Tag: general election 2017

Letters – Green Business Goes Lib Dem

Influential business leaders from green sector back Lib Dems in Thursday’s General Election in a letter to ‘The Steeple Times’

Sir

The environment has been shut out of this election.

Economic growth has provided the world with abundant food, medicine, energy and raw materials. However, unmanaged it is destroying the ecosystem, wiping out fauna, flora, forests and seas. An ecological meltdown will cause economic ruin, political turmoil and threaten the very existence of human civilisation.

Air pollution causes 40,000 premature deaths in the UK each year. With greenhouse gases and habitat depletion, together, they are having a catastrophic effect on our environment, contributing to global climate change, wildlife, crop and forest damage, rising sea levels, floods and haze. Whole countries could drown under water or starve under drought, driving migration and climate wars.

The path to a sustainable future requires the creative power of our best scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs, backed by the courage of politicians to think long term.

Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris accords is an act of environmental vandalism on a global scale. And by refusing to condemn him, Theresa May is aiding and abetting him.

Only the Lib Dems combine the ambition to bring forward climate change targets and support for the Paris agreement, with an entrepreneurial approach to investing in cutting edge clean technologies, and commitment to international institutions to enable Britain to be a world leader in protecting the global environment.

Britain has been part of the cause. By supporting the Lib Dems on 8^th June, Britain can also be part of the solution.

Yours faithfully

Simon Blakey, managing director, SAB Global Energy

Duncan Brack, independent environmental policy analyst

James Cameron, chairman, Green Running

Mark Campanale, founder, Carbon Tracker Initiative

Christopher Clement-Davies, editor, International Energy Law Review

Simon Clement-Davies, managing director, Augusta & Co.

Jason Cooper, founder, Jason Cooper Architects

Ray Georgeson MBE, director, RGR-Ray Georgeson Resources

Dr Mark Hinnells, solutions director, Susenco

Dr Susan Juned, senior consultant, Greenwatt Technology

Adam Knight, co-founder, Social & Sustainable Capital

Richard Lill, financing and construction manager, Energiekontor UK

James McNaught-Davis, green venture capitalist, Wetherby Capital

Vickram Mirchandani, managing director, Coronation Power

Hylton Murray Philipson, founder, Wingate Ventures

Mark Petterson, co-founder, Warwick Energy

Patrick Sheehan, founder, ETF Partners

Heather Stevens CBE, chair, The Waterloo Foundation

Jane Vaus, project director, Sustainability Hub

Andrew Warren, chairman, Federation of Open Homes Network

Andrew Wiseman, former chair, UK Environmental Law Association

All of the above have signed in a personal capacity.

June 7, 2017
London

Donald Trump’s response to Saturday’s London terror attack was wholly inappropriate

After the recent attack on Manchester, we saluted Donald Trump for having “spoken for the majority” in referring to the evil suicide bomber as a “loser”. Last night, however, after a similarly evil assault on London, the 45th POTUS got it completely wrong when he took to Twitter to share his thoughts as to what had happened.

At 12:17am, Trump tweeted:

We need to be smart, vigilant and tough. We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!

After immediate criticism about his immediate politicisation of a developing incident involving death and injury, Trump tempered his message a few minutes later at 12:24am. He added:

Whatever the United States can do to help out in London and the U. K., we will be there – WE ARE WITH YOU. GOD BLESS!

His response was deemed less than adequate and political commentator Iain Dale spoke for the majority when he responded:

Nice of our closet ally to express his sympathy and support at a time like this. Instead he uses this to make a political point. Wanker.

If Trump had reacted similarly to how he had over Manchester, he would have been lauded. Instead, he reverted to type and once again illustrated himself to be nothing but a buffoon. Shame on him and shame on the disgusting losers that attacked London.

#LondonAttacks

June 4, 2017
Betting on the Blues

Jon Vine on betting on Britain’s 2017 General Election

The General Election is just days away and bookmakers are experiencing a surprisingly stronger than usual uplift in interest from political betting punters. After Theresa May called an election back in April, the United Kingdom is going to the polls three years earlier than expected and bookmakers have unsurprisingly made her party, the Conservatives, huge odds-on favourites to win the most seats and an overall majority.

Political betting has become big business over the past few years and bookies expect millions to be wagered on this year’s election. One firm alone, William Hill, took £3 million on the last General Election in 2015 and £5 million on last year’s US presidential election.

