During a long night 27 years ago Conservative prime minister, Harold Macmillan, who was known as the Unflappable Supermac, suddenly earned himself a new soubriquet. In an unprecedented act of political destruction Mac the Knife sacked a third of his cabinet but he always claimed he was the one to feel the pain. Timewatch: The Night of the Long Knives, BBC 1989
That Macmillan believed there was a conspiracy is confirmed by his son in law Julian Amery. ibid.
There was a serial of further ministerial immersions at Admiralty House. ibid.
‘He sacrificed all his closest advisers and the principle members of his cabinet.’ ibid. Lord Hailsham
You couldn’t not be aware of the tension and anger that was bubbling. Miners’ Strike 1984: The Battle for Britain I: Community, scab, Channel 4 2024
In 1984 Britain changed for ever. A year that divided communities. Transformed the way we are policed. And revealed who really runs the country. ibid. captions
More than half of Britain’s miners are now on strike. ibid.
Plans are announced to close 20 coal mines resulting in the loss of 20,000 jobs. Arthur Scargill, president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), calls for a strike. ibid.
One town in Derbyshire would become known as the most divided in Britain – Shirebrook. ibid.
June 1984: Two-thirds of Britain’s miners are out on strike. ibid.
In March 1985 the NUM calls off the year-long dispute. ibid.
Orgreave is number one disaster in my brain. Miners’ Strike 1984: The Battle for Britain II: Law and Order, miner
Across the country violence between police and miners is increasing. In South Yorkshire the bloodiest day of the strike is about to begin: the Battle of Orgreave. ibid.
Since the start of the strike, police roadblocks have stopped striking miners travelling to working areas. ibid.
‘Orgreave: They [rozzers] even put signs up like an antiques fair so everyone could find their way.’ ibid. miners
The police line pushes the miners away from the plant towards the nearby village … The village is now the front line. ibid. caption
55 miners were charged under the Riot Act. ibid.
This is the Orwellian bit. This is 1984. ibid.
You are causing it by your very presence here. ibid. angry woman to rozzers
The mass corruption in the taking of witness statements. ibid. woman
Their own film does not show miners attacking police. ibid. Michael Mansfield
No officer involved at Orgreave has ever faced disciplinary action. ibid.
Some view Scargill’s strike as an attempt to overthrow Margaret Thatcher’s government. Miners’ Strike 1984: The Battle for Britain III: Power, caption
I had great trouble in convincing the Nottinghamshire miners to get involved. ibid. NUM officer
Shortly after the strike Nottinghamshire miners break away from the NUM and form their own union. They force out those still loyal to Arthur Scargill. ibid. caption
Arthur Scargill issued a naked threat to the state. ibid. David Hart
[Braverman]: ‘So let’s stop pretending they are all refugees in distress.’ JimmytheGiant podcast, The ‘Migrant Crisis’ Destroying Britain, Youtube 2024
‘It is illegal immigration. It is economic migrants.’ ibid. Farage
There has been a very deliberate effort to confuse these terms. ibid.
Introducing the 2015 European migrant crisis. ibid.
It’s important to understand the gory bloody details of these conflicts. ibid.
Asylum seekers: People escaping genocide, war and slavery. ibid.
Oswald Mosley, once a young hunk-daddy with charm and charisma who was positioned to be a future prime minister of Great Britain, embarked upon this long and gradual journey into becoming Britain’s most hated and feared fascist leader. JimmytheGiant podcast: The Decline of Britain’s Failed Hitler
The mid 1920s he was actually mocking fascists: ‘black-shirted buffoons making a cheap immitation of ice-cream sellers’ … They elected him to Labour’s NEC. ibid.
After packing his sun cream, Mosley headed over to Italy and met with none other than Mussolini. ibid.
Mosley had completely reskinned … He really did capture Britain’s attention for a period of time. ibid.
Mosley would embark on these sinister-looking rallies. ibid.
An Aldi’s own-brand of fascism. ibid.
‘Hurrah for the Blackshirts!’ ibid. Daily Mail headline 15th January 1934
This was called The Battle of Cable Street. He continued to organise these marches and rallies. ibid.
I’m pretty sure she’s the reason it rains all the time. JimmytheGiant podcast: Why Everyone Hates Thatcher
‘We don’t think she made Britain great. She destroyed everything that we made and handed us over to the bankers and the speculators.’ ibid. man on march
And that revolution was neoliberalism … It has made the rich very rich, but it left the poor to be fighting over the scraps. ibid.
While Thatcher was at university she read a book by Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom. ibid.
[Thatcher] slams Friedrich Hayek’s The Constitution of Liberty on to the table and told everyone, This is what we believe now. ibid.
Unemployment surged past 3 million. ibid.
David Icke for a period of time was Britain’s most ridiculed man. He was a laughing stock. But as time has gone on, he seems to have grown more and more support, more and more people that believe the things he says. JimmytheGiant podcast: The Dark Rise of Britain’s Alex Jones
David Icke, wearing a turquoise-blue track-suit appeared on television claiming he was the son of God. ibid.
This is insane mental gymnastics … very slippery. ibid.
‘Reptilian entities are behind this manipulation of human society.’ ibid.
30th July: A combination of events – declining living standards, social tensions, years of racist rhetoric from senior politicians, all the way to misinformation from members of parliament – all of these things created a recipe, a perfect storm, leading to an eruption of far-right race riots all across the country. JimmytheGiant podcast: The UK Riots That Broke Britain
These old BNP accusations that Muslims don’t belong in the West, that they don’t want to assimilate, that they hate us, that they’re taking your jobs, that they’re all criminals etc. ibid.
Tommy Robinson would have a rally 27th July in London. ibid.
30th July: An angry crowd started to gather in Southport outside of a mosque. After two decades of scapegoating immigrants, stoking Islamophobia, the Far Right took to the streets. ibid.