Showing posts with label scotland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scotland. Show all posts
Sunday, 11 October 2020
Long, Long Covid 19? by Les May
SCOTLAND’s Sunday Post newspaper reports that Health Boards in Scotland have placed on-line advertisements in an attempt to recruit staff to act as contact tracers during the present pandemic. The contracts being offered are of eighteen months duration.
This suggests that there is a growing recognition that Covid 19 is going to be with us until at least 2022 and possibly far longer.
*************************************************
Monday, 8 June 2020
Put Away The Airbrush!
by
Les May
WHEN
I was at school I studied ‘British
and European History, 1789 to 1914’. At least that is
how it was billed. But as I now realise it should have been called
‘English and European History, 1789 to
1914’. We studied the
disestablishment of the Welsh church and what was happening in
Ireland, but these were largely in the context of what Prime Minister
William Ewart Gladstone
had to say on the subject. But of the history of Scotland
during this time, I was in ignorance.
One
thing which burned itself in my memory was the events at Peterloo
in 1819. Last year we had a film, a re-enactment, meetings, speeches
and sundry exhibitions which
we ‘lefties’
dutifully trooped off to see and hear. But
until I watched an interview with Kenny
MacAskill,
the author of ‘Radical
Scotland’,
earlier this year, I knew nothing of ‘The
Scottish Rising’
of 1820 which was put down even more harshly than Peterloo. The
man in charge at the time was Henry
Dundas,
first Viscount Melville.
I
went to see the film about Peterloo with a Scottish lady who had
lived and been educated in Edinburgh.
So well has this event been wiped from history that when I asked her
about the Martyr’s
Memorial in Edinburgh,
erected some twenty years
later to commemorate those executed and transported for their part in
the rising, she knew nothing of it. Nor did her brothers.
We
seem to have a casual attitude to our history. That’s not the case
with some people who are always ready to air their grievances about
how we remember it in our buildings and statues and monuments, and go
on to demand we tear them down, effectively
airbrushing them from history.
Should we who see ourselves
as being ‘of the Left’
adopt their strident tones or should we put away the airbrush and set
about telling
the truth about historical figures, ‘warts and all’?
You
can find the story at:
the
book at:
and
some of the truth about Henry Dundas at:
************************************
Tuesday, 19 May 2020
Watching A Politician Being Gently Skewered
by
Les May
ALMOST
every Sunday afternoon I
watch the Politics Scotland programme. Unlike his English
equivalents, the presenter Gordon Brewer, never tries to trap
the politician he is questioning into a ‘TV moment’ just
to boost his ego. Instead he is quiet, courteous, persistent and
gets results.
A
week ago I watched him question the Scottish Health Secretary,
Jeane Freeman, about the situation in Scottish care homes and
specifically about the release of people from hospital into care
homes. She ‘waffled’ her way through an answer claiming
that care homes should and could provide for such new residents an
unrealistic level of nursing support. On 15 May the guidance was
changed, perhaps because Freeman realised she had been well and truly
‘skewered’.
Almost
a half of the deaths in Scotland resulting from Covid19
disease have been in care homes. At one such care home in Portree,
the main town of the Isle of Skye, nearly all its 34 residents
and half its staff have contracted Covid-19 and in the last 10 days
seven residents have died, with dozens of staff sent home and told to
self-isolate.
In
order to stabilise the situation NHS Highland has stepped in
to play a greater role in running of the home on Skye after the Care
Inspectorate raised concerns. The Scottish Government has
announced it will fast -track emergency laws which will allow it to
step in and take over the running of failing care homes. On
yesterday’s programme Gordon Brewer raised the question of whether
the care home sector should be ‘Nationalised’.
Using
the ‘N’ word will not be well received in some circles,
but it is surely worth asking why we are farming out the nursing care
of the elderly and frail to private companies, designed to return a
profit, instead of giving them the best nursing care available from
NHS staff.
******************************
Wednesday, 22 April 2020
Unite resolves bin worker distancing row
from Joe Bailey
UNITE in Scotland has welcomed an agreement with Perth and Kinross council that should reduce the risk of coronavirus exposures in bin workers. The union said it had received numerous reports that refuse workers’ health and safety was being put at risk at the council’s Friarton depot. This was due to the council's insistence on maintaining three operatives in a bin lorry. Most local authorities across Scotland have now moved to a maximum of two operatives in a lorry, while others have been operating with just the driver in the cab with the rest of the crew following behind in separate vehicles. However, Unite said following constructive talks with Perth and Kinross council, an agreement has been reached to move to a maximum of two operatives in a lorry and one operator following behind in a separate vehicle.Unite regional industrial officer Susan Robertson said: “Unite fully appreciates that Perth and Kinross council wants to continue to provide its excellent waste collection service to the public. However, this can’t come by putting in jeopardy the health and safety of the bin operatives which was happening. We are pleased that following productive talks we have now been able to find an amicable solution, which puts the safety of the workers first, while providing this essential service.”
