Tag Archives: Smith

After police abused the new Public Order Act, above-the-law politicians won’t change it

A reminder: here’s Republic chief executive Graham Smith being arrested for not breaking any laws, by at least eight police officers.

There can’t be any doubt now that the big story of the Coronation weekend is the abuse of the new Public Order Act by police, to arrest and detain people who had every right to protest against a monarchy they do not want.

Graham Smith, chief executive of the anti-monarch group Republic, was jailed early on Saturday morning, on suspicion of conspiring to cause a public nuisance by disrupting the celebrations on London’s streets.

He has made it clear that neither he nor anybody else in his group had any intention to break the law.

Indeed, Republic has made it clear that it co-operated fully with the Metropolitan Police before the event even started:

Graham Smith, speaking for Republic on 3 May, said: “We have had two meetings with the Met police, and numerous phone conversations. They have repeatedly said they have no concerns about Republic’s plans.”

Mr Smith was released on Saturday but police retained his phone and luggage straps that they had claimed could have been used for “locking on” – attaching protesters to street furniture to cause disruption.

These items were returned on Monday evening, when officers admitted they were not able to find any reason to charge Mr Smith with a crime. Here are his comments:

Do you believe the claim of regret by the police? Richard Murphy, of Funding the Future, doesn’t:

I do not believe the police. Politely, they are asking us to believe in yet more fairytales if they expect us to think that these arrests were a mistake.

They announced zero tolerance of protest in advance of the coronation.

They got new powers enacted days in advance of the coronation to arrest without reason.

Republic had been completely open and honest about their intentions, I know. I get their emails. And so there was no new “intelligence” for the police to act on to justify their actions, as they and those seeking to excuse them (Ed Balls, I am looking at you) claimed. There was just a police conspiracy to appease Suella Braverman by showing zero tolerance that backfired spectacularly in both the UK and around the world.

And now they have not only had to eat humble pie, because their actions were so obviously unjustified and unjustifiable –  because not only was the protest peaceful but there was never a conspiracy that it should be anything else  – but they have now paved the way for rightful demands that use of this law be restricted until such time as it can be repealed.

The only impediment to that happening is Labour’s support for these laws – which looks most especially crass now.

I fear Mr Murphy’s hope for Labour may be forlorn. More on this below.

This morning (Tuesday, May 9), Mr Smith was interviewed by Kay Burley of Sky News, who did her level best to undermine his assertions – and he made mincemeat of her. Fair play to her for posting the clip, though!

This Writer cannot understand why Burley kept harping on about the cost of the Coronation. I had heard the £250m line too – and whether it cost that much or the more modest £100m figure that has been more widely-quoted, it’s still money that could have been put to better use in a country whose people are struggling financially because the government has sucked all the money out of it.

And she was unable to stop Mr Smith from making his point that “there was no evidence of any intent or capacity to commit any offence” and “no suggestion of wrongdoing… at all”.

While Burley was putting forward a pro-Establishment view, other journalists went very strongly the other way. Here’s Michael Crick – and I know he’s problematic too, but his words are worth hearing – on LBC:

Sadly, it doesn’t matter what the commenterati say about it; the political elite in Westminster have closed ranks to deny that anything untoward happened at all – and they certainly won’t consider revising or repealing the vague law that allowed this scandal to happen.

Here’s prime minister Rishi Sunak. First he said he supported what the police did:

“The police are operationally independent of Government, they’ll make these decisions based on what they think is best,” he told broadcasters in Hertfordshire.

“Actually I’m grateful to the police and everyone who played a part in ensuring that this weekend has gone so well, so successfully and so safely, that was an extraordinary effort by so many people and I’m grateful to them for all their hard work.”

Then he repeated his assertions to TV reporters:

It’s interesting that Sunak claimed the arrests were “operational decisions made by the police at the time”. I wonder if we can have that confirmed? I’ll try to contact the Met and see what response I get.

Meanwhile, here’s Tory MP Peter Bone, who supports his prime ministers point of view, having his derriere turned into burger meat and handed back to him by Marina Purkiss:

So much for the Tory point of view.

And what about Labour?

