Friday 31 January 2020

BREXIT DAY SALE


To celebrate our departure from the EU, there are some price reductions in our shop with ten per cent off on marked items.  We also introduced a commemorative fridge magnet especially for Brexit Day (see below top left).

    

    

BREXIT DAY NEWSPAPERS

Brexit dominates all the front pages with the exception of Labour rag the Mirror.  They went with the bizarre headline "KILLER FLU", presumably a reference to the coronavirus.  The Guardian was less ambiguous and chose to belittle our nation with a wee flag on a beach reminiscent of that similarly obnoxious HSBC advert.  The Times, i and FT sat on the fence while the Sun, Daily Mail and Express delivered the most optimistic front pages.





 

Thursday 30 January 2020

ULTIMATE REMOANERS COMPILATION

Just in time for Brexit Day this video was originally intended for release last year, but of course you know the story.  Revised and updated to include more recent clips, this is the ultimate remoaner compilation video.  Many thanks to all those who made this possible...


Oh, and one more thing - have a great Brexit Day!

ON THIS DAY IN 1976, CORBYN'S MATES...

The Provisional IRA bombed a pub in south Belfast, killing a 55-year-old civilian and seriously injuring several others.  The car bomb was parked outside the entrance to the Klondyke Bar in the loyalist Sandy Row area.  The pub, built in 1872, was devastated by the explosion and it was a miracle there wasn't more loss of life.  It was Friday night and no warning was given.  Several customers lost limbs and a barmaid lost an eye.

The Klondyke Bar bombing

Two men were jailed in relation to the bombing.  Frank McGreevy spent 17 years in prison for various terrorist offences including the murder of John Smiley, the man who died in the Klondyke bombing.  In 2008 McGreevy was himself murdered.  Beaten to death at his home in west Belfast, the murder was not terror-related, although he was still given a Provo funeral at which Gerry Adams gave a eulogy.  Adams said he had known the bomber since the early 1970s.  McGreevy was 51 at the time of his death, four years younger than Mr Smiley was when he was blown up.  Mr Smiley's daughter later told a newspaper that she had forgiven McGreevy for her father's murder, but felt that the attention given to McGreevy's death detracted from many of those who perished in the Troubles, including her father.

Wednesday 29 January 2020

FLAG REACTION VINDICATES LEAVE VOTE

Nigel Farage's final act of defiance in the European Parliament provoked exactly the kind of reaction he would have wanted.  As he finished off his speech and began waving a small Union flag, the Vice President of the Parliament cut off his microphone and demanded that the Brexit Party's flags be removed.  The party's MEPs were then ordered out.

The fact that national flags are banned inside the chamber just goes to show how totalitarian the EU project is.  The contempt shown towards our national flag was plain for the world to see and, once again, the Leave vote was vindicated.


While the Vice President was very clear about the rules on flags when Brexit Party MEPs were brandishing them, she appeared to turn a blind eye when Labour MEPs were waving their Union flag scarves around.  In the final sitting for British MEPs many Remainers were wearing scarves emblazoned with a Union flag and a EU flag.  As the chamber erupted in a rendition of Auld Lang Syne, some MEPs began waving them in the air like they were at a football match.  No sanction.  Funny that.

Labour MEP Rory Palmer waves a scarf in the chamber

LONG-BAILEY PROCEEDS TO BALLOT


The Labour leadership election is now officially a three-horse race with Long-Bailey progressing to the ballot alongside Starmer and Nandy.  The Fire Brigades Union endorsed her on Wednesday and sent her through to the ballot a full week after Nandy and nine days after Starmer.  The same union also ensured her hard left counterpart Richard Burgon made it to the ballot for the deputy leadership.  He joins Angela Rayner on the ballot with three others still battling it out.

Emily Thornberry's leadership campaign appears to have stalled, but it's too early to write her off just yet.  Nominations close on February 14.

To qualify candidates for both posts require either 33 nominations from Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) or 3 nominations from Labour affiliate groups, two of which must be trade unions.  The latest standings are as follows.

Leadership election

Keir Starmer: 57 CLPs + 5 affiliates (qualified)
Lisa Nandy: 14 CLPs + 3 affiliates (qualified)
Rebecca Long-Bailey: 23 CLPs + 3 affiliates (qualified)

Emily Thornberry: 4 CLPs

Deputy leadership election

Angela Rayner: 64 CLPs + 5 affiliates (qualified)
Richard Burgon: 8 CLPs + 3 affiliates (qualified)

Dawn Butler: 14 CLPs + 1 non-union affiliate
Ian Murray: 8 CLPs + 1 non-union affiliate
Rosena Allin-Khan: 4 CLPs

IN FORM NANDY

Lisa Nandy appeared on James O'Brien's LBC show today for a half hour 'grilling'.  This was a more grown-up exchange compared with O'Brien's jovial and giggly Jess Phillips interview two weeks ago.  He began the interview by suggesting Nandy had entered the contest without any expectation of actually winning it.  Nandy responded with a dig of her own:  "I didn't start plotting the path to power at nine years old", a clear reference to Jess Phillips and her childhood desire to be PM one day.  Ouch.

What followed was a very good analysis by Nandy of how Labour has been haemorrhaging working class support and also a damning indictment of the left-wing Twitter bubble.  This was a very good interview and further proof that the dark horse in this election is probably the candidate the Tories fear the most.  And of course the glorious truth is that the stronger she performs in the coming weeks, the more likely she will split the moderate vote enough to give Long-Bailey the win.  As O'Brien himself pointed out during this interview, Momentum are "more interested in controlling the Labour party than it is in controlling the country".

Tuesday 28 January 2020

SCHNEIDER BIDS FAREWELL

James Schneider

As the Great Leader slowly winds down from office, one of his closest aides has now left his post.  Corbyn's 'Director of Strategic Communications' announced that Friday was his last day.


Schneider's reference to "what we achieved" predictably led to a barrage of criticism.  Alastair Campbell retweeted Schneider urging more clarity on what it actually was that Corbyn had achieved.  The crushing defeat of 2019 is difficult for even the most ardent Corbynista to spin, but Schneider is not necessarily referencing electoral impact - the lack of detail suggests something much more insidious.

Schneider was a prominent figure in the rise of Momentum and his efforts were rewarded in 2016 with his appointment to Corbyn's closest circle.  He joined the shadowy Stalinist Seumas Milne, a man whose strong anti-Western views often escaped scrutiny while the media focused primarily on Corbyn himself.  Both men appeared to have identical roles alongside the Great Leader - they're official titles were:

Seumas Milne - Strategy and Communications Director
James Schneider - Director of Strategic Communications

As referenced in Schneider's farewell tweet, both men were regularly seen lurking in the background, but seldom heard.  Prior to his appointment to Corbyn's team, Schneider gave an interview in his Momentum role.  The interview took place a few days before the 2016 leadership election and questions were being asked about the role of Momentum and its goals.


Many of the things that Schneider denied at the time are now out in the open.  "It simply isn't the case" Schneider says, referring to suggestions that Momentum were plotting to have Corbyn critics deselected.  Tell that to the dozens of Labour MPs who were forced out prior to the last election and replaced with hard left Corbynistas!  Schneider's denial that Momentum were in some way looking to take control of Labour is just as laughable.

Clearly what Schneider means when he says he is "proud of what we achieved", is that the hard left have seized control of so much of the party.  They are not in complete control, otherwise Rebecca Long-Bailey would have been first on the ballot for the next leadership.  That fact alone makes it known that Momentum have not infiltrated nationwide and still have a lot of work to do.  What will be worrying moderates right now is how much they have infiltrated the election itself.  The absurdly lengthy process and the fact that Corbyn refused to stand down immediately will have sounded some alarm bells.  We know how unfairly Labour approach elections - particularly in inner cities, mill towns and university towns - so just how far will the hard left go to retain their grip on the leadership?  Momentum has already carried out its own internal ballot of who it should support - and there was just one name on the ballot paper.  This is the 'democracy' of the hard left and the truth is that there's nothing democratic about it.

