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The gender equality of Excessive executive pay.

An old tweet summarises an issue where female equality campaigners (and male supporters) put one aspect of fairness over others. The issue of unequal pay is rightly raised, but when it is excessive pay the complaint from BBC journalists, or the practice of UK University Vice Chancellors, local authority Chief Executives, bosses of housing associations, charities, and even mutual Building Socieities like the Principality, is to award the levelling up of excessive pay to the female (Chief) executive but think nothing of the gross disparity with other workers in their organisation or in ordinary jobs.

Summer last year I was horrified at the excessive pay being given to the incoming Chief Executive of the Principality Building Society – Wales’ leading financial institution. Julie-Ann Haines was a longstanding senior executive of the society. (A building society traditionally specialises in lending to people to by houses, and some remain officially as ‘mutuals’ owned by the savers and borrowers as members, not owned by shareholders or private companies like banks). At a time when savers in banks and building societies are hit by near non existent interest, it is particularly aggravating to see the new Chief Executive paid excessively – many many times an average salary – whether a woman or not.

Kiron Reid
@KironReid
·
Nov 22, 2018
Gender equal pay & obscene unequal pay are different issues but will some progressive feminists be equally outraged about grossly excessive pay to a female boss, not only when the £ goes to a man? While we should also acknowledge Bet365 & Denise Coates give millions to charity.

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Some descriptions of June in south Serbia.

Cows coming home at tea time or dusk with their cowherds, goatherds tending to goats by the side of the road or in fields, often with the cows. The cows are giant – much bigger (one third bigger I think) than I see in North West England. Unlike in May I haven’t yet seen the flocks of sheep grazing and moving around the fields, tended by their cheerful relaxed shepherds. Perhaps, having returned just a few days ago, I haven’t been on the roads where the sheep are – though often they are grazing even on the outskirts of the small and larger towns in south central Serbia and Kosovo. Perhaps they have moved to cooler spots than the valley floor. Small bright red field poppies by the sides of the roads and streams. The plastic pollution along and in all the streams now covered up by lush new green growth or washed away on its way to pollute elsewhere. Swallows darting around in the air or gliding gracefully, super fast outside my high balcony or near skimming my head on the walkway to our office, where they nest in the concrete roof space. Geraniums (as us unbotanical call them) giving colour on most balconies, window boxes, and lofts and front paths, carnations, primulas and other pretty bedding plants in municipal displays and planters, gardens, some adopted beds (by shopkeepers or residents) that looked shabby or abandoned in winter and autumn now providing extra colour. Still the strings of dried peppers hang on balconies, in loft space and eaves. There are roses and even water loving hydrangeas like in England. Earlier there were snow drops. In May there were plenty and daffodils in the gardens and wild primulas in the wooded hillsides. The oak trees were not out then but suddenly came alive. Colourful beehives are found on the hillsides, in family plots, and along the edge of fields. Road side signs in remote Medvedja, or even along the autoput to Belgrade advertise domestic rakija and med (honey). The heady scent from Lime trees drifts on the air.

Storks, large (tubby even) and tall, stalking around the fields dotted, one here, one or two there, or at dusk in their nests on telegraph poles, electricity pylons, or on chimneys and rooves. Two stalks in a nest, sitting or standing, their young they were tending in May no longer sitting with them. No, three storks in a nest, the third looks grown but slightly smaller, these are the young I saw newly born months ago. One on a roof nearby, majestic. The swallows and the sparrows compete. But little birds buzz around the storks without any complaint.

The vines growing (with roses at the row ends for pollination, very pretty), the plum trees growing (to make plum brandy – slivocic [shlivovits/z or shlivovitsa] or rakija, all incorrectly translated here as brandy but there are different types for each fruit and Serbian and Albanian people have their favourite), men forking up bales of hay in the tea time heat onto tractors laden with hay. Bales or heaps in the fields, sometimes in the Serbian villages traditional conical haystacks. Corn drying in open wire or wooden holders. New corn plants shooting up in the fields. Courgettes and cabbages. Vines are grown even in yards in the towns. Chickens run around and noisy but harmless stray dogs coexist without problem – as clueless as the chickens for wandering out into the roads, and competing with the cats to scavenge in bins. Looking at a bleak wall or run down frontage just peer through the doorway, gate or cracks and you usually see a beautiful yard, courtyard or garden. And if you like vintage Yugoslav era tractors this is the place to come. They look fine, classic working venerable machines. Every greengrocers, small shop and market or informal street seller’s pitch is piled with colourful fresh produce.

