Funny. Wobbly. Writer.
Believes in happiness, peace & equality for all.
My play 'All of Us' is now available to stream on NT at Home!
Diversity is beautiful ❤
Corbyn hasn't lost.
We've lost.
The once in a lifetime opportunity to elect a decent, honest, kind, brave human being has been rejected.
What a monumental loss.
The fight goes on but it's got a hell of a lot harder.
I doubt we'll get someone fighting for us like Corbyn again.
Today on BBC1, Lord Sumption said to a woman with stage 4 cancer:
'I didn't say your life wasn't valuable, I said it was less valuable.'
I've faced this nonsense all my life - that a person is less worthy if they are physically 'deficient'.
Well, Sumption is morally deficient.
People keep asking me to run as an MP.
But I have the same politics as Corbyn.
So if I ever got near power, the press would vilify me daily.
And most people on doorsteps would say 'I just don't like that Francesca Martinez'.
And I would lose.
That's how UK democracy works.
Proud to have signed this with:
Noam Chomsky
Naomi Klein
Yanis Varoufakis
Rob Delaney
Steve Coogan
Alexei Sayle
Maxine Peake
Lowkey
Miriam Margolyes
Massive Attack
Mike Leigh
Michael Rosen
Caryl Churchill
Mark Ruffalo
Mark Rylance:
The UK is the 6th richest country.
Per year, we spend:
£38bn - defence including £2bn on Trident
£10.5bn - oil/gas subsidies
£5bn - rail subsidies
Yet we can't give all our NHS staff masks, goggles, gloves & aprons.
The problem isn't money... It's having the wrong priorities.
Whatever happens today, I want to thank my friend, Jeremy.
He has endured countless bullying and attacks yet always remained calm, dignified and positive.
A true leader and the most decent man I know.
We are lucky to have you.
Thanks for giving me hope.
Hero.
❤️
#VotingLabour
About once a day, I think about when Corbyn said:
"Let's create a society where we all care for each other."
Sometimes, and I'm not ashamed to say this, I cry when thinking about what we've lost.
Today, it seems extra difficult not to think about what could have been.
To my fellow human beings,
We keep voting in leaders who are rampantly selfish & dishonest people.
And then we're surprised when these selfish, dishonest people act in reckless, destructive & inhumane ways.
You want a kinder, fairer world?
Vote in kinder, fairer people.
FM
Corbyn was 'brutally attacked' at last night's PLP meeting.
When are we going to learn that people who bully, abuse and insult others - especially a man who is ALWAYS polite and civil - will not create a kinder, fairer world.
Tip for humanity:
Nasty people = nasty politics.
Thanks so much for the overwhelming response to my austerity comments on Question Time.
I'm touched and humbled by the thousands of messages.
We need change and fast.
Please sign this petition asking for a govt inquiry into deaths caused by the DWP:
Can't think of anyone better than Corbyn to hold this inept & dangerous govt to account right now.
No other MP has his long track record of standing up for those who need it. Or has withstood the onslaught of the last 5 years & remained true to their principles.
#CorbynMustStay
A sad day.
For 5 years, I've felt hope.
Hope that we can create a kinder, greener, more peaceful world.
Hope that we can achieve the deep change we need to avert climate disaster.
The powers that be did all they could to destroy this alternative & it's a profound loss for us all.
Corbyn wanted to respect the referendum result.
The Right of Labour pushed relentlessly for Remain to part of their Brexit offer.
Labour lose 60 seats: 52 were Leave seats.
The Right blame Corbyn.
This was about Brexit not 'Left' policies.
Do NOT let them rewrite history.
Some of my disabled friends are being pressured by organisations to sign DNR forms in the case they are admitted to hospital with Covid.
It's 2020.
Disability should not mean you have any less right to life.
We should all have equal access to that.
When the left lose, there's a rush to blame policies and individuals.
This ignores the real problem.
The 'Right' has unlimited funds, owns most of the media, is backed by the entire establishment and lies with impunity.
This isn't a functioning democracy. Lay your blame there.
After watching Corbyn's speech, I find myself thinking about what a society built on equality, fairness, and caring for each other and our planet would look like.
What a radically different country this would be.
#LabConf19
The fact that Boris Johnson has:
- presided over the highest Covid death toll in Europe
- wasted billions of pounds on failed test & trace
- given Tory-friendly companies contracts without tender
yet STILL has a job is a true indictment of the sorry state of our 'free' media.
Three years ago I was at Labour Conference feeling real hope that profound political change - creating a society which valued human rights for all and our precious life-giving planet above short-term profit - was possible.
Now, I can't even imagine voting Labour.
Wow!
Worth a RT.
