"The intentions of the right wing Conservative Party are rarely good" says Brexit campaigner.

The EU referendum debate has been relentless but largely inconclusive. There have even been debates about who should be allowed to take part in the debate, one fact which we can probably all draw our own conclusions about.

While the official campaign seems to have been raging for months, on 20^th March I published an interview with Yorkshire & Humber MEP and in supporter, Richard Corbett.

I have been trying since to find somebody willing or able to articulate the argument for leaving the European Union. Matt, a freelance journalist and politics student took up the chalice.

I asked him exactly the same set of questions; I started with the issue of sovereignty, with many claiming that 75% of our laws are passed by in Brussels. Matt conceded that 75% was ambitious but said that the true figure was nearer to 65%(according to business for Britain), depending on whether you are discussing laws impacted by or written by Europe. He admitted the latter figure would be considerably lower. The figure according to Mr Corbett was 13.2%.

Next I asked Matt if the EU was nothing more than an expensive Gentleman’s club, costing the UK taxpayer a fortune. Again, he admitted that the spinning that can be done here is spectacular. He claims that last year we paid £18billion, minus £5 billion that we immediately received back in a rebate. He says the EU then spent a further £4billion here on projects, giving a total cost of £9billion, which he says is still an awful lot. Mr Corbett disputed this, saying that EU membership is worth £3000 per family in Britain.
Some economists are predicting 2 years of uncertainty in the stock markets leading to a potential crash in the event of a Brexit but Matt thinks there will be some sort of crash whether we leave or not. He told me that the uncertainty depends on whether Cameron resigns or not (in the event of an out vote), adding that formalising Brexit will take a while anyway so the uncertainty and crash are inevitable.

Will Brexit mean British football club’s expulsion from the Champion’s League, I asked. Matt thinks that this is ridiculous myth, created by the in campaign. He says that none of the major clubs or any player has corroborated this.

I asked him next if Boris Johnson’s decision to back the out campaign was merely a bid for the Tory leadership. Despite his intention to vote out, he agrees that “Boris is just looking after Boris, not the people of this country”.

When asked if both big and small businesses alike will suffer if we vote to leave he is uncertain, “as there are leaders of business backing both Remain and leave campaigns”. Both sides he says are being extremely hyperbolic. He has no qualms though about the fact that EU will still be more than happy to do business with us though, because we are the sixth biggest economy in the world.

I asked the freelancer, who has featured in the Independent, if the main intention of the Tory out campaigners was to abolish worker’s rights. “The intentions of the right wing Conservative Party are rarely good” he said. ”but that is absolutely no argument to vote to remain. I’m a socialist – and believe in full employment rights and social justice for all, but if your main argument to vote to remain is to oppose the will of the British electorate because you don’t like what they’ve decided then -it sets a really horrible precedent- that is no reason to prop up an undemocratic institution just because you lost an argument. Instead, they should focus on winning the arguments and winning hearts and minds over for additional employment rights and human rights at the national level.

So can we have an open and honest fact based debate on the referendum? The Nottingham University politics student, hopes so, but the moment he said, “it doesn’t look like it. Both of the designated campaigns are being fronted by vacuous political operators who make a living deceiving the public. Hopefully, this will change soon” he dreams.

"Are these people going to be thrown on the scrapheap or is the British Government going to intervene, and maintain steel making in Britain- it's that simple" 

I have recently been reading the unauthorised biography of our prime minister, Call me Dave, written by former Tory party donor Michael Ashcroft and former Sunday Times political editor Isabel Oakeshott. Apart from the well-publicised sticking his willy in a pigs mouth, the book features a great deal on Cameron’s Enid Blightonesque childhood; long summer days by the pool drinking homemade lemonade by the swimming pool with his hooray henry chums. His fabulously well to do parents, busy doing their bit for the local charities and have afternoon cake and tea with the countryside’s elite. Despite suggestions that the book was revenge for Ashcroft not getting a cabinet role from his former friend Cameron, it’s not a complete hatchet job. It hints strongly that several of the most powerful men and women in the country once had a fondness for illegal substances but is rather sympathetic when describing the heart breaking loss of his son, Ivan in 2009. Ashcroft’s description of the numerous late night visits to hospital with his severely disabled son while trying desperately to maintain his grip on leading the party paints a picture of a dedicated father and husband who cares deeply and is eternally grateful to the NHS.

