Op-ed: This writer has a good socialist heart often arguing for others when it will not make a halfpenny of difference personally. That in many ways is how I see the Labour party; a fair and just political organisation not founded on personal wealth or greed or a desire to get rich and just benefit a few. No university education for me; in some ways a series of hard knocks in my younger years; a graduate of life. But just because I am now aged 64 does not mean I do not care about the young or the next generation. Contrary to popular opinion not all pensioners vote Tory. It would be a poor socialist who no longer cared because it no longer affected them. So to me that is socialism in simple terms. But if that is the Labour Party how come a group of unnamed Labour MPS are feeding the right wing media a series of divisive and nasty snippets of gossip? Supporters of Mr Corbyn and his shadow Chancellor John McDonnell have been fighting hard to support the Labour party which in turn keeps these same MPs in a good standard of living. Now either the MSM are using political licence or pure lies or someone or some MPS are playing the backstabbing card. When last week we posted an Open letter to Chuka Umunna and his team after a Guardian report which appeared again to show backstabbers working within the party we hoped that would be our 'last post' in every sense. That letter still needs a response. But in a short time it garnered a huge number of signatures highlighting that many people in the party, Labour voters and floating voters are sick and tired of the backbench games. If the MSM is to be believed those leading the charge against Corbyn and McDonnell include some politicians who dropped out of the leadership race last year for their own reasons or preferred the backbenches and being a foot soldier rather than a commander; it includes others who are keen to get their backsides on the front benches; and it also includes some who refused to work alongside Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell. If they are leading by example little wonder the MSM is having a field day. And the knock on effect is a Labour party leader undermined time and time again. If you receive undue criticism at work it is doubtful your standard of work will improve. If you receive helpful criticism and support you could soar. So Monday the Torygraph aka the Telegraph went for "'Dreadful, dire, laughable': Labour MPs lay into Jeremy Corbyn after he fails to mention Iain Duncan Smith in key speech" after Jeremy Corbyn gave a thoughtful and intelligent speech that did not fall into the Commons theatrics trap. Corbyn has his own style and remember the tortoise and the hare? He who shouts loudest may be heard but may not get the last laugh. That story has the usual Torygraph drivel but this is worth noting. It says "Jeremy Corbyn was yesterday attacked by his own backbenchers after he failed to mention the resignation of Iain Duncan Smith in his response to a Commons statement by David Cameron. MPs said he lacks the "intellect" and "experience" to think on his feet after he was unable to capitalise on the biggest Tory crisis for 20 years." So which MPs? Is that Torygraph piece deliberately misleading? Was it Tory MPs saying he lacked intellect and experience? Or was it his own backbenchers once more talking out of turn? Politicshome went for "Labour MPs in despair over Jeremy Corbyn performance" but again who is the mole? According to the Independent three days ago "Jeremy Corbyn allies call for second reshuffle ahead of Labour party conference" so is that what has rattled their cages? This time if the Independent report is accurate it is MPs supporting Mr Corbyn that are making waves. An internal power struggle especially a public one does the electorate no favours but helps the Tory party out no end. And having angered Labour supporters wounds will be difficult to heal. This long time Labour voter, fairly recent party member, is one of many watching and waiting. Ed Miliband was Labour's sacrificial lamb in 2015. Overpaid MPs did not take any blame for GE2015 but it is never about just one man. In unity we win and are all powerful in division Labour will be in the doldrums for years and the Tories laughing all the way to the bank. We need to make a stand against vile stories circulating in the media. We need clarification. Either they are fantasy or we have a double agent or two in the ranks. Someone should be calling the MSM out and finding who is putting their hand out each month for a nice little parliamentary salary and running to the press wrecking Corbyn's and thus our political future. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ We posted "Jess Phillips feeds the mainstream media more negativity" three weeks ago and after that continued with "International Womens Day, an open letter to Jess Phillips." That was written as an earlier email to Phillips got no response. I tweeted that to her and she blocked me declining I guess to comment. So we know some of those feeding the MSM but we need a clear picture and then the party must act. If it lets down Mr Corbyn, Mr McDonnell and their supporters many will simply walk away and that includes me.
