Get the Tories OUT
A quarter of a century ago, a general election loomed as Leeds United‘s league campaign headed towards an exciting, nail-biting climax. The exact same set of circumstances applies today and, now as then, United’s fate will be sealed a week early.
Although the situation today is identical, the outcome for Leeds at least is the polar opposite. Back in 1992, I told myself long before the end of the football season that I’d take a Tory election victory (it didn’t look likely at the time), if Leeds could only hold out and pip the scum to the last League Championship Title, frustrating the rest of football and the assembled media into the bargain. Some might say it was a bargain I made myself, with the devil himself. In truth, my joy at seeing Leeds become champions was only slightly tempered by John Major’s beating of the useless Neil Kinnock – but I was quite young and my priorities were perhaps not what they should have been.
I must admit, I had the same chat with myself just a couple of weeks back, when Theresa May showed exactly how trustworthy she is by calling a snap election – after having repeatedly sworn that she wouldn’t call a snap election. And now, the stakes are higher, for everybody, because now we have a government that is not only set on out-Thatchering Thatcher, it’s also committed to an austerity programme that hits only the poor and vulnerable, and has demonstrably failed to tackle the national debt (which has actually doubled since 2010). And it seems likely also that this incompetent and evil government was elected fraudulently in the first place.
So the bargain I struck with myself when I heard there’d be an election after all, on June 8th, was a different one to that I agreed with whatever higher power in 1992. Now, my priorities are shaped by the bitter experience of what devastating damage can be wreaked by a Party without any conscience or compassion, driven by greed and an ideological hatred of socialist institutions like the welfare state and NHS. Nothing is so important as to matter more than getting rid of this shower, if at all possible, and despite the apparently gloomy (Tory-commissioned) opinion polls. I had no hesitation in telling my inner United fanatic that I would happily see Leeds condemned to at least another season of second tier football, if we could only have the truly socialist government that this country so desperately needs.
Whereas I unconsciously traded an unlikely John Major election success for The Last Champions triumph in ’92, now I’m begging for providence, fate, call it what you will, to allow a good and decent man in Jeremy Corbyn to replace May’s Ministry of fools, charlatans and liars as the ruling force in this country. Football is nothing beside that, and I’ll be happy to see Leeds United bottle it to fulfill my side of the bargain – just as long as the right result comes about on June the 8th.
I don’t know how superstitious you all are out there, though I’m uncomfortably aware that a sizeable proportion of Leeds fans are far and away to the right of me – so this confession is hardly likely to prove popular. I’m willing to engage in reasoned debate but, as ever, I’ll bin the mindless abuse. Still, on this occasion, unlike many of the times I’ve taken a stand on football matters, I’m stone cold certain that I’m correct.
Hopefully, Leeds United bottling this season’s chance at promotion will reap a reward in the shape of a brighter future for the whole country under Corbyn. If not, I have only the fates to blame – unless I choose to rail at people for being daft and crass enough to vote for a party hell-bent on destroying the NHS and killing thousands more hapless sick and disabled people through neglect and starvation. You see what I mean about high stakes.
I love Leeds United; I have done for well over forty years. But I will gladly see them fail if there’s anything in this mirror-image outcome as compared with 1992. It’s that important. For Leeds, there will be other years. For so many whose very existence is threatened by a continuation of this evil government, there can be no such guarantees – unless the polls are wrong, as they were a quarter of a century ago.
Leeds have done their bit, by failing, in their own inimitable style – despite a second-half rally against Norwich. As ever, it was too little, too late. Great, I didn’t really see them succeeding under Massimo Cellino – another liar and fraud – anyway. Now, all we need to square the circle, paying back the debt of conscience I owe from 1992, is a Labour victory in a few weeks time. I hope the more enlightened among you will join me in hoping for that, and in accepting it’s far more important than any dicey and probably heart-breaking football play-off place. Fight for what’s right and vote Labour. And let’s all have a fresh start from now onward.
Let June be the end of May.
Life, Leeds United, the Universe & Everything 
Rob, as hard as it is, well said!
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Hard bargain to make! But now I can only hope it pays off.
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Nicely written. From the heart obviously. But a right load of twaddle I’m afraid!! Seriously? Corbyn! Really. I don’t disagree that we need a labour government but not under Mr C. Not ever. God help us all. Turn the lights out as the last one to leave. As for dear old LUFC? Probably a good thing. I like to think we could possibly model ourselves on Brighton. Consolidate over the close season and come back stronger next season and go up without having to go through the mockery of the play offs. Will require investment of course. So we shall see
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It appears you read the Guardian for sport and the Mail for politics. Could you explain which of Corbyn’s policies you disagree with?