From my balcony looking across town I see the green low hills to the east (running north and south and inland to bigger hills towards North Macedonia and Bulgaria) and from the block stairwell on the other side there are the near low green lush hills to the west. Running south I can the highway that goes past the southernmost town of Presevo (sounds like Preshevo; or Presheve to Albanians) and on to Skopje, Thessalonica or Athens (or north to Belgrade). I wait to see if we will get the thunderstorms, as last year June and August were months for thunderstorms. Unexpectedly to me. Despite the heat there has been only one so far. Since writing that line a couple more but not the drama and deluges of last year yet. June was warn, last June and July hot. Such a change since the last thunderstorms in an unusually cold and wet mid May. In April there was sun and rain like in Britain, and snow, but 1 March and 1 November had been warm enough to sit on the balcony. Mid February there was heavy snow. People say the weather in Britain is changeable.

Now in the heat it is quiet but in the evening, with almost no Corona cases and most restrictions now officially lifted (previously largely ignored) many diaspora and those studying or working away have returned and the towns are crowded, outside and inside the bars and cafes. In the bigger town of Vranje, people stroll the old Corso in the evening, like the passeggiata or paseo, while the pedestrian ‘squares’ of Presevo and street in my town are thronging. Small kids race round in electric cars without fear of (your) life or limb. The daytime peace in Bujanovac (if not market day – or the shattering noise of Roma motorised agricultural equipment) broken by the tooting horns of processions of cars for the traditional wedding cavalcade. The lively exotic sounding skilled Roma musicians are a feature of all weddings – brass band music is a Roma speciality. But brass, and saxophone and clarinets and accordion seem to feature in traditional Balkan music whether it is described as Serbian, Albanian or Roma. Who would have thought that the traditional music of the ‘Western Balkans’ sounds so much like ‘eastern’ enthused trad jazz. And then, with Hollywood style glitz are the High School pupils showing off gorgeous fashionable modern dresses and brat pack / rat pack sharp suits and shirts for their High School prom night at the end of a very unusual school year. The Macedonian (Albanian) ice cream sellers doing a roaring trade at night, and people strolling in the smaller and bigger towns, often visiting the traditional Montenegrin dessert shops (or a hereditary business of people originally from Prizren in Kosovo or from North Macedonia also).

Since writing the above I saw just one flock of sheep in the cooler evening near the village of Turija. And three storks on a nest perhaps feeding younger ones. And a second flock of sheep in the evening on the higher land on the southern western edge of the bigger town of Vranje. And the diaspora have returned in huge numbers from Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Italy and France. It has become a busy Summer. As I drive, walk or cycle around the towns and villages of the region, noticeable as I’m speaking English and don’t speak any languages of the region, (probably the only British resident, and only one from Liverpool) most people talk to me in German and are disappointed when I can’t speak to them. They are almost invariably welcoming and friendly nonetheless. By coincidence one British family do live in Gjilan / Gnjilane 30 miles away. The coffee shops and kafanas (taverns), restaurants and café bars and bars (and even nightclubs in Presevo) are buzzing and packed in the morning, evening and night. The cars and excessive traffic I will write about another time. Bang on cue, a wedding cavalcade goes past, a Roma wedding. And a peel of thunder rolls in over the hills. And an Albanian wedding cavalcade. And the rain has come. The second rain in two days. The rain has really come. It won’t dampen the spirits but is a welcome relief perhaps after a baking hot July.

Kiron Reid came to Serbia in June 2020 to work in south Serbia, next to North Macedonia. He lives in the small town of Bujanovac (sounds like Booyanovats), which is populated by Albanian, Serbian and Roma residents.

Notes observing May to July 2021. 27 June, 2 July, 18 July 2021.

With thanks to my friend Liam, who asked me to write (in May last year and afterwards) on my experience in Serbia. This post first appeared on Liam’s ecclectic & personal blog (published from Manchester, UK), ‘Falling leaves – anthropological musings‘ on 28 July this year. Published as ‘Notes from South Serbia by K’ 28 July 2021.
https://falling-leaves.blog/2021/07/28/notes-from-south-serbia-by-k/

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A Burns Night whisky opening in Serbia.

