Tory Party in crisis? This morning the BBC and the rest of the media are taken up with the very sudden resignation of Iain Duncan Smith. So, has the former DWP boss suddenly developed a conscience in a Damascus-like conversion or is it a move to support the Brexit movement and destabilise Cameron et al? Let us remind ourselves of the oeuvres this man has been responsible for over the last 6 years. Bedroom tax, welfare “reforms”, PIP and the devastation these measures have wrought on the impoverished and vulnerable; his failure to publish the figures on the lives torn apart or tragically ended by his heinous policies, presided over by the incumbent and equally responsible PM. Indeed, there are far too many stricken to do justice to in this piece. In order to honour them we must continue to fight for justice and equality and against this government’s so called “reforms”. On Marr’s BBC show this morning, Iain Duncan Smith is distancing himself from this and claims that he is for social justice for all – even all those of us who would never vote for the Tories. He has kindly shed some light on the manner in which the elite 2, the PM and his chancellor, run government. He states there’s no collegiate discussion and ministers have found out about last minute policy changes via the media rather than meetings with each other. He went on to say that he is proud of what the government has achieved, much in the manner that the football board declare confidence in a failing team’s manager! Let us concentrate on the fact that the Tories are in disarray; the MSM are kindly informing the public for us and it is time for us to unite as the Labour Party and capitalise on this! It’s the first day of spring, local elections are almost here let’s go out in teams, ask the public what they want from their councillors and Police and Crime Commissioners; let’s show them that we are rebuilding the fabric of society, first rent asunder by Thatcher. This is not achievable by simply nodding and offering words of comfort alone; action and positive change is what is required and it is easily achievable - especially now that we have Momentum groups which actively support local communities and their Labour candidates. By Georgie Harrison Who works for the NHS
0 Comments
David Cameron's response to Mr Duncan Smith's resignation Thank you for your letter this evening. We are all very proud of the welfare reforms which this Government has delivered over the last six years, and in which you have played an important part. As a Government, we have done a huge amount to get people into work, reduce unemployment and promote social justice. There are now more people in work than ever before in our country’s history, with 2.4 million more jobs created since 2010. I regret that you have chosen to step down from the Government at this moment. Together we designed the Personal Independence Payment to support the most vulnerable and to give disabled people more independence. We all agreed that the increased resources being spent on disabled people should be properly managed and focused on those who need it most. That is why we collectively agreed – you, No 10 and the Treasury – proposals which you and your Department then announced a week ago. Today we agreed not to proceed with the policies in their current form and instead to work together to get these policies right over the coming months. In the light of this, I am puzzled and disappointed that you have chosen to resign. You leave the Government with my thanks and best wishes. While we are on different sides in the vital debate about the future of Britain’s relations with Europe, the Government will, of course, continue with its policy of welfare reform, matched by our commitment to social justice, to improving the life chances of the most disadvantaged people in our country, and to ensuring that those who most need help and protection continue to receive it. The following was written in response to "Jeremy Corbyn Urged By Furious MPs At Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) To Expel Anti-Semitic Party Member Vicky Kirby" posted by the Huffington Post. John Taylor does not pull his punches as he writes: Comrades, brothers and sisters, how much more can we take from these 'Bitterites' in the PLP? They are an utter disgrace and week in and week out at the PLP, Parliamentary Labour Party, meeting they have something to gripe about; Monday it was attacking Jeremy Corbyn for not expelling a Party member over anti-semetic tweets'. Since when was it the Party Leader's duty and or responsibility to expel a party member? Currently it is the duty of the unelected unaccountable 'Compliance Unit' to carry out the Party Rules, so why in God's name aren't these 'arseholes' calling out this Unit instead of Jeremy Corbyn? I think it’s plainly obvious to even the most 'casual observer' what these clowns' agenda is? Then we hear Chukka Umunna saying: "Clearly Jeremy has a very strong support amongst our membership. But then if you look at the parliamentary Labour party they have a direct mandate from 9.3m Labour voters. “If you look at the research on things like Trident the parliamentary party would be closer to the views of the voters than the members and there's that tension." Asked if he would stand for the Labour leadership, Umunna responded "I would never say never" but gave a hint that Mr Corbyn would be safe at least until September. "I think the guy deserves a chance to see what he can do. He hasn't been in the job for year yet. I think most members of the parliamentary Labour party would agree with that." Who the fuck does he think he is comrades? We need to get tough with these bastards it is getting completely out of hand now. AT NEWTEKWORLDNEWS: Time attacks on Corbyn were stopped, a call to arms Jeremy Corbyn the man Corbyn under pressure even from within Labour Cameron Corbyn attack childish Blairite Corbyn backstabber Who is Brandon Stanton?
