The English Democratic British National Party Defence League

Having looked into the political credentials and 'achievements' of Mayor of Doncaster Peter Davies it's high time we looked into his current political party, the English Democrats.

Party leader Robin Tilbrook relaunched the English National Party as the English Democrats in 2002 after merging with several smaller parties, united in the aim of establishing a devolved English Parliament á la the Scottish Parliamentary arrangement. Under the motto "Not left, not right, just English" the English Democrats have contested elections the breadth of England and, despite having to constantly deny accusations of racism, they have in the past achieved some success.

As one of the more moderate nationalist parties out there momentum has been difficult to maintain on the back of any relative achievement, due in the main to a fractious decision making process and the general consensus within the party seems to be that in order to truly flourish they may be reliant on the collapse of other nationalist parties, namely UKIP and the BNP.

The national membership secretary of the English Democrats, Steve Uncles, seems to understand this. Quotes attributed to the man indicate that a tactic to boost membership was indeed to glean disaffected members of both UKIP and the BNP. What's more, Mr. Uncles appears to actively court members of each for English Democrat subscription. This recruitment drive has found support in some areas of the party though has caused much concern in others.

Since the internal struggles within the BNP erupted (huge debts have built up and there is disquiet over the leadership of the party) a fair few members have defected to the English Democrats, including the odd 'big hitter' or two. Members of the BNP from all over the country suddenly seem very interested in the comparatively moderate English Democrats and you have to wonder why...

Richard Barnbrook sits on the London Assembly as an independent currently, having resigned from the BNP in respects to the above issues. He will need a party to back him in order to stand a chance of retaining his seat. After much courting by Mr. Uncles (despite allegations of bringing his office into disrepute, sick leave with stress and being quoted as saying that the offspring of mixed race couples "are washing out the identity of this country's indigenous people") Mr. Barnbrook has applied to join the English Democrats. Reports that his membership was sanctioned in January 2011 are as yet unconfirmed. Nigel Farage knocked back the possibility of electoral cooperation with the English Democrats because of this, quite counter productive you might say.

Robin Tilbrook has also been fraternising with members and ex members of the BNP of late. Mr. Eddy Butler, former national organiser for the BNP (he was expelled for challenging the leadership of the party) has previously indicated that the English Democrats might not be the right party for him due to its moderate stance, though more recently seems to have come around to Robin's way of thinking.

Eddy Butler - a lifelong British nationalist, having come through the ranks in the National Front and then the BNP - appears to have been a constant thorn in the side of Nick Griffin and was apparently expelled from both movements because of this. The theory is that he's merely looking for a vehicle in which to finish off Griffin. His blog dated 04/08/11 (http://eddybutler.blogspot.com/) fawns to the English Democrats like you would not believe and it would appear his membership has been cemented.

Richard Barnbrook and Eddy Butler are but two of the 'big hitters' to appear to have defected, though there are many more insidious connections to be made here. For example, the Yorkshire and Humber MEP Andrew Brons of the BNP seems to be becoming increasingly independent of his party lately and has been working closely with Eddy Butler recently. Moreover, his constituency office manager and P.A Chris Beverley stood for election in May 2011 as an English Democrat candidate for the Morley South seat in Leeds. Mark Collett - former chairman of the young BNP and the star of shows such as Young, Nazi and Proud (c4) and BBC1 documentary The Secret Agent - is reportedly in cahoots with Eddy Butler on this one also. Nick Cass, Ramon Johns, Sharon Ebank, Ian Gibson, Seamus Dunne... The list goes on. The list, that is, of BNP hardliners fleeing a sinking ship in favour of a slightly more liberal one which seems to welcome them with open arms (that only reads funny if you're aware of how the BNP feels about liberals). Interestingly, some of these people have been described variously as "troublemakers" and "careless extremists" on the BNP's very own website...

There's all of that and then there's the curious case of Jim Dowson, a convicted criminal who was once widely assumed to be the effective owner of the BNP. Alongside Nick Griffin, Dowson controlled much of the public face of the BNP - finance, publicity, its manifesto et al. - and seems to be at least partly responsible for the situation the BNP is in today.

Jim Dowson has been hired by the English Democrats to run the fundraising arm of the party and they've since released a slew of appeal letters remarkably similar to those put out by the BNP when Dowson was working for them. This was a step too far for some. Cliff Dixon (vice chair in London for the English Democrats) spoke out about this, he'd had enough. Ed Abrams followed suit having already resigned as a member of the English Democrat national council after the courting of BNP members. Even Alistair Barbour - himself a BNP defectee - resigned in disgust.

