Category Archives: Politics

Blind to the Truth

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Whilst trawling through the BBC News website yesterday I saw a headline stating that 45 men had been arrested for their part in the sexual grooming of children, some as young as 13 years old. The report made no mention of the identity of the men but when I checked the website of a regional newspaper there was the confirmation; 20 Asians arrested in Newcastle and 25 Asians arrested in Halifax. These, of course, follow hard on the heels of similar systematic crimes by Asian gangs in towns and cities such as Oldham, Derby and Rotherham to name but three.

Later, that evening I watched the BBC North West regional news which reported that anti-Semitism is on the rise in the North West, with attacks on Jews in some areas having increased two fold over the last year or so. Again, there was no mention of the identity of the attackers but when some of the victims spoke on camera they talked of car loads of Asians flying Palestinian flags terrorising Jewish districts.

The anti-Semitism is actually Muslim anti-Semitism but, of course, as with the grooming gangs, the left-wing dominated BBC wouldn’t dare speak that particular truth; too inconvenient and too politically incorrect.

Our national broadcaster needs to be reminded that a journalist should always report what he or she sees. To act in any other way is a cowardly act of betrayal, not least to the victims of these sickening crimes.  It is not and never can be racist to speak and report the truth. A criminal remains a criminal whatever his religion or skin colour and the sooner our journalists and politicians recognise that fact the better for all of us.

War on Illiteracy

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Recent news headlines have highlighted the Government proposals for a “war on illiteracy and numeracy” and an attack by the  Prime Minister “on school mediocrity”. Well, we do have an election in three months’ time so it’s hardly surprising that education (or lack of it) is to be one of the political battle grounds.

What caught my attention was the plan for every 11 year old to be able to pass a test on the 12 times table and to be able to write a short coherent story. I don’t want to hark back to “my day”, and I hope my memory doesn’t deceive me here, but I’m pretty sure that nearly every 7 or 8 year old in my rather ordinary state primary school class would have been able to do those things without too much difficulty.

Have standards really fallen that much in the last 50 years?  Certainly, when I look at some of the everyday examples of misspelling, punctuation and grammar displayed by adults I am not so sure. Here are some common errors.

First of all, the invention of the verb “of” as in stating or writing “I would of” instead of the correct “I would have” or “I would’ve”. Maybe my English studies were in some way deficient but I honestly cannot remember that particular verb!

Secondly, the confusion over the words “there”, “their” and “they’re” such as “I went to there house” or “Their will be lots of people at the party”. Is there any wonder that so many children are illiterate if this is the sort of example they receive from their parents’ generation?

Lastly, the use of “your” instead of “you are” or “you’re”. I remember once sitting on a Florida beach (thankfully, poor grammar is not a British monopoly!) when a light aircraft flew over the sun-kissed sands trailing a banner which read “Chelsea Your Amazing”.

I cringed and thought how sad that some guy (could have been a girl, of course) had paid all that money only for his message of love to be completely screwed up. Then I thought, rather cynically, the guy is probably so rich that the object of his affection is unlikely to be bothered by his illiteracy, assuming of course, that the lovely Chelsea was aware of it in the first place!

I doubt she would of made a fuss though and I imagine that there happily married by now!

Political Assault

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Last week Alistair Campbell, the former chief adviser to the Labour Party, was walking to his London home, minding his own business after completing his regular morning jog when some fruitcake stopped him, told him he was “the biggest piece of s**t  I’ve ever seen in this street”, kicked him and then spat in his face.

The abuser then went to the police claiming that Campbell had punched him, a claim which the former politician denies. It’s very similar to the incident in 2001 when the then Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, punched a protester after the man, from close range, had thrown an egg striking the Deputy PM on the face. The difference was that the Prescott incident was recorded by television cameras so we were all able to see the smart right hook expertly thrown by the politician, who just happened to be a former amateur boxer!

It doesn’t matter what we think about the politicians involved in these incidents and it doesn’t matter what we think of their policies. The point is they were both innocent targets of assaults by men who no doubt thought that their victims, as politicians in the public eye, would not respond to their cowardly and unprovoked attacks. However, by law, any victim of assault has the right to defend him or herself provided the defence is proportionate to the attack.

I have no idea whether or not Campbell punched his assailant but I hope he did. We often say that politicians are no different to the rest of us and should not be above the law and that is right. It works both ways however and, like us, they surely deserve the protection of that law. Violence should never be condoned but sometimes neither should turning the other cheek.

A Big Year

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This year is going to be a big one for our country with a general election looming in just over four months’ time. Without putting too fine a point on it, the result of that election could well shape the future of the British people for generations to come with both our membership of the European Union and our existence as the United Kingdom at stake.

When deciding how and for whom to vote there is a natural and obvious tendency to vote for the political party that not only corresponds with our own beliefs and values but one that we think will benefit us the most individually.

This next election is more important than that and we need to put selfish desires to one side if we can and instead look at the bigger picture. The future welfare of the nation is surely far more important than, for example, immediate considerations of who can save us a few pounds here and there by cuts in taxation or an increase in state benefits.

Never have the words of the late President J.F. Kennedy been more apposite, “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.” If we vote with those words in mind perhaps we will then end up with the government that we, as a nation, deserve.

The Beginning

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Well, it’s started. Yesterday the Government announced the first major transfer of powers from Westminster to Scotland in keeping with the promises made to the separatists prior to the September referendum on Scottish independence.

To most of us, this devolution of powers, including control over income tax, seems pretty momentous and almost revolutionary but, predictably, the Scottish Nationalists Party don’t feel they have gone far enough and want more. They will continue to want more until they achieve their aim of full independence and the break-up of the United Kingdom. The clue lies in their name.

That’s fair enough and as this blog stated back in September the eventual break-up of the UK, at least in its current form, seems inevitable. If a majority of the Scottish people want to go it alone so they should.

The pro-independence lobby is not yet in the majority however and our Government must continue to bear in mind that the Scots are no better than the rest of us and whatever rights and privileges are given to them must be given equally to the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Condescending Politicians

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In the midst of the news of UKIP’s victory in the Rochester and Strood by-election came an example of why so many people are disenchanted with modern politics.

It was the report of the crass stupidity and insensitivity of Labour MP, Emily Thornberry, who posted a tweet stating “Image of Rochester” picturing a small ordinary town house draped with three flags of St George and outside of which was parked a white van.

This woman, no doubt enjoying life in her smart luxury London apartment, obviously thought it was clever and funny to mock an ordinary working class person who clearly happens to love his country and is proud of its flag. As a smart lawyer (in an academic sense at any rate) and the shadow attorney general with hopes one day of taking national office (Lord help us!) one would have thought she would have thought her actions through.

Not a bit of it. Sadly she is just a typical example of the many hypocritical, politically correct metro-liberals (particularly among the champagne socialists of the Labour party) who fill our parliament. Superior, out of touch and contemptuous of those who do not share their warped views of pride and nationality.

Is there any wonder that UKIP (and across the border) the Scottish Nationalists are doing so well? Well, maybe these last two by election victories by UKIP are showing us that, in the words of Bob Dylan, “The times they are a changing”. I truly hope so. It is no more than our arrogant and condescending political elite deserve.

Saving our Seas

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Greenpeace revealed this week that one foreign-owned fishing vessel (a Dutch super-trawler with huge nets covering vast areas of the ocean) controls 6% of the entire UK fishing quota. Meanwhile approximately 5,000 small family-owned British fishing vessels, (comprising nearly 80% of the British fishing fleet) between them control just 4% of the UK’s fishing quota. It almost defies belief.

Fishing quotas were introduced in the 1980s to safeguard fish stocks throughout Europe and the fact that one large foreign-owned commercial vessel has the right to catch considerably more fish than the entire British small fishing boat fleet is nothing short of scandalous.

How and why have successive British governments allowed this to happen? No wonder so many family fishing businesses have gone bankrupt and no wonder our fish stocks continue to suffer in the face of these huge factory ships vacuuming up the ocean.

There is, however, a glimmer of hope since fishing quotas are due to be discussed and re-fixed next month, presenting our government with the opportunity to do something about it. Greenpeace have set up an online petition to put pressure on the government (https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/fair-fish).

Whilst we may be sceptical about the success of such petitions it is surely a worthy attempt to both protect the UK’s seas and prevent further struggling fishing communities from sinking into oblivion.

Transparency of Office

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It’s pretty appalling and embarrassing, in equal measure, that both women selected to chair the Government child sex abuse inquiry have now been forced to resign because of alleged links to possible suspects.

In fact, a brief look at how most officials are selected in this country doesn’t exactly inspire one with confidence. In the main, it is done secretly behind locked doors by committees whose members are unaccountable to those who they are appointed to serve. Just look at our legal system and at some of the judges who have made headlines in recent months through various bizarre rulings and out-of-touch statements. Nobody can say for certain how those judges are appointed but you can bet your bottom dollar that their old school tie, gentlemen’s club membership and Masonic lodges all play a big part in it.

Perhaps we should review the whole system and consider adopting a more democratic and open system such as that of the United States where judges, sheriffs and other public officials are all elected democratically and are directly responsible to those who appoint them, namely the public. I am not saying that the American system is perfect but it certainly seems a lot fairer, open and more transparent than ours.

No Special Case

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Like most English people, I’m sick to the hind teeth of hearing about and listening to the seemingly endless talk about Scotland, so I’ll make this brief.

When our elected politicians at Westminster address the question of further powers for Scotland they need to remember one thing and one thing above all else. Scotland is not special.

Scotland is the same as the rest of the UK and should be treated no differently. The rights of the Scots are the same as those of the Northern Irish, the Welsh and the English. Nobody is better than anybody else and nobody should be accorded special privileges. We are a democracy and as such we are all equal. Simple.

Not even the Scottish Nationalists could disagree with that. Oh,……………………actually!

A Wake Up Call For England

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Scotland has voted to remain in the United Kingdom, for now and for now is all it is because as sure as night follows day the independence question will inevitably rear its ugly head yet again. It is simply a matter of time. It doesn’t matter what further concessions are granted to the Scots because the Nationalists will still complain and demand more. Things have changed for ever within the UK and that is not hyperbole, it is fact. Our politicians and leaders need to take a long hard look at our country and need to plan the future rather than wait for events to overtake them – and us.

In time we may well thank Alex Salmond for giving us, the English majority, a wake-up call and for stirring us from our apathetic stupor. For too long now, we English have been bovine-like, silent and accepting of all that has been served on us. Is it fair that the UK, and the prosperity and welfare of all its inhabitants, could have been destroyed by less than 2 million Scottish militants without the rest of us even being consulted? The population of the UK is approximately 64 million with roughly 54 million English and under 6 million Scots, although you would be forgiven for thinking it was the other way round with all the whining and whingeing constantly emanating from north of the border.

Calls are now being made for an English parliament and it must happen if only for the sake of democracy and fairness. Many of us feel almost disenfranchised as we watch our country ruled by a London elite who seem incapable of relating to the rest of the country. Many people in the north of England, for example, feel just as disenchanted as the Scots but, showing a typical English trait, they have just grumbled a bit, accepted their fate and carried on as before.

If the UK has a future (and as a British citizen, I sincerely hope it does) then that can only be by a more equal and equitable distribution of power and money. England needs her own parliament to rank alongside the existing chambers of the Scots, the Welsh and the Northern Irish. It should be established in a central part of England, somewhere like Birmingham or Manchester but certainly well away from London.
All of those parliaments should have greater control over matters of regional economics and taxation but should ultimately be accountable to the UK parliament in London. Maybe we should look closely at the American model particularly since Americans don’t appear to have any problem with nationality whilst still being proud to be Texans, New Yorkers, Tennesseans or whatever.

We have to do something though because without action the eventual destruction of the United Kingdom is assured.