caltonjock

Poorly equipped Scottish soldiers deployed to hell on earth, Helmand Province Afghanistan

In April 2006 the Labour government deployed over 3,000 military personnel to Helmand Province, Afghanistan tasked with supporting a US-led force already deployed throughout the country eliminating Taliban militants.

Political and military leaders were briefed, by US intelligence of the dangers with which the force would be confronted but chose to believe that US forces already in the field of war would continue to meet the main challenge of the Taliban.

The “Westminster and Whitehall” mantra was: ” we’ll deal with it if it happens.” The US military command, in Kabul were more than ready to transfer responsibility for policing Helmand Province and the South of Afghanistan to the “Brits”.

John Reid, (start much finish nothing) then Secretary of State for Defence, briefed the world’s press in Kabul that Britain would remain with the Nato joint forces mission for as long as necessary emphasising the importance of preventing the Taliban returning to power.

He said “We’re in Helmand and the South to assist and protect the Afghan people reconstructing their economy and democracy” and, “we would be perfectly happy to leave in three years time without firing one shot.” He then returned to the UK to take up a new job as Foreign Secretary.

the Labour government complacency was quickly dispelled by the shock of cold reality when the ill equipped, poorly armed and inadequately trained young Scottish soldiers came under sustained attack from the Taliban.

The much vaunted “policing” role promoted by Labour Party politicians morphed into a 12 year brutal counter-insurgency campaign resulting in the death and injury of a large number of military personnel. The armed forces of the country were betrayed by successive Westminster governments whose default setting was firmly fixed at: “muddle”

Casualties of war – 446 British soldiers died in Afghanistan – four times the rate of US troops, a statistical disparity which nobody at Westminster has yet explained

The maximum acceptable level of major combat casualties is 6 deaths per 1000. UK forces suffered 13 deaths per 1000. (The average age of those who died was 22. 31 were teenagers, 200 in their 20s). USA forces suffered 3 deaths per 1000.

3560 soldiers were wounded in action. 29 British soldiers had limbs amputated in 2012-2013. 12 were classified as “significant multiple amputees”.

Of the army veterans who made it home more or less in one piece, suicide was the most common cause of death in 2012.

Britain Sent Troops Into Helmand Province With, “Eyes Shut and Fingers Crossed”

Major General Mackay, Greatly respected, Force Commander in Helmand, (in an interview in the Times), not long after he left the Army said;

“Labour’s “complacent” approach to the Afghan mission had proved “very costly”. The genesis of their approach is born of complacency, the thought that, ‘we can deal with it as and when it happens”. It resulted, I believe, in the upper echelons of the Labour government going into Helmand with their eyes shut and their fingers crossed.

“For those who fought and died or suffered injuries in that period, this proved a very costly means of conducting counter-insurgency. The issue is whether or not our politicians, diplomats, intelligence services, civil servants and senior military have done enough, adapted enough, been innovative enough or courageous enough to make tough, and more often than not, unpalatable choices.”

“My answer to that question is that they have not or have failed to do so too often. Muddling through seemed to be the default setting, along with the protection of individual and collective interests”.

The Tory Government – British Army Media and Psychops Elite Unit

The Brigade, named the 77th in tribute to the Chindits, the British guerrilla force led by Maj Gen Orde Wingate* against the Japanese in Burma during the second world war, was formed in 2013/14.

It is headquartered near Newbury, in Berkshire and numbers around 1,500 personnel (including regulars and reservists) who are primarily recruited from military units across the army.

The force endeavours to influence the politics of other nations against a background of 24-hour news, smartphones and social media and has gained excellent working skills from expertise acquired by the the Israel Defense Force (IDF) which is presently active on 30 internet platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

*Wingate organized and led the notorious Jewish murder squads against  native Palestinians in the fledgling state of Israel.  His methods were so brutal that Israeli politicians brought an end to it and demanded his banishment from Israel forever.

Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL Group) – The Mission

It’s declared mission was to provide behavioral research and change programmes, strategic communication “data, analytics and strategy to governments, the UK armed forces and military organizations worldwide.

In 2005, the company, went public at the UK’s largest weapons conference, a showcase for military technology, with an impressive demonstration of how the UK government could use a sophisticated media campaign of mass deception fooling the British people into believing a bogus accident at a chemical plant had actually occurred and threatened central London.

A freedom of information request from August 2016, recorded that the MOD twice bought services from SCL in recent years.

Namely:

1. In 2010/11, the MOD paid £40,000 to SCL for the “provision of external training.”

2. In 2014/2015, the MOD paid SCL £150,000 for the “procurement of a “target audience analysis.”

The MOD refused to provide verifiable explanation of the use of the large sum of money.

It was further confirmed that SCL had also been granted “Top secret” clearance as a “list X” contractor for the MOD which allowed the company commercial access to and use of highly classified UK government information.

Summary:

In 2014 a single political event (possibly manipulation of the outcome of the Scottish Independence Referendum) required an expenditure of £150,000 with SCL by the MOD for the “procurement of a “target audience analysis.”

Evidenced by the dubious activities of the Civil Service in England (see below), it is entirely possible the newly formed British Army Media and Psychops Elite Unit had made use of the comprehensive “target audience analysis” provided.

 Westminster Civil Service, “Devolved Countries Unit” (Dirty Tricks) campaign team won “special” Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service Award

The late, Sir Jeremy Heywood, Sir Bob Kerslake and Sir Nicholas McPherson, the three amigo’s who ran the UK, collaborated and plotted against Scotland, marshalling the full might of the British State, attacking the Scottish government and supporters of the “Yes” campaign.

In the months after the referendum the Civil Service publicly expressed great satisfaction that their “Campaign of fear” had generated “fearties” in sufficient numbers so as to win the day for the Unionist coalition.

An award, in recognition of the civil servant’s outstanding achievement in making a difference on an issue of national significance, (the Referendum) was presented by the ”Cabinet Secretary and civil service head Sir Jeremy Heywood.

The proud team of self termed, strictly impartial, very senior civil servants commented afterwards;

* Paul Doyle:  “This award is for all the hard work that was done by all British government departments on the Scotland independence agenda. In all my experience of the civil service, I have never seen the civil service pull together in the way they did supporting the Westminster government, maintaining the United Kingdom.”

* William MacFarlane, Deputy Director at HM Treasury, (Budget and Tax Strategy):  “As civil servants you don’t get involved in politics. But for the first time in my life, suddenly we’re part of a political campaign.

We were doing everything from the analysis, to the advertising, to the communications. I just felt a massive sense of being part of the operation. This being recognized [at the Civil Service Awards], makes me feel just incredibly proud.”

* Shannon Cochrane: “We’ve learned that it is possible for civil servants to work on things that are inherently political and quite difficult, and you’re very close to crossing the line of what is allowable, but it’s possible to find your way through and to make a difference.”

* Mario Pisani: Deputy Director HM Treasury, (Public Policy): “We all had something in common, we were fighting to save the Union, and it came so close. We just kept the UK intact by the skin of our teeth. I actually cried when the result came in. After 10 years in the civil service, my proudest moment is tonight and receiving this award.

As civil servants you don’t get involved in politics. For the first time in my life, suddenly we were part of a political campaign. We were doing everything from the analysis, to the advertising, to the communications. I just felt a massive sense of being part of the operation. This being recognized [at the Civil Service Awards], makes me feel just incredibly proud.” (civilserviceworld)

Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL Group) – The Board

In a scandal that cut to the heart of British society board members included an array of Lords, Tory donors, ex-British army officers, defence contractors, the Tory Party and the military establishment.

Including:

Mark Turnbull: Provided the “Atlantic Alliance” link. Spent 18 years at Bell Pottinger, heading up a Pentagon funded PR drive in occupied Iraq which included the production of fake al-Qaeda videos. He was the head of SCL Elections and Cambridge Analytica Political Global.

His profile at the University of Exeter Strategy and Security Institute boasted of his record in achieving “campaign success via measurable behavioural change” in “over 100 campaigns in Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean”.

Nigel Oakes: An old Etonian, he was the head of the group.According to the website “PowerBase” had links to the British royal family. Rumoured to be an Mi5 spy.

In 1992 he described his work in a trade journal as using the same techniques as Aristotle and Hitler. … “We appeal to people on an emotional level to get them to agree on a functional level.”

