Sunday 30 August : Today I must waste more time arranging protection for my wife and family, having spent several hours yesterday reporting a threat of violence to the police from a person pretending to be a neighbour (apologies in advance for the bad language).
The person behind this has been collecting stickers from all over my town. It must have taken them ages … and has been placing them in my garden to remind me that “I am being watched” 
On Saturday they got braver and posted the letter through my door. A horse’s head has yet to arrive … Obviously they don’t realise that there are many people placing stickers and protesting in smaller and larger ways across the country. As the most prolific and visible protester in the area they have singled me out for “special attention” when there are notionally at least 16.4 million of us, and currently at least 57% of the population do not want a damaging Brexit for their children’s futures.
What’s odd about this is that the Brexiteers “won”. In my many cafe conversations I have never met a more unhappy bunch of “winners” however. if democracy were a one time project, women would not have a vote, bear bating and hanging would be legal. Democracy is a process and we have a legitimate right to express concern, fear and anger about what is to come if we continue with Corona + Brexit as a Britastrophe.
Wednesday 02 September : I have now surveyed various items to allow me to continue with my activism. A CCTV system for the house, a new back gate with a more secure lock, a personal dash cam for my bicycle and a personal alarm for my wife to share. If you wish to support the costs of continuing, please find our crowdfunder at Let’s Re-Boot Britain.
Paradoxically, we were told on the street by some reasonable Brexiteers on Saturday that the main benefit of Brexit was “freedom”, yet somehow I don’t feel free with all this tech to terrorise my life. Like most Brexiteers, I simply want to live what remains of my life in peace and in the knowledge that my children’s futures are well managed by the Government of the day. The version of “democracy” portrayed by this person is not one that I recognise, apart from in places like North Korea, Belarus and Russia.
I have already faced violence several times over the last four years as one of the more visible anti-Brexit activists in the area. The most notable incident was when I arranged to meet the head of the European Movement in a train home but he then said he could not be bothered to meet me as his leg hurt and he did not want to move carriages. I decided to go one extra stop to meet him in Rainham but then missed him at the exit gate. On my return home I was attacked by angry Brexiteers because they did not like my t-shirt and given two black eyes.
Like Gina Miller, I wish to meet the person who is doing this for a dialogue. I find that, once we can recover someone’s “story”, all somehow notice just how we are not really that different. Bizarre ideas that all Remainers are lefties, all Brexiteers are racists and so on can be put to one side and we concentrate on what connects us and where important differences lie. Just last week I spoke at length with one angry man who was on the edge of violence to begin with at a street protest. Once we got past “the dialogue of the deaf” we both agreed that there was much to be fixed in Britain. We also agreed that it was not the EU that had “dun it” in the vast majority of cases. And that all political systems had their faults. We even discussed some areas where EU reform was needed. In one hour of patient listening and dialogue, we gained a common understanding and agreement on many things.
To learn how to conduct what I call “Brexorcisms”, read our book “Let’s Talk About BREX .. it“. It takes skill, patience and time.
Aside from this, our street events continue with great success. Join us today at Parliament Square, then Sheerness this Saturday 6 September and Rochester on Saturday 13 September.
Finally it’s out !! The new book on Changing minds on Europe and Brexit is here. Click to buy on Amazon or contact me by e-mail via peter@academy-of-rock.co.uk for your personal copy. If you are a sponsor of Re-Boot Britain, you can get a heavily discounted copy to just cover costs.
To find out what it’s all about, join me on Thursday 7 April at 7.00 pm GMT via ZOOM. Here’s the book blurb to give you an insight as to why you will want to buy a copy.
Brexit has broken Britain, economically, socially, culturally, politically and environmentally. Quite simply, Brexit has not delivered what was promised on the tin in 2016, for anyone in our DisUnited Kingdom. This book explains how we may join anew for a better Britain in a better Europe for a better world.
A ‘Brexorcism’ requires time, patience, unconditional positive regard and skill. This book provides these elements, drawing on a range of approaches to change management from psychology, sociology and therapeutic approaches.
Here are a few samples to whet your appetite:
Nothing is surprising in Brexit Britain. Last week Dominic Cummings threw the futures of nearly 500 000 children under one of Boris Johnson’s cardboard busses, by applying a coarse algorithm to a series of A Level results.
As if the matter never happened and with no apology, the Government have just done a U Turn on the matter, after Scotland and Northern Ireland showed leadership in the matter. In the 4th industrial age, the manipulation of data is a big issue, assisted by AI and other automation.
This brings back other questions of data manipulation such as the mysterious case of the rise of 19% in postal votes at the 2019 General Election, which swung the Tories to power on a promise of a Microwaved Brexit. I hate to use the word unprecedented but it is merited here. Entropy rules most electoral systems and a rise of 19% is unprecedented and should rightly be investigated as an outlier. Why then has it not been?
