This isn't a strategy to appeal to the waverers, but rather it puts pressure on the loyalists to keep the waverers on side. Interesting that the Populists are the ones looking to walk though. It sort of implies that they think they are already losing the battle for control of the Tories, and that the post election leadership will end up being more centrist. Too late of course, but Reform is a dead end and will be the graveyard of the radical right.
I must say, I'm surprised by Lee Anderson defecting.
I thought it was all piss and wind. Does confirm him as someone who's impulsive and reckless.
I was one of the early people on here who said he would defect. It’s win-win. He maintains his profile and his GBeebies fan base. He has the best shot of retaining his seat. And everyone wants to talk to him.
What was his alternative? Even if he had apologised and got the whip back he would have been told to stfu until the election when he’d be out.
This idea that Sunak will call an election of enough of his MPs out themselves as FUKers - absurd. That would turbocharge the momentum that ReFUK would undoubtedly have and thus damage the Tories even more.
It shows very simply that Sunak has no political antennae and is just flailing about upset that his obviously brilliant plan isn’t being lauded as it should be.
I must say, I'm surprised by Lee Anderson defecting.
I thought it was all piss and wind. Does confirm him as someone who's impulsive and reckless.
I was one of the early people on here who said he would defect. It’s win-win. He maintains his profile and his GBeebies fan base. He has the best shot of retaining his seat. And everyone wants to talk to him.
What was his alternative? Even if he had apologised and got the whip back he would have been told to stfu until the election when he’d be out.
I wonder how much effort was made to try and stop him. As opposed to “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out”?
This isn't a strategy to appeal to the waverers, but rather it puts pressure on the loyalists to keep the waverers on side. Interesting that the Populists are the ones looking to walk though. It sort of implies that they think they are already losing the battle for control of the Tories, and that the post election leadership will end up being more centrist. Too late of course, but Reform is a dead end and will be the graveyard of the radical right.
Yes - Reform won’t win seats, like UKIP before it.
This isn't a strategy to appeal to the waverers, but rather it puts pressure on the loyalists to keep the waverers on side. Interesting that the Populists are the ones looking to walk though. It sort of implies that they think they are already losing the battle for control of the Tories, and that the post election leadership will end up being more centrist. Too late of course, but Reform is a dead end and will be the graveyard of the radical right.
Yes - Reform won’t win seats, like UKIP before it.
Surely by now we have learned that in todays politics there is no “never”. UKIP got nearly 4m votes in 2015, but faced a Tory party gaining a majority. The Brexit Party had another big push in 2019 but the Tories were resurgent.
In 2025? Tories facing ELE and no support left from their red wall little Englander bigot vote. Concentrate it into their unhappy pockets such as Hartlepool and you never know
I must say, I'm surprised by Lee Anderson defecting.
I thought it was all piss and wind. Does confirm him as someone who's impulsive and reckless.
I was one of the early people on here who said he would defect. It’s win-win. He maintains his profile and his GBeebies fan base. He has the best shot of retaining his seat. And everyone wants to talk to him.
What was his alternative? Even if he had apologised and got the whip back he would have been told to stfu until the election when he’d be out.
It should be noted here that "his best shot" and "a good shot" are not necessarily the same thing.
If he beats the Tory candidate, he'll feel justified.
This idea that Sunak will call an election of enough of his MPs out themselves as FUKers - absurd. That would turbocharge the momentum that ReFUK would undoubtedly have and thus damage the Tories even more.
It shows very simply that Sunak has no political antennae and is just flailing about upset that his obviously brilliant plan isn’t being lauded as it should be.
I think there's yet another layer of failure to probe! Sunak's brilliant plan is intended to threaten his internal audience ("if you feckers defect, I'll call an election and end your gravy train immediately") but neglects to consider what it sounds like when it is immediately leaked to the press.
What's not clear from the tweet is whether the "sources close to the prime minister" did the leaking AND the threatening, or whether they dished out the threats alone, and someone else briefed the press.
This idea that Sunak will call an election of enough of his MPs out themselves as FUKers - absurd. That would turbocharge the momentum that ReFUK would undoubtedly have and thus damage the Tories even more.
It shows very simply that Sunak has no political antennae and is just flailing about upset that his obviously brilliant plan isn’t being lauded as it should be.
That's like saying the sun was shown to rise in the East this morning.
Everyone already knew that Sunak has no political antennae and is just flailing about.
This idea that Sunak will call an election of enough of his MPs out themselves as FUKers - absurd. That would turbocharge the momentum that ReFUK would undoubtedly have and thus damage the Tories even more.
It shows very simply that Sunak has no political antennae and is just flailing about upset that his obviously brilliant plan isn’t being lauded as it should be.
That's like saying the sun was shown to rise in the East this morning.
Everyone already knew that Sunak has no political antennae and is just flailing about.
There's always a Yes, Minister quote.
"Are you a high flyer, or a low flyer supported by gusts of wind?"
The purveyor and nature of the wind, I will leave to your imaginations.
That story about Frank Hestor's comments re Diane Abbot is a shocker and I suspect may cause some issues at Tory HQ (a £10million donation complicates matters).... I cant see any party wanting to refund that sort of money. It also brings the nasty party image to the fore yet again, I suspect Reform will be more than happy to take his money
Maybe I am becoming thick in my old age but why is it a seemingly massive deal that Princess Katherine edited a photo? Its the main headline on the BBC not just the Express . Anyone else find this a bit unnerving that they are losing their finger on the pulse
Ten years ago the Royal Family had QEII and DoE, all four of QEII's children, William and Harry as active royals, plus some of their spouses, and the other ones that everyone forgets, the Gloucester's.
