The Trident Test 310

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The Rochester By-Election further destroys the intellectual case for the BBC’s decision that only male party leaders who support Trident can debate on TV before the UK general election.

The Greens got five times as many votes as the Lib Dems in Rochester, and are ahead of them in several recent national opinion polls. I do not posit the support of Trident as the criterion for inclusion, in any sense as a joke. Support of Trident stands as a good marker for adhesion to the neo-con establishment consensus. The establishment is simply not prepared for more radical views to be put before the public as a serious choice. UKIP is the chosen right wing vehicle into which disillusion with politicians should be channelled.

The BBC justification for including UKIP is that they have shown a “substantial increase in electoral support”, and the BBC argue that the Greens have not done so. There are two major problems with this argument.

The first is that UKIP’s “massive increase in electoral support” has been massively boosted by a huge amount of publicity given to UKIP for the last two years, especially by the BBC. The BBC is citing the effect of its own propaganda as justification for continuing that propaganda. If the Greens had been given as much publicity as UKIP, the electoral climate would be very different.

The second is that this appears to be a one way argument. If UKIP’s massive increase in electoral support can get them included, surely the Lib Dems total collapse in electoral support should get them excluded? The injustice of including the Lib Dems and not the Greens, when the Greens are beating them not just in opinion polls but in real polls, cannot simply be brushed aside.

We then have the SNP. There is a very real possibility that the SNP will have more MPs than the Lib Dems after the next election. Indeed, one recent opinion poll put them ahead of the Lib Dems in polling across the entire UK, even though all those SNP voters were just in Scotland. For the BBC to push so hard the line that we are “Better Together”, and then exclude the party supported by the plurality of Scots from UK debate, is an irony only the BBC cannot see. That some viewers of a UK debate would have no opportunity to vote SNP, would not remove their very real interest in understanding and questioning the views of what will be a major component of the parliament which governs them.

The Greens, Plaid Cymru and the SNP have female leaders and are anti-Trident, a symbol of their broad radicalism. All are, to use that crude measure, to the left of the parties which will be included. To be in, you have to be led by an identikit posh male and support Trident. That is the BBC test.

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310 thoughts on “The Trident Test”

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  • John Goss

    Uzbek in the UK at 11:27 am. Thank you for your comment. I don’t fully understand it but you presumably think I am ignorant of the US/UK special relationship. Babar Ahmed, Shaker Aamer, Talha Ahsan and many others have built their cosy homes on this green and pleasant land and have learnt just how one-sided any agreement is with the Yanks. They hate us. They even hate us for licking their arse. And that is the arse of a country that can never pay off its debts. They will take us down with them unless we move towards a BRICS association. Even then I predict some very hard years ahead. By the way I tried to get my head round “my MWL friend” but failed.

    http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/MWL

  • John Goss

    Habbabkuk, give it a rest. They are clearly not the same person. It’s tedious. Also regarding:

    “Re your “technical indications”, did I not read on this blog – several times and from people who probably know what they’re talking about – that it’s very easy for someone who’s internet savvy to post, undetected, under different identities?”

    I recall, and I bet many others do too, during the period of your ban, you came back posting under so many different aliases it was hard to keep up. One of them was Red Robbo. Remember. That’s when I first realised you were “internet savvy” enough to do this. But please don’t tar everyone with the same brush. Commenters have ignored your false accusations because of who you are. They make allowances. But just because you have previously had an inclination for such deception (and I sincerely hope you have reformed) it is not fair to level such subterfuge at decent people with whom you may disagree.

  • CanSpeccy

    Scotch Nats good, Brit Nats (aka UKIP) bad.

    What’s the difference?

    Well the Scotch don’t want independence, they want submersion within the EU superstate.

    The Brit Nats (aka UKIP) claim they want independence and have the population, the technology and the money to maintain their independence provided they have a nuclear deterrent.

    UKIP, however, is for NATO, and therefore, is no more an independence party than the SNP. Despite their waffle, UKIP in NATO would have to retain Trident, the British funded portion of the US nuclear arsenal.

  • Ishmael

    I’m still waiting for the ‘April fool’ or something. “It’s ok folks, just a right-wing joke”.

    And some say there is no divine power or unknown forces working in the universe. Well some guy named Reckless being signed in as another MP for UKIP clearly demonstrates it.

  • Robert Crawford

    Aim Here.

    Thank you for having the decency to tell me what I thought I knew already. However, when one is confronted by someone who is impossible to understand, then there might be another more sinister meaning to (BTW).

    Nurse, nurse come quickly your help is needed here!!!

    If you all get my meaning.
    r

  • Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)

    Mod(s)

    Advice needed : is one allowed to put inverted commas round a moniker?

    BTW, would you please delete the following from Republicifscotland since it is mere bickering without political content:

    “Habbthehopeless

    So that pathetic, comment above is your evidence of a double identity, how utterly preposterous, and inept if I may say so.

    And to think some in here actually take you seriously. If I may give you a piece of advice, stick to slandering other comments, its definitely your forte.”

    Thank you kindly! 🙂

  • Habbabkuk (la vita è bella)

    Mod(s) : please note also that one cannot slander a comment, only a person or persons.

  • craigmurray.org.uk

    Robert Crawford, craigmurray.org.uk is the handle used by the moderation team; it is not usually Craig Murray himself.

    Habbabkuk, that will be deleted as a favour to you, but it was you who started it with your accusation of sock-puppetry.

    Republicofscotland, apologies, but we try to keep things balanced, and 4 of Habbabkuk’s comments were deleted. It’s best not to respond directly if a commenter seems to be acting trollishly towards you. Again, apologies, and Habbabkuk’s copy of your comment remains.

  • Mark Golding

    Dear Sirs,

    This charity is appalled and outraged the war criminal Mr Antony Blair was honored with ‘Save The Children’s’ ‘Global Legacy Award’ in supposed recognition of his vanguard leadership on the world’s international development stage.

    May I remind ‘Save the Children’ that this charity witnessed children burned alive, infants maimed and teenagers orphaned and disabled in the illegal March 2003 Iraq war that Mr Blair approved, admitted and empowered.

    Yours faithfully,

    Mark Golding
    Chair
    Children of Iraq Association
    http://www.coia.org.uk
    Recognised by the Charity Commission – Application pending

  • Sofia

    Mark.

    “May I remind ‘Save the Children’ that this charity witnessed children burned alive, infants maimed and teenagers orphaned and disabled in the illegal March 2003 Iraq war that Mr Blair approved, admitted and empowered.”

    How can they not see the obscenity of their action here?

    I’d love to see Save the Children’s emails today.

    If a corporate charity can give the monster an award then what’s to stop genuine one from bestowing a Global Criminal Award?

    Bliar has my vote on that one.

    Thanks.

  • Clydebuilt

    Craig

    great analysis! Used to think the BBC gave Farage air time so as to damage the Tories….

  • Tim

    As Ben Elton might have said “what about Thatch then?”. Whatever you think about her, one great achievement was to smash the stereotypes that are still used in other countries, eg the U.S. against female politicians. I hate to tell you this Craig, but when Theresa May defenestrates Cameron she will have no trouble getting on the BBC – even if they do remain obsessed by her footwear.

  • ------------·´`·.¸¸.¸¸.··.¸¸Node

    Aaahhh.

    If my cut and paste intro to the SCOTTISH EVENING NEWS link above gave the impression that I am in any way connected or contributing to it, I’m afraid that’s not the case. I’m just spreading the news of the news.

    However, I am still available to be hero-worshipped for vague unspecified reasons.

  • Mary

    Now they tell us.

    21 November 2014

    Fire at Dounreay led to release of radioactivity
    Dounreay The incident at Dounreay happened in the early hours of 7 October

    Huge vault at Dounreay completed
    Changes to Dounreay spending plans

    A fire in part of Dounreay’s Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) facility last month led to an “unauthorised release” of radioactivity into the environment.

    Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) said “procedural non-compliances and behavioural practices” by staff led to the incident on 7 October.

    /..
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-30143655

  • YouKnowMyName

    Did the BBC cover the BRICS meeting at the G.20?
    there’s a short handshake vid here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOHfGflKBK0

    which I only mention because, like Green Party, Plaid Cymru or SNP – you tube will be the only place where things like this are noticed whilst BBC are focussed on other, more important narratives.

  • BrianFujisan

    Nice Post Craig.

    I’m off to Glasgow Hydro today to hear Nicola Sturgeon Speaking. I’m sure she will have something to say about Trident.. Amazing that around 13,000 people will be there, i hear Alex Salmond will speak too.

    The protest outside bbc Scotland for 23rd December has been Canceled, not clear why. So i doubt i’ll be mingling in the city that close to Xmas now.

    Mark

    Great stuff with email to save the children, the more outrage expressed over that award, obscenity the better.

    First Bombing of Iraq, then Libya, Then Syria, and Ukraine.

    The poor wee children’s mental health Stretched and strained.. with all the explosions going off all the time… cowering in a corner wetting themselves.. Terrified at the sound of approaching war planes…there’s hardly any milk for the infants, or fuel to fight the winter.

    Thank you Cameron, Obama, Nato…Bunch of evil bastards.

    Sofia

    i’ll leave you a link at Sqounk.

  • Stu

    Its seems to me a deal has been done between Tories and UKIP whereby UKIP takes the right and the Tories take the middle ground. They then form a coalition. The BBC is the vehicle by which they promote their propaganda.

  • Fool

    All this money on Trident but today police NHS and RAC numbers are down. Does our basic infrastructure not work? All this money on digital systems can’t help but think it would be better if we had old analogue things that worked…..grumble… grumble…..

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