If I was the Cons' campaign manager (the horror) I would ban talk of anything other than the economy.
Get this right, get everything right.
Could be the slogan.
Ban all talk about anything other than how they are going to fix the economy. Because everything leads off from or follows a healthy economy. And point out Lab's flaws in this area.
Would be my plan.
Would you have to know what counts as fixing it, and how to fix it according to that measure WRT tax, spend, deficit, debt, inflation, house prices and interest rates or would you join Reform in skipping that bit?
Using today's photo quota to post a pic I found on the internet. I love my local radio telescope - always makes me happy to see it - but I've never seen this view of it before.
My late father was evacuated to a market garden cottage in the village of Goostrey during the war, and kept a great fondness for the area, although obviously that pre-dated the telescope.
@kaitlancollins Trump cements the break with Musk, saying Elon only had problems with the bill over the electric vehicle mandate and that he was fully aware what was in it. “He knew every aspect of this bill. And he never had a problem until right after he left…I’m very disappointed with Elon. I helped him a lot.”
@kaitlancollins Trump cements the break with Musk, saying Elon only had problems with the bill over the electric vehicle mandate and that he was fully aware what was in it. “He knew every aspect of this bill. And he never had a problem until right after he left…I’m very disappointed with Elon. I helped him a lot.”
If I was the Cons' campaign manager (the horror) I would ban talk of anything other than the economy.
Get this right, get everything right.
Could be the slogan.
Ban all talk about anything other than how they are going to fix the economy. Because everything leads off from or follows a healthy economy. And point out Lab's flaws in this area.
Would be my plan.
Two obvious objections to that strategy:
a) you had 14 years b) Liz Truss.
Fair or not, I can't see that being a winning strategy right now.
If I was the Cons' campaign manager (the horror) I would ban talk of anything other than the economy.
Get this right, get everything right.
Could be the slogan.
Ban all talk about anything other than how they are going to fix the economy. Because everything leads off from or follows a healthy economy. And point out Lab's flaws in this area.
Would be my plan.
Good luck with that. It wasn't going gangbusters before September 2022, but afterwards...
Oh and no one believed in the notion of the golden legacy either.
Best to just pretend Liz Truss was a LibDem plant.
@kaitlancollins Trump cements the break with Musk, saying Elon only had problems with the bill over the electric vehicle mandate and that he was fully aware what was in it. “He knew every aspect of this bill. And he never had a problem until right after he left…I’m very disappointed with Elon. I helped him a lot.”
@kaitlancollins Trump cements the break with Musk, saying Elon only had problems with the bill over the electric vehicle mandate and that he was fully aware what was in it. “He knew every aspect of this bill. And he never had a problem until right after he left…I’m very disappointed with Elon. I helped him a lot.”
Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill.
In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this!
Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill.
@ZiaYusufUK 11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.
If I was the Cons' campaign manager (the horror) I would ban talk of anything other than the economy.
Get this right, get everything right.
Could be the slogan.
Ban all talk about anything other than how they are going to fix the economy. Because everything leads off from or follows a healthy economy. And point out Lab's flaws in this area.
Would be my plan.
Two obvious objections to that strategy:
a) you had 14 years b) Liz Truss.
Fair or not, I can't see that being a winning strategy right now.
The other point in addition to this is that beyond tax (which is not really a serious option due to the state of the public realm, finances and demographics) the Conservatives pulling the most obvious levers to promote growth would either be a) ones Labour is already pulling and getting the scars for or b) stuff that they remain implaccably opposed to as it would mean confessing that the last 10 years have been a destructive waste of time and that it's mostly the result of doing things Conservative headbangers and Nigel Farage loudly advocated for.
@ZiaYusufUK 11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.
@ZiaYusufUK 11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.
I see that Reform are doubling down on 'ban the burqa'/'don't be allowed to conceal face in public' nonsense.
Curious if they'd propose the banning of motorcycle helmets then?
The burqa is a horrid, misogynistic garment but we shouldn't ban that which we dislike, and its not illegal to wear a balaclava or motorcycle helmet or otherwise conceal the face in most public situations.
This is where I really have an issue with Reform and the like. Stuff like this. It’s just an Islamophobic dog whistle. I also don’t see it’s anyones business to tell people they can’t wear one.
I agree, but I'm not keen on burqas on people who are working in health care situations..... nurses, doctors etc. I do think it makes communication difficult. Trying to recall if I've ever worked with a pharmacist who wore one and don't think I have. I've tried to advise a lady wearing one about something or other on occasion and to be fair I think the language was the bigger problem.
Face coverings (other than surgical masks!) are against my hospitals dress code. Headscarves are fine.
@ZiaYusufUK 11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.
A reaction to the burqa comments by a couple of MPs?
A reaction to Hamilton?
Falling out with Farage as surely as night follows day?
@kaitlancollins Trump cements the break with Musk, saying Elon only had problems with the bill over the electric vehicle mandate and that he was fully aware what was in it. “He knew every aspect of this bill. And he never had a problem until right after he left…I’m very disappointed with Elon. I helped him a lot.”
I'm sure Elon will react to this in a calm and balanced manner.
@ZiaYusufUK 11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.
Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill.
In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this!
Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill.
@ZiaYusufUK 11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.
Interesting. He's been all over the media in the last few days, and he wasn't very good.
BREAKING: Zia Yusuf resigns as Chairman of Reform saying it is “no longer a good use of my time”.
He follows Rupert Lowe in becoming the second high profile member of the party to leave since last year’s election.
They're just copying the Trump White House personnel policy of sacking/resigning after a few months, with added acrimony.
The problem with a Personality Cult is that it is intrinsically unstable. Sooner or later there's a disagreement with the Dear Leader, and then the purge.
BREAKING: Zia Yusuf resigns as Chairman of Reform saying it is “no longer a good use of my time”.
He follows Rupert Lowe in becoming the second high profile member of the party to leave since last year’s election.
They're just copying the Trump White House personnel policy of sacking/resigning after a few months, with added acrimony.
The problem with a Personality Cult is that it is intrinsically unstable. Sooner or later there's a disagreement with the Dear Leader, and then the purge.
This seems to be more a falling with Pochin and Anderson than the Dear Leader, who seems to have stayed quiet while everyone else squabbles.
@ZiaYusufUK 11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.
Over the burqa row?
Could be. Maybe Nigel communicated that Reform were going to go with it, but no one else was even consulted.
I stick with my assertion that by year end, the Trump Cabinet will look nothing like at that the start of the year.
Elon is different from the rest of the Cabinet because he has something to go back to (being CEO of Tesla).
What is Pete Hegseth or Pam Bondi going to do, if they resign from the Cabinet ? They'll go back to being nobodies. And Trump certainly won't fire them as long as they continue to be loyal bootlickers & do everything he says.
@ZiaYusufUK 11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.
Over the burqa row?
Could be. Maybe Nigel communicated that Reform were going to go with it, but no one else was even consulted.
(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges · 5m Suspect there’s a lot more to be revealed about this. But in the short term it will be seen as a victory for those demanding Reform adopts more extreme positions.
False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!
Musky Baby is so high on drugs I wouldn't trust his memory on such matters. And even if his memory is not drug-addled, he lies constantly anyway. A totally untrustworthy man; he would be a tragicomic figure if he was not quite so nasty.
BREAKING: Zia Yusuf resigns as Chairman of Reform saying it is “no longer a good use of my time”.
He follows Rupert Lowe in becoming the second high profile member of the party to leave since last year’s election.
They're just copying the Trump White House personnel policy of sacking/resigning after a few months, with added acrimony.
The problem with a Personality Cult is that it is intrinsically unstable. Sooner or later there's a disagreement with the Dear Leader, and then the purge.
This seems to be more a falling with Pochin and Anderson than the Dear Leader, who seems to have stayed quiet while everyone else squabbles.
False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!
Members of congress are already saying there are sections they didn't see or get around to reading. This is a joke, but what can you expect from today's GOP.
BREAKING: Zia Yusuf resigns as Chairman of Reform saying it is “no longer a good use of my time”.