Sixteen years after Peter Facey and Alex Runswick, of Unlock Democracy campaign group got me invited to a British Embassy Sofia, Burns Night party sponsored by Chivas Regal, I’ve finally been grown up enough to buy my own bottle. I’ve Two in fact, one on offer before New Year in Sainsbury’s in Liverpool and one on offer (good but not as good) in IDEA supermarket in Bujanovac, Serbia (geographically not that far from Sofia, mind the mountains). In fact the other Maxi supermarket had a better offer, but having finally spent my Nectar points on buying the bottle at home (Frances and I had a glass together over Zoom) I just managed to earn some supermarket loyalty card points here as well buy buying whisky. Leek & potato soup, brown bread and butter. Here’s to Rabbie Burns. I still probably prefer the Famous Grouse as a Scotch blend (I don’t have any decent Irish here) but Chivas Regal was very generous that night, and the Croat lads with us on the political workshop took care of the spare bottles. So I should contribute something back to sales.

The Burns Night traditions being promoted by UK Embassies around the World is one of the nice things that they do 🙂. Plus I have a book with great pictures and eccentric text on the North Coast of Scotland 500 route to read by an Englishman and a Welshman, Court & Jones. (Josh Court & Vernon W Jones, married to Macedonian wifes in nearby Skopje).

Lightly edited Facebook post from Bujanovac, south Serbia. 25 January. Additional explanation –

The reason a group of British Liberal Democrat and other political activists, and young(ish) political activists from across SE Europe were in Sofia was for a series of workshops on political policy making organised by Unlock Democracy and partners. The lavish Burns Night party was simply a coincidental highlight, the discussions on inclusive policy making was a great antitode to stereotypes meeting brilliant activists who wanted to make their countries better – from Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia. The British South East Europe forum was sponsored by the British Council.

I liked Sofia and courtesy of my University returned the next year to do some academic research, and then using the Macedonian contact travelled on to Skopje, my first visit to a country where I later worked as an election observer, and now could almost see from my balcony as I am working only thirty kilometres north of the North Macedonia border.

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The Labour Party leader Keir Starmer.

The Liberal Democrats have just elected a new leader but before that here are my thoughts on the British Labour Party leader.

 

I’m a Liberal, and definitely anti-Socialist, but I do like Keir Starmer. I followed his career from when he was a young civil liberties barrister, as a Professor I worked with at Leeds spoke very highly of him. I think he can do well. My mentor in my first graduate job, at Leeds University, Professor Clive Walker, recommended Starmer as one of his brightest graduates. And I trusted Clive Walker’s judgment greatly. (From 1992 onwards). Clive thought Keir would go far.

The new Labour Leader Keir Starmer. I think he is very competent and can win – ironically he is a socialist from an ordinary background but because he is posh sounding and not far Left the Left are very hostile to him. Starmer. I always thought he was from the North East of Scottish background because he is named after the founding Labour MP Keir Hardie. In fact I was always wrong as Starmer was born in London. A leading civil liberties barrister of his generation I thought it was a brilliant move of the Labour Government in  2008 to appoint him Director of Public Prosecutions, head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) as an expert civil liberties barrister would have a good idea what needed reforming or could be done better.

Based on social media posts, 7, 13 April 2020.

PS I’ve also spelt his first name wrong all these years, though hopefully not in my second major academic article, on breach of the peace and protest, with then Dr. Donald Nicolson, which analysed a case that Starmer and others took to the European Court of Human Rights and kindly sent me the papers in.

 

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75 years after World War Two ended and Britain lets its WW2 heritage fall into ruins.

Pill box by Garston Docks
Can you see it?
View of site of pillbox1
Can you see the pill box?
view of site of pillbox 2
Pill box by Garston Docks
A pill box at Allerton, south Liverpool.
Spring pill box. Not conserved it seems or explained but not derelict either.
A pill box at Allerton, south Liverpool. Google verson
Google improved this image and I quite like it.

VE Day is an appropriate day to come back to this. Last month I saw on Facebook pictures of a WW2 gun battery on the edge of Bristol I had never seen before. A spot I lived quite near, and have driven past many times but until the pictures of the derelict battery, next to the BT Tower, were posted by my friend, the former MP Stephen Williams, I’d never heard of it. I made my usual comment to a friend that in Britain our World War Two heritage is neglected but there is an appalling romanticism about World War 1.

I entirely agreed with a comment by a James Davies. These should be restored and used for education and to explain about history.

