Sunday politics in the UK has an added dimension with the recently launched Peston on Sunday; in truth though Peston is not really a brand new slant on British politics.
Peston was the Business Editor for BBC News for eight years until 2014 when he went over to the 'other side' becoming the Political Editor of ITV News. Peston on Sunday is a recent addition to the myriad of political 'chat' shows on air most Sunday mornings in the UK. But ahead of its airing at 10am on ITV is the long-running Andrew Marr show on BBC1. Sunday May 22 we decided to tune in for both but would we watch both fully or make a grab for the remote while they were still on air? Andrew Marr Show Marr kicks off as always with 'what's on' followed by a brief run-down of news headlines before moving on to mainstream hardcopy news headlines Sunday. The editor of CapX and the Deputy Editor of the Sunday Times selected their preferred headlines for debate starting with the long-awaited Chilcot inquiry. But it did not take long for the upcoming EU referendum to get centre stage. Is Turkey about to join the EU and if it does how will that impact on the UK? The BRexit camp of the EU ref cites the possibility of huge numbers of migrants’ hot-footing it from Turkey to the UK if that happens. The NHS in relation to the EU ref was more of the same. CapX says it is 'for popular capitalism' while the Sunday Times is another right-wing publication from the Rupert Murdoch camp. Hardly surprising then that Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters get a negative nod. Eddie Izzard was up next but it was in reality more of the same as he is campaigning for the UK to stay in the EU referendum. He did start by trying to encourage Brits to register to vote and get out there and vote. If you have not registered yet to vote you have till June 7 to be eligible for voting in the EU ref. As Eddie Izzard is one of those running for Labour's NEC Mr Corbyn was mentioned again briefly by Marr. So almost halfway through Marr and it is time for a weather update. Have any viewers learned anything new yet from today's show? Tory MP and Vote Leave campaigner Penny Mordaunt was next up. The biggest issue for debate was when Turkey will join the EU which will have a perceived negative impact on the UK. Ifs, ands, maybes and thinks gave this section of the Marr Show a circular treadmill feel. The state of the Tory Party post EU ref was dismissed by Mordaunt who claimed the Conservatives will unite whether we leave the EU or not. The NHS and the EU again. This is the lede in for NHS boss Simon Stevens who is up next post some light relief. Mordaunt and Marr continued to debate the EU and in particular Turkey, going round in confusing circles. Before Simon Stevens the light relief with a Marr interview with Game of Thrones star Kit Harington. Harington is currently playing Dr Faustus on stage. Simon Stevens and NHS debt, highlighted in an infographic, and health service financial restraints offered a change of debate albeit briefly. Are NHS savings workable? Simon Stevens talk of reorganising care sounds good on paper but each time the NHS reforms additional costs are incurred and staff demoralised. The Tory government have failed to give the NHS the funding needed. Here we go then the EU referendum and would leaving the EU result in more money available for the NHS? Marr tries to put words in Stevens mouth claiming he is saying he recommends the UK stay in the EU but the NHS boss refuses to play that game. Leaving the EU could impact on NHS staffing and the cost of drugs with a brief mention of TTIP. Music from PJ Harvey closes the show. The Big Questions follows and sounds fairly EU free but we are checking out Peston instead as David Cameron is one of his guests this weekend. Peston on Sunday The format is more relaxed than Marr but the subject matter is much the same. Dressed down guests but they are the old guard of politics; Esther McVey for the Tories and Ed Balls for Labour, although he lost his seat at the 2015 General Election. Jeremy Corbyn is not campaigning cross-party which may anger some politicians but his supporters will be pleased that he has shown real backbone. And David Cameron for the 'big interview'. If you believe Marr and Peston are truly different think again. Peston opens his debate with Cameron by cherry-picking quotes from Simon Stevens interview on Marr. Listening to Cameron quoting big retail bosses and Mark Carney the Bank of England boss there is little wonder some people remain confused on the EU in / out question. For all this EU spin the only dead cert voters in the referendum are those wanting out. On a personal level asking a young supermarket worker how she would vote she seemed more inclined not to bother voting saying she did not really 'understand it. And that is the problem after listening to such hyperbole for weeks. The issues remain as clear as mud. The Cameron interview ran true to form; bluster, spin, shouting down Peston and too many 'I will not go into that' incidences. Cameron is used to getting his own way but unless you are a fan the interview was painful viewing. Dodgy Dave has little credibility these days; sadly as Peston asks viewers to stay tuned for more from the PM we cannot take any more. Conclusion: Two very differently styled 'political' chat shows but in reality two sides of the same coin. Additional: If Turkey entering the EU bothers you apparently the UK has a veto they can use on that one but they will of course only be one voice.
