The Labour mask of moral superiority, of being the kind and caring ones, well and truly slipped there.They are up to their eyeballs in cover up and the last thing they want is for there to be any scrutiny of the issue, far better to shut down any discussion or investigation with infantile abuse (See the work of Raja Miah). While I don’t believe in cancel culture, if such offensive comments had been made by Nigel Farage or a Tory, the clamour for retribution would have been relentless. Labour politicians are the masters of one thing at least……unadulterated hypocrisy.
I'm of the mind that we should give our politicians the benefit of the doubt unless we want them to speak so carefully that they say nothing, but not when it's a pattern.
That, at this stage of the debate, she thought that was an appropriate thing to say is astonishing, made even more nauseating as it's a tactic used to defame anyone who brings up a difficult topic, a topic where thousands of girls have been raped.
She's not just unworthy of power, she's unworthy of charity in this case and I have zero sympathy for her.
I agree, this wasn't an ill-thought out response to a question when she'd been put on the spot, she instinctively interrupted the speaker to try and smear the question before it had even been asked. Probably because this is the kind of thing that would play well in her social media echo chamber.
Yes! It's something that can only occur if you're surrounded by likeminded people and have gotten used to dismissing any inconvenient truths with accusations of bigotry. It seems, and this is the most charitable thing I can say about her, that this kind of self-satisfaction negates basic empathy, a tribal and unthinking response.
I agree. What slipped out in an unguarded moment was what she really thinks- that the mass rape of girls is of less importance than upsetting their Pakistani voter base. There was no lack of clarity; her meaning was perfectly clear.
Absolutely. You could only say something so politically suicidal if you're arrogance is born of decades of fart inhalation. It's great when they make it so easy for us to see.
Sorry, Andrew, but I don’t believe Powell gives a flying about the sexual abuse of, in this instance, mainly white working class girls, some as young as 11. And I also believe her words were, indeed, intentionally malevolent. Her non-apology apology is proof of that.
There's a pattern here, certainly, among the 'progressive' Left, of advancing ideas that in practice have the opposite effect of their purported aim and actively harm 'the cause'. Claim to be concerned about women's rights but support an incoherent ideology - transgenderism - that actively undermines them; claim to be concerned about the deaths of young, predominantly black teenagers, but refuse to implement one measure - stop and search - that is proven to work to reduce it; claim to be concerned about gay rights, but support an unevidenced policy - a conversion therapy ban - that in practice leads to gay conversion therapy; claim to be in support of a harmonious multicultural society, but support an approach - asymmetrical multiculturalism - that leads to injustice and racial/religious division and unrest; claim to be fighting illegal immigration, but introduce schemes that increase the incentives for both those wishing to come here illegally and the gangs you purport to want to smash, while castigating as racist those who advocate workable solutions to the problem; claim to be concerned about violence against young women and girls, and yet ignore the sexual assault and violence perpetrated against thousands of them across the country in the name of 'community cohesion'. (You could add the obvious inherent contradictions surrounding their marriage to a net zero economy, their appeasement of Islamism while championing a tolerant society, their derangement when it comes to 'Palestine', or their attachment to DEI when the letters in that acronym represent the opposite of what they purport, and I'm sure we can all think of numerous other examples.) The 'progressive' Left have an idea in their heads about the nature of reality which does not match the facts on the ground - as if they were living in a mirror world to our own; moreover, they are immune to contrary evidence and view anyone pointing it out to them with at best suspicion, at worst as 'far right'. We are at a dangerous impasse when politics ceases to function because one influential section of the political class thinks and behaves in such an irrational fashion.
What can possibly be more serious misconduct in public office than Starmer (ex DPP) denying justice to the victims of the rape gangs scandal by refusing to hold a national inquiry? His cynical, self serving motive is clearly to protect Labour councillors and politicians among others from prosecution and to protect Labour’s Muslim vote. It seems that the government cannot be held to account no matter what they do. Why aren’t the media hammering the government on this?
