Shock and awe! My first hundred days as PM.

What would I do if I were Starmer? A newly elected PM with a massive majority (or even a decent, smaller one). Well, I'm a socialist, so I would have a very different approach, I would be looking after the interests of the people not the profits of billionaires and corporations. I would be working to undo the damage caused by forty odd years of neoliberalism, and the wholesale sell-off of the UK.

I would begin my term with a political form of shock and awe, making significant changes as rapidly as possible to make my opponent's jaws drop, and giving them no time to recover before they were hit again. 

In the USA, they say the first 100 days of a presidency are crucial. I'd be trying to make many of these changes in that time period, if not, they would be announced and the work commenced.

Here we are:

• Introduce PR STV for all local elections and moots (by moots I mean an assembly of local people who can question elected representatives and are empowered to make decisions) in the first two weeks.
• Nationalise rail, post, and water and steel as quickly as possible
• Fund NHS properly and repeal Tory NHS legislation
• Reverse Tory cuts in the Justice Dept and get our justice system working again
• Scrap the two child benefit cap
• Restore the winter fuel allowance
• Scrap freeports and SEZs
• Join the customs union (EU)
• Budget - tax the rich, lower taxes on small businesses, end subsidies to fossil fuel companies, and energy bills being linked to the price of gas (there would be more here, but these are priorities)
• Scrap the right to buy and buy to let
• Implement a rent freeze and end section 21 evictions
• Purchase all the UK's empty houses and turn them into council houses. Restore the council house system. All new builds would have to have solar panels and be well insulated.
• Scrap all Blair's fake regulators - Ofcom, Ofgem etc, and replace with real regulators with teeth
• Build a green economy and boost renewables
• Implement Levison two
• Break the billionaire monopoly of media ownership - they would have to be resident in the UK and pay tax here. No one person (company) woud be allowed to own more than one media outlet.
• Make clear my intention to abolish the House of Lords and introduce PR for GEs ( no rush for that if I have 5 years) 
• End arms sale to Israel and press for peace in Palestine and Ukraine
• Enhance powers for Scotland, Wales and NI set up a constitutional UK council including the devolved governments.
• Tax the King (for starters)
• Restore legal routes for asylum seekers
• Reform the prison system
• Support trans rights
• Repeal repressive protest legislation

Of course, you may not agree with all of these changes. There are many more I would like to make. For example, I would like the UK to have a written constitution and a bill of rights. I would also like for citizen assemblies to be involved in decision-making at a national level. They would be consulted - at the very least.

I want the democratisation of the UK and to give the people real power. Of course, I have no illusions. I know that, even with a large majority, there would be powerful forces trying to undermine many if not all of these changes. The markets might try to do a Truss on me, cause a run on the pound, for instance. That's why I'd have a plan to deal with those contingencies and I would be working with advisors, like Stephanie Kelton, who understand how government spending works, and how to deal with markets. I wouldn't just blindly jump into all this. All moves would be carefully considered and planned beforehand (before I even got into office). 

In case you are wondering, here is Kelton's book which explains how government spending really works. It's a must-read.

Do we need a new socialist party? No, we need a citizens movement

Deep breath. Here we go. I've been a socialist for over 50 years. In that time, I've seen all the same old arguments go around in circles without us making any real progress. In the old days, they used to talk about the 57 varieties of Trotskyism, as left Trot parties went through split after split caused by the same old rubbish - personality clashes, leadership ambitions and quibbles about political purity. Factionalism has always been the curse of the left. Get a bunch of 'socialists' in a room, and they'll spend more time arguing than agreeing.

So, what do we do? We need to consider a new path. Instead of trying to build a left party, how about building a citizen's movement instead. All the members would be independents who come together with shared views for change. There would be no leaders. I'll explain why later.

Most people in the UK, and Europe, and the USA are sick of neoliberal government and austerity. They are angry and fed up. Most have stopped voting altogether. Yet most agree that we need real change. We need decent public services that are accessible for all - rail, healthcare, decent jobs, postal, energy, housing, water - out of the hands of corporations. 

For a change, we need to have a laser focus on the things we can all agree about and ditch the petty arguments. If this means working with other who don't hold all our political views, so be it. There are plenty of decent people who agree with us on key issues but wouldn't call themselves socialists. 