Hey there. I’m Brandon. I get really passionate about things. At some time in my life, I’ve been obsessed or borderline-obsessed with saltwater aquariums, the baritone euphonium, reading, piano, filming, financial markets, New York City, and photography. I studied History at the University of Georgia. During my senior year of college, I took out $3,000 in student loans and bet it on Barack Obama to win the presidency. A friend heard about this bet and got me a job trading bonds on the Chicago Board of Trade. I traded for three years. It went really well for awhile. But then it went really bad. Whoops. After I lost my trading job, I decided to move to New York City and take portraits of strangers on the street. Mom wasn’t too happy about that decision, but so far it’s gone pretty well. I’ve taken nearly 5,000 portraits and written 50 stories. And I’ve met some amazing people along the way. Visit Brandon online at Humans of New York http://www.humansofnewyork.com/photographer Dear Journalists and Editors of the BBC, Sky, Times, The Sun, Telegraph etc. As someone who cares deeply about the NHS, I am so depressed and disappointed at your level of coverage at what is happening to our NHS. Today was a crucial news day for what is happening to the NHS and yet the silence from your outlets was deafening. It is falling apart and you are quite happy to either not mention it or repeat the lies and deceits coming from the government. Where was the coverage of the release of data showing the worst ever NHS perfomance? Only 83% of A&E patients are getting seen and sorted within 4 hours. In January alone 50,000 people waited over 4 hours on a trolley for a ward bed after it was decide they needed admission by the inpatient team. This is a quadrupling from January 2011. The scene in the image is taken from a hospital in the north of England and from an article in the Daily Mirror. But it could be taken from any A&E hospital in the country. The problems of the NHS are showing up in the corridors of A&E departments up and down the country and yet you are not reporting it. Meanwhile, waits for test are going up, targets for cancer treatments are being missed and ambulance response times are getting slower. Patients are suffering and care is deteriorating and yet you are just repeating government spin and mistruths. And where was the coverage of the junior doctors strike? The government have ignored all expert advice, lied about junior doctors work commitment and ethics and ploughed ahead to forcibly impose a new contract which will drive thousands away from the NHS and so risk patient safety. And yet you say nothing. Where is the critical analysis of Hunt and Cameron's arrogance and belligerence in forcing an unnecessary industrial dispute for their own political ideology? And most importantly where was the coverage today of the planned second reading of the NHS reinststment bill in the House of Commons? A bill which proposes to invest in the NHS and stop the privatisation and destruction of our NHS. But the bill wasn't even allowed to be debated in the House of Commons as Tory MPs deliberately over ran the previous debate to deny parliament the opportunity to discuss it. (I noticed they didnt let the debate run over to past 5pm or a Saturday though). Yet you said nothing. What is happening to our NHS is scandalous and you are being duplicitous in it. Why don't you try and be impartial for a change. For example how about having doctors and nurses debating against politicans on question time, instead of being the voice of the government? (if you are looking for someone to debate the politicians, I and 54,000 doctors would quite happily oblige) The NHS was born in a time of great austerity and yet is being destroyed in the name of austerity. You as journalists, need to start listening to your viewers and readers and holding the government to account. Because if you don't, they will carry on this ideological destruction, and the NHS may not survive as we know it. Our kids may never forgive us. Regards Rob Galloway (A&E Consultant) Commentary: So, if you know me, Jordan Ray Correll, or my friend, Seth Quackenboss, then you know that we often get ourselves into ridiculously wacky situations, especially when we're together. Yesterday was one of those days. We decided to drive down to Fayetteville in order to hear a certain orange politician speak. Yes, you guessed it. We went to a Donald Trump rally. Now, I am not a supporter of Mr. Trump in any way, shape, or form. I'm quite inclined to a certain berning sensation that I've been experiencing for some time. But that's beside the point. The point is, we thought that we were in for a time of jokes and hilarity. And at the beginning, it was. There were a few speakers before Trump came out and they were not well