29 July 2021

Diary of a Corbynista

Chain Gangs on the Sunlit Uplands

by Don Urquhart

22 July

Message Board responses to Corbynista in Shaw Sheet 287:

Walsall:

Don’t wish to be contentious, but the reason for the diminished finances of the Labour Party may be as a result of the perceived anti-Semitism causing people to leave Labour or not subsequently join and the subsequent legal fees for trying to defend the situation which obviously didn’t happen under Corbyn as he was in the middle of the perceived situation and was portrayed as not doing anything about it.

Some might suggest the law of unintended consequences.

Of course, the view from inside is different, seeing it as a Corbyn witch hunt, for which you can blame pretty much everyone, as there was nobody defending the Party at that point, or nobody reported as defending the Party, which is, of course, subtly different. You never had a chance with the MSM and some of your own members against you.

Sunlounger:

Perhaps it came in too late, but my favourite news item this week was the announcement that the UK wants to rewrite the EU deal. I am really struggling because I cannot reconcile why anyone would want to rewrite something that was going to “end years of argument and division”. When Mr Johnson signed the deal he now wants to rewrite, he described it as a “fantastic moment”. Phrases like “oven ready” and “world-beating” were used to describe this deal. Parliament clearly liked the deal as well because it was voted into law with a substantial majority.

With all the praise, superlative statements and overwhelming support from the UK side for this deal, why is it now so bad that it needs rewriting? If it was this bad to begin with, why did the UK love it and support it?

Walsall:

Assuming a rhetorical question?

Watch the latest Cumming/Kuenssberg interview for the answers.

Anything to get elected sound familiar?

Sunlounger:

I totally get “anything to get elected.” Johnson would have (and may well have) sold his soul to get elected.

My issue with the deal conundrum is that it happened after Johnson got elected.

Oddly enough, I am beginning to warm to Cummings in a comedic way. He’s a fellow anarchist

Womble:

Read Cummings’ blogs to get an insight. Off the shelf consultancy, but with neither the humanity nor the capability to get those ideas implemented.

Flyboy:

My biggest concern is that despite showing complete ineptitude and obvious deceit the government continues to be supported, what does that say about the population?

Are we surprised by anything Cummings has come out with, is any of it true? I’m no fan of his but maybe there is a slim chance it will start to reduce the support for these buffoons before we are facing civil unrest initiated by the next lockdown, due any time soon.

Sunlounger:

What does that say about the population?”

You could tweak that and say “what does that say about the opposition?”

There is no opposition proposing a credible alternative. On the basis of “things can’t get worse” and “all politicians are corrupt”, when presented with no credible alternative, most people will stick with the status quo. Good band as well.

Walsall:

Question about the opposition:

How are any of the opposition parties going to be shown to be opposing when the organs of the fourth estate, including the national broadcaster are seen to be in the hands of those supporting and, potentially, even directing the government. What coverage do we actually get of any opposition? Scant, at best.

I suspect the SNP may get a better deal from the press in Scotland, hence why they doing better than anyone else?

Greek Chic?

Was Cummings right when he said that Johnson saw the Telegraph as his real boss?

23 July

More Message Board responses to Corbynista in Shaw Sheet 287:

Greek Chic:

Walsall, I am more likely to be up to date with Ekathimerini than the Glasgow Herald. One brother is pro SNP and the other strongly against. Free Uni, free social care for the elderly, free prescriptions and less likelihood of an NHS sell off sounds good to me.  Without the support of the SNP, Labour faces more doom than even Private Frazer foresaw. Transferable votes is our only way forward after a progressive alliance. It’s worth remembering that the country has been Tory for circa 85 of the last 100 years….

Sunlounger:

Corbyn wanted to bring in Leveson II.

I suspect that was something that contributed to the MSM’s hatred of him.

I had to laugh at the newly proposed reduction of freedom of speech. What is it? 14 years for whistleblowing on the government? Super stuff. Shame that the things like the Hancock snogging videos may soon become illegal. What’s next? Goldstein, the emergence of a new Mr Charrington or something even more sinister? Anyway the polls show that the English still love the Johnson government, so all is well in Albion. I was also very happy to see how supportive the government is of French policemen. I mean, who else would you employ to take back control of the UK’s borders?

24 July

Then they came for you Emily Maitlis.

She is the main anchor on BBC’s Newsnight and is disgruntled that her employers are accusing her of bias against the Government.  She tells all in an interview with the Press Gazette.

Emily Maitlis rejects ‘impartiality breach’ rebukes and warns BBC over caving in to Downing Street

It is not exactly surprising given that the Chairman and Director General of the BBC are both prominent Tory donors.

It is a pity she did not speak up when presenting a famous stitch-up of Corbyn in which he is shown with a photoshopped Russian hat looking at home before a Kremlin background.

Well Emily – now they are coming for you.

25 July

Labour announces launch of ‘new deal for working people’

says The Guardian.

Meanwhile Sir Keir Starmer is making 90 Labour Party employees redundant while seeking to employ 50 on zero hour contracts.  It is classic fire and rehire.

You could not make it up.

The current state of the party is described in Labour List by Andrew Scattergood:

The party’s poor financial state is a result of drastic membership decline and the settling of anti-Semitism cases…. 

It didn’t have to be this way. Back in 2018, The Guardian named Labour the “richest party in Britain”. Our coffers were full as hundreds of thousands of people joined the party, bringing numerous small donations with them. Not only did it put us in good financial stead, but it also meant the party didn’t have to rely on the donations of rich individuals with interests opposed to ours. We were the envy of social democratic parties across the continent as their memberships shrunk, while ours ballooned.

26 July

The Fabian Society has published a questionnaire for party members ostensibly to measure the mood among the faithful.

I duly answered all the questions disappointed that I was not asked any questions that might provoke an answer along the lines:

Corbyn should be reinstated, you should acknowledge that he was the victim of a smear campaign and you should publish the Forde Report that will show what a nest of vipers the Labour Party bureaucracy was and still is.

I look forward to the Fabian Society reporting that the party is in great shape under the new leader.

27 July

The doctor holding the patient’s wrist looks across to the sympathetic nurse and shakes his head.  They consult their watches.

So it is with the Labour Party.  Members are deciding when to call it.

Joe Mellor in London Economic Forum gives us a clue.

Legendary film-maker and lifelong political activist Ken Loach could be ejected from the Labour Party, it has been rumoured on social media.

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer purged 1,000 Labour leftwingers from four “poisonous” campaign groups as the party clamps down on supporters of the leader’s predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn.

The National Executive Committee voted last Tuesday to expel four left-wing groups ‘not compatible’ with the party’s values.

The groups – Resist, Socialist Appeal, Labour in Exile Network and Labour Against the Witchhunt – were proscribed by Labour’s National Executive.

Loach’s departure has not yet been announced, but Twitter was awash with supporters who are fuming at the idea of him no longer being part of the party.

When Corbyn was at the helm in 2019 the film director accused Labour MPs of trying to undermine Jeremy Corbyn.

His films, which include I, Daniel Blake, Sorry We Missed You and many others, have shone a light on his view of social issues such as poverty, homelessness, and labour rights.

28 July

One’s blood runs cold when the Prime Minister tells us that the answer to anti-social behaviour is to enrol offenders into chain gangs.  This from someone for whom anti-social behaviour has been a way of life, but of course it’s just the sort of thing the untouchables deny and move on from.

Sadly Johnson’s  demonising of the little guy makes him a hero for the bigots and racists at the heart of his electorate.