Unite news release.
***********************
Sunday, 5 April 2020
Understanding Social Distancing Isn’t Rocket Science
by
Les May
LAST
week the Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon,
announced that for the time being the jury system for trials would be
suspended and that for an indeterminate period trials would be
conducted in the absence of a jury and the presiding judge alone
would decide the innocence or guilt of the accused.
Sturgeon
rescinded her decision after protests from the Scottish Judiciary and
members of her own party.
South
Korea was very successful in limiting the spread of the SARS-Cov-2
virus which is the causal agent of the disease Covid19. This
was done by first identifying those suffering the disease and then
tracking the whereabouts of those they had been in contact with by
locating their mobile phone. This is possible because as people move
around their phone automatically latches onto the mast transmitter
with the strongest signal and vice versa. The technology is the same
as that used by the Dutch to determine that the missile used to shoot
down Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
was moved from Russia.
Germany
has been using similar technology as part of its strategy for
limiting the spread of the virus.
Trial
by jury is the cornerstone of the English and Scottish
legal system and the implications for civil liberties of suspending
it, potentially indefinitely, are obvious, which is why suspension
was roundly condemned.
It
may be possible to justify tracking people using their mobile phone
signal in order to limit the spread of a deadly virus. How do we
ensure that its use will be discontinued after the pandemic is over?
If we cannot, there are clear implications for civil liberties.
These
are serious issues and deserve serious consideration and debate.
They are not getting it. Instead we have whingeing about examples of
heavy handed policing and nit picking about what the word ‘unwisely’
might be interpreted to mean.
During
the afternoon today the couple who live in the house behind me
invited someone round for a friendly drink. Unwise? Yes! By
being in the company of a third person they were increasing the
probability of introducing the virus into their household.
Conversely she was running the risk of catching it from them.
Infected people show no symptoms for three to five days initially and
are shedding virus particles throughout this time. There’s no
certainty in any of this. Social distancing is a matter of
reducing the probability that in any encounter one or other of the
participants will be infected with the virus and pass it on to
someone else. Ignoring it is anti-social.
It’s
not ‘rocket science’ to understand that if each infected
person on average passes the virus to more than one person, the
number of people infected will increase. If on average they pass it
on to just one person the number of people infected will remain
constant and if they pass it on to less than one person the number of
infections will decline to zero.
Scotland’s
chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood does
stupid things does not mean the rest of us have to do the same.
You
might get a chuckle out of this link, but notice how readily she
falls into the same trap of identity politics herself.
************************
Tuesday, 9 July 2019
The Politics of Delusion
by
Les May
I VOTE Labour.
In the referendum I voted to remain in the EU, but accepted the
result. At no time have I felt it necessary to criticise Labour’s
policy about Brexit. It has confounded the ‘scribblers’
in the media whose criticism has had to be limited to grumbling about
its lack of clarity. How
nice it would
have been for
them if
Labour
had declared its support for, or opposition to, a further referendum.
They
would
have been able to look forward to lots
of ‘exclusive’
briefings from Labour MPs in favour of or against the policy,
as
the
equivalent of open warfare gripped the
party. It
has not happened.
Credit
for this not happening is not due to Corbyn alone. Those seen as
‘big names’
in the
party
who
do not entirely agree with his stance,
John McDonnell,
Emily
Thornberry, Keir Starmer, plus those Labour MPs which some sections
of the media would find more congenial as Labour leader, e.g. Yvette
Cooper, Hillary Benn
and
Stephen Kinnock, have been muted in their criticism.
Criticism has tended to come
from Labour MPs eager to convince us that if only it would adopt
their preferred strategy of supporting a second referendum and
campaigning to remain in the EU, the party’s poll ratings would
magically improve.
What
people who believe this forget is that Labour does not have a
majority in Parliament. Labour is essentially a bystander with no
power to influence the decisions of the next prime minister, who at
this moment is being selected by 160,000 Tory party members in no way
representative of the wider population and who
seem
happy to trash the economy, the union with Scotland and tear up the
international treaty which gave guarantees to the people of Ireland
in
a single minded pursuit of leaving the EU.
