"Right after you comrades". Incitement to violence by the NUS. From Guido Fawkes.

So John Cook says on Twitter “Challenge to Nick Clegg: Come outside and say that! Tuition fees, #demo2010#pmqs” and is, as far as we know, unmolested for threatening physical violence to the deputy Prime Minister (I know it’s not a serious threat, in John’s current physical condition he’d lose to Nick Clegg – in fact he’d be out fought by a toothless declawed cat).  However Paul Chambers has lost an appeal after being convicted on anti-terrorism charge for “threatening” to blow up Robin Hood airport and Gareth Compton has been questioned under caution for calling for the stoning of Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, a prosecution egged on by liberal journalists.

This was a specious lead.  I don’t want John Cook in prison, no matter how foul and thuggish his utterances are.  There are two reasons I wanted to bring this up.

Firstly it’s not yet clear whether “John” is “4NorwichNrth” or “4Ipswich”.  His loyalties seem divided, as I predicted they would be.

Secondly, and more importantly, the links between Labour and the riots should not be underestimated.  The NUS is run by a coterie of student politicians who, like go on to become Labour MPs.  Just ask Jack Straw, Phil “send ‘em home” Woolas, Stephen Twigg, Lorna Fitzsimmons and Jim Murphy (who in my Labour Student days I remember being told was very, very thick – and in Labour student politics there’s not exactly a high bar).  Those names were on the top of my head, I’m sure Google would find a clutch more.

The NUS leadership, chock full of Labour would be politicians, has approved literature calling for a “Demo-lition” and a “riot” yet when their rhetoric comes real, encouraged by NUS stewards, the NUS president simply says that he abhors the violence and that’s it.  No questioning of him or his executive for bussing in 50,000 students (telling the police it would be 15,000) and then calling for a “riot” in their literature.  In Parliament he is defended by thuggish Labour MPs like Ed Balls.

Yet in the meantime there are a number of lesser, poorly connected students, who’ve been encouraged into this criminal behaviour.  Their pictures are blasted over the internet and many of them will probably end up with criminal records.  In some cases their life will be  ruined due to this Student Grant type posturing of these want to be MPs.  Is there any sympathy for this human tragedy, and any anger against the pathetic people such as Aaron Porter and John Cook (4NorwichNrth) who whipped them up and then slink away saying “we didn’t mean THAT”?  Of course the vandals should be investigated, but so should the NUS leadership.

No.  In Parliament the sympathy is for the student leaders, with Ed Balls talking about “a small minority of thugs” while missing out on the NUS leadership calling for a “riot”.

It’s time for the Labour leadership to suspend all NUS NEC members from the party and to launch an investigation.  While they’re at it, people who are publicly identified with the party and who endorsed student violence, even if its a rather pathetic tweet, should also be suspended and investigated.  If Labour do that then we know that they are serious at dealing with physical violence against their opponents.

If they don’t, they are endorsing it – just like John Cook did.

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