Kmflett's Blog

55 years ago Tony Benn’s ‘spartan’ sandwich lunches at the Ministry of Technology.

55 years ago on 17^th November 1969 the (pre-Murdoch) Times published a political column dealing in part with Tony Benn’s work at the Ministry of Technology.

Underlining that attempts to paint figures of the left as somewhat other worldly are nothing new, the report focused on Benn’s sandwich lunches.

The report read in part ‘Mr Benn’s Spartan lunches for colleagues and industrialists have become the subject of comment by guests who have gone to Millbank without the correct log-cabin spirit. They have been quoted as significant examples of the frightening, humourless earnestness he brings to the worship of technology’

The report notes that in order to avoid a plate of Benn’s ‘famous sandwiches’ one Ministerial colleague had ordered in a lunch basket from Fortnum and Mason.

Benn himself remarked on the matter in his Diaries

He wrote: The Times had an amusing two-column article by David Wood called ‘Sandwiches with Benn’. It began by mocking me about my sandwich lunches, then said how industrialists were working happily with me and the Tories were worried about it.

We had the Mintech board lunch. Harold Lever responded to The Times by producing some smoked salmon, freshly baked bread and cheese and some other things. It has become a bit of a joke. Next week I am going to take my sandwiches in a red handkerchief and see whether I cant lower the standards still further.

After the High Court rules CWU ballot invalid, a history of what happens to bad union laws.

On 13^th November after a challenge by the Royal Mail a judge ruled that a CWU ballot for industrial action which had not only passed the 50% turn-out on a postal ballot requirement by some distance but also secured a very large ‘yes’ vote was unlawful.

The CWU are to appeal.

The current law on industrial disputes is a bad law and it is designed to be a bad law. The aim is to make it is as difficult as possible to take lawful industrial action.

One way to address that is simply to take action anyway, but historically bad employment law has not remained on the statute book for ever.

It is interesting to look very briefly at what happens to Trade Union Acts.

The 1927 Trades Disputes Act passed in the wake of the General Strike, banned secondary action and mass pickets and made union members opt in (as opposed to opt out) of the political levy. It was repealed on 22nd May 1946 by the Attlee Labour Government.

The 1971 Industrial Relations Act, which was ‘sort of’ related to the earlier Donovan Commission on unions limited the right to strike, made trade unions register to operate legally and set up a National Industrial Relations Court. It was repealed by the 1974 Labour Government and replaced with the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act.

Under the Thatcher Governments form 1979 a number of Trade Union Acts were passed. These were not repealed by the Labour Governments from 1997 but instead a new Employment Relations Act was passed in 1999 which addressed the right of unions to recognition by an employer and outlined a series of rights for union members, including a ban on blacklisting.

The historical point is obviously that while trade union laws can be reduced to ineffectiveness by active opposition to them (the Tory union laws post 1979 were not much used) they are only repealed when a Labour Government is in office, Notably however that didn’t happen after 1997 but an alternative approach of passing additional legislation was taken. It might be argued that while this had an impact, repeal might have been the better option..

Hopefully on 12^th December a Labour Government will be elected that will get rid of Tory laws designed to frustrate the legitimate democratic intentions of people at work who want and need to challenge the actions of their employers and replace them with positive employment rights instead

Press Release

13th November Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

Beard Liberation Front wont stand against IDS. Hopes for first Bearded PM since 1902

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that it has decided not to stand against Iain Duncan Smith in Chingford on the 12^th December after supporters felt that there was a danger of splitting the vote and allowing IDS to retain the seat.

The campaigners say they noted the decision of the Green Party to stand down in favour of Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen and felt in this instance a BLF candidate would be a distraction.

The BLF has decided against standing candidates in the 12th December General Election but will reveal other ways of promoting a Beard Friendly Britain with its Manifesto launch on Saturday

Part of this will be a list of Beard Friendly candidates who it will actively promote.

The campaigners say that they are concerned at the level of pogonophobia in Westminster politics and that far too many MPs are still clean-shaven men in suits and that they are determined to make this an Election issue.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, while we are not Party political there is clearly a chance in this Election that Britain could end up with its first bearded Prime Minister since Lord Salisbury in 1902. We wouldn’t want to do anything that might take away from that.

The Beard Liberation Front is an informal network of beard wearers and welcomes supporters, both women and men, who agree with our core principles.

It is not party political and does not usually stand candidates in Elections. However it is political in a broader sense, as it seeks a less discriminatory and more beard friendly Britain.

Founded in 1995 it campaigns against prejudice and celebrates positive images of the hirsute with an annual Beard of the Year award at the end of December. Beard Week, which focuses on a range of beard related issues, takes place every year in late June.

It has produced an updated version of its Election Manifesto on which it will seek the views of candidates and will publicise those who sign up to its Beard Friendly Charter.

The Beard Friendly Charter (Summary)

No to Beardism and pogonophobic prejudice against the hirsute

More hirsute MPs

More hirsute public employees and monitoring of hirsuteness levels in the senior Civil Service

Promotion of positive public images of the hirsute

No dress codes at work, beyond a requirement for smart appearance for public facing roles

Restrictions on barbers shops

Marmite Defence League

13^th November

Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

Was Johnson telling the truth when he said he liked Marmite?

The Marmite Defence League has raised concerns about a statement in a campaign video by Tory leader Johnson about whether or not he likes Marmite.

The video aired on Tuesday consists of a series of short questions to Johnson and his answers.

Johnson is prompted ‘Marmite’ to which he replies ‘yes’ quite emphatically

The Marmite Defence League says Johnson’s support could significantly hits sales of Marmite but there is another possibility:

MDL spokesperson Keith Flett, Johnson is a notorious liar. Was he telling the truth about liking Marmite?

