Just back from a short pre-canvassing break to the Canary Islands, only to find you bunch have been soaking up the sun back here in blighty.
On the plane on the way back I read the obituary in the Guardian of Tony Newton, former Health Secretary in Thatcher’s government, described by Hugo Young as “a good man, quite outside the nasty brigade”.
It got me thinking, that despite the vile nature of the Thatcher regime of the 1980′s, with the likes of Tebbit, Parkinson, Joseph, Mellor and a whole host of other right-wing creeps, it was still possible for people with an ounce of human decency to survive in those circles. Not only Newton, of course, Thatcher’s Cabinets, certainly in her first Government, contained a number of old one-nation Tories.
As it says in Newton’s obituary,
…his two daughters went to state schools and that this Tory health minister did not belong to any private scheme. He never pretended to be a Thatcherite, voted against capital punishment, opposed beating in schools and was never, in Thatcher’s terms, “one of us”. As a backbencher, he urged humanitarian and rather interventionist causes: the holding down of VAT on electrical repairs, a higher tax allowance for pensioners, plus tax relief for blind people and on travel to work costs. A private member’s bill proposed the continuation of a disabled person’s mobility allowance after retirement.
You just wonder, looking at the bunch of smug millionaires surrounding Cameron, whether someone like Newton could survive amongst the current “nasty brigade”. Even if you look at the likes of Clegg’s cohorts dipping their noses in Cameron’s trough, you get no feeling that they have anything but personal ambition as a motive for their actions.
When they write the obituaries of the likes of Clegg, Alexander, Huhne and co. it seems barely credible that the phrase used about Newton, that he was a walking contradiction of the cynical mantra that politicians are all in it for themselves could ever be used.
Hi Bob; Wondered where you had got to these last few days, particularly as there has been plenty to comment on while you have been away, not least Birminghams 2nd teams hapless performances, if you aren’t careful you’ll be coming to Elland Rd. next season, and no , before you say it, barring a miracle, I don’t expect Yorkshire’s most successful team to go up this season, due to “Uncle ” Ken Bates not showing his customary ruthfulness and chopping the completely ineffectual “Larry ” Grayson. For a while I thought you had got fed up with Gary Elsby’s pearls of wisdom, and carried out your threat to pack it in.
Back to your artticle, isn’t it strange(politics, crap journalism and obituaries, I suppose) how they always seem such decent people once they have passed over. For me Newton never seemed much different from Tebbit, Baker, Joseph, Forsyth, Parkinson, Clarke, and as for all those other so called wets, or “One Nation Tories” they were just the “Same Old Tories” who willed the means/ends but hadn’t got the guts that Thatcher and her gang had to return to the 30s and push the state back.
While you have been sunning it in the millionaires resorts, I have been doing my bit for a change in society. Iv’e answered the call for helpers from George Galloway in his campaign for the Bradford West parliamentary by-election, its only 45-50 miles down the road from me.It did take a fair bit of thought from me at first, I never have liked to see a split vote in a constituency(though have always reluctantly conceded that there have to be honourable exceptions) and seeing the Tories or Lib/Dems, or their onerous, vile, erstwhile sidekicks, the late, unlamented S.D.P. take a Labour seat. After a couple of hectic days hard campaigning, old age has caught up with me, and Iv’e had to take a day off today, but hopefully I’ll be there tomorrow to help on polling day; Galloway’s activists seem to think that they can do it, and judgeing by the full page article in the Guardian today they have got the Labour Party running scared. From what I can gather on my couple of days in the constituency it certainly seems that George has got a very active, efficient campaign organisation behind him, also it seems he has galvanised a lot of the younger element of the Asian/Pakistani/ Muslim community in support of him, in a generational sort of situation, with the older element of the Asian community by and large staying with Imran Hussein, the Labour candidate, I could be wrong but there didn’t seem to be very much movement on the ground from the Tories or Lib/Dems or U.K.I.P. Saw some Tories in Thornton ward yesterday in a nice executive type estate, and they just didn,t want to know about politics, one of them, a smart looking Central Office type blonde woman was gushing that she had come up from Buckinghamshire, hopefully thats how deaparate they are for support. Finally, While I am a struggling old age pensioner, I felt quite moved to make a donation to Georges campaign fund.
