the Tories give us every day in place of facts?

Public patience with the lies of Boris Johnson’s Conservative government is running out.

The latest revelation of their duplicity – that supposedly confidential information provided by people who use the Tories’ silly ‘contact tracing’ app is being passed to the police – has triggered a wave of social media posts under the hashtag #ToryLiars.

Here’s the story that triggered it:

It states that there is a legal requirement for contacts of people who’ve had a positive Covid-19 test to self-isolate for 14 days, but fewer than 11 per cent are actually doing so.

Police are being given their identity details in order to chase up enforcement.

Reasons given for breaking self-isolation include believing there was no point isolating from strangers if you cannot properly distance from those in your household; not developing symptoms; or visiting shops or a pharmacy.

Obviously the second excuse is made by idiots; we’ve already been told symptoms may develop over a period of up to 14 days, so failure to see them before the full period is over is no excuse for ending self-isolation.

But the point about not isolating from strangers if you can’t isolate from other members of your household who don’t have to self-isolate under Tory government rules is a good one. I have said before that, if symptoms develop, then the housemates may have spent many days merrily spreading the virus.

And my own knowledge of friends and family who were told to “shield” from the virus by isolating themselves while healthy is enough for me to understand why people have been forced to give up self-isolation to buy food and/or seek medication.

It isn’t a failure of intelligence because it was easy to see these problems coming and while I do believe our government ministers are stupid, I don’t believe they were not warned. I think they chose to ignore those warnings and left people to struggle – and spread the virus.

You see, a partial lockdown is as useless as no lockdown at all, when you’re trying to contain a disease.

So the Tories have created a situation where their own failure to create proper conditions for self-isolation has created a need for police enforcement that should not be there.

The public know this and resent it. Hence the charge that the Tories have lied about the app’s confidentiality.

I know some have pointed out that no information on the app itself is being shared – just registration details – but of course people hand those details over in order to use the app so it is a very flimsy excuse.

The claim that this is a lie has led to further comments on other recent Tory lies. And there have been a lot of them:

Undoubtedly the list is lengthening as I type this.

Look up the #ToryLiars hashtag on Twitter and learn something.

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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Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
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Riley libel case: Is this how wealth is used to stifle justice?

I’ve been made aware of an interesting political angle to the libel case brought against me by Rachel Riley:

It seems that right-wing sites on social media can say whatever they like, and their victims are expected to “take it on the chin”, whereas those attacking left-leaning sites are “only too happy to call in the lawyers to extract apologies – and of course money”.

I refer to the right-wing Guido Fawkes blog, which mistakenly claimed that Labour leadership contender Rebecca Long-Bailey had misled the nation about her personal wealth, being married to a chemical industry tycoon.

She isn’t.

In fairness, Guido’s bosses have apologised and deleted the article and links to it.

But it’s not a good look for a site that claims to fight “fake news”.

And according to Zelo Street (whose article forms the basis of this one), Guido boss Paul Staines “claims not to take any notice of legal threats and attempts to prevent him from publishing what he wishes”.

So we have a situation where right-wing organisations can insult people, and mislead the public about them willy-nilly. Is that because they know their targets can’t afford to sue them?

In contrast, when someone else – like me – raises a legitimate issue, I get lumbered with a hugely expensive court action.

The Zelo Street information suggests that I’m right in thinking the case against me is more about buying a verdict than actually serving justice.

But they didn’t count on enough people supporting my CrowdJustice campaign to give me a stab at defeating them.

So far, nearly £50,000 has been raised – but more is needed. When I started, I did not expect to get far, but the stunning amount of support I’ve received has given me a fighting chance.

Please keep the cash coming in, and encourage others to do the same. Here’s a reminder of how to do it:

Please consider making a donation yourself, via the CrowdJustice page.

Email five of your friends, asking them to pledge to the CrowdJustice site.

Post a link to Facebook, asking your friends to pledge.

On Twitter, you could tweet in support, quoting the address of the appeal.

On other social media platforms, please mention the campaign there, quoting the appeal address.

I can disprove the allegations against me. With your help, I’ll be able to afford to.

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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Shame on Victoria Coren Mitchell for joining the anti-Corbyn, anti-Semitism witch-hunt

Lost respect: She might have been smiling but not only did Victoria Coren Mitchell lose the respect of knowledgeable TV viewers, her actions were deeply upsetting to those who had previously thought better of her.

