Another potential exciting by-election? – politicalbetting.com

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Another potential exciting by-election? – politicalbetting.com

Nigel Farage has told friends that he is worried about facing a by-election if he is found to have broken rules over an undeclared £5m gift from a crypto billionaire, The i Paper can reveal? Exclusive from @cazjwheeler Read more: https://t.co/jBYIlwNJe2 pic.twitter.com/J3MaDBe35g

Read the full story here

tlg86

FPT:

Barnesian said:

tlg86 said:

Barnesian said:

turbotubbs said:

Barnesian said:

tlg86 said:

Barnesian said:

turbotubbs said:

Barnesian said:

turbotubbs said:

"I doubt there is a single poster on PB who supports what Hamas did in October 23, there are plenty supporting / excusing what Israel has done since. Which has been just as horrific on a larger scale."

What should Israel have done? I' don't think they have got it right, but I am interested to know what people think the response SHOULD have been.

First of all, Israel should have prevented the Hamas attack,
Mossad/IDF had the intelligence that Hamas was practicing, and Netanyahu ignored it. Perhaps he thought he had an understanding with Hamas as he'd helped finance them. An inquiry will hopefully find out.

Given the attack happened, the response should have been surgical and intelligence driven. Plenty of evidence that Israel is good at that. Instead the response was brutal and indiscriminating without regard to the civilian population. I suspect that Israel thinks that one Israeli life is worth a thousand Palestinian lives. You see that in the prisoner exchanges.

I take issue with the first line. That's rather like blaming a rape victim for wearing a short skirt.

Don't you agree that Israel should have prevented the attack if they knew about it?

Your analogy simply does not work.

I think it's quite a bold claim that Israel let the attack happen.

There was a complete and unusual failure of IDF intelligence and communications.

According to declassified IDF investigation findings and intelligence leaks, several highly unusual tactical anomalies occurred on the eve of the atrocity:

Around midnight on October 6—six and a half hours before the assault—Israeli intelligence detected hundreds of Hamas fighters simultaneously activating Israeli SIM cards in their phones. This was a known operational indicator for an incursion.

Border surveillance units noted a sudden, eerie halt to all standard Hamas routines and communications just hours before the outbreak, which was highly uncharacteristic of their usual border presence.

Female border surveillance soldiers stationed at bases like Nahal Oz repeatedly documented Hamas fighters conducting highly structured rehearsals. These included practicing using paragliders, driving convoys of up to 10 pickup trucks, detonating mock border gates, and filming Israeli camera installations.

Why were these signs ignored?

Netanyahu saw a functional Hamas as a strategic asset to keep the Palestinian leadership divided (and had previously approved the transfer of cash to Hamas from Qatar).

Of course, It's inconceivable that the IDF/Netanyahu knowingly allowed the atrocity to take place.
But the mindset that Hamas was under control surely contributed to the blindness to the data.

An inquiry is needed, but it won't be held until after the war ends.
Another reason for it not to end.

Israel should have prevented the Hamas attack. They had the evidence and ignored it.

So lets assume that they see the preps in bold above. What do they do in response?

1. They immediately move IDF soldiers and equipment to the Gaza border where the rehearals have been taking place.
2. They immediately warn Israelis near the border to evacuate or take protective cover.

But no pre-emptive action?

Yes. What do you suggest?
I'm not an expert in this area.
But I think they should have reacted.
This is not in any way excusing Hamas.

If what you say is true and the Israelis had intelligence of what might be about to unfold and had time to react then they very obviously should have obliterated everyone and everything relating to the suspected attack.

DecrepiterJohnL

I gave a gift link to the i paper's Farage by-election fears story at the end of the last thread. Here it is:-
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/farage-fears-hell-by-election-over-5m-gift-crypto-billionaire-4614925?utm_campaign=PNIEVq7l5sjekqh&ito=gifted_article&data-target=gifted_article&utm_source=XJPLeh5koSHChZEU

Daveyboy1961

Which Spaniard are you suggesting?

OldKingCole

AIUI if the "Commons authorities" censure an MP that MP doesn't have to resign unless 10%(?) of the electorate in his constituency sign a recall petition. How likely is it that 10% of Clacton (and District) voters would do that?

TheScreamingEagles

Daveyboy1961 said:

Which Spaniard are you suggesting?

Oops my friend is a translator and she always tells me about famous errors.

Mrs Thatcher once accused Helmut Kohl of throwing a Spaniard into the works.

There was much confusion about frozen seaman.

dixiedean

How does someone who leads the Party that has led the polls for well over a year manage to be surprised that taking £5 million quid from an overseas resident might "cut through"?
And that taking on some of the biggest and least respected members of the previous much derided government might not be popular?
A cynic might question his judgement and motivation.

Battlebus

Daveyboy1961 said:

Which Spaniard are you suggesting?

Torquemada. He'll get answers.

MelonB

He'd win a recall byelection easily though. It's Clacton.

williamglenn

Farage's opponents could be making the same mistake that the French establishment made with Le Pen by going after him over money issues. Zia Yusuf might be Nigel's Bardella.

DecrepiterJohnL

OldKingCole said:

AIUI if the "Commons authorities" censure an MP that MP doesn't have to resign unless 10%(?) of the electorate in his constituency sign a recall petition. How likely is it that 10% of Clacton (and District) voters would do that?

Almost no chance.

