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:
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Op-ed: International Women’s Day is a worldwide event that has been observed since the early 1900s and is now recognised each year on March 8. Equality of the sexes is still a mixed bag and if you look at many countries is non-existent. This year's theme is Pledge For Parity and you can check it out and 'sign the pledge' by following this link. Until fairly recently this day had pretty much passed this writer by. That was for a range of reasons not least because she was busy getting on with life and all the trials and tribulations that can bring. Before you say 'ah that shows she is a downtrodden woman' think again. When I read a piece for Progress Online, one faction of the Labour party, and one for the Huff Post written by Jess Phillips MP, a response is needed. Why you may ask and I will explain. Ms Phillips has been busying herself writing damning pieces about the Labour party's chances of election success in 2020. She claims to use the negativity she hears campaigning on the doorstep to criticise the party and its leader Jeremy Corbyn. However MPs are part of the fight to win hearts, minds and votes and feeding the MSM a constant stream of negativity and me, me, me news is not productive or necessary. If Ms Phillips is not kept busy enough as a working MP perhaps she could write more supportive articles; so many within Labour who oppose Jeremy Corbyn cite his opposition to various PMs down the years and with more than a ring of the schoolyard claim 'he did it'. But Corbyn was always a man of principles and his record is not bad to say the least. Monday as MSM reports concentrated on a possible upcoming coup within the Labour Party Phillips petty weekend articles in the same MSM looked like an additional knife in his back to most of us. Mr Corbyn addressed the parliamentary Labour party, PLP, later Monday calling for dissident MPs to end the ‘back-biting and public attacks’. But Ms Phillips is tweeting Tuesday her International Women's Day article in the Huffington Post UK so surely she has taken note. Well actually no she has not. In one tweet Tuesday to promote the article she tweeted "For people who want to read about unity in the Labour Party here you go" which is yet more sniping. She ends the first paragraph of her report with the sentence "There is one thing I think that we women have that our brothers should envy and replicate - we have each other." But when I sent her a tweet after being appalled at her divisive articles appearing constantly online she promptly blocked me and I reciprocated. I had read her article and picked up on common ground between us and tweeted accordingly. She writes "My mom died when I was in my twenties. There is no one, nor will there ever be anyone, who inspires me as much." I tweeted I was not her sister but that I had lost my dad when I was 17 and Mum when I was aged 23 but I was blocked. She may decide to class me as a troll as I disagree with her and that is up to her. But if you read her tweets today as she blathers on about women and International Women’s Day bear in mind she is apparently a hypocrite. I choose not to share my personal childhood details other than to say it was tough at times living in a two-up two-down with no bathroom and an outside loo, playing on bombsites and with a Dad suffering unrecognised PTSD treat as a nut case but life was and is tough for many to this day. It was just as tough for my brother although the challenges were probably different. There is a time for being a professional and there is a time for chatting as friends and to my mind "My mates are wet-your-knickers hilarious" is an inappropriate line in a Labour MPS online writing. She has to decide if she is one of the gals or an MP just like a boss has to sometimes step away from former colleagues. And in her International Women’s Day post the snide remarks are there if you want to see them. "Yes we still don't have hardly any of the top jobs and get paid less" is her comment on the Labour Party and parliament. She has been an elected MP for less than one year. Two senior female MPs refused to work in Corbyn's cabinet. Unlike Phillips I do not see all women as great for politics. I use Maggie Thatcher as a shining example of what can go wrong. The same is true of male politicians. We are all after all members of the human race and people. Barbara Castle who features in Made In Dagenham, a movie about women working in the car industry and fighting for basic rights, was a very different kettle of fish. I could of course go on and on but hopefully the point is made. Now I am not sure about Phillips but this writer has some reports in the offing attacking the Tories and I need to get on with them. Courtesy of the Huff Post again: MPs will get a taste of their own medicine on Tuesday when a group of sixth form girls will take over the seats on the Commons women and equalities committee. Me I just wonder who the ones taking part are?
[I am still awaiting a reply to an email sent to Phillips earlier this week] [I did not vote for Mr Corbyn for party leader and like all campaigning for their chosen candidate opted to tweet all sorts ahead of the leadership election-now we have a leader my loyalty is a given] |
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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