Matthew Steeples suggests the director of public prosecutions is right to seek “uplifted” sentences for online abusers but argues she does not go far enough
I have been targeted by online trolls for years. As a writer, I accept I am ‘fair game’ for criticism but when that tips over into the kind of vicious abuse I get from unhinged keyboard warriors, it moves into a realm that is unacceptable.
On a personal level, my recent involvement in the case of the Viscount St Davids – a convicted online hate criminal and all round dimwit returning to court this week to again face the repercussions of offering a reward on Facebook to anyone prepared to run over the anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller – not only resulted in negative articles by such oddities as the one-time male escort and Big Brother 11 contestant Benjamin Duncan on the blog of the anti-gay, pro-repatriation of immigrant Traditional Britain website, but also in threatening messages online and a physical attack upon my person. Such abuse has not only taken up considerable amounts of my time and distressed me, it has also caused considerable nuisance to friends and business acquaintances. Now, to her credit, the director of public prosecutions, Alison Saunders, has finally also come to the conclusion that “online abusers must be dealt with harshly” and thankfully it looks as if the laws relating to such will be toughened up.
In an article, published in this morning’s The Guardian, Saunders argues “the criminal justice system are ready to listen” with regard to calls for stronger sentences for online abusers. She references “new guidance” and a need for “stiffer ‘uplifted’ sentences” but what she ignores is that the Communications Act 2003, under which the likes of the aforementioned errant peer was prosecuted, does not have any understanding of Facebook (which came into existence one year after the creation of that law in 2004) and Twitter (launched 2006).
Saunders’ acceptance that “an increasing proportion of hate crime is now perpetrated” online is a definite start and her acceptance that they should be treated “just as seriously as those experienced face to face” is certainly positive. Hitting “report abuse” on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, however, gets no one anywhere. It is in fact our government that must go further and introduce stronger regulation that actually holds social media providers themselves to account for the content they allow to be published on their sites.
Enough is finally enough with press coverage about the late Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales has been dead twenty years. It is thus ludicrous that her family continue to have to put up with an endless barrage of articles raking over outdated nonsense about her and though it most definitely suits our government as they can bury yet more bad news about Brexit, the media truly should realise that enough is finally enough.
Whether the late royal said or did one thing or another is quite irrelevant to anyone alive today and though the history books may take note for the future, daily news reporting should move its focus to issues that actually affect our daily lives. The time to stop over-reporting on this saga passed surely in 2007; that it is still going in 2017 is simply outrageous.
1964 Mini Cooper S hatchback designed to carry the golf clubs of the much-loathed Postmaster General, Minister of Transport and alleged tax fraudster Ernest Marples for sale
Twice married and born in Levenshulme, Manchester, Ernest Marples – later Lord Marples – makes the very worst of modern politicians look like relative babes in arms. He can, however, be credited with commissioning a rare thing – the first ever Mini hatchback. Two were made in total and one, which was eventually transferred to the ownership of the politician in 1968, is to be auctioned in July.
Pictured left: (Alfred) Ernest Marples (1907 – 1978) with his secretary turned second wife, Ruth Dobson. They married in 1956 and he became The Rt. Hon. The Lord Marples, PC in 1974. Pictured right: Lord Marples in his ‘Marples Mini’ (date unknown).
Marples, whose upbringing was within the Labour Party and whose love of eccentric orange-brown shoes and blue suits was well known, worked as a miner, postman, chef and accountant before a stint in the Royal Artillery between 1941 and 1944. He then joined the Conservative Party, was elected Member of Parliament for Wallasey in 1945 and took his first ministerial post in 1951. Promoted by Churchill, Macmillan and Douglas-Home, he rose to become Postmaster General and Minister of Transport and introduced the STD telephone code, the Premium Bond scheme, the first postcodes, the MOT test, roadside single yellow and double yellow lines and possibly, in his most unpopular move of all, traffic wardens.
Aside from his public appointments, controversially, Marples became a director of various companies in the 1940s. Without considering any potential conflicts of interest, he involved himself in firms that built the first motorways and several power stations also and attracted much attention after protestors spray painted a motorway bridge near Luton that his firm, Marples Ridgway and Partners, constructed with the caption: “Marples Must Go!”
