Brian Taylor of BBC Scotland said last night he picked up at Holyrood that the other unionist parties were pleased that UKIP had won the former Lib Dem seat in Scotland and stopped the SNP getting a third. That was the most revealing moment of last night for me – it showed the vicious irresponsibility of the Better Together campaign, and exposed the lie that UKIP are outsiders.
The other moment worth watching was Alex Salmond confronting Dimbleby that the BBC had given UKIP four times as much coverage time in Scotland during the campaign as the SNP. Dimbleby tamely responded that his complaint should be directed to BBC Scotland. The BBC’s promotion of UKIP again explodes the myth of UKIP as outsiders.
The Unionist camp’s pathetic attempt to claim that UKIP’s 10% and fourth place in Scotland, squeaking one seat, shows Scotland is the same politically as England where UKIP got 29% and came first, is desperate politics. That in order to make that point they were happy for a racist party to marginally represent Scotland in Europe, is a sign of the total moral bankruptcy of the Better Together neo-con British Nationalist programme.
New Labour are completely screwed. To only beat the Tories by 1%, when there is a huge UKIP voteof which a significant slice will go back to the Tories, shows there is no chance whatsoever that New Labour will win the UK general election.
The people of Scotland have a very simple choice in September. Independence, or another Tory government which will probably pull the UK out of the EU, and might very well be in coalition with UKIP.
New Labour won almost nowhere except London. It is the party of London., with a leader who has never in his life lived outside London. But it is a fascinating fact that of all the class, educational, geographical and other statistics you can correlate with New Labour success, the factor with the strongest correlation of all with the New Labour share of the vote is the prevalence of postal voting. New Labour can win only where the system is open widest to abuse through massive scale electoral fraud.
Some of this is straight fraud – postal ballots being given to ghost voters, non-existent people on the register. That is very much more prevalent than you probably imagine. But mostly it operates through the deprivation of the privacy of the polling booth. In a polling station nobody is supposed to be allowed to look over your shoulder (although there were disgraceful scenes in places in Tower Hamlets, Wood Green and Newham). But if you receive your ballot paper in your home, you are extremely vulnerable if you live in a situation where others are able to enter your home and demand to check that you have voted the right way before you post your ballot. That is beyond doubt the situation both of many family members, particularly affecting women, and of certain highly hierarchical and patriarchal communities. Postal ballot distortion is an absolutely disgraceful blot on British political culture. It is also fundamental to New Labour’s ability to salvage something from a disastrous electoral performance.
There is indeed a very nasty undercurrent of racism in England at the moment. I live in one of UKIP’s strongest areas and this racism cannot be wished away. In fact I do not believe that Farage is personally racist, and I believe he is genuine not tactical in his abhorrence of the French National Front. But I do believe Farage has pandered to and encouraged people who are racists, and that there are a great many racists within UKIP. These people must not be allowed to become a ‘respectable’ part of politics and must be confronted wherever they appear.
I have argued for years that the UK is not a democracy in that no real choice is offered between the main political parties. Their policies are all the same. If the range of possible policies on any one issue were enumerated from 1 to 100, New Labour, Lib Dem and Tories offer you choices in the range 81 to 86. The electorate has noticed, and people are sick of it. People have noticed all over Europe too. The politics of neo-con consensus and its lackey media is happily dead. This is a change that will not stop. Once we imprison enough neo-cons who ripped off the public and the taxpayer, perhaps they might concede that it turns out history had not ended after all.
It is true that UKIP’s support does represent an upsurge of dissatisfaction with the political elite, and that also is part of an unarticulated rage at the astonishing growth of inequality of wealth in society and the vast shift of resources to the billionaire middlemen in the financial sector who do extremely little for it. It is good that rage is building, and Syriza show in Greece that it can be constructively channelled. But it is much more often and with much more success diverted in order to awake volcanoes of atavism, and rage that should be directed at plutocrats is instead turned on foreigners. The danger is letting that analysis divert you from the fact of how very, very real and very, very nasty that atavism is in the dispossessed classes. We are in a dangerous place. The neo-con establishment is fanning racist flames.