Our country had a whole appalling World War 1 nostalgia fest, much romanticising war, but our actual visible, existing World War 2 everyday heritage is almost totally ignored. I think this and am angry every time I see a pill box or gun emplacement (various posts on my website). They are very occasionally preserved, usually neglected, totally forgotten and often left decaying and crumbling. It is shocking that as the last men and women who remember the Second World War die that this built history will also be lost. It is lazy to always blame the authorities but in this case heritage and local authorities seem to not be bothered.

Here are a couple of photos of pill boxes local to me, in Allerton and along the River Mersey at Garston Docks by Cressington Park, to add to the others I’ve noted.

On a different note, I am not a Royalist, but am neither pro or anti the British Royal Family in Britain. The Queen is good for tourism and members of the family do much good public work. I like many of Charles’ political views and his campaigning on ecology. William and Kate are nice and I love cheeky Harry and have come to be a fan of Harry and Meghan. She’s pretty cool. I respect the Queen because of her experience and actions during the War, and I have to say I thought her Coranavirus crisis broadcast was almost spot on perfect. Just the right content, tone and mood for the nation. Her broadcast today, which I saw excerpts from on the BBC News, was again really good. I’ve never listened to a Queen’s speech but now twice in a few weeks I’ve been impressed and appreciated listening to Queen Elizabeth. (A good Irish name after all, the name of my Irish grandmother and my big sister).

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Big money in US politics, Harry & Meghan, War footing to tackle Coronavirus, & a good musical.

Thoughts from early and mid-March 2020, written up later in the month. Posted 30 April 2020.

Including: The most controversial opinion of the Year – CATS is a Good movie and a decent musical.

A little more detail in the attached Word document.

 

Big money in US politics

The most educational thing about Michael Bloomberg quitting the race to be Democratic nominee for US President is the obscene amounts of money spent.
$500 million. Big money and guns are dual cancers in American politics. As I always say in Ukraine, imagine if those rich business people spent the money doing public works. Though it’s not like Russia using a whole state apparatus to do bad.

In solidarity with Harry & Meghan.

On January 9 I wrote: Watching ITV news at Ten, & reading the Daily Telegraph, the ‘Royal experts’ interviewed about Prince Harry & Meghan are a horrible nasty bunch of people, with maybe one exception. Only on a level with the Cabinet & current crop of Tory Farage MPs

 

Meghan & Harry I sympathise with though they’ve not been tactful with other members of the family. The establishment and right wing press has turned on them in nasty fashion, certainly the Daily Telegraph and the ‘Royal correspondents’ of TV and newspapers

 

Looking at the Daily Telegraph this morning what nasty horrible people attacking Harry. While on the ITV documentary last night, Sun photographer Arthur Edwards is such a nasty entitled embittered old man, & Sun editor Dan Wootton the smarmiest scumbag that you could invent.

 

13/01 I’ve been reading discussions about the controversial decision by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan to be less prominent members of the British Royal Family and spend more time in Canada. I am not pro or anti the monarchy, it is largely symbolic and good for tourism. I support Harry and Meghan in this because so much of our tabloid and right wing press that I hate are being nasty about them. [They also do much good campaigning and charity work.]

 

On the Sussexs. I find these titles hard to remember. Critics are sneering about the idea they will make money out of their title, I am sceptical but think it could be done well.

 

It will be good for the Commonwealth if Prince Harry and Meghan spend more time in Canada, while also returning to Britain and visiting other countries privately and in their public work. This will complement the great work that Prince William and Princess Kate, and Prince Charles do.

 

War footing to tackle Coronavirus.

20 March.  Finally the Government is moving on to a war footing, heard [Health Minister] Matt Hancock say something like that on radio just before. I’d come round to that just after the budget at the start of the week I think. That a total War footing like in World War 2 or World War 1 is needed to deal with the scale of this problem and the challenge to our society.

 

Doing things differently continuing afterwards. I agree with this point from my friend Johnny Santer:

I hope this wakes people up to the fact that the global system is broken beyond repair. The death-throes of late-stage capitalism. We need to regroup, rethink and put planet & people first. …

it highlights that IF we left everything to market forces etc the collapse of society would be a matter of weeks away. A major “reset” / rethink button has been pushed I hope and good things are to come as a result of introspection & global reflection.” 19 March 2020.

