PRICE WATERHOUSE COOPER (PwC), the accountants dealing with the failed construction company Carillion affairs, have been claiming an average of £356 an hour for their services
following Carillion’s collapse in January.
These figures were exposed in a letter to the Parliamentary enquiry
into the firm’s demise. It was revealed that the PwC accountants billed for £20.4m in fees during the first eight weeks of the
insolvency.
Its total bill for this work is now expected to reach £50m.
Worst of all 'Pension specialist' partners from PwC were charging the
highest rate at £1,156 an hour.
Unite's assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail told the trade paper the Construction Enquirer: 'Unite is
passionate about ensuring that all workers are paid the correct rate
for the job, however for the thousands of workers who have lost their
jobs due to Carillion’s collapse, these figures will be viewed as
both eye watering and excessive.
'On average PwC staff will be earning in an hour what many of
the workers who have had their lives turned upside down earned in a
week.
'The government needs to introduce a realistic cap on what can
be charged when accountants are brought in to mop up similar messes
in the future.'
Friday, 17 August 2018
The None Exclusivity of Death
by
Les May
IT
would appear that my reaction to Margaret Hodge’s preposterous
comments about possibly facing a Labour party inquiry about her
conduct bearing
comparison with being a Jew in Nazi Germany in the 1930s, is shared
by others.
Labour
MP Ben Sellers caught
the right note of ridicule when he tweeted;
‘The
other day I had to queue for five minutes for a poor-quality mince
pie and a Bovril at a local non-league ground. It was a bit like
being rounded up by Pinochet’s forces and getting a bullet through
the temple in Chile’s national stadium in 1973.’
In
response Anna Turley MP tweeted:
‘The
Holocaust didn’t happen in a vacuum. It
happened because ordinary people turned a blind eye to racism and
anti-Semitism.’
Sounds
good doesn’t it?
But
wait a minute it’s we ‘ordinary
people’
who cannot see this supposed antisemitism in the Labour party. We
are constantly being told it’s there, but we struggle to see any
examples of it in
the Labour supporters we know.
Anti-semitism
is
expressed as
hatred of Jews.
That
hatred manifests itself through discrimination, verbal
and physical
attacks on
Jews,
and attacks on their
individual or collective property.
These
are the province of the adherents to extreme right wing parties, not
members of the Labour party. They
are not the sort of thing that come to light years later by someone
trawling the web looking for something to make a fuss about in an
attempt to discredit Corbyn. They
are what we and
the Jewish Chronicle should
be worried about. For
Anna Turley to even hint that we are ‘turning
a blind eye’
is
arrogant in the extreme.
As
for the ‘ordinary
people’
in Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945 is Anna Turley sure, and I mean
REALLY sure, that if she had been one of them she would have opposed
the Nazis? This is not a question for Anna Turley alone, it is one
that we
should all
ask ourselves. It’s one thing to live in the UK in
2018 where
the cost of expressing opposition to Nazi ideology is small to
non-existent and doing it in Germany in
1933 to 1945 where
it would get you a visit from the Gestapo and much
worse.
Nor
am I willing to privilege the killing of Margaret Hodge’s
antecedents over the murder of millions of Russians and Poles, or the
death of even one Allied serviceman who fought to liberate Europe
from the Nazis. All
these deaths have their origin in Nazi ideology. Let
us not forget this.
Recently
Jeremy Corbyn tweeted:
“The
nation state law sponsored by @Netanyahu's
government discriminates against Israel's Palestinian minority. I
stand with the tens of thousands of Arab and Jewish citizens of
Israel demonstrating for equal rights at the weekend in Tel Aviv.”
Long
may he continue to be able to do so and
still
remain
a member of the Labour party.
Anna
Turley’s Wiki CV makes interesting reading. Do you think she
qualifies as an ‘ordinary
person’?
Wednesday, 15 August 2018
I WAS WRONG!
By Les May
IN my article Who Will Defend Free Speech? I took the view that I could see nothing wrong with the 38 word working definition of antisemitism given by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and that it was the examples that were problematic.
After this appeared on Northern Voices I received an e-mail which provided a link to the Opinion of a Legal Counsel, Hugh Tomlinson QC. His opinion was that the definition ‘is unclear and confusing and should be used with caution’.