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Op-ed: When MPs vote in the House of Commons they do so as our representatives. Sometimes they follow their conscience other times hard facts. At times they have to obey the party whip and disobey at their peril. The party whip may try to make MPs vote following the line their party is supporting but rebelling is always an option. A rebellion can be by way of a soft option abstention or a tough direct opposition. As a backbencher Jeremy Corbyn regularly rebelled against the party whip. He was and is a known rebel but that is no bad thing. It can and will of course make it difficult for him to make his MPs toe the party line now that he is the leader. But his record on rebelling is pretty good and shows a Labour MP truly representing the left wing of politics and his constituents. Jeremy Corbyn consistently voted against introducing foundation hospitals, while most Labour MPs generally voted for. Monday there was an important vote on an amendment to the immigration bill. It would have enabled vulnerable children such in refugee camps in Europe access to the UK but it was defeated.
The vote was lost by a slim margin and according to Politics UK absent Labour MPs allowed the government to block the child refugee measure. That article led to a debate which included the practise of 'pairing' for voting in the House of Commons. Parliament UK describes pairing like this: "Pairing is an arrangement between two MPs of opposing parties to not vote in a particular division. This enables an MP to be absent without affecting the result of the vote as they effectively cancel each other out. Pairing is an informal arrangement which is not recognised by the House of Commons but must be registered with the Whips. Pairing is not allowed in divisions of great political importance." But does it represent true democracy in parliament? On the surface it may sound acceptable but it has to be 'sloppy seconds'. Certainly there are times when an MP will not be able to attend a vote in the Commons; our MPs are after all human beings and hit by the usual stuff which can affect us all such as bereavement and ill health. But is 'pairing' used too often and for trivial reasons? One thing it does do is allow people to check who has voted and how and criticise perhaps unfairly. In the end no matter how those in the inner political circle and its fringes try to spin pairing it just feels wrong and gut instinct can be telling. Perhaps the way MPs vote in important Commons debates needs to be brought into the 21st Century by utilising technology. It should be worth any cost and as we all know MPs sit in the Commons with their IPhone or whatever gizmo to hand their fingers working away through events. But maybe some prefer to maintain the staus quo? More: SNP MP Defends Locking Himself In The Toilet During Crucial Vote Thursday May 5, 2016, the electorate in some parts of the UK goes to the polls for local and Police Commissioner elections. That is some people will go to the polls but many more will not bother. Talk to people as you go about your daily business and you may be told, "I will not vote because”:
The public performances of certain politicians and so much negative news of sleaze and corruption has done its work. The majority of people in the UK could not care less who is governing the country and especially their local city hall. In some cases it is not so much that they don't care who but that they view all our politicians in the same light. Personally this blogger always votes, be it sometimes simply for the lesser of the evils, and here is why. Politics concerns us all. It affects our Internet freedoms or lack of them. It decides whether or not the country will go to war. It manages the UK economy which if mismanaged can cost us all an arm and leg due to high energy costs, fuel and grocery prices, rents and local public service funding or lack of it. It sets the level of taxation and what benefits revenue may or may not provide. It affects us ALL. And never underestimate the importance of local elections. If you are jaded or worn down with cynicism you may believe that politicians will simply feather their own nests and you will struggle no matter who we elect. That is not true though. It is however one reason why we have a widely hated Tory government with a small majority in the Commons running the country and some would say running the country into the ground. Some politicians will always have more of a tendency to help those in need than others. Right now it is important