Toby on Tuesday
‘This precious stone’
In his poem, ‘The Secret People’, G.K. Chesterton wrote, “Smile
at us, pay us, pass us; but do not quite forget; For we are the people
of England, that have never spoken yet…” Well, on Thursday 7th May
the people of England will speak. And last Thursday 23rd April it was
both St. George’s Day and the anniversary of the birth in 1564 of
William Shakespeare, the poet of England and of all humanity.
St. George himself was a soldier in the Roman army who in the year
303 was martyred for his Christian faith. Yet in England he came to be
venerated as a powerful defender against evil, in the form of a dragon,
and in 1222 his feast day was declared a national holiday. Then the
custom waned and 23rd April was forgotten. Now, just as Ireland
celebrates St. Patrick’s Day and Scotland St. Andrew’s Day, so UKIP is
calling for St. George’s Day to become a national holiday once more in
England and also for St. David’s Day to be a holiday in Wales. Perhaps
this will be one more step towards a federal United Kingdom, to which
the logic of events is leading.
The current political settlement is certainly unsustainable. Under
the so-called Barnett formula, devised by Joel Barnett who later
described it as “shamefully unfair”, public spending in Scotland is
running at around £1,400 more per head annually than in England. The
cost is around £5.5 billion per annum UKIP will ensure that the
funding relationship between England and Scotland is put on a fair and
balanced basis, even though at the time of last year’s Scottish
referendum the Conservatives, Labour and LibDems all committed
themselves to maintaining it intact. The formula is increasingly
unjust and adds to the divisions between England and Scotland. As for
the ScotsNats, they have played their hand brilliantly, sensing the
weakness and cowardice of the three old English parties, then holding
them to ransom with great skill and cunning.
Equally, the logic of devolution must mean that at every stage of the
legislative process, English votes alone must in future be secured for
English laws. It is for others to decide whether the House of Commons
should become an English Parliament and the House of Lords an elected
Senate, but that must be the direction for a federal United Kingdom.
So perhaps it is best to leave the last word on this subject to to the
immortal bard himself. Born in Stratford-on-Avon on 23rd April, 1564,
he now belongs to the world and to humanity itself. And in his
‘Richard II’, the dying John of Gaunt declares,
“This royal throne of kings, this scepter’d isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in a silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England…”
Until next Tuesday!
Toby
Toby on Tuesday
‘The Isles of Greece’
It was the ancient Greeks who invented democracy – indeed the
word itself derives from the Greek demos (the people) and kratia (power
or rule). And in UKIP we love democracy above all else. But the
funny thing is that, although Nelson Mandela is revered for giving his
life to the creation of a self-governing democracy in South Africa,
Mahatma Gandhi is revered for doing exactly the same in India and, going
further back, George Washington likewise in the United States, whenever
members of UKIP call for Britain to be a self-governing democracy once
more they are dismissed as ‘fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists’.
Yet infantile abuse only strengthens us in our purpose.
But to return to Greece, even the most ardent Eurofanatic has to
recognise that the whole crazy project is unravelling on Europe’s
Southern border. When the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras visited
President Putin in Moscow recently, the shape of the new geopolitics
became clear. Without its own currency able to find a proper level in
international markets, Greece has been driven to penury and humiliation
by the EU and the European Central Bank. And even the most ardent
Eurofanatic must recognise the sense of anger and grievance that now
prevails in Athens, where democracy was first born.
Old memories, too, have reawakened. Anyone who saw the
unforgettable film, “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”, with Nicolas Cage as
Corelli, John Hurt as Dr. Iannis and Penelope Cruz as his daughter
Pelagia, will know that memories of German atrocities in World War 2,
not only in Cephallonia but throughout Greece, still resonate. And
before then, centuries of misrule at the hands of Turkey are engraved on
the Greek psyche (another Greek word from Psukhe, meaning breath, life,
soul). So fear of Turkish accession to the EU, sponsored primarily by
Germany, has only reinforced Greece’s turning to the embrace of her old
ally, Russia.
