"Let me be Very Clear"

Boris Johnson in Meltdown

"Let me be very clear" is the most used phrase by politicians of all persuasions in this election. If the urban dictionary had a definition it would be something like "Let me indulge and confuse you with some utter bullshit". In effect, nothing could be less clear apart from "getting Brexit done". Could there be any more confusion about Labour's Brexit policy? How are the Tory claims for tackling the social care crisis and the NHS failures to be met without even providing the funding to meet inflation and the rise in the elderly? What makes the Lib Dems think Jo Swinson might be PM? And why on earth is Nigel Farage still given any airtime?

Every day brings another gush of truth-busting promises from the participants in this election. It used to be the case that elections were the opportunity for a debate on the policies required to take the country forward with detailed arguments from all sides. The only occasion there has been a constructive discussion about policy has been the Channel 4 climate change leaders debate. Granted it was helped by Boris Johnson failing to attend and being replaced by an ice sculpture of the world that melted under the studio lights. The election is devoid of mutual respect and debased by the abuse of opponents, mendacious claims, social media trickery and keeping quiet on wicked issues. The Tories have even issued attack manuals on how to smear rivals to all their candidates. What a rudderless state we have become.

The BBC and newspapers focus on trying to trap party spokespeople and demanding that they apologise by asking the same question half a dozen times. It was a novel ploy fifteen years ago when Jeremy Paxman launched the technique on the implausible Michael Howard. Today, it is just part of the play manual used by lazy journalists posing as purveyors of truth. The popular press does not even bother with such niceties, they simply hurl abuse at the political parties and make accusations that seek to eviscerate their political targets. Once again confirming that the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry for an independent body to investigate press complaints should have been implemented. They were dropped by the Tories following the 2017 election and IPSO became the self-serving regulator of the press. It has the same predictable outcomes as internal Police investigations. Institutions are essentially self-defence mechanisms.

An example over the last couple of days is the accusation by the Tories that Labour would devote the whole of 2020 to two more referendums that would cost £150m, only a People's Vote on the Brexit deal is proposed. This comes from the party that called for a referendum on the EU in the first place, despite there being no clamour from the electorate for one, and then called for two general elections that were contrary to the Fixed Term Parliament Act. Any semblance of honour, integrity, fairness and factual accuracy has been exorcised from the government's mode of operation. As well as the factcheckuk Twitter account that they set up to trash the opposition during the leader's debate, they have deployed the cabinet and hangers-on with a tactical ruthlessness that Jose Mourinho would be proud to have implemented.

It has been a military-style operation utilising all the talents of Boris Johnson's cabinet that is strong on duplicity and stable on incompetence. The attack dogs are a platoon led by Michael Gove whose calm garrulity leaves no truth unsullied. He is assisted by James Cleverly, Kwasi Kertang, Nadim Zahawi and Brandon Lewis. They have memorised the attack manuals and evasively twist any question about their policies or past mistakes into a lie-laden thrust against their political opponents. Then there are the sycophants who are capable of flipping on any issue. Their leading exponents are Matt Hancock and Nicki Morgan, both so obsequious to their leader that they seem incapable of uttering statements that have any logical coherence. There are a small group of mavericks who are released on special missions when a more ruthless defence is required and this is where Dominic Raab, Rishi Sunak, and, less effectively, Sajid Javid are sent into battle.

Those left have been sent on a version of the reality TV show, the Chase. The idea is to keep them hidden from the press and media until December 12. They could be described as the Dim and Dimmer group. They include Andrea Leadsom, Gavin Williamson, Stephen Barclay, Esther McVey, Theresa Villiers, Alistair Jack and Liz Truss. The latter is Dimmer who keeps getting caught, desperate to show off her misunderstanding of almost any subject. And finally, there is special Agent Mogg, Rees-Mogg, who has been sent to Bath early to campaign in his constituency using only pen and ink and doorstep condescension.

The Labour Party lineup is more muddled than tactical because 80% of its MPs do not support Jeremy Corbyn and are therefore excluded from taking any part in the election campaign. They are reliant on John McDonnell and Keir Starmer as their central defenders but soon run out of other options. Angela Rayner, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Andy McDonald, Jonathon Ashworth and Dawn Butler are used to promote policies but are less proficient at defending their leader than Boris Johnson's attack dogs. They have put Emily Thornberry on the naughty step, lost Tom Watson, sent Diane Abbott on the Chase and Richard Burgon has been asked to shadow Liz Truss as the spokesperson for incompetence.

