Save a life

In the next two minutes, dirty water will kill another child. It’s the only water they have to drink, fetched from filthy rivers, stagnant swamps, and dangerous holes in the ground. It’s water filled with parasites, animal waste and disease.

From Water Aid: 

"Toilets Save Lives. One simple solution, one life-changing gift. Will you be a lifesaver too?

Elisabeth works in a corner of Burkina Faso’s capital city, in an area called Zongo. It’s a hot, dusty place to live, filled with families trying to make a living in the city.

Many families living here don’t have access to a decent toilet – like one in three people around the world.

Living without a toilet means that families have no option but to relieve themselves outside their home, running the risk of carrying germs back inside and spreading potentially fatal diseases like diarrhoea and cholera. Children are especially vulnerable to diarrhoeal diseases, which kill 4,975 children under five in Burkina Faso each year.

Help pay for the materials to build a toilet that will keep a family safe

Your gift will do something truly life-saving. It will help provide the basic tools and materials that families need to build their own toilet, helping to keep their family safe for years to come."

Thank you for reading this entry.

Marring the Brexiteers

Of the three candidates left in the contest to become Tory Party leader and our next Prime Minister, two are Brexiteers which has become synonymous with lepers in much of the Remain camp.

Andrew Marr prides himself on being impartial using hard hitting interviews to get at the truth, as he sees it. Take the Andrea Leadsome interview (above). Marr quoted from a speech that Leadsome gave to the Hansard Society saying that Brexit would be a "disaster for our economy and would lead to a decade of economic and political uncertainty at a time when the tectonic plates are moving". She had since changed her mind having concluded, following a thorough investigation, that:

Read Andrea Leadsome's letter to her constituents here. The Fresh Start project can be found here.

Nevertheless Andrew Marr persisted in attacking Leadsome for coming to a different conclusion having looked at all the evidence gathered in the Fresh Start project before going on to imply, with a 'friendly question', UKIP sympathies and affiliations. He finished by asking if she would publish her tax returns, again implying that she might have something to hide.

Michael Gove received similar treatment when he was "told that people see him as a 'political serial killer' ", and that he "had deliberately destroyed the political career of his friends David Cameron and Boris Johnson, drawing a comparison to the television character Frank Underwood, the conniving, machiavellian House of Cards protagonist who murders his way to the White House". Being in the Remain camp Theresa May appears to be exempt from being marred.

Listening to the reaction of EU President and MEPs to the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the EU, it is difficult to understand why anyone motivated by other than self-interest would want to be associated with people who can express such sentiments. "Rats fleeing a sinking ship"! Sinking because the EU has proved to be incapable of reform as they head towards a 'do as you are told' super state.

Whoever wins the leadership contest will face difficult times backing Britain. The prophets of doom must look forward, let the politicians do the best they possibly can, then stand back and only then take another look if necessary.

Postscript [07.07.2016]

Ignore the prophets of doom. Brexit will be good for Britain
"A stale leadership class is on the way out and the property bubble will burst. I can’t see the bad news" - Simon Jenkins, The Guardian.

Thirteen years

Original source: Getty Images

"New Archbishop takes over".   Don't get excited. That was the Wales Online headline on 14 July 2003. Since then it has been all downhill for the Church in Wales (CinW):

"Dr Morgan has previously said he was heartened by the fact that the 2001 census showed most people in Wales said they believe in God. It's a question then of how to connect with those people, how do we actually connect with people who have a belief in God? One person can't change anything, but I look forward to being part of the Church in Wales' work in grappling with these kinds of issues, he said."

Dr Morgan was awarded a PhD from the University of Wales in 1986 for a thesis on "Anglican University Chaplains concepts of mission". My 22 February 2016 entry offers no hope in that direction. "Heartened" in 2001, in 2011: "The Church in Wales said Christianity is 'no longer the default setting' for many people but the picture is complex." Average CinW Sunday attendance had plummeted to 31,000 in the 2013 Membership and Finance figures.

Comrade Corbyn is sticking to power like the proverbial to a blanket. If he succeeds in bamboozling his supporters as the Archbishop of Wales has done for thirteen disastrous years the Labour party can look forward to similar decline and extinction. But there is a difference. Dr Morgan may not have been able to change anything as 'one person' but by accumulating a cadre of  like minded sycophants around him he has introduced so many changes with no thought for the consequences that many church members have simply walked with many more likely to follow when the first woman bishop is appointed and as queer theology is developed to force through same sex marriage.

