SNP MP Pete Wishart has again written to the Metropolitan Police regarding the ‘Tory election fraud’ scandal, and has said he hoped David Cameron would be interviewed in the early course of the investigation as the leader of the Conservative Party after a recent television interview where he seems to concede the Conservative Party did break electoral law.
 
Mr Wishart has provided a transcript of the Prime Minister’s appearance on the ITN Peston show as well as further comments from Conservative Members of Parliament.
 
The scandal refers to allegations that the Conservative party have attempted to subvert electoral law in mislabelling ‘candidate’ expenditure as ‘national’ expenditure when declaring costs for transporting and providing accommodation for activists in marginal seats during the 2015 General Election - which is in contravention of the Representation of the People Act 1983.
 
There are now 29 Conservative Members of Parliament under investigation over their election expenses.

Ely and Littleport are two towns in part of modern Cambridgeshire known as 'The Fens'. In 1816, the Fens were still stretches of flat marsh or, instead, marshland that had been pumped dry of water by engineers. The majority of fen people were poor, although great landowners and some local farmers had grown rich from the crops grown on the drained farmland. The Ely and Littleport Rioters were mostly poor labourers who were hired to work on the farms at times of the year such as harvest. However, there were other types of men among the rioters such as a potter, a tailor, a blacksmith and a pub landlord. One of the leaders of the Rioters in Ely was Aaron Layton, a 24 year old master bricklayer. Layton was described later as "20 years of age, 5ft 7in high, dark hair, hazel eyes, much freckled and pockpetten (pock-marked), remarkably wide mouth, wears a fustian jacket and breeches, blue stocks and high-low shoes".

Why did the Ely and Littleport men riot?

The labourers were poor men with many grievances:

The high price of bread

Low wages

The Speenhamland system

Resentment of the rich

Lack of work

Britain was at war with France between 1793 and 1815. Food prices were high during the war. The corn laws were introduced in 1815 to put a high tax on grain coming into the country from abroad. This meant that British farmers could keep charging ordinary British people high prices for bread, because foreigners couldn't afford to compete. Bread was the basic diet of the poor. Poor people grew poorer as the price of bread rose.

Farmers and landowners were the main employers in the Fens. Farmers paid their workers low wages, even though they got high prices for their crops. Labourers' wages did not keep up with the price of bread.

The end of the war with France in 1815 brought about a slump in Britain. Unemployment grew worse throughout the country and this affected the Fens. Fen people wanted to work but could not find enough of it.

By 1816, many parts of England used the 'Speenhamland system' to help the poor. Since 1601, local parishes had raised taxes from rich people to support the poor of their area, such as widows, orphans and those who could get no work. By 1816, the Fen parishes had adopted the new 'Speenhamland system'. The amount of money given to poor people from the taxes of the rich was linked to the price of bread. If he was out of work, a man would get an allowance of money for himself and his family. When the price of bread rose so did his allowance. When the price of bread fell, so did his allowance. The trouble was that in Ely and Littleport, local people felt that the allowances were not keeping up with the price of bread. As unemployment was high, many Fen families relied on their allowance to live. But the labourers now felt they could no longer live on what they were given.

The price of bread was high and wages and allowances were low. In the meantime Fenland people saw the rich living very well. Four groups of people were especially hated.

Great landowners:
The greatest landowners, like the Duke of Bedford, rarely came to see the lands they owned in the fens. Local people disliked a distant landlord who took away all the profit from the land out of the area.

Rich farmers:
Some farmers had grown rich and built new farmhouses for themselves with grand furniture and possessions. Local people disliked the farmers because, in some cases, they had once been ordinary Fen people like themselves.

Millers:
Millers were particularly disliked. They bought the farmer's grain and converted it into flour. Local people blamed greedy millers for the high price of flour and bread.

Churchmen:
As in other parts of Britain, local gentlemen helped to keep law and order by serving as magistrates in the local courts. Some were well-liked and treated their workers well. In the Fens, there were few gentlemen landowners who actually lived in the area. Instead, the priests of the Church of England held a lot of influence and often stood in as magistrates. These churchmen usually came from outside the area and the Fen people hated them. Ordinary people also had to pay a tax (tithes) to the local church, even if they never went there.