Sir Geoffrey Pattie: Former Tory MP and Defense Minister in Thatcher’s government. He was the President of SCL. He also co-founded “Terrington Management” which listed BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin among its clients.

Roger Gabb: A former British special forces officer in Borneo and Kenya the wine millionaire was a company director. In 2006 he donated £500,000 to the Tory Party.

He was fined by the Electoral Commission for failing to include his name on an advert in a number of local newspapers arguing for a Leave.EU vote in the Brexit referendum.

Julian Wheatland: A venture capitalist, he was the company’s chairman. He was also the chairman of Oxfordshire Conservatives Association.

Jonathan Marland: The former Conservative Party Treasurer, was a trade envoy under David Cameron, and a close friend of Tory election strategist Lynton Crosby. He provided financial support to the company.

Vincent Tchenguiz: A property tycoon and Conservative party donor he was also the single largest SCL shareholder for a decade.

Gavin McNicoll: A company director. Founded counter-terrorism “Eden Intelligence” a firm who, at the behest of the British government, ran a G8 Plus conference on Financial Intelligence Cooperation.

Sir James Allen Mitchell: A retired board member, he was the former Prime Minister of the previous British colony St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He is also a privy counsellor on the Queen’s advisory board.

Rear Admiral John Tolhurst: A former assistant director of naval warfare in the Ministry of Defense and aide de camp to the Queen.

Lord Ivar Mountbatten: The Queen’s third cousin, was also named as a member of SCL’s advisory board.

Summary:

It is evident that SCL was a product of murky alliances formed between venture capitalists, Tory Party politicians and their financial backers and former British military and intelligence officers.

The recent exposure of SCL provided irrefutable firm evidence of shadowy actors that used dirty tricks in order to rig elections. But these characters were not operating from Moscow intelligence bunkers.

Instead, they were British, Eton educated, headquartered in the city of London and had binding ties to Her Majesty’s government.

And the foregoing information barely scrapes the surface of just how deep the tie went between the UK defense establishment and SCL. (Paraphrasing author: Liam O Hare – Bella Caledonia)

Summary:

The outcome of the 2014 “Scottish Independence Referendum” confirmed that the Tory government utilized every weapon in its formidable arsenal of civil servants and other bodies of state in its determined action against Scots who simply wished to be free of the brutal Westminster control which has bound Scotland to England in an illegal “Treaty of union” for over 300 years.  Alert to the trickery and deviousness of the British State, Scots should ensure counter measures are in place before the next referendum preventing a similar outcome.

The Orange Order of Scotland, supporters of the DUP and the Tory Party in Scotland

The Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland Grand Master Jim McHarg, in a speech in 2017 said:

“The bulk of the Lodge’s estimated 50,000 Scottish supporters are Tories, and more members of the Order are now serving as elected officials across Scotland than at any time in the past two decades.”

20 May 2010: Orange Order activist and DUP supporter, Richard Cook, creator of Conservative Future (Scotland)

The former Deputy Chairman of the Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party stated:

“I believe deeply in our party, its membership and in the need for a centre right party to represent the hundreds of thousands of Scots who believe in the same things we do.

Putting it bluntly, our General Election results were not good. In all but a few seats the people of Scotland turned out to stop the Tories and not to support us despite the worst economic disaster in British peace time history. It is time the Party strengthened Scottish (CFS) Conservative Future.

Conservative Future (Scotland) did a fantastic job of mobilising its members to help in constituencies across Scotland at the 2010 General Election. Now we need to do everything we can to support and grow this organisation.

They move faster, get through more and have a different view on life than our more mature members, and while they bring with them certain challenges they are an essential part of a vibrant political party.

In East Renfrewshire I was blessed to have the support of a large and very dedicated bunch of young people, largely students, who dedicated Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings – right through the bitter cold of last winter – to the canvass activity that helped grow our vote.

Richard Anderson, Ross McFarlane and Colin Taylor, to name just three, did everything they could to coordinate a group of 20+ young activists from Conservative Future branches at Glasgow University, Strathclyde University, Caledonian University and beyond – and what a job they did.

Not that their activities were restricted to canvassing.  There were the numerous thousands of leaflets they dropped through doors and the myriad of new ideas they brought forward to the benefit of our campaign.

These guys are from a generation of people who are among the first to have grown up with Labour as the political establishment. They look at the state of our economy and blame lack of job opportunities on our opposition, not the Tories.

For them the word “Tory” does not throw up bad memories of Conservative government and in seeking to end perceptions of a toxic brand we should be asking CFs members to be active participants in brand modernisation.

How do we help them? First of all we need to ask them what they need in order to be able to continue to grow and prosper.

We are talking about a generation of people who have grown up in an online world and for whom modern campaign techniques are second nature. As a result they have a very different outlook on life and will want to take us in exciting new directions – both in our structure and our campaign activities.

Then we need to help them deliver exciting organisations on the ground. This is particularly the case on University campuses where political celebrity is often used to attract new members.

People like Boris Johnson are extremely popular (hence the range of Boris material produced for CF use at Freshers’ Fairs) and with a young and dynamic new Prime Minister we need to use the positive images we have to their best advantage.

So, we need to help CFs branches organise good local events, with a good profile of speaker, and to support these events in person, where appropriate. Finally we must recognise that, in return for their support of campaigns in our constituencies we need to support them.

I intend to organise a CFs summer get together in Glasgow to thank them for their support of my campaign in East Renfrewshire. More importantly, I hope this will show Conservative Future (Scotland) we value their involvement and want to hear from them what direction they believe our Party should now take. (revivingourparty)

2011: Orange Order activists and DUP supporters, the ultra right-wing young conservatives band together under Ruth Davidson and the “Conservative Future” banner

In Scotland, at 2011, Tory Party membership had reduced to around 8000, many of whom were aged between 50-80. This created problems since it was not possible to conduct any meaningful electorate canvassing without troops on the ground and after being appointed leader of the Party in Scotland Ruth Davidson turned away from the “Tory Old Guard” instead preferring to raise the profile of her personally selected “Conservative Future” footsoldiers, so that they would cement and implement her doctrine in all areas of the Party in Scotland.

The Davidson, Orange Order and Unionist Tory Party youth wing in Scotland comprises party members aged 30 and younger. Students participate equally in the affairs of the Party enjoying active participation in the campaigns of their local MSPs, MP or Councillors at all levels of the Party structure

But there is a price to pay for creating a two tier Party and the behaviour of a number of young Tory thugs associated with an increasing number of unsavoury incidents gives warning to the electorate not to provide unfettered support to a political group closely modelled on the ideals of the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland (DUP).

12 September 2011: Ross Mcfarlane, Orange Order, DUP supporter and Conservative Future (Scotland) President & colleagues in Drunken Anti-Catholic Rant

Footage has emerged of Ross McFarlane, who was also the MSP’s election agent, setting fire to the EU standard, after a St Andrew’s Day dinner last year while he was wearing Glasgow University robes.

Video footage showed McFarlane and a number of fellow conservatives in Hyndland, in Glasgow’s West End, at 2am after the dinner, which was attended by Ruth Davidson and guest speaker, right-wing Tory MEP Roger Helmer. The footage showed three people, including McFarlane and another individual draped in a Union Flag, trying to burn the EU flag on the pavement. Struggling to set the cloth on fire, McFarlane said “F**k sake”, before adding: “Get a lighter.” An off-camera voice is heard to say: “Douse it.” At this point it becomes clear the group is planning to burn the flag using alcohol and a lighter. McFarlane is then seen to pour liquid on to the flag, prompting an associate to say: “What a waste of vodka, by the way.” A frustrated McFarlane exclaims: “Somebody get a lighter.” The failure to destroy the flag then becomes a source of merriment for a member of the group off-camera. He can be heard saying: “There’s more chance of f*****g seeing the Pope confess to paedophilia.” The group laughs. The same person then says: “There’s more chance of Hugh Dallas telling us he’s a f*****g tarrier.” – a derogatory term for an Irish Catholic. The jibe prompted more laughter. McFarlane finally set the flag alight. The group expressed its approval before one of them started to sing God Save The Queen. The fire petered out and McFarlane said: “S**t disnae burn, lads.”

