Neil Kinnock told Sky News that a new political party in the Corbyn mould could be named the ‘Farage Assistance Party.’ Not so fast, Neil! Starmer is already leading that party. The new Corbynite party, as yet without a name seems to be getting off to a shaky start, which clearly is not a good omen. Zarah Sultana MP suggested she and Jeremy were launching it, which appears to be news to Jeremy. It also suggests that Jeremy’s legendary indeterminate leadership style has not developed into something more . . . determinate. Once again, we may find the whole 'left party' still born, like so many antecedents. If it does emerge, its first challenge will be to ‘unite the left,’ a rallying cry which will fall on a thousand deaf ears and the question ‘What is to be done?’ will remain unanswered.

“What has been the real reason for the show’s success? It is not so much the way it mocks the hypocrisies, the lies that are organised so grossly and blatantly (which is putting it mildly) by the constituted organs of the State and by the functionaries who serve them (judges, police chiefs, prefects, undersecretaries and ministers); it has been above all the way it deals with social democracy and its crocodile tears, the indignation which can be relieved by a little burp in the form of scandal; scandal as a liberating catharsis of the system. A burp which liberates itself precisely through the scandal that explodes, when it is discovered that massacres, giant frauds and murders are undertaken by the organs of power, but that at the same time, from within the powers that be, other organs, perhaps pushed by an enraged public opinion, denounce them and unmask them. The indignation of the good democratic citizen grows and threatens to suffocate him. But he has a sense of satisfaction when he sees, in the end, these same organs of this rotten and corrupt society, pointing the finger at this self-same society, at its own ‘unhealthy parts,’ and this gives him a sense of freedom throughout his whole being. With his spirit suitably decongested, he shouts: ‘Long live this bastard shit society, because at least it always wipes its bum with soft, perfumed paper, and when it burps it has the good manners to put its hand in front of its mouth.’”

The ‘show’ introduced in the first sentence here refers to Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist and this is Fo himself writing a postscript to the publication of the play in 1974.* Yes, maybe the play was set in Italy at a time when Europe still had dictatorships, chaotic politics and coups, but is his analysis any less relevant now? In our social democracies we still have agencies lying to the courts (e.g. MI5 re: one of its neo-Nazi sources), to courts being packed (e.g. the US Supreme Court) to an endless litany of anti-democratic behaviour in Hungary, Poland and elsewhere – is Fo out of date? Least of all with his analysis of how we’re collectively bought off with scandals, some of which do indeed compromise the State but never threaten it? Give ‘em a bit of theatre to maintain a pretence . . .

Accidental Death of an Anarchist by the way was written in response to the Italian state’s initial blaming of the left for a bombing in Milan which killed 16 people; it turned out later that state organs themselves, working with right wing people had carried out the attack. Well, around the same time we had our own killing fields in Northern Ireland and such co-operations worked well there too, didn’t they?

So, what’s improved over the last 50 years? We’ll know when they tell us.

In an interview on the Beeb this morning with former MP Kevan Jones, now Lord Beamish, chair of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee we learn that 75% of apprehended terrorist plots are Islamic in origin and 25% are far right. Not much space left there for left wing terrorism is there? – but you wouldn’t guess it if you followed, e.g. the antics of the Met police or indeed this government.

*Methuen, reprinted 2024 p.78

So a year has passed since Starmer's regime came to power, and it's slightly longer since I resigned my 40-year membership of the Labour Party. Did I make the right decision? One has to balance anything good the Party has done in power with what one considers its errors. The balance is firmly in the red. Economic choices have been driven by a firm City/Treasury hegemony, leading to attacks on the weaker elements of society, whilst leaving the wealthiest virtually untouched. Little need to recap the economic disasters and u-turns  delivered by the Starmer/Reeves show. In addition we've seen the foreign aid budget further slashed (a real Tory policy) in order to pay for extra on defence, whilst not at the same time tackling the enormous expenditure on the Trident replacement. We've seen one backtrack after another on Labour's 'green agenda,' with nuclear energy likely to soak up government investment, with 'GB Energy' something of a misnomer. Foreign policy in itself merits despair. Supporting genocide is a disgrace beyond words, and one wonders why Starmer is so wedded to the Israeli regime. Our PM, like most of his predecessors is quite unable to confront the US president and does not seem to recognize quite how much he appears the lackey. If that's the basis of the 'special relationship' it is very familiar. Labour always touts its NHS credentials of course, but we must await further analysis to determine how much of Streeting's 10 year plan means more privatisation and dismemberment, facilitated in part by US companies like Palantir who look set to scoop up all our precious bodily data. Then we have the crackdown on dissent, partly through the abuse of anti-terrorist laws. Lastly (for now) the industrial-scale destruction of democracy inside the Labour Party signifies the mindset of those in power, who would not be ashamed if they started winning internal elections with 99.9% of the vote. Where votes are allowed that is - many MPs were selected without one.
 