In case there were any doubts about who the Tories represent...
Here is Dominic Cummings saying that the Tories don't care about 'poor people' or the NHS!
I don't know which is more dangerous to democracy...
Ministers acting unlawfully and not resigning.
OR
The Opposition Leader not calling for their resignation.
Both should go.
Scary times.
Proud to sign this Guardian letter with:
Noam Chomsky
Clean Bandit
Steve Coogan
Rob Delaney
David Edgar
Brian Eno
Stephen Frears
David Graeber
Naomi Klein
Mike Leigh
Massive Attack
Michael Rosen
Martin Rowson
Mark Rylance
Kate Tempest
Yanis Varoufakis
Austerity was never about saving money!
It's actually cost the UK billions because it shrank the economy.
So what is austerity about?
Here's my take.
#C4Debate
Cummings admissions that Johnson is unfit to be a PM, Hancock should have been sacked, and the govt was a shambles makes the media's - and Starmer's - abysmal failure to hold them to account even more shocking.
A democracy needs a healthy media and opposition - we have neither.
The term 'Hard Left' was invented because it's pretty hard to criticise the political belief that:
'Society should work for everyone regardless of race, gender, ability, religion or economic status, and we should live by the principles of fairness, kindness, and equality.'
Wow, it shows how poor most journalism is when members of the public are the first to grill Boris Johnson about foodbanks, poverty, racism, sexism and inequality.
AT BLOODY LAST!
#BBCQuestionTime
So Boris Johnson IS now allowed on The Marr Show tomorrow.
I wonder if Marr (and other journalists) will repeatedly ask him to apologise for the tens of thousands of disabled and sick people who have died as a result of Tory austerity policies?
I hope so.
Heartbreaking that working-class Leave voters couldn't see that Labour's manifesto was ALL about making their lives better, addressing the causes of economic inequality and ending the austerity that has devastated many communities.
It's very sad to see what people have rejected.
So, Sunak's 'Eat Out To Help Out' scheme drove up Covid infections by 7-18%.
This means taxpayers' money was effectively used to increase the spread of Covid.
(But taxpayers' money cannot be used to feed a million hungry kids.)
You could not make this up.
#ToriesOut
If a Health Secretary can keep his position while:
- overseeing the highest Covid death-rate in the world
- acting unlawfully over contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds
... What does it take for them to be fired?!?!
It's times like these when you can't help but rue (again) what happened on the 13th of December...
If only we'd elected a PM who had spent his life fighting for working people, putting human rights above corporate interests and wanting to fully fund the NHS.
#COVID_19uk
Many folk still baffled by Corbyn's support.
They clearly don't see:
- the disabled in poverty
- the working poor who can't feed their kids
- the unpaid, stressed carers
- the students saddled with debt
It's simple. Millions are desperate for fairer politics.
Open your eyes.
In times of crisis, the rich (Branson, Bezos, Tim Martin etc) look to the state for hand-outs.
Profits are always privatised and loses are borne by taxpayers.
It's socialism for the rich and capitalism for the rest.
They love socialism. They just don't want us all to have it.
Here's a thought for 2020:
Why don't we vote for whoever the billionaire-owned media tells us not to vote for?
They've had their way for 40 years and we're now facing environmental collapse, soaring inequality & poverty and the joys of fascism.
Time for a bit of a change?
Fx
A record-breaking 24 people became billionaires in the UK during the pandemic.
A little reminder that our system isn't broken...
It's working perfectly well for those it was designed for.
Now we've done our
#clapforNHS
:
Let's stop voting in the party who are destroying it.
Don't believe me?
Watch Dominic Cummings tell you how little the Tories care about the NHS in his own words...
A thread for those people who still think that Tory austerity isn't killing people.
(A small selection of heart-breaking examples.)
1 / 24
Stephen Smith - 64
So few politicians represent the majority.
That’s why our waters are full of sewage, our NHS is being privatised & Americanised, costs of living are soaring, higher education and housing are a luxury, and our planet is being destroyed.
If you live in Islington North
#VoteCorbyn
!
#ISupportCorbynBecause
when my disabled friends held tiny demos to fight for their basic human rights, the only MPs to turn up were him and John McDonnell. Again and again.
Jacinda Arden's brilliant handling of Covid shows what happens when your politics are based on compassion & human need.
It's sad to know the UK media will smear any politician like her as 'unelectable', 'unrealistic', an 'extremist' and someone likely to 'bankrupt' the country.
Can anyone explain why a Human Rights lawyer would tell his party to abstain on a Bill which will allow agents of the state to commit murder, torture and sexual violence?
It seems pretty clear that:
This. Is. Not. A. Good. Thing.
