This morning’s incident at Westminster should act as a reminder that Theresa May’s cuts to policing are utterly wrong and should be reversed
Whatever occurred this morning in Westminster provides proof of one thing for certain and that is that the Metropolitan Police acted quickly and with the upmost efficiency.
Whether a terrorist attack or something less sinister, that the 20-something year old driver of a Ford Fiesta whose vehicle smashed into cyclists and a security barrier thankfully caused no deaths is to be celebrated.
What, however, ought to be remembered is that policing in the capital is now incredibly under-resourced thanks to Theresa May’s decisions in her previous role as Home Secretary. In 2010, there were 149 police stations in London; by 2020 there will shamefully be just 32.
Matthew Steeples, editor-in-chief of The Steeple Times, comments:
“In my own dealings with the police – with regard to individuals using social media to abuse myself and others amongst other things – I’ve encountered many officers. Off the record, all have shared their frustrations at cuts to office numbers and places where the public can report crime.”
“With an increased threat to public safety, Mrs May must now reverse her terrible decision. This country was lucky this morning but they may not be next time. We need more bobbies on the beat and we need them now.”
Matthew Steeples suggests Nigel Farage is wrong about Boris Johnson’s latest gaffe about burkas in Britain
On Wednesday morning, on Sky News, Nigel Farage was interviewed about what he thinks about Boris Johnson – a self-serving man who simply loves to stay in the headlines – comparing women in burkas to “bank robbers” and suggesting they “look like letter boxes.”
Farage argued that “Joe Public is not interested” in this story and went as far to suggest: “This is just for the Westminster bubble… Politics is way to PC… You have to accept that sometimes people will be offended.”
Clearly, Farage has misjudged the interest in Johnson’s clearly provocative comments. This may be the ‘Silly Season’ but wherever I go in the UK and whenever I am in a situation where there are burka wearers, people – of all backgrounds – have something to say. Some are of the opinion that we must be respectful of such whilst others are of the mind that the burka is nothing but inappropriate in a modern, Western society.
In such places as Iran and Saudi Arabia, females, foreign and local, are forced to conform to the dress codes of those countries. Many here in Britain consider such “medieval” and “backward” and I, for one (as much as I personally loathe the bozo Johnson), certainly don’t believe anyone should be silenced from sharing their views for or against a ban on the burka in Britain.
Bizarrely largely overlooked by the mainstream media, the son of the ousted ex-MP for Kensington Lady ‘Call Me Victoria’ Borwick is an extremely well connected man who keeps himself under the radar on social media. The 31-year old has just 500 followers on Twitter – a surprisingly low number given he has been described as a “computer specialist” – and was put in a position of huge power as Vote Leave’s chief technology officer from August 2015 to July 2016.
Educated at the University of Richmond, Virginia from 2006 to 2010, with a period studying law courses at Cambridge briefly during 2008, Borwick subsequently worked in IT for the financial services company Killik & Co in 2012 and simultaneously “developed music technology for interactive lessons.”
More interestingly, this youngster’s move into political data profiling came also in 2012 when he founded a company named Kanto Systems with an aim of “bring[ing] UK Campaigning into the 21st century.” Here, Borwick developed a “mobile canvassing app” and came into contact with Cambridge Analytica in order to provide them with “digital services,” according to The Huffington Post. In turn, he sold an app to Cambridge Analytica’s parent company, SCL, and now, in March this year, his firm was brought in by Ireland’s Save The 8th anti-abortion campaign group as part of their efforts “to persuade Irish voters to keep the country’s strict anti-abortion laws.”
“Hiring Thomas Borwick to create and manage a website is like employing the SAS to run security at a school hop or bringing in Einstein to tot up your shopping bill,” comments journalist Fintan O’Toole in The Irish Times, and in further revelations in the Evening Standard late March, Borwick himself admitted to also having worked with the equally controversial Canadian data firm Aggregate IQ – an operation that earned £3.5 million working for Vote Leave during the 2016 referendum campaign.
