I along with lots of others thought Jack Monroe was a genuine force for good. Then it started to become clear that poverty cosplaying and campaigning is very lucrative and allows you to brag in the Guardian about spaffing other peoples money on booze and furniture.
Jack Monroe was taking money from people on less than £70 per week while taking in over £2K per month through patreon plus charging £10k for public appearances. You know what you’re getting with a Tory, Jack conned the vulnerable into thinking she was one of them.
Two fakes. A “Conservative” fake, Lee Anderson, who wants to say that State benefits are OK or even too generous, and a “poverty expert” fake, “Jack Monroe”, who is making money (as the first fake truly remarked about her on GB News last year) “off the backs of the poor“, and cheating people in several ways.
Ann, it is indeed a pretty disgraceful thing to say, the man is odious. However, let's not forget that JM herself says you can make a meal on much less than the 30p he claimed. I won't repeat the other responses you've had, but JM has made £££ saying the poor can't budget or cook
— Nikki Pilkington – non-wanky SEO (@NikkiPilkington) February 9, 2023
Please don't take it personally. She enrages a lot of people, me included. Do bear in mind that her alternate index still doesn't exist, despite her saying it was 'the work of a weekend'. I'm sorry you got caught up in all this though.
— Nikki Pilkington – non-wanky SEO (@NikkiPilkington) February 9, 2023
Anger is never an either/or situation though, is it? I can be angry about the war in Ukraine, Climate Change, eco-issues AND Jack Monroe taking money from people for Patreon / legal fees but not bothering to provide promised goods or going ahead with legal action, surely?
— Nikki Pilkington – non-wanky SEO (@NikkiPilkington) February 10, 2023
“Jack Monroe”, the grift that keeps on giving…oh, no, wait… I meant to say “taking”…
…and, yes, 498 mugs are still each sending her between £3.50 and £44 (!) via Patreon every single month. One of the most successful grey-area “near”-frauds I have ever seen.
The by-election was caused by the standing-down of incumbent MP Rosie Cooper, a poor MP in my opinion, who at one point wanted England and Wales to institute no-jury trials (“Diplock courts”, as used in Northern Ireland) for defendants accused of politically-motivated crimes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosie_Cooper. She was also, at one time, vice-Chair of Labour Friends of Israel.
The reason why Rosie Cooper stood down (at the age of 72) was because she will now be getting two or three times her MP salary, as head of an NHS Trust.
As to the inevitable Labour victory in the by-election, no surprise. Labour’s vote share of 62.3% compares to 52.1% in 2019.
The other candidates did not shine. Reform UK got 4.4%, but there again, its predecessor Farage-vehicle, Brexit Party, scored 4.3% in 2019. The Greens and Libdems ended up more or less where they had been at the 2019 election; both lost their deposits, as did Reform UK (and the Monster Raving Loony).
What can we take away from this? That Labour remains fairly solid in at least some historically-Labour areas, that the Conservative Party is going nowhere in such areas, and that the two main System parties face no threat from Reform UK, the LibDems, or the Greens.
The most interesting fact about the by-election is that the turnout was only 31.4%; well over two-thirds of the eligible electorate could not be bothered to vote. If a party were to exist that could energize the remaining 68.6%, it might be a different story.
Incidentally, the new MP is one Ashley Dalton, about 52-53 years old, a widow who “identifies as LBGT [and as] a gay woman” [Wikipedia: see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_Dalton].
Turbulence in global #food markets is primarily related to the short-sighted policies of Western countries, who pumped up national financial systems with cheap money in order to mitigate the consequences of #COVID19 pandemic, thereby unbalancing global markets, incl food markets. pic.twitter.com/kBkOAtCX6m
💬#Zakharova: On February 13-15, 1945, the UK & US forces waged the infamous barbaric air bombings of Dresden.
◾️ It was the most devastating bombing attack in Europe during #WWII. Different estimates of the death toll vary from 25,000-50,000 to over 135,000 people#NeverForgetpic.twitter.com/CXQvTeSspH
.@thecoastguy’s reputation will shine brightly and brilliantly for years to come, long after the reputation of The Guardian has been self-soiled into insignificance.
Russia demands those responsible for Nord Stream blasts must be named and punished after investigative reporter claims Joe Biden ordered US navy to destroy the gas pipehttps://t.co/JxqXNncRkD
A fairly hard-hitting video by Paul Joseph Watson, “@PrisonPlanet”. I do not rate Watson very highly from the strict political point of view, but his interesting vlogs have awoken many, at least from unquestioning acceptance of the propaganda pumped out by the System.
This time, the crime involved crazed lesbians, one of which (the actual murderess) was from some (unspecified but looking at the photo probably Irish tinker-“traveller”) “gypsy” origin, according to the newspaper report.
Is there more of this sort of terrible abuse now, as compared to, say, 1960, or 1930? I do not know. The breakdown of society, and social norms, may be part of the problem, but there is a dearth of reliable information.
The cost of the panicdemic/scamdemic “measures”and relief
Conservative Party candidates have won every election for the seat since 1832 (the seat was not in existence between 1885 and 1983), and the Conservative Party vote peaked in 2019 at 62.7%.
Labour, though traditionally usually coming in in second place, came close to ousting the Conservative candidate in 1997; only about 4 points separated the top two that year.
In 2019, the Labour candidate received a vote-share of 22.1%, but the same candidate had scored 31.1% in 2017.
The Conservative Party vote-share has risen uninterruptedly since 1997, whereas the Labour vote has generally declined; the 2017 Labour vote-share was higher than in most years.
It follows that, should the “unthinkable” occur and Shastri-Hurst not be elected, the shock to the Conservative Party (and “Boris”) would be seismic.
Among the 14 candidates are Reclaim Party (the Laurence Fox vehicle), Reform UK (the latest Nigel Farage pop-up), the rump of UKIP, and Heritage, as well as Green Party and the LibDems, whose best result in effect (as Liberal Party) was a second-place 31.6% in 1983.
In the past, it was likely that serious tactical voters would go Labour rather than LibDem, Labour having the higher likelihood of success in the seat, but that is an open question this time. The bookmakers put the Conservatives and LibDems neck-and-neck, and it seems that confidence is not high in the “Boris” camp. Having said that, bookmakers are often a poor source for election predictions, their odds reflecting (mainly) bets placed, many of which are placed far from the constituency.
Naturally, newspaper reports such as that, showing that the LibDems have a good chance, tend to encourage tactical voting.
As to how much the Conservative vote will be impacted by the smaller quasi-conservative parties such as Reform UK, Reclaim, UKIP and Heritage, hard to say but probably no more than 20% altogether. Still, that notional 20% could be crucial.
Turnout is forecast to be low, not least because many usually Conservative voters seem to despise “Boris” and his misgovernment, and so, unwilling to vote Labour or even LibDem, may simply abstain.
My assessment? I think that the LibDems must have a chance, anyway.
The usual Conservative vote may not turn out (though many will have voted by post already), the overall turnout may be low (favouring other parties), the majority of voters in such a seat will never vote for post-2010 Labour, and the four smaller baby-con parties will tap votes which would otherwise go Con.
The LibDems are not quite as zealous about Covid “restrictions” and “measures” (such as the facemask nonsense) as are the present Government and its Labour “enablers”. That may help the LibDems.
The Conservative candidate is non-white (apparently half-English) in a 95% white English constituency, though that may be of only peripheral importance, looking at non-white “Conservative” MPs elsewhere. I had never heard of him until today but, reading about him, he seems to be very much a “head over heart” person; the voters may not warm to him.
There again, many people just want to give both the “Boris” circus and the Labour “enablers” (who have just saved the Government’s bacon yet again) a good kick. That has to favour the LibDems. Still, fairly open even now.
