I write this pretty much every year, to explain why I won't wear a red poppy. Nothing at all to do with hating Britain or not supporting veterans, or being a lefty do-gooder, or any other blame you want to pin on me
It's because of my dad's uncle Tommy. Here's the story...
Tommy Parry joined up to fight in WW1. Some in the family say he was underage, but I don't know.
Regardless, he was at Passchendaele, where he was shot by a machine gun.
As he lay injured, a shell exploded nearby, and the mud it threw up pretty much buried Tommy...
One of his pals saw part of him sticking out the mud, and he was dragged back to his trench, presumed dead.
As Tommy told it, his pals "dug me up to bury me".
The policy was not to retrieve bodies. Officially, those like Tommy were abandoned.
But Tommy was still alive...
Eventually, with an effort, he could walk again. But he rarely worked again due to his injuries and the effects of shell-shock. He was left deaf in one ear from the noise of the shell. And very traumatised.
Tommy died when I was a tiny baby. I have no memory of him at all...
All the info I have is based on what my dad (now also dead) told me.
But Tommy hated poppy day. Not from disrespect to his pals, or those who died or suffered, but from a loathing of those who used that sacrifice to bolster jingoistic, mindless patriotism...
Those attitudes led to the war. They led to the millions of dead and wounded. And Tommy wanted no part in it.
I have complete respect for those who serve on our behalf, and I'll give money to the appeal.
But I have to hear Tommy's story, and do as he would wish...
So I won't wear a red poppy. I'll wear a white one, for peace. And I'll donate to groups that help those still suffering from the countless wars.
But I'm not going to lend my voice to the jingoism. That's how a million kids like Tommy got left for dead in the first place...
And when I see MPs glorying in how very red their poppy is, it repulses me.
When I see them boasting about the emblems of wars that caused millions of deaths, countless suffering... it worries the hell out of me.
Cos glorying in it is the opposite of what's needed.
By all means, respect the dead. But this empty swaggering is all wrong.
Mindless, nationalistic flag-waving leads to politicians making decisions so they can look strong, rather than because it's what's needed.
It's dangerous. It's what Tommy hated. I'm with him.
I'm telling you this cos it's my story. Your story will be different, and however you choose to commemorate (or not) is fine.
But please remember: the choices people like me make are not out of disrespect. There's a history behind our choices.
So don't kick off about it. Ta.
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In my book The Decade In Tory I recount reports of Mark Menzies hiring a Brazilian sex worker, showing him around the palace of Westminster, and asking him to buy them amphetamines.
... been accused of getting a dog drunk, then engaging in a massive street brawl. He wasn't charged cos he persuaded police he hadn't fed the dog alcohol - he'd just stood by and taken photos. So that's ok then.
My point is: this guy's behaviour is not new. He's been a ...
... human hand grenade for a decade, and the press knew it, the police, his constituency party and Tory HQ. And they've known about this latest seedy little episode for 3 months too.
And yet throughout all this, he kept being selected to stand. Constantly. For a decade...
A step-by-step guide to why saying "I want my country back" is inherently racist, sexist and homophobic.
1. Logically, "back" means there was an earlier time when the country was "ours"
2. The same people wanted it "back" from the EU in 2016 too, and won. Well done you!
3. So logically, the latest demand for "our" country "back" cannot mean "back from the EU". We've already left. So it must, logically, mean back from a time BEFORE we joined the EU. And that means going back to some time before 1973. So ... when?
3. Before 1973, 80% of white Britons regularly used racist terms. Now it is below 20%. So going "back" there means an increase in racism.
4. Before 1973, the gender pay gap was 27% higher than it is now. So going "back" there means worse conditions for women.
A friend lost her job before Xmas. She has no car - never needed one before. But now she does, cos there are no jobs nearby.
She just landed a job. In a car, it's 12 mins away. By public transport, almost 3 hours.
Cos (obviously, in a major economy!) there's no direct bus or train between 2 large neighbouring market towns in Cheshire. So she has to take 3 buses to another town, 20+ miles away, and then back again. Twice a day.
But she can't refuse the job, or she gets no benefits. And ...
... obviously the public transport is vastly expensive, even more so because she's needlessly traveling 40+ miles rather than 8. And our cheaper, efficient, private transport system is 5x more costly as a % of income than nationalised transport in France or Spain.
1. Let’s start with Jeremy Hunt’s budget, which had 4 requirements:
- Make us forget Liz Truss's unfunded £45bn borrowing
- Differentiate Tories from Labour
- Please voters
- And unite the party
2. So Hunt, one of the very best they've got:
- Promised £46bn of unfunded tax cuts
- Stole a major Labour policy
- Annoyed twice as many voters as he pleased
- And then Lee Anderthal defected to Reform
Haven't got time for a full #TheWeekInTory right now, but here's what's happened so far TODAY
1. Scott Benton, who looks like The Mormons have brought out a line in plastic MAGA backroom sociopaths, offered to ask parliamentary questions and leak restricted documents for £4000
2. When found out, he burst without warning into a spasm of auto-parodic genius, claiming the fact he'd offered to leak reports should be overlooked, cos the report into his leaking was leaked
3. He said he'd be appealing. But honestly, he really, really isn't
4. So today his appeal was rejected, and Tories will face yet another electoral drubbing incident
5. Meanwhile Benton's fellow right-winger are predicting Tories face a "Canada 93" election, which resulted in Canadian Conservatives ending up with just one MP. It won't be Benton
1. I’m not saying things are getting a bit reactionary, but in one of this week’s saner moments Desmond Swayne, the reanimated corpse of Alvin Stardust, made the modest proposal that fly-tippers should be strangled with their own intestines
2. Rishi Sunak, who made his millions by betting as part of a hedge fund, now said he wasn’t a betting man, and to prove it he placed a £1000 bet that he could waste £400m of your money on an illegal policy nobody has voted for, and which will have absolutely no effect