to send a message to our politicians that we have had enough of their nonsense. It is time for them to behave like statesmen and women rather than squabbling schoolchildren. This blogger also holds the probably outdated view that as a woman people fought for her to have the right to vote. It was not given to women as a right but rather fought for. But look back even further and that is true for working class men also. Perhaps the single most important reason to vote now though is to send the Tory party a message; a message that we the people have had enough of the false flag of austerity to pay the deficit down. How you vote locally will affect local services but also send Westminster a message; if enough people bother to vote that could be a message of no confidence. Another reason to vote also has to be to stop an extremist party gaining a foothold in the UK. Apathy may be rife in the UK but not amongst those who support any extremist party. Fringe parties can all too soon become accepted mainstream political parties. When the going gets tough such people tend to increase their popularity. They offer what they think the people want to hear. By the time you realise how bad they are, it is too late. Voting has never been easier than it is in the UK right now. Most polling stations are situated close to where you live. Postal voting is another option readily available. Monday April 18 is the cut-off date for registering to vote in the May elections; you have until June 7 to register if you want to vote in the June EU referendum. Remember you have to be in it to win it. The effort will be minimal but believe it or not some will simply not vote, "because it was raining" Make sure you use your vote and use it wisely. The Week Op-ed: As a lifelong admirer of the 'Beast of Bolsover' aka Labour MP Dennis Skinner I am not surprised that our friends across the Pond are just waking up to this phenomenal politician and campaigner. Dennis like Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn is well-known for sticking to his guns. He may have had plenty of politicians who have not liked him down the years but I doubt there are many people who do not admire him. When he called UK PM Dodgy Dave in the Commons this week he knew exactly what he was doing. For many people across the UK Cameron will always be Dodgy Dave. That phrase has been a popular hashtag in tweets on social media attacking Cameron for some time. Perhaps it was Mr Skinner who coined the phrase as he has certainly used it in the Commons previously and been ejected for doing so. But in 2016 politics it appears to be OK for Tory Ministers to catcall Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn by shouting 'Who are ya' at the Labour leader as they mouthy overgrown children fall about in hoots of laughter. 'Shut up a ya face' is it seems was an acceptable shout as Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell addressed the house. It was also OK for Cameron aka Dodgy Dave to call Mr Skinner Jurassic at one time. But it is good to know that HoC hypocrisy has gone viral globally. It is obvious who will come up smelling of roses. Our American friends will like the fact an 84-year-old politician, a former miner from a coal mining community, called Cameron out and was ejected like a naughty child. Other countries offer their elder generations and politicians respect unlike here in the UK. Here are just a few of Mr Skinners' best quotes: On the Tory Party: He said "Half the Tory members opposite are crooks" and was told to withdraw the remark. He did and replaced it with "OK, half the Tory members aren’t crooks." To Roy Jenkins, leader, Who Pronounced His Rs as Ws: Roy said "I leave this party without rancour" to which Dennis replied "I thought you were taking Marquand with you." On Tory Chancellor George Osborne: Is my right hon. friend aware that in the 1970s and a lot of the 1980s, we would have thanked our lucky stars in the coalfield areas for growth of 1.75 per cent? The only thing growing then were the lines of coke in front of boy George and the rest of them. On Calling an MP "A Pompous Sod": Speaker: You had better withdraw that. Skinner: I withdraw the word pompous. Speaker: That’s not the word I’m looking for. Skinner: I can’t withdraw both. This got him thrown out of the Parliamentary session. Related: Happy birthday Dennis Skinner political hero and funny man Cameron ageist toward Dennis Skinner what about toward the Queen Double standards and high flying Commons hypocrisy Theresa May to heed Battle of Orgreave campaigners Op-ed: Westminster parliament finally got back to work Monday after a long Easter break. High on the agenda was the fall out of the panama leaks scandal. It was a damage limitations exercise for PM Cameron, his Chancellor and most of his MPs. As slippery as an eel Cameron slithered on and off the hook a few times but his reputation is forever tarnished and he has lost the trust of many people around the UK. Many like me never had any trust in 'Call Me Dave' in the first place. The Commons debate was a mixture of many things with double standards and hypocrisy riding the crest of a wave. Veteran Labour politician Dennis Skinner was thrown out of the chamber for calling a spade a spade or rather PM David Cameron Dodgy Dave. Skinner's 'red card' highlighted Commons' hypocrisy when the PM is allowed to disrespect Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn by telling him by proxy to do up his shirt, put on a tie and sing the national anthem and simply attracts hoots of laughter. That incident was reported by the Guardian as follows "Dave let rip: “I know what my mother would say. I think she’d look across the dispatch box and she’d say: ‘Put on a proper suit, do up your tie and sing the national anthem’” in a piece that was aptly titled "David Cameron lets his mask slip with 'do up your tie' jibe at Corbyn." When a Tory backbencher and his pals looking and sounding for all the world as if they are in a drunken football thugs stupor attacked Mr Corbyn with 'Who are ya Corbyn' they were allowed to continue. We reported at the time "It is sickening to read in the Independent that Tory backbenches opted to try once again to drown out the words of the leader of the Labour Party, the official political opposition in the Commons but this time they overstepped the public school bully boy mark. Chanting 'who are ya' as Mr Corbyn began to speak shows the Tories in all their despicable glory. A bunch of hoodlums who do not respect democracy or our parliament. Neither do they respect the electorate many of whom will have tuned in." House speaker John Bercow, Conservative, was the speaker of the day on both of those occasions but he failed to hold Cameron or his MPs to account. Perhaps calling Cameron Dodgy Dave was a step too far and not really funny as it had more than a ring of truth to it. It certainly hit the mark for many people as Dodgy Dave has become a well-known description of Cameron over the last few years. Either way Mr Skinner, 84, left the chamber like a naughty schoolboy after Bercow spoke to him as we would address a three-year-old child. Dennis Skinner is a giant of a man in all but stature. He has served his constituency well over many years and has humble roots in a coal mining community and as a former coal miner. If you want a glimpse into this man who still refuses to cosy up to the establishment and British royals check out his book "Sailing close to the wind." This is not the first time Mr Skinner has called Cameron Dodgy Dave to his face. In July 2015, during a heated Common's Exchange, as Skinner tried to discuss the closure of Doncaster's Hatfield Colliery, one of Britain's three remaining deep coal mines Mr. Skinner shouted "No wonder they call him Dodgy Dave... A man who went to Eton.." The rest of the MP's pronouncements were drowned out by jeers as Speaker John Bercow tried desperately to restore order reports the Daily Mirror. "It's very good to see the Labour party in full voice cheering on Jurassic Park," joked David Cameron. "I would stick to the movie." So it is OK for Cameron to respond to a jibe with an ageist comment? Monday one low-life MP stood out and that was Tory Sir Alan Duncan. His assessment of low achievers as judged by a lack of wealth really says it all about the British Tory party. If you are working or middle class and fall for the hype shame on you. Monday and into Tuesday #lowachievers and #DodgyDave trended on Twitter and social media as people vented their fury. Has Cameron and his government reached their 'let them eat cake' moment yet or have they raced past it? Saturday a long planned national protest in London will go ahead; it will be supported by last weekend's 'resign Cameron' protesters and more. Alan Duncan high achiever:- Alan Duncan claimed thousands for gardening Alan Duncan links to Libya oil cell William Hague's clumsy friend Alan Duncan Related reading: Happy birthday Dennis Skinner political hero and funny man Theresa May to heed Battle of Orgreave campaigners
