UKIP-County Council Elections May 2nd

Nigel Farage-serious politician?

This week I had a UKIP election leaflet popped through the letterbox. I've now had Tory, Labour and UKIP election material. Comparing the three it is quite obvious why people who claim to be voting UKIP to pollsters don't actually vote for them when the real election comes around. To say the UKIP leaflet is amateurish would be an understatement. It is like a fourth formers first effort in the school mock election.

For a start it is only A5, and one side of that is blank. What a waste of space. But I suppose as the party has gone native squandering EU funds like that is now par for the course. But here is the start of the message from the candidate:

"I have decided to stand in this election for UKIP as I am sick of Conservative, Lib Dem and Labour local politicians taking me and my vote for granted and offering nothing in return, preferring to follow orders from their masters in Westminster."

Oh the irony. UKIP's masters sit in the EU parliament, including leader Nigel Farage whose grip on the party makes Stalin's grip on the USSR look tenuous. The party exists merely to keep their MEPs and their staff on the gravy train, hence the lack of serious effort in these UK elections. Just compare their literature this year with the standard they will produce for next year's gravy train elections. But the next paragraph on the leaflet goes on:

"If elected I will never follow a party line to the detriment of our area. I promise to represent your views and will always put our community first."

Well then, tell that to Nikki Sinclaire MEP. Nikki refused to sit with the UKIP group in the EU parliament because of the assorted homophobes, racists and other nutjobs in the group from various EU countries. Nikki was promptly expelled from the party and now sits as an independent MEP for the West Midlands. More on Nikki's treatment by UKIP here.

He then continues:

"Common sense solutions for a Britain independent, free and fair."

There is no explanation as to what the candidate or UKIP's idea of 'commonsense' is or what they mean by 'fair' or 'free'. Just empty rhetoric that means absolutely nothing. But there's more. The leaflet goes on:

"UKIP is a patriotic party that believes in putting people first. To shore up the collapsing Euro and (I think that should be 'the' rather than 'and') EU is now seeking to pull away the props of our national economy-control over taxation and spending.

Only UKIP will give the power to the British people to regain self-government."

Interesting to look at a few of the words in this little offering, or rather a few of the words not in this little offering.

Although the head of the leaflet carries the sentence 'County Council Election' the name of the county isn't mentioned once. It is actually Lancashire County Council.

County Hall is in Preston. This isn't mentioned once but Westminster pops up. As does the Euro and the EU.

Mention is made of the EU taking control from Westminster over taxation and spending. Not once has a service provided by Lancashire County Council been mentioned, let alone a UKIP policy at that level.

Any party that can produce an election leaflet that fails to mention one single policy, that fails to mention one single service that the county council provides and fails to even mention the name of the authority for which the candidate is standing, deserves a sound thrashing on May 2nd.

Happy St George's Day

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountain green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?
And did the countenance divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among those dark satanic mills?

Bring me my bow of burning gold!
Bring me my arrows of desire!
Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire!
I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.

If You're a Scouser, Look Away Now!

They teach them young in Liverpool

I've been especially busy recently earning a crust, to pay the taxes that keep our bloated welfare state afloat, so I was shocked yesterday to hear that there had been a purge of people I'm acquainted with on Twitter.

Firstly freedom of speech means freedom of speech. There is a hackneyed old phrase that says; 'freedom of speech does not mean the right to shout fire in a packed cinema'. Fair enough, there are logical limits. But causing offence is an integral element of free speech. If I read something that I find offensive I have the freedom to continue reading or to stop reading. That is my right. Why should the writer, who offends me, be stopped from writing? But that is what is happening in our ever encroaching authoritarian, police state. Plod can't come out to deal with a burglary, but offend some oversensitive pillock and Knacker of the Yard will feel your collar faster than you can say.....well, something offensive.

It seems to me that social media is more like attending a football match than attending a heavy duty political debate or debating society. There is a great deal of macho posturing and outdoing of allies as well as opponents. We don't behave at a football match the way we do in the office, and people don't behave on Twitter and Facebook, in the main, the way they would on the hustings in an election campaign. I am speaking here of politicos using social media. Rather than reasoned debate aimed at converting opponents it is much more about trying to grind down opponents and boost your allies. If you don't like people on the right calling people on the left 'leftards', or even worse, then don't read them. If you don't like lefties throwing the word 'fascist' at anubody who disagrees with them, then don't read them. If you do, and engage them, expect it to get bloody but don't cry.

This week several heavyweights of the no nonsense, largely libertarian area of the internet have been purged. They have done nothing terrible. They haven't incited people to riot or to blow something up. They have offended somebody. For causing offence they have been banned from Twitter. In the case of Old Holborn his blog has also been taken down, whether by him voluntarily, or by the authorities forcibly I am unsure. But this link gives a good appraisal of Old Holborn's blog.

So what has Old Holborn done? It seems that he has upset Scousers and their questioned their famed victim status. From what I have found on the censored internet he questioned the accepted view of the Hillsborough disaster and the murder of Jamie Bulger. Old Holborn is hard hitting and controversial. As far as I am aware he put forward perfectly reasoned arguments that you may or may not agree with which, when I was at school, was what free speech was all about. Old Holborn, as far as I'm aware, has been writing on the internet for a few years and has survived. Until now.

Old Holborn may have caused offence but what happened to him says it all about modern Britain. His real identity, and that of his wife and children, were published on the internet as was his address. His mobile number was published and he has received numerous death threats. Threats have also been made against his employer.

But he chose the wrong target this time. He chose Scousers, and one of them complained to the police that he was upset.  You see the problem is that Scousers think they are so hard and tough, but offend one and it cries like a big baby. So the Old Bill felt Old Holborn's collar, for expressing a personal opinion. Old Holborn has been nicked and banished to some kind of internet Siberia.

Other people on Twitter have been banned after lynch mobs of lefties have hounded them after 'being offended'. I'm not aware of anybody on the libertarian right having anybody banned for being offended, although I have seen some appalling abuse fired at people by lefties. Libertarians believe in free speech. But that's for another blog post.

If you sit in your armchair watching TV, never uttering an opinion or taking sides in a debate then you'll be fine. But if you think that one day you might just, possibly, maybe want to say something that another person may not agree with then you should be very worried, you may find yourself nicked.   

Thoughts on the Thatcher Years

I joined the Tory Party around 1979, maybe 1978. Prior to Mrs Thatcher Ted Heath had been their leader, and I could never have got involved while he was there. But Mrs Thatcher was a breath of fresh air. Yes she made mistakes, who doesn't? But after the depressing, conflict ridden 1970s her vision and conviction were a breath of fresh air. I'm not going to write some heavy duty, academic style resume of 'The Thatcher Years', but a purely personal look back at those years.

Britain in the 1970s

The 1970s were pretty dire in this country. Yet again Labour had bankrupted the country, with Denis Healey and Jim Callaghan going cap in hand to the IMF to bail out a busted economy.

Trade unions had the power to bring down democratically elected governments, wreck businesses by forcing workers out on strike, workers who were slaves to 'closed shops' where they couldn't work unless they joined a union.