Now, KCIII has cancer, Andrew is disgraced, Harry estranged, William hiding, the Gloucester's winding down. Only Anne and Edward are doing the work of being seen.
Kate hasn't been seen for ages and then the photo that is released is a fake. People are losing their heads because the Royal family need to be seen, and right now they seem to be missing.
First people say they want a slimmed down monarchy, now they get it they say there are not enough working royals now. Make your mind up!
Lots of comments on Mail online this evening about jealous photographers, really this photoshop story has been totally overdone though at least we saw the Prince and Princess out this evening in their car
I'm not giving a personal view, and a lot of the people arguing for a smaller Royal family have been, er, Royals. But I do think there would be less fuss about Kate's convalescence if Harry was still around to do a bit of the Royal glad-handing, and speak a few platitudes about her recovery from surgery.
Those interested in the photo story are motivated by a number of reasons, but many are concerned for Catherine's welfare and health.
The opaque nature of communication from Kensington Palace hasn't helped. A tacitly approved snap of the back of a head in a car leaving Windsor isn't enough to allay rumours.
I am pretty agnostic about the Royal Family vs Republicanism, unbothered either way, but this whole illness is fishier than Grimsby with the fleet in.
Failed cosmetic surgery?
There are several rumoured surgeries she could have undergone, but cosmetic surgery is not one of them. I assume the swelling is from steroids. If it was fluid retention after a failed face lift it would have gone down by now. I'm quite worried about her and the King.
I have no idea about her surgery but she is the same age (42) as my wife when she had a complete hysterectomy (we also had 3 children) and she took months to recover
It may have been something else but certainly there is nothing unusual in taking 3 months or more for abominable surgery
However , I do think Charles could be more of a worry
We shouldn't make light of others health conditions or typos yeti am amused by abominable surgery.
So not only are Pakistani heritage people modest but they are as equally brave.
BIB - What were the odds eh?
An alleged neo-Nazi attacked a receptionist at an immigration law firm with a hunting knife as a “rallying cry” to far-right nationalists, a court was told.
Cavan Medlock, 31, told police he planned to take a solicitor hostage at knifepoint and tape a Nazi flag in the windows of the offices of Duncan Lewis in Harrow, north London.
Kingston crown court heard that he arrived at the offices shortly before 5pm on Monday September 7, 2020 and asked to see a solicitor, who had been named in a newspaper article.
Medlock was wearing black gloves with reinforced knuckle pads and carrying a rucksack containing a black combat knife with a six-inch blade, a pair of handcuffs and rolls of gaffer tape.
Also inside the bag were two large 5ft by 3ft flags, one with a Nazi swastika and the other an American Confederate battle flag, said to demonstrate an extreme right-wing ideology.
Unaware of the contents of the rucksack, another solicitor came out to see Medlock and took him to a consultation room where she explained that the firm could not accommodate a meeting without an appointment.
Timothy Cray KC, for the prosecution, told the jury:“What the members of staff did not know is that the defendant had prepared to commit an act of terrorism.”
At 5.21pm Medlock made to leave the building before turning around, pulling the knife from his rucksack, and advancing on the receptionist, demanding to see Toufique Hossain.
With “great bravery” Ravindran Tharmalangam, the receptionist, grabbed hold of Medlock and managed to disarm him, kicking the knife away, the court was told.
Medlock grappled with Tharmalangam, throwing punches and kicks, before other members of staff arrived and managed to restrain him.
After he was detained, Medlock told Hossain “to his face” that he had planned to kill him because the firm had helped immigrants who were “not welcome here”.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t finish the job,” he added.
Someone asked: “Really? What job?” and Medlock gestured toward Hossain, adding: “To kill this f**ker.”
One of the solicitors who helped restrain Medlock was of Pakistani heritage and Medlock hurled racist abuse at him and told him “Enoch Powell was right” — a reference to the controversial postwar politician.
Another member of staff told Medlock that she was Jewish and asked whether he had a problem with her, and he replied: “Hitler was right.”
That story about Frank Hestor's comments re Diane Abbot is a shocker and I suspect may cause some issues at Tory HQ (a £10million donation complicates matters).... I cant see any party wanting to refund that sort of money. It also brings the nasty party image to the fore yet again, I suspect Reform will be more than happy to take his money
The "highly principled" Lib Dems refused to return millions donated from a convicted fraudster. So I doubt the Tories will return this.
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
Fewer than 250 spaces are left in men’s jails in England and Wales, The Telegraph can reveal, as the Justice Secretary sanctioned the biggest early release scheme from prisons in nearly 20 years.
Alex Chalk announced emergency measures to release hundreds of burglars, shoplifters and violent criminals up to 60 days early to tackle the crisis.
He also unveiled plans to slash the number of foreign prisoners – now standing at over 10,000 – by refusing tourist visa applications from countries that fail to take back their criminals earmarked for deportation.
He also confirmed plans to allow foreign shoplifters, thieves and drug dealers to be deported rather than prosecuted.
The moves came as internal figures obtained by The Telegraph showed male prisons were 99.7 per cent full, with just 238 spaces left out of an operational capacity of 85,000. Women’s jails are 96.9 per cent full with just 118 spaces left.
Here’s Trump in 2019 describing the border under his watch as a “crisis,” talking about how many migrants had criminal records, asking Congress to pass the same border bill he now opposes since 1.1 million migrants were released into the US on his watch due to inadequate funding.
