Kmflett's Blog

The graphic is by Walter Crane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Crane

The London Socialist Historians Group organises the socialist history seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London.

Spring term seminar programme coming shortly including the history of NATO in Cyprus, the Red Brigades, the history of Big Flame and solidarity with a victimised US socialist historian

Diaego, the global drinks company, is having an interesting Christmas. It owns Guinness and Johnnie Walker whisky along with a host of other well known drinks brands, breweries and distilleries around the globe.

The UK headline was to be found with King Charles pouring a pint of Guinness at the new Opengate brewery and visitor centre in Covent Garden. It occupies some of the buildings used by the historic nineteenth century London porter brewery Combe.

Elsewhere Diaego is selling East African Breweries to Asahi (Peroni, Grolsch, Fullers) for $2.3bn. Earlier in 2025 Diaego sold its stakes in Guinness Nigeria and Guinness Ghana.

Diaego is also looking to sell its stake in the IPL cricket Royal Challengers Bengaluru which it has via its controlling stake in the Mumbai based United Spirits.

Grappling with such global giants is a task for those who seek a different model of hospitality where workers and consumers come first. Starting at the grassroots may be the way forward. Unite members at the Guinness Zero brewery in Belfast have been out on strike over pay which may well impact Christmas supplies.

CAMPAIGN FOR REAL SANTAS

Organised by the Beard Liberation Front

19th December

Contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social

Michael Rosen and Zack Polanski share ‘Organic’ Santa of the Year Honour

The Campaign for Real Santas, which campaigns for Santas to have genuine organic or knitted beards, has said that author and broadcaster Michael Rosen and Green Party leader Zack Polanski have split hairs in the vote for the ideal organic Santa of 2025.

In an on-line poll of more than 500 people both received 36.7% of the vote

The nominations for Real Santa of 2025:-

Billy Bragg, musician

Zack Polanski, politician

Michael Rosen, Author & Broadcaster

Jeremy Corbyn, politician & jam maker

The Campaign for Real Santas believes that only Santas with genuine, organic or knitted beards should be deputies for Santa, world famous for his organic beard, in the run up to Xmas

CFRS organiser Keith Flett said, We don’t know for sure that either Michael Rosen or Zack Polanski do help Santa at this time of year but we do think they are potentially excellent role models for real Santas as opposed to the absurd false bearded types.

Labour MP Rupa Huq has drawn attention to the idiosyncrasies of Farage’s Parliamentary presence.

In recent times Farage has complained that very important person that he is, he doesn’t get enough Commons questions and speeches. He has taken to sitting in the public galleries rather than the body of the Commons.

On Thursday 18th December he was one of the few MPs who won the ballot to ask a question, in this case on one of his favourite subjects- farming. When his turn came he was missing and his question was not asked….

Its the fourtieth anniversary of the Wapping print dispute in 2026 which saw the Times & the S*n launched in their current non-union format. Unsurprisingly The Times (Editorial 18th December) has been consistently critical of what today becomes the Employment Relations Act.

In conclusion the Editorial complains (again) of ‘union barons’. Like everyone else union leaders may have their faults but they are at least elected, as Andrea Egan’s victory in the UNISON General Secretary contest on 17th December reminded. Needless to say The Times isn’t happy about that either.

CAMPAIGN FOR REAL SANTAS

Organised by the Beard Liberation Front

18th December

Contact Keith Flett  @keithbeard.bsky.social

SHORTLIST UNVEILED FOR REAL ‘ORGANIC’ SANTA OF THE YEAR

The Campaign for Real Santas, which campaigns for Santas to have genuine organic or knitted beards, has named its shortlist of people who could be the ideal organic Santa of 2025.

The nominations for Real Santa of 2025 are:-

Billy Bragg, musician

Zack Polanski, politician

Michael Rosen, Author & Broadcaster

Jeremy Corbyn, politician & jam maker

The Campaign for Real Santas believes that only Santas with genuine, organic or knitted beards should be deputies for Santa, world famous for his organic beard, in the run up to Xmas

CFRS organiser Keith Flett said, We don’t know for sure that any of the people on the shortlist do help Santa at this time of year but we do think they are potentially excellent role models for real Santas as opposed to the absurd false bearded types.

An On-Line poll for the Organic Santa 2025 is now open, pinned @kmflett or cast a vote on an alternative social media platform

Bristol Brewery saved from administration after successful boycott campaign

Consumer boycott campaigns going back to the Chartists in the 1840s are often questioned in terms of how effective they really are. In recent times campaigns on South Africa and Barclays Bank (several times) have had an impact however.

One example where a consumer boycott has clearly worked is Moor Brewery in Bristol. Moor have brewed some good and on occasion innovative beers over the years.

However there were allegations about poor employment relations and in the summer then owner Justin Hawkes made a very public outburst opposing Palestinian rights.

I don’t agree with Hawkes view at all but there are numbers who have similar positions- a quick look at the Daily Telegraph will confirm it.

The problem was that Hawkes clearly associated his views with Moor beers. Again despite what might be hoped are the progressive views of at least some indy brewers, historically beer has been closely associated with the Tory Party- the Beerage. This meant two things. Firstly breweries donated money to the Tories, secondly they might speak out for the Tories at election times.

Its reasonable to say however that they didn’t make supporting the Tories a condition for drinking their beer.

Hawkes outburst led to boycott campaign and on December 11^th 2025 he walked away from Moor, cutting all links. Two people associated with another Bristol brewer Left Handed Giant have stepped in to see if Moor can be saved.

I hope so because as above the beer was decent, but the impact of the boycott in six months shows what can be done

Embattled Bristol brewery saved from administration

17^th December.  Farage triple whammy. Open letter demands apology, Electoral Commission examines election expenses, MPs laugh at him in the Commons.

Allegations that Nigel Farage had made racist and anti-Semitic remarks while a student at Dulwich College in the late 1970s first surfaced on 18^th November.

According to Alastair Campbell’s alleged dictum if an issue arises in public life that its subject can’t deal with in 12 days they are in trouble.

29 days later Farage is in trouble.

Indeed 17^th December saw a triple whammy of issue

26 people who were at Dulwich College with Farage have written an open letter to him demanding that he make an apology

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/dec/17/nigel-farage-told-to-apologise-by-26-of-his-school-contemporaries?CMP=share_btn_url

The Electoral Commission said they are examining whether Farage overspent in July 2024 Election campaign in Clacton as well as Essex police

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/dec/17/nigel-farage-told-to-come-out-of-hiding-over-alleged-election-overspending?CMP=share_btn_url

Finally as John Crace notes at the final Prime Minister’s Questions of 2025 Starmer told a good joke at Farage’s expense. He did not of course have the comic timing to deliver it well but it still got MPs laughing. One MP who didn’t laugh was Nigel Farage

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/dec/17/a-black-swan-event-keir-actually-cracked-a-good-joke-at-pmqs?CMP=share_btn_url