Most people are not political. They don't read manifestos, Their votes are an emotional, not a political response.  Yet, if you look at the polls, all the things I mentioned above, rail, energy etc. are hugely popular. 

Can we think wider than socialism, and involve more people in a national movement for change? I think so. These are desperate times. We are stuck with Mandelson's Nu Labour for another five years, and we have to bring as much pressure to bear on the government as possible.

Here's another view that will be unpopular with many. Make decisions by consensus. It's not as daft or difficult as you think. Yes, it takes more time, but it avoids division and ridiculous 51/49 splits. David Graeber wrote about this in his excellent book The Democracy Project, which is a must-read. 

As David wrote, real democracy is direct democracy, not representative democracy. We need collective decision-making, not leaders holding power and telling us what to do. A movement can have 'leaders' in the sense that they are spokespeople who can engage and inspire others, but not a hierarchy in control.

This is from the Seeds of Change, Link above:

"Consensus decision making is a creative and dynamic way of reaching agreement in a group. Instead of simply voting for an item and having the majority getting their way, a consensus group is committed to finding solutions that everyone actively supports – or at least can live with."

Is all that a bit too anarchist for you? I can hear the hisses coming from the back of the room, but time is running out. If we want to bring about real change, we need to think outside the box.

Why did Trump win?

I've already written something about this, but It's hard to know where to start. There's been lots of analysis of why Trump won, and the democrats are busy bashing anyone - including those in the party like Bernie Saunders - who dared to criticise their failed campaign.

Here are three reasons:

1. Biden/Harris - Biden should have been a one-term president. They should have had a primary contest last year. They could have picked a far better candidate than Harris.

2. Gaza - Biden/Harris's unwavering support for the horrific genocide in Gaza alienated lots of Americans, many of whom would have voted democrat chose to stay at home, or vote for a third party.

3. The Campaign - ahem, what was it about? Okay, I didn't watch much of it, but what were they offering? Not a lot as far as I can see. Yes, we know Trump is an evil bullshitter, but many thought he offered them some change.

Despite Trump's win, many Americans voted for progressive policies at a state/local level to protect the right to abortion and increase the minimum wage.

This article from Salon is worth a read. I don't agree with all of it, but they pick out a key point - that many people are influenced by the 'conspiracy theory' garbage they find on the web. They believe what they choose to believe, what suits their prejudices, ignoring the facts. Trump is very good a pushing these people's buttons, and energising them. 

Here is a quote:

"As Angelo Carusone of Media Matters told MSNBC, "We have a country that is pickled in right-wing misinformation and rage." Political organizers and pundits don't want to face that, because it is such a massive, hard-to-wrangle problem. So they critique Democratic "messaging" that no one hears. They try to figure out if there are rational reasons people worry about immigration or fail to notice improvements in the economy. But what has changed profoundly in our society — and also explains the shift worldwide — is the explosion of social media and the dramatic shift towards an all-propaganda media diet for so many people."

It's important to note that the MSM has failed to tackle this problem.

I could go on. All we can do now is wait and see what horrors await us. Europe may face an influx of refugees. They won't be coming on small boats. I'll conclude with an excellent summary of the situation by Margaret Atwood.

How can a narcissistic fascist like Trump win the US election?

The bad news is it's a lot easier than you think. In my last post, I talked about the rise of the far right in Europe. The formula for Trump's success is the same stuff. Here's how it goes:

Neoliberalism, which is a far-right ideology, promotes the primacy of the 'free' market above everything else, including democracy. This means that the oligarchs and corporations should have control, and the rest of us will just have to try and survive. This extremist ideology holds sway over governments globally, a good example being Javier Milei in Argentina. The Invisible Doctrine by George Monbiot and Peter Hutchison explains neoliberalism and is a must-read.

Recently, Trump was criticised for holding a racist election rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. This is the same place that fascists held a rally in 1939. A 'comedian' opened by calling Puerto Rico and it's citizens "garbage" - nice stuff! There can be little doubt that Trump himself is now a fascist and a real danger to the USA. He is determined to be president, whether he actually wins the ballot or not.

