Kmflett's Blog

Kemi Badenoch, Culture Wars & Our Island Story

Kemi Badenoch who is currently a Government Minister has been opining again on one of the few subjects she is qualified to speak about- culture wars.

Ms Badenoch has a background in computing systems but on Sunday was to be found expressing a view on British history.

She told Trevor Philips:

“The only people who are stoking culture wars are the people who trying to change what is written in our history books, what’s in our museums. And when someone comes along and says actually this is fine, we’re the ones accused of being culture warriors”

It is the usual defence of Our Island Story which is a tale of Land of Hope and Glory.

It has no relation to what history is. Research discovers new evidence or causes existing established views to be looked at again. Sometimes this is about the perspective that each generation brings to historical research. The history of black people in Britain for example was not much focused on until recent decades. Sometimes research finds things that mean that a conventional view needs to be updated.

It is about intellectual enquiry and rigour. Despite a  growing number of socialist and feminist historians in recent times history in Britain has often been written by conservatives of a small and sometimes large c angle. That doesn’t mean it is bad history. It does mean that other perspectives may suggest different understandings of the past. In a democratic and pluralistic society that should be prized, although not by Ms Badenoch it seems

Dr Keith Flett convenes the socialist history seminar at the Institute of Historical Research

‘Hen Chartists’ and ‘Vulgar Viragos’: Rethinking the role of women in the Chartist Movement Judy Cox Date: Monday 5th February

Report

Judy Cox underlined the difficulities of uncovering the activity of Chartist movement, who were a key part of the movement. She noted that letters, diaries and biographies were not the place to look but rather the press- the Times and in particular the Chartist press.

She drew links between the traditions of Chartism women, often organised and militant, and later women’s suffrage activities and a wider range of radical causes.

She also noted that while some Chartist men played down the role of women in fact the National Charter Association, the world’s first working class party, founded in Manchester in 1840, admitted women as equal members.

A recording of the seminar is at this link

Judy Cox has previously addressed the subject as part of a wider discussion

By 1838 the campaign for democracy developed into the Chartist campaign for universal male suffrage: “Chartism was the first instance of a political movement initiated and sustained by working people relying on their own resources alone”. [6] Thousands of women were active in the Chartist movement. They organised over 100 separate female Chartist associations between 1838 and 1849, some of which had thousands of members. [7] Women signed the “monster petitions” presented to parliament, they wrote articles, went to and spoke at public meetings and took part in strikes and riots. One witness described what happened during the Newport Uprising of 1838 when Chartist Henry Vincent was arrested:

Some of the women who had joined the crowd kept instigating the men to attack the hotel – one old virago vowing that she would fight till she was knee-deep in blood, sooner than the Cockneys should take their prisoners out of town. She, with others of her sex, gathered large heaps of stones which they subsequently used in defacing and injuring the building which contained the prisoners. [8]

Women were again prominent during the strike wave of 1842, which become known as the Plug Plot Riots.

Some influential feminist historians have argued that the Chartist movement had a detrimental effect on campaigns for women’s rights. The male leaders, “enforced female domesticity”, promoted “patriarchal power”, “disempowered women” and put them off joining any subsequent campaigns. [9] Yet female Chartists challenged ideas about women’s domestic role by becoming activists, organisers and, occasionally, leaders. Susanna Inge and Mary Ann Walker established the Female Chartist Association in 1842 and both lectured to mixed audiences. Anne Knight criticised those who claimed that the class struggle took precedence over women’s rights. She demanded that the Chartist movement campaign for true universal suffrage and a minority of male Chartists such as William Lovatt and R.J. Richardson agreed. Knight presented a petition demanding women’s suffrage to the Lords in 1852. The female Chartists established a tradition of female political activism in areas such as West Yorkshire and East London, which erupted into an intense campaign for female suffrage in the following decades.

International Socialism Spring 2018

The Guardian reported on 26th January that John Lewis plans thousands of job cuts over the next five years. Job cuts can be expensive if terms above the statutory (currently capped at around £19K for long service) are paid. John Lewis says that as from February 1st it will cuts its redundancy terms from two weeks for each year of service to one week.