Despite the evidence to the contrary, the BBC believes the government does have a definition of gender identity. When I complained about their unquestioning use of the term “non-binary”, they said it was widely used and had been defined by the UK government. They helpfully provided a link to the (Tory) government’s 2018 consultation on the GRA, which unhelpfully defines “non-binary gender” as “an umbrella term for a person who identifies as in some way outside of the man-woman gender binary”. Similarly “gender identity” is defined as a person’s “internal sense of their own gender”. I think we all know who they’d consulted about these so-called definitions. It must have been either Humpty Dumpty in Through the Looking Glass: “When I use a word it means just what I choose it to mean” or Dave Chappelle: “Trans people make up words to win arguments.”
I disagree with you Andrew. I would say that anyone who can so readily reduce the suffering of child rape survivors to a political dog whistle does not care about the abuse of minors....let alone a woman...let alone a public servant. I see she has apologised as she should.
Brilliantly articulated ,Andrew ,and echoing what we all know !! This is an absolute scandal and only one of many in the West at the moment ,the medical one being the most obvious. It makes me wonder what the Government are hiding and exactly who are they protecting ?? They show such contempt for the British people in favour of anyone who's NOT British ,including rapists ,murderers and other criminals. It's shocking and therefore the swing to Reform UK is no surprise to normal people !! Thanks ,Andrew
Labour governments, Conservative governments, police chiefs, educational establishments, institutions of each and every type - they generally all run scared of populism-driven talk about rape...
Hell, you can't even write or speak the word in many social media posts because the thought police are so scared that it will scare people!
With the grooming gangs we have the further issue that no one is allowed to mention the race aspect - which may or may not be a real factor behind the existence of grooming gangs, but is a proven factor in why police officers do not pursue many cases.
There are of course the much less acknowledged and much larger group of victims of government driven police action on rape - and the victims that Julie Bindel will never see acknowledged.
the conservative estimates of the numbers with lives ruined, family members as well as victims driven to suicide, careers destroyed, come to more like 5,000 a year.
but of course I am a whataboutery merchant also worthy of attack here - because these victims are generally male -
because the human whistle everybody loves to respond to, with a Tiki-torch mentality, is blind and blanket hatred of those who are accused of sexual assault/rape - despite the evidence from the police showing that well over 50% of those thus attacked (that's around 30,000 annually) are falsely accused - and thus hugely victims of injustice. https://youtu.be/Zwafn2NO0mw
The rape gangs victims' testimonies reported on GB News' The Mark Steyn Show and then Katie Lam's response in Parliament to Jess Phillips are the only times in my life I've cried tears of rage. What kind of barbarians would treat vulnerable youngsters in this way? And how do the police, social workers and local government officers who turned a blind eye live with themselves? They must be brought to account. Lucy Powell's sneering derision was truly eye-opening. They really do look down on us. I have been writing to as many MPs as I can to keep up pressure for a full national inquiry into this sickening scandal. It's the mark of the man that Andrew thinks Powell cares about the tortured girls. Others would not be so generous.
Hi Andrew, Re. your statement: "The report by Professor Alexis Jay in 2022 confirmed the extent of the rape and torture of young girls – more than 1,400 victims ...". I hope you realize that this was the number of victims in just ONE town - Rotherham - at that time. There are estimates of between 50,000 to 250,000 victims countrywide over the past few decades; possibly even a million. For some unknown reason, people see this 1,400 figure in the Jay report, referring to Rotherham, and decide that this is the total number of victims, when it's actually only one town and a tiny fraction of those who have suffered unspeakable abuse and torture as children at the hands of hundreds of rape gangs. Maybe you could edit your article to reflect that as it's very misleading to an uninformed reader.
Frankly, I cannot see a full enquiry with statuary powers being launched until Labour is out. They will gaslight us with empty words that they are doing something, but they will just be tinkering around the edges and hope in time it will go away.
The Labour mask of moral superiority, of being the kind and caring ones, well and truly slipped there.They are up to their eyeballs in cover up and the last thing they want is for there to be any scrutiny of the issue, far better to shut down any discussion or investigation with infantile abuse (See the work of Raja Miah). While I don’t believe in cancel culture, if such offensive comments had been made by Nigel Farage or a Tory, the clamour for retribution would have been relentless. Labour politicians are the masters of one thing at least……unadulterated hypocrisy.
Thanks Andrew.