He follows Rupert Lowe in becoming the second high profile member of the party to leave since last year’s election.
They're just copying the Trump White House personnel policy of sacking/resigning after a few months, with added acrimony.
The problem with a Personality Cult is that it is intrinsically unstable. Sooner or later there's a disagreement with the Dear Leader, and then the purge.
It's why we can be certain a Farage 2028/9 government will fail pretty quickly.
There will be zero relevant parliamentary experience, deep mistrust of the civil service, and cabinet members constantly falling out of favour with Farage.
You can run an opposition as a one-man band. You can't run a country as one. They'll just have no idea how to make policy and write laws.
False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!
Musky Baby is so high on drugs I wouldn't trust his memory on such matters. And even if his memory is not drug-addled, he lies constantly anyway. A totally untrustworthy man; he would be a tragicomic figure if he was not quite so nasty.
I guess it's a coincidence that the Tesla stock ticker is in vertical freefall right now too
Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 1m While it’s unlikely many are paying attention to who is Reform chairman, the difference in going from 15% party off the back of Farage’s personal appeal to a 30% party of govt is passing a credibility test - getting a rep as the party of infighting/drama after losing Lowe and Yusuf will stop that
@ZiaYusufUK 11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.
Over the burqa row?
Could be. Maybe Nigel communicated that Reform were going to go with it, but no one else was even consulted.
Yeah, it seems to be huge huge row.
Honestly, I think his position was untenable. Sarah Pochin is a star recruit for Reform & Farage would have backed Sarah over Zia.
"Conor Burns, a fomer Tory minister who lost his seat at the election, has welcomed Mel Stride’s speech this morning, but urged the party to go further – and rule out Liz Truss ever again being allowed to stand as a candidate for the Conservatives."
Sensible request. At the moment the Tories are in a complete muddle. They don't know if they're pro/anti Truss, pro/anti Trump, pro/anti Farage... If they don't know how the hell are the voters supposed to work if they're deserving of a vote? Some clarity is desperately needed.
They should instigate a rule that anybody who has been PM/party leader or stood and failed to be can never apply again.
Obligatory new blood. You only stand when you think you can win.
@ZiaYusufUK 11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.
"Conor Burns, a fomer Tory minister who lost his seat at the election, has welcomed Mel Stride’s speech this morning, but urged the party to go further – and rule out Liz Truss ever again being allowed to stand as a candidate for the Conservatives."
Sensible request. At the moment the Tories are in a complete muddle. They don't know if they're pro/anti Truss, pro/anti Trump, pro/anti Farage... If they don't know how the hell are the voters supposed to work if they're deserving of a vote? Some clarity is desperately needed.
They should instigate a rule that anybody who has been PM/party leader or stood and failed to be can never apply again.
Obligatory new blood. You only stand when you think you can win.
"Conor Burns, a fomer Tory minister who lost his seat at the election, has welcomed Mel Stride’s speech this morning, but urged the party to go further – and rule out Liz Truss ever again being allowed to stand as a candidate for the Conservatives."
Sensible request. At the moment the Tories are in a complete muddle. They don't know if they're pro/anti Truss, pro/anti Trump, pro/anti Farage... If they don't know how the hell are the voters supposed to work if they're deserving of a vote? Some clarity is desperately needed.
They should instigate a rule that anybody who has been PM/party leader or stood and failed to be can never apply again.
Obligatory new blood. You only stand when you think you can win.
A great suggestion. It would have kept out Truss, Sunak and Johnson.
Whatever else he is, Nigel is a pro at this sort of thing.
And "dispose of X, then praise X" is standard divide-and-rule office politics. If this is a victory for the racist wing of Reform, it must be made clear to than that they haven't really won.
@ZiaYusufUK 11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.
A reaction to the burqa comments by a couple of MPs?
A reaction to Hamilton?
Falling out with Farage as surely as night follows day?
The burqa comment? Surely not. He's been lying with enough dogs to notice the fleas for months.
People were slagging Adrian Chiles's columns a while back. I've always enjoyed his writing TBH and this week's column is especially good. I even learned something useful from it.