It is quite easy to explain why local labourers took part in the Ely and Littleport Riots. It was the labourers who complained that they could not live on the allowances when they were out of work. It is harder to tell why a bricklayer like Aaron Layton joined in the Riots. Like the potter, the tailor and the blacksmith who joined the rioters, Layton earned his own living. As a skilled man with a trade, he would have earned more than a labourer. It maybe that men like Layton were caught up in the general resentment towards the rich or suspicion of outsiders. It maybe that they were asked to take a lead because they were better educated (Layton could read and write). Perhaps word spread to the Fens quickly of all the unrest going on in other parts of the country. In the Fens, tradition was very important. People remembered the stories of the 'Fen Tigers'. They were fierce independent hunters, who earned their living alone shooting ducks and other birds in the marshlands most of the year; men who ignored the law when they came into towns to drink and fight. Perhaps the rioters could not resist thinking of themselves as 'Fen Tigers.' 

What did the Ely and Littleport Rioters do?

On the Wednesday evening of May 22nd, labourers from Littleport met at the 'Globe', a pub in the town. They waited around for a group of men from nearby Denver and Southery who had taken part in earlier riots.

As the Denver and Southery men failed to turn up, the men of Littleport decided to take action themselves. They marched to the house of the local vicar, Reverend Vachell (who was also the local magistrate). The men demanded work and bread. Vachell agreed to negotiate with other employers and one of these employers agreed to increase wages and sell the rioters flour at a cheaper price. But the Fenmen wanted more and began drinking too much. They got out of control and ransacked some local homes. By eleven o'clock that evening, they had marched back to the Reverend Vachell's house. He read out a copy of the Riot Act which he kept in his hat but he failed to get the crowd to disperse. The Norfolk Chronicle of 11th June 1816 takes up the story.

"A desperate body of armed fen men had attacked the house of Rev. Mr Vachell, a magistrate resident at Littleport, who for some time stood at his door armed with a pistol threatened to shoot anyone who should attempt to enter, when three men rushed upon him and disarmed him. He immediately ran upstairs to his wife and two daughters, who with very slight covering made their escape with him, running nearly all the way toward Ely" The rioters ransacked his house, causing considerable damage. 

The men of Littleport organised an attack on Ely. They chose John Dennis as their leader and stole a farm wagon to transport them. Some rode in the wagon itself which had a gun mounted on it, normally used in punts for shooting ducks. The rest of the men marched by the side of the wagon. Some were armed with pitchforks. 

The procession set out for Ely and arrived at the town boundary early in the morning of May 23rd. There they were met by a local magistrate, Mr Metcalfe who tried to stop them going any further. However, the men ignored him and marched to the White Hart Inn in Ely market place. Metcalfe was joined by two other magistrates, Ward and Law. After long talks, the magistrates agreed to the demands of the rioters including a statement that pardoned everyone who had taken part in the riots. 

Some of the Littleport men now returned back to their home town. The remaining rioters in Ely (thinking they could still do as they liked), went around threatening rich people until they gave them money. It seems that Aaron Layton, the bricklayer was a leader among the Ely men. With the Littleport leader, John Dennis, Layton and the other rioters threatened the homes of two of Ely's millers, George Stevens and William Cooper.

How did the government react to the Ely and Littleport Riots?

Even while the rioters were still attacking the houses of the rich in Ely, the magistrates quietly took action. They sent a request to Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk for a troop of soldiers and appealed to the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth for help. The Government was anxious to put a stop to any unrest anywhere in the country. There were fears that radicals might be at work stirring up trouble among the labourers and the government felt it had to act quickly to snuff out any potential revolution. Lord Sidmouth sent the Reverend Sir Henry Bate Dudley to sort out the trouble. 

Dudley was the kind of man Fen people hated, a rich churchman from outside the Fens, who despite this was a Canon (a Cathedral priest) at Ely. Dudley hurried up from London, calling at Royston on the way for soldiers to be sent up after him. Finding that Ely was quiet and that the rioters had returned to their homes, Dudley and the soldiers rode over to Littleport on the Friday morning of May 24th. One of the Ely magistrates, Law explained what happened.

