There was not enough time in tonight's NPTOnline hustings to complete my reasons for not giving Mrs May another five years, but fortuitously, while the Evening Post was shooting in Swansea, the lady herself laid out the main one.
Civil rights are under threat from this person, whose authoritative façade clearly masks insecurity. I do not subscribe to the "false flag" hypothesis: that shadowy figures in our security services instigated the Manchester and London Bridge attacks in order to give themselves more power. But I do think that jihadists, who would thrive under a more oppressive régime, rushed the crude atrocity into effect last weekend in order to take advantage of the election campaign, counting on provoking just the sort of response which occurred. (Manchester Arena was the result of longer-term planning and probably originally was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Lee Rigby killing.)
Tuesday, 6 June 2017
Peter Sallis: an affectionate remembrance
I shall always remember the first time I saw Peter Sallis on screen. It was in a BBC TV whodunit serial named "The Widow of Bath" based on her own novel by Margot Bennett. Sallis played Cady, a not wholly admirable character, but like most of his parts, someone one took to ones heart. Amazingly, he had made his TV début twelve years earlier and acting was not even his first career. After that, the family made a habit of "Cady-spotting" as Sallis popped up frequently on TV, generally in small character parts, but also as the put-upon Gerald Swinney in "How to Get Rid of Your Wife". He was blessed with a face that hardly seemed to change over the years, but also the ability to achieve instant sympathy. One cannot imagine his crowning achievements, Clegg and Wallace, played by any other man.
Monday, 5 June 2017
Salafist influence
Since a media release from Tom Brake, there have been two bombings in Kabul costing at least 100 lives and an atrocity in London, which took seven. Innocents, including women and children, were the targets of terrorists driven by an extreme view of Islam which has its roots in the Arabian desert. Mrs May had a chance to make a statesmanlike statement in response, without breaching the voluntary moratorium on national political campaigning. She failed both tests and also failed to acknowledge the source of our troubles, as Tim Farron has pointed out.
Some history:
The then Prime Minister David Cameron announced a review of foreign funding of extremism in the UK in December 2015, following calls for a review by Liberal Democrats in exchange for support of airstrikes against Daesh in Syria. ("As part of this, I can announce today that we will establish a comprehensive review to root out any remaining funding of extremism within the UK. This will examine specifically the nature, scale and origin of the funding of Islamist extremist activity in the UK, including any overseas sources. It will report to myself and my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary next spring." David Cameron, House of Commons, 2 December 2015).
Amber Rudd last week suggested that arms sales to Saudi Arabia are good for British industry during the BBC Debate in Cambridge. When challenged over arms sales to the Saudi regime, she responded: “I will make no apology for being a government that wants to defend this country. We will make sure that our defence budget is well-funded and we will do that by having a strong economy and make sure we can do that by having a strong industry.” (BBC Debate, 31st May 2017).
Tim reacted with an open letter to the prime minister, of which these are the main paragraphs:
As you will no doubt remember, in December 2015, David Cameron promised an enquiry into foreign funding of extremism in the UK. As Home Secretary at the time, your department was one of those leading on the report.
Eighteen months later, and following two horrific terrorist attacks by British-born citizens, that report still remains incomplete and unpublished. It is no secret that Saudi Arabia in particular provides funding to hundreds of mosques in the UK, espousing a very hard-line Wahhabist interpretation of Islam. It is often in these institutions that British extremism takes root.
Now is not the time to brush this under the carpet once more.
You will agree with me that the protection of our country, of the British people, is the most important job of any government. Certainly, more important than potential trade deals with questionable regimes, which appear to be the only explanation for your reticence.
When will this report be finished and published? And what steps do you propose to take to address one of the root causes of violent extremism in the UK?
But the malign Salafist influence spreads wider than the UK. The self-destructive Syrian uprising which led to Da'esh and the virtual destruction of the ancient Syriac Christian and Yazidi communities came on the back of Saudi money. Terror groups have sprung up wherever Islam has spread, attacking preferentially Shi'a Muslim and Christians. The unholy deals which were struck between US interests and the kingdom of Saud back in the 1930s and 1940s have had terrible repercussions.
Some history:
The then Prime Minister David Cameron announced a review of foreign funding of extremism in the UK in December 2015, following calls for a review by Liberal Democrats in exchange for support of airstrikes against Daesh in Syria. ("As part of this, I can announce today that we will establish a comprehensive review to root out any remaining funding of extremism within the UK. This will examine specifically the nature, scale and origin of the funding of Islamist extremist activity in the UK, including any overseas sources. It will report to myself and my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary next spring." David Cameron, House of Commons, 2 December 2015).
Amber Rudd last week suggested that arms sales to Saudi Arabia are good for British industry during the BBC Debate in Cambridge. When challenged over arms sales to the Saudi regime, she responded: “I will make no apology for being a government that wants to defend this country. We will make sure that our defence budget is well-funded and we will do that by having a strong economy and make sure we can do that by having a strong industry.” (BBC Debate, 31st May 2017).
Tim reacted with an open letter to the prime minister, of which these are the main paragraphs:
As you will no doubt remember, in December 2015, David Cameron promised an enquiry into foreign funding of extremism in the UK. As Home Secretary at the time, your department was one of those leading on the report.
