Theresa May’s new year’s honours list included shameless bribery to her Brexit opponents – and a smattering of Labour so-called ‘centrists’, most of whose chief ‘contribution’ to politics has been to try to oppose or undermine the democratic wishes of the party’s members.
So the SKWAWKBOX plans its own alternative honours, to mark the end of a turbulent year by recognising those who have genuinely made a contribution to the fight for the benefit of the many.
Nominations can be of individuals or groups and should be sent to support@skwawkbox.com along with a short paragraph or two on why that person or group deserves recognition for their efforts politically, practically or both.
Nominations will close at 10pm tonight.
The SKWAWKBOX needs your support. This blog is provided free of charge but depends on the generosity of its readers to be viable. If you can afford to, please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal or here for a monthly donation via GoCardless. Thanks for your solidarity so this blog can keep bringing you information the Establishment would prefer you not to know about.
If you wish to reblog this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so – see here for more.
Julian Assange would have to be top of my list though there are others I could think of.
HERE HERE
Julian Assange – Sign the New Petition!
DiEM25
28 Dec 2018 —
For the past weeks, the heating at the embassy has been turned off, so that Assange is freezing in the London winter. They are really doing anything to try to drive him into the hands of the waiting police. Also we have received confirmation that the US has a sealed arrest warrant for him, enabling quick extradition. Therefore we have started a new petition to claim Assange’s human rights and prevent his extradition. Please urgently sign it and share with your friends! Also if you could ensure that all the pro-Assange groups and forums receive it, that would be really helpful. Thanks!
https://www.change.org/p/end-julian-assange-s-isolation/
The Orgreave Truth & Justice campaigners. For their absolute dedication to justice, their resilience & solidarity. A great example to us all. ✊🏻
Labour MP of the year, Chris Williamson
Just nominated Owen Jones. Might nominate Theresa May as well – in the category of – stupid person of the millennium.
Steve Bell, for services to cartooning and being a (the?) major fly in the ointment at the Fraudian…
The best investigative journalist in Britian? Certainly one of the best on Twitter. I was a JSA claimant
@imajsaclaimant
I nominate true socialists and activists Pauline Town and Joe Solo @ “We Shall Overcome” for all their hard work and selfless dedication to raising funds for the homeless and ordinary people who are just struggling with life.
Laura pidcock ,for being an excellent MP and for saying she could never be friends with a Tory
Julian Assange. Political prisoner.
Andrew Marr. For wholeheartedly representing the true non partisan views and beliefs of our sacred BBC.
Teehee.
The Unite Cammel Laird strikers in Liverpool.
The IWGB Deliveroo and Uber strikers
The RMT strikers on Southern, Merseyrail, Northern and South Western Railway, and black cabbies protesting against Uber.
The ASLEF strikers on Southern and the ASLEF members who voted against the Southern deal.
The NAPO Prison Officers striking over cuts and assaults.
The BFAWU Wetherspoons, TGI and McDonalds strikers.
The UVW MOJ cleaners striking.
Yes all above workers for Gold Citizens Awards plus Chris Williamson for question re Tory Govt funding group putting misinformation out about Jeremy Corbyn.
JC himself for keeping calm and dignified amidst all the crap thrown at him.
Researchers who identified Northern Labour Councils had lost £6.9b since austerity cuts whilst Southern Tory Councils had gained £3.5b (apart from those who outsourced everything).
My Unite Community Trade Union Branch for being the first to try to counter the dominant Right Wing Narrative on welfare.
Newly elected left leaders Portugal, Mexico & elsewhere plus left wing democratic socialists everywhere – Gold Citizen Awards to All!
Duncan Spalding Headteacher Aylsham High School , NNorfolk for resisting Academisation and being part of a member of the Aylsham Cluster Trust and part of the Aylsham Learning Federation. This cluster of local schools work together to provide training and support across the schools in the area.
Wayne Beauchamp for investing time in running the North Walsham and District Historical Archive enriching our community.
Craig Murray for informing us on many issues including the Skipral case using his diplomatic experience to explain how things work and for admitting when he gets it wrong.
Jonathan Cook for brilliant informed journalism on the Middle East.
Crispin Flintoff from STAND UP 4 LABOUR who works tirelessly to energise Labour Party members and enrich their communities with fun, culture and politics.
Kerry Anne Mendoza of The Canary , Another Angry Voice , Evolve Politics for real journalism.
Grace Blakely for putting economic theory coherently for the layperson on mainstream tv and for standing up to middle old entitled media male dinosaurs .
Jo Brand for speaking off the cuff on behalf of women defending #metoo on HIGNFY.
Ash Sarkar for being thoughtful and incisive in her responses on Novara Media and for standing up to idiots.
Akala for being intellectually brilliant in debate on mainstream TV. He brings a broader perspective to the discussion challenging mainstream interpretations of UK History and understanding of immigration by referencing our colonial past with evidence and understanding.
Julian Assange,
Chelsea Manning
Edward Snowden for upholding Freedom of the Press.
Angela Rayner MP and Rebecca Long Bailey MP for representing a democratic socialist vision and hope for the future.
From
Mandy McKenna
I nominate Racahel Swindon for her dedication in spreading a Socialist agenda – AND for annoying the hell out of some parts of the right-wing media.
