Aspiring UK Labour Leader: Hey, Wouldn't It Be Cool to Go Back and Assassinate Thatcher?

I can't figure out which is dumber, the idiotic comments made by a man who is campaigning to lead a major party or the fact his desires nearly came to fruition 26 years ago and he apparently seems to forget it. As appalling at this "joke" was, it's even more disturbing is those listening to this garbage cheered him on.

Labour leadership candidate John McDonnell said yesterday he would 'assassinate' Margaret Thatcher if he could go back to the 1980s.

The left-wing MP made the outrageous claim at a hustings as he tried to win over union activists - who hold a third of the votes for the party leadership.

Mr McDonnell said he had once been asked in a warm-up question on the BBC's Any Questions what he would do if he found himself in an Ashes To Ashes situation – a reference to the time-travelling TV series where a policewoman finds herself transported back to the 1980s.

To applause from the audience in Southport, Merseyside, he said that he would have liked to go back to that era and ‘assassinate Thatcher’.

The MP for Hayes and Harlington in West London - who served as Ken Livingstone’s deputy at the Greater London Council - insisted his comments were ‘a joke and it went down as a joke’.

But remarks have been condemned.

Lord Tebbit, who was Trade and Industry Secretary when the IRA tried to blow up the entire Cabinet in 1984 during the Conservative Party conference in Brighton, said he was appalled by the remarks.

‘I think it is rather in poor taste. After all it was his party’s friends who did try to kill her. His comments would make him absolutely ideal for the leadership of the Labour party,' he said.

Lord Tebbit’s wife Margaret was crippled by the blast, which also narrowly missed Lady Thatcher her husband Dennis and killed five people.

Says here he received a standing ovation. The Sun's headline is a bit more blunt.

What is it with these leftists and their assassination fetishes?

McDonnell, it appears, has quite an affinity for assassins.

According to its website, the Labour party stands for “social justice”, “strong community and strong values”, “reward for hard work”, “decency” and “rights matched by responsibilities”.

Meanwhile, just this afternoon, the Labour party leadership hopeful John McDonnell has said that he would like to visit the 1980s and “assassinate Thatcher”.

This was the same McDonnell who once said of Bobby Sands: “It’s about time we started honouring those people involved in the armed struggle. It was the bombs and bullets and sacrifice made by the likes of Bobby Sands that brought Britain to the negotiating table. The peace we have now is due to the action of the IRA.”

Ed West notices a subtle difference in the tone of the left and right. I notice the same thing in this country.

That’s the difference between the centre-Right and the Left. We view our opponents as misguided, foolish or economically illiterate; socialists view their opponents as evil obstacles to progress – no wonder that in just half a century, socialism managed to kill more people than all the world’s religions combined, a record it will hang onto for some time.

Thanks to Ace and Instapundit for the links.

Also linked at Hot Air. Thanks!

Humiliating Defeat for the Left in the UK: 'Gordon Brown Has Lost'

They can try and cling to power with a hung Parliament, and even that is based on some dubious exit polls. But be assured of this: Labour has gone down to a massive defeat tonight in the UK, and the new Prime Minister will be David Cameron.

David Cameron was set to demand the keys to Downing Street today after voters turned out in massive numbers to reject Labour.

The Tories scored their biggest swing against Labour for 80 years which, if repeated across the country, would give them an absolute majority with which to govern.

The exit poll showed Mr Cameron on course to gain at least 97 seats – the biggest advance in seats for 79 years.

To win a majority the Tories would need a swing from Labour of around 7 per cent – but early returns suggested they were doing better than that in many parts of the country.

Naturally the delusional leftists will try and cling to power, but their days are over.

But senior Tory sources said 'could not possibly expect continue in government' in any sort of power-sharing deal with the Lib Dems or other parties.

'We appear to have gained even more seats than Mrs Thatcher managed. Labour can't possibly expect to continue in government after this humiliating rejection. Having lost 100 seats, they are insulting the voters to suggest otherwise,' said one.

This is probably just a warmup for what's coming our way November 2, when Nancy Pelosi and Dingy Harry are blown away. At least then by our rules it will be a clear cut decision and the GOP will take over and make Obama null and void.

Of course as in the USA, the left in the UK lives in a fantasy world and can't accept humiliating rejection.

And Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said: 'Labour politicians need to get real. The idea that Gordon Brown and Labour can cling on to power when they've been rejected so decisively is frankly shocking.