Interestingly, he says that CONGRESS has to pass these things in order to secure the border, because he doesn’t have the legal authority or funding to do it as president. Which is the exact opposite of what he claims now. https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1767221484806603014
Fewer than 250 spaces are left in men’s jails in England and Wales, The Telegraph can reveal, as the Justice Secretary sanctioned the biggest early release scheme from prisons in nearly 20 years.
Alex Chalk announced emergency measures to release hundreds of burglars, shoplifters and violent criminals up to 60 days early to tackle the crisis.
He also unveiled plans to slash the number of foreign prisoners – now standing at over 10,000 – by refusing tourist visa applications from countries that fail to take back their criminals earmarked for deportation.
He also confirmed plans to allow foreign shoplifters, thieves and drug dealers to be deported rather than prosecuted.
The moves came as internal figures obtained by The Telegraph showed male prisons were 99.7 per cent full, with just 238 spaces left out of an operational capacity of 85,000. Women’s jails are 96.9 per cent full with just 118 spaces left.
Yet another thing that is broken in this country. But remember folks, Labour don’t have a plan and would take us back to square one by releasing hundreds of burglars, shoplifters and violent criminals.
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
Yes, imagine if a Labour donor had said that a Tory MP made him hate all Jewish women and that she should be shot. The fact that the Tories can't even see how unforgivable these comments are says it all.
Fewer than 250 spaces are left in men’s jails in England and Wales, The Telegraph can reveal, as the Justice Secretary sanctioned the biggest early release scheme from prisons in nearly 20 years.
Alex Chalk announced emergency measures to release hundreds of burglars, shoplifters and violent criminals up to 60 days early to tackle the crisis.
He also unveiled plans to slash the number of foreign prisoners – now standing at over 10,000 – by refusing tourist visa applications from countries that fail to take back their criminals earmarked for deportation.
He also confirmed plans to allow foreign shoplifters, thieves and drug dealers to be deported rather than prosecuted.
The moves came as internal figures obtained by The Telegraph showed male prisons were 99.7 per cent full, with just 238 spaces left out of an operational capacity of 85,000. Women’s jails are 96.9 per cent full with just 118 spaces left.
So the pathological liar who would have been suspended from parliament for 90 days is going to be their vote winner !
It will win back some votes in some places. Possibly even a net gain overall.
Though it could all just be a "don't follow Lee to Reform, Daddy still loves you and he is coming back" piece of waffle.
The nearest we have to confirmation is
A spokesman for Johnson said: “Boris Johnson’s focus at the moment is writing and speaking and he is very productively engaged on that. His position has been consistently in support of the Conservative Party for his entire political life and that will remain so.”
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
Yes, imagine if a Labour donor had said that a Tory MP made him hate all Jewish women and that she should be shot. The fact that the Tories can't even see how unforgivable these comments are says it all.
The only possible defence is that the reported remarks have yet to be confirmed. They haven't been denied either, of course.
This isn't a strategy to appeal to the waverers, but rather it puts pressure on the loyalists to keep the waverers on side. Interesting that the Populists are the ones looking to walk though. It sort of implies that they think they are already losing the battle for control of the Tories, and that the post election leadership will end up being more centrist. Too late of course, but Reform is a dead end and will be the graveyard of the radical right.
Yes - Reform won’t win seats, like UKIP before it.
If their plan is to aid in the destruction of the Tories to then influence its rebuild then they don't have to.
Farage has always been most comfortable being yearned for by disaffected Tories.
This isn't a strategy to appeal to the waverers, but rather it puts pressure on the loyalists to keep the waverers on side. Interesting that the Populists are the ones looking to walk though. It sort of implies that they think they are already losing the battle for control of the Tories, and that the post election leadership will end up being more centrist. Too late of course, but Reform is a dead end and will be the graveyard of the radical right.
I guess given your geographical location, looking on the bright side has become a habit....? That would be a good outcome for politics, if it's the way it goes. The tiny problem is that, in opposition, Tory members will be wanting their say, and their track record is a tad flaky, to say the least....
Fewer than 250 spaces are left in men’s jails in England and Wales, The Telegraph can reveal, as the Justice Secretary sanctioned the biggest early release scheme from prisons in nearly 20 years.
Alex Chalk announced emergency measures to release hundreds of burglars, shoplifters and violent criminals up to 60 days early to tackle the crisis.
He also unveiled plans to slash the number of foreign prisoners – now standing at over 10,000 – by refusing tourist visa applications from countries that fail to take back their criminals earmarked for deportation.
He also confirmed plans to allow foreign shoplifters, thieves and drug dealers to be deported rather than prosecuted.
The moves came as internal figures obtained by The Telegraph showed male prisons were 99.7 per cent full, with just 238 spaces left out of an operational capacity of 85,000. Women’s jails are 96.9 per cent full with just 118 spaces left.
Yet another thing that is broken in this country. But remember folks, Labour don’t have a plan and would take us back to square one by releasing hundreds of burglars, shoplifters and violent criminals.
If Labour prevail, I am looking forward to Friday the 24th January when the BBC, the Mail and the Telegraph can explain how many institutions have been broken under less than 24 hours of a Labour administration. That is the moment we will know how bad things are.
So the pathological liar who would have been suspended from parliament for 90 days is going to be their vote winner !
It will win back some votes in some places. Possibly even a net gain overall.
Though it could all just be a "don't follow Lee to Reform, Daddy still loves you and he is coming back" piece of waffle.
The nearest we have to confirmation is
A spokesman for Johnson said: “Boris Johnson’s focus at the moment is writing and speaking and he is very productively engaged on that. His position has been consistently in support of the Conservative Party for his entire political life and that will remain so.”
Which is only a bit of a fib.