Now let's turn to the big successes: on this side of the balance sheet one could look at improvements in workers’ rights but I think the employment picture is very mixed. Where’s the big crackdown on the gig economy? Tariff agreements have been touted around quite a bit, but once again there’s very much a ‘wait and see’ air about them, as to who will benefit most. The great planning reset is yet to happen so it’s also wait and see what will happen on the massive house building front. On that score I was in Cambridge over the weekend and saw an article in the Cambridge Independent which really exposed one of the barriers to all this new housebuilding (tens of thousands in the Cambridge area). Two words sum it up: water and sewage. Where’s the capacity? Water companies aren’t keeping up, and in our more drought-prone times I haven’t seen much evidence the government is getting to grips with the issue. Oh dear, my positives seem to be turning a bit negative! At least the government is trying to kick out the hereditary peers from the House of Lords, but I don’t think that will affect the pound in your pocket. A lot now depends on whose pockets the Chancellor will extract new taxes from and whether such crucial decisions develop a narrative that this government really is on ‘your side.’ On past performance I’m not holding my breath.

What a day for Keir Starmer. His drifting ship of government if it is being steered at all is destined for the rocks. Labour MPs must be wondering what great trick he has up his sleeve to save them from doom, and I am sure that many will be telling themselves that they do still have four more years to turn things round. I think that it would be fair to compare Starmer’s fate to that of John Major’s, whose ‘Black Wednesday’ crashing out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism sealed his fate, even though he plodded on for a full term. Starmer’s qualifications for leadership have been tested and despite his attempts at global statespersonship he has clearly miscalculated the strength of his base, perhaps led astray by the size of his parliamentary majority as if that was evidence of his popularity. What has become very clear is that the man is not cut out for politics (not least because he doesn’t seem to stand for anything or have any sustainable convictions). Should he resign? Probably. Who then do we end up with, Wes Streeting or Angela Rayner, both of whom are scarred by their prominence in Starmer’s government? With so many Labour MPs to chose from, why do no alternative great hopes emerge? According to Alan Johnson on the radio yesterday, the present intake of Labour MPs can be considered the brightest ever (maybe Al’s after a gong). Perhaps new potential leaders will now emerge as Labour MPs discover they have been liberated from the discipline fetish that overtook the party in recent years (with its fixed selections, parachutists and all-round control freakery). Good luck to them. July1st 2025 will be remembered as Starmer’s ‘Black Tuesday.’

The confected outrage of the likes of Starmer and Streeting, and others who want the BBC to be prosecuted for broadcasting a segment of the Glastonbury festival wherein a singer of no significance (in my opinion) got the crowd chanting ‘death to the IDF’ is in stark contrast to the lack of real outrage at what the IDF is responsible for. A very benign interpretation of the chant might suggest the crowd wanted the IDF disbanded, not that its members should be slaughtered. On the other hand it may not have been so benign. Either way the crowd clearly would like to see the IDF stop carrying out Israel’s genocidal attacks on Palestinians. Isn’t that something we’d all like to see? Well no, the UK government has just won legal approval to continue selling arms to Israel and continues to support Israel’s genocide in other ways. Meanwhile the Beeb is getting it in the neck from the usual sources who would like to chant (no doubt about it) ‘Death to the BBC!’ And if they did would we have to assume that they literally wanted all who work in the BBC dead? Of course not.