The answer seems to lie (sic) with who is behind the postal vote system and more Tory cronyism via the company IDOX.
There is so much “news” that it’s hard to keep track of all the sub-plots in this Brexity Government’s chaotic about turns. All designed to subjugate the populating through gaslighting.
Continuing our theme on censorship, this piece, written by Alan Bullion was censored by Byline Times, presumably as it criticises the left. Whilst I don’t agree fully with all that it says, I would defend Alan’s right to say it to the hilt. All leaders and political systems have faults and some tend to believe that they are messiah like. Blair is not immune to our failings as humans and in this article, Alan argues that Tony Blair’s commitment to representative democracy may have set up the conditions for UKIP / Farage to gain oxygen and fuel the Brexit debate. As always at Re-Boot Britain, comments are welcome and free. In the words of George Michael, listen without prejudice.
Tony Blair is perhaps the most controversial Labour Prime Minister of the post-war period. Most come to bury not praise his significant legacy and reputation, especially since the furore surrounding the Iraq war and its subsequent aftermath. Just this year we have had an online petition attracting millions of signatures opposing his proposed knighthood, both from left and right-wing critics.
Indeed, it is often forgotten brushed aside that Blair led his party to a huge majority under the ‘New Labour’ project in 1997, followed by two more convincing general election victories, one after the Iraq war.
In order to better understand how the Brexit referendum of 2016 and its aftermath occurred, I have analysed the timeline and impact of several key events under the Blair/Brown governments which led up to those fateful events of Britain leaving the EU.
Of course, I am not suggesting that these actors alone were to blame. Farage, Cameron, Johnson, Cummings and several others – all privileged public-school educated white men – clearly played their part.
But as I will argue below, the actions of Blair and others around him led to a process where an already sceptical British public became increasingly critical of the EU and its perceived ills. This resulted in the calamitous narrow vote in favour of departure in 2016.
The fringe cause of Euroscepticism under Farage and the UK Independence Party (UKIP) had been previously the province of right-wing fanatics and Home Counties pub bores.
The first touchstone in our trajectory was when Blair went along with the proposal by the then Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown to introduce proportional representation in the 1999 elections to the European Parliament. This led UKIP and its leader Nigel Farage to gain a mainstream and increasingly influential foothold in politics. Blair had not been won over to PR, rather it was a political compromise to avoid the introduction of PR to elections for the House of Commons. or local government.
Ironically, while Farage was sceptical about winning an in/out Brexit referendum, Blair, along with Ashdown, Cameron and Clegg, were overwhelmingly enthusiastic. They severely underestimated public fears, stoked by Farage, that such a binary vote would result in disaster on a huge turnout, driven by immigration and issues such as ‘sovereignty’.
In June 2014, the novelist and former Labour acolyte Robert Harris, while publicising his book The Ghost, described Blair as a ‘tragic narcissist with a messiah complex’, who would be doomed to live a ‘tragic life’ and face trial at the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes.
There was an element of truth in this harsh judgement. Both Blair and his barrister wife Cherie were often accused of being ‘money mad’, rushing around the world advising dubious autocrats on how to improve their image.
There might well have been an element of neediness there, which others such as former Labour MP Leo Abse psychologically analysed in The Man Behind the Smile. Indeed, Blair was well suited to the world of celebrity politics and self-publicists such as Kim Kardashian.The tragedy was that he would never be able to completely resurrect his image after the Iran/Iraq war, despite his other considerable achievements at winning elections.
The truth is inevitably more complex. In my 1996 article ‘What Blair Believes’, published in the Jewish Quarterly, I argued that Blair was driven by a simplistic dualist ideology devised by Anglican mystic John Macmurray, which he imbibed while at university. This belief system basically sees protagonists in international politics as either essentially ‘good’ or ‘evil’, thereby explaining Blair’s support for US President Bush in Iraq.
Blair was highly active on the EU. For example, he was instrumental in establishing the cross-party grouping Britain in Europe, specifically to argue the case for the UK signing up to the Euro (single currency) and the European Monetary Union, via a popular referendum. This came to a crescendo in the wake of the sudden death of Princess Diana in August 2007.
There were serious differences over this issue between Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown. This was further exemplified by the clash over the Treaty of Lisbon and the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ), which was signed in December 2007 and came into force two years later under Brown.
Originally a referendum was promised by Labour Foreign Secretary Jack Straw for Spring 2006, but that never happened, adding more fire to the UKIP fray that the court was increasingly compromising British sovereignty.
In May 2004, Blair, supported by Home Office minister David Blunkett, decided to allow migrant labour from the eight Eastern European countries that would be joining the EU. Unlike the UK, other EU member states such as Germany had instead opted to impose a seven-year delay from these countries achieving full entry to work.
