The Rhymes and Routes Christmas Message, 2019

The Rhymes and Routes Christmas Message for 2019 comes from Ann Widdecombe, MEP and lead contralto for the Brexit Party Choir, seen in the photograph. The Blogmeister comments at the end of the message.

Ding-dong merrily on high! That's the wonderful old carol we are singing in the photo, and it sums up the way that I am feeling today! At last, after three years and after all the wrangling over Brexit, Boris Johnson has brought deliverance from a foreign yoke and set us free! I have longed for this day and I am absolutely brexcited about the wonderful future that stretches out before us. I am floating on clouds of ecstasy! This is a truly brexciting Christmas season!
As for Christmas itself, I think we should return to the Bible to see what it has to teach us about the present time. There is, of course, the wonderful Christmas story which tells of the birth of Our Lord, but, in the Old Testament, I think we can see the first Brexit - if under another name. I refer, of course to the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land. I thrill with excitement when I read the Book of Exodus; the Children of Israel must have felt, during their Exodus, that marvellous sense of deliverance as we in the Brexit Party are feeling now. Another wonderful parallel between the Exodus Story and the present time is that both escapes from slavery were led by a divinely inspired prophet. The Israelites were led by Moses; we have been inspired in our exodus by my esteemed colleague, Nigel Farage - a true leader of his people and - dare I say it? - a charismatic prophet like Moses.

Nigel is now being dismissed as a newly-irrelevant politician , but I believe him to be worthy of the highest honour. I hope to see him knighted at some time in the future. As to what happens to us Brexit Party MEPs and members now, I think we have a new role in returning to our old political parties and powering them on to our bright new future. But, this is still to be decided. I never liked travelling to the EU Parliament anyway - the rain in Europe isn't as nice as our bracing British rain. As far as I'm concerned, if Bonny Boris makes me an offer, I might well be returning to the Conservative fold.

Returning to the Bible and the Christmas Story, I would never be remotely prepared to suggest that Our Lord would have voted for Brexit. That would be brash, boorish and blasphemous. However, I do believe we can see a lesson for EU nationals living in Britain in the story of the Three Kings. who journeyed to Bethlehem to visit the infant Jesus. Read this extract from St Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 2, verses 10 - 12: 

"When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. ¹²And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route."

The last verse, I believe, is of great significance. The kings came to another country, fulfilled their purpose and then returned to their country. I hope all EU nationals living in the UK will learn from this example.

Christmas is a time for reconciliation and forgiveness, and I would like to say to all Remainers who read this: I forgive you! Even though you are all traitors and bolshies, we of the victorious Leave camp want to be reconciled to you, and stretch out our arms to you at Christmas. That goes for me, Bonny Boris, Nigel Farage and all who battled against your treachery. 

In conclusion, I wish all Rhymes and Routes readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - even the traitorous Blogmeister and Rednev. By way of beginning the healing of divisions, I shall pray for you deluded renegades to come to your senses - if you have any. 
Season's Greetings!

Ann Widdecombe.

The Blogmeister comments:

I hate to sound like Ebenezer Scrooge, but the words "Christmas" and "Humbug" spring to mind here. Quite what Christians will make of Ms Widdecombe's interpretation of the Bible is beyond imagining. All I wll say is that if you, Ann, are floating on clouds of Ecstasy, then you have been taking the wrong tablets. The thought of you, Nigel Farage and Boris stretching out your arms to me makes me feel physically ill, and I'm sure many Remainers feel the same. Bah!

Dodgy New Tory MPs - Two Case Studies

In yesterday's Guardian, there was an illuminating article by Rajeev Syal and Rowena Mason: "Who are the Conservatives Most Controversial New M.P.s?". It is a very interesting piece, which I recommend to everyone who cares - here is the link. The article names five new Tory MPs (there could well be more) with what can only be described as dodgy credentials. These MPs do not like being scrutinised. One of them, Stuart Anderson MP, told his local paper that The Guardian had not told the whole truth about him. Mr Anderson and his colleagues should remember that the right-wing press are forever "exposing" the far Left pasts of Labour MPs. They deserve the same treatment, where appropriate, and in the case of the five MPs featured in the article, it is certainly appropriate. With all due respect to the Guardian article, I think that a closer look at two of these MPs, and a glance at another, could be productive. The two selected for closer scrutiny are Sally-Ann Hart, pictured above, MP for Hastings and Rye, and Brendan Clarke-Smith, MP for Bassetlaw.

As a manic Leave campaigner, Sally-Ann Hart, says The Guardian: 

"The new MP for the Tory marginal seat of Hastings shared a video with an image implying that Soros, who is Jewish, controls the EU. She also liked a Nazi slogan on Facebook.".

"Soros", is the Hungarian billionaire, George Soros, about whom I have written before, and is a hate figure for the far right. Our dear old pal, Nigel Farage, shares this antipathy and has accused Soros of being the mastermind behind the EU. Even Michael Gove has expressed concern over Mrs Hart's utterances, telling the Jewish Chronicle that they were "a cause for concern".