So the dye is cast and, not for the first ti
me, the geopolitics of
the Balkans will determine the whole future of the Continent of Europe.
And where should Britain stand in this? Certainly not in propping up
the failing rule from Brussels and Berlin, and certainly not in bailing
out the European Central Bank when Greece is in default on her loans.
Rather, we should watch events unfold, protect our own finances from
the looming fall-out and wish the people of Greece well. Last Sunday
19th April saw the anniversary of the death at Missolonghi in 1824 of
the poet Byron, who gave his life for the cause of Greek independence
from Turkey. Byron is little read now, but his words have a special
resonance as Greece fights for her survival -
“The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece!
Where burning Sappho loved and sung,
Where grew the arts of war and peace, -
Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung!
Eternal summer gilds them yet,
But all, except their sun, is set.
The mountains look on Marathon -
And Marathon looks on the sea;
And musing there an hour alone,
I dream’d that Greece might still be free,
For standing on the Persians grave,
I could not deem myself a slave.”
Until next Tuesday!
Toby
Toby on Tuesday
'Oh what a Circus!'
May 7th is an important anniversary. It is next month’s
Polling Day. And on 7th May, 1919, in a remote village in rural
Argentina, Eva Duarte Peron was born. At 15, she had left for Buenos
Aires in search of fame and fortune. By 1945, she had married Juan
Peron, who in the following year became President of Argentina. So she
entered history and the Argentine Congress named her “Spiritual Leader
of the Nation”. Yet in 1952, at the age of 33, she died of cancer.
And thanks to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Time Rice she has achieved
immortality as “Evita”.
I am still singing “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” as I write this, for
last Thursday Fiona and I went to the Ryedale Youth Theatre/Kirkham
Henry Performing Arts production of “Evita” in Malton. All that I can
say is that I am in awe of everyone connected with it. “Evita” is a
fantastically difficult production to stage and perform, yet this young
company achieved their goal with astonishing grace and skill. Hannah
Richardson, still only 16 and doing her A-Levels at Lady Lumley’s (where
I shall be on 20th and 27th April for two Question Times) was a truly
outstanding Eva, well up to London professional standards. Her
husband, Juan Peron, was played by Adam Peel, 17 and at Norton Sixth
Form (where I shall be on 15th April), who made the perfect Latin
American dictator. Dom Weatherill, on stage for almost all the
performance, was truly outstanding as Che. Ollie Fearn made a fine
Magaldi, the Argentinian singer and guitarist, while Beth Armstrong, as
Peron’s mistress, touched everyone with her beautiful voice. So
there’s no need to go to London’s West End when you have talent of this
quality in Ryedale. A big thank you to Ryedale Youth Theatre and
Kirkham Henry Performing Arts for an unforgettable evening.
Yet the genius of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Time Rice cannot hide the
depressing truth that Juan and Eva Peron left Argentina, with its huge
resources, destitute. Behind their facade of helping the poor, they
plundered the country. And after 1945 they welcomed Nazis fleeing
Germany, including Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele, Hitler’s “Angel of
Death”, in return for treasures stolen from the victims of the
holocaust. And they were no friends to Britain. Of course, not much
has changed in Argentina since then. The country is still bankrupt and
still in default on its overseas debts. And it continues to defy
international law in all its dealings. Only last week the Argentine
ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Office in the escalating dispute
over the Falkland Islands. Argentina had just threatened to prosecute
oil firms working in the waters around the Islands without formal
permission from Buenos Aires, another trumped-up claim from the
preposterous President Kirchner as she deflects attention from her
disastrous record at home.
