Millionaire hypocrite Arthur Scargill is a typical red, preaching: ‘Do as I say not as I do’
The sneak has tried to pocket a small fortune while proclaiming to be the great fighter against the evils of capitalism and the elite
ARTHUR SCARGILL has two faces.
One he enjoys showing the world: The great trade unionist, the great Socialist, the great fighter against the evils of capitalism, the man who would walk 1,000 miles across broken glass to stop the sell-off of council properties.
And then there is the real Arthur Scargill. The one who very secretly tried for two decades to buy a council flat in London’s fashionable Barbican so he could pocket a fortune.
You will be appalled to learn he has achieved his 20-year ambition.
The flat on the 25th floor had previously been rented to him as a perk of his job as leader of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). Back in 1993 he first tried to acquire the flat under Margaret Thatcher’s right-to-buy scheme. You couldn’t make this up.
His application was blocked at the time as it was not his primary residence. For reasons that are not entirely clear as he has a home in Yorkshire he has now bought the flat for £1,050,000 (where did he get that money from?) having received a £500,000 discount.
If you were on the minimum wage it would take 100 years to earn the £1,500,000 you needed to buy that flat.
It is now worth around £2million. Why should the leader of the Socialist Labour Party (a Corbyn ally naturally) be allowed to pocket a million?
The old fraud must go some time
Of all the people I can think of Scargill, is the least deserving of tenants.
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I’m massively in favour of the council sales and can well remember a friend’s father buying then selling his council house in Bromley, South East London, and having a fabulous retirement in Poole on the money. That’s what right-to-buy did for ordinary people.
Some of the cash was provided by his daughter Dr Margaret Scargill. Was it an investment by her so she cleans up when he dies? After all he’s 78 and the old fraud must go some time.
Or are the Scargills effectively hoping to make a quick return by flogging the joint immediately and trousering £1million tax free? I think we should be told.
Even his own union are up in arms at the purchase. They still pay £3,500 a year towards the upkeep of his Yorkshire home as they believed it was his main home.
Scargill’s trickery and hypocrisy — coupled with the startling revelation that Labour’s Shadow minister for preventing violence Sarah Champion was arrested and put in a police cell accused of assault after a violent row with her husband back in 2007 — and you can see Socialism’s mantra is simple: Do as I say not as I do.
Makes you sick, doesn’t it?
Great bitter face-off
“A PEACOCKING manchild lingering where the money is. I’m shocked.”
This was the verdict of the rather strange former Bake Off star Ruby Tandoh on Paul Hollywood’s decision to go with the show when it moves from the BBC1 to C4.
Like me you won’t have heard of Ms Tandoh since she last appeared in the show a couple of years back and the only reason she would have made any impression was a suggestion she was flirting with Mr Hollywood.
That couldn’t be true as she announced after the series ended she was gay. To my mind there should be no criticism of Mr Hollywood for following the money and I suspect if you had been in the same position you too would have gone.
For his three-year contract his pay has gone up from £300,000 at the BBC to £1.2million at C4 plus the ability to do more commercial deals than would have been possible at the Corporation.
To be paid £400,000-a-year to eat cake for an hour makes it the least onerous and most highly paid TV job with the exception of football pundit.
I presume Ms Tandoh’s bile is based on the fact she was NFI (not flipping invited) or more seriously NEFC (never even flippin considered) for the role at C4.
FUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE
If reports are true that British women volunteers are flocking to the Calais Jungle specifically to have sex with migrants, expect the camp to grow from the current 10,000 to the size of Africa in no time at all.
BA boss 'will try harder'
IN Friday’s column I was critical of my British Airways flight to New York where both the food and service were poor.
I have since received an email from Alex Cruz, the chief executive and chairman of BA, apologising for my experience.
His first point was that he is not an accountant (I got that wrong) but an engineer by training and that he has worked in the airline industry all his life.
It’s the next paragraph I found most interesting.
He said he had been in the job five months and hopes “to deliver strong consumer-friendly messages and services as I get a good hold on this fantastic company which has a lot of things to do to regain the position it once held.”
Not very often the CEO of such a large company would admit there was work to be done and it means my gripe must be mirrored in their customer research.
If BA is ever to going to boast that it’s the World’s Favourite Airline again it will have to hire staff who don’t look at passengers as getting in the way of their decent night’s sleep.
Top cop daft on Burkas
ARE our chief constables going quite potty?
Simon Cole, the Chief Constable of Leicestershire has followed the West Midlands Chief Constable and said he would consider Muslim officers’ wishes to wear burkas.
Even Muslim groups think the idea is mad.
When the suggestion was put to Mr Cole, why didn’t he say the idea was out of the question, not least because the public would want to see an officer’s face?
In Friday’s column I wrote about the difficulty forces were having in finding officers good enough to step up to Chief Constable with both Lincolnshire and the Met struggling to find the right calibre of applicant.
Even if talent is thin on the ground could I suggest the Crime Commissioners of Leicestershire and West Midlands do us all a favour by throwing out their deranged Chief Constables.
And make it a prerequisite of hiring that the next ones give an undertaking that they do not believe female Muslim officers should wear the full Islamic dress.
It can’t be that hard.
WELL, LOOK AT THAT
DESPITE all the weeping and wailing about Sports Direct, a little known fact is that Karen Byers, the head of ops and credited by founder Mike Ashley as the brains behind the company, started with the firm 25 years ago on . . . a zero-hours contract.
Put that in your pipe, Corbyn.
Good do, Ron, Ron
I’VE heard from “Ron The Guvnor” who on receiving his car renewal of £755 for his BMW – an increase of £300 without a claim – told his insurers they had a good chance of appearing in my column unless there was a reduction.
They cut it by £255. The power is amazing.
Another column reader, Sandra from Pinner, North West London, was quoted £767 to renew her car insurance by Direct Line.
She queried it and as a “loyalty bonus” they reduced to £655.
Instead she went on and Axa covered her for £343, a saving of £424.
Those are great saving stories. Do send more to kelvin@the-sun.co.uk.
HAVING just been charged £349.20 to replace a rear brake light unit on my Mercedes ML 250.
I can’t wait for us to exit the single market as it will mean German cars will be so expensive they won’t sell any here and we could then start our own car industry with the chance of making it a success now Red Robbo is so old he can’t destroy companies any more.
Punnies
TOY shop in Bromsgrove, Worcs – Hoyti Toyti
Beauty salon in Catterick, North Yorks – Saving Face
Wool shop in Redcar, North Yorks – Wool ‘N’ Knit Be Nice
Chippie in Bedminster, Bristol – Smiley’s Plaice
Seen on a lorry – Can’t Move Heaven But Can Move Earth
Mac computer repair shop in Penzance, Cornwall – Apple Crumble
On the side of a van in Cam, Gloucs – Copse And Loggers. Hair salon in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester – Hairess
Driving school in Worcester – Jules Control
Punnies always start Monday with a smile.
Do send more to [email protected].