A further cause for concern is the fact that she has made some dubious comments about how disabled people with learning difficulties "don't understand about money". The Hastings paper, The Argus, comments:

"Martyn Ellacott, 63, head of the Phoenix Disability help group in London, said her comments were “disgraceful” and amounted to discrimination".
Mr Ellacott and others have said that Mrs Hart should stand down. Nice thought, Martin, but don't hold your breath.
Mr Clarke-Smith has roots in the teaching profession, as have I. According to NottinghamshireLive, he was once a head teacher in Transylvania, but I will resist the temptation to make vampire jokes. Instead, I shall quote The Independent: 

"Mr Clarke-Smith faced shouts of "shame on you" during an election hustings after he said food banks were a "political weapon" and it was "simply not true" that "people can't afford to buy food on a regular basis"
This would presumably put Clarke-Smith at odds with another of the MPs named in the Guardian article: Stuart Anderson, newly-elected MP for Wolverhampton South-West. Mr Anderson appears to have had a chequered career before he entered Parliament. As the article says:
"... five years ago, he received an illegal dividend from a security firm which went into administration owing £271,000 in tax".
Mr Anderson, a former soldier, understandably rejects this accusation, as well he might. What is of interest here is that he claims to have been bankrupted, lost his house and reduced to penury. Then, as the Express and Star says: 

"...he ended up using a food bank after losing “everything” when his first business went bust."

Now, there's an irony. Had Mr Clarke-Smith encountered him at that time, we can only guess at the comments he would have made - or what Mr Anderson might have said in reply.

These two examples, however much the Conservatives might seek to explain them away, are indicative of the new Conservative mind set. Tory pundits have told us that Boris will seek to re-establish "One Nation" Toryism. These new Tory MPs, and a number of others, would seem to heading in a different direction. As the twig is bent, so is the tree inclined. The rocky ride has begun.

The Election Result - Taking Stock

As you might expect, I am not pleased with the Election result. Many people who did not vote Tory feel the same and are asking themselves how it could have happened. After all, the record of the Conservatives in power, and their transparently dishonourable leader, would, under normal circumstances, have led to a resounding defeat for the Conservatives. But we don't live in normal times, and we are not living under normal circumstances. I think that the two main factors (not all) underlying the Tory victory are the continuing Brexit debacle and the ongoing crisis in the Labour Party.

What has appalled many of us is the fact that the Tories have done so well in traditional Labour constituencies. Boris and his merry men have made a special effort in appealing to the Leave voters in these areas, and it seems to have worked. People in such areas who voted Leave have felt that they were being ignored, and it did not help that there was no major concerted effort by all Remain parties to counter that feeling. Nor did it help that Labour refused to join the Remain camp, preferring to fudge the issue by promising a second referendum, which won't happen now.

The Labour Party, as many have noted, has not presented itself as an attractive alternative. The anti-Semitism crisis, whatever your view on that, has not helped Labour's image and has alienated many Jewish members and supporters. I have watched the response of Corbyn loyalists to this criticism and have noted their defensive reaction. The usual response has been the ultra-Left knee-jerk tactic of ad hominem attacks upon critics. The Chief Rabbi, who recently publicly criticised Jeremy Corbyn, immediately was demonised as a Tory and a Zionist propagandist. Jewish Labour MPs and others who have not followed the party line were vilified and abused to a horrendous degree. This witch hunt kind of activity might be acceptable in (now defunct) Respect or the SWP, but does not belong in grown-up politics. Abuse, ad hominem attacks and internal bickering are not a good advertisement for any democratic political party.

  

Unlike the opinion held by many of his critics, right and left, I believe Jeremy Corbyn to be a fundamentally decent man. I do not believe that he is a racist or an anti-Semite. He has a long and distinguished history as an opponent of Apartheid and the overtly fascist groups, such as the National Front. However, despite his anti-racist credentials, I believe him to have been a disaster as Labour Party leader. His insistence, for example, on making support for Palestine as part of the Labour Party programme was stupid and counter-productive. For one thing, it alienated many Jewish voters and, on the other hand, was totally irrelevant to British politics. His conspicuous lack of dynamism in dealing with Brexit was completely underwhelming and, I believe, cost Labour a lot of support. One Labour activist contacted me to say:
" In this working class area I delivered Labour pamphlets, but was amazed at the number of people who said 'I will never vote for him!' It was a sad comment as I have a very high opinion of Jeremy Corbyn."
Whether his partisans like it or not, a lot of people saw Corbyn as too far to the Left and too doctrinaire.