Yesterday I had drinks/dinner with some pollsters and political strategists and this topic came up, in short whilst Johnson is more popular with 2019 Tories/Red Wallers than Sunak those ratings are still pretty shite, it is like being the prettiest horse at the glue factory.
On average he is hitting around 40% approval/support with 2019 Tories, by comparison at this point in late 2014 David Cameron was hitting 90% plus approval with 2010 Tories.
Whilst Johnson has a higher floor he also drives up ABC tactical voting in a way Sunak doesn't.
So under the vagaries of FPTP it is entirely possible that the Tories get a worse result with Johnson leading them to 31% of the vote than Sunak who leads them to 27% of the vote.
Global sea surface temperatures, aside from being at a modern-era record high of 21.21°C for the third consecutive day, are also in crazy-town territory for the standard deviation, yesterday at 5.68σ above the 1982-2011 mean. That's 1-in-150 million for a normal distribution. https://twitter.com/EliotJacobson/status/1766886096577957960
I suppose that the crazy temperatures over the past year are being driven by the ENSO?
Perhaps the scariest effect of the current situation is that it sets a high water mark that won't be reached again until the next El Nino year - you can almost hear the denialists cueing up their "but sea surface temperatures are much cooler than they were during 2023-24! what are you worrying about?" tweets which they'll be bombarding us with for the rest of the decade...
This isn't a strategy to appeal to the waverers, but rather it puts pressure on the loyalists to keep the waverers on side. Interesting that the Populists are the ones looking to walk though. It sort of implies that they think they are already losing the battle for control of the Tories, and that the post election leadership will end up being more centrist. Too late of course, but Reform is a dead end and will be the graveyard of the radical right.
Yes - Reform won’t win seats, like UKIP before it.
Most probably, if they just split the Tory vote, since if the Labour/LibDem vote in each seat is largely unaffected, Reform simply lets the principal local opposition candidate through. They can only take a seat if they can craft an appeal that (also) nicks a chunk of support from the centre-left.
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
No other criminal defendant in history has been given the extraordinary consideration the courts have show to Trump.
The SC court is quite evidently happy to see anyone else put to death with less 'due process'.
Even the one criminal case that might have gone to trial and concluded before the election Trump is now trying to use the immunity case before the Supreme Court as a reason to delay. With the courts make up they might allow that too
Prosecutors really underestimated how well Trump could use the system to delay things. Sure, in the very simple documents case the judge is very deferential, but even the ones who aren't are getting blocked or snowed under.
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
This idea that Sunak will call an election of enough of his MPs out themselves as FUKers - absurd. That would turbocharge the momentum that ReFUK would undoubtedly have and thus damage the Tories even more.
It shows very simply that Sunak has no political antennae and is just flailing about upset that his obviously brilliant plan isn’t being lauded as it should be.
That's like saying the sun was shown to rise in the East this morning.
Everyone already knew that Sunak has no political antennae and is just flailing about.
In their myriad ways, they've all been flailing about since 2016. Cammo at least knew he couldn't cope with the incoming, and promptly did a runner. May tried this, that and the other, all to no avail, Johnson never had a clue and simply hoped the blustery jokey dishonesty that had always got him through would continue to deliver, expecting the country to believe that the dog had eaten his homework; Truss and Sunak, 'nuff said.
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
Here’s Trump in 2019 describing the border under his watch as a “crisis,” talking about how many migrants had criminal records, asking Congress to pass the same border bill he now opposes since 1.1 million migrants were released into the US on his watch due to inadequate funding.
Interestingly, he says that CONGRESS has to pass these things in order to secure the border, because he doesn’t have the legal authority or funding to do it as president. Which is the exact opposite of what he claims now. https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1767221484806603014
Trump claims to believe the President can do anything they want in any area, up to and including crimes. That's wacky enough but 50% of Americans like the sound of it.
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
Energy minister Graham Stuart on Tory donor Frank Hester saying Diane Abbott "needs to be shot" and makes you "want to hate all black women": "It was half a decade ago."
Asked if Frank Hester should return the £10m he has donated to the Tories, Stuart says: "I welcome all those who seek to ensure our first Hindu prime minister stays prime minister."
So the pathological liar who would have been suspended from parliament for 90 days is going to be their vote winner !
It will win back some votes in some places. Possibly even a net gain overall.
Though it could all just be a "don't follow Lee to Reform, Daddy still loves you and he is coming back" piece of waffle.
The nearest we have to confirmation is
A spokesman for Johnson said: “Boris Johnson’s focus at the moment is writing and speaking and he is very productively engaged on that. His position has been consistently in support of the Conservative Party for his entire political life and that will remain so.”
Which is only a bit of a fib.
Yesterday I had drinks/dinner with some pollsters and political strategist and this topic came up, in short whilst Johnson is more popular with 2019 Tories/Red Wallers than Sunak those ratings are still pretty shite, it is like being the prettiest horse at the glue factory.
On average he is hitting around 40% approval/support with 2019 Tories, by comparison at this point in late 2014 David Cameron was hitting 90% plus approval with 2010 Tories.
Whilst Johnson has a higher floor he also drives up ABC tactical voting in a way Sunak doesn't.
So under the vagaries of FPTP it is entirely possible that the Tories get a worse result with Johnson leading them to 31% of the vote than Sunak who leads them to 27% of the vote.
So will he be a net benefit in the so called red wall or not then ?
I would guess the Tories are so desperate for something any roll of the dice is worth a go.
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
It's a pretty ridiculous line to claim the remarks as unacceptable but not racist.