At school, we were taught about the years of revolution in Europe of 1830-32 and 1848-9. Those revolutionary years coincided with Asian Cholera pandemics, which undoubtedly played a part in driving people beyond endurance. You can of course argue that poverty and famine assisted the spread of the pandemics.
This current year of European change has also been sparked by economic distress, and seen an increase in poverty marker diseases, some of which we had hoped had effectively vanished. But plague has been a cause. Europe has suffered the most devastating plague of bankers in history.
The disillusioned should not blame immigrants. Immigrants are victims too. Turn your wrath on the bankers, the billionaires and the neo-con parties who do their bidding. Another world is possible.
Let’s start by ending the UK and setting Scotland free. It is not illegitimate to judge an idea in part by the quality and motives of those who oppose it. The full range of the neo-con establishment prefer racist isolation for a neo-con UK to a free Scotland. Just look at them. Then kick them where it really hurts.
Jives
BTW, I forgot to ask : are you a Dennis Skinner type of socialist or are you the Tony Crosland/Tony Benn kind?
John Goss
Bolstered by his democratic legitimacy, the new President of Ukraine will – I hope – lose no time in bringing to a rapid end the attempts by various fascist thugs to create a Mafia-state in eastern Ukraine.
Those thugs would also be well advised to stop shoving women, children and old people into harm’s way. Once order has been restored, it is to be hoped that the perpetrators will be brought to face justice.
What legitimacy is that, Habby? The truly independent candidates were threatened into withdrawing, and in the end the choice was a bit of a Hobson’s choice. Notice that the two very far right candidates got 1.5% support, which means 450000… Yow! Still, they should be very effective guardians of the Biden fracking operations.
Perfectly sober Habbabkuk,up with the larks this morning i was.
Interesting you picked up on my repeated use of the word “sinister” to describe you.
Guilty conscience eh?
Do check my gangstalking link.Its what happens when state actors overreach.
Sinister eh?
The fair trade organisation is not much better in spreading equality and equity in west Africa, John, its not just mr. Potorenko/shenko or whatever he’s called.
Cocoa is still a cartel with African producers of value added chocolate being sparse in our markets. All this twaddle about fair trade has been OTT and the same multinationals employing this NGO, are giving it a bad name, making fair trade impossible through their ruthless control.
Child l;abour is just one issue, pay is another. I would happily pay 5 pence more for chocolate if I knew it reaches the farmer who works most for our treats, but that won’t happen with multinational selfish shareholders in charge.
“Child labour is just one issue, pay is another. I would happily pay 5 pence more for chocolate if I knew it reaches the farmer who works most for our treats, but that won’t happen with multinational selfish shareholders in charge.”
Me too. Same with organic food, if you could trust the labels, and know that the organic farmer was on the receiving end of the extra dosh. My understanding is that if the produce from non organic farms looks inferior they mark it as organic and inflate the price. Source: something I saw on mainstream TV, so not sure how much trust can be placed on it.
Spolied votes mangled with other rejected votes.
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/152670/Response-for-website-70-12.pdf
Fall out. Oakeshott is bailing out.
Oakeshott quits Lib Dems with Clegg ‘disaster’ warning
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27604131
His niece Isabel is the Times’ political editor.
Cable ignored reporters’ questions in China.
Clegg Poll: Vince Cable Must Address Claims
Lord Oakeshott’s old chum must say what he knew about the botched coup to get rid of Nick Clegg, writes Sky’s Jon Craig.
http://news.sky.com/story/1270711/clegg-poll-vince-cable-must-address-claims
Craig,
So you’ve got information from the police? Did they not stop the canvassing in the polling booths? They apparently did nothing but thought “Let’s tell that bloke who runs that website!”
I haven’t proved your point at all, nor have you. Labour has no need at all to cheat in the North East. It’s donkey in a red rosette country. What on earth would the point be? Didn’t your Liberal Democrat pals really go for postal votes in Eastleigh?