Lisa Nandy, on the morning media round, made it clear that her party sides with the Tories and repeated the assertion (although not in as many words) that Labour wants to be able to clamp down on protesters just as hard as the Tories appear to have done:

Even Barry Gardiner, usually excellent at presenting his party in a reasonable light, struggled in a discussion of the scandal on the BBC’s Politics Live:

And what does Labour think of Republic, and the right of anti-monarchists to be able to present their point of view?

Admittedly, party MPs have protested:

John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, questioned the rules this week, saying: “I can’t see that allowing local parties to participate in groups like these is going to bring down civilisation as we know it.

“A form of institutional paranoia has emerged in the higher echelons of the party’s bureaucracy which has led to a level of control-freakery in relation to the activities of local CLPs which borders on farce.”

Another MP and former shadow frontbencher, Clive Lewis, who will address anti-monarchy protesters staging a demonstration against the coronation in London on Saturday, said he had “serious misgivings” about the rule preventing affiliation with Republic, adding there was a long history of branches having relationships with democratic campaigning organisations.

Lewis said: “It feels wrong, and sits uncomfortably with me. I think a lot of people will find it problematic, even people who are going to be supportive of the coronation and the king. Many of them will also be people who believe in freedom of speech, freedom of expression and having an open, honest political debate about the future of this country.

“If you join the Labour party, you often joined because you want to make a difference to make your country better, and those are the kind of people who will want to ask questions about the kind of democracy we have.”

But Starmer seems to feel he has to act this way because it might win him some votes – despite the fact that it makes him (yet again) a hypocrite:

Labour under Keir Starmer’s leadership has attempted to underline its patriotism in order to reconnect with voters in “red wall” seats. In the past, Starmer had advocated abolishing the monarchy.

Meanwhile…

Yes, littering is indeed a crime, but it seems nobody has been punished for it.

Instead, the police concentrated their resources on persecuting people who had not broken the law at all.

It really is the big story of the weekend: supporters of the monarchy attacked, arrested, and imprisoned dozens of people on the day their icon was crowned – not for any crime, but simply for having a different point of view.

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Matt Hancock – and two other MPs – investigated by standards watchdog

In trouble again: Matt Hancock is facing an investigation by Parliament’s Commissioner for Standards, over his reaction to an investigation by Parliament’s Commissioner for Standards.

This is totally reprehensible – but it made me laugh – from Professor Tim Wilson:

Yes, once again it’s comedy time with Matt Hancock.

According to The Guardian,

The former health secretary is being looked into over allegations that he broke the MPs’ code of conduct by “lobbying the commissioner in a manner calculated or intended to influence his consideration” of whether a separate breach had been committed. It is a new offence that was added to the latest version of the code, endorsed by MPs in December 2022.

Meanwhile, the Blackpool South MP, Scott Benton, is being investigated over the use of his parliamentary email. It comes a week after Benton was caught offering to lobby ministers and obtain early access to a sensitive government report for up to £4,000 a month.

Henry Smith, a backbench Tory MP for 13 years, is also being investigated for an alleged breach of the rules on using taxpayer-funded stationery.

Hancock is said to be “surprised” at being investigated.

According to a spokesperson,

“Far from lobbying the commissioner, Matt wrote to Greenberg in good faith to offer some additional evidence that he thought was not only pertinent but helpful for an inquiry the parliamentary commissioner for standards is currently conducting.

“It’s clearly a misunderstanding and Matt looks forward to fully engaging with the commissioner to clear this up.”

That depends on one’s point of view, I expect.

Matt Hancock’s “additional evidence” may well be “lobbying” to “influence” the new Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Daniel Greenberg, who has replaced Kathryn Stone – as far as Mr Greenberg is concerned.

This Writer is certainly looking forward to the next episode of the Matt Hancock story. Aren’t you?

Source: Matt Hancock among three MPs placed under investigation by standards watchdog | House of Commons | The Guardian

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Labour takes on a new ‘funny tinge’ after re-admitting Angela Smith

Keir Starmer kept quiet about this – and who can blame him?

In the midst of renewed concern about the overt racism in the Labour Party under Starmer’s leadership, it has been revealed that Angela Smith, the woman who described people of colour as having a “funny tinge” was quietly re-admitted, some time ago.

