British Police State

Police stop a motorist for using his mobile phone.

This weekend we remember those who gave their lives for our freedoms. But what kind of state do we live in in the twenty first century?

In Greece, and it looks like Italy too, elected prime ministers are being replaced by former EU bureaucrats.

I have detailed elsewhere, as have many others, how the EU, our real bosses, ignore referenda that go against them and carry on regardless.

Here we have recently been refused a referendum that gained over 100,000 signatures by a coalition government that not a single person actually voted for.

Yesterday 170 members of the English Defence League were arrested in Whitehall just in case there might be a breach of the peace. Be careful, if a copper thinks your eyes are too close together he might nick you just in case!

Meanwhile a bunch of sad old hippies seeking their five minutes of fame turn St Paul's into a squalid canvas squat and nothing is done.

Yesterday I found the following letter in the Daily Telegraph particularly poignant:

SIR – I was kettled on Wednesday. I am a pensioner. I was on my way to a charity meeting near St Paul’s when I inadvertently walked into the route of the student march.


Every side road was blocked with barriers and manned by fully dressed riot police, some wearing balaclavas. They were aggressive and intimidating. I eventually escaped the cordon with some difficulty.


I had a full career in the Army, serving all over the world, but my impression on Wednesday was that I was in one of the worst police states I had seen, with police almost daring students to take them on.


How much better it would have been to see a few friendly policemen on the route, with the riot police discreetly out of sight.


C. C. Galloway
Enstone, Oxfordshire

For the Fallen

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,

England mourns for her dead across the sea.

Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,

Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal

Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,

There is music in the midst of desolation

And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,

Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;

They sit no more at familiar tables of home;

They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;

They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,

Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,

To the innermost heart of their own land they are known

As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,

Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;

As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,

To the end, to the end, they remain.

Laurence Binyon

First World War Poetry-Wilfred Owen's 'Dulce et Decorum Est'

It's been sad, but not surprising this week, that FIFA have refused to allow the England football team to wear poppies on their shirts for their weekend game against Spain. They're allowing them to wear them on their black armbands but not their shirts. It was good to see the German FA come out in support of wearing poppies on their shirts.

I also had a brief altercation this week with a member of the white poppy brigade. They really do piss me off and he got short shrift. Remembrance Day is not a time for political point scoring, it is about remembering the dead. Remembering the millions who have died in wars over the centuries.

I'm amazed that there are still people who think remembering the war dead is some act of glorifying war. It is not. To the overwhelming majority of decent people it is about remembering those who gave their lives for freedom. It is also about remembering the horrors of war and about praying that one day young men and women will no longer have to make the sacrifice.

Wilfred Owen's poem Dulce et Decorum Est truly brings out the horror of fighting in the trenches in the First World War:

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots 
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime . . .
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud 
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest 
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est
Pro patria mori.

First World War Images

History is my subject, and modern European history is a special interest.

I never fail to be amazed, no matter how much I read on the subject, at how Europe's disastrous twentieth century occurred and why. Yes we all know the timeline, but how did a civilised nation like Germany fall under the spell of Hitler? Why were the German high command in such thrall to Hitler that they went along with Operation Barbarossa in 1941 that ultimately led to their defeat? There is so much about that war that fascinates and challenges, which is why there is still such a fascination about Hitler, and why books and documentaries about him are devoured by all with an interest in our recent past.

The First World War holds an equal fascination for many of us with its roots in the nineteenth century Franco-Prussian wars and the search for overseas empires by European countries, who looked enviously at the great British Empire and all the benefits it brought to us economically and politically. Of course the Second World War is firmly rooted in the First World War and its aftermath, to such a degree that some historians regard 1914 to 1945 as almost a latter day Thirty Years War, with a truce from 1918 to 1939.

Menin Gate

What is so powerful about the First World War is the reminders of it that are scattered around Northern France and Flanders. Yes there are reminders too of WW II, especially in the East where you find the memorials that were concentration camps. But for a glimpse into the horror that must have been fighting in the trenches we only need to take a short trip across the Channel and we are there.

There are trenches and bomb craters preserved. Military cemetery after military cemetery with row after row of white crosses marking the graves of the young war dead. There are glorious towns such as Ieper, completely destroyed during the war and lovingly restored to its Flemish glory, complete with the Menin Gate, between the wars.

The Menin Gate is worth a trip in its own right. A glorious marble monument to those who died defending Flanders and, at 8-00pm every single night of the year, a bugler from the local volunteer fire service plays The Last Post in honour of the war dead. One of the things that everybody should do at least once before they die. But be prepared, it can make even the most rugged ex-soldier shed a tear.

To give you a flavour of what to expect if you visit the battlefields of Flanders many of these wonderful photographs are from there, some from farther afield. Thanks to the the Mail Online.

Michael Jackson Trial

I would be interested in answers to the following questions:

Why is Sky News giving the trial, and verdict now, such saturation coverage?

If you are following the trial why and have you got nothing better to do with your life?

It seems to me the only plus is that I now have one more reason to be grateful for not having Sky.

Immigration Or The European Union?

I am a completely dedicated withdrawalist when it comes to the European Union. I want Britain out of the EU sooner rather than later, and if that means the subsidy junkies in Scotland, or elsewhere in the UK, decide to break up the Union and beg off what remains of the EU then so be it and good riddance.

But for years the problem has been that Eurosceptics, despite hard evidence, have never understood that the EU comes quite a way down peoples' list of priorities. In most elections even quite hardcore Eurosceptics will not vote solely on the EU question, which is why single issue parties have failed, be that the Referendum Party or UK Independence Party.

The crux of the problem is that if you state that obvious fact to a typical UKIP member you get an instant lecture as to why the EU is the root of everything bad in this country today. Yes, we no longer rule ourselves, but just ranting on and on without listening to people is exactly what we accuse the EU of. I lost count of the number of sympathetic people I took to UKIP meetings who were put off with what they saw as obsessive, often eccentric behaviour.  Like it or not in 21st century Britain sounding like Little Englanders turns people off. They want a party that speaks to them on a whole range of issues, not just the EU.

If we look at the announcement today that Sir Andrew Green's e-petition, about restricting immigration, gained the required 100,000 signatures in a week, compared to the year it took the petition on EU membership to reach 100,000, I think it proves the point nicely. People are much more agitated about immigration than the EU. I do believe that the majority of people would be happy to see immigration restricted and for Britain to leave the EU, but they see immigration as the more immediate problem, rightly or wrongly.

What Andrew Green's e-petition also highlights is that political correctness may have changed the way we talk about immigration, restricting our free speech on the issue by branding those opposed to immigration as racists, but it hasn't changed peoples' deeply held beliefs and concerns. More evidence that political correctness could ultimately drive decent people, with genuine concerns, into the arms of manipulative extremist parties.

More than ever the Coalition has proved the need for a political party that represents the views of the decent majority. A party a bit like the Tory Party used to be. Until then there are millions of us in this country who feel, and indeed are, disenfranchised.

I'm starting to sound like Peter Hitchens now so I'm off!

Baroness Jenny Tonge-The Dark Side Of The Lib Dems

I've been working on a script about the Lancashire witches today and made the mistake of having BBC Radio 2 on in the background. My radio became a twenty-first century broomstick and carried the vile Lib Dem witch Dame Jenny Tonge into my living room.

She shouted down James Delingpole with her irrational hatred of Israel while supporting Iran's possible development of nuclear weapons. I always find it annoying when people defend the actions of an anti-semitic nutcase like the President of Iran by constantly attacking Israel. Remember, Tonge was defending a man who has threatened to "wipe Israel off the face of the earth".