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Op-ed: Did you watch the House of Commons debate early Tuesday afternoon? The one when Chancellor George Osborne finally put in an appearance? Monday Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell had tabled an urgent question regarding last week's budget but Osborne was a no show. The budget was flawed from the start but the nail in its coffin came Friday when Tory DWP boss Iain Duncan Smith resigned over what he claimed to see was welfare cuts a step too far as the Tories handed out cash to the wealthy. Whether IDS had truly seen the light or it was a political stunt with the EU referendum at its heart is not clear but it was a deadly attack. IDS spent the weekend trawling news studios to put his case and Osborne vanished from the radar. But wherever he got too there was no doubt Monday he was working on his response. Political pundits surmised that he was holed up in Number 11 Downing Street along with his highly paid advisers, spin doctors and script writers trying to dig himself out of a hole. Tuesday after shoring up his budget with wild facts and figures George was good to go and address the House. The Tory benches had a fair few empty seats Tuesday probably due to the terrible terrorist attacks in Brussels today. Cameron and people like Hammond and May were tied up with Cobra meetings and more. So did George manage to wriggle of the budget hook? The answer may depend on your political persuasions but for me he did not. As his temper rose so did his voice and the volume of it. In the end he was screaming almost like a fishwife as he wagged his finger at the Labour Party across the House. He played the same tired old card blaming the deficit on the last Labour government which left office in 2010 after being downed by the 2008 global economic recession and banking crisis. George even tried the old lie that it was all Labour's fault ignoring the global situation. But the only deficit and mismanaged budgets Osborne inherited was from hiself in 2015. John Bercow was one success today as he finally managed to keep order even telling off one Tory MP a Mr Cleverly for being rude. The other big success was Labour's Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell. In a calm, measured and professional manner he addressed the House. He did not raise his voice though its tone strengthened under silly unrelated Tory attacks. The Tory backbenchers had obviously been primed to verbally attack Mr McDonnell on past alleged support for Irish dissidents. But he dealt with them swiftly and they just looked silly and sounded like petulant school kids. It is worth remembering their hero Margaret Thatcher who said when they threw insults at her and personal attacks it was because they had lost the argument and had nothing better to offer. So John McDonnell won the day although there were no apologies from the Tory benches or hints at resignations to follow. As Mr McDonnell finished speaking veteran Tory Kenneth Clarke got to his feet in what looked like an effort to diffuse the situation and detract from Osborne's failings. In the end he too looked silly but from the moment he got his feet he appeared as if he had spent too long in the Commons' bar. MPs now face the tough challenge of voting on a budget that has been ripped apart and is incomplete. That will be later today. As usual this writer tweeted her way through the debate and her tweets may tell you all you need to know if you can find them. Looking for them to post below they appear to have vanished; still so did this post twice previously leaving an empty page. Re-writes are never as good but I must hit the publish button now before this one floats off too. You may find the tweets @NEWTEKWORLDNEWS on Twitter. Op-ed: UK PM David Cameron headed to parliament Monday afternoon to make a statement on the fall out following Iain Duncan Smith's resignation last Friday. Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell tabled an urgent question for Chancellor Osborne but he will be a no show. He sent in the clowns in the form of one of his department who will do his best at a damage limitation's exercise. Earlier Monday Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn told the media George Osborne should resign. Official statistics Monday support the view that compassionate conservatism is not just a myth it is a downright lie. Last Wednesday's budget has been shot down in flames and lies in tatters. If the Commons is unable to pass that budget the government will need a re-think as it still has billions to find to plug spending gaps to even pretend to balance the books. So we waited poised for Osborne's stand-in and a fiery afternoon in the Commons. David Gauke, Osborne's stand in, faced jeers from across the Commons as he went into Tory spin big time. John McDonnell responded to Gauke as Angela Eagle joined in asking where Osborne was. If we had to guess it would be that Osborne was at Number 11 Downing Street writing what he will say when he appears in the Commons Tuesday to respond. I imagined him sat with a group of overpaid spin doctors trying to save his skin. All Gauke was able to do was cite various past Labour governments and waffle his way through words and phrases such as jobs and growth, delivering on the economy before veteran Kenneth Clarke added his nasty twopenneth into the mix. The