Trump hinting that America has new super weapons. I’ve heard this elsewhere
WTF
You know who else was always hinting about Wunderwaffe?
I would dismiss it as a Trumpism on ketamine but there are wild online rumours that the US special forces did something to totally disable and terrify the Cuban guards around Maduro, allowing them to be slaughtered at will. Thus the insane disparity in body count. Dozens of Cubans dead, and maybe zero yanks?
Could be total bollocks. But not necessarily
There was some good discussion about that operation on one of the Telegraph podcasts. These are the factors that they thought were important.
1. The US used cyber warfare to shut down the grid in Caracas. 2. The army units in Caracas aren't routinely issued with manpads, because it's known that they would end up being sold on the black market. So there's a delay before they could be distributed, and the initial US attack hit the bases where they're stored. 3. Readiness in Venezuela was low because of the holidays and the long period of tension leading up to the operation. 4. The Venezuelan operators of the air defence systems can't read the Russian telemetry on the systems. 5. US helicopters are well designed and built to survive a limited amount of anti-aircraft fire - one was hit and damaged but made it back to the fleet. 6. The geography was advantageous for the type of attack launched. 7. The Americans were so fast that Maduro hadn't made it to his bunker before they nabbed him.
Using cyber warfare integrated as part of an attack like this is I think relatively new and impressive.
Reported deaths were 32 Cuban soldiers, 43 Venezuelan military, and 2 civilians (though I thought it was more), plus the ones Pete Hegseth had killed in attacks on boats in advance. And 112 injured.
His meandering demented waffle yesterday was a tad concerning, but today he stormed back to form. Cogent, funny, likeable, clever - the Trump we all remembered and love in our hearts
Today will be seen as a turning point, time to bet on Trump for 2028
* cough *
Having been posting about Trump’s rambling diatribe, which began just as this thread went live, I’ve now had the chance to listen to Carney’s speech as featured in the lead. Which was masterful - full of long words and metaphors that those with low IQ - whether in the White House or on PB - would struggle to follow, yet a clear call for action nevertheless. The bottom line, the ‘middle’ nations of the democratic world either hang together, or we get hanged separately. Time for everyone to step up.
Gosh, not long words and metaphors. I can see why it resulted in such bossom heaving here.
Well it was refreshing for a change to listen to someone who could use long words and metaphors. You can only take so much of the local pub boor and his inarticulate gesticulations.
Between this and the Board of Peace nonsense it is possible that we are seeing the first steps of Carney's call to arms being responded to. There is a definite change of tone, as we saw when Starmer called out the threat of tariffs re Greenland in, for him, pretty blunt terms.
Starmer was being pretty disingenuous though, complaining about not yielding to pressure to compromise on his principles when the Chagos deal rides roughshod over the principle of self-determination.
Zia Yusuf falling into the trap of questioning the motives of a pollster when a poll is bad for his party
Sad behaviour... he'll be whining about how often it is posted next!
Hey @focaldataHQ I have it on good authority that your chief research officer @JamesKanag presented at the recent Tory Party away day and you’re being paid by CCHQ to advise on how to defeat Reform.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Probably. It seems to be the centrist phrase of the week. People have moved on from ‘pearl clutching’, next week it will be something else.
Lots of people are suddenly patriotic when it’s a stick to beat Reform with. Ironic many of these calling him a traitor or unpatriotic would be happy to sign over major chunks of our sovereignty to bodies like the EU, UN and EHCR.
BREAKING: Sweden’s pension fund Alecta has divested most of its U.S. Treasury holdings, citing increased risk and unpredictability in U.S. politics. The sell-off totaled roughly 70–80 billion SEK ($7.7–8.8B) - Reuters https://x.com/FaytuksNetwork/status/2013954270010200224
There we go. It can be done. Dump the fuckers. Quick - before the price gets really low.
Its a valid question though. When there is a run on a collapsing company / country, who does buy their shit?
We hold way too many dollars to dump like that.
Not if you unwind. Trade oil in EUR/RMB. Start selling treasuries. Blanket policy not to buy any more treasuries. Start loading up on GBP/EUR etc
The UK is the second largest overseas holder of US treasuries after Japan, I think ? @rcs1000 will know a great deal more than me about the implications of that.
we are their lapdog and will get fcuked over
I sincerely hope you're not a dog owner
No dogs for me
..
Looks painful
You have to admire the dedication though. The poor dog must have been at that for ages.
As well as what it must have consumed to produce it
tells me Trump's speech in Davos convinced him the US needs to control Greenland. "We're not going to take Greenland by force, but we need Greenland for very good reasons. If I were Denmark, I would be thinking, if I can work a deal with America and the Greenland people -- we have no desire to change your culture, we have no dtesire to change who you are -- we do need ownership. He's convinced me that if we own this piece of land," he said in @davos .
I've just read Carney's speech which is intriguing in extremis. It is, as many speeches are, long on generalities and short on specifics. Long on platitudes and slogans, short on practical solutions but he's speaking at Davos where the platitude is king.
We aren't all Canada in terms of what we can bring to the table but every "middle" country (by which presumably he excludes the USA and China) has something to offer and it's a brave attempt to redefine bi-lateal and multi-lateral relationships. It's a damning indictment of how western (and other) countries have tried to appease both America and China in recent years.
It also redefines narrow notions of sovereignty which won't go down well with many here.
Whether it comes to be seen as the 2020s equivalent of Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech from the winter of 1946 remains to be seen but it's a challenging series of ideas for many countries and a call perhaps to evolve from the post-1945 and even post-1989 mindsets to a more flexible inter-dependency and collaboration for the mid 21st century.
It's a useful prism to look at things, and make political choices. And challenges all our political parties in different ways. Essentially, he's saying we have to move at pace towards food and energy independence, and build up our militaries.
That has implications for the move away from North Sea oil and gas, our approach to agriculture, building up our infrastructure and indigenous industry, and being smart about how we strengthen our military and reduce dependence on the US. It must surely also have implications for our approach to welfare spending and business taxation.
A lot to ponder.
I think most of the pondering here began and ended with the 'metaphors and long words'.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
BREAKING: Sweden’s pension fund Alecta has divested most of its U.S. Treasury holdings, citing increased risk and unpredictability in U.S. politics. The sell-off totaled roughly 70–80 billion SEK ($7.7–8.8B) - Reuters https://x.com/FaytuksNetwork/status/2013954270010200224
There we go. It can be done. Dump the fuckers. Quick - before the price gets really low.
Its a valid question though. When there is a run on a collapsing company / country, who does buy their shit?
We hold way too many dollars to dump like that.
Not if you unwind. Trade oil in EUR/RMB. Start selling treasuries. Blanket policy not to buy any more treasuries. Start loading up on GBP/EUR etc
The UK is the second largest overseas holder of US treasuries after Japan, I think ? @rcs1000 will know a great deal more than me about the implications of that.
Do you mean the UK, as in the UK government, or do you mean multiple different people and companies in the UK?
I asked that the other day, and I don't think anyone answered.
These are the most recent figures, which cover what it specifies - in 1990s web table format. UK are second with just under $900bn in Nov 2025. Japan $1.2tn. China $680bn.
tells me Trump's speech in Davos convinced him the US needs to control Greenland. "We're not going to take Greenland by force, but we need Greenland for very good reasons. If I were Denmark, I would be thinking, if I can work a deal with America and the Greenland people -- we have no desire to change your culture, we have no dtesire to change who you are -- we do need ownership. He's convinced me that if we own this piece of land," he said in @davos .
Yeah. It was such a compelling and convincing speech.
Lindsey Graham has U turned more times in the last week than Starmer has in the last 19 months.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Loosely, being a traitor is something like 'operating against the state against its enemies'. Farage hasn't done that, but he's sailed closer to the line than I think most of us would have.
I would have hoped that he'd recognise this too, and that his actions in the past have ruled him out of being PM. The fact he hasn't done so makes him doubly unworthy of the post.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
Zia Yusuf falling into the trap of questioning the motives of a pollster when a poll is bad for his party
Sad behaviour... he'll be whining about how often it is posted next!
Hey @focaldataHQ I have it on good authority that your chief research officer @JamesKanag presented at the recent Tory Party away day and you’re being paid by CCHQ to advise on how to defeat Reform.
(Accepting that he's not trying to appeal to me, what exactly is Zia Yusuf's appeal? His stock-in-trade seems to be tweeting outrageous things that he has "discovered" that largely turn into nothingburgers. Mostly because he didn't bother checking that he understood the thing he had discovered. On top of which- he's never been elected to anything. Has he ever even tried?)
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Probably. It seems to be the centrist phrase of the week. People have moved on from ‘pearl clutching’, next week it will be something else.
Lots of people are suddenly patriotic when it’s a stick to beat Reform with. Ironic many of these calling him a traitor or unpatriotic would be happy to sign over major chunks of our sovereignty to bodies like the EU, UN and EHCR.
Taz, He is though a snake oil salesman and an absolute twat of the highest order.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
So not a traitor whatsoever then.
No he's certainly not. I've no doubt he's sincere. But his credulous repetition of Kremlin talking points during his career in the European Parliament, and his Trump-enthusiasm since, are red flashing warning signs: flaky judgement, to say the least.
Zia Yusuf falling into the trap of questioning the motives of a pollster when a poll is bad for his party
Sad behaviour... he'll be whining about how often it is posted next!
Hey @focaldataHQ I have it on good authority that your chief research officer @JamesKanag presented at the recent Tory Party away day and you’re being paid by CCHQ to advise on how to defeat Reform.
(Accepting that he's not trying to appeal to me, what exactly is Zia Yusuf's appeal? His stock-in-trade seems to be tweeting outrageous things that he has "discovered" that largely turn into nothingburgers. Mostly because he didn't bother checking that he understood the thing he had discovered. On top of which- he's never been elected to anything. Has he ever even tried?)
He’s going to have a meltdown if/when they go into second.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Probably. It seems to be the centrist phrase of the week. People have moved on from ‘pearl clutching’, next week it will be something else.
Lots of people are suddenly patriotic when it’s a stick to beat Reform with. Ironic many of these calling him a traitor or unpatriotic would be happy to sign over major chunks of our sovereignty to bodies like the EU, UN and EHCR.
Taz, He is though a snake oil salesman and an absolute twat of the highest order.
On that, Malc, we can agree. And I am unanimous in that. To quote Mrs Slocombe.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
So not a traitor whatsoever then.
No he's certainly not. I've no doubt he's sincere. But his credulous repetition of Kremlin talking points during his career in the European Parliament, and his Trump-enthusiasm since, are red flashing warning signs: flaky judgement, to say the least.
Zia Yusuf falling into the trap of questioning the motives of a pollster when a poll is bad for his party
Sad behaviour... he'll be whining about how often it is posted next!
Hey @focaldataHQ I have it on good authority that your chief research officer @JamesKanag presented at the recent Tory Party away day and you’re being paid by CCHQ to advise on how to defeat Reform.
James Kanagasooriam, who Yusuf refers to here, is a seriously smart analyst who predicted the Scots Tory gains during the Ruth Davidson epiphany. He is definitely not in any way likely to bias his findings or projections. If the Tories are seeking advice from him then they are being pretty smart themselves.
tells me Trump's speech in Davos convinced him the US needs to control Greenland. "We're not going to take Greenland by force, but we need Greenland for very good reasons. If I were Denmark, I would be thinking, if I can work a deal with America and the Greenland people -- we have no desire to change your culture, we have no dtesire to change who you are -- we do need ownership. He's convinced me that if we own this piece of land," he said in @davos .
