Monthly Archives: November 2023

The Ayes Have It

Updated on

29/11/2023 by author

I attended ‘The Ayes Have It’, led by former Commons Speaker John Bercow last week. The event debated the motion “Brexit has been a disaster and now must be reversed”. The motion was won with a substantial majority. Here is my review:

Notable by their absence …

The panel for the motion consisted of heavyweight contributors Alex Salmond, Gina Miller and Andrew Marr. In contrast, the opposition panel comprised David Davis, plus C-listers Mike Graham and Claire Fox. No Nigel Farage, Mogg, Tice, Baker, Johnson, Andrew Pierce, or anyone of significance on the leave side. Just David Davis, who turned out to be the most gracious member of the opposition panel.

Full facts versus fantasy fascists

Salmond, Miller and Marr offered solid complementary arguments backed up by relevant facts. Some highlights: Gina pointed out that Brexit had delivered the exact economic hit to UK plc as predicted by various experts (ranging up to a 5% hit on GDP). My own analogy for this is to imagine trying to swim the channel with a 4.5 kg block of concrete around your neck. All the ‘offspring of Brexit’ are on show for the next General Election, although none of the main parties wish to utter ‘he who shall not be named’ (Brexit).

The Brexit Iceberg — All of the ‘offspring’ of Brexit remain issues for the election.

Alex Salmond was an excellent orator and held himself in good account, despite numerous personal attacks by the Brexit panelists. Andrew Marr focused on our place in the world after Brexit. In summary, he pointed out that we don’t have a place in the world after Brexit. However, he did not think that he would see us rejoin in his lifetime. Gina and I disagree on Marr’s point. All that is needed is political will in Westminster and the cultivation of better relations with the EU. David Cameron may well be an asset in this respect if we play the ball and not the man. Please read our separate article on Cameron and his potential contribution to the breaking of Parliamentary paralysis.

Sugaring the bitter Brexit pill

In direct comparison, the Leave panel avoided any factual analysis of the benefits of Brexit (there are none of course). Only Sugar magnate David Davis presented any serious evaluation of Brexit, although he offered no benefits. But Davis generally acted with some dignity compared with the other leave panelists. He stated that Remoaners all think that the EU is perfect. I certainly know that all political systems imperfect. The question is really one of “Go Compare” and our own Parliament earns the prize of being twinned with Belarus, North Korea and Nigeria. Davis also installed his own versions of ‘project fear’ into the debate, suggesting that:

Rejoining would be difficult (so was Brexit, lots of important things are difficult David);
That the EU had moved on (self evident) and;
That we would have to have the Euro and cede sovereignty (utter bollocks).

See my separate articles on Michel Barnier and Myths and Riffs of Brexit for Bylines re these points.

Rage of the Gammon

Mike ‘Talk Shit TV’ Graham and Claire Fox were notable because neither of them even tried to oppose the motion. Instead they hurled insults at the other panelists. Claire ‘IRA’ Fox attempted to set up a class war by saying that Gina, Andrew and Alex were all the products of public school and that only she (Baroness Fox) was a supporter of the common man and woman. She forgot to mention that the vast majority of the Brexiteers went to public school (Johnson, Mogg, the list goes on). She also said that if we rejoined the EU, Britain would become ‘Greece’. This is so much bollocks that I won’t even comment further. Graham had been encouraged by his supporters to ‘assassinate Gina’ and ‘use lots of facts’. In fact, Graham said he had decided not to use ANY facts as the Remoaners would dispute them. Clearly this was because he had none to offer. Graham also ran away before questions could be asked. These are the typical behaviours of a Brexit coward. A pound shop Alan Partridge.

Views of youth

After the interval, two year 6 students from Chestnut Grove Academy from spoke for each side of the debate. Both were nervous. Cora spoke for Rejoin made some terrific points about having her future taken away by people who would not live to see the damage they had done (my emphasis, not hers). She supplemented her talk with plenty of salient facts. The strangest thing happened when the young man (Dominic) stood up for the Brexit side. The first thing he said was that he could not defend Brexit !! Then he appeared to break down, unable to speak. John Bercow helped Dom to continue but his speech was incoherent. His main point was that we could not go back on the past, that Brexit was done (It’s far from done of course). At the end Dom attempted to give a benefit of Brexit mentioning the idea that we were able to get the COVID vaccine faster because of Brexit. Of course this is incorrect. Check the Full Fact link on this. I discussed this point later on with David Davis on a 1:1 basis. He tried to suggest that the EU was slow to respond and I agreed that entropy is a feature of all large institutions. Both of us have MBAs and have worked for large organisations and I found common cause with David who did not try to pull any strokes with me on the matter. But the point here is that UK was not prevented from acting independently. It’s a legal point and not an Organisational Behaviour issue. David graciously agreed with me. Boris Johnson was desperate to produce a smokescreen for Brexit at the time and it was a convenient story to fool the public with. Some still are fooled by Johnson’s lies.

COVID and Brexit — Click to read the article.

For ‘balance’, other reviews are available. Jonathan Baz must have been taking some of Liz Truss’ psychotropic drugs in his review where he describes Claire Fox as using facts to destroy the Remoaners. Check Everything Theatre for a more sober review of the evening. Well done to theatre director and former MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh who put this all together.

Conclusions

Brexit is a disaster

We can and must join the EU

The only impediment to progress is our politicians

The Ayes Have It !!

I was delighted to present John Bercow and Alex Salmond with copies of my Brexit Satire book ‘Private Eyelines – Have I got fake Brexit news for EU‘. Ian Hislop also has a copy. It makes a great gift. Do NOT buy on Amazon by the way. Direct sales offer the best value.

