Having spoken alongside Mhairi at a few meetings, and much admired her, it is rather strange to find her in danger of becoming an object of cult veneration. Just as with Nicola Sturgeon, it seems the shock of seeing the coherent and intelligent articulation of views outside the narrow consensus manufactured by the corporate media and political class, really does strike home to people. They almost never get to hear such views put; Mhairi is being given a hearing because of her youth in her position, but the marginalisation and ridicule will soon kick back in. Above all, Mhairi should remind us of how the Labour Party has completely sold out those they used to represent, and abandoned the task of proposing an intellectually compelling alternative to trickledown.
Jeremy Corbyn and the small group around him are of course an honourable exception.
You will recall that I managed to fall asleep on the platform in Perth while Mhairi was answering a question, embarrassingly revealed when the chairman passed the question to me! It really was nothing to do with Mhairi, I was exhausted. The question, as it happened, was asked by Joanna Cherry, who also just made a first class maiden speech.
The Labour Party has finally woken up to oppose something the Tory Party is doing, in the new draconian and unnecessary anti-union legislation. This is not because they really want to protect workers; the only thing that has motivated Labour to action is a threat to their own funding.
The Tory anti-union proposals are shocking. Criminalising peaceful secondary picketing is an infringement of the right of free expression and undoubtedly open to challenge under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The proposal that not just a majority of those voting, but 40% of the qualified electorate must vote yes for a strike to go ahead, is beyond belief, coming from a government who have an absolute majority on the basis of the votes of just 23% of the electorate. The hypocrisy is absolutely stunning.
The part of the proposed legislation I do support is on party political funding by unions. It should be by opt-in not opt-out. A majority of members must vote for a donation to a political party. That seems to me absolutely right and fair.
Precisely the same principle should be applied to company shareholders, of whom a majority should specifically have to endorse a political donation by the company. Where a shareholder is institutional, that shareholder must too base its vote only on a vote taken by a majority of its own shareholders specifically in each case, or its members if a mutual.
So if Tesco wants to donate to the Tory party, that must be specifically approved by a majority of Tesco shareholders. If Aviva is one of those shareholders, Aviva can only vote for Tesco to donate, if a majority of Aviva shareholders vote to do so. And so on down the chain ad infinitum.
That would be entirely fair and strike a massive blow at the corporate state/political party nexus. Then more real people like Mhairi would be able to become prominent in public life.
I thought Black’s maiden speech was stunning. The last time I cried after listening to a speech was when Tommy Sheridan spoke at a meeting in London when he touched on Rose Gentle.
I barely believe a word The Daily Telegraph Writes..but even so This is Their Current Headline…
Jeremy Corbyn set to win Labour leadership, shock poll reveals
Leftwinger is 15 points ahead of his nearest rival in the Labour contest, according to new polling.
Whoever wrote is almost certain to get fired and that headline will quickly disappear..
Tony
Apologies..
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/11741659/Jeremy-Corbyn-set-to-win-Labour-leadership-shock-poll-reveals.html
Yes Daniel – the humour, lack of hubris and wisdom beyond her years was enough to bring a lump to anyone’s throat. It was a shame that the benches to which she directed the final and most moving part of her speech appeared to be devoid of the backsides paid to be there though.
@Tony_0pmoc
15 Jul, 2015 – 7:27 pm
In a similar vein, an article appeared on the Guardian quite recently, which said that the US were funding ISIS. It immediately went into the ‘most read’ list, but the article was removed from the Guardian site within a matter of minutes.
We all slag-off the corporate controlled mainstream media, but now and again stuff does get through the cracks, which shows that there are still people with integrity within the media.
And sort of on that subject, even the Daily Mail raved about Mhairi’s maiden speech…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3161099/Britain-s-youngest-MP-shows-em-s-Applause-Commons-SNP-s-Mhairi-Black-20-uses-maiden-speech-tear-Tories-Labour.html
Yes our Mhairi brought a tear to my eyes.
I hope she is hardy enough to withstand the badness that will come her way, soon.
You see they will try to pull her down any which way they can. Mark my words.
I fully agree with all the mawkish and fawning comments above and, like previous writers, feel myself swooning t the very thought of Miss Black.
She is the best thing in politics since sliced bread.
Time to get the bunting out and start organising the street parties.
In fact I think we can do better than that.
July 15th should henceforth be set aside as the day we all commemorate and celebrate as the day Hab ‘ s wit reached the dizzy heights of sarcasm.
Well done that man. We knew you would get there in the end. We were all rooting for you Hab.
You must be so proud.
Paul Craig Roberts (the former conservative who was Ronald Reagan’s Assistant Secretary of the Treasury) has some pretty sobering comments on Syriza’s surrender:
The obvious left-wing alternative is revolution, but today’s events in Athens strongly suggest that the Greek people do not have the stomach for a revolution.
Sorry, that didn’t work, as I forgot to put in the title of Roberts’s piece. Greece: Sound and Fury Signifying Much. Oh, if only we had an edit function!
Just seen the speech, really impressive. But I wonder how long it’ll take for the various editors and owners to release the hounds.l
Thank you Mr Burns.
Whilst, I rather like Craig Murray (except some of his views( the bloke is a man of Courage) and I respect that..He writes exceptionally well but doesn’t quite seem to know where he stands…but he did say as The UK Ambassador to Some Cnt in Uzbekistan..that “If you don’t stop pointing that gun at me..I will take it off you and stick it up your Arsse”..
I like People Like That
He wrote this about Jeremy Corbyn
(you don’t have to read it if it has too many words)
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2015/06/jeremy-corbyn/
Good Man.
On Form?