It might be my memory, but I’m sure you can help me with this one, but I don’t recall letting in seven goals in one match – at home – to Nottingham Forest when they were European champions, never mind when they were fighting to stay in the Pepsi-Cola League! Pride of Yorkshire my arse. What a shambles. The modern day Leeds are obviously too fat and old to be able to catch their opponents and kick them.
I’m sure George will be delighted to receive your money, and he probably needs it more than you in case he’s got a lost deposit to fund. Where on earth will you end up next, backing the batty Elsby in Stoke I wouldn’t be surprised.The fact that you couldn’t tell the difference between Tony Newton and Norman Tebbit probably tells me more about your sense of political judgement than I needed to know.
Don’t worry about where I will end up Bob(not that there’s any danger of that scenario). Gary or your good self haven’t confided with me about what his intentions on trying to improve the political climate in Stoke are, but you or he will be informing us in the near future, I don’t doubt. For myself,,I’ll be involved with an anti-B.N.P. campaign in our borough, distributing Hope Not Hate leaflets, like we did last year in a different ward, and can possibly take some credit for helping to defeat the local B.N.P. parish councillor. And then canvassing and leafletting for my old friend Terry Wilde in the Rossington Ward in the Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council elections in May. Terry was narrowly defeated last year by a New Labour apparatchik, and joined the rest of the Labour Group on Doncaster M.B.C. in their slumber, while Davis the English Democrat mayor and his Tory cabinet members slash services to the public, and wages and conditions of staff. So just to let you know Bob, thats where I will end up, trying in my own little way, to try and do something in the struggle for a better society, and in some small way to try and improve the lot of those around me, as I have done for the last 50 years, obviously not as successfully as you, though.
Well if my money helps George, then I will consider it well spent, but tomorrow will tell wether it will be needed to pay for his lost deposit, I just have a feeling that while he may not be successful, he will get a good vote, your old pal Oona King and one or two other reactionary, right wingers who dominate the Labour Party these days, can tell you about Georges campaigning prowess.One thing is certain though Bob, if he is lucky enoughto win tomorrow, his will have been the only voice in this campaign to been raised against the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and called for the immediate withdrawal of N.A.T.O. forces from Afghanistan, and again, if he is lucky enough to win, his will be the only voice in the House of Commons to raise the danger of the warmongers in Washington, Israel,Whitehall and Westminster in their campaign to attack Iran, which is the next stage of their campaign for their dominance over the Middle East. Something the left in the Parliamentary Labour Party are shamefully doing very little about.
Sorry that my sense of political judgement is nowhere near the level of yours Bob; but as I recall, Newton was always more interested in a government job and later a seat in Thatchers Cabinet, than showing any dissent to Thatcher or her reactionary policies, I read his obituary in the Guardian and all those progressive, decent principles he possessed and likewise policies he cherished, yet he still remained in a Cabinet full of the most reactionary Tories , the likes of that hadn’t been seen since the 30s. Unlike such as Prior, Gilmore and Boyle etc who at least had the guts to stand up to Thatcher, and be sacked or resigned. Still, I suppose he used the old Labour lefts tired old cliche, espoused by the like of Jennie Lee, Anthony Greenwood and Barbara Castle ” We know that some bad policies are coming through, but you should see what we are stopping”; the defence /cry of the opportunist/careerist since time and politics began. I sincerely hope that that hasn’t been your cry while you have been holding office.
Aye, that 0-7 score against Forest was a sore one, nearly as sore as the game against the Huns at Ibrox last Sunday, with their best player Callum Murray.But we can turn round and say that we have put Scumchester United out of the F.A. Cup at Old Trafford, when we were in Coa Cola League one, something Birminghams 2nd team wished that they could have done.
I can only assume by ‘Birmingham’s second team’ you are referring to the oldest and most successful football club, the club who’s chairman founded the football league before Small Heath Alliance had even been thought of, 6 times League winners, 7 times FA cup winners and European cup winners. (Tell me, did Cheating Don’s Dirty Leeds ever win the European Cup – or was that beyond Don’s pocket?)
If so, your painful ignorance will tell you that we won at Old Trafford just 4 weeks before the natural inheritors of cheating Don’s ‘dirty’ Leeds 3rd division team fluked a win there.