 I am pleased to report that everything is being co-ordinated as the UK prepares for war, and it’s not just Winston Starmer who’s setting the tone. At this stage though I will have to dismiss the Daily Express story about what age we might all have to be conscripted, except to say GenZ (whatever that is) may have a surprise coming. No, it is not just our bodies being readied for WW3 but our souls too. This in The Telegraph provides a clue:  "The Church of England is preparing for the possibility of the UK going to war, according to the Bishop to the Armed Forces. The Rt Rev Hugh Nelson said the church was looking at the Second World War for inspiration on “what it might mean for us to be a Church in a time of conflict”.

Yes, let’s reflect on that. What does it mean to be the (established) church in time of conflict? Well it certainly meant in the past blessing the troops before they were to be killed. Weirdly of course that Christian blessing was given on both sides of the trenches in WW1. Now in these post-modernist times, should we expect an update? I don’t see why not. It’s long been said that the Bible is little more than poetry, and in the wake of Baudrillard and indeed the technology of virtual reality (which is like war wearing virtual reality goggles navigating drones to their kill) how does the concept of the Almighty work here? It will not, I suspect be the resurrection of evil, although of course Putin is a very bad person—and it’s all Putin—but where does that leave the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson, Bishop to the Armed Forces, whispering sweet nothings into the ears of maimed and dying combatants? I feel a bit sorry for Hugh. His task is as impossible as telling a 95 year old relative that they will ’get better’ when their destiny is surely to pop their clogs PDQ. Personally I think members of the armed forces would be a lot happier if they didn’t have to endure the pious crap preached at them prior to their assignments at the behest of politicians who strut their stuff in their well protected bunkers. I’m not just thinking of Starmer of course. The ‘Supreme’ Leader of Iran also seems to know a thing or two about reinforced concrete. He too, like Bishop Hugh must be very pious and will know his scriptures back to front. The trouble is, that lies at the bottom of much of this utterly senseless conflict.

It kind of sums up the state of the British economy. And we’re expected not to notice. I bought a bottle of Tanqueray gin today. It is has a ‘special edition’ new label, which I think like a government soundbite is meant to distract us. What’s really changed is that the alcohol content which used to be a satisfactory 47% has dropped to 41% It’s the same price of course. Like so many things, shrinkflation has set in with perhaps England’s most iconic drink, but it pretends to be the same thing. A similar story pertains to wine, which thanks to Jeremy Hunt’s time as Chancellor has become weaker, in order to avoid higher duties. There is an Australian wine which used to be called ‘The Full Fifteen.’ Somehow, ‘The Full Fourteen and Half’ doesn’t have the same ring to it. Of course, much of this will be attributed to the government’s deep concern for the nation’s livers, nothing to do with raising revenues. But as people get used to weaker drinks, I wonder if they will get happier with the state of the economy, which apart from anything else seems to be run by a crew of philistines telling us how bad things are and how we should get ready for war. 

Keir Starmer said on Tuesday after the G7 that Trump had no plans for military engagement against Iran, although at that time it would have been obvious to him from his intelligence briefings that the UK would have been doing everything possible behind the scenes to facilitate whatever the US wished. His denials are about as hollow as those of past Labour ministers who claimed to have no knowledge of UK assistance in the matter of rendition a few years ago. But lo! A mere five days later Trump launches an attack on Iran and all our mealy-mouthed PM can say is that Iran should return to the negotiating table: “The situation in the Middle East remains volatile and stability in the region is a priority. We call on Iran to return to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis.” (Daily Mirror) It doesn’t seem as if Israel has to do anything to end the crisis. Whatever you think of the Iranian regime (and I deplore it) it was Trump who originally pulled the plug on the Iranian nuclear deal and toughened sanctions. Why would Iranians trust this President to honour an agreement—indeed who can? Now Starmer’s solution is to acquiesce in Trump’s escalation and bring the Iranians to the table by bombing them.

The photo of Starmer picking up Trump’s spilt papers last week reminds me of a scene from the film Tin Men, where one of the aluminium cladding salesmen ‘accidentally’ drops a $10 dollar note on the floor in a potential customer’s living room. If the customer picks it up and hands it back to him, the salesman knows he has established his psychological advantage. It wouldn’t surprise me if Trump dropped his papers on purpose. I feel sure as a property developer he will have seen Tin Men.