I'm of the mind that we should give our politicians the benefit of the doubt unless we want them to speak so carefully that they say nothing, but not when it's a pattern.
That, at this stage of the debate, she thought that was an appropriate thing to say is astonishing, made even more nauseating as it's a tactic used to defame anyone who brings up a difficult topic, a topic where thousands of girls have been raped.
She's not just unworthy of power, she's unworthy of charity in this case and I have zero sympathy for her.
I agree, this wasn't an ill-thought out response to a question when she'd been put on the spot, she instinctively interrupted the speaker to try and smear the question before it had even been asked. Probably because this is the kind of thing that would play well in her social media echo chamber.
Yes! It's something that can only occur if you're surrounded by likeminded people and have gotten used to dismissing any inconvenient truths with accusations of bigotry. It seems, and this is the most charitable thing I can say about her, that this kind of self-satisfaction negates basic empathy, a tribal and unthinking response.
It's a sickness at the heart of our institutions.
I agree. What slipped out in an unguarded moment was what she really thinks- that the mass rape of girls is of less importance than upsetting their Pakistani voter base. There was no lack of clarity; her meaning was perfectly clear.
Absolutely. You could only say something so politically suicidal if you're arrogance is born of decades of fart inhalation. It's great when they make it so easy for us to see.
Sorry, Andrew, but I don’t believe Powell gives a flying about the sexual abuse of, in this instance, mainly white working class girls, some as young as 11. And I also believe her words were, indeed, intentionally malevolent. Her non-apology apology is proof of that.
Yep. You said it better than me.
There's a pattern here, certainly, among the 'progressive' Left, of advancing ideas that in practice have the opposite effect of their purported aim and actively harm 'the cause'. Claim to be concerned about women's rights but support an incoherent ideology - transgenderism - that actively undermines them; claim to be concerned about the deaths of young, predominantly black teenagers, but refuse to implement one measure - stop and search - that is proven to work to reduce it; claim to be concerned about gay rights, but support an unevidenced policy - a conversion therapy ban - that in practice leads to gay conversion therapy; claim to be in support of a harmonious multicultural society, but support an approach - asymmetrical multiculturalism - that leads to injustice and racial/religious division and unrest; claim to be fighting illegal immigration, but introduce schemes that increase the incentives for both those wishing to come here illegally and the gangs you purport to want to smash, while castigating as racist those who advocate workable solutions to the problem; claim to be concerned about violence against young women and girls, and yet ignore the sexual assault and violence perpetrated against thousands of them across the country in the name of 'community cohesion'. (You could add the obvious inherent contradictions surrounding their marriage to a net zero economy, their appeasement of Islamism while championing a tolerant society, their derangement when it comes to 'Palestine', or their attachment to DEI when the letters in that acronym represent the opposite of what they purport, and I'm sure we can all think of numerous other examples.) The 'progressive' Left have an idea in their heads about the nature of reality which does not match the facts on the ground - as if they were living in a mirror world to our own; moreover, they are immune to contrary evidence and view anyone pointing it out to them with at best suspicion, at worst as 'far right'. We are at a dangerous impasse when politics ceases to function because one influential section of the political class thinks and behaves in such an irrational fashion.
Well said.👍👍👍
What can possibly be more serious misconduct in public office than Starmer (ex DPP) denying justice to the victims of the rape gangs scandal by refusing to hold a national inquiry? His cynical, self serving motive is clearly to protect Labour councillors and politicians among others from prosecution and to protect Labour’s Muslim vote. It seems that the government cannot be held to account no matter what they do. Why aren’t the media hammering the government on this?
Despite the evidence to the contrary, the BBC believes the government does have a definition of gender identity. When I complained about their unquestioning use of the term “non-binary”, they said it was widely used and had been defined by the UK government. They helpfully provided a link to the (Tory) government’s 2018 consultation on the GRA, which unhelpfully defines “non-binary gender” as “an umbrella term for a person who identifies as in some way outside of the man-woman gender binary”. Similarly “gender identity” is defined as a person’s “internal sense of their own gender”. I think we all know who they’d consulted about these so-called definitions. It must have been either Humpty Dumpty in Through the Looking Glass: “When I use a word it means just what I choose it to mean” or Dave Chappelle: “Trans people make up words to win arguments.”
