3 August 2023
Corbynista Rides Again
Corruption? We shall see.
by Don Urquhart
7 July 2023
There is a place called Teesside Freeport. Last month the Guardian reported that Michael Gove was initiating an investigation into alleged corruption there. Because he is picking the members of the review panel some have questioned its neutrality.
Andy McDonald, the Middlesbrough Labour MP, has spoken in parliament of what he sees as “truly shocking, industrial-scale corruption” in Teesside.
On Twitter he suggested the NAO should investigate independently of government. With sarcasm, he said: “I’ve no doubt Ben Houchen is ‘looking forward’ to the outcome of this so-called ‘independent review’ of Teesworks.”
Houchen is the Mayor of the Tees Valley.
8 July 2023
On Newsnight, Ben Chu reported that the government was considering “bailing out” Thames Water. The company is virtually bankrupt and the government should be able to take it over at a knock-down price, perhaps one pound.
10 July 2023
A BBC presenter has been accused of paying a minor to send him photos. This is occupying all of the printed front pages and has been first item on BBC and ITV News for several days. On Laura Kuenssberg, Rachel Reeves and Victoria Atkins were asked to opine on this topic as a priority. For the government it diverts from their incompetence and mendacity while furnishing an opportunity to attack the BBC.
I think it is valid to ask why the media are giving this so much focus. It cannot just be the prurience the redtops love to play to.
Also one could ask whether an individual’s crimes should be laid at his employer’s feet. The police may be interested in prosecuting the individual but as far as I can see there is no case against the BBC.
13 July 2023
Boris Johnson has refused to provide his mobile phone to Baroness Hallett. He claims to have forgotten the password. I am an avid watcher of political programmes but I have seen little mention of this. Instead we have Huw Edwards as first item in all bulletins. Bread and Circuses! George Osborne has confetti thrown over him – also big news when the perpetrator was portrayed as a Just Stop Oiler. It now appears that she was a bona fide wedding guest.
Norman was round treating us to a negative analysis of this country, with the Tories coming in for the most stick.
Hard to argue.
14 July 2023
Rishi Sunak held a press conference. The Guardian reported that he announced public sector pay rises in line with the recommendations of the Independent Review Body. He was categorical that this was the final offer. Most workers will accept this and move on, but the junior doctors will not accept 6% when they are arguing for 35%.
So Rishi is setting up a pitched battle between the Government and the heroes of the pandemic. You can’t see the Government winning.
He talks of funding options. Most notably he rejects the notion of increasing taxes which he says would make us all poorer. Which raises the question: “Why not tax people who can afford it and are not vulnerable to the cost of living crisis?” The idea of a Wealth Tax turns up in most TV political debates. But the Tories and Starmer’s Labour have no plans to upset the people paying them to maintain the status quo.
17 July 2023
Each July Irish Protestants march to commemorate the victory of William III over James II in 1690. This established protestant hegemony in the island.
The other day a friend sent me footage of a well-attended loyalist march, not in Belfast but in Benidorm.
People march in the uniform of the Orange Order and many play the fife which is symbolic of the protestant viewpoint. Paul Gascoigne once scored for Rangers in an old firm match and inflamed Celtic fans by miming playing the fife.
They were not hurting anyone but it was kind of disturbing that so many of our countrymen would celebrate the divisions in their homeland in this assertive manner and in a foreign country.
In this context it is not surprising that Stormont is still closed.
18 July 2023
For years now we have been taking statins but the other day our pharmacist reported a shortage. He told us it wouldn’t matter for a couple of weeks. NHS advice is that after 3 days without statins you run a greater risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Here’s what the Daily Mail ascribes the shortage to:
The scramble to obtain atorvastatin is thought to be down to the slow speed at which drugs are passing through customs into the UK.
Britain has been battling a medicines shortage crisis for more than a year. In February, The Mail on Sunday revealed that an unprecedented 70 commonly taken drugs were temporarily out of stock, including antibiotics, HRT drugs and painkillers.
19 July 2023
Tony Blair interviewed Keir Starmer. They talked of “difficult decisions” clearly alluding to the current Labour leader’s U-Turn on limiting benefits to 2 children per family. This flew in the face of his own previous utterances and those of his trusty lieutenants now forced to back his new stance mumbling about fiscal responsibility.
Blair and Starmer showed no discomfort; indeed they had a good giggle about a policy shift that could push 250,000 children into poverty.
23 July 2023
I am suffering intense stress this morning. There are two critical issues which need to go the right way today or I shall descend to the slough of despond.
Will the rain hold off for long enough? And will our bowlers be able to mop up the stubborn Aussie tail?
26 July 2023
While we agonise over the misuse of Artificial Intelligence in social media it would probably be preferable to crass stupidity.
This is what we’re up against. The Labour Party, a subset of lawyers, criminal gangs – they’re all on the same side, propping up a system of exploitation that profits from getting people to the UK illegally.
When I saw this on Twitter as a communication from our Prime Minister I at first assumed it was a fake news item generated by a troll. Turns out to be real.
1 August 2023
Eric took the view that Diary of a Corbynista could easily be produced by an Artificial Intelligence application. To prove his point he set ChatGPT to work using previous Corbynista articles apparently. So:
Day 1 Attended economics seminar and came away with some good ideas;
Day 2 Zoom with Just Stop Oil Activists.
And so on.
I complained that it was too stilted and formulaic and did not address Corbynista’s concerns. And it needed sexing up somehow. He plugged in child poverty, sewage overflows etc.
So:
Day 1 Wrote to Resolution Foundation about Child Poverty. Copied David Lammy and Stella Creasy.
Day 2 Demonstrated at Thames Water Headquarters alongside Lee Anderson and Jenny Jones.
And so it went on for several weeks. I asked Eric why there were always 2 random politicians mentioned on each day. This was a sexing up tactic. Would I like them taken out?
I told Eric that my readers would never accept such inaccurate drivel.
Well would they?