It’s sad that you think of Tony Benn as an opportunist careerist, certainly not a view shared by your cat loving leotard friend who speaks very highly of Benn. Not that gorgeous George could be accused of careerism or opportunism… I mean, he’s always had a natural association with
Bethnal GreenBradford. But in your book, as everyone in a Cabinet is on an equal political footing, Tony Benn is just another Wilson, Callaghan or Healey, protecting his own career whilst attacking the working class.I bow to your infinite wisdom.
Bob; It’s so funny to see you trying to smear me, by distorting part of my post as an attempt to label Tony Benn as an opportunist careerist, when I never even mentioned Benn, another example of your Mandelsonian/Machieavellian technique, keep it up Bob, you will go far in the Labour Party, who knows? you may even graduate from the Council Chamber in Sandwell(where’s that?) to the House of Commons, hopefully replacing Spellar as M.P. for Warley, though I’m not sure wether that would be an improvement. But let me take your mind back Bob, if you are old enough, to the Wilson Government of 1966-70; Anthony Wedgewood Benn, as he then was, did more to create conglomerates , through mergers of big firms, in mainly aero-space companies, but also other sectors of the economy, in his role of Minister of Technology and Education(I think that was his title, but the passage of time has maybe made me a little rusty on the fine detail) all in the name of making British Industry/Capitalism more competetive and efficient, so as to meet the challenge of the big American and European multi national companies, as I recall, his buzzword was “Min-Tech”.Yes Bob, much as I admire and support Benn, along with “Gorgeous” George as you call him, I’m not dewey eyed about him, or any other prominent M.P. or politician or Trade Union leader, and will always, hopefully ,make an analysis on a political rather than a personal basis. It’s possible to say that in his younger days,Benn, from entering Parliament and gaining a seat on the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party he was seen as one of the bright young things of the political scene, dare I say, his generations equivalent of New Labour.Fortunately he seemed to have some sort of sea change in his politics, I would guess from the time of Wilsons resignation and Callaghan becoming Premier in his place in 1976 and he did a great job in setting up the Meridan Cycle Co-Operative and trying to ensure its survival in the 1974-1979 Labour Government. And he did apologise for the mistakes of the Wilson/Callaghan governments(from a left perspective) and then pursued a principled left line to this day.
Personally, I always thought that George’s appearance on Big Brother was a mistake, particularly the Leotard fiasco, not for the costume, or the milk, but for buttering/sucking up to Rula Lenska, but while I cannot presume to be privy to George’s thoughts and tactics, I would like to think that he took a line from Lenins advice to Willie Gallagher,Communist Party of Great Britain M.P. for West Fife, on Willie expressing thoughts on the futility of socialists/communists entering Parliament “Comrade Gallagher, you have a platform, use it”and George said that the Respect Party benefited from the fee he recieved for the appearance. And I would like to think Bob that you would join with me in hoping for success for George today in the by-election at Bradford West, the only candidate to campaign for an end to the Afghanistan war, and the immediate withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and Iraq, and a programme for peace, justice and equality and full employment with a living wage.
Yup, gotta agree with you there Bob, you’d got me on Birmingham’s 2nd teams history, but I would say it’s my indifference to your history rather than my ignorance; but you leave me P.M.S.W.L. at your references to “Cheating, Dirty Don”, particularly when I think of one of your favourite teams former managers, good ol’ Bojangles, or better known as Racist Ron, late of Villa Park and Sky Sports News
Got to say cheerio now Bob,grandson to check on, apologies if it seems rather lengthy, but I see it as replying to points raised rather than longwinded or pedantic, and I hope that I am keeping you company, as it does seem rather lonely on your blog these days, possibly Gary should come back to provide a bit of light entertajnment.Might be a useful suggestion that he stands for election for Sandwell Borough Council, as he seems to have shot his bolt in Stoke, could be wrong, but it may be that he will be an improvement for Sandwell.
Gerald, I didn’t “smear” you.Let us refresh. You wrote…
Unlike such as Prior, Gilmore and Boyle etc who at least had the guts to stand up to Thatcher, and be sacked or resigned. Still, I suppose he used the old Labour lefts tired old cliche, espoused by the like of Jennie Lee, Anthony Greenwood and Barbara Castle ” We know that some bad policies are coming through, but you should see what we are stopping”; the defence /cry of the opportunist/careerist since time and politics began.
