This Writer asked for musical commentaries on the Russia-Ukraine situation and it didn’t take long for one to turn up!
I found this on the blog of my brother the Beast:
Mighty punk princess Toyah Wilcox and her husband Robert Fripp have been entertaining their legions of fans on YouTube over the past couple of years with their Sunday lunch performances.
Ten days ago they posted this song, ‘Ukraine We Hear You’. It’s obviously rather more serious, a musical gesture of support following the Russian invasion. Well, we in Britain and the West have heard Ukraine, and we hear Toyah and Robert’s song of support.
I hope the forces of peace and justice win, and that the war will shortly come to an end.
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Antidemocratic: Keir Starmer and the general secretary he appointed unilaterally – against Labour Party rules – don’t want party members to take any part in democratic decision-making. Delegates to the annual party conference should therefore use their democratic rights to vote Evans out of office – and Starmer as well, if possible.
Labour Party groups across the country are being urged to ensure that their conference delegates will not endorse Keir Starmer’s choice of David Evans as general secretary.
The Campaign for Labour Party Democracy (CLPD) supported its call simply by referring to Evans’s record in office, since Starmer appointed him to the job last year:
Since the NEC appointed Evans to act as General Secretary in May 2020, various measures have been introduced to curtail the rights of Labour Party members. Unprecedented restrictions have been placed on discussions of party business, with around 70 local party officers suspended from party membership for defending local party democracy.[See Note 1] This has made local party meetings into unwelcoming spaces for many party members and as a result our membership has already suffered a large decline.
None of this has been of electoral benefit, as is evident from: Labour’s significant decline in opinion polls since the summer of 2020; the predominately poor local election results in May; and the appalling loss of Labour support in the Hartlepool and the Chesham and Amersham by-elections.
And recent reports in the media suggest that the party is considering giving the General Secretary new powers to appoint people to make decisions on disciplinary charges – matters that are currently determined by people who are elected. Evidently this would not make the complaints process independent, but instead increase the General Secretary’s role in the prosecution and judgement of complaints – contrary to natural justice.
The risks for the party, if it continues to attack its own members and not put up any serious opposition to the Tories, is that we will be seen as divided, and voters, the majority of whom are being harmed by this government, will continue to look elsewhere when they want to vote for an alternative to Tory policies.
Regrettably, the party has been deterring, not attracting, electoral support. Right-wing factionalism does not deliver victories for Labour. It undermines the party’s functioning, both internally and also in elections.
It has been a mistake, with damaging consequences, that the party recently abandoned its democratic traditions. It is a mistake that Annual Conference can help to correct.
The long standing custom and practice was that party members discussed and adopted positions on matters across the full range of party business and policy. The culture, of encouraging internal debate, helped our party became one of the largest political parties in Europe. It also assisted the leadership, keeping it in touch with our members, who form the backbone of our local campaigns.
Our members are important to our success. The stifling of internal democracy is unfortunately damaging the party and this is benefiting our electoral opponents.
We need a General Secretary who will prioritise uniting the party around an alternative agenda to that of the Tories, to aid Labour in making a much needed electoral advance. It is an important post in the party, which should not be used as a platform for divisive attacks on party members.
Annual Conference needs to shift the party’s focus on to fighting the Tories. Delegates can best assist the party in achieving such a re-orientation by rejecting the NEC’s recommendation on the General Secretary.
Sadly, though, Evans’s own diktats mean party members can’t pass resolutions on the matter or even discuss it at their meetings because – and this is damning – “the current regime in the party is intolerant of democratic discussion on these matters“.
That’s right:
The acting General Secretary has placed significant restrictions on what local parties can discuss in meetings. Misleadingly presented as ‘guidance’, in reality dictates were issued, as became evident when many local party officers were suspended from party membership accused of failing to follow the so called ‘guidance’.
The dictates have effectively proscribed local party meetings from discussing the situation arsing from the political attacks on Labour’s former Leader Jeremy Corbyn. Party members have been barred from discussing their opposition to these attacks and from expressing solidarity with Jeremy.
In addition, severe restrictions have been placed on discussing other important political areas of party business, such as: whether the IHRA definition informs the most effective way to combat antisemitism; the decision of the Labour Party to make substantial payments to former members of party staff who appeared on a BBC Panorama programme; the EHRC’s report on the Labour Party and the party’s response to it; and ‘matters relating to the internal processes of the PLP’.