The public and press need to wake up and smell the coffee. The manipulation of politics in America, Britain, Ireland and elsewhere runs far deeper than even the most avid viewer of the Daily Politics could imagine. Figures like Thomas Borwick may well operate in the backrooms but it is increasingly becoming apparent that with doorstep canvassing all but irrelevant, such people are worryingly our new political powerhouses.
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Meanwhile, yesterday, in Medway, Kent, a moaning Minnie named Charlotte Day contacted the Mail Online to complain about how she’d not been able to nab a loaf of bread in a Tesco Extra store.
24-year-old healthcare assistant Ms Day – no doubt paid for her pathetic non-story by the newspaper – claimed “customers were barging past each other” and ridiculously bleated:
“Shoppers were walking around with a panicked look on their faces. Some people had six or seven loaves in their basket.”
“People were pushing around, they weren’t being polite about it. I went to grab the last loaf and someone who already had six in their trolley took it, the shelves were empty. I couldn’t believe how busy it was.”
That this woman was prepared to go to the press about a bit of bread is bad enough, but that people are expiring their last breaths on the pavements of one of the richest countries in the world is utterly outrageous. Shame on Charlotte Day and shame on all of us.
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Grime and hip hop artist Stormzy should be saluted for using his fame to do good; the vile harpy Amanda Platell owes him an apology
Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. – better known by his stage name Stormzy – used his fifteen minutes of fame after winning the best album and the best male artist at the Brit Awards for the good of others.
Using the evening’s final performance, the grime and hip-hop artist rapped:
“Yo Theresa May, where’s the money for Grenfell? What, you thought we just forgot about Grenfell? You criminals, and you’ve got the cheek to call us savages, you should do some jail time, you should pay some damages, you should burn your house down and see if you can manage this.”
He added:
“MPs sniff coke, we just smoke some cannabis; So don’t get me for this, so be woke; This year I am dishing out Ls for free smoke; You tell us that we’re thugs, I try to bust a myth; But someone tell the Daily Mail that they can suck my…”
The opposite of the cowardly and self-loving members of ‘The Club’ that includes the likes of the withering old crooner Sir Elton John and his moaning titleless husband David Furnish, Stormzy has since continued to communicate his campaign in the days since. Communicating to his 1.18 million followers on Twitter, he encouraged the nation to sign a petition to take action to support the victims of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and as of 11:50am Saturday over 130,000 people had signed a petition calling for a parliamentary debate.
Elsewhere on Saturday in the Daily Mail, the acid tongued Australian harpy Amanda Platell demanded: “[Stormzy] show a scintilla of gratitude to the country that offered his mother and him so much instead of trashing it.” This self-declared “dear friend” of the paedophile Rolf Harris should be ashamed of herself; Stormzy has used his fame for the good others whilst she is simply known for taking the dirty money of the nastiest newspaper in Britain.
Sign the petition to “Call on PM to take action to build public trust in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry” by clicking here.
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The government’s cowardly response in full to the petition follows:
The Grenfell Tower fire was a truly unimaginable tragedy that should never have happened.
The Government’s highest priority remains making sure that survivors, bereaved families and the wider Grenfell community receive all the support they need.
The independent public Inquiry into the fire is an important part of the process and will help those affected get the answers they need to get to the truth of what happened.
The Prime Minister committed to considering the issue of panel members once the Chair had confirmed who had been appointed as assessors to assist the Inquiry. Section 7 of the Inquiries Act 2005 allows the Minister responsible for an inquiry to appoint further panel members during the course of an inquiry with the agreement of the Chair.
In October 2017, the Chair announced the appointment of 7 expert witnesses with backgrounds in fire safety, forensic fire analysis, fire engineering, disaster resilience and also anatomy and human identification. The expert witnesses will provide a range of technical advice and expert reports to assist the work of the Inquiry in delivering its terms of reference.
