Sir Eric Pickles Tells Students: "I think I'm now a Conservative"

The prominent Conservative MP, who was formerly the Communities and Local Government Secretary, spoke to Year 13 students at JFS, Kenton, yesterday, giving a speech about his turn from Communism to the Conservatives before answering questions from students.

Sir Pickles MP told students he was born into a family of “Labour and Cooperative Party” supporters. He fascinated students with his early love of Trotsky’s History of the Russian Revolution, which he read “page to page.”

But he said that “I think I’m [now] a Conservative”, telling the story of how then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher “like a yeti, grabbing you” encouraged him to apply to stand as a Conservative Parliamentary in the next 1992 election. He concluded that “I owe a lot to Margaret Thatcher” and “she won me over.”

The MP for Brentwood and Ongar explained that he didn’t regret Cameron’s decision to “move [me] on” from his role as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, claiming that sometimes “you’ve had your chips and got to go.”

And he said he was immensely proud of his work as Chairman of Conservative Friends of Israel (CFoI). Pickles, who had the night before addressed CFoI’s Parliamentary reception  referred to Israel as a “bastion of liberty and democracy” and “a good ally to this country.”  He emphasised that “our economy is extremely linked with Israel’s” and impressed students with the statistic that “one out of six prescriptions in the UK” is based on pharmaceutical knowledge from Israel.

Pickles further highlighted his most recent appointment as the UK’s Special Post Holocaust Envoy. “Views of the Holocaust… is forever faced with contemporary politics,” he said, adding: “there is a surprisingly large amount of Nazi loot floating around Europe now.”  Perhaps the most honest insight to his current role came when he described the use of “democracy, charm and damn-right blood rudeness at times” to affect change.

He criticised “people who want to rewrite their own history” and “the majority of people who obviously didn’t [do anything].” And when similarly asked his views on the controversy over the Cecil Rhodes statue in Oxford, the Special Envoy said: “No we shouldn’t [pull it down]… you can’t re-write history.” He added: “It’s like Isis” smashing ancient artefacts in a museum in Mosul.  

And in response to a further student’s testing question, the MP revealed he finds it “Frankly… really difficult to take a relaxed [approach]… to small numbers [being welcomed in the UK].” He praised the “major contributions” of “Kinder Transport [children]” and “the people who came from death camps.”

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Note to Readers/Editors: I have written this in the style of a school report - other news stories are also published on this blog. 

Where The Left Has Planted Its Flag Is Preventing Free Speech, Says Academic

A Conservative philosopher last night criticised the “orthodoxy” of ideas on the Left spectrum of British politics, which he believes to be the result of academic “frauds” during the 1980's.

Speaking at an event for Guardian newspaper members at Islington Assembly Hall, the intellect blamed the Left’s “resentment of what others have but you haven’t” and an “‘Us’ versus ‘them’” attitude for causing a debate deficit in which “young people aren't free to disagree with orthodoxy.”

Roger Scruton, who was shot after writing his first devastating criticism of Thinkers of the New Left in 1985, claimed that he had been “made to feel like I had committed a sin” for expressing his disapproval of such French academics as Gyorgy Lukacs and Jean-Paul Sartre at the time.

In the debate, which included the newspaper’s columnist Polly Toynbee and LBC radio presenter James O'Brien as Chair, Scruton argued that his criticism of “the real authorities of the day” meant “I had to retire from the public area for some time.”

Scruton's controversial book met poor reviews

Polly, who is known for her "Socialist Democrat" views, tried to undermine his criticism by describing today’s Conservative government as “the most right-wing government we've had” since the war, adding: “we will be a different country with a different ideology”.

But her Conservative counterpart fired back that Lefty academics had “inserted the egalitarian theory deep into the Labour Party” without definitively defining “what kind of equality and about what” they aspired to achieve.

He conceded “kudos to claim equality” but emphasised that it was “their responsibility to define equality.” However, Toynbee disagreed because “If we had a poll around the room, we would have different definitions [of equality]” and “you don’t have to have the perfect goal… the majority have to agree.”

Scruton again disagreed with the other panelist’s theory by criticising the Left’s poor response to the question “what do you do with those who disagree?” He argued that the Left’s inability to appreciate the other side of an argument results in them assuming they’re always correct.

“The ultimate difference between the Left and Right is that the Left…people just assume it’s the responsibility of the state to do something,” he said. Scruton added: “Institutions do have a responsibility to maintain themselves.”

At this point Polly defended the current Labour Party as being “the Conservatives of such institutions.” She argued that rather than being Whet, “the tearing up of the roots; the radicalism is coming from Osborne.”

Cameron's (right) Chancellor George Osborne (left) was attacked by Toynbee

But Mr Scruton criticised Toynbee’s anti-government poke as ignoring the Marxist academics who were “intent upon destroying the language of politics.”

“They came out of the 60’s and dominated the universities,” he said, emphasising: “students have to go into the rat race [of political life] unprepared.”

In his greatest attack of the evening, the Conservative academic stated that “where the Left had planted its flag…. is preventing free speech.”  “If you start disagreeing with them, you’re in trouble,” he said.

On the rise of Isis and recent immigration policy, Polly posed the question “Where is the power?”, to which Scruton responded: “I think we were not allowed to discuss… the Sharia way of life and of Western Democracy, and if so whether we should take a step.”

Polly responded by asking whether her counterpart “think[s] we’ve gained nothing from immigration”, leaving the Conservative to argue “There’s also been a loss.”

“Thought is one of the most wonderful gifts that we have. I would look to Christ, although I do recognise it doesn't have the kudos is used to,” he said. And Scruton added: “Most ordinary people would like to build a public ideology.”  

But Toynbee responded: “we have a sense of what we do collectively is better than what we do individually." “The Left impulse is far more to say that people don’t feel left out,” she said.

And the Guardian columnist emphasised later that Muslims and Isis terrorists are “very split between different areas and sects.” She  argued that on the Left “different strands of opinion… can march together on one particular issue”

Scruton underlined  “certain ways of challenging a person’s opinion with the intention of shutting him up,” while Toynbee described “people who adore democracy but hate the practicality of it.”

Toynbee (left); Scruton (right)

Zac Goldsmith: Lack of Voter Turnout Not Result Of Apathy

The Tory candidate campaigning to become London's next Mayor told students that he believed low voter turnout was the result of feeling "disenfranchised" not being apathetic, calling for increased direct democracy. 

YouGov poll: Goldsmith is the straight Mayoral Candidate today

Speaking to a group of students at JFS School, based in Kenton, Zac Goldsmith today explained that the thought the absence of large numbers of potential voters at recent general elections was "not because they feel apathetic" but rather "people feel disenfranchised."

The MP for Richmond Park, who was recently elected by Conservative Party members to fight Labour's Sadiq Khan in the race to succeed Boris Johnson as the head of City Hall, stated that direct democracy would provide people with a "sense of empowerment."

The mayoral candidate additionally declared "Parliament is flawed,"  pointing out the absurdity of the tradition of not shaking other MPs' hands in Parliament - because this would be a sign of "peace."  He instead suggested his proposition to allow the public to "initiate referendums locally and [consider] planning permission" would encourage people to influence the decisions that affect them.

And Zac defended his criticism of the government on the grounds of principled opposition. Asked why he continues to attack the government's attempts to expand Heathrow Airport via building a third runway, Goldsmith responded "I will have to hold my party to account at times." But he highlighted that his recent campaigning, which has included stewardship regarding the environment, shows he is in fact a "proper Conservative."

But he deemed the "smirk[s]" of Conservatives who dislike Jeremy Corbyn a problem because it disregards the importance of holding the government to account. The MP said that he still lamented the "loss of a strong opposition."

Asked why a poll last Friday showed the general public feel more connected to Khan, Goldsmith responded: "I don't think people vote for people on the basis of their background." He added that he was always honest because "I am what I am, I never try to act as anything different from that."

On anti-Semitism, the mayoral candidate said he supported David Cameron's policy of "zero-tolerance" and that he wanted to clamp down on "educational breeding grounds." He also pointed to social media as the new home of terror and hate talk, stating that his policy would include "extensive police monitoring."

UK Public Wants Johnson Not Osborne, Say Polls

Boris Johnson is George Osborne's main competition to become Tory Leader

Opinion polls from two of UK’s leading research companies reveal that the general public would prefer Boris Johnson to become the next Prime Minister over his main rival George Osborne, although Tory voters still want Osborne.

According to joint research by The Huffington Post UK and Survation, the Mayor of London is the nation's favourite candidate to succeed Conservative leader David Cameron, winning 25% of votes. That means he is currently beating the PM’s heir apparent, Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, who trails behind with ten percentage points less.

The news will stun the party and David Cameron, who previously said he would not stand for election in 2020 and named Osborne as his personal choice of successor. Osborne currently holds the second most senior position in government behind the PM, while Boris Johnson has been seen as a controversial pain by the leader and his peers. Reports recently surfaced that the London Mayor had been paid by Cameron to not cause any hassle at the Conservative Conference before the general election.

The Chancellor is a close ally and friend of the Prime Minister

The polling company's head of political research, Gideon Skinner, summarised: “There is a striking divide in views of George Osborne, reflecting his position at the centre of political debate.
“Conservative supporters put him at the top of the list to be their next leader, but voters of other parties say he is much less likely to win their vote.”

Notably, among those skilled manual workers who are required to win the marginal seats in a a general election, Johnson still beats Osborne with 33% to 9%. This suggests that workers would preferred to live under a government headed by the often-campaigning London Mayor, Boris Johnson, than the man who decides how our economy is run.

And pollsters Ipsos MORI have also released data for the Evening Standard, suggesting that voters would most likely vote Tory in 2020 if Johnson was leader of the party. 27% would support a Johnson-run government party versus 17% for Home Secretary, Theresa May, and 15% for Osborne.

Is the Tory leadership still a three-person race?

However, Ipsos MORI revealed that Tory voters preferred Osborne, with the Chancellor winning 32% compared to Johnson’s 29%. This would result in Osborne winning the role, though, as voting for the leadership is calculated internally within the party’s official membership. It would remain to be seen whether non-party supporters would register as members in order to vote for Johnson.

And the race to the helm of the party also heats up today as Nick Morgan announced to the Daily Mail that she would consider running for the leadership. The Education Secretary explained: ‘I hope that, in the not too distant future, there will be another female leader of a main Westminster political party.” And she added that her decision on whether to become a candidate “will depend on family”.

Could Education Secretary Morgan become the next female Tory Prime Minister?

Corbyn’s "Political Earthquake": “Don’t Take What You’re Given.”

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn used his first party conference speech to urge the British public to stand “against justice” as part of a “kinder politics.”

Having thanked his rivals in this summer’s Labour leadership race, Corbyn referred to his rise to the party’s helm as the “political earthquake” that woke up Britain.  He announced his appreciation of the “courage and dignity” of former leader Ed Miliband, but pointed out that he’d won the party leadership with a “large mandate: a mandate for change.”

Amid reports of splits within the shadow cabinet at the party’s conference, he signalled the direction of his labour party: “Our common project must be to embrace the emergence of a Modern Left movement and harness it.” Having explained that he did want to scrap Trident, he explained “I want to listen to people”, and added that his successful campaign showed “The party at its best: democratic, inclusive, and growing.”

Members of Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet Watch His Speech. Photo Credits: Telegraph.

    

In response to the Conservative Party’s recent labelling of his policies as a “threat to national security”, Corbyn questioned the government’s policies on tenants, youths, self-employment and stagnating wages. He repeated the mantra: “Where’s the security?”

But the Conservatives weren't alone in Corbyn’s backlash, with the labour leader also telling off the “media commentariat” for speculating. Joking about a false report that he supported a meteor strike that would “wipe out humanity”, he said: “Sorry media commentariat, this is where real people debate real issues.”

Corbyn appeals for "Kinder Politics." Photo Credits: Independent.

The Labour MP for Islington further emphasised that becoming party leader doesn't change his role as an active member of parliament. “I’m not going to stop standing up on those issues [of human rights] and being that activist,” he said.

Yet the most passionate part of Corbyn's first speech came when he called upon Labour and the rest of Britain to “put the people’s values back into politics.” Causing impromptu applause and standing ovation, Corbyn stated: “the British people never have to take what they’re given.”