Johnny Hates Jazz

múscailt!: matt o'connor: another good reason for londoners to vote left list


April 12, 2008
matt o'connor: another good reason for londoners to vote left list
Prior to Friday evening I had not taken all that much notice of the English Democrats. I was aware that they were a nutcase little faction that supports devolution for England and that they have in their ranks the 'journalist' and gay basher Garry Bushell as well as some other prick that had something to do with Fathers 4 Justice. That was the extent of my knowledge. After watching the organisation's frankly vile party political broadcast for next month's London Assembly and Mayoral election last night I decided that they warranted a bit more scrutiny.

The English Democrats Party was formed six years ago by long time nationalist Robin Tilbrook, some dissident UKIPers and a range other individuals from the obscure fringes of the British right. According to Wikipedia there were rumours that Robert Kilroy-Silk considered joining the EDP back in 2004 although in the end not even that pathetic party jumper bothered associating himself with them.

It is always an ominous sign when a political party goes to the bother of defining itself by what it is not. You may by now have noticed that this is a common theme amongst reactionary groups like UKIP and the BNP who spend much of their time doing their utmost to convince voters that they aren't really the band of racist numbskulls we all know they are. "We are not extremists, we are people like you," the homepage on the English Democrat website pleads. ********. It's one of those statements that has all the credibility of the man in the pub who kicks off his sentence with "I'm not racist but..." In fact, the idiots couldn't even be bothered to come up with something original for their denial - 'people like you' has been a British National Party slogan now for quite a number of years. While the finer points of racial purity don't seem to be as major an issue for Bushell and friends as it is for the BNP, the EDs still take a tough anti-immigration line. The party believes that the UK should withdraw from international conventions on asylum and immigration and pursue a model similar to that practiced in Australia.

The party's election results have been predictably dismal. In one by-election they attracted a staggering eight votes, which was two less than signed their nomination papers! Some more browsing through their performances at the polls and I came across something even more odd - the EDP contested last year's Welsh Assembly election. Wales? It turns out that one of the more eccentric goals of the English Democrats is to reclaim the county of Monmouthshire from Welsh occupation. Judging by their result the people of the region seem to be fairly content with the occupation.

Last night's election broadcast was both dreadful (in the aesthetic sense) and grossly offensive. It was fronted by the group's candidate in the Mayoral contest Matt O'Connor, the guy responsible for the Fathers 4 Justice campaign and someone who appears to be the result of a terrifying cross between Dom Joly and Dr. Fox. Dressed in a snappy pinstriped suit O'Connor resembled not so much a Mayor as a dodgy second hand car salesman, albeit one with a snazzy pair of specs. His speech was a strange blend of anti-Scottishness combined with the sort of attempt at charisma that you would get from a team manager in a call centre who has just read one of those how-to-climb-the-corporate-ladder-in-five-easy-steps-and-make-a-million-quid books that they bought off Amazon for 10p. O'Connor told us that he was "a father and an Englishman" who wants to see his country back go back to the old days when it was "a green and pleasant land where children were safe." He informed us that he isn't black, white, left or right - "I'm just English," he blabbered. As all of this completely banal second-rate Norman Tebbitry was unfolding I was amused to see O'Connor's rant punctuated every few seconds by images of an Asian woman, something which reminded me a bit of Father Ted's legendary slide show for the Chinese community on Craggy Island which intermittingly flashed up the words 'not a racist'.

Whipping up anti-Scottish sentiment south of Hadrian's Wall isn't just an increasingly popular tactic being employed by fringe elements of little Englanders. Realising that the Conservatives are buggered up north in terms of representation at Westminster, many Tories see sticking the boot into the Jocks as a good way to win back some of the votes lost in England during the New Labour era. Michael Portillo has said on numerous occasions that David Cameron needs to make more of the Barnett Formula and the number of Scots in Brown's government if he's to stand a chance of parking his bicycle at 10 Downing Street. Even a supposed 'New Tory' like priority lister and blogger extraordinaire Iain Dale has this week defended the English Democrat use of anti-Scottish posters (according to Dale they were actually attacking the pesky Barnett Formula so it was all okey dokey). As for Kelvin MacKenzie, maintaining a healthy degree of hatred for his northern neighbours seems to be his sole reason for existing at this present time. According to Matt O'Connor's broadcast Scotland is a paradise in which everyone - pensioners, students, patients - is living a life luxury due to a bill being footed by the gullible limeys to their south. And what have the Scots given "us" in return for this "Tartan tax bombshell"? Apparently only "Scottish run" government, a "Scottish run" Mayor, "Gordon 'Jock' Brown" and "deep fried Mars bars."