25th September 2011: Richard Green, Orange Order, DUP supporter and former secretary of Conservative Future (Scotland) posts racist comments online

Stewart Green, Glasgow University graduate and former secretary of Conservative Future (Scotland) and a key figure behind the “Tory Hoose” blog, claimed it was not possible to be racist against “blacks” and said it did not matter how many black people went to university. Green was one of the Tory members previously embroiled in a EU flag-burning row.

Toryhoose.com was formed by senior party supporters in 2011 as a Scottish version of the acclaimed Conservative Home website. The blog described itself as a forum for “fresh thinking” in the Tories and was edited by activists.

Green, the site’s webmaster and “leadership editor” had also posted his controversial views on race elsewhere online. In a post on university admissions on microblogging site Twitter he said:

“Why’s it ‘racist to conclude no blacks good enough’? Wasn’t aware black was a race.” On the same day, he tweeted: “Shock: Oxbridge has only few black students. However, They have zero single armed, black, lesbian mothers. How outrageous.” He later said: “As far as I can see, racism is discrimination against a particular race. So you can be racist against Jews, but not against black people.” Green also tweeted: “An Asian festival is taking place a few doors up, either that or several cats are being strangled. Can’t quite decide which.” On UK Government policy towards Pakistan, he said the Asian country’s “first mistake” was “ending imperial rule”.

Green was also one of those present when a drunken young Conservative, Ross McFarlane, set fire to a European Union flag on a Glasgow street.

13 Nov 2011: Belfast born, Colin Taylor, Orange Order, DUP supporter and former President of Conservative Future (Scotland) praises the activities of the Ulster Volunteer Force

In her first week as national leader of the party, new Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson was embroiled in a sectarianism row after one of her party’s Holyrood staff posted song lyrics on Twitter glorifying Northern Irish terrorist group, the Ulster Volunteer Force.

It emerged that Belfast born Colin Taylor, a Glasgow University graduate and former president of Conservative Future Scotland (CFS),  was employed, at the public’s expense, in the Tory press and research unit in Holyrood had tweeted lyrics from the song “Here Lies a Soldier”, which sings the praises of the Ulster Volunteer Force, an anti-Catholic Northern Irish terrorist group. In his tweets Taylor casually referred to “tims” another offensive name for Catholics.

As embarrassing as such behaviour may have been for Davidson, it was her response to Taylor’s tweets that has earned her the most criticism. Taylor was allowed to keep his position, his punishment for his behaviour being no more than a “warning.” MSPs  called this “insufficient” and demanded  more “disciplinary proceedings” without success.

Peter Kearney, of the Catholic Media Office, said: “The Catholic Church in Scotland condemns in the strongest possible terms any sectarian behaviour or criminality, from any quarter whatsoever, as having no place in a civilised society.” (scottishpol)

20 September 2016: Ulsterman, Ian Donnell, Orange Order, DUP supporter and former chairman of Conservative Future (Scotland) at St Andrews University is guilty of election fraud

An investigation conducted by the Students Association at St Andrews University found that allegations of “election fraud” and other allegations of abuse of authority, against the St Andrews Conservative and Unionist Society Chairman and committee were in fact true.

There were a number of serious allegations including an anti-Roman Catholic sentiment within the Society. Stephan Maier, (member) said that at times there was a “general sentiment” of anti-Roman Catholic feeling in the Society stating that, anti-Roman Catholic remarks were made. He said: “I’m not someone who feels very uncomfortably easily myself, but I believe others would. People would easily be put off by that immediately, I completely agree with that. Certain people would feel their presence was unwanted, and their opinion carried little or no value because they were Roman Catholic. It put off people from joining or attending.”

A spokesman for the membership said: “It is some relief to be vindicated by the Union, and that our claims that the election had been unpleasant and corrupted have been confirmed.” (thesaint-online)

4 May 2017: Callum Purves, Orange Order, DUP supporter and former Conservative Future (Scotland) Society President found Guilty of Election Foul Play at St Andrews University elected to the Kinross Council

Purves and Ulsterman, Ian Donnell, (former society chairman and president) were investigated and found guilty of serious electoral foul play.

The odious behaviour of senior officers of the Society, many since promoted to senior positions within the Scottish Conservative Party was symptomatic of the failure, on the part of Ruth Davidson and her colleagues to provide leadership and guidance to younger members of her Party.

It is conjectured that, had the information contained in this article been made available to the Kinross electorate it is doubtful Purves would have been elected to serve as a councillor.

Might be he will do the right thing and stand down and submit himself for re-election. But “pigs might fly” before that happens.(thesaint-online)

19 May 2017: Orange Order activist and DUP supporter, Richard Cook, creator of Conservative Future (Scotland), at the centre of a £425,000 (DUP) major brexit funding scandal.

Cook is at the centre of a political scandal raging in Northern Ireland.

Back in February, an “openDemocracy” investigation found that donors had taken advantage of Northern Ireland’s secretive electoral laws to funnel hundreds of thousands of pounds to the DUP’s pro-Brexit campaign.

Under pressure, the DUP revealed that the party had received £425,622 from a group called ‘the Constitutional Research Council.

Nothing much is known about the Constitutional Research Council. It has no formal legal status. What is known is that Cook claimed he was the chairman. And he promised to fund the pro-union campaign in any future Scottish independence referendum, stating “More people with more money are ready to step up to the plate this time compared with the last referendum”.

He did not reveal who the people were.” The DUP refused to say who the backers behind the CRC were. But there is little to suggest that Cook himself is a major donor.   Conservative colleagues described Cook as “a nice but not a rich guy”.

He is also listed as an advisor on “Think Scotland”, a conservative-minded website funded by Scottish unionist businessman Robert Kilgour.

Think Scotland is owned by former Tory MSP Brian Monteith who was the head of press during the EU referendum, for Leave.EU, the campaign group run by Arron Banks. (openDemocracy)

Comment:

Cook has well established links, going back a number of years, with the Canadian registered data collection company, AggregateIQ which intervened plotting against Scots in support of “Better Together” in the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum and in subsequent Scottish elections and Voteleave.EU in the Brexit campaign.

It is this company that is the most likely source of the £425,000 donation to Richard Cook.

This is evidenced by the submission, in the expenditure accounts to the Electoral Commission of an AggregateIQ copy invoice for digital advertising, in the name of Jeffrey Donaldson MP for £32,750.73.

But there was no record of the company building any pages for the DUP website at any point.

Orange Order activist and DUP supporter, Richard Cook is allied to a right-wing Eurosceptic pressure group “the Freedom Association”

Cook was the Scottish spokesperson for the Conservative Party, “Campaign Against Political Correctness”, which was closely allied to the Freedom Association, a right-wing Eurosceptic pressure group.

In 2009, Cook and Murdo Fraser addressed the “Freedom Association” at a fringe event at the Conservative party conference in Perth to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher’s 1979 election victory.

Freedom Association Chief Executive Simon Richards later praised Cook as “one of the hardest working PPC’s (Parliamentary Prospective Candidates) anywhere in the country”.

The “Freedom Association” also boasts well established historical links with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland.

Among its original founders was Ross McWhirter, a controversial journalist who campaigned for strict restrictions on Irish people in Britain, including making it compulsory for all Irish people in Britain to register with the local police and to provide signed photographs of themselves when renting flats or booking into hotels and hostel.

McWhirter was shot dead by the Provisional IRA in Enfield in 1975.

In 2007 and 2008, leading DUP politicians Jeffrey Donaldson and Sammy Wilson were involved in “Freedom Association” fact finding events in Northern Ireland.

At the time, the “Freedom Association” said it had taken a close interest in Ulster matters from its earliest days and was keen to strengthen its ties with the province and to demonstrate its support for the Union.

Donaldson was the chair of the DUP’s Leave.EU campaign – his name appeared on the election material that the CRC’s £425,000 donation paid for – and Wilson was a prominent pro-Brexit DUP voice throughout the campaign, regularly appearing in the media.

An SNP spokesperson said: “These are deeply concerning allegations. The fact that we still do not know the source of such a significant amount of cash used to help bankroll the Brexit campaign is unacceptable, and cannot be allowed to continue.

Just as concerning are the apparent links to the highest levels of the Scottish Tory party.