With six days to go until the election takes place, the Tories are just 2/9 with bookmakers to win the most seats, and 1/4 to win with a majority. It’s a general 6/1 at time of writing that Labour win the most seats, with a Labour majority 10/1 with some firms.

However, although the Conservatives are the bookmakers’ favourites, momentum appears to be with Labour, and their election odds continue to be trimmed ahead of polling day.

Mrs May’s lead over Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on YouGov’s ‘Best PM’ tracker has dropped massively in recent weeks, and punters can expect more twists and turns over the next few days.

In-play betting on the 2017 General Election is expected to be more popular than any previous election, and betting on a range of election markets will be available on 8^th June itself, with ‘in-play’ General Election betting expected to be live with a number of major bookmakers even after voting ends and right through the night until a result is announced.

Polling booths will open at 7am on Thursday 8^th June and voting will take place until 10pm. Counting of votes will only begin when the polls closed, and by the early hours of Friday, June 9th, the result of the 2017 General Election will likely be known.

Betting is available on candidates in 650 individual constituencies, and live election odds are available on such sites as BetOnPolitics.co.uk website.

For BetOnPolitics.co.uk, editor Phil Lowe commented:

“The decision to call an election caught everyone by surprise, although, looking back, there were a few signals that the PM was up to something – a big one being the omission of a date in the political calendar for the Queen’s Speech”.

“Despite the polls coming out in recent days, Mrs May and the Conservatives will still be confident of victory on June 8th and the betting still suggests this will be the case. The initial talk of a ‘landslide’ victory for the Blues may have died down, but although the markets got the result of the EU referendum wrong, and were also wrong with the US election, all signs still point to a defeat for Labour”.

Example odds:

Chelsea and Fulham

Alan De’Ath, Labour Party – 25/1

Bill Cashmore, Green Party – 400/1

Greg Hands, Conservative Party – 1/500

Louise Rowntree, Liberal Democrats – 250/1

Kensington

Lady Borwick, Conservative Party – 1/50

Emma Dent Coad, Labour – 50/1

Annabel Mullin, Liberal Democrats – 14/1

James Torrance, Independent – 100/1

Islington North

Keith Angus, Liberal Democrats – 20/1

James Clark, Conservative Party – 40/1

Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party – 1/200

Knigel Knapp, Official Monster Raving Loony Party – 250/1

Maidenhead

Lord Buckethead, Official Monster Raving Loony Party – 250/1

Tony Hill, Liberal Democrats – 33/1

Pat McDonald, Labour Party – 33/1

Theresa May, Conservative Party – 1/500

Westmorland and Lonsdale

James Airey, Conservative Party – 13/5

Eli Aldridge, Labour Party – 200/1

Mr Fishfinger, Independent – 200/1

Tim Farron, Liberal Democrats – 1/7

June 2, 2017
Annabel Mullin – What’s on your mantelpiece?

A 20-question interview with criminal justice expert, former police officer and Liberal Democrat candidate for Kensington Annabel Mullin

The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?

To live every moment to the fullest and make the biggest difference to people’s lives that I can.

“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?

I love the motto ‘carpe diem’ (seize the day). When I was younger, Dead Poets Society was one of my favourite films.

Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2017?

Brexit.

Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?

Currently I’m missing not seeing my children much because I am campaigning so hard.

What might you swap all your wealth for?

Knowing that my children will have a great future.

Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank”. What’s your view on the state of the financial system?

One of the things I would like to see in Kensington is more support for small businesses and local shop owners that help to create our community. We are currently facing threats to our local services from business rates and that is something that needs to be addressed.

What phrase or word do you most loathe?

I loathe it when people say things they don’t mean. ‘Strong and Stable’ is currently high up there.

In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?

I agree. I support that concept. Having worked at Crisis, I continue to support homeless charities. I also love shopping in our fabulous Kensington charity shops.

The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?

Mobiles are amazingly useful and I’m a bit of an addict to my device. However, there is a time and a place for them.

If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?

George Orwell, Harriet Harmen, Lawrence of Arabia, Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill, Sophie in’t Veld, Hercule Poirot, Hilary Clinton, Charlie Chaplin, Shirley Williams, Paula Radcliffe, Prince and Laura Kuenssberg.

If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?

My meal would be steak, chips and red wine followed by tiramisu. I’d rather like to eat it high up in Petra overlooking the wondrous landscape.

What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?

That depends entirely on which time zone you are going by.

A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?

A martini, preferably an espresso martini.

Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?

Now, dinner parties with close friends but when I was younger, more partying.

