'Michael Gove's "other reason" for opposing a mosque'

One of yesterday' blog entries onPolitical Scrapbook posed the question, "What are your other reasons [for opposing a mosque] Mr Gove? In this long running battle over building a mosque in Camberly there have been claims that the mosque would pose a security threat because it overlooks the parade ground used by every new officer in the British Army. Even if that were not the case, the idea is as tactless as the notion of building a Muslim Centre in the shadow of Ground Zero. How could anyone possibly countenance the idea of building a mosque with minarets overlooking the parade ground blasting out "Allahu Akbar!" after Muslim protests against British troops?

For centuries Christian churches and other sites have been converted by Islamic invaders into mosques. Today there are many stories of churches being destroyed in Muslim countries, often with worshippers still inside them yet the dhimmis in our midst aid cultural jihad by supporting every Muslim request and complaint, endorsing the building of ever more mosques in this country.

If anyone wants reasons for resisting the Islamisation of Britain lookhere, here, here, here, here, here and here, read from the front linehere or closer to home here.

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Riots in England: Crime and punishment

Of all the knee-jerk reactions to those found guilty (or not) of involvement in the recent riots, the worst must be the threat to make people homeless. Of course, that cannot apply if you are a millionaire's daughterliving with your parents in a "£1million detached converted farmhouse in Orpington" - unless your parents throw you out!

I have no sympathy whatsoever with the rioters but how can one compare a mother being made homeless because of the actions of her teenage son with the blip in the life of a family at the other end of the social scale? The punishment in one instance far outweighs the other so is justice seen to be done? It is to be expected that people benefiting from state support will be viewed as undeserving of help in the circumstances witnessed but apart from the inequality of the punishment, what is the point of creating yet another social problem by stopping benefits and putting people on the streets, or is that another 'Big Society' opportunity where charities will have to pick up the pieces?

The Government has already come unstuck by making claims which are disputed by the police and it has not escaped people's attention that some of the 'haves' in society have, at a much higher level, been helping themselves at the expense of the taxpayer. David Cameron has made much of bringing US "supercop" Bill Bratton to Britain to sort out the gang culture that exists in major cities but Mr Bratton has already warned, and the Chancellor has agreed, that there are very deep-seated social problems that need to be tackled. Whoever gets the job of restoring our broken society, there seems little point in adding to them before work starts.

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A sense of proportion

Righteous indignation has greeted the Foreign Office memo which suggested some outrageous activities for the Pope during his forthcoming visit to Great Britain in September but from the coverage by the BBC one would have thought it were Government policy rather than the silly ideas of a junior official produced in a brainstorming session.

The ideas were not very bright especially coming from an Oxford graduate but neither was the idea of circulating the memo which appeared to give it greater credence nor the decision by The Sunday Telegraph to publish it. However, brainstorming sessions force sometimes apparently ridiculous ideas into the open for consideration although on this occasion it should have been obvious that some of them would be considered gratuitously offensive. But to talk of the Pope cancelling his visit over the issue as suggested in the press goes too far. As the Vicar of Christ on Earth, the Pope will be well aware of the wounds people suffer for their faith.

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What They Won’t Tell Us

Unlike the previous ‘Leaders’ debates I found this evening’s Election Uncovered: What They Won’t Tell Us programme on Channel 4 very illuminating and didn’t drop off once this time. I was initially concerned about an unexplained empty chair and the absence of Shirley Williams, one of my long time favourite politicians regardless of party (she was one of the SDP’s ‘Gang of Four’). Seeing her name as a participant was one of my reasons for watching. The other being that, as usual, there was nothing else worth viewing despite the myriad channels we appear to have on NTL plus Freesat, but that is another story. Fortunately the Baroness turned up half way through the programme having been caught up in a traffic accident.

Unlike the personality contest that the ‘Leaders’ debates had become, this programme looked at the hard choices that have to be made by the next Government. Four polls were conducted for the programme: Economic Recovery where 58% thought that we were on the road to recovery; Honesty in Politics where 60% thought politicians less honest than they used to be. On the question of believing the Party leaders telling the truth about the tough decisions about cuts, 38% trusted Gordon Brown, 36% trusted David Cameron and 53% trusted Nick Clegg.

On Pensions people were offered the choice between working for longer or having a higher standard of living. Of those polled 61 % opted to work longer and 23 % lower standard of living.

In what was perhaps the most surprising poll, 70% thought it perfectly possible to make cuts without harming Front line services. This was the most illuminating part of the programme clearly demonstrating that tough choices have to be made and how the parties have been reluctant to be honest with the electorate, hence the high vote.

Some people, including the Governor of the Bank of England, have suggested that whoever forms the next government will be so unpopular that they will not be re-electable. That would serve the best interests of no-one. A possible solution, ironically mentioned by Shirley Williams after her late arrival, was that there should be an inter-party unity team to agree a consensus for dealing with the financial crisis. The final show of hands vote was for a hung parliament which could be the best chance of achieving such a consensus.

What is clear is that the ‘Something for nothing’ mentality of many Britons, ancient and modern, is unsustainable. Services have to be paid for. Even with the planned efficiency savings tax rises are inevitable. For the sake of unity these must applied equitably to avoid a greater burden on the poor.