Presumably Evans is hoping that his order denying party members the opportunity to discuss his election means delegates will do as they are told and obediently nod him in – so he can cause even more damage.
To This Writer’s way of thinking, this should be cause for him to be automatically barred – not just from any position of authority in the Labour Party, but from membership of the organisation in any way at all.
Repressing other members simply isn’t appropriate behaviour for a Labour Party representative.
Also to This Writer’s way of thinking, this should be cause for a vote of “no confidence” in Keir Starmer’s leadership.
Starmer appointed Evans and we must conclude that he not only supported all the anti-democratic restrictions Evans has imposed – he demanded them.
That is not appropriate behaviour for a Labour Party leader so Starmer should get the boot too.
So, Labour delegates – are you up for it? Will you fight for your rights? Or do you actually deserve everything Starmer, Evans, and indeed Boris Johnson are shovelling at you?
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Boris Johnson’s Conservative government put its man Robbie Gibb on the board of the BBC as a non-executive director and he has tried to block the appointment of a news boss on political grounds.
The irony is that non-executive directors are responsible for “upholding and protecting” the BBC’s independence – not to make demands on the behalf of their political leaders.
Gibb used to be Theresa May’s communications director when she was prime minister. Before that, he was a BBC journalist and he started his career as a Tory aide – so it seems likely that his politics has coloured much of his work.
The BBC has often been criticised as the propaganda wing of the Tory Party and this intervention will only strengthen that impression among members of the public. It proves that attempts to rig decisions of organisations like the BBC by stuffing their ruling bodies with Tories can only backfire.
What did he do?
He sent a message to the Corporation’s director of news and current affairs, Fran Unsworth, warning her not to appoint Jess Brammar to a new post of BBC executive news editor, saying it would shatter the relationship between the BBC and the Tory government.
It is clearly a political intervention. Brammar’s career is now being trashed by other Tory propaganda mouthpieces:
In case you were wondering how long it would take the Government explicitly to attack independent media outlets… pic.twitter.com/zldv6Eg5Av
What could this “borderline fake news lefty clickbait website” be? It seems an odd way to describe HuffPost UK, and This Writer looks forward to seeing that organisation’s reaction to the smear.
Previously, Brammar had been deputy editor of Newsnight.
According to the Financial Times, Gibb’s message to Unsworth said she “cannot make this appointment” and the government’s “fragile trust in the BBC will be shattered” if she went ahead. One of his cronies has apparently denied the claim.
The recruitment process has now stalled. Gibb’s message was allegedly sent on June 22 and the post has yet to be filled.
Apparently the Corporation is going through Brammar’s past statements, in public and on the social media. To see if it can find some dirt on her that would invalidate her application?
It’s alleged that Gibb would want her defence of HuffPost journalist Nadine White to count against her – but if so, natural justice would demand that he be disappointed.
White was attacked by Tory minister Kemi Badenoch, who claimed she was “creepy and bizarre” in asking questions about a Covid-19 vaccines video that Badenoch branded unnecessary.
In response, Brammar filed a former complaint to the Cabinet Office, stating that “this characterisation of a journalist asking questions as somehow undermining a public health message or fostering misinformation should alarm anyone working in journalism or anyone who believes its job is to hold power to account.”
Realistically, the vetting process is unlikely to provide any reason to reject Brammar because Gibb’s intervention has forced the BBC’s hand.
Turning her away would indicate that the Corporation is vulnerable to political pressure – the kiss of death for an organisation that has long had to defend itself against such accusations.
And there is another possible reason for Gibb to have intervened now.
Awkward
The BBC is currently negotiating a five-year financial settlement with Boris Johnson’s Tory government.
Still-newly-appointed director general Tim Davie – himself a dyed-in-the-wool Tory – has spent a lot of time, and used up a considerable amount of his own credibility, steadying relations with the government in the midst of aggressive (some would say unreasonable) criticism.
Doesn’t it seem likely that Gibb’s claim about Brammar may be just the excuse Johnson needs to cut BBC funding further than previous Tory governments already have?