'It's clearly a very uncertain time in world markets and Britain will need a stable and responsible government.

'I believe, looking at the exit polls, it's pretty clear that Labour cannot continue in government. I think they need to get real.'

He told Sky News: 'On the figures I have seen so far David Cameron has obviously won. He's preferred above all others in what has been a rather presidential campaign.

'Gordon Brown has lost.'

As to the absurdity of a possible hung Parliament, it would only further destroy the Left. They need to admit defeat, even if it's not outright.

Bill Cash, Conservative candidate for Stone, told the BBC: 'There is a huge amount at stake for the country.

'I think a Lib Dem/Labour pact with Miliband, Mandelson and Clegg would be a kind of Greek tragedy.'

Ken Clarke told BBC News that it was a 'certainty' that Gordon Brown would be removed from office.

He said: 'It looks as though there is a serious risk of a hung parliament but with the Conservatives not too far off and obviously the single biggest party.

'One certainty, I think, is that Gordon Brown has been removed from office. It would be a complete travesty if Gordon Brown tried to carry on as Prime Minister because he has plainly been rejected and lost all authority to govern.'

Left Also Facing a Bloodbath in the UK?

Needless to say this report Wednesday certainly buoyed my spirits about what we may see come November.

A 1994-style scenario is probably the most likely outcome at this point. Moreover, it is well within the realm of possibility - not merely a far-fetched scenario - that Democratic losses could climb into the 80 or 90-seat range. The Democrats are sailing into a perfect storm of factors influencing a midterm election, and if the situation declines for them in the ensuing months, I wouldn't be shocked to see Democratic losses eclipse 100 seats.

Of course we shouldn't become too giddy as six months can make a huge difference, although the Democrats clearly haven't gotten the message yet and the way they're going around trying to ambush the tea parties (today could get ugly) signals they have no intention of moderating themselves.

Meanwhile, we see this poll today from the Telegraph foreshadowing huge losses for Labour in the UK.

A high turnout is likely to favour the Conservatives who need to win 117 seats from other parties to secure an overall majority. The party needs a national swing of almost seven per cent to achieve this.

As part of the unique poll for the Telegraph, Crosby/Textor told voters who their candidates are before asking them who they would vote for.

This gives a more accurate result because in marginal seats voters are more likely to be loyal to individual MPs than parties.

The poll found that the Tories would pick up 74 of the 100 seats from Labour. However, they would not pick up any of the seats held by Liberal Democrats.

When asked who do you think is winning the campaign so far, 52 per cent said the Tories, only 15 per cent Labour and just six the Lib Dems.

40 per cent of voters said that the Conservatives deserve to win the election. Only 25 per cent said Labour, and 15 per cent Lib Dem.

There was also an overwhelming preference for a hung parliament over a fourth Labour term with 55 per cent opting for that uncertain outcome over another five years of Gordon Brown.

There is further good news for Mr Cameron. In those seats when asked how would be more trusted to run the economy the Tories came out ahead of Labour, with 42 per cent compared to 29.

BREAKING IN TO PRISON!

It tells you all you need to know about the unbelievable laxity of the British penal system when we discover that criminals are breaking IN to jail!

Geoff Travis, assistant general secretary of the Prison Officers' Association, revealed that Everthorpe Prison in East Yorkshire has been the location where a drug dealer was breaking in at night using a ladder, and passing drugs to inmates through their cell windows. He also sold women's clothing to a transvestite prisoner. He did this several times, apparently!

" Prisoners receive a wage for being in prison," he said. "They receive a bed, a TV in all cells, Sky television in most areas for recreational use, free telephones, breakfast in bed on many occasions, cash bonuses for good behaviour, and prison staff are forced to deal with them in such a subservient way it's ridiculous. Prison is no longer a deterrent. It is merely an occupational hazard."

I would phrase it differently. Under Labour, prison has become an INCENTIVE.

The British Labour Party came to power claiming they would be "Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime." As with all verminious socialists, they lied.

Cross-posted on A Tangled Web

On The Good Ship Lollipop

Oh, a storm is threatning
My very life today
If I dont get some shelter
Oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away

EU treaty 'will shift power to Europe'
The EU Reform Treaty backed by Gordon Brown paves the way for "a massive and fundamental" shift of power to Europe, a senior Labour MP charged by Parliament with assessing its impact will tell the Commons today.

The comments from Michael Connarty, the pro-European chairman of the all-party European Scrutiny Committee, will mark an explosive start to five weeks of Parliamentary debate on the Treaty - and stoke the growing clamour for a referendum.