Who is the most positive person you know?

My husband.

What’s your most guilty pleasure?

The ‘Archers Appreciation’ group on Facebook… With wine.

If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?

A dragon.

If you were a car, what marque would you be?

A Mercedes-Benz Gullwing.

Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.

That I was an ultra-marathon runner and completed the Marathon Des Sables in 2008.

What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?

An elephant – the house is littered with them, candlesticks and birthday cards for my eldest’ fifth birthday.

Annabel Mullin was born and brought up in Kensington and Chelsea. She is mother of three young children, a keen environmentalist and a cyclist. She is a criminal justice expert and has spent most of her life working in London as an analyst, a Metropolitan Police officer in Soho and Mayfair and as an assistant psychologist with prisoners with mental illness. Recently she has worked as a PhD researcher at UCL.

Follow her on Twitter at @annabelmullin and @KCLibDems.

June 1, 2017
Liar Liar Theresa May

Captain SKA re-release 2010 anti-austerity hit ‘Liar Liar’ and this time use it to target “you can’t trust her”, Theresa May

In 2010, a musicial protest group called Captain SKA released Liar Liar as part of their aim to become a “voice against austerity and neoliberal politics”.

The track made some headway, but now, remixed and refocused on Theresa May in particular, includes such lyrics as “strong and stable won’t disguise, we’re still being taken for a ride” and in summary mocks her “porkie pies”.

On Saturday, a spokesman for Captain SKA told The Morning Star:

“We’ve remixed Liar Liar for this general election because we want to do all we can to expose the horrific effects Tory policy has had on ordinary people”.

“Theresa May lies her way through interview after interview without addressing the real issues”.

“We want to do all we can to make sure Theresa May is kicked out of Downing Street on 8^th June”.

Elsewhere, in a Facebook post, the group – who’ve already reached the top 40 with their catchy tune – added: “Download [Liar Liar] now and force the BBC to play it on our airwaves”.

#MakeJuneTheEndOfMay #StrongAndStableMyArse #LiarLiar

May 28, 2017
A Brylcream Bigot

Nigel Farage’s communications man, “political poet” Dan Jukes, sinks to a new low in the wake of the attack on innocence in Manchester; this beer swilling bigot should henceforth be ignored

In the aftermath of the appalling terrorist attack in Manchester on Monday night, Nigel Farage’s communications man, Dan Jukes, did not unite with those sharing grief. Instead, this bombastic “political poet” – one half of a duo previously known as the ‘Brylcream Boys’ – spent the next hours telling his 5,088 Twitterfollowers to “get angry, get mad” and “#sigh[ed]” of the Eiffel Tower going dark in solidarity with victims.

Jukes, a man plainly lacking in any form of nuance of appropriateness, also shared a tweet that announced: “There’s no such thing as Islamophobia. It’s a word designed by Muslim Brotherhood [sic] to shut down debate” and another that read: “That’s enough hashtags and vigils. What we need now is public anger”. As well as retweeting wild and as of yet unproven suggestions that the date of the atrocity was linked to the fourth anniversary of the murder of Lee Rigby, Jukes also termed a missive by the respected human rights barrister Adam Wagner “dog shit” and then remarked: “Don’t trust this pair any further than I can throw them to sort out terrorism” alongside of an image of Theresa May and Amber Rudd.

Jukes’ inane ramblings did not stop there. He continued by repeating unconfirmed information about the Manchester suicide bomber having allegedly been heard “chanting Islamic prayers loudly in the street outside his home in the week leading up [to the attack]” and then concluded: “Parents of terrorist escaped Libya and came to Britain as refugees. This is how that family repay us… Change needed… This is war”.

At a time when tolerance between communities is especially essential, there’s only one thing worth doing with Dan Jukes: Let’s unite in turning off this pint-swilling little horror’s volume switch.

#Manchester

May 23, 2017
A Milder May

As Theresa May’s lead in the poll halves and Jamie Oliver criticizes her policy on universal free school lunches for infants, we call on voters to act with their feet and remind the Tory leader that moderates still deserve to be heard

There’s no point denying Theresa May will win on the 8^th June and there’s no doubt she’ll win big. The ‘alternative’ – not that Jeremy Corbyn’s pathetic excuse for a party can even be called that – is beyond bad but, with news that the Conservative Party’s lead has halved to 9 points in a week, comes good news for those that do not subscribe to a desire for a one party state.

With the prospect that Mrs May – whose attempt to make her ‘Strong and Stable’ campaign about ‘Theresa’s Team’ rather than using the name of her own party is starting to backfire – will not have as big a majority as she expected, there is a chance there will be at least some form of opposition to the vicar’s daughter’s hectoring ways.

In constituencies like Kensington, for example, ‘Remain’ supporters should vote against a shown-to-be lazy MP, Lady Borwick, and back Annabel Mullin of the Liberal Democrats – a lady who issued several video messages yesterday pledging to ‘#HoldToriesToAccount’. A protest vote in this Tory stronghold would send the most powerful signal of all to Mrs May that her “red, white and blue hard Brexit” needs to be tempered and it would act as a reminder that the 48% must still be heard.

Elsewhere, food campaigner and restaurateur Jamie Oliver spoke for the majority when he put his head in his hands and told Channel 4: “Oh, it’s awful. It’s awful. She will regret that” of the Conservatives’ plan to scrap universal free school lunches for infants in their first three years at primary school. He continued:

“Well, first of all, I’m apolitical. So don’t go thinking I’m ranting about one thing or the other… As far as I see it, and I believe I’m someone that’s had my hands dirty for twelve years now and I know what I’m talking about, right? It’s completely short-sighted. It’s completely short-sighted”.

“And I want her [Theresa May] to be a brilliant Prime Minister. I want a brilliant female Prime Minister. Fundamentally, what she’s doing is taking from teachers and taking from the kids”.

“If you speak to Mark Carney and the people at the highest level of economics, if you speak to Oxford Cambridge University on the modelling, the economic modelling of public health and the cost of ill health and the investment. Like, it’s the best bang for your buck you’re going to get. Don’t take from the kids. Don’t take from the teachers”.

May 21, 2017
The Cat That Didn’t Get The Cream

Though Julian Assange’s cat may have looked on smugly yesterday, all its bail jumping owner achieved was to make himself appear arrogant and ridiculous

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has evaded British justice for 2,356 days and though, yesterday, he may have stood on a balcony and pontificated about how he won’t “forgive or forget”, all he achieved was once again to show himself as a tedious pillock and complete nuisance.

In the time this narcissistic Australian has been holed up in the Embassy of Ecuador in London in Knightsbridge, with his help, Donald Trump has become 45^th President of the United States of America and all avenues of Swedish prosecutors investigating him over an alleged rape exhausted. It is a shameful state of affairs and it is utterly wrong that this bail jumper continues to think he’s above British law.

In response to a question as to whether she would support Britain extraditing Assange to the US, another self-serving sort, Theresa May, conveniently dodged a bullet yesterday. This equally smug woman blandly answered:

“Any decision that is taken about UK action in relation to [Assange] were he to leave the Ecuadorian embassy would be an operational matter for the police”.

#BirdsOfAFeather

Picture: Julian Assange’s cat in the window of the Embassy of Ecuador in London on Friday 19^th May 2017 (with sweets thrown on the windowsill by supporters supposedly keen to feed it and its bail jumping owner), © Matthew Steeples.

May 20, 2017
Poore Borwick

New contributor Mark Newton shares his views on the “dubious record” of Lady Borwick, Conservative parliamentary candidate for Kensington

Kensington, Kensington, its name beats the drum of the Conservative heartland of London. Tory grandees have worked long and hard to be fortified in this Bastion with greats like Alan Clark, Michael Portillo and Malcom Rifkind amongst its previous tenants. To be given Kensington is to be awarded one of the safest, and most convenient seats in the land – a prize to be won by only the hardest working, and most industrious of MPs and this, to my mind, makes the continued selection of Lady Borwick (née Victoria Poore) as the Tory candidate even harder to understand.

Known locally by the epithet ‘Lazy Borwick’, this latest MP is cast quite differently from the usual Kensington mould. Lady (‘Call me Victoria’) Borwick’s stance on Brexit, lousy debate participation and letter response history, questionable use of public funds and ongoing links to shady businesses is creating quite the heated storm in the chattering leafy private gardens of Kensington. Over the next three articles, I’ll be taking a look at Lady Borwick to try to get to the bottom of how and why one of the safest Tory seats of the land came to be held by the one of the least worthy occupants.