I disagree with you Andrew. I would say that anyone who can so readily reduce the suffering of child rape survivors to a political dog whistle does not care about the abuse of minors....let alone a woman...let alone a public servant. I see she has apologised as she should.
I was hugely distressed by her words, but especially by her sneering time!
Yes! I wanted to edit my comment to include that, but couldn't. "Sneering tone" is bang on. I actually do hope she's forced out.
Thank you for understanding what I meant! She'll never be forgiven in my book, vile woman 🤬
I agree. Vile.
Brilliantly articulated ,Andrew ,and echoing what we all know !! This is an absolute scandal and only one of many in the West at the moment ,the medical one being the most obvious. It makes me wonder what the Government are hiding and exactly who are they protecting ?? They show such contempt for the British people in favour of anyone who's NOT British ,including rapists ,murderers and other criminals. It's shocking and therefore the swing to Reform UK is no surprise to normal people !! Thanks ,Andrew
Labour governments, Conservative governments, police chiefs, educational establishments, institutions of each and every type - they generally all run scared of populism-driven talk about rape...
Hell, you can't even write or speak the word in many social media posts because the thought police are so scared that it will scare people!
With the grooming gangs we have the further issue that no one is allowed to mention the race aspect - which may or may not be a real factor behind the existence of grooming gangs, but is a proven factor in why police officers do not pursue many cases.
(- just see Rick Prior's case for the proof about the government and it's quasi-tentacles actions as to the reaction to even mentioning this... https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/04/25/i-sacked-telling-telegraph-free-speech-at-risk-police/?mc_cid=6eeaa24eb6&mc_eid=40effe3d25 )
There are of course the much less acknowledged and much larger group of victims of government driven police action on rape - and the victims that Julie Bindel will never see acknowledged.
the conservative estimates of the numbers with lives ruined, family members as well as victims driven to suicide, careers destroyed, come to more like 5,000 a year.
but of course I am a whataboutery merchant also worthy of attack here - because these victims are generally male -
because the human whistle everybody loves to respond to, with a Tiki-torch mentality, is blind and blanket hatred of those who are accused of sexual assault/rape - despite the evidence from the police showing that well over 50% of those thus attacked (that's around 30,000 annually) are falsely accused - and thus hugely victims of injustice. https://youtu.be/Zwafn2NO0mw
The rape gangs victims' testimonies reported on GB News' The Mark Steyn Show and then Katie Lam's response in Parliament to Jess Phillips are the only times in my life I've cried tears of rage. What kind of barbarians would treat vulnerable youngsters in this way? And how do the police, social workers and local government officers who turned a blind eye live with themselves? They must be brought to account. Lucy Powell's sneering derision was truly eye-opening. They really do look down on us. I have been writing to as many MPs as I can to keep up pressure for a full national inquiry into this sickening scandal. It's the mark of the man that Andrew thinks Powell cares about the tortured girls. Others would not be so generous.
It seems to me that one of the excuses the Labour government appears to like hiding behind is as follows:
Well the Tories did nothing about this during 14 years of government ……………………..so why should we.
Of course, they don’t put it like that in so many words.
Hi Andrew, Re. your statement: "The report by Professor Alexis Jay in 2022 confirmed the extent of the rape and torture of young girls – more than 1,400 victims ...". I hope you realize that this was the number of victims in just ONE town - Rotherham - at that time. There are estimates of between 50,000 to 250,000 victims countrywide over the past few decades; possibly even a million. For some unknown reason, people see this 1,400 figure in the Jay report, referring to Rotherham, and decide that this is the total number of victims, when it's actually only one town and a tiny fraction of those who have suffered unspeakable abuse and torture as children at the hands of hundreds of rape gangs. Maybe you could edit your article to reflect that as it's very misleading to an uninformed reader.
Thanks, Andrew, and spot on
Have cross posted
https://dustymasterson.substack.com/p/the-4-minute-mile
Dusty
Frankly, I cannot see a full enquiry with statuary powers being launched until Labour is out. They will gaslight us with empty words that they are doing something, but they will just be tinkering around the edges and hope in time it will go away.