Morrissey has been approached to be the Animal Welfare party’s candidate to succeed Boris Johnson in City Hall
The London mayoral race may be about to take a turn for the unusual, with the news that Morrissey has been approached to stand for mayor as the Animal Welfare party candidate. Not only that, but according to the website True to You – the outlet favoured by Morrissey as his conduit to the world – he “is considering the contest very seriously”.
There is a rich but chequered history of musicians turning politician, and Morrissey might hope to have more in common with Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett, who became Australia’s minister for environmental protection, heritage and the arts, than with Screaming Lord Sutch, the rock’n’roll singer who became the perpetual joke candidate in British elections with his Monster Raving Loony party.
Morrissey issued a statement to True to You in which he said: “There must be a governmental voice against the hellish and archaic social injustice allotted to animals in the United Kingdom simply because those animals do not speak English.”
He added: “The abattoir is the modern continuation of the Nazi concentration camp, and if you are a part of the milk-drinking population, then you condone systems of torture,” and described chef Jamie Oliver as an “animal serial killer”.
“Social justice for animals is not much to demand,” he concluded, “because we are only asking humans to think rationally and with heart, even if being unable to hunt foxes and shoot birds would leave the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family with nothing else to do.”
Morrissey has previously expressed strong views about London. In 2007, he told NME: “With the issue of immigration, it’s very difficult because, although I don’t have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears.
“If you walk through Knightsbridge on any bland day of the week you won’t hear an English accent. You’ll hear every accent under the sun apart from the British accent.”
The Animal Welfare party has confirmed it has asked Morrissey to stand. In order to appear on ballot papers, he will need to collect 330 signatures – 10 from each London borough.
Below is Morrissey’s full statement:
Animal welfare groups cannot persist simply in order to continue to persist. There must be a governmental voice against the hellish and archaic social injustice allotted to animals in the United Kingdom simply because those animals do not speak English, otherwise millions of very caring citizens are greatly concerned about issues that no one is able to do anything about.
What animal protectionists need to say is very well worth saying and well worth hearing. But we cannot just sit around waiting for establishment enlightenment. The sanctimonious disaster of animal agriculture cannot be allowed to go on forever, because its widespread impact is hellish. Animals in dairy farms and abattoirs are very eager not to die, yet their bodies are torn apart while still alive as they are strapped beneath a blade. No outcome can justify this, and we cannot be happy with a society that allows it to happen, because such a society without compassion goes nowhere.
The abattoir is the modern continuation of the Nazi concentration camp, and if you are a part of the milk-drinking population, then you condone systems of torture. There is no such thing as humane slaughter, and if you believe that there is, then why not experience it for yourself? If animal serial killer Jamie Oliver feels so passionate about including ‘kid meat’ (young goat) into the human diet, would he consider putting forth one of his own kids (children) for general consumption? If not, why not? What makes such people have absolutely no forgiveness towards animals? What hate drives them? The meat industry, after all, shows no compassion towards the planet, towards climate change, towards animals, towards human health. It is diabolically contrived and is the world’s No 1 problem. It is also the No 1 issue stifled from any political debate, which, if anything, highlights its importance.
The slaughterhouse effectively means that none of us are safe. Just investigate the appalling effects of meat production on our climate, environment, fields, forests, lakes, streams, seas, air and space. Your eyes will pop. No bigger global disaster could possibly be devised. Social justice for animals is not much to demand, because we are only asking humans to think rationally and with heart, even if being unable to hunt foxes and shoot birds would leave the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family with nothing else to do.”
Via the Guardian
Looking for Morrissey/Smiths vinyl, CDs, memorabilia and more? See more at eil.com
Be the first to comment