The cowardly Republicans are all talking themselves into supporting a future invasion of Greenland on the basis that Denmark was unreasonable in refusing very reasonable offers to buy the place. You can see this is what they're doing.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
So not a traitor whatsoever then.
No he's certainly not. I've no doubt he's sincere. But his credulous repetition of Kremlin talking points during his career in the European Parliament, and his Trump-enthusiasm since, are red flashing warning signs: flaky judgement, to say the least.
Just another grifter
No, I don't think he is. Grift is his motivation without doubt. He should have been quietly put to be in the Lords after Brexit. What he's been doing since is just malicious damage. Stupid politics for stupid people. The problem is that he knows that and still does it.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
So not a traitor whatsoever then.
No he's certainly not. I've no doubt he's sincere. But his credulous repetition of Kremlin talking points during his career in the European Parliament, and his Trump-enthusiasm since, are red flashing warning signs: flaky judgement, to say the least.
Just another grifter
But none of his old shite gets picked up by media or social media.
Just imagine if Starmer, or Reeves, or Rayner had grifted £300k in eighteen months and not declared it to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner
Zia Yusuf falling into the trap of questioning the motives of a pollster when a poll is bad for his party
Sad behaviour... he'll be whining about how often it is posted next!
Hey @focaldataHQ I have it on good authority that your chief research officer @JamesKanag presented at the recent Tory Party away day and you’re being paid by CCHQ to advise on how to defeat Reform.
Zia Yusuf's going to absolute shit himself when he finds out who the co-founder/owner of YouGov is as YouGov generally have the the worst Reform score.
I wonder what the turncoat Tories will do in the event that Reform fall behind the Tories later this year and in the run up to the election the Tories look like they'll be largest party?
Will they double cross or just live with the oncoming oblivion?
I wonder what the turncoat Tories will do in the event that Reform fall behind the Tories later this year and in the run up to the election the Tories look like they'll be largest party?
Will they double cross or just live with the oncoming oblivion?
A lot of Tories are utterly deluded, they see themselves as the new Churchill (no really), as Churchill ratted then re-ratted back to the Tories.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Probably. It seems to be the centrist phrase of the week. People have moved on from ‘pearl clutching’, next week it will be something else.
Lots of people are suddenly patriotic when it’s a stick to beat Reform with. Ironic many of these calling him a traitor or unpatriotic would be happy to sign over major chunks of our sovereignty to bodies like the EU, UN and EHCR.
Taz, He is though a snake oil salesman and an absolute twat of the highest order.
On that, Malc, we can agree. And I am unanimous in that. To quote Mrs Slocombe.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
So not a traitor whatsoever then.
No he's certainly not. I've no doubt he's sincere. But his credulous repetition of Kremlin talking points during his career in the European Parliament, and his Trump-enthusiasm since, are red flashing warning signs: flaky judgement, to say the least.
Just another grifter
No, I don't think he is. Grift is his motivation without doubt. He should have been quietly put to be in the Lords after Brexit. What he's been doing since is just malicious damage. Stupid politics for stupid people. The problem is that he knows that and still does it.
I don't doubt he, like most politicians, is doing what he thinks is best for the country.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
So not a traitor whatsoever then.
No he's certainly not. I've no doubt he's sincere. But his credulous repetition of Kremlin talking points during his career in the European Parliament, and his Trump-enthusiasm since, are red flashing warning signs: flaky judgement, to say the least.
Just another grifter
No, I don't think he is. Grift is his motivation without doubt. He should have been quietly put to be in the Lords after Brexit. What he's been doing since is just malicious damage. Stupid politics for stupid people. The problem is that he knows that and still does it.
I don't doubt he, like most politicians, is doing what he thinks is best for the country.
Yes, but which country is the British Quisling trying to do his best for?
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
So not a traitor whatsoever then.
No he's certainly not. I've no doubt he's sincere. But his credulous repetition of Kremlin talking points during his career in the European Parliament, and his Trump-enthusiasm since, are red flashing warning signs: flaky judgement, to say the least.
Just another grifter
No, I don't think he is. Grift is his motivation without doubt. He should have been quietly put to be in the Lords after Brexit. What he's been doing since is just malicious damage. Stupid politics for stupid people. The problem is that he knows that and still does it.
I don't doubt he, like most politicians, is doing what he thinks is best for the country.
In the Brexit days I'm sure that was true. He really did work hard then to make his views well researched, and whilst he may have pulled the odd low punch it was the force of reasoned argument that he favoured.
Nowadays he hasn't done the legwork. Undoubtedly he makes good point here and there, but him putting himself forwards to be the PM is something that I can't believe he really thinks is an honourable course.
Many very worse candidates have put themselves forward for the role too.
I think in his heart Farage hates all of the hangers-on to Faragism.
Tim Miller @Timodc · 4h On news that the president is a deluded loon planning economic war but not physical violence upon the European continent, the stock market rises. The miracle of capitalism.
Late to the bandwagon, I've just watched Carney's speech. I thought it was excellent, although I didn't think it as ground-breaking as others have. In some respects, it was a statement of the bleeding obvious given where we are - and I don't mean this negatively, as what he said needed saying and he said it particularly eloquently. I strongly suspect Macron and Starmer are on pretty much the same page.