Posted in Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Britastrophe, David Cameron, Democracy, Gina Miller, Politics, Populism, Rejoin EU | Tagged Brexit, Britain, Britastrophe, Rejoin EU | 4 Replies

Protest and Survive the Tories

Updated on

27/11/2023 by author

Peter Cook

Check out our latest article for The Prisma Anglo-Spanish newspaper on the art of protest here. Here’s a taster:

On a cold day in March 2017, I had heard that a few people were planning to gather on the street opposite No 10 Downing Street. I decided to set aside my business activities and cycled into town from South London. En route, I got a puncture just by Bermondsey tube station, some 6 km from my destination. I was in the midst of fixing the tyre when a woman approached asking if I needed any help. It turned out as if by magic that we were both going to No 10. That woman was Wendy Novak, ex BBC photographer and a constant protestor for vulnerable people who face medical supply shortages due to Brexit. The group that assembled that cold evening in March became ‘The No 10 Vigil’. Read the full article here.

The crucible of No 10 Vigil was, in effect, a ‘clinical trial’ for much of what became the grass roots movement to Remain in the EU. Groups such as Extinction Rebellion and others clearly learned from our successes and mistakes and were able to add money and discipline to our unfettered creativity.

One of our protest songs, written about the Brexiteer in regret, trapped by his inability to tell his mates that Brexit has failed.

Read 12 angry Tories

Posted in Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Education, Rejoin EU | Tagged Brexit, Britain, Britastrophe, Rejoin EU | Leave a reply

Cameron

Updated on

27/11/2023 by author

Peter Cook

I’ve been shocked and disappointed by the public reaction to David Cameron’s appointment by Remainers and Rejoiners alike. They appear unable to get past the “two minutes of hate”, sometimes much longer, for pig fucking and various other of David Cameron’s peccadilloes. It is, of course, too early to judge him by his actions now in post, but I put it to you that Cameron is a potential asset in the fight against Brexit. Stay with me on this. This will be a long piece and a nuanced argument and I am not in any way excusing him for his sins in and out of office. Before we begin, I am NOT suggesting that we forgive Cameron for his faulty referendum decision and various other defects and decisions. I am suggesting that we use Cameron’s obvious regret about that decision to help alter the political paralysis that has allowed Brexit to prevail. Let’s begin with the man himself:

Regrets, I’ve had a few

Cameron says in his autobiography that not one day passes when he does not regret Brexit. If you are a cynic, you may find this to be an attempt to gain sympathy. It’s true that people do not write autobiographies to trash their reputation. However, when taken in the round I find his regrets to be authentic and heartfelt. More importantly, whatever the reasons for his regret, we must use his reflections as a lever for change. Compared with Liz Truss, Johnson and the emotionally bankrupt Sunak, Cameron is a much softer figure. He mistakenly thought that he could build unity in the Tory party by offering the people a plebiscite on Brexit. Of course he was horribly wrong and, importantly he did not see that Nigel Farage would weaponise austerity by blaming immigrants for people’s lived experience in 2016. Research from UKICE demonstrates that Vote Leave moved the dial on the result by 12% – in other words the referendum result would have been 60:40 for staying in the EU without Farage’s ‘clever’ but deplorable interventions on ‘othering’. Yes, the campaign was lame and the murder of Jo Cox allowed Richard Tice and his mates to pile into the campaign in the final days. All of it odious.

Total misjudgement by Cameron? YES.

Total contrition by Cameron? YES.

Has he emerged wiser? We’ll see but possibly YES …

… but only if we play the ball, not the man.

Hold your nose and read his reflections.

STOP PRESS : Guy Verhofstadt welcomes Cameron’s return

Guy Verhofstadt tweet — Click to respond to Guy’s tweet.

Rishi’s decision

I called James O’Brien some months back saying that if Rishi Sunak was wise, he would pivot to the centre rather than the right to save his party. I suggested that he needed about a dozen rabbits to pull from a hat. It seems that David Cameron is one of those rabbits, judging by the reactions of voters in Brexity West Bromwich being interviewed for BBC Radio 4 Today on Saturday 18 November around 07.20. Jeremy C. Hunt’s tax cuts are another, even though these will probably only affect a small number of people and are probably based on fiddled inflation figures.

A passage to India

Sunak is not Johnson. Sunak will not have tossed a coin, smoked a cigar or had a few glasses of Chablis to decide whether he should sack Braverman. He will have carefully weighed up the issues, perhaps even on a spreadsheet! He must have ‘priced in’ the notion that the ERG are a busted flush and that any counter reaction would be tolerable, even agreeable. So far, his analysis holds true: Hardly anyone attended the New Conservatives (akin to the Real IRA?) meeting on Monday 13 November and; Andrea Jenkyns managed to get a five year old to write a letter asking for Sunak to resign.

It is rumoured that Sunak may wish to be off soon to a position in the Indian High Commission. By putting Cameron in the Foreign Office, he has installed a safe pair of hands amidst the lunatic fringe of Badenoch, Morduant and others who may wish to hold the crown or a sword. A journalist pointed out that Sunak may have just installed the next Prime Minister and with it someone who may be able to join the EU anew before Starmer has even woken up in 2032. Perhaps the question to ask in terms of Sunak’s reputation is does he leave before an election to pursue other goals or does he risk leaving after a crushing or less fatal defeat which still seems possible given recent events on all sides. I know which I’d choose. Yes, Cameron’s appointment is an affront to democracy and so on, but I repeat, we are not in a position at this point to do much about that, so we must act in ways that can make some useful changes.

