Yes, they're still at it!
have been scavenging Cymru and robbing our people down to their last few crumbs
since the early medieval period and, they are still doing so today, only, by
much more devious and sinister means. In the medieval period, they would be
given large estates of Cymric land as rewards for their allegance in wars by
successive English kings who had 'taken' the land as spoils of war in the first
place and then, these new 'robber baron' landlords would exploit their tenants
by demanding most of the fruit of their farming efforts to the point where the
heavily exploited tenants could hardly feed their own families enough to keep
them alive.
A few years ago, we led a
campaign against the biggest of those greedy medieval robber baron families who
were still capitalising on their gift of stolen Cymric lands by means of
selling rights to capitalist renewable energy companies to plant windmill farms
on. I am, of course, referring to the Beauforts who, out of the vast acreage
they had' 'given' to them in medieval times (which included the lands of Owain Glyndŵr)
have greatly increased the size of their forune in a very short span of
time, without a care in the world of the consequences to the land itself, to
the varied and rich wildlife or the environment.
For further information on
our campaigns against the windmilling of Mynydd y Betws and Mynydd y Gwair,
please click on the following links for relevant blogs and film.
I believe it to be useful
and informative to include the above as an insight to the way that robber
barons have and still do exploit Cymru and I was moved to write this latest
blog post when the behaviour of a new ‘modern day’ 'robber' baron' was drawn to
my attention a week ago. I am referring to Jake Berry, the Conservative M.P.
for Rossendale and Darwin in Lancashire. See
pic below.
Towards the middle of last
week, it was drawn to my attention by a number of locals on Ynys Môn that modern times robber baron Jake Berry
M.P. who has a holiday home in the village of Rhoscolyn on the island, had been
residing in the property since early February with his wife and three young
children when he should have been at his ‘primary home’. Following local
murmurings of disapproval, a local reporter had approached Berry to enquire as to why they were there
during this period of lockdown due to the Covid 19, he said they were there for
“personal reasons” and threatened court action if anybody published a story
about it! Once I was informed of this, I immediately set up a 'Name and Shame'
post on my f.b. page and circled that post to around twenty other group pages
with a request for them to share as far and as wide as possible - and they did,
causing quite a stir and causing a number of further media sources to chase
after Berry to get an explanation as to why
he and his family were not in lockdown at his ‘primary home’ as had been
the rule laid down for the entire country by his own party as a strategy to try
and beat the Covid-19 virus.
The reasons he gave to the
media were varied; the 'lancs Live'
website reported the following:
"Rumours have been
circulating social media as to why Mr Berry
has been in Anglesey, a Conservative Party spokesperson said Mr Berry had been at his property in Anglesey
after visiting family before lockdown was announced. During this time, a family
member showed symptoms of coronavirus, after which he has made the conscious
decision to stay on the Welsh island for public health reasons, rather than move
back to his constituency home."
To Walesonline he said… “he
has been on Anglesey since the start of March
when he had to self isolate during a visit".
The Daily
Post reported: "Jake Berry, who is MP for Rossendale and Darwen in
Lancashire, has been on Anglesey with his
family since February"
A Consrvative party
spokesperson told the BBC: "During a visit to Wales
a family member of Mr Berry's
started showing signs of Coronavirus, this visit was prior to the Government
decision to lockdown. They followed NHS
advice to self-isolate and were self-isolating as lockdown came in. They
have stayed in Wales
during lockdown and continue to follow government guidelines."Jake and
his family continue to comply with UK
and Wales
guidance on lockdown"
The Lancashire Telegraph
reported: "East Lancashire MP Jake
Berry and his family have been stranded in North Wales since the lockdown
began.The former Northern Powerhouse Minister, his spouse and their two sons
and baby daughter were in Anglesey when his wife Alice was rushed to Bangor
Hospital for an emergency operation then, one of the Rossendale and Darwen MP’s
three children under three began displaying coronavirus symptoms. As a result
of the lockdown on March 14, the couple were unable to leave the house
he owns on the North Wales island close to
where his parents live. Mrs Berry, who gave birth two months ago to a daughter,
is now recuperating and back with the family and his son has recovered from the
Covid-19 symptoms. The Tory MP has continued with his constituency work from
Anglesey but been unable to go to Westminster
or East Lancashire because of the tight
lockdown restrictions on movement still being in"
Then, his colleaque, Tory MP
for Ynys Môn Victoria Crosbie saw the need to place the following statement on
her fb page:
"A few people have been
in touch with me regarding the M.P Jake Berry
living here on the Island. Mr Mrs Berry have
been living here since February - it is their home. They have a very
young family with three children aged 3 and under. Sadly, Mrs Berry
has been ill in Bangor
hospital for a month - so understandably, the family has kept a very low
profile"
She went on to say:
“The Berry's have been here since before the
lockdown was announced and they have assured me that they have followed all
Welsh government guidelines. Apart from visiting Bangor
Hospital Mr Berry has not left the island since before
lockdown back in March”
The variation of stories
that he himself has put out via contacts changes from… that he showed symptoms
of Covid-19 (on his twitter account) to then (on email) that his wife was in
Bangor hospital and he was looking after their three children. Then, in another
statement, he states that his child had symptoms so they had stayed on Ynys
Môn.