Tories are trying to turn John McDonnell's question into a party political broadcast. Stewart Hosie for the SNP joined in the attack on the Tories but Gauke played another nasty card slating the Scottish people who wanted independence. David Cameron began his statement around 4.15 when the ground work had been laid by Gauke but no matter how they spun it Osborne's budget is shot and the knife IDS plunged into the heart of the Tory government has not quite killed the government but it is on its way out.. Yvette Cooper, Labour, tells it as it is but again Gauke can only harp back to Labour days. How can the House make a decision on the budget when one page has been torn up asks Labour's Chris Leslie? But Gauke is trained in Tory ways and fails to give a straight answer. Conservative Philip Davies, claiming he is being helpful, says it is time to remove protection from ring-fenced budgets citing overseas aid. Gauke manages to get in the inherited deficit dating back to 2010; how long will the Tory party play that card? Nadhim Zahawi reminds Labour they said they would not play party politics with the budget. Gauke is not sure McDonnell has always delivered on that; that from Zahawi who was caught fiddling his parliamentary expenses to heat his stables and Gauke an MP from one of the worst party political playing governments ever. MPs getting bored perhaps waiting for PM Cameron to start speaking began with joke comments. Who will replace George Osborne does not appeal to Gauke but a Tory stab at John McDonnell seems fine. Chuka Umunna, Labour, makes valid points on the budget, PIP and the bedroom tax but all Gauke has to offer is nonsensical attacks. It is same old same old Tory tactics and spin on their record as opposed to previous Labour governments with no real answers. David Cameron sat next to Gauke, no doubt with his preferred full bladder ready to address the House, finally got to his feet. Cameron gave a statement on Europe and the refugee crisis but most viewers had tuned in to hear him speak on IDS and his resignation fall-out. Cameron's EU statement even includes an update on the tampon tax but finally he gets on to IDS. He briefly mentions his honourable friend without naming Iain Duncan Smith and runs an impromptu party political broadcast. News that the Tories will rebuild sink-hole estates is worrying as surely they should be demolishing them? Cameron finishes with wild one nation compassionate tory claims and commends the statement to the House. Jeremy Corbyn responds by first noting that opposition MPs were only given about half of Cameron's speech ahead of the statement. Yes he likes to have the edge one way or another. Corbyn raises relevant points about refugees and Amnesty International asking for a coordinated response to the refugee crisis. He gives credit to the female Labour MP for Dewsbury who brought about tampon tax changes. So now the nitty gritty where is George Osborne? Mr Corbyn picks the budget and Osborne's no show apart. Cameron for once tries a full explanation, stays calm and gives credit to the tampon tax Labour party MP, says Osborne will be in the House Tuesday then reverts to form and is abusive to Labour MPs calling them Time Lords and harking back to the 2008 global economic crisis again blaming that on the UK Labour Party. At this point enough is enough and here comes the remote. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After the fiasco BBC News reports new DWP Boss Stephen Crabb said there are 'No further plans' for welfare cuts. Well in 2010 David Cameron had 'no plans' to increase VAT but he did and fast post election, up to 20% where it still sits. Never trust a Tory springs to mind. Op-ed: On April 29 2015 we posted "Cameron unfunded tax lock promise" but the well-funded Tory propaganda machine had already messed with enough minds to win the May general election with a majority. But it means all along most people knew PM Cameron and his Chancellor George Osborne would be unable to live up to election promises. They have tried to fulfil those promises made to tory donors and voters and along the way have wrecked communities and savaged the poor and vulnerable. The tory majority is and was small but it is enough for them to govern and in true Tory style class divisions have been perpetuated and in some cases extended. We now have the working population set against the non-working and the old against the young. For a while that divide and conquer method of operation served them well but we are now at a crossroads. The jig is up. With Iain Duncan Smith resigning Friday and spending the weekend knifing Tory colleagues back, front and sideways the Tory government is in danger of collapsing. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has called for Chancellor Osborne to resign and later Monday David Cameron will address the House of Commons. Could the government fall? When the last Labour government lost the 2010 election the incoming Lib Dem Tory coalition government made at least one significant change-they shifted the timeline for elections allowing them five years in office with little chance of removing a government in less time. The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 sets the interval between general elections at five years. At the end of this time a new House of Commons must be elected. Could a general election be called in 2015?