Lady Borwick succeeded in getting her hands on Kensington after Malcolm Rifkind stepped down at the 2015 General Election. The circumstances of that coup are somewhat strange, not least because of the history of Kensington in selecting high profile and hard working MPs. What seems to have happened is simple nepotism. Lady Borwick, having twice failed to make the selection list for London mayor during Steven Norris’ candidacy, finally slid into the London Assembly in 2008 as one of three London-wide Conservative members. From there it was an easy promotion from Boris Johnson to the Deputy Mayorhood, and it seems no-one less than the great ‘BoJo’ himself shoe-horned her into the Kensington seat ahead of better qualified and more industrious candidates.

So why then is the epithet ‘Lazy Borwick’ doing the rounds in the Royal Borough? Surprisingly, it has very little to do with her controversial Brexit stance in a strongly Remain constituency. What’s got Conservatives up in arms is her uselessness as a constituency MP. According to the MP tracking website TheyWorkForYou, Lady Borwick’s response rate to written enquiries is just 18% – an abysmal score that places her 618^th on a list of 641 responding MPs. If there’s one thing the well-to-do residents of Kensington don’t like it’s an MP who is too busy or lazy to respond to their well-meant enquiries, particularly a Member of Parliament who manages to be significantly less efficient than her much busier, high profile forbearers.

So, what, might you ask, is taking up so much of Lazy Borwick’s time that she can’t manage to get to her mail bag? Some suggest that it may be her tireless work for charity, yet, strangely, Lady Borwick’s parliamentary voting record seems to spit in the face of the charitable causes she purports to support. Recently, she has jumped on the laudable activities of @CleanAirLondon, a much needed initiative to clean up London’s diesel rich environment, yet in the Commons ‘Lazy Borwick’ has consistently voted against climate change measures, and against a greater public control of bus services. Hard to reconcile with the self-promotional pictures of her backing smart energy meters.

Lady Borwick also claims to support local hospitals and to regularly visit the elderly residents of Kensington. She even spoke at a recent debate in favour of mental health and mobility support. Yet in the House of Commons she has almost always voted against paying benefits to those unable to work due to illness or disability and has consistently voted against the terminally ill being given assistance to end their lives.

Finally, there are those who suggest ‘Lazy Borwick’ may simply be too busy with parliamentary duties to answer constituents’ letters, yet she spoke in just 15 debates in the last year, well below average amongst MPs, and dramatically lower than previous high profile Kensington MPs.

Whatever it is that keeps Lady Borwick entertained, it can’t then be serving the interests of her constituents, so to get answers we need to dig further, into her bizarre and odd beliefs about Europe, and her odd use of public funds and ties to ‘Big Data’ business.

Coming up next – ‘Brexit Borwick’ and residents’ anger in Kensington; the constituency with the greatest proportion of EU nationals of any London borough.

Pictured above – ‘Woman of the people’ Lady Borwick – a “director and member of Poore and Second Poore Ltd; holding companies limited by guarantee” – aboard a 40-metre yacht in 2014 with Sunseeker Cheshire’s Jonathan Kingsley. At the time Mr Kingsley commented: “It was a wonderful opportunity to promote our iconic brand and reinforce the British success of Sunseeker to this high profile, influential Lady. She, and her son, adored the boat”.

#LazyBorwick

May 18, 2017
Double Bollocks

Politicians Lady Nugee and Sir Michael Fallon BOTH make total and utter fools of themselves over links to murderous dictator Bashar al-Assad

Yesterday Labour’s Lady Nugee – a ridiculous woman who prefers to go by the name ‘The Rt. Hon. Emily Thornberry MP’ – succeeded in making a fool out of The Rt. Hon Sir Michael Fallon KCB, MP on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.

A previous ‘Moron of the Moment’ on these pages, Lady “I actually have quite a lot more experience than people think I do” Nugee asked the Secretary of State for Defence to reveal where he was on 27^th May 2007. When Sir Michael said he did not know and “scrambled to defend himself”, Lady Nugee told him he was “talking bollocks” and curtly added: “You were in Syria and you were celebrating at a reception for the re-election of President Assad with 99% of the vote. Now, I’m not going to judge you for going to a reception with Assad”.

Though Sir Michael responded: “I don’t recall any party in Syria. I remember a fact-finding visit to Syria”, Lady Nugee continued like a mad attack dog and did not give up. She continued: “You really can’t just go around making this stuff up. There’s an election and people need to make decisions on the basis of the truth”.

Rather inconveniently for the Shadow Foreign Secretary, later in the day, a pictured emerged of her hapless leader, Jeremy Corbyn, at a reception with President Bashar al-Assad in 2009.

#DoubleBollocks

Lady Nugee with Sir Michael Fallon and Andrew Marr on Sunday

May 15, 2017