Now, to begin with, the
house in Rhoscolyn is a ‘holiday home’, it is not their permanent home. In
fact, it is one of at least four properties he owns or has shares in on Ynys
Môn which I shall come back to in due course.
His wife had a baby in feb and there are pics of the family on the web
with her and the new baby, all looking a picture of health so, why was the wife
in hospital for a month? Did she have Covid-19? if so, should not her
neighbours on the island have been made aware? According to local sources she,
went into hospital in April? They had been on Ynys Môn for about 2 months by then!
His other statement then
that one of his two sons (both under 3) might possibly have had coronavirus is
also questionable. Which of all these statements are we to believe or are they
all just conjured up to provide an excuse to explain why they stayed in
Rhoscolyn?
The restrictions did not
come into play until the 23rd March, but
according to both the tory spokeperson who dealt with the media and his
tory sidekick Victoria Crosbie, he had followed NHS guidelines advice to
self-isolate since 'a member of the family' had developed symptoms of Covid-19
in February and were self-isolating as lockdown came into force. The spokesperson and Victoria Crosbie had
continued to claim that they had then stayed in Cymru during lockdown and
continued to follow government guidelines.
However, according to press
reports as well as his own f.b page, he was back, and out and about in his
Constituency at the end of February and into March.
27th February he was looking at some new homes being built in Rawtenstall. Photos on his
FB page, press and other social media.
29th February he was out knocking on doors with Rossendale Conservativs, and in the
afternoon at Bacup.
1st
March he made a video discussing a local relief road.
2nd March he was at a meeting of Darwen's New Town Board as a Board Member.
On the 3rd March, he was at a meeting of the Trustees of the Hoddlesden Millennium green'
6th March he was at Edenfield Community Neighbourhood Forum.
10th March he was at Our Lady and St Aslem's Primary School with Rossendale Community ?
On 13 March he was helping Grane Residents Association deliver letters to people in
Irwell Vale. (photos). Same day he was at Darwen Tower.
On the 10th and 23 March, he
was also at the Westminster
Parliament voting.
So much for being 'stranded' on Ynys Môn and
in lockdown! And, incidentally, on the dates he was voting at Westminster in person, so was Victoria
Crosbie so, she lied on her f.b. page when she said he had not broken lockdown!
As a member of the UK
Government until he resigned in February and became a backbencher he was privy
to the knowledge about the spread of the virus worldwide and its impact and, If
he knew about the impending lockdown early in the preceedings as the other MPs
did, then it seems likely that he went back to his constituency to show his
face. His excuse to his constituents
that he was taking precautions because he thought a member of his family might
have the virus seems like an excuse we have no way of proving one way or the
other. But, his arrival at Ynys Môn in February was well before the lockdown
rules of 23rd March and, as a public
servant, knowing the facts as he did, he should have taken his family home then
to their main home in London (I’ll come back to this) He knew the score, knew what his own government had laid down as
the rules to follow, knew what the HNS guidelines were/are but has been allowed
to get away with flouting those rules with no comebacks. One rule for the 'Tory
toffs robber barons' and another for the rest of us! And, if his wife was in
Ysbyty Gwynedd for a month, thanks to her for adding to the strain our Cymric
NHS is already under and, if he, or his wife or his son did have Covid-19
symptoms, thanks again for placing the lives of the inhabitants of Ynys Môn in
danger!
doesn't end there: This
selfish, greedy modern day 'money grabbing robber baron' doesn't think twice
when it comes to collecting more than his share of our taxes from the booty
either. His expenses claims would bring tears to the eyes of a hard working
manual labourer, they're way too lengthy to list in this blog post but, in
short, he has claimed travelling expenses for himself and then, claims seperately
for his wife and children to travel from London to his Lancashire Constituency.
He also claims rent for a house he rents off a 'mate' in his Lancashire
costituency plus re-embursement for the council tax for that property - along
with claims for his heating and electricity bills at both that property and his
London Home. Not bad eh, the rest of us have to pay all our bills from our
wages!
For anyone who wishes to toothcomb his
expenses claim, along with expenses claims made by other MP's for that matter,
here are the links to the MPs expenses Register, it will be an eye opener for
many:
Now that we have a fair
insight into the character of this modern times robber baron, let's look a bit
closer at his modern day methods of 'land grabbing'.
His property portfolio, as
far as I know to date, consists of a town house in Westmoreland Terrace, London SW1 which he
bought in February 2017 for £2,150,000. This house is registered in his wife’s
name. This has got to be the 'real' family home as he rents the one in his
constituancy when he's there to carry out his duties as an MP. And claims
expenses for the rent and bills. Check his expenses claim records. Then, we
come to the properties he owns or has part shares in on Ynys Môn -thus far.
The Rhyd y Bont Farm
property he bought at Rhoscolyn for a mere £780.000 is the 'home' that he and
his family fled to in February. According to locals, this is definataly his
'holiday home' and as we have established that he has a town house within
walking distance of the Palace of
Westminster in London and that his three children were all born at St
Thomas's hospital in London, I am at one with the locals of Ynys Môn in
believing that Rhyd y Bont Farm is their holiday home and, like the London
House, This property is also in the name of his wife and they have tried to
change the name to 'Ford Bridge Farm' but,
I doubt if Cyngor Ynys Môn will agree to that'?
Other properties in
Rhoscolyn that are part of his growing porfolio of properies on the island are ‘Cerrig’,
part-owned with his parents. ‘Plas Coch’, part-owned with his mother and Mountain View bought some time ago for £92,000
and now for sale with Dafydd Hardy at an asking price of £485,000.
Looking at this portfolio of
properties might explain his practise of registering these properties in the
names of his wife or other family members, how many planning applications can
one person put forward in one county I wonder? Apparently, his expertise is in
conveyancing, so he will be familiar with all the loop holes and how to exploit
them for his own ends.
I am aware that MPs in
general are commanding an 'absurd' salary that, in my opinion, is undeserved
and that they can also claim 'expenses' way beyond what is reasonable on top of
that wage but, I cannot help but wonder how a non-practising solicitor, such as
Jake Berry, can buy so many properties in such a short span of time - and he's
not on his own, there are more 'sharks' out there at this very moment scanning
the whole of Cymru with their greedy eyes, looking for empty properties and
land that they can buy for a 'snippet' before they develop and/or sell off to
the next 'settler' who will undoubtedly arrive in their droves, now more than
ever before, in their quest for a nice holiday or retirement home away from the
troublesome crime ridden cities of England, and as a preferred option than the
hazzle of opting for european locations, themselves under invasion from
unfortunate refugees.
This is the shape of the new
invading colonialism of our nation, much more insidious and dangerous than any
of the cruel invasions and warfare that we have witnessed and endured over the
centuries. This is cheque book colonialism to its extreme carried out by
uncrupulous sharks such as Jake Berry and his like. These are the new robber
barons that will witness our genocide as a nation as they systematically grab
what they can because they have the wealth to do so whilst the Cymry don't. And
the saddest thing of all in all of this is that, invariably, it will be the
Cymry themselves that will sell to them for a few crumbs. That will be the sure
road to our demise as a nation unless we are prepared to wake up and begin the
fight back now in each and every community in Cymru.
Communities in a number of
areas in Cymru have got together to open closed down pubs and corner shops in
order to keep those communities alive, this needs to be taken a step further
where empty properties and land need to be purchased by community ventures In
every community in Cymru. The properties can be renovated, if needed, and let
out to to Cymric families and the land can be put to good use for community
built houses for Cymry only, with everybody in the community contributing and
participating in the building programme in some shape or form. Community run allotments etc as part of the
Hy Gadarn venture which is already up and running in Blaenau Ffestiniog (see
link below) can, provide employment and healthy food for local consumption as
well as for worldwide marketing needs - as has been successfully done with the
Montdragon Venture in Spain (see link below)
hhtp://cymrueingwlad.blogspot.com/2020/05/gadarn-national-economic-movement-to.html
This is not a new concept in
Cymru either, something on the same lines was started by Dr Carl Clowes with
the Antur Aelhaearn venture set up in Llanaelhaearn in the late 1960’s and the
Adfer movement was also very successful for many years in renovating houses for
Cymry to rent in their communities. Adfer was solid in their commitment not to
accept English Government grants so, eventually they faded into history to make
room for the present gigantic housing associations who are more than eager to
grasp English government grants to build their empires of Cymric properties which
they are more than happy to let to anyone regardless of where they come from.
A similar model of
'community building' has been in progress by English settlers in Pembrokeshire
for, at least, a decade assisted by ‘Welsh’ Assembly grants’ and that is a
success story, so, why can't the Cymry adopt a similar 'vision' in all our
Cymric communities throughout Cymru whilst we still have something under our
feet to build on. If we cannot 'man' and 'woman' up to this, we will have
absolutely nothing left to call Independent, the new colonial robber barons
will have devoured it all.
OUR LAND, OUR HERITAGE, OUR
LANGUAGE...ARE WE REALLY GOING TO GIVE IT UP THAT EASY? STAY ALERT, WATCH AND
STOP ALL ROBBER BARONS FROM PURCHASING ANY MORE OF YOUR HERITAGE IN YOUR COMMUNITY!
AND CYMRY OF YNYS MON IN PARTICULAR, KEEP AN EAGLE EYE ON JAKE BERRY, DON’T
ALLOW HIM OR HIS FELLOW TORIES TO FATTEN UP THEIR PORTFOLIOS ON YOUR WATCH!