Subsequently, Marples brought the government into disrepute through his part in a prostitution scandal and after this was covered up in 1963, he later “cut and run” to Monaco in 1975 to avoid “a substantial tax bill” after being discovered having parked most of his assets in Monaco and Liechtenstein. He spent his final years on his 45-acre vineyard estate in Fleurie, France and died in a Monte Carlo hospital in 1978.
The ex-Ernest Marples 1964 Austin Mini Cooper S 1071 will be sold by H&H Classics at their Imperial War Museum Duxford sale in Cambridgeshire on the 26th July. It has an estimate of £70,000 to £80,000 ($89,500 to $102,300, €79,100 to €90,400 or درهم328,800 to درهم375,900) – a sum that would no doubt, if he were still alive, have money obsessed Marples smiling with glee.
Of the almond green car, which supposedly the hatchback boot was fitted to on the orders of Marples on the basis he wanted to be easily able to fill it with cases of wine and golf clubs, Damian Jones of H&H Classics commented:
“This is not just another Mini. It is history on four wheels. Its former owner, Transport Minister Ernest Marples changed the face of Britain with housing, bridges, motorways. He was a very ‘colourful character’ to say the least. It is fascinating that he chose to buy and use this relatively modest car when going golfing or going to France on holiday. If this car could speak what tales might it tell? It is truly one of a kind.”
As Theresa May once again proves she has no idea of the concept of “when the time is right”, we join those that suggest the time that she must go is now
Theresa May failed to anticipate the timing of a General Election two weeks ago and got trounced. A week ago, this same self-serving woman didn’t realise that appearing – accompanied by her vast security detail but without bothering to even meet a single victim – for 15 minutes in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy would be perceived as unacceptable. She rightly got savaged by the nation and in a third public relations disaster, yesterday, after Mrs May opted to “schmooze donors” at a Conservative Party fundraiser at The Savoy for 50 minutes, she now again comes under fire for her “appalling lack of judgment”.
Having excused herself from numerous other engagements in recent days by claiming to be “too busy” with Brexit negotiations and preparations for the Queen’s Speech, that Theresa May was able to find the time to rubberneck with captains of finance – including the vastly wealthy Ukranian born businessman Alexander Temerko – shows where her priorities actually lie.
Previously compared to Lady Macbeth due to her sheer cunning dedication to controlling the reigns of power, Mrs May is now increasingly beginning to resemble Marie-Antoinette also. One wouldn’t be surprised if this dead duck Prime Minister is soon heard to say: “Let them eat cake”.
#TimeToGo #BringHerDown #MakeJuneTheEndOfMay
Theresa May with Mark Field MP and supporters at the Cities of London and Westminster Conservative Association luncheon at The Savoy on Tuesday 20th June 2017.
New Kensington MP Emma Dent Coad fails to join Labour heavyweights showing support for the single market
Prior to her victory, the now newly elected Member of Parliament for Kensington, Emma Dent Coad, clearly and repeatedly said she’d “fight to retain access to the single market”. Yesterday, however, she failed to join a whole array of fellow Labour politicians demanding exactly such and in doing so has left constituents questioning her true commitment to fighting ‘Hard Brexit’.
Aside from the fact that some of the party’s busiest and best known figures – including David Lammy MP, Stella Creasy MP and Chuka Umunna MP – bothered, unlike her, to sign a letter to The Guardian “supporting British membership of the single market after Brexit”, Dent Coad’s previous statement of: “Three in four people in Kensington voted to remain, and I will ensure their voices are heard” is beginning to appear rather hollow.
The electorate of Kensington are primarily ‘Remainers’ and given she also had the backing of Gina Miller’s Best for Britain on her path to power, Dent Coad must now speak up. We understand her priorities at this time must be with supporting the victims of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, but this believer that ‘Hard Brexit’ will lead to “the economy falling off a cliff” could have easily spared a moment to sign a letter that seeks to guide her party’s position on something that will ultimately affect all of her constituents. We join those expressing disappointment in Emma Dent Coad.