Vital signs

At the moment, the jury is out as to whether Cameron will be a force for reform towards the centre, although I have some direct intel from inside Parliament that says he could well be. However, he did temper the Government’s attitude towards the ceasefire on Tuesday 14th November. This itself is a sea change from the far right loons of his party such as Braverman who borders (sic) on fascism. Labour are now caught with their trousers down on the ceasefire. This is an immediate vital sign of a more centrist viewpoint from Cameron acting from his role as Foreign Secretary.

But what would Cameron need to do in order to change the parliamentary paralysis that I mention? His moves may only need to be quite minimal to be effective. For example, as Foreign Secretary, all Cameron has to do is go on a trip to Europe, mend some bridges with EU leaders, utter some of his regrets about Brexit in despatches, perhaps even suggest that Brexit has not worked out per the ‘brochure’ and so on. His views on Brexit are already public knowledge so there are no surprises for the far right press to report on here. If he even so much as whispered something about the failure of Brexit, Keir Starmer would be compelled to agree, in order to maintain his strategy of being in lockstep with the Tories. The vow of silence on Brexit would be broken irrevocably.

Marred by pigs

Andrew Marr has an interesting complementary outlook on this matter. It’s well worth watching his You Tube video on matter. In the words of George Michael, ‘Listen without prejudice’. Marr agrees with me on the point that Cameron virtually had no choice but to offer a referendum on Brexit. Clearly he did not factor in the toxic weaponisation of austerity by Nigel Farage, without which the referendum result would have been 60:40 to remain in the EU.

My views have polarised the masses, with some believing that we should influence the debate and others (almost universally Labour ideologies) saying that we must just get the Tories out. That of course is guaranteed, but then we are left with a red Brexit. Read Faulty Towers for more on the existential risks of leaving Brexit to Labour. Some of the people telling me I’m wrong have not even read the article before making their judgement. I imagine that thy must have ESP !!

It seems that Betty did not bother to read the article before responding. Oh well.

2 minutes of hate. Actually I’ve had hours of it on social media. Note that I never said any of these points yet people believe I’m giving Cameron a pardon for his misdemeanours which I’m not.

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Breaking Parliamentary Paralysis

At the present time, all we have had in terms of tools to stop Brexit have been lobbying Labour, Lib Dems etc. and our efforts have largely failed in the wake of complete radio silence on the subject and mealy mouthed platitudes from both main parties. If Cameron were to utter even some doubt about Brexit we suddenly have a new powerful tool in the box to work across the other parties with. Political influence requires us to be emotionally detached from political ideology. Breaking Parliamentary Paralysis has been one of our five goals for activism.

Join Gina Miller, Marr, Bercow this evening

What to do then?

I sometimes wonder if grassroots Rejoiners and especially those who are Labour supporters actually want to remain ‘Brexit victims’. When they are presented with opportunities, they spend inordinate amounts of time telling me how I’m mad, bad or evil. I prefer not to pathologise victimhood or what I call ‘learned helplessness’. Here are my suggestions if you wish to act rather than watch from the sidelines.

Forget the pig fucking.

Start supporting Cameron.

Separate this from legitimate criticism of Sunak and the cabinet.

Lobby for a change in the Conservative party’s position on Brexit.

Mention what you are doing to Keir Starmer and Labour.

Remember, you don’t have to agree with Cameron on everything.

Be surgical and support any positive moves he makes on Europe.

Play the ball not the man

Posted in Brexit, Britain, David Cameron, Democracy, Elections | Tagged Brexit, Britain, Conservatives, Rejoin EU, Rishi Sunak | 17 Replies

Don’s weekly round up

Updated on

26/11/2023 by author

Peter Cook

Don Adamson’s ruthless report on all things Brexit and politics continues:

This week’s homework

One – Discuss the following statement. Murdoch newspapers continued to publish extracts from the Hitler Diaries after the proof emerged that that diaries were forgeries. Murdoch explained: ‘We are in the entertainment business.’ Do you find the tripe that Murdoch lackeys publish to be entertaining? Would it endanger the planet if Murdoch lackeys printed entertaining material that is factually accurate?

Read Private Eyelines to up the ante on the Murdoch press

Two – Is there any truth in the rumour that Trump supporters refer to him as BD. This is an abbreviation for Big Dick. Why would that be an appropriate description for Trump?

Three – Discuss the following statement. Richy Scumbag has appointed David Cameron as Foreign Secretary. Tories have an eye watering majority in the House of Commons but need to look elsewhere for ability. Cam the Sham is a proven failure as a political leader. Can it be that Scumbag has appointed Cam the Sham as Foreign Secretary because the Tories are waking up to the reality that Brexit has failed while Keith Starmer continues to insist (despite all the evidence to the contrary) that Brexit can be made to work?

Read David Cameron

Four – Would it benefit Climate Change Deniers if they spent more time looking out of their own windows?

Five – TV journalism used to be Kate Adie (a Sunderland lass) reporting from dangerous places as she gave cool, calm and collected accounts of the mayhem that was breaking loose around her. TV journalism nowadays consists of some airhead in a tight skirt reading from a script that she barely understands. Why the change?

