Kmflett's Blog

Uxbridge: the Antinomies of defeat

Labour lost the Uxbridge by-election on Thursday by less than 500 votes. Before a recount the psephological view seemed to be that Labour would win and that there was only an ‘outside chance’ of a Tory victory.

Unfortunately that happened. The Tories claimed that a campaign focused on the extension of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to Outer London had got traction. No doubt petrolheads with rather clapped out four wheel drives were concerned as more importantly were those workers who do unsocial hours and have to drive to work in cars they can barely afford.

ULEZ which was originally a Tory policy imposed on London would mean that any petrol car over 17 years old would need to be scrapped. So why not pay compensation? The Government is not interested though it is (probably) Labour policy.

The whole point of ULEZ is to reduce air pollution which kills people. Given I live in the highly polluted area of Tottenham I back it.

Labour had imposed a candidate and after the result the Chair of the Uxbridge Labour Party resigned clearly unhappy with Starmer.

Starmer taking his cue as too often from the Tories blamed ULEZ for Labour’s defeat and attacked London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Starmer is a weak leader and this just underlined it. Hard right Tories are weaponsising any environment related issue in yet another Culture War

In the days before the election Starmer had announced he would keep the cap on benefit at two children (which Labour is opposed to)for fiscal reasons. He also turned up at an event with Blair where pictures showed both men smiling at one another.

Whatever view you may have of all that it doesn’t seem particularly competent behaviour in a by-election week.

Sadiq Khan made the point that Uxbridge had not been Labour in his memory and that of course is why Johnson was despatched to the seat when the hirsute Tory MP John Randall stood down. The Tories knew Johnson would be a hopeless MP but also that this was unlikely to see the seat lost.

Of course Labour could have won. The 190 votes Count Binface got may not have gone to Starmer  but since he suggested the door was open to the left to leave Labour, a good number of left votes in Uxbridge may have gone elsewhere or nowhere.

The whole point about Labour winning elections, which is urgently needed to boot the Tories out, is that a broad church electoral coalition is needed on voting days, certainly in marginal seats, to achieve it.

This apparently is beyond the comprehension of Starmer and has never interested the one-dimensional cabal of Labour First/Labour to Win that surrounds him,

Fortunately opposition to the Tories is not confined to the electoral ambitions of Starmer such as they are.

Guardian 21st July

According to George Orwell in The Road to Wigan Pier, cheap and nutritious fish and chips was one of the things that kept Britain from revolution during the economic crisis of the 1930s. They remain nutritious, but no longer cheap or even always easy to obtain (The long read, 20 July). Surely sorting this out is worthy of a pledge from Keir Starmer?

Keith Flett

Tottenham, London

Guardian July 22nd

Time to say ‘Tartare!’ to years of Tory rule

Keith Flett expects Keir Starmer to pledge to sort out the cost and availability of nutritious fish and chips (Letters, 20 July). However, Labour’s first priority should be to batter the Tories at the next election, and, as of last Thursday, he has another Keir to help him.
Toby Wood
Peterborough, Cambridgeshire

By-Elections. Starmer (narrowly) fails the Blair pre-1997 Test

In the three by-elections held on 20^th July Labour took Selby from the Tories with a huge swing, narrowly failed to take Uxbridge, while the LibDems won Frome.

It is bad news for the Tories, that is good news for everyone else. As the psephologist John Curtice noted the overall swing to Labour would be enough for a landslide win in 2024.

That is good news for all those who wants the Tories out.

At the same time Starmer who spent time being mates with Blair this week has failed the 1992-97 test when Labour led by the late John Smith and Blair defeated the Tories at every by-election where Labour was the main challenger.

There was of course criticism from the left (myself included) but there was no doubt that pre-1997 aside from hatred of the Tories Labour had the popular mood. Thursday suggests this is work in progress for Starmer. Of course there are other foci of anti-Toryism than Parliamentary elections…

Wiki

There were 18 by-elections in the 1992–1997 Parliament. Eight were in seats held by the governing Conservative party, nine by Labour and one by the Ulster Popular Unionist Party. Nine by-elections were won by the incumbent party, all of which happened to be Labour. The Conservatives lost all eight seats in the by-elections – four to the Liberal Democrats, three to Labour and one to the SNP. The UK Unionist Party gained North Down from the Ulster Popular Unionists. 16 by-elections were a result of the death of the incumbent MP – eight Conservatives died, along with seven Labour MPs and the Ulster Popular Unionist MP Sir James Kilfedder.

Beard Liberation Front

20th July

At some point during the Test Match summer Test Match Special invites the renowned former Umpire John Holder on to answer questions on Umpiring decisions. The questions vary from the serious to the light hearted.

Beards are an important part of modern cricket and the Beard Liberation Front research department usually sends a question in. Unfortunately there wasn’t time for it but its repeated below. Views welcome:

With short form cricket the saving of boundaries has become almost an art form and its now to be seen in Tests too. If a player with a WG Grace style beard successfully prevents a ball from hitting the boundary marker and the tip of his beard,but no part of his body, touches the marker would that still be a four?

