In what should have been a quite week in politics, its hard to know where to start this week. At the risk of being predictable I cant help but start with "Gate Gate" or "pleb gate" as it was known. Andrew Mitchell, known un-affectionately within his party as Thrasher, allegedly called two police officers plebs. In what could have been a scene from TV satire The thick of it, were it not so unbelievabley insensative and arrogant, Mr Mitchell called the two PC's plebs and told the officers that they should know their place, that they did not run the country and that they had not heard the last of this. Ironic then that the story is still simmering on over a week later as certain members of all three parties have called for resignation.
To add insult to injury for the police force, amazingly this happened the day after the country was left shocked and disgusted at the cold blooded murder of two female officers.
The bullying deluded self importantance of the Tory whip not only highlighted how out of touch his party is, it proved once again just what terrible judgement Premier David Cameron has when he came out in support of Thrasher, saying that he believed his denial.

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Last weekend Liverpool football club played their first home game since the revelations about the Hillsborough disaster were made public. In a brilliant spectacle of support before the game Patrick Evra and Louis Suarez took part in the tributes and shook hands putting the racism row behind them and the importance of the day before their own squabbles. Fans around the country paid tribute to the 96 men, women and children who lost their lives and supporters inside Anfield held up mosaics with the words "justice" and "truth".  Sir Alex Ferguson called for respect from fans and asked the sick songs and chants that have blighted the game for years be stopped.The respect and behaviour of the United fans was impeccable.  Sadly, once again at the end of the game a few mindless thugs ran to the Manchester fans and made gestures about the Munich disaster.
Why, even in what should have been a day of remembering, a day of support and togetherness echoing the words of the adopted Anfield anthem- you'll never walk alone, do the minority have to bring shame and disgust to the game?.  It is that senseless minority that got English clubs banned from Europe in the 80's. It is that vile bunch that got Liverpool football club the reputation that doubtlessly contributed to the events and actions of the police and media at Hillsborough. Liverpool football club should ban these despicable people from the game. They should name them, shame them and ensure that the appalling aspect of the game is booted out for good.



Staying with football, John Terry was today banned for four games and fined £220,000 (less than two weeks wages) for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand.
Terry who was previously cleared of the charges in a court of law, stood down from the England team on the eve of his court appearance. The fine and ban are ludicrously light when compared to the ban Suarez was handed at Liverpool or Joey Bartons 12 game ban for his playground tantrum in the final game of last season.
The FA needs to have a good long look at itself and decide what message they are trying to end out.
For me the whole incident should have been put to bed months ago. Two spoilt millionaire footballers winding each other up playing the game that has given them such privileged lives, could have shaken hands and put it away long ago. Obviously, racism is wholly unacceptable but this debacle of a court case and an FA investigation has done the game more harm than good. Both players should be banned for season and fined massively for bringing the game into disrepute and refs should lay down the law and send players off  when they hear any foul and abusive language . These idiots are role models to millions of kids and act as though they are Hollywood brats. Its time they and racism were kicked in to touch.


There is little duller in politics than Lib Dem part conference week, but these days the tree hugging, sandal wearing bearded hippies have been replaced by actual government ministers. Has this livened the conference up? No
A week of speeches that promise nothing and mean less are just a disguise for jostling for position in the race to replace doomed leader Nick Clegg. Vince Cable the clear favourite to be next party leader, must be rubbing his hands in delight as the highest ratings poll Clegg has managed in two years is in the  pop charts after his sincere apology to students was mocked and chopped into a charity single. To his credit, Mr Clegg did allow his words to be used as long as Sheffield charities benefited from the proceeds. At last the Sheffield MP and deputy PM has done something for his constituents.
Meanwhile leader of the opposition Ed Miliband has been invisible for a couple of weeks only raising his head above the pit to say that churches that want to marry same sex couples should be allowed to do so.

Talking of the church, I thought almost all religions taught love and tolerance. So why is it that gay men and women are still treated as outcasts by most faiths? Religion- like governments, like society has to learn to adapt to changes in culture and attitude or die out. If they are to maintain any credibility they need to address issues of today not live by opinions formed in the dark ages.
I'm not just talking about Christian or Catholic faiths. There are millions of Muslims living in this country and their arrival on this island means we now live in multi cultural, multi belief, multi religion society. They only way these different worlds can get along in such a small place( the world), is by learning to understand, respect and tolerate the views of other humans.
No where in any of the faith books does it say it is acceptable to molest children. Nowhere does it say it acceptable to treat people who are different as though they are insects.No where does it say that it is acceptable to kill and bomb and burn people who we do not share an opinion with. I am not a church goer but i do not need a book to tell me that these things are simply wrong. I don't need to pray or flaunt symbols and badges to force my beliefs on others to know the difference between good and bad.
If Muslims and Catholics and Christians want to be accepted and  wish to live beside each other  then the violent extremists that overshadow the peace loving respectful majority must be eradicated and shown that some behaviours should not be be tolerated.

Finally, after 23 years Liverpool fans have been cleared of all blame in the Hillsborough disaster. The damning report out this week revealed corruption at the top of the police force and highlighted just how despicable the Sun newspaper is and has always been. They printed lie after lie about innocent Liverpool supporters, accusing them of violence, theft, and other obscene behaviour which simply did not happen, on that day.
96 fans died on the 23 April 1989 and it was claimed in this weeks report that some of those may have survived if treated properly on the day. There are calls now for prosecutions.
Sir Irvine Patnick, a high profile Sheffield MP in '89 made comments to the press at the time, claiming that Liverpool fans were behaving badly on the day and that they were urinating on injured fans from above. There are calls now for his knighthood to be removed.
The police officer in charge that day is also now facing the possibility of criminal charges being brought against him.
 It has also been revealed that the safety certificate had expired.
The cover up from police, media and the government in the aftermath of the disaster was appalling. It was absolutely inexcusable and someone must pay for that.

It is important however, to look at the events of that day from the other side. To appreciate the climate at that time, and decide whether the attitude of South Yorkshire Police was appropriate we need to remember what was happening in English football in 1989.
English clubs were serving a ban from European football in 1989.
 We had been banned following a European Cup final between Italian giants Juventus and Liverpool.
On 29th May 1985 39 Juventus fans died and 600 were injured. Before the game Liverpool fans, many of whom allegedly turned up without tickets,smashing there way through a cinder block wall to gain access and rampaged through the Heysel stadium charging opposition fans causing a wall to collapse on them. Fourteen Liverpool fans were found guilty of manslaughter and imprisoned. UEFA banned all English clubs from European competition until 1990-91 season with Liverpool football club serving a further years ban.
Although the ban did not apply to the England national side, there was so much pressure on the government that they considered withdrawing from the world cup of 1990.
In the wake of incidents like this, and increasing hooliganism in domestic football, fences were erected at grounds around the country, to stop violent yobs invading the pitch or trying to reach opposing fans to fight.
While Liverpool fans in this country have campaigned relentlessly for justice, the rest of Europe has been less than sympathetic.
Juventus legend, Alessandro Del Piero chose to play in Australia this season rather than join the Anfield team, a decision his former agent says, is out of respect for the Heysel victims.

With tensions so high even today it is easy to see why Police in 1989, may have thought initially that the disaster was caused by hooligans.
Were it not for the image of the game being so tarnished at that time maybe the attention of clubs like Sheffield Wednesday would have been less focused on preventing violence and improving safety for genuine football supporters.
The very fences erected to prevent deaths were instrumental in the details of that day in 1989.
None of these things excuse the cover up and explain why no one has come forward with truth for 23 years.
 None of these facts excuse the blatant lies published in the Sun newspaper.
There has been disgust at Police officers at the time checking the register to see if the dead had a criminal record. Those actions are more outrageous two decades later but in those dark days for English football it was an avenue that probably had to be investigated. That said, i can find no justification for breath testing the bodies of children to see if they had been drinking.

When looking to crucify someone for the carnage that day, we must take into account events like Heysel that came before.
 
I hope that now Liverpool's supporters have been cleared of any blame on that day at Hillsbrough, that we can draw a line in the sand and they will feel that at last truth prevailed.
I also hope that in the name of justice we don't seek revenge from everyone and anyone who was involved. Some people I'm sure acted with the best of intentions on that day and the days after it. I'm sure that many of the officers that day did save many more lives that could easily have added to the 96 that perished. They should not be tarred with the same brush as the people who deliberately deceived. Journalists who wrote comment at that time may have believed they were writing the genuine truth, They should not be held in the same light as the vile Kelvin Mckenzie who's apology this week was as insincere as they come.
MPs who were briefed by senior ministers but were not there at the ground, probably felt in those days that they were right to criticise fans.
Whoever pays the price ultimately, we need to ensure that this time we don't react to fashion and favour.

Just what is it that makes the Tories hate unions so much? Is it fear or just contempt? At the end of the 80's more than 12 million workers were members of a trade union. Today, there are less than 6million, with a decline of half a million in the last four years. The TUC says this is due to a fall in employment. I suggest it is deeper than that.
Unions have become a dirty word.
 David Cameron uses the accusation of "been in the pockets of the union", as though it is drug dealers money. Membership is synonymous with corruption. Union leaders like Len Mcluskey and Bob Crow are ridiculed and abused. But do they help themselves? No!
The trade unions of the 70's and 80's are extinct. It is no longer acceptable to down tools and drag everyone out at the drop of a hat. People these days expect services to continue regardless of the treatment of staff. People don't accept bad working conditions poor pay and pensions being raped under the disguise of fairness as an excuse to not having buses running.
We have become so pampered and selfish that we begrudge any one workers having better pay. We seek to look out for number one and sod every one else.
This just plays into the hands of business leaders and government and does nothing for workers.
Thatchers Tories stripped the unions of the real power that they formerly enjoyed, and Francis Maude wants to take away the time off allowed to union reps. The rights of workers need defending, The benefits to workers, both members and none members is immeasurable. Earlier this year, a report commissioned by the government suggested that no fault dismissal would help the economy. Its a blatant lie. It would benefit only the bullies and manipulative managers, increase harassment and stress and possibly cost the economy. 
The Mccluskeys and Crows shouting about coordinated strikes not only puts people off joining unions it weakens the threat.
I have written before about why i believe in unions. I have said that good unions would benefit not just workers but business as well. Unions need a makeover, They are in drastic need of reinvention or face extinction.
 Young workers, the few that are lucky enough to be employed, do not understand unions. They take for granted the many rights that the trade unions have fought for for decades such as equality or paid holidays.
The impact of the unions has saved many jobs for example the car builders in the North east. the union was influential in getting an agreement that saved the plant, benefiting not just the staff, and the employer but the whole area.
A good union rep can be a useful tool to managers and businesses, if the reps can be trusted to  not just be a trouble causer.
Reps working in the interest of employers and the employee can save huge amounts of money wasted on litigation and tribunals. I believe it is the responsibility of all elected union representatives to make members aware of their responsibilities as well as their rights.
 I don't want to be part of a union that sacrifices longevity of jobs for an extra couple of hundred pounds for a handful of workers. I want a union that protects jobs whilst maintaining fairness and decency. The only way unions can have any influence of course is by recruiting supporters and increasing membership and that means a more responsible approach is needed.  
Its not just the Tories that are to blame for the demise. 14 years of labour government did nothing to strengthen the role of trade unions. Why do we not  teach trade unionism in school? Historically, the contribution the unions have made to this country is worthy of mention in the curriculum. I'm not talking propaganda, just awareness. Unions should be the link between employer and employee, not the barrier.
The millions of pounds of members money spent funding union bosses salaries could be used more usefully promoting the benefits of unions. Strike action should always be a last resort. There are many ways to demonstrate, all of which should be exhausted before strike action but it is vital that we retain the right to withdraw our labour.
Some eloquent tweeter said today that we need unity not Unite. I disagree.
Unite have recently introduced community membership. This could be a fantastic way to engage people and provide a voice for millions of people who are not currently represented by the media or politicians. As the vast majority of politicians have business interests of their own, or have owned bussinesses before entering politics, is it any wonder that there is a biased against the union?
Rotherham MP Dennis MacShane recently suggested a quota of working class MPs. This is never going to happen due to the cost in both time and money. Joining a responsible union could give the same representation. Union leaders like Len Mccluskey need to stop attacking business and threatening industrial action and come up with ways to fairly protect the rights of workers while ensuring they have work to protect.