Westministenders: Theresa's Common People

[RedToothBrush]

She came from Oxfordshire she had a thirst for knowledge
She studied geography at Saint Hugh's College
That's where politics
Caught her eye

She told them that her husband was loaded
The press barons said "In that case have a rum and coca-cola"
She said "Fine"
And in thirty seconds time she said

I want to look like common people
I want to do whatever common people do
I want to eat like common people
I want to sleep like common people
Like you

Well what else could Fiona and Nick do
They said "We'll see what we can do"

They took her to a supermarket
I don't know why
But they had to start it somewhere
So it started there
They said pretend you've got no money
She just laughed and said
"Oh you're so funny"
They smiled "Yeah”
Well we can't see anyone else smiling in here

Are you sure you want to live like common people
You want to see whatever common people see
You want to eat like common people
You want to sleep like common people
Like me

But she didn't understand
She just smiled and held Trump’s hand

Order that benefits get the chop
Tell them all to get a job
Promise to bring back the grammar school
Pretend you don’t think them a fool
But still you'll never get it right
'Cause when you're laid in bed at night
Watching the news talking about building the wall
All have to do is call your mates to fake it all

You'll never live like common people
You'll never do whatever common people do
You'll never fail like common people
You'll never watch your life slide out of view
Whilst you blame it all on the EU
Because that’s all you can do

Sing along with the common people
Sing along and it might just get Brexit through
Laugh along with the common people
Laugh about leaving the EU

It’s the most stupid thing that you will do
Because you think that it is cool
You’ll call them a ‘lying foreigner’
But don’t say we didn’t warn you
You’ll regret saying we are better off out
'Cause everybody hates a benefits tourist

It doesn’t matter if you can’t do the math
With all those pockets that you grease
You’ll win the vote in Bath

You will never understand
How it feels to live your life
With no meaning or control
And with nowhere left to go
You are amazed that they exist
And wish they were all white
So you tell ‘The Big Lie’

Get THE flat above THE shop
Cut your hair and get THE job
Trick some mugs and hire some fool
Pretend you are not really cruel
But still you'll never get it right
Instead you're plotting late at night
About which ‘cockroach’ will take the fall
All have to do is call your mates to fake it all
Yeah

You'll never live like common people
You'll never do what common people do
You'll never fail like common people
You'll never watch your life slide out of view
As we plan to leave the EU
Because there's nothing else left to do

But ‘moan’ about how we don’t want to leave the EU.

Yes I agree about Brendan Cox, MsHoolies, I watched this interview and was struck by his grace, sincerity and compassion.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=iBfVzuj9Qc0

And I also still feel angry about the lies that were told last year.

I am with you on the rant, ron, having worked for far too long in medical research! If you think funding is poor for secondary breast cancer then it's even worse for the "non-fluffy" cancers like lung and pancreatic. I will say that researchers are aware of this and charities like CRUK do try to target the harder to treat cancers (I think there's recently been calls for research proposals for pancreatic cancer, for example). I know of a lot of researchers who work on metastatic breast cancer as well, and why there's a big difference in the timing of brain vs liver mets and how this might relate to the primary tumour etc- metastatic disease is a very hot topic in research right now.

The biggest problem in the NHS is yet again, Andrew sodding Lansley and his crappy, pointless reforms. There used to be good links between trusts and healthcare researchers so that NHS managers had professionals who could advise them with regards to sorting through the latest research before choosing therapies to use in their hospitals. That link has been broken and with many GPS having little to no experience in research, it's taking a long time to establish again with CCGs. So CCGs rush to implement the latest new thing, without evaluating the research properly.
NICE sets standards for therapies on a national basis but most of the time this is drug related. Medical devices seem to be a bit random- they don't have to meet standards of efficacy like medicines, they just have to be as safe as whatever else is on the market.

Surgery trials- that's a whole other area! Can be very tricky to do, so often surgical decisions come down to the preference of your surgeon.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/21/rowan-williams-britons-are-peering-into-the-abyss-after-brexit-vote
Rowan Williams: Britons are peering into the abyss after Brexit vote
Former archbishop of Canterbury warns of dangers of disillusion with political process and of ‘messianic leadership’

This is one hell of an interview.