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Well. I’m not a daily mail reader for a start!! Not keen on his approach to Brexit. Nor his take on our national defence. Trident for example. As a public servant I am not happy that just the NHS appear to be singled out for a pay rise. Vote catching at its absolute worst. Police? Teachers? Firefighters? Not overly convinced by his ability to manage our finances. De Kensyian approach may work but I have severe reservations. I do think he is right about housing. I do think he is right about the gap between rich and poor.
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Trident is a £200bn investment on a dangerous toy we can never use. Germany manage without their “own” nuclear deterrent (our isn’t ours, it’s under Trump’s thumb) – and the Germans are happy to see that money invested in a healthy economy and good public services. Austerity and neoliberalism have been big fat failures ever since the post-war consensus was abandoned in ’79. Since then, unemployment and poverty arising out of welfare dependency have been deemed a price worth paying for the prosperity of the 1% – who then sparked off the global banking crisis. Enough is enough – it’s time for some proper socialism a la 1945 and see what a radical reforming government can do.
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I’d love to agree with you mate but the Labour Party as it is, is thoroughly unelectable. Unless they stop using Del Boy’s calculator, no one in the Financial world will believe them. Don’t worry pal, I’m not a Tory, just being realistic….at this moment in time, Labour are about as credible an entity as the football league ( no capital letters as that may imply respect!! )
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Actually, many leading economists endorse Labour policies; austerity has achieved nothing except to double the national debt – and Labour has been historically better at paying off debt, having borrowed less in the first place.
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Austerity is a means for the rothschilds to wage war on ordinary people whilst they enrich themselves. The national debt doesn’t really exist,its a debt to the banks (rothschilds,Rockefellers etc) for money and interest that has been printed from nothing. In the usa the rothschilds own the federal reserve too,its neither “federal” or a “reserve”. Its a scam whereby money is created from nothing and loaned to the government at exorbitant interest rates. Any president who has tried to stop this scam gets whacked. Just as any politician in the UK who vociferously opposes any rothschilds war gets whacked. Our own security services have something on all “tories” and all “blairites” as well as Blair himself. He was charged and prosecuted under his middle names “Charles Linton” in the late 70s early 80s for importuning men in public toilets. No joke,thats how these scumbags become compliant to the bankers. It remains to be seen whether or not Corbyn has been infected but here’s hoping.
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If ever a man was incorruptible, Corbyn is that man.
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You’d better be right Rob,I don’t want another five years of “Terry” May and his/her like with their constant false flags justifying wars and routine arming of the police. Did anyone actually believe Tobias Ellwood wood be administering first aid while to a man while highly trained medics stood by? Anyway,talking of hoaxes we’ve been totally scammed at Elland Road this season. Promotion was never on the agenda,Cellino and monk can bugger off now for me.
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My sentiments exactly Rob, I’d already resigned myself to another Championship season at the very least. I pray we can hang on to Garry Monk and get rid of the wop at the same time. It’s been a season that far exceeded my expectations back in August last year. Well done to the Whites for bringing the passion back to Elland Road and we’ll done Yorkshire today too. All that said the most important thing for me, and millions more like me is to get Labour back into power and give the less wealthy and less healthy a government that knows they actually exist, and who actually intends to do something for them. I pray all the lifelong and all the new Labour supporters get out and support the party and more importantly get out and use their vote. I fear that people like myself, and struggling families, will suffer under the Tories for many years to come if we can’t shift them from power very soon.
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I’m not an advocate of austerity either mate, I just hope Labour realise that they need to up their game to be taken seriously. The country needs a credible alternative and I don’t believe we have one at the moment..
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If you’ve followed the campaign so far, the Labour game is in full swing, while the Tories are just hiding or popping up to say Strong & Stable – and nothing else. The only chance of the polls being right is if the press maintains its uncritical support of the Tories.
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IF we can get rid of Cellino and keep Gary and his team.
IF we can have a productive meeting between Gary and the new owner,
enabling us to have ANOTHER clear out, and a list of quality targets we can get.
IF our target is automatic promotion.
I will be happy!!!
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I would vote for any Labour leader if it meant the demise of this load of chancers.Blue Mondays,condescending As for dear old Leeds United???We have had a good season.Blew up in the last six games but we know who we are,keep Gary and a nucleus of the players and roll on next year.Mays out of her depth, as for De ffffing De ffeffel Johnson.I don’t have words.M.O.T.
