Fringe 2019: The Renew party

This election already has attracted all sorts of odd and somewhat unprincipled or dubious alliances as the three main parties are joined by the Brexit Party and the SNP for a major clash over the future of the country. of course Brexit is the big issue though keeping Corbyn out is on a lot minds, mine especially.

Each time there is a General Election I try to look at the fringe party candidates, especially the left-wing and other oddities that pop up but this year the far left including the Communist Party is throwing it's weight behind Corbyn though there are exceptions as we shall see in due course, but first a more "mainstream fringe party" has come to attention. The Renew Party.

There has been much talk of the need for a new "centre party" and Renew was formed in the wake of the referendum to provide just that alternative. Currently led by former MEP Julie Girling it has yet to make any real impact on political affairs but not for the want of trying.

They have put much effort into building their organisation and have a highly proffesional website and social media presence along with well designed material. The Party Manifesto is comprehnsive and there is much to agree with Renew on. But...

Renew has  recently announced that it is "joining" the Remain Alliance but none of the other parties have given them a free run and just thanked Renew for withdrawing. Considering their votes would be derisory. Renew were unlikely to have had any real impact in these seats. Where they have contested elections Renew has only rallied a handful of votes.

Still every vote counts in what promises to be a close run thing as alliances change and party tribalism continues to break down.

The Unite to remain people thanked renew for their withdrawal in a letter from the unreliable Heidi Allen:

Renew have now issued the following statement:

Putting country before party and pursuing a focused approach!

We are thrilled to announce that Renew will be running a focused, positive campaign in four highly varied constituencies in England and Scotland:

• Hackney North and Stoke Newington
• Edinburgh North and Leith
• Bromley and Chislehurst
• Sefton Central

Our other 47 candidates have agreed to stand aside. This was not an easy decision, by any means. We know that in each constituency, we have the people on the ground and the strength of message to make a real impact. We know that each of our dedicated and passionate candidates would make an excellent representative of their constituency.

But this election is about more than party politics. It is about the future of this country, and who in each seat has the ability to overcome the damaging path that we have been set on by the right wing of the Conservative party.

This decision will allow us to run a focused campaign in seats where we can have a real impact, get out on the streets and on doorsteps, and spread our positive and exciting vision for the UK.

Far from making an impact Renew will simply be another fringe party not noticed come election night.

But they won't be the only ones!

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Website: www.renewparty.org.uk 

Demonstrate to defend equality not discrimination

PLEASE JOIN US AT COURT OF APPEAL,

Strand, Holborn, London WC2A 2LL

13/14 NOVEMBER

9:30AM

Southall Black Sisters (SBS) is intervening in an important case (Akhter v Khan) with far-reaching implications for minority women’s rights.

As part of the One Law for All campaign, we will be holding a protest outside the Court of Appeal to let the government and the public know that minority women will not tolerate being trapped in marital captivity and treated as subjects of their so called religious communities rather than as citizens with equal rights.

Background

On 31 July 2018, Mr Justice Williams, a family court judge decided that Ms Nasreen Akhter was entitled to a decree of nullity of marriage, following the break-up of her 18 year old marriage. She had had a nikkah ceremony resulting in a Muslim marriage contract between herself and her husband, Mr Mohammed Khan. The couple were widely recognised as married in Britain and the UAE (where they lived from 2005 to 2011) for tax and other purposes. Although Ms Akhter wanted a civil marriage and believed one would take place, it never happened because Ms Akhter’s husband refused to also have a civil marriage. When the marriage broke down, (it is suggested that he wanted to take another wife) he said that he owed his wife nothing because their relationship constituted a ‘non-marriage’.

In court, the judge concluded that in the interests of human rights and justice, the marriage should be recognised as ‘void’. He granted Ms Akhter a decree of nullity which allows her to claim the financial remedies such as maintenance to which she may be entitled to following the break- up of her marriage.