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Conference time

Now three cheers for our wonderful bankers

who caused the mess the last government left us in!

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Another lost generation?

Continually blaming the previous Government for the crisis the bankers left us in is wearing a bit thin so now it is the fault of the eurozone. Commenting on the unemployment figures, Chris Grayling the Employment Minister said, "These figures show just how much our economy is being affected by the crisis in the eurozone. Our European partners must take urgent action to stabilise the position."

His BBC2 'Newsnight' performance in front of a group of unemployed youngsters last night offered no encouragement. With the prospect of youth employment exceeding one million (realised in this morning's figures) an increase in apprenticeships was one crumb offered despite the scheme being discredited in a news story on Sunday.

The most significant effect of cutting public sector employment so far has been to reduce the tax intake while increasing the amount needed for benefits plus letting into the country an unknown number of undesirables because of a shortage of immigration control staff to deal with lengthy queues. Gone is the rosy picture of the private sector mopping up people made redundant although for many that was always a puzzle when unemployment was already high.

With the Bank of England reducing growth forecasts the outlook for the young unemployed is dire and especially so for graduates who have left university with massivedebts to repay - provided they ever earn enough to repay their loans. Without growth the outlook is grim with the prospect of another lost generation. It is no good simply waiting for others to provide a stimulus. An impotent Government serves none of us.

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Today's children tomorrow: Urgent PETITION

Since my previous blog on this subject there has been much criticism of Mr Gove's proposal to axe support for the School Sport Partnerships (SSPs).

There has been widespread anger in every walk of life including elite athletes and MP's with the Prime Minister being questionioned in the House.

Please sign the PETITION organised by the NUT to get this shabby treatment of our children reversed and encourage as many as you can to do the same.

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Today's children tomorrow

Could this be the line-up Mr Gove envisages for his planned Children's Olympics?

Directgov, the government web site's guidance on 'Children and healthy weight' states that "Through the PE and Sport Strategy for Young People, the aim is to offer young people five hours of sport and PE each week (both inside and outside of the school day)." The funding for this project is to be scrapped under another false economy in the state sector. Front bench offspring and other privately educated children will not be affected.

Already worried that too many children are inactive and lack a proper diet this cut is janggal. Short term savings should not affect our children's future. There are already indications that obese children are at risk from heart disease, breathing problems, diabetes, liver and joint problems. The medical cost of dealing with these problems will be immense. That cuts need to be made is accepted but to prejudice the health of our children and build up problems for the future is not only short sighted, it is cruel.

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Ministry of Chaos and Complacency

"Welcome to the 'chaos theory' of government" runs the headline in The Observer.

Education, Work and Pensions, Local Government, Health and Home Affairs are all aiming for 'chaos' to solve the Britain's problems. With such a spread of chaotic government a coordinating ministry is indicated and who better to run it than the current minister for complacency, Philip Hammond. His contribution yesterday to the misery being experienced by thousands of people had the air of a man who had just looked out of his window, saw the sun shining and positioned himself with traffic conveniently moving in the background so that he could assure everyone that there was no real persoalan - apart from the weather. Today's contribution was a little more cautious; he was looking for advice but he is unlikely follow the example of the Scottish Transport Minister if chaos is new the aim of Government:

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"We are all in this together" (12)

Nat Wei, the man charged by the government with making the big society happen, is to cut down his government role from three days to two, because he needs more time to earn money, see his family and "have a life" after discovering that working for free three days a week is incompatible with "having a life".

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Irresponsibility in 'the most important decision in a generation'.

Photograph: Murdo MacLeod for the Guardian

The first duty of the Government is to afford protection to its citizens.

The political rhetoric is becoming worse by the day. Yasser Arafat is dead. Had he been alive, no doubt his name would have been added to that of Putin and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Islamic State, as those being most happy if we were to leave the EU - but it is up to us!

It is our sovereign choice says Cameron while implying that only the stupid could contemplate leaving. So if our "friends" all around the world would like us to stay and the consequences of leaving are so disastrous, why has the Government led its citizens to the position of committing economic suicide?

The first duty of Government is to afford protection to its citizens, something the Government is plainly failing to do if their dire warnings are correct. To hand the fate of the Nation to the 'ignorant' is the height of irresponsibility so could it be that there is more in this for the great and the good, the not so great and the questionable, along with big business whose main aim seems to be to rip off British consumers while paying as little tax as they can get away with?

The Brexit leader, ex-London Mayor Boris Johnson has 'lost it' according to Heseltine, as he accused Boris of "losing his judgement".

That's rich coming from the Mace lifter.

Postscript [26.05.2016]

After Hestletine cometh Sugar.

I must be honest, I don't like the man. For me he is an overrated chancer, possibly because in my youth, comparatively speaking, I had the misfortune to buy some his Amstrad junk which he later described as "the biggest load of rubbish I've ever seen in my life". His haughty performance on Newsnight [advance to 28 min] last night did nothing to change my mind.

The 'In' campaign becomes more bizarre by the day with more and more dire warnings of the perils of leaving to such an extent that giving people the opportunity to vote is like offering them a revolver.

