Kmflett's Blog

After Justin Welby. When Tony Benn moved the Disestablishment of the Church in the Commons

I am not religious so I have no specific interest in who the Archbishop of Canterbury is, although I thought Rowan Williams and his beard had some interesting things to say.

The resignation of Justin Welby however does raise two points. Firstly it focuses on accountability of those in senior positions in British Society which in recent decades has been more or less entirely absent. Boris Johnson has never been prosecuted and Tony Blair has yet to appear at the Hague.

Secondly the Church of England is the official State Church. In 2024 it would be better if it was not and what the Archbishop of Canterbury did or did not do would be a matter for Church goers alone.

The 2021 Census revealed that for the first time a majority of people did not identify as Christians. The National Secular Society amongst others has called for the Disestablishment of the Church of England. After all if a trade union ballot for industrial action is only valid with 50% minimum support, why not.

In 1991 Tony Benn proposed a Bill in the Commons to Disestablish the Church and generally democratise British institutions. Dismissed at the time some of it has since happened. Other parts might yet

Source Wikipedia

The Commonwealth of Britain Bill was a bill first introduced in the House of Commons in 1991 by Tony Benn, then a Labour Member of Parliament (MP). It was seconded by the future Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn.

The Bill proposed abolishing the British monarchy, with the United Kingdom becoming a “democratic, federal and secular Commonwealth of Britain”, or in effect a republic with a codified constitution. It was introduced by Benn a number of times until Benn’s retirement in 2001, but never achieved a second reading. Under the Bill:

The monarchy would be abolished and the constitutional status of the Crown ended;

The Church of England would be disestablished;

The head of state would be a president, elected by a joint sitting of both Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament;

The functions of the royal prerogative would be transferred to Parliament;

The Privy Council would be abolished, and replaced by a Council of State;

The House of Lords would be replaced by an elected House of the People, with equal representation of men and women;

The House of Commons would similarly have equal representation of men and women;

England, Scotland and Wales would have their own devolved National Parliaments with responsibility for devolved matters as agreed;

County Court judges and magistrates would be elected; and

British jurisdiction over Northern Ireland would be ended.

The judiciary would be reformed and a National Legal Service would be created.

The Constitution would be codified and an amendment process established.

The voting age would be lowered from 18 to 16.

MPs and other officials would swear oaths to the Constitution, not the Crown.

As Soon As This Pub Closes…..A song for our times

Its almost 25 years since Alex Glasgow, probably most commonly associated with When The Boat Comes In died, but a song he wrote for the Alan Plater play Close the Coalhouse Door seems relevant today.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Glasgow

Alex Glasgow’s message (last line aside) remains a song for our times

As Soon As This Pub Closes

I could have done it yesterday if I hadn’t a cold,

But since I’ve put this pint away I’ve never felt so bold.

So as soon as this pub closes, as soon as this pub closes,

As soon as this pub closes, the revolution starts

I’ll shoot the aristocracy and confiscate their brass,

Create a fine democracy that’s truly working class.

As soon as this pub closes, as soon as this pub closes,

As soon as this pub closes, I’ll raise the banner high

I’ll fight the nasty racialists and scrap the colour bar,

And all fascist dictatorships and every commissar.

As soon as this pub closes, as soon as this pub closes,

As soon as this pub closes, I’ll man the barricades

So raise your glasses, everyone, for everything is planned,

And each and every mother’s son will see the Promised Land.

As soon as this pub closes, as soon as this pub closes,

As soon as this pub closes … I think I’m going to be sick

Really Useful Knowledge on the Budget PubCos & Bars

The Times published an interesting piece on the impact of the Budget on Pub Companies and pubs on 12^th November. It was written by a financial journalist who I suspect also does analysis of the sector.

For those who don’t know how market capitalism works (if it does) analysts who work in specific sectors look at company performances on things like profit, cash flow and overall EBITDA. They then determine what this means for the share price and whether or not a company is worth investing in or not. As someone who has worked in the City of London since the late 1970s (and notionally still does) this is a commonplace.

It is however very one-dimensional. Really useful knowledge on pubcos and bars suggests other factors.

Firstly the cost of energy remains very high and that is a big cost for pubs. Secondly while inflation may be around 2% pretty much everything costs a lot more than it did in 2020..

Post the Budget the share price of the three PubCos that the Times looks at, Wetherspoons, M&B and Youngs (not sure why Marstons was missed) has gone down. That is a concern for shareholders a few of whom may even drink in their pubs.

The main issues have been an increase in Employer National Insurance costs- which is limited but when aggregated over large workforces significant. The second issue is the increase in the national minimum wage from next year.

While Tim Martin is quite often heard complaining about this he hasnt on this occasion. Spoons currently pays just above it (as I suspect the other two PubCos do). Many may disagree with Martin’s politics but there is no question he is an astute business person. Staff retention at Spoons is surprisingly good. While terms and conditions are hardly great (and would be better with a union) if they were worse workers would simply be off elsewhere- to supermarkets for example.

Some pub campaigns have been more voluble about the wage rise to which one can only wonder if they are just making anti-Government propaganda-(the Beerage is historically Tory) or really don’t realise that if people are paid more, they have more money some of which might get spent in, er, pubs, driving trade and profit.

Still the PubCos will survive and they will pass on at least some costs. Indy pubs and bars may well struggle but this is hardly a new story. Labour recognised this before the election and promised action (though not in the Manifesto). A reform of Business Rates- a big issue for many bars- is promised but not yet

Still as Alex Glasgow had it, as soon as this pub closes the revolution starts.