This Writer’s television had a lucky escape last night. I was out watching a gig in Shrewsbury and did not see Victoria Coren Mitchell making a fool of herself – and no doubt many millions of viewers – on Have I Got News For You.

I understand from reports following the travesty that she made a comment to camera after a segment suggesting that the Labour Party had gone from being several million pounds in profit to hundreds of thousands in debt.

Apparently addressing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, the gist of the joke – if you can call it that – was that if he wanted someone good with money, he should try the Jewish bankers he believes are conspiring against him.

Firstly: Jeremy Corbyn has never – ever – given voice to the anti-Semitic trope about a conspiracy of Jewish bankers.

So Ms Coren Mitchell was broadcasting a lie. Claiming it was a joke doesn’t make it acceptable. Nor does claiming it was part of a script; she knows about the anti-Corbyn smears and the witch-hunt in general and could have refused.

Secondly: As she was the one who invoked the ‘Jewish banking conspiracy’ trope, it is Ms Coren Mitchell who committed an act of anti-Semitism.

Worse still, she doubled down on the transgression when she was challenged about it on Twitter, although she got what she deserved in response.

If I had seen it – well, as I stated at the top, my TV set had a lucky escape.

In the name of balance, we should mention – as Beastrabban has – that Mr Corbyn is on the record as having criticised the BBC for failing to broadcast enough programmes catering for the Jewish community in the UK. That should be indicative of his attitude to Jewish people.

The BBC, of course, has ‘form’ when it comes to anti-Corbyn smears. One has only to consider the outrage caused by its grotesquely biased Panorama documentary Is Labour Antisemitic? that was broadcast in July.

But I must echo Beastrabban’s disappointment in Ms Coren Mitchell – and that of the many others who voiced similar feelings. We all thought she was better than that. How shaming for her that we were mistaken.

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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Jane Dodds: Another spamming leaflet – another pack of lies. Who’d vote Lib Dem now?

This bird is dead: The Liberal Democrats have shot down their own chances in Brecon and Radnorshire by annoying residents with false claims.

The latest stunt from attention-seeking Liberal Democrat spammer Jane Dodds is – surprise, surprise – yet another leaflet to clog up letterboxes in Brecon and Radnorshire, this time masquerading as a newspaper.

This is a common tactic by political parties in the run-up to an election; as long as they make it clear that it is an election communication on behalf of their organisation, it is permitted and perusal of the (very) small print on the front page does indicate this, if you get your magnifying glass out.

The propaganda starts at the very top of page one, with a claim that the Yellow Tories are “The winning team for Brecon and Radnorshire”. It’s a classic brainwashing/programming technique to make you think the LDs are going to win and encourage you to vote for what you’ve been told will be the winning side. Peer pressure – nothing more than that. But then the sub-headline says, “Your vote can make the difference this Thursday.” Why should it? This rag has already told us the LDs are “the winning team”. What a contradiction.

The headline itself, “Time for change,” is misleading. We’ve had either Liberal Democrats or Conservatives as MP here in Brecon and Radnorshire since 1979 and they have contributed nothing to improve lives here. Average wages are 25 per cent lower than nationally and the standard of living is similarly depressed. That is a failure by our representatives and the LDs must take their share of responsibility for that.

“Both opinion polls and bookmakers odds show a surge in support for hardworking candidate Jane Dodds as the best person to deliver the change Brecon and Radnorshire needs,” the text states. But it does not provide evidence to support these claims. And we already know Ms Dodds won’t be “hardworking” – her local policies depend on decisions made by other organisations like the Labour-run Welsh Assembly Government.

It goes on to say she has been “fighting for improvement in local healthcare” (nothing to do with her – it’s a devolved responsibility, handled by the Welsh Assembly Government) and “standing up for Welsh farmers” (the claim – elsewhere in the leaflet – that the Tories are planning to put a 40 per cent tariff on farming is not accurate, and of course with only two per cent of MPs in Parliament – or fewer – the LDs, with or without Ms Dodds, will have no effect at all on what happens).

A strapline running across the bottom of pages two and three states: “POLL LATEST: Labour are 150/1 outsiders – they can’t win on Thursday”. Again, the implication is that you should be voting for the candidate you have been told is most likely to win. This is completely at odds with democracy. The point of any election is for the electorate to vote for the candidate you think will do the best job.

Clearly, Ms Dodds won’t do the best job for Brecon and Radnorshire. This Writer doesn’t expect her to do any work at all.