It will be interesting to see how misnamed “Labour” does, too. About 31% in 2017, but only 22% in 2019 (both times under Corbyn). Now, under “Covid” zealot Starmer? If Labour cannot get at least 20%, it will be significant.
[Update, 14 December 2022: well, the above analysis stood up pretty well: see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_North_Shropshire_by-election. In the event, the LibDem won “a famous victory” (famous for 5 or perhaps 15 minutes) with 47.2% of the vote (2019, 10%). The Con Party candidate crashed and burned (31.6%, down from 62.7% in 2019). Labour came in third, with a mere 9.7% (down from 22.1% in 2019)].
Tweets seen
I spoke to ITV journalist @DanielHewittITV about his incredible and shocking investigation into social housing conditions.
He said he and his colleagues won’t be stopping until something is done. https://t.co/0Vh8Qeaewf
Makes this cringe-worthy quote even more cringe-worthy: “He’s been going around telling everyone Boris offered him a peerage after the election – he’s convinced he’ll be in the Lords next year,” a source said https://t.co/mqRl6Jy5hH
So to get a peerage now, if you cannot donate a million to a System political party, you have to do noteworthy things such as…set up a charity or “good cause” which closes after a year or two with all its monies “gone” under suspicious circumstances, then fail to become either an MP or Mayor of London, and then…oh. that’s it, except that it helps to be black or brown these days.
At least Stuchbery has given up describing himself as “historian“. Now it is “journalist/content editor“…
🎙PODCAST: "We have a Tory base that has lost confidence".@bnhwalker joins @anoosh_c, @PronouncedAlva and @stephenkb for a monthly polling update. Together they discuss whether the Downing Street Christmas party scandal is cutting through.
A rigged contest between an incompetent government and the official opposition that is enabling most of that government’s dictatorial “Covid” laws and regulations.
I have blogged before about potential minority Labour governments which would depend on SNP support. Problem would be that the SNP would like another Independence referendum, or even actual Independence. The hypothetical minority Labour government could not of course grant the latter without a referendum. As to the former, the SNP would probably make the holding of such a referendum a sine qua non of any Commons support.
Were a Scottish Independence referendum to be held, and were the SNP to win a majority for breaking away from the UK, as soon as the break happened, there would be no SNP MPs at Westminster. That Labour government would then fall.
On the figures modelled, Labour could then govern with LibDem support, but recent elections have shown the Conservative Party far larger in the Commons than Labour. No SNP might mean no Labour government ever again. An interesting conundrum for Labour, if those modelled figures were to match electoral reality in the next 2-3 years.
More tweets
Headline rate of inflation for UK soars to 5.1% in November up from 4.2% the month before, highest rate for over a decade. It’s over two and. Half times above the Bank of England’s target of 2%.
That Tom Harwood person is obviously a “slithey tove”, and careerist, who is quite knowingly “controlled opposition”.
#DoNotComply MASSIVE queue for booster shots at the Vaccination Centre in Brighton, this morning, 09:15
Three people 😂
I don’t believe media who are telling us there are queues everywhere. That’s 3 days of negligible or zero queues in a city with a population of 274,000+ 🤔 pic.twitter.com/VnQQYiiEZT
Pretty sad that a government can use the Whittys and Fergusons to give faked “credibility” to their agenda —or rather the agenda of a transnational conspiracy of which “Boris” and his clowns are mere puppets— and then use scribblers and talking heads to spread the fake news.
For some reason, far more hits on the blog today than usual; several hundred, in fact. The other unusual statistic is that two-thirds today are apparently from Germany, which is very anomalous. There are usually a few hits from Germany, but not hundreds! Deutschland erwache!?