Very good article, and a very useful word.
The PB Centrist Dads have just discovered the word "edgelord", along with their living deity, Adrian Chiles
Yep. I will freely admit that it was a new one on me. Quite like it. Adrian Chiles has always struck me as perfectly ok without being particularly interesting or exciting.
@ZiaYusufUK 11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.
A reaction to the burqa comments by a couple of MPs?
A reaction to Hamilton?
Falling out with Farage as surely as night follows day?
The burqa comment? Surely not. He's been lying with enough dogs to notice the fleas for months.
Hamilton? I've never seen the musical.
So it must be Farage.
There were some X rumours about an hour ago Yusuf was being partly sidelined because of his responses on Burqa abd media performance. If true he's obviously done his nut and gone for the FU
If I was the Cons' campaign manager (the horror) I would ban talk of anything other than the economy.
Get this right, get everything right.
Could be the slogan.
Ban all talk about anything other than how they are going to fix the economy. Because everything leads off from or follows a healthy economy. And point out Lab's flaws in this area.
Would be my plan.
Two obvious objections to that strategy:
a) you had 14 years b) Liz Truss.
Fair or not, I can't see that being a winning strategy right now.
The Tories are AFAIK ahead on the economy at the minute. And the only people who seem to mention Truss at the moment are Keir Starmer, and bizarrely, Sunakite Tories like Stride and Philp. Quite why they feel the need to do that when they are meant to be in opposition to a Labour Government rather than pursuing internecine Tory battles like it's still the dying days of the last Government is quite beyond me. Old habits die hard I suppose.
Note to Nigel The way we know someone is not genuinely sorry about something is when they start a tweet with 'i am genuinely sorry that Zia Yusuf' etc etc
@ZiaYusufUK 11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.
@kaitlancollins Trump cements the break with Musk, saying Elon only had problems with the bill over the electric vehicle mandate and that he was fully aware what was in it. “He knew every aspect of this bill. And he never had a problem until right after he left…I’m very disappointed with Elon. I helped him a lot.”
Axios has an article giving details on some of the intrigue which led to the breakup.
In addition to being annoyed by the end of the EV credits, Musk is also unhappy because: - His choice to lead NASA was rejected. - His Starlink system wasn't picked by the FAA for air-traffic control. - His tenure as "special government employee" at DOGE wasn't extended.
Somewhat surprisingly (for the Trump administration), the Starlink proposal & tenure extension were refused because of "ethical concerns" and not wanting to violate rules.
Who knows Starmer may still grow a backbone and take us back into the EU. Perhaps this nation of strangers will get together and reject these foul racists Srarmer seems determined to pay lip service to
They can be grown in America though and are - primarily in Hawaii and Florida. Plus other Southern and Midwest states. And Puerto Rico, American Samoa and Guam.
"We could end up with the axis powers — Russia and China, supported potentially by Iran and North Korea — collaborating to create a war on two fronts.
“It would start with a large-scale confrontation in the Indo-Pacific, like a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, which draws off what remains of US forces in Europe. An opportunistic Russia would then move against some part of a Nato territory where they know they can actually win by achieving local dominance, like the Baltics or somewhere in the high north like Svalbard."
"We could end up with the axis powers — Russia and China, supported potentially by Iran and North Korea — collaborating to create a war on two fronts.
“It would start with a large-scale confrontation in the Indo-Pacific, like a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, which draws off what remains of US forces in Europe. An opportunistic Russia would then move against some part of a Nato territory where they know they can actually win by achieving local dominance, like the Baltics or somewhere in the high north like Svalbard."
Who knows Starmer may still grow a backbone and take us back into the EU. Perhaps this nation of strangers will get together and reject these foul racists Srarmer seems determined to pay lip service to
Pochin, called for a ban on burqas in Britain “in the interests of public safety”.
The MP, who won the recent Runcorn and Helsby by-election with a margin of just six votes over Labour, asked her first question at PMQs on Wednesday. She called on the prime minister to “follow the lead of France, Denmark, Belgium and others” in banning the burqa.
