This Pound Shop Thatcher

Mick Hall @ Organized Rage writes that:

As the old song goes Theresa May is " just running scared" its why she will not take part in a leaders debate.

Mrs May prefers a cosy chat with Tories.

Here in Thurrock we have become used to Tory politicians lying to us. During the 2015 general election campaign our Tory MP Jackie Doyle Price promised to oppose any new Thames crossing within the borough. Shortly after she was reelected she went back on her word and supported a Thames crossing. Only she knows whether having her bottom on the soft leather seat of a government limousine made her forget Thurrock is one of the most polluted areas in England and Wales and the last thing it needs is yet another Thames crossing poisoning our youngsters and elderly.

Still, lies seem to drip from Tory lips and why wouldn't they when Theresa May is at the helm. She told us all there would be no snap election not once, not twice, but eleven times since she became PM. Yet this week she went back on her word and called a snap election on the 8th June. What has fundamentally changed since the 20 March when she last said there would be no snap election she refuses to say.

This woman has no shame. With a record like her's it's hard to know why any rational voter would believe a single word she says. It's not only on this matter which she has lied. When first in office this pound shop Thatcher claimed she was supporting ordinary working families, yet within months she introduced even more austerity measures which hit these families hardest, while giving yet more tax breaks to the most wealthy and multinational corporations.

Thankfully we have the choice of Mr Corbyn to vote for on 8th June. Ignore the pro-Tory media's claims about him not being leadership material. Since he became party leader he has been under a torrent of abuse and smears from his political opponents and the media, yet not once has he done anything but stand firm. He has shown in a life time of politics he is a man with strong core beliefs. Unlike Cameron, May, and the LibDem Nick Clegg, he does not flip flop all over the place and tac his sails to policies laid down by media barons like Murdoch, Rothermere, Dacre and the Russian oligarch Lebedev.

During Prime ministers questions he bettered the Tory leader week in and week out. Thus it's hardly surprising she is refusing to debate with him on live TV. Cameron acted in an equally cowardly manner in 2015 and the media acquiesced to Tory demands. This must not happen a second time. If Mrs May fails to fill her chair in the studio it should be left empty for viewers to see Theresa May refused to debate in a democratic forum the future of our nation. Even Donald Trump didn't shy away from a leaders' debate indeed he relished it and voters acted accordingly. (Please sign petition)

Corbyn has made it clear the result of June’s general election is not a foregone conclusion no matter what the media hype might claim. He opened Labour’s campaign by pledging to bust the “cosy cartel” of British politics. He added:

Much of the media and establishment are saying this election is a foregone conclusion. They think there are rules in politics, which if you don’t follow by doffing your cap to powerful people, accepting that things can’t really change, then you can’t win.

They say I don’t play by the rules – their rules. We can’t win, they say, because we don’t play their game. They’re quite right I don’t. And a Labour government elected on 8 June won’t play by their rules.

Corbyn then said it's time fat-cat bosses were reined in and started pay their full share of tax.

If I were Southern Rail or Philip Green [chairman of Arcadia Group], I’d be worried about a Labour government.
If I were Mike Ashley [chairman of Sports Direct] or the CEO of a tax-avoiding multinational corporation, I’d want to see a Tory victory. Labour is the party that will put the interests of the majority first.

He concluded:

When Labour win, it’s the people – not the powerful – who win. The nurse, the teacher, the small trader, the carer, the builder, the office worker win. We all win. In the coming weeks Labour will lay out our policies to unlock opportunities for every single person in this country. We will focus on giving people real control over their own lives and make sure that everybody reaps a just reward for the work that they do. We will no longer allow those at the top to leach off of those who bust their guts on zero hours contracts or those forced to make sacrifices to pay their mortgage or their rent. Instead of the country’s wealth being hidden in tax havens we will put it in the hands of the people of Britain as they are the ones who earned it. In this election Labour will lead the movement to make that change. We will build a new economy, worthy of the 21st century and we will build a country for the many not the few.

Not only is Jeremy Corbyn leadership material, he is just the man to put this nation on a new footing, a place where everyone gets their fare share and not as it is today just the wealthy and powerful.

Theresa May has presented the result of the election as a test of her leadership against Corbyn’s. Bring it on. Ted Heath did much the same in 1975 when he asked the electorate to decide "who governs Britain - the unions or the government" The British people rejected his clear attempt to divide the nation and returned Harold Wilson to office. Corbyn will do the same.

Vote Labour on June 8.