For richer, for poorer
October 11, 2009 at 5:10 pm | Posted in music, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Bono, politics, U2
BANG! OUCH! What was that you just heard? Oh, just Bono quite possibly shooting himself in the foot.
Bono’s video appearance at the Tory party conference on Thursday has got a lot of people’s knickers in a knot. He even made it onto Twitter’s list of trending topics in the form of ‘#BonoToryScum’. Lovely.
While it’s easy to be irked by this appearance (actually, it’s exceedingly easy to be irked by Bono in general), I don’t think it’s for the reasons that many are citing. I couldn’t care less if Bono pledges allegiance to the Tory party. Or the Labour party. Or the Lib Dems, even, for that matter. Anyway, he shied away from making any real political endorsement.
Which is good, really, as that he also appeared in a video at this year’s Labour conference, and has recently been praising Gordon Brown. This has been considered far less newsworthy, but there you go. He seemingly addressed the same subjects at both conferences (the continuing need for Third World aid), but it strikes me as rather shallow. In fact, it’s this which has riled me, really.
Appearing at the conferences of two opposing parties simply undermines the impact; it is, in my view, totally defeating your own point. Then again, it is Bono – the man who calls for an end to fiscal injustice while evading tax as much as possible. He’s been an easy target for a long time now, but who’d have thought he’d be the latest hire-a-celeb?
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Not looking for a new England?
January 19, 2010 at 1:30 pm | Posted in music | Leave a commentTags: a new england, bbc breakfast, billy bragg, economy, guardian comment is free, kirsty maccoll, politics, poll, protest, RBS, taxes
Angry over the £1.5 billion sum announced to be paid out to RBS staff in bonuses, Billy Bragg has decided he will refuse to pay his taxes at the end of this month. And he’d like to encourage you to do the same.
The folk singer explained his position in an interview with BBC Breakfast and defended it in a piece in the Guardian‘s Comment is Free section. He has set up a Facebook group for those wishing to follow his lead, with links to a template letter for download.
I’ll be interested to see how this pans out: will the Treasury will get their knickers in that much of a twist over the delayed tax payments of what will probably amount to a maximum of a few thousand people?
Bragg himself seems realistic about the eventual result of his protest, telling BBC Breakfast that his taxes are bound to be collected sooner or later: ”We can be honest that, no matter what happens in this campaign…we can be absolutely, 100 per cent sure about that.”
He claims that the point of this campaign is to raise awareness about the issue; given the already fairly extensive media coverage he’s received, he’s arguably achieving a degree of success.
Anyway, kicking up a fuss is what folk singers are meant to do. Well, alongside cracking out gems such as this:
What can I say? I’m a student; I don’t even pay my taxes. But how about you?