Tony
They’re still yacking in the Greek parliament. If interested you can find a livestream (with English translation) here…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX9IWbal5lo
It looks like the latest bail-out package will be rejected.
I’m off to bed, and things might turn out differently by tomorrow morning.
“I fully agree with all the mawkish and fawning comments above and, like previous writers, feel myself swooning at the very thought of Miss Black.” Habbankuk
My good man, if I were Dr Watson, I might have recommended a small dose of bromide, since it can be useful in such circumstances.
Please excuse O/T
LIVE: Greek Parliamentary debate on the ‘Agreekment’ with real time English interpretation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX9IWbal5lo
Tsipras is speaking as I post this
I see RobG was ahead of me at 10.44pm.
Oh well …
Thanks for the Corbyn link, Tony, have shared.
No worries, Dreoillin; the more the merrier.
But I have to say, having listened to most of that debate in the Greek parliament this evening, we should perhaps parachute in some Mahairi Blacks.
For those who haven’t seen it yet, here’s Mihairi Black’s maiden speech on Tuesday…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NylmN73Rovk
(the slightly out-of sync audio is down to the Parliament tv, and is reflected across all the media who have reproduced it)
RobG
“It looks like the latest bail-out package will be rejected.”
______________________
You’re not much of a prophet, Rob.
Happy to give you lessons (but since they’re not free you probably wouldn’t be interested)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Greek Vouli adopts the bailout package by a large majority. 32 Syriza deputies voting againstand 6 abstaining.
I may have said this before but Mary Black can be glad she lives in 21st century Britain and not in classical Athens: were she living in classical Athens, she would not be eligible to be a member of the Athenian Boule (minimum age:30).
Habba, you glee over a decision that will cause massive civil unrest.
Why?
Once this neocon take-over of Greece nonsense settles down, Varoufakis will be back.
The mention of Paul Craig Roberts by our Transatlantic Sage with the apparently impressive qualification of “Assistant Treasury Secretary under Ronald Reagan makes it necessary fir me to point out – once again – that the US Treasury Dept comprised about 10 Assistant Secretaries at any one time and that Roberts only filled that position for just over a year.
Perusal of Roberts’ articles (eg, on the Counterpunch website) shows why the man was too nutty even for the Reagan administration.
He has, variously and over the years, predicted world wars, wars between the US and virtually any country you’d care to name, and economic collapse.
A bit like some of the fruitier fruits on this blog, in fact.
They will MK-Ultra/TI/Gangstalk her now,any time you like.
They don’t like Truth.
From the Guardian live blog:
“News of the Greek vote helped to push shares higher in Asia.
The main indices are all up in early trading, on relief that a bailout had moved another step closer.”
http://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2015/jul/15/greek-crisis-mps-bailout-imf-debt-relief-alexis-tsipras-live#block-55a6fb55e4b0f63008f13fe5
It’s like a total madhouse, with the media completely complicit.
The fact that large numbers of people will end-up in the gutter in Greece doesn’t come into the equation. Neither does the civil unrest that will follow.
I could go on and on with this, but will finally go to bed… zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Mhairi Black is amazing and ought to go far. Future PM of an independent Scotland perhaps. Or president if they ditch the royal family.
I’d barely heard her name before but watching her speech on youtube I was deeply impressed.
The lack of attendance by Tory and Labour MPs was lamentable. They should be on a timecard system and docked pay if they are absent when the house is in session. Ministers get a ministerial salary so it would not matter if they were absent in cabinet meetings etc.
But those whose only job is to represent the people who voted for them should be present whenever the house is in session.
Mhairi Black is amazing and ought to go far.
Perversely, I hope she doesn’t. You have to be an utter cunt (see link above) to succeed in party politics. Hope she goes off-piste.
Mhairi’s maiden speech warmed the cockles of my heart, her references to Labour and were they go wrong, was not delivered in badgering, shouting ‘House style’ but were constructive, she offered labour an open door.
Contrast that with Harriet Harmanns shadowing of Tory policy from which she had step back 24hrs. later, squealing, does this woman ever think before she opens her mouth?
The union legislation is another retrograde step picking up animosity and nitpicking, slowly whittling away at the unions, were Thatcher left of in the 1980’s, a despicable attack on free speech.
Union structures should be changed by union members and if that is not possible from within, then the unions will become irrelevant. Membership apathy towards union,their cemented bosses and their merry go round, is an issue which has to be tackled, because it gives the Tory’s and their company backers a lever, a reason to stop them demonstrating and striking.
Unions should take their demands to companies and be an integral part of a companies board, not schmoozing with party politicians, financing party’s and or demanding policy access in return for their members money.
Some are so allured by politics that they forget all their union principles and become MP’s, turn to shafting workers by shadowing working tax credit cuts and stuff like that, turning into numpties.
There is a lot of truth in what you say Ba’al Zevul.
However, our Mhairi can shake up the bad eggs with her honesty and sense of what is right and what is wrong. She will hight there wrong doing, just as she did in her Maiden Speech.
Well done Mhairi, the public liked what you said, the bad eggs did not. Keep it going.
_____________________
Aamvn.
Mhairi did a wonderful You Tube video from her parent’s sitting room for the Scottish Independence Referendum.
When I felt down with all media xxxx that was being thrown at us, I would bring up her video and was boosted again with one so young fighting for her Independence, while all the moaning old xxxxx bags were saying no.
Well done again, Mhairi.
Correction. She will highlight their wrong doing.
The fact that large numbers of people will end-up in the gutter in Greece doesn’t come into the equation. Neither does the civil unrest that will follow.
That’s the core of the matter. People exist to serve business and for no other reason. And if they have perks like enough to eat they should be jolly grateful. Feudalism writ global.