In addition, in November 2017, the Chair announced the appointment of 3 assessors with backgrounds in community engagement and social housing, local authority administration and structural engineering. The Chair also confirmed at the Inquiry’s preliminary hearing in September that he would expect the assessors to see all the evidence and sit with him when taking oral evidence. The Chair has also confirmed that he may make further appointments if needed.
Following the announcement of these appointments, the Prime Minister carefully considered the composition of the Inquiry panel in light of the diversity and expertise of advice now available to the Inquiry.
The Prime Minister wrote to the representatives of the survivors and bereaved families on 21 December 2017 and informed them of her decision not to appoint additional panel members. The Prime Minister’s decision was similarly communicated to the Inquiry on the same date.
Having regard to the terms of reference and the assistance to be provided by the assessors, and the expert witnesses, it is the Prime Minister’s view that the Inquiry panel has the necessary expertise to undertake the Inquiry as it is currently constituted. The Prime Minister is also conscious of the need for the Inquiry to complete its initial report as quickly as reasonably possible. The Prime Minister therefore considers that additional panel members should not be appointed at this stage.
In reaching this conclusion, the Prime Minister fully took into account her duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 (the Public Sector Equality Duty – PSED).
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that those most affected by the tragedy are able to contribute fully to the Inquiry and that is why the Prime Minister welcomes the consideration being given by Sir Martin Moore-Bick to the establishment of a community advisory panel, as proposed at the December procedural hearing.
Such a panel, similar to that which has worked well for the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, could play a very beneficial role in putting those most affected at the heart of the Inquiry and enabling them to ensure that their views and experiences are heard. It is for Sir Martin, as Chair of the independent Inquiry, to take this forward, in consultation with the Grenfell Tower community, and the Government hopes that he will be able to do this as soon as possible.
In line with the Inquiry Rules 2006, legal representatives of the Grenfell community core participants will receive in advance of hearings disclosure of relevant evidence; will be able to make opening and closing statements at certain hearings and can suggest lines of questioning to be pursued by Counsel to the Inquiry. They can also apply to the Chair to ask questions of a witness.
Having myself been part of the case that ultimately resulted in the racist bigot Viscount St Davids being sent to prison for using Facebook to offer rewards to kill others, I know first-hand the trauma online trolling can cause. It can be as offensive and scary as a heavy breathing phone call or poison pen letter and, as this publication has repeatedly stated before, given the profits made by social media operations, it is time that they accepted that it is their responsibility to regulate their users.
On the programme, Miss Price remarked:
“I’ve had two people arrested. They took it as far they could… But I need to do something… There is nothing in place so I am going to fight to get online abuse made a criminal offence.”
“Anyone is allowed freedom of speech but people know when they’ve crossed the line… People shouldn’t get away… Just because it’s online people don’t seem to take it serious [SIC]… Of course you can say things people won’t agree with.”
“I’ve got five children but they are aware they only pick on Harvey… Basically I’m counting on them [Members of Parliament] to put a good case and take it to the next level. If no one believes in this, they’ve got no heart and no soul.”
In response, on the programme, the former Cabinet Minister Justine Greening told the BBC’s Jo Coburn:
“I really admire Katie Price… The Internet revolution is challenging every aspect of our lives.”
“It’s not a question of limiting what people can say but we should have the same laws for online as well as offline… I hope to see some sensible proposals that will tackle the kind of things that Katie Price and her family have had to suffer…. MPs have had to suffer too. It’s not acceptable.”
Whilst it is easy to agree with Price’s sentiments, it now transpires she might not exactly be innocent herself. Allegations of her partaking in ‘revenge porn’ against her ex-husband Alex Reid have since surfaced and, equally, given that she’s known as a brilliant self-publicist, one is simply left questioning this glamour model’s true motivations.
Billionaire George Soros speaks sense on Brexit and puts his money where his mouth is; others with resources should follow his lead
Man of substance George Soros broke the Bank of England and now he looks set to break Brexit.