Whatever happens, the public response has been a PR disaster for the Tories:
— leftworks #WeAreCorbyn #IStandWithJeremyCorbyn (@leftworks1) July 11, 2021
Appalling. Brammar is a studiously objective journalist who has stood up for her reporters against ministerial pressure. There could be few better recommendations for the job. Gibb is trying to turn the BBC into a government press office. https://t.co/a1ewnp0UhG
If this story as reported is true then Robbie Gibb should resign. It is a cardinal rule that when you join the BBC,whether as a junior reporter or a board member, you leave your politics at the door.// BBC director sought to block senior editorial https://t.co/Xc5WDhefy2
For the BBC to protect its 'alleged' political impartiality Gibb has to go. https://t.co/OTZui7AqDb
— bigrobbutnocape @bigrobnocape (@bigrobbutnocape) July 10, 2021
This is explosive. Very influential Tory and prominent Brexiteer Robbie Gibb trying to stop a senior BBC news appointment that Downing St doesn't like. Huge test of BBC ability to resist political interference. pic.twitter.com/lNfNfMZmMn
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I bet certain commentators will be doing their best to muddy this issue so let’s make it clear:
There are moves to increase Corporation Tax, forcing companies to pay more when they could be investing that money in (for example) employment of people who desperately need a regular paycheque. This is a bad idea.
There are also moves to levy a windfall tax on firms and individuals who have profited from the Covid-19 pandemic – such as Amazon and all those Tory cronies who won huge Covid-related contracts. This is a good idea and is supported by 70 per cent of the population, according to a Survation poll.
Keir Starmer and his Zombie Labour party oppose any increase in taxation for businesses.
Support or oppose a windfall tax on the pandemic profits of large companies such as Amazon?
There will be voters who are shocked that anybody claiming to be a Labour Party representative should plead against taxing corporations, and while there are good reasons for leaving Corporation Tax low at the moment, although it is likely that firms will need further incentives to keep them on the straight and narrow, there is no reason at all to back away from a windfall tax.
This decision is spitting in the faces of the voters – at a time when Starmer desperately needs to get them on-side.
Labour is falling increasingly further behind, at a time when – we were told – the party should be at least 20 points ahead of anybody else, having dumped Jeremy Corbyn.
Is it time his supporters’ club admitted that this wasn’t true and Starmer is a non-starter?
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Isn’t it curious that Boris Johnson has taken so many weeks to come out in opposition to the planned basic-rate pay rise of £3,300 for MPs?
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority announced in October that MPs could be entitled to the rise, starting next April.
Johnson said nothing at the time. If he genuinely believed that it was not appropriate for MPs to have the extra cash, at a time when the rest of us have been forced to tighten our collective belts due to the Covid crisis and his government’s calamitous response, he would have mentioned it then.
By a curious… coincidence?… the time period between that October announcement and now is roughly the length of time one would expect a focus group to report back to Johnson on whether such a pay rise was likely to affect his popularity.
Is that the real reason for his sudden piety?
It isn’t that long since we were all being told he was complaining about being poorly paid.
We all know Johnson is two-faced; I wouldn’t place much value on the face he’s showing us now.
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Rolling in it: Boris Johnson has received enormous amounts in donations related to his work as a member of Parliament. But now, as prime minister, he complains about having to pay for his own food and that of four of his six children, while denying free school meals to people earning less than £6 per hour.
Sour grapes from the UK’s prime minister?
In this case it seems likely.
Boris Johnson was one of the 322 Conservative MPs who voted against free school meals for children whose families have fallen below the poverty line, either because of 10 years of Conservative-fuelled wage depression or because the Covid-19 crisis is forcing them to live on a fraction of their normal income.
His choice to starve poverty-stricken children came only weeks after it was revealed that he is “complaining about money” because he is having to use his £150,402 prime ministerial salary to feed himself, his paramour and four of his six children. At least his accommodation is provided by the state, though!
Was his vote fuelled by resentment?
Well, it is a possible interpretation. It doesn’t present the prime minister in a very good light but, if people complain when you mention this to them, just remind them that they voted for him.
Of course, Johnson does receive a certain number of donations from pro-Tory sources. These seem to have dried up since he became prime minister but I note from the register of members’ financial interests that he has received two “gift hampers” worth a total of £1,100, that he registered in May.