Here’s Cornish Damo to give you the details:

Let’s have a quick reminder of what she said, back in 2019:

She did subsequently apologise.

But she is now back in a party that is happy to harbour overt racists.

What conclusion does she think people will draw about her, then? Or about Labour itself?

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Panellists get lively on Politics Live

There was something fractious in the air on the BBC’s Politics Live TV show.

Panellists Kit Malthouse, Jim McMahan, Jacqui Smith and (especially?) Isabel Oakeshott went at each other, hammer and tongs (or the genteel BBC equivalent) on subjects ranging from Rishi Sunak’s new ‘Windsor Framework’ for Northern Ireland, migrant Channel crossings, the salad shortage and – ironically – standards of behaviour in public life:

The words were strong but if you watch the video clip through, you’ll actually hear some worthwhile comments on the issues of the day.

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NHS dentists: Is Rishi Sunak trying to usurp Boris Johnson’s reputation for lying?

Rishi Sunak: rebuilding public DIStrust of the Conservative government.

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has been caught out telling a falsehood to his fellow MPs.

Didn’t he claim he was going to rebuild public trust in the government, when he became PM last year?

This isn’t going to achieve that aim.

During Prime Minister’s Questions on January 11 – the first PMQs of the year, he claimed:

  • There are more NHS dentists across the UK.
  • There is more funding for NHS dentists.
  • This means people are getting the treatment they need.

It seems none of these claims are true.

Cat Smith, Labour MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, who highlighted concerns that people are unable to get an NHS dental appointment, has written to Sunak, calling on him to correct the record:

She wrote: “The British Dental Association (BDA) has said that not one of these claims are accurate, and described this as a ‘wholesale misrepresentation’ of the crisis facing NHS dentistry.”

She continued: “The Chair of the BDA, Eddie Crouch, has said ‘The Prime Minister has offered a grotesque misrepresentation of a crisis facing millions. Our patients are living with the reality. The facts are there are no new dentists, no new contract and no new money. All we’ve seen are tweaks at the margins. We need honesty, ambition and investment to save a service on its last legs.”

And she urged him to correct the record.

At the time of writing, he has yet to do so.

ADDITIONAL: The British Dental Association has also urged Sunak to correct the record after Labour/Co-operative MP Simon Lightwood raised the same issue:

And Peter Stefanovic has made this short clip to show Sunak how to do it:

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Fascist dictator chic: it’s the new Tory fashion craze!

Why did Liz Truss wear the same dress for her Tory conference speech as fictional fascist dictator Vivienne Rook (played by Emma Thompson in Russell T Davies’ drama Years and Years) when she announced the introduction of concentration camps to the UK?

Was it because their policies are so similar? After all, it is current Tory policy to send refugees arriving in the UK to an internment camp in Rwanda.

Was Truss trolling us with a blatant visual clue about the direction she intends to take?

Certainly Years and Years creator Russell T Davies thought something was going on…

“This is getting weird,” he wrote on Instagram of Truss’s decision to wear the ‘Forever’ dress.

Is it, though?

I mean, Chloe Smith, the new Work and Pensions Secretary, quite clearly models herself on the dictator Servalan (as played by the late, great Jacqueline Pearce) from classic BBC science fantasy Blakes 7:

Servalan.

Chloe Smith.

They could have been separated at birth.

What This Writer wants to know is: who else among the current Tory cabinet is modelling themselves as well-known fascists?

Is Jacob Rees-Mogg about to go the whole hog and grow a little square moustache under his nose?

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Now IAIN DUNCAN SMITH is challenging Liz Truss – over BENEFIT CUTS

The Tory who inflicted the most harmful benefit cuts ever to blight the UK has raised his voice to challenge new prime minister Liz Truss – saying her plan to cut benefits in real terms is too harsh.

Wait, what?

Iain Duncan Smith, whose cuts to sickness benefits led to at least 2,400 unexplained deaths between 2011 and 2014, now says benefit cuts are bad?

Well, yes:

It may not be hypocrisy.

He resigned in 2016 over plans to cut disability benefits, saying they were too harsh as well.

And the argument he is using now – that cutting money available to benefit claimants is likely to harm them – is entirely correct. How do I know?

Because I wrote it.