If
Labour did
adopt
such a strategy it would have the support of the Welsh and Scottish
nationalists, LibDems,
MPs
who identify themselves as Independent and some Tories. Even if
collectively the different groupings could muster a majority,
constitutionally there appears to be no mechanism by which Parliament
can prevent a Johnson or Hunt led government forcing us to leave the
EU without a deal. To
believe that Labour declaring itself in favour of a second referendum
and that it will campaign to remain in the EU will in some way
influence what happens when a Johnson or Hunt led government takes
over is the politics of delusion.
The
people who believe this are not alone in being deluded. Corbyn, Hunt
and Johnson all
share
their own delusions.
They believe that if
they become Prime Minister they will be able to negotiate
with the EU to produce something that is different from the deal that
was
rejected three times by Parliament. Corbyn has already tried to
sweet talk the Irish government to no avail. I doubt whether the
other 27 countries of the EU are exactly quaking in the boots at the
prospect of meeting Boris or Jeremy who both seem to think that
threatening to leave with ‘no
deal’
is going to wring some
major concession from the EU.
Labour’s
worst nightmare has to be that blame
will be dumped on it
for the chaos
that will follow if Hunt or Johnson have to ‘put
their money where their mouth is’
and the UK leaves the EU without a deal. Labour
will be accused of doing ‘too
little, too late’
by
people who don’t want to acknowledge that its ability to
significantly affect whether the UK leaves the EU after the
referendum was always limited.
Labour’s best option now is probably to look to a damage limitation
strategy.
**********
Wednesday, 19 December 2018
'NAE PASARAN!' – and the Labour Government
Review by Chris Draper
I’VE just watched the film “NAE PASARAN!”, the story of how some Scottish workers disrupted Pinochet’s fascist regime and would urge you to catch it when it arrives in your area. If it’s not being shown in your town then persuade your community group, union branch or political friends to organise a screening – you won’t be disappointed. In September 1973 Pinochet, backed by the CIA, seized power in Chile and established a dictatorship with concentration camps, torture and mass murder. Condemnation of the coup was immediate, worldwide and included many who may not have supported the system destroyed by Pinochet yet were appalled by the barbarity of his regime.
'Nae
Pasaran!' tells the story of how workers at an East Kilbride
factory in 1974 refused to handle aero engines sent by Pinochet’s
airforce for repair and servicing. Their action infuriated the regime
but gave hope to Pinochet’s opponents. 'Nae Pasaran!'
movingly reveals the personal stories of four men, one now dead
and three very old, who initiated the action. One of the four, Bob
Foulton was a church elder who started the ball rolling by refusing
to handle the Chilean engines on humanitarian grounds. To me the key
underlying theme of the movie is the importance of direct action
rather than Parliamentary politics. The men refused to do what they
considered wrong didn’t just write to their MP or await union
instructions, they acted first and sought support afterwards. It’s
just as well as they received scant support from the Labour
Government and although this isn’t a central concern of the film 'Nae Pasaran!' prompts politically-inclined viewers to
reflect on this issue and it’s worth examining the facts.
At
the time of Pinochets’s September 1973 coup Ted Heath’s Tories
were in power but within months (February 1974) Harold Wilson’s
Labour Government was elected and was in office when the East
Kilbride workers began their action (March 1974). Besides the eight
aero engines, Pinochet’s regime was also anxiously awaiting other
vital military supplies from Britain including two frigates, two
submarines and a refitted destroyer. To the absolute shock, surprise
and disgust of loyal Labour supporters, in April Wilson’s newly
elected government announced it would honour all existing Chilean
military contracts!
Rather
than adding strength and legitimacy to the action of the East
Kilbride workers the Labour Government did precisely the opposite. It
successfully leant on the national leadership of the AUEW union to
direct the workers to handle the engines (the men only partly
complied). As the film describes, the engines were eventually
returned to Chile through subterfuge and likely Labour government
collusion. It is not mentioned in the film but the 1974-1979 Labour
government refused to isolate the Pinochet regime. Minister Michael
Meacher met a delegation led by the Chile Solidarity Campaign and
informed them that he would not impose a trade embargo as it might
harm British jobs and business. In fact between 1974-79 British
investments in Chile more than doubled from £13m to £28m. Although
the government did permit entry to Britain by some refuges from the
Pinochet regime as Labour Home Office Minister Alex Lyon laconically
admits in the film, they were first individually screened on the
basis of information supplied by the CIA!