Workers who dared to defy their union were routinely harassed, threatened and physically assaulted. So called 'flying pickets' would turn up at businesses that weren't on strike and blockade the gates intimidating staff to turn back, effectively bullied into striking by trade union bully boys.

We had to endure the three day working week and power cuts, because we didn't have enough power to keep the lights on. Football games couldn't be played in the evenings to conserve the power that would be wasted lighting the floodlights. I remember walking through streets of Manchester when we all carried torches because there were no street lights. The dead could not be buried because of strikes and waste mounted up in the streets as the refuse collectors spent months on strike, on a regular basis. Britain in the 1970s was almost third world. Indeed, I visited relatively poor Latin American countries in the early 1990s that were far more pleasant places to spend time than Britain in the 1970s.

Margaret Thatcher's governments dragged Britain into the modern era and away from the living nightmare that was the 1970s. Those old enough to have been politically aware in the 1970s should remember how bad things were, it just couldn't continue. What underpinned Margaret Thatcher's philosophy was that hard work should be rewarded, and that freedom depended upon economic success. Creating business creates wealth which creates jobs. The welfare state should be a safety net, not a lifestyle choice. The left want welfare dependency, they can then claim to be the protectors of the poor and downtrodden, it is a cynical and inhuman position. Mrs Thatcher wanted to create a world where people didn't need welfare, where people could live independent of benefits and live with pride and dignity.

Britain in the 1970s

To the left Mrs Thatcher was wrong. She was an aberration. To the left the Tory Party was the party of grey men in suits who saw a woman's place as in the home. But the Tory Party, not Labour voted a woman as leader first. The left claimed the Tory party was full of toffs and aristocrats. Mrs Thatcher was the daughter of a grocer from a provincial town. Indeed even now the hate fuelled left use the language of the demented picket line to shriek about the Tory Party being full of rich toffs and posh boys, equality unless you fail to fit their bigoted stereotype it seems. Labour banged on then, and still do, about how women were discriminated against in education. Mrs Thatcher went to Oxford. They never forgave her for proving them wrong, wrong and wrong again.

Throughout the North of England and in Scotland there were Conservatives elected in 1983 when Mrs Thatcher was re-elected, and again in 1987. The myth that she destroyed the North and wrecked communities is purely that, a myth. Even John Major, against all the odds, won the 1992 general election after Mrs Thatcher had been ousted. Hardly a country that loathed the Tories. Quite the contrary, Mrs Thatcher garnered huge support among the working classes, support which has gone now with the steady move to the left of the Tories since 1992. After all, even Barrow elected a Conservative MP in 1983 and '87.

Strip down the hysterical reaction by elements of the left, pure venom and hatred, and they were concocted by one pretty vile egotist who became the darling of the irrational left, Arthur Scargill. It revolves around the final laying to rest of a dying industry, the coal industry, that had been gradually wound down by successive governments after nationalisation. Let's face it, the left love nothing more than a lost cause to whip themselves into hysteria. The miners were the perfect lost cause. Whole communities ripped apart by Thatcher? I don't think so. Sadly a few small communities around a few failing pits lost some jobs. But then again, chariot makers and bow and arrow makers lost their jobs too. It's called progress, whether we like it or not.

An interesting thing these last couple of days is hearing the left ranting about what she did to the Falkland Islands. What she did was to liberate a population, invaded and illegally occupied by a foreign, military dictatorship. I would have thought most right thinking people would applaud that.

The reaction of elements on the left show that Britain, since Margaret Thatcher, has slipped into a moral decline that may not be reversible. We now have the children of the sixties in charge, and can see all around us the results of the liberalisation of society since the sixties that even Margaret Thatcher couldn't halt. The lack of respect, the inhumanity, the vile insults and civil disorder that greeted her death are a symptom of our decline, and show the danger that the brainwashed moral bankrupts of the left still pose.

Margaret Thatcher RIP

Welfare Police State

When I heard that Greater Manchester Police were banging on about people having a go at Goths and Punks having committed 'hate crimes' I thought it was an April Fool's joke a little late. Then I heard an interview with a senior officer and I realised that it really is GMP being a bunch of wet, pinko liberal arsewipes trying to ingratiate themselves with 'sections of the community' while alienating, which they don't seem to realise, the vast majority.

When this idiot was being interviewed I fell deeper and deeper into despair. The interviewer kept asking him if this meant that an attack on a Goth would get more resources than an attack on a bloke in a suit and tie he kept wriggling until I almost felt sorry for him. Well actually, I ended up wondering how he'd ever managed to become a copper, let alone a senior one but that's beside the point.

When I was at school I was taught that we were all equal under the law. No longer it seems. So-called 'hate crimes' apparently get priority meaning that somebody else, somebody who isn't the correct race, the correct sexuality, the correct sub-culture or whatever, is going to get second class treatment by the police if assaulted, abused or anything else. Another example of the tyranny of the minorities.

Before some leftard starts having a pop about me being some kind of 'ist' I'm not. I believe that the full weight of the law should be brought to bear on any criminal, whether motivated to carry out a violent crime against somebody because of their sexuality or because of which football team they support. It's surely commonsense isn't it?

Then this week we've had whining in the football fraternity about homophobic chanting against Brighton supporters. Again I misunderstood at first and thought that being gay must have become a prerequisite for supporting Brighton FC. But no, it was opposition fans having a pop at the liberal culture of the town with the country's first Green MP by chanting 'does your boyfriend know you're here?' at Brighton fans. Now, maybe I'm being all hard and macho but I hardly think that's going to drive any self-respecting gay person to weep any more than chanting 'you fat bastard' at me will drive me to a bottle of whisky and a gob full of paracetomol. Sodding hell some people really should  look at what hatred really is and get a sense of perspective.

Now if I've upset, or offended anybody please do not read any further. You've been warned.

I've spoken to a few people about that evil bastard Mick Philpott this week. The general consensus being that we hope he gets a bit of corporal punishment when he's in chokey from his fellow campers. Indeed a couple of us pondered the satisfaction to be gained by getting imprisoned if you could be guaranteed access to Mr Philpott. But on the whole I decided that wasn't a very good, or very practical idea.

I know that certain newspapers and politicos have been attacked for daring to link the welfare state with Philpott's crime of torching his own home and killing six children, but I think they are right to make a link. There is a problem in this country when the authorities hand over ever more of our cash in benefits to scum like Philpott who breed children to sponge more money from the system. Personally I would scrap child benefit, why should people receive tax money for having children? If they can't afford them don't have them.

In the case of Philpott didn't alarm bells ring that he was living, with two women and sixteen children, in a three bedroomed council house? If we have to waste money on social workers aren't these the kinds of cases they are supposed to sort out? I suspect their attitude would have been to tolerate Philpott and his harem as just another lifestyle choice. It wasn't the welfare state that made him do what he did, it didn't make him a vile psychopath, but it certainly created the environment for his evil to be enacted.

