When the rump of the Labour Party and its hangers on gathered in Manchester to cheer Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman, what, exactly, were they cheering?
Brown believed everyone else in the room to be unfit to occupy what is now little more than the ceremonial position of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and he is still talking of non-Labour Ministers, who, since they cannot now be Lib Dems, must be Tories.
He could have kept Britain out of the Iraq War, simply by instructing his backbench followers to vote against it; the same is true of many, many other things. He is an enthusiastic supporter of the “renewal” of Trident. And he had spent much of the previous few days successfully demanding that the French destroy their workers’ jobs and their public services by signing up to neoliberal economics.
As for Harman, she was the nominee of Gisela “Vote Bush” Stuart and of Denis “Vote Sarkozy” MacShane, identifying her as a member of the separate party that trades under the names of the Euston Manifesto Group, The Henry Jackson Society, and The Orange Book, among others.
Those of its members who trade under the name of The Orange Book, Brown wished, and wishes, to bring into government. Those who trade under the name of The Henry Jackson Society, he undoubtedly will bring into government.
I can laugh, so that's what I'm doing. Remnant Labourites reading this should weep buckets, above all after Harman's claim today that she never called for an apology for the Iraq War. But no one should be remotely surprised that Jon Cruddas has been denied the Deputy Leadership by this shamelessly dishonest splitting of the anti-war majority vote. After all, Harman was the candidate of the most hardline neocons in the House of Commons, Stuart and MacShane. Hers was a Straussian deception of the common herd.
Furthermore, consider how the Tories - little more than an upmarket Darby and Joan Club - mysteriously managed to find over a quarter of a million people to vote in their Leadership Election, of whom more than two thirds voted for the neocon, socially super-liberal, achingly posh candidate. Who were they? Where were they? Where had they been for the previous dozen years? And where are they now? Harman's implausible vote is comparable: the whole thing stinks.
Meanwhile, to matters historical, yet very contemporary: the old Paedophile Information Exchange was hand in glove with the old Campaign for Homosexual Equality (they were practically a single organisation - same address, same committee, the works), which in turn was hand in glove with the old National Council for Civil Liberties in the Hatty and Patty days.
This is all very well-researched and well-documented; indeed, so different were attitudes within the real ruling class at the time (I mean to publicising these views, not to the views as such, which have not changed one jot) that no secret seems to have been made of these connections.
The people who have done all the relevant (painstaking) research have of course been short of a hearing in more recent years. But with Hatty's new-found eminence, they are certainly going to get a hearing now.
After a few years working in the financial sector, I jumped the fence and now work as a political researcher.
After a spell as Head of Campaigns at SNP HQ, I worked in the Scottish Parliament as a researcher. I then spent a year in Westminster before returning to Scotland. I now live and work in Aberdeenshire.
When not working, I play the fiddle (when it suits) in various ceilidh bands, and write for the 'Scots Independent' Newspaper and website.
8 comments:
"I'm a substitute for another guy...the simple things you see are all complicated. "
"Can ya see the real me, can ya? Can ya?"
But why does Harriet Harman have dirty knees in the cartoon?
On the advice of my lawyer, I think I'll decline to offer an opinion... :-)
When the rump of the Labour Party and its hangers on gathered in Manchester to cheer Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman, what, exactly, were they cheering?
Brown believed everyone else in the room to be unfit to occupy what is now little more than the ceremonial position of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and he is still talking of non-Labour Ministers, who, since they cannot now be Lib Dems, must be Tories.
He could have kept Britain out of the Iraq War, simply by instructing his backbench followers to vote against it; the same is true of many, many other things. He is an enthusiastic supporter of the “renewal” of Trident. And he had spent much of the previous few days successfully demanding that the French destroy their workers’ jobs and their public services by signing up to neoliberal economics.
As for Harman, she was the nominee of Gisela “Vote Bush” Stuart and of Denis “Vote Sarkozy” MacShane, identifying her as a member of the separate party that trades under the names of the Euston Manifesto Group, The Henry Jackson Society, and The Orange Book, among others.
Those of its members who trade under the name of The Orange Book, Brown wished, and wishes, to bring into government. Those who trade under the name of The Henry Jackson Society, he undoubtedly will bring into government.
I can laugh, so that's what I'm doing. Remnant Labourites reading this should weep buckets, above all after Harman's claim today that she never called for an apology for the Iraq War. But no one should be remotely surprised that Jon Cruddas has been denied the Deputy Leadership by this shamelessly dishonest splitting of the anti-war majority vote. After all, Harman was the candidate of the most hardline neocons in the House of Commons, Stuart and MacShane. Hers was a Straussian deception of the common herd.
Furthermore, consider how the Tories - little more than an upmarket Darby and Joan Club - mysteriously managed to find over a quarter of a million people to vote in their Leadership Election, of whom more than two thirds voted for the neocon, socially super-liberal, achingly posh candidate. Who were they? Where were they? Where had they been for the previous dozen years? And where are they now? Harman's implausible vote is comparable: the whole thing stinks.
Meanwhile, to matters historical, yet very contemporary: the old Paedophile Information Exchange was hand in glove with the old Campaign for Homosexual Equality (they were practically a single organisation - same address, same committee, the works), which in turn was hand in glove with the old National Council for Civil Liberties in the Hatty and Patty days.
This is all very well-researched and well-documented; indeed, so different were attitudes within the real ruling class at the time (I mean to publicising these views, not to the views as such, which have not changed one jot) that no secret seems to have been made of these connections.
The people who have done all the relevant (painstaking) research have of course been short of a hearing in more recent years. But with Hatty's new-found eminence, they are certainly going to get a hearing now.
They're on the case, so watch this space...
These cartoons are awful, not even well drawn and certainly never funny. And I've had 5 glasses of wine...
Shame wee Hazel didn't do better - at least she had the courage of her convictions :-(
Richard,
Thanks for your kind words about my cartoon.I couldn't possibly comment.
Your anonymous poster wasn't so keen though!
Thanks for stopping by, Frank. Your 'remote control' one from today is a belter as well!
Regards,
Richard
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