In 1912, F.E. Smith condemned the Welsh Disestablishment Bill as ‘A Bill which has shocked the conscience of every Christian community in Europe.’ G.K. Chesterton’s famous Antichrist, or the Reunion of Christendom: An Ode punctured his ridiculous hypocrisy. The BBC recently reported that Owen Smith praised Jeremy Corbyn for helping Labour “rediscover its radical roots” and would offer him the role of President to “speak for the party” to the wider membership. This awoke in me sentiments not unlike Chesterton’s, though my eloquence is less than his.
SO YOU’RE IN A GIVING VEIN,
ARE YOU SMITH?
WANT TO PUT YOUR OFFER PLAIN,
DO YOU SMITH?
SO WE’LL HAVE A PRESIDENCY FOR THE PARTY AND WE’LL THEN SEE
ALL THOSE MEMBERS WE’VE RECRUITED QUITE CONTENT TO BE UPROOTED,
WHILE YOU’LL BE THE REAL LEADER, OWEN SMITH.
YOU’D LIKE CORBYN TO PRESIDE,
WOULD YOU SMITH?
WHILE THE PARTY YOU WOULD GUIDE,
OWEN SMITH.
TO YIELD UP HIS LEADER’S POWER TO THE MP OF THE HOUR
WITH THE MEMBERSHIP THAT BACKED HIM RALLYING BEHIND WHO SACKED HIM
IS THAT PRACTICABLE THINKING?
REALLY, SMITH.
WHEN YOU TOOK BIG PHARMA’S SHILLIN’,
OWEN SMITH,
DID IT ENTER YOUR CAMPAIGN IN
PONTYPRIDD?
WAS THE VOTERS’ MAIN IMPRESSION YOU WOULD KEEP THE NHS ON
DID THEY WANT A COMPROMISER WHO’D BEEN HELPED ALONG BY PFIZER,
DID THEY KNOW JUST WHERE YOU STOOD, OWEN SMITH?
WHEN FOR TRIDENT THEY FOUND BILLIONS,
OWEN SMITH,
DID YOU THEN THINK OF THE MILLIONS,
TELL ME, SMITH,
WHO CAN’T FIND THE CASH FOR RENTING WHEN THE LANDLORD’S UNRELENTING,
AND WHO SEE NO COMMON SENSE IN THIS UNUSABLE ‘DEFENCE’.
DID YOU WEIGH THEM WHEN YOU VOTED, OWEN SMITH?
ARE THE MEMBERS IN YOUR THOUGHTS
OWEN SMITH?
CANVASSERS, RETIRING SORTS,
ARE THEY SMITH?
NOT REQUIRED TO GIVE THEIR VIEWS, WATCHING MPS HOG THE NEWS,
KEEPING SILENT, UNCOMPLAINING, PUSHING LEAFLETS WHILE IT’S RAINING
DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HEAR THEM, OWEN SMITH?
IS IT ONLY YOU THAT FEARS,
OWEN SMITH,
TORY POWER FOR MANY YEARS,
TELL ME SMITH?
IS IT YOU ALONE THAT WORRIES FOR THE POOR AND DISPOSSESSED?
ARE YOU SOLITARY IN YOUR WISH TO REPRESENT THE REST?
IS IT ONLY YOU CAN SAVE US, OWEN SMITH?
WHAT’S YOUR CAMPAIGN REALLY FOR,
OWEN SMITH?
IT’S HIGH TIME WE KNEW THE SCORE,
COME ON SMITH!
IS YOUR TALK OF ‘REVOLUTION’ JUST HISTORICAL ABLUTION?
IS THE MEANING OF YOUR FIGHT JUST TALKING LEFT WHILE ACTING RIGHT?
IF SO, YOU WON’T FIND MANY TAKERS,
CHUCK IT SMITH.
Martin Upham
MARTIN UPHAM 