Fair enough, the country isn't full of psychos like that, but the welfare state has created a culture where the lazy, the feckless and the irresponsible can survive comfortably without having to trouble themselves with the responsibilities and hassles of those who work to pay their taxes to fund the parasites.

If welfare benefits aren't too high then why do so many people from eastern Europe come here to work despite us having so many unemployed? They work hard and evidently find coming here worthwhile, so benefits are quite obviously too high. Just a shame we don't have a government strong enough to deal with the problem.

Race War-The New Class War

The left love to divide and rule, or maybe that should read; the left have to divide and rule. They create hatred and animosity where it needn't exist so they can rush in and defend those 'under attack'. Just look how many decades they've been claiming the Tories are going to privatise the NHS, and the gullible believe it and become convinced the Tories will let poor people die if they form a government. Lies, lies and more lies.

But the old class warfare doesn't wash these days. Most people laugh if they hear an old school class warrior banging on about 'the workers' and 'comrades', and quite rightly too, it's a joke. The poor these days smoke, drive, have decent accommodation and a huge TV on the living room wall. Of course some people have less than others, that's life. But nobody in the UK today is starving to death, going to school in bare feet or living in squalor with inhabitable accomodation and cockroaches. So the left have had to create an alternative to class war. Race war.

The left, through political correctness, has created a climate whereby people daren't make a comment, no matter how harmless, about somebody of another race without the cry of racism going up. This week it's been race warrior Rio Ferdinand banging on about racism. It seems he and his brother were subjects of unpleasant chants this week from England fans, not surprising as they are obnoxious prats, but the claim is that there were 'racist undertones'. So "Rio Ferdinand, you know what you are" followed by a song about putting him on a bonfire is racist? Obviously not, to the sane, but many on the race obsessed left aren't sane. United fans have sung similar about City fans and Scousers for years. Is that racist too?

It's always a shame to see loony extremists using race for their own ends, be that the BNP on the nationalist far-left or the more internationalist left-wingers. Left, pardon the pun, to our own devices I reckon people of most races just rub along nicely together. As ever it is politicos and obsessives who cause the problems and resentment.

Of course we must remember that poor old Rio Ferdinand has faced such vile racism in this country that he only earns about £200,000 a week. Makes apartheid South Africa look cushy doesn't it?

Another Fine Mess, Still!

I'll lay my cards on the table, I'm no economic genius, I managed to scrape an 'O' Level in Government, Economics and Commerce but that's it. But even I can sense that something is wrong and little seems to be being done to fix it.

It seems to me that basic economics on a national scale should follow, roughly, the principles of our personal economics, meaning that by and large you live within your means. OK you take out the occasional loan for a new car, a holiday or whatever but to build up debt way beyond your income is seen, quite rightly, as irresponsible. So why should government behave any differently?

Many individuals are in a position, if they have borrowed a little too much, to work some overtime or maybe get a second job to bring in some extra money. What can government do? It is unproductive, it doesn't earn money, all it can do is tax or borrow. Anybody thinking the current government is acting responsibly should think again, maybe take a look at this report from the Taxpayers' Alliance. It details how this government has raised taxes in over 200 instances.

That doesn't strike me as being very conservative. A personal economics analogy might be the family who run up an unsustainable debt being able to look at the family next door, who have been prudent and saved, and take a few grand out of their savings account. That doesn't seem very fair to me. To put it on a national scale look at the proposed theft from savers in Cyprus by the European Union. I don't see government trying to tax its way out of debt being any different. But many people seem to accept this, failing to understand that government doesn't have a big money tree that it can pluck the odd million quid off, it has to take it from us, or borrow it.

What it seems to me is that we need a conservative government with guts. Osborne today could take some brave measures. He could cut VAT, cut income tax for the lower paid. Give the long term unemployed a tax holiday if they find work. Reduce fuel duty and the hated alcohol duty, and that's just a few ideas.

Yes people have become welfare dependent. But that is because government has created the conditions where it is possible for people to not bother working. People attack migrants, especially from Eastern Europe, but they are coming here and finding work, and living quite comfortably, in jobs that it seems too many people refuse to take. Otherwise why are there so many British people on benefits while migrants are gainfully employed? Blame the state, not the immigrants.

Fair enough, they would have to balance the books. Well start with looking at the huge waste in bureaucracy, the huge amount of money we send each day to the EU. The huge amount of money it costs us each day enforcing EU rules and regulations. The huge amount of money wasted in education on pointless and trivial degree courses, then look at the quality of some of the so-called graduates. Let's look at the huge amount we send abroad in aid. Stop it, it seems to be either going to countries such as India and China who don't need it, or to countries where it is being squandered by corrupt governments.

But I'm not holding my breath. Let's face it the Tories are led by Cameron, a liberal democrat in reality. He couldn't even beat Gordon Brown in 2010 so what chance has he got in 2015 of winning? Even if he did what was needed today it probably wouldn't be enough. And, when putting Cameron in a list of good Conservative leaders/ PMs remember, even John Major managed to win, against all the odds, in 1992. Cameron was a washed up nothing before 2010 and he just convinces us all the more with every day that passes.

The Times They Are a-Changing

Northern Quarter or Ancoats?

Yesterday I was in Manchester. I walked from the city centre to my parents' home in Gorton, about three miles. It was a route, up Ashton Old Road, that many of us took home in our younger days after a night pubbing and clubbing. Over thirty years on I found myself growing nostalgic and thoughtful, as well as more knackered than I ever remember being all those years ago on the walk!

The first thing I found in Manchester was the St Patrick's Day parade. I'm afraid my view is that we should have these parades only when the Irish start having St George's Day parades, hopefully never! I find something cheap and tacky about supposedly sane people dressing up as leprechauns and wearing ludicrous Guiness hats. As for the claim to Irishness of people after drinking a pint of Guiness, don't get me started on that one. If you love Ireland so much it's only a short flight or boat crossing away.

So I decided to get out of the way of all these Plastic Paddies and headed to Ancoats. Except Ancoats has now been renamed the 'Northern Quarter'. Northern Quarter? What is it a quarter of? A quarter of the city centre maybe? A quarter of Ancoats? It's a ludicrously pretentious attempt to make parts of Manchester, and other English cities, sound  a little more exotic and continental. Fine in Paris but bloody hell, Manchester? Sorry, no, it's still Ancoats and should always remain Ancoats. It was the heart of industrial Manchester where terraced streets lived in the shadow of great Victorian mills, while not wanting it preserved in aspic, renaming it is cultural barbarianism and an insult to our heritage.

As I headed down Gt Ancoats St., maybe soon to be renamed Northern Quarter Boulevard, I decided to see if a great old pub called the Moulders Arms had survived the recent massacre of the great British pub. But no, not only is it shut but it is now the derelict site you see above. This was the sad story all the way up Ashton Old Road where most of the great old Victorian pubs have either been demolished or turned into white goods superstores or tile warehouses. The Seven Stars, one of my old granddad's many watering holes, seems to be just about surviving, but for how long?

Urban wasteland or Beswick?