As these Eastern European migrants started to arrive, Blunkett went on BBC2 Newsnight to defend the policy, declaring that there was ‘no obvious upper limit on migration’. That calendar year alone there was a net increase of 350,000. Blunkett later conceded that he lost public support and made a mistake.
At the time I was visiting Kent sixth forms and colleges to make the case for remaining in the EU. Comments from working class children in those schools told stories of perceived resentment at migrants taking jobs such as cleaning, catering and car mechanics, and driving down wages.
It was in 2005 when I campaigned as a parliamentary candidate in Hammersmith and Fulham and was confronted on the doorstep by a British plumber who claimed he had been undercut by the nice Polish plumbers taken up promptly by middle-class housewives.
‘It’s all right for the likes of the Blairs, living their aloof and cosmopolitan lives in Islington and Brussels’, was the implication.
So now we come to 2022, with Tory cuts to universal benefits, rising food and fuel prices, and tax increases.
We are still talking about migrants … while there are severe shortages of food and farm labourers, lorry and bus drivers. And ironically, as the consequences of Brexit become ever more stark, arch Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg has just been appointed by Johnson as minister for Brexit Opportunities. You couldn’t make it up.
I’ve put this in the order of urgency and importance as the situation requires. This update contains several items to help everyone stand with Ukraine. Firstly an urgent practical call for supplies of clothing, medical equipment etc. Secondly a meeting on Monday 28 Feb at 8 pm GMT to come up with more practical actions on an individual and collective basis. Thirdly, a revelation about our own Government’s involvement via the unredacted Russia report and finally things you can do to face down the scandal of Priti Patel’s refusal to accept refugees due to her need to play to the racist gallery. Read on and act
Find the UNREDACTED Russia report at Google Drive. A summary of the salient points can be found in this tweet below:
Here’s a letter you may use or adapt:
Dear [MP’s Name]
As a constituent of [YOUR CONSTITUENCY], I am writing to you to express my deep concerns with regard to the disarray and incompetence displayed by our current government.
Having read the Russia Report it is clear that the lives of millions of UK citizens are at grave risk not just from Covid-19 but from the infiltration of British politics and business by actors for the Russian state.
I’m sure you will agree with me that this is an extremely serious national issue and need addressing quickly and permanently. The Prime Minister has publicly stated that the ‘first duty of government is to protect British citizens’. He and his government are clearly not up to the job. I ask you to introduce a vote of ‘no confidence’ in this government and reforms to our political system.
The gravity of this situation is clear. Please take immediate action to ensure the views and concerns of the citizens that elected you are reflected in Parliament and in government policy.
I appreciate your understanding of my concerns as your constituent, and look forward to seeing my concerns represented.
Thank you in anticipation,
[YOUR NAME, YOUR ADDRESS]
This is a kind of “end of term” report for Boris Johnson and the Conservative party. The Prime Minister has gone off for another summer rest. Well deserved? Adrian Ekins-Dauke’s invites you to judge for yourself:
Ex-Russian intelligence staff say 85% of their work is not spying, but “political funding and misinformation”. Since 2012, the Tory party has received almost £3m in donations from members of Putin’s cabinets and 14 current ministers have had donations from individuals or companies connected to the Russian leadership
The government delayed the release of the Intelligence Committee’s report on Russian interference in Brexit for 9 months. The reasons given for the delay were described as “simply not true” by the Committee. Our Home Secretary, Priti Patel said the Russia Report could be ignored because it was now 9 months old and “out of date” (One wonders whether she takes a similar view of unresolved murder, rape and other serious cases which become “out of date” after 9 months).
Matt Hancock boasted he had met the targets on his “six tests” on COVID-19. In fact 4 of the 6 targets were missed, one target couldn’t be met because it had never been defined, and one “relied on a definition [that] does not reflect practice”.
The cross-party Public Accounts Committee found there was an “astonishing failure to plan for the economic impact” of COVID-19. It also said the policy of discharging patients into care homes was a “reckless and appalling policy error”. It called the government “slow, inconsistent [and] negligent”. The Committee chair said “A competent government does not run a country on the hoof”.
Now for PPE contracts …
£252m to Ayanda Capital, registered in Mauritius for tax purposes. PPE not delivered.
£186m to Uniserve. PPE not delivered.
£116m to P14 Medical Supplies, with assets of just £145. PPE not delivered.
£108m to PestFix, with just 16 employees. PPE not delivered.
£107m to Clandeboye Agencies, a sweet wholesaler. Yes, a sweet wholesaler. PPE not delivered.
£40m to Medicine Box Ltd, with assets of just £6000. PPE not delivered.
£48m to Initia Ventures Ltd, which registered itself as “dormant” in March. PPE not delivered.
£28m to Monarch Acoustics, which makes shop furniture. PPE not delivered.
