It’s Friday the 13th. It feels like a real horror story in Britain today. A new dawn of terror.

People of Blyth I really hope your decision to vote Conservative works out for you. I really hope Boris Johnson follows through on his promises. He gets Brexit done then finds money to cut taxes and spend more on public services like our health service. Although a Bart Simpson quote comes to mind.

“You just bought another load of crap from the world’s fattest fertilizer salesman.”

To be fair to Blyth I could have picked a number of Northern English Towns and Cities. That includes my childhood home town – Redcar. Or as Johnson has now called it Bluecar. I hope people remember that Redcar is named after an area of poorly drained land. Kjar (Car) is old Viking word for marsh. Maybe Conservative Blue and poor drainage are a suitable combo.. My old Dad always said he would never ever vote Conservative. He must be turning in his grave at a Conservative MP of Redcar.

So we wake up to Boris Johnson as the Prime Minister. I was careful there not to say our or my PM. He certainly is not my PM. He needs to earn that. If he proves himself capable and trustworthy then I will start to call him MY PM. His remit is to get Brexit done. As far as many are concerned that is the a Brexit debate finished. We are now leaving. Leaving hopefully with the best negotiated terms and relationships possible. Although many of his backers want to have the process fail so they can just crash out of the EU without any constraints. I genuinely think it’s the wrong call but we have lost the argument and IT IS WHAT IT IS. We need to move on.

I’m not going to rant at the majority of people who voted Conservative. Your opinions and values are just as valid and heartfelt as mine. I do shake my head at some of the reasons a worryingly large number of people decided to vote on. Ones I have personally heard include

  • I’m not voting Liberal as the leader is a woman,
  • I’m voting for Boris because he is funny,
  • I’m voting for Labour as Gary Neville (ex Footballer) said he was,
  • I’m not voting Labour as they backed the Terrorist who attacked a London Bridge (a fake news story)
  • I’m voting Conservative as they will teach Europe a lesson because they are to blame for our problems.

Simply staggering….

Our political system is broken – probably beyond repair. Increasingly money buys you power. We have political leaders who openly lie and spread unfounded rumours. We have effectively a state sponsored public broadcaster while the other news outlets are in the hands of a few Conservative supporting billionaires. Media groups who openly flout electoral law and favour the incumbent government. Where opposition parties are scrutinised and vilified while at they same time reporters act as a mouth piece for government propaganda. It’s not even subtle anymore. A BBC News reporter days before the election told viewers that Boris Johnson ‘so deserves’ the victory he is hoping to get.

We have potential Russian meddling in our elections. A crucial report on this was buried by the Government a month before the vote. But let’s be fair to Russia it’s not as if the UK or the US have not also interfered in the the affairs of other nation states as well. If we do it why can’t they.

We have a fragmented opposition where the two main players have lost the plot and would much rather fight each other than actually focus on trying to be a credible government in waiting.

We have a ridiculously out of date electoral system that makes it virtually impossible for parties like the Greens to make any headway. Yet it gives huge majorities to a part that gets less than 50% of the vote.

We have a United Kingdom which is literally falling part. As much as Johnson has denied it his Brexit Plan will split Northern Island off from the rest of Britain with a dedicated border control. Scotland now votes in an entirely different direction than England. Scotland voted against Brexit. Scotland votes SNP. How can calls for independence be denied any longer. It’s probably appealing to Boris as he would get rid of a large and vociferous opposition grouping. Locking in a Conservative Government for a generation.

And then we get back to the good people of Blyth and Redcar. A political system which has for years ignored them and failed them. Now we have a hardcore of disillusioned voters who have little faith in their politicians and leaders. No wonder they see Brexit as a way of bringing change.

So we batten down the hatches. Focus on what is truly important – family and friends. Do whatever we can to protect them while doing our bit for the environment. Completely block out the tainted media groups like the BBC which simply cannot be trusted anymore. Find our own news sources. And we move on hoping that things don’t go as badly wrong as I fear. I really fear for minority groups, those who are sick, those who are on benefits, those who are out of work and I am petrified about what will now happen to our environment and wildlife. So ends the rant and now I get back to being a crap dad trying to cope with whatever life chucks at me. Fingers crossed I don’t need to mention Boris again.

88 thoughts on “People of Blyth”

  3. Sad indeed, what’s happening to this once fair and pleasant sceptred isle. It’s being poisoned with greedy materialism and xenophobic nationalistic hate and selfishness.

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  4. I checked on the results every hour or so, hoping… I truly do NOT understand. I wish someone could explain to me why they feel Trump, Johnson and their ilk are good choices.

    BTW, do NOT call yourself a crap dad! I’ll go Hulk🤬
    💌

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  6. Nicely put … except the crap dad bit. I think all we can do now is hope and pray that, for once, a politician will do the things they say they’re going to do.

