One of Reform’s candidates is Ben Rowe, who is standing in the Ham ward of Plymouth. He urged protesters throwing bricks at police defending a mosque to “get rid of that filthy building” during the 2024 Southport riots.
Commenting beneath a YouTube video in February, Rowe accused “the Jews” of “creating division by forcing other races on our societies”. He elsewhere described immigrants to the UK “breeding like rats”, posted blackface memes and labelled Islam “a cancer”.
Nathaniel Menday, standing for Reform in Woodhouse, Sheffield, has called himself an “ethno-nationalist” and encouraged the use of white supremacist symbols. Last October, he asked a fellow Sheffield United fan to add a sonnenrad “sun wheel” emblem to a flag — a symbol widely used by neo-Nazis.
In January 2024, he shared a picture of Berlin’s Olympiastadion and wrote: “Whichever group of people built this must have been real visionaries!” The stadium was built by Nazi Germany to host the 1936 Olympics and designed by Albert Speer, the munitions minister who was convicted at the Nuremberg trials of crimes against humanity.
In 2023, Menday suggested “Jewish people in the West” were responsible for the antisemitism they were suffering because they “overwhelmingly favour open borders”. He added: “Sow the wind reap the whirlwind.”...
...Reform candidates have also shared conspiracy theories about the Covid pandemic and American politics.
Rowe reposted content that suggested Covid had a “Hebrew” source, while Axel Tye, standing for Reform in Penshaw & Shiney Row, Sunderland, said: “Stop covid in it’s [sic] tracks in two simple steps. 1. Delete the app. 2. Stop getting tested.”
Trevor Jones, a Reform candidate for Bolton North East, said he was “not buying another convenient virus just before Christmas” in November 2021.
He also shared posts calling the former US president Joe Biden “Bin Biden”, accusing him of having “rigged elections” and urging a suspension in the rollout of 5G.
Bev Watkins, standing in Wakefield for Reform, shared hoax content which warned against taking a “new” paracetamol which “contains ‘Machupo’ virus, considered one of the most dangerous viruses in the world, with a high mortality rate”.
Today at PMQs, Keir Starmer selectively quoted Olly Robbins’ evidence at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Starmer said on Mandelson’s vetting: "no pressure existed whatsoever in relation to this case".
But Robbins’ own written evidence to the Committee talks of an “atmosphere of pressure" from No10.
On Monday, Robbins told the Committee: "Throughout January, honestly, my office and the Foreign Secretary’s office were under constant pressure. There was an atmosphere of constant chasing".
Starmer was therefore wrong to say that "no pressure existed whatsoever".
He must correct the record immediately.
She is still clutching at straws when their is an absolute whopper of an egregious act right in front of her*.
* Sacking Robbins.
No political capital to be gained by sticking up for a civil servant.
One of Reform’s candidates is Ben Rowe, who is standing in the Ham ward of Plymouth. He urged protesters throwing bricks at police defending a mosque to “get rid of that filthy building” during the 2024 Southport riots.
Commenting beneath a YouTube video in February, Rowe accused “the Jews” of “creating division by forcing other races on our societies”. He elsewhere described immigrants to the UK “breeding like rats”, posted blackface memes and labelled Islam “a cancer”.
Nathaniel Menday, standing for Reform in Woodhouse, Sheffield, has called himself an “ethno-nationalist” and encouraged the use of white supremacist symbols. Last October, he asked a fellow Sheffield United fan to add a sonnenrad “sun wheel” emblem to a flag — a symbol widely used by neo-Nazis.
In January 2024, he shared a picture of Berlin’s Olympiastadion and wrote: “Whichever group of people built this must have been real visionaries!” The stadium was built by Nazi Germany to host the 1936 Olympics and designed by Albert Speer, the munitions minister who was convicted at the Nuremberg trials of crimes against humanity.
In 2023, Menday suggested “Jewish people in the West” were responsible for the antisemitism they were suffering because they “overwhelmingly favour open borders”. He added: “Sow the wind reap the whirlwind.”...
...Reform candidates have also shared conspiracy theories about the Covid pandemic and American politics.
Rowe reposted content that suggested Covid had a “Hebrew” source, while Axel Tye, standing for Reform in Penshaw & Shiney Row, Sunderland, said: “Stop covid in it’s [sic] tracks in two simple steps. 1. Delete the app. 2. Stop getting tested.”
Trevor Jones, a Reform candidate for Bolton North East, said he was “not buying another convenient virus just before Christmas” in November 2021.
He also shared posts calling the former US president Joe Biden “Bin Biden”, accusing him of having “rigged elections” and urging a suspension in the rollout of 5G.
Bev Watkins, standing in Wakefield for Reform, shared hoax content which warned against taking a “new” paracetamol which “contains ‘Machupo’ virus, considered one of the most dangerous viruses in the world, with a high mortality rate”.
One of Reform’s candidates is Ben Rowe, who is standing in the Ham ward of Plymouth. He urged protesters throwing bricks at police defending a mosque to “get rid of that filthy building” during the 2024 Southport riots.
Commenting beneath a YouTube video in February, Rowe accused “the Jews” of “creating division by forcing other races on our societies”. He elsewhere described immigrants to the UK “breeding like rats”, posted blackface memes and labelled Islam “a cancer”.
Nathaniel Menday, standing for Reform in Woodhouse, Sheffield, has called himself an “ethno-nationalist” and encouraged the use of white supremacist symbols. Last October, he asked a fellow Sheffield United fan to add a sonnenrad “sun wheel” emblem to a flag — a symbol widely used by neo-Nazis.
In January 2024, he shared a picture of Berlin’s Olympiastadion and wrote: “Whichever group of people built this must have been real visionaries!” The stadium was built by Nazi Germany to host the 1936 Olympics and designed by Albert Speer, the munitions minister who was convicted at the Nuremberg trials of crimes against humanity.
In 2023, Menday suggested “Jewish people in the West” were responsible for the antisemitism they were suffering because they “overwhelmingly favour open borders”. He added: “Sow the wind reap the whirlwind.”...
...Reform candidates have also shared conspiracy theories about the Covid pandemic and American politics.
Rowe reposted content that suggested Covid had a “Hebrew” source, while Axel Tye, standing for Reform in Penshaw & Shiney Row, Sunderland, said: “Stop covid in it’s [sic] tracks in two simple steps. 1. Delete the app. 2. Stop getting tested.”
