Clement Attlee didn’t need a ‘Ceremonial Funeral’ – why I am wearing Red on Wednesday

I will be in bed on the day of Maggie Thatcher’s funeral (I will be on Nights), but when I am awake I will be joining the ‘Wear Red’ protest, I am not sure if I would have gone to London to protest at her funeral – I read an article of a Mum who had applied to the Police to protest by turning her back on the procession, she had to because she couldn’t afford to be late for work and had to work to support her kids – but I will not let the funeral of Maggie go without protest. On Facebook we are protesting by changing our profile picture to that of Clement Attlee. I particularly like this protest as it contrasts the ground breaking Attlee administration that created the National Health Service, the Welfare State and Workers Rights, and is pertinent to what this Government is destroying, and what Thatcher sought to destroy.

I am sure this will not be my final piece on Thatcher, but it is for her funeral.

The funeral contrasts sharply with Winston Churchill’s funeral of 1965 when the nation was truly grief-stricken and said goodbye to a national leader, and head of the National Government during the war – don’t get me wrong he was far from perfect, but he died with the respect of a grateful nation, I feel confident that no-one even thought of protesting his funeral. I am afraid Maggie’s funeral will be a lot more tense, for the wrong reasons. Contrast this again with Clement Attlee, who reconstructed a war ravaged country, who’s administration built 1 million new home, employed 25,000 new teachers, and introduced Child Benefit, Sickness Pay, Invalidity and Maternity Benefits amongst a radical agenda to rival anything that Thatcher did. All this from a man who, when he was Prime Minister, went on holiday in Caravan in Devon.

In retirement he co-founded the Homosexual Law Reform Society, and remember that was well before the Wolfenden Report. I am actually inspired that this man was a social and political reformer of gargantuan proportions, flawed yes, but a leader, a reformer and by all accounts humble, not for him the ‘pomp and circumstance’ of a State funeral.

Attlee’s funeral, as befitting a humble man with a vision, consisted of 150 mourners in the Church of the Templars in London. The times records the event as such:

ALL the trappings of power were absent last week at the funeral of Earl Attlee, Britain’s Prime Minister from 1945 to 1951: no honour guards or artillery caissons, no press or television, no crush of spectator

A Prime Minister who served in Government during the war and totally revolutionised British society in six years, taking it from a scene that Hogarth would have been at home in, to a country that that could be proud of its achievements, there is no other honour that could be given this man, if he wanted one, than he was radical and improved the health and welfare beyond comprehension. What greater accolade is there than the appreciate of a grateful nation?

On the other hand the funeral Margaret Thatcher has a ‘State Funeral’ in all but name, and that funeral she continues to tear apart the nation in controversy over her legacy, over the cost and her politics. The funeral, and apparently she never wanted the fuss, is a monument to the ego of the radical right of the Conservative Party, the Party that de-selected her as Prime Minister. Her record will be her eulogy. Yes she did some good, but the evil schisms she manipulated are still tender today, and have been reopened for the salt of a £10 Million funeral to be poured into.

As an openly gay man growing up in the Pit Villages of South Yorkshire I cannot mourn for this woman. I cannot mourn for the devastation she wrought not for the rampant homophobia she encouraged. Matthew Todd in his piece ‘Margaret Thatcher was no poster girl for gay rights’ reminds us:

The 1987 election saw Tory ad campaigns trying to portray Labour as actively trying to pervert children. One billboard showed a line of young men wearing badges such as “Gay pride” and “Gay sports day” with a slogan, “This is Labour’s camp. Do you want to live in it?”.

After winning the 1987 election Thatcher knew she was on to a winner. She denounced local education authorities for teaching children that “they have an inalienable right to be gay” and brought in the hated clause, then section, 28, which outlawed the promotion of homosexuality as “a pretend family relationship”

The last comment drove someone to scrawl over a Tory Poster ‘Lesbian Mums aren’t pretending’

The recent vote on Equal Marriages shows that the Tory are still stubbornly anti-gay, even Cameron couldn’t vote for a Bill he introduced.

On 17 April 2013 I am wearing Red in memory of the woman who tried to tear up the social reforms that helped the weakest, I am wearing Red to honour the Miners, the Miners who were fighting for their lives, who were refused State help in funeral expenses, I am wearing Red for the Steelworkers who lost their jobs and are now sweeping floors, I am wearing Red for the members of the military that dies in the Falklands War that could have been avoided – I am wearing Red in solidarity with the lives ruined by Section 28.

More than anything else on 17 April 2013 I am wearing red. I am wearing red to honour the achievements of a great leader who was humble, led this country, and created social and political reforms that made me proud to be British

The First Time

Last week the “Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill was passed for a second reading, in effect the first stage in it becoming law. The voting figures are revealing, 45% of the Conservatives voted against it, and even worse 40 Conservatives failed to vote, including the Prime Minister whose party introduced the Bill.

