Saturday 30 April 2016

The Enemy Within Now

"The long history of disgusting failures by South Yorkshire Police, its chief now suspended, ought to shut the Force for good. It is not just the blunders at Hillsborough in 1989 and the lies cops told. It's the brutality against miners at Orgreave in 1984 and the alleged perjury later."

So opined The Sun yesterday. Yes, The Sun.

Just as neither Theresa May nor anyone else objected to Andy Burnham's reference to Orgreave in the same breath as Hillsborough on the floor of the House of Commons.

And just as no one quibbled with that same mention on Question Time.

So of course the Blairobite knives are now out for Seumas Milne, the author of the superlative The Enemy Within, every word of which is now well on the way to being accepted as nothing more, nor less, than the simple facts of the matter about the Miners' Strike.

Accepted as such by the Conservative Party. Accepted as such by The Sun.

So much even for the Kinnockite version of events peddled by old Mirror Group hands from the era such as Paul Routledge. So much for, in many ways, the cornerstone of Thatcherism as an enduring cult.

And so much for New Labour.

Tony Blair's constituency began less than a mile from the venue of the Durham Miners' Gala.

Not only did he always refuse to attend that event, but he used to appear on local television to proclaim his refusal to do so as a badge of honour.

Whereas this year's Gala will be addressed by the Leader of the Labour Party.

As well it might be. That the miners were right all along is now accepted even by the Tory Home Secretary.

Yea, even by The Sun.

6 comments:

  1. Irrelevant. If Ken Livingstone is expelled from the Labour Party we should simply leave the country to burn.

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  2. Well, Jeremy Corbyn has surrendered to the forces of evil, so not really.

    If the most hardcore, principled member in the entire Commons won't stand up for truth, what is the point of political engagement?

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  3. Nick Cohen is having fun watching all this. He predicted it when Corbyn was elected leader.

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    Replies
    1. Absolutely nobody cares what Nick Cohen thinks. Notice how comments are no longer even allowed on his articles. And of course he predicted this. He and his little clique have organised it. If he doesn't put up at Tooting, then he should just be put down.

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    2. We all predicted it - we read A Very British Coup and The Enemy Within. We know the establishment will always use dirty tricks against the left.

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