Jo Swinson has for some strange reason adopted the Theresa May strategy of making the election about herself becoming PM. It is a flawed construct given her lack of gravitas, naivety and previous form as a minister in David Cameron's Austerity cabinet. Chukka Umunna, freshly enrolled as a Lib Dem, making it his third party of the year and flaunting his naked ambition is making speeches that suggest he has eyes on a different sort of leadership prize after the election assuming he becomes an MP entrapped in his latest cosplay as a Lib Dem. In Scotland, the SNP have adopted the very clever strategy of not being any of the above and realise that in what goes for a general election campaign it is best to let the other parties convince the electorate that they are unworthy of their vote. That allows them to concentrate on attacking the Tories and claiming that they are not in any secret collusion with Labour.

So if the polls are correct and the Tories win, "let me be very clear" that "getting Brexit done" will be "a walk in the dark".

Doyens of Democracy

As the 2019 General Election campaign rumbles on with all the traducing the truth that we have come to expect from this most incompetent of parliaments, the media shows no sign of trying to uplift the level of debate about real issues. The BBC have fact-checking but, given that facts are moveable in time, space and mindsets, this is of dubious value. Most of the time the popular press and social media are more interested in creating some pizazz out of the 'ditzy blonde' versus 'greybeard' prizefight. It is increasingly easy to get strung along by the assumption that all our MPs are universally ficcant.

Yet amidst all the blatant failures of Theresa May's and Boris Johnson's governments there have been some doyens of democracy who deserve recognition for delivering what Mrs Thatcher promised (but failed) to do when she became PM.

‘Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope’

Here's my list of ten MPs who deserve some recognition for their persistence to challenge the executive in the age of austerity and adversity.

David Gauke  Open-minded, thoughtful, courteous and honest, a reminder of what decent Tories used to be like.
Angela Rayner  Feisty, radical, and robust enough to debate issues with the formidable Amber Rudd and come out with credit. One of the few members of Corbyn's shadow cabinet who has the confidence and heft to speak her mind without fear nor favour.
Dominic Grieve  A forensic attention to detail on parliamentary procedures and an unflinching belief in membership of the EU that, unlike most of his colleagues, he has not been prepared to abandon in order to curry favour with his party.
Jess Phillips She may be gobby in a Brummy way but she is brutally honest and cares deeply for those in her constituency who suffer from many indignities that Parliament could and should resolve such as universal credit disasters, housing failures and lack of mental health services.
Keir Starmer The only MP who has worked consistently with the EU in a collaborative way on Brexit negotiations. He has displayed the same intellectual and statesmanship qualities shown by the leading EU politicians. Also understands the need for a People's vote to reconcile the deep divisions amongst the electorate.
Stella Creasy  Always prepared to face up to tough issues like abortion reform, equality issues and an advocate of citizen's juries to rejuvenate democratic debate. Undaunted by Corbynite threats and trolling by pro-life activists.
Ian Blackford   The leader of the SNP, who remained respectful of the House when launching lacerating criticism of government policies. On many days the most effective challenger at PM's question time.
Anna Soubrey  For being Anna Soubrey: articulate, passionate and scrupulously honest despite the release of hostilities against her by the media. social media warriors and her party.
Jacob Rees-Mogg  Not that he merits any praise but he was a counter-insurgent who sometimes was just as effective in tripping up the government. He was the leading exponent for rejecting Mrs May's Brexit deal. His unsurpassed unctuousness owes a lot to his Edwardian charm, calm eloquence and impeccable manners, which were used to showcase his reactionary polemic that delayed and derailed Brexit.
John Bercow Almost as gobby as Jess Phillips and as unctuous as Rees-Mogg but with a thoroughly fearless independent spirit in the House of Fun. Huge kudos for upsetting Andrea Leadsom when she was Leader of the House.

Schiehallion

Summit

Tuesday 13 November 2019

Ascent:          782 metres

Distance:       10 kilometres

Time:             3 hours 54 minutes

Schiehallion        1083m     2hrs 6mins 

Schiehallion is one of the most climbed Scottish Mountains and the place where contours were first invented to estimate the mass of the earth. The new paths created by the John Muir Trust in the last twenty years have eliminated some of the worst areas of mountain erosion of anywhere in Scotland. Schiehallion is climbed by 20,000 people per annum. This was my ninth visit, most of them in winter conditions. Today was no exception, the mountains were capped in snow above 600 metres and the forecast was for a clear day with some periods of cloud, freezing temperatures but very little wind. I had originally planned to go to hills nearer to home but the heavy snow a couple of days ago made me think twice about battling through deep snow to lonely summits. Schiehallion's path would make it easy for the first hour and the snow would make negotiating the ridge of large boulders leading to the summit less hazardous than in summer.