Ruth Davidson must clarify what links she has with Mr Cook, and whether her party has helped itself to money from the same murky sources.” (The Independent)

2 Oct 2017: Orange Order supporter, Murdo Fraser Tory (MSP)

Fraser, a well known and unashamed anti-Catholic bigot, tweets sly sectarian driven innuendo almost daily alongside his Sevco tweets and his party never censor him.

The Scottish Tory’s clearly don’t give a toss about their MSP’s openly publishing and voicing anti-Catholic sentiments stirring the sectarian pot, they know their behaviour will not be condemned by the Scottish press and will be embraced by the Orange Order Unionists anticipating that the exposure will increase their vote share allowing them to carry on, and that sums up the Tory “one nation conservatism”.

Fraser tweeted, after the Bayern game about Celtic’s elimination from the Champions League: “Don’t you hate Scottish teams being dragged out of Europe against their will? And on Reformation Day too.”

After an “old firm” match in 2016 Fraser tweeted: “Rangers 5 Celtic 4 – The Queen’s 11 deliver Her Majesty the perfect Birthday present.”

Tweets, designed to increase the pain of losing confirm the mindset of the man who associates Brexit and Protestantism with Celtic’s elimination from the Champions League. And this from a political nobody who has sat in the Scottish parliament for nearly 20 years collecting his taxpayer funded salary as an MSP without ever being elected.

09 December 2007: Murdo Fraser, Tory (List) MSP, for Mid-Scotland and Fife belatedly admits to the theft of a university memorial to Nelson Mandela the late South African President.

As an active member of the Federation of Conservative Students (FCS) in Aberdeen during the 1980s Fraser said he had “appropriated” a plaque honouring Mandela but had recently returned the engraved “trophy” to students.

However, his alma mater’s union has still to see any sign of it. And Fraser’s act has been condemned as “outrageous” and “infantile” by a senior lecturer at the university.

The list MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife graduated from Aberdeen with an LLB in 1986 before becoming the chairman of both the Scottish and UK Young Conservatives.

During that time he gained a reputation as a champion of ultra right-wing causes. And could not resist stirring up controversy when his fellow undergraduates named a room in the students’ union after the South African freedom fighter.

The removal of the plaque sparked outrage on campus but the culprit remained untraced and the metal memorial was never returned. When Mandela was freed in 1990 and then went on to become president in 1994 it became largely forgotten.

Having decided to return the plaque, Fraser, in a talk at a Christmas party organised by current members of the university’s Conservative Association said:

“At one point in time in the 1980s the Aberdeen University Union housed the rather grandly titled Nelson Mandela TV Lounge. One night the plaque to this lounge was appropriated by a person or persons unknown. All that I can say is that it came into my possession and has remained there for around 20 years. This was a bit of a student prank aimed at winding up some of the lefties on campus and there was certainly no malice involved. It was not meant to be taken seriously.”

Dr Michael Dyer, a long-serving member of the university’s politics and international relations department, felt Fraser’s “outrageous prank” was misguided and out of touch. He said:

“By and large at that time there was a recognition across a wide political spectrum that Mandela’s imprisonment was unjust.  Mrs Thatcher, of course, chose to regard him as a terrorist – possibly reflecting the views of her husband and his cronies, her own eccentricity and cussedness towards fashionable liberal causes. Conservative students were few in those days and those that joined such an unfashionable cause deliberately adopted ‘nutty’ right-wing views largely, one suspects, for the hell of it and to out-Thatcher the Thatcherites. Fraser’s action simply reflected the infantile nature of much right-wing student activity.” (The Scotsman)

Paraphrasing author Ian Smith, who knew Fraser at Aberdeen university and wrote in his (15 Nov 2016 blog

Actually, I will digress for a moment about Murdo Fraser, who only last month declared on Twitter: “I’m British and I’m staying that way.”

I remember him as a fellow student during my college days at Aberdeen in the 1980s, where he was a member of the Federation of Conservative Students (FCS).

When Murdo and his FCS mates weren’t strutting around the campus waving the Union Jack, they were behaving like pillocks towards “GAY” students and singing “Hang Nelson Mandela!” at discos whenever the DJ played the “Free Nelson Mandela” anthem, and making nuisances of themselves in pubs yelling “F*** the Pope!”.

The FCS were an organisation so obnoxiously right-wing that they embarrassed even (on your bike) Norman Tebbit, then the Conservative Party Chairman and a fair bit to the right of Vlad the Impaler in his own political beliefs; and he had them disbanded in 1986. (bloodandporridge)

Scottish Home Secretary David Mundell. Supporter of LGBT rights

Comment: Acceptance of the foregoing provides evidence that for Fraser being a white, hetrosexual, Protestant, Orangeman and British nationalist is all good; whereas being a Scottish nationalist, Catholic or GAY is unspeakably bad.

Quite how his profile gels with the policies of the leader of his party, in particular her high profile support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities in Scotland is difficult to comprehend.

The Tory Party in Scotland is structured around two camps:

1. Conservative Future, which includes Party members under 30yo who support the ultra right wing agenda of the Scottish Tory Party and its links with the DUP and Orange Lodge in Scotland but retaining deeply held reservations about the LGBT aspect of policy.

2. Old school conservatives sidelined by Ruth Davidson in favour of her young guns.

Any indication of division within the Tory Party leading to a repeat of the bitter in-fighting it is infamous

for will see a return of the old guard and the demise of Conservative Future and its distasteful objectives.

Martin John Callanan, (Baron Callanan)

Is an ultra right wing Tory Party politician and UK Government Minister. He was Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North East England from 1999 to 2014 and Chairman of the European Tory and Reformists group from 2011 to 2014.

Failing to win re-election in the 2014 European Parliament elections it was announced that he would be made a Conservative life peer.

Following the 2017 general election, Callanan was made Minister of State in the Department for Exiting the European Union.

20 Mar 2018: Britain will quit the EU ‘without a deal’ if Parliament decides to vote down Theresa May’s final proposals

Speaking in the House of Lords, Tory minister Lord Callanan said that the UK would fall back on basic World Trade Organisation rules if the eventual Brexit deal was rejected by MPs or peers.

His remarks are the clearest yet from any minister of the consequences of losing the “meaningful vote” promised to Tory rebels and Labour last year.

His statement confirms the “yes” answer Brexit Secretary David Davis gave when asked in the Commons for reassurance that the UK would leave the EU on 29 March 2019 even if Parliament rejected the final deal in the debate on the proposed bill.  (huffingtonpost)

Baron Callanan, Theresa May’s new Brexit minister advocates scrapping EU workers’ safeguards for pregnant women and agency workers.

Callanan, when the Tory MEP for the North East of England – expressed a desire to abolish the whole employment and social affairs directorate during a debate in the European Parliament.

In a video of his speech he told the European Parliament:

“There is one action we could take right now to show businesses our commitment to growth.

One of the best ways for the EU to speed up growth is to scrap the employment and social affairs directorate in the commission, and repatriate its responsibilities to national governments.

Then we could scrap the working time directive, the agency workers’ directive, the pregnant workers’ directive and all the other barriers to actually employing people.” (The Independent)

Video’s here:  https://www.youtube.com/user/MartinCallananMEP

16 Jul 2018: Helsinki Press Confernce President Putin Denied Russian government interference in the 2016 US Presidential Election

Here’s the moment:

So let me just say that we have two thoughts: You have groups that are wondering why the FBI never took the server. Why haven’t they taken the server? Why was the FBI told to leave the office of the Democratic National Committee? I’ve been wondering that. I’ve been asking that for months and months, and I’ve been tweeting it out and calling it out on social media. Where is the server? I want to know where is the server and what is the server saying? …I have President Putin, he just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be, but I really do want to see the server. But I have — I have confidence in both parties. I really believe that this will probably go on for a while, but I don’t think it can go on without finding out what happened to the server. What happened to the servers of the Pakistani gentleman that worked on the DNC? Where are those servers? They’re missing. Where are they? What happened to Hillary Clinton’s emails? 33,000 emails gone, just gone.

A reminder!!

16 Feb 2018 Washington, USA: Special Counsel Robert Mueller Issues Indictments Against Russians

Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals and 3 Russian companies, accusing them of setting up Facebook and Twitter accounts, buying Facebook ads and violating U.S. criminal laws to interfere with American elections and the political process.

But two of the indicted entities, Concord Management and Concord Catering had been placed under sanctions in 2014 by President Obama’s Executive Order 13661, and without evidence the indictment against them is useless and of no consequence since it can never be served.

