Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Thatcher funeral games
Why are we discussing the possibility of a State Funeral for Mrs Thatcher? Such things are not part of our historic treatment of the Heads of Government in the UK. And according to the political editor of the Daily Telegraph the innovation in this case risks insulting and belittling many patriotic citizens.
Peter Osborne wrote in his blog
Clem Attlee was deputy prime minister during the Second World War, and went on to lead the Labour government which founded the National Health Service and created the modern welfare state. He was mourned at a quiet funeral at Temple Church near Westminster. Harold Macmillan was put to rest at a small service near his Sussex home.
Such modesty does not suit our self-aggrandising modern politicians.
For my part I note that the idea of a State Funeral arose during the Premiership of Gordon Brown which was when the back-stage discussions started. I wonder if Brown had ulterior motives in this – making troubles for David Cameron for example.
Peter Osborne explains why the whole idea might backfire
On (December 20th) David Farham, a former miner, had a letter published in his local newspaper, The Shields Gazette. He wrote:
“I am proud to say I was on strike for 12 months in the 1984-5 strike, when Thatcher used the full might of [the] state to defeat us. I would stand on a picket line now if it would prevent her having a state funeral. She had a near-pathological hatred of trade unions, and referred to us as the 'enemy within’, but what did we do that was so treacherous? We struck to prevent pit closures and protect jobs – with disastrous consequences. Look at the ghost towns of former pit villages which she left devastated."
Osborne says he takes the view that Thatcher was right to do what she did even with the consequences so dire. But
Mr Farham – who accurately states in his letter that there are “hundreds of thousands like me” – has every right to believe what he does. He is a British citizen just as much as the most ardent of Thatcher fans, with the proviso that, as a miner, he probably worked harder and risked more for his country than they did.
Yet the British Establishment is now planning to insult Mr Farham, and the many honest and patriotic people who agree with him, by making Lady Thatcher the first prime minister to be given a state funeral since Churchill. This cannot be right.
The whole of Osborne’s piece and the blog comments re well worth reading in full.
This raises a question in my mind.
If the national extravaganza goes ahead the consequences look likely to be embittering rather than unifying. However if Cameron blocks this he is likely to worsen the animosity towards him held by the Tory True Believers who already despise his leadership. So which bullet will he bite?
Is it up to the LibDems to defuse this Labour inspired booby trap? And perhaps inspire a return to more modest profiles for our National Leaders? The job certainly needs doing or the UK will shuffle into a completely unnecessary bout of class war shouting which will damage our current efforts to stabilise the economy. Too may people will invest in heat and invective rather than reflection and constructive arguments over possible choices now before us..
Labels: funerals, Thatcher, Tories
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Cry Havoc! And let loose the dogs of Anti
But the great majority of residents seem pleased to see us and many actually want to talk on the doorstep (which does slow down progress of course).
The negative people do seem to be Tories. Many also seem to be angry at their own party – after the first debate we were told ‘Cameron has let us down!’.
Lets see if he has won those people round in the last couple of days..
An interesting sidebar is on how people describe themselves. For years now, ever since the late 1990s, known Tories have tended to be shy to describe themselves as such. As if supporting the Tories was an embarrassing inconvenience on a par with halitosis. . Over the last couple of years that embarrassment seemed to be dying out and in the early weeks of this election we were meeting more openly self-describing Tories. Not just people simply saying, as in the past, ‘I am not voting for you’. But in the last week the shutters came down again. ANTI is the word.
This doesn’t of itself mean that Tory votes will be reduced. There are a lot of angry people out there who will be voting against us with hot conviction because of the pain we have caused them in shaking them out of their complacency. One consequence of this election is to define ourselves to Tories more clearly than before as a political enemy. This could have consequences in future local polls, for example.
I was flossing brushing and rinsing everyday but still had bad breath. I spent thousands on all kinds of products claiming to stop bad breath but still had bad breath. I came across an eBook from badhalitosisbreathCom and it gave me my first insight into my problem. After I did all the advice in the eBook it identified Post Nasal Drip as the primary issue with eating and cleaning as the oral problem.
So I was happily surprised when my brother asked the following week why my breath didn’t smell any more, I told him what I’d done he’s like thank god for that book!
Now 6 months later I have my first girlfriend and worked up enough courage to tell her about what I was like just 1 year ago. She said I smelt better then any other boyfriend she’d had. Music to my ears!
Friday, June 13, 2008
The blowback for the Tories on the Resignation
First off I suggest most party members would feel somewhat pissed off, even betrayed. Just at the point where the Labour government has made an utter and pig-headed prat of itself a massive smokescreen has come down on the key issue in question.
It would be seen as a stunning vote of no confidence in the leader of the party, and directly question the sincerity of the party’s official position on the detention issue.
It would be easy to make allegations of an unbridgeable legacy of bitterness from the last leadership contest.
The Resignation Star’s closest political friends would be embarrassed and defensive.
The party would find itself even more at the mercy of other people’s timetables and agendas than it does normally.
After the excitement and praise over the point of principle, other issues relevant to the politics of the Resignation Star would seep into peoples minds over the next few months – and how long will the by-election be delayed anyway?
What happens in the Resignation Star stands as an independent – would that free any party member to stand against him without penalty under party rules? The barrack room lawyers in the party would be in permanent session.
And what a wonderful united Party Conference the press would be expecting come the autumn, with the story being on how the party was wholly focussing on preparing the upcoming national elections. Er, possibly not.
Just imagine the uproar and bitterness we would be living through now, and what crowing would be coming from the direction of I*n D*l* and allied blue door commentators.
Just imagine ourselves in that uproar this morning, how we would be feeling.
OK so the position for the Tory Party is different… how?
Labels: 42 day detention, Tories
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
On, off on off, back on the Incapacity wheel of fortune.
Background: in the last Tory years people were encouraged to go onto ‘Incapacity Benefit’ because it took them off the crude unemployment figures. Then this looked a bit expensive, so they began muttering about thousands of ‘benefits scroungers’ and began targeting people they originally encouraged to go onto the benefit to force them onto normal employment benefit. This was through introducing Byzantine medical re-check procedures.
And now… in 2008…
The Tories have unveiled plans to cut 200,000 people from the Incapacity Benefit rolls. 2.65 million people on the incapacity register will be re-tested by doctors and if passed fit for work placed on ordinary J.A.
Dave Boy Genius has it seems just re-invented another Tory wheel. Be warned that this is an expensive wheel in its own right and very difficult to operate humanely.
Labels: benefits, disability, Tories