I remember when Tonge was condemned by her own Lib Dem colleagues for stating about Palestinian suicide bombers: "If I had to live in that situation - and I say that advisedly - I might just consider becoming one myself."

Lovely people these Palestinian lovers aren't they?

It's Friday, Time For Steel Pulse

Vince Cable Proves He's Chief Lib Dem Clown-Again!

Cable tries to tune himself into the real world.

What I like about Vince Cable is the way he works so hard to prove that we are correct in thinking  our politicians are clowns and idiots who just can't be trusted.

Don't forget he's the government Business Secretary who was recently fined for not paying his VAT. A fine example of 'do as I say not as I do' as he hectors and bullies businesses into paying ever more tax for the government to squander on vanity projects, or bailing out Eurozone countries. Oh yes, don't forget, if the Lib Dems had their way we would be in the brown stuff alongside Greece and the others now too, they would have sold their souls to get us into the Euro.

Now the clown could be facing a fine of up to £500,000 if found guilty of breaching data protection laws after confidential papers were found in bins outside his constituency office in Twickenham. Surrey council were recently fined £120,000 when found guilty of similar offences. However, as a cabinet minister I believe Cable should be made an example of. But, in these days when the establishment see politicians as our masters rather than servants, I suspect he'll get off lightly to carry on bullying businesses.

I'm not ancient but I do remember the days when politicians, especially government ministers, resigned over such matters. I suspect it would take a lynch mob to drag as dishonourable a self-serving egomaniac as Cable from his office. That's what you get with Lib Dems sharing power unfortunately.

Concerned about the growing database and surveillance state? Visit the No2ID website.

Full story from The Guardian

More Scandalous Lib Dem Behaviour

"Och you're not Mr Smith, you're my Lib Dem councillor!"

Throughout many years in politics I have been ceaselessly amazed by the crass hypocrisy of the Lib Dems, or the 'Holier Than Thou Party' as many of us know them. So I am always happy to prove that they are actually mere mortals, guilty of foible and weakness just like anybody else, regardless of what they may claim.

I'm pleased to introduce the following tale from north of the border, just to prove them human:

Gordon Leslie, Lib Dem councillor for Bridge of Don on Aberdeen City Council, has been suspended after planning to stand as an independent against his now former Lib Dem colleagues.

Mr Leslie was arrested and charged in February under the Prostitution (Public Places) (Scotland) Act 2007 for loitering in the city's harbour area - a well known red light district - found guilty and fined £200 in May of this year.

Liberal Democrat leader, Councillor John Stewart said: "Councillor Leslie has been suspended from the Liberal Democrat group with immediate effect.  It should have been clear that his conviction would have a bearing when the matter of approval came up.  But rather than accept the decision of his local party, he has sought to sit as an independent in opposition to former colleagues.  There was no alternative but to suspend Councillor Leslie."

Mr Leslie has yet to comment.

I'll bet Mr Leslie has yet to comment!

Report from newsnetscotland.com

Greece And The European Union: I'm So Angry I Could Pitch A Tent!



Occupy Brussels anybody?

 The good old Greeks, I love them. Along with the Italians, Irish, Portuguese and Spanish they conned the EU into throwing pots of cash at them and lived like the decadent young party goer who'd won a rollover lottery jackpot. And who can blame them? Now it's time to say whoa, money's run out, you've got to change your ways and it looks like they're going to say up yours and refuse.

For years Eurorealists, Eurosceptics or whatever you want to call us have been saying the EU was a disaster waiting to happen and the Euro would be the ultimate cause of the disaster. The PIGS fiddled the books to claim they had the right figures to join the Euro, and the rest of the nutcases in the Eurozone ignored the truth and went along with it. Result? Inevitable crisis after inevitable crisis until it's teetering on the brink of true disaster.

In the old days when I foolishly thought UKIP was a credible force, one of the members used to tell me that we were really wasting our time, the EU would collapse in on itself way before we had the influence to extricate ourselves from the con trick. Looks to me like Bryan was right.

I'm on the list of speakers for an independent think tank and occasionally go into schools debating the EU with a Europhile. I'm tired of the amount of bull they come out with to try and justify continued membership of a monstrous, undemocratic, bureaucratic monster. They come out with things like 'the EU has kept the peace in Europe since the last war'. No! We only joined in 1973, 28 years after the war and I don't think we'd been at war with Europe since 1945. Or 'we would lose our trade with Europe if we left the EU'. No we wouldn't. We buy much more from EU countries than we sell to. The French wouldn't suddenly refuse to sell us wine or the Germans motor cars. They claim the EU is democratic. In that case why do they ignore referendums, such as those in Ireland, Denmark and France that go against them and carry on regardless?

No, the European Union is a vanity project run by and for Europe's political class. It epitomises the decadent, self-indulgent egocentricity of a dying civilisation where the leaders swan around grandstanding and living like kings while the rest of us tighten our belts. When you visit Brussels and Strasbourg and see the stinking luxury and extravagence of our unaccountable rulers you see why the people of Greece are likely to tell their rulers to stick their austerity measures. Greedy grasping bastards in the establishment got us into this mess, but we're the ones who'll have to live in poverty to bale them out.

Merkel and other leaders consult the people: EU style!

Last week I was at the theatre in Manchester watching a superb play called Good, by C P Taylor. In a nutshell it tells the tale of a throughly decent German academic in the 1930s, complete with Jewish friends, who gets sucked into working for the regime because of the subtle and creeping takeover of all aspects of life by the regime. Very interesting and topical I thought.

When I left the theatre, it was a matinee, I put the radio on to hear what had happened during the last couple of hours at the Euro summit, called to discuss the current crisis. Incredibly assorted 'leaders' had turned up and they had spent the previous hour and a half preening and posing in front of cameras smiling and looking pompous and self-important. They then went in for a chat before enjoying a sumptuous banquet! Good to see where their priorities lie.

Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, the EU has made me so angry I could pitch a tent.

All Saints Day

It is good to have a Holy Day of Obligation that hasn't been moved to a Sunday for convenience, I'm looking forward to Mass at 12 15 at Lancaster Cathedral.

It is an opportunity for believers to remember all saints and martyrs, known and unknown, throughout Christian history. As part of this day of obligation, believers are required to attend church and try not to do any servile work.

Remembering saints and martyrs and dedicating a specific day to them each year has been a Christian tradition since the 4th century AD, but it wasn't until 609AD that Pope Boniface IV decided to remember all martyrs. Originally 13th May was designated as the Feast of All Holy Martyrs. Later, in 837AD, Pope Gregory IV extended the festival to remember all the saints, changed its name to Feast of All Saints and changed the date to 1st November.

Father, All-Powerful and ever-living God,
today we rejoice in the holy men and women
of every time and place.
May their prayers bring us your forgiveness and love
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Anti-Catholic Nutjob Alert

I received a comment today from somebody using the pseudonym 'Scout'. It seemed innocuous enough, if a little terse and was about the chap who has just been demoted for his Christian beliefs. So I posted it.

Then I looked at his blog and immediately sent his comment to the bin. He seems to have an unhealthy obsession with Catholics and his blog is dedicated to his obsession. Tell you what Scout, just provide the world with a list of Catholic bloggers, then people can read and make their own minds up whether we are mad or not. On the other hand, placed alongside your fruitcake ramblings, the most bizarre blogger would look highly rational.

Now I believe in free speech and am very dubious about any form of censorship, but I do draw the line at nutjobs using my blog to promote their lunacy. That is why I binned his comment.

There is a much more considered post about 'Scout' than this on That The Bones You Have Crushed May Thrill where the valid point is made that if 'Scout' wrote a similar blog about Muslims, he would be accused of Islamophobia.

