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Monthly Archives: October 2022

Tory Brexit Scum

Tory Party Conference

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We have just produced these materials for the Tory Party Conference. Please share them widely:

Tory Brexit Scum is a Country and Western Punk Rock song by the band X RAY BREX. Download the album via Bandcamp. PG rated.

Tory Brexit Scum – see how they run …

And just for balance, we conducted an interview with BBC One News this week. We made the point that support for Labour was conditional on them opposing Brexit, which is perfectly possible, despite a load of bullshit from some areas of Labour. The BBC cut our comment on Brexit, naturally, but it was mentioned by Rosie Duffield. See below:

Posted in Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Europe, Leadership, Liz Truss, NHS, Northern Ireland, Politics, Russia, Sovereignty | 2 Replies

European Movements

Updated on date by author

I occasionally write about the lack of strategy, structure, cohesion, collective capability and leadership in the Remain / Rejoin movements. Once again, with a heavy heart, I must report that the chronic organisation development issues which divide us remain (sic) alive and kicking. This article concerns senior members of Grassroots for Europe, overseen by the CEO of The European Movement and its chair Lord Andrew Adonis. For some months I have attempted to resolve a worrying problem with a concerted smear campaign against me by senior people at Grassroots for Europe and The European Movement. I have had no reply in private from CEO Anna Bird, so I have reluctantly decided to go public. Here is a summary in the form of my letter to the EM CEO:

The WhatsApp group where much of this smearing takes place is overseen by Anna Bird and Lord Andrew Adonis, thus they are complicit in the campaign, by ‘letting it happen’. Andrew does not like uncomfortable truths and blocks people who he disagrees with. Thus I have no route to resolution with him.

Illiberal acts from the left

The ‘mob’ also follow the leader, sometimes without knowledge of the facts of a given cased. This is not without consequence. For example, I have been blocked from attending the March to Rejoin. I was blocked from attending a meeting with Gavin Esler. The ‘mob’ also asked that professional EM groups and affiliates in Sussex and Merseyside ‘deplatform’ me from speaking at events and so on. I mean, WTF are they frightened of?

I actively promote pro-European and anti-Brexit views and am perhaps more vigorous than many at a grassroots and strategy level, so I cannot understand their desire to silence me. Then again, I have worked on Brexit for 6 + years and I ‘get’ organisational illnesses etc. from my professional life as a business and organisational consultant. I’m hoping that Anna Bird will now make this nonsense stop and remove Richard Wilson and the other ringleaders from power. Here are some examples of the online smearing below – it is persistent and wearing. I cannot write to Richard Wilson to deal with the matter quietly, as he also adopts the Vote Leave strategy of blocking people he does not agree with.

It’s possible to see the level of confusion in these groups. For example, Lynne Armstrong manages to confuse me with Peter Corr, the leader of the March to Rejoin, but it does not stop her from condemning my / his work. In fact it’s unclear exactly who she is condemning. Other European Movement execs appear to join in with the ‘herd impunity’. For example, Emma Knaggs admits that she knows nothing about my work, but, of course, feels she must agree with those in power. She is also badly informed: Despite her assertion to the contrary, I remain Chair of The European Movement Mid Kent. Following a review by the Council chaired by Dominic Grieve QC I was confirmed in the position. My removal was an exec decision made by Anna Bird, without approval or authority of the EM. This, of course, mirrors the approach of The Conservatives re Brexit. It is quite surprising from an organisation that promotes transparency, open-ness and diversity.

In my professional life, I work with chronic organisational problems like this. When politics / egos and so on are added to the complexity, these issues become insoluble. I had offered my services for free to EM way back to help make them match fit, but they refused to accept professional help. Ostrich thinking and silos are not good enough if we are to build a movement fit to take Vote Leave on. As a result I have little confidence in Grassroots / EM’s abilities. Help can still be given but I’m not hopeful that they are in listening mode. One of their groundfloor troops, Magdalena Williams has recently stepped into the fray on Twitter.

Twitter thread

There is a long list of people who have actively initiated and / or amplified this campaign. Others have passively supported or allowed the campaign to spread. In no particular order: Richard Wilson, Colin Gordon, Yvonne Wancke, Chris Hammond, Anna Bird, Lord Adonis, Robina Jacobson, Peter Packham, NE for Europe, SSTIE, Sue Wilson, Bremain in Spain, Doug at SODEM, Magdalena Williams, some of the SODEM gang, Lynne Armstrong, Emma Knaggs, Patrick Reynolds. There is a longer list of people who hide in the shadows … come out into the light please.