That is a very significant difference. The British media long since got rid of labour correspondents so its impossible to fully grasp the impact of what is proposed, beyond the fact that its not good news for employees. The context there being that whatever the issues with John Lewis are, they have been caused by senior management not those on the shop floor.

John Lewis is not a unionised company but instead operates a partnership model praised in the past by Tony Blair, Nick Clegg and Lord Call Me Dave. Every employee is a partner but they it seems are told rather than consulted on changes. They can object and try and force a vote.

The changes proposed are contractual which should mean that they are only implemented after a notice period. Further as redundancy is involved there are employment law provisions about such matters are carried out which involve consultation on agreed timescales and the right to raise a counter proposal.

How any of that works in John Lewis, if it does, is unclear which is why for all the issues that there can be joining a trade union and being active in one remains a key protection for all working people

Beard of Winter, Beard Off Final. Alexei Sayle, Steve Bell, Gary Lineker, Amol Rajan. Vote pinned at this account

Beard Liberation Front

29th January

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that the final Beard Off vote is now open for Beard of Winter 2024.

Comic and commentator Alexei Sayle won the first Close Shave round for Beard of Winter. Gary Lineker came second. Cartoonist Steve Bell won the second Close Shave Round with Amol Rajan just shaving Sean Dyce for the final place

Beard of Winter focuses on two areas:

Organic beards designed to withstand the winter weather

Beards that have been in the public eye in the previous couple of months

There have been two preliminary Close Shave Rounds with the top two from each going to a final Beard Off. The Winner will be announced on 31st January

Beard of Winter Shortlist

Luke Littler, darts player

Gary Lineker, podcaster

Alexei Sayle, broadcaster

Idris Elba, actor

Cameron Norrie, tennis player

Steve Bell, cartoonist

Amol Rajan, University Challenge presenter

Sean Dyce, football manage

Beard Liberation Front

28^th January

Contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett      07803 167266

Tory Beard Wars: the return of Margaret Thatcher’s beard hatred

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that a new outbreak of Tory Beard Wars, where a Minister has shaved off his beard in unexplained circumstances is a reminder that former Tory Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was a veteran opponent of the hirsute.

She was described by the Daily Telegraph in August 2001 as notoriously pogonophobic.

The journalist Peter Hitchens who has a beard has noted in his Mail on Sunday column Mrs Thatcher’s reaction to an earlier period of beard growth on his part:

…as was Lady Thatcher, who sometimes had to endure me as a lowly member of the press party on her flights abroad. She never said anything.

You could just feel the frozen disapproval emanating from her.

Mrs Thatcher famously banned beards in her Cabinets and John Selwyn Gummer, a rare senior Tory with a beard, had to shave his beard off before joining the Cabinet.

It is not known what the origins of Mrs Thatcher’s hatred of beards was but it is thought that she felt that beards were strongly associated with rebellion and the political left.

A search of the Thatcher Foundation archive for the term ‘beard’ produces not a single result.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said Mrs Thatcher divided Britain between the clean shaven and the hirsute. Notably in 1997 Tony Blair’s Cabinet had the most beards since 1945 marking the start of a more socially progressive era even if Blair himself was a clean shaven revisionist. What the future will be under Keir Starmer, someone often pictured in the barbers chair, is as yet not fully clear

Politicians, beards & electability. The case of Frank Dobson

Frank Dobson died age 79 in 2019. He was a  former Cabinet Minister and Beard of the Year 2000.

In 2000 the Observer reported that Dobson had to shave off his trademark beard or face losing the Election for London Mayor where he was the Labour candidate against the then independent Ken Livingstone.

Dobson refused to shave his beard but lost anyway.

The Observer report is here (March 12th 2000)

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2000/mar/12/londonmayor.uk1

It begins:

Faced with the prospect of humiliating defeat at the hands of the clean-shaven Ken Livingstone in London’s mayoral race, Labour’s highly-vaunted strategists have come up with a masterplan: tell Frank Dobson to shave his beard off.