The intervention prompted audible disquiet from MPs across the chamber. In response, Keir Starmer said he would not follow the Reform UK MP “down that line”.
Despite Pochin’s question and the immediate endorsement of the Reform MP for Ashfield, Lee Anderson, a spokesperson clarified that support for a ban is “not party policy”. It
Zia Yusuf, the Reform UK chairman, has now appeared to dismiss Pochin’s intervention as “dumb”, questioning why the MP would ask the prime minister about “something the party itself wouldn’t do.”
Responding to accusations on social media that he was behind the spokesperson’s comment distancing the party from Pochin’s position, Yusuf said: “Nothing to do with me.”
In a post to X (formerly Twitter), he added: “Had no idea about the question nor that it wasn’t policy. [I am] busy with other stuff.
“I do think it’s dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn’t do.”
Yusuf’s intervention came after Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, appeared to back his newest MP.
Speaking on the show he hosts for GB News on Wednesday evening, Farage argued “we do deserve a debate” about banning face coverings in public places.
He said: “There are many, many, many countries in the world that are banning the burqa, but I think it goes further than that — you see Sarah [Pochin] said ‘in the interest of public safety’. ..
"We could end up with the axis powers — Russia and China, supported potentially by Iran and North Korea — collaborating to create a war on two fronts.
“It would start with a large-scale confrontation in the Indo-Pacific, like a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, which draws off what remains of US forces in Europe. An opportunistic Russia would then move against some part of a Nato territory where they know they can actually win by achieving local dominance, like the Baltics or somewhere in the high north like Svalbard."
"We could end up with the axis powers — Russia and China, supported potentially by Iran and North Korea — collaborating to create a war on two fronts.
“It would start with a large-scale confrontation in the Indo-Pacific, like a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, which draws off what remains of US forces in Europe. An opportunistic Russia would then move against some part of a Nato territory where they know they can actually win by achieving local dominance, like the Baltics or somewhere in the high north like Svalbard."
If Starmer had any leadership skills and vision he'd stand up in the Commons tomorrow, make an impassioned speech about how our way of life and the ongoing meaningful existence of our country is now under threat like never before and say he's going to immediately add 2p to income tax at all levels and our defence spending to 3.5% of GDP. A sacrifice, and a very hard one at this time, but essential to secure our freedom.
"We could end up with the axis powers — Russia and China, supported potentially by Iran and North Korea — collaborating to create a war on two fronts.
“It would start with a large-scale confrontation in the Indo-Pacific, like a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, which draws off what remains of US forces in Europe. An opportunistic Russia would then move against some part of a Nato territory where they know they can actually win by achieving local dominance, like the Baltics or somewhere in the high north like Svalbard."
Something like this is, sadly, more likely than not
Why? Because various advances in tech mean that very shortly one power is going to achieve total full spectrum, all domain dominance over the other. It is likely to be the USA, but there is a pretty good chance it will be China
Whichever power fears being crushed will move first. If China is that fearful power - again, likely - a move against Taiwan is not only desirable but obvious to the point of necessity, as it will stall or halt western tech progress (all those chipmakers)
If China does this then it will surely do it in concert with Russia, as described, so as to distract the West and dilute its response
"We could end up with the axis powers — Russia and China, supported potentially by Iran and North Korea — collaborating to create a war on two fronts.
“It would start with a large-scale confrontation in the Indo-Pacific, like a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, which draws off what remains of US forces in Europe. An opportunistic Russia would then move against some part of a Nato territory where they know they can actually win by achieving local dominance, like the Baltics or somewhere in the high north like Svalbard."
I was actually expecting this in 2022. Russia launching the second phase of its Ukraine invasion at the same time that China makes a grab for Taiwan. It would have been a massive headache for the civilised world.
Though I do wonder if Xi covets areas to his north first, now that Russia is so weakened. The rest of the world would just shrug shoulders and go "Meh" compared to an attempted Taiwanese invasion.
So, just how badly is the Mad King going to shaft his ex best bud now?
300% tariffs on all EVs from any manufacturer whose name starts with a T?