The rise in far-right populism is a result of neoliberal polices followed by governments in the USA, UK, Europe and many other parts of the world. It has resulted in the trashing of public services, austerity and the growth of poverty. It's called the cost of living crisis in the UK. Likewise, it is what gave us the disastrous Truss budget. Feeling poor, struggling to eat or heat and pay the rent? Now you know why.

In times like these, the 'heroes' of the fascist far right will come to 'save us' by promising us a better future. They're lying of course, just as Trump does, and Hitler did, and ethnic minorities, who are the scapegoats, for the damage the far right have caused, will pay the price. 

How centrist politicians generate fascism

The 'liberal MSM' has been hand wringing about the rise of far right parties in Europe. But why is this been happening? Why are the far racist right on the rise? 

The answer is simple. Thanks to the embrace of neoliberalism by European parties and the EU, we have seen a decline of social democracy and the rise of the right as a predictable response. That is why these 'left' parties are in decline all over Europe.

How does neoliberalism generate fascism? It's simple, people are immiserated by austerity and corporate profit gouging. Pay and job security is in decline. Public services are failing or being privatised. People get angry. The far-right populists stoke up hate by blaming immigrants, siding with corporations, and ignoring the real causes of people's misery. Rinse and repeat.

This is what happened in Germany after WWI. The economy was on its knees and burdened with reparations. Along came a saviour - Adolf Hitler. Blame the Jews, not war or capitalism. Find some scapegoats. It worked, and it's working again, but this time they blame 'migrants'. 'Centre left' parties are now pandering to this rise in hatred instead of fighting it.

If you want to know more about neoliberalism, its origins, and the human and environmental destruction it is causing globally, I recommend you read The Invisible Doctrine by George Monbiot and Peter Hutchison.

As we can see with Trump and Musk in the USA, neoliberalism isn't just threatening a global collapse, it's close to trashing what's left of our democracy.

Labour: the worst start to a government ever?

September. Party conference season. And, as I write this, Nu Labour are having their party conference. After a bizarre general election, in which Labour gained a 'landslide' with just 33.8% of the vote, we were treated to a party that promised change in its manifesto offering er... no change at all. Not only have they not ended the two child benefit cap, which many anticipated, but they also have now cut winter fuel payments for pensioners. Thanks to Reeves's £20 billion 'black hole' and her 'fiscal rules', which are pure made up BS, austerity is still on the menu. This is the complete opposite of what the UK needs.

What we do need is government investment in infrastructure and the economy. Reeves can easily find the money. All she needs to do is ask the Bank of England for it and she will get it from them. It's that simple. 

So Starmer's no hope and no change meant that his government was falling in popularity right from the start. The honeymoon period lasted about twenty-four hours or so, and, now, Starmer finds himself less popular than Rishi Sunak and Ed 'Post Office scandal' Davey. That's quite and achievement! 

To add to this fiasco, the Tory press has has had a field day in 'exposing' "freebiegate', in which Starmer, his wife, Angela Rayner, and David Lammy have received tens of thousands of pounds worth of gifts. According to Sky News:

"Sir Keir Starmer has come under scrutiny over the past week for the more than £100,000-worth of gifts he has accepted.

"It started with controversy over his wife's clothes and has escalated since Sky News' Westminster Accounts project revealed he has been gifted more freebies and hospitality than any other MP since 2019 - a total worth £107,145.

Starmer branded 'ivory tower leader' - latest updates

His acceptance of football tickets has proved particularly contentious, with some government officials reportedly concerned about a potential conflict of interest."

Labour may have settled with the junior doctors and rail workers, promised to nationalise rail, and a few other useful things but, so far, it is a national failure, with little sign of anything better in the future. Starmer's speech, which was hard to keep awake through, is summed up perfectly by Richard Murphy in this video (I recommend a visit to Murphy's YouTube site which also explains why Reeves 'black hole' and 'fiscal rules' are BS).

The only part of his speech worth watching was the gaffe when he asked for the return of sausages from Gaza, while his government continues to support the genocide which is happening there.

So, it's looking like five years of gloom and not much positive change. The neoliberal duopoly continues in the UK, just as it does in the USA

Are you left or right?