Pardon me for thinking you were associated postal voting problems with Asian voters. Didn’t you offer some man in the pub anthropology up there about patriarchal communities? Doubtless that meant Geordies. And didn’t you do some “bet Blackburn’s the highest again” lark, when they weren’t before? Or was that just a figure of speech?
I suppose there’s no chance of you backing up that “Blackburn will have the highest again” lark, is there? With actual postal voting statistics like I gave you?
Broadbrush conspiracy these days, Craig?
Mary
It says those “place persons” on the Electoral Commission were approved by Parliament.
What’s this then?
http://liberalconspiracy.org/2013/03/02/ukip-steals-the-xenophobe-breaking-down-the-eastleigh-result/
Lib Dems win Eastleigh by-election because of postal votes, losing the in person votes to UKIP.
Can’t find how many postal votes there were. Apparently 14,000 issued, per Rowena Mason.
TubbyHabbyWubbyBubby.
Tubby, your commendable damage limitation exercfise aside, have you been in Blackburn during the 2010 GE campaign and were you present at the count when 2000 postal votes disappeared?
Have you seen Mohammed Khan come out of one of his relatives homes with two heavy bags full of postal votes?
Jack Straws regime in Blackburn has turned politics into a mugs/thugs game, to deny it would be denying history.
Jives
“Interesting you picked up on my repeated use of the word “sinister” to describe you.”
_______________________
and interesting that you should think that, given that I didn’t pick up on that word at all (because meaningless):
“Jives (07h46)
* go and get some sleep
* go and sleep it off
(delete whichever not applicable)
I’ll excuse your vulgar, intemperate, prattish language on the grounds that you are probably tired and emotional. :)”
Do you often see pink spiders climbing up the wall?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=
By the way, I notice that you haven’t divulged yet whether you are a Dennis Skinner type of socialist or rather of the Tony Crosland/Tiny Benn persuasion.
Why so coy?
Tiny Benn , indeed! TONY Benn (although his political impact was tiny).
Peacewisher
The content of your comments belies your moniker.
“What legitimacy is that, Habby?”
________________________
The legitimacy of free and fair elections, certified as such by OSCE (except in the eastern regions of Ukraine, where pro-Russia bully boys and hired fascist thugs succeeded to some extent in intimidating people into not voting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“The truly independent candidates were threatened into withdrawing,”
_______________
Respectable links to back up that assertion, please.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Notice that the two very far right candidates got 1.5% support, which means 450000… Yow!”
_____________________
Indeed, and in the unlikely event if there ever being free and fair elections in China, no doubt 1,5% would also vote for rather unpleasant parties, which means 8.000.000…Yow!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Still, they should be very effective guardians of the Biden fracking operations.”
______________________
Any thoughts on the environment-friendly aspects of industrial development in Russia and China, Peacewisher?
********************
I fear that you are a mere Excellence (candidate- level, of course).
Jives
“TubbyHabbyWubbyBubby.”
__________________
How old are you, Jonathan?
I see we have a worthy replacement for Fedup as blog piss-head in the form of Jives.
The Electoral Commission faced widespread criticism for the handling of the 2010 UK general election,[1][2][3] including allegations of fraudulent postal voting,[2] polling stations being unprepared for an evening surge of voters,[4] policing of voters protesting at one polling station,[4][5] and only enough ballot papers for 80% of voters.[6]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_Commission_(United_Kingdom)
Organisation[edit]
Commissioners and Chief Executive
Jenny Watson was appointed by the Speakers Committee in January 2009 as the second Chair of the Electoral Commission. Ms Watson was previously Chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission.
Max Caller is Chair of the Boundary Committee for England.
Henrietta Campbell is the Commissioner with responsibility for Northern Ireland.
Ian Kelsall is the Commissioner with responsibility for Wales.
John McCormick is the Commissioner with responsibility for Scotland.
Tony Hobman.
Peter Wardle is the current Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission.