Shortly afterwards, Major General Sir John Byng arrived with more soldiers to arrest any rioters who had escaped. Aaron Layton was among those who escaped. However, Layton wrote home to his wife, telling her where he was staying in London. The letter was intercepted at Ely and Layton was arrested to stand trial for his part in the riots as were many others.

What happened to the Ely and Littleport Rioters?

The government was determined to hold a local trial where at least some of the rioters would be severely punished as an example to the rest. This was bound to include the death penalty for a few. The trials opened in Ely before three judges, three lawyers represented the prosecution and three lawyers represented the prisoners. Witnesses appeared in court to be examined and cross examined. The prisoners themselves were not allowed to be questioned in court because juries were supposed to make their minds up on the evidence of witnesses who saw what happened. However prisoners were allowed to make personal statements and ask questions of witnesses if they wanted to. Few did so.

There were many charges against the prisoners. The main charges that carried the death penalty were: burglary, direct robbery from a person and also stealing. Here are some of the accusations:

12 rioters broke into Rebecca Waddelow's shop, stole £5, some of the stock in the shop, together with five shirts and a hat belonging to Henry Martin, her grandson.

Verdict not guilty because the charge had not been worded properly.

John Dennis and four other Littleport men attacked the home of an Ely miller and demanded £50 from his wife. The miller's wife had gone with the rioters to Mr Edwards, a banker of Ely. One of the rioters hit Edwards who handed over the money.

Verdict: Dennis and two others found guilty; four found not guilty.

In the summing up, one of the judges, Mr Justice Abbott, pointed out that about three hundred people had been involved in the riots. Of these 300, about 80 were put on trial. Of these 80, 24 were found guilty of offences that carried the death penalty. In the end, 19 of the 24 were reprieved and either sent to prison or transported to Australia as punishment. 

The five who were sentenced to death were William Beamiss, George Crow, John Dennis (the leader of the Littleport rioters), Isaac Harley and Thomas South.

The prisoners were asked to sign a document confessing their guilt and acknowledging how just their sentences were. The execution took place on Friday 28th June. The authorities had trouble finding a cart to carry the men to the gallows locally because suppliers were scared of the anger of the Fen men. One had to be brought from Cambridge instead.

After the execution, the bodies were placed in coffins and taken to a cottage in Gaol Street in Ely, where many people came to view them. On Saturday 29th June, the men were buried in the churchyard of St Mary's. This inscription was written on a stone slab inserted into the church tower.

"Here lye Interred in one grave The bodies of WILLIAM BEAMISS . GEORGE CROW . JOHN DENNISS . ISSAC HARLEYAND . THOMAS SOUTH Who were all executed at Ely on the 28th Day of June 1816, having been convicted At the Special Assizes holden there, of Divers Robberies during the Riots of Ely & Littleport in the Month of May in that Year. May their awful Fate Be a warning to others".

Some rioters were transported to Australia and eventually made new lives for themselves there. Others were put in Ely gaol for a few days and, although they were supposed to serve out their first twelve months imprisonment, they were then moved to other gaols. There were local protests against this but it is uncertain whether all the prisoners were returned to the Fens or not. Aaron Layton was among those imprisoned in a floating prison called a hulk in the Thames, probably with transportation to Australia in mind. Instead he was released in 1817 and survived to the age of 69, building up a respectable living for himself as a bricklayer and marrying twice.

Reproduced courtesy of the E2BN Victorian Crime and Punishment: http://vcp.e2bn.org

Ken Loach wins 2016 Palme d'Or at Cannes, cementing his place in the festival's great directors.

The British director Ken Loach won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival  on Sunday night, making him one of only nine filmmakers to have been awarded the prize twice in the festival’s 69-year history.

The 79-year-old director’s Newcastle-set social-realist drama I, Daniel Blake follows a middle-aged carpenter, played by the comedian Dave Johns, who struggles to negotiate the British welfare state after a heart attack leaves him unable to work.

https://youtu.be/aLEPQ9FYU0U

Purdah period set to silence officials on EU referendum from Friday, Civil servants prohibited from making EU pronouncements or releasing information in four-week run-up to poll.

Purdah is the pre-election period in the United Kingdom, specifically the time between an announced election and the final election results. The time period prevents central and local government from making announcements about any new or controversial government initiatives (such as modernisation initiatives or administrative and legislative changes) which could be seen to be advantageous to any candidates or parties in the forthcoming election. Where actual advantage to candidates is proven in law based on precedent cases to have been given this amounts to a breach of Section 2 of the Local Government Act 1986.