This week’s quotes

The government works on important policies like taking away the tents of the homeless and giving millions to fossil fuel giants

… cover up over a serial rapist Tory MP … failure allowed the unnamed MP to continue to offend … many other allegations … including that another MP possessed a laptop with indecent images of children … Thick Lizzie joking of her taxpayer funded security team … since leaving no 10 a year ago Thick Lizzie declared six trips worth £58,000, including a four nighter in Hawaii … After Lloyds was forced to seize Telegraph Media Group when a £1Bn loan went bad … bank is sceptical of Barclay family claims to be in a position to reacquire the titles…

Richy Scumbag’s gruesome interview with Elon Musk demeaned the office of PM

… toe curlingly gruesome … Scumbag squirming excitedly in his chair like a cross between Will from the Inbetweeners (‘Briefcase Wanker’) and the luckless executive Amazon sends on Newsnight to explain why its workplace conditions do not amount to modern serfdom … PM had no idea what he was talking about … politics … fast becoming a branch of showbiz … the spectacle is the ruling order’s non-stop discourse about itself, its never-ending monologue of self-praise … emotion trumps fact … performative charisma more valued than competence … no pendulum that is going to swing back to evidence-based technocracy and rationality … shrewd politicians should not have to surrender their dignity as Richy Scumbag did … decency does not need to be dull …

Deadly failings of a moral pygmy

… Johnson’s lack of focus and humanity cost lives during Covid … instead of facing charges he is raking in the cash … had the best, most expensive, education Britain could offer … Eton and Oxford … completely incapable of doing the job of PM … endlessly distracted and constantly changing his mind, unfit to lead … not really engaging with Covid at all … flailed, constantly changed his mind … nothing good comes of such inst ability at the top … results were catastrophic … companies have been convicted of corporate manslaughter due to gross negligence in events that killed just one person … no such investigation into corporate manslaughter here … Johnson’s advisers contemptuous of their boss … Johnson had no concern for the suffering he caused … simply ignored it … dithering uncaring blob at the heart of government, wobbling uselessly while thousands died … Johnson’s reasoning contained an error so fundamental that it should have been rectified with a two minute briefing …PM did not take the time to understand the devastating toll of the disease he was failing to contain .. an appalling failure on his part … ignorance within Downing St … an absence of humanity … jaw dropping callousness … pensioners make up core of Tory voters … no sense of gratitude to people who put him in No 10 … his word counts for very little … disgraced … lied relentlessly … a picture of extreme arrogance … disastrous mess … no pandemic plan … inevitable that Johnson would fail the challenges … few of that group accept culpability for installing as PM somebody so unfit for the job … everything seemed to be made up on the spot … gross unsuitability for role of PM … moral failure … if he was the operator of a business he would be facing time in gaol … his punishment is millions of pounds of speaking gigs, a book deal, a Daily Mail column and a TV show … British justice system is in crisis …

Mail has seen another huge fall in circulation

… I always thought Dacre would end his days an unhappy man. No Peerage, shunned by polite society. Labour likely to be office. Mail readership in freefall…

Empty Supermarket shelves

… leaving the EU has seriously stymied UK food importation and distribution centre… Brexit delays and red tape … it all worked perfectly before Brexit… government will not say the B-word when discussing it … weird supermarket culture in the UK … things will get worse … Brexit and the damage it does is increasingly hard-wired into the British economy …

Food shortages — Now the Government is frightened to operate Brexit border checks for fear of more of this.

Richy Scumbag

… avatar of the radical right … the truth is more disturbing than any cynical opportunism … damage the Tories have done to the UK .. unnecessary decline … international diminishment … Tories wrap themselves in the Union Jack while putting party before country … demise of good governance … sheer incompetence of Johnson …why anyone, even GB news, would pay to hear the thought of this inadequate is beyond me .. Businesses are paying millions for speeches by Johnson. What can they possibly learn that would aid their businesses…?

Shaming Britain – Richy Scumbag

British Parliament is failing at its most basic job – scrutinising laws

… MPs are botching it … Brexit and Covid set precedents for legislating at speed and handing wide powers to ministers … habits ministers find as addictive as monarchs once did … Henry VIII clauses that allow ministers to alter primary legislation … consequential decisions get cursory scrutiny … carbon dioxide emissions … became law after only 90 minutes debate and without a vote … objectionable in principle … Legislature at risk of being ridden roughshod by ministers … bad in practice … drafting errors on the rise … impact assessments … cost and benefits … cosmetic or missing altogether … Johnson’s windfall tax on the oil and gas industry … had several big design flaws … Thick Lizzie’s law to cap energy prices … hasty and sloppy … malaise strengthens the case of constitutional reform …proportional representation would end one party dominance … an elected House of Lords would have a strong mandate to halt badly drafted bills … neither looks likely … amateurism goes too far … House of Lords membership … a bauble for party cronies … reflects a malaise in political couture … properly scrutiny legislation serves the country better than showy rushed law making …

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The quality of legislative scrutiny is in decline

… MPs spend increasingly little time on examination of proposed legislation … a swaggering executive treats scrutiny as an inconvenience … since 1997 only one in eight bills has undergone pre-legislative scrutiny … MPs regard scrutiny as drudgery … debate is partisan and cursory … weakening system of scrutiny has been hit by two bad shocks … Brexit … Covid 19 … Brexit referendumb introduced shrill and aggressive politics that treated parliamentary scrutiny not as a service but as a betrayal … eliminating the chance for meaningful scrutiny … government by diktat was leaching power away from Parliament … skeleton bills … provide few clues as to what will be essential … so skeletal we wonder if the bones were stolen away and buried somewhere … Statutory instruments get even less scrutiny than primary legislation … haste leads to less informed decisions … MPs pass legislation with no idea of costs or benefits … scrambled together at the last minute to justify a decision already taken …. errors are rising … when you do something because it is convenient that is the time to worry … Peers feel that they are doing the scrutiny that MPs are shirking … process has broken down … few Tories care how the rule of Parliament are being forgotten … should an election force them into opposition the costs of a weakened Parliament will be more obvious to them … when the rules are bent everybody loses…

Pip Pip Don Adamson Medway Delta Retired Brexorcist and Saboteur First Class

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Posted in Borders, Boris Johnson, Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Britastrophe, David Cameron, Economics, Elections, Europe, Gina Miller, Labour, Leadership, Liz Truss, Politics, Populism, Rejoin EU, Sovereignty, Sunak, Trump | Tagged Brexit, Britain, Britastrophe, Rejoin EU | Leave a reply

Don’s Brexit Bunker

Updated on

23/11/2023 by author

Peter Cook

Don Adamson writes from the Barnsley Brexit Bunker:

This week’s homework

One – Discuss the following statement. Murdoch and Rothermere lackeys are under strict instructions that they must not believe what they write in the newspapers.