Unless perhaps activists from other parties spent weeks traipsing from door to door collecting signatures in which case, yes, it will happen.

noneoftheabove

dixiedean said:

How does someone who leads the Party that has led the polls for well over a year manage to be surprised that taking £5 million quid from an overseas resident might "cut through"?
And that taking on some of the biggest and least respected members of the previous much derided government might not be popular?
A cynic might question his judgement and motivation.

He'll be happy to answer you - if and only if there is a few ££££ in it for him.

kinabalu

tlg86 said:

FPT:

Barnesian said:

tlg86 said:

Barnesian said:

turbotubbs said:

Barnesian said:

tlg86 said:

Barnesian said:

turbotubbs said:

Barnesian said:

turbotubbs said:

"I doubt there is a single poster on PB who supports what Hamas did in October 23, there are plenty supporting / excusing what Israel has done since. Which has been just as horrific on a larger scale."

What should Israel have done? I' don't think they have got it right, but I am interested to know what people think the response SHOULD have been.

First of all, Israel should have prevented the Hamas attack,
Mossad/IDF had the intelligence that Hamas was practicing, and Netanyahu ignored it. Perhaps he thought he had an understanding with Hamas as he'd helped finance them. An inquiry will hopefully find out.

Given the attack happened, the response should have been surgical and intelligence driven. Plenty of evidence that Israel is good at that. Instead the response was brutal and indiscriminating without regard to the civilian population. I suspect that Israel thinks that one Israeli life is worth a thousand Palestinian lives. You see that in the prisoner exchanges.

I take issue with the first line. That's rather like blaming a rape victim for wearing a short skirt.

Don't you agree that Israel should have prevented the attack if they knew about it?

Your analogy simply does not work.

I think it's quite a bold claim that Israel let the attack happen.

There was a complete and unusual failure of IDF intelligence and communications.

According to declassified IDF investigation findings and intelligence leaks, several highly unusual tactical anomalies occurred on the eve of the atrocity:

Around midnight on October 6—six and a half hours before the assault—Israeli intelligence detected hundreds of Hamas fighters simultaneously activating Israeli SIM cards in their phones. This was a known operational indicator for an incursion.

Border surveillance units noted a sudden, eerie halt to all standard Hamas routines and communications just hours before the outbreak, which was highly uncharacteristic of their usual border presence.

Female border surveillance soldiers stationed at bases like Nahal Oz repeatedly documented Hamas fighters conducting highly structured rehearsals. These included practicing using paragliders, driving convoys of up to 10 pickup trucks, detonating mock border gates, and filming Israeli camera installations.

Why were these signs ignored?

Netanyahu saw a functional Hamas as a strategic asset to keep the Palestinian leadership divided (and had previously approved the transfer of cash to Hamas from Qatar).

Of course, It's inconceivable that the IDF/Netanyahu knowingly allowed the atrocity to take place.
But the mindset that Hamas was under control surely contributed to the blindness to the data.

An inquiry is needed, but it won't be held until after the war ends.
Another reason for it not to end.

Israel should have prevented the Hamas attack. They had the evidence and ignored it.

So lets assume that they see the preps in bold above. What do they do in response?

1. They immediately move IDF soldiers and equipment to the Gaza border where the rehearals have been taking place.
2. They immediately warn Israelis near the border to evacuate or take protective cover.

But no pre-emptive action?

Yes. What do you suggest?
I'm not an expert in this area.
But I think they should have reacted.
This is not in any way excusing Hamas.

If what you say is true and the Israelis had intelligence of what might be about to unfold and had time to react then they very obviously should have obliterated everyone and everything relating to the suspected attack.

Although proportionality still applies. Eg destroying Gaza wouldn't pass the test before the attack any more than it did after it.

OldKingCole

DecrepiterJohnL said:

OldKingCole said:

AIUI if the "Commons authorities" censure an MP that MP doesn't have to resign unless 10%(?) of the electorate in his constituency sign a recall petition. How likely is it that 10% of Clacton (and District) voters would do that?

Almost no chance.

Unless perhaps activists from other parties spent weeks traipsing from door to door collecting signatures in which case, yes, it will happen.

My view too. How many weeks would such devoted acolytes of honour among politicians have?

noneoftheabove

MelonB said:

He'd win a recall byelection easily though. It's Clacton.

GE

Nigel Farage Reform UK 21,225 46.2%
Giles Watling Conservative 12,820 27.9%
Jovan Owusu-Nepaul Labour 7,448 16.2%
Matthew Bensilum Liberal Democrat 2,016 4.4%

In a by election with Restore pushing hard and Labour/LDs leaving it to Tories something like this isn't hard to imagine:

Reform 30-35
Tories 30-35
Restore 15
Labour 10
LD 3

FF43

On the other hand, £5 million has its compensations

kinabalu

On topic. I'm surprised that Farage is surprised (that the £5m bung cut through). He clearly has low expectations of his voters.

Malmesbury

What are the actual penalties that can apply in this situation?

Just a long enough suspension from the House to trigger a recall?

MarqueeMark

Farage is right to be worried about cut-through - becuse it has.

He will play the "lawfare" victim card. But £5m is a good reason to look askance at him.

And can you imagine the glee Restore would take in trying to unseat Farage. Be brutal efforts from them.

DecrepiterJohnL

kinabalu said:

On topic. I'm surprised that Farage is surprised (that the £5m bung cut through). He clearly has low expectations of his voters.

There is still the question of who leaked the £5M gift news.

eek

kinabalu said:

On topic. I'm surprised that Farage is surprised (that the £5m bung cut through). He clearly has low expectations of his voters.

