UK - The EU Referendum and the Parliamentary Dirty Tricks Brigade - TruePublica
UK – The EU Referendum and the Parliamentary Dirty Tricks Brigade
– The referendum on whether the Britain leaves or stays in the European
Union is just eight days away. A glossy leaflet dropped through my
letterbox headed: “Vote Leave – The European Union and Your Family: The
Facts.”
The Vote Leave campaign (1) has a Board and Committee comprising of –
broadly – the sort of far right “Little Englanders” that comedies
derive from. There are a handful of Lords, there is Iain Duncan Smith
who called for the invasion of Iraq within two months of 11th
September 2001 who by November 2001 was holding meetings on the topic
with then Vice President Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz and Condoleeza
Rice.
Ironically he also became Conservative Party Leader in September
2001. Announcement of his victory in the leadership contest was delayed
until 13th September 2001 due to the World Trade Centre
disaster. By 2003 his MPs had passed a vote of no confidence in his
leadership forcing his resignation.
Another “Vote Leave” heavyweight (literally) is Alexander Boris de
Pfeffel Johnson, MP, former Mayor of London and the UK’s Donald Trump
(without the orange hue but with the mouth and hair.) Born in New York,
educated at the European School in Brussels amongst other educational
establishments, with Turkish, French and Swiss forbears and a former
Brussels correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, there nevertheless
appears to be nothing remotely outward looking or international about
him.
In Feb 2015 he stated he was to relinquish his US passport (2) having
had residency and dual nationality, either or both of which he seeks to
deny Europeans or indeed British wishing to work and live in Europe. He
stated that: ‘ … he would approach US ambassador Matthew Barzun about
the change. ”It is a laborious business. They don’t make it easy for
you,” ‘ he stated.
Cynics speculated that this move was actually due to his having an
eye on being Prime Minister in anticipation of questions being raised
raised as to his loyalties.
However, according to the Daily Telegraph, aides said his priority
was to avoid paying more to the US tax authorities, after he was forced
to settle a large US capitol gains bill (see 2.)
Another on the ant-transnational relations, pull up the drawbridge
“Vote Leave” wagon is the Minister of State for Employment, Priti Patel.
She was born in the UK to parents who were immigrants to Uganda of
Gujarati origin who then emigrated to the UK shortly before Idi Amin
announced the expulsion of Ugandan Asians in the 1960s. They established
a chain of newsagents, founding a thriving business as have so many who
have come to the UK. However, Patel is hell bent on stopping others
from far closer to home doing the same thing, or again, UK residents who
wish to travel the other way.
A Hindu with close ties to Gujarat, in January 2015 she was announced
there as being among the celebrated “Jewels of Gujarat – Leading Global
Gujarati Personalities.” Double standards abound. Ironically, in 2003
she was quoted as saying that: “racist attitudes do persist within the
(Conservative) party.” (3) Look in the mirror Madam.
A small example of the utter hypocrisy of “Vote Leave.”
Then there is the blatant disregard of the truth. This was contained in the delivered leaflet under “The Facts”:
“ While we’re in the EU, the UK isn’t allowed to negotiate our own
trade deals. This means we currently have no trade deal with key allies
such as Australia, News Zealand or the USA – or important growing
economies like India, China or Brazil …”
