Kmflett's Blog

1986 and 1987. When Tony Benn called out Peter Mandelson

The Guardian (2^nd February 2026) has a powerful Editorial on Peter Mandelson and alleged misconduct in public office

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/02/the-guardian-view-on-the-mandelson-epstein-emails-unavoidable-questions-of-misconduct-in-public-office?CMP=share_btn_url

Tony Benn got there 40 years ago

Tony Benn encountered Mandelson at meetings of the Labour NEC and Shadow Cabinet before the 1987 Election. Neil Kinnock had appointed Mandelson as Communications Director in 1985 and Benn first noted his influence the following year

Benn wrote in his Diary:

Sunday 23^rd February 1986. There was a small piece in the Guardian that Peter Mandelson had rung up the BBC to try to get me taken off the panel for Question Time which I am doing on Thursday.

Later Benn encountered Mandelson in person

Monday 16th February 1987. Today we had a meeting of the NEC and the Shadow Cabinet, the first since Neil Kinnock became leader, Kinnock introduced the meeting and spoke for about twenty minutes.. We went on to Peter Mandelson who said a few words. I find Mandelson a threatening figure for the future of the Party. He came in from the media eighteen months ago and has taken over

Benn proved a shrewder judge of political character than Tony Blair and Keir Starmer

Prof John Curtice has spoken to Wales On Line about Senedd polls, which he notes a relatively few and should be seen as broad brush rather than having a high degree of accuracy. He gives them a ‘do not inhale’ warning.

That said the above poll reflects trends in England except that, as with the Caerphilly by-election, those looking for a social-democratic-ish alternative to Labour are moving mostly to Plaid rather than the Greens. It underlines again too that the switch from Labour to Reform is quite limited. Finally as with other polls Labour is retaining a chunk of its 2024 support and Curtice notes that some improvement in Labour support between now and May might change the picture again somewhat unlikely as it currently seems

100,000 people marched in central London for Palestine on Saturday 31st January. It was the 34th march since October 2023.

On the same day despite a ceasefire allegedly being in force Israeli forces killed 32 Palestinians something they presumably regard as a business as usual activity.

There have been bigger marches for Palestine and while size is important the key thing is that the protests have continued.

The Labour Government would very much prefer that they did not and have done a range of things short of an absolute ban to deter them. That includes re-routing marches, banning words and image which are not liked and any number of petty restrictions imposed by the Metropolitan Police.

The resilience of protesters and protest organisers is likely to be unprecedented in recent British history. I’m currently researching that point so its a work in progress as is protesting in support of the Palestinians

A rather younger Tim Martin outside his local, The Imperial, Exeter

This won’t please those who are currently once again demanding the return of gammon to the menu on the We Love Wetherspoons Facebook site (seriously) but in the Sunday Times list of the top UK tax payers Tim Martin is in eighth position having paid £199.7m in tax.

He tells the paper ‘I can’t complain about the level of taxation-that’s a political issue. Parties put forward their ideas and voters decide. What is unfair and economically counterproductive is the way pubs have to charge 20% VAT while supermarkets don’t’.

Martin is far from always right but there he has a point.

Wetherspoons pubs pay around £1m each in a range of taxes each year. As Martin is currently opening new pubs he clearly feels that is sustainable although he has been making ‘dinner party’ comments about the Government again. Perhaps if there was a Wetherspoons in Kentish Town Starmer would go there rather than the Good Beer Guide listed Pineapple pub which is his local.

Beard Liberation Front

1st February

Spurs 2-2 draw with Manchester City at White Hart Lane on 1st February gained the North London side another valuable point in a lacklustre Premiership season, it also saw Manchester City drop two points as they looked likely to take all three with a 2-0 lead at half time. That gives Spurs North London neighbours Arsenal a potentially season defining six point lead over Manchester City a the top of the table.

The rivalry between Arsenal and Spurs is perpetual but sometimes North London unity comes first. The result on Sunday helps both Spurs and Arsenal.

*Arsenal fan Michael Rosen posted on X after the result ‘The Beard United Will Never Be Defeated’. He has kindly donated the slogan to the Beard Liberation Front.

The decisive Spurs goal was scored by Dominic Solanke who sports a goal assisting beard. Meanwhile Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s transition from stubble to beard remains a work in perpetual progress

Tony Benn was in a small minority it seems to have spotted that Peter Mandelson was not the ideal person to have around well before Labour’s landslide victory in the May 1997 General Election.

He returned to the theme in a diary entry on 22nd May 1997 where he recorded a conversation with Colin Brown of The Independent. Brown told Benn that Mandelson was ‘absolutely loathed’ because ‘he’d ring up editors to put pressure on particular correspondents’

Neither Blair or later Starmer grasped the understanding of Mandelson that Benn had.