Please God we can have a more sensible debate in the little time that is left.

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Who are they?

Photograph: PA

I recognise the much leaner former Lord Chancellor, 'Charlie' Falconer (top right), ex-Anglican priest and gay activist Chris Bryant (3rd down) for banging on and on about gay people being the same as everyone else but deserving special privileges, and, to his left, Stephen Kinnock mainly for being Stephen Kinnock. The MP above Bryant looks familiar but I can not put a name to the face.

Years ago many of my contemporaries knew most if not all members of the Cabinet and their Shadow ministers. As an elderly friend often reminds me, that is when we had statesmen in government. That does not necessarily imply anything about their relative competence but one thing does. That is to know when their time is up.

Jeremy Corbyn is the surprise 'Leader' of the Labour party who is stuck in the past. He and his supporters see this as a breath of fresh air, a new kind of politics! Few had heard of him until an electoral wheeze backfired and horrified Labour MPs realised what they had done in broadening the field for the sake of appearances.

On Monday the Guardian reported: "Jeremy Corbyn is preparing himself for a leadership contest following a fresh wave of resignations, with 15 members of the shadow cabinet walking out and calling for him to step down from the helm of the party...A source close to Corbyn said the number of resignations was destabilising but ultimately irrelevant unless someone triggered a leadership election. 'In many ways, the shadow cabinet is now stronger. There is no shortage of good people who want to do these jobs. The only way to try to replace Jeremy is to stand against him in a democratic contest,' he said, adding that was now 'likely to happen'."

Areport this morning indicates that "more than 40 Labour MPs on Corbyn's front bench and in his shadow ministerial teamdanquot; have quit.

Ignoring all appeals from fellow MPs who have pointed to his lack of leadership skills and what they regard as his dismal performance or even 'sabotage' in the EU Remain campaign, Corbyn says he will stand again in a leadership election claiming support from the rank and arsip of the Labour Party. As he faces a No Confidence vote has he thought to ask himself, where were his 'loyal supporters' when he was supposed to be galvanising support for the Remain campaign?

Does it matter one jot if Momentum successfully retains Corbyn as leader if he does not command the confidence of the country? Of course not. Power often involves compromise. It was a hard lesson for Labour to learn but now apparently forgotten again. If they fluff it again they will have only themselves to blame.

Corbyn must make way for someone who is able to lead the Labour party as an effective Opposition and possibly into Government.

Update [28.06.2016]

Jeremy Corbyn has lost a confidence vote by 172 votes to 40 with 4 abstentions.

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The commissars are back

Len McCluskey said rivals to Jeremy Corbyn were unlikely to win union support.

Source; Guardian Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

Perhaps they have forgotten but Marx is dead, Thatcher is dead.

Severely weakened by Margaret Thatcher, the power of the Trades Unions is not what it used to be but the current difficulties being experienced by the Labour Party, driven by Momentum, have provided the opportunity for some Union bosses to flex their muscles again, Len McCluskey General Secretary of Unite and General Secretary Mark Serwotka of the Public and Commercial Services Union among them, with Corbyn appearing to be under the control of the unions.

The hard Left is campaigning for people to join the Labour Party simply to vote for a Leader who does not have the confidence of  the majority of Labour MPs to lead them. The hard Left's intervention is reminiscent ofMilitant Tendency in their attempted take-over of the Labour party in 1985 before Neil Kinnock made his memorable speech at the Party Conference in Bournemouth.

Many of the new activists appear to be young idealists who did not vote in the EU Referendum then complained afterwards because they did not like the result, mainly because of a perceived restriction on their movement around Europe, the same generation which tries to stop discussion in our universities. Exampleshere and here.

I have listened to Jeremy Corbyn. He is a prisoner of Party members who delude themselves into thinking that they represent the electorate. Corbyn may be the clear choice for leader of the Labour Party but MPs are elected by a much broader spectrum than party members. He says that the Opposition should be putting "enormous pressure on the Tory government on inequality, injustice and povertydanquot;, sounding remarkably like a pale reflection of what Theresa May has on offer in her leadership speeches.

More importantly, Theresa May is focused on Brexit, as is the electorate, not the petty party politics which continue to obsess the Labour Party. Principles without power are not the stuff of government. Corbyn may represent his party but the wider electorate takes a broader view.

There is no confidence in Corbyn among MPs as their leader so he should stand down to restore confidence in Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition in the interests of the country.

Postscript [19.07.2016]

The Trident vote has come and gone with a thumping majority in favour of renewal. Unlike 140 of his party colleagues the Leader of the Opposition decided to do his own thing and vote against the motion in opposition to Labour Party policy. The wishes of the membership can be fluid apparently.

Given Corbyn's pick and mix approach to politics he could be a terkini day Anglican but apparently he has no religion. He says "I go to churches, I go to mosques, I go to temples, I go to synagogues. I find religion very interesting. I find the power of faith very interesting." A little more faith in his fellow MPs would not go amiss instead of pressing the Labour destruct button. Said to be a "nice guy", Jeremy could easily be a New Anglican!

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