 

Another, a better, way of doing things is possible. The best of the response to this crisis has demonstrated that. Regardless of nationality, ideology, religion, race or age the virus targets everyone and we all need to work together.

 

 

10/01 Brexit is for me still a political, economic, philosophical and metaphysical disaster. What will happen no one knows.

 

People have this panic buying all wrong. It isn’t household goods & tins to buy. Is it only me? I’m obsessively buying Easter Eggs and beer on offer :-).

Half in jest only …

People have this panic buying all wrong. It isn’t household goods & tins to buy at the moment, it’s beer and chocolate. There are great offers on chocolate and beer. I can’t say I’m panic buying chocolate, but I am impulsively buying Easter Eggs on offer, & need to stay out of the Home Bargains, discount stores, garages etc. so as not to overdo chocolate and biscuits. Certainly before lock down there was no shortage of beer in the shops here and some great offers. Brewers & retailers need a boost with St Patrick’s party and many others cancelled. My plan later last week was then this week to see if can buy takeaway beer to help pubs and breweries, and food to help restaurants. I’m not sure how much that is still possible, some places still doing collection / delivery. I feel bad buying supermarket beer now. But I’ve been buying from supermarkets large & small, small shops, local shops, a brewery direct (Llangollen as we were there), the products of European, global, national traditional and some smaller producers, including stocks of alcohol free beer and wine. I even bought the on offer Corona in our local big ASDA. I thought the misunderstood Mexican brewery / giant conglomerates, could do with some support. Plus it was on offer, I don’t even particularly like Corona but will have some to celebrate in the garden when this is over :-).

 

[Mexican beer Brewed in the UK of course], like the Cobra – better for the environment perhaps and unlike most international brands of ‘Greek’ and ‘Ukrainian’ beer they don’t here claim they are British beers.

Points from: Campaign Against the Arms Trade email 24 March

Arms to ventilators?

Rolls Royce, which produces military aircraft engines, and aerospace companies like Airbus which profits from the sale of fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, have been called on by the UK government to help produce ventillators – showing change can come when the political will is there. The case for moving our engineering skills from industries that take lives to ones that save them has never been stronger.

 

Rethinking ‘security’

We can also see more than ever that our security is not advanced by wars, or by spending billions on nuclear weapons systems and aircraft carriers, but by building fairer societies that support the most vulnerable, and by investing in our public services.

 

The most controversial opinion of the Year – CATS is a Good movie and a decent musical.

Frances and I went to see the CATS screening at the Philharmonic Hall last night. Christmas present for me. It was great, very good. If some odd parts, very thin plot & patchy singing. Mostly very enjoyable. A great cast, though I only recognised five during the show. I recommend going to see it at the cinema if it is still on anywhere near you. Website-consolidated-posts-March-2020.doc (4034 downloads )

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Coronacisis delays obscene pay rise for YBS Directors.

As online voting for the Yorkshire Building Society AGM closes, it’s worth noting that the Board withdrew a proposal to double Directors’ potential bonuses due to the Coronacrisis. It is obscene that this proposal was put forward – & by a mutual society.

The tired old cosy club argument of company directors, Housing Association & local council Chief Execs, University Vice Chancellors, premier league footballers & top journalists is trotted out. They have to pay in line with market competition. A nonsense that the best people will only work for obscene amounts of money. & if true, if you pay execs half or a quarter will the people you get who want to do the job be half as good. I very much doubt it, but much better value for money. Those who support the values of a mutual, those who want do the public service role of Housing Association, local authority, University, those who want to play for a top Club because it is that Club, will do so.

For the banks & building societies and investment companies – cut the pay and give all savers an extra couple of quid. (In one line in a 2013 essay I called this pact between shareholders (controllers of votes of) and executives an unholy alliance. And wrote a latter critique (focused on BT in this case) here:
https://kironreid.co.uk/2019/01/02/how-to-end-the-obscenely-excessive-executive-pay-at-bt-and-other-top-firms/

Liberator 362 October 2013 can be downloaded here:
https://liberatormagazine.org.uk/en/document/liberator-issues-2013/liberator-362#document

Posted in abridged form on Twitter.

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The Steel Balloon – a ’60s atomic thriller on political and science reporting.

The Steel Balloon Hugh McLeave, Pan edition, 1967.