Mueller indicts Russian nationals

Expanding on the charges Mueller stated:

“From, in or around 2014, the defendants knowingly and intentionally conspired with each other (and with persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury) to defraud the United States by impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful functions of the government through fraud and deceit for the purpose of interfering with the U.S. political and electoral processes, including the presidential election of 2016.”

The indictments as framed break new ground since there are no statutes in US election campaign laws expressly forbidding anyone, foreign or domestic from creating Facebook posts and tweets supportive or otherwise of a candidate.

The prosecutorial overreach is without precedence and has negative implications for the First Amendment of the US constitution.

Robert Mueller

Legislation quoted by Mueller in support of the indictments

The United States of America, through the Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of State, regulates the activities of foreign individuals and entities in and affecting the United States in order to prevent, disclose, and counteract improper foreign influence on U.S. elections and on the U.S. political system. Specifically:

1. U.S.law bans foreign nationals from making certain expenditures or financial disbursements within the United States for the purposing of influencing federal elections.

2. U.S.law also bars agents of any foreign entity from engaging in political activities within the United States without first registering with the Attorney General.

3. U.S.law requires certain foreign nationals seeking entry to the United States to obtain a visa by providing truthful and accurate information to the government.

Robert Mueller

4 Jun 2018: Status of the Indictments

As at 4 Jun 2018 there have been no arrests associated with the indictment.

Despite extensive references to violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, (FARA) none of the charges brought against any of the persons or entities involves FARA.

The indictment reveals that preparation for the 2016 operation had been put in place by the FBI way back in 2013 and was well advanced by 2014.

The FBI confirmed that the group had pursued an “anyone but Hillary” strategy, throughout the period 2014-2016 denigrating other candidates such as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, whilst supporting a number of candidates including, Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, and Jill Stein.

There is nothing in the indictment offering evidence to the effect that any U.S.citizen became aware of the accuseds’ identities, including members of the Trump campaign.

The indictment contains extensive email quotes from one of the indicted persons and a family member and between others and unnamed U.S. citizens revealing that all of the accused were aware they had been on the FBI radar and under surveillance for well over a year.

This begs the question. Why did the FBI sit on the information it had gathered on the Russians doing nothing until 2017 when they provided the report to Special Counsel Mueller?

Robert Mueller

The Hillary Clinton presidential campaign was a model of impropriety?

The Clinton Campaign actively colluded with foreign nationals who reportedly swarmed all over US swing states at their invitation.

Accepting Mueller’s indictment is lawful it follows therefore it was a violation of the same U.S.law, for the Hillary Clinton campaign to specifically invite “at least 70 British leftist, Labour activists and trade unionists” to campaign for Clinton in Charlotte, North Carolina and other swing states in the 2016 presidential campaign.

BuzzFeed UK political editor Jim Waterson wrote two days before the U.S. election;

“If you live in a swing state in the US, don’t be surprised if you encounter a volunteer with a British accent trying to convince you to vote for Hillary Clinton.

At least 70 British Labour activists have swarmed the city of Charlotte in North Carolina after answering the call, while officials from the British GMB trade union have also been out campaigning in Philadelphia and other volunteers from the UK are spread out across key swing states such as Ohio and Wisconsin.

Jen Thornton, who normally works in the office of Jo Stevens MP, the shadow secretary of state for Wales was just one of between 100-400 British volunteers who went to the US to campaign for Clinton against Trump.

She daid: “We’re all in Charlotte and it does feel like we’ve definitely increased their capacity. We’re all connected and have worked for “Stronger In” or for Labour MPs. Some are councillors.”

So the Clinton/British Labour activist campaign blatantly colluded with what the indictment refers to as “foreign individuals” and “foreign nationals” to exert what the indictment specifically refers to as “improper foreign influence on U.S. elections and on the U.S.political system.” an outright violation of US law.

Kezia Dugdale herself travelled to the US on 2 occasions in the period of the Presidential campaign and boasted she had joined the campaign for the Democratic candidate on both occasions. She said: “I spent my time in the US “phone banking” for Hillary Clinton.

The Scottish Labour Party was also in turmoil during her absence in the US for a total period of five weeks since it was at a time of momentous political events, such as the resignation of David Cameron, the appointment of Theresa May and Owen Smith throwing his hat into the ring challenging Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership contest which caused major divisions within the party.

She left the Party rudderless by refusing to delegate the running of the party in her absence to Alex Rowley, the Deputy Leader.

A Labour Party spokesman later defended her absence in the US assisting Hillary Clinton offering “Whilst in the US, Kez remained in constant contact with staff in Scotland. Modern technology is a wonderful thing.”

House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, commenting on the conduct of Hillary Clinton, recruiting ex MI6 agent Christopher Steele to gather incriminating information from Russian contacts on Trump said:

“The collusion is right in front of our eyes. Just because you hire a lawyer who hires a firm who hires a former British spy to make contacts with Russians — that means that you were colluding with the Russians.”

Which is to say, not only did the Clinton campaign collude with the Russians.  It also colluded with British Labour Party activists and Trade Unionists.

In the latter case boasting to the media that it had placed many foreign nationals in at least four swing states — North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Wisconsin — to actively and openly campaign for Clinton against Trump.

After nearly two years of Special Counsel, Mueller’s investigations there is still no evidence that any member of the Trump campaign team colluded with President Putin or any member of the Russian government.

President Trump is now applying judicial pressure, with the support of Republican and Democratic senators requesting that the inquiry be brought to an end.

If successful in his efforts he will immediately set up another inquiry investigating the conduct of the Clintons, Obama and the FBI and their dealings with foreign nationals.

This might reveal interference in the Presidential campaign by the Tory government and the Labour Party placing at risk the much vaunted US-UK alliance.

Recommened reading

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson/lots-of-british-people-are-in-the-usa-campaigning-for-hillar?utm_term=.svANz1l7K#.vbxdDZKR9

https://spectator.org/hillary-campaign-colluded-with-british-labourites/

https://twitter.com/jenthornton01/status/792907460004683776/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2Fjimwaterson%2Flots-of-british-people-are-in-the-usa-campaigning-for-hillary

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/01/hillary-clinton-remain-leave-vote-donald-trump-populism

https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/kezia-dugdale-backs-hillary-clinton-for-us-president-1-4280521

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/politics/kezia-dugdale-joins-hillary-clinton-campaign-in-new-york-1-4273190

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14863328.display/

https://disobedientmedia.com/2018/04/all-russiagate-roads-lead-to-london-as-evidence-emerges-of-joseph-mifsuds-links-to-uk-intelligence/

Scottish Electricity Generation – The Black Start

Scotlands increasing reliance on renewable electricty generation places the Scottish grid at risk of “blackout” in the event of a prolonged period of calm conditions.

The risk is partially reduced by the output from the Peterhead gas power station (0.55GW) which is capable of sustaining the grid, but at a very basic level preventing Scotland’s two nuclear power stations from tripping, but its capacity is insufficient to maintain an adequate level of emergency power (3.00GW).

Emergency planning indicates that the projected shortfall in supply in the event of the threat of a “blackout” would be covered by the output from Torness (1.25GW) and HunterstoneB (1.15GW) Nuclear Power Stations……. But HunterstoneB is currently out of action due to safety concerns and the situation is unlikely to improve for some time.

In any event both power stations are scheduled to close by 2023 with result that responsibility for providing “blackout” back-up has transferred to England.

This situation would have been avoided had the coal fired Longannet Power Station been retained since its output (2.60GW) would have provided sufficient electricity, preventing a “blackout” under any circumstance.

But Westminster decides since powers previously devolved to Scotland were withdrawn by the “House of Lords” a few years back. The Sewell convention??

Going Green

Ofgem, the energy regulator, reviewed the cost to coal fired power stations of pumping their power into the national grid.

For many years this cost was heavily biased towards encouraging electricity generation near where it was consumed, in cities, mainly English cities.

This meant that power generated near to London and along the English south coast attracted a generous subsidy from Ofgem.

But electricity generated in  Scotland was subject to a heavy charge for the privilege of supplying electricity to the grid.

Longannet Power Station was subsequently refused an operating licence by the Westminster government and shut down forming part of  its plans to switch to greener energy.