Despite
all evidence to the contrary, Labour apologists argue that 'next
time it will be different'. It was therefore significant to
witness what happened in 1998 when, under another Labour
administration Pinochet was held in Britain in response to an
International Arrest Warrant charging him with Human Rights
Violations, including the murder and the torture of 94 Spanish
nationals. Instead of belatedly making amends for Labour’s previous
record Jack Straw, the responsible Minister sought every possible
opportunity to evade his moral obligations. After the Law Lords
repeatedly ruled Pinochet should stand trial Straw resorted to the
dubious device of claiming he was medically unfit. When Pinochet flew
back to Chile, on descending from the plane he mocked Straw’s claim
by rising triumphantly from his wheelchair to greet his adoring
fascist supporters!
Labour
loyalists will inevitably still insist 'next time it will be
different' and some find reassurance in Jeremy Corby’s
denunciation of Pinochet to a BBC reporter on his 1998 arrest, 'one
of the great murderers of the century'. I would remind such
simpletons that Tony Blair derided Thatcher’s administration as 'the Party of Pinochet' while Peter Mandelson called
Pinochet 'a brutal dictator' whose claim of immunity was 'gut wrenching'. Even as Harold Wilson’s newly
elected Labour government prepared to sell the 'Nae Pasaran'
workers down the river, in Parliament he hypocritically denounced
Pinochet’s regime as an 'oppressive fascist government'.
Doesn’t madness reside in doing the same thing time-and-time-again
in expectation of a different result?
***********
Tuesday, 21 March 2017
Unite Election for General Secretary gets dirty
AN e-mail (see below) has been issued by the Acting General Secretary of Unite, Gail Cartmail, seeking to make Unite memebers aware of a publication 'Unite Herald' apparantly issued by one of the other candidates. It the light of the forthcoming election for General Secretary she claims the 'material contained (in the publication) is also potentially defamatory of Len McCluskey' one of the candidates in the election for General Secretary and widely regarded as the favourite.
The e-mail is in the form of a warning to members 'of the
potential implications of distributing “Unite Herald” ', reminding them of the contents of Rule 5.2.
This e-mail comes a day after an allegation by the deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Tom Watson, hadclaimed the grassroots Momentum group is trying to increase its influence by obtaining funding from the Unite union. Unite, which is Labour's largest financial backer, has denied this.
Meanwhile, one of the candidates for Unite General Secretary, Gerard Coyne campaigning in Scotland has told activists:'I don't think it is the job of a union leader to be advising Scottish politicians on which parties should be forming coalitions with one another. That is their responsibility.
'And what I won't do is expend Unite's resources dabbling in Scotland's internal political affairs, except where the direct interests of Unite members are at stake.'
Unite General Secretary Election
Dear Colleague,
You may have received copies of a “newspaper” called “Unite Herald” in your branch or workplace within the last 48 hours.
It needs to be made clear that this is not an official publication of Unite the union. It is in fact campaign promotional material for one of the candidates in the present election for General Secretary.
The publication in question consists almost entirely of attacks on the incumbent General Secretary of the union. It disregards the recent statement by your Executive Council calling upon everyone campaigning in the union elections campaign to conduct themselves in a respectful manner, specifically not in a way that could bring damage to the reputation of the union or discredit on a fellow member. The Union is seeking legal advice regarding potential defamation claims and regarding breach of the union’s trademark arising from this publication.
The material contained is also potentially defamatory of Len McCluskey.
All workplace representatives should therefore be aware that distribution of “Unite Herald” could potentially lead to the distributer being exposed to legal proceedings for defamation.
All workplace representatives are also reminded of Rule 5.2:-
“A member must not knowingly, recklessly or in bad faith provide the Union with false or misleading information relating to a member or any aspect of the Union’s activities.”
The union will of course be dealing with this publication through other avenues, but lay officials and representatives should be aware of the potential implications of distributing “Unite Herald”.
In solidarity
Gail Cartmail
Acting General Secretary
Gail Cartmail
Acting General Secretary
Monday, 27 February 2017
Sunday, 11 December 2016
Unite support's a Citizens Basic Income!
By Derek Pattison,
President, Tameside TUC, (in a personal capacity).