Well, Tony (or Anthony Wedgewood if you prefer) Benn didn’t stand up to wilson, wasn’t sacked, and despite saying on many occasions in his diaries that he considered resignation, he decided that Wilson would simply replace him with another Minister to do his bidding, and prevent Benn from doing those positive things he thought he was doing.
Or… in your terms “the defence /cry of the opportunist/careerist since time and politics began.” Although I note you grant him absolution because the moment he was out of government in the 1980′s he purged himself of his crimes and pursued a “principled left line” (although the New Labour people will tell you that this was merely an attempt to come at the leadership from a left perspective).
Personally, I think he did what virtually all of us do in politics and accept that politics is the art of the possible, and you can scream boo from the sidelines like you do, or compromise with people with whom you have very little in common with, as I do, in order to pursue whatever objectives you have.
Those who don’t compromise, are not compromised. They can be pure, shout traitor from the sidelines. That is their prerogative and I would not deny them that privilege.
Their position may salve their conscience and purify their souls. Does it achieve one inch of movement for those living on the margins or struggling to survive?
No, of course not… but as long as they are content and happy with it….
As for Elsby, if he is happy with it I’ll pass your e-mail address on to him and he can bore the arse of you privately, because the rest of us were fed up of trying to translate his gibberish in to English.
Finally, you should never, never, ever be indifferent to history. It is a pastime of the indolent and slovenly.
Ah, now I understand! You were lazing away on holiday instead of canvassing, so that’s why Galloway nicked Bradford off your lot!
Lol
Hoi! Duffers;If Bob was in Bradford helping Labours campaign he certainly kept his light under a bushel; I certainly never came across him while I was helping George in his campaign(to be honest I was never 100% confident that he would do it, a very good vote yes, maybe at best to scrape in by 500-1000 votes at most, certainly not the landslide he recieved) but I did come across some of your Tory friends, who by the reaction to comments I made about that spiv Cruddas flogging suppers and influence over policy for a measly £250k. they just didn’t want to know, like the Cabinet ministers who hadn’t the guts to appear on Question time. They weren’t showing much Falklands spirit there were they? Or the courage of the troops they are quite easily prepared to commit to Afghanistan in such a lost and hopeless cause that they have no chance of winning. Waiting for a quote from your intellectual twin. Duffers; Gary Elsby.
Btw Bob ; I thought the reason you hadn’t made a comment on George’s momentous by-election victory, was because you may have been so busy with canvassing, your ward duties/problems or employment, if you are still if you are still active in the employment field? But then you find time to reply to that non-entity Duffers.
C’mon the Gooners, hope they give Birminghams 2nd team a footballing lesson today. Hope and pray that everything will be well with Stilian Petrov, and success in his battle with leukemia, one of my favourite footballers since Celtic plucked him from obscurity in Bulgaria.
I’m a little confused by your last point gerald. I wasn’t aware that Queens Park Rangers played in Birmingham.
I am still working, and with a violent bout of toothache combined with preparations for the May elections things have been a bit hectic since the holiday. I wasn’t too upset by George’s victory – he agrees with me on most things.
Gerald, a few facts, irritating, I know, for you to swallow.
1: The Tories are no friends to me.
2: That “spiv” Cruddas was brought up on a council estate and left school at 15 with no qualifications. He ended up working in a City office and see the possibilities in the then latest communications equipment, he *took a chance* and risked everything by settingup his own company. He is now a multi-millionaire who donates some of *his* money to the Tory party but also gives away millions to charities. (What have you ever risked in your life? Apart from making a twat of yourself supporting a joke demagogue who made a twat of himself by pretending to be a pussy on TV – for the money!)
3: It was the Labour party who committed troops to Afghanistan not the Tories.