It seems that he is trawling the blogosphere looking for Catholic blogs to get angry about, a strange pastime. 'Bones' has been hit as, it seems has Smeaton's Corner and Catholic and Loving It! I feel quite humbled and unworthy to be in the trenches alongside such tremendous Catholic bloggers as those three.

If you would like to make up your own mind about Catholic bloggers I recommend the Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma, where there are some of the finest Catholic blogs and bloggers you'll find .

More On Adrian Smith, Oppressed Christian

I'll give the politically correct their due, they really do manage to offend everybody, regardless of race, ethnicity blah, blah, blah.

I remember a few years ago a council in East Lancashire harassing a woman who had a piggy bank on her window sill in case it offended Muslims en route to the mosque. I remember seeing an Imam interviewed at the time telling us how his Muslim congregation had found the council's action deeply patronising and offensive.

Now Trafford Housing Trust have united gays, Christians and most rational people in opposition to their victmisation of a Christian employee for daring to express his views on gay marriage.

It now transpires that the Trust acted against him because they were scared of losing the formal approval of an organisation that helps young gay people find housing. Stalin is alive and well after all it seems.

Full story at the Christian Institute.

Gay Marriage And Adrian Smith

You may remember Adrian Smith, the man who was demoted by Trafford Housing Trust for not believing that gays should be married in churches, rather they should stick with civil partnerships? Well below are excerpts from two letters that appeared in the Mail on Sunday yesterday:

I find the treatment of Adrian Smith truly immoral. He's done nothing but express a personal opinion in a private capacity, something he is wholly entitled to do. It is my hope that he is successful in his legal challenge.

Jamie (Somerset)

While some may view his comments as harmless, I believe there is the real possibility of offence. He made his position untenable as soon as he made these comments in a public forum, and as such will have to live with the consequences of his actions. 

Anthony William Mitchell (Cambridge)

Some key words are missing from the above letters. One contained the words 'as a non-Christian gay man', the other 'The Rev'. Can you guess which contained which?

I think The Rev Mitchell typifies all that is wrong with the Church of England. Furthermore, as I find his letter offensive, I trust his bosses will be demoting him to grave digger, where he'll have to live with the consequences of his actions. Oh, but they are probably too busy supporting 'Occupy' to do that.

More On Liberal Democrat Nutters.

The Lib Dems have a history of bizarre chracters, so I thought I'd do a quick update. Here we go:

Lib Dem MP John Hemming's wife has just been sentenced for kidnapping his lover's kitten. Full story.

Lib Dem 'Mithering Business' Secretary Vince Cable, who constantly whines about businesses not paying enough tax, has been fined £500. Oh yes, it was for failure to pay a tax bill. Full story.

Then there's Chris Huhne, Energy Secretary. He's spent the summer denying claims from his ex-wife that she took speeding points on her licence on his behalf. As far as I know the case is still being looked at by the Crown prosecution service. Full story.

I won't mention Huhne's clanger when he sent what he thought was a private message to his open Twitter feed. But if you want to find out more the full story is here.

And we're being ruled by these clowns!

Poll: Should The Number Of Charity Shops Be Restricted?

There has been a fuss this week about charity shops and whether their numbers should be restricted.

They get rate relief that other shops don't get and have voluntary staff, which other shops don't have. Because of this they can undercut other shops, such as secondhand bookshops, and help to destroy our high streets.

They raise a fortune for charities and provide invaluable experience for volunteers many of whom, as a consequence, go on to new careers in the retail sector. They help poorer families to buy quality goods at cut prices. They help to save our high streets by filling shops that would otherwise be empty.

The truth lies somewhere in between. Are charity shops merely taking advantage of a free market? Or are their tax advantages and volunteer staff killing other businesses? Should their number be restricted?

Please feel free to leave a comment and to vote in the poll on the side bar.

You Fat Bastard!

I don't care what anybody says, we obviously have too much money swilling around judging by this report from the BBC.

There is a group of researchers in the Midlands, the Human Metabolic Research Unit aka 'flab lab' looking at why so many people are fatties. It's costing a fortune in salaries and space age equipment to suss out if somebody is fat or not. What a waste!

I was brought up being told to eat little but eat often. They've spent a packet on research to come out with that gem.

I was brought up to eat slowly, that way you'll digest your food properly and enjoy it more. They've spent a fortune to come up with that.

I have a mirror and kitchen scales. Admittedly I rarely use them as it is depressing. They've spent a fortune on a machine called a  whole body calorimeter.

If they paid me about £40,000 a year I could save them a fortune in research by telling them why people are fat. Here are one or two reasons:

Fat people often drink like fish.

Fat people often eat junk food too often.

Fat people eat too much cheap processed food.

Fat people don't exercise enough.

Millions of pounds is being wasted on pointless research. I've explained obesity in one short blog post. I might apply to the Department of Health for a research grant now, to research how to lose weight.

Morrissey To Sue NME

As I've said before, there is more tripe written about Morrissey than probably any other current entertainer. Here is my last post about the singer and people writing bullshit about him.

Morrissey is now suing the NME for defamation. In an interview he was quoted as saying:

"With the issue of immigration, it's very difficult because although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the identity disappears.

"Other countries have held on to their basic identity, yet it seems to me that England has thrown it away...England is a memory now. Other countries have held on to their basic identity, yet it seems to me England was thrown away."

Nothing wrong with that I'd have thought. But Morrissey claims that the NME have twisted his words and defamed him. No surprise there with the NME! Even the interviewer has disowned the article.

Full story from Brand Republic.

EU Referendum Debate-Who Voted For?

Thanks to Max Farquar here is a list of those MPs who voted for a referendum or abstained. If your MP isn't on the list I'm sure you know what to do.

Conservative MPs
Stuart Andrew (Pudsey)
Steven Baker (Wycombe)
John Baron (Basildon & Billericay)
Andrew Bingham (High Peak)
Brian Binley (Northampton South)
Bob Blackman (Harrow East)
Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West)
Andrew Bridgen (Leicestershire North West)
Steve Brine (Winchester)
Fiona Bruce (Congleton)
Dan Byles (Warwickshire North)
Douglas Carswell (Clacton)
Bill Cash (Stone)
Christopher Chope (Christchurch)
James Clappison (Hertsmere)
Tracey Crouch (Chatham & Aylesford)
David Davies (Monmouth)
Philip Davies (Shipley)
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden)
Nick de Bois (Enfield North)
Caroline Dinenage (Gosport)
Nadine Dorries (Bedfordshire Mid)
Richard Drax (Dorset South)
Mark Field (Cities of London & Westminster)
Lorraine Fullbrook (South Ribble)
Zac Goldsmith (Richmond Park)
James Gray (Wiltshire North)
Chris Heaton-Harris (Daventry)
Gordon Henderson (Sittingbourne & Sheppey)
George Hollingbery (Meon Valley)
Adam Holloway (Gravesham)
Stewart Jackson (Peterborough)
Bernard Jenkin (Harwich & Essex North)
Marcus Jones (Nuneaton)
Chris Kelly (Dudley South)
Andrea Leadsom (Northamptonshire South)
Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford)
Edward Leigh (Gainsborough)
Julian Lewis (New Forest East)
Karen Lumley (Redditch)
Jason McCartney (Colne Valley)
Karl McCartney (Lincoln)
Stephen McPartland (Stevenage)
Anne Main (St Albans)
Patrick Mercer (Newark)
Nigel Mills (Amber Valley)
Anne-Marie Morris (Newton Abbot)
James Morris (Halesowen & Rowley Regis)
Stephen Mosley (Chester, City of)
Sheryll Murray (Cornwall South East)
Caroline Nokes (Romsey & Southampton North)
David Nuttall (Bury North)
Matthew Offord (Hendon)
Neil Parish (Tiverton & Honiton)
Priti Patel (Witham)
Andrew Percy (Brigg & Goole)
Mark Pritchard (Wrekin, The)
Mark Reckless (Rochester & Strood)
John Redwood (Wokingham)
Jacob Rees-Mogg (Somerset North East)
Simon Reevell (Dewsbury)
Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury)
Andrew Rosindell (Romford)
Richard Shepherd (Aldridge-Brownhills)
Henry Smith (Crawley)
John Stevenson (Carlisle)
Bob Stewart (Beckenham)
Gary Streeter (Devon South West)
Julian Sturdy (York Outer)
Sir Peter Tapsell (Louth & Horncastle)
Justin Tomlinson (Swindon North)
Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight)
Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes)
Charles Walker (Broxbourne)
Robin Walker (Worcester)
Heather Wheeler (Derbyshire South)
Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley)
John Whittingdale (Maldon)
Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes)

