Today a Gurkha broke my tooth !

Saw into a Nepali mate of mine today. He's just back from a holiday seeing rellies in Kathmandu. He bought me a couple of presents. A copy of the Himalayan with a cart being towed by a couple of goats (don't ask why) and a bag of the local delicacy. This is dried fermented Yaks cheese. Go on have one he said. Not wishing to seem ungrateful for his kind gift, I discovered something new about the Gurkhas. Even there confectionary is well hard. I now have a broken tooth and he had a damn good laugh.

(note : Spellings duly corrected and apologies for dyslexia)

Andrew Dismore Gurkha Update

Great Britain is facing a massive crisis of confidence in our politicians. There is an issue of confidence and an issue of trust. People are sick of twisted words and lame justifications. People want straight answers to straight questions. We are sick of being treated with contempt. We are sick of having our intelligence insulted. My message? If you want to regain our trust, stop treating us like fools. On this subject. Andrew Dismore has been justifying his vote against the Lib Dem Gurkha motion. Dismore said he didn't vote for this motion:-

That this House regrets the Government’s recent statement outlining the eligibility criteria for Gurkhas to reside in the United Kingdom; recognises the contribution the Gurkhas have made to the safety and freedom of the United Kingdom for the past 200 years; notes that more Gurkhas have laid down their lives for the United Kingdom than are estimated to want to live here; believes that Gurkhas who retired before 1997 should be treated fairly and in the same way as those who have retired since; is concerned that the Government’s new guidelines will permit only a small minority of Gurkhas and their families to settle whilst preventing the vast majority; further believes that people who are prepared to fight and die for the United Kingdom should be entitled to live in the country; and calls upon the Government to withdraw its new guidelines immediately and bring forward revised proposals that extend an equal right of residence to all Gurkhas.

His reason for not supporting it -

“It's a Liberal Democrat Trojan Horse, a rather large Trojan Horse. We know the Lib Dems have a rather lapse attitude to immigration. If people voted for this you could say it would open the door to unlimited immigration.

“I’ve stuck my head above the parapet with this. Every campaign the Gurkhas have run I’ve supported. If Offord says he would vote for it he’s a fool.”

He did vote for this Government sponsored motion :-

“This house recognises that this Government is the only one since the Second World War to allow Gurkhas and their families settlement rights to the United Kingdom; notes that in 2004 the Government permitted settlement rights to Gurkhas discharged since 1997, following the transfer of the Brigade HQ from Hong Kong to the United Kingdom; further notes that under these rules around 6,000 Gurkhas and family members have been welcomed to the UK; acknowledges that the court judgement of September 2008 determined that the 1997 cut-off date was fair and rational, while seeking clarification of the criteria for settlement rights for those who retired before 1997; further notes that on 24 April the Government published new and more generous guidelines for the settlement applications of Gurkhas who retired before 1997; supports this revised guidance, which will make around 10,000 Gurkhas and family members eligible to settle in the UK; further notes that the Government undertakes actively to inform those who may be eligible in Nepal of these changes and to review the impact of the new guidance within 12 months; further notes that the contribution Gurkhas have made is already recognised by pensions paid to around 25,000 Gurkhas or their widows in Nepal that allow for a good standard of living there; and further notes that in the year 2000 Gurkha pensions were doubled and that, earlier in April 2009, in addition to an inflationary uplift of 14 per cent., those over 80 years old received a 20 per cent. increase in their pension.”

Draw your own conclusions. I have. Am I impressed? Nope.

Barnet Eye Exclusive : The Andrew Dismore MP and the Gurkhas

Yesterday I was in Finchley for the Barnet Community Campaign March to protest against the councils atrocious policy of sacking sheltered housing wardens, from Finchley Central to Victoria Park. MP for Hendon, Andrew Dismore also showed up for the march. As he's been a vocal critic of the policy, making some rather good points in the commons earlier this week, I was not one of those critical of his appearance. It is fair to say that some sections of the crowd rather gave him the bird when he stood up to speak at the closing rally. The two main issues that irked the crowd were MP's expenses and Andrews failure to support the Gurkha's in the recent commons debate.

Prior to the start of the march, I was having a chat with John Burgess, the local UNISON organiser. I expressed my disappointment at Andrew Dismore for his failure to support the Gurkhas. John rather agreed. I expressed my view that the Gurkha's should be held up as a shining example of the positive role of immigrants and people born abroad to the UK. No one can doubt their contribution and they provide a powerful example of why the BNP's racist policies are so out of step with the views of the British public. Given the ethos of the regiment and the type of people it recruits, I think it is beyond doubt that all Gurkhas who woulkd choose to settle in Britain would work hard and be a great assett to us all.

As we were discussing this, Mr Dismore arrived. I had no desire to get the march off to a bad start, so I thought I'd try and catch Mr Dismore at the end and have a word with him. After the speeches, as the crowds started to drift away, I took the opportunity to take up the issue.

I asked him why he didn't support the motion. His response was to ask if I'd actually read the motion. I responded that I hadn't. He then said "Yes, Matthew Offord didn't actually read it before he criticised me either. I don't support things unless I've read them". Now I'm a dyslexic Punk Rock Guitarist. Mr Dismore is a lawyer by trade. My assumption was that hidden in the text of the motion, was something which the press, the rebel Labour MP's & the British public had missed. Well, here is the motion.

Chris Huhne (Eastleigh) (LD):

I beg to move, That this House regrets the Government’s recent statement outlining the eligibility criteria for Gurkhas to reside in the United Kingdom; recognises the contribution the Gurkhas have made to the safety and freedom of the United Kingdom for the past 200 years; notes that more Gurkhas have laid down their lives for the United Kingdom than are estimated to want to live here; believes that Gurkhas who retired before 1997 should be treated fairly and in the same way as those who have retired since; is concerned that the Government’s new guidelines will permit only a small minority of Gurkhas and their families to settle whilst preventing the vast majority; further believes that people who are prepared to fight and die for the United Kingdom should be entitled to live in the country; and calls upon the Government to withdraw its new guidelines immediately and bring forward revised proposals that extend an equal right of residence to all Gurkhas.

You can read the whole text HERE. I did. Maybe I'm thick (well no maybe there at all really), maybe my dyslexia has prevented me from properly understanding the text of the motion (I've reread it 5 times to make sure). What I can say is this. There is no doubt in my mind that there is NOTHING in this motion which I disagree with. The Government came across as mean spirited, petty and out of touch in opposing it. Andrew Dismore's response to me graphically illustrated to me why I trust thick Punk rock guitarists more than clever Lawyers and MP's. His answer was clever, it got him off the hook in the conversation, but ultimately it has just reinforced my annoyance at him for employing such a ruse. Well Andrew, this is a public forum, tens of thousands of people look at this blog, so please put us out of our misery. Post a comment here to explain what your objection to the text of this motion was.