It's not clear what James Schneider will do next, but as the privately educated Oxford graduate son of a chief executive and an established career in journalism under his belt - he certainly won't struggle for opportunities.  If the continuity Corbyn candidate wins the forthcoming leadership election, it's unlikely we'll have heard the last of him.

NOMINATIONS UPDATE 28.01.20

We're almost halfway through the second stage of the epic Labour leadership election and there are currently two candidates through to the leadership ballot and one for the deputy ballot.  There's still no place on the leadership ballot for the continuity Corbyn candidate, but she is expected to qualify (at some point).  Thornberry's place is less certain, although she finally picked up a nomination from north of Watford this week - Rushcliffe CLP in Nottinghamshire.

The deputy contest as it stands would need to go no further as currently only Angela Rayner is on the ballot.  She's likely to face at least a couple of challengers, but predicting the final ballot is tough.  The hard left candidate here is much less popular than Long-Bailey, but one would expect Burgon to qualify.  The race baiters will be keen on Dawn Butler progressing, otherwise they'll decry wacism.

To qualify candidates for both posts require either 33 nominations from Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) or 3 nominations from Labour affiliate groups, two of which must be trade unions.

Leadership election

Keir Starmer: 48 CLPs + 4 affiliates (qualified)
Lisa Nandy: 11 CLPs + 3 affiliates (qualified)

Rebecca Long-Bailey: 21 CLPs + 2 union affiliates
Emily Thornberry: 4 CLPs

Deputy leadership election

Angela Rayner: 48 CLPs + 5 affiliates (qualified)

Richard Burgon: 7 CLPs + 2 union affiliates
Dawn Butler: 10 CLPs + 1 non-union affiliate
Ian Murray: 6 CLPs
Rosena Allin-Khan: 4 CLPs

Monday 27 January 2020

ON THIS DAY IN 2002, CORBYN'S MATES...

The Fatah-linked Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade unleashed the first ever female Palestinian suicide bomber - 28-year-old divorcee Wafa Idris.  She detonated a 22-pound bomb outside a shoe store in the centre of Jerusalem, killing an 81-year-old man and injuring more than 100 others.

Idris had been a volunteer for the Palestine Red Crescent, a humanitarian group.  She had no known previous links to militant groups, but the suicide attack turned her into a cult hero across the Arab world.  A football tournament in the West Bank was later named after her.  Following her death, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs unleashed three more female suicide bombers in the same year.

The elderly man killed in Idris's attack was Pinhas Tokatli, an amateur painter who was on his way home after buying paints.  He left a wife and four children.

Two years after Mr Tokatli's murder, a backbench Labour MP praised Al-Aqsa leader Marwan Barghouti as an "ambassador for peace".  That same year Barghouti was tried and sentenced to five life terms in Israel for various terrorist offences.  That backbench MP was Jeremy Corbyn.  In the years following Barghouti's arrest and incarceration Corbyn supported at least five early day motions in the House of Commons calling for his release.  On his website he referred to Barghouti as an "iconic figure".

Wafa Idris, the first female Palestinian suicide bomber

Sunday 26 January 2020

BREXIT COIN MELTDOWN


This is very similar to the coin that was to be issued last October, but thanks to the efforts of Remainer MPs they all had to be melted down.  Now that Brexit is actually happening the snowflakes are having their own meltdown.  Spearheading the pathetic and laughable reaction were leading Labour remoaners Lord Adonis and Alastair Campbell.  We knew some Remainers were petulant, but losing their minds over an 8 gram piece of alloy?  Glorious!