organized at all. They were comical. One man, a veteran, said that he had shed blood on 7 continents. And unless I missed the great Antartica War, I highly doubt that's true. Let it be known for the record, that I am not against veterans in any way shape or form. I just thought that particular comment was funny. Because I doubt he actually wounded someone in Antarctica. But a more plausible explanation would be that he was doing penguin research and accidentally pricked a penguin and it bled. Anyway... One speaker also said that we needed to get rid of 911 calls and we all need to handle our problems ourselves. Well...that's highly unlikely. I can't imagine that people will start forgoing 911 calls when their house in burning down in order to try and extinguish the fire themselves. But, ya know, it's a nice thought. So those were my laughable moments. Trump was about to come out. We had our signs ready. We were going to go all out. Yelling and screaming and whatnot. Because, why else were we there if not to join the spectacle? He comes out. People go crazy. For the first twenty to thirty minutes I sat there with high expectations of hilarity. After half an hour, my feelings turned extremely grim. I was scared and upset. Let me explain. Trump basically said the same few things the whole time. He knows exactly what will get a cheer from the crowd and he says it. He mentioned his wall several times. About five or six if I can remember correctly. At one point he said "We're going to build a wall. And who's going to pay for it?" And the crowd yelled, "Mexico!" and then they lost their minds. Now, we all know exactly why this is stupid. So I won't elaborate. It was just very unsettling. He mentioned ISIS several times. About ten. But not exactly how to stop ISIS. Just comments like, "We're gonna get ISIS," and "ISIS is going down." Blanket statements. He did say that for America to win again (any sort of winning, not just against ISIS) we have to go outside of the law and he isn't afraid to do it. And that's unsettling for several reasons. But I'm just reporting the facts. And that was all he said on policy. Completely void of content or substance. Just statements that would get the crowd cheering. Now, let's talk about the protesters. There were many. I think throughout the hour long rally, there were roughly 15-20 groups of protesters. Some of them were individuals and some were in groups. They popped up throughout the rally here and there. And some of them were yelling and causing a raucous but some of them were just standing there with their anti-Trump shirts or their pro-whoever else shirts. They were all removed. Peaceful or violent. One man had a shirt that said "Love is the answer," and he was thrown out. Trump's comment on this man was, "And love is very important but I mean, who's making love to that guy?" And my stomach churned. A few minutes later, a woman stood up not far from where the other man was and started protesting. She was removed. Trump's comment was, "She was with the other guy. They're actually a couple. A *clears throat* beautiful *gagging noises* couple." And the crowd laughed and cheered. It was horrifying. But out of everything I saw, the crowd was the worst part. I have never seen more hateful people in my life. Everyone was just filled with so much hatred. If a protester had a sign, even the peaceful ones, they would take the sign from them, rip it up, and throw it back at the protesters. Whenever a protester would get removed, the crowd would yell horrible things. Once, after a protester was removed, Trump said, "Where are these people coming from? Who are they?" A lady, sitting not 5 feet from me, said, "Well hopefully when you're president, you'll get rid of em all!" Get rid of them? Get rid of anyone who opposes Trump? It was sickening. I felt truly nauseous. And these people loved the protesters. They loved the drama and the chaos. And Trump fed upon it. It was easily one of the strangest and uncomfortable things I've ever witnessed. I could just hear the horrible things being spoken around me and it made my skin crawl. Needless to say, there was very little laughter on my part. I thought this was going to be joke...and it was, but for a very different reason. I implore you, if you're thinking about voting for Trump, reconsider. You are only promoting chaos and hatred. I witnessed it firsthand. And trust me, this is not something you want to see in person. This is not what you want to happen to our country. But I'll leave you with this picture we took with our souvenir. The image above was taken just before I lost all innocence and faith in humanity. |
Yourvoice
This blog will include a range of reports and opinion pieces covering many issues. It will be YOUR Voice. Archives
April 2017
Categories
All
|