I’ve written once or twice before about the annoying behaviour of people who think that everybody else on the bus or railway coach wants to listen to their jingles. Asking them to wear headphones risks being accused of being ‘impolite’ - or worse. What’s sparked today’s blog is two things: first, this morning being nearly run down by a youth on a bike travelling at speed the wrong way down a one way street. These days there is little likelihood of him being apprehended for such an offence, there’s nobody around to enforce it. The second item is my own gross error going away for more than a week and coming back to a parking ticket. I may well have to pay, but I challenged it and three weeks later I received a letter saying my appeal was not upheld—and this is the thing—my grounds for appeal were basically ignored. Here again the discourse of respect has been eliminated. What difference is there between a youth on a bike showing carelessness or a bureaucracy that cannot adjust its template sufficiently to adequately explain itself? These are trivial matters compared to the sufferings of people whose lives are being decimated by people who don’t care, Trump, Putin, Netanyahu to name but three. There is of course a massive difference—but ultimately, the concept of respect, which is to say having regard to the dignity of others is an increasingly rare phenomenon. Social media has its part to play, but when the average person sees how those in authority perform they can take a hint. Being nearly run over by a youth on a bike, being patronised by bureaucracy or being bombed out of your house—all these things, some trivial some not display an arrogance which one might have hoped would have wilted as we humans grow in numbers and have to live in a globalised society. And, just to rub my point in, if you think I’m overegging my molehill moans (forgive the mixed metaphor) consider Trump’s attitude to the concept of ‘respect.’ He takes us all back to the playground.

*Just to be absolutely clear, I am not equating my little complaints with the travails of those in the line of Putin's or Netanyahu's fire - I am talking about a sliding scale that goes from zero to one thousand (or maybe a million).

+Here's some words I doubt Trump would disagree with, five principles it seems which need no debate:
 
"We do not question God and virtue; We do not question our Homeland and its History; We do not question authority and its prestige; We do not question family and its morality; We do not question the glory of work and its duty."
 
In the last regard, 'work' means working in the interests of capitalism, which means as one consequence the evisceration of independent trade unions and the establishment of officially recognized patsy TUs. A bit like China today, but not yet in the US.
 
These were the words of António de Oliveira Salazar, the long-term fascist dictator of Portugal. I came across them in an exhibition in Lisbon's Aljube Museum of Resistance and Freedom. There aren't that many museums of this sort in the world. The place was relatively quiet on my visit, not full of American tourists decamping off the huge cruise ships moored in the Tagus River. Would this museum ever be on their itinerary? All the countries the U.S. has liberated! In Portugal's case, the CIA were happy to work with the Portuguese secret police, PIDE, e.g. training them in interrogation techniques. It would not be a good idea for Trump to visit this museum, should he ever visit Portugal (does he know where it is?). He might pick up a few tips about how to run a police state.
 
+Lisbon's airport is named after General Humberto Delgado, who stood against Salazar in the fixed election of 1958. Delgado, head of the air force at the time was tipped to get a top job at NATO but was apparently not appointed because he upset some British admiral with his sense of humour. He was assassinated a few years later by the regime, which saw him as a continuing threat at a time when the opposition was growing in strength. The regime was toppled in 1974. Delgado's fate reminded me that any talk of NATO defending freedom and democracy must be taken (ahem) with a pinch of salt. Even in Europe.
 
+I paid a visit to Coimbra, a city north of Lisbon, no, not to visit the old HQ of the dreaded PIDE political police which was based there, but to see the Santa Clara-a-Nova monastery, which contains possibly one of the world's most over the top altars (pictured), made in honour of Saint Queen Elizabeth (d.1336). It took a lot of tithes or taxes (same thing) to pay for this. Part of the monastery is now a museum, and the rest of its extensive site is vacant and falling into decrepitude. It would take another enormous pot of gold to do this place up. The buildings reminded me of an abandoned factory, although in this case one turning women into a faithful breed of nuns - it was a convent. Where do they go now, if there are any women left who want to follow this path? Their absence here speaks for itself.