Poor BBC News.
On the day we hit the highest death toll in Europe, the story is nowhere to be seen on their home page.
They must be struggling to come up with a positive headline.
Here's my suggestion:
"Boris Leaves The Rest Of Europe Behind."
'Get Brexit Done!'
'Make America Great Again!'
Empty soundbites from brash, bullying, lying politicians.
They do not constitute a political vision.
We deserve better.
Do not make the mistake America made.
#BBCDebate
This idea that 'the vulnerable' can shield while everyone else goes back to normal is ridiculous.
'The vulnerable' are parents, children, siblings, grandparents, co-workers, & friends.
All are embedded within society and all rely on 'non-vulnerable' folk.
We're all connected.
Interesting that the majority of people who had access to:
- free education
- a well-funded and fully nationalised NHS
- affordable housing
- secure jobs
- a stable climate
voted to deny everyone else those things.
Guardian headline:
Corbyn: Brexit Would Go Ahead Even If Labour Won Snap Election.
What Corbyn actually said:
Labour would try to secure a better deal. If that fails all options would be on the table (as decided at Conference)
Lesson:
Take Guardian headlines with a pinch of salt
Schools told not to teach 'extreme' material:
'Examples of extreme political stances include a desire to overthrow capitalism'
Oh, you mean the economic system that is quite literally destroying the conditions for all life?
So, killing us all isn't extreme, but opposing it is?
The poor, disabled and elderly ARE expendable in our system because human worth is tied to one's ability to be 'economically productive'.
Toby Young's view is a disgusting one but it's at the heart of the system which shapes most of our lives.
It's just not often said out loud.
Don't think of tomorrow as a choice between Tory or Labour.
Think of it as a choice between:
- Caring for each other or inhumanity
- Fairness or inequality
- Hope or fear
Politics is how we treat each other.
Only one set of values can create a more beautiful world.
#VoteCorbyn
An observation about Labour unity:
The Centre/Right elements of Labour would rather lose an election rather than unite behind a Left leader.
And the Left elements of Labour have to get behind Centre/Right leaders, or they are accused of 'splitting the party' or being divisive.
Just read that someone's tweeted:
'I do not want to pay to feed other people's kids'.
How sad. Caring for each other is quite literally what human survival is based on.
I don't know where joy & meaning come from otherwise.
What DO you want your taxes to pay for- if not that?!
'I cannot put it more bluntly:
as a doctor I consider it my public duty to urge votes against the Tories, and votes for Labour....
The reason is simple. The last seven years of austerity have been built on the graves of tens of thousands of people.'
Interesting how:
The 'Right' are seen as patriotic because of their pride in UK history.
While the 'Left' are seen as un-patriotic despite being the ones campaigning for fairer working conditions - and access to quality healthcare, housing & education - for everyone in the UK.
I am so grateful to be alive at a time where we had a political leader who inspired such deep trust and commitment.
Most people go a lifetime without being able to support a politician so wholeheartedly and genuinely.
I feel lucky to know how that feels.
#OhJeremyCorbyn
'Since 2016, nearly 5,500 patients have died in England alone as a direct result of having waited too long to be admitted to hospital.'
And yet there are still people - including many on Twitter - who deny austerity has killed people (and get abusive).
Did anyone seriously vote Tory in the hope of letting 1 million children go hungry over the holidays?
I just don't believe any Tory voter supports this.
If so, more people need to realise that voting Tory means actively supporting and increasing poverty, hunger and inequality.
Corbyn may not always watch the Queen's Speech
UK Media: It's a national SCANDAL!!!
Tens of thousands of disabled and sick people are dying due to cuts, a homeless person dies every 19 hours and kids are going to school hungry
UK Media: Er, let's talk about how awful Corbyn is!
Wow, how did Brexit become the key issue?
What about our NHS?
What about kids starving?
What about disabled people dying?
What about the planet burning?
How does leaving the EU trump these REAL issues?
It's been such a fabricated distraction and won't address ANY of these issues!
Interesting to see various journalists bemoaning Johnson's government and the backward steps we are taking as a society.
Ironically, they're the same journalists who spent years attacking and smearing the most progressive leader Labour's ever had.
No use moaning now.
1) Boris: "If people have to pay for NHS, they'll value it more."
2) Jeremy Hunt co-writes a book calling for NHS to be replaced with insurance.
3) Matt Hancock given £32k by think-tank wanting to scrap NHS.
Dec 19:
Corbyn: "Tories will sell off NHS."
MSM: "Corbyn's a liar."
Just realised that...
When the media call a leader an 'effective opposition', they actually mean:
'They're one of us and we're happy with them.'