Two Tory MPs acted as tellers :
Peter Bone (Wellingborough) and Philip Hollobone (Kettering).

Two Tory MPs voted in both the Aye and Noe lobbies which counts as an abstention :
Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) and Mike Weatherley (Hove)

Labour MPs
Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley)
Rosie Cooper (Lancashire West)
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North)
Jon Cruddas (Dagenham & Rainham)
John Cryer (Leyton & Wanstead)
Ian Davidson (Glasgow South West)
Natascha Engel (Derbyshire North East)
Frank Field (Birkenhead)
Roger Godsiff (Birmingham Hall Green)
Kate Hoey (Vauxhall)
Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North)
Steve McCabe (Birmingham Selly Oak)
John McDonnell (Hayes & Harlington)
Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby)
Dennis Skinner (Bolsover)
Andrew Smith (Oxford East)
Graham Stringer (Blackley & Broughton)
Gisela Stuart (Birmingham Edgbaston)
Mike Wood (Batley & Spen)

Liberal Democrat MP
Adrian Sanders (Torbay)

Democratic Unionist Party MPs
Gregory Campbell (Londonderry East)
Nigel Dodds (Belfast North)
Jeffrey Donaldson (Lagan Valley)
Rev William McCrea (Antrim South)
Ian Paisley Junior (Antrim North)
Jim Shannon (Strangford)
David Simpson (Upper Bann)
Sammy Wilson (Antrim East)

Independent Unionist MP
Lady Sylvia Hermon (Down North)

Green Party MP
Caroline Lucas (Brighton Pavilion)

David Morris MP, Morecambe and Lunesdale

As snivelling little yes men go David Morris, my local MP takes some beating. Is he voting yes or no in today's Commons vote on whether we should get a referendum on EU membership? Well, he's behaving like a man with no conviction or principle by tabling the following amendment:

"This House calls upon the Government to publish a White Paper during the next session of parliament setting out the powers and competences that the Government would seek to repatriate from the EU, to commence a renegotiation of Britain’s relationship with the EU and to put the outcome of those negotiations to a national referendum."

In true Tory style he makes the right noises, but action will come at some point in the future. He's doing Cameron's dirty work by sending a smokescreen across the whole issue today thinking we are all stupid enough to fall for it. Well I'm sorry David, but we're not all as stupid as you.

It gets worse, he really goes into some kind of dreamland on his website when he says:

“I think we should also bear in mind that this is without question the most Eurosceptic Government we've had since the early days of Margaret Thatcher’s term, before the Single European Act 1986 and the shadowing of the Deutschmark. The Prime Minister has pledged to refuse any new powers for Brussels without a referendum and is now working in earnest to repatriate powers to the UK. This is proof that us Eurosceptics are winning the argument, and that if we hold firm we will ensure Britain becomes a sovereign country again.”

I say 'dreamland' because it would be rude to accuse him of making things up wouldn't it?

I wonder what Morris will be doing after the next election? Maybe he'll go back to being a hairdresser.

EU Referendum v Coalition Government: A Message To David Cameron

When you are strong arming your MPs to vote against giving us a referendum on membership of the European Union remember one thing. Well over 100,000 people have signed petitions demanding a referendum, not a single person voted for the coalition government you head.

David Cameron and the Conservative Party's Final Betrayal of the British People

Tomorrow will see Cameron crush the hopes of millions when he denies us our right to a referendum on leaving the European Union. It was Ted Heath who sold us to Brussels for forty pieces of silver, well a few million quid anyway, and successsive govenments, Tory and Labour have continued to shaft us ever since. What can we do?

What I don't understand is why Cameron and co repeatedly claim that in these times of economic collapse we need Europe more than ever. How would you feel if you were on a sinking ship and, rather than manning the lifeboats to get you clear, the captain strapped you on to the deck of the sinking vessel?

As there is no credible party fighting for our withdrawal from the EU maybe we should have a 'British Spring'. Our democracy is constantly being attacked by authoritarian governments so surely if we did rise up against our oppressors we too could count on military support from NATO.

On a serious note tomorrow, if it goes as I expect it to, will prove one thing, that the Conservative Party is a busted flush and no longer deserves the support of anybody who is vaguely patriotic.

England, Home of UK Uncut, Occupy and other Silly Prats

Move along now. Dale Farm is closed, haven't you got St Paul's to go to?

We needed a change this week, Mrs B and yours truly. It's healthy to have a change of scenery now and then, so we packed a few bits and cleared off to France.

We stayed in a little town an hour from Calais on a nice little camp site, we have a little caravan you see. For four or five weeks of the year we travel in our caravan. That's what caravans are for, travelling. It's great, because after a few nights we hook up and move on to somewhere new. We travel.

So it was refreshing to hear, while we were away in our caravan, that the Dale Farm residents had been moved on. They must have got really lazy and I'm sure they will be grateful soon when they find pastures new. Ten years on one site? I'd be going stir crazy after ten weeks on one site. And these cheeky gits call themselves 'travellers'! Of course you won't be pleased if they land up next to you and your home, but that's another tale.

Then there are the nobheads 'occupying' places like the outside of St Paul's Cathedral in London because they're a bit fed up. Funny that, because when we got fed up and wanted a change we used to go camping too. Then we got a bit old and hey presto, we got a caravan! See the link? But we used to camp in places like the Alps and the mountains of North Wales, not concreted urban areas.

We have been fed up with political crap for years too. So we got involved with politics. In fact I've been active in politics for over 30 years. But what has happened in those 30 years? Not a lot because people don't find slogging the streets putting leaflets through letterboxes 'sexy'. They don't like having to persuade others, even those on the same side, that x, y, or z is the way forward. They take another route. They grandstand. They seek attention and an adrenalin rush by posing around, making twats of themselves and annoying most of the population.

You had 'peace camps' in the '80s with dickheads in dreadlocks juggling in silly hats. You had 'Swampy' and co trying to save woodland in the '90s with dickheads in dreadlocks juggling in silly hats. Now we have dickheads in dreadlocks juggling in silly hats to 'end poverty' outside St Paul's.

Pose around on YouTube and make a few headlines on dodgy satellite TV news stations, it's much more pleasant than leafletting Gorton or Wythenshawe on a wet Wednesday night in October. So why don't people rush to support your UK Uncut and Occupy nutters and sweep them to power? Because most people think they are prats and lefty mongs.

House of Commmons to Debate European Union Referendum

Many congratulations to Nikki Sinclaire MEP. She has achieved, single handedly, something that no other group or party has been able to achieve, a referendum on whether we stay in or leave the EU.