Here I provide his six point summary:
The IHRA “non-legally binding working definition” of antisemitism is unclear and confusing and should be used with caution.
The “examples” accompanying the IHRA Definition should be understood in the light of the definition and it should be understood that the conduct listed is only antisemitic if it manifests hatred towards Jews.
The Government’s “adoption” of the IHRA Definition has no legal status or effect and, in particular, does not require public authorities to adopt this definition as part of their anti-racism policies.
Any public authority which does adopt the IHRA Definition must interpret it in a way which is consistent with its own statutory obligations, particularly its obligation not to act in a matter inconsistent with the Article 10 right to freedom of expression.
Article 10 does not permit the prohibition or sanctioning of speech unless it can be seen as a direct or indirect call for or justification of violence, hatred or intolerance. The fact that speech is offensive to a particular group is not, of itself, a proper ground for prohibition or sanction. The IHRA Definition should not be adopted without careful additional guidance on these issues.
Public authorities are under a positive obligation to protect freedom of speech. In the case of universities and colleges this is an express statutory obligation but Article 10 requires other public authorities to take steps to ensure that everyone is permitted to participate in public debates, even if their opinions and ideas are offensive or irritating to the public or a section of it.
Properly understood in its own terms the IHRA Definition does not mean that activities such as describing Israel as a state enacting policies of apartheid, as practicing settler colonialism or calling for policies of boycott divestment or sanctions against Israel can properly be characterized as antisemitic.
A public authority which sought to apply the IHRA Definition to prohibit or sanction such activities would be acting unlawfully. You can find the full Opinion here: If you are trying to understand what is happening in the Labour Party and what the stakes are I urge you to read it.
Also worth reading is a leaflet called ‘What is the Jewish Labour Movement’. This can be downloaded here: Again I urge you to read it.
I watched the Al Jazeera English series The Lobby when it was first broadcast. This is how Al Jazeera English described it:
‘In The Lobby, Al Jazeera Investigations exposes how the Israel lobby influences British politics. Among the revelations were Israeli attempts to smear activists who question the illegal occupation of Palestinian land by helping to build racism cases against them.’
You can find the four films here: which provides a link to YouTube. Each film is about 25 minutes long
Margaret Hodge is a Humbug
by
Les May
IN
June 2016 Margaret Hodge
and Ann Coffey submitted a motion of no confidence in Jeremy
Corbyn Labour leader for
discussion at the
following Monday's PLP
meeting. This triggered
a leadership contest which Corbyn won by a bigger margin than in
2015. In July 2018 she
called Corbyn a ‘fucking
racist and antisemite’
in the chamber of the House of Commons. Whether
there is any connection between these two things I do not know though
perhaps I
could be forgiven for thinking there might be. The
proximate factor for her recent
outburst was that she had
not got her own way about something.
Clearly
this woman thinks she can do no wrong. Her
response to hints that she might face being reported to the Whips, and
face a disciplinary inquiry was to give an interview to Sky News and
say 'On the day that
I heard that they were going to discipline me and possibly suspend
me, it felt almost like, I kept thinking what did it feel like to be
a Jew in Germany in the Thirties?'
This
must surely be one of the most preposterous exaggerations that any
politician has ever uttered. To try to draw a comparison with what
happened to many Jewish people and many others in Nazi Germany in the
1930s beggars belief and might raise a few eyebrows.
What
it shows is that Hodge is a complete humbug. She wants to be free to
call other people a ‘fucking racist and antisemite’, but
not let the rest of us have the freedom to compare the policies of
the government of Israel towards the Palestinians with those of the
Nazis or say that Israel is a racist nation without finding ourselves
branded an antisemite.
Hodge’s
antics are an exercise in self indulgence. She wants to argue about
the wording of something when we are heading towards an exit from the
EU in seven months time which will please neither those who voted
Leave nor those who voted Remain, when people being forced to live on
the streets is given such low priority that the problem will not be
solved until 2027, when … Need I go on?
Socialists
might like to follow the links below.
If
any of the links are not ‘live’ and showing blue, holding down
the left mouse button drag it over the text of the link,
then press the right mouse button and copy the marked text. Paste
this into your browser, e.g. Firefox.
