11 November 2021
Diary of a Corbynista
Sleaze Shock Horror
by Don Urquhart
4 November
Much shock horror in the TV and printed news over the Owen Paterson affair. Much yawn stifling Chez Corbynista. Mr soon to be Lord Paterson was just doing what MPs do. Many MPs on all sides of the house are paid by wealthy individuals and organisations to promote and defend special interests. That is why so many MPs could not be doing with Jeremy Corbyn who was in the House to work on behalf of people who could not afford to buy life’s essentials – not Members of Parliament.
5 November
Very sad to see the saintly Ms Thunberg reduced to:
You can stick your climate crisis up your arse!
But she has a point.
6 November
The Tongan rugby team were a bunch of big strong athletic lads who could play the game, were disciplined in their defence and committed in their exertions. But England were in a different league and trounced them 69-3. It was one-sided but for me the best moment in the game was a long and mazy run by Tongan winger Telusa Veainu. It looked like a try but the replays showed that Lawes the English captain had forced him to drop the ball inches short. I like to think that the whole crowd had willed the opponent to score. That was the vibe around me and reawoke the hope that there still are some decent British values in the land.
7 November
It’s a wonderful story. A dog called Khan jumped into the sea in 1944 and pulled a soldier out. Now in Strathaven they have put a life-size statue. Perhaps in centuries to come someone will find a reason to pull it down and dump it in the Powmillon Burn.
8 November
The Scottish Sun reports on the 100,000 person COP26 demo, where the big news was that the demonstrators helped clean Glasgow up afterwards. I recall the million person march against the Iraq war in 2003. For the government peaceful demonstrations represent a pat on the back for permitting protest. For the activists this demo like the Iraq one tells you that protest is futile unless you invoke fear among our rulers.
You can achieve quite a bit with riots as per Poll Tax protests in 1989-90. Also by having popular people like Marcus Rashford putting the legislators to shame by stating the obvious.
9 November
Leaseholders in flats rendered valueless by inadequate cladding will be heartened to have obtained the backing of a high profile politician.
Cladding: Why must flat owners pay the bills, asks Gove
Is the BBC News headline.
Michael Gove goes to town, heaping derision on government and developers for putting leaseholders in such an impossible position.
If only they had the support of someone in a position to resolve their problems like for instance the Government’s Housing Minister.
Hang on a minute!
10 November
On Newsnight the Owen Paterson case was discussed with predictable contributions from Tory and Labour MPs and an academic. As background Emily Maitlis could have selected any number of other cases of Tory MPs being paid to push a company’s agenda but she selected the 2015 case involving Labour MP Barry Gardiner. It was a classic piece of whataboutery and yet another demonstration that the Tories own the BBC.