But despite all this, Britain has still managed to hand Argentina
£225 million from our Overseas Aid budget over the past 20 years. In
addition, Argentina receives around £50 million under the EU’s own
foreign aid budget, of which we contribute around £7 million. The
purpose of this is to enhance Spanish influence in Argentina, the same
Spain that is threatening Gibraltar, just as Argentina is threatening
the Falklands. Stable, enduring, law-abiding Gibraltar and the
Falklands are under pressure on account of the failed policies of these
bullies and yet we continue to hand cash over to them, a policy that is
both foolish and immoral. And recently, Russia has agreed to
lease/lend to Argentina 12 Sukhoi SU-24 Supersonic all-weather attack
aircraft, well able to reach the Falklands. One is tempted to ask if
British money was used to fund this deal. Whenever anyone questions
UKIP’s determination to end the scandal of Overseas Aid, it is worth
reminding them of these facts.
So the story of Eva Peron made for a musical of genius thanks to the
skills of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and last Thursday was an
evening of magic thanks to all that Yorkshire talent. But please don’t
be deceived about the truth of life in Argentina then or now. The
threat is there and the folly of those here and in the EU who send
Overseas Aid to the country is greater than ever. No, we won’t cry for
Argentina, but we may may just need to up our defence spending and
prepare to see off the bully-boys of the South Atlantic once more!
Until next Tuesday!
Toby
Even the flowers know…
A huge thank you to one of our members for allowing us to use this amazing photo of his Aquilegia (also known as the ‘Aqukipilegia’) resplendent in UKIP colours!
Sometimes it’s too easy to get tied up with the nitty gritty and forget
the beauty around you. Thank you for the reminder Jim, it’s appreciated.
‘Polar Opposites’
My attention was drawn to a recent social media post from a
Liberal Democrat candidate, highlighting a quote from Paddy Ashdown
about UKIP and Nigel Farage. “We are the polar opposite of everything
that he stands for” Mr Ashdown told the LibDems in Hampshire. The
candidate went one step further, and announced he was ‘proud’ to be just
that.
At first it seemed to be yet another political sound bite, until I thought about it in a little more detail…
Lets first look at the definition of ‘polar opposite’, a phrase we find
ourselves using from time to time. It is the ‘exact opposite’, ‘opposite
in every way’. It’s what day is to night, what laughing is to crying,
it’s what Russell Brand is to haircuts. It’s a simple concept, and yet
when used in politics, can be very revealing.
What is it about UKIP that the Libdems claim to be polar opposites to?
Well, ‘everything’ according to Mr Ashdown. Let’s take a look at a
little of what UKIP proposes to give to the NHS, £3bn more directed to
frontline services, elderly social care funded with £1bn per year and
scrapping tuition fees for medical students (on a means tested basis).
Just a few policies, but I’m sure you can work out for yourselves what
the ‘polar opposites’ of those are.
If the Liberal Democrats so wish, I can produce them a ‘Pledge Card’
very similar to the one UKIP released recently. It would be a basic
design I’m afraid, my time is limited at the moment, but, it would
feature the ‘polar opposites’ of UKIPs pledge we have made on our own
card.
I’m thinking a plain design, yellow or orange, with just 5 points on it.
Basic as I’ve said, but it will highlight just how proudly ‘polar
opposite’ they are to UKIP.
The Liberal Democrats Polar Opposite Pledge to Britain:
1. Say YES to the EU
2. Don’t control our borders
3. Don’t fund the NHS
4. Increase foreign aid spending
5. More tax
You’re very welcome.
In line with those pledges, I’m sure we can also look forward to
increased hospital parking charges, defence cuts, wishing to only trade
within the EU whilst ignoring the rest of the world market and the
eradication of Britain’s farming and fishing industry. HS2 would
continue to eat up billions of pounds until the next vanity project
comes along and the green belt will be nothing more than a grassy
memory.
“But!”, I hear the Liberal Democrats cry, “But we didn’t say that! What we said is that we are the polar opposite to UKIP!”
Yes, I believe you probably are.