MOST SHARED: WEEK 249

Last week Corbyn showed his spiteful side once again by nominating one of the key architects of the Brexit stalemate of 2019.  His nomination of John Bercow for a peerage was yet another affront to the Brexit heartlands.  Boris Johnson suggested that the nomination would be thrown out on the basis that Bercow is not a Labour member.  One suspects that the insidious Bercow would happily put his name to an application form if this meant his continuation on the Westminster gravy train.  Further revelations about Bercow's bullying have emerged in recent days and what Corbyn initially intended as a 'fuck you' is swiftly becoming another embarrassing own goal.


A BTLP original this was shared 900 times via the Facebook page.

COUNCILLORS QUITS UNITE

Unite's decision to back continuity Corbyn candidates for Labour's leadership roles hasn't gone down too well in some circles.  Two councillors in Tameside, Greater Manchester , announced their decisions to quit the union in protest.  Cllr George Newton and Cllr Jack Naylor were particularly upset at the endorsement of braindead Corbyn loyalist Richard Burgon.


Naylor indicated he was joining the GMB, a union backing Lisa Nandy for the leadership.


One wonders how many more Unite members will have cancelled their subs over this slavish endorsement of the far left.

JEREMY'S DOLLY PARTON CHALLENGE


The Dolly Parton challenge has swept social media in the last couple of days.  The country star's Instagram post (see above) has been imitated far and wide, so we thought we'd get in quick with the Jeremy Corbyn version...

LOONY LORD'S STARMER HYPOCRISY


Ultra remoaner Lord Adonis has lashed out at so many politicians since June 2016 it's probably easier to list the people he hasn't criticised. Speaking to LBC's Andrew Pierce he was asked about his backing for Keir Starmer in the Labour leadership contest.  After espousing Starmer's 'qualities', Adonis was then swiftly ambushed with something he'd previously written about Starmer:  "A consistent disappointment and failure throughout the Brexit process".  As Andy squirmed in his seat, Pierce hit him with more unfortunate quotes including this classic:  "He is not a leader in any form".  Adonis's first response was to claim that he'd written it in the "early stages of the Brexit process", to which Pierce fired back:  "It was a year ago!"

Brutal.

Saturday 25 January 2020

LEADERSHIP HUSTINGS - LEEDS

The second Labour leadership hustings was originally due to take place in Durham.  Following internal uproar over the snub to Yorkshire, the hustings schedule was shaken up and the roadshow instead rolled into Leeds on Saturday.  Well, the deputy leadership did - the main event was cancelled after-all.  With Keir Starmer having suspended his campaign due to a family emergency, the main leadership husting was cancelled.  The deputy leadership husting went ahead as planned.

If you're struggling to figure out which one - if any - of the four remaining leadership contenders might pose a threat to Boris, spare a thought for the party members who attended this pathetic display.  The depths to which the modern party has sunk has surely never been laid so bare than it has with this desperate bunch of individuals parading in front of the faithful.

In the absence of the main hustings this was everybody's opportunity to play to a much bigger audience.  Angela Rayner - favourite and currently only candidate through the ballot - was incredibly cocky about her place in the final stage.  It's hard to believe that she stood aside for her pal Long-Bailey as she is not deputy material, let alone worthy of leadership.

Ian Murray continued to capitalise on the fact he's the only Scottish voice, both in the leadership elections and the Parliamentary party.  As the incredibly long campaign drags on, this will grind very quickly.  Probably the biggest winner on the day was the least known candidate - Rosena Allin-Khan.  The best of a bad bunch, she put the home candidate to shame.  Leeds boy Richard Burgon could have appealed to the wider membership and deliver a message of unity, but in keeping with his braindead philosophy he played to the hard left bubble.

The cringeworthy Dawn Butler is very much the 'Emily Thornberry' of the deputy campaign, albeit even more incompetent if that is even possible.  At one point she embarked on a rant about the MPs who tried to oust Corbyn in 2016, reeled off how loyal she had been to Corbyn and finished off by referencing Wes Streeting's earlier criticism.  She looked to Burgon as she did so, but what followed was a bitter spat in which Dickie lashed out at Dawn insisting he was the only candidate on the podium who could claim undying loyalty to Corbyn.  That Corbyn had just overseen such a diabolical election result and two candidates were arguing over loyalty points to a complete loser says everything about this party right now.