Trevor Jones, a Reform candidate for Bolton North East, said he was “not buying another convenient virus just before Christmas” in November 2021.
He also shared posts calling the former US president Joe Biden “Bin Biden”, accusing him of having “rigged elections” and urging a suspension in the rollout of 5G.
Bev Watkins, standing in Wakefield for Reform, shared hoax content which warned against taking a “new” paracetamol which “contains ‘Machupo’ virus, considered one of the most dangerous viruses in the world, with a high mortality rate”.
One of Reform’s candidates is Ben Rowe, who is standing in the Ham ward of Plymouth. He urged protesters throwing bricks at police defending a mosque to “get rid of that filthy building” during the 2024 Southport riots.
Commenting beneath a YouTube video in February, Rowe accused “the Jews” of “creating division by forcing other races on our societies”. He elsewhere described immigrants to the UK “breeding like rats”, posted blackface memes and labelled Islam “a cancer”.
Nathaniel Menday, standing for Reform in Woodhouse, Sheffield, has called himself an “ethno-nationalist” and encouraged the use of white supremacist symbols. Last October, he asked a fellow Sheffield United fan to add a sonnenrad “sun wheel” emblem to a flag — a symbol widely used by neo-Nazis.
In January 2024, he shared a picture of Berlin’s Olympiastadion and wrote: “Whichever group of people built this must have been real visionaries!” The stadium was built by Nazi Germany to host the 1936 Olympics and designed by Albert Speer, the munitions minister who was convicted at the Nuremberg trials of crimes against humanity.
In 2023, Menday suggested “Jewish people in the West” were responsible for the antisemitism they were suffering because they “overwhelmingly favour open borders”. He added: “Sow the wind reap the whirlwind.”...
...Reform candidates have also shared conspiracy theories about the Covid pandemic and American politics.
Rowe reposted content that suggested Covid had a “Hebrew” source, while Axel Tye, standing for Reform in Penshaw & Shiney Row, Sunderland, said: “Stop covid in it’s [sic] tracks in two simple steps. 1. Delete the app. 2. Stop getting tested.”
Trevor Jones, a Reform candidate for Bolton North East, said he was “not buying another convenient virus just before Christmas” in November 2021.
He also shared posts calling the former US president Joe Biden “Bin Biden”, accusing him of having “rigged elections” and urging a suspension in the rollout of 5G.
Bev Watkins, standing in Wakefield for Reform, shared hoax content which warned against taking a “new” paracetamol which “contains ‘Machupo’ virus, considered one of the most dangerous viruses in the world, with a high mortality rate”.
Dan Hodges reporting Downing Street worried that Barton's testimony will contradict what Starmer said today about no pressure. Allegedly SKS went freestyling when he shouldn't have
Probably comes to nothing again of course, just yet another cjapter
Sky just ran their YG MRP for London, details should be online shortly Vote shares were
Lab 26 Grn 22 Con 17 LD 15 Ref 14
There's also a new Senedd MRP here. It has Labour on 13%.
I've looked at the Senedd mRP link you provided. It's...awful for the legacy parties. Labour might be the junior partner in a PC-Lab coalition. The Conservatives won't have enough members for a group. The LDs will have one member.
As for the newer ones, Reform will have a plurality at 37 (49 needed for a majority), Green rise from 0 to seven members, and Plaid will have 36.
Only plausible majority solution is PC+Lab+Lib=36+12+1=49, assuming PC+Ref is implausible. PC+Lab =48 which would work for a while. Minority administrations by Ref or PC possible
But the takeaway from this is Labour (nominal) losing 32 out of 44 members. That is as bad for Labour in Wales as the Scottish realignment in the 2010s. How do they recover from this?
On the bright side for Labour, Plaid and the SNP will have to beg them for support to get power and legislation through and keep Reform out in Scotland and Wales as neither will win a majority. Indeed in Scotland the latest MiC poll has the SNP even failing to have a majority with the Greens
Neither will 'beg' labour for support
Plaid has made it clear they will govern as a minority government if necessary
You do not seem to understand how toxic labour are in Wales
But nowhere near as toxic the Tories if that poll is correct.
Conservatives in Wales are going to have a bad night but nothing like labour who have been in power since devolution and are heading to fringe party status
This feels like labour's surrender to SNP in Scotland from which they have not recovered
As you say Labour have been in power since devolution and every party eventually runs out of steam. They are also suffering from the mid-term blues that affects just about every government. What is the Tories excuse for their performance?
Long Johnson.
You must mention Boris around ten times every day
It does seem a smidgeon excessive
Nowhere near as many times as you mention Skyr. Although during these days of Starmer jeopardy that is perfectly acceptable.
Anyway, you don't like me posting at all so why not make like the a good right winger and plant some flags on me .
It's okay Pete, they hate me too.
Don't be silly
Disagreeing about politics is the DNA of this site but hate should have no part in it
Hating specific left and Centist posters is part of the fun of the site from both sides of the coin. It's a Tory site so that is fair enough. No one has come around to beat the c**p out of me yet. So all is good.
It looks like we have seen the back of Brixian, so one down several to go.
I think you are somewhat deluded. I see no evidence that PB, in its current iteration, is a Tory site. It might once have been. And I don't think many on here actively hate other posters, they perhaps strongly disagree and/or think them insane, but hate is remarkably absent from PB. It is one of the best places on the internet in that regard.
But then you haven't been on the receiving end. It's fair game as I have suggested. When I was in full Boris is a w***** mode there was a lot of kickback, some in private.
Hating non-conformist posters is all part of the fun.
OGH isn't a Tory.
Anyone know how he is these days? Wish him well.
I think there is a particular brand of non-conformist who gets the backs up of a certain breed of conformist. Brixian, Roger, Horse and myself are good examples. Although there are and have been others, some of whom have thrown in the towel. All part of the cut and thrust of being on this site.
Brixian is essentially a Labour staffer spamming the site with Anti-Badenoch posts. Thats not a non-conformist.
Why would a Labour staffer be going after Badenoch so much? The Tories are a busted flush, Reform and the Greens are the main threat.
Enthusiastic amateurs beat out staffers every time.
Dan Hodges reporting Downing Street worried that Barton's testimony will contradict what Starmer said today about no pressure. Allegedly SKS went freestyling when he shouldn't have
Probably comes to nothing again of course, just yet another cjapter
Oh I don't know. They are getting a royal visit out of it.
