Back to Top
  1. Home
  2. Archive by category 'Leadership'
    3. (Page 5)

Category: Leadership

Learned Helplessness

Learned helplessness

Updated on date by author

I recently published an article on Labour’s position (or lack of it) on Brexit. You can find the article at Bylines Scotland. It provoked an angry visceral reaction from Labour ideologues on social media. Louis told me the article was incorrect and badly written. When I asked him to point out the inaccuracies and poor writing, he couldn’t. Eventually he told me that we must all keep quiet about Brexit, deliver a crushing defeat to the Tories in the local elections and then Rishi Sunak would call a General Election. I asked him to explain his logic. He refused and drifted off into the notion that the UK will be ended if a General Election does not happen in 2023.

Sadly Louis refused to justify his appraisal of the article. And he claims to be a scientist.

Louis’ logic from the exchange can be summarised here:

The Tories suffer a crushing defeat on May 4th.

Sunak must then call a General Election.

He does this so that he can suffer another …. crushing defeat.

Can anyone help me figure out how this works? Call me cynical, but politicians do not call elections that they intend to lose. I agree it’s not impossible but it would require significant public and political pressure. With the nurses having caved in on a pay deal yesterday, I sense that the Tories are now over the hump of public unrest, due to the passivity of the British people. We’ll have to see …

Another chap called John simply called me a silly infant. I asked him to justify his statement. He could not. I don’t mind being called an idiot, but I do mind it when the people doing it cannot justify their insults. Several people have apologised privately on behalf of John, telling me that (a) he’s a bit old (so am I) (b) he’s a bit nutty (do I have to put up with that?) and (c) he is horrible to lots of people so that’s OK (does that make it right?). Here are some of John’s tweets:

No explanation, no apology – the same behaviours as used by Brexiteers

A clear demonstration of learned helplessness

I was also schooled online by Supertanskiii that ‘now is not the time to mention Brexit’. I beg to differ Tan. Airbrushing the word Brexit out of the lexicon is a one way journey, sponsored by the Tories and Labour alike. Brexit is the single most important socio-economic, political, legal and environmental disaster of our age. Denial is not a river in Egypt.

Supertanskiii is a potent online campaigner, but I fear she is emotionally addicted to Labour

John’s views are symptomatic of what is called in the trade ‘learned helplessness’. Remainers lost two elections and a referendum through setting low expectations, accepting rules on democracy which Brexiteers ignored them, believing that we don’t deserve any better and so on. This extract from the book Reboot Britain summarises the ‘condition’:

Learned Helplessness
Learned Helplessness – Click the graphic to read more

So, it seems that we are back into the binary political trap that delivered Brexit. Tony Blair was right when he said that the Labour party often suffers from the triumph of ideology over pragmatism, a disease which caused the Tory party to cannabalise itself with Brexit. Have a look at the Scottish Bylines article and let me know what is inaccurate or stupid about it in the comments or via Twitter. To my Labour chums, I repeat my usual challenging unemotional questions:

What are the differences between a red or blue Brexit? No one will explain them and I have asked many times.

There is a clear business case to support the argument that Brexit has failed. Why won’t Keir Starmer move to this position?

Why will the right-wing media eat Starmer for breakfast if he states that Brexit isn’t working? Read the point on sunk costs in the article to understand this point better.

What makes people believe that Labour will reform the FPTP electoral system in a binary prisoner’s dilemma, all the while they believe that it benefits them? By the way, all the research evidence from UKICE points to the fact that Labour would benefit from electoral reform, in terms of votes, seats and number of terms in power.

If 70% of Labour members wanted to Remain, why are they so docile? What does this say about Labour’s approach to democracy?

Why do people believe that Keir Starmer will rejoin the Customs Union and Single Market when he has flatly refused to do so on many occasion? Surely this makes him a liar? The right wing media will certainly be all over this if he were to gain power.

Hard Labour
Hard Labour – Click to read the article. Image by P Paton

To understand the various options for joining anew, please see London 4 Europe’s article on this.

Join us at our next Reboot Britain meeting on Wed May 10th May at 8 pm via Zoom. Find the link at Reboot Britain.

Posted in Boris Johnson, Brexit, Brexorcism, Britastrophe, Elections, Keir Starmer, Labour, Leadership, Rejoin EU | Leave a reply
Irish Unity Special - Daily Maul

Northern Ireland, Brexit and Truss

Updated on date by author

I’m pleased to be chairing WorldWide Wednesday tonight at 7 pm

We have two excellent speakers:

Kevin Meagher, who has worked with Tony Blair, author of A United Ireland: Why Unification Is Inevitable and How It Will Come About.

Prof Francesco Rizzuto – Dean of the School of Law at Liverpool Hope University speaking on the legal aspects of Brexit, NI and The Truss Effect.