It is often the case that racists and xenophobes try to conceal their hate by trying to dress it up in more refined political language. It is therefore a sign of just how repulsive a creature O'Connor is that he makes little effort to mask the intense bigotry and divisiveness that lies behind him and his party. This anti-Scottish tirade has nothing to do with the Barnett Formula. If he really was trying to make a serious point about the government's economic policy then why the need to indulge in stereotypes about tartan, deep fried Mars bars and kilts? There was not a shred of eloquence in his words, not an attempt to disguise his game. This was the sort of crass stuff you get from the Gaunts and the Whales and the Littlejohns.

Still, some people do seem to be impressed by his pitch. You can tell a lot about someone from their admirers and O'Connor certainly has attracted some interesting fans. Just before he put his name forward to be the English Democrat candidate in the London Mayoral contest, the British National Party made a last ditch attempt to recruit the Mancunian. In fact, the man the BNP got to approach O'Connor was none other than the party's pro-rape spokesman Nick Eriksen. How's that for good decent family values?

It would be extremely easy to laugh off the English Democrats as nothing more than a crackpot crowd of National Front-lite oddballs. However, it would be foolish to ignore a party possessing such a hardline stance on immigration, putting forward a horrible brand of nationalistic English bigotry and having as its most prominent member an arch homophobe like Garry Bushell. Regardless of whether it is the BNP spreading blatant lies about Muslims receiving special benefits, the Tories and UKIP manufacturing hysteria about 'bogus asylum seekers' or the EDP spinning tales about English people funding a mythical Celtic paradise for the Scots and Welsh, all parties are intent on turning working class people in Britain against one another. Matt O'Connor and his posse of narrow minded goons provide yet another reason - if one were even necessary at this stage - for Londoners to get out on May 1st and cast a vote for the Left List.

Posted by Eric Reed at 09:08
Labels: fascists, little englanders, nationalists
1 comments:
The Secret Person said...
An average of £1500 per person is spent more in Scotland than in England under the Barnett formula. This is based not on need, but on nationality.

Top up fees were passed, in England only, despite a majority of English MPs opposing them, because Scottish Labour MPs voted with their party, despite their constituents being unaffected.

Why is it racist to object to these injustices?

Matt O'Connor is trying to be controversial to get attention because these things are not covered well in the press. It is politicians, not ordinary Scots he objects too. Most English nationalists like Alex Salmond and just wish we had someone like him speaking for England.

13 April 2008 16:51

__________________
English Democrats SAY NO To European Union

English not British not European
- It's time to decide at the 2009 European Elections

Rebirth

Still, it shows the posters made an impact, otherwise the commy scum wouldn't be making such a fuss to get people silenced.

Pro-EU scum with their little race cards.

They are happy to see England torn up and discriminated against by the government thats run by Scottish socialist scum.

Britannist

There is an anti-English element permeating the Labour Party/Government, the BBC, the Liberal 'Democrats', the EU, the liberal/left media, the trade unions, some centres of education and certain other areas. This anti-English crowd must be exposed, opposed and defeated.

Northumbrian

What a vile post from that guy. It sounds like he's the one who's full of hate.

Britannist

Eric Reed is an English name - I wonder if that is his real name.

As for the 'Left list' he seems to support - it is a party some of whose members might have recently defected from the leftist Respect Party of europhile George Galloway. The two parties could end up splitting each other's votes in the London Assembly election on 1.5.2008. The 'Left List' may well get nowhere in that election and in the London Mayoral election to be held on the same day.

cassie

______________________________________


Funny how these guys never ever declare THEIR position, THEIR interest! That signal omission seriously calls into question the integrity of the piece.

One could be forgiven for concluding that Eric Reed is a closet Scot!


________________________________________

Britannist

London Mayoral Election 2008 candidates:

Richard Barnbrook, British National Party
Gerard Batten, UK Independence Party
Siân Berry, Green Party
Alan Craig, Christian Peoples Alliance and Christian Party
Lindsey German, Left List
Boris Johnson, Conservative Party
Ken Livingstone, The Labour Party
Winston McKenzie, Independent
Matt O'Connor, English Democrats
Brian Paddick, Liberal Democrats


London Assembly election 2008 candidates (London-wide proportional voting list):

Abolish the Congestion Charge: Chris Prior

British National Party: Richard Barnbrook, Robert Bailey, Julian Leppert, Roberta Woods, Dennis Pearce, Christopher Forster, Jeffrey Marshall, Clifford Le May, Lawrence Rustem, John Clarke

The Christian Choice: Alan Craig, Paula Warren, David Campanale, Geoffrey Macharia, Stephen Hammond, Maxine Hargreaves, Sue May, Segun Johnson, Tom Conquest, Zena Sherman, Peter Vickers