Westminster then introduced the rising carbon tax, the so-called “carbon price floor” charging power plants for burning fossil fuels.

The tax was intended initially to phase out the use of coal – the dirtiest fuel – in favour of more environmentally-friendly gas plants, and eventually restrict all fossil fuel plants in favour of green technologies such as wind farms and nuclear power.

But the entire levy was passed on to the consumer pushing up wholesale power prices, costing every household between £5-£10 each year, increasing to an estimated £32 a year by 2020.

And all revenue gathered from the “carbon Tax” is passed to the Treasury.

Goodness knows what happens to the finance after is anyone’s guess.

The Capacity market – Provision of “Blackout” Facilities

But the gross incompetance of the Westminster government was then revealed with the introduction of a policy totally at odds with “Going Green”.

The “Capacity Market”, was introduced to ensure there were enough reliable operating fossil fuel power plants to prevent grid “Blackout”.

So, dirty old coal power stations in England and Wales are now being paid subsidies to the tune of £650m a year to stay online for longer, including coal plants that were otherwise at risk of closure from the carbon tax.

But not Longannet which, had it been kept open, until other arrangements were in place would have provided full “blackout” protection for Scotland removing the need for support from England.

Method in their madness no doubt.

The full cost of the policy (£1bn) has also been levied on Scots customers’ bills, alongside the cost of the “carbon price floor” which was designed to encourage switching away from coal.

So Scottish consumers are forking out up to £32 annually for the “carbon tax” and £100m for the “capacity tax”.

The “carbon price floor” and the “capacity market” are working together ensuring the policy is neither green nor affordable.

Power Generation

Renewables

It is now accepted that the additional costs of renewable power production are low and ever reducing since the generating equipment is already in place.

A research paper issued by Sheffield University, indicated that wind and solar power reduced the total cost of electricity by £1.55 billion in the UK in 2014.

The Committee on Climate Change recently estimated that by 2020 the cost per megawatt hour of electricity should be less than £10.

Nuclear

The agreed “strike Price” for nuclear generated electricity is £92.50 per megawatt hour, fixed for the early years of the contract.

The provider EDF has not yet installed a safe fully operational “super fast” nuclear plant anywhere.

The cost of building the much-delayed Flamanville prototype reactor in France has increased by €2bn, to €8bn.

The Paradox

Scotland supplys the National Grid with very cheap electricity generated from renewable energy sources.

Costs are absorbed into the overall cost of electricity production in the UK.

Electricty unit charges reflecting the inclusion of the greater cost of electricity production in England and Wales is then averaged across the UK.

Addition of the cost of the output of the yet to be built new Nuclear Power Plants in England will markedly increase the cost of electricity to Scots households.

But this unwelcome scenario would be avoided if Scotland was an independent country.

An independent Scotland would be  guaranteed secure and cost effective energy without the need to be reliant on a supply from England.

This will be achieved through the North Sea Link (NSL) which is scheduled to be fully operational by 2021.

What is the North Sea Link (NSL)?

Policy Exchange

Better Together “Bash Street Kids” Team Resurface and Cause Mischief 3 Years After the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum

On 22 May 2018 “Policy Exchange” hosted a major conference in London considering the future of the United Kingdom. Keynote speeches were delivered by:

Ruth Davidson, Michael Gove, Arlene Foster, Brandon Lewis, Alistair Darling, Jim Murphy and Theresa Villiers.

A report on the conference and addresses (for anyone interested in gaining an awareness of the thinking of right wing politicians) can be found at:

https://policyexchange.org.uk/pxevents/the-union-and-unionism-past-present-and-future/

Michael Gove

Ruth davidson

Arlene Foster

Alistair Darling and his friend Ruth

What Is Policy Exchange?

The “Exchange” is a London based, Tory think tank, created in 2002. It is described as “the most influential think tank of the right”.  Key Figures:

Archie Norman

Archibald John Norman

Commonly known as Archie Norman, is a co-founder of “Policy Exchange”.

A businessman and former Tory politician, he is best known for cutting 5,000 jobs and creating enormous profits and growth for Asda which he then sold to Walmart for £6.5 billion, giving shareholders a 1,000 per cent return.

He became Chairman of Marks & Spencers in September 2017 and true to form very soon set about cutting back on employee benefits by abandoning the “deferred benefits” scheme.

He followed up 6 months later announcing the closure of up to 100 stores in the UK reducing staff  by around 7,000.

And that is just for starters. Much more to come since Norman is quoted as saying that the retailer has been “drifting” and promising too speed up changes.

The company has an annual revenue of nearly £11bn. Rich pickings for Mr Norman and his business associates.

As the Tory government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy lead he represents the Tory government on the “Red Tape Initiative” board.

Francis Maude

Francis Maude

Maude’s long and often controversal parliamentary career as a Tory MP started in 1983 and ended in 2016 when he retired from active politics.

He was made a “life peer” in 2015.

Together with Archie Norman, he co-founded Policy Exchange and was employed by him as a non-executive director of ASDA.

Nick Bowles

Nicholas Edward Coleridge Boles:

Commonly known as Nick Boles, a former flatmate of Michael Gove, he is a hard line Tory MP and was the first director of “Policy Exchange.”

He is also a signatory of the statement of principles of the ultra right wing Henry Jackson Society Project for Democratic Geopolitics.

Following his election as Mayor of London Boris Johnson appointed Boles as his Interim Chief of Staff.

Douglas Smith

Smith, a senior Conservative Party strategist, was a founding member of “Policy Exchange”.

It was he who introduced the infamous, morally-focused Tory “back-to-basics” policy, that John Major preached to the nation in the 1997 General Election campaign that ended in disaster for the Tory party.

He has also acted as an adviser to several senior right-wing figures, including the late Sir James Goldsmith and has written speeches for a number of leading Conservative MPs and fulfilled the role of speech writer and advisor to David Cameron.

In the early Eighties, Smith worked for the Adam Smith Institute, the free-market think tank, while pursuing a career in the Federation of Conservative Students as a prominent member of a Right-wing, libertarian faction. Indeed, he was elected in 1985 as an FCS vice-chairman.

However, it transpired that his claim to be a student at Napier College was erroneous and his election was declared null and void by Conservative Central Office following an inquiry.

Smith’s later exploits included being arrested by the police for allegedly threatening to kill FCS member Toby Baxendale, although he was released after spending a night in the cells, and working for Right-wing millionaire David Hart’s Committee for a Free Britain.

He started the “Fever Club” (feverparties.com) in January 1998 with a debauched launch party in a Central London penthouse.

The 2,500 worldwide members included captains of industry, celebrities and multi-millionaire tycoons.

Critics accused the secretive organisation of being a sinister networking organisation.

Fever Party orgies for the rich and beautiful are still hosted throughout Britain and there are additional parties over the summer in New York and Ibiza.

Fever receives over 400 applications for each party and the vetting process is extremely strict with an upper age limit of 40.

In 2003 Smith was forced to cut his links with Fever by the Tory party head office.

He is married to Munira Mirza.

Munira Mirza

Mirza was recruited from Policy Exchange by Boris Johnson and was appointed , Advisor for Arts and Culture Policy of the Greater London Authority under the Conservative administration.

She is associated with the libertarian anti-environmental LM network which advocates policies benefitting corporate interests with a significant focus on influencing youth. A report on the activities of the secretive network can be found at:

https://www.gmwatch.org/en/?option=com_content&view=article&id=3876:interview-with-monbiot-on-the-lm-group

Theresa Villiers

A hardline Brexiteer, and direct descendent of King Edward 2, Villiers is the Tory MP for Chipping Barnet.

She has a perchant for submitting weird and wonderful expense claims.

She claimed almost £16,000 in stamp duty and professional fees on expenses when she bought a London flat, even though she already had a house in the capital.

She is accused of courting media attention and has been described as “divorced, dogmatic and dreadful.”

Oliver Letwin

The Grenfell Tower Fire Disaster Debacle and the Unbridled Power of Policy Exchange and Its Offshoot the Red Tape Initiative

The Grenfell Tower fire broke out on 14 June 2017 at the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of public housing flats in North Kensington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, West London.

It caused at least 72 deaths, and over 70 injuries. Occupants of 23 of the 129 flats died.

Even before the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster had begun, it looked like a stitch-up, its initial terms of reference set so narrowly that government policy remained outside the frame.