Whilst many would argue his first action to be a bad thing, what he now seeks to achieve would be brilliant for Britain (if indeed he and others pull it off). As Theresa May’s car crash of a government plod on with negotiations with the EU in a cackhanded fashion, today, Soros penned an article for the Mail on Sunday and announced:
“I consider Brexit a tragic mistake… Brexit is a lose-lose proposition… [It has] split British politics between young and old. Even though I am 87, I think a lot about young people who will live in a future I will never see. People under 35 voted overwhelmingly Remain and it was only over 55 that a majority of voters supported Brexit.”
“Old voters have overruled young voters who will have to live with the consequences of Brexit for decades ahead. This is aggravating the disillusionment with democracy among young people. It also raises the prospect that Britain will eventually want to rejoin the EU.”
“The doors of Europe may be open in the future, but if Britain leaves now it will never be able to rejoin the EU on the same favourable terms.”
“I am a proud supporter of Best For Britain, a group that wants Britain to remain a member of the European Union… Best For Britain seeks to break the logjam by bringing together all the various forces that are united by their aspiration for Britain to remain part of Europe. It has my wholehearted support.”
Accused by some of being an “interfering foreigner,” self-described “confirmed Anglophile” Soros has put his money where his mouth is. In donating £400,000 to the anti-Brexit cause, he has drawn a line in the sand and hopefully others will follow his lead. It is time to #ExitBrexit and it is time for the 48% to rise up and be counted.
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Matthew Steeples slates Jeremy Corbyn’s failure to secure a 20 point lead in the polls
This publication is regularly criticised for being “anti-conservative.” It most certainly isn’t and that we are blocked on Twitter by both Diane Abbott and George Galloway is definitely evidence of what the true “far left” think of our ramblings.
Recent polls by YouGov suggest the Conservatives and Labour “level pegging on 42 per cent” but also that Mrs May leads 35 per cent to 29 per cent over Jeremy Corbyn on “who’d make best Prime Minister.” Interestingly, however, 36% opted to choose “don’t know” and that could hint that whoever changes their leader first might be in for a better chance of electoral success.
Corbyn’s failure is further indicated in news that Labour membership is falling at a rate of around 4,000 per week. That is pretty appalling for his party but that that he is not 20 points ahead at a time when the worst Prime Minister in history is truly making a dogs dinner of Brexit is proof that it is time for him to simply throw in the towel.
Lord Buckethead moves on from taking on Theresa May in Maidenhead and records a Christmas song; it’s brilliant
The fabulous Lord Buckethead has done it again. First, this wacky enigma took on the woman rightly described as “Britain’s worst ever Prime Minister” in Maidenhead in June and got 249 votes and now he’s made a YouTube video.
Referencing everyone and everything from Chris Rea to John Lewis, this mysterious space lord sings about happiness and the weather but simply concludes: “There’s hardly anyone left who’s still sober.” He adds: “I know your politics are in dire straits, from Downing Street to the United States, but change will come no matter how long it takes and things won’t be so scary.”
As Lord Buckethead sings: May we wish you all a “bucket full of happiness.” Happy Christmas and by God, we need some cheer.
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Twelve Conservatives show themselves as heroes of the hour by voting against Theresa May on Brexit
Yesterday, twelve decent Tory MPs stood up to the worst Prime Minister in history and effectively ensured the Commons has to vote for a “meaningful” vote over any Brexit deal with the EU.
They are:
Dominic Grieve
Heidi Allen
Ken Clarke
Nicky Morgan
Anna Soubry
Sarah Wollaston
Bob Neill
Stephen Hammond (subsequently sacked as Tory vice chairman by the pugnacious PM)
Oliver Heald
Jonathan Djanogly
Antoinette Sandbach
John Stevenson (voted both ways as an active abstention)
We salute them.
#BringHerDown #MakeDecemberTheEndOfMay
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