Stay on target

Labour have the conference this week.  A lot has been in the media about a possible leadership challenge.  Labour are failing in the polls.  Labour have spoken out against the racist policies of Farage and Reform UK but I think that they are still sending the wrong message on immigration and that Labour should capitalise on the actions of Trump to attract highly skilled immigrants to the UK, in addition to others who can help our companies work.  

And Labour communication is terrible.  Labour have gone a lot, but a lot more needs to be done.

But, Labour are only a year into their term.  I would emphasise that and stress that a lot of damage needs to be undone.  Rachel Reeves is right to talk about the cost of borrowing, something that people forget. I do think that an asset tax should be considered, but taxing the income of the wealthy (as many on the left want) can lead to capital flight and a reduction in how much money taxation brings in.  

Things look bleak now, and the message of Labour should reflect that, but also how things are going to get better later.  So just like the rebel pilots at the end of Star Wars, no matter now hopeless things seem, we have to have faith that Labour will be able to deliver more and also that people will appreciate that.

Would JK Rowling join Your Party if Zarah Sultana leaves it?

Since my post yesterday, I have found out about some of the differences between Zarah Sultana and the Independent Alliance MP’s who may become part of Your Party. One of them is about TransRights and I suspect that I am on the side of the Independent Alliance MP, Adnan Hussein, who tweeted his views on the matter. 

For those who do not know, I am a transphobe. I consider a TransWoman to be a TransWoman, not a woman, just as I consider a TransMan to be a TransMan and not a man.

Cisgender individuals do not spend their lives experiencing Gender Dysphoria the way that those who are non-binary do. Men need to be taught not to rape, something that is not as much of an issue for TransMen who are more likely to be raped than rape. A TransWoman has to grow up with a penis, this brings about experiences that a woman will not have. Equating the experiences of someone who is non-binary with a cisgender individual minimises what that person has had to go through. Yes, in addition to this, there are the UK statistics about how prisoners who are TransWomen are much more likely to be sex offenders than cisgender men or women, but this population does not reflect the transgender community at large. 

The transgender community face discrimination and worse, action being needed to address this, but the rights of women should not be eroded by such changes. 

I doubt that JK Rowling, despite her left wing views will support Labour again while Keir Starmer is in charge, due to the way that Rosie Duffield was treated, which means that a gender critical left wing party may be who she ends up supporting. So long as they do not turn out to be a sexist boys club and they respect LGB rights. 

Your Party, the Judean People's Front and The People's Front of Judea

Getting back from work late, I as not aware of the fiasco involving some of the left of British politics. I watched BBC News on BBC One to find out what happened with the second visit of Trump to the UK this year.  And then the story about Your Party was mentioned.

At the time of posting this, I am watching the video below. I suspect that few will ever know the truth of what has happened between Corbyn and Sultana, politicians who I respect and who would be great in leading a utopia, but sadly we do not live in one. In an ideal, I would want the government of the UK to be more left wing, to make more radical changes, but we do not live in an ideal world. Labour under Starmer have had to make a series of bad decisions, trying to pick which one is the least worst option. They have had to sacrifice what they would ideally like to do, due to the economic constraints that the Conservatives left for the national. The difference between Labour now and the Tories of 2010 is that the Conservatives used the world wide economic crash to justify austerity, that and be effective in blaming the predecessor for the economy. 

Jeremy Corbyn, despite being a decent and honourable man, presided over a Labour Party riven by infighting and which created a toxic environment which drove many away.  It appears the same has happened with Your Party.  Personally, I do not see the need for Your Party. I think that the left would be better suited by backing The Green Party instead of fragmenting into different parties. Corbyn and Sultana as part of the Green Party would make it an even more powerful electoral force.  

While I do find this hilarious, it is sadly predictable as noted by Monty Python in The Life Of Brian. Many groups on the left split as they seek their own vision of Socialism rather than working together for the betterment of the people.  

I just hope the same will happen (again) to Reform UK. 

Athletic Bilbao

Another game and another victory. Watching the highlights, it appeared to be an easy game, at least until the substitutes came on.  It is too early in the season to comment accurately on how it will end, but victories like this are important for team morale. 

Arsenal and the victory on the weekend

I managed to watch the highlights of the Arsenal game. It was great to win again, even more so against the old manager of The Scum. Our second position in the league is on goal difference. I know I should be grateful that we have finished second, a position other teams would love to have finished in, but I cannot help but be envious at the trophies other teams have won. 

True patriots accept that our nation is multicultural

When Djed Spence played for England, I had mixed feelings. I was glad to see the first Muslim player take the field, and annoyed that a Spurs player was on the pitch.  When we were in Bristol on the weekend, the hotel we stayed in hosted the England (Women’s) Rugby team. There was no racism about them representing our nation. The Union flag and the flag of St George was flown outside the hotel as it has been for ages, but the roundabout near it had lampposts adorned with Union flags, but like with many places in the country, due to where they are, it is like they are at half mast.

On the weekend, there was a far right march. While the march for Palestine Action had more arrests, most were for peaceful protest. On the weekend, the far right decided that Blue Lives don’t matter and they attacked the police, the arrests being for violent conduct. 

The Union flag is one of inclusion, taking in languages other than English, the same with the flag of St George. Those who insist that only English is spoken on our shores are not aware how Cornish is a native language along with Scottish Gaelic and of course Welsh. Yiddish and Hebrew have also been an important part of our nation, with speakers being back on our shores in large numbers since the 19th century.

The flag of our nation represents values and ideals that people literally risk death to be part of. It was welcomed refugees for centuries and intolerance to them has been present in darker parts of our history as it is now. If you like the music of Queen, remember that Freddie Mercury was a refugee. Rita Ora, singer and actress, was a refugee as was Mika, another singer. And of course, our nation has Christian values, and Jesus was a refugee from The Middle East.  

I have met some Asylum Seekers. Many have terrible tales and we should accept those, but I have met a minority whom I would argue could seek refuge within their nation, with no actual need to travel to the UK. A change in European law is needed to ensure that those who need to come here do, while those who do not have to are not given asylum, for there is no doubt that our generosity is being abused.

Last of all, we housed the homeless during the COVID pandemic. It is right that we offer shelter to asylum seekers, but we should be doing the same to the homeless as well. 

Back home

We are back at home after our drive back. We checked out of the hotel after breakfast, delivered our last item to my daughter and took her for a coffee while we heard about her first night in university accommodation.

After that, we met up with friends who travelled from Wales whom we have not seen in a long time. It was great to meet in person and to catch up. My wife took a bit of pleasure showing pictures of Tony and I from his 50th birthday. Both he and I honestly could not remember them until they were shown to us. 

And then it was our drive home.  And it rained and rained. When we started off, it was not too bad, and then it got worse. When my wife and I swapped over it started to rain a lot more. Traffic was so bad, we had to drive the wrong way around the M25. My son was amazing, he kept us entertained with music and now we are back at home resting. 

Daughter drop off

Another exhausting day. My daughter is now dropped off and hopefully is enjoying her first night at University. Taking her to university was easy, it was getting a few items that my wife felt was needed which made things worse, that and a lunch that never came.

However, we have had dinner at a restaurant called Nadu, one my son, wife and I would recommend and hope to return to. All in all, a productive, but as noted before, an exhausting day. 

Soon to say goodbye

We are in Bristol. My daughter moves into university accommodation tomorrow. My wife booked a hotel for us to stay in, she has been here before, this being when we had come for an open day. Then she used the spa with a friend.

This turns out to be the hotel the England Rugby squad are using, but I have no idea who the star players are as I don’t watch rugby that often and have not watched any of the women’s games.  I will be letting one of our friends know as his daughters play rugby and he loves the sport having played rugby himself when younger. 

We are all going to miss her, but I am also envious and excited that the next stage of her life is to begin. 

Charlie Kirk and the costs of school shootings

Let me start by saying that the murder of Charlie Kirk is wrong.

I have listened to The Newsagents discussing the murder of Charlie Kirk. On the day he died, another school shooting took place in the USA, but this was not discussed.  This is because yet another school shooting in the USA is no longer news.

His comment about how it is “worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment” is a price many advocates of Gun Rights do not pay. Sadly, this price was also paid by students at Evergreen High School, and I suspect that like many Americans, they did not agree with the price to pay for “Gun Freedom” in the USA.

I do feel a bit sorry for Charlie Kirk and the huge grief his loved ones feel, but my thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the school shooting that day, and the many other Americans who were murdered by gun violence yesterday, the deaths of whom are not getting the coverage of Charlie Kirk. 

Trump, the Epstein Birthday Card and the image that is meant to be a woman.

Trump is someone who loves being the centre of attention.  I try not to post about him too much (now) as there is so much to post, and while he is getting our attention, his government is taking advantage of the distraction to cause chaos elsewhere.  But, this image has to be commented on.  Many are saying it is the image of a woman.  It is not.  It is the image of a teenager, and a young one at that.  The allegation is that Trump sent it to Epstein.  This means that if true, Trump knew that Epstein had an interest in underage girls because that is what he drew for his friend.  