Having stitched up General Elections the Tory government is making boundary changes that will tip the balance of voting in their favour-assuming areas that are Labour or Conservative strongholds run true to form. In my neck of the woods it looks like "Hull West and Hessle will disappear into a constituency that embraces Cottingham, North Ferriby, Swanland and large chunks of the East Riding. The constituencies of Haltemprice and Howden and Brigg and Goole would disappear." England is in danger of becoming a one-party state. But if the Tories are trying to sell these boundary changes on economics their argument is flawed. David Cameron continues to stuff the House of Lords to the rafters to try to get his way in that other chamber and with life expectancy reportedly on the up vacant seats are few and far between. The cost of bureaucracy and administration of various reforms aimed at taking money away from the people illustrates flawed government policies. Less than a year on from the 2015 General Election the Tory party is wrecked by in-fighting and it has little to do with certain MPs suddenly finding a conscience and everything to do with the next Tory leader. Iain Duncan Smith may or may not have been backed into a corner but he has come out fighting. One man touted as next leader of the Conservative party is Boris Johnson widely viewed outside of the tory party and its supporters as a buffoon. He is part of the same BRexit campaign as IDS and his sidekick at the DWP Priti Patel. There seems little doubt that how the country votes in the EU referendum will seal the fate of many high-profile Tory MPs. And the bad news is this. Most budget announcements do not come into force until sometime in the future. That makes them hard to keep track off. While we are all caught up in the row over benefit cuts to people with disabilities other previously announced changes will be coming into force and other new ones sneakily slid into place. David Cameron's government has failed to cut the deficit and he needs billions to make a dent in the country's huge debts. So how will he fill the gaps and who will be made to pay because it sure as hell will not be the 1%? Days ago we asked "Will Osborne dish out cuts post election and EU referendum" but it may not be Gideon George Osborne who is Chancellor. Related: Tory onslaught on welfare is not an austerity agenda Osborne using public money to fund private corporations, more cuts ahead Get set for £12 billion July budget Op-ed: It's civil war in the Tory government or as one paper puts it "Uncivil War." Everything was going swimmingly or so they told the world until the budget Wednesday. Then all hell broke loose. True to form the budget slashed benefits for the vulnerable while giving handouts to the rich. No change there you may say but this time a blame game began to play out. By Friday Iain Duncan Smith had resigned as work and pension secretary and by Sunday PM David Cameron and his old school chum Chancellor George Osborne are fighting for their political survival. If you think that is an exaggeration consider this-Monday Cameron will make a statement in the House of Commons and Iain Duncan Smith will be able to officially give his resignation speech. Down the years we have witnessed others giving their resignation speeches in the Commons and a tearful Margaret Thatcher vacating 10 Downing Street. The demise of Thatcher was in part due to the divisive poll tax. Is Cameron facing his poll tax moment now? The cracks are expanding in the Tory party and the blame game will cause further splits. Below is one front page spread which appears to show Cameron and Osborne at odds. Will Cameron survive as PM? If he does not who can and will fill his shoes? Osborne was touted as the next Tory party leader but he seems to have blown his chances. Op-ed: By the time recently resigned works and pension’s secretary Iain Duncan Smith appeared on Sky TV News Sunday lunchtime he had to gulp down water to ease his well-used vocal chords. IDS, as he is often called, had already done the rounds appearing on and in various TV news outlets since his resignation Friday. Number 10 had refused to comment earlier in the day as IDS appeared on the BBC and was the centre of debate on various Sunday morning political shows in the UK. Perhaps Sky News was the straw that broke Number 10's back as they weighed in to contradict Duncan Smith's claim that the government was failing