Of the 205 Labour MP’s only 9 voted against it, the Liberal Democrats voted in favour to give the Bill a comfortable 225 vote majority in the House, the vote being a tidy 400 in favour of the Bill with 175 against the Bill. Whilst a triumph for social justice this is disaster for the Conservatives, unable to provide a majority vote on their own legislation and relying on ‘Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition’ to get the vote passed, as will be relied on for further stages of the legislation.

Not only has the David Cameron very visibly exposed his inability to enforce order on the Parliamentary Conservative Party he has also exposed the bigotry and reactionary nature of the Party that brought the infamous ‘Clause 28’ is still alive.

The Government were under no obligation to enact such legislation, it certainly wasn’t part of any manifesto, but it was probably a good ‘vote winner’ for the whatever percentage of the LGBT community if affects – unfortunately it has totally backfired creating rifts in the Government, splitting the party (along with other issues such as Europe) and highlighting the fragile nature of the tenancy of the Prime Minister; that a Prime Minister cannot command a majority ‘in the house’ from his own party was probably last seen in 1974 under Harold Wilson and wreaks of incompetence. Shrouding the vote as a ‘conscience vote’ fooled no-one, morally we have to ask when was Human Rights a matter of conscience, and not a matter of principles?

No matter how much I welcome the passing of Bill I have to conclude that this has been a shambles for the Conservatives.

The ball was fumbled, to get around the European Human Right Act the Government introduced clauses that religious organisations do not have to perform Equal Marriages, unless the Priest agrees to it – this is similar to legislation in Denmark – of course because we have a State Church, the Church of England, it is not only exempt it is illegal for them to performs Equal Marriages. The Church of England and Wales were furious, basically saying ‘no-one asked us about this’. The Government has dropped the ball with the electorate, the Church and the Parliamentary Party – could it be much more of a disaster?

Thanks to Twitter we now have direct access to our MP’s, for some this is boon and to others a curse. My MP, @JTomlinsonMP (Conservative) said that he was going to vote for the Bill, which I give thanks, @Tom_Watson (Labour) wrote:

I’ve had 112 letters and Postcards against gay marriage and one in favour. I’m voting in favour in gay marriage.

The above obviously earn my praise, but none more so than Mark Menzies MP (Conservative) who said:

“I came here today intending to abstain, but now I am going to vote for the Bill”

My utmost scorn belongs to David Davies MP (Conservative) – you can follow him at @DavidtcDavies – when he wrote

“Some 1 asked if you can compare gay marriage to moxed (mixed) marriages. Ludicrous question”

Coming from the MP who said, very publicly in the Guardian Newspaper, that he thought parents would prefer their children not to be gay and that the wasn’t homophobic because he fought a Gay Boxer I shouldn’t be surprised, even more so I would not be surprised if Tory Central Office banned him from having a Twitter account to be honest.

My funny response would be from Torch Song Trilogy, when Harvey Fierstein confronts his mother at the graveside about the loss of his partner and his Mum, played by Anne Bancroft, fails to see how her loss in a mirror of her grief:

You’re right, how dare I? I couldn’t know how it feels to put somebody’s things in plastic bags and watch the Garbage Men take them away; or how it feels when you forget and set his place at the table. The food rots because you forgot to shop for one. You had it easy, you have your friends and relatives, I had me.

In a real way the scene from Torch Song Trilogy deals with the ‘how can you compare straight marriage to gay marriage’ question of comparing gay and straight marriages, it’s just marriage, it is just sharing your life and hopes.

On a personal note last November me and H came back from Germany, normally we had flown back into Birmingham, or had a few days chilling before work, this time I was straight back to work, and H had to be back at work as well. Due to circumstances we live 75 miles apart at the moment, but that will hopefully change soon, so having flown into Gatwick we got the train to Reading. The sense of loneliness and being ripped apart at Reading Station as I boarded my train and left him behind, and then tracking each other’s progress as we made our way through a bitterly cold night was painful. It was the first time that I had felt this pain at being ripped apart.

I am sure if David Davies, MP for Monmouth, was in a similar situation he would feel the same, so what else is there to compare?

Call me Jack, as in I’m alright

This is still my ‘happy picture’ it is still the photo that makes me smile, laugh and think about the courage and suffering these girls would have gone through to get there – it makes me see beyond the present to the past and to the future.

It is the nearly the end of January and I have had one the best January ever.  I seem to be, as my Boss would say, cooking on gas.

Having started the year on 10 Nights, I have managed to recoup the time lost and on with some amazing stuff, all rounded of this weekend with ‘Steam Gala’ at Loughborough with the incredible mixture of sun and steam, heady.  There are two possibilities of jobs that would mean that I can live my partner, and there is another job in the pipeline outside of Swindon I have also got into my new hobby of collecting Railway themed Postcard and got some great Postcards off Ebay of the great ’50s trains such as the 20th Century Limited and the Hiawatha, the last train was a prize – well it was until the card arrived and I found it to be reproduction from Zazzazle. To cut a long story short it was returned, and with all guns blazing I asked my money back.  I knew what was happening, someone had the card and was just reprinting it endlessly and making a lot of money doing it.