For those who may be interested, this blog usually gets about 80% of its hits from the UK; the rest come from all over the world, though most are from the USA, Australia, and a few other countries (France, Germany, Canada, and —oddly?— China are usually represented). I have had hits from almost every country, even places such as Burkina Faso, Paraguay, and (once only, I think!) Antarctica. Perhaps Adolf, emerging from an Antarctic opening from the hollow Earth (by submarine or flying saucer?), with devotees of the Welteislehre! Only joking…
The atomization of the population, and the sophisticated tools now in use for repressing any collective political or socio-political dissent, may lead to a wave of “lone wolves”, unless a proper social-national movement comes into existence soon. That possible wave of lone wolves would be a pity, because only a social-national movement can save us.
Thousands of protesters have packed the streets of Munich, Germany tonight to demand an end to COVID tyranny and lockdown for the unvaccinated.pic.twitter.com/SbtmmYxDzW
Just imagine…that could, and in fact would, be President of the USA if Biden were to snuff it while in office! Still, look at Biden himself. Come to that, who are we to talk, looking at Boris-idiot, Gove, and the rest of that pack of clowns?
When I’m fired on 1st April 2022 after 27 years service in the NHS, after a handful of days off (dying parent, ill child, bladder infection), after giving 110% to all patients, after working unpaid overtime, after being on call overnight so often, I shall hold my head up high.
I would compare these venal MPs to members of another old-established occupation, but at least those others give their customers pleasure, and/or a presumably required service, and at least the public does not end up footing the bill.
I did not know that, not that that matters, I not being a voter in North Shropshire.
Pass these covid criminal mugshots to every publican and restauranter you know. They should be barred from every hospitality premises in the country. Lock them out, then lock them up!#LockThemAllUppic.twitter.com/cQye0OeJ1R
I have a better and more just idea, but do not think that I can express it. I might add that I am surprised that Griffin, a Cambridge graduate, cannot spell the word restaurateur.
Every single politician, #ScumMedia hack, #BigPharma crook & shirking GP who has helped stoke #covidhysteria should be tried for the manslaughter of the thousands of innocent victims of their lockdowns & restrictions.https://t.co/O6qxJcWMQG
Just nine months ago. It sounded foreign but not now.
"the ritual that in China…scan a barcode wt your phone & show off…an app that delivers a “green” pass…At the entrance of a building…to take the train.. or simply to go home"https://t.co/6MQyGg5kdU
All those who value the beauty of Oxford should be concerned about a new plan to massacre mature trees on a hillside overlooking the city, and litter the formerly wooded slopes with 60-foot student barrack blocks. pic.twitter.com/llIUic1kqS
Already, Oxford is very different to what it was, not in the time of Zuleika Dobson, or that of Brideshead Revisited, but to what it was in the early 1960s.
I recall going once or twice with my mother in or about 1962 to some kind of Oxfam volunteer thing on, I think, a Saturday (we lived between Reading and Wallingford, so not hugely far from Oxford). I recall tables strewn with donated clothing in some kind of church hall or the like. People were sorting them, I think.
I do remember fairly empty roads, even in Oxford itself. I think we drove past the famous meadow track where the 4-minute-mile had been broken in 1954; my mother remarked on it. Anyway, the point is that the city and surroundings seemed uncrowded, quite different to the congested Oxford of today, where driving and especially parking is a nightmare.
Yes, @claxheughrocks. The BBC said this morning that the inflation figures were a 'surprise'. Well, as official propaganda broadcasters, they are fast approaching the point where *everything* in the real world will be a surprise. https://t.co/FU0TiTWChD
Inflation 5%…not very long ago it was about 2.5%. Then we have the “proposal” to increase the pension age more rapidly than had been planned before the “panicdemic”.
Still think that “furlough” payments, and the rest of the “Covid” madness, came at no cost to the individual citizen? Think again…
Late music
Incidentally, the hall where that noble performance of Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony was recorded, on 7 October 1944, was destroyed by Allied bombing only weeks, or even days, later. There is now nothing left of the Beethoven-saal but a few stones and a couple of plaques. Wikipedia has the date of its destruction as 1 January 1944, which is probably a mistake (it may have been 1 January 1945).
Ian Robert Millard 