RIP Bob Crow

Bob Crow 1961 - 2014

Looking through the news headlines this morning my I read "RMT Union Leader Bob Crow..." and immediately I thought 'Oh great what now.' I clicked on the link ready to get wound up by whatever Bob was going to be complaining about this time. As long as I have had an interest in politics I have had a dislike for Bob Crow, His complaints often seemed very self serving and trivial and his view of strike chaos being his ultimate symbol of success I always found abhorrent. However when I read that the final word of the headline was "..Dies" I actually found myself sitting in a mild state of shock. As tends to be the modern way I immediately went onto Twitter to try and cage the reaction of my fellow man and most seemed to be in agreement - there were a few distasteful comments, as there always are unfortunately, but the general view was altogether very respectful - Which is how I feel it should be. As much as I disliked pretty much everything about Bob Crow's Politics I still appreciate that he is a human being with family and friends who are in mourning.

When all of the nasty negative attacks were circulating after the death of Margaret Thatcher I did have a conversation with a "leftie" friend of mine in which I said. "How would you like it if everyone acted like this if Bob Crow died." Ironically I picked Bob Crow as I reasoned that despite being a Union Boss rather than a publicly elected official he has probably been the most important and gutsy Left wing politician since Gordon Brown sneaked away. Whatever your feelings on the politics of Bob Crow you can not say that he has had no effect and whilst I personally will not miss him from our political landscape I am sure that he will be greatly missed and I feel slightly sorry for whoever succeeds him as RMT Secretary as they will have very big shoes to feel - I do worry that in order to try and make a name for themselves they may over reach early on so I would expect some interesting times ahead for the London Underground.




 

John McDonnell shows what a credit he is to Parliament ... Again

Labour Leadership candidate John McDonnell has been forced to apologise after making a “joke” that if he could go back to the 80’s he would assassinate Margaret Thatcher. Obviously as I was born in 1979 I do not really have many strong feelings on Lady Thatcher but from what I have read although she may have ruled with a fist of Iron, she at least ruled, in a time that the country needed a strong government to undo the financial mismanagement of the previous labour administration. (It is strange how history repeats itself – or maybe it isn’t)

However, regardless of your political views, I believe that most (if not All) politicians, get into politics because they want to improve their society, the parties exist only because we have different ways that we think that can be best achieved. It saddens me therefore when you hear an elected member of our parliament saying that an 84 year old woman should have been assassinated for her views, makes me wonder what kind of country Mr. McDonnell would like us to live in. Now he has said that it was a joke – So we can strike sense of humour of his list of attributes as well – and that the audience (The GMC) thought it was funny and even applauded the suggestion – Hope they are also feeling proud – as if your audience finding a joke funny makes it ok. I am quite sure that there are places in the world where I can get a laugh from all types of distasteful comment, but that does not make it right.

I have to admit however I am not surprised to be honest as this is not the first time that McDonnell has opened his mouth to let the rubbish that must float around his head out, Just last year McDonnell was suspended for five days when mid debate he picked up the ceremonial mace and placed it down on an empty bench as he didn’t like the way the debate was going.

In May 2003, he praised the IRA, saying, "It's about time we started honoring those people involved in the armed struggle. It was the bombs and bullets and sacrifice made by the likes of Bobby Sands that brought Britain to the negotiating table.” What a lovely comment to make, especially at a time which just after 9/11 must have been quite hard on the moral of terrorists, luckily this endorsement from an MP must have really made them think that anything was possible (Don’t forget this was only two years before 7/7)

As if his infantile actions and one of the most stupid mouths, backed up with limited intellect as it is, were not bad enough this is the man who in his first general election campaigns had to pay out £70,000 to his opponent for lies and libel that he spread in his literature and even before that when Ken Livingstone’s deputy on the Greater London Council he is accused of deliberately misleading his own colleagues in a funding dispute with central government that even caused Ken to mention it in his book If Voting Changed Anything, They'd Abolish It, in which he outlines his belief that McDonnell presented exaggerated figures in order to support his proposal.

Well I imagine that the voters of Hayes and Harlington who see fit to inflict this man on the politics of our country must just love a good drama.