I think he knew it was going to cut through to voters - his hope was that no-one was going to find out about it.

Ratters

MelonB said:

He'd win a recall byelection easily though. It's Clacton.

75% of the vote for Reform and Tories combined. The nearest left-leaning vote is Labour at 16%.

The only way it's remotely possible is tactical voting en masse for the Tories to keep our Farage. I'm not convinced the left are willing to favour the lesser of two evils in that way.

If I voted their I'd tactically vote Tory to beat Farage though. Would be a huge defeat for Reform.

MarqueeMark

noneoftheabove said:

MelonB said:

He'd win a recall byelection easily though. It's Clacton.

GE

Nigel Farage Reform UK 21,225 46.2%
Giles Watling Conservative 12,820 27.9%
Jovan Owusu-Nepaul Labour 7,448 16.2%
Matthew Bensilum Liberal Democrat 2,016 4.4%

In a by election with Restore pushing hard and Labour/LDs leaving it to Tories something like this isn't hard to imagine:

Reform 30-35
Tories 30-35
Restore 15
Labour 10
LD 3

It would be hugely beneficial for Labour to lose Farage as an opponent. Embarrassing for Burnham in his first test, but if there is a nod and a wink that tactical voting in this instance to kill the threat to the red wall - smart politics to do it.

eek

Interestingly the Times has this headline published just now Nigel Farage’s £4m property portfolio — and the transparency question

https://www.thetimes.com/article/3590ad4a-8831-43d6-902e-38e296d11f08?shareToken=650a1c62e2cd98cc5d4a3d75cfa68cba

OnlyLivingBoy

Farage loses the chance to be PM over £5 million gift, but he still has a £5 million gift, so there is that. Not bad as consolation prizes go.

Foss

MelonB said:

He'd win a recall byelection easily though. It's Clacton.

Even if he wins not only would he have spent 6 weeks on the defensive, he'd have had to hang around Clacton to see it through. That level of disruption is probably worth it for both the Tories and Labour.

noneoftheabove

Ratters said:

MelonB said:

He'd win a recall byelection easily though. It's Clacton.

75% of the vote for Reform and Tories combined. The nearest left-leaning vote is Labour at 16%.

The only way it's remotely possible is tactical voting en masse for the Tories to keep our Farage. I'm not convinced the left are willing to favour the lesser of two evils in that way.

If I voted their I'd tactically vote Tory to beat Farage though. Would be a huge defeat for Reform.

Are the 16% Labour vote in Clacton representative of the "left"? Even if they are, some will prefer to see Farage out, rather than Labour get 12% instead of 8% in a by election they can't win.

TheScreamingEagles

Nigel Farage’s £4m property portfolio — and the transparency question

From ‘skint’ in 2017, the Reform UK leader now owns five mortgage-free homes with his partner Laure Ferrari. Only two have been declared to parliament

Nigel Farage and his partner have managed to build a mortgage-free property portfolio worth more than £4 million over the past decade.

Land Registry records obtained by The Times show that the leader of Reform UK and his partner, the French national Laure Ferrari, own at least five homes spanning Surrey, Essex and Kent. The documents show all but one were bought with cash since 2020, the year the UK officially left the European Union. The other was secured in 2017 after Farage’s separation from his second wife.

Despite the scale of the holdings, Farage only declares two homes under the land and property section of the register of members’ interests, raising questions about whether he has registered his position correctly.

The MP for Clacton insists his property declarations are within parliamentary rules, although other MPs and independent experts have raised concerns about the transparency of the arrangements.

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/nigel-farage-properties-mortgage-m5zjgmlfz

Malmesbury

Fishing said:

williamglenn said:

https://x.com/andyburnham/status/2072325103384150518

Like everyone, I want this vile criminal out of the country. Victims must come first.

I will ask the Home and Foreign Secretaries to review all possible options - and they should consider nothing is off the table.

"Oh, look, there's a bandwagon ..."

Totally abject.

Anyone else interested in how stripping people of U.K. citizenship has moved from “occasional in special circumstances” to “standard operating procedure” ?

MarqueeMark

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Driver

Ratters said:

MelonB said:

He'd win a recall byelection easily though. It's Clacton.

75% of the vote for Reform and Tories combined. The nearest left-leaning vote is Labour at 16%.

The only way it's remotely possible is tactical voting en masse for the Tories to keep our Farage. I'm not convinced the left are willing to favour the lesser of two evils in that way.

If I voted their I'd tactically vote Tory to beat Farage though. Would be a huge defeat for Reform.

If they think he's as bad as they say the they certainly should.

Malmesbury

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

Alanbrooke

Foss said:

MelonB said:

He'd win a recall byelection easily though. It's Clacton.

Even if he wins not only would he have spent 6 weeks on the defensive, he'd have had to hang around Clacton to see it through. That level of disruption is probably worth it for both the Tories and Labour.

All that would do is feed the notion that the establishment are trying to nobble him rather than beat him on policy,

It simply highlights why our two traditional parties have lost the plot.

BartholomewRoberts

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Why?

Why does a dog lick its balls?

noneoftheabove

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

I see Mr Trump has made $1bn last year from crypto.

Perhaps Mr Farage might like a ride on that gravy train too if he were to become PM.

Theuniondivvie

The blimps really are outdoing themselves. The servile press will no doubt be preparing questions such as anyone here been raped by a Chechen stormtrooper for when the storm breaks upon our sceptred isle.


Lord Alan West yesterday: "Things like welfare.. are unimportant when you lose a war & you have Russian Chechen stormtroopers coming down the street raping women & killing people"

Reintroducing the workhouse or Russians raping your mum. They're the only choices, ok.

https://x.com/saulstaniforth/status/2072269325390451088?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q

kinabalu

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

Okra's blazer.

noneoftheabove

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Will the Tories take Jenrick back!?

Alanbrooke

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Andy_JS

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

I don't think anyone cares about it apart from political anoraks. Sorry to be disappointing.

Daveyboy1961

TheScreamingEagles said:

Daveyboy1961 said:

Which Spaniard are you suggesting?

Oops my friend is a translator and she always tells me about famous errors.

Mrs Thatcher once accused Helmut Kohl of throwing a Spaniard into the works.

There was much confusion about frozen seaman.

I remember that, I thought it was an IVF reference

noneoftheabove

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

boulay

Seen elsewhere:

Me “Can I borrow the Big Book of Cockney Swearwords?.”

Librarian “You Can’t.”

Me “Yes, that’s the one.”

Driver

Andy_JS said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

I don't think anyone cares about it apart from political anoraks. Sorry to be disappointing.

And, specifically, political anoraks who already hate him.

TheScreamingEagles

Daveyboy1961 said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Daveyboy1961 said:

Which Spaniard are you suggesting?

Oops my friend is a translator and she always tells me about famous errors.

Mrs Thatcher once accused Helmut Kohl of throwing a Spaniard into the works.

There was much confusion about frozen seaman.

I remember that, I thought it was an IVF reference

It was.

kinabalu

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

False Equivalence Post Of The Year update!

There's plenty of 2026 left, and I anticipate some serious challengers to come, but this is a strong contender indeed.

Alanbrooke

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

OnlyLivingBoy

kinabalu said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

False Equivalence Post Of The Year update!

There's plenty of 2026 left, and I anticipate some serious challengers to come, but this is a strong contender indeed.

Nah, I'm calling it.

williamglenn

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

Except at the time he took it, there was no way to predict that Reform would break through in the way that they did.

Alanbrooke

kinabalu said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

False Equivalence Post Of The Year update!

There's plenty of 2026 left, and I anticipate some serious challengers to come, but this is a strong contender indeed.

Always happy to help. Union funding seems to be a bit of a touchy subject,

Who exactly asked for those recent revisions to labour laws ?

TheScreamingEagles

Alanbrooke said:

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

The distinction is that Labour and the Tories declare those donations, Farage keeps on coming up with different excuses about what the money was for, as I noted yesterday

Finally the most damaging of all is the £5 million donation from Christopher Harbone, Nigel Farage’s explanations keep on changing and are as credible as a philandering husband trying to explain to his wife why another woman’s thong ended up in his overnight bag.

https://www.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2026/06/30/are-john-rentoul-and-dan-hodges-right/

noneoftheabove

Alanbrooke said:

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

If it was up to me political donations would be capped at a low level.

It is not up to me so what I think the rules should be doesn't matter - but I would like the politicians to follow the rules as they are.

FF43

TheScreamingEagles said:

Nigel Farage’s £4m property portfolio — and the transparency question

From ‘skint’ in 2017, the Reform UK leader now owns five mortgage-free homes with his partner Laure Ferrari. Only two have been declared to parliament

Nigel Farage and his partner have managed to build a mortgage-free property portfolio worth more than £4 million over the past decade.

Land Registry records obtained by The Times show that the leader of Reform UK and his partner, the French national Laure Ferrari, own at least five homes spanning Surrey, Essex and Kent. The documents show all but one were bought with cash since 2020, the year the UK officially left the European Union. The other was secured in 2017 after Farage’s separation from his second wife.

Despite the scale of the holdings, Farage only declares two homes under the land and property section of the register of members’ interests, raising questions about whether he has registered his position correctly.

The MP for Clacton insists his property declarations are within parliamentary rules, although other MPs and independent experts have raised concerns about the transparency of the arrangements.

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/nigel-farage-properties-mortgage-m5zjgmlfz

Brexit benefit

kinabalu

Alanbrooke said:

kinabalu said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

False Equivalence Post Of The Year update!

There's plenty of 2026 left, and I anticipate some serious challengers to come, but this is a strong contender indeed.

Always happy to help. Union funding seems to be a bit of a touchy subject,

Who exactly asked for those recent revisions to labour laws ?

My sources tell me it was a secretive commie trillionaire who is reputed to live deep in the Amazon rain forest.

Alanbrooke

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alanbrooke said:

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

The distinction is that Labour and the Tories declare those donations, Farage keeps on coming up with different excuses about what the money was for, as I noted yesterday

Finally the most damaging of all is the £5 million donation from Christopher Harbone, Nigel Farage’s explanations keep on changing and are as credible as philandering husband trying to explain to his wife why another woman’s thong ended up in his overnight bag.

https://www.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2026/06/30/are-john-rentoul-and-dan-hodges-right/

Oh how lawyerly, You defend the rules but excuse the principle, All our parties take money and all of them try to get as much of it as possible, and there isnt a single politcal party which hasnt stretched the rules beyond breaking and got away with it.

This is simply political humbug to nail Farage for something the rest of them do anyway,

Have some effing policies to attack the man not this dross.

