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Britain’s Worst MP

I’ve never bought into the idea that all politicians are as bad as each other. Many work hard, are down to earth and have very reasonable opinions. Of course there are a reasonable amount that for one reason or another are very poor.

Be it corruption or incompetence it would be a pretty long shortlist for Britain’s worst MP.

Here’s my nomination:

Nadine Dorries

I’m sure her supporters would say that level of contempt Dorries inspires is due to her gender or class. It’s a travesty that there are so few working class women on the green benches and unbelievable she was the best the Tories could find.

It’s not her strong views that I think make Nadine Dories as Britain Worst MP but her lack of evidence to support them. Be it about abortion, sex education or cannabis she seems to simply pluck ‘facts’ from the sky.

Were all Members of Parliament to take such a lax attitude to decision-making we could ban eating crusts to reduce curly hair and the eating of apple seeds in case a tree grows in your stomach.

This incapacity to handle the truth extended to her “70% fiction” blog and persistent smearing of opponents. Her blog recently informed me that I, as a Humanist, support infanticide, this came as a surprise as you can imagine.

To warrant such a smear one only has to question her facts. Evidence based debate has no place in Nadine’s politics.

This is why I feel Nadine Dorries might just be Britain’s worst MP.

The Final Insult?

So apologetic were News International for hacking the phone of Milly Downer, they had the murdered teenager’s family’s solicitor followed by a private detective.

So ‘humbled’ that they sought to dig dirt up on their legal representative, presumably in the hope that they could win better terms in any proceeding legal action.

Intimidation? Blackmail? Perverting the course of justice? Whichever one it is, it leaves any previous apology to the Dowler family and to the public as worthless. You can’t say sorry while still kicking your victim.

The News Of The World may well be dead but its poisonous legacy lives on. We shouldn’t let ourselves be fooled that the amputation of its Sunday publication has removed the venom from News International’s system.

What is the antidote? The toxin has spread throughout the British press so it is time that we stop the source of infection. In classic tabloid style News International need to be made an example of as a deterrent to others.

The public pressure that brought down the News of the World needs to be brought to bear on The Sun as it is the profitable face of NI. Are we supposed to believe that it remained untouched by the culture of illegality that evidently pervaded News International?

Run in conjunction with a crooked Newspaper and managed by the same crooked executives it is tainted goods even without it’s own record of gutter journalism.

This is not the time exclaim ‘they are all as bad as each other’, to point the finger at the odious Mail, however much blood they have on their hands. Online activists must be focused on truly humbling Murdoch.

With the ongoing revelations and release of the Hillsborough papers the stage is set for another damaging episode, we just need to keep organizing and agitating to ensure these stories can’t be buried.

The Sun must become a paper non grata in order starve them of the advertisers and the willing victims they thrive upon. It is for us to build the connection between The Sun and News International in the public’s imagination.

This is not an attack on the freedom of the Press but an attack for the freedom of the Press.

You Know You’ve Got A Tory Government…

When the standard of living drops whilst city brokers are getting huge bonuses.

When Ghost Town by The Specials is an accurate description of Britain.

When the Prime Minister is under pressure from Tory Euro-skeptics.

When single mums are told they are to blame for the countries problems.

When unemployment figures are at a post war high.

And then the unemployed are blamed for not having a job.

When Londoners riot.

When the Cabinet has consists of Public School educated millionaire men and very few women or minority groups.

When inflation starts rising.

When there are more homeless on the streets.

When NHS waiting list times go up.

When the economy’s flatlining but we keep being told it’s on course.

When the seriously disabled are told they should be working.

When you’re told ‘if its not hurting it’s not working’ and it is hurting but it is defiantly not working.

Protest, Huh, What Is It Good For….

…well some things. But you wouldn’t think it given the amount of negativity swirling around the Occupy London Stock Exchange protest. I visited the St Pauls and Finsbury Square camps to see it in person and came away with a few thoughts for their critics.

‘Aren’t they all just a bunch of Middle Class Hippies.’

Yes, many of them are, but unless anyone has being messing about democracy lately, hippies are allowed voices too, even the middle class ones, who smell a little.

‘Yeah but by drinking Starbucks Coffee and using iPhones they’re hypocrites’

Not really. The Starbucks thing appears to be an urban myth, they are using the toilets in Starbucks but they have their own tea making facilities.

They oppose the worst parts of capitalism, which doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy some of the good stuff. If anything you could argue they are using the products of capitalism against it.

‘What do they even stand for, what’s they’re objective?’

Well it appears fairly simple; they are raising awareness of an economic system they find unjust. Every day they sleep out on the streets the media have to references the banker’s role in the credit crisis and tax evasion.

It would seem a worthy cause when we have a government trying to blame public sector workers for sub-prime mortgage lending.

‘What’s their alternative then?’