The historic House of Commons debate on whether the UK should be allowed a referendum on whether to pull out of the European Union is set to take place next week on Thursday the 27th of October 2011 from mid-day onwards in the main chamber. This follows the presentation to Downing Street of a petition calling for a referendum.

If MPs vote in favour of a referendum, David Cameron will come under huge pressure to offer the British public a chance to say for once and for all if they want to withdraw from the EU.

The Commons Backbench Business Committee met this week to set the date. Nikki, who instigated and then delivered, along with a broad cross-party delegation of MPs and MEPs, the petition of over 120,000 signatures to No 10 Downing Street said: "This is a victory for democracy, and for the common man whose voice has been ignored for too long. It has been a long haul, but gathering these signatures has been a great experience, and my thanks go out to all those people who worked so tirelessly to make this happen".

The motion that has been submitted for debate is:

This House calls upon the Government to introduce a Bill in the next session of Parliament to provide for the holding of a national referendum on whether the United Kingdom
(a) should remain a member of the European Union
(b) leave the European Union
(c) re-negotiate the terms of its membership in order to create a new relationship based on trade and co-operation.

Nikki has vowed to keep the pressure on David Cameron and his government. "The signatures keep coming in" she said today, "and next Thursday we will be back at the door of 10 Downing Street with even more. The people are speaking out now, the government must listen."

I believe this is the petition that so-called UKIP leader Nigel Farage refused to sign. Scared of the gravy train ending perhaps? Although I wouldn't hold my breath on the Commons voting for a referendum I applaud Nikki, who has worked tirelessly and selfessly for our independence since being elected. That UKIP chose to expel her reflects on the motives and character of UKIP's leadership I would say.

It's Friday, Morrissey Time!

There must have been more bullshit written about Morrissey than about any other singer in the world. One semi-literate blogger has even claimed that Morrissey has people searched on their way into concerts and any meat found is confiscated. I assume he meant ham butties and not human flesh! The truth is that the food stalls at a Morrissey festival appearance recently stopped selling meat when he was on stage, it was a tribute to his vegetarianism.

So, as it's Friday here's a bit of classic Morrissey, sans bullshit:

The NHS-Abusing Us All

It's been good today to see the mess that is the NHS being criticised, as it should be. I'm sick of the appalling waffle people come out with whenever the NHS is mentioned.

The staff in the NHS are only interested in their own positions in my experience. Yes, that's a sweeping generalisation, as is the bullshit about nurses being 'angels' and all NHS staff being such 'caring people'. If we only had one nationalised supermarket, and it was as incompetent and wasteful as the NHS we would have a revolution on our hands. But as soon as the NHS is mentioned the brainwashed just drool about how marvellous it is. So, here is a list of the disasters that I can name off the top of my head within our glorious system of nationalised healthcare:

My mother-in-law went in fit and healthy, apart from having norovirus. She was so badly treated in hospital that she broke her hip and has been unable to walk since. That was in 2007.

A friend of mine lost his aged aunt after she was effectively starved to death in hospital.

A neighbour was left in a wheelchair in a 'broom cupboard' for ten hours when he was taken into hospital. He died a week later.

When my wife visited her mother she showed me a photograph of a toilet. It was so filthy I thought it was on the council estate where her parents live. It was actually the toilet in the hospital where her mother was being (very poorly) treated.

I spent a night in hospital in 2007. When I was preparing to leave the next day I glanced under the bed. There was a pool of dried blood under it, left by a previous occupant of the bed.

When my father-in-law visited his wife in hospital he lost his cap. Four days later my wife visited and found his cap under the bed on the floor, which obviously hadn't been swept or mopped for at least four days.

A friend of mine visited his mother in hospital. When there he contracted MRSA.

Remember Harold Shipman?

Remember people being poisoned at Stepping Hill Hospital?

And before I'm accused of being a right-wing nutter read this report from The Independent.

Here is a 1998 BBC article about NHS disasters.

Then all you get from Dave is the boast about how much more the Coalition is spending on the NHS than the last lot. Populist crap! Throwing money at crap just means the crap gets more expensive. Until politicians and the populace stop bullshit drooling about the 'glorious NHS' we will continue to see it get worse and worse and worse.

Let's face it, if virtually any other industry had such an appalling record of mistreating it's customers it would have either died a natural death, or been closed down by the government years ago. And just remember the next time NHS unions are marching to 'save your NHS', they are really marching to feather their own nests.

Where's The New Margaret Thatcher?

The bland leading the bland.

What a sanitised, dreary shambles of a PR exercise the Tory Party conference was. It epitomised the complete lack of imagination in current British politics. Where are the characters? Where are the big ideas? Where is the passion? When the big news of the week is the Home Secretary being attacked by the Minister for Justice for talking about a moggie, you know we are in the shit!

The people hate the European Union and the Euro is crashing before our eyes. But still Dave and co insist on telling us that the EU is good for Britain. Call the yellow vans then, he's obviously having some kind of mental episode.

The NHS is a shambles, swallowing  money at a faster rate than your average Frenchman guzzles pills. But still Dave insists on pouring money down the plughole. The only madder thing than that is the lefties still crying that the Tories are goint to crush the NHS. I first heard that in 1974 and knew it was bollocks then. The next pinko liberal I hear wailing about the Tories killing the NHS is likely to receive a bloody good kicking.

Tell you what, here's a radical idea for the NHS. If they spend a mere £1 a day on food for patients why not charge them for food? Who can't afford £5 a day? What would the patient spend on food at home? Then they could improve food in hospitals by spending £2 a day, surely good for people who are ill, and spend the other £3 on something like cleaning the wards many of which, in the two hospitals I have experience of at least, are filthy. Personally I'd just privatise it, my health is far too important to have a health system run by politicians.

This week I had a Tory having a pop at me for referring to Margaret Thatcher. I wasn't suggesting that Thatcherism Mk II is the answer to our current problems. What I meant was where is the politician with the big ideas? Where is the politician with charisma? Where is the politician who will stand up for what he believes in rather than doing what his pollsters, those grey men in suits and no ties claim the public want? Where is the politician who will actually listen to us rather than the liberal establishment and media?

Sadly I've come to the conclusion, having seen some of each party conference, that we now have the bland leading the bland. Let's face it, a Tory Party that couldn't even beat a Labour Party led by a pillock like Gordon Brown is in serious brown stuff.

St Edmund Campion-Lancaster and Liverpool

There will be two performances of Campion-An Elizabethan Chronicle by Peter Hardwick on October 28th at Lancaster Cathedral at 7-30, and by St Francis Xavier Church, Liverpool on 29 October.

The play tells the story of St Edmund Campion's mission and martydom in 1581 aged 41. Admission to the play in Lancaster is free with a retiring collection for the Cathedral Fabric Fund. In Liverpool the tickets are £5 and can be bought by ringing 0151-298 1911.

Any more information please contact me via comments or email.

David Cameron's Conference Speech In Full

Here is the full speech that David cameron would be delivering to the Conservative Conference today, if I had written it for him:

"I am resigning forthwith so that you can elect a leader who is a true conservative on the things that matter, such as the EU, the economy and taxation and, most importantly, defence.

Now, thank you for giving me the chance to play at Prime Minister, I have enjoyed playing with Nicky Clegg, but I'm not up to the job so that's it, I'm off!"

Cue the ranks of snoozing delegates rising from their slumber before giving him a standing ovation and breaking into three choruses of:

Goodbye-ee, goodbye-ee,
Wipe the tear, baby dear, from your eye-ee!

Then there is a rendition of various patriotic songs before the delegates depart wondering what the hell had just happened.