There was no rush so I didn't leave home until 8:30am. The morning was the clearest this winter and the roads were empty of traffic if not pheasants. A temperature inversion meant that Loch Tay was invisible in the low clouds but as I climbed out of Fearnan the sun picked out the winter hues of the landscape. I should have stopped to get photographs of Schiehallion, which looked majestic from the south but I was too keen to get to the Braes of Foss car park and start walking. There were two other cars parked up and another arrived just after me. The car parking pay machine was frozen up so charges were not in force. I wasted no time getting away on the well-made path that was rock hard from the overnight frost. It ascends gradually at first through a series of three gates to penetrate the high deer fences.

After the third gate, the path ramps up and it was snow and ice-free until about 550 metres when the path became icy and then from 650 metres it was covered in crusty snow. The walking became progressively more difficult as the depth of snow increased to 12 inches and every step had unknown consequences. In the circumstances, I kept a reasonable pace without any stops apart from a chat with a couple who had just started their descent. Their footprints on the ascent had meandered to and fro  but had provided a general direction in the limited visibility so I was able to make a more direct route

I arrived at the summit at midday, more or less as I had intended, and stayed for about ten minutes to have a drink of coffee. I had hoped that the clouds would shift but there was little wind. I could have been anywhere, the huge boulders at the summit had been plastered by snow and the wind had performed tricks with the snow that no Artex artist could ever manage. The two walkers who had left the car park behind me arrived at the summit as I was about to leave and thanked me for making a track for them. It was their first visit and the long ridge to the summit always catches walkers unawares. It adds over a mile to the ascent over a boulder field that was sheathed in a bubble wrap of deep snow.

The descent was an easy jaunt down, very cold at first as a northerly breeze had begun to bite on the upper slopes. The snow assisted in making it possible to slide down some sections to 750 metres and then there was a tricky section over the icy path before reaching the bare paths at about 600 metres. A young woman was making a late ascent having just returned from Canada, she told me that she was desperate to feed her addiction to the mountains. Another walker was making an attempt but with no rucksack, gloves, torch or hat. He had forgotten to put it in the car and I suspect would be making a forlorn attempt, he would have to turn back as time was not on his side. I was down just after 2pm. As a winter walk, it had been near perfect and I was home, bathed and beered before nightfall at 4:30pm.

Path from the car park at Braes of Foss

Schiehallion from the path

Looking north east over Loch Tummel to Beinn a' Ghlo

Glen Lyon munros to the south

On the ridge at 900 metres

Looking east from 1000 metres

Looking north from near the summit

Looking south from near the summit

Meall Tairneachan to the east on descent

Loch Lubnaig

It was -4°C as we set out for a pre-arranged run from Kilmahog to Loch Lubnaig. Hat and gloves were needed although we both had stuck to shorts. Gregor was intending to do 16 miles with a run to the far end and back. I had not been running for the last couple of months so felt 7 miles would be plenty and I could stop on the way back to saunter alongside the Leny Falls, which would be in full flow after recent rains. It is a steady incline for the first three miles up to the Stank, where the route up Ben Ledi starts. The metalled path was not too slippy despite the hard frost, the recent fall of oak leaves had been welded onto the surface of the path by Jack Frost.

I found the run surprisingly easy and I was delighted to see a large group of walkers including young children about to start the climb to Ben Ledi. This is what days like this should be used for. I continued to the holiday cabins at the foot of Loch Lubnaig and took some photos by the Loch. I had ascended 130 metres so the run back was a downhill doddle. I headed off from the path and through the birch and oak woods to get a close look at the Leny Falls. The river Teith was turbulent until the end of the narrow section below the falls when it became a placid wide river outlined by the crisp autumnal colours of the native forest.

It was just a mile back to Kilmahog where I had to wait twenty minutes in the car for Gregor to return. I felt elated even though the slow pace of the run had been insufficient to release many endorphins, maybe it was listening to Pienaar's Politics on the radio and the chocolate mini roll to engage my taste buds. Gregor meanwhile had managed to get another three crowns on Strava and seemed content given that he was suffering from a nasty cough.