But when they say, “NO KINGS” it is surely implied that is other than Charles III?
I expect most Democrats like most Canadians would on a forced choice prefer King Charles III as their head of state to Trump
You are not suggesting we invade the US and install Charlie are you ?
No but I expect if Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine, New Jersey, Connecticut and New York, Minnesota and Illinois and California and Washington and Oregon and Hawaii were offered temporary membership of the Commonwealth realms until 2029 they would accept
Hawaii was a British protectorate (or similar) until a group of American 'colonists' managed to swing the then ruling group to prefer the USA.
If it had stayed British the 1941-45 Pacific War might not have happened.
Of course the Americans would then have stayed neutral in the Anti-Nazi War of 1939-45.
The Japanese would still have invaded Midway, and other US possessions, so I think war would have come their way, whether they wanted it or not.
Chelsea Manager....its a bit like getting the Home Office gig...its basically ruins your reputation of those up and comers.
Decent payoff though, he's still got over six years left on his contract.
No reward for failure....although I have a feeling although it gets written up in the press as like £100 million pay off, if he ever manages again, I seemed to remember they don't actually get it all?
That been said, if Chelsea need somebody for the last few games of the season, I can probably fit them in my diary. Will do thm a solid, £100k a game.
Dan Hodges reporting Downing Street worried that Barton's testimony will contradict what Starmer said today about no pressure. Allegedly SKS went freestyling when he shouldn't have
Probably comes to nothing again of course, just yet another cjapter
Dan Hodges and Labour / Downing Street sources never seem to be accurate.
Chelsea Manager....its a bit like getting the Home Office gig...its basically ruins your reputation of those up and comers.
Decent payoff though, he's still got over six years left on his contract.
No reward for failure....although I have a feeling although it gets written up in the press as like £100 million pay off, if he ever manages again, I seemed to remember they don't actually get it all?
That been said, if Chelsea need somebody for the last few games of the season, I can probably fit them in my diary. Will do thm a solid, £100k a game.
When I worked for a law firm that dealt with contracts of Premier League clubs the payout was sometimes capped or sometimes stopped being paid once the manager got a new job.
"Trump is ready to give another three to five days of ceasefire to allow the Iranians to regroup," a senior American official briefed on the matter told me. "This is not going to be an open and unlimited ceasefire."
Oh I don't know. They are getting a royal visit out of it.
But when they say, “NO KINGS” it is surely implied that is other than Charles III?
I expect most Democrats like most Canadians would on a forced choice prefer King Charles III as their head of state to Trump
You are not suggesting we invade the US and install Charlie are you ?
No but I expect if Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine, New Jersey, Connecticut and New York, Minnesota and Illinois and California and Washington and Oregon and Hawaii were offered temporary membership of the Commonwealth realms until 2029 they would accept
Hawaii was a British protectorate (or similar) until a group of American 'colonists' managed to swing the then ruling group to prefer the USA.
If it had stayed British the 1941-45 Pacific War might not have happened.
Of course the Americans would then have stayed neutral in the Anti-Nazi War of 1939-45.
The Japanese would still have invaded Midway, and other US possessions, so I think war would have come their way, whether they wanted it or not.
Japan had this weird view that the way to stop the US interfering in their imperial ambitions was to raise the stakes with a war, and then they'd chicken out.
Labour having the bravery to bring in another policy the Conservatives chickened out of, implementing the tobacco ban. It could have been Sunak's legacy.
Dan Hodges reporting Downing Street worried that Barton's testimony will contradict what Starmer said today about no pressure. Allegedly SKS went freestyling when he shouldn't have
Probably comes to nothing again of course, just yet another cjapter
Dan Hodges and Labour / Downing Street sources never seem to be accurate.
He's like Professor Anthony King and the Tories when it comes to Starmer, it's a truly terrible night for Starmer.
I remember when he and some PBers frottaged themselves into excitement over Starmer having to resign over the Durham trip, but there have been many others.
Chelsea Manager....its a bit like getting the Home Office gig...its basically ruins your reputation of those up and comers.
Decent payoff though, he's still got over six years left on his contract.
No reward for failure....although I have a feeling although it gets written up in the press as like £100 million pay off, if he ever manages again, I seemed to remember they don't actually get it all?
That been said, if Chelsea need somebody for the last few games of the season, I can probably fit them in my diary. Will do thm a solid, £100k a game.
When I worked for a law firm that dealt with contracts of Premier League clubs the payout was sometimes capped or sometimes stopped being paid once the manager got a new job.
The crazy thing that from my understanding is how common it is for wages / bonuses / other payments are massively deferred and so if the player is sold before the end of the contract there is a mad scramble to settle up (and pressure for the player to cut a deal and forego lots of money in the contract just because it was all bumped down the road). It is quite common that when reported a player can't agree personal terms, it doesn't mean greedy sod is asking for £500k a week, it is they are actually owed millions by their existing club and the selling club is actually trying to shaft them into just waiving their rights to all this contractal income (which nobody else in the normal work world would do over the course of a 3hr period at 10pm on Transfer Deadline day).
“The British government shouldn’t snub Brexiteer Nigel Farage’s offer to act as a Donald Trump whisperer, according to the man hotly-tipped to be the new U.K. ambassador to Washington. Peter Mandelson said the centre-left Labour government should utilize the Reform UK leader as a bridge to the president-elect, after ministers rebuffed the offer of help from a the right-wing populist.
“You can’t ignore him,” Peter Mandelson — a Labour peer who is a leading contender to become Britain’s man in D.C. said of Farage.
“He’s an elected member of parliament. He’s a public figure. He’s a bridgehead, both to President Trump and to Elon Musk and others.
You’ve got to be pragmatic, practical about this. You’ve got to work the national interest in and that national interest is served in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways.”
Dan Hodges reporting Downing Street worried that Barton's testimony will contradict what Starmer said today about no pressure. Allegedly SKS went freestyling when he shouldn't have
Probably comes to nothing again of course, just yet another cjapter
Dan Hodges and Labour / Downing Street sources never seem to be accurate.
He's like Professor Anthony King and the Tories when it comes to Starmer, it's a truly terrible night for Starmer.
I remember when he and some PBers frottaged themselves into excitement over Starmer having to resign over the Durham trip, but there have been many others.