I, along with many other campaigners of the time, made it clear when newspaper stories about people dying for that reason were proliferating.

Suppose a claimant is diabetic. If they can’t afford to power their refrigerator, then they can’t keep their insulin at the right temperature. What happens if they then go into diabetic shock?

Just ask the family of David Clapson.

But This Writer doesn’t recall any remorse from Iain Duncan Smith over the deaths his policies caused while he was Work and Pensions Secretary.

Perhaps a more likely explanation for this is that the policy is likely to be hugely unpopular during a cost-of-living crisis caused by the Tory government.

The thought of people on benefits receiving a help package that is reduced if Truss refuses to authorise an inflation-linked uplift in benefits may be deeply unpopular with voters, so perhaps Iain Duncan Smith is simply trying to cling on to his Parliamentary seat.

His other words are absolutely correct, though: if a government wants to build economic growth, it needs to give money to the poorest in society because they are the ones who will spend it – not the richest.

He is the latest in a lengthening line of senior Tory MPs to challenge the prime minister’s authority.

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TUC general secretary owns Tory cabinet office minister in row on strike action

Frances O’Grady, TUC general secretary, debated strike action with Cabinet Office minister Brendan Clarke-Smith – and delivered a sound thrashing.

Watch:

I was live-tweeting while this was going on:

Reading between the lines of the discussion, it seems the Tory government isn’t planning to outlaw strike action – but simply aims to make it irrelevant by bringing in scab workers (probably people who are struggling to make ends meet because of depressed wages and benefits).

This would be extremely provocative and I can see working people being forced to take increasingly stronger action against any government that does this.

It seems Liz Truss is intending, deliberately and with malice aforethought, to provoke civil unrest in the United Kingdom.

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Tories will punish up to 120,000 working people by cutting their benefits

People who work 15 hours a week – or less – will lose benefits in the latest Tory attack on the poor.

It’s not being reported on the BBC today (September 23), but Kwasi Kwarteng was set to announce that from January next year, 120,000 benefit claimants could see their payments reduced if they fail to work up to 15 hours a week, meet regularly with their work coach and take active steps to increase their earnings.

So people who are already struggling to make ends meet amid the Tory-created cost-of-living crisis are to be punished while – for example – bankers are to enjoy huge increases in income with the removal of the cap on their bonuses.

There is no good reason for either measure but the Tory excuse for hammering the working poor is that there are 1.2 million job vacancies after Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Presumably the people being targeted are being expected to take 10 jobs each.

There’s an elephant in the room here, though: how much do these 1.2 million jobs pay? What holidays are offered? What about sick pay? In short: will people actually be better-off for taking them?

New Work and Pensions Secretary Chloe Smith says they will: “We are committed to helping people on lower incomes to boost their pay – because we know work is one of the best ways to support your family and help grow our economy.

“Whether it’s increasing their hours in their current role, entering a new sector or switching careers, we want people of all ages and all stages to be able to progress into fulfilling careers.”

But is it just propaganda?

Maximilien Robespierre thinks it is:

“Give them a job – any job – to meet a target… and sell it as work to help people out of a disaster – that being the cost-of-living crisis.

“Notice [Chloe Smith] did not say anything here about better benefits. Many people can’t work, or find jobs that either suit their skills or are in their vicinity.

“This is about punishing people at the bottom and reducing numbers on benefits, which we have seen comes at a huge human cost.“

Tories like Iain Duncan Smith are wrong to want to exclude nations from Queen’s funeral

Uh-oh: once again, public opinion should be against the man whose policies caused the deaths of untold thousands of benefit claimants.

After his persecution of people who are sick, disabled and unemployed at the Department for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith simply has no right to criticise other nations for causing deaths.

He has criticised the decision to invite the Chinese government to the Queen’s funeral, saying it was “extraordinary” that the “architects” of genocide against the Uyghur minority had been invited.

But there is a strong diplomatic reason to do so. Here’s Professor Tim Wilson:

Prof Wilson thinks Vladimir Putin should be invited as well, and it’s a good idea; get him here and we can quietly suggest face-saving ways to end the war in Ukraine, for example.

Now Boris Johnson is no longer in charge and is unable to derail peace proposals, we might actually make some progress.

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