Had Starmer, however, made a similar speech (and no, he wouldn't have delivered it as well), I'm confident that our media and commentariat would have torn it apart as boring, verbose, and a waste of time - because that's where our political and media culture is at present. More interested in Brooklyn f***ing Beckham than serious matters of state. And that's reflected in the contributions made by our leaders, parliamentarians and others. A sad state of affairs.
tells me Trump's speech in Davos convinced him the US needs to control Greenland. "We're not going to take Greenland by force, but we need Greenland for very good reasons. If I were Denmark, I would be thinking, if I can work a deal with America and the Greenland people -- we have no desire to change your culture, we have no dtesire to change who you are -- we do need ownership. He's convinced me that if we own this piece of land," he said in @davos .
The cowardly Republicans are all talking themselves into supporting a future invasion of Greenland on the basis that Denmark was unreasonable in refusing very reasonable offers to buy the place. You can see this is what they're doing.
It's not particularly subtle. When it is framed as an imperative anything becomes justifiable, and when you insist it must happen then (eventually) saying you won't use force is pretty meaningless, since if it is is a 'must' not a 'want' then of course you would.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
So not a traitor whatsoever then.
No he's certainly not. I've no doubt he's sincere. But his credulous repetition of Kremlin talking points during his career in the European Parliament, and his Trump-enthusiasm since, are red flashing warning signs: flaky judgement, to say the least.
Just another grifter
No, I don't think he is. Grift is his motivation without doubt. He should have been quietly put to be in the Lords after Brexit. What he's been doing since is just malicious damage. Stupid politics for stupid people. The problem is that he knows that and still does it.
I don't doubt he, like most politicians, is doing what he thinks is best for the country.
Yes, but which country is the British Quisling trying to do his best for?
The U.K. obviously.
Talking of trying harder and doing their best plenty of your lot really hacked off on Twitter after last nights performance. 😱
Tim Miller @Timodc · 4h On news that the president is a deluded loon planning economic war but not physical violence upon the European continent, the stock market rises. The miracle of capitalism.
Actually it has fallen back a little since then and why wouldn’t the market rise when something it had anticipated/started to price in happening was taken off the table.
Russian debt servicing costs are up 42% year-on-year, and 60% of the money they borrowed in 2025 was used to pay debt interest. If the war continues for too long they will bankrupt themselves.
I don't want to know what these numbers are for Britain, that would be too depressing.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
So not a traitor whatsoever then.
No he's certainly not. I've no doubt he's sincere. But his credulous repetition of Kremlin talking points during his career in the European Parliament, and his Trump-enthusiasm since, are red flashing warning signs: flaky judgement, to say the least.
Just another grifter
No, I don't think he is. Grift is his motivation without doubt. He should have been quietly put to be in the Lords after Brexit. What he's been doing since is just malicious damage. Stupid politics for stupid people. The problem is that he knows that and still does it.
I don't doubt he, like most politicians, is doing what he thinks is best for the country.
Yes, but which country is the British Quisling trying to do his best for?
The U.K. obviously.
Talking of trying harder and doing their best plenty of your lot really hacked off on Twitter after last nights performance. 😱
Iran has announced a test of a 10,000 km range ICBM, so we can assume that US military strikes on Iran will happen soon.
This may somewhat overshadow tomorrow's EU meeting on what to do about the Trump tariffs relating to Greenland.
They seem to be incapable of sending Trump home and telling the US not to send a frothing loon. As such there seems little of merit in their pontifications anyway
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
So not a traitor whatsoever then.
No he's certainly not. I've no doubt he's sincere. But his credulous repetition of Kremlin talking points during his career in the European Parliament, and his Trump-enthusiasm since, are red flashing warning signs: flaky judgement, to say the least.
Just another grifter
No, I don't think he is. Grift is his motivation without doubt. He should have been quietly put to be in the Lords after Brexit. What he's been doing since is just malicious damage. Stupid politics for stupid people. The problem is that he knows that and still does it.
I don't doubt he, like most politicians, is doing what he thinks is best for the country.
In the Brexit days I'm sure that was true. He really did work hard then to make his views well researched, and whilst he may have pulled the odd low punch it was the force of reasoned argument that he favoured.
Nowadays he hasn't done the legwork. Undoubtedly he makes good point here and there, but him putting himself forwards to be the PM is something that I can't believe he really thinks is an honourable course.
Many very worse candidates have put themselves forward for the role too.
I think in his heart Farage hates all of the hangers-on to Faragism.
I’m not even sure he’d want to be the PM. He doesn’t strike me as being anywhere near capable but then neither does Ed Davey, although he does have govt experience, or Polanski and Badenoch hardly seemed to do a great job when in govt either.
Bizarre as it may sound we may be better off sticking with Starmer if he survives.
The only Reform politician who seems anywhere near capable as a performer on TV is Tice.
I’m not convinced Farage wants the top job. I think he just relishes the public profile.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
So not a traitor whatsoever then.
No he's certainly not. I've no doubt he's sincere. But his credulous repetition of Kremlin talking points during his career in the European Parliament, and his Trump-enthusiasm since, are red flashing warning signs: flaky judgement, to say the least.
Just another grifter
No, I don't think he is. Grift is his motivation without doubt. He should have been quietly put to be in the Lords after Brexit. What he's been doing since is just malicious damage. Stupid politics for stupid people. The problem is that he knows that and still does it.
I don't doubt he, like most politicians, is doing what he thinks is best for the country.
Yes, but which country is the British Quisling trying to do his best for?
The U.K. obviously.
Talking of trying harder and doing their best plenty of your lot really hacked off on Twitter after last nights performance. 😱
Last minute goal to rescue a point away?
General dissatisfaction/rage at how poor the performances are and some chap called Ayew is not well regarded it seems.
Late to the bandwagon, I've just watched Carney's speech. I thought it was excellent, although I didn't think it as ground-breaking as others have. In some respects, it was a statement of the bleeding obvious given where we are - and I don't mean this negatively, as what he said needed saying and he said it particularly eloquently. I strongly suspect Macron and Starmer are on pretty much the same page.