Two – Discuss the following statement: Richy Scumbag has dismissed Cruella Braverman from the job of Home Secretary. This comes as a surprise to 21^st century Tories who expect Cabinet Ministers to be a) extremely incompetent and b) racists of the worst description. The scandal involving Stickyfinger Pansey-Lenin (alias Tommy Robinson) is also causing consternation in 21^st century Tory circles. Laws, conventions, terms and conditions that affect decent people do not apply to Gammons and Flagshaggers. It is interesting that Cameron has been appointed Foreign Secretary. He is neither an MP nor a Peer. That ordinarily would disqualify him from being a Cabinet Minister. We do live in strange times. Editor’s note : We must use Cameron – Read Play the ball, not the man.

Three – Several years ago John Cleese was a high profile member of the Liberal Democrats. The Lib Dems are not to every taste but, at least at that time they bore some resemblance to a respectable political party. Around that time Cleese was quoted as saying that ‘Woke’ was a good thing and applied to people with some kind of empathy. Cleese quit the Lib Dems and became an outspoken supporter of Brexit and other dubious causes. He now has become a presenter for Gammonite Balderdash News and has some offensive things to say about people who are ‘Woke.’ Cleese is not a stupid person so why is he lending his name and fame to dubious causes? How badly does he need the money?

This week’s quotes

Inheritance Tax is fair

… irrational hatred of inheritance tax … that hardly anybody pays … may only be paid the estate of dead people who have accumulated an awful lot of money … Inheritance Tax is necessary … Untaxed wealth creation distorts the economy … creating a level playing field is essential not just because it is fair but because it is economically efficient … Tory Party will spend billions of poor taxpayers money in a state run attempt to increase house price inflation and make the rich richer … 96% of people will never pay IHT … a more subtle version of Trussonomics … Jeremy *unt is not reversing her disastrous measures after all, he is just being more clever than she was … *unt threw a billion pounds at the wealthy in his first financial statement … billions will go to the wealthiest, to the house building sector (which donates millions to the Tory Party) … the plan is to take a large slice of money and give it to millionaires, while telling ordinary taxpayers they will benefit (COMMENT: if they are thick enough to believe Brexit is a good idea then they are thick enough to believe anything) … It is a total con and an economically damaging con …

Libidinous haystack and, to our undying shame recent Prime Minister

will soon add his name to the roster of failed entertainers who have sought career stretching refuge in the clammy arms of Gammon Balls News. The only surprising development is that some people appear to be surprised by it … increasingly unfunny farce that is the life and times of Alexander du Piffle Johnson … a lot of free time on his hands just now … had a lot of free time when he was supposed to be leading the country through the worst pandemic in a century … what a joy it will be for the man who was dismissed from the Times for dishonesty to be working for a ‘news station’ where pulling ‘facts’ directly out of your arse is keenly encouraged … Johnson can expect a cool welcome … will he really feel at home among the assorted wing nuts and tinfoil hatters on GB News? … Maybe it will convince OFCOM that the station is balanced as opposed to completely unbalanced…

Struggling GB News plunged into fresh controversy

… breached impartially rules for the fourth time … chaos at GB News … Telegraph is up for sale ‘’’ owners of GB News and Daily Mail are sitting at the front of the auction room … expect more slagging off across the right wing media … as they struggle to prove … they are ready to step into Barclay’s shoes …

Lying in state

… Westminster Hall debate entitled ‘Honesty in Politics’ … just 8 MPs attended and the only Tories were the chair and duty minister …

Telegraph

… systems have been rejigged that … ‘actively prevents anybody who knows what they are talking about attending’ … the system collapses into a state of Chinese whispers…

Richy Scumbag … a year in office … people are deeply dissatisfied … Tories look exhausted and short of ideas…

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Things go from bad to worse for hapless Mad Halfcock

… A corrupt, lying, philandering, incompetent…

Britain’s entire criminal justice system is under strain

… no long term planning; disjointed decision making; tension between expert advice and political calculation … some parts of the criminal justice system close to breakdown … push to be tough on crime coincided with .. spending cuts … gaols, overcrowded, squalid and unsafe … gaol population nearly double in three decades … emergency measures … will not come close to tackling the crisis … decision making … contradictory and incoherent … probation service is in terrible shape … part privatisation so disastrous … it was reversed … backlogs worsened by problems of the government’s own making … in large part caused … by politicians … grim conditions … more assaults and suicides behind bars … poorly run services compromise public safety … situation dreadfully exacerbated by shortage of prison guards … a redundancy scheme so dire it had to rehire many of those it paid off … calamitous … jammed understaffed gaols … 22 hours of daily confinement not uncommon … self-harm, drug use and violence are all rising … situation gets worse and worse … prisons failing in … chief purpose … rehabilitation … perfect storm of failures … situation so bad that government cannot ignore it … probation service in shockingly bad shape …