***********
Tuesday, 14 August 2018
Labour Leader Brought Council into Disrepute!
by Brian Bamford
THE leader of Rochdale’s Borough Council, Councillor Allen Brett, has now been found to have ‘brought himself, his office and the Council into disrepute’. This was the finding of an investigation into his conduct earlier this year before the local elections.
The investigation which was conducted by an independent solicitor, was launched in April after the local website Rochdale Online published an audio clip of comments he made at a local Labour Party meeting.
In the audio clip, Councillor Brett is heard explaining at an internal Labour Party meeting how a government grant of £12million is to be spent on the borough’s roads and footpaths.
Ending the two-minute clip, Councillor Brett can be heard saying:
‘
…the budget remains fixed at £12 million [inaudible]. I’ve been given an indicative list of where it’s likely to have [sic], but I’m not releasing it - because I’ll deny I’ve said this, and I’m very reluctant to say it even in this room – if we don’t do [sic] successful in one ward, I might not spend any money in that ward. You can work that out, but I’ll deny I’ve said it; I will.’
This is followed, says Rochdale Online by ‘murmurs of “Milnrow” (a Rochdale ward) can be heard from others in the room as Councillor Brett says: ‘Because I’m not having, like I was canvassing yesterday, to be told in Milnrow…’
Councillor Brett has long been under criticism from a section of his party because of his long-term support for the notorious former Rochdale MP, Simon Danczuk, and also his loyal backing for his disgraced former predecessor as Rochdale Council Leader, Richard Farnell, who was discredited in a recent inquiry into child sex abuse.
Who Will Defend Free Speech?
By Les May
AS a Labour supporter I ought to be pleased that Boris Johnson has got different sections of the Tory party at each others throats and embroiled in a row about ‘islamo-phobia’. I’m not!
This row is following an all too familiar pattern. Increasingly we have people trying to grab the moral high ground by claiming that something they read or hear, and do not like, is, racist, anti-semitic, islamo-phobic, mysoginistic, trans-phobic, homo-phobic, patriarchal or in the latest catch all phrase, ‘hate speech’, and should not be said.
This is the ploy Matthew Offord,Tory MP for Hendon, used to try to persuade the government to shut down the Israel Apartheid Week (IAW) events at British universities when he said in March this year, ‘This isn’t about preventing free speech, it’s about stopping hate speech, in this instance anti-Semitic hate-speech’. He wants the UK government to enshrine into UK law both the definition of anti-semitism, which is not controversial, and the examples which are. Some of these would effectively prevent any criticism of the behaviour of the state of Israel towards the Palestinians.
If free speech means anything it means having the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. Some people don’t like what Johnson has had to say so they have called it ‘islamophobic’ and are using it as an excuse to demand an inquiry into ‘islamophobia’. Some people don’t like what some of us have to say about the behaviour of Israel towards the Palestinians and want to label it ‘antisemitic’ so as to shut us up.
Essentially all these people expect their views to be privileged, and the rest of us to sing from their hymn sheet or not sing at all. The Labour party readily accepted the 38 word long working definition of anti-semitism to which I do not think anyone can reasonably take exception.
'Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.'
The sticking point is some of the eleven examples which follow this definition.
This is what the ‘Jewish Voice for Peace’ has to say:
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which is increasingly being adopted or considered by western governments, is worded in such a way as to be easily adopted or considered by western governments to intentionally equate legitimate criticisms of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights with antisemitism, as a means to suppress the former.
This conflation undermines both the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality and the global struggle against antisemitism. It also serves to shield Israel from being held accountable to universal standards of human rights and international law.
Some of the complaints about ‘antisemitism’ in the Labour party seem to start from the presumption that the eleven examples somehow define antisemitism. This would include ‘tweets’ which are thought to cast doubt upon or belittle what is commonly known as The Holocaust. Given the overwhelming evidence in the form of documents, books, court records, films, and interviews with victims and perpetrators, is that Hitler’s Nazi regime did murder 6 million Jews, nearly 8 million Russians, 2-3 million Poles and more than a million others, I find it difficult to believe that such a ‘tweet’ could have the slightest impact on anyone’s belief. The only people who will take it seriously are those looking for something to be offended at. In other words anyone being kicked out of Labour for doing this is being punished for being a fool not for making a serious political comment.