OnlyLivingBoy

Alanbrooke said:

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

£5mn from the trade union movement would represent 78p per trade union member.

eek

Alanbrooke said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alanbrooke said:

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

The distinction is that Labour and the Tories declare those donations, Farage keeps on coming up with different excuses about what the money was for, as I noted yesterday

Finally the most damaging of all is the £5 million donation from Christopher Harbone, Nigel Farage’s explanations keep on changing and are as credible as philandering husband trying to explain to his wife why another woman’s thong ended up in his overnight bag.

https://www.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2026/06/30/are-john-rentoul-and-dan-hodges-right/

Oh how lawyerly, You defend the rules but excuse the principle, All our parties take money and all of them try to get as much of it as possible, and there isnt a single politcal party which hasnt stretched the rules beyond breaking and got away with it.

This is simply political humbug to nail Farage for something the rest of them do anyway,

Have some effing policies to attack the man not this dross.

The problem is we don't know what policies Christopher Harbone bought by giving Farage £5m.

At least when it comes to Unions you know the quid pro quo is something to do with Workers Rights. What is Harbone after for that £5m..

nico67

williamglenn said:

Farage's opponents could be making the same mistake that the French establishment made with Le Pen by going after him over money issues. Zia Yusuf might be Nigel's Bardella.

Zia Yusuf comes across very poorly and has an attitude problem with zero charisma . As for opponents going after Farage if he doesn’t like public scrutiny he shouldn’t be a politician. The campaign material is pretty easy for those against Reform. Farage can be bought and sold , a lying corrupt grifter who only cares about lining his pockets .

Alanbrooke

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Alanbrooke said:

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

£5mn from the trade union movement would represent 78p per trade union member.

If manufacturing Unions like the GMB were doing their job they wouldnt fund Labour a single penny. This is a party which currently is hollowing out the manufacturing sector and working against the interest of their members.

eek

Alanbrooke said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

Alanbrooke said:

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

£5mn from the trade union movement would represent 78p per trade union member.

If manufacturing Unions like the GMB were doing their job they wouldnt fund Labour a single penny. This is a party which currently is hollowing out the manufacturing sector and working against the interest of their members.

That requires / expects too many stages of thinking for the leadership of the GMB

kinabalu

OnlyLivingBoy said:

kinabalu said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

False Equivalence Post Of The Year update!

There's plenty of 2026 left, and I anticipate some serious challengers to come, but this is a strong contender indeed.

Nah, I'm calling it.

Ok we settle early. 5m PB merit tokens on their way to Alan.

noneoftheabove

eek said:

Alanbrooke said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alanbrooke said:

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

The distinction is that Labour and the Tories declare those donations, Farage keeps on coming up with different excuses about what the money was for, as I noted yesterday

Finally the most damaging of all is the £5 million donation from Christopher Harbone, Nigel Farage’s explanations keep on changing and are as credible as philandering husband trying to explain to his wife why another woman’s thong ended up in his overnight bag.

https://www.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2026/06/30/are-john-rentoul-and-dan-hodges-right/

Oh how lawyerly, You defend the rules but excuse the principle, All our parties take money and all of them try to get as much of it as possible, and there isnt a single politcal party which hasnt stretched the rules beyond breaking and got away with it.

This is simply political humbug to nail Farage for something the rest of them do anyway,

Have some effing policies to attack the man not this dross.

The problem is we don't know what policies Christopher Harbone bought by giving Farage £5m.

At least when it comes to Unions you know the quid pro quo is something to do with Workers Rights. What is Harbone after for that £5m..

Isnt is pretty obvious a crypto king wants crypto deregulation?

Benpointer

FF43 said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Nigel Farage’s £4m property portfolio — and the transparency question

From ‘skint’ in 2017, the Reform UK leader now owns five mortgage-free homes with his partner Laure Ferrari. Only two have been declared to parliament

Nigel Farage and his partner have managed to build a mortgage-free property portfolio worth more than £4 million over the past decade.

Land Registry records obtained by The Times show that the leader of Reform UK and his partner, the French national Laure Ferrari, own at least five homes spanning Surrey, Essex and Kent. The documents show all but one were bought with cash since 2020, the year the UK officially left the European Union. The other was secured in 2017 after Farage’s separation from his second wife.

Despite the scale of the holdings, Farage only declares two homes under the land and property section of the register of members’ interests, raising questions about whether he has registered his position correctly.

The MP for Clacton insists his property declarations are within parliamentary rules, although other MPs and independent experts have raised concerns about the transparency of the arrangements.

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/nigel-farage-properties-mortgage-m5zjgmlfz

Brexit benefit

Appreciate they will want to on principle but I'm not sure it helps the LDs to be attacking Farage; their prospects are better when the Right is split into three.

Alanbrooke

eek said:

Alanbrooke said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alanbrooke said:

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

The distinction is that Labour and the Tories declare those donations, Farage keeps on coming up with different excuses about what the money was for, as I noted yesterday

Finally the most damaging of all is the £5 million donation from Christopher Harbone, Nigel Farage’s explanations keep on changing and are as credible as philandering husband trying to explain to his wife why another woman’s thong ended up in his overnight bag.

https://www.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2026/06/30/are-john-rentoul-and-dan-hodges-right/

Oh how lawyerly, You defend the rules but excuse the principle, All our parties take money and all of them try to get as much of it as possible, and there isnt a single politcal party which hasnt stretched the rules beyond breaking and got away with it.

This is simply political humbug to nail Farage for something the rest of them do anyway,

Have some effing policies to attack the man not this dross.

The problem is we don't know what policies Christopher Harbone bought by giving Farage £5m.

At least when it comes to Unions you know the quid pro quo is something to do with Workers Rights. What is Harbone after for that £5m..