@Rachael_Swindon, @paulapeters2, @iamajsaclaimant, @DerbyChrisW, @johnmcdonellMP, @RespectisVital, @MrTopple & Julian Assange. There’s lots of great people to consider, so its very difficult to pick a few – I’m sure I’ve forgotten some.
Dear Skwawkbox
I would like to nominate Duncan Shipley Dalton.
He is a barrister who has given his time and knowledge completely free of charge to assist suspended members to navigate the NEC/NCC processes.
Whilst I appreciate that the rules have now changed so that suspended members can have a compliant member represent them at hearings, previously, the member could only have legal representation if the NCC agreed.
This meant members either had to pay for legal advice or represent themselves. The NEC/NCC however could utilise members subscriptions to engage the services of a solicitor/barrister to represent them!.
Duncan’s advice and support was invaluable in addressing this imbalance.
He is a true socialist and deserves recognition.
I’d like to nominate Danny Dyer. Anyone who calls David Cameron a ‘twat’ on TV is all right by me.
Feel we need categories Ha! Ha!
Solidarity & let’s make 2019 Tory Free!
Rupert Murdoch. Saggiest man boobs.
I cannot nominate anyone because of the rampant LEFT-LIBERALISM on the Labour left. In other words, they all tolerate capitalism, which ends up with them supporting capitalism; the effect of 40 years of neoliberal hegemony.
Pre-Blair, the formal objective of the Party was to secure for the workers the full fruits of their labour through the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange. Blair obliged Conference to remove this commitment, but I see no way of securing working class interests other than through a predominantly publicly owned economy.
Yet who do we have? John McDonnell flip-flops and gives some speeches which are worthy of New Labour. He and Diane Abbott vacillate on the arrogantly-titled “People’s Vote”. Rebecca Long-Bailey is very much the Shadow Business Secretary not the Shadow Secretary of Public Enterprise. Richard Burgon encourages us to support the power of the bourgeois judiciary and its “rule of law”. Owen Jones and Paul Mason show no desire to move beyond capitalism. Total lack of socialist analysis! The Left is almost a force of the status quo.
If we could somehow happen upon a nice, kind, cosy capitalism in which everyone will be well catered for, then that would be all well and good. But – in an era of capitalist globalisation and huge transnational corporations – no-one puts forward serious argument as to how such “good” capitalism could be attained,
Meanwhile things get worse: homelessness, rotten high housing costs, ever-poorer working terms and conditions – and now the prospect of new financial crises. What we need – both to inspire the country and to make the next Labour government a success – is a COMPREHENSIVE programme of VERY dynamic state action.
….but conversely as no-one is putting forward any serious arguments as how your ‘Utopian’ dream could be achieved the Labour Party’s policy of a well regulated mixed economy looks like the only sustainable way forward.
I must admit that I am continually bemused at the vision of the Labour Party as a small echoing room containing a few individuals just talking to themselves about ‘..ists’ and ‘…isms’, whilst the world goes on turning without paying much heed.
Class traitors everywhere! I mean … that old upper middle-class, elite pragmatist, Attlee …
RH 31/12/2018 at 12:34 pm
You may enjoy reading this
There is a path to a second referendum – and only Labour can win it
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/31/path-second-referendum-labour-win-westminster-brexit-power
My book of the year – Derek Regan’s ‘The Balfour Declaration’ (Verso) which highlights brilliantly how it was British Imperialist interests that was driving its push for a Home for Jewish people in Palestine, and perhaps everything else is just propaganda?
Excellent background. But, of course, the British (and French) culpability for the state of the Near East goes much further.
There are, obviously, many works on the last 100+ years in Palestine and the Middle East. But one particularly interesting text is the extensive “Palestine – The Reality” by J M N Jeffries, published in 1939, and therefore not influenced so much by 70 years of hindsight.
One important aspect that gets hidden as the Israeli propaganda takes over the narrative, is that Zionism at that time was a minority interest in the Jewish community (not central to it) – a modern confection that was seen by much of the community as too close to antisemitic interests in wanting to remove Jews from their home community.
No wonder the right and Israeli axis are keen to put a lid on the viewpoints of the wider Jewish community (particularly the anti-zionist Orthodox community) by trying to exclude the JVL, whose intellectually and morally coherent website demolishes the Board of Deputies etc. claims to representativeness.
Back on topic : a brilliant illustration of what is difficult with the whole notion of ‘honours’ : it becomes a means of perpetuating political preferment and prejudice.
Given that there may be a way of eliminating mere time-serving and political favouritism, there may be a way of honouring genuine, unselfish and beneficial achievement in an ‘objective’ fashion – but it’s bloody hard to detach it from patronage and prejudice. One man’s Julian Assange is another man’s John Redwood!
Perhaps a start might be to eliminate from consideration everyone who has served as an MP or Civil Servant unless they have shown particular distinction in an unrelated field.
Sporting and other celebrity achievement should also be eliminated on the same grounds (an Olympic Gold Medal or representing a national team is a reward in itself, for instance) – unless there is clear added value shown.
Essentially – simply doing a job effectively should not be a criterion. Doing something truly unique or exceptional might be.
I would like to nominate the Skwawkbox for exposing the hypocrisy and lies of the Tory party, the BBC, and the right-wing centrists in the Labour Party.