Friday 31 March 2017

A sad song for Remoaners

What a week. Just how significant will the letter be? Of course I am referring to the letter sent to the EU President to trigger Article 50 and the "inevitable" divorce of the UK from the EU. As the government has admitted, we have no way of knowing what will happen come 2019.

I have not seen any change in the facts so I have not changed my mind
Those who voted Remain in the EU referendum are branded the 48% whilst those of us who still argue that the vote to Leave was a mistake are branded Remoaners. I am told that I have to get over it and accept the will of the people ................... no, I'm not sorry to say that I will not. I respect their right to hold the views that they do but I too should be allowed to hold true to my own view. I am also regaled with exhortations that this is a time to pull together which reminds me of another famous letter, which, at the time was held aloft triumphantly with the words, "I have a little note" ............. and we know where that ended up. I mention this merely to point out that politicians can make mistakes, they do sometimes say things that turn out not to be true and some of their decisions, in hindsight, demonstrate a lack of understanding and wisdom.
Neville Chamberlain with his note from Herr Hitler
So, the process begins and Remoaners such as myself cast around for straws of comfort; still not quite able to believe that our country has fallen to nationalist ideology and xenophobia. OK, I will admit that there were many who voted Leave for what they considered to be higher ideals and I have many friends (yes I know that is hard to believe), many friends who I still respect who, none-the-less voted to leave the EU. They still believe in a better future despite so many indicators that show a belittling of our nation in the coming years following Brexit. To them I am a Remoaner who will one day be forced to realise that they were right and I was wrong.

A sad song for Remoaner


So, in a week of deep sadness I offer you this poignant Dylan song which sums up just how I am feeling. When listening to the song imagine that these are the words sung by a supporter of Brexit who is saddened that a loved one insists on continuing with the belief that it is better that the UK remains in the EU ...... a Remoaner.

For Ramona performed by Alan Price - link for those who receive the blogposts via email

I have chosen this wonderful version by Alan Price (ex the Animals) not least because you can follow Dylan's lyrics on the video. The twist is in the last line.


Friday 17 March 2017

The pool of tears

Try as I might I cannot shake off the feeling that I am taking part in somebody else's dream. Each morning I wake up with the hope that the world is as I left it the night before but then reality takes hold as I remember that I was living in a nightmare even before I went to sleep, the surreal world of dreams now being more rational in comparison. I wake to a world where undeniable truths are replaced by the cockeyed logic of Brexit and Trump.

For instance, Hammond's spring budget where he spoke of building up a reserve to stave off the effects of Brexit once we finally leave the EU. It wasn't many months ago that the former Tory chancellor Osborne was warning us that the main problem facing the UK was the annual deficit and a burgeoning national debt. In one day of referendum all this has changed because choosing to leave the EU with a deal or even no deal offers a great future for this country. As Theresa May said, "no deal is better than a bad deal", then going on to say, "sentence first! then the verdict" ............. or was that latter quote uttered by The Queen of Hearts?

What utter nonsense all this is. Total confusion in government with the "Brexit" minister David Davies admitting that no analysis has been made of a Brexit without a deal. He then went on to say that such an analysis would be impossible because of what might happen in the meantime. I don't think I've ever heard a government minister say anything quite so stupid as that before* and it does ask the question,"how can Theresa May claim that no deal is better than a bad deal if she has no idea what a no deal scenario would look like? Have they not considered carrying out a risk assessment? The treasury and the Office for Budget Responsibility have both issued dire warnings of a no-deal exit but it seems that neither Davis nor May have been given copies of those reports.

Alice in Wonderland - George Dunlop Leslie
Brighton & Hove Museums & Art Galleries
For those who were lucky enough to be read bedtime stories the title of this post will need no explanation. Lewis Carroll (the alias of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) wrote about the dream of a little girl who falls asleep on a riverbank, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. At one point in the story Alice cries a flood of tears that end up being a pool in which she is swimming.  BelperStuff follows a long line of political commentators who have drawn parallels between Lewis Carroll's masterpiece and the doings of the great and famous but the similarities with the illogicality of the current political scene are striking. The author of this article: Hammond is not telling us what he should be - article in the Independent highlights the absurdity of the government's position. These people are all over the place, floundering in a pool of tears that is all of their own making. The U in UK is at risk as the Scots think about a further independance vote; the border between Northern Ireland and Eire is once again uncertain which threatens the hard won peace in that region (already the political complexion of Stormont has shifted to republicanism); we have no idea what will happen to British jobs or financial institutions and non-UK EU citizens in this country or British nationals living in the EU are considered to be bargaining chips. The two basic pillars of any society are the sustainability of it's economy and the rights and freedoms of it's people. We were assured at successive elections that the country was best off with a Tory government but just look at what we have ended up with!!!!!

But what if this is but a dream?