What is Lord Sainsbury after when he donates to Labour or any number of businessmen who give to the Conservatives. Frankly none of us have a clue but they will be after something.

Alanbrooke

kinabalu said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

kinabalu said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

False Equivalence Post Of The Year update!

There's plenty of 2026 left, and I anticipate some serious challengers to come, but this is a strong contender indeed.

Nah, I'm calling it.

Ok we settle early. 5m PB merit tokens on their way to Alan.

Can I have it in crypto ? Im keeping my tax bill down.

TheScreamingEagles

Alanbrooke said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alanbrooke said:

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

The distinction is that Labour and the Tories declare those donations, Farage keeps on coming up with different excuses about what the money was for, as I noted yesterday

Finally the most damaging of all is the £5 million donation from Christopher Harbone, Nigel Farage’s explanations keep on changing and are as credible as philandering husband trying to explain to his wife why another woman’s thong ended up in his overnight bag.

https://www.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2026/06/30/are-john-rentoul-and-dan-hodges-right/

Oh how lawyerly, You defend the rules but excuse the principle, All our parties take money and all of them try to get as much of it as possible, and there isnt a single politcal party which hasnt stretched the rules beyond breaking and got away with it.

This is simply political humbug to nail Farage for something the rest of them do anyway,

Have some effing policies to attack the man not this dross.

There's a reason why people are willing to pay hundred, if not thousands, of pounds per hour for lawyerly advice.

MarqueeMark

noneoftheabove said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Will the Tories take Jenrick back!?

No. Jenrick can fuck off. Then turn 360 and fuck off again.

Then go a mile down the road - and fuck off some more.

algarkirk

OldKingCole said:

AIUI if the "Commons authorities" censure an MP that MP doesn't have to resign unless 10%(?) of the electorate in his constituency sign a recall petition. How likely is it that 10% of Clacton (and District) voters would do that?

Some of the 54% of voters who voted against him might turn out for this. FWIW I don't think Farage would be safe in a Clacton by election if Restore took away 7% of the vote and either voters coalesced around the Tory, or even a Martin Bell style white knight.

Anyway there is a reasonable chance he would take it as the opportunity to get out of losing the next election as leader and decide it is time someone else had a go.

Stuartinromford

eek said:

kinabalu said:

On topic. I'm surprised that Farage is surprised (that the £5m bung cut through). He clearly has low expectations of his voters.

I think he knew it was going to cut through to voters - his hope was that no-one was going to find out about it.

There's also the lesson that Nigel has learned from previous behaviour- namely that Nigel Farage can get away with things, because he's Nigel Bally Farage, dammit. Which encourages some people to behave even worse the next time. (Much the same was true of Boris.)

Harder question is what happens if it does get as far as recall. Nigel presumably could win, but does he want six weeks waving away awkward questions? He might be better served by walking away raging about the unfairness of it all.

Alanbrooke

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alanbrooke said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alanbrooke said:

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

The distinction is that Labour and the Tories declare those donations, Farage keeps on coming up with different excuses about what the money was for, as I noted yesterday

Finally the most damaging of all is the £5 million donation from Christopher Harbone, Nigel Farage’s explanations keep on changing and are as credible as philandering husband trying to explain to his wife why another woman’s thong ended up in his overnight bag.

https://www.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2026/06/30/are-john-rentoul-and-dan-hodges-right/

Oh how lawyerly, You defend the rules but excuse the principle, All our parties take money and all of them try to get as much of it as possible, and there isnt a single politcal party which hasnt stretched the rules beyond breaking and got away with it.

This is simply political humbug to nail Farage for something the rest of them do anyway,

Have some effing policies to attack the man not this dross.

There's a reason why people are willing to pay hundred, if not thousands, of pounds per hour for lawyerly advice.

I saw some bloke in the news this week on £5000 per hour.

kinabalu

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

If it was up to me political donations would be capped at a low level.

It is not up to me so what I think the rules should be doesn't matter - but I would like the politicians to follow the rules as they are.

I think so too. But the problem there is that state funding of political parties is wildly unpopular. Or rather I'd guess that it is. I haven't actually seen polling on it.

TheScreamingEagles

Alanbrooke said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alanbrooke said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alanbrooke said:

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

The distinction is that Labour and the Tories declare those donations, Farage keeps on coming up with different excuses about what the money was for, as I noted yesterday

Finally the most damaging of all is the £5 million donation from Christopher Harbone, Nigel Farage’s explanations keep on changing and are as credible as philandering husband trying to explain to his wife why another woman’s thong ended up in his overnight bag.

https://www.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2026/06/30/are-john-rentoul-and-dan-hodges-right/

Oh how lawyerly, You defend the rules but excuse the principle, All our parties take money and all of them try to get as much of it as possible, and there isnt a single politcal party which hasnt stretched the rules beyond breaking and got away with it.

This is simply political humbug to nail Farage for something the rest of them do anyway,

Have some effing policies to attack the man not this dross.

There's a reason why people are willing to pay hundred, if not thousands, of pounds per hour for lawyerly advice.

I saw some bloke in the news this week on £5000 per hour.

Lord Pannick.

In 2010 I hired a lawyer at £3,000 per hour plus VAT and disbursements and I still think he undercharged me.

Casino_Royale

The next election will be between Kemi and Burnham. Trad.

You heard it here first.

Alanbrooke

Stuartinromford said:

eek said:

kinabalu said:

On topic. I'm surprised that Farage is surprised (that the £5m bung cut through). He clearly has low expectations of his voters.