The book talks about Cameron’s brave decision making on tackling drugs following a close family members’ battle with addiction. Indeed, the work tome leaves the reader in little doubt that Dave does care deeply about the things he has been effected by personally. The experiences he has had in his oh so privileged life have certainly left a lasting mark on the man.

The problem with Dave leading our country of course is that the things he hasn’t experienced. He probably has never known anyone personally who has depended on benefits. Nor has he known anyone struggling to find a home, relying on social housing to put a roof over their hungry heads. He probably has never lived next door to someone employed in the steel works.

When he says his government is doing “everything it can” to save thousands of jobs does he really have the same conviction as when he talks of things close to his own heart?

Tata steel who employ around 15,000 people (and supports hundreds more in local communities) announced this week that it intends to sell the business, claiming it is losing up to £1m per day. What really sticks in the throat of people in this country is Cameron’s government’s lack of action. There has been a shadow hanging over these jobs since January when plans to shed jobs was announced, while the Tories have failed repeatedly to take any meaningful action to help the thousands facing joblessness. The company blamed difficult market conditions with many commentators accusing the Chinese of producing cut price (and poor standard) steel, pricing British firms out of the market. The Chinese allow subsidised energy bills to their companies while our government refuse to do the same to support our companies as well as opposing an opportunity to add tariffs to Chinese imports.

Two days ago the Tata board met in Mumbai to try to find a plan to save the Port Talbot plant in Wales. Welsh Labour MP and son of former leader Neil Kinnock, Stephen Kinnock attended the meeting along with community trade union delegates to lobby the owners.

Not a single cabinet minister attended the all-day meeting with business secretary Sajid Javid instead flying to Australia with his daughter and the PM also holidaying.

Despite calls to nationalise the steel works Cameron insisted on his return to work that nationalisation was “not the right answer”.

Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said “these are people who have given their lives to that industry. Are they to be thrown on the scrap heap of a multi-national corporation or is the British government going to intervene and maintain steel making in Britain?” adding “it’s a very simple choice”.

The Telegraph today accused the Government of sacrificing the steel industry to curry favour with the Chinese. Already under fire after his failed budget, Chancellor George Osbourne has been accused by unions of failing to understand the crisis. He said in his budget that “we’re going to permanently exempt our energy intensive industries like steel and chemicals from the cost of environmental tariffs so that we can keep their bills down, keep them competitive and keep them here” but unions are questioning whether the industry will survive long enough to benefit from the measures.

Tata have indicated that they might be open to a slightly longer timescale, which ITV correspondent Romilly Weeks said the Government are keen to take the credit for despite “incredibly” Tata saying “that they have had no contact, at this crucial juncture for the British steel industry, with any senior government minister today”.

The cost of losing the industry could cost hundreds of millions of pounds in environmental costs cleaning up the 3 mile site in Port Talbot along with the huge cost of the pension scheme relied upon by thousands of people.

I remember fondly going on holiday to Devon as a child and buying a souvenir pen knife with “Paignton” emblazoned on its case. I recall my pride even that age when I opened the blade to find Made in Sheffield etched into its shaft.

That industry along with that pride that those connected to it share and have given their lives to looks to be on the brink of extinction. While thousands of families face life on the dole, Tory politicians jet off on holiday and refuse to care about a world they simply do not know. They merrily give away an average of almost £3000 to some of the wealthiest in Britain (0.3% of the population) they dismiss hardworking families resigning many of them to the rest of their lives being unemployed.

With local elections just around the corner in May, let’s hope that those who stupidly voted Tory, will think again and vote for politicians that know what matters to the masses rather than the few.

If we leave, there is no going back!

With less than 100 days until the UK goes to the polls in the biggest political event for generations, and not a straight answer in sight from the right wing press I asked MEP Richard Corbett for the ins and outs of the referendum hoping to bust the myths being pedalled.
 

I started by asking Richard about the often made claim by the out campaign that our Parliament isn’t sovereign with some Euro-sceptics claiming that up to 75% of our laws are passed in Brussels.

 

The Yorkshire and Humber MEP says “the independent House of Commons library found that the real proportion is just 13.2% of laws; and these figures include laws that even mention the EU only in passing.

So what about the claim that the European Parliament is nothing more than a gentleman’s club, costing UK tax payers a fortune?

He refuted this claim, stating in fact that the confederation of British industry estimates that EU membership is worth £3000 per month to every family in Britain. A return of £10 for every £1 spent, and the budget is just 1% of GDP.

But will an out vote mean two years of uncertainty, leading to a possible stock market crash? I asked.

Richard told me that while it is impossible to predict whether a Brexit would cause a stock market crash, it will lead to uncertainty in the markets.

I asked Richard, Deputy leader of the European parliamentary Labour party, if was ludicrous of Boris Johnson to say we should vote out to get a better deal. The MEP says if we walk out on our neighbours it would be difficult to see where the good will would come from to get a better deal, indicating that Bo Jo’s out campaign was more linked to a future Tory leadership bid.

I asked Richard if he thought the desire from Tory MPs to leave the EU was based on a desire to abolish worker’s right’s? He accepted that the Tories are split over the issue but believes the right wing leavers in the party are very keen to diminish worker’s rights in the UK and see Brexit as a way to achieve this.

We often hear UKIP leader Nigel Farage refer to the European parliament as undemocratic, but Mr Corbett states on website that the European commission only makes suggestions which have to be passed (or rejected) by elected national Governments and directly elected MEP’s. In any case, he says, Commissioners themselves are accountable to the European Parliament, which elects a President, approves its appointment and can dismiss it by a vote of no confidence.

 

Is this, as many have claimed, a once in lifetime vote, I asked. Yes, Richard says “Which is why it’s so important to make the argument for staying in. if we leave, there is no going back.”

In the event of an out vote from the UK as a whole but Scotland voting to remain, I asked whether the Scot’s should have another independence referendum. “The SNP certainly wants to have another referendum and have recently gone back on their once in a lifetime promise before the referendum last year".

Many people claim they want to leave the EU because of immigration and believe Brexit to be the solution, Corbett points out that there is almost an equal number of Brits in other countries as Europeans in the UK, and those in Britain pay one third more in tax than they take out in benefits and services. He says “freedom of movement isn’t really a problem in terms of numbers or cost to the exchequer. Where there are problems, they are things that our Government could and should deal with, such as agencies only advertising jobs abroad and undercutting wages.”

Of those who come from outside the EU, Richard says “that’s under our own national rules, which we determine, but are far better able to enforce those rules while we remain in the EU because for one thing we maintain our borders in Calais, rather than Dover, which means we can process applicants before they arrive here. If they arrived here and then were found to be ineligible, we would have the often difficult task of deporting them, a problem we currently avoid with our partnership with France.” He also points out that we can use the Dublin regulation, which means we can send some asylum seekers back to the EU country in which they first arrived. A figure he puts at some 12,000 since 2003. He also highlighted the system of cooperation among police and intelligence forces meaning we get information on certain people when they arrive, such as fingerprints and criminal records. It also helps he says “cooperating to fight international gangs of people traffickers.”

For the concerned football fans I asked Richard would Brexit mean the end of Champions League football, meaning top players will snub the premier league. He referred me to West Ham’s vice chair, Karen Brady’s comments when she claimed that exit from the EU would make it harder for English clubs to attract international players while fans would be stung by higher costs when travelling to games on the continent. She said in a letter to football club chairmen that players from the EU can sign for clubs here without the need for a visa or special work permit, making it easier to sign top talent from across Europe to play in our leagues.   She said “losing this unhindered access to European talent would British sides at a disadvantage compared to continental teams.

 

Positive message from Sheffield despite Central Govt.

Sheffield City Council has just adopted a budget that may shed up to 400 jobs after another £50million was stripped from its budget taking the total amount to over £350 million in the last 6 years.

I asked Councillor Ben Curran, Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources about it. “We are now in year 6 of George Osbourne’s 4 year austerity plan”, Councillor Curran said, “There is absolutely a systematic approach to target poorer Norther communities, particularly those with Labour Councils.”

He emphasised the point by saying that there was no business case for moving BIS (department for business innovation and skills) to London, relocating 200 well paid, skilled jobs from the city. “It’s not just about cuts but others decisions too – like moving BIS jobs from Sheffield to London. We need to make people aware of it and build a campaign on it- jobs for Sheffield”.
 

The new round of cuts will undoubtedly mean that even with the best will in the world there will be cuts in services and the very most vulnerable people in the city will be at risk as a result.

I wanted to know if it was all bad news.

“Austerity hurts. We’ve reduced our spending by £350 million since 2010 in the wake of government cuts. But there is some good news. We’ve managed the finances well and are projecting a small surplus at year end.  This enabled us to make a really positive announcement on the Living Wage. It’s an important part of an inclusive economy something that we have a strong record on. We pay our staff the Living Wage and are using our contracts to boost the wages of hundreds of people across Sheffield. Our budget built on that good work. I was proud to announce a Living Wage rate relief that would help employers to pay the proper Living Wage. We know there are a number of employers in the city who want to do the right thing and need a little help. I was amazed that the Greens, Lib Dems and UKIP joined forces to block it. Luckily there are more Labour councillors it passed. It highlights the importance of a Labour administration in the city.”

With the all-out local elections just around the corner I asked Councillor Curran if he thought Labour would be punished for the cuts in the budget and retraction in services or if the people of Sheffield are wise enough to know who is to blame and re-elect a Labour controlled council. He was confident that most people believe Labour are doing their best and is quietly confident that Labour will hold a majority. It has been reported that some local councils will need to move services like bin collections to monthly services to save money but Councillor Curran told me Sheffield will not be doing that saying “we have no plans for bin collection to be made less frequently”.

I asked Mr Curran, councillor for Walkley, if Labour could be credible without a proper plan to tackle immigration. He disagreed with my suggestion stating that lessons were learned after the last election and Labour knows it has to talk about the issues that matter to people. Having chatted over a cup of Yorkshire tea and healthy sized slab of Chocolate cake from a local independent café for over an hour with Councillor Curran, I would urge the people of Sheffield to keep faith with him and the local Labour party. I was reassured by his answers that he will do all he can to ensure Sheffield gets the best deal it can despite the ideological cuts being relentlessly enforced on him and us. I believed him when he said a labour council will do its utmost to protect the vulnerable adults and children of the city.

On Friday night an exhausted David Cameron returned from hours of negotiating with Europe’s most powerful to predictably announce he’d got a deal worth staying in for.  By Sunday the PM had met his cabinet and claimed he’d had a good night’s sleep before appearing on BBC’s Marr show. He said repeatedly that linking arms with Nigel Farage and George Galloway to take a leap in the dark was the wrong thing to do. Galloway had made a surprise “special guest appearance” at an out rally the day before only to see many of its supporting walk out on his arrival. Remarkably the mad cap former respect MP and celebrity big brother cat impersonator accused the daily politics presenter, Jo Coburn of misleading him into appearing on the show on Monday, and claimed he wasn’t there to talk about him.

The other big name outer of course announced his intention to back the campaign to leave the EU late on Sunday evening as London Mayor Boris Johnson said he thought Cameron had not got enough. He later said that he thought an out vote would force the EU back to the negotiating table. Cameron then responded that he had never known a couple start divorce proceedings in order to renew their wedding vows.

Johnson immediately became the bookies favourites to be the next leader of the Tory party although his Dad has been quoted as saying that his son was “unlikely to get a cosy seat in the cabinet” after his announcement and called it potentially career ending. 

Not surprisingly many jumped to say Boris’ announcement was more about his own personal ambitions to be become leader rather than his opinion on Europe. With Cameron already declaring he will step down before the next election Boris was already many people’s favourite to succeed him before he was even elected as an MP. Increasingly, people are saying if the electorate decides to leave the EU in June that Cameron would be forced to resign at once. Personally I agree with that opinion. Having slung weight behind the in campaign, to go down in history as the Prime minister that failed to keep the country in Europe would be a disaster for him. The media pressure would force him out in days if not hours, as was the case after the general election with defeated Ed Miliband and obliterated Nick Clegg.

For months there has been hours of debate and yards of column inches from both sides of the argument, yet still most people have little or no idea what the consequences will be. Staying in Europe will mean refugees will continue to steal our houses, our women, our jobs, our benefits and our hospital beds. Europe will continue to force laws upon us that we don’t want like not being allowed to sell straight bananas and banning us from leaving poor people to starve to death. Others claim that countries such as Iceland do fine without EU membership while their opponents claim that they pay a premium for the pleasure.

Remaining in Europe will absolutely make us more vulnerable to attack from Isis say some while others say coming out would make us vulnerable to attacks from everywhere. Over 1000 immigrants ran amock on New Year’s eve in Germany as organised gangs ran feril molesting women – they will be here next New years eve if we stay in Europe. If Turkey are allowed to join the EU thousands of Syrians will flood into Europe and the UK will forced to provide housing and benefits for them. If we leave the EU we will no longer be able to enjoy Indian food as all the chefs will be forced to leave. Even worse news is that the referendum will held during the 2016 European football championships and exit could see England thrown out of the tournament even before they are beaten on penalties by the Germans.

I don’t know if any of these claims have any factual basis at all. Like most people I sit and listen to these argument being spewed out across our TV networks and read the pages of expert anylisis from people in the know and think is it really worth the risk of coming out. Some will no doubt decide that coming out will mean all the brown people will have suddenly leave our once beautiful country, while more sensible people will think that actually it’s nice that their children go to school with kids born on the other side of the world and play happily without any discrimination. For many it is a joy that it is now the norm for a diverse community to enjoy each other’s culture and respect each other’s beliefs.

Most will not be able to decide whether we will be financially better off in or out and most people have no comprehension of our government’s sovereignty or the rules of the games the politicians play.  What they will be able to judge is which of the players they trust or dislike. On the side campaigning for exit form Europe are Eton educated buffoon Johnson and publicity whore Galloway. Also on the outside is DWP minister Iain Duncan Smith, the man who fist punched the air when the chancellor announced punishing cuts to benefits.  Former Scots Guard Duncan Smith has faced calls to resign after being found inventing figures to support his policies. He has been anti Europe for many years since opposing former leader Joh Majors pro EU agenda. There is a great debate to be had about which of the two former leaders were dullest with IDS famously once saying “never under estimate the quiet man”.

Michael Gove is another high profile Tory to jump on the out band wagon. Justice secretary Gove said that Britain would be freer fairer and better off outside the EU. “by leaving the EU we can show the rest of Europe the way to flourish” he said after wrestling for weeks with what he called the most difficult decision of his political life. Gove was formerly secretary of state for education where he received votes of no confidence from the association of teachers and lectures, the National union of teachers, and NASUWT.  The national association of head teachers accused Gove of creating a climate of bullying, intimidation and fear.

Chris Grayling former Justice secretary and current leader of the house of commons is another top Tory backing the out campaign. When home secretary Grayling was accused of being creative with statistics when he claimed that every constituency in the country’s crime rate had increased, failing to mention that they were using a new measure.  During his time in Justice he dubbed Failing Grayling when his department lost important personal documents in the post.

The loudest and most gleeful champion of exit will of course be UKIP leader Nigel Farage. With one MP his party still manages to get more air time and talk time on the BBC than most other parties. When he appears on such shows he displays an incredible talent of turning whatever topic is being discussed into a debate about the EU. The former Tory party member who was a founding member of UKIP was once quoted as saying he would be concerned if a group of Romanian men moved in next door to him and has said that the basic principle of Enoch Powell’s rivers of blood speech were correct.

On the stay in side are leader of the Labour part Jeremy Corbyn and Prime minister David Cameron and his Chancellor George Osbourn.  If it comes down to vote of trust in the mouth pieces for the argument then England may well get chance to lose on penalties to Germany while remaining in the EU.

As a man in my mid 40’s that still doesn’t really know what I want to be when I grow up, I wouldn't readily describe myself as having a career. Yes, I’ve always had a job, apart from a short few months in my early 20s when I chose to drink for a few weeks instead of job hunting. Next year will be my 30^th year being employed. In those 3 decades I have been a post man, a bar man, a car cleaner a philosopher and a manager. In none of those roles have I suspected any of my colleagues or managers of being a child sex offender. Maybe I’m lucky.

Imagine the soul searching one must have to do when considering whether it is worth ruining your blossoming career prospects to report someone in a position of authority or trust for doing the most cowardly and vile thing possible, hurting a defenceless child for some sick self-gratification. I suppose if I was a BBC tea lady or errand boy, hoping for a shot at the lime light in twenty years- time I would spend many a sleepless night pondering "what if the bosses don’t believe me and give that position to my friend". If I had chosen to be a police officer, one of the highest positions of trust in the world, rather than deciding to pound the streets with a massive bag of gas bills and giros on my back, I would have faced the decision to turn a blind eye or prosecute a high profile well known politician after receiving over 20 complaints against him.

It could be that I’m lucky to not have had to face those decisions but I can easily put myself in their shoes and say unequivocally that if I suspected anyone, no matter how high in any organisation they were, of crimes against children, I would have thrown my career away in a second. No golden hand shake or carriage clock and hefty pension would help me sleep at night or look in the mirror, or at my own children, knowing I had stood by and let that happen to someone else’s children.

This week it was revealed by an independent enquiry that the police and prosecution services missed three chances to prosecute former Labour peer Lord Janner.

The enquiry found that there was sufficient evidence to provide a real prospect of conviction in 1991, 2002,  and again in 2007 for indecent assault and serious sexual assault. In 2002 the police failed to provide evidence to prosecution services, which resulted in no case being brought against the late peer.

The enquiry also revealed there was enough evidence in 2007 to search his home and arrest him. His family of course deny all the accusations against Janner, who died in December last year. They would, wouldn’t they?

By the time the investigation was ready to be brought to trial Janner was suffering from Dementia and was unfit to stand trial. The trial of facts which was to be held prior to his death has now been shelved.

Alison Saunders, Director of public prosecutions said “The enquiry’s findings that mistakes were made confirms my view that failings in the past by prosecutors and Police meant that proceedings were not brought”.

Mistakes? Is it a mistake that people made a conscious decision not to tell of their suspicions and people explicitly employed to bring despicable criminals to court decided that it was in the best interest of everyone to allow the accused to go unpunished? Is it a mistake that police failed to investigate claims that a 14 year old child had shared a hotel room with a rich and powerful man, despite it being relatively easy to prove or indeed disprove? Was it a mistake that they failed to ask the right questions at the care home where the alleged victim lived? Liz Dux, the solicitor who represented 8 of the alleged victims was absolutely right when she said that sincere regret was of little consolation.

A spokesman for the children’s charity NSPCC said “it is vital that victims of child abuse have the confidence to speak out knowing their allegations will be investigated”. If I was a victim I would not be in the slightest bit confident that my allegations would be investigated after a series of high profile names were revealed to have been suspected of crimes only after it was too late to be brought to trial.

Janner, a former QC and member of parliament was given a lucrative role as a peer despite the earlier accusations against him.

There has been a string of allegations brought to light in recent years accusing politicians and TV personalities of some terrible crimes, many of which were apparently widely rumoured for years.

Anyone who purposely hides or withholds information about crimes of abuse, particularly against children ought to be dealt with strongly. It is weak, cowardly and selfish to worry about your own career or financial security when lives are in danger. Abuse isn’t harmless. It ruins lives. It doesn’t only ruin the lives of the victims but that of victims’ families, and it never goes away. Every time a new name is produced and a new allegation surfaces many of the victims are forced to relive the torture of their own experience. I would welcome naming and shaming at least – if not prosecution for those who protect abusers.

On Tuesday night Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn began his first shadow cabinet reshuffle. Prime Minister David Cameron has had several and it was almost inevitable that Corbyn would do the same, but the right wing media have been whipped into a frenzy in recent weeks, labelling it a revenge reshuffle. The same media outlets of course have been printing pages of hype about the lack of unity in the Labour party so the biggest surprise was possibly the fact that Corbyn only moved two people.

Barnsley MP, Michael Dugher was sacked, supposedly for being disloyal which came as little surprise to anyone- probably including Dugher. He has been very vocal in his opposition to his party leader and was particularly defiant over Syria.

He wasn’t alone in that defiance of course and the highest profile victim of the reshuffle was thought to be Hilary Benn, who many are tipping to replace Corbyn as leader following his impressive, impassioned speech during the Syria debate. Benn though survived the reshuffle amid more claims that he has been muzzled in exchange for keeping his place at the table. Benn of course denies this. Anyone who has followed politics even in passing will know that no elected MP would admit to such a muzzling whether it be the case or not.

The anti-Labour, anti-Corbyn dialogue has continued since his election with bias of the BBC and several newspapers becoming increasingly frustrating for many critics.

Such is the bias and get-Labour agenda that the BBC, afraid to upset David Cameron and his friends under threat of losing the licence fee, desperately sunk to new lows on Wednesday by persuading a shadow minister to quit his role in the shadow cabinet live on the beeb’s flagship politics show The Daily Politics.

BBC political editor, Laura Kuenssberg and Andrew Neil were visibly excited and thrilled to have such a coop on the show. A blog on the BBC Academy site (which has since been removed) written by a producer of the show, described how the team led by Kuenssberg persuaded angry Stephen Doughty to resign live on air, referring to the conversation as sealing the deal.

Two other Labour MPs; Kevan Jones and Jonathan Reynolds, also resigned from the shadow cabinet, although they had the dignity to do so less publicly. Jones, a shadow defence minister, who came to prominence after talking about his personal experiences of depression, accused the party leadership of dishonesty. Jonathan Reynolds, a shadow transport minister who was one of the youngest MP’s elected in 2010 at just 29, quit his position on the front bench claiming he could best serve the party as a back bencher, and expressing his support for sacked Pat McFadden.

McFadden said he was sacked for comments he made following terrorist attacks in Paris, but shadow chancellor John McDonnell said McFadden was sacked for disloyalty and undermining the leaders view.

So much nonsense is printed these days about the party that it is difficult to decide what the truth is but there can be little doubt that claims the party is in disarray are  accurate. Corbyn very publicly gave his MPs a free vote on Syria and 9 of them chose to vote against his wishes. Benn was most loudly praised for his speech by most people, some of whom didn’t necessarily agree with the points he raised.

One of his most vocal critics Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk, has apparently come undone in recent days after inappropriate texts were sent to a 17 year old. Mr Danczuk, who has been in the Labour party since the 1980’s faces expulsion from the party after the teenager revealed the sleazy exchanges to The Sun. Before focusing his energy on attacking the leadership, Danczuk revealed he had suffered depression and alcohol abuse caused by his campaigning historical child sex abuse cases, predominantly alleged to involve former Liberal  MP Cyril Smith, which is widely credited as contributing greatly to an independent inquiry into CSA.

 

I’m not defending Mr Danczuc’s recent actions – attacking the leader of the party that you have a member of for almost 30 years is never going to help the party, the electorate or the leader. His position is one of great responsibility and as such he should not be engaging in such conversations with teenagers, however it does seem convenient that the details of these private texts fell into the grubby hands of Rupert Murdoch.

The BBC and its editor should remember that the job of a journalist is to report the news not make the news. They should offer fair and unbiased commentary that allows the viewer to make an informed opinion on matters that are important. Successive governments have failed to halt Murdoch’s power instead courting his approval and friendship, whoring their true values in exchange for a few inches of positive press. The Shambles in which we now find ourselves will not be resolved until the journalists and the presenters stop giving us fiction and opinion and start dealing in facts.