You are on a war path recently and babe I love it x
Most sensible people don't consume very much news.
I once saw it suggested that Political Operative Bootcamp should include a week of only getting news from the bulletins on a mainstream music station. You're up to date in two minutes, of which a third is an Ofcom-mandated local story and a third is showbiz.
There's a good reason that a lot of stories fail to cut through.
This may be so, but it does leave a certain explanatory gap as to why polling does exactly what it does both over the short term and more particularly the long term, or why so many people don't care much for Trump. As if you literally just listen to three minutes a day of which most is about pop music and bin collections in Ramsbottom it is hard to see how you form all these interesting judgments about the Greens, Reform, Starmer and so on. But somehow people do.
For example how would so many people who only know that little have gone off Reform recently?
I feel there is more in the public climate than this degree of non-knowledge. Something else is going on. Though how it works is mysterious.
One of Reform’s candidates is Ben Rowe, who is standing in the Ham ward of Plymouth. He urged protesters throwing bricks at police defending a mosque to “get rid of that filthy building” during the 2024 Southport riots.
Commenting beneath a YouTube video in February, Rowe accused “the Jews” of “creating division by forcing other races on our societies”. He elsewhere described immigrants to the UK “breeding like rats”, posted blackface memes and labelled Islam “a cancer”.
Nathaniel Menday, standing for Reform in Woodhouse, Sheffield, has called himself an “ethno-nationalist” and encouraged the use of white supremacist symbols. Last October, he asked a fellow Sheffield United fan to add a sonnenrad “sun wheel” emblem to a flag — a symbol widely used by neo-Nazis.
In January 2024, he shared a picture of Berlin’s Olympiastadion and wrote: “Whichever group of people built this must have been real visionaries!” The stadium was built by Nazi Germany to host the 1936 Olympics and designed by Albert Speer, the munitions minister who was convicted at the Nuremberg trials of crimes against humanity.
In 2023, Menday suggested “Jewish people in the West” were responsible for the antisemitism they were suffering because they “overwhelmingly favour open borders”. He added: “Sow the wind reap the whirlwind.”...
...Reform candidates have also shared conspiracy theories about the Covid pandemic and American politics.
Rowe reposted content that suggested Covid had a “Hebrew” source, while Axel Tye, standing for Reform in Penshaw & Shiney Row, Sunderland, said: “Stop covid in it’s [sic] tracks in two simple steps. 1. Delete the app. 2. Stop getting tested.”
Trevor Jones, a Reform candidate for Bolton North East, said he was “not buying another convenient virus just before Christmas” in November 2021.
He also shared posts calling the former US president Joe Biden “Bin Biden”, accusing him of having “rigged elections” and urging a suspension in the rollout of 5G.
Bev Watkins, standing in Wakefield for Reform, shared hoax content which warned against taking a “new” paracetamol which “contains ‘Machupo’ virus, considered one of the most dangerous viruses in the world, with a high mortality rate”.
Javier Blas @JavierBlas · 2h CHART OF THE DAY: The size of the 🇨🇳 Chinese strategic petroleum reserve is mind blowing: larger than 🇺🇸 US + 🇯🇵 Japan + the whole of 🇪🇺 Western Europe combined.
Dan Hodges reporting Downing Street worried that Barton's testimony will contradict what Starmer said today about no pressure. Allegedly SKS went freestyling when he shouldn't have
Probably comes to nothing again of course, just yet another cjapter
Dan Hodges and Labour / Downing Street sources never seem to be accurate.
He's like Professor Anthony King and the Tories when it comes to Starmer, it's a truly terrible night for Starmer.
I remember when he and some PBers frottaged themselves into excitement over Starmer having to resign over the Durham trip, but there have been many others.
And by now, Hodges seems to have worked himself into an unhealthy state because of how many times Starmer escaped his clutches.
Think the Hooded Claw at the end of every episode of the Perils of Penelope Pitstop.
If SKS finds a quiet moment to do a Harold Wilson and retire due to age/health, Dan might explode.
Dan Hodges reporting Downing Street worried that Barton's testimony will contradict what Starmer said today about no pressure. Allegedly SKS went freestyling when he shouldn't have
Probably comes to nothing again of course, just yet another cjapter
Who in Downing Street would talk to Hodges?
He seems to be getting it from 'a minister' (unnamed of course)
“The British government shouldn’t snub Brexiteer Nigel Farage’s offer to act as a Donald Trump whisperer, according to the man hotly-tipped to be the new U.K. ambassador to Washington. Peter Mandelson said the centre-left Labour government should utilize the Reform UK leader as a bridge to the president-elect, after ministers rebuffed the offer of help from a the right-wing populist.
“You can’t ignore him,” Peter Mandelson — a Labour peer who is a leading contender to become Britain’s man in D.C. said of Farage.
“He’s an elected member of parliament. He’s a public figure. He’s a bridgehead, both to President Trump and to Elon Musk and others.
You’ve got to be pragmatic, practical about this. You’ve got to work the national interest in and that national interest is served in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways.”
One of Reform’s candidates is Ben Rowe, who is standing in the Ham ward of Plymouth. He urged protesters throwing bricks at police defending a mosque to “get rid of that filthy building” during the 2024 Southport riots.
Commenting beneath a YouTube video in February, Rowe accused “the Jews” of “creating division by forcing other races on our societies”. He elsewhere described immigrants to the UK “breeding like rats”, posted blackface memes and labelled Islam “a cancer”.
Nathaniel Menday, standing for Reform in Woodhouse, Sheffield, has called himself an “ethno-nationalist” and encouraged the use of white supremacist symbols. Last October, he asked a fellow Sheffield United fan to add a sonnenrad “sun wheel” emblem to a flag — a symbol widely used by neo-Nazis.
In January 2024, he shared a picture of Berlin’s Olympiastadion and wrote: “Whichever group of people built this must have been real visionaries!” The stadium was built by Nazi Germany to host the 1936 Olympics and designed by Albert Speer, the munitions minister who was convicted at the Nuremberg trials of crimes against humanity.
In 2023, Menday suggested “Jewish people in the West” were responsible for the antisemitism they were suffering because they “overwhelmingly favour open borders”. He added: “Sow the wind reap the whirlwind.”...
...Reform candidates have also shared conspiracy theories about the Covid pandemic and American politics.