Yesterday I had to email the seller again and ask for the money, I was in my rights, only ‘within in rights’ is what is the matter with this world, and I had just contributed to the problem.  I received this email back

Hi – I don’t know how the paypal got mixed up. I think I sent it through the normal channels. I refunded $28.00 to include shipping both ways. I didn’t notice the 3rd card until later and sent $2.00 more. I hope this is satisfactory. I am not really a dealer, just a retired stamp collector selling off items from my collections and other items I have accumulated. My children and grandchildren are not interested so I am selling the lot. Unfortunately, I know a lot more about stamps than I do about postcards. I am very sorry for the problem. I try hard to describe the items correctly. Jack

It was the last line had me nearly in tears, someone had spent a lifetime collecting Postcards and Stamps and now was selling them, no-one was interested, they were just so much waste paper.  When I get information like the email above my empathy genes kick in big time.  I don’t know why this guy was selling his collection,was it to raise some cash to pay for food, was he dying and wanted his collection to go to a good home, what was this guy thinking has he posted each lot to a different bidder?  I felt bad, I had assumed that I knew this person, and proved only that I am more cynical than I should be and it is people like me that cause so much unpleasantness in the world we live in.

As daft as it seems I want to give this guy a hug, and also I look around at my collection and wonder what will happen to that, will it be just thrown out as so much rubbish?

So far this year in Swindon alone 2,000 jobs have been lost, and I have to care about this.  I know it is easier not to bother and not to notice, but that is because of out fear that we might be one of those, but we need courage and compassion to acknowledge what is happening around us, to be involved, to be change we desperately need to see; so a belated New Years resolution is not to get caught up in the rat race, to try to understand people more, and try to be a lot less judgemental. Whilst I’m alright Jack, Jack isn’t and I need to do something about that.

If you are wondering I gave him the money back for the postage, it was not fair that he should pay postage both ways, and it was the least I could do.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

The 24th December 2010 will be etched in my consciousness for a long time, it was a perfectly sunny day but it had snowed, it was the thick crunchy stuff that makes a satisfying crackle under foot as you wade through it – wading through was a good description as it was fairly thick.  The air was freezing, and I was Dog Sitting, my partner had decided that he eeded ‘Spike’ – a gorgeous Husky – keeping company.   I had meant to out with the camera taking the perfect winter pictures, but I was I Dog Sitting.

I haven’t quite forgiven my partner for that.

It snowing as I write this, it’s the  ‘flurry’ type of snow, or as British Rail famously called it -  but very accurately  – ‘the wrong type of snow’ when it got into the filters of the new ‘BedPan’ trains (yes they were called BedPan after Bedford – St Pancras  line they were working on).  Yes, it’s the wrong type of snow.

Despite my Twitter feed being full of the #UKSnow hashtag (well it used to be, it has been muted) I fail to be very excited by snow, yes it looks pretty, and I can take pretty pictures, but my mind wanders from the artistic to the mundane.

My first thoughts are always with the street homeless of the one of the richest nations on the face of planet, that whilst we look from our central heated rooms we fail to see the huddled homeless, finding a little shelter underneath an archway or in a subway.  Winter is a bitter time, and the heartlessness’ of Westminster Council forbidding charities from distributing a cup of hot tea or soup make the winter a lot bleaker. Whilst we rush to work and complain about the slush we pass the ‘The Big Issue’ seller standing in the doorway, trying to get our attention and flog us a paper, spare a thought, a few words, a few pound to make the this cold day a bit warmer,  a bit more human.

The pretty postcard snow is lovely, but if you are a Pensioner or an employed parent trying to juggle the needs of food or heating then it becomes a nightmare, the current Benefits cuts will be biting harder than the wind this winter.  In its infinite wisdom this Government feels that capping Child Support is required to save money, if you earn more than £49,000 you lose it, it is no longer a universal benefit.  I can run with that to be honest, the only problem if you earn £49,000 and your partner earns £49,000 then you still get it, the math is simple if your household earns £98,000 you still get the support, if you are a single parent and you earn £49,001 then you lose it.  The Government thinks this is fair, so it must be.

Under the Government’s plans for the economy this Christmas and New Year were going to be better, we were going to have growth of 2.4% but it has decided it would be fairer to have a triple dip recession, upwards of 6,000 people have lost their jobs in the UK within the first two weeks of 2013, will they be putting the central heating to keep the biting cold out?  In Swindon alone 800 jobs are under threat from the Honda plant, and another 300 from its suppliers, and this is not counting the staff of Jessops and HMV. As someone tweeted, are these people classed as ‘scroungers’ or are hey still ‘strivers’ until the axe finally falls?

