Let's have a quick #THREAD on troubled Johnson-brown-nosing robotic hard-right Tory MP Jonathan Gullis - a controversial member of the European Research Group, & a parliamentary backer of FREER, an initiative run by the opaquely funded neoliberal Institute of Economic Affairs.
He stood in Washington & Sunderland West at #GE2017, losing to the incumbent Labour MP Sharon Hodgson, but somehow was elected as the MP for Stoke-on-Trent North at #GE2019, unseating Labour's Ruth Smeeth & becoming the first Conservative to represent the constituency.
At the time of his election, Gullis was employed as a school teacher & head of year at an Academy in Sutton Coldfield, & somewhat bizarrely for a Tory MP, served as the school's trade union representative, but he's spent his time as an MP railing against the Left & the 'woke'.
In 2020, Gullis moaned about the media's SICK OBSESSION with the number of deaths during the coronavirus pandemic, describing comparisons with the number of deaths in other countries as 'lazy' in a now deleted tweet. He's since closed his Twitter account, thus avoiding scrutiny.
Never one to miss an opportunity to fuel the divisive culture war, show off his fake patriotism, or call for draconian antidemocratic measures, in June 2020, Gullis introduced a Ten Minute Rule bill which would jail for up to 14 years those who desecrate war memorials. 😬
In October 2020, after voting against extending free school meals until Easter 2021, the cruel, insensitive & heartless Gullis said that he would not address a "baying mob" in response to an alleged planned protest during his visit to a church foodbank.
In yet another bizarre episode, in October 2020, Gullis posted what he termed a “CULTURE WAR ALERT” on his Facebook page, claiming that research by the National Maritime Museum into the Royal Navy's links to slavery was "left-wing ideological nonsense".
In November 2020, Gullis was one of the frothing "Common Sense Group" Tory MPs signing a letter to The Telegraph, accusing the National Trust of being "coloured by cultural Marxist dogma" - 'cultural Marxism' is the antisemitic conspiracy theory that inspired Anders Breivik.
In May 2021, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards ordered tight-arse Gullis to return £253.78 & apologise after breaking parliamentary rules by using "pre-paid House-provided stationery in a way that was contrary to the published rules", breaching the code of conduct.
In September 2021, Gullis signalled support for a campaign against the government’s proposal to ban the sale of new petrol cars from 2030. The campaign group is funded by by the Road Haulage Association & trade organisation Logistics UK. theguardian.com/money/2021/sep…
In October 2021, Gullis made further bizarre claims at a Tory Party conference fringe meeting, suggesting people using the term "white privilege" should be reported to the Home Office as extremists, & that teachers found criticising the Conservative Party should be sacked.
In January 2022 Gullis drew attention due to his lack of a face covering by "bellowing with his mouth wide open & appearing to rock backwards & forwards" in the Commons during #PMQs.
Gullis has a history of mental health issues. If MPs need help, they should get it.
Gullis once again demonstrated his lack of nuance & sensitivity when he said people with Down syndrome should get a job, maybe at McDonalds “I know it sounds crude to talk about money terms” but it could save £2million!
Gullis defended fellow Tory MP who also uses dangerous far-right rhetoric, Brendan Clarke-Smith, when he compared England players taking the knee at the Euro 2021 tournament to those who performed the Nazi salute in a 1938 match against Germany in Berlin.
Gullis also claimed constituents were "flabbergasted that the woke, wet & wobbly lot opposite are on the side of their lefty woke warriors... making sure these rapists & paedophiles remain in this UK, rather than standing up for the British people".
In March 2020, as part of a mental health awareness campaign, divorcee Gullis said he has suffered with depression, self-harm & suicidal thoughts during periods of his life.
That someone with his history is rewarded for being so offensive & so insensitive, is deeply concerning.
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There have been attacks on the @nationaltrust since at least 2017. Since 2020, The Spectator has published at least 25.
In 2020, a former Bullingdon Clubber asked "When will the Trust get it into its thick skull that it’s supposed to look after buildings & landscapes?"
Four days later, the Eton-educated trustee of the climate-sceptic GWPF, former Chair of the right-wing Policy Exchange, & former editor of The Daily & Sunday Telegraph & The Spectator, Charles Moore, followed up with this infantile attack on the "woke" NT: desmog.com/charles-moore/
On 9th November 2020, a letter in The Telegraph, signed by 28 Tory (Common Sense Group) MPs accused the NT of being "coloured by cultural Marxist dogma, colloquially known as the 'woke agenda'". 'Cultural Marxism is the antisemitic conspiracy theory that inspired Anders Breivik.
Andrew Neil criticises others for making 'Nazi analogies', but here he is, referring to an article in the Mail, amplified by Toby Young, suggesting a proposed boycott by a 'Pro-Palestine group' of venues showing #eurovision24 is "straight out of the early Nazi playbook".
The 'early Nazi playbook' involves propaganda, which like contemporary political & media propaganda works primarily not by lies, but rather by selective representation of information, distortion, fearmongering, demonisation of minority groups & misleading partisan misinformation.
The Mail's claim, amplified by Young & compared to "the early Nazi playbook" by Neil is 'Venues across the country have been forced to close their doors as they fear for their staff's safety after Pro-Palestine groups instructed their followers to hound pubs showing the contest'.
Divisive far-right extremist grifter Steve Laws is dangerous: he has a long & well documented history of using racist & Islamophobic rhetoric, harassing people, & trying to get decent people sacked. Laws' hateful rhetoric was even too toxic for Richard Tice's Reform UK.
Former UKIP candidate & far-right extremist Laws is a prominent so-called 'migrant hunter' who gets off on filming boats arriving in Dover. He constantly uses grotesque 1930s-style dehumanising rhetoric, & pushes the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory.
For decades, Big Tobacco cast doubt on the link between cancer & smoking. Today, doubts about climate science is fuelled by misinformation spread by politicians, news media & think tanks, invariably funded by those who benefit from fossil fuels.
The phrase "the spawn of communism" derives from early twentieth century US #nativism - the political strategy of promoting the interests of "native-born" inhabitants over those of immigrants.
But where does it come from, & what might it tell us about Jacob Rees-Mogg?
This thread is about how nativist ideology gave rise to the first US 'Red Scare', & how, long before TalkRadio or Fox & GB "News" existed, populist Christian broadcaster 'Father' Coughlin stoked the fears & prejudices of millions of his listeners using divisive nativist rhetoric.
The phrase "spawn of Communism" is now used by 'anti-woke' alt- & far-right nativists to describe everything from Democrats & socialists, through LGBTQ+ rights, CRT, & feminism, to 'identity politics' & 'environmentalism' - anyone, or anything, perceived by them to pose a threat.
GB "News"/TalkTV regular, Chair of the National Jewish Assembly & JC columnist, Gary Mond, liked posts by far-right extremist Pamela Geller (banned from entering the UK) & posted on FB in reference to Muslims “all [of] civilisation… is at war with these evil bastards”.
In January 2022, it was reported that then Board of Deputies Senior VP Gary Mond had been asked to “step down from his duties” while an investigation took place.
Evidence appeared to show Mond had liked two posts made by Geller in 2017, during his 6-yr stint sitting on the Board’s Defence Division, including one saying France was “finished” after voters picked current President Emmanuel Macron over far-right challenger Marine Le Pen.