I just about remember the old heavy engineering and steel works along the road around Beswick and Openshaw. My Aunty Agnes lived on a terraced street running off the Old Road opposite the works in Openshaw and I remember the hooter  sounding and seeing thousands of men swarming through the gates on push bikes or on foot to hop on one of the old Manchester Corporation buses lined up to take them home. Now there are green spaces on one side with tiny lego type houses and flats while there is still a high wall on the other hiding huge mounds of rubble where the factories used to stand.

Going back in time the greatest shock to those people, long gone, who lived in this part of Manchester when it was thriving would be the demographic change. In the hour or so my nostalgic meander took me I must have passed twenty or thirty people. Not a single one was a native English speaker. The only white people I heard speak were Polish or from some other Eastern European country. I couldn't help wondering what they must make of East Manchester. I know what older people left in East Manchester, who were here fifty or more years ago, think of it in 2013, and it's not very much. At least I could pop into the African and Asian foodstore, another former pub, to stock up on jerk seasoning.

Sunny Gorton

I once heard Billy Connolly telling how, living in Los Angeles, he used to get strong nostalgic longings for the Gorbals where he grew up in Glasgow. Eventually he went back feeling rather emotional but, like East Manchester, he found it had changed. He then had the realisation that what he was pining for was not actually the Gorbals, it was for that period in his life when he lived and grew up there. I know exactly what Billy Connolly meant after my nostalgia filled promenade up Ashton Old Road.

SWP RIP

Good to see the vile gang of Marxist thugs known as the Socialist Workers Party finally going through its death throes, not before time.

Gone but not missed. More a cult for the psychologically disturbed than a political party really.

Lies, Socialists and Hypocrisy

It never ceases to amaze me how the socialists constantly bang on about the Tories attempting to privatise the NHS. Since the late seventies I've heard lefty after lefty banging on about them privatising the NHS, and it hasn't happened yet. But still they are banging on about it. Lies, lies, lies. If only the Tories had the guts to do it I may consider voting for them again.

Then I still hear them banging on about Margaret Thatcher. Even now the loonier fringe of the socialist movement will blame Mrs Thatcher if there is an outbreak of flu. But then dare to blame the Labour governments from 1997 to 2010 for the financial mess we are in, or for the murderous mess they made of the NHS, and they claim innocence citing being ousted in 2010. Hypocrites as well as liars.

UKIP-A Sense of Perspective

UKIP do have a habit of getting a little giddy if they get a decent result, and let's be honest, last night's result in Eastleigh was good. But...

At this stage in their development they should be winning by-elections like that. Ask them about the anomaly of hating the EU but having MEPs and they claim it's so they can use the resources to fight in the UK. Well they haven't succeeded there have they? Even Respect, with no MEPs just a loony like Galloway have one MP. Even the Greens, the true lunatic fringe, have one MP.

Can UKIP really be taken seriously?

UKIP claim to be the fourth party in England, maybe the UK, but last night they couldn't defeat the Lib Dems. Yes, Eastleigh is solidly Lib Dem, but most constituencies are pretty solidly one party or another. The Lib Dems have shown themselves to be untrustworthy, sleazy downright dishonest but UKIP still couldn't knock them off their perch.

The main problem for UKIP is that their MEPs have gone native, and key workers in the party are dependent on MEPs for their salaries. The problem there is that most of them are clueless about campaigning and are only there because they are cronies and drinking buddies of their paymasters, the MEPs.

Just as damaging are their policies. They are a totally impossible to achieve wishlist for Daily Mail readers. Spend massive amounts on border security and the military, while slashing taxes. How the hell can that add up?

Let's see what they get in Eastleigh in a general election, not in a by-election when there was a huge protest vote to harvest. And until they have more MPs than Respect or the Greens they should keep shut about claiming to be the third or fourth party, it only makes them sound absurd.

Political Correctness-Let's Have A Laugh

There's nothing better than seeing the self-righteous, sanctimonious, holier than thou come a right cropper. Recently there have been two great examples in Paul Elliott, ex-footballer, and the Lib Dems, personified by Lord Rennard.

For years the Lib Dems have bored real people rigid whining on about equality and other politically correct claptrap. Now they are embroiled in a dirty old man saga with four women claiming Lord Rennard, a Lib Dem peer, acted 'inappropriately'. Inappropriate seems to me to be one of those euphemisms so fond of the politically correct, meaning behaviour that they don't like, but isn't really bad. Example: Lord Rennard pats his secretary's bottom, that is 'inappropriate' behaviour, which is quite different to rape, or attempted rape, which is way beyond 'inappropriate'.

Then there is Paul Elliott, ex-footballer and professional black man. He has been given a CBE for services to political correctness. Since retiring from a very lucrative and successful career as a footballer he has whined on about racism on a regular basis becoming known as an 'anti-racism campaigner'. But he has just had to resign from various positions within the Football Association for, I love this one, sending racist text messages to a former business partner. Oh the sweet irony! I assume Aunt Lizzie will be popping round to Chez Elliott to get the gong back.

But that's political correctness. It's such a crock of tripe that even the politically correct get tangled in the ridiculous web they have weaved. Oh how we laughed.

Whining Chavs In Harpurhey

I had to laugh when I heard that certain people in Harpurhey, including ludicrous MP Graham Stringer, were angry about a TV documentary series set in the area. They claim it shows Harpurhey and the people in a bad light. Of course it does, the place is a bit of a chav craphole and they should either accept it or move out. If they think it's Wilmslow or Prestbury then they really should lay off the crack for a while.

Then today I saw in the news that two people, stopped for speeding, had tried to run over the police who stopped them before whizzing away. Yes, it was in Harpurhey. 

UKIP and Marta Andreasen-The Farce Lingers On

Farage or Petain?

The continuing comedy drama that is UKIP continues to raise a titter, just a shame a few people still take the party seriously. I first met Farage in 2000 when I was invited to stand by the local UKIP members in the Preston by-election. When I was introduced to him I instinctively checked my watch was still there after we'd shaken hands, he may as well have had the word 'spiv' tattooed on his forehead it was so obvious.

Over the following few years I had the misfortune to suffer his company on many occasions as he became increasingly megalomaniac and obnoxious. On one occasion he was lost in Manchester trying to find a hotel I had booked for him and his 'lady researcher', we were demonstrating outside the Tory conference next day. Only a clown would phone somebody 60 miles away and state that he didn't have a clue where he was in Manchester then ask if I could I direct him to the hotel. Obviously not, you do need a start point when giving directions but he was too dumb to realise. Then, when I suggested he ask a pedestrian for directions he told me he was scared to do that because there were too many Tories about and they don't like him. Man of steel? I don't think so.

So I wasn't surprised when Marta Andreasen MEP resigned on Friday to join the Tories citing Farage's attitude to women and his Stalinism. She's spot on. That led me to ponder the other UKIP MEPs over the years. It's not gratifying reading really, but in no particular order here we go:

Ashley Mote: Went to chokey for fiddling housing benefit prior to climbing aboard the gravy train.