Dave
Toby on Tuesday
'Attack of the Clones'
Last week, Parliament was dissolved and the General Election
really got going. One late surprise in Thirsk and Malton was the
announcement by Philip Tate that he would be standing as an independent
candidate opposed to fracking for shale gas. I know him to be a man of
complete integrity, passionately committed to the cause for which he is
campaigning. Although I believe him to be over-pessimistic about its
consequences, in a world of spin and focus groups politics desperately
needs candidates driven by their beliefs and not simply by a wish for
office. On this basis, the greater the range of candidates standing,
the better it will be for our democracy.
The sad truth is that the three old parties, Conservative, LibDem and
Labour, have in effect merged into a single entity called ‘the
political class’. Over the coming weeks, voters will need a microscope
to identify any real difference between their manifestos. All three
believe in squandering £50 billion on the unwanted and damaging HS2, to
remain in the whole failed EU project with its porous borders, including
borders on Syria, Iraq and Iran if the Euromaniacs have their way and
Turkey joins the ‘Club’, to enforce an 80% reduction in carbon emissions
under the ludicrous Climate Change Act just as our population is
heading for 100 million, to dissipate £13 billion a year on Overseas
“Aid” and to redefine marriage. All of this will be paid for by
dismantling our defences at a time of looming international danger.
In essence, all three parties are now interchangeable.
And it is on defence, that essential insurance policy in a troubled
world, that their contrast to UKIP becomes all-too clear. As our
excellent Defence Spokesman, Mike Hookem MEP, has put it so succinctly,
“UKIP are determined to stop the neglect of our troops and increase the
UK’s operational capabilities. We also pledge to properly meet our
minimum 2 per cent GDP NATO spending commitment and restore the defence
budget to pre SDSR 2010 levels. This will mean an extra £3 billion per
year being available for defence spending.” Astonishingly, he was
supported last week by none other than General Lord Dannatt, Chief of
the General Staff from 2006 to 2009, who wrote in the Daily Telegraph,
“It is not just the Conservative Party that refuses the 2 per cent GDP
commitment but the Labour Party too. Perhaps both parties are mutually
comforted by a balance of refusal. Only UKIP takes the contrary
view.” It may be stretching the imagination, but it is almost as if
the Conservative and Labour parties were planning for a “Grand
Coalition” with each other after 7th May just to keep out the Scottish
Nationalists – an outlandish idea perhaps, but one which has already
been strongly floated by the Conservative’s Ken Baker and Labour’s
Gisela Stuart.
And UKIP will also ensure that the latest bizarre ruling that the
European Convention on Human Rights should apply to soldiers in foreign
war zones never becomes a reality. Our Supreme Court ruled last year
that European Human Rights legislation should be available to those
fighting British troops, opening up our armed forces to endless
prosecutions by our enemies. Already, more than 1,200 public law
claims have been filed against the Ministry of Defence over the Iraq
War, as well as a further 1,000 private law claims. It beggars belief
at a time of increasing global threats that Britain’s fighting power
should be threatened in this way, irrespective of the slashing of our
defence budget. This is all part of the obsession of the political
class with what it calls ‘soft power’, i.e. Overseas Aid etc. While
certainly soft, no power accrues from it and instead it makes us the
laughing stock of the world, from Moscow to Buenos Aires and Baghdad.
On 7th May there will be a chance to kick out our failed political
class. And as to Philip Tate’s anti-fracking campaign, whatever their
candidates might say here, all three old parties are committed to shale
gas. UKIP’s common sense view is that Third Energy should be allowed
to proceed with its trials at Kirby Misperton, with an underground
pipeline to Knapton Generating Station. These trials should be closely
monitored by an inspection team that would certainly include Mr. Tate,
before a final evidence-based decision is made on the security of the
technology. Ample time should be allowed before any further
development is permitted. But Thirsk and Malton will benefit from Mr.
Tate’s intervention, as it will from any candidate who is serious about
his or her cause, not merely greedy to have the two letters M and P
after their name!
Until next Tuesday!
Toby
