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farce.

Thecrisis

RobinRamsay

Thepoliticalproblem

Sittinginthepub,afriendofminesaidhecou

ldntunderstand

whatwasgoingonintheLabourPartyatthemoment.Isaid

somethingtothe

effectthattheyhadaproblem:almost

everythingtheybelievedabouteconomicpolicy

forthepast25

yearswaswrong;

andimaginehowdifficultthismakesthings

forthecurrentlea

dership.Theycannotsay,W

ereterribly

sorry:wevebeen

wrongforthelast25years.

Weplumped

fortheCityandig

noredthemanufacturingbas

e.Politicians

dontdothis.Politicalpartiesnotseekingelectione.g.the

CommunistPartyofGreatBritaincansaysuc

hthings(and

theCPGBdidcirca

1990).Butforpartiesengag

edinelectoral

politicsthisisimp

ossible.Orisperceivedasim

possible.They

areforcedtochangetheirpolicieswhilepreten

dingallwas

wellw

hentheywereinoffice.(Oralmostwell:

theymay

acknowledgelittle

thingstheydidgetwrong...

)

Notthatthisproblem

isuniquetoLabour

.Asthe

coalitiongovernmenttalksaboutrebalancingt

heeconomy,

awayfrom

theCitytowardsmanufacturing,theyhavethe

sameproblem.Th

eyalsochosetobankonthe

City.TheBritish

politicalclassand

itsattendantmediamadeahugemistakein

the1980swhen,withNorthSeaoilrevenuestospend,they

chosetocopyAm

ericaandnotGermanyorSw

eden.

Thelastglimpseofamainstream

politica

lpartynot

assumingthatBritainsfuturelayintheserviceeconomy(in

general)andtheCity(inparticular)wasin198

8whenthe

LabourPartywas

doingitspolicyreviewafterthedefeatof

1987.Theeconom

icpartofthatreviewwasdo

nebya

committeechaired

byBryanGouldMP.Gouldr

epresenteda

currentwithinthe

LabourPartyandwiderlabo

urmovementat

thetimewhichwa

shostiletothebankers.Ith

adconcluded

thatthekeystruc

turalconflictinBritainwasntbetweenthe

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Sowed

idourthingandIhungaroundbackstageto

watchtherestoftheacts(Isuspectit

wastheonlytimethat

ChrisMacGreg

orsBluenotesandSamm

yDavisJnr.shareda

bill).Oneofth

oseactswasavisitingBlackMuslim

from

America,who

gotonthemicandbega

nrunningaloadof

rubbishabout

theJewswhich,thesed

ays,wouldgethim

arrested.One

bravesoul,awhiteman

,atthebackofthe

primarilyblackaudience,beganhecklin

gthisBrotherElijah.

Hegotabout

foursentencesoutbefor

eaposseofMichaelXs

gang,theblackEagles,intheirblack

suitsandpolonecks,

grabbedhim,

beathim

upandthrewh

im

out.Itookthatas

mycuetoleaveandcatchthetubeho

me.

Myfirst

experienceofIslam?Anti-semitism

andviolence.

TittleTattle

TomEaston

Blowingthew

histleonDrFox

Anythingwritten

hereaboutthedepartedDefenceSecretary

Liam

Fox,hisbestmanandunofficialadviserAdam

Werritty,

Britainsambassa

dortoIsraelMatthewGouldandtheCabinet

SecretaryGusOD

onnellislikelytobeoutofda

teveryquickly.

Readersneeding

alittlebackgroundcouldstartwithJonathan

CookatCounterp

unch1andBrianBradyinThe

Independenton

Sunday.2Bothdrawveryheavilyandwithva

ryingdegreesof

attributionontheworkofCraigMurray,thef

ormer

ambassadortoUzbekistan,whoisnow

thehig

hest-level

whistleblowertohaveemergedfrom

theForeig

nOffice,ifnot

thewholeapparatusofBritishgovernment,inverymany

years. Notonlyis

Murrayswebsite3carryinghis

ownmaterial,

itisalsodrawing

someknowledgeablecommentsbetween

theinevitabletrollsfrom

thoseattractedtoit

.