All SpaceX contracts transferred to Boeing?
Starlink illegal in all 50 states?
Maybe just deport him to South Africa...
What Musk did at Doge was highly illegal and he doesn't have the protection of office. On the other hand he's rich enough to pay for any number of lawyers.
Comments
Trump cements the break with Musk, saying Elon only had problems with the bill over the electric vehicle mandate and that he was fully aware what was in it. “He knew every aspect of this bill. And he never had a problem until right after he left…I’m very disappointed with Elon. I helped him a lot.”
a) you had 14 years
b) Liz Truss.
Fair or not, I can't see that being a winning strategy right now.
Oh and no one believed in the notion of the golden legacy either.
Best to just pretend Liz Truss was a LibDem plant.
It is unlikely, but not impossible, that Reform could pull off a massive upset in Scotland.
By Ben Walker"
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/polling/2025/06/who-will-win-the-hamilton-by-election
Whatever.
Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill.
In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this!
Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill.
Slim and beautiful is the way.
11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.
BREAKING: Zia Yusuf resigns as Chairman of Reform saying it is “no longer a good use of my time”.
He follows Rupert Lowe in becoming the second high profile member of the party to leave since last year’s election.
A reaction to Hamilton?
Falling out with Farage as surely as night follows day?
@elonmusk
False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!
The problem with a Personality Cult is that it is intrinsically unstable. Sooner or later there's a disagreement with the Dear Leader, and then the purge.
This is one HELL of a row that's happened today
What is Pete Hegseth or Pam Bondi going to do, if they resign from the Cabinet ? They'll go back to being nobodies. And Trump certainly won't fire them as long as they continue to be loyal bootlickers & do everything he says.
@DPJHodges
·
5m
Suspect there’s a lot more to be revealed about this. But in the short term it will be seen as a victory for those demanding Reform adopts more extreme positions.
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3lqupq2vswf2h
1/10
Must try harder...
There will be zero relevant parliamentary experience, deep mistrust of the civil service, and cabinet members constantly falling out of favour with Farage.
You can run an opposition as a one-man band. You can't run a country as one. They'll just have no idea how to make policy and write laws.
I didn’t expect that.
https://x.com/nigel_farage/status/1930666040062525622?s=61
@luketryl.bsky.social
· 1m
While it’s unlikely many are paying attention to who is Reform chairman, the difference in going from 15% party off the back of Farage’s personal appeal to a 30% party of govt is passing a credibility test - getting a rep as the party of infighting/drama after losing Lowe and Yusuf will stop that
Honestly, I think his position was untenable. Sarah Pochin is a star recruit for Reform & Farage would have backed Sarah over Zia.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/reform-farage-pochin-yusuf-burqa-ban-b2764158.html
Obligatory new blood. You only stand when you think you can win.
And "dispose of X, then praise X" is standard divide-and-rule office politics. If this is a victory for the racist wing of Reform, it must be made clear to than that they haven't really won.
Hamilton? I've never seen the musical.
So it must be Farage.
Remarkable guy who did an awful lot more than design the H-bomb..
Richard Garwin obituary: creator of the hydrogen bomb
Brilliant physicist who turned a crude design into something close to a blueprint in a couple of weeks, dies aged 97
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/richard-garwin-obituary-creator-of-the-hydrogen-bomb-zxtjjzkb2
The Trump-Musk war of words appears to be escalating
https://x.com/mmcassella/status/1930668594284626021
DEAN: What's the tariff on bananas?
LUTNICK: Generally 10%
DEAN: Walmart has already increased the cost of bananas by 8%
LUTNICK: If you build in America, there is no tariff
DEAN: We cannot build bananas in America
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3lqurvhnffc2v
German Chancellor Merz sets the record straight after Trump tries to draw moral equivalence between Russia and Ukrainian actions:
"Ukraine is only targeting military targets. Not civilians, not private [property], not energy infrastructure. This is the difference."
https://bsky.app/profile/adamjschwarz.bsky.social/post/3lquqlqpzm22e
The way we know someone is not genuinely sorry about something is when they start a tweet with 'i am genuinely sorry that Zia Yusuf' etc etc
He needs lessons from @Leon
Not rushing back to rejoin them I'd say
300% tariffs on all EVs from any manufacturer whose name starts with a T?