Rowe reposted content that suggested Covid had a “Hebrew” source, while Axel Tye, standing for Reform in Penshaw & Shiney Row, Sunderland, said: “Stop covid in it’s [sic] tracks in two simple steps. 1. Delete the app. 2. Stop getting tested.”
Trevor Jones, a Reform candidate for Bolton North East, said he was “not buying another convenient virus just before Christmas” in November 2021.
He also shared posts calling the former US president Joe Biden “Bin Biden”, accusing him of having “rigged elections” and urging a suspension in the rollout of 5G.
Bev Watkins, standing in Wakefield for Reform, shared hoax content which warned against taking a “new” paracetamol which “contains ‘Machupo’ virus, considered one of the most dangerous viruses in the world, with a high mortality rate”.
The worry are those not dumb enough to pipe up on social media, but still plenty dumb enough to hold these and similarr views.
In my experience the people who think the Jews are behind mass Muslim immigration are a truly special people.
How to combine ingrained anti-semitism with hatred of (mostly) non-white people despite no connection? Somehow they find a way.
Actually, I'm wrong to suggest it is hard, it's just bog standard 'The jews are behind X' updated.
I work for a bank that is obviously Jewish heritage.
We get a lot of crank calls and emails.
These bellends are convinced that because Jews & Muslims don't eat pork that means they are alike, and not eating pork means you're not really British.
Mandy is a it like Epstein in the sense he manages to befriend a wide range of people from all political backgrounds and across the world, and no matter what he does, people seem to still want to hange out with him e.g. Osborne having him round for dinner a few days after it was revealed Petey was leaking government secrets to a foreign intelligence asset. Trevor Phillips, Adam Boulton, people like that still say, well he is a really good mate. It one thing for your mate to have been a bit economical with the truth about some political decision, but leaking government secrets (and appearing to be taking payments for something iffy), I would have hard time going well its just Petey being Petey.
Chelsea Manager....its a bit like getting the Home Office gig...its basically ruins your reputation of those up and comers.
Decent payoff though, he's still got over six years left on his contract.
No reward for failure....although I have a feeling although it gets written up in the press as like £100 million pay off, if he ever manages again, I seemed to remember they don't actually get it all?
That been said, if Chelsea need somebody for the last few games of the season, I can probably fit them in my diary. Will do thm a solid, £100k a game.
When I worked for a law firm that dealt with contracts of Premier League clubs the payout was sometimes capped or sometimes stopped being paid once the manager got a new job.
Fairly normal in employment from my experience - unless they sign the NDA.
Chelsea Manager....its a bit like getting the Home Office gig...its basically ruins your reputation of those up and comers.
Decent payoff though, he's still got over six years left on his contract.
No reward for failure....although I have a feeling although it gets written up in the press as like £100 million pay off, if he ever manages again, I seemed to remember they don't actually get it all?
That been said, if Chelsea need somebody for the last few games of the season, I can probably fit them in my diary. Will do thm a solid, £100k a game.
When I worked for a law firm that dealt with contracts of Premier League clubs the payout was sometimes capped or sometimes stopped being paid once the manager got a new job.
Fairly normal in employment from my experience - unless they sign the NDA.
It gets complicated.
Obviously I never saw the contract but Frank Lampard was Chelsea manager during 2020/21 and was sacked midway through the season and Thomas Tuchel was appointed and won the Champions League that season.
Mr Lampard would have argued that he was due the say £3 million bonus in his contract for winning the Champions League.
Javier Blas @JavierBlas · 2h CHART OF THE DAY: The size of the 🇨🇳 Chinese strategic petroleum reserve is mind blowing: larger than 🇺🇸 US + 🇯🇵 Japan + the whole of 🇪🇺 Western Europe combined.
One of Reform’s candidates is Ben Rowe, who is standing in the Ham ward of Plymouth. He urged protesters throwing bricks at police defending a mosque to “get rid of that filthy building” during the 2024 Southport riots.
Commenting beneath a YouTube video in February, Rowe accused “the Jews” of “creating division by forcing other races on our societies”. He elsewhere described immigrants to the UK “breeding like rats”, posted blackface memes and labelled Islam “a cancer”.
Nathaniel Menday, standing for Reform in Woodhouse, Sheffield, has called himself an “ethno-nationalist” and encouraged the use of white supremacist symbols. Last October, he asked a fellow Sheffield United fan to add a sonnenrad “sun wheel” emblem to a flag — a symbol widely used by neo-Nazis.
In January 2024, he shared a picture of Berlin’s Olympiastadion and wrote: “Whichever group of people built this must have been real visionaries!” The stadium was built by Nazi Germany to host the 1936 Olympics and designed by Albert Speer, the munitions minister who was convicted at the Nuremberg trials of crimes against humanity.
In 2023, Menday suggested “Jewish people in the West” were responsible for the antisemitism they were suffering because they “overwhelmingly favour open borders”. He added: “Sow the wind reap the whirlwind.”...
...Reform candidates have also shared conspiracy theories about the Covid pandemic and American politics.
Rowe reposted content that suggested Covid had a “Hebrew” source, while Axel Tye, standing for Reform in Penshaw & Shiney Row, Sunderland, said: “Stop covid in it’s [sic] tracks in two simple steps. 1. Delete the app. 2. Stop getting tested.”
Trevor Jones, a Reform candidate for Bolton North East, said he was “not buying another convenient virus just before Christmas” in November 2021.
He also shared posts calling the former US president Joe Biden “Bin Biden”, accusing him of having “rigged elections” and urging a suspension in the rollout of 5G.
Bev Watkins, standing in Wakefield for Reform, shared hoax content which warned against taking a “new” paracetamol which “contains ‘Machupo’ virus, considered one of the most dangerous viruses in the world, with a high mortality rate”.
The worry are those not dumb enough to pipe up on social media, but still plenty dumb enough to hold these and similarr views.
In my experience the people who think the Jews are behind mass Muslim immigration are a truly special people.
How to combine ingrained anti-semitism with hatred of (mostly) non-white people despite no connection? Somehow they find a way.
Actually, I'm wrong to suggest it is hard, it's just bog standard 'The jews are behind X' updated.
I work for a bank that is obviously Jewish heritage.
We get a lot of crank calls and emails.
These bellends are convinced that because Jews & Muslims don't eat pork that means they are alike, and not eating pork means you're not really British.
Are Starmer and Boris rather more similar than either would care to admit?
