The right wing mainstream media must either be short of newsworthy content at the moment or they’re firmly in the clutches of the Tory party as they appear to have jumped on a non-story that the Tories seem overly keen to peddle.
Tory ministers, who never pass up an opportunity to exploit a situation to their advantage, have decided to make a bit of a song and dance about Angela Rayner’s choice of words during a parliamentary debate about financial support for regions under tighter coronavirus restrictions. Apparently, Rayner used the word “scum” to describe Tory MP Chris Clarkson after he called Labour mayor, Andy Burnham an opportunist.
According to Amanda Milling, the Conservative party’s co-chairwoman, Tory MPs have faced “widespread abuse” following Rayner’s remark. Milling has even written to Keir Starmer demanding action against Labour MPs “who perpetrate abuse” and wants a public apology “for Angela Rayner’s record of unparliamentary behaviour,”
This is all a little rich from a party who spent the best part of the last 5yrs smearing and demonising the, twice elected, former leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, and accusing him of being a threat to national security which effectively made him an open target for horrendous abuse and even subject to direct threats on his life. Who can forget the immortal footage of British paratroopers using his photograph for target practice?
Where was the concern, the apology, the reprimand and what action did they take when Boris Johnson repeatedly made sickening racist and Islamophobic remarks resulting in “widespread abuse” against minority groups in the UK? In fact, not only did they not take action, they actually patted him on the back and elected him leader of the Conservative Party.
If nothing else, 2020 has left little doubt in most peoples minds that Tory audacity is matched only by their utter lack of credibility, which is probably why Tory ministers will use ridiculous, petty, squabbles to direct peoples focus away from the government’s breath taking incompetence.
I’d like to dedicate this article to the memory of Labour MP, Jo Cox, murdered at the hands of a neo-Nazi ‘Britain first’ supporter fueled by the anti-immigrant rhetoric that Tory ministers, like Johnson and Patel, spew on an almost daily basis.