Emma Dent Coad’s supposed position on Brexit as set out during the 2017 General Election campaign
The letter sent by Labour heavyweights to The Guardian in full follows:
Jeremy Corbyn has rightly said that Labour’s position on Brexit is to focus on a deal that prioritises jobs first. We are all united behind that goal. For us that means membership of the single market. A country can be a member of the single market without being a member of the EU and we must be clear – “access” to the European single market is both different and inferior to “membership” of the single market. Why? Because if we leave the single market, whatever the level of access is negotiated, working people across Britain will be worse off and revenue to the exchequer will plummet – revenue the next Labour government will need to bring an end to years of damaging Tory austerity.
The single market is not a simple free trade zone. It is, uniquely, a framework of rules that protects people from the worst excesses of globalisation and unfettered capitalism, in addition to easing trade across the continent. If we have mere access to the single market, we are talking about leaving this framework of rules and achieving mere reductions in tariffs for trade with the European Union.
If Britain stays in the single market, we will continue to benefit from EU laws and court judgments that outlaw discrimination in the workplace; deliver vital rights to workers on holiday pay, maternity and paternity leave, the right to join a union, and much more; protect our natural environment from pollution; and keep workers safe through stringent health and safety requirements. Large multinational companies work across borders to maximise their profits to often reduce these protections; the next Labour government, as a member of the single market, can work with other European countries to resist this and advance social justice. If we leave the single market, and ask for mere “access”, we will be compromised in achieving these goals.
This is why so many people in the Labour movement are supporting British membership of the single market after Brexit. Frances O’Grady, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, has said that “if we leave the single market, working people will end up paying the price. It’d be bad for jobs, for work rights and for our living standards.” The USDAW trade union has warned that leaving the single market “will put at risk hundreds of thousands of jobs”.
And who is leading the charge to junk our membership of the single market? A motley crew of hard-right, pro-Brexit Tories. Michael Gove. Boris Johnson. John Redwood. Iain Duncan Smith. Priti Patel. Theresa May wants us out because her government is totally dominated by its obsession with leaving the single market. They want us to leave precisely because they want to roll back the social protections delivered by single market membership. Redwood authored a plan to cut regulation in Britain by 25%. Patel went one further, calling on the “burden” of EU regulations – those rules that protect working people – to be “halved”. We should not be providing political cover to hard-right Tories who stand diametrically opposed to Labour values.
The argument for leaving the single market is often focused around the need to end the free movement of people. However, we argue, and many experts agree, that changes to our immigration system can be made while keeping us inside it. Within the European treaties, free movement is not unconditional – at the moment we can require EU citizens to leave if they have no job or a prospect of a job three months after their arrival. Restrictions on free movement are explicitly allowed for reasons of “public policy, public security or public health”. Liechtenstein, which is outside the EU but in the single market, perfectly legally imposes quotas on EU migrants. French president Emmanuel Macron’s chief adviser has floated the idea of a “continental partnership” between Britain and the EU that would allow us to restrict free movement.
Another reason often cited for not remaining a member of the single market is that the state aid rules that apply in it stop governments from pursuing active industrial strategies to support their industries. But these have not stopped the likes of Germany having a national investment bank or France and the Netherlands supporting their industries through government procurement spend.
Ultimately, leaving the single market will make it much harder for a Labour government to end these years of Tory austerity. The economic damage it would cause would reduce the tax take, meaning less money could be spent on public services. The respected Institute for Fiscal Studies has forecast that leaving the single market for a free trade agreement could cause a £31bn hit to the public finances, extending austerity even further.
To win next time, Labour must provide a strong opposition to the Tories, stand up for the values of our voters, and continue to fight for the interests of all – not least young people who have the most to lose from an extreme Tory Brexit and who voted for the first time in 2017 for Labour, thinking we would stop the Tories in their tracks. This has to mean fighting unambiguously for membership of the single market. At the very least we should strongly oppose May’s decision to take membership off the table in these negotiations. An ambitious and confident alternative government – with Corbyn at the helm – should not throw in the towel as May has done, but could seek membership with reforms on immigration and the other matters we seek.
Chuka Umunna MP, Phil Wilson MP, Madeleine Moon MP, Maria Eagle MP, Liz Kendall MP, Stella Creasy MP, Wes Streeting MP, Mike Gapes MP, Kate Green MP, Lord Michael Cashman, Anne Coffey MP, Ian Murray MP, Rushanara Ali MP, Karen Buck MP, Stephen Doughty MP, Stephen Timms MP, Lord Spencer Livermore, Catherine McKinnell MP, Lord Peter Hain, Tulip Siddiq MP, Peter Kyle MP, Ruth Cadbury MP, Bridget Phillipson MP, Pat McFadden MP, Ann Clwyd MP, Thangam Debbonaire MP, Chris Bryant MP, Andy Slaughter MP, Daniel Zeichner MP, Alison McGovern MP, Darren Jones MP, Kerry McCarthy MP, Ben Bradshaw MP, Clare Moody MEP, Seb Dance MEP, Luciana Berger MP, Lord George Foulkes, Catherine Stihler MEP, David Martin MEP, Jude Kirton-Darling MEP, Mary Honeyball MEP, Paul Brannen MEP, Richard Corbett MEP, Julie Ward MEP, Derek Vaughan MEP, Lucy Anderson MEP, David Lammy MP, Lord John Monks, Meg Hillier MP, Adrian Bailey MP and Lady Meta Ramsay
Actor and producer Steven Berkoff suggests Her Majesty The Queen should open up Buckingham Palace to survivors of last week’s Grenfell Tower tragedy
Sir
In these grim times, when the shadow of death is stalking us with bitter regularity, an opportunity presents itself for our beloved Queen to actually do some real service for her tragically wounded people. I think of the survivors from that ghastly tower block fire in Kensington. As per usual, the nation’s wounds have her trolling about, nodding sympathetically as she listens with a furrowed brow, or stands stoutly at attention for a minute’s silence. Then back in the limo to Buckingham Palace.
Then it is left to the goofs and goons of local councils to get swiftly to work and rehouse the pathetic victims. This they seem to do with such ineptitude that it beggars belief. Sending some unfortunate hundreds of miles to distant Northern cities. What an insult to injury.
Now, dear Queen, who we all love dearly (although sadly that love has been waning somewhat). Rather than just be a lump of royal flesh being carted around the country and do little more than give the usual and slightly over familiar kindly looks and nods along with the odd moue, do something that really helps those wounded people. Offer them the sanctuary of Buckingham Palace!
I know that will be a hard call, a very hard call but the outcome would be worldwide recognition that our Royal Family really has soul and you will redeem The Monarchy and most of all your good self for centuries to come. Buck House has seven hundred and seventy five rooms including one hundred and eighty eight staff bedrooms.
Even if you took in only a hundred that would ease the burden enormously and what a magnificent gesture it would be, in fact it would endear you to us all till kingdom come. You have the space and you certainly are not short of the pennies for such a modest gesture.
Modest financially but colossal spiritually.
So lend an ear though I know full well that this might be I nigh on impossible gesture for you to make, so perhaps your enlightened grandchildren can gently persuade you. I know it’s hard to change the habits of a lifetime. But do try.
A saintly gesture is what our nation desperately needs right now. And you do have the space.
Theresa May’s decision to appoint Andrea Leadsom is indicative of where her bumbling bag of bilge government is headed
Last Thursday, at the count in her constituency, the rival candidate to attract the most attention to Theresa May was undoubtedly Lord Buckethead. Though it was his outfit that stood out, his ability to interest the electorate to his cause was actually far more impressive than a Prime Minister who’ll now go down as the “Weakest and Wobbliest” in modern history.
Yesterday, in appointing Andrea Leadsom as Leader of the Commons, May made her worst move since being allowed to form a minority administration. Incapable of coming up with suggestions other than “Brexit will bring a better deal for teaspoons”, Leadsom is known for exaggerating her CV, stating that men shouldn’t be allowed to look after young children as they might be paedophiles and receiving donations to her campaign via companies connected to British Virgin Island based tax havens. She is an extreme Brexiteer, widely disliked and generally considered “a little stupid” and given Mrs May needs to unite rather than divide, her appointment seems an especially curious choice.
As we head into even rockier waters with Brexit negotiations on the horizon, Leadsom is not what the Conservative Party let alone the country needs. She is not a woman who’ll unite her party and she’s not a woman who’ll bring harmony to our divided nation. And nor is Theresa May. It is time these bumbling buckethead imposters departed.
#BringHerDown #MakeJuneTheEndOfMay
Pictured above:Image 1 – Andrea Leadsom with a combine harvester – it is not clear how many wheat fields were naughtily damaged in the taking of that photograph; Image 2 – Prime Minister Theresa May with fellow candidate Lord Buckethead in Maidenhead, Berkshire on 8th June – ‘Team Buckethead’ later captioned the image: “Space Lord meets woman who used to run through fields of wheat”.
Andrea Leadsom, plainly afraid of being asked questions, has blocked The Steeple Times’ editor Matthew Steeples on Twitter
As Kensington turns red, ‘The Steeple Times’ reflects on the defeat of a woman nicknamed ‘#LazyBorwick’ , a win by a hard-left Labour blogger and a need for an MP who’ll now represent all constituents
Last night, in frankly the biggest shock of a shambolic and wholly unnecessary General Election, Kensington replaced one flame haired harridan with another and a Conservative majority of nearly 7,500 votes with a wafer thin Labour majority of just 20.
That a seat, where someone once commented: “Even a pig in a blue rosette would win here”, turned red shocked many but given the apparent laziness of the incumbent Member of Parliament, Lady Borwick, the result was a reflection of the constituency’s dissatisfaction with a woman whose reply rate to constituents was listed as just 18% on the website TheyWorkForYou.com.
Victor Emma Dent Coad represents something that many in the seat will not, however, want. Hard-left, and a Momentum supporter, this blogger undoubtedly can be credited as a dedicated councillor but her tangible lack of anger towards Brexit will come to disappoint the 69% of constituent supporters of ‘Remain’.
After the result was announced, Dent Coad, who was backed to the chagrin of a number of locals by Gina Miller’s ‘Best for Britain’ campaign, told those assembled:
“This constituency is a microcosm of everything that is wrong in this country after seven years of incompetent and uncaring coalition and Tory government”.
“I will do everything in my power in the next five years to make ‘One Kensington’ an example of the finest qualities of common humanity, mutual respect for all our communities and social justice to create a thoughtful, kind, co-operative and tolerant society where we can all prosper and thrive”.
Ousted Lady Borwick spoke briefly and added: “I wish Emma every success, but please be assured, as far as I am concerned, tomorrow I start the fight back for Kensington and the Conservatives”.
On Twitter, actor and local resident John Cleese responded: “Metro, The Mirror and the Evening Standard are blaming me for helping Labour’s chances in Kensington and Chelsea [sic]. Delighted my trick worked…”
Elsewhere, in response to an article published in April in The Steeple Times, a reader and associate of Lady Borwick going only by the name “Daniel M.’ remarked:
“You stupid, stupid people. You have destroyed Victoria Borwick’s majority and you should realise the impact that will have on the area. We do not suit Labour representing us and as someone who has worked with Victoria and knows her well I will tell you this: Shame on you Matthew Steeples. I am disgusted by your vendetta and demand you apologise”.
Ignoring this bitter Tory’s diatribe, Matthew Steeples concluded:
“Annabel Mullin deserves a worthy mention for having increased the Liberal Democrats’ share of votes cast from just 6.6% to 12.2% in spite of having no party structure behind her. Unlike machined up to the hilt Borwick and Dent Coad, she campaigned throughout the electoral area and now, as before, we have a constituency divided between the richer Tory south and the poorer Labour north”.
“Kensington might be perceived as the land of supercars and £120 million houses, but in fact, this is an area with a rife problem of homelessness and an area where people ‘buy-to-leave’ rather than to ‘buy-to-let’ let alone ‘buy-to-live’. Independent, locals businesses are being wiped out here and nowhere is it clearer that ‘money park London’ just cannot be allowed to continue unabated”.
“Emma Dent Coad, undoubtedly, secured an amazing win but it now remains to be seen whether she’ll represent ‘the many’ throughout Kensington or just ‘the cleverly focused few’ she so successfully targeted to secure her victory last night”.
Results (with percentage change from 2015 General Election):
Electorate – 60,594
Turnout – 38,677 (63.8%)
Majority – 20 for Labour (previously 7,361 for the Conservatives)
Emma Dent Coad, Labour Party– 16,333 (+11.1%)
Lady Borwick, Conservative Party – 16,313 (-10.1%)
Annabel Mullin, Liberal Democrats – 4,724 (+6.6%)
Jennifer Nadel, Green Party – 767 (-3.1%)
James Torrance, Independent – 393 (+1%)
Peter Marshall, Independent – 98 (+0.3%)
John Lloyd, Alliance for Green Socialism – 49 (-0.2%)
Pictured above: Ex-MP Lady Borwick with Theresa May; Emma Dent Coad after her victory on Friday
Blundering bin bag Theresa May will form a minority government today, but it won’t last; the nation want her and her nasty party gone
From the moment Theresa May awkwardly held Donald Trump’s hand in Washington back in January, it was all but over. Cursed by appearing a poodle to the worst POTUS in history, Britain’s then unelected Prime Minister showed herself as a kowtowing coward and a mandateless moron.
May – a self-declared “goody two shoes” whose outfits are supposedly chosen with the help of her ‘charitable’ chum Lady Meyer and whose “most naughty moment ever” was supposedly “golly gosh, running through fields of wheat” – had not needed to call an election but doing so has rightly cost her dear. When the contest was announced back in May, the public, represented best by ‘Brenda from Bristol’, told her: “Not another [election]. Oh for God’s sake, I can’t honestly… I can’t stand this”, but on this Lady Macbeth-like harridan blundered.
Philip and Theresa May – a bumbling ‘Wallace & Gromit-like’ duo unsuitable for the task of steering our nation through Brexit and beyond
Appearing on the BBC’s One Show with her garden gnome-like husband, Philip, foolish Mrs May car-crashingly joked about whose responsibility it was to take the bins out – there are, after all, “boys jobs” and “girls jobs” – and kept repeating her mantra of “Strong and Stable”. It was no longer about parties, it was “Theresa’s Team” but what the nation rightly came to understand her as was as one of the worst Home Secretary’s in modern history. Here, indeed, was a woman who’d closed our police stations and here was one who’d shut our fire stations; here was a woman whose friendship with the McCanns had resulted in them getting £11 million for their pointless search and here was a woman whose inquiry into historic abuse cost £100 million, yet, again achieved nothing for victims.
Though, surprisingly, for once, former UKIP’s former leader Nigel Farage got it right in stating: “The vicar’s daughter came across as insincere and establishment… Jeremy Corbyn fought and an amazing campaign and came across well”, it took Labour’s Tom Watson to sum up the mood of the nation when he remarked: “She said she was strong and stable. The public saw she was weak and wobbly”.
The Tory leader shot herself in the foot yesterday and as Paddy Ashdown concluded: “Mrs May: Enough is enough”. Let’s now put the rubbish out and let’s consign Theresa May to the bin bag of history.
A financier, a photographer and a doctor explain why they’ll respectively choose the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and Labour today
Financier Zachary Latif on why he’ll vote for the Conservative Party
Brexit is the primary question
Firstly, this election was called on the issue of Brexit and when voters go to the polls, the primary question is whom do they want as their chief negotiator to deal with Europe: Will it be Theresa May or will it be Jeremy Corbyn? It is incontrovertible that Theresa May, a lady with a sensible and steady pair of hands, is the one to captain the ship. When I compare her approach to the untried and untested Jeremy Corbyn, I know without a shadow of doubt that I want Theresa May and her team to be leading Brexit.
Making Britain prosperous
The economy will go through a very shaky time over the next five years and we need a party that has the economic expertise that can guide us through these rocky waters. We all remember the last terrible time under Labour when the treasury was literally left with no money. Britain, now, under the Tories, has low unemployment, a balanced budget and ambitious plans for economic growth. If you want a prosperous Britain then it can only be for the blues.