Another factor is the way in which the world of work is changing. One is seven Britons is now classed as self-employed. Although some of this so-called self-employment is possibly bogus, as in the case of Uber and Deliveroo, the latest official data shows that 83% of new jobs created in the UK between March and May 2016, were self -employed. Such is the rise of the so-called 'gig economy' that in 2015, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), reported that since 1995, 'non-standard' jobs - temporary, part-time or self-employed positions, - accounted for the whole of net jobs growth in the UK since 1995.
Employment law in the UK also makes it easier to hire and fire workers by using zero hour contracts and agency working where employees have very few employment rights. The self-employed don't get sick pay, holiday pay, pensions or employment protections nor are employers obliged, to pay their NI contributions or the living wage.
My own union, 'Unite', supports in principle a universal basic income scheme and is urging other unions to support such a scheme. At the Unite policy conference in July (2016), the following resolution was adopted:
"Conference notes the growing crisis of low pay, in work poverty and precarity in a labour market increasingly characterised by casualised forms of employment that offer low pay, zero hours contracts and no long-term security.
Conference further notes the evident inability of our bureaucratically costly social security system, with its dependence on means-testing and frequent arbitrary sanction, to provide an adequate income floor.
Conference believes that a Basic Income, an unconditional, non-withdrawable income paid to everyone, has the potential to offer genuine social security to all while boosting the economy and creating jobs.
Conference welcomes the ongoing exploration of the concept of a Basic Income by the think-tank Compass, the innovation charity Nesta, the Royal Society of Arts, and others; further welcomes the planned practical experiments in Finland and Utrecht, Netherlands.
Conference calls upon the union to actively campaign for a Universal Basic Income and eradicate poverty for all."
Although the Tories have rejected the idea of a basic income scheme as unaffordable, Scotland is considering a universal basic income scheme pilot and the Labour Party is considering a universal basic income which would replace means-tested benefits with a flat rate payment.
Postscript (11/12/2016):
The Trades Union Congress (TUC), passed a composite resolution supporting a Universal Basic Income Scheme, at their September 2016 TUC Congress.
Tuesday, 30 August 2016
'The Matter of the North'!
MELVYN BRAGG celebrates the history of the North of
England in a new Radio 4 show, The Matter of the North:
The ten-part series, began yesterday Monday 29th August, with
Bragg delving into stories spanning the end of Roman rule to the present day.
According to Mr. Bragg the North is as much a country as any other geographically defined country. Melvyn Bragg's program explores the historical, religious & intellectual roots of what became the North of England.
The program begins in the 5th Century when the Romans built forts in places like Maryport on coast of Cumbria, before the bulk of them began draining away.
Arguing that the North is as much a country as any other geographically defined country. Melvyn Bragg's program explores the historical, religious & intellectual roots of what became the North of England.
In the program Mr. Bragg will travel around Northumbria, Cumbria, Yorkshire, Liverpool and Manchester, exploring the pivotal historical moments and cultural contributions from the region, which have helped shape the Britain of today.
In the program Mr. Bragg will travel around Northumbria, Cumbria, Yorkshire, Liverpool and Manchester, exploring the pivotal historical moments and cultural contributions from the region, which have helped shape the Britain of today.
The blurb on the BBC website declares:
'This is the story of the North, one that has the history of
most countries. The area has twice the economy of Scotland, if it were a
country in its own right it would be the eighth biggest economy in Europe, and
it’s been the scene of the greatest revolution in the world – the industrial
revolution – the retreat of one empire – the Roman military – and the advance
of another, the Roman church,'
Mr. Bragg says: 'Invasions from the East
by the Vikings, and from the South by their cousins the Normans, the former
enriching the English language, the latter marching up from London to destroy
much of the North and leaving centuries of bloody rebellion and justified resentment.
'It’s here in the North that the original culture of England
was founded after the Romans, the dissent and non-conformism bred great
inventions, and that a particular sense of humour was developed... I think it’s
a wonderful part of the world and like most people who’ve been born and brought
up in the North I feel this is as much a country as any more neatly
geographically defined place on the planet... And it’s not a bad time to look
at the roots of northernness in this referendum year when there’s been much
talk of a North-South divide – there’s no doubt that being northern matters
greatly to people in 2016.'
Across the 30-minute episodes, Bragg hears from a cast of
northern voices including Dame Judi Dench, David Hockney, Lee Hall, Jimmy
McGovern, Ian McMillan, Geoffrey Boycott, Maxine Peake, Frank Cottrell Boyce,
Chris Bonnington and Joan Bakewell.