My figures come from:
But see also:
If anyone in the Labour party thinks that meekly acquiescing to the demands of some sections of the press and the party that both the uncontroversial definition of antisemitism and the examples be adopted will end the ongoing row, I think they are mistaken. Corbyn’s efforts so far have merely been greeted with further demands. The sole effect of acquiescing would be that the Labour party would be tied in knots by disciplinary hearings following complaints of antisemitism and that could include legitimate criticism of Israel. The Tory press would love it!
The problem is that the examples following the IHRA definition are prefaced by the words ‘Contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere could, taking into account the overall context, include, but are not limited to:’ What the last five words mean is that the list of ‘antisemitic’ behaviour is infinitely extensible and in the eyes of the beholder.
If you look at the IHRA web pages you will see that they take exception to my deliberately hyphenated ‘anti-semitic’ in the second paragraph, which was done to draw attention to the regularity with which some people use words as a weapon to halt discussion of anything they do not like. I really don’t want people who think like this policing what I say or think.
The word ‘antisemitic’ has strong pejorative connotations. In some cases labelling someone in this way could lead to them being shunned, disciplined or losing their job. It should not be tossed around like confetti such as Margaret Hodge seems to have done after not getting her own way. Any respect I had for this woman is gone.
In the meantime you might like to ponder what Matthew Offord, who seems to want the world to ignore Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians, might have to say about these.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2004/07/108912-international-court-justice-finds-israeli-barrier-palestinian-territory-illegalhttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-jewish-nation-state-law-passed-arabs-segregation-protests-benjamin-netanyahu-a8454196.html
As a politician I think Margaret Hodge could reasonably be asked to comment on both of these things. Or would even asking her fall foul of one of the examples tagged onto the definition of antisemitism?
*************
Sunday, 5 August 2018
Police Probe Rochdale Election Fraud Claim!
THIS weekend, Greater Manchester Police have said that they are investigating a complaint of potential electoral fraud in Rochdale. The police received a report on the 24th, May that related to the local elections on the 3rd, May 2018. It is understood that a local candidate is being investigated.
A police spokesman has told the BBC that a 51-year-old man had attended a voluntary interview and that inquires are still ongoing.
Northern Voices has been aware for some time of a number of allegations and complaints that have been circulating regarding the conduct of candidates in local elections in the Rochdale area.
******
CORBYN'S HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY
"Corbyn's a racist, he refuses to sign up to the Internationally (IHRA) agreed definition of antisemitism and he exploited "HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY" (HMD) for his own prejudiced political ends."
That is what we are told but my experience indicates otherwise...
by Chris Draper
HMD 2017
Last year I read on the official HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY TRUST website that a holocaust survivor was coming to give a talk in my town on Holocaust Memorial Day. My wife lost a lot of family members in the Holocaust and I was generally interested so we decided to attend. What we encountered was truly shocking - the event turned out to be little more than a political rally for the State of Israel. Politicians who'd just returned from sponsored visits told us how marvellous and democratic Israel is despite its troublesome neighbours (I have retained an audio recording). To celebrate Israel's success we were directed to stand and sing "Hatikva" (Israel's National Anthem).
I subsequently asked HMDT if it thought this was an acceptable event to advertise on its official site. To be be specific I sent the following email:
...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Sent: 30 January 2017 12:24
To: enquiries <enquiries@hmd.org.uk>
Subject: H M D
To: enquiries <enquiries@hmd.org.uk>
Subject: H M D
Dear Sir or Madam
Is it appropriate to direct a public audience to all sing "HATIKVAH" at what was described in publicity as , "An Official Commemoration of the Holocaust Memorial Day"?
I understand HATIKVAH was adopted as the official anthem of the Zionist Movement at their first Congress in 1897 and has subsequently been recognised as the State of Israel's National Anthem.
To direct a public audience to literally sing the praises of the State of Israel appears to me to be outside the laudable aims of H M D and an entirely inappropriate divisive political act.
I anxiously invite your official response.
Christopher Draper
..............................................................................................................................................................
I then received an unhelpful, non-committal response from "Joe Twilley - Communications Manager" Despite providing further extensive details of the event, including a written transcript of one of the politician's speeches and repeating my request for a clear response the last I heard from "Joe Twilley" was a January 2017 email saying he/she was out of the office but would reply when he/she returned - I'm still waiting!