Neither were across the detail, both were inconsistent, hugely self-absorbed, liked to blame others, and rapidly lost the confidence of their team.
The difference is that Starmer doesn't have the humour or the sex, but loves process, and Boris was more flippant and lazy, but loved a story.
I think Starmer’s downfall has been hubris. You think of the period he was LotO. Covid, Ukraine, Inflation, Truss, Boris and Sunak effectively being the captain of the Tory Titanic.
During Covid and Ukraine/Inflation he was able to continually attack the gov for their decisions and say he would do differently and this could never be tested.
He was up against a Tory gov who so many people, including the media, were happy to get rid of.
He was praised by his party and others for “forensically” taking apart Boris at PMQs. He had the freest of free hits v Truss and his attacks on Sunak were obnoxiously arrogant.
I think he really did believe that he was more intelligent than Sunak, a better politician than Boris and he would sweep in and be a “grown up” and be “fair” and that would be enough.
He worked in a rarified world where he was a human rights lawyer then running the CPS, that doesn’t shriek of wide experience with business, industry (sorry, forgot his old man was a toolmaker) the wider public sector, the military or frankly anything but his arrogance made him think he had all the answers and skills.
Are Starmer and Boris rather more similar than either would care to admit?
Neither were across the detail, both were inconsistent, hugely self-absorbed, liked to blame others, and rapidly lost the confidence of their team.
The difference is that Starmer doesn't have the humour or the sex, but loves process, and Boris was more flippant and lazy, but loved a story.
I think Starmer’s downfall has been hubris. You think of the period he was LotO. Covid, Ukraine, Inflation, Truss, Boris and Sunak effectively being the captain of the Tory Titanic.
During Covid and Ukraine/Inflation he was able to continually attack the gov for their decisions and say he would do differently and this could never be tested.
He was up against a Tory gov who so many people, including the media, were happy to get rid of.
He was praised by his party and others for “forensically” taking apart Boris at PMQs. He had the freest of free hits v Truss and his attacks on Sunak were obnoxiously arrogant.
I think he really did believe that he was more intelligent than Sunak, a better politician than Boris and he would sweep in and be a “grown up” and be “fair” and that would be enough.
He worked in a rarified world where he was a human rights lawyer then running the CPS, that doesn’t shriek of wide experience with business, industry (sorry, forgot his old man was a toolmaker) the wider public sector, the military or frankly anything but his arrogance made him think he had all the answers and skills.
Exclusive: Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly gives his strongest hint yet that he will run for Mayor of London in 2028.
"It would be daft for anyone who is passionate about politics not to at least consider it," he told me yesterday.
A Tory candidate I could conceivably vote for. After Goldsmith, Bailey and Hall (each one progressively worse than the one before) that would be quite something.
Exclusive: Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly gives his strongest hint yet that he will run for Mayor of London in 2028.
"It would be daft for anyone who is passionate about politics not to at least consider it," he told me yesterday.
A Tory candidate I could conceivably vote for. After Goldsmith, Bailey and Hall (each one progressively worse than the one before) that would be quite something.
Greens must be rueing their surge being a little late, they'd presumably sweep it today.
Oh I don't know. They are getting a royal visit out of it.
But when they say, “NO KINGS” it is surely implied that is other than Charles III?
I expect most Democrats like most Canadians would on a forced choice prefer King Charles III as their head of state to Trump
You are not suggesting we invade the US and install Charlie are you ?
No but I expect if Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine, New Jersey, Connecticut and New York, Minnesota and Illinois and California and Washington and Oregon and Hawaii were offered temporary membership of the Commonwealth realms until 2029 they would accept
Hawaii was a British protectorate (or similar) until a group of American 'colonists' managed to swing the then ruling group to prefer the USA.
If it had stayed British the 1941-45 Pacific War might not have happened.
Of course the Americans would then have stayed neutral in the Anti-Nazi War of 1939-45.
The Japanese would still have invaded Midway, and other US possessions, so I think war would have come their way, whether they wanted it or not.
Japan had this weird view that the way to stop the US interfering in their imperial ambitions was to raise the stakes with a war, and then they'd chicken out.
Epic fail.
The Japanese were looking at losing their empire. Because the US and others stopped selling them oil and other things - which were being used in the Japanese attempt to conquer China.
Are Starmer and Boris rather more similar than either would care to admit?
Neither were across the detail, both were inconsistent, hugely self-absorbed, liked to blame others, and rapidly lost the confidence of their team.
The difference is that Starmer doesn't have the humour or the sex, but loves process, and Boris was more flippant and lazy, but loved a story.
I think Starmer’s downfall has been hubris. You think of the period he was LotO. Covid, Ukraine, Inflation, Truss, Boris and Sunak effectively being the captain of the Tory Titanic.
During Covid and Ukraine/Inflation he was able to continually attack the gov for their decisions and say he would do differently and this could never be tested.
He was up against a Tory gov who so many people, including the media, were happy to get rid of.
He was praised by his party and others for “forensically” taking apart Boris at PMQs. He had the freest of free hits v Truss and his attacks on Sunak were obnoxiously arrogant.
I think he really did believe that he was more intelligent than Sunak, a better politician than Boris and he would sweep in and be a “grown up” and be “fair” and that would be enough.
He worked in a rarified world where he was a human rights lawyer then running the CPS, that doesn’t shriek of wide experience with business, industry (sorry, forgot his old man was a toolmaker) the wider public sector, the military or frankly anything but his arrogance made him think he had all the answers and skills.
Rishi is cleverer than SKS and Boris has more charisma, he was just better than Corbyn and at the time seemed of more moral character than Boris and offered a fresh face to the Tories after the Truss disaster and partygate. Sunak would easily beat Starmer now in a rerun of the last general election I expect
Cleverly would have a decent chance although the Tory parties continued anti EU attitude won’t go down well in London which is even more pro EU now than in 2016. And of course he was a big supporter of Leave .
So if he can overcome that then it would be the biggest chance the Tories have had in a long time to reclaim the mayoralty.
Cleverly would have a decent chance although the Tory parties continued anti EU attitude won’t go down well in London which is even more pro EU now than in 2016. And of course he was a big supporter of Leave .
So if he can overcome that then it would be the biggest chance the Tories have had in a long time to reclaim the mayoralty.
Cleverly would have a decent chance although the Tory parties continued anti EU attitude won’t go down well in London which is even more pro EU now than in 2016. And of course he was a big supporter of Leave .
So if he can overcome that then it would be the biggest chance the Tories have had in a long time to reclaim the mayoralty.
Split Green/Labour vote maybe?
Labour have changed the voting system after the Tories made it FPTP . It’s due to come in later next year . It will be done using supplementary vote .
Today at PMQs, Keir Starmer selectively quoted Olly Robbins’ evidence at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Starmer said on Mandelson’s vetting: "no pressure existed whatsoever in relation to this case".
But Robbins’ own written evidence to the Committee talks of an “atmosphere of pressure" from No10.
On Monday, Robbins told the Committee: "Throughout January, honestly, my office and the Foreign Secretary’s office were under constant pressure. There was an atmosphere of constant chasing".
Starmer was therefore wrong to say that "no pressure existed whatsoever".
He must correct the record immediately.
"Constant chasing" sounds more like pressure to complete the task rather than pressure to ensure a favourable outcome. (I'm being charitable here, but it's possible.)
Hartlepool’s Jonathan Brash says no one ‘reasonably expects’ PM to lead party into next election A Labour MP has become the first to call publicly for Sir Keir Starmer to resign over his handling of the Lord Mandelson vetting scandal.
On Wednesday, Jonathan Brash, the MP for Hartlepool, demanded the Prime Minister’s resignation and said no MP “reasonably expects” him to last until the next general election.
He broke cover as three former Cabinet secretaries lined up to criticise Sir Keir after he sacked Sir Olly Robbins as chief of the Foreign Office for not telling him that Lord Mandelson had failed his security vetting.
Today at PMQs, Keir Starmer selectively quoted Olly Robbins’ evidence at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Starmer said on Mandelson’s vetting: "no pressure existed whatsoever in relation to this case".
But Robbins’ own written evidence to the Committee talks of an “atmosphere of pressure" from No10.
On Monday, Robbins told the Committee: "Throughout January, honestly, my office and the Foreign Secretary’s office were under constant pressure. There was an atmosphere of constant chasing".
Starmer was therefore wrong to say that "no pressure existed whatsoever".
He must correct the record immediately.
She is still clutching at straws when their is an absolute whopper of an egregious act right in front of her*.
* Sacking Robbins.
I do not agree
Starmer contradicted Robbins testimony to Thornberry
You should have flagged my post for my spelling "there" as "their".
A Cabinet minister tells @theipaper they've lost patience with Sir Keir Starmer but that it was up to the Cabinet as a whole to move to depose him.
“It’s bleak. It’s a question for the Cabinet and colleagues need to come to a view. I know what my view is," they said
I am old enough to remember when all the members of the cabinet were briefing Gordo was a total wreck, #10 was a disaster zone, he had completely lost their confidence, he had to go....and nothing happened.
Exclusive: Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly gives his strongest hint yet that he will run for Mayor of London in 2028.
"It would be daft for anyone who is passionate about politics not to at least consider it," he told me yesterday.
If he was not leader of the Conservative Party by then
He won’t be. Why are you so fixated on the idea of him becoming leader?
If the Tories are third or worse in May then Kemi would likely be gone and he probably would be.
If they are second or better then Kemi stays and Cleverly can run for Mayor instead
Your theory which you’ve been pounding the site with for months rests on a 20 month old hypothetical poll, and an upcoming hypothetical projection
Hypothetically, you might be right. But I don’t think anyone needs to hear it again
If it comes true, fucking go for it
But please stop, at least for now
I'd just remind you - and others on the site - that if you'd followed HYUFD's predictions over recent years in relation to the Tory party you'd probably have made quite a bit of money.
Exclusive: Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly gives his strongest hint yet that he will run for Mayor of London in 2028.
"It would be daft for anyone who is passionate about politics not to at least consider it," he told me yesterday.
If he was not leader of the Conservative Party by then
He won’t be. Why are you so fixated on the idea of him becoming leader?
If the Tories are third or worse in May then Kemi would likely be gone and he probably would be.
If they are second or better then Kemi stays and Cleverly can run for Mayor instead
Your theory which you’ve been pounding the site with for months rests on a 20 month old hypothetical poll, and an upcoming hypothetical projection
Hypothetically, you might be right. But I don’t think anyone needs to hear it again
If it comes true, fucking go for it
But please stop, at least for now
It includes the latest Nowcast polling average of voteshares with Reform a clear first and Labour second, narrowly ahead of the third placed Conservatives
Today at PMQs, Keir Starmer selectively quoted Olly Robbins’ evidence at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Starmer said on Mandelson’s vetting: "no pressure existed whatsoever in relation to this case".
But Robbins’ own written evidence to the Committee talks of an “atmosphere of pressure" from No10.
On Monday, Robbins told the Committee: "Throughout January, honestly, my office and the Foreign Secretary’s office were under constant pressure. There was an atmosphere of constant chasing".
Starmer was therefore wrong to say that "no pressure existed whatsoever".
He must correct the record immediately.
She is still clutching at straws when their is an absolute whopper of an egregious act right in front of her*.
* Sacking Robbins.
I do not agree
Starmer contradicted Robbins testimony to Thornberry
Is @Mexicanpete the only poster who hasn't critised Starmer yet?
How do journalists and tv commentators avoid revealing their sources by accident .
You see them chatting on programmes like Newsnight and I’ve often thought you think the law of averages would mean they’d accidentally mention the name .
Thoughts and prayers for the Green Tories of North Herefordshire.
None of this would be happening if Corbyn and Sultana had not f-cked up the launch of their own party.
There was a comment on here a few weeks back - the Greens are riven by internal contradictions and are a massively disparate coalition yet are able to put all this aside in the interests of winning. Your Party disagree internally on almost nothing visible to the outside world yet cannot manage to stay united for more than five minutes. A coalition of the disagreeable.
But if all these Corbynites join the Greens then they will bring their politics of continual falling out and splits and factions and before long the Green Party will be in turmoil.
Would the Greens accept Corbyn himself if he wanted to join?
Are Starmer and Boris rather more similar than either would care to admit?
Neither were across the detail, both were inconsistent, hugely self-absorbed, liked to blame others, and rapidly lost the confidence of their team.
The difference is that Starmer doesn't have the humour or the sex, but loves process, and Boris was more flippant and lazy, but loved a story.
