26 April 2018
Diary of a Corbynista
No escape for the bitter and twisted
by Don Urquhart
19 April
Not even the most hardened Corbynista can spend all of his time bitter and twisted. Yesterday we took off up the M40 to get away from it all for a few days. To keep ourselves entertained we listened to the vituperative exchanges between May and Corbyn over the Windrush generation scandal and we muttered and gnashed our teeth somewhat. Once we had landed in Lichfield and bumped into some gloriously positive and friendly people I soon decided that this was for me – get away from all the backbiting and controversy and live life as we are meant to. Being a dyed in the wool Corbynista this will soon be forgotten. Perhaps find the local Wetherspoon’s and start an argument?
20 April
Who needs Wetherspoon’s? My friend Paul told me that according to the Guardian Corbyn hadn’t put a glove on May in PMQ’s. Naturally I dismissed the Guardian as Blairite propaganda and, me and my big mouth, the evening came apart. Everyone was against me and I resolved to focus only on nice things in future. I can commend the cherry blossom in Beacon Park.
21 April
We visited Shugborough House on a gloriously sunny day. The servants’ quarters had a list of instructions for deferring to their betters. For example, meeting one of the privileged in a corridor one had to face the wall until they were gone. So I could get myself fired up about social injustices just in time for my return from lovely Lichfield.
22 April
The Prime Minister has authorised the bombing of Syria without parliamentary approval. Many would say that the bombing was no more than gesture politics. The Home Office under May and Rudd is revealed as a bastion of callousness where longstanding British citizens are informed by Capita that they are no longer welcome. So up pops Jeremy Hunt with something nicer to look at – an initiative to pressure the social media into making their services safer for children. It’s one of those issues where Jeremy would like things to happen. It may have escaped his notice that he is a Government minister with the power to legislate to protect our children. His latest initiative is gesture politics and no more.
23 April
On St. George’s Day a worthy crusader is taking on the dragon Zuckerberg. Martin Lewis is a very rich man, having sold Moneysaving expert.com for a substantial sum 6 years ago. He remains as Chairman of the estimable website and is one of the few people I would send a campaign contribution to. He is suing Facebook for airing around 50 fake ads claiming that he supports investment projects. It promises to be a highly significant case in contrast to our Health Secretary’s finger wagging the day before. If Lewis wins, the precedent is set that the “platform” website is legally responsible for content and the floodgates will open for people to seek redress for misrepresentation, threats and abuse. Perhaps a more likely result is that the social media giants will clean up their act before the courts do it for them.
24 April
There are many complex reasons why people go to food banks.
Thus Theresa May in the run up to the 2017 election.
Yesterday the Trussell Trust reported a 13% year on year increase in demand.
Emma Revie, chief executive of the charity, said the rising numbers relying on food banks showed that “for too many people staying above water is a daily struggle”.
Or as a spokesperson for The Department for Work and Pensions put it:
The reasons why people use food banks are complex.
25 April
Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, came to the Commons yesterday to explain why he had approved the hostile takeover of GKN by Melrose Plc.
GKN supplies and maintains British defence equipment including Typhoon fighter aircraft, F-35 joint strike aircraft, and Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters. It is also a major supplier to the automotive industry.
It operates in 30 countries with 59,000 employees, 6,000 of them in Britain at 10 sites that include Bristol, Cowes, Luton, Portsmouth, Birmingham and Telford.
You might say that it has a key strategic role.
Melrose plc is a private equity investor and such investors frequently take over businesses, break them up and flog the bits off to the highest bidder. Although Greg Clark has apparently agreed with the Melrose board that there would be no divestments for 5 years, in and out within 3 years is common in the industry. He spoke of severe penalties up to and including prison for breaches of the agreement but, if the worst occurs, we will not be holding our breath.
When challenged about the wisdom of allowing the takeover, Mr Clark majored on the UK’s reputation for investment freedom. Music to the ears of the hedge fund managers who will have made a packet out of the Melrose/GKN deal.