The Butler-Burgon spat is around 35 minutes in...


Revised leadership hustings schedule

Sat 1 Feb - Bristol
Sun 2 Feb - Cardiff
Sat 8 Feb - Nottingham
Sun 9 Feb - Dudley
Sat 15 Feb - Glasgow
Sun 16 Feb - London
Sat 22 Feb - Bedford
Sun 23 Feb - Durham
Sat 29 Feb - Brighton

Whoever is organising these dates desperately needs a map of the UK.  Glasgow and London in the same weekend?  Bedford and Durham?  Shambles.

THE WEEK IN CARTOONS 19-25 JAN 2020

19.01.20 - Bob Moran, Sunday Telegraph
19.01.20 - Matt Pritchett, Sunday Telegraph 
19.01.20 - Scott Clissold, Sunday Express
20.01.20 - Steve Bright, The Sun
21.01.20 - Matt Pritchett, Daily Telegraph
22.01.20 - Patrick Blower, Daily Telegraph
22.01.20 - Matt Pritchett, Daily Telegraph
23.01.20 - Bob Moran, Daily Telegraph
24.01.20 - Peter Brookes, The Times
24.01.20 - Bob Moran, Daily Telegraph
24.01.20 - Christian Adams, Evening Standard
25.01.20 - Richard Graham Jolley, Spectator
25.01.20 - Bob Moran, Daily Telegraph

'BRAINS AND BRILLIANCE'

Following the Unite union's decision to back Long-Bailey and hapless Richard Burgon for the deputy's role, general secretary Len McCluskey told reporters that "Beccy has both the brains and the brilliance to take on Boris Johnson".  Len can't be commended enough - for reeling off this line while maintaining a straight face.

'RULE OUT' BURGON & BUTLER

Wes Streeting

Labour moderate Wes Streeting has told LBC's Andrew Castle that Richard Burgon and Dawn Butler should be ejected from the deputy leadership contest.  Referring to their refusal to sign a pledge to stamp out anti-Semitism, the Ilford North MP told Castle:  "Both Richard Burgon and Dawn Butler - ironically, the shadow's equalities secretary - they haven't signed those pledges and I think that's just absolutely appalling.  It should just rule them out of the race altogether as it says we know best and we're still not listening".  All leadership candidates in both contests have signed the pledge, with the exception of Burgon and Butler.

Friday 24 January 2020

UNITE FOR THE PREDICTABLE

Unite's Len McCluskey consistently warned against media speculation over who the union would back for the Labour leadership.  Any suggestion that the union would slavishly endorse the hard left continuity Corbyn candidate was met with a 'wait and see' response.  After-all, no decision had been made...

So imagine our surprise when on Friday it was announced that Unite had not only backed Rebecca Long-Bailey, they'd backed hard left balloon head Richard Burgon for the deputy's job!


Continuity is key.  Socialism is paramount.  Dedication to losers?  Well, naturally.

COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 23.01.20

Four local by-elections last night, three in London and one in Scotland.  In London there were four seats up for grabs in three Brent Council wards.  The Labour vote plummeted in all three and they lost a seat to the Lib Dems.  In Scotland the Tories held easily in Dumfries & Galloway with more votes than the other three parties combined.  Labour's local election woes look set to continue.

