That’s why we can celebrate VE Day today!
75 years ago today the Nation celebrated the end of WWII in Europe. Hitler Germany had surrendered unconditionally. Today there will only be ‘virtual’ celebrations because the Nation is still in Lockdown. There’ll be emotionally loaded ‘reminiscences’ in all ‘Our MSM’ though. Will the BBC interrupt their broadcasts so that we can all go out and join that singalong after the Queen’s speech at 8pm today? They did that to enable us to clap for “Our NHS” …
The “Westminster Elite”, the MSM bubble dwellers, are however already framing the post-COVID narrative, nudging us into accepting a Starmer government. After all – the nation got rid of Churchill in the GE 75 years ago, so why not get rid of Johnson now ? He’s on record declaring Churchill his hero, after all – why not give him the same fate?
They are quite shameless, writers such as Max Hastings or Philip Collins in The Times. The DT however wins the gold medal, publishing an article by Sir Keith Starmer. Before I look at those articles in detail, here’s one actually mentioning the PM. It’s in The Express, and it’s interesting that this letter, written yesterday, wasn’t deemed to be important for the broadsheet editors to lead with it:
“Boris Johnson yesterday told Second World War veterans that no other generation can rival their achievement for the country. In a letter to mark today’s 75th anniversary of VE Day, the Prime Minister expressed his “sincere thanks” for their service in the struggle against Nazi tyranny. He also urged Britons to show the “same spirit of national endeavour” as the war generation in the current battle against coronavirus.” (link)
Johnson, evoking the WWII spirit which enabled the Nation to overcome Hitler Germany, plays right into the hands of the Starmer enablers.
The DT leads with an article about ‘wot Starmer sez’ so that we all go and read that thing ourselves (link). More on that below. Of course, the fact that ‘Our NHS’ emptied their hospitals of those elderly people because they expected a ‘tsunami’ of CV-19 victims isn’t mentioned. Not even the thought that perhaps those elderly, turfed out, might have carried the virus and thus infected others in those care homes is worth mentioning.
Instead the opinion pieces drip with ‘concern’ for those elderly who by magic have all become WWII veterans. There are no official numbers, only estimates. I went to the Royal British Legion site to search – but they had nothing. If any of you find official numbers, do please post them in the comments below!
Thus, it’s now easy for politicians and opinion writers to declare that all over 90s must be veterans and must be treated accordingly. It is quite amazing how they’re suddenly discovering their hearts for ‘The Old’. It is stomach-turning though to note how that concern cloaks their drive to get rid of Johnson. I mentioned this yesterday already, today it’s grown like mushrooms after the rain.
The first ‘narrative’ is that Churchill ‘deserved’ to lose the 1945 GE. Max Hastings, writing that the young celebrating VE Day in 1945 ‘wanted change’, next comes up with this:
“Winston Churchill, the patrician hero, failed in one big thing. He refused to identify war aims, beyond those of vanquishing the enemy. In August 1942, the brilliant Australian war correspondent Alan Moorehead highlighted this lapse.” (link, paywalled)
Is Churchill on record for ‘refusing’ to identify war aims? Really? And in 1942 soldiers didn’t know these ‘war aims’? Really? Europe was under the Nazi boot from the Atlantic to Russia, from Norway to North Africa – but “soldiers didn’t know”? Churchill ought to have told them? Ah, but Hastings next explains what those soldiers really fought for, blaming Churchill at the same time::
“Churchill’s inability to grasp this was at one with his distaste for the 1942 Beveridge Report, blueprint for a welfare state, and went far to explain his 1945 election defeat.” (link, paywalled)
I’m not aware that the Beveridge Report had been sent out to all British combattants so they could read it. Contemporary diaries of British people here at home, by housewives and workers, do not mention the Beveridge Report either. So we must believe soldiers and people voted for “Our NHS”, which wasn’t even instituted until 1948 … Right!
Hastings, insinuating that the Beveridge report was the reason for Labour winning the 1945 GE, of course omits to mention that 1945 Labour had a different face than today’s, and that, above all, Labour were part of the National government led by Churchill. And then Hastings lets the first proverbial cat out of the bag:
“The present crisis seems destined again to change the face of Britain, unleashing demands for social, political and economic reform unprecedented in our memories. It is impossible to guess how the politics, especially, will play out. But it seems certain that the state and its institutions will necessarily play a far larger role in our affairs.” (link, paywalled)
And who better to see that ‘the state and its institutions’ will play that larger role than a Starmer Regime! Yeah right …!
Thus the fulsome praise for Starmer in another Times opinion piece is not surprising (link, paywalled). I spare you the waffle and comparisons – suffice to say that the author, Philip Collins, mentions only one of Starmer’s shadow cabinet, a certain Ed Miliband. None of the others are named – the ones who will become the ministers should Starmer get into No 10. The Whitehall Mandarins must be rubbing their hands at the prospect of “guiding” those new ministers, bending them to the Whitehall machinery, domesticating them!