The song for this is weather is not the 50’s classic ‘Let it snow’ it more the Dickensian ‘In the bleak mid-winter’

“… most parents wouldn’t want their children to be gay’

David Davies, Member of Parliament for Monmouth, in swipe at David Cameron’s proposals to allow Gay Marriage, he is also going allow Churches, if they so wish, to marry same-sex couples in Church.  I have no problem this, but at the same we need to disinfranchise the Church of England because the legal set up is that because it is the State Church it has to marry everyone, or least everyone can get married in the Church, just as everyone is part of a Vicar’s Parish regardless of faith, or lack of one.  Another solution used widely is that ALL marriages are performed by a Registrar, and a religious wedding takes place later – and that is fair, and that is equal.

Mr Davies is of the persuasion were some people are separate but equal, not only against same-sex couples getting married in Church, but also getting altogether.  A quote from his website, where he blatantly displays his heterosexual credentials says:

I am completely against any form of discrimination towards people who are gay and I do not believe it’s the role of government to decide who should live with who or what sort of commitment they make to each other. Equally I believe people should be free to follow their religious beliefs, whilst accepting that many people within different religions do not recognise the validity of gay marriage.

Not only does he put forward the spurious argument that Churches will be forced to perform gay marriages, that is a red herring, but that maintain an antidiscrimination he then goes to justify the current discrimination. Indulge me a few paragraphs and let me this to shreds before I hurl the computer out of the window in the general direction of Monmouth.

His latest quote, which was designed to spark controversy (he more or less admits it) is:

“I think most people are very tolerant and have no problem at all if people are gay but – and I hate to say this, in a way, because I expect it’s going to cause controversy – but I think most parents would prefer their children not to be gay, knowing most parents want grandchildren if nothing else.”

I remember vividly watching a film in my late teens – like many gay people of my generation we were searching for role models and affirmation of our sexuality that we were not freaks – called Sgt Matlovich v USAF and chronicled the life of Leonard Matlovich who was a equal opportunities officer, the one line from the film which has stuck with me is:

“the two words which sound discrimination are ‘all and ‘but’

‘I like black people BUT …’ and ‘ALL black people …’ I think when someone starts to talk for the majority without actually knowing the majority we have bigotry.  I guess the majority of Davies’ friend do feel that that they would rather have ‘straight’ kids rather ‘gay’ kids, I don’t know the circles he mixes in, but the circles I mix are fairly gay and most of the stories are positive and affirming, and parents love their children.  My partner’s family is fairly religious and I am treated as part of the family, I am not sure if his Dad understands the ‘gay thing’ but neither do I understand the ‘straight thing’ but we don’t let that bother us.

Of course it assumes that all heterosexual couples want children, the birthrate in this country, and the number of childless couples, by choice, is rising – it is not uncommon for couples not to want Children.  It is comforting to know that I am ‘tolerated’ by the likes of David Davies, especially after the pain that I have caused my family by gay in the first place, and not having children. The more I think about the comment, the more I want to hurl a computer out of the window!

I feel comforted that an MP for Monmouth can talk for over the half the families in the UK with such confidence.  Most parents I know are really happy knowing that their children are healthy, receive a good education, meet someone they love who will walk with them along the journey of life, I think most parents are happy if their children come and visit them, and keep in contact, and I am sure most parents are happy knowing their children enjoy their lives. Again, looking at my circle of friends, I am safe in the knowledge that three of my partners have procreated, and not to keep their parents happy, so again we have a total lack of understanding.

I end with my favourite quote from Loving v Virginia in 1967

Marriage is one of the “basic civil rights of man,” fundamental to our very existence and survival…. To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes, classifications so directly subversive of the principle of equality at the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment, is surely to deprive all the State’s citizens of liberty without due process of law

I think Mr Davies needs to out of rolling hills of Monmouth and take a look at the real country and the lives of real people for a change, we are not here to please our parents, we are here to live fuflilled and productive, regardless of who we love.

As Churchill said ….

The United Kingdom has never quite got over losing the Empire, to be honest it hasn’t ‘not quite got over it’ but is exhibiting total denial. I am not a psychologist – and never will be – but the UK has formed a delusional self-denial that tacitly accepts that the sun does set on the old Islands we still have, but relives its glory by talking about the war, we love the war, it was the last thing we did as an Empire, we relive the glory each day even though it was 70 years, and it comes as no surprise that when the Government, well a Tory Government, wants to do something unpopular it will invoke Churchill.

Quoting Churchill is a cypher for ‘we really want to make you believe that we are in this together, and that it really hurts us to say this, but we are going to use the current crisis to ensure we make this a country fit for exploitation. Churchill was invoked today, by Cameron, to basically there are too many nasty rules and regulations which we really should get rid, stuff that hinders growth like Health & Safety Legislation, Welfare Rights, along with Human Rights. The spirit of Churchill, is misquoted and misused to feed into the national lack of self-confidence. I live in a country that according the OECD, is third easiest economy to sack someone, and yet more Workers Rights are be brushed away.