The released documents do not just affect him, others, including our ambassador to the US have been named in it, though our ambassador admits it is him and regrets his association.

 

Organising a drinking meeting in a brewery

It is surprising that Your Party has yet to launch.  There are those who have commented at the chaos around its launch.  There have been two interviews, one with Jeremy Corbyn, the other with Zarah Sultana.  What surprises me more than the delay is the statement that they are "not creating a party that was just about winning elections. "

The quote may be taken out of context, but the power to change things comes about by winning elections.  Being pure to the core did not work in 2017, it did not work in 2019.  All it did was give the Conservatives more time to make things worse for our nation.  Saying that, it is unlikely that Labour are to win the next election, and if that is the case, at least the members can campaign for the country they want, even if that country rejects them, again.   

Vaccines and Darwinism

There has been some debate about vaccinations thanks to Reform UK.  There are many who argue that they are spreading fake news (they are) and that this is a bad thing. My view is that I respect the right of people not to be vaccinated, and that I am more than happy for Reform UK supporters to decline vaccines.

During the heat of the COVID pandemic, vaccines were developed and given.  Not all decided to take vaccines or engage in social distancing.  As a result, more Republicans died of COVID than Democrats.  If Reform UK wish to repeat that in Great Britain with COVID and possibly other conditions, that is up to them.  

For those who watch the video's, the COVID vaccine was never intended to stop people catching COVID, the outcomes were a reduction in death and hospital admissions. 

Sadly, the downside of reduced vaccinations will be more dead and disabled children.  Working in the NHS, I have seen the consequences of not being vaccinated.  But that has been happening before the latest story.

A night at a wedding

Yesterday my wife and I went to a wedding reception in London. The day was a bit tense at the beginning, her hair appointment ran over and I had not used to time to iron. We had decided to stay over in London and I had to hunt for our parking which my wife pre-paid for. I took a guess about which car park it was, today finding out that it was the right one. The hotel was great, my wife noting that outside each room it had a clock, the time indicating which room was which. 

The reception was amazing, the bride looked beautiful, and there was an open bar. No cocktails, but free flowing alcohol. It was great to meet up with those I had not seen in a while, and it we had time to let our hair down and relax. The best man did a speech but sadly it was lacking as he was very nervous, spoke too quickly and mumbled. The sister of the bride did the best speech, the groom following close behind.

A memorable night and a relaxing day with my wife.  Cannot really ask for more. Though the video of me drunk dancing being sent to my kids could not have been recorded… 

Why I admire Angela Rayner

Sadly, Angela Rayner has had to resign. I have a lot of respect and admiration for her with what she has overcome to become deputy PM. One of the many things that won me over was her scum comment, and while I can understand the offence it caused, I still love her for it. Comparisons have been made with Nadhim Zahawi’s tax issues but she did not issue a legal threat to The Independent to try to stop her tax revelations from being discussed. My wife said that she should have known that she was going to be a target and should have taken even more precautions than other MP’s, an example of this being when she was accused of being a temptress to Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister with numerous children from numerous affairs. 

This will not be the last we have heard from her. I wait with interest to see what she will say in the future. 

Free speech and Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage has been over to the USA to complain about free speech in the UK.  I thought he was charming and composed himself well, but he lied and distorted the truth when there. 

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, which has banned Nottinghamshire Live from speaking to them, has complained about free speech in Britain. 

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK which has threatened The Independent with a ban, has complained about free speech in the UK. 

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, which banned Byline Times from its 2024 conference, has complained about free speech in Great Britain. 

Nigel Farage who has called for the police to investigate a comedian over a joke, has complained about free speech in UK. 

This last part is important as Graham Linehan has been arrested over a tweet made in April and this may have been because of incitement to violence. The difference between him and Lucy Connolly is the length of time that passed before the tweet and the arrest, and also, one called for arson during a time of civil disobedience when arson was taking place. Needless to say, he had mentioned both as infringement of free speech, but remember, Lucy Connolly admitted her guilt even though she had planned an excuse to get away with her incitement to arson. 

We should not be ashamed of our flag

Today, my wife told me about an act of true patriotism. A centre for Muslims has decided to display the flag to remind people that you do not have to be white to be British. 

Our flag is one that has values which inspire people to risk death to reach.  I would never deny that our history, like all nations, has a toxic element, but overall, I would argue that our nation has atoned for some of its sins.  

I am glad to live in a nation that is diverse.  I wish more would appreciate that diversity and inclusiveness is a good things.