Left Foot Forward

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Catching up with articles published by Left Foot Forward, an excellent UK political blog.

Government caved to wealthy landowner lobbying in U-turn on public path access

Thérèse Coffey gave landowners what they wanted, putting at risk public access to thousands of miles of historic paths

Public access to thousands of miles of historic paths in England could be lost due to a government U-turn, following successful lobbying by wealthy landowners.

An investigation by openDemocracy found Environment Secretary, Thérèse Coffey, U-turned on a government commitment to remove restrictions on registering a claim to protect lost paths in England, after receiving a letter from landowners.

Via a freedom of information request, openDemocracy revealed that Thérèse Coffey’s U-turn came after a request was made by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), who represent owners of rural land, property and business.

The letter expressed ‘concerns’ about the complete removal of the cut-off date due to land managers ‘uncertainty’ over what they referred to as, ‘frivolous claims of historic rights on their land holdings’.

The letter then asks the MP to consider a new deadline of 2031, shortly followed by Coffey announcing the government U-turn, which appeased the landowners request. It seems it didn’t take much to sway the minister in the interests of the wealthy, at the expense of the general public.

Labour has failed to stand against the Tories’ attack on the right to protest

Image of Keir Starmer sucking up to the rich and powerful at the World Economic Forum, Davos
Image of Keir Starmer sucking up to the rich and powerful at the World Economic Forum, Davos

Green Party peer Jenny Jones gives her account of the parliamentary battles over the Tories’ protest laws

Last night, the Labour Party made a disastrous misjudgement that will impact on hundreds of thousands of people attempting to protest and exercise their democratic rights in the coming years. By failing to support my Fatal Motion that would have stopped serious disruption being defined as anything “more than minor” Labour have managed to alienate lots of their natural supporters. 

Many of the 64,000 people who signed the petition asking them to act like an opposition, are now wondering why Labour let them down and why the media don’t report this stuff?

Perhaps Labour felt that they could sit this one out and no one would really care. After all, political journalists and media organisations like the BBC very rarely report on anything that isn’t a Blue/Red clash. So many issues and viewpoints are excluded simply because they don’t fit this cosy Blue/Red duopoly. The narrative was that if Labour wasn’t backing the Fatal Motion then it wasn’t worth reporting on and all my attempts to generate coverage were met with silence, with the honourable exception of James O’Brien on LBC and the Guardian.

What Labour under estimated is the power of social media and influential commentators like Carol Vorderman and Marina Purkiss. The Vlogger, Peter Stefanovic reached over a million people with his first video outlining what was going on. He explained the constitutional issues in a way that the BBC’s one attempt at coverage failed completely to understand, as our state media bought the government narrative that this was a law aimed at Just Stop Oil.

Meanwhile, Labour’s regret motion, a loud tut tut in parliamentary terms, led to a Daily Mail front page attacking them for supporting Just Stop Oil. The result is that many voters see them as a pointless and feeble opposition, while the government label them as on the side of disruption.

 Left Foot Forward News

Post-Brexit border charges will further increase food prices, industry leaders warn

The Government has made clear its intention to implement full border checks on food imports from this October.

There could be further increases in food prices yet, even after UK food and drink price inflation hit a 45-year record of 19.2 per cent in March, as a result of new border checks caused by Brexit.

It comes after the UK government this week published proposals to charge a flat-rate inspection fee of up to £43 on each consignment of food coming from the EU.

The decision to impose full border checks on food imports from the bloc, will hit smaller firms harder, industry leaders have warned.

Shane Brennan, the director of the Cold Chain Federation, told the Financial Times that the proposals made little sense, especially given that the government was actively discussing imposing price controls on UK supermarkets to keep down the cost of food.

He said: “It is crazy that one week the government is holding a crisis meeting in Downing Street to discuss out-of-control food inflation and the next is willing to nod through a multimillion new import tax on EU food imports.”

Former Eton Master admits ‘failure’ in educating ‘entitled’ Tories

Image of Oxford's Bullingdon Club including Boris Johnson
Oxford’s Bullingdon Club including Boris Johnson

‘They have harmed the ‘very fabric of the country’.

Finally, someone has called a spade a spade. A former Master of Eton College has admitted that the school failed to rein in entitled Tories such as Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Kwasi Kwarteng, whose sense of entitlement has harmed the ‘very fabric of the country’.