I don’t think they need to present an alternative, they are a group of people with different attitudes and aspirations, they agree broadly that it was the fault of a corrupt financial system and it is unfair the public are being asked to pay for it.

 ‘Why don’t they go get a job?’

Well ignoring the unemployment figures, people with jobs but not time to protest are supporting them. It was a similar situation during the anti-road building protests, working people supplying food and supplies to those without the time to sit in a tent all day.

 

 

It’s easy to sneer from the sidelines, it makes us feel a little better about our inaction to belittle others. We could all be Too Cool For School, adopt a tone of tired teenage cynicism but I’d rather be a thought of as naive than bitter.

Perhaps it’s time we stopped picking holes in a group of well meaning people trying to make a difference and focused on problems they are highlighting.

What is Glam Rock?

As much as fans, critics and academic like to stroke their beards and postulate, musical genre is very much in the ear of the beholder.  In this vein some genres are treated with reverence, where as others are ignored, or even vilified.

The term Glam Rock can cover anything from Bowie & Bolan to Motley Crue & W.A.S.P. Somewhere in between acts like The Osmonds and Rod Stewart get thrown in through virtue of a bit of eyeliner or a pair of silver flairs.

Clothes, era or sound alone don’t make two bands of the same genre, if so Oasis could be a rap act, trip hop or a 60’s group. The term Glam Rock is tossed around so lightly as to be meaningless.  I humbly put forward a different way of looking at the issue.

I would say Glam Music is a genre which covers a range of sub genres starting with Glam Rock & Glam Pop and leading to Glam Metal, and Glam Punk.

The key differences here is what Americans call Glam Rock or we often call Hair Metal is clearly defined as Glam Metal to avoid confusion. Where it become really contentious, is that 70’s Glam Music is divided into pop and rock.

Acts like Gary Glitter, Suzi Quarto, the Sweet and Mud are not Glam Rock but Glam Pop. Largely having their songs written for them by people like Chin & Chapman they dressed for effect but had little artistic ambition.

This is as opposed to Bowie, T.Rex, Roxy Music, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel & Sparks who as a genre were part of the Art Rock tradition falling between the ’Stones and The Beatles and Punk.

The look and sound was a postmodern in approach, mashing up Rock’n’Roll and theatrical ideas into a complete musical package.

This pick’n’mix approach found the links between Musical Hall drag and Little Richard, between Opera and Japanese theatre, folk and space rock and many more musical and cultural tangents.

You could not say the same of The Bay City Rollers or Alvin Stardust. Glam Pop’s roots lie more in the kind of family entertainment found in the Holiday Camps or the end of pier shows, but as designed by a pop Svengali.

It’s doesn’t flatter either genre to lump them together. They both fulfilled a different purpose well. There will always be debate but I believe this offers a good framework, which benefits both genres.

There are lot’s of more ambiguous acts, so at the moment I would suggest that The New York Dolls, Mott The Hoople, Alice Cooper and even possibly Iggy & The Stooges’ ‘Raw Power’ were Glam Rock, just a more Proto-punk Hard Rock style.

Jobriath and maybe even Brett Smiley were deeply unsuccessful Glam Rock, but Glam Rock nonetheless. I would also Include Lou Reed’s ‘Transformer’, Brian Eno’s ‘Here Come The Warm Jets’ and Byran Ferry’s first two solo albums.

Other possible inclusions, Mick Ronson solo? Jayne Country? I won’t pretend I know them well enough to say with certainty in either case.

I still can’t decide about Slade and Wizard, they fall between stalls. Queen and The Runaways were Post-Glam whilst Elton John and Rod Stewart were just bandwagon jumpers.

I don’t intend this to be definitive and may well edit this article in the future as my opinions and knowledge grow. It does at least explain what I would define as Glam Rock and hopefully will stimulate debate about this too often maligned genre.

Top 10 Geek Policies

It seems that Ed Miliband’s political advisors would like him to come across as more normal, which is a shame. I like the idea of a geek Prime Minister. When Ed isn’t trying to garble through focus-grouped phrases he comes across a far more likeable.

Why should he try to be something he’s not? There are millions of British geeks who might like to vote for somebody with a respect for mathematics and who might know his Kirk from his Picard.

In that spirit here are some Policy ideas for Ed to win the geek vote:

1. Demand the release of the original unedited Star Wars on Blue Ray and DVD.

2. Allow the playing of Chess in P.E.

3. A Peter Jackson statue on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square.

4. Create special collectable political figurines with limited edition Art Cards

5. Make Alan Moore a Lord

6. Put Dr Who on our bank notes.

7. Ban the teaching of Creationism in Science Class (He really should do this)

8. Bring Peace between Apple and PC users through a power sharing agreement.

9. Bring competitive Rubiks Cubing to the London Olympics.

10. More Libraries not less.