Tonight - with Gordon Brown absent from the Commons - rebel Labour MPs hope to stage a substantial rebellion with between 20 and 30 said to be ready to vote for a cross-party amendment demanding a national vote.

The Tories, who support a referendum, last night accused Mr Brown, who is on the last leg of a tour of the Far East, of "running scared" over the vital issue of Europe by making sure he is out of the country when the ratification process gets under way.

Directly contradicting the Prime Minister, who claims he has protected British sovereignty by negotiating "red lines" into the text, Mr Connarty argues these will do little to halt the gradual transfer of power from national parliaments and courts to Europe.

"The Reform Treaty and the red lines are just a postponement of what will be one system for all of Europe," he told The Daily Telegraph last night.

Mr Connarty backs the new Treaty because he wants a stronger Europe but said he had decided to speak out because the British and other governments had not told the people of Europe the truth.

On criminal law, immigration and border controls, the Treaty had set up mechanisms for national vetoes to be steadily eroded and authority transferred from British ministers and UK courts to Europe.

It set the European Parliament on course to gain powers at the expense of Westminster as authority shifted from national capitals to the European centre.

The new Treaty, also known as the Lisbon Treaty, has to be ratified by national parliaments or in referendums in all 27 EU countries to come into effect.

It will scrap dozens of national vetoes, create a new full-time EU President and foreign affairs supremo, and give the EU a legal personality allowing it to sign international treaties.

Mr Brown argues that Labour's promise to hold a referendum on the abandoned Constitutional Treaty in Labour's last election manifesto does not apply to its successor because it is less far reaching.

That argument is further undermined today by a report from the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee which says that in foreign policy there is little or no difference between the two Treaties.

"We conclude that there is no material difference between the provisions on foreign affairs in the Constitutional Treaty which the Government made subject to approval in a referendum and those in the Lisbon Treaty on which a referendum is being denied."

The Labour-dominated committee accuses the Government of seeking to downplay the importance of large parts of the Treaty such as the new post of EU High Representative for foreign affairs and security, who will be served by a new EU diplomatic External Action Service.

Pro-referendum campaigners revealed plans yesterday to stage local referendums, giving half a million people in marginal constituencies a chance to have their say. Organisers of the "I Want a Referendum" campaign say it will be the biggest vote of its kind since the 1975 Referendum on keeping Britain in the Common Market.

While the Government majority is not under threat in tonight's vote, Labour whips were said to be increasingly concerned last night about cross party alliances forming between MPs discontented with the Treaty for a range of different reasons.

The Tories who have vowed to oppose the Treaty are expected to table amendments to the ratification Bill in the House of Lords later in the ratification process.

Left-wing Labour MPs, urged on by the unions, are also planning to put down their own amendments demanding that the UK's opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights be removed.

If the Tories back such amendments - as a way to kill the Treaty - then Mr Brown's faces real problems.

[...]

There's much, much more at The Telegraph

See also Trouble In Gordon Brown's Paradise

Also at A Tangled Web


Gimme Shelter lyrics, Jagger/Richards

Trouble In Gordon Brown's Paradise

Could a no confidence vote be on the near horizon?

EU treaty won't work, says Labour MP
The new EU constitution treaty "won't work", the government is warned today, as ministers prepare for a bitter Commons showdown over the controversial document.

Gisela Stuart, one of the "wise men" that drew up the original EU Constitution, said the Lisbon treaty lacked the necessary legitimacy to work across Europe.

The Labour MP has signed an amendment to the Bill, which returns to the floor of the Commons on Monday, calling for a referendum on the treaty.

Stuart believes the UK's Europe minister should be a cabinet-level post, akin to a deputy prime minister, and should be directly accountable to the Westminster parliament.

She also wants an assurance that any future changes to qualified majority voting (QMV) in the European parliament would be subject to primary legislation in the House of Commons.

In an interview with Guardian Unlimited, Stuart said: "I think this document pushes to the limits the areas I think I could just about agree with, but I would need further safeguards, so these are the limits and I think that's what this debate is going to be about."

Stuart said the revised document gave the European Union a "toolbox" of powers that would allow it to "interfere in virtually every aspect of our lives".

"There is no longer a question of saying, there are certain things that the union can't touch. Actually the union can touch everything."

Pressed on her objection to the treaty, Stuart said: "I don't think this is going to work."