In a scathing letter to the Times, John Claughton, who was a master at Eton from 1984 to 2001, said that the school, which has educated 20 Prime Ministers, now had a mission to ‘ensure that its pupils are saved from the sense of privilege, entitlement and omniscience that can produce alumni such as Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Kwasi Kwarteng and Ben Elliot and thereby damage a country’s very fabric.’

Claughton goes on to add: “Sadly, I failed in that purpose.”

The Sun forgets its owner’s taste for luxury travel in dig at Rachel Reeves’ business class flight to US

The newspaper didn’t dwell on Rupert Murdoch owning an $84 million private jet.

In a week dominated by yet more Tory sleaze and scandals, the right-wing media must have been desperate to dish some dirt on the shadow cabinet. Sure enough, The Sun came up with the goods, taking aim at Rachel Reeves’ trip to the US in business class.

The Murdoch-owned newspaper did not hold back in reporting that the Shadow Chancellor had been accused of hypocrisy for ‘taking the posh seat while attacking Rishi Sunak and the government for luxury travel.’ Reeves informed the newspaper that no taxpayer money was used to fund the trip, and that a donor paid for it. 

This in itself contrasts to the Prime Minister’s luxury travel which has been funded by the taxpayer. In March, Sunak decided to travel to Southampton and back to London by air rather than by car or train. The PM’s official spokesman confirmed that the helicopter trip was funded by the taxpayer.  Even the Sun had to reference the criticism the Prime Minister came under for the taxpayer-funded helicopter flight to Southampton.

… [Read more to get to Murdoch’s jet]

Continue ReadingLeft Foot Forward

Bye-bye Boris, you worse than useless absolute cnut

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Image of Tory idiot Boris Johnson
Tory idiot Boris Johnson

Heavy-drinking Criminal Boris Johnson is out. He should never have been prime minister since his character and history was well documented. There was plenty of evidence that he was a worse than useless absolute cnut. To be fair to him, he partied well.

Image of Boris Johnson sucking up to Rupert Murdoch
Boris Johnson sucking up to Rupert Murdoch

Unfortunately the Conservative Party is now going to inflict a militaristic, pea-brained, basic maths misunderstanding prime minister in the pocket of big business on us. I was tempted to call her a bungalow but I’m thinking of a rattle with just the one pea moving freely inside bouncing and rattling off the inside of her skull.

Image of Tory idiot Boris Johnson
Tory idiot Boris Johnson

Johnson to exit Downing St in a shower of sleaze and sexual misconduct claims

Two women allege they were assaulted and groped by figures within the government.

One woman told Sky News she was “sexually assaulted by someone who is now a Cabinet minister”.

A second woman said she was working at a Conservative event when she was groped, adding: “I turned around and this guy was just looking right at me.”

She complained and raised it again when the man was due to get a top job in No 10, but “nothing happened”.

Image: Boris Johnson confirms his thumbs up from Rupert Murdoch
Boris Johnson confirms his thumbs up from Rupert Murdoch

Huge leaving card showing naked Boris Johnson running from chaos delivered to No10

The grim 6 foot-tall card contains messages from thousands of people who suffered during the PM’s leadership.

One message read: “My wonderful mum – a brilliant yet horribly overworked NHS surgeon for over 30 years – died in 2020 and I had to watch her tiny Covid-restricted funeral online from my home rather than being there.

“Meanwhile you were partying. You have no shame. You have no conscience. You have no integrity. You won’t be missed.

Another stated: “When a clown moves into the castle he doesn’t become a king, the castle becomes a circus. Good riddance.”

Image of Oxford's Bullingdon Club including Boris Johnson
Oxford’s Bullingdon Club including Boris Johnson

Continue ReadingBye-bye Boris, you worse than useless absolute cnut

The trouble with Boris Johnson

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Well c’mon you all know the trouble with Boris Johnson. He’s am upper-class twat.

Image of Boris Johnson wearing Bullingdon Club uniform

I’ll have to continue this but I think that you understand. It’s not only that he’s a twat, it’s also that he’s a condescending upper-class twat and that he was an insulting upper-class twat while a member of the bully, bully, bully Bullingdon club. Well, anyway he’s an arse.

Image of Oxford's Bullingdon Club

The Wikipedia page for the Bullingdon Club excuses their activites. The Bullingdon Club was about excessively wealthy through inheritance Oxford university students belonging to a select gang that would humiliate people through their vandalism and wealth. Restaurants and pubs were vandalised by them followed by them humiliating the owners/proprietors for a second time by paying for the damage in vast amounts of cash (vast quantities of physical money the likes which normal people have probably never ever seen).