Duffers; Facts are facts, irritating or otherwise, and Iv’e always thought that you have to deal with them wether it suits your case, or not, although it may not always seem that way from my posts. My post must really have touched a raw nerve to start using language like “T**t” about my working for George in the Bradford West by-election, and helping him to achieve such a momentous,and dare one say, historic victory, against all the odds(if you don’t think it is, just have a “butchers” at what renegades like Nick Cohen and all the other right wing garbage(i,e, hacks) are penning and spouting all over the media since early Friday morning.But seeing the reaction from your good self and your ilk, it makes it all the more gratifying that I made a financial contribution to his campaign, even though I am a struggling O.A.P.
In reply to your point 1: The Tories may be no friend to you, but you come across with as a really died-in -the- wool Tory, or even further to the right than they are.And that’s just going on the drivel that you post on Bobs blog. A 13 year old would post more mature comments than what you do, in fact Gary Elsby, if he could be more coherent, would make a better blogger than you.
Point 2:I couldn’t give a toss where the spiv Cruddas was brought up, as far as I am concerned he’s just some City wideboy who got hold of a few grand and made his money on spreadbetting, and then worked his way up in the trading houses of the merchant banks, in fact in the light of his interview with those far smarter Sunday Times journalists, he comes over as a proper Merchant “Banker”, and did the world a favour by exposing Cameron and the Tories for what they really are, no amount of P.R. will wash away that stain. Normally I wouldn’t even lower myself to to talk about my personal life on here to a “Jeremy” like you, but a few other people view this blog apart from myself, you, Gary and Bob, so when you throw a clever sneer in about what I have ever risked in my life, nothing in a military sense, and never had any intention of doing so, but over 30 years ago I set up a business(plastering contracting) and had about 27-30 blokes working for me, very hard work plus all the priceing and getting the contracts to build up to that stage, fortunately or unfortunately it went bust in the eary 80s; I lost my house which was nearly paid for and also my 1st marriage(and incidentally, more than likely knocked years off my 1st wifes life due to the pressure that I and the business placed upon her; she died tragically early at the age of 38 in 1980) So Duffers, I think I can say that I have risked something in my life, and found out just how ruthless business/Capitalism can be. And I think that I can be forgiven for thinking that there is a difference between the cutthroat competetiveness of sub-contracting in the construction industry, and the featherbedded parasitical trading houses of the Merchant Banks of the City of London, before or after the “Big Bang”. I’d just like to say, that to my eternal regret, the Inland Revenue were my biggest creditors. Btw, it makes it more hilarious for me to see the likes of you blowing a gasket about George and his performance on Big Brother, when he gave the fee for that stint to the Respect Party, a party committed to Peace, Justice and Equality.
Point 4 : Yes we know it was the Labour Party who committed troops to the Afghanistan War, or more precisely that latterday Ramsay McDonald aka Anthony Blair and a cabinet and government and Parliamentary Labour Party that hadn’t the guts to stand up to him, in his slavish nauseating desire to succour favour to that Vietnam draft dodger, George. W. Bush(you know the George. W. Bush you so nauseatingly and sycophantically have blogged about) and his coterie of neo-con hawks, who in their desire for revenge for 9/11 and to prepare the world for the invasion of Iraq, were prepared to stop at nothing. Fortunately there were many decent people,Cllr Piper, among them along with a few M.P.s who were prepared to do everything in their power to prevent it, unfortunately they weren’t successful, hence the debacle/tragedy we now find we are facing, and with nothing but failure to show for it.
Bob, Sorry to hear abut your toothache, the only thing worse that I can think of is for Man. Utd or Glasgow Rangers to win aything. Yep, I got a bit carried away about the Gooners yesterday, it must be due to the euphoria about Georges momentous election victory. Did you see Londons 3rd team give Birminghams 2nd team a footballing lesson yesterday? Worrying days Bob, only 5 points above the relegation zone; if you don’t pull your socks up you’ll be ringing me up to have a pint with you, when you come to Elland Rd. next season, hopefully I’ll be able to show you the delights of one of the U.K.s finest city’s and county’s.
Given up on promotion then Gerald?
Bob; you obiously don’t follow what I post, because if you did you would have seen that I had said as much a week ago. It’s not impossible to get to the playoffs, but even if we do, I cant see us playing well enough to get promotion. I’ll just have to concentrate on the Famous Glasgow Celtic having a good run in Europe next season. As I said, you worry about Birminghams 2nd team’s struggle to keep in the Premier League, looking dicier by the day.