Best Of

Panorama on the Post Office tonight.

It’s been called the worst miscarriage of justice in British history. Hundreds of postmasters were wrongly prosecuted after money disappeared from the Horizon computer system. But who’s really to blame for the Post Office scandal?

With the public inquiry due to deliver its final report later in 2026, the Metropolitan Police says it is looking at more than 50 'persons of interest'. They include managers, investigators and lawyers. Reporter Andy Verity investigates some of those responsible for decisions that saw innocent postmasters jailed, lives destroyed and reputations ruined.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002qlf9/panorama-post-office-whos-to-blame

As long as the politicians walk away unscathed...

From what I can see the politicians (of all parties) have a lower level of blame - they were lied to, repeatedly, by the Post Office managers.

See the various politicians who believed the lies they were told over Hillsborough.

The people who are truly criminals in this are those who knew there was a problem and orchestrated a coverup that included lying to ministers, lying to parliament and lying to the courts.

No - the politicians don't get to avoid responsibility.

- It was they who determined the structure whereby the Post Office was accountable to nobody.
- It was the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney- General which failed to ensure any oversight at all of the Post Office's prosecutions or even to ensure that someone was ensuring they were complying with the law on how prosecutions should be conducted.
- It was Business Ministers who made Royal Mail privatisation a priority which was largely responsible for the cover up which started around the same time and in response to it. You couldn't have given the shares away if the prospectus had been honest about what had been going on at the PO while Royal Mail was in charge of it.

Yes - they were lied to but they created the structure, the conditions and the incentives for Board members and staff to lie - to them, to the courts, to the press, to sub-postmasters, to Parliament. They were enablers, not merely dim-witted victims.

I should declare an interest. I played a very tiny part when this programme was first mooted (some months go) in making suggestions about who it should cover. (And, now that I remember, in another professional capacity at the time of the privatisation.)

I had a very smart and earnest American today tell me they thought Trump was going to use the military to crush voting in democrat leaning districts in the mid terms. They didn’t mean it in a “that mad trump, it wouldn’t surprise me” way. They really sincerely believe that it is going to happen and that we are living through the death of American democracy.

Meanwhile, in the UK we have the Tories and Labour colluding to cancel our own midterms and they don’t even have to brandish a baton, yet alone an assault rifle.

Anyway back to that fascist autocrat in waiting Nigel Farage… if Katie Lam defects, it will no doubt be quickly characterised here as good riddance to a careerist wrongun that will say and do anything to retain her seat. Maybe. But it would also be pretty hard to convince that the Tory’s remain a credible national party.

You do know [ maybe you don't] that the Lib Dems AND Conservatives have joined together in the HOL to get the decision reversed ?

The following Tory run councils all formally requested that the national govt allow them to cancel of elections in their area: East Sussex, Harlow, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Sussex.

Unless you can inform me otherwise, none of those councillors have had the Tory whip removed for this affront to democracy. Odd given the gusto that Badenoch showed for removing the whip from her main opponent, apparently on the grounds of “dishonesty, disloyalty and for undermining trust in politics”.

I can only conclude the applications made by those councils were made with the acquiescence of CCHQ.

Kemi has stated she disagrees with the councils and wants the elections to take place

If the councillors disagree they have a choice - accept or resign

That is four of the seven county councils in England controlled by the Conservatives (sure, there are some minority unitary authorities on top). Three of those four that made applications are majority held.

Which poison do you prefer to believe? That they all made such a controversial application without first telling CCHQ? That that they did and Kemi said no, but she was outvoted and they did it anyway? That they were told no and did it anyway?

Or that she thought they’d get away with it, given all the Labour councils doing the same thing, and she didn’t much fancy losing them all to Recorm.

@HYUFD answered your question at 7.18

There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.

Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.

She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else.
Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.

Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest

Mebbes.
But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now.
And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.

Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election

And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?

I do think this could be terminal

It really isn't terminal. It's far easier to imagine circumstances in which Reform disappears than the Tories. Ultimately Reform is a NOTA protest party. Bit like Corbyn Labour which, not so long ago, had 500k members.
Jenrick made a massive mistake. Given the split on the right, it's quite likely we'll have some form of left govt after 2029. He would have been brilliantly positioned as the Unite the Right candidate after Farage retires and Badenoch resigns - if he had stuck with the Tories. Completely blown it now. Whether Katie Lam is any brighter we'll soon find out.

Jacob Rees Mogg is now the clear frontrunner to be the unite the right candidate in 2029 if both Farage and Kemi/Cleverly lose.

Mogg is likely to return to the Commons soon in a by election in his old seat
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/04/06/uk-governing-party-suspends-mp-dan-norris-after-rape-arrest_6739879_4.html

I don't think even JRM could possibly believe that. But who might fill the role is an interesting question.

No current Tories will ever accept being led by anyone now in Reform and no current Reformers will accept being led by anyone in the Tories except perhaps JRM.

So logic leads to Mogg if Reform and the Tories both lose the next general election

If you think Mogg is the answer than you are in a world of your own

If you want a candidate to unite the right as Corbyn united the left then Mogg's your man!

I do not want to have anything to do with Farage/Jenrick/Braverman and the other re-treads

I do not want to unite the conservative party with the far right Trump tribute act that is Farage and his cult

Jacob isn't in Reform, he is still a Tory.

The next GE will now be a fight to the death for who will control the right in UK politics, whichever of Farage and Reform or Kemi/Cleverly and the Tories wins most seats will be the winner. If Farage then eventually the rump Tories will be taken over by Reform anyway unless we get PR.

If Kemi/Cleverly but they lose the next GE then Rees Mogg has his chance as the only Tory who can squeeze Reform back into its box

There was a similar fight to the death over who would control the left in UK politics between Labour and the SDP/Alliance in 1983.

Labour won and the SDP ended up becoming the centrist LDs

Yes, as I've said on here many times, the Falklands War didn't just secure Mrs Thatcher's legacy - it also secured Labour's position as the credible alternative Government and began the long journey back which ended with the Blair landslide.

You are wrong about the SDP - some SDP members joined the LDs in 1989, others remained with David Owen, others found their way over to both the Conservative and Labour parties and arguably took both over and moved both toward a semi-social democratic positioning. Anyone remember Danny Finkelstein?

It helped secure Thatcher's position but even at the end of the Falklands War although the Tories got a big bounce some polls still had the SDP ahead of Labour. Indeed even in the 1983 general election campaign most polls had Labour and the SDP neck and neck for second place
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_1983_United_Kingdom_general_election#1982

Officially the SDP and most of its members and MPs joined with the Liberals to form the Social and Liberal Democrats in 1988 which became the LDs in 1989. A few ex SDP went Labour or Tory but they were the minority

There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.

Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.

She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else.
Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.

Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest

Mebbes.
But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now.
And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.

Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election

And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?

I do think this could be terminal

Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.

She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?

She went to a comprehensive.

I know a Katie who is posh and a Lottie who ain't posh. The latter being a Rugby League player.

Our dog is also called Lottie. She is a pedigree, so you could consider her to be posh.

I hope that helps.

There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.

Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.

She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else.
Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.

Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest

Mebbes.
But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now.
And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.

Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election

And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?

I do think this could be terminal

Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.

She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?

She went to a comprehensive.

She went to Guildford County School, where she was head girl. She studied Latin and Greek independently. Then went to Trinity College Cambridge to read Classics.

She was hardly Grange Hill.

Grange Hill? What a dump! Only gets three trains each way an hour!

There’s a Tory Party I’d vote for somewhere in the people that are left, especially if Labour get rid of Starmer and go to the left with Burnham “who cares about the bond markets anyway”.

Taking Braverman was a big strategic error in my view for Reform.

She's obviously a flake given her record of sackings and resignations, with a very high opinion of her own abilities not sured by anyone else.
Zahawi, Jenrick and Braverman. Jeez, what a shower. These were always the sort of people who made you slightly embarrassed to be a Tory.

Luckily, there are only 5 of you Tory voters left in the entire UK. So the sum total of human embarrassment is modest

Mebbes.
But the polling analysis from the new Tory ginger group ProsperUK (Andy Street, Ruth Davidson et al) shows a LOT of potential for a centre-right party. There are a few of us around, even now.
And, let's face it, have you ever seen a more unprepossessing bunch of bampots than the Tory defectors (Danny Kruger possibly excepted). A bunch of entitled narcissists who would be at each others throats 5 minutes into govt.

Jenrick is good. Talented. Ambitious. Clever. Like it or not - presumably not in your case - he understands social media and he knows how to use it and he is literally the only Tory to have made the political weather at any point (Badenoch excepted, but she’s the leader) since the election

And they’ve lost him. The Tory party is not in any position to lose raw political talent. About the only other one they possess is Katie Lam. And now she’s going too?

I do think this could be terminal

Katie Lam is probably too posh for Reform.

She dresses posh and codes posh and has Lottie as a middle name, but is she actually posh?

She went to a comprehensive.

She went to Guildford County School, where she was head girl. She studied Latin and Greek independently. Then went to Trinity College Cambridge to read Classics.

She was hardly Grange Hill.

Indeed, it was a grammar school originally

So? The sixth form college I went to was a naval training base. I barely know one end of a ship from another.

Nice comprehensive still isn't posh. Not like Dave, Boris or JRM are posh.