My contention is one that many aren't going to like. It's simple - there is no such thing as the political centre. If you are not on the left, you are on the right. 

So, what is the left? To be on the left, you must either be a socialist or an anarchist. You must believe in that fundamentally society need to be 'restructured' and organised with real power in the hands of communities. Power bottom up, not top down. In fact, in a socialist society, there wouldn't be a top.

To be on the political right you must be a liberal, centrist, conservative, or fascist. All these groups have one crucial thing in common - they all accept the existing capitalist order. 

History shows us that liberals and centrists, who accept the prevailing 'democratic' order, are fascist enablers. Fascism suits capitalism because it's not a threat to the prevailing order. If anything, it strengthens it. That is what happened in Nazi Germany in the 1930s, workers, trade unions and the left were suppressed and murdered. No threat to profits from them.

Never trust a liberal or centrist. That may be uncomfortable reading but it's true.

Will Starmer sort the UK's racist riots?

Fourteen years of austerity and Tory destruction has changed the UK, for the worse. Many people are immiserated and angry. Poverty has grown, as well as homelessness. Many communities have been badly damaged.

I recommend you read Ghost Signs by Stu Hennigan. In his book, written during the Covid lockdown, he writes about how he volunteered to deliver food parcels and medicines to some of the most deprived areas in Leeds, where he lives. It's a depressing read. Streets with houses with broken windows and battered doors, TV sets and rubbish in front gardens, streets littered with empty beer cans. People old and young impoverished and on drugs. It's a hard, but essential read on the state of much of Britain today.

This is what the Tories have done to the UK. For sure, poverty existed before 2010 but, since then, it's become much worse, and people struggle to get access to healthcare as well as decent accommodation.

The Tories have deflected from the austerity crisis by declaring a war on 'migrants' after shutting down legal routes for asylum seekers. Sunak, Braverman and others have repeated the 'stop the boats' racist mantra over and over again, cheered on by the right wing media, and the likes of Nigel Farage and Stephen Yaxley Lennon.

After the horrible killing of three young girls in Southport, the far right jumped in, claiming the killer was a Muslim and an immigrant. He was neither. Lies were spread online and riots organised, in Southport and other towns across Britain. The police and people of colour were attacked, shops looted, and hotels set on fire egged on by the online mob.

Keir Starmer immediately said that the rioters would "face the full force of the law". But will they? Rioting thugs, many of whom have previous convictions, have been to court and been charged, with the longest sentence I've seen handed out standing at three years. Compare that with the five-year sentence handed out to Roger Hallam for planning a peaceful protest with Just Stop Oil.

Don't expect much from Starmer. We'll wait and see, but it seems unlikely that any of the sentences for violent disorder will match those for peaceful environmental protest.

The good news is the riots that were planned for last Wednesday night failed, largely due to the fact that thousands of protesters went out into the streets to defend 'migrants' and PoC. The 'silent majority' of UK citizens triumphed over the far right.

But what of the likes of Farage, Yaxley-Lennon and Laurence Fox who have been spreading hate on social media? What will happen to them? Yaxley-Lennon fled to Cyprus before the riots kicked off. Will he be dragged from his sun lounger back to the UK? Don't hold your breath.

GIve us a wealth tax now!

Wealth tax? (with thanks to Bill) 

To wealth tax, or not to wealth tax, that is the question

Whether 'tis endurable for us all to suffer

The swindling and robbery of those with outrageous fortunes,

Or to take arms against the clique of billionaires

And by opposing end them.

USA celebrates an evil war criminal

We were recently 'treated' to a real horror show. No, not a movie, but one of the most horrific things I've ever witnessed. Netanyahu, the evil war criminal, who is driving the Gaza genocide and angling for war in the Middle East, travelled to the USA to address Congress. Although a large group of mainly democrats boycotted his address, the majority of the house attended, applauding his delusional and deranged speech many times. 

Notable by his wholly predictable presence was fascist Elon Musk, who, since taking over Twitter, has turned it into a platform for right-wing hate speech*. He was invited by the war criminal - surprise, surprise!