The line in the text is:

“When this country was at war in the 40′s Whitehall underwent a revolution”

“Normal rules were circumvented. Convention was thrown out. As one historian put it, everything was thrown at ‘the overriding purpose’ of beating Hitler. Well, this country is in the economic equivalent of war today – and we need the same spirit.”

New legislation to be introduced in this Parliament will enable the Government and Local Authorities to ask for Internet Data at will, and it will also introduce ‘secret courts’ which evidence, as defined by the State, can be used to convict someone without the evidence being heard in Court; it will be the State that defines what is ‘secret’ without and judicial oversight.

That’s right David, invoke Churchill, fly the flag, and dismantle the freedoms this country fought for, enact laws that Hitler would be proud of.

This recession was not made my working people who have taken massive pay cuts in this country, or by sick people using Hospitals it has been made in Number 10 Downing Street, or more accurately No 11 Downing Street. The people who are suffering are being made to suffer more, I read this evening of the Elderly having to eat in Food Kitchens, this should not be the case. The elderly have fought this country – for Europe – and worked hard and they should not be made to suffer, and if they haven’t fought for anything and not worked hard then as Pearl S. Buck wrote in ‘My Several Worlds’

“Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members”

This Government has systematically attacked the weak and vulnerable, and it seeks to attack and punish everyone for not being rich.

The United Kingdom is drifting inextricably out of the EU, vote by vote, soundbite by soundbite, retreating into a utopian dream. I look at Germany, that has posted several years of growth, and wonder if it the UK that is wrong or is it the EU? The Workers Rights in Germany are superior to our own, yet they have fought for them through hardship after WW2 to construct a thriving nation that has been based upon cooperation, it has done this whilst paying Holocaust survivors (and has recently extended the Pensions to survivors not only in Germany, but everyone who survived the Nazi Regime, in the midst of the Euro Zone Crisis). I see a country that is not only looking after its vulnerable, paying back its debts, but also looking towards the future, not harking back on a glorious and inglorious past, but moving forward.

I do not understand how Workers Rights, and Safety Legislation, has hindered German growth, or France’s or Italy’s (all bigger economies than the UK).

Instead of embracing the new opportunities of Europe the UK is retreating into isolationism of a madman that cannot cope with reality, instead creating a story to tell itself.

I feel dismayed that my defence against my own country seems to the European Court of Human Rights, a body that this Governments want to leave. In it’s defence it has said it would introduce an Bill of Rights, but this is a government that would write it, and change it at will, as much as it would countenance ‘secret courts’.

The very ideals Churchill espoused are being eroded, and whilst we are not a communist regime, I will quote Churchill on his assessment of Europe 1946, the problem is I feel like I am on the wrong side..

“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent”

Why Popeye’s is the answer to the Recession

I am not at work today, I had planned to go on a photographic expedition to Bodmin, but the weather is pretty m’eh so decided not to go, instead I had a lazy morning and ambled down stairs and do some ‘Channel Surfing’ and came across ‘Undercover Boss USA’ - a series where a Boss goes undercover and experiences life at the ‘coal face’ to see what life is like outside the Corporate Bubble – todays installment was Popeye’s. Watching the moving stories and the people, mainly Black Americans and ex-homeless people, I actually wanted to work for Popeye’s. One got my attention was the enthusiasm of the staff, ok I know that the camera was on them and they were specially selected. It occurred to me a major part of the worlds economic problems could be solved not by the Bankers, but by the Workers – but then again I am a Socialist, so I would say that wouldn’t I!

Employment is a contractual obligation, rather like prostitution in most cases, I work the company gives me money, if I am really good at my job they will give me more money until they have no use for me. I see a different paradigm, I see a better way, and it was articulated in the programme. Firstly the previous paragraph is important and needs little, if any modification, though I want to eliminate the term ‘prostitution’ from it. It works like this:

• The employer provides a safe environment, it has corporate policies on bullying, it promotes team work, and it operates in an environment of respect – which has to be mutual.

• Individual Managers see their staff as an asset, and invests training and assists where practicable in helping employees through difficult circumstances.

• The State legislates for maximum number of hours for an employee to work (to ensure work/life balance and peak performance – you thought I was going to leave all the benefits on the employee didn’t you?) and that the workplace is a safe place to work, within the bounds of common sense.

• The State creates a system where disputes can be mediated, and that employers cannot do things like sack for the sheer hell of it, they have to provide a valid reason – the employee has after all invested time in the company and has probably moved location to work for them.

• The employee responds to this positive behaviour by giving 100%, by attending work, by promoting an excellent employer and working to save the company money and boost the economy in the process.

