#elphicke

[eaglesnick]

“The Inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings”– Winston Churchill

The latest wealthy Conservative donor to endorse Starmer’s Labour Party is billionaire John Caudwell.  Like many billionaires, Caudwell is no stranger to controversy. In 2002, he was accused of

“…bullying staff to back his plans to build lucrative executive homes on greenbelt land.”  (Guardian: 04/07/02)

Could this be a reason why Starmer has said he would give local councils more powers to build on green belt land? Is this another example of would be Labour cronyism at play?

More recently, Caudwell was involved in a High Court case where he was accused of:

“...orchestrating a campaign to oust her (business woman Nathalie Dauriac) from Signia, and to expropriate shares at a low value.” (Financial Times: 08/05/18)

Caudwell was ordered to pay Dauriac, his former business partner,  £471,000 for the value of her shares. Previous to their falling out, Caudwell, putting profit making before human decency, had asked Dauriac to promise not to have children until the business was “firmly established”. Ms Dauriac also accused Caudwell of “bullying" tactics during their partnership.

This new convert to the Starmer’s Labour Party admitted on Desert Island Discs that he had:

“…taken advantage of tax avoidance schemes in order to be able to invest more heavily in Phones4U when it was still a fledgling company. (The Standard: 23/01/23)

Many on the left-wing of the Labour Party have either been suspended or kicked out of the party altogether under Starmer.  When Starmer says he has changed the Labour Party it is true – he has, but will he live to regret it?

Like many political dictators, Starmer has purged the party of anyone who doesn’t agree with his worldview. This is how the BBC reported his actions:

“Sir Kier Starmer has been accused of freezing out left-wingers and promoting his supporters…At the same time the party has been accused of "parachuting" Starmerite candidates into seats over the wishes of local Labour members” (BBC News: 02/06/24)

No leader worthy of that title should surround themselves with "Yes” men and women. A strong leader can tolerate opposition within their own ranks. In fact they should welcome it. Good Cabinet government DEMANDS a variety of views be aired when discussing policy options.  Is Starmer so insecure he cannot abide opinions other than his own? No, I don’t think so.

Starmer knows exactly what he wants to do and how to get there. Unfortunately, his views are so far right of traditional Labour Party values he has found it necessary to expel or silence the left wing of the party. But in alienating the left he has had to turn increasingly to wealthy outsiders like Caudwell to bolster his position, as well as the right-wing Blairites within.

When Conservative Natalie Elphicke, a hard-line anti-immigration Conservative, decided Keir Starmer was the leader for her, eyes were raised, but should they have been? We have already noted elsewhere that Starmer (and shadow cabinet colleagues) have been accepting massive donations  from billionaires with private healthcare business connections.

This is just the tip of the iceberg;

“Much has been made of Labour’s increasingly close relationship with big business and the wealthy under Keir Starmer…Dark Arts has already reported on the access and influence enjoyed by corporate lobbying firms who employ Labour candidates to connect their clients with senior party figures.”  (open Democracy: 13/03/24)

And there we have it! Wealthy individual and big corporations are paying money to gain access to Starmer and his team. These huge sums of money are seen as an investment.

That investment is paying off. This why John Caudwell, and people like him have turned to Starmer:

"It's no good living in the past. Let's look where we are, the here and now and the future. What Keir has done - as far as I can see - has taken all the left out of the Labour Party and he has come out with a brilliant set of values and principles and way of growing Britain in complete alignment with my views as a commercial capitalist." (Yahoo News: 19/06/24)

The Labour Party under Keir Starmer is no longer the party for working people : it is the party of “commercial capitalists”

[useless-englandfacts]

welcoming an MP who cut her teeth scaremongering about migrants and refugees, who denounced ‘militant unionism’, who was a member of the far right european research group, who came after marcus rashford because he was campaigning to help impoverished children, is anti-abortion, had a second job while serving as an MP, and was suspended from parliament after trying to influence a judge presiding over the trial of her former husband who was convicted on three accounts of sexual assault. quite the day for keir starmer.

[teenagedirtstache]

[world-of-wales]

CATHERINE'S STYLE FILES - 2024

14 JULY 2024 || The Princess of Wales attended the Gentlemen's Singles Final on day fourteen of Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London.

Catherine was in -

↬ 'Cecilia' Midi Dress in Lilac by Safiyaa ↬ 'Sabine' Medium Hoop Earrings in Gold by By Pariah ↬ Hammered Torque Bangle in 'Forget-Me-Not & Gold' by Halcyon Days ↬ 'Salamander' Torque Bracelet in 'Forget-Me-Not' by Halcyon Days ↬ Wimbledon Green & Wimbledon Purple Member's Bow Pin ↬ Square Sunglasses in 'Black' by Victoria Beckham ↬ 'Milly' Mini Handheld Bag in 'Trench Leather' by L.K. Bennett ↬ 'Lucia' Slingback Pumps in 'Tan' by Camilla Elphick

[smashpages]

Dark Horse has announced another miniseries tying into the video game Cyberpunk, titled Cyberpunk 2077: Kickdown. It’s by Tomasz Marchewka, the principal writer of the Cyberpunk 2077 expansion Phantom Liberty, with artist Jake Elphick, colorist Jason Wordie and letterer Frank Cvetkovic.

Read more

[artverso]

Jake Elphick - Cyberpunk 2077

[lilliankillthisman]

Another Tory MP defecting to Labour, let's take a look at her record as a progressive, moderate Tory who can find common ground with our favourite left-wing party,

Hmm.

Okay.

Got it.

....Neat.

Awesome.

Just great to see another fine upstanding addition to the Labour Party, is what I'm saying.

[classicartverso]

Jake Elphick - Cyberpunk 2077

[letterboxd-loggd]

Ordeal by Innocence (1984) Desmond Davis and Alan Birkinshaw

December 7th 2024

[thequeensbastardenglish]

Labour just cheerfully accepting the plague rats fleeing the sinking ship

[stylestream]

Kate Middleton | Safiyaa dress • Camilla Elphick heels • L.K.Bennett bag | Wimbledon | 2024

[earth-1218designate]

[albiandreams]

I wrote about the surreal experience of watching the media circus around Baby Reindeer unfold, as someone who looks uncomfortably like Martha:

[mudfogblog]

So who is next???

Vote Labour, get a Conservative MP…literally!

[geekcavepodcast]

"Cyberpunk 2077: Kickdown" Shows Off New Cars

Dark Horse and CD Projekt Red are partnering on a new comic miniseries set in the world of Cyberpunk 2077. Cyberpunk 2077: Kickdown hails from writer Tomasz Marchewka, artist Jake Elphick, colorist Jason Wordie, and letterer Frank Cvetkovic. The CD Projekt Red team designed the new cars featured in the comic.

"With her foot on the pedal of the hottest ride in Night City, the daughter of a famed carjacker is out to fix the past. Fire up the engines, street racing action is taking over. With a crowd of gangsters, racers, and criminals, word is spreading fast—and that is all according to plan. Meet new characters from the world of Cyberpunk 2077 as the underbelly of this corrupt world kicks it into fifth gear." (Dark Horse)

Cyberpunk 2077: Kickdown #1 (of 4) goes on sale on July 3, 2024. The comic features main cover art by Elphick and variant covers by PUDCEF, André Lima Araújo and Chris O'Halloran, and DOFRESH.

(Image via Dark Horse - Jake Elphick's Cover of Cyberpunk 2077: Kickdown #1)

[artverso]

Jake Elphick - Cyberpunk 2077