And when they say a leader isn't an 'effective opposition', they actually mean:
'They are and we don't like it.'
Helpful to know.
As Boris Johnson's Brexit goes through, I'd like to say Goodbye to:
- the NHS
- workers' rights
- environmental protections
- food standards
It was nice knowing you.
#WithdrawalAgreement
I wish our media would stop acting like the Tory govt genuinely cares about British people.
This is a govt that:
- regularly sells bombs to human rights abusers
- knowingly kills disabled & sick people with their cuts
- lets kids go hungry
Let's stop this pretence they care.
All those Labour heartlands who fell for Tory lies - take note...
'£300m a year set be redirected from deprived areas to shire councils.'
Tip: Tories make rich people richer.
And they're good at it. That's it.
They don't care about anything else.
What makes a great leader!
'I think Corbyn is the only politician I’ve photographed who doesn’t have that lifelong ambition to be PM...
For him, agree with him or not, it is all about the policies he deeply believes in; it is not about personal ambition.'
I find it mind-boggling to believe some people are still defending capitalism.
It's LITERALLY destroying the conditions for all life on earth.
We're teetering on the edge of mass extinction because of its insane logic.
If that doesn't convince you of its failings, what will?!
Only 'key workers' should go to work?
What about those on zero-hour's?
The self-employed?
The low-earners who can't afford not to work?
The govt need to give us ALL the security to stay at home.
Nobody should be risking lives to pay bills.
This is not good enough.
#UKlockdown
Funny how 'taking back control' has turned out to mean:
'Handing our democracy to the super-rich who will then privatise all services, remove all regulations, lower taxes and scrap those pesky barriers to bigger profits - like food and environmental standards.'
How in any way is this a 'success'?
Why hasn't the media and Keir Starmer torn this narrative to pieces?
Democracy requires a healthy media and a strong opposition.
We have neither.
It's funny how our media labels politicians as 'extreme & unelectable' if they call for an end to:
-inequality
-tax havens
-perpetual war
-an ecocidal economic system
And they label politicians who support this inhumane system as 'capable & electable'.
Anyone spot a pattern?
This is for anyone who still believes austerity doesn't kill people:
“My only income has been ESA benefit as I am unfit for work. On August 15 2018 the DWP decided to terminate those benefits. This means I am no longer able to pay rent or afford food."
Capitalism doesn't reward hard work.
It rewards luck.
If you have wealth or own property you can make money without lifting a finger.
Capitalism maintains the status quo & increases inequality.
26 people now own as much as the poorest 50% in the world- and this % will go up.
Interesting...
When people don't show empathy for Trump and Boris when they get Covid - the Right calls them 'heartless'.
When people show empathy for oppressed groups and 'illegal' immigrants - the Right calls them 'snowflakes'.
It used to be that politicians who inflicted suffering and/or death on hundreds of thousands of sick and disabled people were rightly regarded as inhumane + sadistic.
Now they get knighthoods.
What an inditement of our government and our culture.
Dark times.
#IainDuncanDeath
There seems to be more outrage at having to wear a mask in a shop than at the fact Britain has the 3rd highest death toll in the world (after USA & Brazil).
Maybe if it were the other way round, we would have seen some of the politicians responsible lose their jobs by now.
Remember when we had the choice to elect a man who'd spent his life standing up for human rights, and was brave enough to fight for people & planet over profit?
And the establishment, media, and his own party destroyed this UTTER BASTARD for wanting a kinder world?
That. Today.
Isn't it funny how:
The politicians with policies that maintain wealth and power for the status quo are labelled 'electable'.
And the politicians with policies that empower working people are labelled 'unelectable'.
It seems as if the tiny group defining these has an agenda.
A new study shows we're near or at tipping point for runaway climate chaos.
Still, our leaders do nothing.
Still, our media is silent.
Still, we race towards the cliff-edge.
RT if this is a disgrace.
RT if you want profound political change.
Business as usual is killing us.
The fact that Johnson and Farage haven't turned up says it all.
They're funded by dirty energy and represent dirty energy.
This video says it all.
It's our last chance to protect our futures.
Profound problems demand profound solutions.
#ClimateDebate
The most important election in a generation.
Our last chance to:
-Avert climate disaster
-Save the NHS
-Halt the sell-off of public assets & services
-Stop the UK from becoming part of Trump's deregulated & inhumane American nightmare.
We HAVE to win this.
#generalelection2019
This pandemic puts paid to the notion that there is no 'such thing as society'.
We're all intertwined, co-dependent + connected to each other.
Life is a web of relationships + that tapestry is the most precious part of life.
Hoping this will remind us of our human community.