On the whole this is the situation we have in the United Kingdom, without the negative effect of the recession and with the above in force employees will give good service. When I worked for South West Trains all the above criteria were broadly met (and more) and to be honest there were days when I walked in the office and thought “OMG, and I get paid to do this as well!” It was a company that respected its employees and to honest it was difficult for an employee not to want to go ‘the extra mile’. I would happily do a couple of hours of extra work, go in on a Saturday, stay behind when the ‘brown stuff hit the whirly thing‘ and had an immense pride in working for them.

Not only was there was immense pride with working for them, there was a wealth of ongoing experience that was just growing each year, and when people retired new people could learn from the ‘hive mind’ at Waterloo. To me it was a ‘win-win’ scenario.

The only reason I left was that you were waiting ‘to fill Dead Men’s shoes‘ for the next promotion – staff turnover was unbelievably low. All I will say is that where I am working now the staff turnover is ludicrously high – nuff said.

The Government’s solution to the supply side of the economy is to reduce the role of the State in ensuring Workers Rights. It wants to enfeeble Health and Safety Legislation and it wants to introduce ‘dismiss without reason’ for employers; the latter will be basically a ‘Bullies Charter’ in that if anyone ‘makes waves’ they will be sacked. This will lead inevitably lead to negativity in the workplace, it is a race to the bottom. It is what the UK is really good at since 1945, a false economy that does not invest in the future, but tries to struggle with the present. It is not only a false economy it is also ideological thuggery, with little to do with the economy.

Let us invest in a company’s greatest asset, its people, the people who produce goods to export and to pay taxes; let us not go down the path creating a rancid plutocracy where the coporate Fat Cats dine on the misery of its employees – let us cooperate; unfortunately ths Government is ‘old school’.

The Conservatives are still reeling at the moment from the Andrew Mitchell ‘Plebgate’ fiasco, and the reason is not what Mitchell said, or didn’t say, it is the appearance – based in fact – of Government that is hellbent on recreating the working practices of Dickensian Era, we already have the highest number of food kitchens, people living on Benefit and the number of scandals and cock-ups per week of any Government. The proposed revisions of Employment Law is edging it way to recreating the ‘Poor Laws‘. The fundamental arrogance of this Government is summed up succinctly by two Tories – Theresa May, the current Home Secretary, and Nadine Dorries MP for Mid-Bedfordshire.

When Theresa May was Conservative Party Chairman in 2002 she addressed the Tory Party Conference and said, in her ‘Nasty Party’ speech:

Politicians are seen as untrustworthy and hypocritical. We talk a different language. We live in a different world. We seem to be scoring points, playing games and seeking personal advantage – while home-owners struggle to make ends meet and schoolchildren see years of hard work undermined by the stroke of a bureaucrat’s pen.

The full text of the speech is worth a read, and is sadly more true today – with Chancellors trying to ‘blag ‘First Class Train Tickets, swearing at Police with impunity, with Rib-Eye Steak costing £2.70 in the Commons Restaurant (a full article is ~ here) – which is less than a slice of cake at Starbucks, and now refusing to reveal more expenses scandals of MP’s renting houses to MP’s and other ‘dodges’. The Government is no longer ‘of the people’.

The second quote is from Nadine Dorries, this year:

Unfortunately, I think that not only are Cameron and Osborne two posh boys who don’t know the price of milk, but they are two arrogant posh boys who show no remorse, no contrition, and no passion to want to understand the lives of others – and that is their real crime.

Doesn’t that really sum up the past few weeks, this Government and it’s core attitudes – I think it does.

A joke in search of a punchline

The Lunatics have taken over the Asylum

Someone tweeted on my timeline that the UK Government is “… a series of jokes in search of a punchline” and in a week when the Government could have been getting some kudos it has managed to do a passable impersonation of a Laurel and Hardy film.

I have kept quite on the West Coast Rail Franchise where Government Ministers publically lambasted Sir Richard Branson for being a poor loser on losing the West Coast Rail Franchise, in one of those moment that most politicians dread, normally a few days after Justine Greening (Minister for Railways) said that the deal with First Group was fair and would be signed, and that the process was sound, it was then announced that the process was fatally flawed and would investigate what had happened, and a new competition instigated.

Of course it was all the Civil Servants fault.

If Sir Richard Branson had not had the guts to do the unspeakable and challenge the Department of Transport we would have been in a mess. The Government having to eat humble pie and ask Sir Richard to run the railway for a few more months – after categorically saying it would never happen is embarrassing. The antipathy between Virgin Rail and the Government has gone to the ‘personal’

Of course the other thing Justine mentioned was that Virgin would not get to hold the franchise until the fuss had died down, as it transpires Virgin will retain the franchise for several months, then an interim bidding process would be instigated, for two years, and then another 15 year contract would be let. So having three franchise bids is not at all wasteful!

Of course the farce not only delays the franchises (First Great Western, First Capital Connect, etc) it also costs the tax payer £40 million to reimburse the original bidders, that’s not government money, its my money.