Tom Wise: Went to chokey for fiddling his expenses.

Michael Holmes: One of the three MEPs elected in 1999, Farage being another. Holmes resigned as leader and left the party soon after being elected.

David Campbell Bannerman: Defected to the Tories in 2011, he was elected in 2009.

Nikki Sinclaire: Forced out of UKIP after refusing to sit in their group in the EU Parliament alongside assorted right-wing nutters, racists and homophobes from other European countries. I should declare that I worked as Nikki's campaign manager for three months in the 2010 general election and that I worked from 2004 to the end of 2008 for John Whittaker MEP.

Marta Andreasen: Resigned last week to join the Tories.

Nigel Farage: Too many scandals to list here, including putting his wife on his payroll without anybody in UKIP ever knowing, and certainly not knowing what she did when it came to light.

The problem is UKIP MEPs do very little work, they have some of the poorest attendance records in the EU Parliament and rarely attend or contribute to committee meetings. They have gone native and are now just a small group of people making themselves very wealthy, while doing very little, at our expense. No wonder they do nothing but bicker, stab each other in the back and resign, as the saying goes, the devil makes work for idle hands.

We didn't defeat the Nazis by joining them did we? Petain tried that little number in France and look how Vichy ended up. Sadly it looks like Farage is the latter day Petain leading a Vichy party on the gravy train they claim to oppose while achieving nothing for the UK.

George Galloway and Anti-Israeli Hatred

Galloway's the one on the left.

We've known Galloway is a barking mad scumbag for years, but he used to try and hide it. But since he was outed a few years back for consorting with bloodthirsty Arab dictators he's dropped all pretence of being a civilised human being, let's face it even the Labour Party find him beyond the pale.

But just when you thought the Bradford MP for the ironically named 'Respect Party' couldn't stoop any lower guess what? He does! Just watch this:



So you accept an invitation to debate Israel but won't debate with an Israeli? Whatever 'mad as a box of frogs' means, Galloway is obviously it.

Breaking Down Communities

Everything about political correctness and the modern obsession with 'equality' seems designed to divide communities and pit one group against another. Talk of community and society is cheap when we seem to be living in an era when disparate groups seem to think that we should all adapt our lives to suit them. It seems to be the tyranny of the minorities.

The horrific Harriet Harman has been at it again recently whining on about women only shortlists for parliamentary elections. David Cameron's been whining about there not being enough women in the Cabinet too. Personally I don't care what sex my MP is, as long as he/she is capable of doing a job. If I was faced with a candidate from a women only shortlist that would guarantee that particular candidate didn't receive my vote.

Then we have disability groups expecting the whole world to adapt on the off chance that a person with a particular disability is inconvenienced. I have every sympathy for people with disabilities, having worked for medical charities much of my working life, but there are far too many people working for disability groups, especially disability rights/pressure groups, who have a vested interest in constantly preaching at people. They are making good livings from doing it.

I have every sympathy with disabled people and have campaigned for disabled access to buildings etc. An example of the extreme I distrust was a case when I worked for a London charity a few years back. We had held an annual event in a particular venue and had spent many months with the management committee planning the event that particular year. A disabled person on the committee had taken part in the planning. But on the day he turned up, with a local newspaper journalist, and made a big deal about not being able to get in without assistance. We could have used a fully accessible venue and told the original venue why we had moved venue. But he wanted to be seen as a martyr.

Then there is the disproportionate amount of political influence gained by the militant gay lobby. Any criticism of gay people or gay lifestyle and the critic is branded homophobic. Catholic adoption agencies have been forced to close down because they would not place children with gay couples. The word 'marriage' has been redefined because gay people want to get 'married'. The whole of the population, it seems, has to change to accommodate the wishes of the militant gay lobby.

Racial politics is the obvious great divider. Criticise Islam and you're an 'islamophobe'. Criticise the levels of immigration and you're a 'xenophobe'. No place for rational debate, just stifle argument  branding opponents 'phobic'.

So here's one to ponder. I heard a black comedian on a comedy panel show having to say what reason she  had been given that  father Chritmas didn't exist. Her mother told her it was because she didn't want a fat white man with a beard taking credit for the presents she'd bought. I can't help wondering if that had been a white comedian talking about a black figure that she would have been branded racist.

NHS Brainwashing

The caring NHS?

The brainwashed NHS freaks are getting ever more hysterical as needless deaths in that huge nationalised shambles are exposed. It reminds me of a clip on the TV news a while back, where a reporter in North Korea mentioned the name of their latest bloodthirsty despot, and the assembled zombies smiled and applauded his name. How sad.

The NHS is no different to any other industry, it has good points and bad.



The NHS is no different to any other industry, it has good staff and bad staff.

The NHS is no different to the bailed out banks, our tax cash pays for it.

The NHS is no different to insurance companies, if I crash my car, or my house floods, repairs are 'free at the point of delivery'.

So why oh why when needless deaths in the NHS are exposed do the zombies, like their comrades in North Korea, start screaming about how wonderful the NHS is and how it must be defended?

To me nationalised healthcare means politicians are in charge. To me politicians are stinking hypocrites out for numero uno. Why then, do people who spend 12 hours a day attacking politicians spend the other 12 drooling about the NHS? I can only think , unlike millions of us, that they haven't experienced the appalling service provided by so many hospitals.

Oh, and for the seriously NHS brainwashed please stop getting paranoid about the Tories privatising the NHS, it's terribly tedious. Cameron hasn't got the balls.

British Democracy?

I've long since lost the fire in my belly I had for politics, which makes blogging difficult, in a word I can't be arsed. Our politicians are as bent as nine bob notes, we are ruled from a stinkingly corrupt Brussels, the system seems to have perfected squeezing cash and independent thought from the populace and government is hand in glove with big business.

Decades of socialism/social democracy have forged a dependency on the state that means we are no longer the masters, we are mere cogs in the wheel of the state, be that London based or Brussels based. There was one chink of light recently when UKIP announced they had been joined by a descendent of Guy Fawkes. Oh good, I thought, they might sneak him into Parliament to complete the good work begun by his esteemed ancestor. Alas, as ever with UKIP, he isn't actually a descendent of  the hero himself at all, false alarm.

I have often wondered why we still have so many MPs when 70% of our laws come from Brussels so was hopeful that the boundary changes would do the job and even things up. But the Lib Dems threw a temper tantrum and blocked the attempt at rebalancing our democracy. No longer are we governed by men with vision, a sense of history and a deeply held belief in freedom and democracy. Instead we are governed by intellectual pygmies whose decisions are based on personality, spite and vengeance, and stuff the electorate. This quote, from parliamentary sketch writer Quentin Letts about the boundary debate says it all:

"In Britain we have long flattered ourselves that we play by the rules. In the Commons on Tuesday, the rules were blatantly broken.

In the 23 years, on and off, I have been reporting Parliament, I have not felt so disgusted by our political class.

The behaviour of Mr Miliband, Mr Clegg and their MPs is worse than cash-for-questions or the expenses scandal.