Image reads "The rich and powerful piss on us and the media tells us it's raining"

Anyway, Boris is a rich twat totally divorced from reality who has a history of vandalism and humiliating normal people.

Sexism, vandalism and bullying: inside the Boris Johnson-era Bullingdon Club

Continue ReadingThe trouble with Boris Johnson

Exclusive:: Necker Island free holidays for NHS workers and Socialists

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Image of Richand Branson's Necker Island

An onaquietday.org exclusive

Richard Branson’s Necker Island is open to NHS workers and Socialists for holidays. While it would normally cost you vast amounts to stay at this luxury, f*** o** resort reserved for the super rich, I have arranged an exclusive deal to all those opposed to the privatisation of the NHS. No need to book – just turn up. This deal has not been negotiated on the basis that the slightly bearded twat is asking for it – you’re into privatise, we make public.

Boasting vast shit for the super-rich, it is open to all since it is an island. Just turn up and enjoy ;)

http://www.virginlimitededition.com/en/necker-island/exclusive

Arrival 1st January – 31st December 2016

From $78,000 per night for up to 34 guests ($2,294 per person per night)

That’s not the price for NHS workers and Socialists of course – just enjoy and piss off the people paying $78,000 a night. Oops looks like the price has dropped – it’s not that exclusive any more. Extra points if you dress up as a pirate [ed. or better still a privateer ;) * ] and post your invasion on youtube.

*Privateers were pirates for the government

ed : Correction, a pirate since pirates actually followed democratic principles and the slightly bearded one would be the privateer.

ed: I wonder how difficult it is to take this island – like pirates do.

Anyway, it appears legal to dance up the high water mark.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necker_Island_%28British_Virgin_Islands%29#Privacy_and_access

Although the land on the island is entirely privately owned, under British Virgin Islands law, all beaches up to the high-water mark are Crown land, and are open to the public.

I’d like to do that (and totally incidentally piss off the $78,000 a night super-rich).

Beach rave at Necker Island?

ed: Come to think of it, I think that I may enjoy pissing off the super-rich at every opportunity. That sounds like really good fun.

ed: I’ve seen some of it. I’ve seen a string quartet in Claridges and been to many other super-rich hotels in London. I’ve stolen/eaten/stolen caviar before a super-rich banquet – really tasty actually. I’ve loudly abused a super-rich one in a brand new Porsche with an extremely super-rich personalised number plate.

ed: It should be recognised that the super-rich have done nothing to achieve their status – rather they have been born with a silver spoon or two in their mouths.

ed:  I’ve also encountered twat concierges (dressed-up sucking-up-to-rich doormen) at the Ritz (he was a total arse), at the Hyde Park Hotel and even at Harrods. The real butler was of course Ian Blair (a total arsehole). Can you please kick him for me?

25/4/16 The Bullingdon club of the super-rich abused and humiliated people for not being super-rich. Former members of the Bullingdon Club include the Conservatives British PM David Cameron, Chancellor Gideon Osborne and London Mayor Boris Johnson. Their abuse was premeditated and as a gang.

Continue ReadingExclusive:: Necker Island free holidays for NHS workers and Socialists

Boris Johnson insults gays and bisexuals with onanism and porn remarks

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Bullingdon Tory idiot Boris JohnsonThis article considers Boris Johnson’s remarks about terrorist onanism and proposes two alternative terrorist profiles – one of terrorists and one of their agents.

Privilidged Mayor of London Boris ‘Bullingdon idiot’ Johnson claims that ‘If you look at all the psychological profiling about bombers, they typically will look at porn. They are literally w***ers.’ Johnson’s comments – like Johnson himself – don’t contribute much of anything to anything.

Firstly, a[ed:o}nonists and watchers of porn are accepting of and uninhibited in their sexuality. The most accepting of and uninhibited in their sexuality are gays and bisexuals. The intended slur is actually an insult to gay and bisexual sexuality.

Secondly, this issue of psychological profiles is equally BS. Psyschological profiles are of little use and little used because terrorists are so diverse. Later media stories cited psychological profiles by MI5 after I did some searches. That’s useful for rich ass Boris because researchers don’t have access to mythical psychological profiles by MI5.

