Best Of

Sarah Pochin MP seems a little accident prone.

After the "Women in Burkas are a security threat to the UK", earlier this week she put out a video about "Violence and crime in Greenway Road, Runcorn?"
I recently spoke with business owners and residents on Greenway Road. Yet another example of HMOs packed with illegal immigrants.

Locals are fed up with anti-social behaviour, criminal activity, and the sheer disruption these properties are causing. It’s making people’s lives a misery...
https://x.com/SarahForRuncorn/status/1944277520129695868

Now we have "B*ll*cks, lady" coming in from several directions in the local community:

1 - Residents of 30-40 years' standing saying "Nope".
2 - A group of about 35 locals putting out a joint photograph to say it's not like that, it's clean and peaceful and a lovely place to be.
3 - Local churchwarden of the parish church on the street, teaching assistant, pointing out that local HMOs are "mainly White British", writing an open letter of refutation on behalf of the community. It takes quite a lot to get them involved.
4 - Local Police PCC saying 'we have no regular such reports, nor do residents report such a concern". Local Chiref Inspector says it is a safe place.
https://www.runcornandwidnesworld.co.uk/news/25320701.residents-hit-back-mp-claims-street-blighted-crime/

Pochin has doubled down, and attacked most of them.

I think she's queering her pitch (or patch), and that coming out with this kind of stuff is not going to help her at the next Election. I can see it perhaps working for Lee Anderson in Ashfield, because he is a real local who has been here nearly as long as I have had links and would have gone and found out before having his rant. I can't see being a bollocks-merchant working for Pochin there.

Do Reform UK Central put out template press releases with gaps to fill in?

She is absolutely no loss to the conservatives

Indeed any conservatives of a like mind should also join Reform

I get a bad vibe off her. If the hard right do manage to break through I can see her being very prominent.

Everything's gone tiny btw.

If I had to reach for an early comparison it would perhaps be Anne Widdecombe without the redeeming features. They seem to have not picked up the best of the blues.

It certainly doesn't bode well for her that she's already managed to lose the Kinabula vote AND the MattW vote in such a comparatively short space of time. Let's just hope she does nothing to jeopardise the Bondegoozoo vote or it really will be all up for Reform.

In her place I would be more concerned about the 120 people who live on Greenway Road, Runcorn, whom she has just insulted - minus a few if the complaints she alleges she has received are real. Her majority is 6, as we know.

As I say, I think Lee Anderson could weather that in Ashfield. I think Pochin will find it a little more difficult; I don't see her as another Mark Carlisle, who held the more suburban/rural Runcorn seat long term for the Tories.

We will see.

I am not sure from your post that she is 'weathering' an awful lot. The plod, the Church of England, and some probable Labour voters? I'd be more worried for her if those organisations were purring their support. You shouldn't kid yourself.

It's not "The Church of England"; it's the Churchwarden who is the elected representative of the local church congregation on that road for managing the practicalities of the parish.

As I say, we'll see,

I'd put her maybe evens for doing a chicken run next time round. She's playing to the Reform Gallery, not to her constituents.

One must wonder whether IDF troops get a bonus for how many Gazans they can kill. Another appalling execution of people waiting for aid. And still the west just sits there doing fxck all. Israel should be sanctioned , all trade should be stopped , including any weapons sales and leaders need to call a spade a spade . Only the most delusional can refute the evidence . A genocide is taking place and the west is complicit .

Sauce?

73,610 dead.

Who's figures are those and how many are Hamas combatants? The fact that we don't even distinguish between Hamas/civilian casualties in this war exemplifies the poverty of debate going on.

It’s clear from the devastation that many non Hamas have been killed . It’s also obvious by the daily executions of starving people that the IDF are out of control .

War is hell. I would never doubt that. And of course there are going to be many civilian casualties in urban combat. As for 'daily executions of starving people' I presume that relates to the supposed mass killings at the aid distribution sites, almost none of which are verified. An alternative source of information would be Colonel Richard Kemp, who's been on the ground in Gaza and thinks it's working well. Is he a liar? Well he could be but why should I be more inclined to doubt him than believe the claims of mass numbers of people being gunned down? Not least when there are all sorts of entities interested in seeing the US/Israel aid system fail, from Hamas themselves to the mountain of UN backed NGOs and charities who ought to be facing far more scrutiny than they have done.

I had the idea that age shouldn’t be a factor when it comes to voting, and that a better way was to only allow those who had four GCSE’s at C or above (or whatever the equivalent is now, a number?). The downsides would be that it rules out those who are clever but not academically minded, and immigrants who didn’t go to school here , although going to night school or learning at home in order to get the vote might improve assimilation

Sure. As long as the people who don't get to vote don't get to pay taxes.

Or you could turn it around the other way. If you don’t pay Income Tax or NI you don’t get to vote.

Or just go back to 1832 on that basis and only the top 5% of property owners can vote

I’m sure @Malmesbury would agree that restricting the franchise to the NU10K would have no disadvantages at all. No, none whatsoever.

I had a debate with someone this week who's argument started with "I believe the wrong side won the Civil War".

It may well have done. The constitutional monarchy was restored within a generation.

On the @NU10K and restricting the franchise to just them. It’s already happened.

Why do you think Starmer is in office, but not in power? It’s only partly his uselessness. The Process State cruises on sublimely. The wheel is jammed in position with a zillion tons of paper stacked around it. No changing course.

Starmer and co are reduced to organising afternoon games on the quarterdeck.

I had the idea that age shouldn’t be a factor when it comes to voting, and that a better way was to only allow those who had four GCSE’s at C or above (or whatever the equivalent is now, a number?). The downsides would be that it rules out those who are clever but not academically minded, and immigrants who didn’t go to school here , although going to night school or learning at home in order to get the vote might improve assimilation

Sure. As long as the people who don't get to vote don't get to pay taxes.

Or you could turn it around the other way. If you don’t pay Income Tax or NI you don’t get to vote.

Or just go back to 1832 on that basis and only the top 5% of property owners can vote

I’m sure @Malmesbury would agree that restricting the franchise to the NU10K would have no disadvantages at all. No, none whatsoever.

I had a debate with someone this week who's argument started with "I believe the wrong side won the Civil War".

It may well have done. The constitutional monarchy was restored within a generation.

He did not explain whether his "victory" was in 1649 or 1660.