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as a devoted leeds fan and labour voter i am of the same mind as you.well written.
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Well as my missus is about to deliver LUFC’s future no.9 into the world, please forgive me for not being “on the pulse” so to speak!
Let’s hope you’re right Roberto…
On a brighter note, I bumped into GM last week and he assures me the Mafia are on his side…
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He’ll probably need that sense of humour!
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And congratulations on the imminent arrival of our future centre-forward – boy OR girl!
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Cheers pal, and don’t worry, definitely a boy!!
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‘Strong and stable government’…
= National debt massively increased
= Unelected PM who who previously believed staying in the EU was important. Now pushing hard Brexit
= Stating no election before 2020. Then going to the polls in an egregious example of cynical, opportunistic politics
= Going for an election before the really bad impacts of Brexit start to bite
= Refusing to engage in debate and stay out of the public eye
= Saying nothing about a swathe of Tory MPs who illegally broke election spending rules
= No clear (if any) plan or consistent negotiating position for Brexit
We really do live in an age when language has been completely turned inside out.
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How refreshingly sane and unarguably correct.
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At first I like a fair few others thought that the snap general election was called to divert attention from the fact that the cos is considering files on 29 tory mps regarding election expenses fraud. That might be s small part of the reason but this election has been called in order to bury or divert attention away from a huge establishment paedophile scandal. Even this week a former bbc presenter was jailed for 4 years,but as usual the story was hardly mentioned. Believe me,the tory party and their backers,banks and mainstream media are evil beyond reproach.
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Man after my own heart Rob. The Tories will take this country back to Dickensian days. I like Corbyn but I just hope we get promoted before he becomes Prime Minister as i don’t think I will live that long.
Johnny Giles said it took Don Revie eight years to build his squad” moulding the youngsters like Bremner, Cooper, Hunter and Yorath etc and anyone who thinks you can achieve the heights in one season is deluded (Leeds Mick would be a belly ache if he had a season ticket at Barcelona). Cellino, I hope, will go now we are not in the playoffs, but I have not made my mind up about Radrizzani, let’s just hope he is not just another mouthpiece. This club needs long term investment, giving the manager the funds to bring in quality players of real choice and not Hobson’s. If we don’t have genuine commitment from the board then the best managers or coaches in the world won’t last here.
Look at the clubs who go up, struggle and come straight back down. Now we can relax and have a good summer and see what happens during the close season. Gary Monk is not a genius, but what he has achieved this season is way above expectation. He deserves another season. If he goes, then half the team will also go and we are just back to square one in the dark, in the doldrums like we have been for the last decade. We need a good pre season with a decent squad to work with. With need a fair and positive start to the season and not kick off in October when everyone else started in August.MOT
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Yep, it was the start and the finish that did for us. A more organised pre-season might have addressed both. The middle bit was OK.
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Superb effort this season from a small squad. Norwich derby etc to finish below Leeds? Time for Ingerland to wake up and boot the vile Tory maybots OUT!
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Having only recently joined, I was rather taken aback at the change of tack today, but I’m always ready to talk politics. My great political hero for many years was Tony Benn, who stuck to his principles regardless of how it affected his career. As Corbyn is a disciple of his, I would be pleased to see him succeed, but he has over three-quarters of Labour MPs refusing any post in his (Shadow) Cabinet. The only people willing to take posts are opportunist sycophants who had returned to the back benches never expecting to be called again, such as Emily Thornberry and Diane Abbott, and dregs who really should never have left the back benches in the first place. Many of those refusing to serve are despicable Blairites, such as Ed Balls’ wife, but there are quite a few wise and intelligent people such as Chuka Amunna who will never support Corbyn as Leader. Back in my youth, Labour was full of brilliant brains and spontaneously witty orators. Over the Kinnock and Blair years, and since, they’ve been replaced by insipid career politicians who can only cope with a single mantra – ‘Save our NHS’. I’m afraid, neither Labour nor the country knows what Labour is really for, these days. The Blair government will always be remembered for lying and ignoring the people over Iraq, but he was responsible for a host of other appalling changes, such as calling all Polys and colleges universities, and upping numbers going on to further education from about 10% to 50%, just to massage the unemployment figures. Now, half the staff at Tesco’s have degrees. He also began tuition fees, the nanny state and political correctness. By the end of his time, he was introducing laws that were impossible to enforce, such as not smacking children at home, use of mobiles/smoking in cars, and fox-hunting ban. Corbyn has all this baggage to contend with, and I have to say that he doesn’t keep his word on everything. For nearly fifty years, I’ve hated the drip, drip killing of stone-throwing Palestinian kids by Israeli marksmen with American hi-tech. weapons, and the more general caging of a whole race in squalid conditions. Before becoming Leader, Corbyn was constantly speaking up for these people, but he’s not said a word since. Zionists here are milking the Livingstone situation, and going on about Labour being anti-Semitic, which is probably why Corbyn is quiet about Palestine. The biggest crisis of our time is an epidemic of people, everywhere. Under Labour, there’s always mass-housing, and with that is always a baby-boom. Labour will allow further immigration, and we need quickly to devise policies to reduce populations everywhere, if the next generation is to have any quality of life. Since I’ve unfortunately always lived in the safest Tory seats, I’ve effectively been disenfranchised since I was old enough to vote. It’s even worse now, because there’s no party that can get us out of the mess we’re in, so I’ll probably save myself a walk to the village hall in June.