WiththeexceptionofTheIndependenton

Sunday,the

mainstream

mediahaveatthisdateshiedawayfrom

the

serioussubstance

ofMurraysallegations:that

apro-Israeli,

neo-conagendai

sbeingrunthroughseniorpo

liticiansand

apparentlyreachingintotheupperreachesoftheForeign

OfficeandMinistryofDefence.

EvenPrivate

Eyeseemsstrangelyreluctanttoenter

thesewaters.The

ymadebriefuseofMurrays

initial

revelations,butn

otatthedepthonecouldexp

ectgivenits

finetrackrecordonothercontroversialsubjects.Thisisnotto

betotallywonder

edat:whentheEyesregular

item

onnewly

electedparliamen

tariansfeaturedneophyteLa

bourMP

1

2

3

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byTim

(Lord)Bell,themanwhohelped

makeMargaret

Thatcher,

wasMattinson,Gouldsoldsid

ekickinthe

modernisationofLabour.Hillspartner

isHilaryCoffman,who

previously

workedforKinnockandMich

aelFoot.

BAPand

theBEEB

Hillssiste

r,BBCchiefeditorialadviserMargaret,isalong-

standingm

emberoftheBritishAmericanProject(Lobsters

passim)w

hosemembersnowseem

tof

illmoreandmoreof

thetimeo

fthecorporationscash-strap

pedcurrentaffairs

output.Ne

wsnightsJeremyPaxmanwa

sformanyyears

posterboyontheBAPwebsite(hispho

tographwasrecently

removed);JamesNaughtieandEvanDavisnowregularlyhost

theBBCR

adio4Todayprogrammewith

frequentBAPguests

includingDavidWilletts,BobStewart,E

dMilibandandDouglas

Alexander.AtypicalTodayscheduleislikelytocontainthreeor

fourBAPm

embers,noneofwhom

disclosetheirmembership

tothelistenerswhohavefundedtheirextracurricular

transatlan

ticbondingthroughlicencefe

esortaxesgoing

towardstheForeignOfficesubventions

totheBAP.

Guardianistas

Moretran

sparentaretheloyaltiesofRogerAltontohislatest

boss,RupertMurdoch.The63-year-old

executiveeditorofThe

Timeswas

akeyfigureinso-calledliber

aljournalism

formost

ofhisearliercareer.AfavouriteofformerGuardianeditorPeter

Preston,A

ltonachievedprominenceon

thattitlebefore

becoming

editorofTheObserver.Thepaperthathad

courageou

slyopposedSuezin1956becameachampionfor

theinvasionofIraqunderAltonseditor

ship.From

2008to

2010hew

aseditorofTheIndependent.OflateAltonhas

turnedup

ontelevisiondefendingNews

Internationalwithan

enthusiasm

thatmustmakeGuardian,O

bserverand

Independe

ntreaderswonderwhatman

nerofmanhasbeen

soinfluentialovertheirnewsconsumptionfor30years.8

Ont

heotherhand,aseniorGuard

ianleaderwriterand

8

Seefor

example

and

columnistformanyyearswasJulianGlover.

Thepartnerofthe

ubiquitousMurdoch

columnistandformerTh

atcheriteMatthew

Parris(heworkedfo

rherinNo10beforebecominganMP),

Gloverhasleftliberaljournalism

toworkas

speechwriterfor

thePrimeMinisterD

avidCameron.JamesCa

meronandJohn

Arlott,turninyourg

raves......

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52/72fto,andsome

timesbentthelegalsystem

forthemobin

Dallas,oneof

whosememberswasJackRuby.WhenRuby

shotOswald,

theDallaslawenforcementsystem

knew

preciselywho

Rubywas,andhowmuc

hdamageanhonest

investigationofthemanwoulddotot

hem.Whattheauthor

hasnotdone

isconnectthatcrime/law

enforcement/politics

nexustotheshootingofKennedy.He

assumesthatRubywas

killingOswald

onbehalfoftheDallasm

ob,who(theauthor

believes)had

shotKennedy.Butthisisonlyanassumption;

andwhenRub

ydiddrophintsabouttheKennedykillingwhile

inprison,hepointedpeoplenotatCiv

elloandtheDallas

gambling-drug

snetwork,butatLBJ.