Surprisingly, the Attorney-General on behalf of the government has intervened in this case and will argue that Mr Justice Williams was wrong to recognise the marriage as ‘void’.

Our Intervention

SBS is intervening in this case because we are clear that if the appeal is successful, the consequences for minority, especially Muslim women, will be profoundly discriminatory. Christian women in a similar situation would be able to have their marriages declared ‘void’, and thus have access to financial remedies from the courts, but women who have married in another religious system, may not.

Pragna Patel of SBS says:

“If this appeal is upheld, it will force Muslim and other women to turn to Sharia ‘courts’ that already cause significant harm to women and children. If this appeal succeeds then the government will succeed in outsourcing justice to unaccountable and fundamentalist inspired community based systems of arbitration. This amounts to an endorsement of parallel legal systems and an abrogation of its own legal obligations to uphold principles of the rule of law. This is not about recognising religious marriages; it is about the state guaranteeing equality to all before the law."

Maryam Namazie of One Law for All says:

“Mr Justice Williams’ decision to consider a Sharia marriage a void marriage is an important one for women’s rights. It doesn’t recognise the Sharia marriage but by deeming it annulled, opens the way for Muslim women to secure financial remedies if they so choose where none would otherwise be available. Unsurprisingly, the Government has appealed this crucial decision. The Government is always perfectly happy to relegate minority women to kangaroo courts and faith-based parallel legal systems in order to appease fundamentalists and manage minority communities at the expense of women’s rights. If the appeal is upheld, it will further discrimination against minority women.”

Gita Sahgal of One Law for All says:

“The One Law for All campaign’s research has shown that the collapse of civil marriages in Muslim communities has been used to spread the influence of sharia ‘courts’. Women are trapped in a legal limbo unable to divorce, and unable to remarry. We believe all marriages must be registered; but we support this judgement which voids the Muslim marriage contract. The government, which has failed to act against sharia councils, is now threatening to send women back to them, by closing off this remedy.“

More Information: 

Don’t Lock Women Out of Justice: Equality Not Discrimination: https://onelawforall.org.uk/dont-lock-women-out-of-justice-equality-not-discrimination/

Musical Interlude: Ozzy Osbourne, New Single!

Time for a new piece of music and hopefully the first from a new album from Ozzy Osbourne.



Ozzy Osbourne's website: www.ozzy.com

Another five bloody weeks....

A few days ago a friend posted a message on Facebook that he would cease all political posts and discussion until after December 12th due to the election as he was fed up of it all. I responded by saying I knew how he felt but am unable to shut up!

Despite what you might see on social media or the press most ordinary folk are sick to death of Brexit even if they have an opinion and though the majority have an opinion and will probably vote the activists do get carried away with themselves in a torrent of self-righteousness no matter which side of the debate they are on.

The thought of six weeks of continuous campaigning is frightening or boring depending on ones point of view. The first leaflets have arrived through my letter box from the local Tory MP. The Lib Dem's are tweeting how much support they are picking up round here and although I voted for them in the local elections there's fat chance of that in the General Election.

Like my friend I had considered taking very much a backseat this time round as the tiny party to which I belong, Change UK defends it's last three seats, two retiring and the others having been poached by the Lib Dems. All are too far away for me to actively help, though door to door canvasing is sadly no longer possible due to my disabilities.

What happens to Change UK after the election remains an open question and I will decide a course of action then. Meanwhile I have to consider my options in this election both locally and nationally.

There have been so many interesting developments as Labour kicks out figures like Chis Williamson and Roger Godsoff both of whom have declared they will stand as Independent candidates in the election. Neither will win but could prevent Labour winning In Clacton the candidate has been withdrawn due to ant-Semitic comments including calling a Jewish person Shylock.

Three former Labour MP's including Ian Austin and Giselle Stuart have called for a vote for the Tories.  A former Militant/Socialist Party candidate in Pudsey, Leeds has been attracting negative attention whilst Kate Hoey has backed the Brexit Party.