Had Starmer, however, made a similar speech (and no, he wouldn't have delivered it as well), I'm confident that our media and commentariat would have torn it apart as boring, verbose, and a waste of time - because that's where our political and media culture is at present. More interested in Brooklyn f***ing Beckham than serious matters of state. And that's reflected in the contributions made by our leaders, parliamentarians and others. A sad state of affairs.
I suppose all great speeches have to embrace what seems obvious once it is said. Carney did it. Starmer didn't. Starmer couldn't do it. It's about a particular skill set of words, concepts, timing, personality and presentation. Carney joins Clinton, Obama, Reagan, Thatcher, Blair, Pericles, Lincoln, at the top table. Churchill ahead of them all still.
But great speeches do mark as signposts and temporal moments with a before and after, and forks in the road. I hope Carney's is one such. Could it mark the end of the 'Trump Triumphant Carrying All Before Him' era; just as recent events have marked the end of Reform's hopes of government.
Unless Trump sends troops into Greenland soon, he will have undeniably backed down under pressure, starting today. He will deny it, but we will know.
Late to the bandwagon, I've just watched Carney's speech. I thought it was excellent, although I didn't think it as ground-breaking as others have. In some respects, it was a statement of the bleeding obvious given where we are - and I don't mean this negatively, as what he said needed saying and he said it particularly eloquently. I strongly suspect Macron and Starmer are on pretty much the same page.
Had Starmer, however, made a similar speech (and no, he wouldn't have delivered it as well), I'm confident that our media and commentariat would have torn it apart as boring, verbose, and a waste of time - because that's where our political and media culture is at present. More interested in Brooklyn f***ing Beckham than serious matters of state. And that's reflected in the contributions made by our leaders, parliamentarians and others. A sad state of affairs.
Listening to “yesterday in parliament” this morning was beyond annoying. There was a woman who leads the largest party in Wales and she was trying to crowbar in Beckham and all sorts of shit thinking she was being clever and funny and frankly sounded like a fucking moron who shouldn’t be anywhere near anything requiring thought.
They also had Yvette Cooper in Parliament - she was asked by a reform MP why the principle of self determination was right for Greenlanders and not for Chagossians and her reply was a diatribe about Reform links to Russia. Now whatever you think of their links to Russia, it would have been more instructive for her to answer the question rather than pantomime bollocks.
Parliament seems to turn these people into pantomime characters and truly unserious.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
So not a traitor whatsoever then.
No he's certainly not. I've no doubt he's sincere. But his credulous repetition of Kremlin talking points during his career in the European Parliament, and his Trump-enthusiasm since, are red flashing warning signs: flaky judgement, to say the least.
Just another grifter
No, I don't think he is. Grift is his motivation without doubt. He should have been quietly put to be in the Lords after Brexit. What he's been doing since is just malicious damage. Stupid politics for stupid people. The problem is that he knows that and still does it.
I don't doubt he, like most politicians, is doing what he thinks is best for the country.
In the Brexit days I'm sure that was true. He really did work hard then to make his views well researched, and whilst he may have pulled the odd low punch it was the force of reasoned argument that he favoured.
Nowadays he hasn't done the legwork. Undoubtedly he makes good point here and there, but him putting himself forwards to be the PM is something that I can't believe he really thinks is an honourable course.
Many very worse candidates have put themselves forward for the role too.
I think in his heart Farage hates all of the hangers-on to Faragism.
I’m not even sure he’d want to be the PM. He doesn’t strike me as being anywhere near capable but then neither does Ed Davey, although he does have govt experience, or Polanski and Badenoch hardly seemed to do a great job when in govt either.
Bizarre as it may sound we may be better off sticking with Starmer if he survives.
The only Reform politician who seems anywhere near capable as a performer on TV is Tice.
I’m not convinced Farage wants the top job. I think he just relishes the public profile.
I'd prefer almost anyone to Tice. I mean anyone - simply drag some passer-by off the street. I guess I'd wrestle with say Corbyn vs Tice.. but no the beardy wonder. But this is the problem with Farage - he finds the true ghasts in our country and tries to make them presentable.
I wonder what the turncoat Tories will do in the event that Reform fall behind the Tories later this year and in the run up to the election the Tories look like they'll be largest party?
Will they double cross or just live with the oncoming oblivion?
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
So not a traitor whatsoever then.
No he's certainly not. I've no doubt he's sincere. But his credulous repetition of Kremlin talking points during his career in the European Parliament, and his Trump-enthusiasm since, are red flashing warning signs: flaky judgement, to say the least.
Just another grifter
No, I don't think he is. Grift is his motivation without doubt. He should have been quietly put to be in the Lords after Brexit. What he's been doing since is just malicious damage. Stupid politics for stupid people. The problem is that he knows that and still does it.
I don't doubt he, like most politicians, is doing what he thinks is best for the country.
In the Brexit days I'm sure that was true. He really did work hard then to make his views well researched, and whilst he may have pulled the odd low punch it was the force of reasoned argument that he favoured.
Nowadays he hasn't done the legwork. Undoubtedly he makes good point here and there, but him putting himself forwards to be the PM is something that I can't believe he really thinks is an honourable course.
Many very worse candidates have put themselves forward for the role too.
I think in his heart Farage hates all of the hangers-on to Faragism.
I’m not even sure he’d want to be the PM. He doesn’t strike me as being anywhere near capable but then neither does Ed Davey, although he does have govt experience, or Polanski and Badenoch hardly seemed to do a great job when in govt either.
Bizarre as it may sound we may be better off sticking with Starmer if he survives.