The Matter of the North will broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 9am
(Monday-Friday) from Monday 29th August – Friday 9th September
.
Friday, 19 August 2016
Friday, 12 August 2016
Scottish GMB Statement on Labour Leadership
GMB Scotland Statement: Labour Leadership Ballot
GMB Scotland has been consistently clear that the Labour Party’s problems in Scotland cannot be attributed to one person alone and extends far beyond one electoral cycle.It is also clear that the party as a whole is not fully focused on fixing the problems affecting so many people across Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Labour cannot hope to regain its electoral relevance unless it unites and starts acting as the party of labour, standing on a platform that is relevant to the lives of all working people.
In Scotland, Labour’s decline over the last decade has been stark.
Opinion polls now consistently show declining support among the Scottish electorate, both in Holyrood or Westminster and the party now sits in third place behind the Tories after the recent Scottish Parliament elections.
Therefore, GMB Scotland sees no merit in a ballot of our entire Scottish membership on the question of the UK Labour leadership when the party’s resonance is so minimal.
Instead, our party members in GMB Scotland will make up their own minds through their own private vote and we will make members aware about how they can participate and who is eligible.
In the meantime our focus has to be on the defending the interests of our members against a backdrop of constitutional, economic and employment uncertainty.
*****
Contact: Peter Welsh, GMB Scotland Communications, on 07976 447 077
Monday, 27 June 2016
Britons ask Google, what is the EU after poll result!
UKIP LEADER - NIGEL FARAGE
WELL! what an extraordinary situation we find ourselves in since the great British public voted to leave the EU on Friday. While that, public school, half-wit, Boris Johnson, was declaring that "markets were stable", the pound was falling, bank shares were plummeting, as well as company share values, and prices were beginning to rise. There is talk of another independence vote in Scotland and Sinn Fein, are now calling for a border poll on a united Ireland. And nobody seems quite sure when Britain will leave the EU or what leaving actually means.
The REMAIN camp didn't think that they would lose the referendum and the LEAVE camp didn't think they could win, so nobody seems to have thought about a post-Brexit exit strategy. Even Johnson, is now saying there's no need to rush to Brexit. They're all up shit creek without a paddle. As David Cameron, as announced that he will not be triggering Article 50, (the procedure for leaving the EU), he has handed a poison chalice to the next Tory leader, possibly Boris Johnson.
One person who will have worked out a Brexit strategy, is the Kremlin Tsar, Vladimir Putin, Nigel Farage's favourite politician. The Russians have been banging money into anti-EU parties like Marine Le Pen's, National Front for years. They want to wreck EU economies and Nato, so they'll be happy as pigs in shit by the Brexit vote.
As for Corbyn and Labour, many Labour voters were saying that they didn't know where Labour stood on the EU. Jeremy Corbyn, is a well-known Eurosceptic and he was merely paying lip service to the party's pro-Europe policy. By doing so, he's stabbed million of young kids in the back who initially supported him, when he stood for the leadership.
The REMAIN camp didn't think that they would lose the referendum and the LEAVE camp didn't think they could win, so nobody seems to have thought about a post-Brexit exit strategy. Even Johnson, is now saying there's no need to rush to Brexit. They're all up shit creek without a paddle. As David Cameron, as announced that he will not be triggering Article 50, (the procedure for leaving the EU), he has handed a poison chalice to the next Tory leader, possibly Boris Johnson.
One person who will have worked out a Brexit strategy, is the Kremlin Tsar, Vladimir Putin, Nigel Farage's favourite politician. The Russians have been banging money into anti-EU parties like Marine Le Pen's, National Front for years. They want to wreck EU economies and Nato, so they'll be happy as pigs in shit by the Brexit vote.
As for Corbyn and Labour, many Labour voters were saying that they didn't know where Labour stood on the EU. Jeremy Corbyn, is a well-known Eurosceptic and he was merely paying lip service to the party's pro-Europe policy. By doing so, he's stabbed million of young kids in the back who initially supported him, when he stood for the leadership.
A total of 33,577,342 votes were cast in the EU referendum. Leave (52%) got 17,410,742 votes and Remain (48%) got 16,141,241 votes.
Tameside, a solid Labour area, saw 61.1% voting to leave the EU - 67,829 (Leave) and 42,034 (Remain).
In nearby Oldham, the leave vote was 61% - 65,309 (Leave) and 42,034 (Remain).
The Evening Standard on Friday 24 June reported:
"Eight hours after the poll closed, the internet giant Google reported that Britons have been frantically googling 'what is the EU?" in the hours since the results of the historic referendum were announced."
According to 'How Ages Voted' -YouGov Poll:
18-24 year olds were 75% Remain.
25-49 year olds were 56% Remain.
50-64 year olds were 44% Remain,
and 65+ were 39% Remain.
Tameside, a solid Labour area, saw 61.1% voting to leave the EU - 67,829 (Leave) and 42,034 (Remain).
In nearby Oldham, the leave vote was 61% - 65,309 (Leave) and 42,034 (Remain).
The Evening Standard on Friday 24 June reported:
"Eight hours after the poll closed, the internet giant Google reported that Britons have been frantically googling 'what is the EU?" in the hours since the results of the historic referendum were announced."
According to 'How Ages Voted' -YouGov Poll:
18-24 year olds were 75% Remain.
25-49 year olds were 56% Remain.
50-64 year olds were 44% Remain,
and 65+ were 39% Remain.
Wednesday, 1 June 2016
Lesbians Lame Lad & Then Kill Him!
TODAY's Daily Mirror reports:
'A Twisted mum and her lesbian lover have been found guilty of murdering their two-year-old boy.'
Rachel Trelfa, 31, and Nyomi Fee, 29, beat Liam Fee and broke his leg, then murdered him.
Two other lads were put into a cage and tied up in a room with snakes and rats.
The murdered toggle, Liam Fee, who lived with the two degenerates women in Glenrothes, Fife, died in March 2014 after having been hit so hard that his heart ruptured. On examination he was found to have 30 injuries, including a broken leg and arm.
The defendant pair, originally from Tyne and Wear, had claimed another youngster had strangle Liam to death. To support this claim they had put the lad's hand in the victim's mouth so that traces of his DNA would be found by the police.
Liam's father, Joseph Johnson was in tears yesterday after the verdict. It seems that, according to Fee, Liam's birth had been secretly planned be Fee and Trefla while they were having an affair. Fee said Trefla deceived Liam's father Joseph when she became pregnant by him. When he discovered her treachery the two lesbians left Gateshead for Scotland with the young lad in August 2011. Nyomi Fee told the Court:
'We started our affair in 2010. It was our intention for Rachel to get pregnant with Liam and us to be a family. Once she was pregnant we were going to move to Scotland.'
It seems Liam was only months old when the abuse began. An expert found he eventually suffered heart injures similar to those of road-crash victims.
Among the umpteen external injuries on the lad's body there was bruising to his private parts and fractures to his upper arm and thigh.
On the day of her son's death, Trelfa spent time at a riding stables looking after her horse before going home for drinks and a meal with Fee.
The case had to be decided as a matter of joint enterprise, and it did not matter which of the two women struck the fatal blow, because they had a common criminal purpose.
They then tried to shift the blame on to a lad of only primary school age, claiming he had been acting in a sexualised way towards Liam.
In the end it was the evidence of this lad and another boy that helped to undermine the lesbian's lies.
Today, the Daily Mirror in an editorial writes:
'... the police, and health and social workers, all have questions to answer about how clues were missed, to learn lessons for the future and save other children from the inhuman clutches of another Rachel and Nyomi Fees.'
The other question that occurs to us at Northern Voices is that we are continually inundated by activists in the GLBTIQ* (etc) movement about the rights of these minorities and there is a ongoing lobby called STONEWALL, led by the distinguished northern actor, Ian McKellen, from Bolton, who I once appear alongside in a bit part in the film 'Scandal'. Might it be that the agencies and social services in Scotland didn't follow through as they might when they were reports about Liam, because of a belief that they may have been accused of bias against lesbians?
* GLBTIQ stands for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer (Australia)
'A Twisted mum and her lesbian lover have been found guilty of murdering their two-year-old boy.'
Rachel Trelfa, 31, and Nyomi Fee, 29, beat Liam Fee and broke his leg, then murdered him.
Two other lads were put into a cage and tied up in a room with snakes and rats.
The murdered toggle, Liam Fee, who lived with the two degenerates women in Glenrothes, Fife, died in March 2014 after having been hit so hard that his heart ruptured. On examination he was found to have 30 injuries, including a broken leg and arm.
The defendant pair, originally from Tyne and Wear, had claimed another youngster had strangle Liam to death. To support this claim they had put the lad's hand in the victim's mouth so that traces of his DNA would be found by the police.