The Cost of Living & Really Useful Knowledge

Really Useful Knowledge as opposed to the Really Useless variant was promoted by radicals in the 1830s and 1840s to focus not on the liberal economics of the day (think austerity)but on issues around who made profits and who benefited from them- the labour theory of value.

There was and is a political agenda here. Controlling excess profits, a genuine motor of inflation, hits the rich. Controlling wage increases below the level of inflation and interest rate rises keep profits going while making the less well off in society pay.

That was the agenda on display from Chancellor Hunt and the Bank of England boss Bailey on recently arguing again that wage rises cause inflation.

Wage increases are above 7% primarily because of high pay awards In private sector finance and business. The point is that there should be decent pay for all.

Alex Collinson from the TUC has noted that this is far from the case. In reality real wages fell by 1.7% in the last year and June was the nineteenth successive month of falling wages. Wage levels remain at 2005 levels.

Profits of energy companies and supermarkets however are at 2023 levels and with interest rates at a 15 year high both mortgage payers and renters face significantly hiked housing costs.

CPI Inflation has dropped to 7.9% but that still means significant price increases- grocery inflation in the supermarket is around 15%

The really useful knowledge that needs to be discussed and acted on in workplaces and communities is that the Tories and the bosses are determined that workers will pay for their crisis while they maintain and increase profits. But only if we let them get away with it

In defence of Keir (Hardie) and genuine Keiths. No to KPhobia

I was concerned to read on Twitter that doing a book signing Michael Rosen had come across no Keiths (or Michaels for that matter).He tweeted that he never came across Keiths.

I suspect there is a KPhobia stretching from Keith to Keir and Karl

I’ve spent a life on the left and so in general I vote Labour, although I sometimes vote to the left of Labour where there is a credible candidate and the Tories stand no chance.

I’m not an enthusiast for Parliamentary Socialism(see Ralph Miliband) so I don’t have great expectations of Labour leaders. I’m no fan of Keir Starmer but then again one thinks back to the days of Hugh Gaitskell and Harold Wilson (indeed I am 66).

All that said the Labour leader is named or appears to be named after the first leader of the Party Keir Hardie.

He is not called Keith except on social media where he often is.

Nor is Keith an Anglicised imperial alternative to Keir. In fact Keir is the English variant of the Gaelic name Ciar.

It may be a joke but it’s one I find hugely amusing. Nor one reads does Starmer which is a little more amusing. 

There was a discussion on Facebook in 2021. One quote from the thread:

‘Keith is often applied to people who are generally viewed as quite boring, whatever their class’.

The Fletts originate from Orkney and I’m named after the north-east Scotland town of Keith.

Its home to a brewery and whisky distilleries which may explain something of my later development

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith,_Moray

If Keir could stick to his name I’ll stick to mine. Also hands off Karls but what news of Kevins?

Beard Liberation Front

31st July

Media Release contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

2023 Beard, Shorts & Sandals Season further suspended due to Climate Change

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that the 2023 Beard, Shorts and Sandals has been suspended until at least August 7th due to the impact of climate change across Europe.

The campaigners that very high temperatures in Southern Europe mean that wearing shorts is inadvisable at best. Conversely further north cool and often wet and windy weather mean that wearing shorts is equally inadvisable

The BLF says that it has relaxed guidelines again for the 2023 season and brought in a new framework governing types of footwear, length of shorts and the controversial issue of socks:

1] Shorts may be half length (to the knee) or three-quarter length-‘culottes’. The length of shorts is particularly important as climate change may mean that unprotected legs get sunburnt. Please note current suspension.

2] Footwear should be casual. There is a considerable range of sandal type footwear now available. Some leave parts of the feet and toes open to public view, while some does not. The BLF is not prescriptive about the matter.

3] Socks may be worn, depending on individual preference. If the beard, shorts and sandals are to be displayed in busy urban areas it is likely to be prudent to wear closed rather than open casual footwear and ankle socks, not visible to others may be worn.

4] There is no prescription or definition on what type of beard may be worn, or how this may match with the shorts and sandals. This again is left up to the individual.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, climate change is a very serious issue and given the weather impact currently we are left with no alternative but to further suspend the Beard, Shorts and Sandals Season with immediate effect. We remain concerned that some beard wearers are still wearing shorts despite the suspension

Keeping people in hulks and barges. Part of Britain’s imperial history

Update 13th August

The few people who have so far been housed on the Bibby Stockholm have been taken off because legionnaires has been discovered on the barge. This in itself suggests a lack of an adequate safety regime on the barge.

It now appears that the presence of Legionnaires was known on the day the asylum seekers were put on the barge. It was a potentially harmful PR stunt in the Tories small boats week.

The Australian firm who have been paid £1.6bn over 2 years to manage the barge, Corporate Travel Management, has a history of incompetence. It has been awarded Government contracts to run vessels in Scotland housing Ukrainian refugees, covid quarantine hotels and now barges. In each case without a competitive tender. It does suggest safety was not a key issue for the Government

Historically the British State was not concerned about safety and health on the hulks and mortality rates were as high as 30%. The fact that safety is now concern is due to the work of the Fire Brigades Union and refugee campaigners not the Government

In 1848 Black Chartist Prisoners were kept in Prison hulks. In 2023 Asylum seekers are to be kept on barges.