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  7. it’s so interesting to read about politics in other countries for a change..here i thought only americans had issues like this..( call me naive but i’m not much into world wide political stuff) But i gotta tell ya- our president is the biggest embarrassment our country has had since the days of slavery…and i have no idea what will have tone done do to make it up to those being under serviced and abused( this time) once his reign is over….ugh

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  9. Awww I am sorry to hear that. I saw that this morning and thought of you.

    Well I don’t really have much to add… our system is broken and corrupt as well.

    This sounds vaguely familiar to when Trump was elected … those who wanted him… and those who didn’t … and now here we are … having impeachment hearings and fighting 🤨 ugh 😑

    Ya know? What happened to the state of things?? How did it get like this?

    Anyway, hopefully he proves to be a good choice … trying to be positive for you … don’t look over here, cause we have the same shit ✌️

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  12. Boris is a man devoid of integrity and honesty. The saddest part about the election victory for the Tories is that the first people to feel the pain will be the ‘new conservatives’ and the wealthy elite (who they were voting against… it is so perverse…) will get richer. Meanwhile our environment suffers and public services become further plunged into disarray to fund Brexit.

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  13. You’ve said it so well. I’d say that it’s more of a political analysis than a rant. I don’t know why BJ won or who voted for him as most of the people I heard on the TV were lamenting the win. But let’s hope that they choose right and he will deliver. 🙄🤞

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  14. You already know that my heart and sympathy is with you, and that I fear I may be writing a similar post in some 47 weeks. Sigh. But … as a few others have mentioned, don’t you dare call yourself a “crap dad” … you are quite possibly the best dad I have ever known! Now, you take that back, young man! Hang in, my dear friend. xx

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  15. I try to respect the views of those who voted Conservative but I will never, ever understand it. I once called Boris racist because of his comments about Muslim women, and a friend told me I “shouldn’t call someone racist just because I disagree with them”. I find it very hard to say, “That’s cool, let’s just agree to disagree on that one.”

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  16. Would you like a glimpse of what is in your future. The province of Alberta gave a conservative Trump wannabee a majority in our province a short 7 months ago. So far he has:
    1. Lowered all corporate taxes, then bitched about not having enough money to run his government. (Meanwhile he is traipsing all over the world, wasting our money on taking his friends sight-seeing!)
    2. He has cut doctors’ and nurses’ salaries and cut elective surgeries and refuses to pay pharmaceutical companies for non-generic drugs even if they work better for patients. He is cutting medical services to rural areas, after sweeping the vote in rural areas. He wants to bring in American-style healthcare, which 67% of Albertans cannot afford.
    3. He promised to provide all kinds of new jobs, yet the unemployment rate is blossoming by the day. He has cut minimum wage rates for young people under 18, and is promising to lower minimum wage rates for adults in the near future.
    4. He has cut grants to municipalities right across the province, forcing them to raise property taxes in order to provide services to their citizens. He has cut spending for education, social services, government wages, and about everything else you can thing of. Parents who never had to pay fees for bussing their children to school now will have to pay $300-600 a year PER CHILD to have their children travel to school safely.
    5. He is cutting services to seniors who are already living on fixed incomes. Spouses and disabled children will no longer have health insurance if under 65. All disabled persons living in Alberta have had their government incomes slashed. He is creating a whole new class of people no longer living near the poverty line.
    This is just the start. Employers are cutting down staff, or outright moving out of the province, taking their jobs with them. Food banks are running at twice their regular numbers but half their previous capacity. Colleges and universities and trade schools are having to raise tuition fees, till only the rich can afford them. Meanwhile students loans are being cut.
    He has also given teachers the right to announce to parents who has attended Gay Straight Alliance meetings. He is virtually outing gender-questioning children.
    These are just some of the things he has done so far. And, like Trump, his followers praise him for his actions. He is a power-mad punk who needs to be recalled, but he fired the person investigating his party’s pre-election strategies. Even Trump wasn’t allowed to do that.
    I’ve run out of breath…

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    1. Sadly this is the way we will go. Johnson gets many of his ideas from American Republicans. The tainted BBC interviewed a worker from Blyth and praised him for switching to the Conservatives. They said that he had rejected economic madness and voted for a better future. The one thing they didn’t say is that the poor sod will probably have to work until he dies and good help him if he gets sick or unemployed. They didn’t mention that he was about to lose his rights to travel freely across Europe so when he takes his holiday (if he can afford one) it will cost him far more and will become more difficult.