The only Reform politician who seems anywhere near capable as a performer on TV is Tice.
I’m not convinced Farage wants the top job. I think he just relishes the public profile.
Ed Davey was Energy and Climate Change minister for more than three years under the coalition, a period they coincided with rapid growth in British wind energy development. On the face of it that would look like someone who, when given a brief can make decisions and get things done.
That puts him ahead of Starmer and Badenoch on the evidence we have available.
I saw this snippet on twitter but can’t find who wrote this but I think it’s hard to disagree with this . It’s really quite tragic . In a word we’re fxcked !
“Britain's position is especially exposed. We can wield little influence over an erratic president, and we have severed ourselves from the European Union - a strategic error that looks more egregious with each passing day. The Brexit prospectus was built for a benign geopolitical environment, predicated on deepening transatlanticism. Those assumptions have collapsed. The three pillars of recent British foreign policy - the US relationship, EU membership, and Commonwealth influence - have largely evaporated. Our vassal status is becoming harder to deny. Keir Starmer often says it is folly to choose between Europe and the United States. The truth is we now have neither.”
Or is a CENTRIST defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
I wouldn't insult someone who merely disagreed with me by calling them a centrist.
OK, but what exactly is a Centrist?
I suggest this for centrism, from a UK point of view:
Centrism comes in flavours and is more than consensus but has a common core. Trump, Corbyn, Farage (probably), Putin, Xi, Polanski, Galloway are not centrists. Centrism, as I see it, is serious about avoiding populism (simple answers to complex questions), accepting the democratic process, avoiding authoritarianism, upholding the rule of law and separation of powers, working with an international order, accepts the world is complicated and imperfect, upholds regulated private enterprise and a substantial welfare state, doesn't demonise minorities, likes incremental development, prefers Adam Smith and David Ricardo to Marx and is fiscally responsible. A centrist values immensely strong family life and its ties and responsibilities.
Seems a meeting between Trump and Rutte has seen a breakthrough
Until the next toddler tantrum which, because the former's position, the world has to take seriously and then gaslight everyone into going 'You know, he's actually super stable and rational, just dramatic'.
Or is a CENTRIST defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
I wouldn't insult someone who merely disagreed with me by calling them a centrist.
OK, but what exactly is a Centrist?
A democracy-loathing elite superfan with no moral compass and barely a hint of analytical capability gussying themself up as the voice of educated reason.
Or is a CENTRIST defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
I wouldn't insult someone who merely disagreed with me by calling them a centrist.
OK, but what exactly is a Centrist?
These days, Alan Clark or anyone further left.
I remember when Clark was seeking to return to the Commons and successfully applied to Kensington, he remarked that he was the most moderate of the final set of candidates. Makes you wonder what the others were like.
After he died, Portillo won the Tory nomination against Peter Hitchens. Different days.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
So not a traitor whatsoever then.
No he's certainly not. I've no doubt he's sincere. But his credulous repetition of Kremlin talking points during his career in the European Parliament, and his Trump-enthusiasm since, are red flashing warning signs: flaky judgement, to say the least.
Just another grifter
No, I don't think he is. Grift is his motivation without doubt. He should have been quietly put to be in the Lords after Brexit. What he's been doing since is just malicious damage. Stupid politics for stupid people. The problem is that he knows that and still does it.
I don't doubt he, like most politicians, is doing what he thinks is best for the country.
In the Brexit days I'm sure that was true. He really did work hard then to make his views well researched, and whilst he may have pulled the odd low punch it was the force of reasoned argument that he favoured.
Nowadays he hasn't done the legwork. Undoubtedly he makes good point here and there, but him putting himself forwards to be the PM is something that I can't believe he really thinks is an honourable course.
Many very worse candidates have put themselves forward for the role too.
I think in his heart Farage hates all of the hangers-on to Faragism.
I’m not even sure he’d want to be the PM. He doesn’t strike me as being anywhere near capable but then neither does Ed Davey, although he does have govt experience, or Polanski and Badenoch hardly seemed to do a great job when in govt either.
Bizarre as it may sound we may be better off sticking with Starmer if he survives.
The only Reform politician who seems anywhere near capable as a performer on TV is Tice.
I’m not convinced Farage wants the top job. I think he just relishes the public profile.
Ed Davey was Energy and Climate Change minister for more than three years under the coalition, a period they coincided with rapid growth in British wind energy development. On the face of it that would look like someone who, when given a brief can make decisions and get things done.
That puts him ahead of Starmer and Badenoch on the evidence we have available.
Also to be fair to him he also was in favour of nuclear at the time. But now has moved away from it.
However that does not make him PM material and his own party are unhappy.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
So not a traitor whatsoever then.
No he's certainly not. I've no doubt he's sincere. But his credulous repetition of Kremlin talking points during his career in the European Parliament, and his Trump-enthusiasm since, are red flashing warning signs: flaky judgement, to say the least.
Just another grifter
No, I don't think he is. Grift is his motivation without doubt. He should have been quietly put to be in the Lords after Brexit. What he's been doing since is just malicious damage. Stupid politics for stupid people. The problem is that he knows that and still does it.
I don't doubt he, like most politicians, is doing what he thinks is best for the country.
Yes, but which country is the British Quisling trying to do his best for?
The U.K. obviously.
Talking of trying harder and doing their best plenty of your lot really hacked off on Twitter after last nights performance. 😱
Last minute goal to rescue a point away?
General dissatisfaction/rage at how poor the performances are and some chap called Ayew is not well regarded it seems.
I don't have a twitter account, but yes that's pretty much the feeling on Foxes Talk.
Or is a CENTRIST defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
I wouldn't insult someone who merely disagreed with me by calling them a centrist.
OK, but what exactly is a Centrist?