Covid 19 enquiry

… Dominic Cummings called ministers ‘useless f***pigs’, ‘morons,’ ‘c*nts’ … Cabinet Office ‘terrifyingly sh*t’ … if anything he understated the scale of the dysfunction within the government … individuals in power spectacularly unsuited to the job … departmental responsibilities … horribly muddled … glacially slow to respond to emergencies … chaos was driven by individuals … Johnson … unserious, indecisive and unable to grasp detail … Cummings … incapable of running a functioning office … an environment that was toxic, macho and sexist … Richy Scumbag has spent the last year trying to banish memories of his chaotic predecessors. Instead the circus is back…

Johnson v God

Thick Lizzie government

… huge damage to the economy … concept of shame is as alien to Thick Lizzie as is to Johnson … continues to insist that she alone is marching to the right tune … Tories believe her … Mad Halfcock …. Presided over a process that was corrupt and chaotic … had a tendency to get over excited and make stuff up…

Lib Dems gaining ground in Gove’s constituency

… persistent rumours … Murdoch wanted him to edit the Times … rumours did not originate with Murdoch … Gove has been sucking up to GB News … Gove’s predicament emphasis the problem Brexit ultra will have finding employment after the election …

The Cabinet Secretary holds a particularly important post in the UK

… current incumbent proclaimed that the ‘government is looking like terrible, tragic joke… while Johnson was nominally PM the real person in charge was his then fiancée, now wife … demoralise a civil service in desperate need of strong leadership … the rich and powerful brazen out their position in the knowledge that the public is not interested and the media will follow its lead … Johnson is the most obvious example to whom the concept of shame is meaningless … his attitudes have polluted the atmosphere … Ecclestone was found guilty of misleading HMRC over £400M in an offshore account… he got a suspended sentence … self righteous newspapers that would pillory a desperate single mother for being a ‘benefits scrounger’ showed barely a flicker of interest in Ecclestone’s attempts to rob the country … Michelle Mone used her position to benefit from PPE contracts, has shown no sign of penitence … Yet another Tory MP accused of rape with drug possession thrown in … soon vanished from the headlines … similar allegations about another Tory MP … never been named … fiasco

Keith Starmer had an illustrious career at the bar but can struggle under light interrogation

… the former human rights lawyer appearing to endorse what some regard as war crimes went viral in Labourland where Israel/Palestine is a poisonous issue … he was stuck, kippered, by a breakfast show radio Disc Jockey … Rachel Reeves published book ‘The women who made economic’ … lifted phrases and paragraphs fro, Wikipedia … both errors tell a story, one serious and one silly … when Labour is in power … Labour neuroses will replace Tory neuroses … Tories spent a decade obsessing over Europe not because the voters wanted but because Tories were obsessed by it … with Labour in power topics such as Israel/ Palestine will become matters of internal psychodrama rather than cold debate about policy … Backbench Tory bores waving copies of the Treaty of Rome will be replaced by Labour counterparts quoting the Balfour declaration … Control was one part of the Labour pitch … competence was the other. Reeves’ literary endeavours have damaged that part of the pitch … lifting an explanation out of Wikipedia is mortifying … Labour’s reputation for economic competence is relative… relies on Tory ineptitude … Tory polling is only four points above … Thick Lizzie era … a quicker leader would not have made the error on Gaza in the first place … now that Labour government seems inevitable … boot licking season has begun … masterful inactivity can easily be labelled timidity…

Red Brexit Blue Brexit – Read the article.

Covid inquiry … government was completely out of its depth

… ineptitude of ministers … dangerous distraction … all pervading culture of misogyny … government machine not structured to cope … floods … evacuation of Afghanistan … food shortages, the UK has been found wanting … public wants and expects government to sort out its problems but the government is not equipped to do so … it is not just the constant restructuring which hampers government … government is no longer fit for purpose … huge expertise and talent within the civil service but the difficulty is getting that applied to the issues … even the most competent ministers – and that is not saying much, given the depressingly low calibre of the current crop – is hugely dependent on senior civil servants … this government… is determined to sour its relationship with the civil service … Misconduct and malfeasance by the ton … corruption … needless loss of life … cavalier, unserious, incompetent, law-breaking charlatans in Downing St … fascinating that there was no inquiry into Brexit … same lack of accountability and unsuitability for the job … the damage that these chancers have done on so many fronts is off the scale ..

Pip Pip Don Adamson Medway Delta Retired Brexorcist and Saboteur First Class

All you ever did is wreck me – Liz Truss

Posted in Borders, Boris Johnson, Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Britastrophe, David Cameron, Democracy, Education, Elections, Hancock, Immigration, Labour, Leadership, Liz Truss, Politics, Populism, Rejoin EU, Sovereignty, Sunak | Tagged Brexit, Britain, Britastrophe, Conservatives | Leave a reply

John Bercow

Updated on

19/11/2023 by author

Peter Cook

ORDER !!

Please join John Bercow, Andrew Marr, Gina Miller, Alex Salmond, moi and the last remaining Brexiteers for a panel debate on Brexit at “The Ayes Have It” on Tuesday 21st November in London at the The Leicester Square Theatre. The event will debate the motion “Brexit has been a disaster and now must be reversed”.

Bercow et al — Book your ticket by clicking the picture.

I have not listed the Brexiteers on the panel as they are mostly C-listers, unwilling to support their precious Brexit. Only ‘faux Baroness’ Claire Fox dares to show her face, former member of the Revolutionary Communist Party, IRA supporter and Reform Party member. To quote Laura Kuenssberg “That’s quite a charge”. Doubtless they will try to make the claim that Brexit is bad because Boris Johnson’s 100% Brexit cabinet gave us the wrong Brexit, that people like me thwarted Brexit, or maybe that the weather ruined the sunlit uplands of Brexit … They have nothing left. Let’s be gentle on them at the event … Talk Radio Gaga hack and Concrete magnate Mike Graham is already spreading misinformation about Brexit on Twitter. His fans have told him to make sure he brings plenty of facts to the event. I’m left wondering what these might be. Join me today (Sunday 19 Nov) at 5 pm for a free online masterclass on Brexorcism.