Liam's father, Joseph Johnson was in tears yesterday after the verdict. It seems that, according to Fee, Liam's birth had been secretly planned be Fee and Trefla while they were having an affair. Fee said Trefla deceived Liam's father Joseph when she became pregnant by him. When he discovered her treachery the two lesbians left Gateshead for Scotland with the young lad in August 2011. Nyomi Fee told the Court:
'We started our affair in 2010. It was our intention for Rachel to get pregnant with Liam and us to be a family. Once she was pregnant we were going to move to Scotland.'
It seems Liam was only months old when the abuse began. An expert found he eventually suffered heart injures similar to those of road-crash victims.
Among the umpteen external injuries on the lad's body there was bruising to his private parts and fractures to his upper arm and thigh.
On the day of her son's death, Trelfa spent time at a riding stables looking after her horse before going home for drinks and a meal with Fee.
The case had to be decided as a matter of joint enterprise, and it did not matter which of the two women struck the fatal blow, because they had a common criminal purpose.
They then tried to shift the blame on to a lad of only primary school age, claiming he had been acting in a sexualised way towards Liam.
In the end it was the evidence of this lad and another boy that helped to undermine the lesbian's lies.
Today, the Daily Mirror in an editorial writes:
'... the police, and health and social workers, all have questions to answer about how clues were missed, to learn lessons for the future and save other children from the inhuman clutches of another Rachel and Nyomi Fees.'
The other question that occurs to us at Northern Voices is that we are continually inundated by activists in the GLBTIQ* (etc) movement about the rights of these minorities and there is a ongoing lobby called STONEWALL, led by the distinguished northern actor, Ian McKellen, from Bolton, who I once appear alongside in a bit part in the film 'Scandal'. Might it be that the agencies and social services in Scotland didn't follow through as they might when they were reports about Liam, because of a belief that they may have been accused of bias against lesbians?
* GLBTIQ stands for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer (Australia)
Friday, 6 May 2016
Local election results
THE Shadow Scottish secretary and Labour's only MP in Scotland, Ian Murray, said: 'I don't think that the public see the UK Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn at the moment as being a credible party of future government in 2020.'
Last night, the Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson became the main opposition party leader at Holyrood as Labour slumped into third place in Scottish Parliament polls.
A symbolic result in Wales, meant that Labour lost the Rhondda seat in the Welsh Assembly to Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood, and saw the Scottish National Party pull off a clean sweep of seats in its one-time working-class stronghold of Glasgow.
Labour also lost seats in England and Wales, while avoiding the catastrophic defeat some had suggested. There was little change for the ruling Conservatives in England and Wales.
At this stage in the life of a parliament it might have been expected that the main opposition party would be gaining seats from the governing party.
Addressing supporters in Sheffield after a dismal night for Labour, Jeremy Corbyn has confessed that the party has 'a lot of building to do'.
Despite the excitement of some in the Labour Party over Jeremy Corbyn's leadership Northern Voices' still hold to the view that the Labour as a progressive party has outlived its mission.
Tuesday, 3 May 2016
Blacklist Firms' Pay-Out Millions!
1. HIGH COURT:
Construction firms pay out millions to settle more blacklisting claims but the fight for justice continues.
2. Hillsborough
Blacklist Support Group would like to pay tribute to the tremendous campaign by the families and supporters of the 96 football fans who lost their lives at Hillsborough. Their 27 year campaign for justice has finally been vindicated in court with the verdict of unlawful killing. The Hillsborough campaigns are an inspiration to millions around the world and prove that when we are steadfast in our fight for the truth, even the rich and powerful will be brought to account in the end.
3. Third elected MSP found on blacklist
Academic who criticized Police Scotland is on blacklist - but his file has been destroyed
secret__do_not_employ__dossier/
4. Workers Memorial Day
5. Scottish Labour Election Manifesto:
'A Scottish Labour Government will stand up for citizens’ individual rights and protect the Human Rights Act. We will right the wrongs for the people denied that basic human right to work — a Scottish Labour Government will deliver a full inquiry into the practice of blacklisting trade unionists in Scotland.'
6. 'Blacklisted' is shortlisted for the Bread & Roses book award 2016
Sat 7th May at London Radical Bookfair
7. Strikes & Protests
North Sea
Solidarity with scaffs and labourers striking for one rate for the job at the Polmadie waste-to-energy site, Glasgow. Next 48 hour strike Tuesday 3 May
NG Bailey - direct employment
Victimized union activists:
8. Undercover police
Blacklist Support Group
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
