Here's a link to an interview with Richard Corbett MEP for the Peoplesnewss
https://www.thepeoplesnewsonline.co.uk/single-post/2017/11/28/Hard-Brexit-is-a-dramatic-threat-to-workers-rights-says-Labours-leader-in-European-Parliament
fit and proper opposition
wannabe journo available for articles and interviews
Thursday 30 November 2017
Tuesday 28 November 2017
On-street Grooming of children for Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
has been reported in the mainstream media for some time. The Rotherham scandal
made national news and has resulted in several convictions. The landmark trial
of a large grooming gang in Rochdale was made into a TV drama. There have also
been Police investigations in Bradford, Sheffield, Oxford and many other
cities. These have led to hundreds of convictions for offences such as rape,
conspiracy to commit rape, sexual activity with a child, facilitating child
prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation.
I contacted Ella, (not her real name) who is a Grooming Gang
survivor who now gives Grooming Gang Awareness talks to students and
professionals. She told me her story and her reasons for speaking out. She
wishes to remain anonymous because her abusers still walk free.
Ella was groomed twice. She was just 14 when she was first groomed by a man who was in his 30's, who was a customer at her place of work where she had a Saturday job.
She got to know the man over several months and says he was
"polite and charming". He gained her trust. He had a car and a house.
He was already in an adult relationship but he hid that fact from Ella. He
bought Ella gifts and the 14 year old developed a crush on him. He started to
drive her out to remote places where nobody would see them together. She says
she doesn't remember their first kiss, but she does remember the first time he
exposed himself to her. She says "I was shocked, it hadn't crossed my mind
that he might do that. He gradually persuaded me to do more and more things.
After a few months of dating, he took me back to his house. I lost my virginity
to him, in his bed".
She reflects "It was an inappropriate relationship but he
never hurt me or hit me. My parents found out and they were naturally concerned.
My Dad went to speak to him, but he just told my Dad we were in love. I told
them I was happy, but looking back I wish an adult had done something to stop
it. The relationship lasted several months. Eventually I realised that I wasn’t
mature enough for an adult sexual relationship, because I was only 15. So I
ended it, and a couple of years later we moved away".
But sadly that’s when things turned much worse.
Within a week of moving to a new town in Yorkshire, she was
groomed again. She was still a teenager, and again, he was in his 30's. She had
been clothes shopping in town, and was walking home alone when the man started
talking to her. It was the middle of the day. At first she wasn't interested but says he was
very persuasive. "He wore nice clothes and smiled a lot. He complimented
me saying I had nice eyes. I was flattered I suppose. I was single and wanted a
boyfriend”.
The man was a Pakistani Muslim.
They started dating and he would pick her up two or three times a
week. At first he seemed friendly and became her boyfriend. He was
funny and generous and she fell in love with him. Ella says "he then
became more controlling and abusive, telling me what to wear and where I could
or couldn't go. I was a good girl so I tried to keep him happy by doing what he
wanted. It was very much an adult-child relationship. He had all the power.”
She later found out that he had other girlfriends at the same time and says she was stunned to hear he didn't believe in monogamy. He became jealous, violent and aggressive with her. Although initially the sex had been consensual, within a couple of months it was “just rapes”. She told me that there were "no more meals out or gifts. He beat me really badly, sometimes for hours at a time, always ending with rape.. I wanted it to end but he wouldn't let me go. I couldn't stop it. He was bigger and stronger than me - he sat on me and pinned me down, strangling and suffocating me until I felt like I was dying. He pulled my hair out, hit me to the ground, kicked me and stamped on me. He threatened to kill my parents if they tried to stop me seeing him, so I kept it secret from them. He warned me things would get worse if I went to the police. All the time I was still going to lessons and doing my exams, while my teachers had no idea what was happening to me. Under my clothes I was constantly covered in bruises. This went on for a year".
He then starting introducing her to his friends in neighbouring
towns and cities. "They were all Pakistani Muslim men" Ella told me,
"They instantly hated me - they called me a fucking Gori (which
I was told means white trash), white bitch and white slag, over and over. I was
very afraid of them. My perpetrator started to take me to different flats and
houses to be, what he called ‘gang raped’; sometimes by two men, sometimes
more. I desperately tried to get out of it. The whole idea was unbearable. I
was so gutted that the man I had trusted was doing this to me. I couldn't
believe that he knew so many evil people. I felt deeply betrayed".