It seems Labour has bad news every day not that the Tories haven't had their moments as on was found to be lying over a rape trial and the victim has quite rightly called for his removal as a candidate in Wales.

Which brings me to the Lib Dems who have made agreements with other Remainer parties to stand aside in some 60 seats. Besides the fact Wales voted to Leave as a whole it's also led to at least some Libe Dems standing as Independents and defying Swinson's edict.

Nigel Farage is targeting Labour seats but is happy to shaft Boris over his Brexit deal but already at least one Brexit candidate has quit over that notion. If people want Brexit then Boris is actually the one they should vote for. The Brexit Party remains a high fringe vote despite it's success in the European Elections. Even Farage chickened out of standing.

The Greens being both remainers and getting the backing of the Extinction Rebellion louts have risen in the polls but other than their current MP in Brighton are unlikely to progress much further.

The SNP and Plaid Cyrmu both think they will improve their respective positions by shafting both Boris and Corbyn in some seats and the Lib Dems appear to be having a bit of a surge and may do well, but Swinson will definitely not be prime Minister despite their hype.

With other local elections including Frank Fie;d standing as an Independent there could be some interesting results overnight come election day. I for one will be watching with renewed interest.

In the mean time there's another five bloody weeks of this.

Does PCS Need a Change of Direction?

Guest Post by Andy Magee (PCS HMRC NI) (PC)

PCS has been around for a number of years. Often its General Secretary voices views on topical subjects of the day. Do such views represent the membership of PCS or are these the views of others? It’s a question I regularly ask myself and often when I look at the problems PCS members face I feel that these problems get lost in translation.

The role of PCS General Secretary is currently up for election. Balloting will commence shortly. Some may believe that the current incumbent is doing a fine job and will wholeheartedly support that candidate. Others like myself may see a change in this role leading to a change in the direction of PCS. I would like to see a change where the issues impacting members will be at the forefront of PCS as I believe often these issues get lost in the merry go round.

Important issues like pay, pay progression, pensions, jobs, job security, centralisation, compensation payments, work life balance and terms and conditions constantly circulate . However I feel that they never get the attention, focus and desire to make that difference that I and the other fee paying members deserve. Change for it's own sake is not the answer. However when things go off the boil or become stale is Change is refreshing.

Some may see little change or variety with the candidates standing for the role of PCS General Secretary. However I believe as voters and observers we must scrutinise what each candidate stands for and how this will impact on the direction of PCS. Will what they have to offer bring changes that you consider necessary? PCS cant be dead there are to many people that need it to work.

I will be casting my vote for a new candidate. Taking a gamble that the union can progress from what I consider is a position of no momentum to something that can shape PCS for the future. A change and future that I believe needs to start tomorrow.

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Balloting for the General Secretary Election runs from Thursday 7th November until Thursday 12th December

Use your vote for change.

Campaign to silence Jewish Voices on Twitter

Guest Post by Jeff Samuels

Last night I received notification from Twitter that after further consideration my account had been reinstated.

On the 31st August I logged in to find that my account had been locked. I was notified that 25 of my tweets had been held to be in violation of their rules on abusive conduct and harassment. I was required to serve a 14 day ban which would commence only once the offending tweets had been deleted.

Common to all 25 complaints was the account of Kerry Ann Mendoza, editor of the Canary, one of the leading pro Corbyn "news" outlets. She and I had clashed a few days prior, following which a concerted and coordinated campaign of mass reporting was initiated to silence me from combating antisemitism on Twitter.

Although entirely devoid of substance the sheer weight of numbers must have induced Twitter to be duped into acceding to the designs of anti-Semites against a jew trying to fight them.

I refused to comply and notified Twitter accordingly. I lodged an appeal but received no response. I followed up with a long email setting out the full context but again received no reply. The Board of Deputies kindly made an informal approach on my behalf which sadly bore no fruit. Twitter maintained that they had "made the right call".

I was urged by a number of people to comply with Twitter's requirements in order to get back into the fray as soon as possible where my voice was much needed and valued. Flattered as I was I declined. Expedient as such a course may have been it was to my mind misconceived. To do so would be to bend to the will of anti-Semites and they would never let me forget it. On principle I was not prepared to compromise. The only course was therefore to pursue Twitter myself for relief.

On a return to Manchester my friend and former instructing solicitor, the very able Daniel Berke, agreed to assist. Having been provided by Dave Rich of CST with the name of the CEO of the UK division of Twitter we decided to address all communications to him personally.

We drafted a Letter Before Action setting out my complaint together with my demands which, if not met would result in legal proceedings being initiated without further notice.

As the deadline approached I received the notification that they had reversed the suspension and reinstated the account forthwith. Importantly this included an acceptance that none of the 25 tweets in fact violated their rules. There would be no requirement to delete any of them nor to serve any ban.

My public thanks must go to Daniel Berke whose creative legal strategy so clearly unnerved Twitter as to engender a complete capitulation on their part.

It was his idea not to pursue the matter via the courts. Instead he argued that the effect of the suspension was to prevent a jew from using their service to combat antisemitism. This was discriminatory on religious grounds. The Human Rights Act he pointed out is applicable to private service providers as well as public bodies. Thus our complaint would be furthered by a reference to the EHRC on those grounds.

The point seems to have resonated with Twitter as evidenced by the volte face yesterday.

The important point is that too many Jews are being bullied off Twitter as a result of pile on's and mass reporting by antisemites who are abusing the rules and procedures against those whom the rules are designed to protect.

That intimidation must not be allowed to succeed. We must show the antisemitic bullies that we will not be cowed nor silenced neither shall we bend or buckle.

We will fight and we will win.

We are Jews. We are proud and we are strong.

As someone observed to me last night when welcoming me back, Twitter is the front line in the fight against antisemitism. It is a cesspool and thus unpleasant to wade through. It is, however, important. I urge friends to get on that forum and fight the fight, particularly now and over the next 6 weeks. My story shows that when we stand up to the anti-semites we will win.

They resorted to seeking to silence me only because they could not win the argument. They failed. Let's together make sure that they fail again on December 12th.

Thrillers for a chilly weekend

As the weather changes and the raincoats and anoraks are taken off their respective pegs, the fires are lit or the cnetral heating is fired up the time to warm up and shelter begins again.  It's time to reach for the bookshelves and cosy up with some good thrillers.

Neither of my recent reads are new, the first having been found by chance in a pile of "recommended reads" in my local Waterstones. The Devotion Of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino (Abacus Paperback: £8.99) originally published in 2012 apparently and has been a big seller both in the authors home country of Japan and abroad. It's also been made into a cult movie.

This tale features a murder committed in self defence by an abused ex-wife and her young daughter when her appalling former husband comes calling after she's hidden away.  Yasuko knows not what to do when the quiet but infatuated teacher next door Ishigami comes to the rescue. He arranges to save the woman he loves from afar in a way that the police will never be able to trace back to her.

A genius he may be but he doesn't reckon with Detective Kusanagi's friendship with a former student peer of his another genius. This fascinating mystery weaves in ways the reader does not expect. A page turner indeed.



Next up is The Chalk Man, the first novel by C.J.Tudor (Penguin £8.99). I picked this fascinating little tome up after reading her latest novel and was impressed by ability to create a highly believable world full of characters so full of life and weave a mystery around the. It's no surprise the novel was a hit as a group of childhood friends find a body in the woods.

Skipping chapter by chapter from the present to the past the mystery evolves around the fate of a bully, car accidents the return of old friends and a forbidden friendship. Who was the dead girl and where is her head?

There's sub plots surrounding an abortion clinic, an anti-abortion vicar and a pregnant girl. There's poisoned dogs, missing bikes and much more as bullies prowl, friends fall out and parents fall out.

What or who is the Chalk Man?

And a little unexpected twist. Creepy.