“One of the things [the author] notes is the deep disillusion in politics, and the romantic, idealistic feeling that if we get the right leader, then things will change. As trust in conventional politics goes down, expectations of messianic leadership go up,” he said.

And

On Trump, he said what was worrying was not “his personality – which is a subject in itself – but what a chief executive can do to the rule of law in a society. Because the rhetoric that comes out of the current White House is pretty contemptuous of the rule of law.”

There was a danger of “executive power emerging independently of the rule of law … in other words, an erosion of real accountability in public life”.

And

In the UK, next month’s election was a “very difficult moment, not least because a lot of traditional party loyalties are up for grabs”, he said. “There is lots of peering into lots of abysses at the moment.”

And

He said: “There is innate short-termism in our political language … We need to build as broad a consensus that we can on long-term issues [rather than] party political issues for this election. If we don’t, the spring coils tighter and tighter.”

And

He added: “The job of Christian communities is to keep arguing, keep nudging … The church is obliged to be both a good and an awkward neighbour to the state. It earns its place in a plural state by asking certain unwelcome questions.”

And

Although he was reassured by May’s commitment to maintain the 0.7% of national income pledged to international aid – made just hours after he publicly described it as a “badge of honour” and called on political leaders to hold firm on aid spending – Williams warned: “The debate isn’t over.”

“The major problems of the world are transnational, and we are all locked into each other’s fate more intensively than we were 100 years ago … I understand concerns about the effective delivery of aid but the commitment to invest in the growing wellbeing of vulnerable societies is one of the most rational and constructive things we can do for our own wellbeing.”

He knows about what he's talking about...

"The idea of 'it can't possibly be that bad' or 'it'll all work itself out' is staggering."

Yes! People are like this about many problems though, not just Brexit.
When potential disasters have been averted in the past, it has very rarely been because everyone just relaxed and let fate run its course. One example: I have heard relatives say about air pollution and the "pea soupers" of the past etc "that everyone worried about smog in the past - but now, look, it worked itself out!" No. Regulations like the clean air act and improved technology helped improve the situation, not blind optimism.

We owe a lot to hard working, negative realists. Pessimists are vastly underated, imho.

I have always had a lot of time for rowan Williams, he's was a fairly outspoken Archbishop of Canterbury. He feels deeply and he thinks deeply- we need more people like him in society.

Especially in regards to thinking!

My DM who voted Leave to teach the EU a lesson but never actually thought that they would win is in the 'It will all work out in the end' camp and just refuses to engage in any discussion about Brexit. It infuriates me because she and DF probably won't be affected that much whereas her GCs are going to be completely shafted. She was born in 1947 which statisticians have calculated was the luckiest year to be born ever- NHS, free university but you didn't need to go to university to get a decent job, council housing for anyone who wanted it, cheap housing followed by massive inflation, full employment, jobs for life, retire at 60 on a good pension etc etc. She is fully in the 'I've worked hard all my life' camp and just doesn't get how hard things are for young people today.

Robert Peston‏ @Peston
Extraordinary - Boris Johnson wrongly claims £350m NHS promise is in manifesto

When challenged about it not being in, he says "It is. It is".
(Its not).

www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/21/boris-johnson-wrongly-claims-350m-nhs-promise-is-in-manifesto?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Boris Johnson wrongly claims £350m NHS promise at manifesto launch
Foreign secretary caught looking at notes of interviewer before TV encounter during which he insisted pledge in Tory document

Article has video of the relevant bit and photos of Johnson sneaking a look at the questions he is about to be asked.

Please do check for yourself. Peston seems utterly stunned by it. The man repeatedly 'cheats' at politics and still gets away with it.

I hope he get shuffled into oblivion on June 9th. He's a con man. I hope one day he is found out and held to account but I don't hold my breathe.

One example: I have heard relatives say about air pollution and the "pea soupers" of the past etc "that everyone worried about smog in the past - but now, look, it worked itself out!"

Think also of the 19th Century sewage problems in London - called the Big Stink, I believe. Bazalgette didn't just come along and say "I'll try my hand at building sewers and see what happens". Although I don't doubt that there are enterprising people who act on a bit of a hunch when problems need solving, and find that their ideas work.

Or think of the NHS - prior to this, people like Medical Officers in towns were beginning to lay the rudiments of health systems - they weren't just sitting on their hands waiting for solutions to fall from the sky, but got out and did something.