Now HMDT is the organisation formally constituted to oversee HMD commemorations in Britain so I thought I should persevere. On 14 February 2017 I redirected my query to the Director of the Trust, Olivia Marks-Woldman. The next day I received an email from "HMD Trust" explaining that Ms Woldman was on leave "this week" but would "address my concerns on her return".
Nine months later I'd still heard nothing further from either Ms Woldman or HMDT so on 6 November 2017 I emailed again repeating my question and asking if it might not be polite to reply.
Ms Woldman wasn't polite enough to reply. Although HMDT is supposedly a politically neutral charity it is demonstrably content to oversee and advertise events that demand uncritical support for Israel. HMDT is evidently happy to advertise events where guileless attendees are bombarded with pro-Israel propaganda and directed to sing Israel's National Anthem.
It seems there is indeed cynical political exploitation of HMD but the perpetrator has been wrongly identified.
Christopher Draper
Thursday, 2 August 2018
Cumbria Hiroshima Day
Cumbria and Lancashire Area Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
East Lancashire CND, Lancaster District CND, CND North Cumbria and South Lakeland CND
Thank you for supporting our aim to bring about a safer world!
Latest news about the events in Cumbria for Hiroshima Day 6 August when we shall display the CND logo, now the world symbol for peace, at three iconic sites, unfurl our banners and petition for a global nuclear weapons ban. 2018 marks 60 years since the founding of CND and to spotlight the urgent need, now more than ever, for nuclear disarmament we link these events with the commemoration of the first atomic bombing - Hiroshima, 6 August 1945.
Reasons for hope. The vast majority of the world's countries still shun nuclear weapons and in July 2017 more than 120 nations signed the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons. We are asking our government to add the UK to the list of signatories and abandon its plan to replace the Trident system with ever more dangerous and ever more expensive nuclear weapons (this renewal alone now estimated to be over £205 billion).
We are urging you please to:
* Publicise and promote these events Tell your friends, family and neighbours; Seek support from your trade union, party branch and/or groups to which you belong;
Write to your local news media.
* Attend the events - feel free to join with us at any or all of these:
9.30am Monday 6 August Meet in the car park of the Dock Museum, North Road, Barrow-in-Furness LA142PW opposite the massive BAE Systems Submarines Devonshire Dock Hall (DDH) shed to raise our banners at the gates for our first photo-opportunity.
Mid-morning Petitioning in Barrow centre at the Workers Statue, Dalton Road LA14 1PU
11am Head out and on to Sellafield to highlight the present and urgent dangers of the radioactive legacy of our arms race. The A595 is a slow winding road so the journey although under 40 miles may take 1 hour 30 minutes. 12.45pm for 1.00pm Gather at the car park for a vigil at Main Gate, Sellafield CA20 1PG on the road to Sellafield station.
2pm Peace Picnic by Wastwater on the shores of England's deepest and most awe-inspiring lake, now UNESCO World Heritage Site (go through Gosforth village past the famous pie bakery following the road to Wasdale Head to the shore facing the screes)
3pm "Act of Hiroshima Remembrance" with sayings, symbols, poems and prayers, led by Rev David Penney, Priest in Church of England, and shared with members of the Peace Movement in commemoration of the A-bombing of Hiroshima and all suffering caused by nuclear arms; scattering petals on the waters of the lake from where daily 4 millions gallons of the water are drawn for cooling the radioactive waste.
* Wear your gorgeous costume, bring your banners and flags - Musicians, Singers, Artists, Knitters, Photographers, Young and Old, etc – all very welcome!
* and please bring some picnic to share!
* Donate to the costs of campaigning materials and transporting them
Please send cheques payable to ‘CND North Cumbria’ or make a direct bank transfer to CND North Cumbria [Unity Trust Bank, Account Number 54004777, Sort Code 60-83-01]
For full details of these events please contact:
Irene Sanderson (CND North Cumbria) Brookside, High Bank Hill, Penrith CA10 1EZ
Telephone: 01768 897071 • Mobile: 07720 842 529 • Website: www.cnduk.org
E-mail: irene@irenesanderson.co.uk facebook: north cumbria campaign for nuclear disarmament
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