Labour's Oncoming Schism

Statement on Livingstone disciplinary. pic.twitter.com/HPnHrpdITP

— Tom Watson (@tom_watson) April 5, 2017

Ken Livingstone's Hitler Fetish

KEN KLAXON: Jews Received Training From SS, "Real Collaboration" Between Nazis and Jews https://t.co/SQwg9fCcPX pic.twitter.com/BY9n8V8jTp

— Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) March 30, 2017

Livingston faces a Labour disciplinary committee this morning.

Labour Intent On Purging Itself Into Non Existence

Ken Livingstone calls for a dozen anti-Corbyn MPs to be suspended as he mentions Hitler again https://t.co/79hpuKQggd pic.twitter.com/hdOwyVMazq

— Telegraph News (@TelegraphNews) March 22, 2017

Red Ken Goes Private

Ken Leninspart, the Labour candidate to be Mayor of London and opponent of NHS privatisation, has been outed by City A.M. as a user of private health services.

A spokesman for Leninspart tried to spin the revelation of hypocrisy away, by claiming that Leninspart only uses an “external provider” for annual check-ups.

That won't wash, private check-ups generally cost anything from several hundred pounds to several thousand; and for a man who claims to be anti privatisation it is rank hypocrisy to use an "external provider".

The Tears of a Fraud

On Wednesday I wrote the following about Ken Leninspart:

"The Evening Standard reports that Ken Livingstone burst into tears at the sight of his own election broadcast.

A rare event, the last time Ken cried was when he was apologising for the slave trade.

Beware politicians who blub for the camera!

Still, the good news for Ed Miliband is that this made him look competent and in control."

Well now it seems that, according to the Guardian, those tears were not genuine at all.

For why?

The people in Ken's election video were actors hired and paid for by Liebour.

Nice try Ken, now that you have been exposed to be a complete fraud please crawl back under the stone from whence you came!

The Tears of a Clown

The Evening Standard reports that Ken Livingstone burst into tears at the sight of his own election broadcast.

A rare event, the last time Ken cried was when he was apologising for the slave trade.

Beware politicians who blub for the camera!

Still, the good news for Ed Miliband is that this made him look competent and in control.

Politicians' Tax Returns

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has let it be known that he is "very relaxed" about publishing his tax returns and believes the "time is coming" for politicians to be more open about their personal finances.

That sounds all very nice and "open", until that is you actually think things through and realise that at tax return does not show background wealth (eg trusts, inheritance etc). You only have to look at the ongoing spat that erupted between Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone over the "accuracy", or otherwise, of their recently published tax returns to see how such "openness" achieves nothing.

Politicians who claim that they are "relaxed" about publishing their tax returns are playing to the gallery and are being disingenuous, their tax returns will reveal little more about their true wealth.

Hypocritcal Gobshites

It is not just politicians who are prone to double standards and hypocrisy, but also those who feed off politics; ie the media.

The Mirror is foaming at the mouth over the income of Boris Johnson (he, Ken Leninspart and the Liberal candidate have published their tax returns as part of the contest to be London Mayor).

The Mirror shouts:
"

How did London mayor Boris Johnson find the time to earn £900,000 on the side?

The staggering sum, which he has described as “chicken feed”, comes on top of his lavish £143,911 taxpayer-funded salary"

This faux "outrage" is really rather "odd" given the pay that the Trinity Mirror's (owner of The Daily Mirror) CEO Sly Bailey actually receives:

"The pay package handed out to Trinity Mirror (LSE: TNI) boss Sly Bailey has had shareholders up in arms of late, and it's easy to see why.

With executive pay becoming increasingly disconnected from the money they actually earn for their employers (that is, their shareholders), disaffection is spreading amongst the ranks of everyday investors, and their voices are becoming increasingly harder to ignore in the country's boardrooms.

In this case, big investors are airing their displeasure too, after chief executive Ms Bailey was paid a total of £1.3m in cash, shares and pension contributions in 2011, despite Trinity Mirror having only last month reported a 40% fall in pre-tax profits, capping a dismal few years of falling profits, suspended dividends, and worrying levels of debt.

Collapsing value

The share price has collapsed too, falling from a 2009 peak of 192p to just 37p today, meaning that Ms Bailey has presided over a slashing of the company's capitalization. When she took over the top job in 2003, Trinity Mirror was valued at £1.1bn -- today it is worth just £97m.

The company's pension fund is suffering too, as the company has had to pursue a deal with its trustees to pare back its contributions in order to pay its dues to some of its creditors.

To answer some of the criticisms, the board of directors has decided to halve the value of any future cash bonuses paid to Ms Bailey, reducing it from a maximum of 110% of her basic salary to 55%.

Investors not calmed

But the move looks unlikely to stem the unrest, as they appear unwilling to budge on the overall levels of the boss's pay package, with share-based incentives boosted to compensate for any potential cash loss.

The board's actions appear to be at least partly aimed at avoiding a shareholder revolt at its upcoming AGM in May -- last year 11% voted against the CEO's pay deal, and a higher level of protest is expected this year.

But will it succeed in heading off the madding crowds? Major investors in Trinity Mirror include Schroders, Aviva, Standard Life, Royal London and Legal & General -- we'll find out next month whether they have the courage to press for shareholders' rights."

Maybe The Mirror hasn't been told what their CEO receives, or maybe The Mirror is simply being hypocritical?