Oppressed By The Welfare State

The state is a dangerous thing. The millions slaughtered in wars over the centuries, especially the twentieth century, have been slaughtered because of politics and politicians. The more powerful the state the more warlike it becomes. Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia were responsible for the slaughter in wars and pogroms of millions of people, including millions of their own people.

I don't put our current government, or even the hated European Union in the same category as the totalitarians of the twentieth century, but we should all be worried at the constant attacks on our freedoms by a creeping police state. Much of the anti-terror legislation put in place by the Blair/Brown government has been used to restrict our freedoms. Remember Walter Wolfgang? He was arrested under anti-terror legislation for heckling at a Labour conference.

In the UK the welfare state is constantly used to attack the populace. Put in place a welfare state funded by taxation and soon it is used to attack us in the interests of the taxpayer, us. Much more subtle and dangerous than the government openly declaring it is attacking us. Smokers are accused of being a drain on the NHS, so tax them until it hurts to force them to stop. In Soviet Scotland the politburo have slapped a minimum cost on alcohol and haved outlawed certain cheap deals on alcohol in shops and supermarkets. Of course it's all done with your interests at heart isn't it? Nothing to do with raising taxes is it?

Now the Coalition reckons the welfare state is under attack from fatties! The government is floating the idea of a fat tax, because fat people are a drain on the state like smokers and drinkers supposedly are. So they want to tax food that they think might make us fat. Plenty of people who eat what the state would regard as prime for a fat tax is actually healthy if eaten in moderation. So why not do it the other way round and drop the price of fresh fruit and veg? Because they want your money, they want to tax you, it's that simple! They happily send young lads to their deaths in Afghanistan and elsewhere so why not let the odd person eat themselves to an early death if they want to?

The problem is that no matter how much they tax us the people who are determined to smoke, drink and eat junk will do so, and they are often already the poorest people already. So once again it is the poorer people who are being attacked by an ever greedy tax increasing state.

In the true interests of equality why not slap a massive tax on sports equipment, health clubs, gyms and so on? Surely there is a cost to our glorious state when a cyclist is knocked off his bike or a Sunday league footballer has his leg broken by a beer bellied slob on the other side? What about the drain on the NHS when all those joggers and marathon runners have heart attacks and tear tendons and muscles? What about the cost of treating anorexics? Tax the bastards!

And finally:

Conservative Party Conference 2011

Yesterday was a fun day spent at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester. I met my old pal Nikki Sinclaire at her hotel for a decent breakfast, then met up with the rest of her team to leaflet those attending the conference.

The first thing that strikes me when I go to Manchester for party conferences is what a mess they make of the place. It usually takes me just over an hour to get to Manchester, yesterday it was over two hours because of the number of roads closed for security. Yet there are more than adequate conference facilities in seaside towns sitting empty out of season. Another example of politicians not giving a toss about the mess they inflict on the rest of us.

If you don't know Nikki is the MEP who got over 100,000 signatures on her petition calling for a referendum on our membership of the European Union. No other politician in the UK got off their backsides to do that, the MEPs in the UK seem almost invisible these days as they cruise along making a fortune for themselves on the EU gravy train. At least Nikki got off her backside and worked hard to achieve the target.

But the day was rather good. Most Tories I spoke to were completely in agreement with our view of getting out of the EU and were extremely friendly. Even more heartening was how unpopular Dave is. Several of the delegates expressed the view that Dave is screwing the Tory Party and they wanted a true conservative leader. I don't know who they have in mind, but maybe they are on the verge of reasserting true conservatism in their party which would be welcomed by many who are currently feeling disenfranchised with no decent party of the right representing their views.

So Nikki achieved her aim and there will be a debate in Parliament about whether we will be allowed to have our say on membership of the European Union. My money is on MPs refusing us a referendum. They are terrified that the people will have their say and the gravy train will shudder to a halt. In my humble opinion there is more chance of the EU collapsing under it's own stinking mass of corruption and bureaucracy than politicians allowing us to decide our future. Let's face it, the nature of the beast is such that we are never likely to see a credible party fighting for our independence, so reality killing it off is our best bet.

It's Friday!

Here's something from The Fall, originally sung in the '60s by The Other Half:

Harriet Harman Claims Labour Voters Are Stupid!

Labour voter-too thick to fill in a form!

For the first time ever I'm in complete agreement with Harriett Harperson, Labour voters are indeed stupid.

The Coalition are planning to change the system of registering to vote from the head of the household registering all voters, to each individual registering themselves.

This seems eminently sensible to me, but Harriet thinks this is a kind of IQ test that masses of Labour voters will fail as they are too thick to work out how to do it!

So, the next time I accuse Labour voters of being mongs don't take my word for it, Harriet knows them better than most and she thinks so too.

Peter Oborne And EU Idiots!

Very occasionally somebody does something and you really wish it had been you. Last night, watching Newsnight, I had one of those moments. What would I give to have been able to do what Peter Oborne did?

Kicking Christians Again-Mike Weatherley MP

Mike Weatherley, so-called Conservative MP for Hove, has written to David Cameron demanding that Christian churches be forced to marry gay people when the Coalition makes gay marriages legal. Yet another assault on religious freedom in this country.

We had Catholic adoption agencies having to close a few years ago under the last government, who refused to tolerate our views on adoption. It's interesting that if you go in one shop and they don't have what you want you just go to another one, the government doesn't force shops to all sell the same items. But now Catholic people who may want to put a child up for adoption probably won't because they don't want the child adopted by a gay couple.

How soon before churches are again forced underground as the state attacks our right to religious freedom? Was there really a change of government last year?

Pete Maclaine and The Clan

Yesterday I was working as an extra on a TV show in Manchester and met this fella called Pete. It was a long day with a fair few hours sat around with the other extras in the Green Room. Pete kept us all amused with his daft jokes, some hilarious jokes and a fair amount of time reminiscing about old clubs and cheap curry houses in Manchester. He was also plugging (at least once every five minutes!) his book, The Man Who Turned Down The Beatles (click on the lick to buy the book).

So Pete, with thanks for making yesterday such a great laugh I've plugged your book and have decided, after all your arm twisting, to buy a copy myself which I expect you to sign next time we tread the cobbles together. And as I've done the book here's a plug for your band Pete Maclaine and The Clan too:

It's A Mad World

I was at the SPUC national conference this weekend, an island of sanity in a sea of madness. If you don't know SPUC is a campaigning organisation trying to save human beings from abortion and euthanasia. It's a sad sign of the moral collapse in this country that 200,000 unborn babies a year are being aborted. What other animal on this planet slaughters its own infants?

As if the slaughter of innocents wasn't bad enough, if you survive through to birth the merchants of death are now trying to move in on you in later years, especially if you become a drain on our glorious NHS by being ill. This type of slaughter is known as euthanasia or assisted suicide. There is a worrying number of groups popping up who seem to think that the old, infirm or plain fed up should be given a quick injection and got rid of. When did human life become so worthless to these people? I doubt that slaughtering the sick to free up hospital beds was in the thoughts of the founders of the NHS, but this is 21st century Britain.

Then a few days ago I read that Labour peer Robert Winston had been attacked as a racist for questioning the use of doctors and nurses in the NHS who can't speak English. I would have thought communicating with patients was the most fundamental thing in dealing with people who are ill. If he'd claimed that all black doctors are useless then he could reasonably be accused of racism, but calling for health professionals to speak English? Of course the European Union won't allow us to test either the language or professional competence of doctors and nurses from within the EU because it puts the furtherance of its warped political ambition before human life.