Alperton, Brent Council

Lib Dem: 1,699 (39.7%) +29.5%
Lab: 1,304 (30.5%) -25.6%
Con: 900 (21.0%) -2.5%
Green: 373 (8.7%) -1.4%

Lib Dem GAIN from Lab

Barnhill, Brent Council (two seats)

Lab: 1,194 & 1,152 (45.5%) -18.3%
Con: 1,082 & 1,018 (41.2%) +16.1%
Green: 231 & 171 (8.8%) New
Lib Dem: 118 & 76 (4.5%) -3.2%

Lab HOLD (both seats)

Wembley Central, Brent Council

Lab: 1,945 (54.5%) -11.8%
Con: 1,090 (30.6%) +14.7%
Lib Dem: 378 (10.6%) (-0.6%
Green: 154 (4.3%) -2.3%

Lab HOLD

Mid Galloway & Wigtown West, Dumfries & Galloway Council

Con: 2,177 (61.8%) +22.3%
SNP: 898 (25.5%) +1.9%
Green: 225 (6.4%) +4.2%
Lab: 220 (6.3%) -0.6%

Con HOLD

NAZ SHAH ASKS FOR IT

The odious member for Bradford West asked Twitter on Thursday whether the government had a "moral conscience".  Naz was referring to Labour's defeat over unaccompanied child migrants.  This is an issue that has had Labour MPs up in arms in recent weeks, while at the same time deafeningly silent over the mass rape of our own children by grooming gangs.  The hypocrisy and betrayal hasn't gone unnoticed, but even amid the depths of scum and villainy of the modern Labour party - Naz Shah stands out.


They say the internet never forgets, well going by the responses to Naz's tweet yesterday - neither have a lot of people.  After-all, wasn't it a bit rich for her to be taking the moral high ground...







SOMETHING ABOUT NOTHING, BAB

Jess Phillips has backed Lisa Nandy for the leadership and dismissed our departure from the EU as "something out of nothing".  She says she'll be tucked up in bed by 11pm on the 31st, like "99 per cent of the population" and the event will "pass without comment".  Are we to believe that you've spent the last few years trying to stop something so trivial?  More likely this is a case of the wench doth protest too much...


PS.  What now happens to the £58,000 you crowdfunded for your failed leadership campaign Jess?

Thursday 23 January 2020

NUGEE VS NEIL

Emily Thornberry faced Andrew Neil last night in an entertaining interview.  Neil tackled Lady Nugee's sneering attitude over Brexit and schooling, asking how it is possible she could take back voters from Labour's old heartlands.  If her current leadership nominations are anything to go by, she doesn't stand much chance outside the south-east.  While fellow southerner Sir Keir has amassed nominations from around the country - from Glasgow to Torbay - she has a nomination each from Berkshire, Sussex and Surrey.

In this first clip Smug Nugee paints herself as a 'prophet' who saw the election defeat coming and warned her colleagues about it.  Easy to say after the event...


Neil asked Nugee about the allegation that she'd described Leave voters as "stupid".  While there's no doubt that Thornberry is typical of a sneering elitist Remainer, she is self aware enough to know that such an overtly offensive statement is damaging to her, particularly in light of her leadership campaign.  Her legal action against Caroline Flint continues, but Neil was not going to let Nugee off lightly here...



The Brexit debate was later followed by another bitter exchange over Nugee's decision to send her son to a posh school.  "That's what Diane Abbott said as well" Neil retorted as Thornberry tried to defend her hypocrisy.


Neil tried to finish off the interview with a quickfire yes/no session.  Predictably, he didn't get many yes/no answers...

Wednesday 22 January 2020

NANDY JOINS STARMER ON BALLOT


Lisa Nandy has become the second Labour leadership candidate through to the ballot.  By securing a third affiliate nomination she qualifies ahead of the hard left's preferred candidate.  Rebecca Long-Bailey currently has only one affiliate nomination, although she is expected to pick up the Unite union's backing later this week.  Her eventual place on the ballot is not in much doubt, but things are much less certain for Lady Nugee.

Thornberry currently has a couple of CLP nominations, 31 short for that route to the ballot.  She has no affiliate nominations, but there are still three weeks before the deadline and hundreds of CLPs have yet to declare.  As we learnt in the first round, it's best not to write off her chances just yet...