Of course, millions of Americans objected to the war criminal's visit, and there were large protests near the Capitol attended by many thousands. The speakers included Jill Stein, who is the Green Party candidate in the forthcoming presidential election.

This was a dark day for America and another dark day for democracy, such as it is in the US and the West. The slaughter in Gaza continues, and we have now passed the 300-day mark with no end in sight.

Despite this, many millions around the world will continue to protest and fight for a free Palestine. "Free, free Palestine!" 

* I have recently been banned from Twitter. They haven't given me a reason, but I have no doubt that there is a connection with my many posts supportive of the Palestinian cause.

Plus ca change, plus ca meme chose #GE2024

It's #SocialistSunday. My thoughts on the general election 2024. I'm a bit late with this, but I'm still recovering from the hangover on Friday morning. That's cos I'm getting old, but I've never seen an election result like this one. Of course, it's another shit show, but one like we've never seen the likes of before. We knew the Tories were going to get routed, and we weren't sure how bad it was going to be. One poll had them on 60 seats - if only! 

The infamous exit poll had the Tories on 131 seats and reform on 13. They ended with 121 and 5 respectively. Not bad, particularly when we got to see the backs of scumbags Rees-Mogg, Truss, Grant Schapps (if that is his name), transphobe Joanna Cherry, Mordaunt, and Fabricant (to name a few). But 5 Reform MPs is 5 too many.

But what about Labour? A landslide with 34% of the vote, less than they got in 2017 when Corbyn was leader. Kid Starver is the new PM and Reevesy says 'there is no money' - she's either thick or lying, or both, but where does that leave us? Not in a good place, for sure. Am I optimistic for Starver's 'change'. Not at all. It seems that the money he's going to be getting won't be from the BoE but borrow from the likes of Blackrock. So, more asset stripping and privatisation, and with freeports and SEZs it seems the `UK will soon have been completely asset stripped. There is a very real danger that Starmer's 'change' will just be business as usual.

In better news, the Greens did well, gaining 3 seats to a total of 4, and coming second in over 30. The Green manifesto was the best, and they are the most democratic party in the UK. The highlight for me was the re-election of Jeremy Corbyn in Islington North - 'Oh Jeremy Corbyn'. Big shout out as well to Fazia Shaheen, and Andrew Feinstein who halved Starver's vote in Holborn and St Pancras.

Better news as well today (Monday). It seems the French united left have beaten Le Pen in France and are now the largest group in the Assembly. That's something the left in the UK needs to learn from. 

The fight goes on, and on. As a comrade of mine once said - 'Organise, organise and organise!' We have a lot of work to do! Let's get going!

Stonehenge just got orange boo hoo hoo!

Still LMAO at this 😂*. Just Stop Oil sprayed some harmless orange 'paint' on Stonehenge as a protest. The criticism it provoked was almost as great as that with the statues of racist and slave owning colonisers kicked over a few years ago.

Predictably, Kid Starver joined the chorus of condemnation. He tweeted:

"The damage done to Stonehenge is outrageous. Just Stop Oil, are pathetic. Those responsible must face the full force of the law."

Full force eh? What a prick!

Stonehenge will be fine, but will those outraged conservatives ever be fine? I doubt it. They continue to fiddle with themselves while the planet burns. Hat's off to the protestors. I've no doubt they will continue the fight, and that others will join them, even though the government has criminalised everything that they do, including the 'thought crime' of planning demonstrations. 

We are on the highway to hell with the climate crisis, but the fossil fuel psychos have still got their foot firmly on the accelerator. Join the fight if you can, support Just Stop Oil and work for a better future for all.

* from June 20th 2024

The #GE2024 election shit show drags on and on

Where to start? I wrote a blog post about UK Democracy in 2010. Here it is. Nothing has improved since, in fact, things have got even worse. In the post, I said our democracy was a sham. You can have change, but only change that doesn't threaten the status quo. You can have gay marriage, but not publicly owned public services. Neoliberal capitalism rules our roost with all the politicians in its pockets.

What have we seen so far? Nothing that gives us any hope that the NHS will be protected, the postal service will improve, railways will be brought into public ownership, people will be able to afford decent housing, shit will be removed from our seas and rivers and there will be the action we need to deal with the climate crisis, and stop the genocide in Gaza. Nothing is better, everything is worse.