Could the contents of those not have helped him out?
And the £14,672 he has made from his various books since the current Parliament began last year should also ease the burden a little, This Writer would have thought.
Come to think of it, some of the money donated to him in previous years might come in handy, considering the huge amounts he received.
For example, in 2019 he received from polling and market research company CTF Partners Ltd, £3,000 and an interest-free loan of £20,000 for office and staffing costs.
From JC Bamford Excavators Ltd, of Uttoxeter (Constituency: Burton and Uttoxeter; MP: Kate Griffiths (Con)): £64,000.
From “general secondary education” firm RTC Education 2 Ltd (Constituency: Harrow West; MP: Gareth Thomas (Lab)): £10,000.
From First Corporate Shipping Ltd (trading as The Bristol Port Company) (Constituency: Cities of London and Westminster; MP: Nickie Aiken (Con)): £25,000.
From real estate trader Countywide Developments plc (Constituency: Warwick and Leamington; MP: Matt Western (Lab)): £10,000.
From bookkeepers MET Trading Ltd (Constituency: Leeds North East; MP: Fabian Hamilton (Lab)): £5,000
From investment firm Killik & Co LLP (Constituency: Cities of London and Westminster; MP: Nickie Aiken (Con)): £10,000.
From Audley Ltd (for whom Companies House failed to provide the nature of the business) (Constituency: Cities of London and Westminster; MP: Nickie Aiken (Con)): £5,000.
From “business support services” firm Albion Agencies Ltd (Constituency: Cities of London and Westminster; MP: Nickie Aiken (Con)): £5,000.
From Dow Investments plc (Constituency: Edinburgh North and Leith; MP: Deidre Brock (SNP)): £10,000.
And from private donors: an eye-watering £633,900!
And a prime minister who has recently received this kind of wealth begrudges free school meals to children whose parents are living on £5.80 an hour.
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Department of kicking-them-when-they’re-down: The Hunt Saboteurs Association has commented on the upcoming Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, saying that disgraced Tory Chris Davies is a former hunt master who implicated himself in the flouting of the hunting ban when it was imposed by Labour in 2004.
Mr Davies was master of the Banwen miners’ hunt in the Swansea Valley from 1993-99, before moving on to the Golden Valley Hunt on the Welsh borders in 2000.
In 2004 he told the BBC that members of his hunt would break the then-new hunt ban, imposed by the New Labour government – and it was clear that he did not intend to lift a finger to remind them of their legal obligations.
“They are upstanding members of the community who are being turned into criminals. It’s absolutely ludicrous,” he told the BBC at the time.
“These people have probably never even had a parking fine in their lives.”
In 2015 he supported Tory plans for a statutory instrument to weaken the provisions of the Hunting Act, relaxing the law to allow foxes to be hunted by packs of dogs in England and Wales to protect livestock, game birds and wild birds, while “having regard to the terrain” and provided it is “carried out as efficiently as possible”. It was ripe for abuse and David Cameron withdrew it when he realised he could not get enough support in a free vote.
Hunt Saboteurs Association spokesperson Lee Moon said: “It’s hard to think of a less useful member of society than an ex-hunt master, corrupt Tory MP. We hate to kick a man while he’s down but we’ll make an exception in this case.
“Davies is clearly a man who can’t be trusted.
“Whilst master of the Golden Valley Hunt he implicated himself in flouting the Hunting ban and now as a public servant he has deliberately falsified accounts to rip off the public purse.
“It’s testament to the low moral standards of the Conservative Party that they’ve re-selected him for the upcoming by-election and we wanted the Brecon and Radnorshire electorate to know the type of man they’re potentially voting for.”
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MPs have voted against Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement, with 286 votes in favour and 344 votes against it.
The zombie prime minister has been defeated yet again.
Mrs May says the legal default is that the UK leaves the EU on April 12 – not enough time to ratify a deal, and Parliament will not countenance leaving without a deal.
The UK will now most likely go into a longer extension of Article 50, and be required to take part in European Parliament elections in May.
The inertia dogging the UK will continue to hold us in its grip for many months to come, it seems.
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Opposition, has demanded Mrs May’s immediate resignation and a general election to break the deadlock. He has been supported in this call by Ian Blackford, leader of the SNP in the House of Commons.