Asked why, she added: "Because of a lack of legitimacy in the eyes of large swaths of people across Europe ... The crunch will be the environment. If you look at the golden opportunity to tax the little people into oblivion acceleration of climate change, at the moment on the environment we are in a comfort zone of thinking all we need to do is take our bottles to the skip, recycle our newspapers; if you are really daring you say we should put tax on plastic carrier bags. And we think that's enough.

"Well the penny is going to drop that it's not going to be enough, and you will need to make a decision on whether you tax or ration carbon emissions. Of course no one country can sensibly do this on its own, so this will be a classic case of where you need the EU to do this. And the EU will start to ask its citizens to stop doing something they have always comfortably done before. There will be some fairly hard demands.

"People accept hard demands if that's a deal from their own government. But when politicians across Europe start saying, as they have always done, 'it is not us' - it's always been the politician's way of getting out of uncomfortable positions - at that point, it doesn't have that kind of legitimacy." Describing the Lisbon treaty as the same as the failed EU constitution "in substance", Stuart said: "I've been struggling to find analogies of how you compare this. It's like a cookery recipe: all the same ingredients, but you've just rearranged them differently. Or [former French president] Giscard d'Estaing came up with a wonderful phrase: he said, 'it's the same letter; just in a different envelope'.

Stepping up pressure on Gordon Brown to call a referendum, Stuart said: "My view is whether you call it a constitution or whether you call it a treaty, in essence it is something pretty significant, and it's a matter of trust now for the political parties to honour their promise.

"The British people should be given a say, as they were promised by all the major political parties in the 2005 election.

"I certainly will find it difficult to vote for the treaty on Monday unless there is a commitment to have a referendum."

How 'bout dem apples?!? Like Gordon Brown, Gisela Stuart is a member of the Labour Party and she's just thrown down the gauntlet.

Warning of the potential for Europe creep, Stuart said: "I give you one example. Ten years ago everyone said health was [the competence of] national member states. Absolutely no doubt about it. You then started to get court cases where people from one European country were going to another European country for dental treatment. The question was, was that part of the internal market? One of the key things of the European Union.

"So we have the first court decision, the European Court of Justice, that says, 'yes, it is part of the internal market'. And then over a number of years you get more and more decisions because cases come up, until last year when someone in England goes over to France to jump waiting lists and the courts say 'well yes, you can do that, but you need prior permission and all kinds of caveats' - but the principle is established.

"You then at the same time over those 10 years have things like CJD [and] bird flu, so people say, 'well of course, bird flu and CJD don't recognise national boundaries, so public health must be an EU competence.' So we make public health an EU competence; we make health service delivery a court judgment ... so what's the next thing?

"A European commission draws up a proposals for an EU health directive, which it did before Christmas, then decides to withdraw it to consult more. It doesn't say we'll put it back on the table, and as we in the UK are the only ones to have a totally taxpayer-funded [health] system we will have particular problems. But this just illustrates that there is nothing where the EU doesn't have means - whether it's court judgments; whether it's internal market; free movement of labour - the way it makes laws. In every way it now has means, and once it has taken away a UK competence, there is no way you can ever go back."

Stuart called for a strengthening of the prime minister's assurances over QMV.

"The prime minister committed himself to saying, 'no more extension of qualified majority voting or any further powers unless this house agrees to it.' Well, I would like that tightened up," Stuart said. "First of all, the only area where that could happen is in defence and foreign policy, because everything else already has gone to QMV.

"But I would want primary legislation, so it's not just one vote the government can whip through with their majority, but [instead] it would actually have to be a bill and go through the House, and go through [all] the stages.

"The second thing is the way the House itself operates has to change - very, very significantly."

Asked how she would vote in a referendum, Stuart said: "I don't know yet. There are a number of things I would want to hear from our ministers, and assurances in terms of their interpretation, and it will be extremely finely balanced which way I will go.

"My argument is that all the deals struck in Brussels need to be answered at the dispatch box. Create a proper Europe minister, take the Europe minister out of the Foreign Office, but make that person accountable for those negotiations. And that's almost a deputy prime minister post.

"I want them to come to the dispatch box every two weeks and say 'those are the deals we have struck'. I think you would find that that person would probably be responsible for negotiating something like 50% of our legislation, and that would merit a cabinet post."


Via The Guardian

José Manuel Barroso was unavailable for comment.


And hoping to avoid Nigel Farage

See also Reality Confronts European Union.

Also at A Tangled Web