The Daily Mail amongst other hard right media outlets recently headlined Government plans to move asylum seekers from hotels to military bases and possibly a very large ‘barge’. This story turned out to be true. The Government plans to house 500 asylum seekers on a barge in Portland Dorset which was towed into place on 18^th July to protests from anti-racists’

On 7th August some asylum seekers were moved on to the Portland barge. The FBU has raised significant safety concerns which have been ignored by the Gpvernment. This week is the Tories small boats action period so this is largely an unsafe media stunt.

Stephen Kinnock for Labour could have said that the asylum system should be sorted out from the deliberate Tory Culture Wars mess and claims dealt with properly and efficiently. He did almost manage to say that but instead headlined that Labour would keep barges. Keeping barges, which is costly,is not the point of Labour policy, Mr Kinnock might perhaps reflect before he ends up down the same imperial rabbit hole as Braverman.

Sunak has announced plans for at least two more barges. The London Mayor Sadiq Khan has already rejected the idea of mooring a barge in the Royal Docks in East London.

The main reason why asylum seekers are in hotels is because the Government has slowed down the process of application to a crawl. Most who apply are genuine and accepted- eventually.

Asylum seekers cannot be detained as prisoners are but in practice they have nowhere else to go as they can’t legally work.

The tradition of keeping people on barges or hulks as they were known dates back to at least 1776. The use of decommissioned ships was authorised by Parliament for two years in the wake of the US War of Independence.

As often with temporary measures the hulks were not that temporary and lasted for 80 years or so.

Conditions on them were appalling and prisons were built. One was at Millbank on the site of what is now that Tate Gallery. It was operational from 1818.

It was to Millbank that the black leader of London Chartism William Cuffay and others were despatched after a trial at the Old Bailey for their alleged part in a Chartist rising at Seven Dials in central London in August 1848.

It’s not known if Cuffay was ever kept on a hulk. He and other Chartist prisoners were at some point despatched to Wakefield Gaol from where he wrote a letter in July 1849 prior to being transported to Tasmania.

However two other black men associated with Chartism David Anthony Duffy and Benjamin Prophett who had been held at Millbank for their supposed part in a riot after a Chartist meeting at Camberwell Green in March 1848, were transferred to the prison hulk York in December 1848.

The York had been built at Rotherhithe in 1807 and was decommissioned at Portsmouth in 1817. It became a prison hulk in 1820 and could hold 500 prisoners, again in appalling conditions. There was a riot on the York in 1848 but before the two above named Chartists moved there.

E P Thompson argued in the Making of the English Working Class argues that in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the class war was often fought out between being imprisoned on a hulk and those who fought back using riots. The conditions on the hulks were described as being like a ‘living death’.

Certainly the British State has never abandoned the use of hulks as places to hold people they want to keep out of the way.

In the early 1970s HMS Maidstone was moored in Belfast just off shore to hold alleged members of the IRA including Gerry Adams. In 1972 seven men managed to escape.

It is reminder that the British Imperial State has a long history of disciplining and punishing those who are seen not to fit. It’s part of Britain’s Island Story but not an episode that those on the right who accuse people of picking and choosing which aspects of imperial history to focus on wish to either remember or have remembered.

An earlier version of this post appeared in the Morning Star

At Taunton on Tuesday the England Women’s Cricket team beat Australia in a 50 over International game and won the ODI series, Australia’s first defeat for 10 years in this format. The wider Ashes series was drawn 8-8 over a Test, T20s and ODIs.

It was an impressive achievement and the games attracted record crowds.

What they did not attract was appropriate media coverage. None of Wednesday’s papers features England’s victory on the front or back pages (the Morning Star which has a good record on women’s sport coverage went to press too early for the result). The Lionesses in the Women’s Football World Cup will hopefully do better.

The recent ICEC report into cricket noted widespread discrimination on the basis not only of race but of gender. The lack of appropriate media coverage for the Women’s Ashes underlines the point

Beard Liberation Front

PRESS RELEASE

18^th July

Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

New Beard Alert issued as flying ants swarm

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers which campaigns against beardism, irrational prejudice against the hirsute has issued a new Beard Alert covering numerous parts of Britain as reports of flying ants swarming come into Beard HQ.

The campaigners say that the ants have a tendency to fly into and become lodged in the beard thereby feeding the oldest Pogonophobic prejudice that the hirsute have things stuck in their beards.

The BLF says that the Flying Ant crisis while important is also temporary and will last only for a few days. However during this period beard wearers are advised to dampen their beards with a hoppy beer or an appropriate equivalent on a regular basis to keep the ants at bay.

BLF organiser Keith Flett said, there have been doubters on social media claiming that flying ants are a ‘local’ problem. The BLF does not issue Beard Alerts lightly and for the moment beard wearers need to take the flying ant swarms very seriously indeed.