DEVON – The Westcountry Mutineer

AXMINSTER CARPETS COMMIT WORKERS PURGE

300 WORKERS AT Axminster Carpets have been told that they no longer work for the company because, as they told the rest of the media, this is an attempt to stop liquidation of the company. Staff are without a doubt devastated. This has also had a terrible effect on families who have been working there for many years, such as the Kaxee family: “There’s three of us who have been made redundant today. For the last two weeks we’ve had no wages. There is no work around here at all.” Mr Kaxee said his wife, who still has her job, is very distressed about this loss; while she may have the fortune of keeping her job she now has to run a department by herself that would normally require at least eight people.

With all these mass job losses and companies going into administration, along with the savage attacks from the ConDem govermint, circumstances for both employed and unemployed alike will be getting a lot worse. Out of all the staff that have worked there only 95 are keeping their jobs, less than 25% of the workforce; which means that workers will now be working more for less. There is no doubt either that this won’t be the last of their problems – with all the economic troubles and austerity measures there will probably be a lot more similar headlines…

SOUTH WEST FASH ON THE MOVE

ANOTHER ANTI-FASCIST STORY for this week: turns out that the South Wales National Front (yes, they apparently still exist!) and the Plymouth division of the English Defence League have both announced plans to demonstrate their hatred against everything that isn’t white and British. In Swansea, on the 9th of March, the South Wales N.F. are hosting an imaginatively-titled ‘White Pride’ day to celebrate how fucked up and out-of-touch with the people they claim to support they really are. Meanwhile, on the 13th of April, the already-dwindling E.D.L. will be dragging out their fake Stone Island fashionwear and sloping brows to potential mosque which will replace the Dance Academy, which has been closed now for six years.

The E.D.L., for their part, are enjoying a painful, humiliating nosedive in support, with new splinter factions and minor civil wars dogging them at every turn; theiir Cambridge outing a few weeks was a wash-out, trudging out a shower* of 30 E.D.iots and the festivities involved muchas entertaining infighting; since July, the disorganisation has multiplied into the English Volunteer Force, and previously the Northwest Infidels and also the Combined Ex-Forces. And lets not forget the Judean People’s Front.

The National Front are themselves a living fossil, forgoing the decency if disappearing into the annals of history, desperately clamping onto any modern-day rightwing hate expression, in a lame attempt to recruit new blood, and not die the inevitable death they so richly deserve; but we can say the same for Blood And Honour, a Nazi fetishist music promoter. Nowadays, they manage to squeeze out showers even smallest than their E.D.L. contemporaries, with turnouts of five blokes and a reluctant dog not uncommon (A.L.F. take note). It’s fair to assume that their ambitions for Swansea this month is a clumsy bid to siphon off members of disillusioned Welsh Defence Force.

All that being said, it’s important to not just ignore these poor excuses for humanity, or relegate them to being a pure laughing matter; though they are pretty funny. They are violent nutters and can still pose a physical threat to communities, which why it is important to make sure that when we do oppose the, and oppose them we shall, that we don’t resort to the same old liberal/U.A.F. tactics of hosting demonstrations as far away from them in the towns and cities as possible, or ignore them and hope against hope that they’ll go away. It’s through direct action and physical confronting the bastards, as well as systematically dismantling their bullshit arguments, that they’ll be kept off the streets – after all, no one likes a repeated kicking.

MUTINEER DICTIONARY CORNER

Shower* (v): to wash oneself by partial or full immersion in a continuous spray of water; (n) a device for personal hygiene, moving water through a nozzle with minuscule holes; a short period of rain; a collective of fascists or racists [ i.e. “a shower of fash”]

