What a 24 hours!

Ken Livingston is not an anti Semite? Just about the funniest thing I’ve ever read. I’m sure it will be on a certain video sharing website how he called a Jewish reporter a concentration guard. When the reporter stated he was Jewish and found the remark offensive, Ken repeated it. That was not the only slur & yet Corbyn refused to sack his mate - he was forced to resign

 

My understanding of that incident was that he was baited by the journalist and referring to working for the Daily Mail, which is a vile publication. If you look at it in context then it’s certainly not language that I would use but do you believe it amounts to Ken hating Jews or is he saying as a Jew why are you working for this vile rag? Ken funded anti racism gigs and festivals in London while I was living there that Boris pulled the plug on - so for me it’s quite difficult to marry the anti racism activists with being racists themselves.

I think it’s stupid to court controversy, whether it amounts to more than that I don’t know. There needs to be a robust set of guidelines and a process for investigating these matters that is independent of the leadership.

 

I, like most of the country detest bigotry/ racism in all its forms. There is no easy answer as children are normally told by their parents who to hate and if you hear that a certain group of people are the reason for all your problems throughout your formative years, you are likely to believe it. As this is a football forum, I will mention that football has its part to play in this. Supporting Ipswich, I have never heard any racial chanting on the terraces (although I really dislike the die, die Delia song which I feel is unnecessary). Banter between fans is great but there have to be boundaries. The racial chanting I have heard has been at England games which is why I now refuse to go

 

Unfortunately I’m old enough to be able to remember Town fans making animal noises at Clyde Best (?)of West Ham in the early 70s.Shameful, thank God such days are past.

 

We are obviously of a similar vintage Al. I assume that the handle is a reference to Mr. Hunter.

 

Correct,it comes from a banner I made for the '78 Cup Final, "Big Al reigns on Plastic Mac".

 

According to latest polls, Labour are 10 points ahead now with the Brexit party on 14% mainly from the Conservative vote.

 

Brexit is such a wretched, undignified national indictment. However you voted, no one is getting what they were promised. The NHS is not getting more money. Brexit won’t solve the widening gap between rich and poor or the decrease in social mobility.

The hope for border control seems misguided; in or out desperate people will still float across the Aegean Sea and some will try the English Channel. Being out of the eu won’t solve this problem. Being in might be easier to find a joined up solution together though. In fact being out won’t solve many problems at all. In the last 3 years it has created an awful lot of problems and this is just the deal to leave... turns out no one can agree what exactly ‘leave’ means. It’s a nightmare, because misguided or not, leave won, but on promises they can’t keep. We haven’t even begun to do the new deals we’ll need! That’ll be fun and games.

I’m not sure we can expect to be better off, and this isn’t project fear, more project reality check. Galloping through sunlit uplands? Come on. Politicians are failing us. Most are multi millionaires like boris and Rees mogg looking for greater personal power and wealth out of all this nonsense. Maybe even a chapter in their books.

Overwhelmingly businessses say it’ll be bad for business, which means bad for the economy. Is some extra sovereignty over a few laws worth paying that price? As scowey said; the idea we are handed laws by bureaucrats isn’t quite true.

We have our own MEPs to advance our interests in Brussels, we just, as a nation, took little interest in the politicians we sent to Europe or the value of the European Union to our national interests and economy. It’s all EU and bendy bananas banned headline nonsense/myths rather than serious information in the purpose, role and function of the eu.

MEP elections have woeful turnout. Corbyn isn’t the answer, I dread him as much as the Tories who inflicted this mess on us. I’m a centrist. I abhor any extremism or intolerance and this just boils out of the ERG and Corbyns anointed team. There are moderates on each side they are just sidelined in the current climate, sadly.

It couldn’t have been an informed vote before because so much has come to light since then that wasn’t on the table when they bargained for our votes last time round which is very relevant to an in out decision.

I’d go for second referendum (we have regular general elections remember to re run our political choices) and if it’s leave again I will accept it as an informed decision and move on graciously.

 

I don't think she has done herself any favours from a PR perspective lately but this sums up the Diane Abbott thing pretty well: