22 April 2021

Diary of a Corbynista

The New Untouchables

by Don Urquhart

15 April

Whatever Jenrick says plenty of people are being evicted for rent arrears.

We have RTUK to thank for this report:

Evictions continue despite current pandemic protections

16 April

Message Board responses to Corbynista in Shaw Sheet 275:

Smoothie:

Meanwhile I can go the pub (outdoors), get my haircut (No need for that in my case), get a tattoo and my nails done, go to any retail establishment to buy anything, go to the gym, schools are open    –   But my youngest son is told that he cannot go back to University less than a week before he and all his cohort were planning to return. No return until May 17th, when most University terms will be nearly over. – I’m in danger of switching my colours, must be the weekly propaganda!

Corbynista:

Things have come to a pretty pass when Smoothie is becoming a lefty or…..

Sunlounger:

This is interesting:

“It’s time for Johnson to bow out.  He lacks the application and enthusiasm for resolving the problems of Northern Ireland and Scotland.  Both are on a fast track to independence from the UK. He has turned the Conservatives into a White English Nationalist Party. You can point to front-benchers who do not have white skin but that is not relevant to the prejudices you stoke to get people to vote for you.”

From where I stand, Johnson looks like he is getting stronger every day because his approach seems to be what the majority wants. An adaptation of MAGA is needed for the Johnson approach. MBGA – Make Britain Great Again is my suggestion.

The London Economic has the Tories increasing in popularity and Labour lagging by 14 points. Whatever Johnson is doing, the majority appear to like it.

I blame it all on the EU.

Think Smoothie should join the Northern Independence Party.

Flyboy:

Likely because they have got the vaccine right and so people are now feeling more upbeat, helped by us moving into late spring summer, getting back to the pub although outside for now and the idea of having a holiday of some sort.

Wonder how things will be once inflation kicks in, we have high unemployment and interest rates are at 6/7%, a few years down the road things will be far less rosy for the less well off who have not been able to load up on assets using low interest rates and rub their hands as inflation has pushed them up in value.

17 April

Newsnight majored on the plight of democrats in Hong Kong but there was also an item on Tory sleaze where Faisal Islam fulfilled the BBC’s current  charter by speaking truth to people who are no longer in power (David Cameron).  I thought I could hear the producer yelling through his earpiece “Mention Hancock and you are back working for Adam Boulton.”

There was a brutal conversation between a Chinese government man and a Hong Kong demonstrator enjoying asylum in the UK.

Should the UK be sanctioning Chinese officials?  Whatever that might involve one is left thinking that we are unable to influence the actions of a power remote from us in terms of geography and heft.

I was reminded of Chamberlain’s rationale for inaction when Hitler took the Sudetenland – it was a “quarrel in a far away country, between people of whom we know nothing”.

What can we do?  I can see no reason why the Chinese, Saudis or Russians should accept coaching from the likes of Johnson, Hancock, Sunak, Jenrick and the rest.

While Britain is a moral void we have nothing to offer the oppressed in foreign parts.

18 April

Sad household that we are Sophy Ridge and Andrew Marr are usually recorded at ours but there’s plenty of fast forwarding during playback.  Today both fearless investigators had Tory sleaze items with the same minister on both programmes to say what a great system we have for dealing with such things.  There were different Labour spokespeople on to express horror at the Tory goings on.  What struck me were the attempts by both anchorpeople to depict the Labour Party as equally guilty.  Sophy chose some fancy self serving footwork by Labour General Secretary David Evans while Andrew went on Carwyn Jones working for Liberty Steel in defiance of ACOBA’s advice and also had a nostalgic poke at the Stephen Byers cab for hire nonsense in 2007.

This was whataboutery of a high order demonstrating the extent to which Sky and the BBC are in the Tories’ pocket.

19 April

Andy Cooke has retired as Merseyside’s Chief Constable and marked the occasion by speaking to the Guardian.

Asked what he would do if he were given £5bn to cut crime, Cooke said reducing inequality and deprivation should be the priority: “I’d put a billion into law enforcement and the rest into reducing poverty and increasing opportunity.”

20 April

It’s not often that Corbynista commends a speech by a Tory minister, but Oliver Dowden’s yesterday on the European Super League (ESL) proposal was forceful and practical.  His nomination of Tracey Crouch to run a “fan-led” inquiry into football was also spot on.

Hopefully this will come up with something like Corbyn’s proposal in the 2019 manifesto as reported by Jack Peat of the London Economic.

“We will review the ‘fit and proper person test’ for club owners and directors and ensure that supporters’ trusts have a proper role so that the professional game is properly run for all its fans and all its clubs.”

He also announced that a Labour government would ‘legislate for accredited football supporter trusts’, which would be able to purchase communal shares and appoint or remove ‘at least two club directors’.

Corbyn added that “our football clubs are too important to be left in the hands of bad owners”.

20 April

Siobhan Benita tweeted after the Downing Street Briefing:

The smirk on Boris Johnson’s face when he says he did act with honesty and integrity over his affair with Jennifer Arcuri says it all. He knows that he is utterly untouchable.

Similar statements were made about Sir James Savile:

Jimmy Savile thought he was untouchable, says former aide reported The Guardian.

I was reminded also of the epitaph selected by the DJ:

It was good while it lasted.

Surely a sentiment Johnson and his acolytes will share at some point.

Sooner rather than later please.