Conservative Party: Andrew Boff, Victoria Borwick, Gareth Bacon, Edmond Yeo, Jane Archer, Kwasi Kwarteng, Benjamin Everitt, Andrew Stranack, Adrian Knowles

English Democrats: Roger Cooper, Steven Uncles, Leo Brookes, Sati Chaggar, Janus Polenceus, Arvind Tailor, Teresa Cannon, Johanna Munilla, Richard Castle, David Stevens, Carol White, John Dodds, Alex Vaughan, Ursula Polenceus, Kathie Broughton, John Griffiths, Liz Painter, Paul Szatmari, James Ware, Steve Scott, Nichole Vaughan, Peter Tate, Matt O'Connor

Green Party: Jenny Jones, Darren Johnson, Noel Lynch, Siân Berry, Shane Collins, Laura Davenport, Shahrar Ali, Yen Chit Chong, Miranda Dunn, Adrian Oliver, Jon Nott

The Labour Party: Nicky Gavron, Murad Qureshi, John Biggs, Len Duvall, Jennette Arnold, Val Shawcross, Joanne McCartney, Navin Shah, Ranjit Dheer, Balvinder Saund, Leonie Cooper, Ansuya Sodha, Shafi Khan, Alex Heslop

Left List: Lindsey German, Oliur Rahman, Rania Khan, Carole Vincent, Salvinder Dhillon, Sait Akgul, Elaine Graham-Leigh, Kumar Murshid, Glyn Robbins, Berlyne Hamilton, Katt Young, Paul Fredericks, Pat McManus, Tansy Hoskins, Mukul Hira, Pat Stack, Sultana Begum, Mujgan Kazeroonian

Liberal Democrats: Michael Tuffrey, Dee Doocey, Caroline Pidgeon, Jeremy Ambache, Geoffrey Pope, Benjamin Abbotts, Stephen Knight, Shas Sheehan, Duncan Borrowman, Monica Whyte, Merlene Emerson

One London (Leader Damian Hockney): Damian Hockney, Peter Hulme Cross, Robert Hough, Helena Nelson, Martin Rutter

Respect (George Galloway): George Galloway, Linda Smith, Abdul Sheikh, Zakaria Abdi, Sabia Kamali, Abdurahman Jafar, Carole Swords, Hanif Abdulmuhit, John Mulrenan, Mohammed Rashid, Margot Lindsay, Anthony Collins

UK Independence Party: Lawrence Webb, Kathleen Garner, Michael McGough, Ralph Atkinson, Jens Winton, Arnold Tarling, Peter Dul, John Bailey, Mick Greenhough, Jonathan Serter, Magnus Nielsen, Sunita Webb, Lynnda Robson

Unity for Peace & Socialism: Christiane Ohsan, Pauline Fraser, Avtar Uppal, Ivan Beavis, Mohammed Khan, Jean Turner, Sarwan Singh, Harunor Rashid, Monty Goldman, Peter Latham, Philip Brand, Charlie May, Eleni Geropanagioti

Independent: Rathy Alagaratnam


London Assembly 2008 election Constituency Candidates:

Barnet and Camden

Clement Adebayo, Christian Peoples Alliance and Christian Party
Brian Coleman, Conservative Party
Graham Dare, Veritas
Miranda Dunn, Green Party
Nicky Gavron, The Labour Party
Dave Hoefling, Left List
Magnus Nielsen, UK Independence Party
Nick Russell, Liberal Democrats
David Stevens, English Democrats

Bexley and Bromley

James Cleverly, Conservative Party
David Davis, Left List
Ann Garrett, Green Party
Mick Greenhough, UK Independence Party
John Hemming-Clark, Independents to Save Queen Mary's Hospital
Alex Heslop, The Labour Party
Tom Papworth, Liberal Democrats
Miranda Suit, Christian Peoples Alliance and Christian Party
Steven Uncles, English Democrats
Paul Winnett, National Front

Brent and Harrow

Shahrar Ali. Green Party
James Allie, Liberal Democrats
Bob Blackman, Conservative Party
Pat McManus, Left List
Navin Shah, The Labour Party
Zena Sherman, Christian Peoples Alliance and Christian Party
Arvind Tailor, English Democrats
Sunita Webb, UK Independence Party

City and East (containing boroughs: Barking & Dagenham, Newham, Tower Hamlets, City of London)

Hanif Abdulmuhit, Respect (George Galloway)
Robert Bailey, British National Party
John Biggs, The Labour Party
Philip Briscoe, Conservative Party
Thomas Conquest, Christian Peoples Alliance and Christian Party
Julie Crawford, Independent
Heather Finlay, Green Party
Michael Gavan, Left List
John Griffiths, English Democrats
Rajonuddin Jalal, Liberal Democrats
Graham Kemp, National Front
Michael McGough, UK Independence Party