Ben Ledi

Loch Lubnaig

Leny Falls

Below the falls

Turbulent Teith

Placid Teith

John Gray

Councillor John Gray

I was at a memorial service for John Gray last night. He had been a long-serving councillor in North Kelvin in Glasgow for 42 years and had qualities that made him immune to the criticisms normally levelled at our elected representatives. There were over 100 friends and colleagues at Maryhill Community Central Halls to celebrate John's life of serving his community with modesty, honesty and results.

Amongst his many achievements were proposing the motion to stop the building of the Maryhill Expressway that would have demolished much of the community that he represented. He was instrumental in the creation of Maryhill Community Central Halls in a former methodist church. He always represented the area where he grew up and lived for most of his life, although as an electrician he had worked in Liverpool for a time. 

He championed services and support for ethnic minority communities and the homeless in Glasgow. He was active in running youth groups and youth exchanges and developing opportunities for local young people. He chaired numerous committees as a Councillor and campaigned vigorously on issues like low pay and poverty. He chaired Adoption Committees and is reputed to have placed more children in homes in Glasgow than has been achieved anywhere else in the UK. John had been adopted as a child and it was the son of his stepbrother who organised the evening to reflect on John's life.

I had been asked to give my appreciation of John from the perspective of a council officer. There were five more friends and colleagues who spoke about John's life and others who made spontaneous contributions on the night. Bob Winter had been Director of Social Work in Glasgow and later the Provost of Glasgow, he had known John since they were teenagers; Maria Fyffe, the local MP; Colin Williams, the former Director of Glasgow Council of Voluntary Service, John Rodgerson of the Queen's Cross Housing Association and Helen Crawford, a close friend who had helped care for John in his final years. In many ways, it felt like a farewell rally of the Glasgow Labour Party and fellow travellers from a period when the party dominated Glasgow politics. In the 1970s, '80s and '90s the party regularly gained over 60% of the popular vote and took 70 - 80% of all the seats on the Council. All of the speakers concurred that John had excelled as an elected representative because of his deep roots in the community, his essential humanity, honesty and determination to achieve positive outcomes for his constituents and community. 

My contribution has been copied below.

"Unlike many of you here tonight, I knew John for only a limited period of his life when he was a Councillor for Woodside in Strathclyde Region Council between 1975 and 1996. Although when I read Danny Crawford's excellent obituary in The Herald, I realised that I had first met him during the 1974 general elections. I had not long arrived in Glasgow and became involved with the Glasgow News, a radical news sheet based loosely on the West Highland Free Press. It was written and distribured mainly in the West End with Brian Barr, the producer of BBC's Brass Tacks and Jean Barr, of the Worker's Education Association very active in its production. The Labour Party was a bit too mainstream so I was not a party member.  Nevertheless, I had always helped at elections - canvassing and running committee rooms -  and getting rid of Ted Heath's government was a no brainer. Between 1970 -1974 it had trashed Royal Commissions on Local Government, the Land Commission as well as the economy.  I turned up at Kelvingrove Labour Party offices to lend my support for Neil Carmichael who was an effective MP, whom I knew from my work on the West Central Scotland Plan.

A well organised, no-nonsense agent after checking that I understood the manifesto and main policy areas wasted no time in dispatching me to canvas and leaflet for the Neil Carmichael. The agent was, of course, John Gray and over the next few weeks, he had me stomping up and down the stairs of tenements from White Street to Willowbank Street in Woodlands. It was February and the cold, dark evenings were not amenable to electioneering. This was repeated later in the year in October when Harold Wilson called the second election of the year to achieve a working majority.

A year later John was one of the 103 Councillors elected to Strathclyde Region Council, the largest local authority in the UK with over 100,000 employees. It was dominated by Labour and became increasingly so in the next four elections as Thatcherite policies denuded Scotland of Tories. The Tartan Tories, as the SNP were referred to in those days following their decision to vote with the Tories in a no-confidence motion on the Callaghan government in 1979, never took off in Strathclyde, they were a party largely focused in the northeast of Scotland.

I worked with John closely for sixteen years, mainly on the Social Strategy and Community Development. John was one of over 400 councillors from all political parties in 5 local authorities that I have worked with during my career. John was a bit different, a bit special. In the main, most councillors were committed to their wards, hard-working and respective of officers but there were always the bad guys as well. They were in it for personal gain, power and naked ambition.

Councillors have common traits and idiosyncrasies and can be grouped according to some of these characteristics. There were:

Hard-bitten trade union leaders who stamped their authority and could give you a hard time. They were a clubbable bunch and they kept clear unless they wanted something done when they could become very paly or very nasty.