If they're not racist then for what reason are the remarks unacceptable? Because it's rude? People are allowed to be rude, they wouldn't criticise (even mildly) someone giving out 10m for a little rudeness to a political opponent, especially a peripheral figure with few allies like Abbott.
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
Yes, imagine if a Labour donor had said that a Tory MP made him hate all Jewish women and that she should be shot. The fact that the Tories can't even see how unforgivable these comments are says it all.
Surely it was merely "satire". A justification that worked at least once before.
So the pathological liar who would have been suspended from parliament for 90 days is going to be their vote winner !
It will win back some votes in some places. Possibly even a net gain overall.
Though it could all just be a "don't follow Lee to Reform, Daddy still loves you and he is coming back" piece of waffle.
The nearest we have to confirmation is
A spokesman for Johnson said: “Boris Johnson’s focus at the moment is writing and speaking and he is very productively engaged on that. His position has been consistently in support of the Conservative Party for his entire political life and that will remain so.”
Which is only a bit of a fib.
Yesterday I had drinks/dinner with some pollsters and political strategist and this topic came up, in short whilst Johnson is more popular with 2019 Tories/Red Wallers than Sunak those ratings are still pretty shite, it is like being the prettiest horse at the glue factory.
On average he is hitting around 40% approval/support with 2019 Tories, by comparison at this point in late 2014 David Cameron was hitting 90% plus approval with 2010 Tories.
Whilst Johnson has a higher floor he also drives up ABC tactical voting in a way Sunak doesn't.
So under the vagaries of FPTP it is entirely possible that the Tories get a worse result with Johnson leading them to 31% of the vote than Sunak who leads them to 27% of the vote.
So will he be a net benefit in the so called red wall or not then ?
I would guess the Tories are so desperate for something any roll of the dice is worth a go.
In terms of votes he may well be a net benefit but in terms of net seats definite net loss.
So the pathological liar who would have been suspended from parliament for 90 days is going to be their vote winner !
It will win back some votes in some places. Possibly even a net gain overall.
Though it could all just be a "don't follow Lee to Reform, Daddy still loves you and he is coming back" piece of waffle.
The nearest we have to confirmation is
A spokesman for Johnson said: “Boris Johnson’s focus at the moment is writing and speaking and he is very productively engaged on that. His position has been consistently in support of the Conservative Party for his entire political life and that will remain so.”
Which is only a bit of a fib.
Yesterday I had drinks/dinner with some pollsters and political strategist and this topic came up, in short whilst Johnson is more popular with 2019 Tories/Red Wallers than Sunak those ratings are still pretty shite, it is like being the prettiest horse at the glue factory.
On average he is hitting around 40% approval/support with 2019 Tories, by comparison at this point in late 2014 David Cameron was hitting 90% plus approval with 2010 Tories.
Whilst Johnson has a higher floor he also drives up ABC tactical voting in a way Sunak doesn't.
So under the vagaries of FPTP it is entirely possible that the Tories get a worse result with Johnson leading them to 31% of the vote than Sunak who leads them to 27% of the vote.
So will he be a net benefit in the so called red wall or not then ?
I would guess the Tories are so desperate for something any roll of the dice is worth a go.
It's hard to argue its not worth a try in those circumstances.
Not sure his heart would be in it though, and that would show - if asked if he really wanted Sunak to win the election could he bluster a believable answer that he did?
To emphasis how incompetent this Government is after spending the last few years letting Gas Fired power stations close because they weren't needed and Net Zero, they've just decided that new ones need to be built...
Energy minister Graham Stuart on Tory donor Frank Hester saying Diane Abbott "needs to be shot" and makes you "want to hate all black women": "It was half a decade ago."
Asked if Frank Hester should return the £10m he has donated to the Tories, Stuart says: "I welcome all those who seek to ensure our first Hindu prime minister stays prime minister."
Wow.
Being a racist prick clearly has a 5 year statute of limitations. The Tories are utterly blind to this cancer. Contrast with Starmer's firmness in dealing with Antisemitism in his party.
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
It's a pretty ridiculous line to claim the remarks as unacceptable but not racist.
If they're not racist then for what reason are the remarks unacceptable? Because it's rude? People are allowed to be rude, they wouldn't criticise (even mildly) someone giving out 10m for a little rudeness to a political opponent, especially a peripheral figure with few allies like Abbott.
Not saying I agree, because I don't, but wouldn't the argument be that Hester said Abbott "should be shot" and that's unacceptable entirely independently of the comments on race?
Energy minister Graham Stuart on Tory donor Frank Hester saying Diane Abbott "needs to be shot" and makes you "want to hate all black women": "It was half a decade ago."
Asked if Frank Hester should return the £10m he has donated to the Tories, Stuart says: "I welcome all those who seek to ensure our first Hindu prime minister stays prime minister."
Wow.
They've either totally failed to agree a party line and idiots are putting their feet in it, or they are idiots to try that line.
Just say it was wrong but don't give the money back, you'd be criticised but less than with that line.
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
Energy minister Graham Stuart on Tory donor Frank Hester saying Diane Abbott "needs to be shot" and makes you "want to hate all black women": "It was half a decade ago."
Asked if Frank Hester should return the £10m he has donated to the Tories, Stuart says: "I welcome all those who seek to ensure our first Hindu prime minister stays prime minister."
Wow.
Being a racist prick clearly has a 5 year statute of limitations. The Tories are utterly blind to this cancer. Contrast with Starmer's firmness in dealing with Antisemitism in his party.
Didn't Rayner's house issue happen a while back? The Conservative Party and the client media seem unconcerned by the timeline.
So the Tories biggest donor ends up with loads of government contracts!
