Are You The Judean People's Front? Fuck Off!

On Wednesday I attended The Convention Of The Left in Manchester, a set of meetings, debates and speaker events that was set as an alternative to the Labour Party conference just down the road. The idea was to get different left political groups and parties to discuss their issues and see what we can learn from each other

As you might have guessed from the title, at times this broke down into Monty-Python-esque arguments. The meeting on Iran proved particularly tedious. Instead of talking about actual ways of getting together and deciding on ways to win the argument against war with Iran, it descended into an argument between the Stop The War Coalition and HOPI (Hands Off The People Of Iran). Everyone there agreed that the present regime in Iran has a terrible human rights record and that Trade Unionists and other progressives should be supported in their struggles. I also thought it would be a given that a war against Iran has the most chance of being prevented with the broadest possible coalition. Apparently not...I'm not sure if the girl representing HOPI is clinically insane or just a bit of a twat, but apparently there would be the most chance of success by appealing to Britain's proletariat to stand in solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Iran. As it was pointed out, you didn't get 2 million people on the streets of London before the Iraq war by crying out "Socialism for Iraq!" for the simply reason that there are lots of people who are anti-war, but aren't socialists. If the debate had stayed around this then at least there would have been a point to the discussion - to eventually arrive at a position about what tactics are most effective. Alas, even that wasn't to be. After that it got personal, stupid slanging matches about who said what and who stopped them organising where - it got to the point where I put up my hand in order to say "what the hell is this sectarian wank?", which admittedly probably wasn't the most helpful comment but I stand by it as completely necessary and technically accurate.

Fortunately, it wasn't all like that and it seems to be more the case that this attitude is only shared by the top levels of these organisations. Most of the rank-and-file were more about trying to achieve something and were more than willing to work together. Both the meetings on Africa and Cuba were a lot more productive, despite the very different nature of the discussions and you really did leave them feeling that you had learnt from each other. There is hope for the Left and I was encouraged to hear people not just talking yet again about some party to the left of Labour but about organising together to pressurise the Labour Party and/or the government. Perhaps something will be achieved if all the sectarians follow the logical conclusion of their attitude and leave everyone else to get on with things.

"Whatever happened to the Popular Front, Reg?"
"He's over there"
"Splitter!"

Who is actually doing a Hestletine?

Thankfully the media seem to have finally accepted that a leadership contest isn't on the cards now. The whole idea showed a complete and utter ignorance of the rules of the Labour party and the views of ordinary party members but then of course basic facts are way less interesting than news articles proclaiming that Brown is about to be knifed. Despite encouraging that kind of behaviour, no doubt in a totally hypothetical scenario where Brown had been overthrown the little fuckers would have made it out to be some sort of Shakespearean tragedy and lampooned the scheming bastard who plunged the knife. Which is probably why it has been made out that David Miliband reportedly toned down his speech to avoid this Hestletine/Brutus role.

I do find this alleged comment by David Miliband pretty unlikely. According to Paxman on Newsnight last night the person that overheard this was "a reliable source" - John Prescott pointed out that this could quite clearly be anyone and therefore it was far from reliable. Today, the BBC revealed on its website that this mystery source is.....an unnamed BBC journalist who was apparently stood in the lift with David Miliband and his aide whilst he nattered about why he toned down his speech.

Maybe I am being a little cynical here but that hardly sures up the reliablity of the source. If it is a BBC journalist, why can they not be named? I mean if it were some cabinet member or something, yes, they need to protect their source to get more information in the future. But a BBC journalist? Why do they need protecting? If anything it would help their career to be named! More convincingly, I find it pretty unlikely that Miliband would chat about anything like that in anyone but the most trusted people's presence, so why would he do it in front of some random journalist?

I know why they come up with these things, but seriously, they could at least come up with something believable. I don't think this even happened, but even if it did, it did not fucking happen by a BBC journalist jumping in a lift with David Miliband and an aide.

Clive Grunshaw for Lancaster & Fleetwood

After 11 years of New Labour, I often find it difficult to be enthusiastic about the party. Resolute lefties like Dennis Skinner or exceptional constituency MPs such as Andrew Smith are good motivation to keep the faith but it is always good to have someone in your own area. That is why I am so exited that Lancaster & Fleetwood Labour party have selected someone I can really believe in as their parliamentary candidate.