I think he knew it was going to cut through to voters - his hope was that no-one was going to find out about it.

There's also the esson that Nigel has learned from previous behaviour- namely that Nigel Farage can get away with things, because he's Nigel Bally Farage, dammit. Which encourages some people to behave even worse the next time. (Much the same was true of Boris.)

Harder question is what happens if it does get as far as recall. Nigel presumably could win, but does he want six weeks waving away awkward questions? He might be better served by walking away raging about the unfairness of it all.

He'll rage about he unfairness of it all and still win. Then has has a platform to play martyr.

kinabalu

Alanbrooke said:

kinabalu said:

OnlyLivingBoy said:

kinabalu said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

False Equivalence Post Of The Year update!

There's plenty of 2026 left, and I anticipate some serious challengers to come, but this is a strong contender indeed.

Nah, I'm calling it.

Ok we settle early. 5m PB merit tokens on their way to Alan.

Can I have it in crypto ? Im keeping my tax bill down.

Yep. You can take it in Nigecoin.

Casino_Royale

MarqueeMark said:

noneoftheabove said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Will the Tories take Jenrick back!?

No. Jenrick can fuck off. Then turn 360 and fuck off again.

Then go a mile down the road - and fuck off some more.

Yes, he left us. And tried to twist the knife as he went.

He made his bed. Now, he can lie in it.

algarkirk

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Does this mean 'overestimate'? I think underestimating it is easy. Because it's a lot.

DecrepiterJohnL

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

Unlikely I'd have thought. Probably more like Lord Alli or Lady Bamford writ large – generosity to friends in return for the warm feeling of rubbing shoulders with the powerful elite.

TheScreamingEagles

Blimey, he'd be their fifth permanent manager since the start of last season.

Nottingham Forest in advanced talks with Oliver Glasner to replace Vitor Pereira

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7412527/2026/07/01/oliver-glasner-nottingham-forest-vitor-pereira/

eek

Stuartinromford said:

eek said:

kinabalu said:

On topic. I'm surprised that Farage is surprised (that the £5m bung cut through). He clearly has low expectations of his voters.

I think he knew it was going to cut through to voters - his hope was that no-one was going to find out about it.

There's also the lesson that Nigel has learned from previous behaviour- namely that Nigel Farage can get away with things, because he's Nigel Bally Farage, dammit. Which encourages some people to behave even worse the next time. (Much the same was true of Boris.)

Harder question is what happens if it does get as far as recall. Nigel presumably could win, but does he want six weeks waving away awkward questions? He might be better served by walking away raging about the unfairness of it all.

Oh I suspect he would have to put another candidate up and not stand himself - otherwise it's going to get incredibly personal.

Of course if he does leave he can't really continue to lead Reform as he couldn't be PM..

So he's in a bind, stand and the other parties will destroy him, leave and he can't continue doing what he's done for the past 2 years.

Alanbrooke

Casino_Royale said:

The next election will be between Kemi and Burnham. Trad.

You heard it here first.

Who the hell is going to trust the Tories ? Much as I enjoy Kemi the party behind her have learnt nothing and will resort to type. The Tories have a massive credibility issue.

TheScreamingEagles

Casino_Royale said:

MarqueeMark said:

noneoftheabove said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Will the Tories take Jenrick back!?

No. Jenrick can fuck off. Then turn 360 and fuck off again.

Then go a mile down the road - and fuck off some more.

Yes, he left us. And tried to twist the knife as he went.

He made his bed. Now, he can lie in it.

He's the new Churchill.

He'll be leading the Tories soon.

https://www.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2026/05/06/say-hello-to-a-future-if-not-the-next-tory-leader/

Nigelb

Alanbrooke said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alanbrooke said:

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

The distinction is that Labour and the Tories declare those donations, Farage keeps on coming up with different excuses about what the money was for, as I noted yesterday

Finally the most damaging of all is the £5 million donation from Christopher Harbone, Nigel Farage’s explanations keep on changing and are as credible as philandering husband trying to explain to his wife why another woman’s thong ended up in his overnight bag.

https://www.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2026/06/30/are-john-rentoul-and-dan-hodges-right/

Oh how lawyerly, You defend the rules but excuse the principle, All our parties take money and all of them try to get as much of it as possible, and there isnt a single politcal party which hasnt stretched the rules beyond breaking and got away with it.

This is simply political humbug to nail Farage for something the rest of them do anyway,

Have some effing policies to attack the man not this dross.

It's not "the party" that took £5m; it's Farage himself.
(The party got £15m)

It's a bung, and it smells.
"I could buy a Ferrari with it.." etc

And it's not as though other politicians haven't been criticised for accepting cash before.
Get down off the high horse.

MelonB

williamglenn said:

Farage's opponents could be making the same mistake that the French establishment made with Le Pen by going after him over money issues. Zia Yusuf might be Nigel's Bardella.

This is classic, canonical far right. The law and political scrutiny shouldn't apply to them. Because if it does, well then we'll unleash something even worse. So you'd better shut up and let them do whatever they fancy. Otherwise beware!

A political movement based on mafia mentality.

DecrepiterJohnL

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alanbrooke said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alanbrooke said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alanbrooke said:

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

The distinction is that Labour and the Tories declare those donations, Farage keeps on coming up with different excuses about what the money was for, as I noted yesterday

Finally the most damaging of all is the £5 million donation from Christopher Harbone, Nigel Farage’s explanations keep on changing and are as credible as philandering husband trying to explain to his wife why another woman’s thong ended up in his overnight bag.

https://www.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2026/06/30/are-john-rentoul-and-dan-hodges-right/

Oh how lawyerly, You defend the rules but excuse the principle, All our parties take money and all of them try to get as much of it as possible, and there isnt a single politcal party which hasnt stretched the rules beyond breaking and got away with it.