The English Democrats are experiencing a crisis of their own, perpetuated by Tilbrook and Uncles who seem to sense an opportunity to drag the party further to the right where they feel it belongs. Swelling their ranks with disreputable members of the BNP who can sway party opinion and are experienced in the world of far-right politics seems to be the way to go for them at least... Factor in the potentially explosive (and apparently strengthening) ties with the English Defence League and not only do you have a noxious and powerful blend of politics, activism and extremism, you must have serious concerns about where all of this is headed.

But what of Doncaster? Eddy Butler states that "the English Democrats also have the only elected official in the nationalist camp who has any power - the directly elected Mayor of Doncaster." This seems to be a major selling point for the nationalists at the moment. With BNP members from Cumbria, Merseyside, Yorkshire and various other areas defecting to the English Democrats, our Mayor Peter Davies needs to clarify his position on this for the sake of the psyché of the town he runs. Whether you believe Davies was lucky to be elected or whether he rode in on the back of a protest vote by a public disillusioned with politics, back in 2009 BNP the English Democrats were not. In fact, the BNP finished a lowly fifth in the Doncaster Mayoral election of that year. How does Mayor Davies feel about this swing further right within his party? Will he get behind his new team, back its (his too) fundraising, and the literature it produces? Has his position become untenable or will his political allegiance flip for a fifth time?

We need to know.

The Journeyman Mayor of Doncaster

Much ado about lots of things these last few weeks but we can't really run around the country (or indeed the world) solving all of its problems and, as they may say, clarity begins at home so we really need to consider the political situation in or home towns currently, and start to think about how decisions being made right now will affect us for the coming years.

It's best to start at the top, namely (around here anyway) with the Mayor of Doncaster, a Mr. Peter Davies and at the beginning so we can strive to understand the mindset of a man in power.

Our mayor only seems to make the news for his gaffes these days - it seems difficult for him to articulate the good he does or the difficult decisions he has to make - but it is unfair to judge a man based on detractions made by his detractors so let's have a look at his political career, see if that makes sense...

Peter Davies began his political career as a member of the Labour party until 1973 when he switched his allegiance to the Conservatives. His father was too a Conservative MP so I suppose this made sense. He seemed at home here, neither making waves or shuffling his feet until 20 years later when John Major signed the Maastricht Treaty. Peter's eurosceptic mindset prevented him working with the Tories further so he threw in his lot with the United Kingdom Independence Party with one eye on contesting the South Yorkshire seat in the European Parliament at the 1994 election.

This first foray into electoral battle brought modest returns, Peter Davies achieved 2.6% of the vote only, although it seemed to have whet his appetite for the election game. Contesting seats in Hemsworth ('96) and Doncaster Central ('97) he achieved similar results each time under the UKIP banner. By 1998 and after much flogging of the proverbial dead horse Mr. Davies contested his last election for UKIP - a by-election for the South Yorkshire seat in the European Parliament - without the backing of Micheal Holmes, the party leader. Finishing dead last and clearly disappointed he left UKIP behind to join the English Democratic Party, becoming chairman of the South Yorkshire branch.

Peter Davies wasn't to contest an election again until 2006 where he stood in a local election for the Finningley ward seat on Doncaster council, achieving relative success with just over 20% of the vote. Similar results followed in 2007 and 2008 but 2009 was to be his year. June was a bittersweet month, he took the usual kicking for the South Yorkshire seat in Europe but made astonishing headway in Doncaster, winning the Mayoral seat on second preference votes.

Mayor Davies was elected on the back of a campaign for withdrawal from the E.U, (not just Doncaster but the whole of England) for local schools to opt out of local authority control, a reduction in size for the local council and the removal of translation services within the council (community cohesion officers as these translators are apparently known, I wouldn't know, Doncaster never had any). Despite queries surrounding the legality of some manifesto pledges the English Democrats carried on regardless, opposing political correctness wherever possible, threatening the funding for the annual gay pride festival, proposing to end town twinning and dismissing climate change as "a scam".

In spite of a vote of no confidence levelled at Mayor Davies over a perceived lack of leadership less than a year into his tenure, heavy criticism regarding "irresponsible" budget planning, "dysfunctional politics" and breaches of the code of conduct resulting in disciplinary action against him Mayor Davies stays strong in the face of adversity. He has expressed admiration for the moral code of the Taliban, recognised "unacceptably poor" child care services in his town and pledged to close down libraries even though he never uses them or knows where they are. Our political journeyman and Mayor Peter Davies is getting his head down and hoping for the best. He's hoping that no-one notices what is happening behind the scenes at English Democrat HQ. He's hoping because he knows (he must know) that if all that leaks out, he's screwed.