General Sir Nick Carter, in his praise for the WWII generation, inadvertently lets another cat out of his bag. He lauds the scientific advances made during WWII:
“The war was a battle of scientific minds as well as of bullets and bombs. With industry a willing partner, wartime programmes forged new research protocols that led to ground breaking advances in science, technology, medicine, and communications.” (link, paywalled)
Indeed – but haven’t we seen how such efforts worked in Lockdown Britain, with PHE unwilling to collaborate with private enterprise! Would ‘ground breaking advances’ in science have been possible if the War Ministry had told industry not to bother because the War Ministry knew better, private efforts not being needed? That the War Ministry was able to reinvent the wheel, thank you very much? Like ‘Our NHS’ is reinventing those tracking apps which don’t work, as the guinea pigs on the Isle of Wight are finding out (link)?
Next, the good general had to bring in another bit of WWII success, again mentioning ‘collaboration’ – something PHE is patently incapable of:
“The military, in collaboration with academia and industry, achieved remarkable innovation in vaccine development in response to war-enhanced diseases such as influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia. In the 1940s alone, wartime programmes contributed to the development of new or significantly improved vaccines for 10 of the 28 vaccine-preventable diseases identified in the 20th century.” (link, paywalled)
I seem to remember that these vaccines, while the research probably started during WWII, were not readily available for the population until well after the war. But nevertheless – “we” developed vaccines then, so “we” can do it now. That, it seems, is one of the lessons the General wants us to ‘learn’ from VE Day.
So let’s rejoice with Sir Keith Starmer (no, let’s not!) who also wants us to ‘learn a lesson’. His turgid piece has the headline “The lesson of VE Day is that despite the scale of the challenge, a better future is possible” (link). After crocodile tears about those veterans in care homes, after mentioning the two veterans we all know – The Queen and Prince Phillip – , after listing what all we must remember, he lets that third and final cat out of the bag:
“we must go forward with the determination to rebuild a better society. That means repaying the debt we owe to our key workers, who are putting their lives on the line to keep us safe. It means having the courage to tackle the injustices that have existed in our society for too long. And it means writing a new settlement for social care, with dignity and respect at its heart. The lesson of VE Day is that despite the scale of the challenge, a better future is possible. A new society can be built.” (link)
Starmer, ‘celebrating’ VE Day, has shamelessly written a party political programme. It’s about extending welfare to all the ‘vulnerable’ he and Labour have suddenly discovered. Funny how that Labour sentiment hasn’t been displayed up and down the country in Labour-run local councils which have cut services for the elderly for years while our council taxes have provided the local ‘managers’ with incomes and pensions higher than the PM’s. But just as the returning soldiers are now depicted as having voted to get ‘Our NHS’ in 1945, we ‘returning CV-19 fighters’ must presumably be keen to vote for “More NHS”.
I leave you with this quote from a fine article by the historian Andrew Roberts in the DT, about Churchill’s speeches on the VE Day 75 years ago. It puts paid to the latest, lefty distortion by lefty historians who have declared WWII as ‘the people’s war. This is what happened:
“God bless you all,” Churchill told the crowd in Whitehall. “This is your victory!” At this, they roared back: “No, it’s yours!” (link)
Read the whole thing! Always keep in mind though that Starmer is no Attlee or Bevan. Also remember that the WWII veterans, in their 90s now, are a very resilient lot, like the 99-year old veteran Tom Moore who walked up and down his garden to raise money for ‘Our NHS’. Most of them aren’t even in care homes. They don’t regard themselves as ‘vulnerable’.
We can only celebrate the 75th Anniversary of VE Day ‘virtually’, perhaps watching old film clips and watching the Queen addressing the Nation at 8pm today. It’s up to you if you want to go out afterwards and join that singalong pushed by the MSM.
Remember though who the author of our daily sign-off was: Sir Winston Churchill. In that, in his spirit, let’s
KBO!
Photo by British Wallpapers 
It never a good idea to get too reverential about individuals. Churchill was made for the job he did. After the war he was not.
Moorehead and Hastings may have been good at what they did but to in any way suggest that the British needed ‘War aims’ is so ludicrous to be laughable. There we have it how the spin and the motive departs from reality. In the former to be ‘clever’ and possibly controversial and in the latter to push a hidden agenda.
As for our military leader, he would sacked if I had any say.
This is another brilliant article in my humble opinion. Teasing out the analysis and comparisons. A leopard is a leopard and I eternally hope Starmer and his ilk will be going nowhere.
