Agenda 2019

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/22/labour-activists-in-2015-were-like-middle-class-ryanair-passengers Labour activists in 2015 'were like middle-class Ryanair passengers' Tristram Julian William Hunt How strange it is, or perhaps not that strange,  that a number of the defeated candidates (or others who stood down before the first and only ballot), from the Labour Leadership elections of last year, are now the "leaders" of the concerted efforts within the PLP to grasp every opportunity to to undermine the democratically elected leadership of the party. Amongst these stands Tristram Julian William Hunt, the son of  Baron Hunt of Chesterton and educated at an exclusive Independent School in London, Trinity College Cambridge, University of Chicago and later at Kings College Cambridge. I have nothing against a good education, nor even a semi aristocratic background, but I have great objection where the individuals concerned assume or worse, sincerel...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/21/poor-outlook-toxic-labour-jon-cruddas-report-welfare-immigration ‘Irrelevant and toxic’ Labour losing out to Ukip, inquiry finds Jon Cruddas. MP for  Dagenham and Rainham At least the "Observer" manages to give an identity to the origin of this story rather than use another anonymous source quoted so often in this "newspaper" and in other parts of the media, when seeking to discredit or undermine the leadership of the Labour party. However, Toby Helm has taken the "report" as an opportunity to add another element to the continuing Observer/Guardian crusade against the Labour leadership, by quoting from the Jon Cruddas "inquiry". Unfortunately for both the Observer and Cruddas, the conclusions drawn in the report (as quoted by this newspaper), are wrong and seem, with a few exceptions, to be more critical of the Labour party of pre 2015 and the "Torylite" policies offering essent...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/06/jeremy-corbyn-defies-critics-labour-local-elections Jeremy Corbyn defies critics with Labour set to hold its ground in England The losses at last nights elections are not as significant for the Labour party as Mann, Cooper, Hunt, Hodge and a few others within the Parliamentary Labour Party, have been plotting and wishing for since the summer of last year. They, aided and encouraged by sections of the media, have been waging the most vitriolic and abusive campaign against the leadership of the Labour party with the objective of removing Jeremy Corbyn and those who support him. In this objective they have clearly failed, as by their own measure of what would constitute justification for removing the leadership, they have fallen short of their targets. Not that this will prevent them and an hysterical media circus from claiming that the Labour party is doomed and that only new leadership will prevent the party from descen...

  http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/05/28/yvette-cooper-labour-will-not-imitate-ukip-on-immigration_n_5406427.html?utm_hp_ref=uk Yvette Cooper: 'Labour Will Not Imitate Ukip On Immigration' Yvette Cooper   It is staggering to see yet again, how politicians in this case Labour, seek to over simplify and reduce complex circumstances to just one issue. Their failure to recognise and address what is actually happening is a symptom of all that is wrong with British politics and demonstrates that either by accident, or more likely by design, they are unable to accept that their constant repetition of previous failed policies and meaningless cliches, is no longer, if it ever was, acceptable to people in this country. The success of UKIP at the polls last week is not only about immigration, as Yvette Cooper, and many other politicians from the former main parties would have you believe. In fact their constant harping on about the "immigration issue" is bot...

  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27585260 Leaving the EU would be a "massive step backwards and totally contrary to the proper interests of the country", Tony Blair. Tony Blair tells Milliband to stand firm He urged Labour and other parties not to ape UKIP's stance on Europe and immigration and said Ed Miliband must "stay firm" on his pledge not to hold a EU referendum unless more powers go to Brussels. It seems that the media, particularly the BBC, are obsessed with the opinions, comments or other forms of contribution from Blair. No matter what the subject, it just happens this time to be UKIP and Europe, this war criminal, liar  self serving, and self opinionated hypocrite, is trotted out into the media limelight to offer his "gospel according to Blair" vision of reality. The "revealed truth" from the man who took this country to war on the basis of a conspiracy of lie s cobbled together in collaboration ...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/european-elections-results-2014-sweeping-gains-for-nigel-farages-ukip-deal-further-body-blow-to-main-parties-9434042.html Ukip Wins European Elections   UKIP top the European Election poll     Whichever way you look at it, whatever your own personal preferences may be, no matter what spin Danny Alexander, or Nick Robinson, or Sadiq Khan or Chris Grayling or any of the others may vainly attempt to put on it, the results of the local elections, now compounded by the results of the European elections, clearly demonstrate that the face of British politics has changed. With UKIP topping the election close to 4% ahead of Labour, who emerged less than 1% ahead of the Conservatives, the months between now and the next general election will be frantically with the two (formally main) parties seeking to claw back the voters who deserted them in significant numbers last Thursday (22nd May 2014). As for the Libera...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/lib-dem-mps-in-bid-to-oust-nick-clegg-after-disastrous-election-results-9432134.html     Lib Dem MPs in bid to oust Nick Clegg after disastrous election results   Protest against leader Nick Clegg, could see Vince Cable take over. An almost unbelievable prospect. Clegg, an unprincipled hypocrite and opportunistic politician, who betrayed not only his party in the country, but also every principle that the Liberal Party ever stood for. In his grubby quest for a place at the cabinet table, he has demonstrated on numerous occasions over the last four years, an unswerving loyalty to a (predominately) Conservative government who have created divisions in society, unseen for almost 100 years. The consequence of the past four years of his duplicity and in part, that of the LibDem parliamentary party, has resulted in the rejection of the Coalition junior partner at the ballot box. The LibDems ...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/local-election-results-2014-nigel-farage-hails-ukips-political-earthquake-and-vows-more-to-come-9428480.html     Nigel Farage hails UKIP's 'political earthquake'   Jeremy Hunt and Chuka Umunna defended their parties' performances   It will have been impossible not to notice that yesterday (23rd May 2014), the results of the local council elections of the previous day were filling the media and television news coverage on all channels and “special” programmes aired specifically for analysis and comment. The blanket media coverage will clearly be repeated on Sunday evening and continue into Monday morning, after the results of the European elections are announced when the polling stations across Europe close at 9pm tomorrow (25th May). One indisputable fact, commonly confirmed in every interview, analysis and story is that the three (formally) major parties, Labour, Conservative and Liberal ...

Nigel Farage forces Ukip into the political mainstream with a stunning haul of seats in the local elections There is nothing as frustrating and sad, as watching and listening to politicians burying their heads in the sand in the hope that an unpleasant situation will, somehow, pass them by. Yesterday, the two main news stations on television were in fierce competition parading politicians from the three traditional parties, in front of the camera to explain and in most cases dismiss, how it was that a political party which has no base in Westminster, has no well oiled organisation and was, until yesterday at least, derided as “clowns” and “fruitcakes”, could come from nowhere to claim 25% of the vote and gain more than 140 seats to hold 147 at the end of the day. Admittedly, the overall turnout was quite low at less than 40%, but never the less, 25% of the votes cast is a significant number of people. No matter what Gove, Hughes, Chuka Umunna, Cable, Harman, Cameron, Clegg...

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/localnews/10071171.Council_plan_to_demolish_Pavilion_and_sell_North_Quay_offices/  Council plan to demolish Pavilion and sell North Quay offices The civic offices at North Quay . Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, is considering demolishing the Pavilion and selling the council offices on North Quay in a bid to save money.The council is also considering selling off other council assets including seafront hotels and reducing the number of councillors as it struggles will cuts which means it will be spending £3.9 million less each year by 2019/20. It seems to me that Weymouth and Portland Borough Council is, along with some other councils, run by and for the benefit of, its officers and departmental directors. Unelected and un accountable, these faceless shadows create "policy" and projects suited to only to themselves and their over inflated perception of their own importance. The elected members are relegated to the...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jul/06/british-democracyge=last#end-of-comments     British democracy in terminal decline.   Firstly, let us dispel the myth that Britain is a democracy. It is not and never has been. In Britain, we are ruled by an elected dictatorship, which we have the "democratic right" to change every 5 years or so. The Country is in fact governed by the Prime Minister aided and abetted by "the cabinet" or as in the case of Tony Blair, a very few close "advisers". This little cabal, usually meet in secret, take decisions and create policy, and then tell the rest of their respective parliamentary party what the policy is and rely on this "lobby fodder" to march through the Government lobbies in pursuit of Party unity. Only rarely is this "unity" challenged when Government rebels find some proposal so obnoxious that they publicly object and indicate that they will at least abstain, or horror of ho...

Blaming the previous Government for "leaving behind such a mess" has been around for as long as I can remember. It has always been one of those aspects of politics that I despise and have argued against over the years, because of all the negative point scoring practices, this is in my view the most crass and self defeating. This present government has turned negativity into an art form. Yesterday, I along with perhaps millions of others, watched the BBC News 24 election coverage presented by David Dimbleby (not one of my favourite presenters), and a varying panel of politicians, pundits and other "experts" offering opinion and analysis on the days events. In no particular order, Baroness Varsi, Danny Alexander, Paddy Ashdown, David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Sarah Teather and numerous others from the ConDem Coalition repeating parrot fashion various combinations of "the mess  the last Labour government left" or other such descriptions. In the case of Teather and...