An inquiry that honoured the dead would investigate the wider causes of this crime. It would examine a governing ideology that sees torching public protections as a sacred duty.

An example. On the morning of 14 June, as the tower blazed, an organisation called the “Red Tape Initiative” convened for its prearranged discussion about building regulations.

One of the organisation’s tasks was to consider whether rules determining the fire resistance of cladding materials should be removed for the sake of construction industry profits.

what is the initiative is and who runs it?

It is a perfect cameo of British politics.  A government-backed body, established “to grasp the opportunities” that Brexit offers to cut “red tape” – a disparaging term for public protections.

It is chaired by the Conservative MP Sir Oliver Letwin, who when launching the Red Tape Initiative on 19 April 2017, said:

“We need to grasp the opportunities that Brexit will give us to cut red tape in sensible ways. And we mustn’t lose any time doing that.

So the point of the “Red Tape Initiative” is to identify “early wins” that can command cross-party support in both Houses of Parliament immediately after we leave the EU.”

Letwin also claimed that; “the call to minimise risk is a call for a cowardly society”.

It is confirmed therefore as a forum in which exceedingly wealthy people help decide which protections should be stripped away from lesser beings.

Among the members of its advisory panel are Charles Moore, who was editor of the Daily Telegraph and the chair of an organisation called “Policy Exchange.” He was also best man at Letwin’s wedding.

Sitting beside him is Archie Norman, the former chief executive of Asda and the founder of “Policy Exchange“. He was once Conservative MP for Tunbridge Wells – and was succeeded in that seat by Greg Clark, the minister who now provides government support for the “Red Tape Initiative”.

Until he became Environment Secretary, Michael Gove was also a member of the “Red Tape Initiative” panel. Oh, and he was appointed by Norman as the first chairman of “Policy Exchange”. (He was replaced by Moore.) “Policy Exchange” also supplied two of Letwin’s staff in the Conservative policy unit that he used to run.

“Policy Exchange” is a neoliberal lobby group funded by dark money, that seeks to tear down regulations.

The Red Tape Initiative’s management board consists of Letwin, Baroness Rock and Lord Marland. Baroness Rock is a childhood friend of the former Tory chancellor George Osborne, and is married to the wealthy financier Caspar Rock.

Marland is a multi-millionaire businessman who owns a house and four flats in London, “various properties in Salisbury”, three apartments in France and two apartments in Switzerland.

The “Red Tape Initiative” is a self-serving clique of old chums, insulated from hazard by their extreme wealth, whose role is to decide whether other people (colloquially known as “cowards”) should be exposed to risk.

Letwin’s initiative appointed a panel to investigate housing regulations. It includes representatives of trade unions and NGOs, though they are outnumbered by executives and lobbyists from the industry. And there – surprise, surprise – is a man, called Richard Blakeway, from Policy Exchange.

“Policy Exchange” financed by opaquely funded groups and individuals has imposed policies on Britain designed no only to empower corporations and the very rich, but actively to disempower everyone else, through austerity, outsourcing and privatisation.

There is an urgent need for an independent commission whose purpose is to decide when inquiries should be called, what their terms should be, and who should chair them. Governments should have no influence over any of these decisions.

A blinkered inquiry ordered by a government that chooses charges, judge and jury, threatens to clad the origins of a great crime, shielding their embarrassing ugliness from public view. We cannot, and must not, accept it.

Author: George Monbiot, of  The Guardian.

wikispooks.com/wiki/Document:Here’s_why_the_Grenfell_inquiry_will_be_a_stitch-up)

March 2007: Tory MSPs Are Clueless No-Hopers – According to Conservative MP David Mundell.

Murdo Fraser MSP had raised the spectre of a split from Westminster control so that the Party in Scotland would be able to decide upon policy.

Countering the Fraser challenge Mundell delivered a damning statement in a four-page memo to leader David Cameron revealing that Tory chiefs had lost confidence in the Holyrood team claiming there was a “lack of thinkers” among the Tory MSPs and that they were incapable of coming up with new policies.

He added: “There are more obvious problems than solutions emanating from Scotland from a party point of view. And I see little in the short term that can be done to improve the MSP group situation.”

And he was scathing about Tory MSPs’ abilities saying: “Whilst it is possible to agree in principle that the party in Scotland can make its own policy on devolved matters, the simple lack of thinkers is apparent.”

He urged a purge of lame-duck MSP’s and the speedy appointment of a new Scottish party Chairman, new Scottish party leader and new management team comprising strategic thinkers.

His advice prevailed and the Scottish Tory party was subjected to a brutal putch which brought Ruth Davidson, and her team of wanabee’s into the Scottish public domain.

9 February 2008: Former Spy Appointed To Top Scottish Tory Job

Former high ranking MI6 intelligence officer, Prof Andrew Fulton, was identified as the most effective “agent for change” available and it was agreed he would be appointed chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party and apply himself and the extensive resources of the secret service to the tasks of completing a root and branch reorganisation of the party in Scotland removing anyone who did not fully commit to Westminster Party ideal.

He would also put in place a long term strategy and resources undermining the SNP government ensuring any referendum for independence would fail.

It was believed that the SNP would fall apart in the aftermath of a failure to gain independence.

But a number of lame-duck MSPs’ all incapable of “strategic thought” survived the clear out and continue to occupy key positions within Davidson’s team;

Jackson Carlaw, Murdo Fraser, Margaret Mitchell, John Scott and Elizabeth Smith.

The emasculated Scottish Tory party in Holyrood and the inexperienced Davidson and her team of lame-duck gophers have not evolved a single new policy since its appointment. And secret agent Fulton, has moved back to London.

So what next for the Scottish Tory party and its lame-duck MSPs’ if Davidson decides to get-out of Scotland?

BBC – Labour Party Bias – Not Us!!!

In denying the Scottish public their right to active promotion, through broadcasting of cultural diversity with other parts of the United Kingdom the UK government and its centrally controlled BBC is in breach of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights – Article 11 – Freedom of expression and information.

A well respected and truly impartial journalist was asked if the perception that BBC Scotland was anti-SNP was, in his view, justified said “Put it this way, it probably comes more naturally to them to attack the nationalists than to attack the union.”

Just had to include Lord John

A wee bit of history;

From 1946 to 1991 media affairs in Scotland were subject to the moderating influence of a BBC Scotland Controller who effectively reported to the, “Broadcasting Council for Scotland”, on which many distinguished Scot’s served over the years.

But following a reorganisation control of BBC output in Scotland was transferred to the Board of Governors of the corporation in England then onto the BBC trust in London.

Macquarrie

What’s the problem?

The way in which BBC Scotland is run, the quality of care it shows for the many good people who work for it, the standard of what it does, the public service in Scotland ethos it supposedly represents are some of the more important questions facing the Scottish nation.

But it is doubtful they can be successfully addressed within the control systems that prevail at the present time.

The result is that the BBC is failing Scots when they need it most.

The primary blockages are firmly implanted the minds of those who retain control of the state media output:

1. That the BBC, is part of the glue that holds together the concept of a United Kingdom.

2. Weaken the corporation and the United Kingdom will fall apart. So weak is the quality of the paste.

3. The BBC dictates the daily agenda for the Queens subjects, how they talk to each other and what about.

4. It is of prime importance that Scots trust the BBC and feel they have a personal investment in it, otherwise it will be lost and the United Kingdom with it.

Boothman

Is the bias in BBC Scotland endemic or confined to a few employees?

The huge number of unresolved complaints and public demonstrations all voicing concern and anger about a blatant lack of impartiality by the news reporting/discussion teams in the course of the 2014 independence referendum and since gives support to the public perception that there is an on-going agenda within BBC Scotland ensuring support to Labour Party ideals, to the exclusion of other political parties in Scotland.

BBC Scotland needs to be taken away from London so that it can be truly independent and the over arching Scottish body, including members of the public, should be re-established.

MacQuarrie

Up Yours – BBC Scotland senior managers refuse to meet with MSP committee

Ken MacQuarrie, Head of BBC Scotland and his enforcer, Head of News and Current Affairs and Labour Party supporter bully boy Boothman refused to appear before the Scottish Education and Culture Committee at Holyrood stating that the BBC in Scotland was not accountable to the Scottish Government.

