Tuesday 26 March 2013

Immigration: A Rant

I am bloody fed up of lies, lies, and more lies about immigration. Unlike the tossers who peddle crap about housing queues, over the last couple of years I have helped dozens and dozens of people get on or move up the City Council's housing waiting list. How many of those, do you suppose, were new arrivals? How many of those were non-white? Do you really want to know? In Stoke-on-Trent, not a mono-cultural city by any means, I helped my first and only non-white family two weeks ago. So forgive me if I think Dave's dog-whistling on immigration and housing is a pile of shitting arses.

7 comments:

Gary Elsby said...

Are you feeling the strain of Labour membership becoming too much Phil?

The party that wages war but doesn't build 2 million homes for the 5 million Brits that need one?

Are the Tories running scaredy cat stories that cut to the quick of Labour's hopes and aspirations?

Get a grip Phil, assume from the start that everyone within earshot is not gullible and knows what the real score is.

Labour and Labour membership is only as good as the person doing the talking (or writing).

jimboo said...

Don't worry Angela will smack him by pointing out how many Brits are on benefits within other EU countries. Has happened before. I live in a 99% white community and dickheads are still moaning about people coming and taking our non existent jobs, living in our crap houses and getting lots and lots of money from the state. But if you read between the lines he has said nothing. Benefits will be removed if the claimant does not comply with the criteria need to obtain Job Seekers Allowance.That applies to everybody. Out KIP UKIP by coating it with a layer of xenophobia.

Phil said...

Once again Gary, what you think is an oh-so clever intervention has left me baffled.

Gary Elsby said...

Ho hum.

You're not the first Labour member who feels oh, so angry about Tories picking on foreigners all coming to steal from us.

Get over it.

Get on with promoting the former Trotsky, SWP, Commie that saw the light, joined up to Labour for salvation (and ours), and then attempts to explain away why nothing is achieved.

Of course you don't understand.

Stoke Central says:
'If we don't sign up to HS2, we will all turn into frogs and all other trains will cease to exist'.

That, pretty much sums up what is coming out of your CLP at the moment.
Oh, I forgot, that awful childlike leaflet that came through my door the other day.

Phil said...

I don't pretend originality, Gary. But I do have a political project beyond squatting in comment boxes, writing barely-literate missives.

Gary Elsby said...

Phil, look at it a different way.
I had one clear philosophy on being all things Labour and being the Secretary.

Support Labour to the hilt, design it from within and get involved in everything.

I got nailed because I supported Labour to the hilt. It matters little by who or what their political bent was.
Internal design was by way of a simple majority. Again, it matters little that Mayors and directors hated us for it.
being involved in everything meant we sent delegates everywhere, all expenses paid and they delivered our message. All conferences and external/internal meetings, wherever they were held.
We even wrote part of the NPF (almost the entire WM didn't bother).
In short, the UK Labour movement knew of Stoke Central.
Oops, nearly forgot, I was the only member in S-o-T who was on the Parliamentary Panel.
Doing nothing is not in my DNA.
We are all forced to sit out five whole years, not because of Democracy, but because of good old fashioned cheating. Nothing more-nothing less.

I don't recognise half of this Labour Group, as I have never laid eyes on any of them before.
I don't recognise your MP and I refuse to support any form of cheating or corrupt practices that further outside influences within this City.

....and yet you criticise me as though I .
Should you not be forwarding me for the freedom of the City?
Or even Labour's National Merit Award for outstanding contribution to Labour (my letter for Mick got his award)
Oops, almost forgot that one as well.
Mick was considered unworthy to be a Councillor five minutes after his award was given (how we all roared with laughter in Stoke Central).

To be honest Phil, when I read Stoke Central's contributions to any NPF documents (a stitch up by the NEC)on energy, crime, defence, health, etc.. then you can begin to criticise me.

Winning seats with parachutes and pretenders offering outside voices, a voice, is something even a criminal knows is wrong. So please try not to jump for too much joy as you congratulate Stoke-on-Trent for having political views that are alien to its natural inhabitants.

Phil said...

I remember hearing a story about Degsy Hatton once. It went somewhat along the lines of a young comrade in a Militant branch venturing some criticisms of Hatton shortly after the Millies were turfed out of Liverpool City Council. The criticism, I forget what it was, saw the crimson tide rise in the attendant full timer.

"YOU!", he yelled, "will earn the right to criticise Hatton when you've made his contribution to the labour movement".

Of course, that's a dumb attitude to take. Criticism in the labour movement isn't (or shouldn't be) about point scoring. It's about drawing out the lessons from an individual's or a group of activists' practice in order to ensure we all do better next time.

So Gary, spare me the 'how dare you criticise me' crap. Unlike you, I have been *active* - and by active I mean participated in and organised all kinds of different campaigns over the last 18 years, from the unconventional to the conventional. And I continue to be so.

By your own admission, your "activity" has been focused on sitting in rooms, making a motion, and writing documents. That's all very well and good, but don't pretend it's anything other than resolutionary socialism.