Gina Miller — The true patriots are those wishing to build a better Britain in a better Europe for a better World.

Click the tweet to read some Brexit facts.

The Ayes have it — Hurry to buy your ticket.

Join us on Sunday 19th Nov 5 pm for a free masterclass on Brexorcism

Lyrics by the wonderful Jane Berry

Bercow’s quizzical, studied what’s admissable Process in the House Late nights all aglow in the Commons Oh, Berc – o – ow

Death-Knell Johnson-Lies, all eyes on the Hedge Fund prize Calls him on the phone “Can I take you out of the picture? Oh, Berc – o – ow

As Brexit’s getting ready to go A knockout we can’t ignore:

Bang! Bang! Bercow’s Yellowhammer comes down upon our head Bang! Bang! Bercow’s Yellowhammer makes sure that Brexit’s dead.

Back in Number Ten Johnson plays the fool again Cummings gets annoyed Wishing to create an unpleasant Sce, e, e, ene

He tells him to say YellowHammer’s not Doomsday So he fakes and lies Lying fifty times: “No Deal isn’t So, o, o, o”

He turns his back on democracy.. Grieve comes up from behind

Bang! Bang! Bercow’s Yellowhammer comes down upon our head Bang! Bang! Bercow’s Yellowhammer makes sure that Brexit’s dead.

Scottish Judges say, “We caught a dirty one” Johnson stands alone Painting testimonial busses Oh, oh, oh, oh

Mogg and Kate Hoey, screaming to the gallery Say he must be free (Johnson must be free) The judges don’t agree and they tell him So, o, o, o

But as the ruling’s leaving their court A noise comes from behind

Bang! Bang! Bercow’s Yellowhammer comes down upon our head Bang! Bang! Bercow’s Yellowhammer makes sure that Brexit’s dead. Whoa, oh, oh, oh

Posted in Boris Johnson, Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Britastrophe, Democracy, Europe, Gina Miller, Leadership, Rejoin EU | Tagged Brexit, Britain, Rejoin EU | 1 Reply

Mass Brexorcisms

Updated on

18/11/2023 by author

Peter Cook

Please join us THIS SUNDAY 19th November for a free masterclass in the gentle art and discipline of Brexorcism with Hertfordshire for Europe from 5.00 pm to 6.30. Tickets are free here.

We are presently at the stage where nearly 2/3 of people believe that Brexit has failed. Rather less believe that we can do anything about it given the state of parliamentary paralysis that has taken hold. If we reach 70% of people who believe that Brexit has failed, MPs will have to listen. This means dispelling thoughts of ‘learned helplessness’ and the myths currently being spread about joining EU anew.

I coined the phrase ‘Brexorcism’ to describe the gentle process of influence and persuasion needed to change minds about Europe and Brexit. A fusion of therapeutic interventions, psychology, sociology etc. In our masterclass, I will give a digest of his books on the subject and answer your questions on the practicalities of mindset change. In real life I am isa business and change management expert, having written 14 books on leadership. Find out more about Brexorcism below:

Read our books on Brexorcism here

Check out 12 angry Tories

Posted in Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Britastrophe | Tagged Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Rishi Sunak | 1 Reply

Suella must go

Updated on

13/11/2023 by author

Peter Cook

I attended the march for a ceasefire in Palestine on 11/11/23. I noted a high degree of misinformation from the public in conversation on the way to the march. They failed to understand that the march was organised at a different time to the Armistice day ceremony and that the route for the march was nowhere near the Cenotaph. Such is the power of fake news. One told me that the Palestinians were planning to storm the Cenotaph. Quite the reverse was true.

STOP PRESS 9 am : Suella has resigned

Mark Rowley’s decision

The march was well organised, entirely peaceful and sensitively policed. By contrast a few so called “English patriots” attempted to storm the Cenotaph, did not observe the silence at 11 am, attacked police officers and went on a rampage though China Town. The coward formerly known as Tommy Robinson retreated early to his foreign bunker in Tenerife. I say all this as someone who is not a massive fan of the police. In particular, let’s look at Mark Rowley’s decision here. Having decided that the Cenotaph might be a flash point for violence, he prevented Palestinians from approaching it. This would eliminate a potential flashpoint by confrontation with the BNP. Having set this condition up, this allowed him to insist that Tommy Robinson fanatics did not attend the march for a ceasefire. The police were then able to enforce BOTH conditions on an even handed basis. His decision largely kept both groups apart and was a textbook example of public order management. To those trying to amplify the drama, some numbers help to restore sanity:

126 arrests were made from 300 000 people attending the march or 0.042%

Of these, the vast majority (82 estimated) were the BNP contingent

Nine police officers were injured whilst dealing with the BNP

The stoking of racism and the Tory party alliance with the BNP is ENTIRELY the responsibility of Suella Braverman and sanctioned by Rishi Sunak. Suella must go NOW. So must Sunak.

Suelphuric acis – TY James Rowland

Daily Maul

The Daily Mail was not able to claim that the Palestinians had caused widespread disorder and chaos, so what to do? Well, they got Michael Gove to go on a walkabout to Victoria station knowing full well that the Palestinians would be there. Just for clarity Gove always uses a chauffeur driven car for his movements, even if they are 300 yards. He was deliberately in Whitehall to get jostled so that the Maul could lead with that rather than EDL/Tommy Robinson violence. The Maul typically uses the word terrifying when Gove appeared to be smirking for much of the time. We see you Michael.