Anyone else got that manics song going round their brain?....
"....and if you tolerate this, then your children will be next...."

Badders I love that song. It's never felt more relevant

Has T May been spotted today?

We've had a campaign leaflet from Philip Davies. Main headlines "fight political correctness!" "Save the green belt" "leave Bradford council".
Load of guff which doesn't surprise me, it's squarely aimed at traditional old men, of which there are quite a few round here. No mention of the the problems with schools and lack of gps in the area- quelle surprise.

The labour flyer was much more positive and relevant to people with families. Still waiting for lib dems.

Badders I've got "Suicide is Painless" going around my head, courtesy of some of the discussions happening elsewhere, but then I have a very dark sense of humour.

Fair play to Corbyn re. his appearance at The Libertines gig! I'd like to see TM do that.. "Cant stand May now"

Have you had one from the WEP? I was infuriated that More United is donating to Sophie Thingy's campaign.

“Food is at the heart of national security. If you can’t feed a country you haven’t got a country.”

“I hope those who voted Brexit and who still want to eat British are prepared to go to Lincolnshire in winter to pick vegetables.”

www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/21/brexit-coming-food-crisis-seasonal-migrant-labour-eu

Surprisingly nice living quarters, but firms found no British workers would do this back-breaking work

Nothing from the WEP yet, but we're probably not their target area (too many old men ). They're probably bombing saltaire with leaflets though. Haven't seen many placards up yet. Seen a lot more in the constituency next door where the population is a lot more left leaning. It's only 2 miles down the road but completely different demographic!

One leaflet through the door here
One
From the fuckwit Tory chinless wonder
Very annoyed no labour or lib dem leaflets yet...
We never get visits...too unimportant

Brightest and best, it's time to pack up and offer your talents elsewhere

https://medium.com/@helenldecruz/fbrightest-and-best-its-time-to-pack-up-and-offer-your-talents-elsewhere-3c00fd8df505

"We cannot vote, brightest and best, but we can vote with our feet.

As an American brightest and best told me (a University of Oxford lecturer), "I'm going back to the States.
Trump is just for four years, maybe eight, but Brexit is forever".

The UK is having an existential crisis.
While it's figuring out what it wants to do, do you want to end up as collateral damage?"

Brightest and best,

the obligatory ...

Very annoyed no labour or lib dem leaflets yet...
We never get visits...too unimportant

Had Tory. Know Labour and LDs are in the post but not received. (I'm getting slightly annoyed. Postal votes are despatched on 23rd so will start arriving 24th.).

As for visits. How many doors and how many knockers do you need? I wouldn't take it personally. I don't think that's happening except in the most high profile of marginals.

You are more likely to get a telephone call these days, but even that requires a lot of man power.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/theresa-mays-election-guru-lynton-10471574
Theresa May's election guru Lynton Crosby in tax haven scandal after pocketing six-figure sum

Aussie Sir Lynton, who devised the Tory “strong and stable” mantra, is a shareholder and former director of now defunct Rutland Holdings Limited based in Malta, where foreign companies pay as little as 5% in corporation tax.

Latest accounts show it paid out £826,000 in dividends in 2015, when he was working in the UK to help David Cameron win the election.

Sir Lynton, known for his attack dog style of PR campaiging, was due to receive £150,000 of it.

As he is a non-dom for tax purposes here, he would not need to cough up UK duty on it, so long as it does not comeinto Britain. He insisted the firm was not set up to avoid tax but refused to reveal what it does.

We do try to get out and deliver as many leaflets as possible with our very limited resources. Tories have many more volunteers here and are able to cover more ground. We are made aware of postal voters and make sure they are informed in time. If you feel that voters in your area are not receiving enough information you could volunteer to deliver some leaflets

I received a letter from our Labour candidate today - it was almost entirely focused on Brexit as our constituency is 75% remain and our remain-supporting Tory MP promptly lost her principles and her spine as soon as the referendum result came through. It should be Labour's for the taking but I'm not holding my breath (and my husband is predicting an increased majority for the incumbent ). My parents live in Tooting constituency - Sadiq's old stomping ground - and his replacement, an exceptionally capable working class, local woman who is an A&E doctor (and still puts in the odd shift at St George's, the local hospital) is under threat from the Tories. I cannot begin to understand it.