Op-ed: A furious debate about what if anything UK PM David Cameron has done wrong is dividing opinion. It is fair to say the divide is fairly politically split. The Tory faithful are by and large, at least publicly, showing their support for the PM, calling those asking him to resign anything from a rabble to misinformed. Their argument is that Cameron has done nothing wrong; that the system may or may not be flawed but that seems to depend whether you are talking to a person who is gaining under the current system or not. Now Tories are in damage limitations mode and clutching eagerly at each and every straw anything goes. The latest is calling attacks on Cameron a smear campaign. To Labour supporters such as this writer that is both ironic and rich. It was not so very long ago a smug faced David Cameron used a dodgy Labour list to ridicule Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the Commons. That list may have been a fictitious piece of Conservative nonsense or even supplied by a Labour political lightweight and backstabber but either way it lowered the tone. It was a cheap political shot and Cameron cannot bleat when we respond in kind. But either way we note the gloves are off and the Tories do not like it. They have played with fire and tried to damage the reputation of Mr Corbyn; they even attacked Ed Miliband and his father as they tried to win the 2015 General Election. Nothing was off limits. So are you persuaded that somehow publishing the panama data leaks is disrespectful to David Cameron's late father? If Cameron had come clean Sunday night when the story broke many people would still have been angry. It is the fact that Cameron preaches we are all in this together as paltry benefits for people with disabilities are slashed and even mobility allowances removed. As he tells us all it is because the country has such a huge deficit and it is all the Labour party's fault. But of course if money was invested in the UK rather than off shore tax havens perhaps the country would not be in such a financial mess. He is the King of Hypocrisy even telling us all to take a vacation in the UK to help flood hit areas of the country then dashing off to Lanzarote for his Easter break. The fact that Cameron lied over and over again this week has permanently damaged his reputation. He has lied and vague arguments from others that it is a private family matter and that he did want to drag his late father into the debate are simply nonsense. £31,500 from his Dad's shares was such a drop in the Cameron's financial ocean Dave was able to casually dismiss and forget it. Last week's leaks may just be a drop in that same ocean but hey could almost be a false flag with Cameron collateral damage. Certainly the elite will be happy to see the government of Iceland fall as that country has successfully jailed corrupt bankers. With other off shore tax havens still holding so many secrets there is still a lot of the proverbial to hit the fan. Will we ever get to the real truth of this story or not? By Saturday night Cameron has vowed to publish his tax returns for the last six years. But surely that is after the event in every sense of the word? Feel free to have your say in the comments section below but please no url links and keep it friendly. Mossack Fonseca director Ramon Fonseca has denied any wrongdoing. He said the firm had suffered a hack on its database and described the leak as "an international campaign against privacy", according to Reuters. All of those implicated in the ICIJ Panama Papers report have been afforded the opportunity to respond: Visit the ICIJ website to read the responses. Op-ed: The British Tory government has pinched yet another UK Labour party idea; the so-called living wage. The government has in effect rebranded the minimum wage as the national living wage as in truth it is anything but a real living wage. The introduction of a minimum wage was one Tony Blair's Labour government's big success stories. It took some people legally employed for around £2 an hour out of real hardship and poverty but only went part of the way to addressing income imbalance in the UK. It did however mean security guards for example were no longer 'forced' to work upwards of 60 hour working weeks to make ends meet. With income top ups for those with children it was an all-round good measure; a start. Almost 19 years later in work benefits have been slashed and the minimum wage has failed to keep up. Sure inflation currently may be relatively low but think of all the years between 1997 and 2016 when it was not. During those years the minimum wage failed to keep up and the fact inflation