A democracy-loathing elite superfan with no moral compass and barely a hint of analytical capability gussying themself up as the voice of educated reason.
The US is already in Greenland. Farage being a disingenuous arse.
Sky suggesting he will not be popular siding with US
Wow did he really say that . Fxcking traitor !
There's caveats though about self determination later in his statement.
Ha, this is PB, some people don’t do nuance just outrage.
The PB outrage bus is full today.
Given that we are not Danish, I don't quite see how Farage is being a traitor. Or is a traitor defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
Farage is clearly at home in the MAGA-sphere. He spends an awful lot of time in it and his whole approach to politics, down to his monetising his activity on GB News etc., is obviously inspired by it. He represents the Trumpification of British politics.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
So not a traitor whatsoever then.
No he's certainly not. I've no doubt he's sincere. But his credulous repetition of Kremlin talking points during his career in the European Parliament, and his Trump-enthusiasm since, are red flashing warning signs: flaky judgement, to say the least.
Just another grifter
No, I don't think he is. Grift is his motivation without doubt. He should have been quietly put to be in the Lords after Brexit. What he's been doing since is just malicious damage. Stupid politics for stupid people. The problem is that he knows that and still does it.
I don't doubt he, like most politicians, is doing what he thinks is best for the country.
In the Brexit days I'm sure that was true. He really did work hard then to make his views well researched, and whilst he may have pulled the odd low punch it was the force of reasoned argument that he favoured.
Nowadays he hasn't done the legwork. Undoubtedly he makes good point here and there, but him putting himself forwards to be the PM is something that I can't believe he really thinks is an honourable course.
Many very worse candidates have put themselves forward for the role too.
I think in his heart Farage hates all of the hangers-on to Faragism.
I’m not even sure he’d want to be the PM. He doesn’t strike me as being anywhere near capable but then neither does Ed Davey, although he does have govt experience, or Polanski and Badenoch hardly seemed to do a great job when in govt either.
Bizarre as it may sound we may be better off sticking with Starmer if he survives.
The only Reform politician who seems anywhere near capable as a performer on TV is Tice.
I’m not convinced Farage wants the top job. I think he just relishes the public profile.
Ed Davey was Energy and Climate Change minister for more than three years under the coalition, a period they coincided with rapid growth in British wind energy development. On the face of it that would look like someone who, when given a brief can make decisions and get things done.
That puts him ahead of Starmer and Badenoch on the evidence we have available.
Also to be fair to him he also was in favour of nuclear at the time. But now has moved away from it.
However that does not make him PM material and his own party are unhappy.
But we can see that Starmer isn't PM material every day. And Badenoch didn't impress as a minister.
So if I had to choose the least-worst option for PM given the field of current party leaders or cabinet ministers, I think I might choose Ed Davey. Which kinda surprises me to say, because I've criticised him a lot over the last few months as failing at being Lib Dem leader. But I guess the competition is very weak.
I'd like to see the final deal before deciding if anyone has "won".
There is no deal.
Trump can now place some missiles on Greenland, as he could have always done more quickly via a junior US military officer emailing their Danish counterpart.
Greenland will remain a part of Denmark. Increased Danish and non-US NATO troops will remain there. No tariffs will come into effect for said nations.
It's an utter capitulation from Trump, for now at least.
But if I were Starmer I would be calling it a very hard won deal to Trump's face. Keep the oversized toddler happy.
Or is a CENTRIST defined as 'someone who disagrees with me' these days?
I wouldn't insult someone who merely disagreed with me by calling them a centrist.
OK, but what exactly is a Centrist?
A democracy-loathing elite superfan with no moral compass and barely a hint of analytical capability gussying themself up as the voice of educated reason.
Two non barking dogs. No mention of Denmark. No mention of the concept of sovereignty. We work out in our own heads that Rutte neither has nor wants authority to give Denmark away. Good.
Someone's nicked his phone. Unbelievably bad timing for Farage, should have held his tongue on it.
It's very clearly not written by him, his personal style is very hard to imitate and that's not even close. I'm sure he's agreed to it of course, but he let someone else craft the message.
Comments
Those numbers are from Wikipedia.
Zia Yusuf falling into the trap of questioning the motives of a pollster when a poll is bad for his party
Sad behaviour... he'll be whining about how often it is posted next!
Hey @focaldataHQ I have it on good authority that your chief research officer
@JamesKanag presented at the recent Tory Party away day and you’re being paid by CCHQ to advise on how to defeat Reform.
Please comment.
https://x.com/ZiaYusufUK/status/2014029219328569507?s=20
Probably. It seems to be the centrist phrase of the week. People have moved on from ‘pearl clutching’, next week it will be something else.
Lots of people are suddenly patriotic when it’s a stick to beat Reform with. Ironic many of these calling him a traitor or unpatriotic would be happy to sign over major chunks of our sovereignty to bodies like the EU, UN and EHCR.
Does that make him a literal traitor? No, of course, not. But he's hardly someone you would look to to maintain the UK's independence from an increasingly alien and even malign power that is Trump's USA. Ironically, he made his name as someone who embodied UK independence. Now he increasingly represents the opposite of that.
These are the most recent figures, which cover what it specifies - in 1990s web table format. UK are second with just under $900bn in Nov 2025. Japan $1.2tn. China $680bn.
https://ticdata.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Documents/slt_table5.html
Lindsey Graham has U turned more times in the last week than Starmer has in the last 19 months.
The so called Reform patriots can fxck right off . Treasonous scum .
I would have hoped that he'd recognise this too, and that his actions in the past have ruled him out of being PM. The fact he hasn't done so makes him doubly unworthy of the post.
(Accepting that he's not trying to appeal to me, what exactly is Zia Yusuf's appeal? His stock-in-trade seems to be tweeting outrageous things that he has "discovered" that largely turn into nothingburgers. Mostly because he didn't bother checking that he understood the thing he had discovered. On top of which- he's never been elected to anything. Has he ever even tried?)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cjrzjqg8dlwt
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/mar/27/nigel-farage-eu-poking-russian-bear-ukip-syria?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
James Kanagasooriam, who Yusuf refers to here, is a seriously smart analyst who predicted the Scots Tory gains during the Ruth Davidson epiphany. He is definitely not in any way likely to bias his findings or projections. If the Tories are seeking advice from him then they are being pretty smart themselves.
Just imagine if Starmer, or Reeves, or Rayner had grifted £300k in eighteen months and not declared it to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner
James is a top notch pollster/analyst.
Will they double cross or just live with the oncoming oblivion?
It's not partisan either. Driberg, Fletcher and Stonehouse can f*** off too.
Nowadays he hasn't done the legwork. Undoubtedly he makes good point here and there, but him putting himself forwards to be the PM is something that I can't believe he really thinks is an honourable course.
Many very worse candidates have put themselves forward for the role too.
I think in his heart Farage hates all of the hangers-on to Faragism.
@Timodc
·
4h
On news that the president is a deluded loon planning economic war but not physical violence upon the European continent, the stock market rises. The miracle of capitalism.
https://x.com/Timodc/status/2013984469800071657
Had Starmer, however, made a similar speech (and no, he wouldn't have delivered it as well), I'm confident that our media and commentariat would have torn it apart as boring, verbose, and a waste of time - because that's where our political and media culture is at present. More interested in Brooklyn f***ing Beckham than serious matters of state. And that's reflected in the contributions made by our leaders, parliamentarians and others. A sad state of affairs.
This may somewhat overshadow tomorrow's EU meeting on what to do about the Trump tariffs relating to Greenland.
Talking of trying harder and doing their best plenty of your lot really hacked off on Twitter after last nights performance. 😱
I don't want to know what these numbers are for Britain, that would be too depressing.
Bizarre as it may sound we may be better off sticking with Starmer if he survives.
The only Reform politician who seems anywhere near capable as a performer on TV is Tice.
I’m not convinced Farage wants the top job. I think he just relishes the public profile.
But great speeches do mark as signposts and temporal moments with a before and after, and forks in the road. I hope Carney's is one such. Could it mark the end of the 'Trump Triumphant Carrying All Before Him' era; just as recent events have marked the end of Reform's hopes of government.
Unless Trump sends troops into Greenland soon, he will have undeniably backed down under pressure, starting today. He will deny it, but we will know.
They also had Yvette Cooper in Parliament - she was asked by a reform MP why the principle of self determination was right for Greenlanders and not for Chagossians and her reply was a diatribe about Reform links to Russia. Now whatever you think of their links to Russia, it would have been more instructive for her to answer the question rather than pantomime bollocks.
Parliament seems to turn these people into pantomime characters and truly unserious.
Can we do that, or would the pesky legal establishment start playing up about it?
Trump has decided not to apply the tariffs
Lets hope a fair and sensible deal can be agreed [my words]
That puts him ahead of Starmer and Badenoch on the evidence we have available.
“Britain's position is especially exposed. We can wield little influence over an erratic president, and we have severed ourselves from the European Union - a strategic error that looks more egregious with each passing day. The Brexit prospectus was built for a benign geopolitical environment, predicated on deepening transatlanticism. Those assumptions have collapsed. The three pillars of recent British foreign policy - the US relationship, EU membership, and Commonwealth influence - have largely evaporated. Our vassal status is becoming harder to deny. Keir Starmer often says it is folly to choose between Europe and the United States. The truth is we now have
neither.”
Trump has folded. There's nothing to agree.
Centrism comes in flavours and is more than consensus but has a common core. Trump, Corbyn, Farage (probably), Putin, Xi, Polanski, Galloway are not centrists. Centrism, as I see it, is serious about avoiding populism (simple answers to complex questions), accepting the democratic process, avoiding authoritarianism, upholding the rule of law and separation of powers, working with an international order, accepts the world is complicated and imperfect, upholds regulated private enterprise and a substantial welfare state, doesn't demonise minorities, likes incremental development, prefers Adam Smith and David Ricardo to Marx and is fiscally responsible. A centrist values immensely strong family life and its ties and responsibilities.
After he died, Portillo won the Tory nomination against Peter Hitchens. Different days.
Don't eat caviar three times in four days.
The palpitations aren't fun.
However that does not make him PM material and his own party are unhappy.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jan/18/liberal-democrat-mps-frustrated-ed-davey-leader
Got to say - WTAF
https://x.com/kobeissiletter/status/2014059109260091757?s=61
Not going to deny it.
.
(Although she probably does have a moral compass)
These guys called it, and it has followed what they said. Step by step.
https://x.com/kobeissiletter/status/2014059109260091757?s=61
But we can see that Starmer isn't PM material every day. And Badenoch didn't impress as a minister.
So if I had to choose the least-worst option for PM given the field of current party leaders or cabinet ministers, I think I might choose Ed Davey. Which kinda surprises me to say, because I've criticised him a lot over the last few months as failing at being Lib Dem leader. But I guess the competition is very weak.
Preferably the Garak version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl66ilQCCNs
I expected the climb down tomorrow.
Trump can now place some missiles on Greenland, as he could have always done more quickly via a junior US military officer emailing their Danish counterpart.
Greenland will remain a part of Denmark. Increased Danish and non-US NATO troops will remain there. No tariffs will come into effect for said nations.
It's an utter capitulation from Trump, for now at least.
But if I were Starmer I would be calling it a very hard won deal to Trump's face. Keep the oversized toddler happy.
Magnificent.