The Ambridge Socialist

1^st February

Doubts over whether Reform Mick was the person who attacked George

The Ambridge Socialist has tended to the view that Reform Mick is the person most likely to have bottled George at New Year. He left The Bull with partner Joy on New Year’s Eve shortly before the incident and he admitted this week that he had not gone to another pub as he had previously claimed. However Joy then stated that her daughter Rochelle had been paying a surprise visit and she had returned home. Whether Mick also returned with her is as yet unknown.

Archers Dynasty still trying to blacklist George (but failing)

George has given his CV to Esme with a view to being employed to help run her farm on a day to day basis while she gets on with her web design job. Roooth intervened to generally diss George. There is no reason to think he wouldn’t do a decent job at work he has experience of. Another shameful move by the Archers Dynasty. Esme being more a woman of the world than Daveed and Roooth can fortunately see value in giving George a go

Peggy’s artwork

Apparently after Justin sorted out his earlier f*ck ups it looks marvellous. It is however a bit difficult to tell on the radio which is perhaps just as well.

Ben’s graduation

Ben has graduated, another occasion where radio didn’t really do justice to the happy occasion…

I was sorry to read of the death at 82 of Lord Triesman. A lifelong Spurs fan he was General Secretary of the Association of University Teachers, General Secretary of the Labour Party and joined Tony Blair’s New Labour Government as Peer in 2004. He also for a period headed up the Football Association

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jan/31/lord-triesman-former-labour-minister-and-fa-chair-dies-aged-82?CMP=share_btn_url

His earlier political activity had suggested a rather different political perspective. Below is the conclusion to an article he wrote in New Left Review (1/53, January-February 1969) about the need to set up student Red Bases drawing on the experience of Essex University. His early promise was not fulfilled in quite this way

Seen as an essential step in fulfilling the tasks of revolutionary students, the duties of Marxists becomes clear. They are:

1. Create red bases.

2. Make it clear to the workers why we are doing so.

3. Hold them for as long as possible in order to reap their full benefit: practical awareness, militant hardness, theoretical insight, fighting courage, and sufficient humility to relinquish any vanguard role to the workers.

Beard Liberation Front

30^th January

Contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social

England cricketer Joe Root shaves Prince Harry to win Beard of Winter vote

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that England cricketer Joe Root has shaved Prince Harry in the final Beard Off vote for the coveted title of Beard of Winter 2026. Weather forecaster Liam Dutton and actor Idris Elba also made it through the preliminary close shave rounds, shaving Luke Littler and Owen Jones.

Joe Root who scored two Ashes centuries while wearing a full on beard got 69.6% of the 800 votes cast in an on-line poll. Idris Elba came second with 21.7% of the votes while Prince Harry trailed with just 4.3%.

Root has subsequently shaved off his beard for England’s ODI games in Sri Lanka but the campaigners say that under the rules someone only needs to have a beard in the December and January period to qualify for the shortlist.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, England didn’t win the Ashes but Joe Root’s Beard Power in Australia displayed a very positive image of the hirsute reflecting his victory in the widest margin ever for the annual Beard of Winter vote

Beard of Winter Final shortlist

Liam Dutton, weather forecaster

Prince Harry, personality

Idris Elba, actor

Joe Root, cricketer

Socialist History Seminar at the Institute of Historical Research

Monday 9^th February Tom Alter “The Assault on Democratic Rights and the Fight Against the Far Right in the US”

The seminar offered solidarity to Tom Alter after his illegal sacking by Texas State University.

Report

Tom Alter is a socialist historian and active socialist but his dismissal was not related in anyway to anything he had said or written in his job as a Professor. Rather his speech at a socialist meeting was taken out of context and used against him. Tom gave details of his research into US working class and socialist history going back to Eugene Debs. He also noted that as a ‘right to work’ State, striking was illegal in Texas. However trade unions can still organise and defend those at work through campaigning activity and protests and membership is growing significantly. Full details are in the recording

Recording of seminar

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/DD8lRaFXOe5DI7pk_LV80_-GQmfYXng8RsllWFTgB9NDQM7v3txQBvlKK3GSqDRU._DTIk98zFlRNR6yY

Tom Alter writes: The Texas State University System Board of Regents upheld my firing on Nov. 20 with no due process, no hearing, and without me being present to defend myself.

Tom Alter (UIC PhD, 2016) was a tenured professor of history at Texas State University who was fired without due process over a talk he gave in his personal capacity to a socialist conference.

            Alter will discuss the growing far-right attacks on higher education and democratic rights that he and many others have faced. During the talk used as grounds for his firing, Alter advocated opposing ICE raids, walking picket lines in support of striking workers, and defending transgender people. These are all popular ideas that we must mobilize around. To silence dissent, far-right politicians now completely disregard constitutional rights, with many even openly questioning democracy itself. There is, however, hope.  Alter’s local unions, and the Texas labor movement generally, have robustly backed the campaign for free speech, providing an example of how unions can forge a vigorous, nonpartisan opposition to the growing fascist current–and fight for a better world.

More details