is low right now is in real terms meaningless to those employed on a basic income, in receipt of a benefit such as a state pension or JSA or on a temporary or zero or part time hours contract. But it is a better option than scrapping a minimum or living wage. When the minimum wage was introduced one security firm which operates locally said it would be bankrupt and soon if it was faced to pay more than its paltry £2.25 an hour. All these years later that firm is as prosperous as ever. The introduction of this 'living wage' could end up meaningless as there are reports that some firms will claw back bonus payments and other perks to pay for it. These days employment contracts have less protection which means they may have carte blanch to do so. But paying people a fair wage for a fair day's work has many benefits. If people have even a little disposable income they may book a holiday, buy nice household goods, treat themselves to a new outfit, save a little money, go out for a meal or what-they-will. Keeping too many people of the UK on an income knife edge hurts the economy, local business and more. It can damage the health of the young, vulnerable and the elderly. That in turn impacts on NHS costs, crime figures and so much more. So while we applaud the living wage we question whether it is a real living wage or not. After all it was set by some people who are millionaires and some who had a great start in life due to family wealth. The new national minimum wage of £7.20 per hour is for everyone 25 and over. So it is not a universal living wage. Again it shows David Cameron's 'One Nation' spin is just that-spin. Looking back over my life-by the age of 23 both my parents were dead. Unlike David Cameron who inherited vast sums of money nicely tucked away in off shore tax havens by his father there was no inheritance; aged 49 Cameron's mother is still alive and he did not lose his father at a young age. My Dad always worked apart from some periods when unrecognised WWII PTSD caught up with him. But he was employed by Hull City Engineers in its building division at a time when the council was not facing privatisation and severe cuts. So he was kept employed until he died at the age of 55; and I should add he was a damn hard worker. The house we lived in as kids was not much by today's standards but it was home and it was a tenancy for life; so at least no worries about a tenancy ending as long as you paid the rent. There was no crippling council tax either just the rates which on a small two up two downed property with no bathroom and an outside loo were relatively cheap. How very different to today. Young people face high rents, tenancies that are far from secure, a lack of affordable housing and a cut price wage until they become 25 and not much better when they reach that age. [The government has spent so much money implementing and publicising the new national living wage it could give us all an income top up] Yet those same under 25s may have children and already be married. Saving for a first home may not be on the cards and even after they reach the magic age of 25. While children these days are in many ways so much more grown up in essence they are being kept as children much longer unless they hail from a family with wealth. University education now comes at a price and sadly a price many cannot afford. And if I look back to when I married in 1972, when I was a smoker, I could purchase a pack of 20 cigs for 18p. I quit cigarettes in 1985, or so, so I had to check the current price online which is listed as £9.60 for a pack of 20 cigarettes; however these days many packs only have 18 or 19 and making cheaper looking prices misleading. But I use cigs as one example as we all know smoking is not good for you in any sense; it is just used as an example of increased costs. Consider my first little rented property in 1972 which had a rent of around £4 a month. It still lacked some basic amenities but was a good start for us and we soon made it home. And it was worth decorating and more as we again had a tenancy for life unless we defaulted on the rent or broke our rental contract. Short tenancies hardly encourage you to spend money renovating do they? It now costs an average £2,583 a month to take on a rented property in central London, compared with £663 in the north of England, the cheapest place to rent in the UK, according to Countrywide, which analysed more than 75,000 properties in England, Scotland and Wales. Such rents are obviously out of the reach of many young people; and some not so young too.