Please sign the petition to keep the protocol.

Register here – it’s essential.

BUY OUR BOOKS : Changing Minds on Europe and Brexit Private Eyelines

Private Eyelines
Available to order direct from ebay – click to view. Discounted copies available direct from the author via reboot@brexitrage.com. Also on Amazon at a higher price.
Re-Boot Britain
Re-Boot Britain is a practical methodology on changing minds about Europe and Brexit. Find it on Amazon or direct from the author via reboot@brexitrage.com

Posted in Boris Johnson, Brexit, Britastrophe, Ireland, Leadership, Liz Truss, Northern Ireland, Politics, Sovereignty | 1 Reply
Brexit-Psyche

Portraits of Brexiteers

Updated on date by author

As part of our continuing work to Brexorcise the population as a preparatory step on the road to rejoining the EU, I encountered two tough cases recently. Selecting your target is vital if you want to make the most of your time, but given that I go out daily with an open invite to talk to people painted on my t-shirt, bicycle etc. one cannot always choose your ‘client’ for Brexorcism. Learn the underlying psychologies, sociology and therapeutic approaches here. The two individuals were themselves quite complex and this underlines the need to use personalised approaches to reach such people.

The Club Landlord

I had the ultimate confessional from the Club Landlord last night. A man in his 50’s who was jailed for violent crimes in his 20’s. He has taken to God of late, believes in Brexit mainly because he watches You Tube videos that tell him that the whole world is a conspiracy and that most of the time we are lied to. Amongst the lies that he believes we have been told include that COVID exists. The conversation went on for hours. He is a lost cause in terms of Brexorcism so I chose to just listen to him. He has picked up the term critical thinking from somewhere but tends to go only to the internet for his information, and then, a fairly narrow channel of material. He voted for Brexit as a protest vote and does not care about the outcomes, even though he has teenage children. I know him quite well and mainly feel sad for him.

There is no single standard Brexit Brain. Learn how to enter them by clicking on the image.

The Trade Unionist

I stopped at a cafe with my bicycle. A man about 50-60 approached and observed my signage, opening up with “I would die for the King and my country”. After some introductions, he self identified as a trade unionist. I imagined him to be left of centre and enquired “what do you think about Brexit?”. He replied that it was the best thing that had happened to Britain as we could make our own Labour laws. He winced as I pointed out that Liz Truss plans to roll back the working time directive which prevents exploitation of the masses, but dodged the question about this. I asked him about what he was now able to do because of Brexit and he answered with some twaddle about WW II. I restated the question but he returned to WW II. I asked “Were you in WW II?” He replied yes but clearly this was not true. He eventually admitted that the country was just the same as it was before Brexit, in other words, that there were no benefits. We moved on to Mick Lynch and host of other topics and it was hard to get away from him. Finally we discussed the 2019 election, Boris, Corbyn and so on. I explained from personal experience of standing a cat for election that my experience on the doorstep demonstrated that Boris and Brexit did not win but Corbyn lost, in part due to our populist media but possibly due to his own presentation and policies in a word that is more sensitive to style over substance. To my surprise, he revealed that he voted for Boris Johnson !! A trade unionist, Brexiteer who voted for a right wing populist. To quote Jim Morrison “People are strange”.

Posted in Boris Johnson, Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Britastrophe, Culture, Labour, Leadership, Partygate, Politics, Sovereignty | 1 Reply
Tory Brexit Scum

Tory Party Conference

Updated on date by author

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
Denis MacShane

Denis MacShane

Posted on date by author

Denis MacShane is a former Labour MEP who has written several books on the folly of Brexit. Denis is a British former politician, author and commentator who served as Minister of State for Europe from 2002 to 2005. He joined the Labour Party in 1970 and has held most party offices. He was MP for Rotherham from 1994 to 2012. In the interview, MacShane treads a careful line as a Labour party member, but does point out that there is a new realism in politics with the presence of adults in the room and the fact that the culture carriers of Brexit are now wholly discredited. He points out that Starmer’s slogan “Make Brexit Work” is an empty promise.

Interview with Denis at UK in a Changing Europe

For a rounded appraisal of Labour’s position on Brexit, click on the image to read the article on Scottish Bylines.

Bylines Scotland
Bylines Scotland
Posted in Brexit, Britain, Britastrophe, Democracy, Europe, Leadership, Rejoin EU | Leave a reply
Surround Parliament

Surround Parliament

Updated on date by author

Join Extinction Rebellion to surround Parliament from Saturday 21 April. Whilst I’m sure some will wish to go at le weekend, the imperative is to keep this protest alive into the following week when MPs return to Parliament. For this reason, it is imperative that people stage their efforts to run into Monday 23rd April and beyond. Parliament must be brought to a standstill. I’m not even sure that it will make any difference to our lives on a day to day basis. They are only interested in themselves. Brexit makes climate change more pronounced with moral hazard, a bonfire on environmental laws and Tory greenwashing.