Clive has lived and worked in the constituency all of his life. This couldn't be a more marked contrast with the Tory party central office candidate Eric Ollerenshaw, who apart from a brief excursion to Rochdale in 1992 in his first bid to become an MP, has lived in London since the 1980s. It is a little odd that he claims to live in Lancaster, considering he is the former Tory leader on the GLA and still works 5 days a week in London. In typical Tory rich-bastard style these claims to apparently local credentials stem from simply owning a house in Lancaster. This again is a stark difference to Clive who has had to work to get where he is. Clive worked on the Fleetwood docks as a winch-builder before eventually doing a degree at Lancaster University as a mature student.

Obviously it isn't all about background and geography, it is also about beliefs but here too Clive is someone I can really get behind. As a life-long trade unionist with real Labour values this goes further than simply being better than the Tory candidate. A vote for Clive isn't just a vote for the lesser of two evils but a man who will really stand up for working people and their families. Often people on the left are presented with the option of voting with their head and voting Labour to keep the Tories out, or voting with their heart for the Greens or some other minor party. With Clive you can have your cake and eat it. A man with principles who actually has a chance of getting elected?! This is too good an opportunity to miss.

Vote Clive Grunshaw for Lancaster & Fleetwood

Windfall Tax those money-grabbing cunts

In case you didn't guess I wholeheartedly support Compass' campaign to Windfall tax oil and energy companies. These fuckers have increased their prices for electricity by a whopping 35% at a time when people are already feeling the pinch as a result of increasing food prices.

Some have argued that this is a result of increasing fuel prices. Oil for example still remains at well over $100 a barrel. However, these same companies have just recorded profits at a historical high. If it were the case that they have simply passed on the price to their customers then how have their shareholders ended up with such fat wallets? Clearly, these people are taking advantage of a product that is a necessity for everyone without regard for the effect that this has on normal working people.

This corporate irresponsibility needs to be stopped. The current negotiations to get the companies to voluntarily cough up some extra cash has unsurprisingly failed. These greedy fat-cats have only one aim and that is to make money and they couldn't care less that their actions aren't in the public interest. The government has to force their hand and whilst personally I would argue that this is what happens when we put necessities like energy in private hands and they should be returned to public ownership, Compass' campaign to Windfall tax them is perhaps a more popular, yet effective option.

Sign the petition via the link below and put pressure on the government to stop these fuckers

www.compassonline.org.uk/campaigns/campaign.asp?n=2773

Be happy? Sod off!

It might be a long time coming but I am a man of my word and as promised, I started a blog and the very first post is about the evils of Gouranga and its lie-peddling monks and nuns.

The first time I exclaimed "Fucking Gouranga Monks!" to some comrades from Lancaster Uni Labour Club at Glastonbury, they burst out in laughter. The idea of me berating some peace-loving monks about how disgusting I thought their views were clearly amused them. They then got to see their hilarious imaginations unfold into reality as this actually occurred when a Gouranga nun asked us for money, supposedly for the poor. "I'm a gouranga nun, gouranga means be happy".

At this point you're probably thinking I'm a miserable bastard who during a costly weekend has let tight-fistedness get in the way of his socialist principles. No, no, no. I am simply wise to one of the world's greatest cons.

Near the beginning of my second year at Uni, one of these "harmless" monks came onto campus and gave out CDs and books for very reasonable prices. Being the inquisitive person that I am, I bought one of these short books explaining the beliefs of the Gouranga movement for 50p. I was quite surprised to find that these people with their message of happiness and hippy-like clothing would have a far darker side, worrying both for how disgusting the views in themselves were and for how absolutely ludicrous some of their arguments were.

This includes:-
Abortion being wrong in all circumstances
Women should be restricted to the home
Vegetarianism is immoral (apparently eating vegetables but not animals is prejudicial because both are living things)

This all basically derives from their leader who in a predicatably cult-like fashion is the only person with a link to the gods.

Since then, I have made a point of berating these con-artists who prey upon (probably intoxicated) festival-goers with their promises of happiness. They have now felt my wrath at Leeds '07 and Glastonbury '08. Although I have yet to do something about all those bridges that they have defaced.