Croydon and Sutton

David Campanale, Christian Peoples Alliance and Christian Party
Richard Castle, English Democrats
Zana Hussain, Left List
Shafi Khan, The Labour Party
Shasha Khan, Green Party
Abigail Lock Liberal Democrats
Stephen O'Connell, Conservative Party
David Pickles, UK Independence Party

Ealing and Hillingdon

Nigel Bakha, Liberal Democrats
Richard Barnes, Conservative Party
Mary Boyle, Christian Peoples Alliance and Christian Party
Sati Chaggar, English Democrats
Ranjit Dheer, The Labour Party
Salvinder Dhillon, Left List
Ian Edward, National Front
Sarah Edwards, Green Party
Lynnda Robson, UK Independence Party

Enfield and Haringey

Sait Akgul, Left List
Teresa Cannon, English Democrats
Brian Hall, UK Independence Party
Segun Johnson, Christian Peoples Alliance and Christian Party
Matthew Laban, Conservative Party
Pete McAskie, Green Party
Joanne McCartney, The Labour Party
Monica Whyte, Liberal Democrats

Greenwich and Lewisham

Tess Culnane, National Front
Len Duvall, The Labour Party
Chris Flood, Socialist Alternative
Stephen Hammond, Christian Peoples Alliance and Christian Party
Andy Jennings, Conservative Party
Jennifer Jones, Left List
Susan Luxton, Green Party
Johanna Munilla, English Democrats
Brian Robson, Liberal Democrats
Arnold Tarling, UK Independence Party

Havering and Redbridge

Leo Brookes, English Democrats
Roger Evans, Conservative Party
Ashley Gunstock, Green Party
Farrukh Islam, Liberal Democrats
Balvinder Saund, The Labour Party
Dr Peter Thorogood, Independent
Carole Vincent, Left List
Paula Warren, Christian Peoples Alliance and Christian Party
Lawrence Webb, UK Independence Party

Lambeth and Southwark

Shane Collins, Green Party
Jasmijn De Boo, Animals Count
Shirley Houghton, Conservative Party
Daniel Lambert, The Socialist Party
Geoffrey Macharia, Christian Peoples Alliance and Christian Party
Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrats
Janus Polenceus, English Democrats
Valerie Shawcross, The Labour Party
Jens Winton, UK Independence Party
Katt Young, Left List

Merton and Wandsworth

Leonie Cooper, The Labour Party
Ellen Greco, Christian Peoples Alliance and Christian Party
Strachan McDonald, UK Independence Party
Steve Scott, English Democrats
Shas Sheehan, Liberal Democrats
Kris Stewart, Left List
Richard Tracey, Conservative Party
Roy Vickery, Green Party

North East (containing boroughs: Waltham Forest, Hackney, Islington)

Jennette Arnold, The Labour Party
John Dodds, English Democrats
Meral Ece, Liberal Democrats
Alexander Ellis, Conservative Party
Aled Fisher, Green Party
Maxine Hargreaves, Christian Peoples Alliance and Christian Party
Nicholas Jones, UK Independence Party
Unjum Mirza, Left List

South West (containing boroughs: Hounslow, Richmond upon Thames, Kingston upon Thames)

Tony Arbour, Conservative Party
Andrew Constantine, Free England Party
Roger Cooper, English Democrats
Andrew Cripps, National Front
Peter Dul, UK Independence Party
Tansy Hoskins, Left List
John Hunt, Green Party
Stephen Knight, Liberal Democrats
Sue May, Christian Peoples Alliance and Christian Party
Ansuya Sodha, The Labour Party

West Central (containing boroughs: Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham)

Abby Dharamsey, Independent
Merlene Emerson, Liberal Democrats
Kit Malthouse, Conservative Party
Explo Nani-Kofi, Left List
Murad Qureshi, The Labour Party
Julia Stephenson, Green Party
Alex Vaughan, English Democrats
Paul Wiffen, UK Independence Party

Source (10.4.2008):

London Elects - The candidates

Britannist

Reed is a Saxon name according to the article on the link below - but Mr. Eric Reed (if that is his real name and not one just used for the internet) could, of course, still not be 100% English. He certainly does not write as someone who admires England:

Last Name Meanings

cassie

O'Connor is not an English name, but Matt seems to regard himself as such and I accept that.
Cameron also is not an English name, but I do not accept that David Cameron regards himself as English.



____________________________

Britannist

The Late Eric Forth, the anti-EU Conservative MP, was, of course, Scottish, and he represented the south-east of England Bromley-Chislehurst constituency - a seat he held up until his sad passing in the middle of 2006 - with distinction.

An anti-EU Scottish politician sitting for an English constituency is, of course, worth more to England than an English europhile such as the The Late Edward Heath who caused great damage to England and to the whole of the UK.