In Spite of the Turmoil, We Must Press On.

It was Monday the 11^th of July when we awoke and wondered whether it was all a dream, but no. The day prior heralded The End of (the news of the) World and today we’re faced with the prospect of a new political era, one free from the usually horrible sight of MPs fawning at the feet of the British press, a world where the shackles are off and spines can be allowed to sprout in those that need them the most.

Ed Miliband could hardly believe his luck as Jeremy Hunt stepped up to the ballot box. Throughout Mr Hunt’s undoubtedly important announcement the overriding issue was; where in the world is the Prime Minister?

Our Dear Leader had more pertinent concerns pencilled in for today – he can’t have foreseen the fallout from the events of last week – he wasn’t abroad protecting our interests though, or even at the police station bailing his friends out, he was just down the road from Westminster sounding the death knell for public services with the unveiling of a white paper designed to open up pretty much all available public services to competition between voluntary (unlikely) and private (ker-ching) bidders. Mr Cameron promises that this is the way to an autonomous public service and a “better, fairer country” for all. Both volunteer based and private firms will be invited to bid to run our maligned public services – barring the judiciary, policing and national security – shifting, we fear, the emphasis from service to profit in one fell swoop of the austerity axe.

The idea in itself is a good one (or so we’re sold) at least in theory; more choice, a better quality of care, tighter regulation and the freedom to say ‘I want better.’ “A vision of open public services”, yet there are already signs indicating that public service institutions (such as schools and hospitals) would be allowed to close were they failing, without even a sniff of concern or any intervention from the government. The reasoning is simple: Under ‘market conditions’, a failing hospital or school (or nursery or care home) would cost more than it’s worth to rescue. If it were the norm to bail out institutions in this fashion then the cost to the government would rise significantly, meaning that not only would there be no point in implementing these reforms, true public services (your education, health and social care, your benefits, library, bin collections etc) which safeguard the wellbeing and general mindset of a nation are less important to its government than protecting the financial sector in spite of all its faults.

If one day you find yourself in a position where your local school is closing due to substandard test scores, or an elderly relative is turfed out of their care home because it’s run by some horrible Southern Cross type, try not to think about the £5.5bn paid by the government to save Lloyds TSB (or the bonuses paid to their staff that very year) and instead appreciate that the collapse of some institutions is VITAL to the creating of a truly competitive market. This white paper signals the end of state run public services and, as Mr Cameron says; “the affects will be felt by every state school, hospital and prison, by every doctor, teacher, parent, patient and citizen”. Agreed.

Every time something like this occurs it strengthens the argument that this is an ideologically inspired change in who, in what we are, a Tory-led class war or some sort, almost. Whether you believe that economical catastrophe looms large, or that it’s not as bad as all that or even that it’s all bollocks, I’m sure most in their right mind would agree that taking from those who need it most as a first option is fundamentally wrong. Is George Osborne pulling the wrong strings? Much like Jeremy Hunt appears to be dancing to Murdoch’s tune, Mr Osborne seems to be in the pocket of the financial sector. That’s the Chancellor of the Exchequer by the way, protector of the public purse.

The road we’re on, one of public sector reform is perhaps the easiest to tread for the powers that be, and the grumbling masses don’t have the money or the power to protect themselves so we’re all lumped in together and whipped accordingly. The personal interests of The Few will always take precedence over those of the many because The Few will always be in power. While there are set levels of Income Tax for every employee in the UK, there are wildly varying levels of Corporation Tax paid by employers. It beggars belief that in the four years up to the end of 2007 British Telecom paid a mere 5% tax on gross profits of £8.8bn. The National Grid turned in £7bn in the same period, paying just 8% in tax. Companies such as Standard Chartered (26% of £6.4bn) and Centrica (a whopping 44% of £5.07bn) are leading the way and help show up other companies for what they really are. The next time a FirstGroup bus driver goes on strike and makes me late for work I hope he has his employer’s 5% tax rate in mind.

The sad fact is that most of these companies could exploit the same loopholes and yet some choose not to. Perhaps it’s down to ethics, maybe they just need a better auditor, either way there’s no real consistency in the levels of Corporation Tax paid and some firms are treated as a law unto themselves. Consistent and fair Corporation Tax levels could have brought an additional £25bn into the economy in the past few years alone. If the banks paid their own insurance costs rather than the taxpayer that’s another £100bn saved.

You have to wonder how it’s easier for a government to put public services to the sword or for a council to lay off its staff in order to re-employ them on worse terms than to merely ensure a billion pound business pays the going rate. Somewhat depressingly it’s because that is the Law of the Land. Laws passed by Labourite and Tory alike and laws too complicated for the common man to comprehend, never mind contest. What we need is a free press and a realising of this democracy thing we’ve heard so much about, put so much faith in. We need it now.

The Military Covenant Vs the Police.

There has been much anger of late in respects to how we, the general public feel about the way we’re being governed. We were sold on the rhetoric, perhaps we feel foolish however the movement for an alternative to the change we’ve implemented is gathering pace.

Our Coalition Government is generally assumed to be cutting costs too fast and too deep. The cuts have been spread wide across the public sector and the reality of the rising cost of living is starting to bite. Anti cuts groups are stirring and trade union groups have recently announced their intention to strike hard at institutions across the UK and the consensus is that this is just the beginning. Mass movements such as this gather pace quickly and measures must be in place to police a population pissed off, but the police force here is still reeling from potential redundancies and wage cuts taking place in their very own austerity microcosm. Almost half of our police officers will be affected and this brings me to the military covenant.

The military covenant has roots in history which can be traced back 400 years, though many may be unfamiliar with its purpose. It is designed “to be a way of measuring whether the government and society at large have kept to their obligations to support members of the armed forces”. David Cameron promised in June 2010 to arrange for the covenant to be enshrined in law. This remained one of those ‘in the pipeline’ things until February the following year when, after a series of high profile embarrassments for the Ministry of Defence, (emails sent to soldiers informing them of their sacking were leaked to the press and many RAF trainees only found out they were being dismissed when reading about it in the papers) Cameron broke his promise on the covenant, deciding instead that it could be adequately covered in an annual report to parliament. At the time, defence secretary Dr Liam Fox said of the covenant “it cannot be a wish list separated from the economic reality in which we find ourselves”, meaning that if we really are all in this together then the army can be no different. The Labour opposition naturally used an opposition day debate to push for a U-turn on this U-turn however the motion was defeated by 86 votes.

Whist all of this was occurring between the cabinet and the MoD, the Home Office was busily working on plans for spending cuts across the police force. The way the government will eventually manage to implement precisely the cuts it needs to within the police force will be similar to the way the NHS reforms were amended recently. Firstly the possibility of drastic spending cuts is mooted to the press. In July 2010 the BBC reported that as many as 60000 police officers could lose their jobs as a result. 60000. Out of 140000. Cue understandable anxiety from the public at large courtesy of our old friend fear of crime, predictable calls from the opposition for caution and revision and obvious concern amongst the force itself.

By September that year, after much consternation this figure was down to a mere 40000 and there was already talk of police officers being more inclined to take a cut in benefits (i.e. wages, expenses etc.) rather than see so many colleagues lose their jobs. This is precisely what a government needs, and so soon too – acceptance by the affected that measures must indeed be taken to reduce their costs – it gives them the relative freedom to play with the figures until they make sense and appear fairer for all and much more reasonable, as if they’ve done you a favour.

They haven’t, because then the inevitable ‘comprehensive review’ into police pay occurs. These reviews are usually the most ‘wide ranging’ or ‘in depth’ for X amount of years. In respects to police pay and conditions, the Winsor Review will be 'the most wide ranging in 30 years’. Such a review will serve to allay fears of a crisis initially – the number of officers losing their jobs was down to just 10000 in February 2011 – though is generally a chance for the government to re-package the measures until they’re fit for public consumption. A mere month later and job losses have become wage cuts and suddenly we’re all in this together again, the winsor review is expected to show that 40% of our police force will be affected by this particular austerity measure. It is of course all absolutely necessary. The 2 year freeze on police pay will only save £350m, and the fiscally responsible government elected to solve the deficit issue are still borrowing more than this each month so, something’s got to give.

Having pissed off the thin blue line, the people who stand outside night and day and stop the angry proles getting in, what would you do? You’ve done well so far, managing to renege on promises which won you votes, announce cuts to policing which raise fear of crime and yet, with a clever bit of spin you have people nodding begrudgingly along and remain in contention in the polls, you’re saving money! But man, you’ve pissed off the police dude… They’re supposed to protect you but now they know you won’t look after them. What you need now is a body of men and women who won’t necessarily do what’s right, but what they’re told. If there really is popular anger then this is imperative.

So obviously you dig the military covenant out of the bin. U-turn on the U-turn and while some might think you’re indecisive, you knew what you were doing along. They gave you a mandate to govern and you are indeed governing. Enshrine in law enhanced rights for military servicemen and their families, from education and social care, to health and housing, to compensation for injury and pensions. We're not exactly all in this together as a result, but what sane person could deny that this is the right thing to do?

Giving the armed forces exactly what they need to care for themselves and their families is exactly the right thing to do, providing the reason is right. If you want soldiers to fight our wars and protect our peace and only have their minds on the job then fine. If you do it purely in the know that it gives you every opportunity to dismantle the police force then not so fine.

The military covenant will be passed into law shortly before the full details of the police pay review are enclosed and shall act as a handy deterrent to any dissent in the ranks methinks. The government have managed to draw a line in the sand between 2 vital components of society and still take what they want from it. All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others… they didn’t even need to use the scapegoat this time, close call Dr. Fox.

Turn and Face the Strain

Change is afoot in the U.K. As The Big Society wipes the sleep out of its eye and realises the severity of the shitstorm looming above, a considerable percentage of Alarm Clock Britain is facing the very real threat of redundancy, a loss of income and an increased cost of living, due in no small part to the austerity measures being implemented by our government. Is all of this really necessary or just the latest concept conjured up to scare us and make us easier to control? Sure, some have taken to the streets. Some have taken to smashing windows and getting in the way of rich people trying to shop, but most of us appear to have taken a deep breath and resolved to get on with it. It’s all akin to waking up on Christmas day to the familiar sound of excitement outside, only to see your friendly neighbourhood psycho-child running around with what appears to be a new air rifle, wearing a George Osborne mask. Most will just peep nervously through the curtains, get the cat in and hope for the best, no one really wants to confront a nutter.

If you weren’t already afraid of terrorism, radiation, paedophilia, Islam, Armageddon or the weather, then The Financial Apocalypse was designed to strike fear into your soul. I’d imagine. Rather than frantically boarding up windows, stocking up on supplies and musing which family member you’d fuck over first if it came down to it like we would do in the event of real Armageddon, a lot of folk are sewing up their pockets and picking up placards to simultaneously cope with and complain about this course plotted for us. It does appear to be out of our hands, though we may as well chuck a union sized spanner in the works and try to stave off the misery a while I suppose.

It’s small comfort to know that this is a situation most of us are familiar with, the need to economise and to budget, to tighten our belts or to seek new work, perhaps this is why many seem to have stomached it so well so far? It certainly all seems easier to deal with than the prospect of being blown up on the train to work and luckily, this particular fear seems to have abated recently. Is tightening our belts really the right coping mechanism to solve this country’s financial problems, a way to reduce the deficit?

Since the collapse of Northern Rock in 2007 we have, it would seem, tried everything. Hundreds of billions of pounds, dollars and euros were spent worldwide throughout 2008 in loans and bailouts, some banks and financial institutions were bought out by others, some were nationalised to protect their customers. Consumer confidence nosedived and our faith in the banking system hit rock bottom. Our economy needed jumpstarting to encourage growth, we were told.

A raft of tax cuts were mooted as ways to ride these fiscal rapids to where the waves break and we’re able to breathe again, to encourage a general public already worried about its finances to ‘boost the economy’, to spend immediately any money saved through these tax breaks as well as any which may be stashed away, before it’s too late. This was our proverbial rainy day. This solution is typified by the temporary reduction of V.A.T towards the end of 2008. Designed to boost consumer confidence (not to mention the national coffers) this cut in V.A.T saved a grateful public 2.5% on everything to which the standard rate was applicable. Temporarily. Little did we know that in December of 2008, we were supposed to be spending for our lives - that’s not exactly how it was sold to us - I suppose the presumption was that we instinctively would.

It was all to be in vain. By the end of January 2009 we were firmly in recession. What was to follow would be a year of bust businesses, pay freezes, a shrinking economy. Rising unemployment, soaring national debt and diminishing manufacturing output, record lows in interest rates, record numbers of insolvencies, record numbers of people seeking debt advice, record after record after demoralising record. Predictions of ‘A DECADE OF PAIN’ were bandied about, unemployment kept rising and protests reared up. Even bankers started to blame the banks.

We were an unhappy and confused peoples. Something called quantitative easing (overly complicated, essentially printing money) was swiftly introduced and exploited to the maximum, which led to Gordon Brown briefly being hailed as the saviour of the universe before it quickly became apparent that this didn’t work either. By the time 2010 came about we’d suffered the longest and deepest recession on record, another new low.

And so the U.K limped bleeding into 2010, an election year with a difference. Not only had enough time elapsed since the last Conservative government for those who swore “never again” to consider the Tories a credible alternative once more, the public at large seemed genuinely disaffected by a New-Labour government coming across as a spent force. A nation was on the fence and needed some serious convincing over which way to jump; all anyone really seemed to be certain of was that we needed an alternative, a change.

It was, no doubt, with this in mind that the political party leaders were wheeled out for the first Televised Party Leader Debates. There they were in their Sunday best, the now all too familiar Gordon Brown, looking like my testicles having been beaten up by politics, David Cameron with the shiniest shoes you ever did see and Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats apparently, there to make up the numbers. With hindsight it’s easy to see that this was always going to boil down to style over substance, but did Gordon realise his number was up? It looked like it… he must’ve, stood beside his younger, better looking, well finished and actually smiling opponents. All he could do was land a few well thought out blows before disappearing beneath a flurry of stylish and charismatic jabs thrown by top-hatted show boaters who know that they’re better. His stamina saw it through to the end but this was a heavy defeat on points for Mr. Brown, and one which might just retire him.

The people of the U.K wanted a change and G.B looked far from it. Dave the Chameleon however, with his slick veneer and this Nick Clegg, the new guy, seemed more than capable (after the odd appealing sound-bite) of delivering the change we so craved. And how! The Murdoch/Cowell inspired showpiece of the 2010 General Election had offered a choked electorate a glimpse of how it should be, and we voted in our droves. The game changed, and now little under a year later the common consensus seems to be that it’s changed too much. Low interest rates and tax benefits encouraged us to reduce our personal debt and pay off mortgages rather than spend spend spend to boost the economy. How prudent, how foolish of us. We won’t be given such an opportunity to screw the economy ever again, bad public, bad…

Our newly elected Coalition government saw how much we liked to save our spare money when possible and removed the opportunity. The obstinate alternative sails headstrong against the tide of change it rolled in upon and we the people are never satisfied.

Things must change. Again. Still.

Safe European Homes

Ah, to be British these days, in the relative safety of our western bubble, safe from fear of repression and free to do what we want to do. Who really needs ambition and achievement when it’s all here on a plate? Why try at all when you simply don’t have to? Fuck it, let’s not even pay attention, the government will sort everything out. Politics though, shit aren’t it mate? I’m not even remotely interested in politics unless it means I can stomp around bemoaning everything and getting unjustifiably angry at immigrants/teen mothers/drug users for taking advantage of a free house/car/mobile phone and our education/benefits system. Frankly pal, I can do all that in the pub so what’s the point?

What the fuck is going on here? It’s little wonder that the rest of the world (that’s overseas) see us as a motley crew of fast food munching flabby drunkards with more money than sense, or tattooed football hooligans content with merely an opportunity to kick anybody different in the face, pasty, obnoxious tea drinking bastards who know nothing about the rest of the world and have little inclination to understand any happenings outside of this little island. (Unless, that is, you’re speaking to an American who, despite your Yorkshire drawl will pin you down as an awkwardly polite yet bumbling Hugh Grant-type who knows the queen. They’ll deem your teeth terrible though, shallow fuckers.) Now I’m not usually one for stereotyping folk but y’know…

On the grand scheme of things we lead a charmed life. We are lucky, full stop. Freedom, opportunity and a wonderful standard of living are ours to behold and we’ve no reason to complain about matters of importance, so we don’t. We might moan about each other or being fat or having to queue, we’ll carp on that we hate our jobs or that they don’t pay enough and we’ll gripe that we’re not famous yet, merely because our freedom affords us this lack of real concern, simply because we can. How different Britain would be if the British couldn’t complain about anything less than pertinent! My commute would be much less stressful.

2011 is quickly becoming a year of awareness, each and every day which passes convinces me a little more that it could be a great year for humanity, for the underdog, if we try.

The people of countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, Algeria, Iran, Iraq and Syria have had their fill of being denied their basic freedoms, those which we perceive to be our basic human right. In the face of oppression unfathomable to some here in relative comfort, hundreds of thousands of people are taking to the streets and literally putting their lives on the line to show their persecutors that they’re fed up of the raw deal they’ve been dealt, with the lack of basic rights and freedom they’ve suffered for years. Masses of people gathered under a common cause have overridden fear with rage, or perhaps desperation.

If you can imagine a world of police brutality, emergency law, no free elections or speech or expression, if you can envisage being ruled by a government tarnished by unchallenged and obvious corruption making decisions about you, for you, without you, a land where most of the people you know are unemployed and those in work paid a pittance then it’s not hard to see why rage has taken a hold. Maybe if you can conceive of a life like this, you’ll realise just how sweet a situation we have here. If you can imagine a life like this, then perhaps you can also imagine being so desperate for a halfway decent quality of life that you might be prepared to stare down the barrel of a tank or set yourself on fire. Maybe you’d be prepared to bed down in your town centre under extreme duress until those who can eventually relent and allow you your freedom and free those who you love.

I can’t see it, not really. It’s hard for me to believe that anything could go so horribly wrong in my life that I’d be compelled to act in this manner, that any possible issue could bring together a modern western ‘civilisation’ as one. It’s all very sad that our luck has ruined this. Power does, as it always has, lie with the people and the leaders of western societies have for decades appeased us rather than piss us off. They’ve also colluded and conspired to see to it that the vast (voting) majority just don’t care. If we’re not prepared to try to solve our problems (there are problems) then we don’t have the right to complain, not really. The powers that be may as well remove dissatisfaction as an option from us too. Who’s going to argue?

Perhaps we’re all too busy staring at screens all day in the name of entertainment to stop and think about what’s going on. Even the rolling news coverage we’re afforded these days takes on the role of an amusing pacifier, showing images of far flung strife on a loop, happenings we can detach ourselves from because it all seems so unreal. The news, for fucks sake!

T.V, radio, tabloids, the internet – these are the new tools of the state. Our T.V generation, shaped by decades of temptation and manipulation seems to know what it wants though not what it is, or what it’s capable of. If we don’t have an over inflated idea of our own abilities, we’re likely to be incredibly insecure due to our aspirations, desires, motivations and even basic perceptions being governed by the box.

Modern television shows demonstrate to us how we should all be happy and incredibly attractive, living in beautifully decorated houses purchased with bags of money made from our wildly successful careers, while we’re having great and meaningful sex with the partner of our dreams and that we really are all talented enough to turn 15 minutes of mostly dubious fame into something poignant and life changing. It’s a noxious mindset which aggravates our personal differential between what we are and what we should be. If we’re confused already about our identities then what will become of those younger, our fledgling internet generation? A nation’s teenagers may well eventually bring it to its knees.

Picture now a generation obsessed with what everybody else is doing at any given moment, whilst the urge to list your activities in hourly twitters or status updates is uncontrollable. Factor in the dubious sense of identity ingrained on the minds of our young by television… The notion that they’re not good or popular enough is exacerbated in the online world and has the potential to deal a catastrophic blow to the mental health of an entire generation. Worse still, if you complicate the education system for these people by removing financial help and resources before ultimately making university places unattainable then you’re left with an angry and embittered age group content to relieve their stress by shouting at their friends through an Xbox headset whilst shooting them in the head in some already over populated virtual world. We’re either creating some sort of super army or an unstable force devoid of emotional intelligence who only know how to relieve their stresses and anxieties by shooting things… Actually, if I was running this joint I’d want to keep this particular demographic staring at screens for fear of what they might see when away from them. Piss off the internet generation at your peril.

A synonym for entertainment is distraction. While we’re all distracted all sorts of things can happen to us, for us, or in our name. Before long it becomes too late to do anything about them.

The Revelations of Revolution

Over the past few weeks it has finally dawned on me that our Big Society (all of us) is as nonchalant about our communal concerns as I am about my personal problems. This is a somewhat unsatisfactory victory for the Uncommon Man, but a victory nonetheless, and I really like winning. As I adjusted to my increased serotonin levels and relief thrived within, I realised that I might have more than the merest semblance of normality about me – this has spurred me on no end – everything had a shinier hue and each step a spring… I Got Things Done. In an unprecedented development I was even interacting optimistically with my fellow man; yes, I was borderline chatty. It was in this chatty phase of mine however I discovered the apparent truth that we are far from nonchalant. Our attitude towards our society’s problems isn’t blasé at all, it’s despondent. It’s depressed. It’s discouraged from actually doing anything about it with misdirection and spin, by an overwhelming feeling of powerlessness and the sentiment that simply we must retain our still upper lip at all costs.

Bizarrely, even whilst we’re more inclined to be up in arms about global affairs rather than Jordan’s latest divorce, attempts at solidarity over budget cuts and the rising cost of necessities seem to end up in a shuffling of feet and ‘mustn’t grumbles’ all around. I’ll go out on a limb here and predict a steady rise in hospital admissions for peptic ulcers over the next few years because if we’re angry about the way we’re being buggered by the government then collectively, we seem to stomach it well.

Those global affairs then, the focus of our attentions currently, seem to be the uprisings across the Arab world. I’m not surprised that this is all we’re talking about seeming as this subject has (quite rightly) dominated the rolling news coverage we’re treated to, since the beginning of the year. This really is history in the making and has generated a wide range of emotions across the world, even Nick Clegg found it “exciting”.

On 14/01/11 Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled Tunisia, relinquishing power after 23 years. This has great significance globally – not that a coup such as this isn’t generally significant – but because this was not a coup at all. This was a popular uprising by a pissed off population. A population which had its fill of a poor standard of living and meagre wages perpetuated by an autocratic leader hell-bent on the unscrupulous and unchallenged lavishing of wealth and prosperity on his family, his friends, his government and himself. A selfish tyrant punished and we’ve seen it all in HD, we’ve witnessed first hand that rarest of victories, a victory for the people over the powers which repress them. This situation is all types of encouraging. It encourages citizens to be aware of their own political situation. It encourages fear in the leaders of other nations who know that they could treat their people better. It encourages hope.

It’s worth noting that the leaders of other Arab nations will be hoping for complete disorder in Tunisia, if only to discourage similar instances under their rule. Suddenly, rafts of concessions are being made to the public in countries like Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon and Algeria and it’s clear that some governments have cause for concern. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of understanding that this was not a victory for Extremism, this was not a victory for invading forces determined to install democracy, this was pure people power. As I write this now, after 18 days of the worst type of oppression the people of Egypt have erupted in celebration after hearing that President Mubarak has finally surrendered his position. History in the making!

To think that all of this started with just one man, Mohamed ‘Basboosa’ Bouazizi, A 26 year old computer science graduate who, as the main breadwinner for his family of 8 sold fruit and vegetables out of a barrow in the markets of Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, earning less than £100 a month. On 17/12/10 Basboosa set out his stall on a street corner as usual before he was approached by a female municipal inspector and two other officers, who informed him that his merchandise was to be confiscated due to his lack of a permit. Trading Permits were needed for all forms of business and were often purchased with a bribe. Having refused to pay such a bribe Basboosa was slapped and spat upon by the municipal officer. To be degraded in such a manner by a woman was the ultimate humiliation. Beaten, bloodied and with his equipment seized by the supporting officers, Basboosa visited the Municipal Office a short walk away and demanded they return his property. He was promptly beaten up once more. After his requests to see a governor, an official, anyone who might help him fell on deaf ears home he went and returned soon after with a bottle of paint thinner and a lighter. He doused himself in his petrol thinner and, for a last time, requested to see an official. Desperate, he lit a flame and ignited himself, suffering 3^rd degree burns to 90% of his body.

The protestations started immediately. Within hours a crowd had amassed at the governor’s office where it all began. Within days social networking sites had helped spread the cause, the anger palpable, people had taken enough. As photographs emerged of President Ben Ali looking forlorn at the hospital bedside of a dying Basboosa in a cynical attempt at solidarity with his people, suicides in the midst of demonstrations were reported, and the crowds continued to swell. On 04/01/11, Mohamed ‘Basboosa’ Bouazizi passed away and what’s being called The Jasmine Revolution exploded. The government of Tunisia saw the consequences of 23 years of tyranny. A week later and Ben Ali was gone.

So what does this mean for me and thee? I’d suggest that the next opportunity we get to express our feelings about the rising cost of education, the closing of a local library, cuts to our healthcare or transport service, rises in tax, or the loss of a benefit or a job, we take it. If ever the feeling that your elected government is treating you unfairly, is costing you more than is reasonable or isn’t giving you the help that is your right to merely survive day-to-day, speak up. Even if only to a friend or a neighbour and even if it’s just to make you feel better, it’s worth it – not only is it worth it, you might just find out that you’re not the only one feeling this way. It is worth bearing in mind that we can’t trust our government to tell us truthfully what they have planned for us anymore, let alone how we can prepare for the effects. It’s worth considering just how well these austerity measures imposed upon us are actually working. The banks are benefiting more than anyone will let us, the general public think whilst all the while we pay more and more for less and less. As the revelations of revolution permeate the globe the one realisation which should hit every conscious human being is that with a purpose, some passion and a little persistence we can achieve anything. There are alternatives, always.