The Beard Liberation Front saluted Frank Dobson for standing up to the clean shaven revisionists of New Labour.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, at the time the suggestion was that the story was an early version of fake news promoted by New Labour spin doctors to underline that Dobson was his own man. However we were later approached by Labour candidates with beards who said that clean shaven photo-fit images of themselves were shown to focus groups to see if it improved their support. Dobson was right to resist the Blairite Barbers.

Beard Liberation Front

28th January

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that it is relaxed about Beard Wars in the Tory Party.

Reports suggest that Policing Minister the hard right Chris Philp has shaved off a recently grown beard because the view of Tory HQ is that beards are electorally unpopular.

The message has yet to get through to Philp’s boss James Cleverley who remains hirsute, despite several BLF calls for him to shave off his beard for bringing the hirsute into disrepute.

The campaigners say there is no evidence that beards are electorally unpopular. Rather Tory wearers of beards are the issues.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, it is more than time for a General Election following which many Tory MPs will have a lot more time to experiment with facial hair

28th January

A Tory Minister Hugh Merriman (who?) has been moaning about the BBC’s supposed bias. He has complained that an episode of the News Quiz consisted of lots of anti-Tory material. When it was pointed out to him that the programme is satirical and was satirising the Government he struggled to grasp such a complex idea.

In reality however it surely only a matter of time before the Tories come for the Archers. Queen Camilla is a big fan but that means nothing to the current culture war Tories. This week for example Brian was reported as watching the news while Alice said the news was so bad she couldn’t watch. Surely there was room for praise of Commander Sunak’s glorious war in Yemen, and when was the last time we heard a toast to the Tory Government in the Bull?

Cake and Fashion

There was a cake baking competition to mark the first anniversary of Jennifer’s departure. Obviously Brian won. Meanwhile Eddie Grundy has agreed to take part in what might be termed Mia’s anti-fashion show. Fortunately its only on radio

Light Out at the Bull: there will be trouble ahead

The fascinating contest between Bert Horrabin and Neville Booth as to who had been the longest serving drinker the Bull concluded on Friday night when it was determined that it was neither or both. And then the lights went out

Hilda fights back

Hilda has bitten Tony. A true socialist cat handing out punishment to the class cat enemy

Beard Liberation Front

28th January

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that comic and commentator Alexei Sayle has won the first Close Shave round for Beard of Winter. Gary Lineker came second.

The two go to the Beard Off final, together with the winners of round two

Beard of Winter focuses on two areas:

Organic beards designed to withstand the winter weather

Beards that have been in the public eye in the previous couple of months

There will be two preliminary Close Shave Rounds with the top two from each going to a final Beard Off. The Winner will be announced on 31^st January

Beard of Winter Shortlist

Luke Littler, darts player

Gary Lineker, podcaster

Alexei Sayle, broadcaster

Idris Elba, actor

Cameron Norrie, tennis player

Steve Bell, cartoonist

Amol Rajan, University Challenge presenter

Sean Dyce, football manager

Beard Liberation Front

27th January

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has issued a guide on how to enjoy National Chocolate Cake Day on 27th January safely.

The campaigners say that for the hirsute there is a significant risk of getting cake crumbs and chocolate ganache lodged in the beard. This can lead both to Roald Dahl Twit’s type commentary from beard haters, and the ganache making a sticky mess of the follicles

How to enjoy National Chocolate Day Safely

1Do not eat the chocolate cake with your hands

2 Do use utensils to eat the cake, either a fork or a spoon

3 Make sure the chocolate cake is of a moderate size, enabling bite size pieces to be detached without crumbs or chocolate flying loose

4 Have a napkin to hand to catch any crumbs and immediately wipe away any loose chocolate ganache

BLF Organiser Keith Flett, alternatively an entirely safe method is to read Michael Rosen’s chocolate cake poem. This contains no actual cake or chocolate but may provoke the desire to have some.