Not Representing British Values at all!!

Posted on by Opher

My view of what British values really are are the exact opposite of the fascist thugs of Farage/Robinson’s army.

In my opinion the ERG, Braverman, Rees-Mogg, Patel and Farage and the others, have spent fourteen years scapegoating immigrants as they lined their own pockets, robbed the public services and put millions into the pockets of their chums.

Blaming immigrants has been the diversion.

Brexit and the constant stream of propaganda from the likes of the Daily Mail and Daily Express has poisoned the minds of the British public and empowered racists and far-right nationalists.

It isn’t the immigrants who have made the poor poorer – that is austerity and deliberate Tory policy!!

The poor have been brainwashed and conned!

British values have always been standing up for fairness, tolerance, equality and the underdog. That’s what the chartists, Tolpuddle martyrs, suffragettes, Swing followers and all those working people who stood up and fought for social justice stood for. They didn’t tolerate fascists and racists!!

What has gone wrong with our political awareness??

Posted on by Opher

Back in my days as a student, back in 1966-71 I used to take on a Summer job working for the council as a road sweeper. All the street cleaners, bin men and other council workers used to meet up for an extended break every day. It was full of intense knowledgeable debate and argument. They knew their stuff. They were incredibly knowledgeable about the social history of Britain and Europe. They mocked me because I knew so little about the Suffragettes, Tolpuddle Martyrs, Swing riots, Diggers, Chartists and Peterloo massacre. They called me ignorant college boy and instructed me to read CP Snow’s Corridors of Power and The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. They knew that the establishment had long fought to suppress worker’s rights, pay and voting. They knew all the extremes that had taken place to suppress working people. They knew that every right had been fought for and that if they didn’t fight to keep those rights they would lose them.

What they wanted was a fairer, more equal society, where people were properly rewarded for their efforts and all the money and rights was not going to the wealthy elite. They well knew their social history and could relate it to present society. They knew that people had fought and died for their rights. They never wasted a vote. They were ordinary people, not greatly educated, but alive and aware. Their minds were alert and lively. They certainly taught me a lot.

Freedom has to be defended strongly or it is eroded. The greedy will always steal more if they can. They want a stupid, uneducated and gullible workforce to exploit.

What has gone wrong with our political awareness??

Democracy – The long and often bloody fight for freedom – The Tolpuddle Martyrs

Posted on by Opher

More struggle for freedom and justice.

Democracy – The long and often bloody fight for freedom – The Peterloo Massacre.

Posted on by Opher

Hard fought for.

Democracy – The long and often bloody fight for freedom – The Tolpuddle Martyrs

Posted on by Opher

Tolpuddle Martyrs%20colour
In 19th century Britain it was illegal to organise in order to gain better working conditions and pay. In the 1830s the industrial revolution had created a surplus of workers which had resulted to wages being lowered to starvation level.
In Tolpuddle, a small village in Dorset, a group of farm labourers formed a collective to argue for fair pay. They refused to work for the reduced rates.
Six of them were arrested and charged with organising. They were sentenced to seven years deportation to Australia.
There was a public outcry, a petition signed by 800,000 and a march on London.
It was the first successful protest.
The sentences were commuted. All but one (with a previous criminal record) were released.

It is right to remember that our rights and freedoms come at a price. Our unions had to be fought for. The establishment gives neither wealth nor power freely and just as readily takes it back given a chance.