Those were fuelled by small-minded greed. This is the naked abuse of parliamentary principle. This, I am afraid, is anti-democratic theft". 

Follow the link below to Quentin Letts' full article:


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2270995/Ive-felt-disgust-political-class.html#ixzz2KIXtEMo2

The Flowers of Manchester

 

One cold and bitter Thursday in Munich, Germany,
Eight great football stalwarts conceded victory,
Eight men who will never play again who met destruction there,
The flowers of English football, the flowers of Manchester

Matt Busby's boys were flying, returning from Belgrade,
This great United family, all masters of their trade,
The Pilot of the aircraft, the skipper Captain Thain,
Three times they tried to take off and twice turned back again.

The third time down the runaway disaster followed close,
There was a slush upon that runaway and the aircraft never rose,
It ploughed into the marshy ground, it broke, it overturned.
And eight of the team were killed as the blazing wreckage burned.

Roger Byrne and Tommy Taylor who were capped for England's side.
And Ireland's Billy Whelan and England's Geoff Bent died,
Mark Jones and Eddie Colman, and David Pegg also,
They all lost their lives as it ploughed on through the snow.

Big Duncan he went to, with an injury to his frame,
And Ireland's brave Jack Blanchflower will never play again,
The great Sir Matt Busby lay there, the father of his team
Three long months passed by before he walked again.

The trainer, coach and secretary, and a member of the crew,
Also eight sporting journalists who with United flew,
and one of them Big Swifty, who we'll ne'er forget,
the finest English 'keeper that ever graced the net.

Oh, England's finest football team its record truly great,
its proud successes mocked by a cruel turn of fate.
Eight men will never play again, who met destruction there,
the flowers of English football, the flowers of Manchester

Poem by Eric Winter, taken from Football Poets

David Morris MP and Gay Marriage

I received a letter this weekend from my MP, David Morris, informing me that he had consulted widely and would be voting against gay marriage in the House of Commons today. I had contacted him some time ago to ask his position, so credit where it's due, he has consulted and listened. Shame he didn't on the question of an EU referendum, but eh, that's life.

There is still a problem though. On what issues should an MP have a core belief that will not be shaken? If MPs merely consult, then go along with public opinion then why not get rid of them and just have referenda? If I ask a candidate what his views are on a range of issues I want to know what his views are, not what public opinion is. Otherwise, how do we decide who to vote for? There are times when an MP must surely vote with conviction, even if it means going against public opinion, he must then justify himself to the electorate and either keep or lose his seat.

So I'm glad my MP will be voting against gay marriage today. But he still won't get my vote come the next election.

Foreign Police Chiefs

Allo, Allo......Allo

I'm as critical of the police as anybody but please, foreign police chiefs and chief constables coming in from industry? I don't think so. This government seems determined to piss as many groups off in this country as possible, at the same time ensuring Ed Miliband becomes the next Prime Minister.

I don't want a citizen of the US, Canada, New Zealand or anywhere else as Chief Constable of Lancashire. I want an Englishman and ideally a Lancastrian, certainly somebody who has spent many years in the North West and has some understanding of the culture and outlook of the region. The government, well the Tory part of it, constantly claims we have the best police in the world so why the need to recruit from outside the police, let alone outside the country?

This is not, before some nobhead starts, xenophobia. I would expect the authorities in the US, Canada etc. to recruit from within too for the same reasons.

Roll on 2015 and we can be rid of this nauseating government. But what about a foreign Prime Minister? Anybody got Robert Mugabe's number?

Leave Us Alone!

I am getting tired of charities and medical bodies trying to boss us around and interfere in our lives. This time it's a food charity called Sustain, backed by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

They are urging the government to slap a levy of 20p per litre on soft drinks. A levy is a euphemism for a tax. With the tax they squeeze out of us they want to buy fruit and veg for schools. Tell you what, you're a charity, raise the money yourselves and stop thieving off the rest of us, we pay too much tax already.

It's time a lot of these organisations that call themselves charities were reviewed. In many cases they should lose their charitable status as they are merely pseudo-political campaigning bodies. A decent government would carry out a wholesale review of charity law and the Charity Commission.

David Ward Lib Dem MP and Holocaust Memorial Day

Another twat MP. Thank you Bradford!

Well what an utter turd David Ward really is.

He accuses "the Jews" in Israel of "inflicting atrocities on Palestinians...on a daily basis".

According to him he was "trying to make clear that everybody needs to learn the lessons of the Holocaust".

The Lib Dems have "condemned his use of language".

Mealy mouthed shits Ward and his party aren't they? But what do we expect from Lib Dems?

Holocaust Memorial Day is 27 January!

It would be awful to think that Ward was merely ingratiating himself with the Muslim population of his constituency. Surely Lib Dems aren't such political whores?

David Cameron and that EU Speech

Having read the speech I can't help concluding that it was just  fluff and bull. In fact it was just fluff and bull, definitely.

I have debated membership of the EU over the years with Lib Dems and people from other parties, and Eurofanatics from the European Movement. Not once have I heard a really convincing argument for our continued membership.

The EU has kept the peace in Europe since 1945? No it hasn't, that was NATO, the Cold War and the threat of mutual annihilation.

We would lose trade if we left? No we wouldn't. EU countries would not refuse to sell us cars, wine and so on in a fit of pique if we left.

Europe is the sick man of the world. We need to rid ourselves of all the rules, regulation and bureaucracy that is stifling Europe and turning it into a stagnant mess. We need to be confident and look to the world, Brazil, China, India and other countries that are the economic future.

But enough, to Cameron's speech. Don't just take my word for what a load of waffle it was, read the full transcript here in the Spectator.

The New Puritanism

There has been something unpleasant happening in this country for a long time. Part of the problem is political correctness, which has oozed into our national life in a quite unpleasant way, but it has been allowed to happen because people haven't stood up and said enough is enough. We live in a culture where the worst crime you can commit is to cause offence.

There has been a fuss in the media the last couple of days because the BBC played a childrens TV show called Tweenies that featured a character based on Jimmy Savile. I have every sympathy for victims of paedophiles, indeed for any victim of a sex crime, but yesterday I heard a professional victim advocating all TV and radio recordings featuring Savile be destroyed. His premise was that programmes such as the Tweenies episode could upset victims of sexual abuse. He was abused and now runs a support group for victims.

I would argue that the man running the support group has reminded many more victims what happened to them by spending hours on the media attacking the BBC, many more people heard him than saw the Tweenies. So, by his logic, there should be no media coverage of sex crimes at all, just in case it upsets a victim.

As for destroying recordings of TV and radio shows including people later found guilty of sex offences where do we draw the line? We could wipe from the record whole chunks of our popular culture. Actors, footballers, singers and a great many people in other high profile jobs have been found guilty of sex offences. Do we, in the great tradition of Stalin, expunge the lot and pretend they never actually existed? Of course not, we would also lose examples of the work of the decent, talented many as well.

The Trouble With Political Parties

There's a bit of a kerfuffle in UKIP at the moment where there appears to be one of their regular purges going on. Those being chucked out in this current round of blood letting are those who have publicly backed the idea of 'gay marriage', which UKIP opposes.