While it is virtually impossible to get rid of a disastrous Archbishop the Labour party should have a better chance of surviving if Jeremy Corbyn took the advice of his fellow MPs. Unfortunately he is being driven by the Shadow Chancellor and others who insist that Corbyn stands firm as the chosen one of party members. They will not walk but neither do they command the 9 million votes cast for Labour at the 2015 election.

If the voters walk the Labour Party will be condemned to thirteen years of opposition or more, if they survive at all.

Principles not rhetoric

Souce: LEAVE.EU

The Express 26 June 2016 Nigel Farage warns Boris may be BACK-PEDALLING on EU immigration promises made in campaign: "The Ukip leader said he was nervous that Boris Johnson's position on withdrawal from the EU may have softened in the four days since the referendum vote for Brexit....Mr Johnson yesterday stressed Britain "is part of Europe, and always will be", envisaging "intense and intensifying European co-operation and partnership" even after Brexit."

Mirror 26 June 2016 Great Brexit betrayal: Vote Leave leaders backtrack from NHS and immigration pledges and admit there is NO plan: "Former Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith joined Nigel Farage in distancing himself from the key referendum vow – as Brexiteers warned voters not to expect a quick drop in immigration following the historic poll result."

Critics of Michael Gove have quickly forgotten the glee they were taking in rubbishing Brexit for "back-pedalling". One Brexiteer who was not back-peddling is Michael Gove. He was so horrified by the apparent lack of enthusiasm of Boris Johnson for securing the aims of Brexit that he reluctantly decided to throw his own hat into the ring. I believe he genuinely did not want the job of PM. As he said he his 'standing out of conviction not ambition'.

I for one believe him. Presumably Andrew Neil does not after his snide little skit - " 'Let me make clear what I have repeatedly said before,' Neil began on Thursday evening. 'I do not want to present Question Time. I could not present Question Time. I’m not equipped to present Question Time'."

Journalists have been having a field day. Gone are the days when they reported the news. They now force their own views on listeners. Crispin Blunt, MP for Reigate and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, was 'interviewed' by Evan Davis for the BBC Newsnight programme a few evenings ago. The poor chap was not allowed to say anything unless he agreed with the interviewer who constantly tried to put words into his mouth, taking lessons from Kirsty Wark no doubt.

After Michael Heseletine's scathing attack on Boris Johnson, Ken Clarke who was "personally appalled" by the idea of Boris Johnson being Prime Minister, launched a 'stunning attack' on Michael Gove urging him to 'stand down now'. He said it was important to "have the trust so far as possible of your colleagues," arguing Mr Gove had lost that ability.

When it comes to trust it is a bit rich coming from Mr Clarke following his links with BAT when he was earning £100,000 a year in 2001 as the nation struggled to control smoking with all its consequences for the NHS.

The Remainers have no shame. Scare stories before the Referendum, character assassination afterwards putting rhetoric before principles, all designed to favour Remain over Brexit. But just a minute, "Post-Brexit vote rebound sees FTSE 100 set for biggest weekly rise since 2011". Not a lot said about that!

If the sneerers would open their eyes and pull for Britain instead of condemning people of conviction as racist and untrustworthy, we will make better progress on a decision that has been made. The current battles being waged could damage Theresa May as well as Michael Gove. That could prove to be to the advantage of Andrea Leadsom. She has been a consistent Brexiteer with the right credentials. With support going her way, Michael Gove could still be let off the hook he has previously tried to avoid.

Bye bye Boris, now what?

Boris Johnson's announcement that he will not run for the leadership of the Conservative Party will be welcomed by many in the party who regarded him as too divisive.

Theresa May made an outstanding unity speech quashing the notion that we must have a Brexit candidate leading the Brexit negotiations. It is important that we do not fluff the opportunity offered by Brexit but life goes on around Brexit. 

What the country needs is a competent leader who believes in his/her ability. Michael Gove has previously admitted that is not him. However, he would be a skilled, committed negotiator as a dedicated Secretary of State. 

With Theresa May at the helm and Michael Gove carrying through detailed negotiations, could that be the dream team? 

And now the smears...

Source: Evening Standard

Many of us are used to smears if we hold an opinion contrary to the received wisdom. To misogynistic, homophobic and Islamophobic I can now add xenophobic and racist.

I was horrified when I read that the Polish and Social Cultural Association (POSK) in Hammersmith had been targeted by vandals who had sprayed yellow paint on the front of the centre saying "Go Home".

Do these idiots not understand that after Poland was overrun by the Nazis in WW2 many Poles gave their lives fighting with the Allies and many of their pilots fought in the Battle of Britain?