From 1 October 2010, four additional Commissioners will serve on a part-time basis who are nominated by the leaders of political parties, scrutinised by the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission and approved by the House of Commons by means of an Address to the Queen requesting their appointment. Those nominated by the three largest parties serve terms of four years, while the Commissioner nominated by a smaller party serves for a two-year term. The appointments of nominated Commissioners are renewable once.[7] The first of these Commissioners will be as follows:[8]
Baroness Browning (Conservative)
David Howarth (Liberal Democrat)
Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour)
George Reid (Scottish National Party)
The Commissioners are supervised by the Speaker’s Committee.
Bercow chooses five of the members of that Committee.
The Committee comprises nine MPs: the Speaker of the House of Commons (who also serves as its chair), the Lord President of the Council,[2] the Chair of the select committee responsible for electoral issues,[3] the minister responsible for local government, and five others nominated by the Speaker who are not Ministers of the Crown.[4] As of 12 November 2012, the members of the Committee are as follows:
John Bercow, ex officio as Speaker of the House of Commons (Chair)
Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat), ex officio as Lord President of the Council[2]
Graham Allen (Labour), ex officio as Chair of the Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee[3]
Vacant, a minister responsible for local government responsible for local government appointed by the Prime Minister
Gerald Kaufman (Labour)[5]
Eleanor Laing (Conservative)[6]
Gary Streeter (Conservative)[5]
Naomi Long (Alliance)[7]
Bridget Phillipson (Labour)[7]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker%27s_Committee_on_the_Electoral_Commission
As usual it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. As I said before, place persons. They appoint place persons ad infinitum.
‘I know nothing’. Vince Cable
Vince Cable said he had “absolutely no knowledge” of the opinion polls done in Nick Clegg’s constituency
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27604131
“Me too. Same with organic food,”
I have that same concern John. When USDA certifies something I get worried. Better to rely on local farmer’s markets where you know the grower. Many times they are organic, but don’t wish to bother with certification and attendant fees.
Habby. This is what I mean regarding “Free and Fair Elections”:
“Free and fair, or genuine, means that elections offer equal opportunities for all competing parties and candidates. Such equality requires the ability of political parties and candidates to register for office without unreasonable requirements, balanced access to the media for all candidates, the absence of campaign finance abuse, and an independent electoral process.”
http://www.democracyweb.org/elections/principles.php
Ben This was good news from Oregon. Some resistance to GMOs and Monsanto.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2014/05/gmos-in-oregon-what-would-subcomandante-marcos-say/
The essay added at the end Marching Against Monsanto by Mae-Wan Ho, is super stuff too. It came from:
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/Marching_against_Monsanto.php
The Institute of Science in Society
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/index.php
What they really thought of the Ukrainian elections…
http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_05_28/Moscow-s-reaction-to-elections-in-Ukraine-in-interest-of-peace-0148/
Mary; I have a local Seventh-Day adventist health food store and they had bags of wheat and corn from ADM and Monsanto signifying non-gmo. I asked the clerk how it’s substantiated and he shrugged his shoulders and said they had a contract. Can no one be trusted fully?
This UKipper didn’t last long.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/may/28/ukip-councillor-sacked-newly-elected64
Link is broke, Mary. As I understand UKIP it seems cover for conservatives running from that moniker. Not too say there aren’t sincere converts, but the same dynamic has been at work in US for some years. It seems like a hiding place for many.
Good link Peacewisher at 8.45 pm.
“Tubby, your commendable damage limitation exercfise aside, have you been in Blackburn during the 2010 GE campaign and were you present at the count when 2000 postal votes disappeared?
Have you seen Mohammed Khan come out of one of his relatives homes with two heavy bags full of postal votes?
Jack Straws regime in Blackburn has turned politics into a mugs/thugs game, to deny it would be denying history.”
No, I wasn’t in Blackburn in 2010.
I do though understand that MPs don’t have a “regime” over their constituencies. Councils run the place.
And in 2010 it was under No Overall Control. Not least because it’s got some of the Tory friendly Rossendale and Darwen seat in it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackburn_with_Darwen_local_elections#Political_control
Have you any evidence Blackburn consistently has the highest level of postal votes?
In the absence of which, I’ll assume Blackburn is featuring largely because Craig (who I’d have voted for in 2005, no question) didn’t do very well there.