TooStoned

TheAtlanticanditsEnemies:apersonalhistory

oftheColdWar

NormanStone

Lon

don:AllenLane,2010,30,h/b

YourememberN

ormanStone:oneofMrsThatchersfavourite

historiansandoccasionalspeechwriterforher.

Ihadnotread

anyofhisbooksbutIpickedupacopyofthisinmylocal

library(itstillhasafewbooksamongthecom

putersand

DVDs).Whatisa

personalhistoryyouask?W

ell,itseemsto

meanoneinwhichnodocumentationisrequir

ed.Thatwould

beOK;butitalso

seemstomeanoneinwhich

theauthors

textisnotedited.InhislengthyintroductionS

tonecreditsno

editoranditshows.

Onpage54

,discussingtheearlyyearso

ftheColdWar,

Stonedescribest

he1948deathoftheCzechpoliticianJan

Masaryk,whowa

sfoundlyingonthepavementbeneaththe

smallbathroomw

indowofhisflat.Murder?Su

icide?Stone

offersthisexplan

ationofthestillunexplained

death:

Perhapstheaffaircanbeexplainedbyd

rugs.LSD,

whichhadbeendiscoveredinSwitzerlandattheendof

the1930s,

cancauseasortofbirthtrauma:afoetus,

strugglinginsidethewomb,thenmaking,head-first,for

asmallope

ningthroughwhichithastofightits

way....Masy

ryk...probablyusedthethen

fashionable

drugsofhig

hsocietyand....thistimeove

rdidthedose.

Idontknowthat

Ihavereadamoreridiculousparagraphina

would-beserious

book.Hemightaswellspeculatethat

Masarykwaskille

dinafailedabductionattemptbyaliens

youknow:theyg

othim

ontheirbluebeamthroughthe

bathroom

window

butdroppedhim....Atthisp

ointIstopped

readingthebook

andjustbeganflippingthrou

ghit.

Onpage64

StonetellsusthatinItalyin

1948the

Communistslost

theelection.Aboutthatelect

ion,

Therewere

(andare)criesoffoul,bec

auseofcovert

activitybyCIAmensuchasMichaelLede

enorEdward

Luttwak,whoknewthecountrywell.

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56/72materialanddoesnotseem

tograspt

hatalls

hecansayis

Well,hetold

methis,orthatalittlet

houghtaboutits

plausibilitymighthavebeeninorder.

PaulLashmarsSpyFlightsoftheColdWar(1996),still

availableonA

mazon,istheplacetostartonthebooksmain

subject.

RobinRamsay

NottingHillinYeOldenTyme

MurderinNottingHill

MarkOlden

Winchester,UK:ZeroBooks,2011,196pps,illus.,notesand

sources,p/b,11.99.

ThemurderoftheblackcarpenterKelsoCoc

hraneonthe

streetsofNottingHillbyawhitegangin195

9hasnevergone

away.Nevergonea

waybecauseitwaswith

outdoubtaracist

murderbut,further,becausenobodywasev

erarrestedand

charged,letaloneconvicted(somuchforthe

vastresourcesof

theMetPolice!).So,

miasma-like,ithasjusthungthereuntil

now.Withdiligentr

esearchovermanyyears

Oldenhas

trackeddownandin

terviewedtheNottingHillfacesof1959

andnamestheform

ermerchantseamanwhofatallystabbed

Cochrane.Touseth

atcurrentbuzzword,thisisclosureofa

kind,butnotfullclo

sureasitstillleavesthe

bigquestionof

whytheMetdidnts

olvethecrime;andhere

Oldenpointstoa

cocktailo

freasons,

namelytheracism

andin

competenceof

thepolice,withada

shofpoliticalinterferenc

e.

NottingHillisOldensterritoryandhek

nowsitwell.He

deftlydescribesitsr

iseandfall;and,unlikem

uchlocalhistory,

heputsahumanfacetoit.Weseeitthroughtheeyesofthe

peoplewholivedan

dworkedthere,grewup

there,notably

thosetowhom

itwa

shomein1959.ThusMurderinNottingHill

isnotjustaboutam

urder,itsalsoaboutatimeandplace.