Surround Parliament
Surround Parliament
Posted in Boris Johnson, Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Britastrophe, Environment, Europe, Leadership, Sovereignty | Leave a reply

Broken Britain

Updated on date by author

Don Adamson reviews the week – there’s not enough time to get it all done within a short article !!

This week’s homework: Discuss the following statement. We used to have a system in this country. When the Tories ran out of steam Labour would take over for a while. When Labour ran out of steam the Tories would take over. It did not make for great government but it did provide for failure. That system does not work anymore. Tories have proved themselves unfit to govern and show no indication of having learned the error of their ways. Labour has been AWOL since 2010 and shows no indication of wanting to form a government. The only answer they have for inexcusable standard of government that we have is that Labour makes vague and unconvincing promises ‘to make Brexit work.’ To quote Shakespeare: A plague on both their houses. We have local government elections coming up. Vote for anybody, repeat anybody, who wants to Rejoin the EU.

Help us remove Boris Johnson from his seat – click the image

This week’s quotes: “Thick Lizzie and Toilet Kwarteng broke the economy … this budget is returning to Trussonomics… huge benefits for the rich … higher taxes and worse public services for the rest of us … good ideas that clash with Brexit ideology … useless ideas, waste of time and money but the Brexiters like it … incomes fall by further 6% … biggest drop in living standards since records began .. worst record for any major economy … rocked by post Brexit disruption …  Global Britain is a lie … £29B in lost investment … future growth is unlikely to take off … lower growth because of Brexit, higher taxes because of Brexit and worse public services because of Brexit … throwing billions at the wealthiest … Brexit has made everything worse … As always in Tory Britain, there is one rule for them and another for the rest of us …  Tory MPs breathless excitement at the news that Richy Scumbag was not as totally useless as Johnson and Thick Lizzie … Daily (Once was a real newspaper) Telegraph …. in other news you are unlikely to hear … Rwanda has so far picked up £140M for the deportation scheme at the time that the number of asylum seekers sent there was zero … What Sue Ellen Braverman calls invasion has been a continuous process throughout history … there is no precise distinction between British and non British life forms … never mind the facts … atavistic fear of invasion … hard to say which is more dismaying … politicians compete as to who can be the nastiest … to the most desperate people on earth … Braverman’s nasty public image … Rwanda policy is doomed … as is Richy Scumbag’s pledge to stop boats crossing … UK is abdicating an essential responsibility under international law … Rwanda’s problematical track record on human rights … British government’s message is baffling … even more nonsensical … the site Braverman visited is nothing to do with the UK … smoke and mirrors with nothing behind them … sadistic bait … UK receives small number of asylum seekers than even most European countries … British government policy serves to enrich and empower people smugglers … do we compromise with reality or continue the current deadly charade … toxicity of the asylum debate … ridiculous backlog of claims … realism needs to enter the debate …  so long as there is profit people smugglers will enable that behaviour …  ridiculous … government is  taking the public for fools … promising something it cannot deliver … decent economic growth has escaped the Tory government for all 13 years of its tenure … Braverman’s Rwanda policy is the worst of all the options … no PM has abused powers in such a manner in the last 50 years …

Johnson’s hypocrisy … taxpayer footing the bills … Johnson has made £3.5M and counting … Murdoch talks of being Scottish … he is whatever is expedient for tax purposes … little fraternisation between Daily Mail top brass and Richy Scumbag … Richy Scumbag is in no hurry to sign off the peerage for Dacre … he could do without yet another sleaze scandal … Braverman is awful … scandals … idiotic remarks … fault is not with her but with those who over promoted her … not up to the job … Scumbag is scared of the not sensible wing of his party … Tories have run out of ideas … out of control … desperation leads to bad choices …  Braverman gets a free ride for a calculated lie … Tories abandoned the British manufacturing industry in 1979 …

Trump’s dwindling but increasingly unhinged fan base … Brexit is most  embarrassing unforced error since Villa keeper let a throw in into his net … Inflation in Britain rose to 10.4% in February … machinery and structure of British government need reform …

Dump Trump

Johnson’s blustering testimony to Parliament reminded us what we had not been missing … less experienced officials acre in more senior posts …  ministers have eroded the tradition that officials provide candid advice … the planning system makes quagmires look slick … taxation will reach a lost war high this year … not producing better results … bleak picture … 

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

Learn how to get rid of these shysters – click the link on this picture
Posted in Biden, Borders, Boris Johnson, Brexit, Brexorcism, Britain, Democracy, Environment, Europe, Immigration, Leadership, Liz Truss, Partygate, Racism, Rejoin EU, Sovereignty | Leave a reply

Rejoin Party Press Statement

Posted on date by author

In the wake of Rishi Sunak’s admission that Brexit was a mistake and we should Rejoin the EU, here is a helpful statement from the Rejoin Party:

February 28, 2023

The government’s much-hyped Northern Ireland protocol deal shows the whole of the UK can and must return to the EU’s single market and customs union as soon as possible, the Rejoin EU Party says.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who supported Brexit, is now incredibly claiming the agreement has put Northern Ireland in a “privileged position” by having access not only to the UK home market, but to the EU’s single market as well – apparently forgetting that the whole UK had exactly that privilege before Brexit.

The comments have sparked a storm of criticism on social media, with many people demanding to know why – if having such single-market access is so desirable – he and his fellow Brexiters backed leaving it in the first place.

One tweet read: “Sunak claims that because NI is in the single market, it’s an attractive location for businesses. So why are Scotland, Wales and England outside it?”

Another said: “Does Sunak realise what he’s saying? What about the thousands of GB businesses suffering because we have all sorts of obstacles between us and our biggest market?”

The Rejoin EU Party says the massive hype surrounding this deal is merely a desperate attempt by Sunak and this Brexit government to cover up the fact that they created this mess in the first place.

It believes the only real solution to the problems Brexit has caused – the latest of which is the chronic shortage of fruit and veg in our supermarkets – is for the entire UK to return to the single market, customs union and EU.

Former Conservative MEP and Rejoin EU Party supporter John Stevens said: “Sunak said this morning this deal will unlock an enormous amount of investment because Northern Ireland has this very special position where it has access to both the UK and EU markets, making it an incredibly attractive place to invest for business.

“This should be entered as a contender for the most grotesquely shameless and hypocritical remark of contemporary politics. We need to end this farce and re-join the EU now.”

Rejoin EU Party leader Richard Hewison said: “This shows what happens when Brexit dogma meets cold harsh reality and will be seen by many as the first step back to re-joining the EU.

“As for the detail of the agreement, the green channel will swiftly turn into a smuggler’s paradise, whilst the so-called ‘Stormont brake’ is virtually impossible to activate and liable to collapse the whole deal if it’s ever triggered.”

Please sign the Rejoin EU Party’s petition to re-join the single market at: https://actionstorm.org/petitions/rejoin-the-single-market-now

The Rejoin EU party is campaigning to re-join the EU because we believe re-joining is the only way to solve the problems Brexit has created. Brexit is broken and it’s breaking our country too. All the promises on which Brexit was sold to the electorate in 2016 were nonsense. Far from reducing red tape and providing £350m a week for the NHS, Brexit makes trading with the crucial European market more complex, difficult and expensive and threatens to reduce funding for public services. If you agree Brexit is making our country poorer, less tolerant and less united, join us and send a message to Westminster that you want your EU membership back, with all its freedoms and benefits.

Find the Rejoin Party website at www.therejoineuparty.com. Please support us via the Rejoin EU Party Campaign Fund – www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/rejoin-eu-party-campaign-fund. You can also follow the party on Twitter at @rejoinp

Posted in Brexit, Leadership, Rejoin EU | Leave a reply

Michel Barnier

Updated on date by author

I was delighted to attend a superb event hosted by Professor Anand Menon of UK in a Changing Europe. Even more delighted to meet Michel Barnier and present him with copies of the books Reboot Britain and Private Eyelines.

Here are my takeaways from the event. It was necessary to attend in person to gain the full value of the conversation between these two giants. Just click the link to Twitter below or go direct to the the full article on Linkedin.

Merci beaucoup pour tout ce que vous avez fait pour essayer de sauver notre pays de lui-même. Le Brexit est perdant. Nous allons nous réveiller doucement.

Whilst we are here, do check out my riotous conversation with James O’Brien on LBC re Rishi Sunak’s motivational strategy.

Talking bollocks about Rishi Sunakered – Please download the album and subscribe to our Bandcamp page for updates

Posted in Borders, Boris Johnson, Brexit, Britain, Britastrophe, Economics, Education, Environment, Ethics, Europe, Leadership, Liz Truss, Northern Ireland, Sovereignty, Trump | Leave a reply

We are failing

Updated on date by author

Life long Tory voter Rod Stewart has just declared that the country is a mess and the Tories need to hand over power to someone more competent. This prompted me to think of the song he covered on his Atlantic Crossing album. Apologies for the lyrical changes which are occasionally grating !! 🙂

Posted in Borders, Boris Johnson, Brexit, Britain, Britastrophe, Economics, Education, Environment, Ethics, Europe, Leadership, Liz Truss, Northern Ireland, Sovereignty, Trump | Leave a reply