It looks certain that the Tories are going to crash, but we can't be sure how bad it will be. Sunak's latest bizarre gaffe was leaving the 80th D-Day remembrance early and coming back to the UK to do an interview with ITV. What was he thinking? Maybe he was thinking about living in California? - though he has said he will remain leader after the election. Of course he will. 

Starmer's staggering message is that he will bring 'change' even though he and Reeves have said things will remain the same. Inspiring stuff! Given that, he has lied repeatedly about Labour's policies, it's impossible to believe anything he says. Add to that the purge of left labour MPs such a Lloyd Russel Moyle, the racist treatment of Diane Abbot and Faiza Shaheen, and the parachuting of Israeli lobbyists such as the appalling Luke Akehurst into safe seats, makes the Labour Party a shit show that many people can no longer consider voting for.

In addition, we have the horrific bias of the UK media, platforming Richard Tice and Nigel Farage at every opportunity and ignoring the Green Party which has many more councils seats, an MP, and policies which are popular with much of the electorate.

We do have some hope, but it's pretty slim stuff. A lot of independent socialist candidates, good people, are standing. Andrew Feinstein in Starmer's constituency, Leanne Mohammed in Wes Streeting's, and Jody McIntyre against Jess Phillips. 

All I can say is, don't vote Tory or Labour. Please go out and vote Green, or socialist independent, and encourage others to do so. Campaign if you can. I live in a fairly safe Tory constituency where there may not be a green candidate*, so I'll be campaigning online. All we can hope is that some decent candidates will be elected and try to keep our chins up in difficult and testing times.

* I did check the candidates list, but it didn't say which party they represented! I haven't had a single leaflet or seen any candidates so far.

Never forget the Nakba

The Nakba occurred 76 years ago today. Nakba means catastrophe. In 1948 Zionist settlers attacked and expelled 750,000 Palestinians from Palestine. Over 400 villages were destroyed. The racist, settler colonialist state of Israel came in being.

The expulsion of Palestinians and settlement by Zionists had long been planned. Zionists were in Palestine before the Second World War. Since 1948 the Palestinians have had to endure hatred, ethnic cleansing and murder in the apartheid state of Israel.

In 1990, Nelson Mandela, the leader of the African National Congress, who had fought against apartheid in South Africa said :

“If one has to refer to any of the parties as a terrorist state, one might refer to the Israeli government, because they are the people who are slaughtering defenseless and innocent Arabs in the occupied [Palestinian] territories, and we don’t regard that as acceptable.” 

Now Palestinians are facing a genocide in Gaza perpetrated by Netanyahu and the IOF. This has been going on for seven months and is the latest phase of the horrors inflicted on Palestinians by the Zionist occupiers. Complicit in this massacre are the USA, UK, EU and other western powers, and, of course, the mainstream western media.  At least 35,000 'citizens' of Gaza have been killed, including 15,000 children. Those are the quoted figures, but the real death toll is probably much worse.

Many decent people around the world are calling for a permanent ceasefire and the restoration of food, water and power to the people of Gaza, who are facing starvation - one of Israel's many war crimes. Peaceful marches have been held around the world calling for a ceasefire. Students in universities in the USA, UK, Europe and Asia have set up peaceful encampments calling for a ceasefire and their institutions to divest from Israel. Many of these protests have been met with brutal police violence and repression, but the protestors remain firm. 

Expelled Palestinians flee from their country in 1948

We must continue the fight to end the horrors in Gaza and the West Bank. We must have a ceasefire now and to ensure that Palestinians in Gaza get the humanitarian aid and medical help that they need. We need an end to the slaughter. Please keep working for this end. You can get involved by supporting the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign here.

Pound in me pocket

Pound in me pocket

I got no pound in me pocket

I ain’t got an eye in me socket

But Keef’s Labour

Will be our saviour

And boost Great Britain

Just like a rocket

That’s wot he say anyway

Growth the secret of our payday

Rach sez there’s nay money

But we’ll be in’t land of honey

Cos Keef’s Labour

Will be our saviour

Be sad if it weren’t funny.