Wise words from a 1960s thriller, on the quality of the press. Wise words for Brexit time, written by the novelist the Daily Mail science correspondent. A now very old fashioned seeming thriller set amid the early British atomic energy programme. The hero, naturally a Fleet Street science correspondent, has to stop every five minutes at a phone box to call his newsroom. A fairly straightforward plot compared with modern movies, mysterious death and disappearances, blackmail, spies, sabotage. And the obligatory road trip through Scotland (39 Steps, Enigma – or is it a train journey in Enigma?). (1st ed. Frederick Muller, 1964). Pre-motorway of course. And a nice little cameo for a George Smiley, presumably a comic tribute to the Smiley who John Le Carre had created three years earlier.

The quote about political reporting, p. 55 I thought at the time was a call for more in depth and better quality reporting on political matters. And a moral that the public get the press that they deserve, now I’m not sure about the former and this quote is not about the latter. I was struck by the relevance when I read the book last Summer but it equally applies now in the time of Coronacrisis. When the popular British press are being a bit more responsible (the quality British and US outlets and others doing great work) but many people, in sharing information, videos and pictures of unknown provenance and validity on social media, are helping spread confusion, ignorance or prejudice. Fortunately far more people are thinking carefully about what they are doing to help tackle the crisis. Of course the hero of ‘The Steel Balloon’, reporter David Lovatt, is regularly reminding us of the need for better public understanding of science. Page 56 is a reminder by a Jewish professor of the stupidity of prejudice based on religion or race. The Coronavirus is also showing us that.

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The MPs who betrayed Britain & Europe.

These are the MPs who took us out of the European Union. They’ve taken away my rights & damaged the peace, prosperity & security of all of Europe. I hold each of them personally responsible and will not forgive them for this defeat they have inflicted on Britain.
European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill Division 14 9 January 2020
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-01-09/division/481FA073-5C1F-4EE0-892E-983C695193FC/EuropeanUnion(WithdrawalAgreement)Bill?outputType=Names

AyesTellers
Adams, Nigel
Afolami, Bim
Afriyie, Adam
Ahmad Khan, Imran
Aiken, Nickie
Aldous, Peter
Allan, Lucy
Amess, Sir David
Anderson, Lee
Anderson, Stuart
Andrew, Stuart
Ansell, Caroline
Argar, Edward
Atherton, Sarah
Atkins, Victoria
Bacon, Mr Gareth
Bacon, Mr Richard
Badenoch, Kemi (Proxy vote cast y Leo Docherty)
Bailey, Shaun
Baillie, Siobhan
Baker, Duncan
Baker, Mr Steve
Baldwin, Harriett
Barclay, rh Steve
Baron, Mr John
Bell, Aaron
Benton, Scott
Beresford, Sir Paul
Bhatti, Saqib
Blackman, Bob
Blunt, Crispin
Bone, Mr Peter
Bottomley, Sir Peter
Bowie, Andrew
Bradley, Ben
Bradley, rh Karen
Brady, Sir Graham
Braverman, Suella
Brereton, Jack
Bridgen, Andrew
Brine, Steve
Bristow, Paul
Britcliffe, Sara
Brokenshire, rh James
Browne, Anthony
Bruce, Fiona
Buchan, Felicity
Buckland, rh Robert
Burghart, Alex
Butler, Rob
Carter, Andy
Cartlidge, James
Cash, Sir William
Cates, Miriam
Caulfield, Maria
Chalk, Alex
Chishti, Rehman
Chope, Sir Christopher
Churchill, Jo
Clark, rh Greg
Clarke, Mr Simon
Clarke, Theo
Clarke-Smith, Brendan
Clarkson, Chris
Cleverly, rh James
Clifton-Brown, Sir Geoffrey
Coffey, rh Dr Thérèse
Colburn, Elliot
Collins, Damian
Costa, Alberto
Courts, Robert
Coutinho, Claire
Cox, rh Mr Geoffrey
Crabb, rh Stephen
Crosbie, Virginia
Crouch, Tracey
Daly, James
Davies, David T. C.
Davies, Gareth
Davies, Dr James
Davies, Mims
Davies, Philip
Davis, rh Mr David
Davison, Dehenna
Dines, Miss Sarah
Djanogly, Mr Jonathan
Docherty, Leo
Dorries, Ms Nadine
Double, Steve
Dowden, rh Oliver
Doyle-Price, Jackie
Drax, Richard
Drummond, Mrs Flick
Duddridge, James
Duguid, David
Duncan Smith, rh Sir Iain
Dunne, rh Philip
Eastwood, Mark
Edwards, Ruth
Ellis, rh Michael
Ellwood, rh Mr Tobias
Elphicke, Mrs Natalie
Eustice, George
Evans, Dr Luke
Evennett, rh Sir David
Everitt, Ben
Fabricant, Michael
Farris, Laura
Fell, Simon
Fletcher, Katherine
Fletcher, Mark
Fletcher, Nick
Ford, Vicky
Foster, Kevin
Fox, rh Dr Liam
Francois, rh Mr Mark
Frazer, Lucy
Freeman, George
Freer, Mike
Fuller, Richard
Garnier, Mark
Ghani, Ms Nusrat
Gibb, rh Nick
Gibson, Peter
Gideon, Jo
Glen, John
Goodwill, rh Mr Robert
Gove, rh Michael
Graham, Richard
Grant, Mrs Helen
Gray, James
Grayling, rh Chris
Green, rh Damian
Griffith, Andrew
Griffiths, Kate
Grundy, James
Gullis, Jonathan
Halfon, rh Robert
Hall, Luke
Hammond, Stephen
Hancock, rh Matt
Hands, rh Greg
Harper, rh Mr Mark
Harris, Rebecca
Hart, Sally-Ann
Hart, rh Simon
Hayes, rh Sir John
Heald, rh Sir Oliver
Heaton-Harris, Chris
Henderson, Gordon
Henry, Darren
Higginbotham, Antony
Hinds, rh Damian
Hoare, Simon
Holden, Mr Richard
Hollinrake, Kevin
Hollobone, Mr Philip
Holloway, Adam
Holmes, Paul
Howell, John
Howell, Paul
Huddleston, Nigel
Hudson, Dr Neil
Hughes, Eddie
Hunt, Jane
Hunt, rh Jeremy
Hunt, Tom
Jack, rh Mr Alister
Javid, rh Sajid
Jenkin, Sir Bernard
Jenkinson, Mark
Jenkyns, Mrs Andrea
Jenrick, rh Robert
Johnson, rh Boris
Johnson, Dr Caroline
Johnson, Gareth
Johnston, David
Jones, Andrew
Jones, rh Mr David
Jones, Fay
Jones, Mr Marcus
Jupp, Simon
Kawczynski, Daniel
Kearns, Alicia
Keegan, Gillian
Knight, Julian
Kruger, Danny
Kwarteng, rh Kwasi
Largan, Robert
Latham, Mrs Pauline
Leadsom, rh Andrea
Leigh, rh Sir Edward
Levy, Ian
Lewer, Andrew
Lewis, rh Brandon
Lewis, rh Dr Julian
Liddell-Grainger, Mr Ian
Loder, Chris
Logan, Mark
Longhi, Marco
Lopez, Julia (Proxy vote cast by Lee Rowley)
Lopresti, Jack
Lord, Mr Jonathan
Loughton, Tim
Mackinlay, Craig
Mackrory, Cherilyn
Maclean, Rachel
Mak, Alan
Malthouse, Kit
Mangnall, Anthony
Mann, Scott
Marson, Julie
May, rh Mrs Theresa
Mayhew, Jerome
Maynard, Paul
McCartney, Jason
McCartney, Karl
McPartland, Stephen
McVey, rh Esther
Menzies, Mark
Mercer, Johnny
Merriman, Huw
Metcalfe, Stephen
Millar, Robin
Miller, rh Mrs Maria
Milling, Amanda
Mills, Nigel
Mohindra, Gagan
Moore, Damien
Moore, Robbie
Mordaunt, rh Penny
Morris, Anne Marie
Morris, David
Morrissey, Joy
Morton, Wendy
Mullan, Dr Kieran
Mumby-Croft, Holly
Mundell, rh David
Murray, Mrs Sheryll
Murrison, rh Dr Andrew
Neill, Sir Robert
Nici, Lia
Nokes, rh Caroline
Norman, rh Jesse
O’Brien, Neil
Offord, Dr Matthew
Opperman, Guy
Parish, Neil
Paterson, rh Mr Owen
Pawsey, Mark
Penning, rh Sir Mike
Penrose, John
Percy, Andrew
Philp, Chris
Pincher, rh Christopher
Poulter, Dr Dan
Pow, Rebecca
Prentis, Victoria
Pritchard, Mark
Quin, Jeremy
Quince, Will
Randall, Tom
Redwood, rh John
Rees-Mogg, rh Mr Jacob
Richards, Nicola
Richardson, Angela
Roberts, Rob
Robertson, Mr Laurence
Robinson, Mary
Rosindell, Andrew
Rowley, Lee
Russell, Dean
Rutley, David
Sambrook, Gary
Saxby, Selaine
Scully, Paul
Seely, Bob
Selous, Andrew
Sharma, rh Alok
Shelbrooke, rh Alec
Skidmore, rh Chris
Smith, Chloe
Smith, Greg
Smith, Henry
Solloway, Amanda
Spencer, Dr Ben
Spencer, rh Mark
Stevenson, Jane
Stevenson, John
Stewart, Iain
Stride, rh Mel
Sturdy, Julian
Sunak, rh Rishi
Sunderland, James
Swayne, rh Sir Desmond
Syms, Sir Robert
Thomas, Derek
Throup, Maggie
Timpson, Edward
Tolhurst, Kelly
Tomlinson, Justin
Tomlinson, Michael
Tracey, Craig
Trevelyan, Anne-Marie
Trott, Laura
Truss, rh Elizabeth
Tugendhat, Tom
Vara, Mr Shailesh
Vickers, Martin
Vickers, Matt
Villiers, rh Theresa
Wakeford, Christian
Walker, Sir Charles
Walker, Mr Robin
Wallis, Dr Jamie
Warman, Matt
Watling, Giles
Webb, Suzanne
Whately, Helen
Whittaker, Craig
Whittingdale, rh Mr John
Wiggin, Bill
Wild, James
Williams, Craig
Williamson, rh Gavin
Wood, Mike
Wragg, Mr William
Wright, rh Jeremy
Young, Jacob
Zahawi, Nadhim

