A few years ago I made two paper puppets, one of David Cameron and the other of Ian Duncan Smith, the-then minister in charge of killing the poor, weak and disabled. They’re card portraits, with a slot and tab arrangement, which would allow their mouths to move. I was intending to make videos on YouTube satirising Cameron and Smith, and their vile government, on YouTube. Unfortunately, events meant that I never got around to using them. Here they are, though.
That’s the one of David Cameron.
Iain Duncan Smith
Now I’ll think I’ll have to start making another puppet, this time of Theresa May. This week, May announced that she would not be taking part in the leader debates, or indeed, it seems, be taking questions from journalists. As Mike pointed out on his blog, it’s all going to be heavily stage-managed appearances, in which properly vetted members of the Tory party lob easy questions and sycophantic applause her way.
All this is, of course, says that she is very far from the strong leader confident of a Tory election landslide, as endlessly spewed by the Tory-Blairite media. As Mike points out, she’s terrified. Terrified of Labour, which is, according to some polls, only 9 points behind, terrified of the ‘saboteurs’ in her party, and terrified of the 30 members of her party, who have been very credibly accused of electoral fraud.
Hence the snap election. Hence the media manipulation, which essentially amounts to media cowardice.
The Beeb has said that they’re going to continue with the leader debates anyway, and just keep an empty space for her.
I think what I’ll have to do is make another puppet, this time of her, and stick it up on YouTube with it making true statements about the Tories and their intentions – to create more poverty, sell off the NHS, destroy the welfare state and massively enrich themselves and their paymasters in big business, particularly the bankers. All done satirically, of course, and in the name of free speech. Which May and her fellow authoritarians have been doing their level best over the past decade to close down. Remember the secret courts and the legislation designed to halt demonstrations, if people in an area think they’re a nuisance?
After all, with May running hard from the media, even after the Tories have turned them into their puppets, she can hardly complain if members of the public make a puppet to take her to task.
Tags: BBC, Bias, Big Business, David Cameron, Demonstrations, Electoral Fraud, Ian Duncan Smith, Leader Debates, Media, NHS, NHS Privatisation, Polls, The Labour Party, Theresa May, Vox Political, Welfare State, Youtube
Beastrabban\'s Weblog 
April 22, 2017 at 9:17 am |
Really looking me your art work Beastie! Puppets are great story tellers 😊
April 22, 2017 at 9:19 am |
Sorry should have said ‘I really like your art work Beastie!’ not the auto spellchecked comment above, oops 🙃😊 Keep painting!
April 22, 2017 at 9:52 am |
Thanks, Michelle – it’s great to be appreciated!
April 22, 2017 at 10:10 am |
Cool Beast!! though I don’t think anyone could capture the true evil of these sub-humans
As for May she either wants to lose the election to give labour the almost impossible task of brexit, and let them take all the flack, which could in the long run make the Tories look good, with plausible deniability.
or
She thinks Labour are so weak with all the in-fighting that she thinks she will win by a landslide.
I have looked at snap elections from the past, they have sometimes backfired on the government calling it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snap_election
April 22, 2017 at 11:21 am |
Thanks, Jo! I certainly hope it backfires on May big time.
April 22, 2017 at 3:15 pm
Jeremy has been busy talking to the EU socialist parties for a long time, there was a big meeting last October, where he gave a speech, and there have been other meetings to discuss refugees too, but this is one of the more recent specifically about Brexit.
http://labourlist.org/2017/02/corbyn-to-meet-european-socialists-as-he-sets-out-vision-of-brexit-britain-economy/
April 22, 2017 at 4:28 pm
That’s very interesting – and very positive. It also shows that he has actually been doing something positive about Brexit and Europe, unlike the present incumbent of 10 Downing Street. She hasn’t been able to give anything at all concrete, except insulting our collective intelligence by parroting ‘Brexit means Brexit’ whenever she’s been asked. It’s an oxymoron, as is so much Tory policy.
April 22, 2017 at 1:15 pm |
I think Corbyn even has Brexit covered, as he has spent a lot of time developing good relationships with Democratic socialists across the EU. He would be able to either get a good deal or find a way to end Brexit especially if it helps keep peace in Ireland and Scotland in the Union. All though it does occur that the SNP may try and over reach themselves to profit from Westminster seat counts. Interesting times indeed.
April 22, 2017 at 3:02 pm
Really good point. I wasn’t aware that he had, but it sounds highly likely. Unfortunately, it’s another fact that’s going to have to come from his supporters on social media, as the Tory and Blairite press definitely won’t want people to know this.
April 22, 2017 at 1:16 pm |
Love the previous masks. I fear though that you will never be as cruel as the camera in capturing Mays visage. She often looks like the portrait of Dorien Grey – the one in the attic!
April 22, 2017 at 3:04 pm |
The pic Mike uses of her, which shows her striding about with a very grim, cruel look on her face, reminds me very much of a 19th century painting of a witch or deranged wise woman from the ancient world.
April 22, 2017 at 4:36 pm |
Reblogged this on vondreassen.