Posted in Brexit, Britain, Britastrophe, Democracy, Education, Ethics, Europe, Leadership | Leave a reply
Reboot Britain

Write a letter

Updated on date by author

Letters work. Write your letter to King Charles III and or your MP using the template we provided. Here’s a graphic example as to why letters work from an anonymous source:

To Tom Pursglove MP


So you’re backing the return of a known corrupt liar. Well done. Are your family proud of you?

Dr R

Dear Dr R
Thank you for your email.
However, as someone who no doubt considers themselves to be a ‘professional’ person – hence your ‘Dr’ title – your email is beneath you and lacks any sort of integrity.  Don’t you dare bring my family into it.  
After all, it is perfectly possible to disagree respectfully, without being downright rude and personal.
Yours sincerely,
Tom
Tom Pursglove MP Member of Parliament for Corby & East Northamptonshire

Dear Mr Pursglove,

Please don’t talk about integrity whilst voicing support for Boris Johnson, who is a confirmed liar. May I remind you that he was forced out of office for just that.As for ‘bringing your family into it’, my question remains. It appears to have touched a nerve with you.

As for being rude – really?

Dr R

Dear Dr R,
Yes, I’m afraid you’re being consistently rude – and I suspect you wouldn’t like me involving your family in matters in such a way either.
This correspondence is now closed.
With best wishes,
Tom
Tom Pursglove MP Member of Parliament for Corby & East Northamptonshire

Whilst we are here please read our post on why backing Boris Johnson is a really good idea. Find out more about the gentle art of Brexorcism here.

Posted in Boris Johnson, Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Britastrophe, Democracy, Economics | Leave a reply

BOJO Rising

Updated on date by author

Some cold unemotional analysis for Remainers and Rejoiners who are hard of thinking. If we accept :

1. That all the Tory candidates are essentially the same in terms of their short term impact on the economy (shades of badness etc.). Morduant is another ERG puppet and Rishi is mistrusted by ERG because he is a prudent brown economist by TP members, having shown his credentials already.

2. That the next Brexit / Kwasi Recession is more or less “baked in”, thus the impact of leadership in the next few months has an NPV of zero. So the choice of leader is an irrelevant issue in ‘accountancy’ terms. Note that Liz Truss’s departure did nothing to the value of the pound. The city is not fooled by replacement headstones.

Then we move on to the next level of analysis. Which leader is worst for the Tories and Brexit?

1. If Boris loses, he loses any opportunity to return to politics. There would be no need for a judicial review etc. It’s a slam dunk success. This is probably why he’s hesitating as he is not a losing kind of guy.

2. If Boris wins, a new bloodbath will open up in the Tory party – with those who wrote letters resigning, writing more letters and so on and members leaving. Roger Gale has already written his letter!!

So, basically it’s a win win win win win win …. In short, if the ERG don’t want Johnson, and 1/3 of the Tories don’t like it, we should support it.

None of the above appears to be apparent to most Remainers / Rejoiners who are gaslit by the Johnson persona and his sins. We must set that aside. If Johnson gets elected, it will be tragic for the Tories and the Brexit bubble will be popped, like a very nasty boil.

Cold analysis is far more important than hot emotional reactions to the ghost of Johnson. Think about it. Put your head before your hedonic response.

The best outcomes at this time re Tory destruction are in order of desirability:

1. A General Election – However, I don’t yet see the mechanism for this, as the English don’t riot. The Tory argument that they were elected may well stand unless it faces significant parliamentary and public pressure. This, however is why we wrote the letter to King Charles. Now the Remainers are complaining about that for a host of bizarre reasons.

2. Boris wins – Vote of No Confidence, resignations and more mayhem.

3. Boris loses – they limp on with another lame duck.

Posted in Boris Johnson, Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Britastrophe, Democracy, Economics, Europe, Leadership, Partygate, Sovereignty | 2 Replies
Write a letter

King Charles III

Updated on date by author

Please send a letter to King Charles III. It is best if you write your own letter as multiple copies of letters tend to be ignored. Here however is a template you may adapt to suit your needs. We recommend using the rule of three … pick three issues from the main body of the letter to use. We also recommend that you send your letter by post for maximum impact. Handwritten letters are especially valuable. The address is Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA

Your Majesty/Your Royal Highness  (whichever is preferred),

INTRO PARA

It is with some hesitation that I write to you so early in your reign, and at a time of great bereavement for you and your loved ones and the country in general. However, the wheels of government roll on regardless. This emboldens me to raise with you a number of issues which I hope will inform your reign.