Then there is the ludicrous waste of millions on the illegal gypsy site in Essex. The site should have been cleared years ago when it was illegally occupied. Listening to the media it seems that most of the people are Irish, certainly I've only heard Irish accents when residents of the site have been interviewed. It seems that Ireland has sorted its gypsy problem by exporting it to here. Remember Sangatte?

Then the UN have been sticking their noses in by claming we are trampling on the rights of the gypsies by clearing them from their illegal site. When I heard that gypsies on several legal sites in the UK had been imprisoning slaves I waited to hear the UN condemn them. I'm still waiting.

It truly is a mad world.

Pete Reidy-I Can't Turn The Pages

I only met Pete briefly when we were working on a popular TV series in Manchester, it was more a quick hello, Pete was on his way home as I'd arrived to do my bit. I knew he was a musician so looked him up on t'internet and loved what I found. So here's one for you, have a great weekend:

Trade Unions-Let's Do The Timewarp Again!

So those lumbering old dinosaurs in charge of the UK's last remaining self-interested, self-seeking, stuff the rest of you cowboy outfits known as trade unions are limbering up for a display of industrial muscle. Although I must say, looking at most of the muppets at the TUC this week I wouldn't regard many of them as muscular, rather camp I thought especially that Dave Prentis character. No real hard men any more I suppose since Scargill finished off the mining industry. Which reminds me of the old one about Scargill; 'the man who started out in a small house with a big union and ended up in a big house with a small union'. The militant eqivalent to the NUM these days seem to be teaching assistants, occupational therapists and diversity officers. I'm quaking in my boots!

My family have a great and proud history of sticking two fingers up at trade unions. My grandfather was sent to Coventry for a number of years after the war when he was a steelworker and refused to be forced, against his will, into  a closed shop. I copped for similar treatment in the 1980s for refusing to join an unconstitutional strike and then refusing to strike in support of the miners, who I didn't support. What the fools who were sending death threats to me and my parents at that time never bothered to find out was that, unbeknown to them, I was also breaking the closed shop by not paying my union fees and they could have had me sacked quite easily. They weren't very bright.

What made me smile this week was the unions screeching that they would negotiate as long as the government didn't give them ultimatums. Then said that they themselves would negotiate but would strike on November 30th if they didn't get their own selfish way. I suppose if we had a proper right wing government they would allow the public sector unions to strike, then sack them all and offer their jobs to the unemployed, or to Poles. But instead we have government by Nick and Dave.

The most foul of the current batch of union militants are those in the NHS. They consistently hide their selfish motives in a quite callous and sickening way, by claiming that their demands are in the interests of patients. Bull! Health service employees, in my experience, are some of the worst, only interested in grabbing better pay, conditions and perks for themselves, stuff the patients and resources that should be going into healthcare. The sooner people wake up to what is actually going on in the NHS the sooner we can put right all that is currently wrong.

I remember in the '80s an old friend of mine telling me about a local government strike he had led. Towards the end of the strike he was taken to one side by the boss who had been robustly negotiating. He then told my friend that he needed to realise that they were happy for the strike to continue, the council was skint and it was saving them a fortune in wages while the staff were on strike.

I was once in a hotel lift in London with a colleague, it must have been around '86 or '87, and on the way down the lift doors opened and Mick McGahey, then one of the miners' leaders, got into the lift. My colleague turned to him, asked to shake his hand, which made McGahey beam with pride. While shaking his hand my colleague said: "I'd just like to thank you Mr McGahey. Without you, Arthur Scargill and the NUM we wouldn't today have Mrs Thatcher, a wonderful Prime Minister whose party I am proud to have voted for".

Funny the memories the TUC evoked this week.

A Catholic Political Party For England? Part II

There have been some interesting comments on this blog and on Stuart's eChurch Blog which is also running with this idea.

Our hashtag on Twitter is #CatholicParty but I don't imagine the name actually being 'Catholic Party' if it did gain enough traction to become a reality. I would hope more to see a party with core principles that would attract those who are currently disenfranchised. A party for those of us who have core moral principles that we are not prepared to compromise any longer by voting for parties that advocate/support abortion and euthanasia for example.

I know many people, including atheists, who oppose abortion and euthanasia. They should not be excluded from a new political party because of their belief or lack of belief. Similarly there are other Christian groups and people of other faiths who hold dear our core beliefs and they too should be welcomed.

A commentator on eChurch Blog has suggested that this would be a vanity project, a chance for Catholics to wave a flag about how righteous we are. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am only floating this idea but would prefer not to waste time using a political party to 'show off' my religious beliefs. Politics is hard work and anybody spending time seriously involved needs to be aware that the electorate do not vote for mavericks or obsessives. Any new party needs to appeal to a broad range of people while adhering and refusing to compromise its core principles.

Nor is there any question of compromising the seperation of church and state. I do not imagine a party rising to power (if only!) that could disestablish the Church of England and replace it with another religion. That is not what this idea is about. It is solely about offering those of us with views that are disregarded or even scorned by current political parties a political home.

We may never replace the Coalition in government but at least we would have a party that we could vote for. Voting for the current parties, who despise the values and principles of  millions of us, is probably worse than abstaining. If we never won an election at least we could vote and have a clear conscience.

The Party of Conscience maybe?

A Catholic Political Party For England?

I see little to appeal to me in most UK political parties, especially the big three. As we've seen with Nadine Dorries those who are pro-life and stick their heads above the parapet are likely to have it shot at in the most extreme and abusive manner. The message being keep your morals to yourself thank you. You only have to dip into the internet to find the kind of vile abuse hurled at Christians, especially Catholics, from enlightened progressives on a daily basis.

Somebody commented on another post that maybe a Catholic political party in Britain might be a way forward. I admit it was something I hadn't previously considered, but it might be an idea worth floating. So that's the aim of this post.

Setting up a political party takes work but a few enthusiastic people can do it. With the internet raising awareness of a new party is easier than it has ever been.

Any party would have to be open to members who were not necessarily practising Catholics but, as Catholic moral teaching would form the core principles those who disagree would be unlikely to join.

Then there is the question of negotiating realistic policies. When a group of people come together with something in common that is fine, but compromise in many policy areas would be essential if coherent policies were to be developed.

With no existing parties offering a moral position that I find acceptable maybe a Catholic party is the way forward. Or is it? I don't know. But I'd be interested in hearing what people, especially Roman Catholics or those sympathetic to the position of the Roman Catholic church on a range of current issues think about the idea.

Thank you to 'Anonymous' for raising the idea in a comment on this earlier post.

Heaven

Today is so wet, dreary and 'orrible, it put me in mind of Everyday Is Like Sunday by Morrissey. But then Heaven by Talking Heads popped into my head and refused to go. I've posted the following video on this blog before, but you can't have too much of a good thing. In my humble opinion if this song doesn't move you I would check your pulse. The only time it won't move me is when it is played at my funeral. If the mourners don't weep for me this will bring a lump to their throats at least:



Now then. If that didn't move you and you reckon you have still got a pulse try the following from the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. If this one doesn't work either then I can only assume you have the sensitivity of Bernard Manning:

Twitter-Is It Really Worth It?

I admit I enjoy using Twitter and have become acquainted with some great people through it. People who I enjoy communicating with about sport, politics, entertainment, religion or whatever. You name it there are people on Twitter who have something to say and they often link to interesting blogs or websites.

But then there are people who are just downright ignorant and foul. A Twitter acquaintance of mine, a follower who I also follow, was in a terrible state yesterday and was considering deleting her Twitter account. The reason being that she was receiving the most vile and hate filled venom from militant atheists and pro-abortionists. I'm no prude, and I don't object to 'industrial language', but what she was receiving was truly disgusting and beyond what you would expect in a civilised society. The reason for this bile was that she writes from a Roman Catholic perspective and, like me, opposes abortion.