So, we who oppose them are now stuck with Boris and Brexit. All the Tory pundits in the media are glowing with triumphalism and speaking with confidence of what they intend to "achieve". Sad as I am about the election outcome, I am happily convinced that they are not in for an easy ride. The SNP triumph in Scotland will mean determined opposition to Johnson's plans for Brexit. Labour will be forced to exorcise its demons and become electable. On the dark side, the far right will become even more aggressive than they are now. I believe that we will see an increase in hate crime and fascist activity. I think we saw the beginnings of this on election night when a group of  hecklers - clearly of the far right - disrupted John McDonnell's acceptance speech after he retained his seat in Hayes and Harlington.
There are signs, also, that our ethnic minorities, even those who were born here, are feeling apprehensive, following Boris's victory. The Huffington Post interviewed a number of Muslims in the North West of the UK and they express considerable (and understandable) concern for the future. 20-year old Zainab Patel, a Blackburn university student, told The Huffington Post:
“As a Muslim, it makes me feel we are not welcome in this country any more...I feel so upset as everything feels so uncertain.."
She went on to say, quoted in the same article:
"People have gained confidence to vote that way and be more outspoken and vocal about their racism....With Boris Johnson’s leadership, it has given people in the UK confidence to air their racist views and their intolerance of people who are different to them.”

This "confidence" has been growing since the EU Referendum. It will not diminish under Boris, and the far right groups, including the rump of the Brexit Party, will not hesitate to exploit it.

The Tories will make some apparently generous contributions to education and the NHS, but will cut them back when they need to. They will maintain a nuclear deterrent, but will - I predict - achieve a rapprochement with President Putin. Immigration will become an even more emotive issue and Ireland an increasing cause for concern - to put it very mildly. We are in for a rocky ride. In a very short while, I think we shall see a sea change in the political scene. The groundswell of support for the Tories cannot survive their policies. Around Britain, people my age will be searching their cupboards for a badge from the Thatcher era: 
"Don't blame me, I voted Labour "..

The London Bridge Attack: Again We Mourn

Once again, we are stunned at a senseless murder attack, motivated by extremist ideology. Once more, we are overwhelmed by the horror of the event and wondering how such an atrocity could happen yet again. The media have focussed on a number of relevant factors, all of which are being widely discussed, and will only be touched upon lightly here.

Last Friday's rampage on London Bridge has thrown up a number of diverse heroes, all of whom deserve the highest praise. Among the men who reportedly overpowered Usman Khan were a Polish national (Lukasz Koczocik), a Muslim dishwasher, a tour guide, a British Transport Police officer, one ex-offender, Marc Conway and a convicted murderer, James Ford.

According to The Guardian:

"Among those who pinned down the attacker was James Ford, 42, who is also thought to have tried to save the life of a woman who had been stabbed. Ford was jailed for life in 2004 for the murder of 21-year-old Amanda Champion."

The irony of two ex-offenders helping a police officer is mind-blowing, as is the idea of a murderer (Ford) restraining another (Khan). Professor David Wilson told The Guardian:

"He (Professor Wilson) said what had happened was a tale of two prisoners, with Ford an example of how people could change. “I know through my work that people do change and they change as a consequence of innovative but challenging regimes such as the one at HMP Grendon."

Apart from these disparate civilians, the reaction of the police was truly admirable. At the last London Bridge attack, about two years ago, it took an armed response unit seven minutes to arrive at the crime scene; this time it took five minutes. And, I am happy to say, nobody criticises the police for liquidating Khan, although some troll did put out a misleading tweet in Jeremy Corbyn's name.

The other issue is that of why Khan was released early from jail. Much is being said on this issue (rightly) and I do not want to comment directly. However, I can only compare Khan's early release to the early release of murderous mental health patients who kill again on release, which is a subject I have written about before. Khan had not actually killed anyone before being imprisoned, but he was planning to do it on a big scale. Our old pal, Nigel Farage, has said that anyone who commits a terrorist offence should never be released. Nigel is seeking to ride on a wave of public anger and will undoubtedly say that he is simply speaking for "ordinary people". Perhaps Professor David Wilson and Nigel Farage should hold a TV debate on this subject - perhaps we should all be talking about it.

I can only point out that the much-vaunted deradicalization programmes in prison do not seem to be working as well as they are supposed to. People are not automatons that can be re-programmed like robots or computers - unless they want to change, they won't change. Usman Khan seems to have  voluntarily undertaken such courses in prison. He must have gone through them like atheists who listen politely in church, yet remain atheists. For Khan, and imprisoned terrorists like him, these deradicalization courses must seem a good way to work your ticket.

Returning to the analogy of released mental health patients, we see in Khan's early release an error of judgement of the same gravity as those made by the mental health authorities with Nicola Edgington and Kordian Filmanowicz. This is a fiendishly difficult matter to resolve: how do we decide when it is safe for violent prisoners to be released? And how can we prevent relapses - whether into extremism or mental health driven violence?

In conclusion, I would like to say that our hearts should go out to the victims of Khan's attack - in particular to the families of Saskia Jones (23) and Jack Merritt (25) - two young lives cruelly snuffed out; both bright, hopeful and heading for good careers - people the world needs. At least we can say goodnight to Usman Khan, who was no asset to humanity. Unfortunately, there seems to be nothing to stop others following in his footsteps.