MAIN BODY – Do not overload and perhaps pick three issues for your letter – please remove the paragraph markers in BLUE

PARA ONE – CLIMATE

First and foremost, I hope that you will use your influence to help us address the pressing issue of climate catastrophe, which threatens us all.  Planet earth will not wait for sub-committees to agree compromises which allow our planet to continue warming.  Instead of responding to the call to suspend the use of fossil fuels in favour of sustainable energy sources, we are presently pursuing the controversial issue of fracking, a subject on which your latest Prime Minister may have been badly advised.  The prime reason for removing the ban imposed as recently 2019 by her predecessor has been justified by the war in Ukraine and its effects on the economy and consumers. Yet the energy crisis preceded the advent of war. Does this not raise questions  to the advocates of this course of action?  Fracking is more expensive than solar and other forms of energy production. We should look upon the UK via the medium of the BBC sitcom “The Good Life”, in other words, we must be responsible environmental stewards. A hallmark of our existence is to leave the planet in a better state than when we arrived.

At the same time, the bonfire on standards due to Brexit enhances environmental damage through increased carbon footprint from ever longer trading across continents, moral hazard through use of poor materials for manufacturing and an increased use of irresponsible capitalism. 

PARA TWO – BREXIT

Brexit has not delivered on the promises made in the ‘brochure’ in 2016.  Instead it threatens the breakup of your Kingdom, the loss of Britain’s position as a world leader in many fields, breakages of international law, a possible return to the troubles in Northern Ireland and human trafficking of people to Rwanda as a supposed ‘solution’ to migration by people fleeing from war and oppression.  Just when many countries in the world are recognising that joined up thinking is needed to solve joined up problems, we appear to have elected to live in un-splendid isolation.  I know that your mother Queen Elizabeth II was opposed to Brexit and I hope you will exert further influence in this direction for a better Britain in a better Europe for a better world.  

PARA THREE – MICRO ENVIRONMENT

Clean beaches and Britain’s waterways have always been one of the defining hallmarks of our green and pleasant land. They are under systemic attack from our Government, simply because the laws that allowed us to reach these standards of excellence did not emanate from Westminster. It matters not who sets the bar for excellence on planet earth. What matters is excellence itself. I hope you will agree that we must maintain clean beaches, clean rivers and clean towns and villages. Each and every one of us can play a part in this, but it needs your leadership to bind the country together. It is both distasteful and dangerous to allow our waterways to be filled with e-coli.

We have developed a class of people who are skilled in the art of offering easy answers to difficult problems. We know that complex problems have no easy answers and we need to take time to understand the systemic consequences of our actions. But it is clear that our standards have been decimated over recent years, with more to come due to the ideology of Brexit which requires the purging of all that emanates from the EU. Of course, 98% of these standards were ones which Britain created or supported.

PARA FOUR – FARMING

It has become apparent that we need to reform farming towards more sustainable approaches and an approach that conserves the land to reclaim food security for Britain. Whilst it was right for Government to replace EU subsidies for farmers with an equivalent scheme, the scheme was not of equivalent value and it was wrong to then cancel that scheme. This will undoubtedly affect lives and livelihoods for people who manage 71% of our land to everyone’s ultimate loss.

PARA FIVE – SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Britain had a role as a world leader in science and science relies on collaboration with the finest minds on the planet. Every single scientific body warned against Brexit as having the potential to reduce the gene pool of talent on which some of our greatest achievements have rested. King Charles II founded the Royal Society which continues to make awards for contributions to the promotion, advancement, or use of science for the benefit of society. We have a long tradition of successful collaborations in science, whether that be in advances in health, aerospace, defence, living standards and so on. In the 4th industrial age, the age of information, we owe it to our children to offer them the best environment to bring innovative collaborations together through projects such as HORIZON.

PARA SIX – DEMOCRACY

For some time now, British democracy has been under attack. Examples include the illegal prorogation of parliament, manifesto promises being broken almost on a monthly basis and the erosion of truth and trust in politicians and politics. Flip flop politics are not without consequence. In recent times our economic experiments on the population of Britain have caused untold irreversible increases in mortgages and the cost of living. Prime Ministers are now elected without recourse to the vast majority of the people of Britain. We need a proper written constitution and the reform of our democracy and democratic processes as a matter of urgency.

PARA SEVEN – COMMONWEALTH

The self-isolation of Brexit is clearly affecting our relationships with Commonwealth countries, for example Bermuda. This has cross impacts on your own families’ standing as leaders and representatives of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. It takes decades to build trust and co-operation and minutes to destroy it. We must save precious relationships on which we rely.

PARA EIGHT – THE NHS

You mentioned that you were born on the same date as the NHS and quipped that you felt you were doing better than them when interviewed. Our NHS is under threat to become a two-tier system rather like the US, but without any safety net for those without means. A hallmark of a civilised society is in how vulnerable people are treated. Our NHS is too precious to be traded away as an asset.

OUTRO 

I understand that you are unable to act in public as it would contravene your role. However, I urge you to influence the debates on our ‘Britastrophe’. I remain, Your Majesty, your faithful and loyal subject.

Joe Bloggs 

Posted in Boris Johnson, Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Britastrophe, Economics, Education, Europe, Immigration, Leadership, Northern Ireland, Sovereignty | 1 Reply
Trusstanic

Another one bites the Truss

Updated on date by author

I decided that this needed to go out before the entire cabinet resigned, so here goes:

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I cannot decide whether Liz Truss conducts her role out of pure incompetence or she is a double agent. Truth be told, I will never know. However, it is fair to say that she is doing a great job of destroying the ERG and the Brexit illusion.

Posted in Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Britastrophe, Leadership, Liz Truss, Politics | Leave a reply
Brexorcism

Rescue me

Updated on date by author

It is time for Keir Starmer, Ed Davey and their parties to acknowledge that Brexit has destroyed Britain’s resilience and offer a grown up analysis of what needs to be done to save the country from itself. David Lammy managed to dodge the bullet this am on the BBC. Brexit Remains the elephant in the room. It’s time to grow up as Jackie Brook points out elegantly.




Regards The Truss, Liz must now listen to moderate Conservatives inside and outside her party. The underlying problem is Brexit, which has destroyed Britain’s ability to absorb shocks. She must make amends to save Britain and her party. It may be too late of course. The appointment of Jeremy Hunt is a nudge strategy in this general direction. Yes, I know that some of you will have another word for Jeremy, but set against the swivel eyed ERG loons, it is an interesting strategy at this time. She faces a radical decision or oblivion and we know that she is (a) a Janusian thinker and (b) willing to be unpopular. Remainers remain (sic) stuck in the hedonic response cycle of only ever seeing one way out of this problem when binary politics delivered Brexit:

I am as tough on the thinking of Remainers as I am Brexiteers … 🙂 🙁


A general election is unlikely unless forced in some way. It is yet another Remainer unicorn of low probability. Hope is not a strategy.

Forget “Britannia Unchained”, see our work on a better Britain in a better Europe for a better World.

Posted in Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Britastrophe, Europe, Labour, Liz Truss | Leave a reply
Grass

Grassroots shoots

Posted on date by author

Don Adamson writes in his inimitable style from Yorkshire.

This week’s quotes: “Thick Lizzie is putting herself in a dangerous position … least experienced cabinet team the UK has had for decades (Comment after 12 years in office) … she will need every bit of Civil Service buy in she can get …Any efforts to introduce yes men will just drain the Civil Service of competent staff …  … when Jacob Rees Mogg was supposedly in charge of public sector efficiency … incessantly wailing about civil servants not being at their desks while failing to notice that due to sell off of buildings there were not enough desks for civil servants to be at … Thick Lizzie’s moves are fundamentally unfair …  crisis in the National Health Service is well known …  calls for an independent enquiry (Comment: in Booming Brexit Britain an ‘independent enquiry is one that obeys Rupert Murdoch’s orders) … services unsafe as doctors struggle with huge workloads … no hope of building the promised 48 new hospitals … new Chancellor has admitted that any gas produced by fracking would not reduce costs for UK consumers … If he does not understand measures in his own price package what hope is there? …24 hours is maximum waiting time to file past body of the Queen … 40 hours waiting time endured by woman needing ambulance and hospital treatment … Thick Lizzie’s rusty Reaganomics … transplanting a 40 year old economic policy from USA to UK will not work … President brushed aside the contradictions … Thick Lizzie’s attempts to emulate the Gipper’s success is doomed …  Thick Lizzie’s cheerleaders have read only the first part of the history of Reagonomics …  early record was mixed … did not stop a recession … inflation rose … the result will be more conflict between monetary and fiscal policy … risk that inflation becomes entrenched … business leaders are warming to Labour … businesses despair of the Tory Party … after 12 years in office and four radically different PMs the Tories can hardly promise that Johnson’s tenure was especially shambolic … a suspicion that policy is being driven by ideological reflexes … Thick Lizzie’s approach worries firms … as for Jacob Rees-Mogg as business secretary, ‘I could think of a worse choice but you would have to give me an hour … NHS treats its workers so badly they are leaving … struggle to plan holidays … it is bonkers … the whole kit and caboodle of NHS employment is utterly Kafkaesque … working in an organisation that is indifferent to their needs … NHS can be a strikingly uncaring employer … The city is fighting to carve out a post Brexit role … 7,000 jobs, and £1.3Trillion of assets were lost from a sector that employs 1.1m … international firms opening a European hub prefer Amsterdam or Luxembourg … LSE’s importance as an equity hub has dwindled … in 2006 it raised 18% of global capital … in the first half of 2022 less than 1% … A wholesale repeat of the City’s post war reinvention remains out of reach …  boosting the economy while ignoring environmental harm would be bonkers … keeping the heat on has replaced flying as an aspiration … Politicians of all stripes console themselves with the thought that Brits voted to leave the EU because they were misled by other, less upstanding politicians. ‘Nobody voted to be poorer’ runs the refrain. A scarier possibility is that people knew perfectly well what they voted for. Brexit will create a smaller economy but voters did not care … Thick Lizzie resembles a neo-liberal Kamikaze pilot, prepared to blow herself up for her cause …. The mad scientists … an experiment to test the riskiest of trickle down fantasies … It seems we have been misled … all we have needed all along was for the government to give vast amounts of money to the rich and wait for it to somehow boost the economy …Established economic theories and fact based research have disappeared a naysayer in a photograph of Stalin … all previous Tory governments have been left wing dupes … how doing nothing is supposed to increase growth is a mystery … this government will just find the money elsewhere …  many things about this budget do not make sense … will cost the treasury a fortune … no additional growth, just a lower tax take … Cutting red tape is a right wing panacea, the kind prompted by snake oil sellers … the details are shocking … Justice system, social care, ambulance services and NHS are already on their knees … none of these measures likely to increase growth at all … a right wing wet dream … without even a semblance of an effort to make the numbers add up, no  wonder the Office for Budget Responsibilities has been gagged … terrible news for those with mortgages (Comment: Daily Mail readers will love that) … right wing commentators in the press are praising it to the skies, but ignore these and read their financial pages instead … a right wing fantasy, an ideologically driven experiment to stuff the mouths of the rich with gold … it is betting with borrowed money that nobody knows how to repay … schoolboy errors … put the UK economy at risk … Kwarteng has always been a high risk appointment … too casual … too enamoured of his own intellect … a cabinet determined by loyalty to Truss rather than competence … in the space of four days three decades of sound economic management have gone up in smoke … pound suffered a rout … cartoon Thatcherism … Millwall strategy (no one likes us, we don’t care) is hardly a serious approach … Kwarteng, like the Bourbons has learned nothing and forgotten nothing …  betrayed weakness not strength …,It is a fantasy to pretend that Britain can ignore the trend … a grab bag of ideas, poorly presented …it makes you wonder if Thick Lizzie is an undercover agent for the Bring Back Boris campaign … smug, cruel, arrogant, know it all ideologies …f*** the lot of you … failings of a wasted decade … sounds like insider trading … if it had happened under a Labour government the papers would have played merry hell … the money markets have made it clear they have no faith in Trussonomics … detestable characters in the Johnson resignation honours list … there are claims that Nadine Dorries knowingly misled Parliament …

Pip Pip             Medway Delta (Retired)           Saboteur and Brexorcist First Class 

Editor’s footnote: since Don wrote this, another Tory MP has been fired …

Posted in Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Britastrophe, Economics, Leadership, Liz Truss, Northern Ireland, Sovereignty | Tagged , , , , | Leave a reply
Reboot Britain : Rejoin EU
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