£25m to Luxe Lifestyle, which has no employees, no assets, and no turnover. PPE not delivered.
£18m to Aventis Solutions, which has total assets of £332. Not a typo, £332! PPE not delivered.
£10m to Medco Solutions, incorporated just 3 days after lockdown, with share capital of (not a typo) £2. PPE not delivered.
In all, approx £1 bn to inexplicable suppliers for PPE that hasn’t been delivered. This of course costs lives.
A Nuffield Health study found after 10 years of “chronic underinvestment”, UK is at the bottom of the league table for health resources, diagnostics and surgery by the NHS will take 4 years to return to pre-COVID levels.
The government’s “world beating” test-and-trace programme was described as “scandalous” by the British Medical Journal, and found to miss its 80% target in every COVID hotspot announced last week
Finally, Boris Johnson refused a public enquiry into government handling of COVID-19.
A report from London School of Economics has shown a WTO Brexit will shrink 16 out of the UK’s 24 industry sectors by up to 15% each. Permanently. A Tory MP tweeted:
“? WTO here we come!”
Another pro-Brexit Tory MP with a grasp of what’s to come tweeted:
“my strong advice is: “take the chance to live abroad”.
The cross-party Media & Culture Committee has reported that “government has consistently failed to recognise scale of challenge facing culture, sport and tourism and had been ‘too slow’ to respond to their needs during COVID-19.
Boris Johnson launched a “Fix Your Bike” voucher website. It broke within an hour. The editor applied and found that the website did not work. I called the people and was promised vouchers. On following up I was told the scheme was closed.
Johnson also said we should all lose weight. This is certainly true in his case at 17 Stone. However, Johnson is still issuing vouchers to help us buy burgers.
It was revealed the government spent £400m buying a bankrupt satellite company, OneWeb, to replace the Euro GPS system we have lost due to Brexit. Months before, a study by MIT found that OneWeb’s tech is 6 times less efficient than the EU solution: the worst of the technologies studied.
In June, the government guaranteed that there would be no cuts in overseas aid when the Foreign Office and International Development Dept merged. It announced cuts of £2.9 bn in aid on the day Parliament broke up for the summer, thus avoiding questions on broken their promises.
The government has permitted your health records to be given to Palantir, a large US data-mining company and to Faculty, owned by an associate of Dominic Cummings and said to have worked with Cambridge Analytica on Brexit.
Our overall assessment of the Government is 2/10. What’s yours?
Not only does the UK have the “best” deaths from COVID of the G7 countries. We now have the deepest recession in Europe. Boris Johnson is mystified as to why, but we here at Let’s Re-Boot Britain can help – the UK’s resilience is at an all time low due to four years of Brexit decline. It’s time to boot Brexit and build a better Britain in a better Europe.
Our work is unsupported during COVID. To help out, please find us at Let’s Re-Boot Britain.
I am bombarded on a daily basis by people who tell me that Brexit cannot be stopped. These are not leave voters but weary remainers who suffer from the condition known as learned helplessness. I concur that it has been a long battle, and many saw the General Election victory as a turning point and an opinion poll on Brexit. However, I must also make the uncomfortable point that Vote Leave would not have given up so easily.
I set out the reasons as to why Brexit can be stopped in “Let’s Re-Boot Britain“.
Students have demonstrated that effective protest works. We must continue for our children’s sake. There is no Brexit deal that will deliver the promises made by Vote Leave and, in any case, all Brexit deals will destroy the four freedoms of EU membership leading to the destruction of the EU itself over time. The 27 members are more important than any single country.
So, here is a long list of things we can do to resist by effective protest under COVID safe protocols. No more objections please. Just get out and do something.
1. Write to your MP to explain why Corona + Brexit = Britastrophe … if you have written, write again … and again – if you are not a letter writer, ask for help.
2. Ask to meet your MP and interview them. Publish the results as a video so they can see you are serious and make more ripples in the pond. Alternatively ask to make a video to your MP with us.
3. Write to the media, making a powerful case – help can be given.
4. Brexorcise your friends – if you need help, read the book.
5. Restart the conversation on social media. Open your timelines up so that your Brexit friends can see you and Brexit have not gone away.
6. Support our efforts to do more on your behalf via Let’s Re-Boot Britain.
7. Be visible. Get a t-shirt, get some stickers, get a mask via EU Flag Mafia.
8. Join us at Rage Against Brexit and We Are Everywhere on facebook.
9. Join us on Twitter at @academyofrock and @brexitrage to multiply our impact.
10. Join our weekly calls at 8 pm Monday via ZOOM.
11. Get on the street. We are arranging silent protests in Kent and also visits to MP’s houses – see explanatory video below.
“Learned Helplessness” is responsible for how 99% of the good German people let the Nazis Take Back Control.