It's almost a year now since the Pope visited this country. This time last year I was receiving pretty vile Tweets myself from militant atheists, although nothing as bad as mentioned above. I remember wondering at the time why these people, who claim to be enlightened and progressive, have to spout such foul mouthed venom at those of us they disagree with? I expect people to challenge those of us who are practising christians, pro-life or whatever, but why the need to be personally abusive and vile?

Having never experienced face-to-face the abuse that I and others have on Twitter, and sometimes on blogs, I can only think that there are a lot of hypocrites out there who hide behind the anonymity and isolation of the internet to show their true selves, their true selves being not very pleasant but they hide it in 'real life'.

The other option is that they are so socially inadequate that we thankfully don't come across them in traditional social situations, only via the internet. Just think, that anti-social oddball in the corner, often referred to as 'Billy No Mates', spending all night with half a shandy and his mobile, could be spouting foul mouthed venom on Twitter while you're having a laugh and a good time with your friends. But he wouldn't say boo to a goose to real people in the same room.

My advice yesterday was to be ruthless but don't walk away from Twitter. In the last twelve months I have ruthlessly blocked the idiots who are incapable of communicating like civilised humans. I don't block atheists, why should I? I enjoy debate and it would be tedious if we all protected ourselves from people with other views. But those who are abusive I block. To my mind it's plain rude and bad manners, it is actually possible to disagree with somebody but respect them. I wouldn't choose to socialise with abusive and vile mouthed slobs so I choose not to have anything to do with them on the internet. In fact I've blocked one on Twitter this morning.

Interestingly a reasonable proportion of people I follow are from the USA. But I rarely see foul mouthed abuse, even when there are heated debates on highly emotive issues from Americans on Twitter. It seems to be a very British thing, maybe a symptom of our decline as a civilised, decent nation, a physical symptom of which was the recent riots.

The Smiths, Divine Comedy and Sir Viv Richards

What links The Smiths, Divine Comedy and Sir Viv Richards?

Tonight I'm off to Lancashire County Cricket Club's Old Trafford home for a Sportsman's Dinner. Sir Viv Richards, one of the greatest ever cricketers is the guest speaker and proceeds go to the LCC Youth Development Section to support the next generation of young world class Lancastrian cricketers.

In 2002 I was at Old Trafford, the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club to see David Bowie. Supporting Bowie that day were Suede and Divine Comedy.

In 2004 I saw Morrissey doing one of his legendary performances at Old Trafford. Half a mile from where he grew up on King's Road, and slap bang next to what is now a B&Q. When Morrissey and I were kids the B&Q was the Hardrock/Village, an interchangeable disco/concert venue.

So linking my bash tonight at Old Trafford with The Smiths and Divine Comedy is the following Divine Comedy cover version of a classic Smiths song. Hope you like it Sean but I'm not holding my breath!

Why Nick Clegg's A Clown-He's A Lib Dem In A Nutshell!

Another Monday morning and more patronising pap from Comrade Clegg and his ever dwindling band of Lib Dems. You know him, the useless failure who managed to lose the Lib Dems seats at the general election but ended up as Deputy PM. I suppose that's what he calls equal opportunities in practice.

Today he's whingeing about free schools and profit. He thinks profit is socially divisive. He doesn't seem to understand that the only reason government has money is because people, somewhere, somehow make a profit. Then up pops the likes of Clegg to steal a chunk of it. How divisive is that? And what they can't thieve off us they go out and borrow, from other people who make money.

There's a difference between equality of opportunity and uniformity. Comprehensive education is sameness. The old system of selection was true equality of opportunity. Every child sat an exam at eleven and went to the school most suited to his/her talents, regardless of social background. Let's face it we're not all academic and we aren't all budding mathematicians. Fact. So why pretend we are all the same when it comes to education?

Let's take Clegg and his Lib Dems nonsense about equality to the logical conclusion. There should be at least one fat bald fifty year old playing for Manchester United, a sixteen year old girl and somebody with a disability.

But let's face it, Premier League football clubs are probably the most elitist employers in the country. Which is why it's the best league in the world. That's just logic.

Ethnic Cleansing In The UK?

According to the emotionally incontinent pinko-liberals gypsies are being ethnically cleansed in Essex. Essex, the new Rwanda/Kosovo/Romania. I first came across this on Twitter and thought it was just one mad loony Tweeting crap. I became slightly concerened when a Lib Dem member of the House of Lords retweeted the original without challenging the obvious nonsense of the claim.

If you don't know then an illegal gypsy site is soon to be cleared in Essex. They will be forced off the land and asked to move on. They will not be attacked in the middle of the night, their children bayonetted and their caravans torched. Nor will they be imprisoned in camps in the countryside to be systematically starved to death.

Now Vanessa Redgrave is fighting their corner, a sure sign that the gypsies are a lost cause and that evicting them is the right thing to do. Remember Vanessa Redgrave's Workers Revolutionary Party? The party that is widely believed to have received funding from Colonel Ghaddafi and still seems to support him. Another socialist lost cause.

But the worst thing is that those who claim that clearing an illegal gypsy camp is ethnic cleansing, are insulting in the most dire, amoral and irresponsible way, the true victims of ethnic cleansing in many parts of the world. They are belittling the vile actions of tyrants around the world in their ruish to attack anything that we in Brtitain do or believe in.

Beauty In A Mad, Sad, Grey World

Increasingly I can't see Europe as anything but a giant Eastbourne, God's waiting room on a continental scale. It's grey and bland, epitomised by the EU President van Rompuy, probably the most bland, colourless and tedious nonentity of a politician that the world has ever seen. He is ably supported by Baroness Ashton the most boring woman to emerge from the Labour ranks since..., since..., well since every other female Labour politician.

The Eurofanatics think all we have to do is pour more money we haven't got into the EU black hole and Europe will rule the world again. Well we won't. We're knackered and the EU is just a huge bureaucratic slag heap that holds those economies that could rebuild back.

We used to hear about 'ethical foreign policy'. Well I don't think bombing the crap out of anybody we happen to dislike is particularly ethical. I can only assume that Blair, Cameron and our other bland politicos have no problem with nutters like Mugabe or the loonies who slaughtered a few million in Rwanda. Or maybe they think it's OK for them because they think that's what black Africans do to each other.

It's perhaps a sign of the times that if you Google Zimbabwe the biggest concern at the moment seems to be the slaughter of elephants and rhinos rather than humans. A bit like the vile hatred being currently directed at Nadine Dorries for having the temerity to suggest that independent counselling for pregnant women, rather than counselling by abortion clinics, could be helpful. I dread to think what kind of hatred somebody with her profile would attract if, like me, she opposed any form of abortion. It seems in our glorious secular society respecting human life makes you a dangerous fanatic in the eyes of the truly 'liberated'.

Then you look at the UK government. Are Cameron and Clegg really the best we've got? If so then we are even deeper in the shit than I feared. Where are the big ideas? Where are the imaginative policies? Where's the vision?

That's why I'm finding it increasingly difficult to blog. All there is in the news is Libya and the 'Arab Spring', which seems to me to be one bunch of nutters ousting another bunch of nutters. We've predictably achieved sweet Felicity Arkwright in Afghanistan and Iraq, and I suspect our grandchildren and great grandchildren will still be wondering how come the Middle East is so full of nutters when Gadaffi, Mubarak and Assad are footnotes in history.

But in a sea of madness I've discovered a vessel of beauty and sanity. I was looking on YouTube for Heavenly Arms from Lou Reed's Blue Mask album. But I found an even better version than the original. A real joy to behold by El Perro del Mar: