Starmer’s Bedlam
Heath in the Spectator tells a thousand words in a picture and sums up the current fetid Starmer Government so well.
Starmer MUST GO
So, as happened in 2009 when I was triggered to start this blog due to the awful murder of Rhys Jones in Merseyside, yet again another young boy around the same age – 12-year-old Leo Ross – has been stabbed to death in Birmingham on Tuesday 21 January.
I had worked in Birmingham from 2004-2008, and it always seemed like a great city. And twelve is such an innocent age – to be robbed of his life at this precious age, not to mention the heartbreak of his dear parents and wider family, is unthinkable.
Already, Starmer and his equally feckless Home Secretary Cooper have lost control of crime.
It is time not only for Starmer (and Cooper) to go, but also for a new “tough-on-crime” Government to take its place. Hard to think that even Tony Blair promised to be “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime”, and yet that’s not even on the agenda of a former Human Rights Lawyer and Director of Public Prosecutions such as Starmer.
But, as the excellent PragueTory has previously blogged in 2009, “Violent crime has increased from 8 per cent of all recorded crime in 1997 to 20 per cent in 2007/08 and British people are more worried about crime and violence with 43 percent reporting it as one of their greatest concerns compared to 21 percent in Germany and 27 percent in the US”. Indeed, even by 2012, as Peter Cuthbertson pointed out, “only 11.8 percent of [police] officers are ‘visible and available’ to the public at any one time.”
It’s, therefore, no surprise that knife crime is out of control in 2025. Time for a change, n’est ce pas?
ALEX SALMOND 1954-2024
Along with “Nippy” Sturgeon, Salmon was formerly a Tartan THORN in Labour’s side. A titan of British and Scottish politics.
Bliar mark 2
Starmer is already proving himself to be as much of a neocon and hawk as Bliar before him.
It will not end well.
Only Trump can restrain him…?
For the few, not the many….
Starmer’s Prime Ministership commences with a load of lies about how he will govern for everyone. He won’t. He’s a human rights lawyer.
It may soon be time to start again….
It looks like the current UK Government has made a pig’s breakfast (to say the least) and, unless something drastically changes, Starmer may be Prime Minister next year.
And, if so, this blog will reawake to continue documenting the wilted rose that is the Labour Party in Government again.
Lest we forget … and time for GLOBAL PEACE …
Yesterday we marked 11/11/10 with a minute’s silence./ Some anarchists (rioting in London the day before) chose not to for ideological reasons./ With our Russian brothers, we beat Hitler. / It is time still to remember , whatever our views on Iraq, Afghanistan etc. / And it too is time for GLOBAL PEACE…
To tweet or not to tweet?
A Tory councillor in Brum has come a cropper:
“Birmingham councillor Gareth Compton has been suspended from the Conservative Party after making a ridiculous and offensive comment on Twitter. Coun Compton made his remark after journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown appeared on Radio 5 and appeared to question whether Western politicians had the right to take the moral high ground over human rights abuses in other countries.
He said: “Can someone please stone Yasmin Alibhai-Brown to death? I shan’t tell Amnesty if you don’t. It would be a blessing, really.”“This wasn’t enough to placate Conservative headquarters. I also understand the police are taking a complaint they received from Ms Alibhai-Brown seriously.”
Although I sometimes don’t agree with her, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is one of the most thoughtful, compassionate commentators out there and deserves freedom of speech to air her views.
The Twitter response was not free speech, but may be a crime (allegedly), as the Sky News story suggests.
Chile! Chile! Chile!
To celebrate the rescue of the Chilean miners, here’s something from Los Jaivas. Enjoy.
And more recently, they’re still on form:
New Labour 1994-2010. The Wilted Rose 2007-2010.
New Labour 1994-2010.
The Wilted Rose 2007-2010.
Alas, there is no further need for this blog . It is superfluous . Labour is rightly in opposition, where it belongs, and we shall leave it to tear itself apart which it no doubt is exceptionally capable of . Its cackhanded approach to the possible progressive coalition, which it sabotaged, demonstrated the terror to come within Labour. Goodbye.
The New Labour era is over. But a coalition involving the Liberal Democrats remains unproven.
It appears that we may have a coalition between one of the main parties and the Liberal Democrats. Gordon Brown has resigned, the New Labour era is over, and David Cameron has been invited to the palace to see the Queen to be asked to form a Government.
Labour
Douglas Alexander has said that a coalition which includes the SNP would not be acceptable or tenable. Brown is resigning as Labour leader to enable succession of another leader as Prime Minister. Nick Clegg has negotiated, but it is not clear what the outcome of their discussions were.
It seems, ridiculously and perversely, that Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) has blocked the Lab-LibDem Coalition. For what reason? With Labour and the LibDems both left-of-centre, a coalition between them would be incredibly sensible. Yes, they would be a disaster for Britain, but it is coherent. It would be a realignment of the left.
A progressive coalition would be hard to stomach, but it is at least ideologically combatible. Would it split the LibDems? Would it split Labour ? Yes, clearly, in both cases, but that would be worth this goal being achieved.
And yet, such a coalition would have no mandate in England where the Conservatives polled 9,911,062 (39.6%), Labour 7,037,229 (28.1%), the Lib Dems 6,067,303 (24.2%). In terms of seats, C 297, L 191 and LD 43, giving the Tories a big majority of 63 in England.
But now that Brown has resigned, it is the end of New Labour . The end of Labour for now.
Conservatives
David Cameron ‘modernised’ his party, which meant – like Blair – ceded some of its ideological ground and sought to appease the left. Notting Hill Cameronism is not what Conservative voters thought they were voting for, but they voted for it nonetheless – but that may be what they get – indeed, many voters did not vote because they could not stomach Cameronism.
Labour has 26 seats in Wales (on 36.2% of the vote), Conservatives 8 (on 26.1%), Plaid 3 (on 11.3%) and Lib Dems 3 (on 20.1%),while in Scotland Labour won 1,035,528 (42.1%) and 41 seats, Conservatives 412,855 (16.7%) but only 1 seat on just under half the votes in Scotland than Labour got, with the Lib Dems on 465,471 (18.9%) and 11 seats, and the SNP on 491,386 (19.9%) and 6 seats.
Across the UK, in fourth and fifth places respectively, UKIP polled 917,832 (thanks Mr Clarke) and the BNP 563,743 (thanks Labour for nothing) – predominantly in England – but no seats, which they would have got under Proportional Representation, as favoured by the Liberal Democrats. Both UKIP and the BNP got more votes than SNP or Plaid but do not figure in any negotiations.
It is not clear that a Labour-LibDem coalition would stand in much favour in Scotland or Wales. In Northern Ireland, where I come from, I will not list the vote shares of the parties, but the DUP got 8 seats, Sinn Fein 5, SDLP 3, Independent 1, and Alliance 1, and the Conservatives and Unionists none.
How would such a coalition govern the non-devolved aspects of Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland? Surely, a Con-LD coalition would encourage greater devolution – including the all-important tax-raising powers – for the ‘Celtic fringe’? This would stave off the secessionist talk in Scotland, and unrest in Wales and Ulster, especially after what the UKIP-vote-stoking Ken Clarke said that, “In the end you can always do a deal with an Ulsterman, but it’s not the way to run a modern, sophisticated society.”
Cameron could not win the unwinnable election, which says a lot about the modernisation project. Brown has lost the election, and yet (despite the phenomenal gains), Cameron did not win it either, and Clegg’s party lost seats.
Frankly, we did not stomp the streets to support our excellent Conservative candidates, to end up with a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition. But that is what we have.
The alternative, a Labour-LibDem coalition, would be a disaster, but a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition is as yet unproven. Perhaps on this occasion, if not on others, Mr Cameron should have listened to the advice of that great sage from the true heart of our Party Lord Tebbit on not to form a coalition with the LibDems as it would cost them the next General Election, and on avoiding becoming the victim of a winner-takes-all auction led by Mr Clegg.
President Lech Kaczynski 1949-2010
Our thoughts are with our Polish brothers and sisters at this terrible time.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8612825.stm
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