on its one nation principle. We have news for IDS and Number 10 they have done that ever since they came to office. Number 10 contradicted his view but unless you are a staunch Tory supporter living in a wealthy area of the UK you would be hard pushed to believe they were working toward a one nation approach. Pointed jibes at the Scottish parliament, northern powerhouse claims that see most of the people linked to that doomed way of thinking located in the City of London and on it goes. The Tories have always been a divisive party, that is how they work best; putting people at odds with each other so that they can sneak through damaging legislation while we are all pre-occupied with attacking each other. IDS does not fool me. The man behind the infamous bedroom tax has a conscience? Please! There may be some truth in his claims that he was pushing through welfare budget cuts for the good of all and not so that Osborne could give handouts to the rich by way of cuts in Corporation and Inheritance tax but we doubt it. People power has been the big changer this time along with the upcoming local elections in May and the EU in / out referendum. IDS was in post six years slashing welfare budgets left right and centre but finally he appears to have found a conscience. For this Labour Party supporter it is good to see the tory splits appearing in the MSM and huge cracks in their tiny majority government. IDS of course could not stop himself from spilling the beans a little when he hinted that he was unhappy that entitlements for older citizens had been ring fenced. He is from that generation but with his wealthy wife and the privilege her fortune brings he will not need a pensioner bus pass or an annual winter fuel allowance but he may receive it. As a pensioner the worry is that after IDS has talked about the unfairness of ring fencing pensions and only slashing working age benefits we will be the next target. Everyone gets old unless they go to an early grave. That is a fact of life and it depends what life throws at you along the way just how much money you have in older age. Pensioners by and large live on small fixed incomes for what is left of their lives. The Tories refused to apply a means test to pensioner bus passes or the annual fuel allowance, and some people think that is because many older people vote tory; that may or may not be true but consider how many uber wealthy Tory supporters may donate their winter fuel allowance back into Tory coffers. If a means test is applied will it be fair or set too low? Will the Tories opt to remove the ring fence and put some pensioners back into poverty? Remember it was only the hard work of previous Labour governments that lifted many pensioners out of poverty. The free bus pass is a godsend for many ordinary pensioners and helps them to get about and about. That in turn aids their well-being saving the government millions in care. Is it too much to ask that if you have worked all your life and paid into the system you have enough money to live with some dignity and do not have to struggle to afford food, heating and the other basics of life? But the Tory plan to make sure welfare budgets are constantly attacked should not even be part of their game plan. How come it is the most vulnerable people of the UK who have to pay for banker's past incompetence and a global economic downturn? The country has money to give the Queen and MPs massive pay rises, and to stay embroiled in expensive pointless wars and bombing campaigns around the globe. So I would argue that the Tory plan is working. It is all about priorities. It was never about creating a one nation but about dividing and conquering. Now it could simply be that pensioners are targeted. Either way the only way to protect us all is to vote the Tories out of office. ( IDS has been replaced but...Stephen Crabb is just another Tory DWP boss) BBC News Sunday "Duncan Smith warns government risks 'dividing' society" but that is what they do; remember Margaret Thatcher? Dear Chuka Umunna - When you read a post in the Guardian on budget day in the UK, Wednesday, titled "Labour backbenchers form high-profile group to respond to budget" you have to go to the heart of the story to try to find out what is going on. Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party in September 2015 and has faced a barrage of attacks from within Labour, the Tories and the mainstream media so Mr Umunna what's with the latest piece posted as news at the Guardian? Is it news, spin, real or fantasy? According to the Guardian report an "Alliance of MPs including Chuka Umunna and Chris Leslie was formed to ‘give proper scrutiny to the government’" which could be fine if the team was formed with the approval of Mr Corbyn and his shadow cabinet; if it was not why are MPs behaving in such a derisory manner? The Guardian report continues; A team of high-profile Labour backbenchers have organised their own coordinated response to George Osborne’s budget, fearing Jeremy Corbyn and his shadow cabinet would struggle to do so. If that is true it smacks on another Et tu, Brute moment from the very people who should be supporting the party leader and his shadow cabinet; they could and should be sharing their former front bench experience not using it to undermine Jeremy. But the divisions were plain for all to see from day one of Corbyn's leadership when highly paid politicians acted like spoiled children who did not win the egg and spoon race; they ditched the leader, left him to sink or swim while sticking a few daggers in his back and high-tailed it for the backbenches. Having managed to stuff the PLP with politicians to the right of the party the Bitterites are now intent on doing the same to the NEC so that they can undermine Mr Corbyn further and tear the Labour Party apart. Their protestations that they are doing it for the right reasons have no credibility; the road to Hell is after all paved with good intentions. But we are all Labour and there should not be a right and left of this party but rather a left-wing political party working to hold the Tories to account with the final goal removing the Conservatives from office. Reports in the mainstream media that simply undermine Mr Corbyn will not unify, improve Labour's standing or attract votes; and when those reports are by way of self-serving MPs, some who did not want to stand for party leader last year but changed their minds when the first real Labour party leader in years comes along the writing is on the wall. If the Guardian post has caused anger consider worse in the Sun, Telegraph and Huffington Post helped along by a series of Labour MPs who seem unable to air their dirty laundry away from prying eyes and greedy ears who want Mr Corbyn and Labour to fail. Sadly some voters will conclude that you Mr Umunna, Dan Jarvis and others like Jess Phillips simply want a Labour party that is a poor man's version of the Conservative party; they may also conclude that is because you have it all to gain from some Tory policies and some to lose from real Labour Party politics that tries to rebalance the rich poor divide. The Guardian report adds; Allies of Corbyn played down the significance of the backbench alliance, saying the leader would continue to hold the chancellor to account for “six years of failure”. And honest ordinary people like this writer agree with that assessment.
So Mr Umunna "Who are Ya" and why are you not doing your job instead of playing politics in divisive gangs? In July 2015 following the General Election the Daily Mirror report "Chuka Umunna: Labour 'behaving like a petulant child' after Election defeat" was aptly titled but isn't that what you and your 'team' are doing now? Eileen Kersey Other signatories include:
But ahead of Goldsmith "Kit Malthouse, the MP for North West Hampshire, was forced to resign from his position as patron of the Multiple Sclerosis Society after its members said his voting position “prevented him from being an effective patron." The Institute for Fiscal Studies says the cut to people who use specially adapted equipment will affect 370,000 disabled people, who will each lose an average of £3,500 a year. £3,500 a year is a huge amount of money when you are living on a restricted income and have special needs but even that is a drop in the ocean to many Tory MPs.
Long live the Freedom of Information act and websites such as They Work For You that enable the electorate to get a clear picture of their MP without any spin. |
British political scene
The next General Election in the UK may not be scheduled any time soon but the British political landscape is changing. With that in mind this blog will concentrate on the political scene but with a left wing perspective. Opinion pieces and news will bring you the stories that the MSM prefer to ignore. Archives
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