The media seem disinterested in this .
Yup, the casual racism, the vile violent language, the money, the whiff of sleaze, and above all the sense of impunity and entitlement sums up the Tory party on 2024.
Energy minister Graham Stuart on Tory donor Frank Hester saying Diane Abbott "needs to be shot" and makes you "want to hate all black women": "It was half a decade ago."
Asked if Frank Hester should return the £10m he has donated to the Tories, Stuart says: "I welcome all those who seek to ensure our first Hindu prime minister stays prime minister."
Wow.
"Asked if Frank Hester should return the £10m he has donated to the Tories..."
Eh? Surely it would be the Tories returning it to Hester?
I always think the "should return the money" arguments are utterly ludicrous. "Someone has done something appalling... why aren't you immediately writing him a large cheque?"
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
It's a pretty ridiculous line to claim the remarks as unacceptable but not racist.
If they're not racist then for what reason are the remarks unacceptable? Because it's rude? People are allowed to be rude, they wouldn't criticise (even mildly) someone giving out 10m for a little rudeness to a political opponent, especially a peripheral figure with few allies like Abbott.
Not saying I agree, because I don't, but wouldn't the argument be that Hester said Abbott "should be shot" and that's unacceptable entirely independently of the comments on race?
But if that's the hook they are going to use for why it's wrong but not racist they should still be much stronger in criticising him. It makes things awkward because they could criticise that part but it leaves the bit about making him hate black women still to be addressed, implying they agree with it.
So even if the shot line is the focus of criticism they still need to comment on the racist bit. Which apparently they've decided to claim as merely a bit off colour, as it were.
So the pathological liar who would have been suspended from parliament for 90 days is going to be their vote winner !
It will win back some votes in some places. Possibly even a net gain overall.
Though it could all just be a "don't follow Lee to Reform, Daddy still loves you and he is coming back" piece of waffle.
The nearest we have to confirmation is
A spokesman for Johnson said: “Boris Johnson’s focus at the moment is writing and speaking and he is very productively engaged on that. His position has been consistently in support of the Conservative Party for his entire political life and that will remain so.”
Which is only a bit of a fib.
Yesterday I had drinks/dinner with some pollsters and political strategist and this topic came up, in short whilst Johnson is more popular with 2019 Tories/Red Wallers than Sunak those ratings are still pretty shite, it is like being the prettiest horse at the glue factory.
On average he is hitting around 40% approval/support with 2019 Tories, by comparison at this point in late 2014 David Cameron was hitting 90% plus approval with 2010 Tories.
Whilst Johnson has a higher floor he also drives up ABC tactical voting in a way Sunak doesn't.
So under the vagaries of FPTP it is entirely possible that the Tories get a worse result with Johnson leading them to 31% of the vote than Sunak who leads them to 27% of the vote.
So will he be a net benefit in the so called red wall or not then ?
I would guess the Tories are so desperate for something any roll of the dice is worth a go.
Red Wall seats have largely vanished over the horizon, even with a fair bit of swingback.
And Boris on the campaign trail, even out in the sticks, will suck oxygen out of anything the rest of the party does.
It's a useful thing to say today, but not necessarily to turn into action when the time comes.
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
Will Labour return the whip to Diane Abbott, unjustly suspended.
Or is their anger about this confected and synthetic and they don't really give a damn about her ?
I don't really see the connection. Her being the victim of racism, which is sadly not uncommon, wouldn't erase the reasons they've decided to push her out of politics or her own actions.
I do think if she were not one of the remaining cranks in the PLP they'd have restored the whip by now, but right or wrong that call isn't impacted by someone being racist to her.
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
So the pathological liar who would have been suspended from parliament for 90 days is going to be their vote winner !
It will win back some votes in some places. Possibly even a net gain overall.
Though it could all just be a "don't follow Lee to Reform, Daddy still loves you and he is coming back" piece of waffle.
The nearest we have to confirmation is
A spokesman for Johnson said: “Boris Johnson’s focus at the moment is writing and speaking and he is very productively engaged on that. His position has been consistently in support of the Conservative Party for his entire political life and that will remain so.”
Which is only a bit of a fib.
Yesterday I had drinks/dinner with some pollsters and political strategist and this topic came up, in short whilst Johnson is more popular with 2019 Tories/Red Wallers than Sunak those ratings are still pretty shite, it is like being the prettiest horse at the glue factory.
On average he is hitting around 40% approval/support with 2019 Tories, by comparison at this point in late 2014 David Cameron was hitting 90% plus approval with 2010 Tories.
Whilst Johnson has a higher floor he also drives up ABC tactical voting in a way Sunak doesn't.
So under the vagaries of FPTP it is entirely possible that the Tories get a worse result with Johnson leading them to 31% of the vote than Sunak who leads them to 27% of the vote.
So will he be a net benefit in the so called red wall or not then ?
I would guess the Tories are so desperate for something any roll of the dice is worth a go.
In terms of votes he may well be a net benefit but in terms of net seats definite net loss.
I can't see him campaigning in the frozen North out of altruism. Presumably he gets himself a zero hours contract at for example the comparable Carter-Ruck hourly rate.
"Unless the PM calls an election by next Friday, there will be more than one Reform UK MP in the House of Commons."
Leader of Reform UK Richard Tice says that the Tory Party has become full of "con socialists".
I'm at a loss as to what is socialist about this Government apart from giving Pensioners more money (and that's because the state pension is tiny and needs to be fixed).
"Unless the PM calls an election by next Friday, there will be more than one Reform UK MP in the House of Commons."
Leader of Reform UK Richard Tice says that the Tory Party has become full of "con socialists".
I'm at a loss as to what is socialist about this Government apart from giving Pensioners more money (and that's because the state pension is tiny and needs to be fixed).
It's Reform aping American political language and style. GB news and the like are another effort to do the same.
Global sea surface temperatures, aside from being at a modern-era record high of 21.21°C for the third consecutive day, are also in crazy-town territory for the standard deviation, yesterday at 5.68σ above the 1982-2011 mean. That's 1-in-150 million for a normal distribution. https://twitter.com/EliotJacobson/status/1766886096577957960
I suppose that the crazy temperatures over the past year are being driven by the ENSO?
Perhaps the scariest effect of the current situation is that it sets a high water mark that won't be reached again until the next El Nino year - you can almost hear the denialists cueing up their "but sea surface temperatures are much cooler than they were during 2023-24! what are you worrying about?" tweets which they'll be bombarding us with for the rest of the decade...
In a fortnight the sea temperature will have been at a record for every day of the last year.
So the Tories biggest donor ends up with loads of government contracts!
The media seem disinterested in this .
Give it a few days. This feels like one that will rumble on to me, more to come out.
Well he got a lot of contracts before he became a donor, so the press are presumably being very careful not to say anything they can't back up. As should we be.
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
It’s far, far more worse than ‘rude’! Very, very nasty indeed.
However, good morning, one and all.
He's a racist, no if ands or buts.
He may also have done plenty of nice things in his time including treating people of other races OK, I don't know the man and racists are not awful 100% of the time. But what he said was still unequivocally, proudly racist whether it was a one off or a pattern
The Tories are having difficulty here because to deny it requires arguing black is white.
The Tories are taking the line that saying you hate a black woman is not racist.
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
It's an option in Dashboard > Settings > Discussions > Reactions (show as popup, show as minor avatars, don't show).
Show as a popup was what we used to have so I suspect it was lost last week when the latest version of the vanilla was installed and the default (don't show) option was implemented.
I see Number 10 is going to do its usual routine of making as many ministers on the broadcast round defend the indefensible before it inevitably throws them under the bus.
Comments
I thought it was all piss and wind. Does confirm him as someone who's impulsive and reckless.
What was his alternative? Even if he had apologised and got the whip back he would have been told to stfu until the election when he’d be out.
It shows very simply that Sunak has no political antennae and is just flailing about upset that his obviously brilliant plan isn’t being lauded as it should be.
In 2025? Tories facing ELE and no support left from their red wall little Englander bigot vote. Concentrate it into their unhappy pockets such as Hartlepool and you never know
If he beats the Tory candidate, he'll feel justified.
What's not clear from the tweet is whether the "sources close to the prime minister" did the leaking AND the threatening, or whether they dished out the threats alone, and someone else briefed the press.
There's absolutely no chance of an early election.
‘These are people of the land. The common clay of the New West. You know - morons…’
Everyone already knew that Sunak has no political antennae and is just flailing about.
"Are you a high flyer, or a low flyer supported by gusts of wind?"
The purveyor and nature of the wind, I will leave to your imaginations.
"Go ahead and shoot. You'll be doing me a favour."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXHkFZ-nG4Y
BIB - What were the odds eh?
An alleged neo-Nazi attacked a receptionist at an immigration law firm with a hunting knife as a “rallying cry” to far-right nationalists, a court was told.
Cavan Medlock, 31, told police he planned to take a solicitor hostage at knifepoint and tape a Nazi flag in the windows of the offices of Duncan Lewis in Harrow, north London.
Kingston crown court heard that he arrived at the offices shortly before 5pm on Monday September 7, 2020 and asked to see a solicitor, who had been named in a newspaper article.
Medlock was wearing black gloves with reinforced knuckle pads and carrying a rucksack containing a black combat knife with a six-inch blade, a pair of handcuffs and rolls of gaffer tape.
Also inside the bag were two large 5ft by 3ft flags, one with a Nazi swastika and the other an American Confederate battle flag, said to demonstrate an extreme right-wing ideology.
Unaware of the contents of the rucksack, another solicitor came out to see Medlock and took him to a consultation room where she explained that the firm could not accommodate a meeting without an appointment.
Timothy Cray KC, for the prosecution, told the jury:“What the members of staff did not know is that the defendant had prepared to commit an act of terrorism.”
At 5.21pm Medlock made to leave the building before turning around, pulling the knife from his rucksack, and advancing on the receptionist, demanding to see Toufique Hossain.
With “great bravery” Ravindran Tharmalangam, the receptionist, grabbed hold of Medlock and managed to disarm him, kicking the knife away, the court was told.
Medlock grappled with Tharmalangam, throwing punches and kicks, before other members of staff arrived and managed to restrain him.
After he was detained, Medlock told Hossain “to his face” that he had planned to kill him because the firm had helped immigrants who were “not welcome here”.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t finish the job,” he added.
Someone asked: “Really? What job?” and Medlock gestured toward Hossain, adding: “To kill this f**ker.”
One of the solicitors who helped restrain Medlock was of Pakistani heritage and Medlock hurled racist abuse at him and told him “Enoch Powell was right” — a reference to the controversial postwar politician.
Another member of staff told Medlock that she was Jewish and asked whether he had a problem with her, and he replied: “Hitler was right.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/neo-nazi-planned-to-take-solicitor-hostage-at-immigration-law-firm-935lw8pz8
The former prime minister is expected to campaign for the Conservatives in red wall seats to ‘take the fight to Keir Starmer’
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/boris-johnson-next-general-election-tories-keir-starmerer-jbf30vh08 (£££)
As I’ve been saying for a long while, it is obvious the Tories have an issue with racism.