With high deposits and short term tenancies the odds are not in your favour. Buying a property could be a better option but hold that thought; interest rates are low but sooner or later will rise; lenders also now want large deposits. Taking the first step into a home of your own was never so tricky. BBC magazine has some facts and figures relating to what £7.20 an hour may be you in the UK and it shows that in spite of Tory trumpets that is not a living wage. Govt National Living Wage Op-ed: Friday we posted "Not murder when an Israeli kills a helpless Palestinian." It was an opinion piece written by a retired teacher in Canada-a person who could never be seriously accused of being anti-Semitic or racist. It openly shares an opinion and it does not have a hidden agenda nor is it aimed at misleading the reader. That cannot be said for "Anti-Semitism at the heart of Corbyn's Labour Party: Devastating dossier exposes how extensive anti-Jewish bigotry is in Labour and poses profoundly troubling questions its leaders MUST answer" posted by the Mail Online Saturday. That piece begins "To the duffel-coated members of Labour’s ‘loony Left’, one particular weekly newspaper was, for much of the Eighties, required reading" but is that relevant in 2016? That lead into the story however must tell you all you need to know about its credibility? If you want an idea of the standard of journalism at the Mail Online consider that Katie Hopkins, previously a columnist at the Sun, joined the team in September 2015 days after Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party. If you are British you must have heard of Hopkins who has made her name and paid the bills out of abuse and sensationalist headlines such as: Petition against Katie Hopkins passes 250,000 mark Katie Hopkins attacks Kelly Clarkson again Katie Hopkins seeks personal attention out of the death of Cilla Black So how credible is Saturday's piece in the Mail? It uses information from the past, social media and Bitterities within the Labour party to craft an article which sensationalises a perceived anti-Semitic view allegedly running rampant in the Labour Party. You will need to read it carefully and perhaps more than once to see that it is in many ways out of time and a false flag. Are some so desperate to remove Jeremy Corbyn as party leader and John McDonnell as Shadow Chancellor that they are prepared to rake up old history and to sacrifice local elections scheduled for May? But in all political parties there are rogue elements. Tory Grant Schapps resigns amid bullying scandal for example. Sometimes it is the young who have a passion for politics, life and fair play. The first, a passion for politics, appears to have been true of PM David Cameron who allegedly in 1985 was a top member of the "Federation of Conservative Students, which produced the "Hang Mandela" posters. In 1989, Cameron worked in the Tory Policy Unit at Central Office and went on an anti-sanctions fact-finding mission to South Africa with a pro-apartheid lobby firm sponsored by PW Botha." The Independent wrote in 2009 "The trip by Mr Cameron in 1989, when he was a rising star of the Conservative Research Department, was a chance for him to "see for himself" and was funded by a firm that lobbied against the imposition of sanctions on the apartheid regime." Two wrongs do not make a right and calling all who criticise Israel - when it invades a neighbouring country and kills many, grabs land, appears to want to squeeze another small nation into oblivion and encircles that small country with a huge wall turning it into the world's largest open air concentration camp - anti-Semitic is plain wrong. This writer is not bigoted but nor is she naive enough not to realise that there may be elements in any political party with hidden agendas, and there may be "double agents" of sorts, trying to help the other side along. And of course money rules. The piece in the Mail Online uses social media posts to attack individuals. In one case it attacks a fair-minded individual who became embroiled in tit for tat debates on social media. During the last Israeli invasion of Gaza passions ran high. Can you really use a social media post in the heat of the moment to attack an individual's credibility? Hypocrisy rules in 2016. Raking up old news to cobble a story together can result in many things but is it really news? Still we have taken a small leaf out of the Mail Online's book of journalism to see where it leads. As for social media it can be many things including interesting, manipulated, funny, abusive, paid for, misinterpreted, taken out of context, polite, vile and at times far from social. And there are many forums online. Those that are closed are rarely invitation only; people tend to ask to join and are accepted or not. Why they join is relevant. Administrators of these groups face huge 24/7 challenges monitoring conversations, watching out for trolls, banning abusers and weeding out those with hidden agendas. That means invariably some problems from time to time but many of the political forums enable people to get together and share ideas and knowledge. Perhaps Labour needs to start fielding members to Tory forums, so they can copy text out of context and allow the mainstream media to manipulate politics ahead of elections? Finding a left-wing mainstream media source however could prove tricky. May 5, 2016, Vote Labour and ignore the right-wing hype. Remember WE are Labour, not the Bitterites or high-profile personalities. |
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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