I oppose 'gay marriage', although I believe that gay couples should have the same legal rights and protection as heterosexual couples. I oppose it on the grounds that marriage is between a man and a woman. I do  not believe that to be homophobic in any way, although the usual emotionally incontinent obsessives elsewhere on t'internet have called me, and others with similar views, homophobes.

However, I do believe that political parties should allow some leeway on issues of conscience such as this, and that UKIP have over-reacted, as they usually do. Why Cameron is so obsessed with this issue, which few other people in the country feel is of vital national importance, we can only guess. So I do not understand why any political party should force members out over the issue.

What it really shows is how dehumanising political parties have become. Yes there is a need for discipline, but there should also be room for debate and dissent, within reason. On any matter of conscience individual members should be free to take up their own position, especially on issues such as this, capital punishment, abortion, euthanasia and similar. The public are sick of hearing party spokesmen just parrot the party line, they want real human beings who can think for themselves. Sadly when independent thinkers surface in a political party they are all too often hounded out.

Lance Armstrong

I've never had many heroes, plenty of people I admire but few I'd call heroes. Lance Armstrong was one, a man who beat cancer then went on to win the toughest sporting event in the world. To see him fall from grace makes me sad rather than angry. What makes me angry are the people jumping on the 'let's crucify Armstrong the drug cheat' bandwagon.

In recent years I've lost count of the number of cycling books I've read, especially books about Le Tour, I recommend some of those on the current bandwagon read a few before they continue pontificating. I suggest especially Tyler Hamilton's autobiography The Secret Race, David Millar's autobiography Racing Through the Dark and David Walsh's The Seven Deadly Sins. Walsh is the journalist who initially, way back when Armstrong won his first tour, tried to expose his cheating, Millar served a ban for drug use as did Hamilton, a long time colleague of Armstrong's.

Armstrong has now admitted doping and has stated that he will have to spend the rest of his life apologising. It seems that his confession, and in all likelihood having to return millions in prize money, sponsorship and money received from successful past libel victories, not least against The Times, is not enough for the mob. The mob seems to want blood and won't be happy until Armstrong is dangling from a tree in Texas.

Yes he has now admitted using performance enhancing drugs. But most of the peleton throughout the nineties and up until recently were using performance enhancing drugs. That doesn't make it right, but many riders, such as Millar and many others, were eventually seduced into using drugs as they knew they could not achieve what they were worthy of otherwise. They saw rider after rider with less talent leaving them behind because they were not using drugs. Eventually they gave into temptation and many cyclists have faced bans at best, death at worst from using illegal substances.

Armstrong, as in everything in his life, was just the most clever, maybe the most cunning at doing what was almost institutional in professional cycling. Yes he was a bully in attempting to cover his tracks and his treatment of Betsy Andreu, wife of former teammate Frankie, and others was unforgivable. But few sporting champions are known for being soft and cuddly. They are invariably single minded, ruthless and have one interest, winning. This often translates into arrogance, bullying and a lack of consideration for others.

Sadly numerous Tour winners have been stripped of their titles after failing drug tests, not just Armstrong. In most years a new winner could not have been handed the title as so many behind the winner were eventually found guilty of using performance enhancing drugs too. Many previous winners, not stripped of their titles, admitted in later years using banned substances. Armstrong wasn't the first and it is unlikely he will be the last.

Armstrong has finally admitted his offences and could now face financial ruin and possibly even prison for previously swearing under oath that he had never used performance enhancing drugs. He must now cooperate with the authorities, rather than the pathetic Oprah Winfrey, and finally spill the beans on everything, going back to his career before he had cancer.

We must also remember that except for the dogged determination of USADA Armstrong would never have been outed and lost his Tour and Olympic titles in the first place. If he'd been from a country other than the USA he would probably still be feted as one of the greatest athletes we've ever seen, a seven times Tour de France winner. The US authorities must be congratulated for that, just as the UCI role in doping, especially Armstrong's should be independently investigated.

David Cameron-Unprincipled Coward

Clueless!

So David Cameron has bottled out of his long awaited speech on our relationship with the European Union. No surprise as he is the most unprincipled, spineless and cowardly Prime Minister we've ever had to suffer. He makes Blair look like a man of substance. OK, that's going a bit far but you get my drift.

So he hides behind the crisis in Algeria. What is he planning to do, pull his trollies on over his trousers a la Superman, fly under his own steam to the desert and single-handedly free the hostages?  With a ludicrously high number of government departments, ministers, junior ministers, advisers and bureaucrats don't tell me that, in this modern age of communication, Cameron couldn't delegate and still make his much trumpeted speech. No, the man is a charlatan and the Tories should bin him immediately.

The truth is that Cameron is scared witless of the EU and is terrified that it will be his downfall, which it must be if he continues to lie and hide his real beliefs on our relationship with the EU in order to pull the wool over the eyes of the electorate. The man is beneath contempt.

Human Rights? Don't Make Me Laugh!

They're a bit like the word 'fascist' I suppose, the words 'human rights', the more they are bandied about the more they lose any kind of significance or meaning. Question the wisdom of uncontrolled immigration from the EU and you'll be labelled a fascist by some swivel eyed pinko liberal loon. Dare to mention the Daily Mail and aforementioned swivel eyed loon will label it fascist. The Mail is not my paper of choice but come on, fascist?

Then we have the ludicrous obsession with human rights. There's a good argument against the tyranny of the majority, after all, if 51% support the slaughter of the first born in every household does democracy say that it should happen? Of course not, democracy is tempered by morality, which tells us it is wrong to slaughter the first born. But for decades now our system, including our system of morals, has been undermined. Militant atheism is one of the most virulent tools being used against our system and human rights are being used as a very effective weapon. What the modern obsession with human rights has given us is the tyranny of the minorities.

One example of the tyranny of the minorities was the forced closure of Catholic adoption agencies for refusing to place children with gay couples. These agencies did magnificent work for children and parents for many, many years but because of our Catholic beliefs the state closed them down by declaring it illegal to refuse gay couples the chance to adopt. The rights of gay people obviously override the rights of Christians in this country.

So what happened to diversity? What happened to the much trumpeted concept of people from all cultures, beliefs and religions happily living side by side? Great idea, unless you're a Christian. Then increasingly you are left on the outside of this wonderful world of diversity and tolerance. Surely, with any number of adoption agencies catering for gay couples, there is room for agencies who object on grounds of conscience? Couldn't gay couples just find an agency that would help them adopt? What next, close down Catholic churches unless they cater for Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and so on?

This week we have had the results from the European Court of Human Rights. Again, in two of the four cases the rights of Christians were trampled on in order to support the rights of gay people. Surely on grounds of conscience, and in the interests of diversity and freedom of choice, people should be allowed to decline to marry gay couples or to provide them sex counselling? As with adoption there are any number of counsellors and registrars who would have no objection to counselling gays or presiding over civil ceremonies for gay people so their refusal on grounds of conscience is not depriving gays of their rights. But these people have now lost their basic right to work because of their beliefs and consciences.