AnthonyFrewin

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output(p.316)butgivesnofigures.Hedoesstatethatin

2008,justbeforethecrash,aquartero

fcorporatetaxescame

from

thef

inancialservicessector.(p.10

0)Tobecertainhedid

meancorporatetaxesandnotcorporationtax,Ie-mailedhim

andherepliedthus:

The

informationcomesfrom

the

answertoa

parliamentaryquestionearlierthisyear.Corporate

taxesreferstoalltaxesandnotjustcorporationtax.

You

shouldbeabletogetthedetailsfrom

the

parliamentarywebsitewhichcontainsanswersto

writtenparliamentaryquestions.

AftertenminutesofreformattingquestionsfortheSearch

boxonthatsiteandnotfindingtheque

stion,Igaveupand

turnedto

anothersourceonthis,theannualsurveyoftax

paidbyth

efinancialservicessectordonebyaccountants

PriceWaterhouseCooperfortheCityof

LondonCorporation.1

Thisestim

ated:

...th

atfor2010thefinancialsectorasawholemadea

Tota

lTaxContributionof53.4billion,whichis11.2%o

f

totalgovernmenttaxreceipts,from

alltaxes,forthat

year

.

Thisisdownfrom

12.1%in2009,accor

dingtothesame

source. Ev

enifweassumethatthefigu

reisareasonably

accuratee

stimate(andithasbeencha

llenged2)abouthalfof

thatisthe

domesticbankingsector,so

theCityaswethinkof

it,theglobalhub,amountstoabout6%

oftotaltaxation;and

theappropriateresponsetothatfigure

wouldbeisthatall?

ThewaythatDarling,politiciansingene

ralandmuchofthe

mediatalk

,wemightconcludethatthe

financialserviceswere

justabout

allt

hiscountryhad.

RobinRamsay

1

2

InCity

Stateagainstnationalsettlement:UKeconomicpolicyand

politicsafte

rthefinancialcrisis,CRESC

Wor

kingPaperSeries,Working

PaperNo.101,2011at.

Theauthorsarguethatthe

truefigure

isabouthalfofthis.

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enligh

tenmentprinciplesincludingthoseofdemocracy,

socialresponsibilityandjustice

tosuitourownends.

Head

ds:

Wew

erepersuadedthattherew

erenolimitsto

growth.Wethoughtwedidnoth

avetocareaboutthe

consequencesofouractions.We

believedthatthe

responsibilitytoborrowmoneywithinourlimits,orthe

obliga

tiontousetheworldsreso

urcesconsiderately

wasfo

rothers.Asweareabouttolearn,thatwas

wrong

.

Hissolutions,astendstobethecasea

ttheconclusionofthis

typeofbook,sufferfrom

acertainprolixity,butare,inthe

main,wellg

rounded:economiesneedt

oberight-sizedinline

withshrinkingresources,weneedtop

ricethoseresources

correctlyan

dprofitsneedtobefair.Thereistheoccasional

eccentricity,orworse,aswhenhefollo

wsaproposalfor

universalbirthcontrolwiththegrossly

illiberalsuggestionto

bantheactivitiesofmanyreligiousgro

upsonthegroundthat

allt

heydo

isencourageevenmorepeopletobelieveina

dream

that

cannotcometrue.

Thats

funny.Ithoughtthestandardcritiqueofreligion

wasthatitmadepeopletooaccepting

ofpovertyand

oppressioninthisworldbyholdingout

thepromiseof

happinessintheafter-life.

Thats

aid,thisisabookforourtim

e.Itwilldowell.

Ironic,really,giventhebleaknessofmu

chofitscontent.But

then,nearly

40yearsago,abookentitledSmallisBeautiful

becomeone

ofthebiggestsellersofits

time.

Funnilyenough,hadweheededt

hewarningsinthat

firstbook,w

emayneverhaveneeded

thisone. D

anAtkinson

DanAtkinso

nblogsat

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levelthatw

ouldneverbeagreed

al.Tothee

ndofhislifeSmith

dvocatedtheseviews.

obesimilarlydisposed.So,too,

rloserinth

eEnglishsystem.

usesthisa

pproachandnever

ervativeParty.GeorgeBrownand

4-1966thoughtthesame.Allhave

lexSalmon

willsucceedinScotland

eyhavefailed.From

thevantage

howsuccess

fultheEnglish

keepingpower.....apointofview

tssuchasGerryHealy(whoknew

)wouldhavestartedallt

heir

SimonMatthews