Eighteen months later, and following two horrific terrorist attacks by British-born citizens, that report still remains incomplete and unpublished. It is no secret that Saudi Arabia in particular provides funding to hundreds of mosques in the UK, espousing a very hard-line Wahhabist interpretation of Islam. It is often in these institutions that British extremism takes root.
Now is not the time to brush this under the carpet once more.
You will agree with me that the protection of our country, of the British people, is the most important job of any government. Certainly, more important than potential trade deals with questionable regimes, which appear to be the only explanation for your reticence.
When will this report be finished and published? And what steps do you propose to take to address one of the root causes of violent extremism in the UK?
But the malign Salafist influence spreads wider than the UK. The self-destructive Syrian uprising which led to Da'esh and the virtual destruction of the ancient Syriac Christian and Yazidi communities came on the back of Saudi money. Terror groups have sprung up wherever Islam has spread, attacking preferentially Shi'a Muslim and Christians. The unholy deals which were struck between US interests and the kingdom of Saud back in the 1930s and 1940s have had terrible repercussions.
Rural difficulties
Fast broadband would help to counteract the effects of isolation and give access to public services which civil servants increasingly assume are available to everybody with smart phones and tablets. "Wireless internet" schemes are being rolled out by government-aided entrepreneurs and one such is coming to the area between Pontardawe and Gwaun-cae-gurwen. It seems to me that the funding model is not robust, as one such company failed in Monmouthshire leaving subscribers without the service they had come to depend on. However, I am assured that the company involved in the Cwmgorse area is more substantial and has other successful schemes behind it.
My muck-raking friends on the Neath Ferret would no doubt wish me to include a photo of a donkey wearing a rosette. I am sorry to disappoint them. Instead, I spotted (sorry for the pun) a Gloucester pig which provides the tail-piece.
Sunday, 4 June 2017
Contrasts
Frenzied knife attacks in the Borough, London, within a stone's-throw of Southwark Cathedral, and almost certainly driven by religious and racial hatred. My heart goes out to the family and friends of the victims, so arbitrarily picked on.
A joyous day in Cardiff as different nationalities mixed in celebration before and after a hard-fought sporting event. There is hope for us.
A joyous day in Cardiff as different nationalities mixed in celebration before and after a hard-fought sporting event. There is hope for us.
Saturday, 3 June 2017
Robert Morley. 26th May 1908 - June 3rd 1992 Actor and anthologist
"Anyone who works is a fool. I don't work: I merely inflict myself on
the public."
It is fair to say that he always played versions of himself, but otherwise he was being unduly modest.
the public."
It is fair to say that he always played versions of himself, but otherwise he was being unduly modest.
Friday, 2 June 2017
Rough sleeping
The two big concerns about Neath today, judging by letters to the Ferret, are the lack of public cleanliness in the town and rough sleeping. As a Westminster candidate, I have to reply to electors' letters that the remedy for both is largely in the hands of the Welsh government and the county borough council.
However, the Liberal Democrat manifesto does offer some hope to the young homeless, restoration of the cuts to their housing benefits. Tim Farron obviously feels for them. He has said:
It is a national scandal that so many people are sleeping on the streets in 21st century Britain.
By increasing support for homelessness prevention and properly funding emergency accommodation, we can end rough sleeping across the country. The evidence suggests that supporting people and giving them long-term, stable places to stay is far more successful in tackling homelessness than constantly moving them to different temporary accommodation.
Under this government, homelessness has soared and the stripping of young people of housing benefit threatens to make matters even worse. This election is a chance to change the direction of this country and stand up for a Britain that is open, tolerant and united."
The weapon Tim has chosen in the fight against homelessness is Housing First, which has had "huge success in countries such as Finland where it has all but eradicated rough sleeping." (Inside Housing, 10th April). This article reports that the Welsh Government is considering moving towards Housing First and even the Conservative minister Sajid Javed has backed a feasibility study. It is surprising that Jeremy Corbyn has not publicly committed UK Labour to it.
However, the Liberal Democrat manifesto does offer some hope to the young homeless, restoration of the cuts to their housing benefits. Tim Farron obviously feels for them. He has said:
It is a national scandal that so many people are sleeping on the streets in 21st century Britain.
By increasing support for homelessness prevention and properly funding emergency accommodation, we can end rough sleeping across the country. The evidence suggests that supporting people and giving them long-term, stable places to stay is far more successful in tackling homelessness than constantly moving them to different temporary accommodation.
Under this government, homelessness has soared and the stripping of young people of housing benefit threatens to make matters even worse. This election is a chance to change the direction of this country and stand up for a Britain that is open, tolerant and united."
The weapon Tim has chosen in the fight against homelessness is Housing First, which has had "huge success in countries such as Finland where it has all but eradicated rough sleeping." (Inside Housing, 10th April). This article reports that the Welsh Government is considering moving towards Housing First and even the Conservative minister Sajid Javed has backed a feasibility study. It is surprising that Jeremy Corbyn has not publicly committed UK Labour to it.
Thursday, 1 June 2017
The pearls from the BBC TV debate
The Liberal Democrat press office watched the debate by the leaders (minus one) on BBC TV last night so I didn't have to. (After half-an-hour, I switched to Springwatch on BBC-2.) Here are the points they picked as standing out from the ill-managed and ill-tempered proceedings:
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