The Tory line to take on the morning round is that their £10m donor who said Diane Abbott made him want to hate all black women was not being racist and they’d like to keep the £10m
https://x.com/alexwickham/status/1767453572495536246
So the pathological liar who would have been suspended from parliament for 90 days is going to be their vote winner !
Alex Chalk announced emergency measures to release hundreds of burglars, shoplifters and violent criminals up to 60 days early to tackle the crisis.
He also unveiled plans to slash the number of foreign prisoners – now standing at over 10,000 – by refusing tourist visa applications from countries that fail to take back their criminals earmarked for deportation.
He also confirmed plans to allow foreign shoplifters, thieves and drug dealers to be deported rather than prosecuted.
The moves came as internal figures obtained by The Telegraph showed male prisons were 99.7 per cent full, with just 238 spaces left out of an operational capacity of 85,000. Women’s jails are 96.9 per cent full with just 118 spaces left.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/11/early-release-prisoners-jail-alex-chalk/
Interestingly, he says that CONGRESS has to pass these things in order to secure the border, because he doesn’t have the legal authority or funding to do it as president. Which is the exact opposite of what he claims now.
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1767221484806603014
Possibly even a net gain overall.
Though it could all just be a "don't follow Lee to Reform, Daddy still loves you and he is coming back" piece of waffle.
The nearest we have to confirmation is
A spokesman for Johnson said: “Boris Johnson’s focus at the moment is writing and speaking and he is very productively engaged on that. His position has been consistently in support of the Conservative Party for his entire political life and that will remain so.”
Which is only a bit of a fib.
They haven't been denied either, of course.
Judge Cannon has granted Trump’s request for a 10 day extension to file replies to some of his motions to dismiss charges in the classified documents case.
https://twitter.com/AnnaBower/status/1767335915788115992
No other criminal defendant in history has been given the extraordinary consideration the courts have show to Trump.
The SC court is quite evidently happy to see anyone else put to death with less 'due process'.
Farage has always been most comfortable being yearned for by disaffected Tories.
On average he is hitting around 40% approval/support with 2019 Tories, by comparison at this point in late 2014 David Cameron was hitting 90% plus approval with 2010 Tories.
Whilst Johnson has a higher floor he also drives up ABC tactical voting in a way Sunak doesn't.
So under the vagaries of FPTP it is entirely possible that the Tories get a worse result with Johnson leading them to 31% of the vote than Sunak who leads them to 27% of the vote.
Prosecutors really underestimated how well Trump could use the system to delay things. Sure, in the very simple documents case the judge is very deferential, but even the ones who aren't are getting blocked or snowed under.
https://twitter.com/HesterObe/status/1767248542651781271
Or is their anger about this confected and synthetic and they don't really give a damn about her ?
Energy minister Graham Stuart on Tory donor Frank Hester saying Diane Abbott "needs to be shot" and makes you "want to hate all black women": "It was half a decade ago."
Asked if Frank Hester should return the £10m he has donated to the Tories, Stuart says: "I welcome all those who seek to ensure our first Hindu prime minister stays prime minister."
Wow.
I would guess the Tories are so desperate for something any roll of the dice is worth a go.
If they're not racist then for what reason are the remarks unacceptable? Because it's rude? People are allowed to be rude, they wouldn't criticise (even mildly) someone giving out 10m for a little rudeness to a political opponent, especially a peripheral figure with few allies like Abbott.
https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/22-reacting-to-content
The media seem disinterested in this .
"Unless the PM calls an election by next Friday, there will be more than one Reform UK MP in the House of Commons."
Leader of Reform UK Richard Tice says that the Tory Party has become full of "con socialists".
Not sure his heart would be in it though, and that would show - if asked if he really wanted Sunak to win the election could he bluster a believable answer that he did?
Just say it was wrong but don't give the money back, you'd be criticised but less than with that line.
Eh? Surely it would be the Tories returning it to Hester?
I always think the "should return the money" arguments are utterly ludicrous. "Someone has done something appalling... why aren't you immediately writing him a large cheque?"
So even if the shot line is the focus of criticism they still need to comment on the racist bit. Which apparently they've decided to claim as merely a bit off colour, as it were.
And Boris on the campaign trail, even out in the sticks, will suck oxygen out of anything the rest of the party does.
It's a useful thing to say today, but not necessarily to turn into action when the time comes.
That's very on-brand for Bozza.
Very, very nasty indeed.
However, good morning, one and all.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/08/the-uk-college-student-explaining-congressional-procedure-to-washington-00145314
I do think if she were not one of the remaining cranks in the PLP they'd have restored the whip by now, but right or wrong that call isn't impacted by someone being racist to her.
He should have called a GE as soon as he became PM.
As should we be.
Or indifferent to this.
It’ll be ok. He has a lot of money to go and earn in America.
He may also have done plenty of nice things in his time including treating people of other races OK, I don't know the man and racists are not awful 100% of the time. But what he said was still unequivocally, proudly racist whether it was a one off or a pattern
The Tories are having difficulty here because to deny it requires arguing black is white.
It's also a demonstration that a lot of congressional staffers are dumb as rocks.
"A nation that is dependent on the whims of dictators for its energy supply can never be truly safe," Mr Putin wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
Show as a popup was what we used to have so I suspect it was lost last week when the latest version of the vanilla was installed and the default (don't show) option was implemented.
But mini avatars would be nice as well..
I see Number 10 is going to do its usual routine of making as many ministers on the broadcast round defend the indefensible before it inevitably throws them under the bus.