There is that one feint hope, that I might after all be dreaming all this.That in 2015 the country voted for a Miliband led government that did not hold an EU referendum, that carried out it's pledge to create a million jobs in sustainable, environmentally friendly energy and much more. Their manifesto wasn't perfect but I think that the Tory claim that the SNP would pull the strings of a coalition Labour government would have been so much better (if true) than a Tory party that has completely caved in to the deadly combination of a  eurosceptic far right wing in cahoots with the populism of UKIP. By voting Labour we would have avoided all that and no tears would have been shed ............. well not enough to create a pool anyway ........ at worst a puddle.

I have though to admit that this nightmare is a reality and I am afraid that our government will not wake up until it is too late. When they do finally pull themselves out of the pool of tears all that they will have achieved is to confirm that stupidity means stupidity.

The pool of tears. An original illustration by Tenniel


* I have not heard a government minister say anything as stupid as that ............. since ODS (Ian Duncan Smith) said, "I know what I know".
They can't walk away without a deal. An enormous number of things rely on certification of some sort or other. That the food is safe, that the planes are safe, that we can safely buy extra electricity from France. These are administered by EU bodies, some of them based here in the UK, we are good at standards. Already they are looking to relocate and a bidding war by European cities to host them has broken out. 

If the UK leaves without a deal, walks away without agreement then the food exports will cease, the planes, trains, ships and automobiles will stop moving. Exporters of all sorts will be unable to certify the electrical or mechanical safety of their goods. 

Drugs manufactured here will lose their certification and production will be switched elsewhere plunging thousands into unemployment. That is just one industry. The vehicle makers and exporters will be unable to sell their production and again production will be moved. 

The EU standards have been accepted by the rest of the world. To replace them the UK would have to establish de novo standards agencies in multiple and persuade every other country in the world, though the big trading blocs, EU, NAFTA, ASEAN, CIS, CER, AU will reduce the absolute numbers but complicate the negotiations. It could take 10 to 20 years to complete that process. If we started now it would signal to the EU that we intend to walk away and dam the talks before they start. The process cannot be hidden. 

When the Brexit ministers pretend to you that they can walk away and all will be fine they are either lying or pretending out of desperate bravado.

They can't walk away without a deal. An enormous number of things rely on certification of some sort or other. That the food is safe, that the planes are safe, that we can safely buy extra electricity from France. These are administered by EU bodies, some of them based here in the UK, we are good at standards. Already they are looking to relocate and a bidding war by European cities to host them has broken out. 

If the UK leaves without a deal, walks away without agreement then the food exports will cease, the planes, trains, ships and automobiles will stop moving. Exporters of all sorts will be unable to certify the electrical or mechanical safety of their goods. 

Drugs manufactured here will lose their certification and production will be switched elsewhere plunging thousands into unemployment. That is just one industry. The vehicle makers and exporters will be unable to sell their production and again production will be moved. 

The EU standards have been accepted by the rest of the world. To replace them the UK would have to establish de novo standards agencies in multiple and persuade every other country in the world, though the big trading blocs, EU, NAFTA, ASEAN, CIS, CER, AU will reduce the absolute numbers but complicate the negotiations. It could take 10 to 20 years to complete that process. If we started now it would signal to the EU that we intend to walk away and dam the talks before they start. The process cannot be hidden. 

When the Brexit ministers pretend to you that they can walk away and all will be fine they are either lying or pretending out of desperate bravado.

Tuesday 7 March 2017

Pauline Latham not sentimental about refugees - updated 7/3/2017


Pauline famously stated at an EU Referendum hustings in St.Peter's Church in Belper that her heart told her to vote to leave the EU but her head said that we should stay in.

I wonder which part of her anatomy persuaded her to make these comments about refugees in parliament?


We are too sentimental about refugees - Pauline Latham quoted in the Independant

Updated on 7th March 2017 with yet another ill-advised Pauline Latham comment


The Independent doesn't seem to like Pauline does it.


For some sanity on this issue please refer to a previous BelperStuff blogpost:

Christians on the left at the Labour Party Conference 2016

Wednesday 1 March 2017

Rough sleeping in Belper ---------- an increase in homelessness

Many of us have been hearing rumours that there are individuals sleeping rough in the town and last Saturday BelperStuff was given the opportunity to meet a group of four who are homeless. I met them at the Transition Belper cafe which is a fortnightly, Saturday morning event in No.28 on Market Head. I attended the cafe principally to meet up with the editorial team behind Belper Nailed online magazine but I ended up sitting at a table with a likeable quartet and hearing their stories, the daily struggle that is their life.

Their ages ranged from 32 to 40. One had found temporary accommodation in the Belper hostel for the homeless, one was sofa surfing but was worried that if found out the person who was providing shelter could lose their tenancy; the other two were sleeping out at night. One of them was even trying to hold down a job when they had no homebase; impossible odds. Four people, four different stories of ever increasing challenges which ultimately led them to not just homelessness and severe deprivation but to a point in their lives where there is no hope. No that's not quite correct as they did speak of how things could be better; the vague chance of progressing up the housing list so that you can once again be reunited with your child; or if you can get to grips with your underlying behavioural issues caused by drink, drugs or whatever then perhaps you might be offered a place at a hostel ......... or .......... or ....... or ......... you cling to straws because without hope you have nothing. The young women in the group summed it up when she said, "whichever way I turn I come up against a brick wall ................... but one day I will have enough points to get a home".