This is simply political humbug to nail Farage for something the rest of them do anyway,

Have some effing policies to attack the man not this dross.

There's a reason why people are willing to pay hundred, if not thousands, of pounds per hour for lawyerly advice.

I saw some bloke in the news this week on £5000 per hour.

Lord Pannick.

In 2010 I hired a lawyer at £3,000 per hour plus VAT and disbursements and I still think he undercharged me.

I have Lord Pannick's book, Advocates, on the shelf next to Mr Lawson's Gamble. Both are due for the tip.

Andy_JS

I'm going for 3-1.

Alanbrooke

Nigelb said:

Alanbrooke said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alanbrooke said:

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

The distinction is that Labour and the Tories declare those donations, Farage keeps on coming up with different excuses about what the money was for, as I noted yesterday

Finally the most damaging of all is the £5 million donation from Christopher Harbone, Nigel Farage’s explanations keep on changing and are as credible as philandering husband trying to explain to his wife why another woman’s thong ended up in his overnight bag.

https://www.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2026/06/30/are-john-rentoul-and-dan-hodges-right/

Oh how lawyerly, You defend the rules but excuse the principle, All our parties take money and all of them try to get as much of it as possible, and there isnt a single politcal party which hasnt stretched the rules beyond breaking and got away with it.

This is simply political humbug to nail Farage for something the rest of them do anyway,

Have some effing policies to attack the man not this dross.

It's not "the party" that took £5m; it's Farage himself.
(The party got £15m)

It's a bung, and it smells.

Starmers Lord Alli bungs smelt, same with Reeves. You can go through a long list of tory MPs who got personal favours.

Glass houses and stones spring to mind.

Alanbrooke

MelonB said:

williamglenn said:

Farage's opponents could be making the same mistake that the French establishment made with Le Pen by going after him over money issues. Zia Yusuf might be Nigel's Bardella.

This is classic, canonical far right. The law and political scrutiny shouldn't apply to them. Because if it does, well then we'll unleash something even worse. So you'd better shut up and let them do whatever they fancy. Otherwise beware!

A political movement based on mafia mentality.

deluded

kinabalu

Right. No drama please. Just deal with this.

SandyRentool

Andy_JS said:

I'm going for 3-1.

0-0

We scrape through on pens.

IanB2

1-0

Stuartinromford

TheScreamingEagles said:

Blimey, he'd be their fifth permanent manager since the start of last season.

Nottingham Forest in advanced talks with Oliver Glasner to replace Vitor Pereira

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7412527/2026/07/01/oliver-glasner-nottingham-forest-vitor-pereira/

This sounds like a radical redefinition of the word "permanent".

RobD

IanB2 said:

1-0

Not 0-1?

Nigelb

Alanbrooke said:

Nigelb said:

Alanbrooke said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Alanbrooke said:

noneoftheabove said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

Which would still have to be declared.....but good attempt at pithy whataboutery.

and why not ? Its not as if our politicians dont like money. Labour get bribed by the unions and occasionally business. The Tories take big dollops of cash. It's not as if this comes without strings attached.

The distinction is that Labour and the Tories declare those donations, Farage keeps on coming up with different excuses about what the money was for, as I noted yesterday

Finally the most damaging of all is the £5 million donation from Christopher Harbone, Nigel Farage’s explanations keep on changing and are as credible as philandering husband trying to explain to his wife why another woman’s thong ended up in his overnight bag.

https://www.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2026/06/30/are-john-rentoul-and-dan-hodges-right/

Oh how lawyerly, You defend the rules but excuse the principle, All our parties take money and all of them try to get as much of it as possible, and there isnt a single politcal party which hasnt stretched the rules beyond breaking and got away with it.

This is simply political humbug to nail Farage for something the rest of them do anyway,

Have some effing policies to attack the man not this dross.

It's not "the party" that took £5m; it's Farage himself.
(The party got £15m)

It's a bung, and it smells.

Starmers Lord Alli bungs smelt, same with Reeves. You can go through a long list of tory MPs who got personal favours.

Glass houses and stones spring to mind.

Carry on with the whataboutery and defending the indefensible.
No doubt Farage will, too.

SandyRentool

FFS

IanB2

IanB2 said:

1-0

Told you.

Next I think the game will move to 1-1

Big_G_NorthWales

Whoops

Sandpit

Whoops.

SandyRentool

He was wide open

Luckyguy1983

kinabalu said:

Alanbrooke said:

Malmesbury said:

MarqueeMark said:

Until Farage has an answer to why the took the £5m, his reputation is down the crapper. He hasn't found one yet. His tone to "friends" suggests he doesn't see one that will convince.

It is almost impossible to underestimate the impact of Farage being effectively out of UK politics by the next election.

Personally, I find the answer that he took £5m in return for swaying political policy in favour of the giver very convincing.

The donor should have called himself a trade union

False Equivalence Post Of The Year update!

There's plenty of 2026 left, and I anticipate some serious challengers to come, but this is a strong contender indeed.

A real equivalence would be that he should have taken £50mn and called it a charitable foundation.

jonny83

Well that should make for an exciting game. That England Defense has looked shaky many times during this tournament.