Terrorism follows patterns. For example, there’s usually an exercise ongoing, it occurs at politically salient times and employs number symbolism. It is also often facilitated by local authorities – lucky there wasn’t any traffic, cops with radios or cars or motorcycles or helicopters in Paris, eh? We have police cars with lights and sirens and full of technology in the UK and they keep big guns in the back.

Once you accept that the actual terrorists are state actors and that terrorism serves political purposes for the rich elite, you can understand that MI5 itself serves these interests and that any profiles are profiles of political opponents labelled as terrorists.

To help, I’ve prepared two simple profiles – one of the terrorists and one of their servants, assistants or foot-soldiers.

Terrorist profile

  • Priviledged wealth. I mean in the top 1% of the wealthy. Born into it.
  • Privilidged position e.g. Mayor or former Mayor of London or New York, Prime Minister, former President, Home Secretary, Minister of Defence, etc.
  • Priviledged education. Notice that I’m not saying well-educated. public school, Cambridge, Oxford, Yale, etc
  • Neo-Con political orientation. I’m coming to realise that Neo-Con is not at all distant from Fascist or Neo-Fascist. Neo-Cons are using the same methods of terrorism, misdirection and victimisation as the Nazis that they financed.
  • Member of a privilidged fraternal organisation e.g. Bullingdon Club, Skull & Bones (formerly the Brotherhood of Death), Bavaria Grove, etc
  • Temporally and spatially local to Benjemin Netenyahu or Rudolph Giuliani.

 

Terrorist foot-soldiers profile

  • Employeed by a three-letter acronym e.g. CIA, FBI, MI5, MI6, SAS, FIU, SRR, MPS, Sad, Bet. (and the exception QinetiQ on 7/7, QiQ?).
  • Promoted for failure e.g. Ian Blair, Cressida Dick, Tony Blair?
  • Temporally and spatially local to Benjemin Netenyahu or Rudolph Giuliani.

 

With thanks to Webster Tarpley for the promoted for failure item. He discusses Hurricane Katrina and the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center facilitated by the FBI here.

I’ve had a book by Webster Tarpley infiltrated and confiscated by terrorist agents just recently. I guess – though I’ll admit that I’m uncertain – that it would be my local police. I ordered 911 SYNTHETIC TERROR through amazon.uk two weeks ago on 19 January. The terrorists don’t want me to read it.

8/8/15: I did intend to clarify that Johnson’s remarks are regarded as an attack on alt soc. but then that should be clear.

Continue ReadingBoris Johnson insults gays and bisexuals with onanism and porn remarks

Politics news allsorts

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Comment and analysis of recent UK politics events.

Image of a badger

Major Tory party donor chosen as chair of government nature watchdog

Like it says but apparently totally coincidental that an investment banker is appointed head of wildlife and nature watchdog, Natural England.

The appointment comes at a sensitive time for both Natural England and the government, which has had to defend itself from accusations from 41 conservation groups that only four of its 25 pledges on environment and nature are progressing well.

Bullingdon Tory idiot Boris Johnson

Tory Bullinger [edit: Bullingdon] idiot employs a cornflake analogy to promote the Tories’ genetic superiority of the ruling elite thesis

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/27/boris-johnson-thatcher-greed-good

“Whatever you may think of the value of IQ tests it is surely relevant to a conversation about equality that as many as 16% of our species have an IQ below 85 while about 2% …” he said as he departed from the text of his speech to ask whether anyone in his City audience had a low IQ. To muted laughter he asked: “Over 16% anyone? Put up your hands.” He then resumed his speech to talk about the 2% who have an IQ above 130.

Johnson then told the Centre for Policy Studies think tank, which helped lay the basis for Thatcherism in the 1970s: “The harder you shake the pack the easier it will be for some cornflakes to get to the top.”

“… greed [is] a valuable spur to economic activity.”

Image of Royal Mail postboxRoyal Mail shares: Goldman Sachs sets price target of 610p

Goldman Sachs has risked a further escalation of the Royal Mail privatisation row by putting a price target on the shares of 610p despite telling the government that the business should be floated at 330p last month.

Analysts at Goldman said the postal group’s valuation should benefit from an increase in parcel deliveries, despite falling letter volumes.

The investment bank’s 12-month price target of 610p represents an 85% premium on the flotation price, and gave further ammunition to those critics of the privatisation who argue the government sold off Royal Mail too cheaply.

 

Continue ReadingPolitics news allsorts