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  19. You are definitely not a crap dad. Whatever makes you think such a thing? Enjoy the holidays with your son, forget the politics, play in the mud if you gave to. I could try sending some snow but doubt it would make it.🤗

    Sent from my iPad

    >

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  22. Excellent Post Sir, Right on the Money…..Do you follow or read Ms. Caitlin Johnstone from Australia? Another excellent Writer, who calls it like she sees it…..I am also coping with the loss of my Love/Partner of 35 + years, it is hard to suddenly find one’s self sitting home alone….This little Lap-top has been my life-saver, reaching out all over this world of ours…..So many Nice, Smart Writers on Word-Press & Medium…..I have received as many as 300 + messages on my old man E-Mail right now I have 175, I try my best to reply to all of them, sometimes I just publish an open Letter on Word- Press, These wonderful people have expressed much Sympathy, to me & I am rightfully Humbled and Grateful…..When my Lady Love passed I tried to starve myself to Death, I made it 35 + days without one bite of food, until my neighbors stepped in with bowls of soup, and encouraging me to continue living, and I realized I had a JOB to do here on Earth, Make a Paradise for our Children to live in and Enjoy……. ________________________________

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      1. I understand that, Sir, I still look at my Lady’s chair expecting her to still be sitting there talking to me! My dear neighbor came over today, shared photo’s of Her vacation “Out-side” and gave me a big hug, which just made my day! + She brought me Biscuits & Gravy, my favorite meal! The other night I bathed in our old metal tub next to the fire, like my Lady & I used to do, just for memories sake……Just remember to treat your Son, like a precious Gift……George…

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      1. I’m still above ground and breathing – for now. I suppose that means i’s doing well, or as well as can reasonably be expected in my present ‘funk’.

        My part of the World is burning up and the rest is either falling apart or going mental! 😦

        Today is the 6th day in a row my city has had a maximum temp over the ‘old’ (my day) 100 degree F mark with a peak of 106. That’s an all time high record sequence – and we are only 2 weeks into Summer? We have a 50 mile long bushfire, out of control, to our North and Eastern city boundaries that has been burning since Wed – so far no deaths, TG.

        Did you see the fire haze over Sydney harbour in the news last week? Air quality in a city bigger than London is 11 times the ‘Extreme’ level – unsafe to breathe! Their fires have been burning for 6 WEEKS now and are too big to control, even with 3000 firies (firefighters) – including reinforcements from NZ, Canada and the US.

        We may have a white Christmas this year as the ash rains down from thousands of hectares of burned scrub and bush. The last ‘rain’ (HA!) we had was back on Nov 2.

        The weather bureau says we can expect a ‘hotter than usual’ Summer this year!

        No Sh## Sherlock?

        (Sorry for the moan, but the situation is not conducive to happy thoughts – something i am positive you can relate to, and i empathise with, despite have nowhere near the pressures you are having to face).

        Remember… there ARE positives ‘out there’. I believe this and am working hard at bringing them into my awareness – but it’s a constant uphill battle and i frequently end up doubting my own (old) judgements.

        Just can’t seem to find any solid ground to take a stand on these days? 😣

        Just got to rely upon the old “This too shall pass.”

        Hang in there, Kid. 🙏

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      3. Thank you Sir, I sincerely hope you and your son share a memorable Christmas time together that is filled with fun and is as stress-free as can be possible these days. I’m certain you can both make it a special one together… just the 3 of you! 😉

        Maybe you might even include other members of the family in that? 🙂 Christmas Spirit and all that? 😉

        Here’s hoping next year things can work out a little better and the end of the ‘tunnel’ is in sight and getting closer by the day.

        Blob

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  24. Nicely put.

    I have started to write about three posts on the subject but words keep failing me. How the UK can have elected such a shameless and blatant liar is beyond me. I really don’t see any of this ending well.

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  26. I felt this way, too. My values have always lined up more with the Republican stance and not the Democrat, and then 2016 happened. Absolutely awful. I doubt this book would find a place in your wee library, but political and educational analyst Charlie Sykes wrote this piercing book about the Republican Party and studied how an a** like Trump could become the candidate for the conservative party. He’s also written great scathing studies about the state of American education. I really really really wish the powers that be would give him a read!
    https://www.amazon.com/Charles-J-Sykes/e/B000APJTWU

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    1. Our Conservative Party often was led by decent people. I might differ with views on life but they did care for the country. That’s all changed now. The decent ones have either been kicked out or have left. It got so bad even an ex Conservative PM tried to get people not to vote for them. So the good ones have gone replaced by self serving nutters. It’s basically an extreme right party now hiding within the old acceptable name. It sounds just like the Republicans.

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      1. Ugh, it really does. And I’m sure that sooooo many in the current party do NOT want Trump there, but he’s got too much damn money to be stopped. And it doesn’t help the Democrats are spending all their time on the impeachment rather than just, you know, proposing policy/law to help better the country, because THAT is what people want to see: an administration that actually wants to do something for the people.

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