She won’t do it, because as a Tory she would never accept the possibility of losing power. But until she does, the UK will not have a functioning government.
The conclusion is obvious:
The problem is Theresa May. No progress will be made as long as she stays in Downing Street and denies democracy.
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It should have been a moment of triumph – the announcement of an agreement with the 27 nations remaining in the EU over the manner of the UK’s departure from that bloc. Instead, Theresa May’s government is on the point of collapse.
Dominic Raab.
Dominic Raab – the man who, as Brexit Secretary, admitted he had no idea how important the Dover-Calais crossing was to the UK’s trade – resigned this morning (November 15), saying the deal agreed by Mrs May – not by him – could lead to the break-up of the UK as it offers Northern Ireland special treatment, and makes it impossible to negotiate trade deals with other countries as we will remain in a customs union with the EU indefinitely.
Esther McVey: She was probably glad to have an excuse to quit as Work and Pensions secretary.
Esther McVey has also quit, saying the deal does not offer the Brexit that the Conservative government had promised.
And condemnation of the deal in Parliament – when Mrs May tried to persuade MPs to support it – was almost universal.
Labour opposes it because it does not meet any of that party’s six tests.
Labour’s pro-Brexit rebels won’t support it because they see it as a capitulation to all of the EU’s demands.
The DUP can’t support it because of the way it addresses the Northern Ireland border issue – creating fears of a reunification vote with the Republic of Ireland.
The SNP won’t support it because the deal doesn’t mention Scotland once.
Tory Brexiters won’t support it because they say Mrs May lied about what the deal would do – she has betrayed them.
Jacob Rees-Mogg even voiced an intention to trigger a “no confidence” vote against Theresa May during the debate in the Commons – in harsh contrast to her own appeal for support.
And government resignations are still happening. Three MPs in minor positions have also resigned, including Suella Braverman, who had been vociferous in support of the Tory government’s Brexit policy. Northern Ireland office junior minister Shailesh Vara has also gone.
Mrs May is now in an impossible position.
Her deal with the EU has been agreed – she can’t go back on it.
But the Parliamentary numbers are against her. She cannot win the vote.
Her own leadership is at issue and she may face a challenge within days.
And her government’s ability to act in the national interest has been trashed. It may not last beyond the vote on the deal.
Mrs May, the Conservatives and the Brexit process are standing on the edge of a cliff. Is this the end – for all of them?
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Emily Thornberry: This is the image the FT chose to accompany its story – with the shadow Foreign Secretary apparently raising two fingers to Mrs May.
Haven’t we been here before?
While it seems likely that all Labour MPs – even the Brexiters – may follow the party whip in a bid to force a general election, I’m not sure they can rely on the so-called Tory rebels to do the same.
Conservatives are notorious for being spineless when faced with a choice between standing up for their principles and hanging on to power.
The task for Labour is to convince the Conservatives who oppose Mrs May’s ‘Chequers’ plan that Brexit under a Labour government is likely to offer better prospects for them – personally – in the long term.
Is that achievable?
The UK’s opposition Labour party is set to vote against Theresa May’s Brexit deal, according to one of Jeremy Corbyn’s most senior colleagues, who predicts that the lack of a viable exit from the EU would lead to the prime minister being forced from office before Christmas.
Emily Thornberry, shadow foreign secretary, told the Financial Times that a workable deal was “just not going to happen” under Mrs May.
She said there would need to be a general election within months given the likelihood that the prime minister would be defeated on the crucial vote on any Brexit deal.
Labour’s opposition to the deal means that it would require as few as 10 Tory MPs — from either the party’s hardline Eurosceptic or pro-EU wings — to defeat the government.
Some Labour Brexiters could still swing behind Mrs May but few would want to avoid a chance to bring down the government.
Already 25 Conservative MPs have pledged to defeat Mrs May’s Chequers blueprint for the UK’s relations with the EU post-Brexit, while several Europhile Conservatives have backed a second Brexit referendum.
Many MPs argue that the prime minister could not survive a defeat on her Brexit deal, which has become the centrepiece of her two years in office.
“It all depends on what Labour does,” said one minister. “If they are going to vote against us then that means she really is in trouble.”
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