Division-14-European-Union-Withdrawal-Agreement-Bill-Hansard.pdf (2118 downloads )

Kiron ReidLeave a comment

The least honest lowest quality Government Britain has ever had in democratic times.

The weakest, least principled, least honest, poorest quality crop of MPs & Cabinet that the UK has had since the start of the 20th Century. This Cabinet is the lowest calibre & weakest in my lifetime (I’m 48) but the 43% did vote for them. The Independent Group / Change UK / independent Conservatives / Lib Dem joiners failed but they demonstrated principles, leadership & political bravery in great abundance. Matching when Roy Jenkins famously lost Warrington for the SDP doing the right thing in trying to modernise British politics & challenge the extremes. Their vanquishers have sold out our country to the agenda of Putin & Trump, backed by 45.6% of the people who voted. But at least the Tory MPs can cut and paste tweets & maybe in this magical season there will be a miracle & Boris Johson will actually keep a promise he’s made

 

[This post was in response to seeing a flurry of inane copy paste tweets from new Tory MPs celebrating Britain leaving the European Union and claiming this bunch of unprincipled carpetbaggers were trying to bring people together.]

Did all Tory MPs get this tosh to parrot, the equivalent of New Labour paging soundbites. They started the populism but by God this Boris Johnson Farage-Brexit-UKIP Tory Party is putting the boot into Britain and Europe for the delight of Trump and Putin

It really is a carbon copy of New Labour pushing lines by pager but far worse. Populism yes like Labour but for these Johnson Farage-Brexit-UKIP Conservatives it is in the service of Putin, Trump & billionaire tax exiles who have thrice fooled most voters

Other tweets on the same theme:
Even in a small town in rural Uzbekistan an English teacher who loves Britain could not understand how Britain could do this to itself, the same sad, baffled, reaction from our friends abroad I’ve found everywhere in Europe.

 

Both men [talking about honours for Iain Duncan Smith and Zack Goldsmith] have though (backed by most voting public) inflicted the greatest national humiliation on Britain & damage to peace & prosperity in Europe since Munich. All of us suffer the consequences (& benefits if any happen & unicorns fly). [It is the worst British defeat since Dunkirk, and self-inflicted by a section of the British people].

 

And the peace and security, progress and increased living standards across Europe endangered by profiteers and populism. Labour lost when they accepted referendum ‘won’ by lies fraud & tax exile propaganda. Which did same against them this time

 

Tweets from December 20 – 31 2019.

Original tweet thread here: https://twitter.com/KironReid/status/1208118332316114944

Examples include: https://twitter.com/KironReid/status/1212068343034908672