They spoke of others who were homeless in the town, a 55 year old man with a crutch who was sleeping rough and also a couple whose only option as they saw it was to live in a tent. The total number outside at night would seem to peak at 5 ........... yes that's right ......... 5 people sleeping rough in Belper. I had found it difficult to accept the rumours that there was just one person sleeping rough but 5 is an absurd number.

If we add on the precarious sofa-surfers (my informant knew of another 6 individuals in the same boat as him) and then add on the 12 staying at the hostel the total of homeless in the town is 24 individuals ............ and those are the ones we know about.

Vagrants No.3 - John Bulloch Souter (1890 - 1972)
Aberdeen Art Gallery


The person from Transition Belper who introduced me to the four at the cafe later took me to the hostel to talk with the staff there. I had noticed mention of the hostel as a point of referral to the Belper food bank (a previous BelperStuff post about the food bank). I had a long and very interesting discussion with the staff who run the hostel and they impressed me with the obvious warmth they felt for those in their care. Obviously they could not go into details about any one individual but I heard enough to gain an impression of a well run facility providing shelter and support in a warm and welcoming environment. The hostel is part of a chain run by an organisation named Riverside (for more details this is the link to their website) and on Monday I telephoned the manager of the hostel, who told me about Riverside's work and their involvement with the homeless. They run a group of hostels, in our area centred around Derby. We discussed the difficulties of providing care against an ever decreasing level of funding (once again - government cuts) so support services and expertise for alcohol and drug dependency have been cut at Belper. I can understand the frustration felt by these professionals as it is obvious that for them this is a vocation. Those in need of specialist help are now referred to Derby but if you are a troubled homeless person the only thing that you can cling onto is friendship with those in the same situation as yourself. By going to Derby you are cut off from this most important of support networks. It doesn't take much imagination to understand the importance of a social network when you are homeless.

The hostel manager put me onto the AVBC officer whose remit includes care for the homeless so I telephoned him as well. Once again I was impressed with the level of commitment and the obvious effort made to ensure the wellbeing of the homeless in the borough. The officer knew the individual cases of each of the homeless that I had met and he was most meticulous in questioning me to see if there was any instance of homelessness that had escaped his notice. He informed me that those that slept rough would be unlikely to reach old age; the combination of health problems associated with exposure, the difficulties of personal hygiene and an impoverished diet taking years of a lifespan. It was rare to find a rough sleeper over the age of 50. He also said that, and here I can quote directly," there are more reports of rough sleeping now in Belper than I have encountered in the last 10 years". Normally there would be none. I asked him why this should be and he said that the homeless in Belper all had a connection with the town and he echoed the view of the hostel staff that the situation had been made worse by government cuts. We spoke of this website: Homeless Link and I urge you to visit the site for the bigger picture.

I was going to move on to the statistics behind homelessness in the East Midlands and of course the national picture but I think that this post is best to just concentrate on the situation in Belper. I will return to that in a subsequent post.

I took photos, visited locations, wrote down names and personal details but it doesn't help to share such specifics. That's why, instead, I accompanied this post with a pertinent artwork. I don't know what the answer to all this is but I am reminded of a conversation I had many years ago with Dr Stephenson who used to practice in Green Lane. He told me that when dealing with any form of difficult to resolve deprivation you just had to keep trying. I have witnessed that same resolve in the professionals with whom I spoke this week. You just have to keep trying but the first step is the easy one ............ people must be aware that the problem exists. The steps that follow get progressively harder.

A next day correction

After writing this post I sat down in my comfortable armchair, ate my dinner in my warm kitchen, relaxed for a few hours with television and then a good book before going to bed. Glancing out of the bedroom window I could see that it was snowing. I lay awake thinking about what I had written.

Did I give the impression that homelessness was the result of drink and drug addiction? I am afraid that I did even though I know that is not accurate. The AVBC housing officer had said that there were many complex reasons why people ended up homeless; each person being a unique case. I am sorry that I may have oversimplified what is obviously a very difficult problem. If there are common threads running through individual circumstances it has to be that they have difficulty finding somewhere to live, consistently paying rent when they do find somewhere and then holding onto that home. By concentrating on the logistics of housing rather than why it is that some fall through the net it becomes a problem of resources. If viewed from that perspective the way forward becomes somewhat clearer.

In a time of housing shortage landlords will choose tenants who will pay the rent and pose fewer problems. It is not as simple as just building more homes and the problem of homelessness will go away but it would be a good place to start. Perhaps that should be part of the next post and I am also concerned that benefit sanctions may be a huge factor in this issue.