On page four, we get rent-a-quotes from people we’re supposed to believe are members of the public who’ve been persuaded to vote Liberal Democrat. But at least one of them is known to This Writer as a card-carrying member of the Liberal Democrats. Are they all party members? The fact that just one of them belongs to that party shows that this is an attempt to hoodwink us.

Flip back to page two and there’s a quote from Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price AM, stating: “Putting party politics aside and delivering a pro-Remain MP for Brecon and Radnorshire is what is most important.” If you agree, vote for Labour’s Tom Davies. He supports another referendum, in which he will campaign for remaining in the EU. New Lib Dem leader Jo “let’s build a monument to Maggie” Swinson is on the record as saying that she would ignore democracy in order to push her own agenda.

No wonder a friend on Facebook said they had seen three new notices asking for no more “Jane Dodds spam”, while passing through Newbridge-on-Wye recently.

Ms Dodds is not telling you the truth, and neither is her party. She is spamming you with leaflet after leaflet in a bid to brainwash voters into supporting her in spite of the facts.

If This Writer had any influence, I would be saying that she is right in just one respect: You should send a message to the political establishment…

And the best way to do that is by voting for Labour’s Tom Davies.

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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By-election voters don’t need to exchange one bad right-wing MP for another one. Here’s the reason

Brecon and Radnorshire seems to be disappearing into a weird consensus reality in which the Liberal Democrats are actually being considered a serious alternative to the Conservatives, capable of standing up to them in Parliament. Has everybody here gone mad?

No. They are just falling prey to a well-oiled propaganda machine that the party known as the Fib Dems is using to steamroller all opposition.

But it may well run out of steam before we reach polling day on August 1 – especially as some of us are getting very good at debunking the falsehoods.

For example:

Yesterday (July 7), This Writer received a letter from Liberal Democrat candidate Jane Dodds, asking me to sign her petition to improve access to dentists in Llandrindod Wells. This is actually a genuine issue here.

But it is a devolved issue. Ms Dodds states: “My colleague Kirsty Williams AM has been working with Powys Teaching Health Board to tackle access to dentists and I will work with her and all parties to help resolve these issues” but it is nothing to do with her. If she becomes MP and the issue is resolved, it seems likely that she will try to take credit for something she won’t have done.

This seems to be the pattern with all of the policies so far announced by this charlatan. I have already detailed reasons why we should doubt her claims about bringing improved broadband and more investment into the constituency.

Elsewhere on the social media, This Writer has become involved in several discussions about Liberal Democrat policy positions. As readers of This Site will know, I characterise the Liberal Democrats as a right-wing, authoritarian, neoliberal, austerity-supporting, privatising party – based on their record – and it infuriates me when their supporters describe them as centrist or even as a party of the left.

I eventually had to dig out the voting record of LD leadership candidate Jo Swinson to demonstrate the facts of the matter.

Ms Swinson is a dedicated Liberal Democrat and has supported her party in the vast majority of votes.

She has supported the Bedroom Tax, benefit cuts, the persecution of the sick and disabled, and cuts to local authority support for council taxpayers, among other things:

She voted to increase tuition fees to £9,000 per year after the Liberal Democrats promised to abolish them, to bring schools into private ownership, and to cut financial support for students.

Her environmental credentials are similarly appalling: She voted to sell our state-owned forests into the hands of developers and commercial profiteers, in support of the badger cull, against green energy, and for fracking. On climate change, her position is ambiguous – and we should take heed of that when Jane Dodds makes wild claims about wanting to fight climate change as Brecon and Radnorshire’s MP.

Finally, I pointed out that Ms Swinson voted to privatise the Royal Mail, to cut legal aid – putting court action beyond the reach of most people, and to create secret courts – at which defendants were not to be told the charges against them or even any of the evidence.

These are all right-wing policies that would make many Conservatives proud – and may even be too extreme for some.

If Ms Swinson becomes Liberal Democrat leader, these will be her policy positions – or she’ll be a hypocrite. And the bad news is that the other leadership candidate, Ed Davey, differs only in that he has a better record on climate change (but not on fracking).

We also touched on another policy issue – the Liberal Democrats’ opposition to the Iraq War. This came about in an extremely bizarre manner, from a comment by a person who, told that Labour was “negative”, said they wanted “to stop seeing children going to school hungry and coming home to parents exhausted by irregular work or ridiculous DWP requirement and either homeless or terrified of becoming so… Its negativity to want children not to starve?”

The response was to claim that Labour was responsible for the deaths of children. Under challenge, this was justified by reference to the Iraq War.

My response: “That is a war against another country, not a policy enacted here. If you’re determined to invoke it, how many children died in Libya, due to the Coalition government’s intervention there? You might also consider the fact that airstrikes against Syria were only called off – famously – because of intervention from the Labour Party, supported by rebel Tories. The Liberal Democrats voted to support them, including current leader candidates Ed Davey and Jo Swinson.”

It seems the Liberal Democrats’ anti-war credentials aren’t all that they’re said to be, either!

So we came to the fall-back that has been the basis of the entire Liberal Democrat campaign in Brecon and Radnorshire – and across the UK: That it’s a “two-horse race” and they are the only party capable of beating the Conservatives.

This is a lie.

I can demonstrate that it is a lie with reference to just one sentence by a Lib Dem supporter: “How are you going to convince Tory voters to vote Labour? It is unrealistic to think that they will.”

My answer is that there is no need to get hardcore Tories to vote for Labour.

No less than six candidates are standing in the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, of which four are right-wing.

Leaving aside the Liberal Democrats for a moment, that means the right-wing vote will be split between Conservative Chris Davies, the Brexit Party’s Desmond Parkinson and UKIP’s Liz Phillips. It won’t be an even split but, considering the core Tory vote is around 9,000, it should be enough to stop any of them from winning.

The Monster Raving Loony Party will have a representative in Lady Lily the Pink, and she’ll pick up the votes protesting at the lunacy of politics in the UK at the moment.

That leaves Labour and the Liberal Democrats. The Lib Dems are trying hard to convince people that giving them a 13th MP will make them a formidable force to convince Parliament to revoke Article 50 so we can all remain in the European Union. That is not going to happen.

Take a look at the graph at the top of this article. Liberal Democrats have just 1.8 per cent of the MPs in the House of Commons. That’s 12 MPs. A 13th will give them exactly two per cent of sitting MPs. That isn’t enough to achieve any such radical change of policy.

Alternatively, the Liberal Democrats are trying to convince people that giving them another MP will stop a Brexiteer from taking the seat and steering us towards a disastrous departure from the EU. That is not going to happen either. Not only will the vote be split between three Brexiteer parties but there wasn’t enough consensus on Brexit to make it happen when Brexiteer Chris Davies was the MP here, so having another Brexiteer won’t make any difference.

So what is this really about?

I’ll tell you. It’s about stealing votes from Labour.

The Liberal Democrats have traditionally pressganged Lavbour supporters into supporting them in Brecon and Radnorshire, with the threat that – if they don’t – a Tory will take the seat.

Their infamous “two-horse race” block graph is set at false levels to make it seem the distance between the Labour and Liberal Democrat votes is greater than it is, precisely to encourage this belief. A friend of This Writer has created a more accurate graph and it is damning for the Lib Dems:

Put it all together and you’ll see that the best place for floating voters who want to defeat the Conservatives, and the other right-wingers, is Labour.

It’s a genuinely left-wing party, with policies that most people support, as I stated in a previous article. But for the benefit of those who missed it, a vote for Labour would be a vote to:

  • Ensure that at least 60 per cent of the UK’s heat and electricity will come from low-carbon or renewable sources by 2030 (polling suggests this was supported by 79 per cent of the electorate);
  • Cap rents at the rate of inflation (74 per cent);
  • Increase income tax for the top five per cent of earners (68 per cent);
  • Require businesses to reserve a proportion of seats on their boards for workers (63 per cent);
  • Re-nationalise the railways (60 per cent);
  • Re-nationalise utility companies like the energy and water firms (57 per cent);
  • Provide free university tuition for all students (55 per cent);
  • Prevent the UK from participating in military interventions in other countries (52 per cent).

And the party’s policy on Brexit is to let the people decide between ‘no deal’, any deal agreed by Parliament, and the possibility of remaining in the EU – which is more than anybody else is willing to offer, including the Liberal Democrats!

Labour’s 247 MPs totals only 38 per cent of the Commons, and another will increase that total only slightly. But 248 is a lot more than 13, and may attract support from other parties and even – in the case of Brexit/remain – from Conservatives.

And Labour’s Tom Davies isn’t misrepresenting himself, his party or his policies.

Put all these elements together and there’s a chance to make a genuine change for the better in Brecon and Radnorshire – and send a meaningful message back to Westminster.

That will be by returning a Labour MP to Parliament.

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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