All SpaceX contracts transferred to Boeing?
Starlink illegal in all 50 states?
Maybe just deport him to South Africa...
In addition to being annoyed by the end of the EV credits, Musk is also unhappy because:
- His choice to lead NASA was rejected.
- His Starlink system wasn't picked by the FAA for air-traffic control.
- His tenure as "special government employee" at DOGE wasn't extended.
Somewhat surprisingly (for the Trump administration), the Starlink proposal & tenure extension were refused because of "ethical concerns" and not wanting to violate rules.
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/03/elon-musk-trump-white-house-relationship
I'd have thought a rare case where ignoring Musk is his best strategy.
So you're probably right.
Who knows Starmer may still grow a backbone and take us back into the EU. Perhaps this nation of strangers will get together and reject these foul racists Srarmer seems determined to pay lip service to
/PedanticBetting
I hope he nationalises Starlink (without compensation) on National Security grounds.
"We could end up with the axis powers — Russia and China, supported potentially by Iran and North Korea — collaborating to create a war on two fronts.
“It would start with a large-scale confrontation in the Indo-Pacific, like a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, which draws off what remains of US forces in Europe. An opportunistic Russia would then move against some part of a Nato territory where they know they can actually win by achieving local dominance, like the Baltics or somewhere in the high north like Svalbard."
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/defence/article/military-chiefs-double-war-china-russia-l3bc5crgt
@Leon . As he is the Spectator's Restaurant Critic I think I've found your mate Sean's next stop.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/corfu-hotel-regulars-slam-pathetic-35338817
The MP, who won the recent Runcorn and Helsby by-election with a margin of just six votes over Labour, asked her first question at PMQs on Wednesday. She called on the prime minister to “follow the lead of France, Denmark, Belgium and others” in banning the burqa.
The intervention prompted audible disquiet from MPs across the chamber. In response, Keir Starmer said he would not follow the Reform UK MP “down that line”.
Despite Pochin’s question and the immediate endorsement of the Reform MP for Ashfield, Lee Anderson, a spokesperson clarified that support for a ban is “not party policy”.
It
Zia Yusuf, the Reform UK chairman, has now appeared to dismiss Pochin’s intervention as “dumb”, questioning why the MP would ask the prime minister about “something the party itself wouldn’t do.”
Responding to accusations on social media that he was behind the spokesperson’s comment distancing the party from Pochin’s position, Yusuf said: “Nothing to do with me.”
In a post to X (formerly Twitter), he added: “Had no idea about the question nor that it wasn’t policy. [I am] busy with other stuff.
“I do think it’s dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn’t do.”
Yusuf’s intervention came after Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, appeared to back his newest MP.
Speaking on the show he hosts for GB News on Wednesday evening, Farage argued “we do deserve a debate” about banning face coverings in public places.
He said: “There are many, many, many countries in the world that are banning the burqa, but I think it goes further than that — you see Sarah [Pochin] said ‘in the interest of public safety’.
..
https://www.politics.co.uk/news/2025/06/05/split-in-reform-uk-over-burqa-ban-call-as-chairman-labels-stance-dumb/
Might get messy
There is not a moment to waste.
Why? Because various advances in tech mean that very shortly one power is going to achieve total full spectrum, all domain dominance over the other. It is likely to be the USA, but there is a pretty good chance it will be China
Whichever power fears being crushed will move first. If China is that fearful power - again, likely - a move against Taiwan is not only desirable but obvious to the point of necessity, as it will stall or halt western tech progress (all those chipmakers)
If China does this then it will surely do it in concert with Russia, as described, so as to distract the West and dilute its response
On the whole, I think that calls for a
BRACE
Though I do wonder if Xi covets areas to his north first, now that Russia is so weakened. The rest of the world would just shrug shoulders and go "Meh" compared to an attempted Taiwanese invasion.