Increasingly 'human rights' are being used to oppress the majority. The more those two words are bandied around the more oppressed the citizens of the UK become. The police state is tightening its grip on an almost daily basis.

Christian Oppression Continues in the UK

European judges have ruled in favour of Nadia Eweida who took her case to the European Court of Human Rights after BA made her stop wearing a necklace with a cross. Judges ruled that the rights of three other Christians had not been violated.

The other cases involved nurse Shirley Chaplin whose employer also stopped her wearing necklaces with a cross, Gary McFarlane - a marriage counsellor fired after saying he might object to giving sex therapy advice to gay couples - and registrar Lillian Ladele, who was disciplined after she refused to conduct same-sex civil partnership ceremonies.

In a typical piece of cowardice the British government backed this oppression of Christians. A sad sign of the times in modern Britain. It seems that freedom of speech and conscience exist as long as you follow the prevailing politically correct orthodoxy. Otherwise all the talk about diversity and equality is just more bullshit.

I Smell Political Bullshit!

Prize for the most fatuous political bullshit of the year so far has to go to George Osborne for the following statement on why he, a multimillionaire, is happy to give up child benefit:

"I'm giving up my child benefit from today so that my children-and yours-aren't saddled with our debts forever". 

Job done then. But bloody hell, how much has he been getting in child benefit?

In a further bout of political bullshit induced nausea I got a phone call today from an ex-UKIP member asking me if I had the details of their regional office so he could rejoin. Interestingly he managed to get my new mobile number but couldn't find the number of UKIP's regional office. Says it all really.

Anyway he wanted to rejoin because they are doing so well at the moment. Stop the bandwagon, I want to clamber aboard. When I asked him how he'd come to this conclusion he told me how they were on 16% in a current opinion poll. I see, job done then, they've cracked it. Wonder what went on at the last election then when polls put them on double figures but they could barely muster around 4% in the election? Oh aye, an opinion poll is meaningless crap whereas elections actually see people get elected. Big difference.

My prediction for the next two years? The Tory media will continue to 'big up' UKIP and their threat to the Tories so that said Tories will return to the Tory fold for fear of handing the next election to Miliband and co.

If that fails there will be a series of exposes of Farage's sordid personal life involving allegations of excessive drink and Eastern European ladies of a very generous nature to Western European gents with big fat expense accounts. At least one other UKIP MEP will be caught claiming huge expenses for not turning up and another one will make an admission about unmentionable sex with an animal in a former colony when he was a callow youth.  

Not forgetting the home front a UKIP local election candidate will hit the news by advocating the chemical castration of homosexuals and the beheading of anybody caught wearing a burka.

Seems pretty much like business as usual then.

The Falkland Islanders Reply To Argentina

Following is a response from the Falkland Islands to the President of Argentina's continued belligerent colonialist threats to the freedom and self-determination of the Islands:

 

FALKLAND ISLANDS
Falkland Islands Government Reaction to Open Letter from President Fernandez de Kirchner

It is disappointing that today the Government of Argentina is once again ignoring the rights and wishes of the Falkland Islands people. The open letter sent by President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to David Cameron is not only historically inaccurate, but fails to mention the most significant aspect of our recent history – the attempt by the Argentine Government to take away our home by military force when they invaded thirty years ago. The people of the Falkland Islands, who for nine generations have lived and worked these lands, would like to take the opportunity to clarify some points raised by President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

The Falkland Islands had no indigenous population prior to their settlement by our ancestors – the Islands were unoccupied. Argentina claims the Falkland Islands form part of the province of Tierra del Fuego – an area that was not claimed as a part of the Republic of Argentina until after two generations of Falkland Islanders had been born and raised in our Islands.

There is no truth to Argentine claims that a civilian population was expelled by Britain in 1833. The people who were returned to Argentina were an illegal Argentine military garrison, who had arrived three months earlier. The civilian population in the Islands, who had sought permission from Britain to live there, were invited to stay. All but two of them, with their partners, did so.

We are not an implanted population. Our community has been formed through voluntary immigration and settlement over the course of nearly two hundred years. We are a diverse society, with people from around the world having made the Islands their home.

The UN Charter enshrines the right of all people to determine their own future, a principle known as self-determination. It is in exercising this right that we have chosen to retain our links with the UK. It is this fundamental right that is being ignored by the Argentine Government, who are denying our right to exist as a people, and denying our right to live in our home.

As a modern, self-governing Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom, we enjoy a relationship based on the shared ideals of democracy, freedom and self-reliance. We are not a colony of the United Kingdom; we are a British Overseas Territory by choice, which is something entirely different. We are not governed by Britain: we are entirely self-governing, except for defence and foreign affairs. We democratically elect our Legislative Assembly Members; they are chosen by the people of the Falkland Islands to represent them and to determine and administer our own policies and legislation. In March we will be holding a referendum on our political status, so that as a people we can make our views heard in a clear, democratic and incontestable way.

The Honourable Dick Sawle

Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands

Stwffio'r Cymru

Sometimes I'm just not in the mood for radio phone-ins, today being a case in point.

I feel like crap with a bug that kicked off around a week ago and just goes on and on. But we have to eat so I had to shop, which was a brief but painful foray into the local supermarket. Then I had to take three bags of crap to the tip so we don't end up with plague as well. That's where it all went seriously tits up. I was out of the house for no more than forty minutes but every minute felt like being tortured for an hour.

So when I got to the tip and found a huge queue I wasn't happy. You see, they were manoeuvering a truck to take away a recycling bin and 'elf 'n' safety says the public might die if they move their cars while that is happening. Bloody nanny state!

But even worse I had to listen to some intellectual pigmy on BBC Radio 2 banging on about how the Welsh language should get more subsidies. Bollocks you turd! According to the latest census figures, despite billions in subsidies over the last thirty years or so, the Welsh language is in decline. The intellectual pigmy turned out to be a Plaid Cymru MP for some ridiculously unpronouncably named constituency which probably has more sheep than voters.

So, said Welsh nationalist wants our hard earned taxes to subsidise some group of ageing new age types in a squat in Snowdonia to produce meaningless pseudo rock songs in Welsh about the environment and mother earth to an audience of about ten billy goats. Meanwhile we all tighten our belts and see services cut, quite rightly too, because we're sinking under Labour's legacy of debt and irresponsibility. But oh no, not for the Celtic subsidy junkies, 80% of whose GDP comes from Westminster subsidies in the first place. That is, from you and me.

Of course a living language wouldn't need state subsidies. Is Welsh a living language? Here are a few Welsh words, see if you can work out the English and you can decide if it's alive or dead:

Ambiwlans
Parc
Troli
Lotri
Mwslim
Tacsi

There, if you get those words right you probably know as much Welsh as 98% of the population of Wales. I will  now contact the Welsh Office to collect my subsidy for promoting the Welsh language.

If you haven't worked out the title of this blog it involves doing to the Welsh what you did to your turkey before cooking it for Christmas.