EDL — The wonderful work of James Rowland.

Suella must go – oh, she did

So must Sunak – oh, he played a blinder by appointing Cameron

At this point I must say that it is ‘premature evaluation’ to say that David Cameron will be foreign secretary (now confirmed). If that is the case, it validates my suggestion to James O’Brien that Rishi Sunak should pivot to the centre rather than to the right if he wishes to recover his position and win an election. Cameron is a centrist. He will embolden the silent MPs in the Tory party and outside (they have been popping up regularly) and even Labour. Cameron regrets every day his decisions about the Brexit referendum and if he as much as breathed these public regrets, it would allow the opposition to move along the same pathway. Once the major opposition parties are aligned on the notion that Brexit has failed, we will have broken the parliamentary paralysis that has characterised the last five years of the Brexit entropy – see objective one of our five goals below. Let’s wait and see but then act on Cameron. So far, his arrival has enraged the ERG, the Lib Dems and Labour in one day. Proof positive that he is far from done. I said some while back that Rishi needed about 12 rabbits to pull from a hat and this is clearly one of them. See our article Pay as EU go.

Watch our interview with the BBC’s Jonty Bloom

Posted in Brexit, Britain, Ethics, Europe, Gina Miller, Immigration, Racism, Sovereignty, Sunak, WW III | Tagged Brexit, Britain, Racism, Rishi Sunak | Leave a reply

Jonty Bloom

Updated on

12/11/2023 by author

Peter Cook

Jonty Bloom was the BBC Europe correspondent for many years and now writes for The New European. In this interview Jonty and I discuss Brexit and the urgent need to join the EU anew. The event was held in Brighton with the European Movement Sussex.

A Brexit fundamentalist. With Jonty Bloom at The European Movement Sussex.

Read some of our other articles below:

Brexit has failed

We can and must rejoin asap

Mealy mouthed Labour apologists are facilitating the damage

Only Gina Miller’s True and Fair party has a clear position on joining the EU anew in England

Join Gina at her Brexit debate with Andrew Marr and John Bercow

Join Peter for a masterclass on Brexorcism with Herts for Europe

Posted in Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Britastrophe, Europe, Gina Miller, Rejoin EU | Tagged Brexit, Britain, Rejoin EU | 2 Replies

Brexit XL Bully Braverman

Updated on

12/11/2023 by author

Peter Cook

Brexit begat bully Braverman, but why exactly is our Home Secretary pandering to English fascists and blaming the police for protests when she is responsible for policing? From a distance I can see several possible explanations:

1. MENTAL ILLNESS : Suella Braverman is an injured person who takes pleasure in other people’s misery. Her modus operandi is that of someone who inflames division rather than uniting people to a common purpose. Certainly she shows no visible signs of someone who is troubled by the things she says or does. One wonders what happened to her in childhood to make her so devoid of emotional intelligence or empathy. Just this am senior Tory MPs have called Braverman out as being “Unhinged and ignorant”.

2. BLIND AMBITION : Braverman is so ambitious that she fails to see the moral objections to her racism. This is the triumph of ends over means. Pundits suggest that getting sacked would be a badge of honour in terms of making a bid for PM, yet she came 6th in the previous debacle and Penny Mordaunt is sharpening her sword along with Kemi, Nigel, Boris, Liz and others.

3. FEAR : She is frightened of something or someone behind the scenes and is ‘just following orders’. Most of our leaders are merely coathangers for other people who hide in the shadows. They are largely hidden from view. We know that Putin helped bankroll Brexit and the ERG are now desperate to justify the carnage of Brexit, but it’s unclear as to just who or what Suella is frightened of, if this is a possible explanation.

4. A combination of 1, 2 and 3. There is rarely a single cause for complex conditions.

“Unhinged and ignorant” – Senior Tory MPs on Braverman

Whatever the reason(s), the motive for Suella’s crimes would seem to be a bid to be PM, combined with electioneering by appealing to the knuckle dragging gammon. She is able to get away with all of this because Rishi Sunak is weak aka Sunakered. Doubtless she will combine her love of boats with the tents in her campaign of hatred. The Royal College of Physicians recently declared her statement on homelessness as a lifestyle choice as morally bankrupt. Don’t you just hate those experts? As usual John Crace hits the racist psychopath nail on the head with his latest article.

I must say that I’m not a massive fan of the Police, given the long list of ethical breaches in the use of their powers to brutalise women, ethnic groups and so on. My own treatment by ex-Met Police officers has not been a model of excellence either. That said, Mark Rowley has made the right call on the marches for peace this weekend. It is Suella Braverman who is the purveyor of hate and not the peace protestors. By pitting herself against the very organisation she is responsible for, she makes herself look like a complete psychopath whilst Rishi Sunak cowers in a corner.

Let’s march peacefully on Saturday. Show Suella up as hater in Chief.

Postscript 11/11/23

Here is my summary from my direct experience of the march.

The Daily Mail could not face the headlines of Tommy Robinson’s army being the only ones to cause serious unrest, so instead they sent Michael Gove to Victoria Station to mingle with protesters in the hope that he would be attacked. He was not, smiling most of the way through the stunt. In case of doubt, Gove always travels by chauffeur driven car, even when the journey is 300 yards. A carefully planned distraction by the Maul.

A better way

True and Fair party candidate Jonathan Tod is standing in Suella Braverman’s constituency of Fareham and Waterlooville. Jonathan says he can no longer be an ‘armchair politician’, as he feels forced to stand up and challenge the appalling behaviour and policies of the current government, its lack of compassion and integrity, and the social and financial inequality which it has exacerbated. Join Gina Miller’s True and Fair party here.