Reform: Tribunus plebis – politicalbetting.com
Reform: Tribunus plebis – politicalbetting.com
Nothing screams more than man and woman of the people than having an exclusively privately educated Shadow Cabinet but as David Cameron (and to a lesser extent Boris Johnson) proved being a posho is nor bar to winning general elections.
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FPT I don't think it would be so effective here, because many of the Christian Right types eg who were out with Tommy, seem to be cultural, rather than credal, Christians. A lot of them just want a symbol to let them identify with an imaginary past.
They seem to have a problem with he explicit commands running through what they say are their Scriptures to care for the foreigner and the refugee. Or that in 2026 in the UK, the Good Samaritan would be a Good Muslim or a Good Sikh.
(The Evangelical Alliance UK have a very useful classification of Christian Nationalist views based on distinguishing "cultural" and "credal / confessing" Christians and Nationalists - that they call cn, Cn, cN or CN.)
https://www.youtube.com/live/cuILCLp_p5U?t=4639
It's clear that plenty of those in the hall loved it, but is it the sort of attitude that will survive a General Election campaign? I rather hope not, because this isn't the US of A, thank goodness.
And most of the rest, floor-crossers or whatever you call them, were elected as Conservatives.
Hmmm.
Typical, I’m off to Egypt on Sunday
The problem for the left is that the Greens have been hijacked at least by someone with no Green credentials and whose Politics are a cross between Galloway and Corby.
He is likely to allow the Right in unless he is politically neutered.
And yes, vote Reform get the early to autumn 2022 Tory Party
Reform may be insane in a number of ways, but not that one.
Action with the US, NATO is one thing, to be an ally of Netanyahu is a RED Line too far.
No doubt Tories and Reform would support him but for most on the left it will be a line that would see him out very quickly.
“No 10 cannot pretend that they did not know about it or that it did not come up in their due diligence checks. They know it and they have decided that it doesn’t matter because he is useful to them,” a former colleague says.
https://x.com/PronouncedAlva/status/2024143093222592821?s=20
Like the U.K. did with Gaza.
I find it inconceivable the U.K. or other key allies in Europe and the region won’t be aware of what is happening.
Anyway you’re new here. You’ll find a few who will be delighted by any action Israel takes against anyone.
Ghastly ghastly attack on the widower of Jo Cox.
The cesspit of journalism that deserves the fate of the NOTW
Between 2 May 2023 and 30 June 2025, the Together Initiative received £1,252,400 in funding from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport.
Interesting efforts are being made by the HTB movement and the wealthy Paul Marshall to organise and fund it better. Results so far are patchy.
Having said all this, on the whole (I am not one) they are very nice people. Mostly far too nice to have time for Trumpism, 'Jesus, Guns, Babies', or Farage. Or of course oiks like Robinson.
He resigned before he could be properly investigated,
‘ Inappropriate but consensual relations between Cox and female staff in the department he headed were an “open secret,” O’Keefe said. Although behaviour at the office was generally professional, O’Keefe said she had witnessed “inappropriate behaviour” by Cox at after-hours gatherings, office parties and events.
Junior staff risked being sidelined and excluded from the more prestigious and important projects if they questioned Cox’s behavior, O’Keefe said. “I myself feel complicit,” she said, adding that she now regrets not speaking up. “We were afraid to speak to Justin… I was often afraid.”
Cox, married at the time, made little effort to conceal his extra-marital relationships with staffers. “It was so brazen it didn’t make sense,” O’Keefe said. Jo Cox, Brendan’s wife, was elected an MP in 2015 but murdered in June 2016 by a right-wing extremist, an event which caused public outrage. Brendan until last week was a director of a charitable foundation formed in her memory to support values of tolerance.
O’Keefe said Cox was reported for a sexual assault on a fellow staff member in 2015. Save the Children suspended him and launched an investigation. The night before a hearing into his alleged misconduct, O’Keefe said, Cox resigned in an email, a copy of which she provided to IRIN. In it he wrote: “apologies to all of you for any times I’ve been unreasonable, overbearing or relentless, it was always with the best of intentions.”’
https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/feature/2018/02/22/former-save-children-staffers-speak-out-abusive-culture-under-justin-forsyth
Testimony to Parliament
https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/8013/html/
Rupert on 11 councillors, 20 if Advance fold in as proposed
I mean what is labours majority and SKS cannot get basic legislation making simple changes to WFA or benefits through them. He’s hamstrung.