Ella, even today still finds it difficult to reveal the details of
what these men did to her, she says "I'd rather not say the details but he
put me through a lot of pain. It was disgusting. It makes me angry to think
about it. They threatened me with kidnap and gang rape when I tried to escape.
They had weapons. I fought and tried to talk them out of it".
Eventually the Police told Ella's parents to move her away. They
sent her to her Aunt’s and they were forced to sell their home.
Ella says she no longer feels threatened by the gang because she
has the support of a partner and family who know what went on, and she hasn't
seen the men for some time. She says she is older and wiser now. The abuse has
impacted her life in many ways. Although she has never attempted to commit suicide
she does still have PTSD, nightmares and panic attacks sometimes.
Her main abuser was arrested a couple of times, when he hurt her
particularly badly, but was always released without charge. Ella feels the
Police failed her badly "like many other victims around that time".
She says most Police officers she met at the time were
unsupportive and unsympathetic (although a couple have since apologised for the
forces failings). "They didn't even do basic investigations or photograph
my injuries" she says, "At one point I was hospitalised, so in my
view they were incompetent. There could have been evidence from witnesses and
phone records, but they didn't even try to collect it. They just weren't
interested."
She went on to add "some Police just seemed to do the bare minimum
and make excuses for not doing any more. What makes me most angry is knowing
that it turns out there were so many victims similar to me, some having to
endure much worse, and yet still the Police didn’t try to warn people, or try
to stop the perpetrators”.
After recently re-reporting her abuse, the Investigators told Ella that there is insufficient evidence, so none of her attackers have been prosecuted, despite the ‘criminal injuries compensation authority’ being satisfied with the amount of evidence and awarding her compensation earlier this year.
Ella now finds the strength to speak out to raise awareness on the issue.
She says "I'm one of the 99% of victims who won’t see justice
in the courts. It’s horrible knowing that they got away with it,
especially as we know that they did it to so many other girls too.
“It’s only recently that the public has become aware of the scale
and severity of this problem. Of course all types of Child Sexual Exploitation
are bad, but some are really, really bad. My first grooming experience was what
they call an ‘inappropriate relationship’ and it was fairly mild. He was Irish
Catholic, and it wasn’t driven by racial or religious hate. (He had a Lolita
fantasy). But my second experience with a Pakistani Muslim ‘Grooming Gang’ was horrific
and especially sinister. Through listening to other survivors, I realised that
the ideology and the ways of victim-blaming haven’t changed over the past 20
years. Although the majority of CSE perpetrators in the UK are white, Grooming
Gang perpetrators are 75-95% Pakistani Muslim.
Gang groomers still use the same
reasons to justify what they do… For example, saying that all white girls are
slags, and that if they dress immodestly they deserve rape as punishment.
(‘Immodestly’ means dressing like a normal Western teenager, in jeans and
trainers). This is so wrong. They blame Parents, teachers, social services, the
children; anyone except themselves. With phones, internet, social media, porn,
sexting and gaming, things are getting even worse. Cultural issues including
ideas about Honour, loyalty and forced marriage also play a part. My
perpetrator also used quotes from the Koran as he beat and raped me. I’m not
saying this to stir up hate. I’m saying it because it’s important that we speak
about these things so that we can bring them into the light and address them.
I strongly believe that Young People need educating about the
risks of becoming a victim of Child Sexual Exploitation. And I
believe that boys need educating about risks of being drawn into gang crime, drug
dealing, and sexual offending too. With ‘Grooming Gang Awareness’, boys can be
educated about the laws around consent, rape, coercion, trafficking and
prostitution of children. They can be made aware of the ways that a gang will
groom or coerce them into getting involved and committing crime. Then they can
then see more clearly what are the good influences and the bad influences on them.
It’s about taking control of their own lives and leading a life they can be
proud of; And having healthy, loving, sexual relationships.
I hope that by bringing awareness we can bring changes to ensure
that fewer young men will perpetrate these crimes in the future. I know I can
only speak to a few boys, and many won’t be interested in what I have to say,
but hopefully some will be saved from either becoming victims, or perpetrators,
by hearing my story.
I asked Ella whether she thinks children in Sheffield, Rotherham,
Rochdale and Oxford are still being abused.
Chillingly she told me "Unfortunately, kids are being abused
in every part of the UK right now, as you are reading this. CSE is an epidemic.
The stigma and shame is bad for all survivors so it can be difficult to talk
about. Victims are all ages" she warns, "boys and girls, from all
backgrounds. I've been to Swinton Lock in Rotherham for support, and they told
me that they are still getting many new referrals of recent victims of CSE. Of
course familial child sex abuse is a huge problem too ".
I asked Ella if more should be done in schools and for parents to eradicate the problem, she said "Barnardo's Grooming Line gives a good basic understanding of how grooming works. I think that once people heard about the problem, many people looked back, and they realised that some things they had witnessed had in fact been Child Sexual Exploitation. Education is an ongoing task, and the level of awareness now is much better than it was when I was young. People are learning that it isn’t the victim’s fault. I also think that a lot of Police forces are now definitely doing a better job tackling it. The government has also made CSE a Public Health priority, which I’m very happy about. Next we need a National Grooming Gang Prevention Plan.
I’d like to see more prevention programs provided for boys who are
at risk of committing all sorts of crimes. This is because 95% of Sexual
crimes, and most violent crimes, are committed by males. If the boys already
know people in Gangs, drug dealers, live near grooming hotspots, or hold the
same misogynistic beliefs, or racist beliefs about women and girls, we need to
be talking to them before it’s too late".
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Friday 3 November 2017
It was
always in the Public interest
David
Lean was a child destined for a great future in football. He loved football and
can’t remember a time without it in his life. He explained “Two older brothers
and a sporting dad saw to that. Although my dad played Rugby for Fylde until a
bad injury at a young age he was a star, playing for the first team at just 17
as a winger. He was also the fastest in Lancashire at school”. Like many young
boys, David played football all day, every day; but David was good. He also
dreamed about football every day.
He played
for his Primary school at 9 years old. He recalls the school team manager, who
doubled up as a teacher, told his parents at parents evening that “my brains
were in my feet! Dad was happy but a little worried about this comment. Mum was
devastated!”
From the
age of two he had played every week at his local YMCA and soon joined their
team. He also played for his high school team and his home town Blackpool
school boys. He had trials with Blackpool FC before spending 2 years with
Burnley until he left school, winning competitions and leagues with regularity
as well as individual awards. By the age of 16 he had collected around 40
trophies for his hard work.
He says
humbly “My Pro career was short! I was with Preston North End from October 1983
to May 1986, after Burnley let me go just three weeks before I left school.
That was hard to take”.
He went
on to play Sunday football in most of the local leagues, winning the Sunday
Premiere League twice. He also played many seasons in the North West Counties
and West Lancashire leagues as well as a short spell with Fleetwood Town in the
late 90’s.
It was as
an 11 year old though that David’s life was changed forever. On a holiday in
Wales in the Summer of 1979, he met a professional football coach.
He had
links to a professional club and told me I was a star of the future.
“He wrote
to me in total for 11 months, grooming me before I eventually spent two nights
attending a football course at his house in April 1980 as a 12 year old. I was
Sexually Abused by him over a sustained period on both evenings”.
Despite
being devastated by the abuse on those two nights he bravely returned home in
silence, telling no one of his ordeal.
The
Police were the first people I ever told
“My mum
made comments about Childhood Sexual Abuse after a TV programme and told me she
would not have been able to cope if that had ever happened to me ! I decided
there and then I would never disclose till after mum had passed. This was in
1997 and I disclosed in February 2013. I kept my secret promise and I'm glad I
did, although I went through many years of wanting to Disclose and suffering
because of my decision. I do not regret it at all. I went to the police just 5
days after mums funeral and disclosed. The police were the first people I ever
told”. He told me.
“If I'm
honest having to Disclose and put my elderly dad through all this was such a
hard decision to make, but if I was to have any chance of a conviction and
justice I would need my dad and his evidence. It broke my heart him telling me
about his police interview. He saw my abuser convicted before he passed away
just 6 months after, on his deathbed hours apologising to me. It was
NEVER his fault or my mum's! My abuser was a professional and the best at what
he did!”
I asked
David about his experience of disclosing to the Police,
“after
disclosure the police took my case seriously but it was later when the first
mention of Public Interest came into play. The two CPS tests are evidence test
and public interest as well as you needing to be credible. In June 2013 the CPS
dropped my case saying it was not in the public interest! On their own website
at the time it stated the following are almost always in the public
interest...If the child is 12 years or younger,
If it's
planned/ groomed for a period,
If the
Abuser is in a position of trust,
If there
is a significant age difference.
I ticked every single box!
They also
said I was credible and the evidence test met too!!!”
Asked how
he felt when he was told by the CPS that his abuser would not face prosecution,
he says “I could not agree, Ever! So I appealed to the National Childhood
Sexual Abuse review panel, which had just been formed. I was the test
case. I appealed and after 7 months eventually after 2 meetings of a group
headed by the Top officials of both police and CPS I won !! The CPS were
told to 're look at my case with the NEW prosecution guidance my case had
brought in. Effectively my case changed the law allowing cases of CSA where only
a short sentence may be handed down could still be seen as within the public
interest.
I will
never forgive the CPS I went through hell. My case was always in the public
interest. It's just a money thing, So many CSA cases are dropped on these
grounds it's disgraceful”.
The hurt
doesn’t go away after conviction. David still finds it difficult to speak about
his ordeal and had to take several breaks during this interview.
After one
such break he told me “I feel as angry today with the CPS as I did in June
2013. Nothing will ever take that feeling away. The more I hear about the way
cases of CSA are dealt with, the angrier I get. You hope it's a one off with
your own case but it's far from it!! It's about money and guaranteed
convictions. They care about nothing else. You are just a reference number to
them”.
I would
always encourage Survivors to come forward. But I would always ask them to make
sure they have some support before they do. I would also tell Non recent cases
coming forward to ensure they are coming forward for more than Criminal
Justice. It will be a difficult road and can take 2 years and often
does. I know many, including myself who have and are moving forward with
life after disclosing our horrible secrets. We have taken back our life's
“having
support is vital after disclosure. I don't just mean professional support
either. Teresa my wife has been my rock since disclosure. I am fully
aware how hard this has been for her. Teresa has no idea when we met and
although she was the first loved one I told after disclosure to the police we
had only been together around 4 years at that time. I had no idea how she would
take it. To make matters worse within her role in Nursing at times she
was dealing with CSA Offenders. Soon after she changed roles within nursing
! My case has since gone public so she has had to cope with so much and I
am very lucky to have her. We married on December 15th 2016 so are almost at
our first anniversary although we will have been together just short of 9 years
when that date arrived..
..I had
asked Teresa after my mums funeral, during a weeks annual leave we had both
booked for one day to myself. I told her I had something I needed to do which
wasn't great but I would tell her when I got back from doing it exactly where
and what I had just done.
I arrived
back from disclosing and we sat down and spent the evening crying with each of
us supporting the other. It was a very hard night. Just 2 days later we would
go together to do my videoed evidence. Teresa has been my rock and I am forever
grateful!
The
police went to see my dad, cold so to speak. They wanted to talk to him before
I did, which was fine by me. I told my 3 brothers together soon after”.
It seems
unthinkable that this sort of abuse could happen at professional clubs. I asked
David what measures he’d like to see clubs take to ensure the abuse he suffered
never happens to other innocent children, left under adult supervision. He says
“the abuse scandal that is happening within football at this time is on going.
The inquiry being carried out by the FA is on going too. I am sure things
will come out of this to improve the situation but can you stop sexual abuse
within football or anywhere else?
Mandatory
reporting will certainly help and is as always being looked at. Things have no
doubt improved since the 70s and 80s, but the facts speak for themselves and
it's still going on today! Football Coaches have a unique position
of getting both children and parents close and supportive and a chance to spend
time each week to worm thier way into families. Parents and clubs need to
improve communications and hold club safeguarding nights - As well as starting
to talk to the children directly”.
Every 3
months the statistics produced within football continue to increase!
I believe
more will continue to come forward, especially when the current situation comes
to the forefront early next year.
The whole
system needs review when dealing with cases of CSA especially non recent cases.
No priority is given to the cases from the start, unless the accused is seen as
a current safeguarding concern. Resources are very tight and investigations
take far too long. The process is far to slow.
Communication
along the way can be poor.
The key
tests to get through the CPS are difficult to prove in non recent cases also.
Often no
support is offered to the Survivors.
So many
things could be improved within the system.
Most
important though is people in these positions have to be fair and professional
as well as consistent in their approach.
Survivors
are treated differently by all police forces and CPS regions.
Schools
and parents should open their eyes to CSA. It's happening all around them every
single day.
Training
is essential as schools could and should play such a massive role. Around 70%
of Sexual Abuse to a child is done by a family member very often in the child's
own house, which makes it a very hard situation to report to other family
members. Schools need to pick up on the signs which are very recognisable with
training. Parents need to understand the scale of this and again look for
change.
First and
foremost it's understanding this.
I campaign now to raise awareness of CSA and
have run 3 half Marathons and 1 full Marathon this year as well as completing a
24 hr walk all to raise awareness and Counselling funds for Survivors of CSA
for Blackpool based Charity
I have also run a successful awareness Campaign called #purplefriday on the 15th September which was so successful it reached almost 12 million people on Social media alone. Due to this we are also running a very similar campaign to raise awareness of both CSA and CSE on 15th December this year called #purplechristmas to raise awareness to hopefully keep this subject on peoples minds as we lead upto this special period for children and keep them safe so hopefully many more have a Merry Christmas this year.
I have also run a successful awareness Campaign called #purplefriday on the 15th September which was so successful it reached almost 12 million people on Social media alone. Due to this we are also running a very similar campaign to raise awareness of both CSA and CSE on 15th December this year called #purplechristmas to raise awareness to hopefully keep this subject on peoples minds as we lead upto this special period for children and keep them safe so hopefully many more have a Merry Christmas this year.
Talk to
your children. Know where your Children are. Listen to your children.
Wednesday 11 October 2017
I lost 2 decades of my life. That's not OK!
Sammy
Woodhouse was just 14 when she consented to sex with a 24 year old
Pakistani Man. That was the damning and irresponsible verdict of the
government’s criminal injuries compensation authority.
Ms
Woodhouse, who bravely waived her right to anonymity in order to help
prosecute her attacker and two of his brothers who were part of gang
that groomed and abused 50 girls, was abused by four men as a child.
The
Oxford dictionary defines the age of consent as the
age at which a persons consent to sexual intercourse is
valid in law.
That
age is of course 16. The law is quite clear. It does not allow for
anomolies where the victim was persuaded, threatened, or beaten. It
does not allow for exceptions when the attackers are not from this
country, nor does it allow exceptions for cases where the victim is
poor or vulnerable – it is clear, if the person is under 16, that
person can NEVER give consent.
Prior
to being groomed and abused Sammy was perfectly happy. She told me
that she had lots of friends, was happy, confident and good at
school. Life was great!
All
that changed when she met her main attacker and three other men at
her local shop. A lot of kids hung around there.
As
with many victims of grooming she first thought she was the man’s
girlfriend. At 16 though she recognised the violence and harassment
and made a statement to police. It wasn’t until about 5 years ago
that she fully came to terms with what had actually happened to her
and gave herself the label of victim, not girlfriend.
When
she went to the Police at 16 she had hoped they would help, although
she knew that many of them were helping her attacker.
I
asked her if she blamed the authorities for not protecting her and
the dozens of other victims and she said “the people who are to
blame are the men that abused me and the people who helped and were
involved.”
For
people like most of us, who have never experienced such vile actions
would expect the police to take such matters seriously and act with
the full force of the law to protect the children but that simply
didn’t happen. When asked if she thinks the authorities that turned
a blind eye should be prosecuted she told me “yes I do- there is a
difference in someone raising the alarm and being ignored (I don’t
blame them), to deliberately doing nothing.” she says that the
blame should always start with the attackers “but in my case, they
met him and helped him further, so they are also to blame.”
Sammy
was let down repeatedly by people and organisations that should have
protected her.
Rotherham
MP Sarah Champion was forced to resign her shadow cabinet role after
writing in a newspaper article that Britain has a problem with
British Pakistani men raping and exploiting white girls.
Ms
Champion has said her comments were edited and stripped of nuance,
but resigned from her position in Jeremy Corbyn’s team.
I
asked Ms Woodhouse if she thought Champion was right to resign. She
said “Sarah was very accurate and should not have stood down, she
should have stood her ground.” she added “it’s important we
don’t only talk about one race, but we do have to address it.
Otherwise, victims voices will be lost.”
Some
people have called for South Yorkshire Police to be disbanded since
the scandal. I asked Sammy if she thought the force were fit for
purpose. “No! They weren’t fit for purpose” she said, “a lot
has changed but it’s no where near good enough. If the system was
fit for purpose we wouldn’t have so many abused and failed
children. The Government need to recognise and step in. The Police
are over worked and under staffed and don’t understand grooming
properly. There is a lot of work to do!”
Sammy
Woodhouse has shown amazing strength courage and resilience to become
one of the most prominent campaigners for victims of child abuse,
making regular appearances on daytime TV, receiving huge support.
She is championing Sammy's Law, a campaign to change the law to allow
victims of grooming and abuse to have their criminal records expunged
where they were directed to commit those crimes by their attackers.
The campaign is being backed by several Police Chief’s, MP’s and
child protection experts in a bid to minimise the impact on victims.
I
asked Sammy where she found the strength to be a survivor and no
longer a victim. She told me she had always been a person that didn’t
like to sit around moping and feeling sorry for herself. She said “I
also don't like to be seen as a victim as it always makes me feel
weak. We have to get on with life. There’s only one person that can
really change things in my life, and that is me. I want my legacy to
be something my children are proud of. I want to be able to say when
I look back at my life that I made a difference and helped others. I
can say that now as before I couldn’t. To do this I had to accept
help and support and not avoid it.”
On
her campaign she says “Yes! Victims and survivors records should be
quashed. We shouldn’t be blamed and criminalised for being abused,
We need to take into consideration if those people are now a risk and
still offending as some do. We need to look at people as individuals.
I have started Sammy’s law asking for this to be put in place. The
first step is common sense and people getting a fu##ing grip. IT’S
NEVER A CHILD’S FAULT.!!!!!!”
I
asked her if she believes children in Rotherham are still at risk
from grooming gangs. She
told me “of course children are still at risk. It will always
happen, we have to prevent as much as possible and keep the awareness
going. We will never stop it but we can prevent it. Things are much
better in Rotherham but abuse happens everywhere not just here.”
Despite
the torment that Sammy endured she appears to be coming out of the
other side a proud, selfless, articulate woman who family and friends
must be extremely proud of and
an inspiration to the hundreds and thousands of victims out there
still searching for justice.
My
final question to to the remarkable Sammy Woodhouse was what her
future aspirations are and whether she can have a normal life.
Her
reply was “I want to prevent child abuse as much as possible and
make national changes, I’d like to be part of knowing every child
in the country is more safe”. Her parting comment was “Define
normal! What happened will always remain with me but I’m determined
to move forward from it and not let it hold me back. I’ve lost two
decades of my life. My life is only starting now at the age of 32 –
that’s not OK.”
Thursday 20 April 2017
Thirty five years ago I watched in awe as Sheffield United
romped through the fourth division finishing a fantastic season as champions,
breaking records along the way. As a member of the junior Blades I was able to
watch in wonder from the terribly named “pen” for just 70 pence a game. My hero,
Keith Edwards was top scorer in all four divisions notching up 36 in all
competitions. I had the pleasure of interviewing him a couple of years ago for
a blog article and he remembered the season as warmly as I did. It was the first season that 3 points for a
win was introduced and United managed to reach 96 points, winning 27 matches and
scoring 94 goals. They lost just 4 games all season and were unbeaten at home.
Liverpool were crowned League champions that year, with 87 points after scoring
80 goals and winning 26 games. Obviously one could argue that Liverpool were playing
against much better teams but most Blades fans of a certain age remember that
season fondly as it was the first trophy they had won for 29 years and the last
trophy the club lifted. In the final game of the season away at Darlington the
attendance was in excess of 11,000 with some claiming 10,000 of those were
travelling Blades fans. In the previous game some 23,923 packed into Bramall
Lane to see the final home game. I knew that day that I too would one day be a
professional footballer – I was wrong.
The previous
season had been a disastrous one. Neighbours Wednesday finished 10th
in the old 2nd division while United finished 4th from bottom in the
3rd division (in those days the bottom 4 went down). In the final
game of the season, just needing a point for safety against a Walsall side also
in the relegation battle, former Republic of Ireland international Don Givens
missed a penalty in the dying minutes consigning the Blades to a 0-1 defeat and
relegation to the bottom tier for the first (and only) time in their history.
Last season
Sheffield United finished 11th in league 1, winning 18 games and struggling
to 66 points. They scored 64 times. After 6 years in league one the fans were
becoming hostile and the club seemed in trouble. Following the appointment of Stocksbridge
born, former player Chris Wilder, this season has been reminiscent of those 4th
division glory days.
With two
games remaining United have already been crowned champions, and have won 28
games. If they win the last two matches they will reach 100 points. They have
scored 86 league goals. Top scorer Billy Sharp has netted 27 times and is just
one away from his 200th career goal. He is the top scorer in all 4
divisions and the team have more points than any other. Their average home
gates have been in excess of 21,000 with that number set to rise even higher with
a sold out last game of the season against relegated Chesterfield.
Hopefully it
wont be another 35 years before Sheffield United fans experience another title
winning season but I wonder if Wilder, Sharp and the team realise the size of
their achievement and the impact a season like this could have on thousands of
young fans that have adored their heroes this term.
Sunday 12 March 2017
Blaming immigrants is the oldest right-wing game in history says
Former Europe Minister.
Denis MacShane is a former journalist and MP. He was the youngest
president of the NUJ in 1979 and went into exile when Margaret Thatcher was
elected to work for the international trade union movements helping the
Solidarity union in Poland, black trade unions in South Africa, Lula’s
metalworkers in Brazil and the unions whose general strike in South Korea
toppled the military dictatorship in 1987. He is unusal amongst British
political activists in speaking European languages.
While an MP he was Minister of state for Europe. An active campaigner against
antj-semitism while in Parliament, the former Rotherham MP who left the Common
in 2012 was once chair of an anti-Semitism think tank called The European institute for the study of contemporary Antisemitism. He wrote a book Globalising Hatred: the New
Antisemitism in 2008. The BNP targeted him for attacks because of a chapter exposing
its leader anti-semitic record. Since leaving office Dr MacShane is working
“pretty much all the time on Brexit”. He says he writes or speaks on Brexit
almost every day and has spoken on the subject all over the world from
Washington to Tel Aviv. In January 2015 he published his book Brexit: How
Britain Will Leave Europe, which predicted the outcome of the June 2016
referendum. He has written a new book on what happens next, which will be
published in June 2017, on the anniversary of the referendum.
As a respected authority on the EU and Brexit, MacShane is well
placed to answer the questions I put to him;
Was immigration the biggest factor in the Brexit vote? I
asked.
“Yes. The focus of the anti-Europeans was on the number of European
workers in the UK. The slogan “taking back control’ was direct from the UKIP
line that the UK and to “take back control’ of its frontiers. At the Tory Party
conference in October 2015, Theresa May, then the Home Secretary said “The
number of immigrants coming in from Europe is unsustainable’ to thunderous
applause. Staring with William Hague in 2001, then Michael Howard in 2005 and
David Cameron in 2010, the Conservatives took the old language of Enoch Powell
and updated it against European who came to work in the UK. There were some who
genuinely did not like the EU and saw the problem as one of sovereignty but the
dominant issue in every meeting and on every doorstep or in every radio
phone-in was immigration”.
I asked if the referendum result had led to genuine rise in race
related hate crimes or if the reports were being exaggerated? He told me “The
police have stated quite clearly that the up to 100 per cent rise in hate crimes
have clearly linked these attacks to the xenophobic attacks on the presence of
Europeans in the UK which was at the core of the Brexit campaign. The Community
Security Trust which reports on anti-Semitic attacks in the UK has also noted a
major increase in anti-Jewish attacks since the referendum campaign with its
focus on xenophobic themes”.
But did the electorate really understand the consequences when they
voted to leave the EU and did they think that the cost (yet to be seen) a price
worth paying or were they mislead into voting for something different to what
they will end up with? Not according to Macshane, he says “the plebiscite it is now widely
acknowledged was won on the biggest lies ever seen in a national vote - that
£350 million a week would be available for the NHS, that 75 million Turks were
about to arrive, that the Queen’s Speech was mainly written in Brussels or that
a European Army was about to be formed. There was no effective discussion on the
costs because we will not now these until the middle 2020s. The referendum was
lost 15-20 years ago when a well-funded political campaign was launched with
support from the Conservative leadership - forget UKIP – and powerful off-shore
owned media networks to rubbish the EU and create the climate which made Brexit
inevitable”.
The Labour party recently managed to hold on to Stoke on Trent in a
bi-election, where UKIP’s new leader Paul Nuttall was a candidate. I asked the
former member of Tony Blair’s cabinet if the victory signalled a change of heart
and the beginning of the end for UKIP. He told me “Ukip is finished in March 2019 assuming that a political Brexit is
unavoidable and the UK will elect no more MEPs to the European Parliament. UKIP
is a one pony party. It has no programme for national or local government. It is
simply an anti-European party with two linked demands - to win a plebiscite and
to use it to amputate the UK from Europe. David Cameron conceded the former and
UKIP fellow travellers like Boris Johnson, Liam Fox, David Davis and Michael
Gove are hoping deliver the latter”.
Are we yet to see the consequences touted before Brexit around the
stock markets crashing and the pound falling or were the claims just scare
mongering?
Dr MacShane says “We have not left the EU so Brexit has not happened
and the economic impact will not be known until the middle 2020s. But the
announcements about moving work to Europe to guarantee access to the Single
Market are not scare-mongering but cold reality. The Brexit devaluation is
feeding into higher prices and inflation and the Government has had to abandon
its economic programmes to increase debt and deficits to keep the economy
afloat. Brexit is causing uncertainty in all sectors of economic activity and
above all in FDI which only comes to the UK on the promise that any firm
investing in Britain would have full, unfettered access to 450 million middle
class consumers in Europe. Brexit breaks that promise”.
If UKIP are finished, I asked Can Labour win back the voters from
UKIP or are they likely to go to other parties such as Conservative or more far
right groups?
“Labour won back voters tempted by anti-immigration populism from
Enoch Powell and Margaret Thatcher. Labour needs a convincing offer for many who
feel with justification they are losers in the modern economy. Blaming
immigrants is the oldest right-wing game in history - Jews in the 1930s, West
Indians in the 1950s, Indians and Pakistanis in the 1970s and 1980s, Kosovan and
asylum seekers in the 1990s, Poles, Slovaks, and other citizens of new EU member
states in the last 15 years. When Labour has convincing policies and convincing
spokespersons it will start to do well again!”
Thursday 23 February 2017
Ranieri sacked just 9 months after
Prem success.
When Leicester City sacked Nigel Pearson and replaced him
with Italian Claudio Ranieri many fans raised an eyebrow. Yes, he had managed
some of the biggest and richest, most glamourous clubs in the world; Napoli, Fiorentina,
Athletico Madrid, Chelsea, Juventus and Monaco, but he had also been dismissed
from a series of failed reigns, including a spell in charge of the Greek
national side, where his team lost to the Faroe Islands.
In 2003 as Chelsea manager, he spent £120million on players
including Juan Sebastian Veron and Hernan Crespo, yet finished runners up to
Arsenal. During his time at Monaco,
Raneiri took the French outfit to the Ligue 2 title for the first time in the
clubs history. The following year his team finished runners up to PSG but his
contract was not renewed.
In July2014 Rome born Ranieri took over as Greece manager on
a 2 year, 1.6m euro deal. He lasted just
4 games before been relieved of his duties following the humiliation of losing
to the Faroes. So when in July ’15 he took over at the midlands club Marcus
Christenson of the Guardian called his appointment baffling. The man he
replaced, former Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough defender Nigel Pearson
had taken the club from 12th in the Championship to the Premier
league but was sacked after a series of bazaar incidents including calling a
journalist an Ostrich and grabbing an oppositions player by the throat during a
game.
Ranieri inherited a
team Pearson had put together, narrowly avoiding relegation under Pearson after
putting together an impressive run the season before, the bookies gave generous
odds of 500-1 on premier league success. To put that into perspective, the odds
currently being offered on non-league Lincoln City winning the FA Cup this
season are currently 250-1. Despite the doubters and the odds being heavily
against Leicester they went on to win the Premier league by 10 points in an
amazing season that saw the Foxes qualify for the Uefa Champions League for the
first time.
Their 2-1 defeat in that competition to Sevilla on Tuesday
night, just 9 months after winning the Premier league was Ranieri’s last game
in charge. Tonight he was sacked with Leicester 1 point above the drop zone
with just 21 points from 25 games and apparently in free fall. Early favourites
for the job are former Palace manager Alan Pardew and the man that took the
team to the Premiership Nigel Pearson.
Former Leicester striker and Match of the day pundit Gary
Linaker, who famously said he would present the show in his pants if they won
the title, said “after all Claudio has done for the club, to sack him now is
inexplicable, unforgivable and gut wrenching”.
The Daily Mirror are claiming that it was the players who
knifed their manager the back after complaining to the board but Match of the
day presenter Ian wright tweeted “wonder how I’d feel if I was a Leicester player
right now – could I have done more?”
Alan Shearer posted “wow. Staggering” on his twitter page.
It is sad that there is little loyalty left in the game. With
so much money at stake in the game clubs can no longer afford the luxury of
patience. Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, the longest serving manager in the premier
league, currently in his 20th year is a rarity. The second longest
serving premiere league manager by comparison has been at Bournemouth just four
years.
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