I’m slightly more optimistic about Leeds than I am about the state of the nation and planet. Unlike Earth, I think we’ve turned a corner, and must have caught the eye of plenty of potential football investors by our unexpected run, and regular gates of 30,000+. Monk’s done wonders with his motley crew, but he’s one-dimensional in his thinking. When does Ranieri’s gardening leave come to an end ?!
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Ranieri would be a damn good appointment mate and I agree with you about Monk too. Blair on the other hand as odious as he is was only following orders (seriously). The tuition fees along with student loans are a means of creating debt slaves. Once again these are rothschild/illuminati policies and one must bare in mind that peter mandelson was their inside man in blairs govt,often photographed with Jacob Rothschild. As for political correctness which has been gradually seeping in from the 80s onwards,its a form of behavioural control pushed by the likes of George Soros and his open society foundation.
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i left the UK 23 years ago as the Tories were killing the country then and i had just become a dad so off i went. i like 85 % of people go out the front door on a morning to earn a wage To keep our families fed housed and clothed. All we ask from our governments after paying them our hard earned taxes, is a good education for our children a house to live in a health service that we can depend on and public services that will keep all of us safe. From our employers we expect to be able to pay for two weeks holiday per year, now in the 21 century I do not think that is too much to ask for or is it ? Now I shall ask each and every one of you to think back over the years that you have voted and ask yourselves do you think this has ever been achieved by any of the governments you have lived under. I am neither left or right wing but I know that nothing ever seems to change which ever party is in charge so just happen we need a good change and some different views on the table let’s face it can’t get any worse for the majority you will all be still going out the door 5 days a week . yep and it’s just the same here in Australia a part from we have better weather most days. Oh and fellow fans next year will be our season I feel it in my bones MOT
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Rob. I am a Leeds United supporter for over four decades and a member of and activist in the Labour Party. I really enjoy your blog but I have to disagree with you about Jeremy Corbyn. Yes I agree with his Keynesian economic policies and his 20 point programme for restoring workers’ rights. But his associations with far left groups, Provisional IRA/Sinn Fein, Stop the War Coalition and anti-semitic and Islamist sympathisers with the Palestinian cause are toxic. Above all, his insistence that Labour MPs vote to trigger Article 50 has been a bitter disappointment. The Labour Party needed to change and move on from the New Labour era but the elevation of someone with the sheer lack of leadership experience like Corbyn, while understandable, was not the answer. On matters LUFC, things do look brighter long-term than they have been since the Simon Grayson era with Radzionia hopefully buying out Cellino and our performances this year. We must keep Garry Monk and we have the complement of a team which with key additions in midfield and support for Chris Wood can really go for promotion next season. Or am I being excessively positive for a Leeds fan! MOT.
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Thanks Barry – but I have to say your stab at spelling Radrizzani was a sight nearer the mark than your analysis of Corbyn’s leadership potential.
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On Corbyn, Rob, we will have to agree to disagree. But the Labour Party and LUFC are bigger than one transient leader or pratfall owner. MOT with both. Keep up the good work, Rob.
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Cheers, MOT
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Sorry blah blah blah
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Oh dear, all that hard work and most of it disappears leaving you looking like the desperate twat you are.
Unlucky, Tory dog-botherer sucker 😆
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Just had a lovely little tantrum from Geoff. Proper made me laugh.
It’s good to be King.
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