Fighting the ‘National Socialist German Workers Party’ (or NAZI for short) is so different to fighting a flu virus that comparison is rather embarrassing? – We have panic/promoted an epidemic that has so far been no more deadly than recent flu epidemics into a Zombie Apocalypse – Makes you wonder what would happen to us facing a real war? – Makes you wonder what we will do for next years flu epidemic and the year after………
We had our little street party for VE day. Reasonable turnout and SD gradually shrank to about 4 ft as the champagne flowed. Some worry about the future of our little town’s economy and of the large tax bills going our way after lockdown finally ends.
Attlee was a fine member of the War Cabinet. – Starmer was instrumental in not having Saville charged for his disgusting deeds, so I can’t find any reason to respect this guy ! – Churchill was ousted by Attlee for a great many reasons that have gone unmentioned here.
”Is the tragedy to repeat itself ? – Ah no, the stars in their courses proclaim the deliverance of mankind”. – Churchill. – (With apologies for my change to the reason for this quote) ! ….. In any case, Attlee was ousted by Churchill at the next election, which surprised me with the start of the NHS and the Welfare State, but Winston was then too old to be a peace-time leader !
It is encouraging that PM Johnson has a very high regard for PM Churchill. – However, Boris must understand why Winston was so successful, and make adjustment from the war-time period, to today’s peace-time experience ! – He can’t ‘fight them on the beaches’, but he must take us out of the EU, by the democratic will of the people, and upon the date given. – That is his task !
You only have to look at Wales to see what a mess Labour makes of politics. A warning.
Starmer is better than Corbyn, but is a deeply uninspiring orator, and more importantly is a ‘Remainer’ in favour of extending the Brexit transition period for as long as possible, and would campaign for us to re-join the European Union at the earliest opportunity. Taking all this into consideration he is woefully out of step with the general population of this country, so it is no surprise whatsoever that Labour’s standing in the opinion polls has fallen by 2%. No surprise at all.
Have anybody else’s neighbours developed some kind of mental illness involving power tools during the lockdown? Sometimes there are three warring rackets going on simultaneously like one of the fiercer operas. The guy with the metal grinder generally wins just from sheer doggedness.
Not power tools but mine have certainly developed one over clapping on the instruction of our media. They all stand there looking to see who else is clapping, smiling inanely and feeling so proud of themselves. Gives me the shivers. Most creepy thing I have seen in my life; reminds me of Invasion of the Body Snatchers? Are those really my neighbours?
Oh yes mine do all that as well big time. It lasts the whole two minutes. I’ve never looked out of the windows to see the extent of compliance on the street but can tell from the sounds that my next doors have gone full Airstrip One. No one shunned me at least for being a neverclapper.
I don’t much like the look of the new sheep dog they’ve put in place. I think this one will bite more than just ankles.
True, had Jeremy become PM he would almost certainly have tried to wreck our economy with his Marxian economics
but I very much doubt he’d have tried so hard that he’d have succeeded.
Starmer – bigger role for government.
‘Look what big government has achieved in wartime; just think what it can achieve in peacetime’ was, in essence, the Labour line in 45.
And thus the new socialist Jerusalem was sold to the British people and Labour was elected by a landslide to power to lay the foundations of welfarism and nationalisation of industry.
Such was the importance of this great national project that the British people still had ration books until 4th July 54.
Meanwhile, by 1950 Germany was exporting more goods to the world than Britain.
While we built a hydrogen bomb so the Americans would take us (semi) seriously again.
I’m sure many will see the absolute irony of us celebrating VE Day this year as we ponder when our hard won freedoms and democratic rights may return.
Alison Pearson in Telegraph on Wednesday:
“According to the Office for National Statistics, only 215 people under the age of 60 with no pre-existing conditions have died at NHS England hospitals with Covid-19. That’s 215 fatalities out of all fit younger and middle-aged people and virtually our entire workforce. (Remember we lose 450 souls every single day to cancer.)”
Only 215 people out of over 30,000, from the groups losing their education or their livelihoods.
Christoper Hope in Telegraph yesterday:
“Speaking in a personal capacity, [Prof. Dingwall] said: “We have this very strong message which has effectively terrorised the population into believing that this is a disease that is going to kill you. And mostly it isn’t.
“Eighty per cent of the people who get this infection will never need to go near a hospital. The ones who do go to hospital because they are quite seriously ill most of them will come out alive – even those who go into intensive care.
“We have completely lost sight of that in the obsession with deaths, the human interest stories about deaths, the international comparisons about death rates, the opportunities for intrepid television journalists to put on lots of PPE and go into high tech where people are acutely ill.”
And who is Prof. Dingwall?
“He is based at Nottingham Trent University and sits on the Government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), which feeds into its Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).” Clearly they don’t hear what they don’t want to hear.
Labour always claims to be the sole progenitor of ‘Our NHS’ and thus the only ones allowed an opinion on it, because they were the government in 1948, when it was introduced.
I am happy to be corrected, but wasn’t Beveridge a Liberal, and a Baron too boot? And wasn’t his Report published in 1942? And wasn’t it the Conservative-led coalition that published a white paper, in 1944, setting out the need for a “free” and “comprehensive” healthcare service? And did they not have to contend with entrenched opposition from the very medical professionals that now unconditionally worship the NHS?
My war. From the age of six every Saturday evening , we , and that included me and my german Gran, Any uncles home on leave, Mums fiancee ( My father had died ) and another uncle if available covered in blood,oil and paint, getting the planes off from the airport.. We sat round the kitchen table and worked out how much we couls spare for Our Mr Churchill for the war against Hitler. Of whom Gran told stories from cousins , those still in germany.. There is much to tell I suppose, But one thing I remember is the discussions about the “Conchies”, ( Conscienceious Objectors ) and Commie agitators, trying to cause trouble in Longbridge, and the airport repair shops.. They wereuniversally avoided, but in order to save themselves from going to war they would sign up as ‘conchies’. By the end of the war they were shrieking on every street corner in Northfield to Cadburys to Selly Oak and handsworth and Harborne. I used to listen to try and understand them..
But what, after family discussion,was the deciding arguement from the Servicemen was coming home after the war, and finding all the big jobs now held by those who hadn’t fought.. The girls who had done jobs left almost overnight ( at least thats what it felt like to me. But the Conchies were the same, only now it became ” Homes for Heroes” etc..and the unfairness of ex-heros who had no jobs because girls were cheaper and not advertised, and if you had been fighting you didn’t want to ask a girl for her job. Conchies had no such qualms
But that’s enough. It’s a little of what happened
And Germany losst millions of brave young men as well.
All because of a Socialist politician .
Never mind Stalins millions.
Thanks for describing that. At the time, I was living with my Gran and Mother in Linden Rd. Bournville, but I was too young to notice things as you have described. Grandad was working at Longbridge and Dad was away in the RAF.
Thank you. The primary sources tell one more in two paragraphs than most History texts manage in two chapters. I salute you Sir.
To add a little background, Our MP .Labour but head screwed on, in 1950 or so was deselected by a committee of conchies who replaced him with another conchy.. Momentum are faithful to the old corruptions.
Re vets from WWII…
These would have to have been born in 1927 or earlier. In 2018 there were nearly 600k 90+ in the UK. Assuming half have now died before reaching 93 (today) there’s probably about 300k who were of age in 1945. There will be fewer men than woman probably due to men dying earlier so maybe 100k men left of whom a good few are likely to have seen service. And of course a significant number of the women are likely to have played a vital role too.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/ageing/bulletins/estimatesoftheveryoldincludingcentenarians/latest
I watched a couple of minutes of bbc TV last night.
It was all about WW2 veterans complete with group photos.
They were all from the indian sub continent, africa, and the west indies.
No Canadians, Anzacs, Polish or similar. Not any white British of course.
I guessed the next programme was all about that black man, Admiral Lord Nelson – enough said.
(Re-)Education, (Re-)Education, (Re-)Education.
n.b. Decide which end of the barrel are you looking down before you decide to cry hate crime.
I’m so glad our lovely Colonies of Colour defeated that nasty Mr Hitler and the Jap God Emperor whilst we sheltered in place counting our sugar cane millions.
There was apparently a ‘twitter storm’ last night when Starmer turned while clapping the NHS ( lest we forget ) and asked the assembled media, if they ‘have got what you need’ . this was not seen in a good light in the DM comments section either.
If he wants to talk about history he could do well to rememeber that the Labour Party of Attlee ( was very different than the party now supported by the main stream media itself also in decline) which won with a landslide of 145 seats, it won in 1950 with a majority of 5, and lost twenty months later in the 1951 election. Very differant to the situation now when the Boris government has 50% support in the latest polls while Labour support since Starmer has declined by 2% .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XON2XeGDE6A
Essential viewing about the virus deaths. Nota bene. Prof Ferguson suggest that a very substantial portion of the extra deaths above the average in April may be collateral due to lockdown and not the virus.
My take on the war is that people got used to a society in which government played a far bigger role than before and saw it as having been a preservative. Saw it anyway! They wanted it to continue and Labour seemed to fit the bill. Result. Evelyn Waugh said Britain felt like an occupied country. The ‘man in Whitehall knows best’.
Indeed, a grossly over swollen Whitehall grimly hanging on to the excuse of rationing for another 6 years.
Just a brilliant quote from Winston.
A well known author of many ground-breaking Management books, C. Northcote – Parkinson, ” Work expands to fill the space available”
Rememberthat when the service asks for another 400 people. They NEVER ask to lose them.EVER.
And they are all busy. See hospital admin depts..
Always open the door whuich says ” Authorised persons only “., remembering to duck the paper aeroplanes as you do so.