Facebook event for the counter-mobilisation

E.D.L.’s own event page

N.F.’s blog detailing their event

CALLING ALL SWAMPYS

READERS OF THE Mutineer old enough to remember the headline-grabbing road protests at the Newbury Bypass, and (closer to home) at Solsbury Hill in Bath, and the A30 at Fairmile in Devon, could be forgiven for thinking that the era of protesters inhabiting treehouses and tunnels and chaining themselves to trees and bulldozers was one of those things we left behind in the 90s, along with Britpop, Gameboys and shellsuits. Even though those protests didn’t stop those particular roads being built, they resulted in over 300 other such road schemes being scrapped. Of course, even those behind such roads admitted that they were effectively pointless and only served to put more cars on the road. Now that the Tories have regained power, however, they intend to finish the job that Thatcher and Major couldn’t finish. Indeed, the fight back has already begun, with camps set up along the route of the proposed Bexhill to Hastings road and with many more road schemes to begin soon, including some of those abandoned at the end of the 90s (along with that old Shed Seven album you only ever listened to the once). What’s more, they have the support of both local residents and some pretty high-profile environmental groups. Many of these roads go through nature reserves, woodlands and other places no-one wants to see concreted over and destroyed forever. So be prepared – environmental devastation could be driving past your house soon – so dig out that Levellers t-shirt, grab your spade, a tarp, some pallets and as much rope as you can get, and put them within easy reach. You might be needing them very soon.

Mr Swampy, pictured here in the height of 90s crust [above]

OFF THE BUSES

ANYONE WHO’S EVER got on a bus or train in the southwest, even once, will have learned at least one important fact. First Great Western are rip-off merchants. With fares on a constant sky-rocket, no noticeable improvements to (often late, patchy and overcrowded) services, and directors’ pay also on a steady, yet undeserved upward slant, it’s no wonder most passengers view First Group as the gangsters and capitalist con-artists that they are. But all the overcharging of customers must translate into more money for the workers, right? Wrong. First have recently slapped their bus workers in Devon and Cornwall with a new pay ‘offer’ which removes pay during the time workers spend getting from bus to bus, sabotages sick pay and pension schemes and bans ‘visual checks’ in which drivers check the condition of their bus mid-shift. The workers and the R.M.T. union flat out rejected the offer, with 85% voting for strike action until a respectable offer is tabled.

Making the link between mistreatment of workers and shoddy services, R.M.T. head honcho Bob Crow said “Bus service workers in the southwest will be taking action as the companies attempt to ramp up profits at the expense of the staff as well as the travelling public’. Too right Bob! And as the strikes get underway, it would be great to see words being turned into action, with staff and service users standing together against the racketeers before of First Great Western run our public transport all the way into the ground. Better yet would be if the strikers emulated their fellow drivers in Barcelona, who, during a recent strike, parked their buses across depot entrances, main roads and other choice locations, slashed the tyres and walked off with the keys!

PIRATICAL HI-JINKS AND HI-JACKS IN DARTMOUTH

HERE AT THE Mutineer, we take pride in the westcountry’s long history of smuggling, brigandry and piracy, so, we thought we’d take the time to salute Dartmouth resident Alison Whelan for upholding these fine traditions. After a weekend long bender, including copious amount of lambrini and hallucinogenic deadly nightshade, Alison decided to relight the dormant tradition of southwesterly piracy. Commandeering a 45ft. vessel, Captain Whelan steered out of the harbour, smashing into dozens of boats, including a £70,000 luxury yacht, all the while screaming “I’m Jack Sparrow!” Police on the scene described the harbour as “like a giant pinball machine” as she attempted to make it to the high seas. As authorities approached, Whelan was heard taunting police by saying “what are you going to do now?” and “I believe this is out of your jurisdiction”. She was wrong. Later, when interviewed, Whelan’s first words to police were “I would have made it to St. Tropez if you hadn’t stopped me!” This unrepentant pirate is now doing a short stretch behind bars, and, while her water-borne protest can in no way be counted as progressive, we would still like to take off our tri-corn hats in salute to a woman who has reminded us that the west’s tradition of drunken, criminal piracy is not quite dead.

INTERNET COMMENT OF THE MONTH

IN RESPONSE TO news that meaningless, degenerate corpse-in-waiting Prince Harry has been filmed playing ‘strip billiards’ in an exclusive casino, Andy from Devon posts on Yahoo News that: “All members of the royal family should be paraded naked through the streets of Ireland and later fed to a bunch of hungry, wild pigs. They are a waste of air.”

Quite so Andy. Stay tuned for more of the internet’s finest next month.

THIS TAX THE PISS!

OVER 157,000 FAMILIES across Devon and Cornwall are set to see their council tax bills soar following government reforms to the way council tax benefit is allocated. Authorities throughout Devon and the rest of the west are planning to scrap 100% council tax discount for people living on or below the poverty line, including jobseekers, single parents, the seriously ill or disabled and their full-time carers. This will mean that some of the most vulnerable people throughout the region will see their bill rise by up to 30%. The government has claimed that forcing the sick and poor into even deeper poverty will help end a ‘something for nothing’ culture in the west. However, the reality is that thousands in the region rely on the council tax break to keep their heads above water – the real ‘something for nothing’ culture exists in Westminster and every corporate boardroom across the country, where huge tax breaks, expenses claims and bonuses make sure that those who already have too much continue to rake it in and screw the rest.

The changes will even affect low-income workers who only receive a fractional reduction. In Plymouth, the council is proposing that even the poorest can only receive a maximum 70% council tax allowance, meaning many households will be footing up to an additional £400. Meanwhile, Torbay Council is proposing charging everyone at least 25%. Cornwall Council’s proposals will be made public at its next Cabinet meeting. East Devon, Exeter, North Devon, South Hams and Torridge district councils are suggesting a 30% charge, and Mid Devon, Teignbridge and West Devon districts 25%. Meanwhile, local bastard/Conservative council leader Philip Sanders, said “The shortage in funding means that we will have to make some difficult decisions about who gets financial help and how much they get.” But don’t worry – many areas of the west, such as Plymouth, are Labour-controlled – they won’t let this pass – right? Wrong. Labour Councillor Mark Lowry grumbles a bit, but rather than defying Westminster and standing up for his constituents, Lowry meekly concedes to something he knows is wrong, but will go along with anyway to avoid kicking up a fuss. Labour high-ranker and eternal disappointment to his dad Hilary Benn rounds out the attitude of Labour party leaders when he says: “Local authorities face a terrible dilemma. Do they increase council taxes on the working poor, or the disabled, or families with young children?” The answer apparently is a resounding “Yes!” With friends like these, who needs Tories?

GET OFF ARRR LAND

Bizarre Art Project Victim Of Bizzare Protest. Locals Reported Confused

FOR THE PAST few weeks, weird, floating art instillation ‘Nowhere island’ has been meandering its way around the coastal towns of the West. ‘Nowhere island’ features about six tonnes of rock on a barge found under a retreating glacier in the Svalbard peninsula. Over the past year, people have been invited to sign up as Nowhere citizens, drawing up laws and a constitution. Great, eh? Except no one is allowed on or near the £500,000 tax-payer-funded project as the barren utopia chugs around our coast. That is until 12 intrepid wetsuit-clad rebels launched an occupation of the island as it passed Sunny Torbay, in what they triumphantly described as a “coup d’état”. Boarding the (broad)side of the island after a half-mile swim, the swimmers hoisted the Jolly Roger, before doing a little dance and walking the plank, leaving only a plastic duck and stuffed squirrel! But what caused this brave water-borne invasion? The massive cost to the taxpayer? The environmental cost of lugging tonnes of empty rock around our coastline? No, according to one of the swimmers, Pauline Barker, “It just seemed like a fun thing to do”! Despite doing her best to convince us that the protest was totally aimless, Barker did go on to make the valid point that Nowhere Island is “designed to be an art project to get art closer to the people, and we are the people, so we decided to get as close as we possibly could.” So, hats off to those aquatic revolutionaries that risked the Seven Seas for but a bit of nautical naughtiness and to reclaim a little corner of the island that our money built!