Where we stand on Marmite

Marmite is a natural product deriving from brewer’s yeast. It is historically a by-product of brewing

It was ‘invented’ by a German scientist Justus von Liebig

Originally Marmite was derived from the Bass brewery in Burton on Trent.

Marmite is salty but also has some health enhancing elements to it including vitamins.

Its recent marketing focuses on a ‘love it or hate it’ element to Marmite, and it is a ‘which side are you on’ food.

The former Brewdog on Essex Rd in Islington shut suddenly towards the end of September

Brewdog Angel, ‘Permanently Closed’

Brewdog stated at the time that a ‘radically different’ bar would replace it.

This is now in the process of opening as the Essex House bar.

Tbh it doesn’t appear to be radically different, although local beers and organic wine is certainly a different offering to Brewdog

There are still 15 taps. They’re not selling Brewdog beer but beyond generic names such as Pilsner and Stout its not clear what the beers are without going in to try (which I was unable to do at 8am in the morning!).

Some of the Brewdog seating has been retained, shifted about and some seats added.

The brewkit area is curtained off and clearly the pizza offering remains.

One can only wish the new bar well and it is certainly the best time of year to pick up custom.

With the death of Frank Dobson at 79, former Cabinet Minister and Beard of the Year 2000, we can recall the occasion when 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 salutes 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

Media Release 12th November

Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

Campaigners pay tribute to former Beard of the Year Frank Dobson

The Beard Liberation Front,  the informal network of beard wearers, has paid tribute to the former Labour MP and Minister Frank Dobson who has died aged 79.

Mr Dobson was voted Beard of the Year in 2000 and stood out as an iconic beard wearer in the largely clean shaven New Labour period post 1997.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said,  Frank Dobson proved that a beard in public life adds gravitas and heft to decisions and impact.

Press Release

12th November Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

Beard Liberation Front set for decision on General Election candidates

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that it will make a final decision on whether to stand candidates in the 12th December General Election on 12^th November ahead of the final date for nomination of candidates on Thursday.

It has looked at standing against Iain Duncan Smith in Chingford as a symbol of clean-shaven reaction but remains wary of splitting the vote in a marginal seat.

At the same time it is consulting on a list of Beard Friendly candidates who it will actively promote.

The campaigners say that they are concerned at the level of pogonophobia in Westminster politics and that far too many MPs are still clean-shaven men in suits and that they are determined to make this an Election issue.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we’re not a Farage or a Swinson with delusions or arrogant and grandiose claims about support. We are a minority strand who always aim to get across messages about beards and diversity in Elections. As usual we continue to look at all possible ways to achieve that

The Beard Liberation Front is an informal network of beard wearers and welcomes supporters, both women and men, who agree with our core principles.

It is not party political and does not usually stand candidates in Elections. However it is political in a broader sense, as it seeks a less discriminatory and more beard friendly Britain.

Founded in 1995 it campaigns against prejudice and celebrates positive images of the hirsute with an annual Beard of the Year award at the end of December. Beard Week, which focuses on a range of beard related issues, takes place every year in late June.

It has produced an updated version of its Election Manifesto on which it will seek the views of candidates and will publicise those who sign up to its Beard Friendly Charter.

The Beard Friendly Charter (Summary)

No to Beardism and pogonophobic prejudice against the hirsute

More hirsute MPs

More hirsute public employees and monitoring of hirsuteness levels in the senior Civil Service

Promotion of positive public images of the hirsute

No dress codes at work, beyond a requirement for smart appearance for public facing roles

Restrictions on barbers shops

There has been a military coup in Bolivia and the Government of Evo Morales has been deposed.

Of course one could make criticisms of Morales but that is hardly the point now. This is that his Government was too left-wing for Trump and he has found a way to get rid of it.

It is likely to be bloody.

Jeremy Corbyn has rightly done what any democratic leader should do and condemned the coup. Perhaps not surprisingly Dominic Raab is on the side of the coup, a warning to anyone who is even mildly left of centre in Britain of what the Tories might think of if push comes to shove.

Of course its not the first military coup.

On 11th September 1973 the democratic socialist Government of Allende in Chile was deposed in a coup again backed by the US. Mrs Thatcher was a fan of the coup leader Pinochet.

To be fair to New Labour Pinochet was arrested when in London in October 1998 and held under House Arrest.

In September 1973 Tony Benn recorded in his diary what a duty of solidarity looks like:

Friday 14th September

In the evening Stephen (Benn) and I went to see Alvaro and Raquel Bunster. Alvaro was the Ambassador in London for what was Allende’s legitimate Chilean government. The Naval Attache, as admiral, has thrown him out of the Embassy today. We went to see if we could be of any help

The decision of Farage that the Brexit Party will not stand against 317 Tory candidates in the Election reflects the fact that Farage is more Tory than Brexit as no doubt numbers of non-Tory Party supporters will observe.

But there is a wider story here and one that the political reporters in the Westminster Bubble are unlikely to grasp.

Political Parties have members who decide policy and direction. They have local organisation which when it comes to Elections does the hard slog of identifying supporters, contacting them and making sure they vote.

Does the Brexit Party have any of these?

No.

You cant be a member of the Brexit Party only a supporter.

Who elected Farage as leader? No one. He appointed himself.

Of course with a friendly media (see Question Time passim) he can generate lots of publicity. He can fund social media campaigns with cash he gets from, er, somewhere or another. But when it comes to getting supporters to actually vote, does he have the organisation to do that in most areas? No

You could argue that the Brexit Party is a post-modern party but I suspect the reality is that Farage and many of his supporters are rather keener on spending the next few weeks celebrating Xmas than they are going on doorsteps in the wet and cold