Governing must be like herding cats.
TACO.
In any event I hope we keep well clear of whatever Trump's planning.
Normal service resumed tomorrow.
Those that read the FT are likely to be similar establishment figures who think they'd benefit from a very right wing party run by other establishment figures like Farage.
Those that see him as a hero of the working class are getting their news from the internet, and I suspect have long since passed the point where they could be affected by anything a general election campaign throws up.
I recently set up a Facebook profile for a new business, so am following nobody. Instead it just throws random stuff at me - and it's not hard to see why people fall for it. There was fuss in the papers recently about the Reform flyer not having the Reform address on it. Yet, on social media you get 100s of mocked up flyers shared every day mostly with ridiculous pro-Reform nonsense, or fake ones pretending to be about or from the Green party. The time when a PPB or a single poster launch could actually make a difference, or change people's minds, are long gone.
Reassuringly, and I’m sure it’s unrelated, Russia has been conducting military excercises in the Strait of Hormuz with Iran.
If it goes belly up so be it. I’ve had a nice life by and large
But equally true, the more Reform talk about their NHS policies, the quicker they return to 0% in opinion polls.
https://tribunemag.co.uk/2026/02/smears-and-lies-glue-together-starmers-government
It has the smell of the McBride / Draper / Maguire plot but red on red / red on journos.
Pointless trying to appeal to people viscerally opposed to them, middle class centrists for example and diehard FBPE remain, but there are others who would consider them who would, I suggest, be less inclined to vote for them
As for whining about mocked up Green stuff or Reform stuff on social media. You get it for all parties. I’ve seen genuine ones for all and mock ups for all. It’s tedious and I block any but it is a bit rich to blame one party when they all pretty much do it. The least worst offenders are the Lib Dem’s I’d say.
I, on the other hand, am, nowadays, slightly surprised when I wake up in the morning!
It therefore follows that Reform's manifesto will not commit to significant change in these regards.
Starmer - bursary for 6th form after Reigate went private
May - no majority
Cameron and Massive - Eton
Blair - Fettes.
Or Met or City of London etc?
You'd be lucky to get longer odds than evens.
See the BBC documentaries on Met/City of London police in 70s, "a good police force catches more crooks than it employs"
Even recent scandals in the Met have roots back to the '70s.
Perhaps I didn't need to worry, therefore had no relevant dealings.
I’d love to see NHS reform but it’s a national religion. Reform of the NHS is off the agenda.
Anyway, 'night all; I'm off to dinner and a relaxing evening with Mrs C!
https://polymarket.com/event/usisrael-strikes-iran-by
https://polymarket.com/event/khamenei-out-as-supreme-leader-of-iran-by-february-28
https://polymarket.com/event/israel-strikes-iran-by-february-28-2026
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/feb/18/bono-lambasts-ice-putin-netanyahu-and-more-as-u2-release-first-collection-of-new-songs-since-2017
Pull round the armchairs. Get out the popcorn.
Let’s enjoy ourselves by ignoring such utterly pointless killing, maiming, and violence.
Unless you care to make a case it’s actually necessary, and totally unavoidable.
Bonkers, but not stupid. He knows that's an acceptable excuse while the real reason - to eliminate the main threat to Israel - isn't.
Prediction: while their manifesto will contain a few deliverable retail offers, it will actually be fairly Ming Vase like: renege on all exotic previous offerings, provide enough ethno-nationalism to get the votes but not be suggestive of 1930s Germany, renounce removing citizenship or curtailing ILR, support NATO, make few if any promises on tax reductions, sustain the broadly social democrat high spend/high tax deal in place since Attlee, reform welfare, try to close the borders a bit more, close a few universities, fund apprentices, put children up chimneys.
Marshall is too closely integrated between his faith and his particular politics imo, and is pivotal enough that he could snap or derail the whole thing after half a century of creative contributions to the wider church.
He's a massive contrast to eg Ken Costa or Trisha Neal.
Trump said he had their backs.
Does anyone actually think that?
Iran are essentially the people behind Hamas and Hizbollah. If the Ayatollahs were nixed, those two would rather rapidly implode, a la Assad after Russia lost interest.