Multiculturalism and being proud to be British
The cult of multiculturalism, as Angela Merkel touched on a few years ago, has failed. We need a Britain that revolves around the Union, a bicameral Parliament, the Crown and an understanding of the strong role that the Church (Anglicanism South of the Wall and Presbyterianism North of the Wall) plays. We need a government that is able to both manage the world outside but also be able to stand up for Britain and this precious Union of Nation, as Theresa May puts it. Jeremy Corbyn is a revolutionary but has no instinct for British patriotism – as his extensive links with the IRA testify. The Conservative Party is the only major party that makes one feel proud to be British and also able to retain a global outlook.
Cambridge based Zachary Latif is a founder of Raef LLC, a high yield investment firm. He has appeared as a guest host on CNBC several times and is also an actor and playwright.
Photographer James Smith on why he’ll vote for the Liberal Democrats
Corbyn is the tail shaking the Labour dog
I’m a centrist and believe government should work for all rather than guarding the wealth or indulging the politics of envy. By pulling his party to the hard left, Corbyn and his army in the wings have allowed May to become more right wing. How dare he and how dare she abandon the middle. Corbyn has alienated so many of his more reasonable party members that only the dregs will serve with him on the front benches. Corbyn may be a great campaigner but he’s been a lazy politician in opposition and seems bored when he’s not absorbing the energy of an adoring crowd. Remind you of anyone?
The Liberal Democrats punched above their weight in the coalition
I thought the coalition government was a grown-up union born of necessity. Neither party could fall back to their comfort zones, they had to work together to deal with a dire situation. For the most part, both sides did well but the Lib Dems suffered because of lazy accusations of betrayal by their core voters. To me they’ve proven they’re grown-ups. They’re honest that there’s no magic money tree and we’ll all need to pay for the NHS and social care through higher income tax. The idea of a Labour-SNP pact would be the worst of all worlds: Bye bye UK.
The Liberal Democrats could help facilitate a more sensible Brexit
While I won’t be celebrating a Labour or a Conservative victory, Jeremy Corbyn would be significantly worse for the health of the country. His ideological policies may ultimately harm the people he is trying to help. Emily Thornberry is my incumbent MP and she has been totally unaccountable to her staunchly Remain constituents. She refuses to campaign for a second ‘Are you sure?’ EU referendum, something the local Lib Dem candidate, Alain Desmier, has promised to do. If you must take the UK into radical territory, don’t do it when we’re uncoupling from our like minded neighbours and facing a less stable wider world. Lashing out with a vote for Corbyn is a bit like a hand break turn along a cliff edge.
James Smith is an Islington based photographer. He was educated at a public school and an arts institute.
Sally Jackson on why she’ll vote for the Labour Party
For the many, not the few
Labour has pledged to rebalance an economy that just works for the likes of billionaires like Sir Philip Green right now. We need a fairer tax system and the guarantee of no income tax rises for those earning below £80,000 a year is proof that Labour will not “tax the country until the pips squeak” – an accusation so commonly thrown by the right that Jeremy Corbyn has again and again disproven.
Doing right by the NHS
Jeremy Hunt is a symbol of the callous Tories and their assault on humanity. As a healthcare professional I want him and Theresa’s team gone and I believe only Labour will deliver a fairer deal for patients and healthcare workers. We’re under extreme threat right now and cuts to pharmacy funding are one of the worst false economies I’ve come across. As someone wrote on a wall recently: “I’m no gynaecologist but I know a Hunt when I see one”.
It’s not just about Brexit
I’ve heard enough about “Brexit means Brexit” but I’m glad Jeremy Corbyn voted for Article 50 and opposed a second referendum. The country has spoken and it’s time to get on with it. I supported leave myself and I did so because Europe wasn’t giving us a fair, inclusive society. I believe Labour will give us that and now the focus back on to what’s “Best for Britain” – a phrase that the remoaners Gina Miller and Sir Bob Geldoff should never have been allowed to hijack.
Sally Jackson works as a doctor in Manchester. She was born in Devon and is a graduate of Queen Mary, University of London.