Kenny Bailey who is partly paralysed and missing part of his skull has been told he is ‘fit to work’. Mr Bailey who is partly paralysed following a stroke and suffers from memory loss after an operation on his brain resulted in a large dent in his head and he is awaiting surgery where plates will be fitted in his skull.

The DWP said Mr Bailey, 50, from Barnsley m have cut his Employment and Supports Allowance (ESA) and he now fears he will lose his home and he is struggling to pay his basic bills.  Mr Bailey said the decision to cut his ESA was because hr can walk unaided 200 yards and get up from a chair.

Mr Bailey says he wants to work but physically he is unable. Mr Bailey cannot use his left side, his left arm he has a limp and says he finds it hard to concentrate. 

The UK is a divided society where the richest receive the lion’s share leaving crumbs for the rest. How did we get to this point? What are the costs of having such high inequality? And what do people think we should do about it?

Below is a video we liked about tax avoidance. Thank you to the Equality Trust for providing it. 

EU Migrants aren’t bad for UK wages, study says: European migration has not had a negative affect on the wages and job prospects of British nationals, according to research carried out by the London School of Economics. Migration from EU countries to Britain tripled from 0.9 million to 3.3 million between 1995 and 2015. ”The big falls in wages after 2008 are due to the global financial crisis and a weak economic recovery, not to immigration,” the report states, adding that “EU immigrants pay more in taxes than they take out in welfare and the use of public services.

Report Available to Download: Brexit and the Impact of Immigration on the UK

Labour Party Senator Ged Nash has said the government has abandoned low paid workers by not supporting a living wage.

Senator Nash commented: “I am disappointed but not surprised that there are no plans for a living wage in the programme for government. I think it is deeply ironic that a government which has said it is committed to fairness is not committed to making sure every worker in Ireland earns a living wage.

“The government’s proposals to increase the minimum wage to €10.50 by 2021 is deeply unsatisfactory. €10.50 falls far short of the living wage rate for 2016 which is €11.50.

“Labour in government made it a priority to deliver better pay and better jobs. We increased the minimum wage twice, strengthened the rights of workers to negotiate with employers over pay and conditions and made substantial progress on tackling low and irregular hour contracts.

"Except for a vague pledge to continue with some of the work Labour had already started around the regulation of "if & when" contracts and the creeping casualisation of work, there is no new ambition to be found in this disappointing document.

"To the detriment of low paid and insecure workers this government has demonstrated they are not going to pursue improving working standards and protections with the same vigour and determination as Labour did.

"This again shows that Labour is the only party which fights for working people and actually delivers real progress.” 

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe has insisted that no family will be punished by having child benefit withheld.

Minister for Children Katherine Zappone must make clear her opposition to Programme for Government plans to link child benefit payments to school attendance and take steps to make sure the proposal is nipped in the bud.

Under this plan, children who miss school, usually as a result of complex domestic and family issues, would be put to a huge disadvantage and their parents would be put under even greater financial pressure.

I’m not sure what the motivation behind including this proposal in the Programme for Government has been, but it’s really not the kind of measure that should be countenanced by any Irish Government.

The proposal is something that was brought up in the last Dai, but was regarded as an unpractical and regressive move by Labour and by Joan Burton as Minister for Social Protection in particular. Unfortunately, it seems now, with a new government in place there’s nobody looking out for the interests of vulnerable children.

Now that Labour is no longer in Government, it is incumbent on Minister for Children’s Affairs Katherine Zappone to step up to the plate and make sure that these proposals are consigned to the dustbin where they rightly belong. 

The summit to tackle international corruption takes place in London today. To kick things off with a bang, British Prime Minister David Cameron plans to introduce a new corporate offense for executives who fail to prevent fraud or money laundering inside their companies. He also wants to force all foreign companies buying property in the U.K. to disclose their true owners in a public register.

With the Conservative Party under investigation for Election Fraud and the Panama Papers still in everyones minds delagates should come away with some useful information.

The UK with our overseas dependancies is of course one of the worlds largest Tax Havens.