In Prime Minister's Question Time today David Cameron assured the House that all possible steps will be taken to tackle the problem of a few extremists exploiting the Brexit vote but it does not help the situation when Ministers and others brand people as racists simply because they take a balanced view of immigration and the inherent risks to stability of an open-door policy which will bring further chaos to our over-stretched public services.

Writing in the Guardian Miqdaad Versi, assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, writes "Brexit has given voice to racism – and too many are complicit". Self proclaimed Brexit defector and former Conservative Party chair, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, cited "hate and xenophobia" as the reasons for changing her position. Tell Mama is devoted to "Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks" inviting complainants to submit reports. The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has compiled "over 100 incidents reported of hate crimes following the referendum result" according to figures on their web site. For a world view click here.

As Archbishop Cranmer wrote: "Brexit may have spurred a few racists but the heartbeat of the nation is unity and tolerance". All violence is to be deplored, from whatever source. We are constantly told that Islam is a religion of peace and that extremists do not represent true Islam despite all the evidence to the contrary in Islamic states where the Dhimmi status of non-Muslims is thought acceptable.

From Archbishops down, or up depending on one's point of view, Islam is being affirmed as if it were an acceptable religion on a par with Christianity. Justin Welby hosted an iftar this week at Lambeth Palace - a breaking of the Muslim fast of Ramadan.  Addressing the Muslims there, he said: "Your faithfulness in observing Ramadan in this way has been an example of what it means to take faith seriously"!

When I first clicked on the Welby link there was a link to another page "Soldiers beheaded, churches destroyed and constant fear: Syrian Christian on life under ISIS in Raqqa". Will we ever learn?

Earlier I read a report that the WATCH 'F-word' advocate, now Rector of St James' Piccadilly "opens doors for Muslims, hosts grand Iftar". So much for the claim that "there will be no repetition of the March 2015 Muslim prayer service held at St John’s Waterloo".

While Anglican clergy are busy affirming Islam, MCB and their supporters are busy playing the victim. Again from Cranmer: "There are undoubtedly some vile people out there who are abusing Asians, Muslims, Poles and Romanians, but it seems particularly crass for Remainers (including some senior clergy) to smear all Brexiters with the whiff of racism (not to mention stupidity)."

A sense of proportion please.

Who are they?

Photograph: PA

I recognise the much leaner former Lord Chancellor, 'Charlie' Falconer (top right), ex-Anglican priest and gay activist Chris Bryant (3rd down) for banging on and on about gay people being the same as everyone else but deserving special privileges, and, to his left, Stephen Kinnock mainly for being Stephen Kinnock. The MP above Bryant looks familiar but I can not put a name to the face.

Years ago many of my contemporaries knew most if not all members of the Cabinet and their Shadow ministers. As an elderly friend often reminds me, that is when we had statesmen in government. That does not necessarily imply anything about their relative competence but one thing does. That is to know when their time is up.

Jeremy Corbyn is the surprise 'Leader' of the Labour party who is stuck in the past. He and his supporters see this as a breath of fresh air, a new kind of politics! Few had heard of him until an electoral wheeze backfired and horrified Labour MPs realised what they had done in broadening the field for the sake of appearances.

On Monday the Guardian reported: "Jeremy Corbyn is preparing himself for a leadership contest following a fresh wave of resignations, with 15 members of the shadow cabinet walking out and calling for him to step down from the helm of the party...A source close to Corbyn said the number of resignations was destabilising but ultimately irrelevant unless someone triggered a leadership election. 'In many ways, the shadow cabinet is now stronger. There is no shortage of good people who want to do these jobs. The only way to try to replace Jeremy is to stand against him in a democratic contest,' he said, adding that was now 'likely to happen'."

A report this morning indicates that "more than 40 Labour MPs on Corbyn's front bench and in his shadow ministerial team" have quit.

Ignoring all appeals from fellow MPs who have pointed to his lack of leadership skills and what they regard as his dismal performance or even 'sabotage' in the EU Remain campaign, Corbyn says he will stand again in a leadership election claiming support from the rank and file of the Labour Party. As he faces a No Confidence vote has he thought to ask himself, where were his 'loyal supporters' when he was supposed to be galvanising support for the Remain campaign?

Does it matter one jot if Momentum successfully retains Corbyn as leader if he does not command the confidence of the country? Of course not. Power often involves compromise. It was a hard lesson for Labour to learn but now apparently forgotten again. If they fluff it again they will have only themselves to blame.

Corbyn must make way for someone who is able to lead the Labour party as an effective Opposition and possibly into Government. 

Update [28.06.2016]

Jeremy Corbyn has lost a confidence vote by 172 votes to 40 with 4 abstentions.