They were subsequently ordered to appear by the Chairman of the BBC Trust  and finally did so but stonewalled every question put to them.

Boothman (finally exposed as a bully) was later removed from his post as Head of News and Current Affairs after a protracted struggle with staff and trade unions and transferred his employment to the private sector.

Purcell

BBC Scotland News & Current Affairs Team

A Labour Party pedigree is a predominant requirement within the BBC Scotland senior management team and line managers and reporters in place are appointed through nepotism.

This needs to eradicated so that the BBC can be enabled to be truly impartial and accountable to the Scottish public.

The current “modus-operanti” cannot be allowed to remain in place.

There needs to be a cull of management and media correspondents that have abandoned the “Journalist’s Code” in favour of their politically minded colleagues. (https://www.nuj.org.uk/about/nuj-code/)

the Joker

Nepotism/Cronyism within BBC Scotland & protection of the Labour Party (1991-2017)

John Boothman headed News and Current Affairs and was the Editor of Elections and Political Output.

In 1979 he was the Chairperson of Strathclyde University Labour Club, Chairperson Scottish Organisation of Labour Students in 1980 and Chairperson of the National (UK) Organisation of Labour Students 1981.

According to former BBC broadcaster Derek Bateman, Boothman questioned the political output of radio broadcasts after receiving complaints from Paul Sinclair.

Sinclair, (SPAD to Johann Lamont) was said to enjoy a special relationship and regular contact with Boothman through both men’s links with the Labour party.

Writing on his blog,  Bateman claimed that Boothman was “famous for his unrivalled network of contacts in the Labour movement”.

Adding  “Sinclair had a name for trying to interfere in BBC news decisions to influence output.” and, according to the former BBC presenter, Sinclair and Boothman developed an unhealthy relationship with the Labour advisor calling the shots.

Bateman added: “But what I didn’t like about Sinclair – Boothman relationship was the informal and insidious way it developed, so instead of old pals, it became almost one of master and servant. Sinclair seemed to assume the right to call the BBC head of news to account”.

Bateman also claimed that Boothman had, on more than one occasion, questioned him about the political content of his radio programme after receiving complaints from Sinclair.

John Boothman is married to Susan Deacon: Former Chairman of Scottish Labour Students.

She served on the Scottish Labour Party’s, National Executive. MSP and was a Scottish Labour Party government minister.

Boothman, Margaret Curran and Johann Lamont when students were actively and closely involved in Labour Party politics at Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities.

Curran is a Labour Party Executive member and MP.

At university she was Secretary of Glasgow University Labour Club, Secretary of the Scottish Organisation of Labour Students, Chair of that organisation, and Vice-Chair of the Labour Club (the biggest of its kind in the UK) at the time.

Lamont is an MSP and former leader of the Labour Party in Scotland.

At university she was an active member Glasgow University Labour Club.

Sarah Boyack; Labour Party List MSP also attended Glasgow University and active in politics as a student, she was mentored by Margaret Curran (Chair of the National Organisation of Labour Students in 1985-86)

Catriona Renton: Reporter for the BBC Politics Show and BBC Presenter.

Renton is a former Glasgow Labour Councillor, who represented Kelvindale before losing her seat to the Lib/Dems in 2003.

She was “Glasgow’s Youth Tsar” and is a product of Balliol College, Oxford.

She was a Labour Party candidate in the 2003 Holyrood election and the 2004 European election.

She was recruited by BBC Scotland’s parliamentary unit in 2006, when Boothman, husband of Labour MSP and ex-Health Minister Susan Deacon, was a senior producer.

Her Facebook account lists as friends: Jackie Baille Labour MSP, Yousuf Hamid Labour Activist, Tom Harris Labour MP, Mike Dailly Labour Activist, David Martin Labour MEP, Frank McAvetty Labour MSP, John Robertson Labour MP John Park Labour MSP, Steven Purcell Labour Glasgow Leader, Dave Watson Vice-chair of the Scottish Labour Party.

At the centre of yet another bias storm in 2009 when attending the SNP conference in Inverness, she claimed on BBC Scotland’s Politics show that Alex Neil had confirmed the SNP’s desire to see David Cameron become the Prime Minister at the next general election. Views he had not expressed.

The BBC were forced to issue a personal apology to Alex Neil.

the Joker and Flashman

Tom Connor; BBC Head of Online News and Sport.

A friend and colleague of Boothman he was responsible for introducing and enforcing the continuation of censorship and blockage of comments to BBC Scotland political blogs.

No viewers comments or contrary views with the likes of Brian Taylor or Douglas Fraser accounts any-more.. Yet, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland BBC blogs actively encourage viewr feedback.

Conner and Boothman were censured a number of years ago for providing Labour candidates with media training using BBC Scotland facilities.

Coke King Purcell

The compliant Scottish Media & Glasgow – the labour Party Fiefdom

The Labour Party in Scotland’s abuse of Glasgow citizens was finally revealed to the public in March 2010 by newspapers published in England, the East of Scotland and Rebecca Gordon Nesbitt (http://www.variant.org.uk/37_38texts/1ed_2manifest.html) who headlined the very public downfall of Gordon Brown’s protege Steven Purcell.

The dearth of mainstream media reporting had led to online speculation of Purcell’s very cosy relationship with sectors of the Scottish media and its failure to fulfill its elusive role of holding power to account – namely, the press’s part in a regular Friday drinking date, dubbed ‘The Ritz Club’, which, Mandy Rhodes, the editor of Holyrood Magazine toyed,

“Did a misguided loyalty to a regular Friday afternoon drinking date, dubbed ‘The Ritz Club’, which included the editors of rival red tops, the Herald’s editor-in-chief and Purcell himself…influence reporting of the unravelling scandal?”

So there is no news in the truth / no truth in the news.

But still the complex network of Councillors, businessmen and public sector chiefs, all with connections to the Labour Party, in Glasgow’s iconic ‘redevelopment’ misadventure went for the time largely untroubled.

A prickled Sunday Herald driven to comment, responded to the suggestion of acquiescence towards the Labour Party;

“The absurd suggestions of a network of powerful figures working behind the scenes to influence the workings of the city and that this so-called network including leading figures from the media is now threatening to undermine public confidence in the integrity of the Scottish press”

and:

“The hints that some Scottish newspapers pull their punches on the controversy because editors have been too close to Purcell or, worse, they have been cowed into submission by Peter Watson and PR firm Media House.”

Jack and Bridget- the knowing look??

And what about Bridget McConnell?

In 2006, she spearheaded the controversial devolution of Glasgow City Council’s Cultural and Leisure Services to form the company/charity known as Culture and Sport Glasgow with a separate trading arm, Culture and Sport Glasgow (Trading) CIC. Since March 2007, she then held the post of Chief Executive of both companies.

In 2008, Culture & Sport Glasgow were awarded a long term contract to catalogue and manage the text archive and research department for Newsquest (Herald, Sunday Herald, Evening Times).

Another link established.

Those interested in the rudiments of democracy might wish to ask how a notionally privatised arm of Glasgow City Council could be allowed to become so tightly interconnected with Glasgow’s dominant media group.

More remarkable with the NUJ’s Vice-President-come-President also being the head of PR for spin-off Culture & Sport Glasgow at the time?

Additional reading:

I previously researched and published a comprehensive report cataloging the disgraceful abuse of the Glasgow electorate by the Scottish Labour Party  aided and abetted by the BBC and Scottish Press in the first decade of the new millenium.

Careful reading will reveal conspiracy, at all levels of those involved in the financial asset stripping of the poorest people in Western Europe

https://caltonjock.com/2015/01/06/the-sin-of-silence-in-sin-city-glasgow-part-1-up-to-2008-read-it-and-weep/

https://caltonjock.com/2015/01/06/the-sin-of-silence-in-sin-city-glasgow-part-2-2010-a-year-of-turmoil-and-scandal/

https://caltonjock.com/2015/01/06/the-sin-of-silence-in-sin-city-glasgow-part-3-2011-2012-years-of-scandal-massive-pay-offs/

https://caltonjock.com/2015/01/06/silence-in-sin-city-glasgow-part-4-2013-a-year-of-misconduct-and-scandal/

https://caltonjock.com/2015/01/06/silence-in-sin-city-glasgow-part-5-2014-2015-city-council-in-need-of-clear-out/