Beard Liberation Front

12th November

contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that Gary Lineker is the second person to join the Beard of the Year longlist, after author, broadcaster and Arsenal fan Michael Rosen.

The full longlist will be published on 15th November, with a Beard of the Year announced at the end of December after several rounds of voting.

The campaigners say that Lineker, who is stepping down from presenting Match of the Day on BBC1 at the end of the football season has a distinctive and gravitas adding beard that shows the hirsute in a positive public light.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, of course the Gradgrinds of facial hair who want to measure every follicle and categorise it accordingly will say that Lineker doesn’t really have a proper beard. In fact he wears a classical beard style which brings beard power to Match of the Day

Its good news that Thomas Hardy Ale- a barley wine- is to be brewed again in England. Originally produced by Dorchester brewers Eldridge Pope. Brewing then passed to O’Hanlons and more recently to Hepworths. According to Jessica Mason the brand was bought by an Italian business who wanted to keep the beer alive (as it were) but it has until now not been available in the UK. My thanks also to Edsbeer blog for this information

What struck me most about the announcement was the year it was first brewed- 1968. I probably actually knew this, having drunk a bottle or two back in the day, but in my mind its one of those beers that speaks of tradition dating back to the nineteenth century.

There are other beers in the same category. Fullers ESB is a classic surely always with us (first brewed 1971- at least according to Wiki) while Hook Norton’s Old Hooky dates from 1977.

Some strong beers that are still with us to do have a genuinely long heritage. Adnams Tally Ho was first brewed in 1880 while Robinson’s is marking the 125th anniversary of Old Tom.

A lot of effort is put into making sure our beer heritage survives- rightly so- but as Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger argued ultimately all traditions are invented its just a question of when.

Beard Liberation Front

12^th November

Contact BLF Organiser @keithbeard.bsky.social

Michael Rosen to join Beard of Year 2024 longlist

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that poet, broadcaster and Arsenal fan Michael Rosen is the first name to be announced on the 2024 Beard of the Year longlist.

The list is officially announced on 15^th November. A series of votes will take place leading to a Beard of the Year at the end of December.

Michael Rosen has previously won the Beard of the Year and the campaigners say it is unusual for someone to feature again. However Rosen fully meets the criteria of presenting the hirsute in a positive public light.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we are pleased to see that for Michael Rosen Day on12th November his beard has been deep cleaned which can only enhance its impact

New York Times Tech workers have been on strike since 4th November in a dispute over terms and conditions. The dispute has been in progress for a good while and as often the strike is a last resort.

The workers are responsible for features like the NY Times crossword and Wordle

Crossing a virtual picket line is scabbing. Don’t do Wordle for now

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/dont-play-wordle-striking-workers-urge-puzzle-fans/ar-AA1tNCmh?ocid=BingNewsSerp

I’ve been looking through Tony Benn’s Diary for the first months of the 1964 Labour Government when he was Postmaster General. Already we find the conflict between permanent officials and the political direction Benn wanted things to go in.

One interesting entry on 16th November is a reminder that efforts to purge the left in the Labour Party are far from being new, institutional, or, if you like, baked into to its structure.

Benn records

I went to the Youth Sub-Committee of the Executive which was entirely taken up with a discussion as to what we should do with the Trotskyites. All but two members of the National Executive Committee of the Young Socialists have been expelled and Ian Mikardo made the point that we should not take drastic action. If local Labour Parties have exercised disciplinary powers of their own and if there are now appeals against expulsion from the people concerned (which there have not been) its better for us to keep out of it.

Benn had not yet begun his long march to the left, while Mikardo was a figure of the left. Neither of course were Trotskyists- the groups in question were primarily the forerunners of what became the Militant and the SWP. However its reminder that unlike 60 years on Harold Wilson’s 1964 Labour Government had an element (no more I’d argue) of the Broad Church about it and a concern to stick to Party rules

Monday 18th November 5.30pm, Bob Henderson, Lenin in London.

A recording of the seminar is here:

To mark the centenary of V.I. Lenin’s death Bob Henderson, former Russian Curator at the British Library will discuss the research behind his book The Spark that Lit the Revolution (Bloomsbury, 2023, pbk.), which examines Lenin’s various visits to London in the early years of the 20th century. Illustrated with contemporaneous maps and a wealth of previously unknown archival documents his presentation gives an insight into Russian London of the Edwardian period , Lenin’s relationship with its inhabitants (and with other political figures he encountered), and discusses the lasting impressions made by the British capital over these years on the future founder of the world’s first socialist state.

All seminars are free to attend. Registration required. Organised by the Socialist HIstory Seminar at the Institute of Historical Research & the London Socialist Historians Group

St Martins Day, Martinmas or Martlemas was one of the great feast days in the traditional English calendar.

Its something I’m sure those great enthusiasts for English traditions, Farage, GB News, the Telegraph and so on will be marking and celebrating.

11th November marks the time when autumn passes into winter. Animals that were not being kept for the winter months were slain- in Medieval and early Modern times there was of course no refridgeration- The meat was salted or cured but some was eaten on 11th November, together with the black pudding and sausages that were the by-product of that.

As ever in such festivals alcohol was also consumed. In Medieval times England had occupied part of France and Martinmas marked the time when new seasons wine arrived. Beaujolais Nouveau Day is not quite entirely made up. Special Ales were also brewed, as they were on all feast days.

The start of November marks the beginning of the season of the Lords of Misrule and although I havent been able to find a specific connection with Martinmas, the festival is mentioned in Shakespeare in connection with the quintessential Lord of Misrule Toby Belch.

After Martinmas through to Christmas Day, times for the poor were hard indeed..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Martin%27s_Day