Women who were active in the voluntary sector and their communities. They batted for their organisations and constituents. They were challenging but usually politely so.

Battle-hardened workers who had worked in shipbuilding, the railways, the mines or manufacturing. They had often been the victims of bad management. They wanted a fairer society and could be ruthless in the pursuit of this.

Business people who thought that their well-honed business skills could be applied to make Councils more efficient. Their rhetoric usually over-hyped their competence. They were surprised at the vast range and extent of public services, it was beyond their ken. The competent ones realised the need for extra services for those with special needs or for deprived communities. Others wanted simple solutions like contracting out.

Academics, who had the time, oratory and self-importance but sometimes lacked the day-to-day common touch and pragmatism. 

But worst of all there were the young politicos, anxious to make a career of politics and regarding the Council as an apprenticeship for greater rewards in the future. They have grown in numbers, and malevolence, in recent years.

And then there was John. There was no artifice about him. He had values that were instinctive, well-founded, timeless and embedded. We would call them social justice today but they were about basic humanity, fairness, understanding and resolution. 

He was in many ways the glue that held together the disparate bunch of outstanding politicians who led Strathclyde and made the Social Strategy its fundamental principle. We had the oratory of Geoff Shaw, a church of Scotland minister, the strong and stable leadership of Dick Stewart, the class politics of Albert Long, chair of Social Work, the academic philosophising for social justice of Ronald Young and the communitarianism of Tony Worthington. They were all big beasts displaying commitment and drive but also quasi-religious self-belief that sometimes hindered progress.

John was more diffident but gained kudos and trust from all these leaders for his pragmatism and integrity. He knew that the Social Strategy was not just about geographic communities, although he was instrumental in the redevelopment of Maryhill and the work of the Housing Association. He actively helped local youth groups, homelessness organisations, adoption committees, and children in care. He was a totally committed champion and advocate for ethnic minority groups, many of whom lived in his ward. 

He was respected and liked by fellow councillors from all political parties. He was a taciturn but commanding figure when chairing meetings. No grandstanding, no-nonsense and he gave time to all his fellow councillors. He was liked and respected by officers from all departments as well as the voluntary bodies he served on for his principles, consistency and easy demeanour. He was reliable, always turned up on time and always read his papers. He was there to help people from all backgrounds and he was more interested in resolving issues than debating them willy-nilly. He represented all his constituents with an unstinting dedication. It was only fitting that his majority increased from 699 with 49% of the vote when first elected in 1974 to 3000 with 58% of the vote by the end of the 1980s. A politician who grows in popularity over time is as rare as a hen’s teeth.

John was also a man ahead of his time when it comes to lifestyle, ethics and sustainability. Every day was a dress down day for John. He lived in the area he represented and was primarily concerned about helping his electorate with their problems irrespective of their age, sex, creed, ethnicity, sexuality or political persuasion. He walked to the Council buildings every day, then he walked to the Arlington or the Woodside Inn to meet friends, and to Firhill to watch Partick Thistle. He even marched his fellow councillors to evaluate community projects in Glasgow much to the chagrin of many of these councillors who preferred to travel by the council's cars. He had a carbon footprint that most modern politicians would lie for. Like so many things about John he didn't do it for effect, it was just common sense.

We now live in an era when the standing of our politicians is at an all-time low ebb. They take expensive trips abroad, favour friends and lovers, claim for personal services, equip their houses, fill their wardrobes, use social media to slag off opponents, cheat and lie with impunity. It is easy to go along with this generalisation. But then you think about John, he was a tribune for fairness. He was rooted in his community and true to his values that were instinctive.

I loved the story from Danny’s obituary about John meeting Clem Attlee, the PM who made life so much better for most of us here this evening. John was a great fan of Clem and as a young man, he was nominated by the Labour Party to sit next to him at a meal in the Central Hotel when Clem visited Glasgow. When Clem leant over to say something to John, he was expecting some gems of wisdom. “They do a great fish tea here!” said Clem. A masterful opener in the art of conversation that John would remember as much more relevant and honest than much of the waffle that he witnessed in the council chamber. Clem Attlee had the same values as John. They both stand as the very best examples of delivering a type of socialism that has made a huge difference in people's lives

Last year I lent my copy of John Bew’s excellent biography of Clem Attlee to a friend who had grown up in these parts and is here this evening. When he finished the book, his wife told me he had been in tears “Why do we not have politicians like this today?” I think most of us here this evening probably feel exactly the same when we remember John. His honesty and modesty were a given but they concealed a politician who operated at full voltage and delivered truth to power.