Yesterday at PMQ’s the Prime Minister basically got ‘shish kebabed’ over Andrew Mitchell and plebgate affair, after the spit roasting (the Tory 1922 Committee baying for Mitchell’s blood, but Cameron defended Mitchell – today ‘Thrasher’ Mitchell resigned. It has taken him 4 weeks to ‘do the right thing’ and Ed Milliband to ask for his head on platter before he relinquished power. Our politicians are too attached to their Ministerial Cars to let it go. Lets face it the Andrew Mitchell thing was embarrassing, and Cameron has been weakened over not asking for his resignation – how many chances does he have give people.

Cameron was on a duty-free freebie to the European Summit, I say ‘duty free’ trip because no-one in Europe is actually listening to the UK, in a Government that believes in collective responsibility Cameron said nothing at a Minister saying the UK should leave Europe; as vile as Enoch Powell was at least he left the Cabinet when he disagreed with it. Of course the EU Leaders gave the PM a polite reception, didn’t yawn too much, and politely asked when the UK would be leaving the EU because they actually want to do some serious stuff, like rescue Europe from a financial implosion.

The UK has never signed onto the ‘European Dream’ the ideal, as much as I am a supporter of the EU, and I passionate about the EU, France was right not to let us join, in the 50′s and we shouldn’t have been allowed to join, we cannot understand the concept of ‘cooperation’.

I believe the qoute came from Le Monde the last tiem Cameron used the vetoed like a kid throwing his toys out of the Pram in 2011, and it sums up the UK and Europe perfectly and will be our epitaph:

The British do not believe in the European idea. They are alien to this project, which is currently bogged down, but which appears to be more necessary than ever; to forge a single entity that will be able to exist as such among the other powers of the 21st Century.

We should have no regrets about what happened in Brussels. The ambiguity about the role of Britain has been cleared up: deep down the British, who joined what was the European Economic Community in 1973, are only interested in one aspect of Europe – the single market – while they have remained indifferent, if not hostile, to the rest of the European project.

Cameron spoke about cutting staff, saying he would Veto stuff (as usual) and would not be attending the Nobel Peace Prize presentation for Europe, well that’s a few less heads to feed at the Reception I suppose.

Not to be left out the Home Secretary decided she would use the Human Rights Act she wants to abolish to stop a deportation of a hacker to the USA on the grounds of he might kill himself, she also said she wants to withdraw from EU Policing Treaties, and then pick, a la carte, the bits they want; unfortunately Treaties do not work like that. The announcement was made days after the process had been used to return a young girl who had run off with Teacher – to France which, I understand with my socialist education, is in Europe.

The timing of this Government is comedic, just like Mitchell swearing at the Police days after two Police Officers were murdered in the line of their duties.

Today the beloved Chancellor has caused furor in travelling in First Class with a Second Class Ticket (apparently he did not want to sit with the plebs), though apparently he offered to upgrade – oh, did I mention it was Virgin Trains he was travelling on? Perhaps at the next PMQ’s Ed Milliband should upgrade and ask Cameron for the Chancellor’s head on a platter rather than the Chief Whip’s.

David Cameron when asked why he wanted to be PM said, and this is the truth “because I think I would be rather good at it” – Dave, you’re not, really, you’re not

The Nasty Party Conference

I have a broken finger so please excuse lack of finesse – if I ever had any – but just reading the news about the Tory Party Conference I to write something, or throw something, and writing is the less painful.

Cameron waving the ‘butchers apron’

It’s the first full day of the Nasty Party Conference and I am already spitting feathers!
Sunday brought our beloved leader, fifth Cousin of Queen Betty, on TV telling the world he wouldn’t mind altering the EU Treaty, not Maastricht or Lisbon, but the Treaty of Rome, the one that established the EU, or European Common Market, just minor amendments like the free movement of labour with the EU. I have to confess an interest here that my partner is German and as much as I would love to live in Germany that is not going to happen in the near future. Cameron thinks there are too many Europeans in the UK, and like any fascist he needs a scapegoat, and that is the EU. Most Fascists look for s subset of a group, but our Dave, he goes for an entire continent. Of course David forgets the other side of the coin that many British people chose to work in other European countries, such as Spain, Germany and France to name three, I also have a friend working and living in Poland.

Of course we could seek a special relationship with Europe like Norway has. Norway sits in the EU Council as a obeserver,enjoying trade with the EU but not having any say in the rules but having to abide by them – this would suit the British down to the ground, alone, without influence, but being bound by the EU rules, we could carry on in our ‘splendid isolation’ forever British wallowing in past glories.

Today, Monday 8th October 2012, the glorious Chancellor took to the stage to talk to the faithful!

‘We are all in this together’ and will take money from people who have been made unemployed by our disastrous policies because our policies are disastrous and are not working, and will definitely not take a penny more from the people we gave a £16,000 bump in earning by reducing the rate of tax on the super rich who might want to sell a £2 Million Home, that is not equality. Then of course we have those people who are in work.

Just to prove that the Tory Party is the Party of Business, ie funded by business, they will empower workers to sell their employments rights for £2k, well not exactly £2,000, the employers will give employees £2,000 IN SHARES – when the employers decides to sack them the employee can sell the shares back to the employer, only at a fair rate; the fair rate will determined by the employer, of course if you were given an unfair rate you could legally challenge them, but not having a job you would be hard pressed to afford a lawyer …

Employee rights are just that, they are not privileges, they are not a birthright to be sold, they are protection for honest people trying to make a living.

This Government is thoroughly evil.

At a fringe meeting Lord Carey, of the Coalition for Marriage, spewed forth some of his bile about te effect of equal marriage in Mexico and the Netherlands that have, apparently – and I would like proof – of a three-way marriage, God forbid! Of course, and this explains why the Catholic Church opposes Equal Marriage, they would have to change the wording. Actually they wouldn’t and that is a stupid argument.

The other argument is that equal marriage was not in the manifesto, well neither was the privatisation of the National Health Service.

In two days the Tories have proved beyond a doubt that they are probably the nastiest government this country has ever had – the uncaring, unthinking, pathological set of ‘arrogant tory boys’ ever to sit on the Government bench

The Nasty Party Mark 2

James Hunt

If you remember nothing else from this blog then just remember this one thing that the Conservative Party got elected on 32% of the popular vote – that is less than a third of the people who voted wanted a Conservative Government.

Of course the election is far more complex than that, unfair in a ‘first past the post’ system, but the fact remains more than two thirds of the people voting did not want a Conservative Government.

In a bid for glory the LibDems are propping up this Government.

In the first two years this Government has increased poverty in real terms, it has broken promise after promise – no top down re-organisation of the National Health Service, charged tuition fees, all but destroyed Sure Start programme – which saves £4 for every £1 spent – it has lied to the electorate over the cost of PR Elections and has thrown hundrend of thousands off disability into an uncertain world of ‘what happen next’. This Government has seen a staggering increase in the number of Soup Kitchens and Food Banks as Bankers are given an easy ride. It has overseen the ideological dismantling of the Welfare State. All this has been sanctioned by the Liberal Democrats who have squandered a chance to save the NHS for Lords Reform, another ill-fated pet project of Nick Clegg.

This Government has promised growth year on year and delivered a double dip recession, and let’s be honest Europe as a whole has not suffered slump, and Germany has managed growth. Youth unemployment has risen along with Adult employment, along with the cost of living but the Government promised growth.

The worst is still to come.

Employment Rights are next on the Agenda, proposals to allow employers to sack people without a reason, a reduction in the number of Bank Holidays and the reduction of Health and Safety employment legislation have all been proposed along with scrapping the role of the European Court of Human Rights in UK Law – remember the ‘Catgate’ speech of Theresa May last year?

This the real Tory Party, this is Nasty Party Mark 2.

All this from a Government that has not received a popular mandate.

In the recent reshuffle we the Minister of Justice Chris Grayling Member for Epsom and Ewell, this is the Grayling who thinks it is OK for Bread & Breakfast to discriminate against gay couples who want to stay in their premises, discriminate against one group then you have the right to discriminate against any group. This is the same Chris Grayling who thought giving kids work experience, without the experience of actually paying them some form of wage, was a really good idea, this is the same Chris Grayling who even though he lives no more than a 30 minute train ride from the Palace of Westminster claimed expenses for a flat in Pimlico between 2001 and 2009 – this man is in charge of Justice (as administered by thugs).

The Rt Hon Member for Epsom and Ewell may be against discrimination, but we will always have the Minister for Equality, and today it is the Rt Hon Member for Basingstoke, Maria Miller her voting record will show us we will still have rights. Her voting records show that she:

• voted against Gay Adoption Rights
• voted against the Human fertilisation and embryology Bill
• voted against the process of Racial and Religous Hatred Bill
• is favour of defining homophobia, racial hatred, and prejudice as ‘freedom of speech’.

The Right Honourable Member for South West Surrey - one Jeremy Hunt MP – has been promoted to Secretary State for Health. This guy should have been thrown out of Parliament after the BSkyB scandal, tainted, with an overwhelming belief in homeopathy is in charge of dismantling the Health Service.

These changes make the Liberal Democrats look totally ineffectual, as they are, but they are responsable for keeping this minority administration in power.

The worse is yet to come.
I will leave you with the haunting lyrics of Fun Boy Three from the 80′s ~ The Lunatics have taken over the asylum

The lunatics have taken over the asylum
The lunatics have taken over the asylum
The lunatics have taken over the asylum – take away my right to choose
The lunatics have taken over the asylum – take away my point of view
The lunatics have taken over the asylum
The lunatics have taken over the asylum – take away my dignity,
Take these things away from me
The lunatics have taken over the asylum
The lunatics have taken over the asylum – take away my family,
Take away the right to speak
The lunatics have taken over the asylum take away my point of view,
Take away my right to choose