For me its Starmer and Sunak who are similar. Both think themselves a bit above the communication, representation and media bits of the job.
Boris for all his faults was very happy to be the front man.
I am not sure its they think themselves above it, they are just very poor at it. And if you know you are really poor at something and your advisor keep saying but PM you must do another interview or photoshoot or PR stunt, it probably fills you full of dreed, when you would much prefer to be sitting in our office reading about the finer points of some very dull economic forecast or legalise. But the modern age pretty much requires you to do act like the front man of a rock band.
I used to do everything possible to get out of art classes because it was always fucking drawing fruit or some such shit and not only did I not enjoy it I was fucking useless at it.
Cleverly would have a decent chance although the Tory parties continued anti EU attitude won’t go down well in London which is even more pro EU now than in 2016. And of course he was a big supporter of Leave .
So if he can overcome that then it would be the biggest chance the Tories have had in a long time to reclaim the mayoralty.
Split Green/Labour vote maybe?
System will have moved back to SV by then. The risk of a Lab/Grn split is that they squeeze Conservatives out of the runoff.
Good news: Cleverly is a way stronger candidate than Hall.
Bad news: Can Conservatives hoping to form a government in 2029 really cope if lose him? See the Anguish of Andy.
Today at PMQs, Keir Starmer selectively quoted Olly Robbins’ evidence at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Starmer said on Mandelson’s vetting: "no pressure existed whatsoever in relation to this case".
But Robbins’ own written evidence to the Committee talks of an “atmosphere of pressure" from No10.
On Monday, Robbins told the Committee: "Throughout January, honestly, my office and the Foreign Secretary’s office were under constant pressure. There was an atmosphere of constant chasing".
Starmer was therefore wrong to say that "no pressure existed whatsoever".
He must correct the record immediately.
"Constant chasing" sounds more like pressure to complete the task rather than pressure to ensure a favourable outcome. (I'm being charitable here, but it's possible.)
Not very plausible if everyone understood what outcome was desired - it wouldn't need to be explicit thereafter.
Dan Hodges reporting Downing Street worried that Barton's testimony will contradict what Starmer said today about no pressure. Allegedly SKS went freestyling when he shouldn't have
Probably comes to nothing again of course, just yet another cjapter
Dan Hodges and Labour / Downing Street sources never seem to be accurate.
He's like Professor Anthony King and the Tories when it comes to Starmer, it's a truly terrible night for Starmer.
I remember when he and some PBers frottaged themselves into excitement over Starmer having to resign over the Durham trip, but there have been many others.
Of course his much lamented late mother called Hodges " an idiot".
Today at PMQs, Keir Starmer selectively quoted Olly Robbins’ evidence at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Starmer said on Mandelson’s vetting: "no pressure existed whatsoever in relation to this case".
But Robbins’ own written evidence to the Committee talks of an “atmosphere of pressure" from No10.
On Monday, Robbins told the Committee: "Throughout January, honestly, my office and the Foreign Secretary’s office were under constant pressure. There was an atmosphere of constant chasing".
Starmer was therefore wrong to say that "no pressure existed whatsoever".
He must correct the record immediately.
She is still clutching at straws when their is an absolute whopper of an egregious act right in front of her*.
* Sacking Robbins.
I do not agree
Starmer contradicted Robbins testimony to Thornberry
You should have flagged my post for my spelling "there" as "their".
I do not, nor will I flag any post but spelling and grammar are my failings times as well
I am, frankly, torn between getting involved in some way to see if I can help and going, no, I would like some peace and care at the end of my life and forget it as much as I can.
I have been solving problems for others since I was 16 when my father first became seriously ill and then professionally for decades and even now people ask me to help on all sorts of stuff and I try to do so where I can and where I can add some value.
But, oh Christ, there is a part of me that just longs for a life without problems, without me being expected to sort stuff out, with me being cared for and others having the burden, because that is why I was hoping and planning for and trying to reconcile what I face with what I want and thread the needle to Joy and peace and relaxation is a bit bloody hard some times. And it really gets me down some of the time. After all what the fuck can I actually do, at this point? Nothing.
Added to which I now have inguinal ligament inflammation, probably as a result of a very bad fall a few weeks back. (That's a groin ligament and, please, keep your filthy thoughts to yourself.)
OTOH tomorrow work on building my raised beds in stone is starting and as the person doing it is both very handsome, talented, funny and very nice, there is that.
Dan Hodges reporting Downing Street worried that Barton's testimony will contradict what Starmer said today about no pressure. Allegedly SKS went freestyling when he shouldn't have
Probably comes to nothing again of course, just yet another cjapter
Dan Hodges and Labour / Downing Street sources never seem to be accurate.
He's like Professor Anthony King and the Tories when it comes to Starmer, it's a truly terrible night for Starmer.
I remember when he and some PBers frottaged themselves into excitement over Starmer having to resign over the Durham trip, but there have been many others.
Of course his much lamented late mother called Hodges " an idiot".
Bit harsh.
Hodges is a political commentator, he's more about entertainment not prognostication.
Pundits are not (usually) journalists in the way most people would think, and accuracy of prediction is a bonus not a core goal.
Today at PMQs, Keir Starmer selectively quoted Olly Robbins’ evidence at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Starmer said on Mandelson’s vetting: "no pressure existed whatsoever in relation to this case".
But Robbins’ own written evidence to the Committee talks of an “atmosphere of pressure" from No10.
On Monday, Robbins told the Committee: "Throughout January, honestly, my office and the Foreign Secretary’s office were under constant pressure. There was an atmosphere of constant chasing".
Starmer was therefore wrong to say that "no pressure existed whatsoever".
He must correct the record immediately.
She is still clutching at straws when their is an absolute whopper of an egregious act right in front of her*.
* Sacking Robbins.
I do not agree
Starmer contradicted Robbins testimony to Thornberry
You should have flagged my post for my spelling "there" as "their".
I do not, nor will I flag any post but spelling and grammar are my failings times as well
Flagging posters for socialism and unacceptable spelling should be encouraged.
Today at PMQs, Keir Starmer selectively quoted Olly Robbins’ evidence at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Starmer said on Mandelson’s vetting: "no pressure existed whatsoever in relation to this case".
But Robbins’ own written evidence to the Committee talks of an “atmosphere of pressure" from No10.
On Monday, Robbins told the Committee: "Throughout January, honestly, my office and the Foreign Secretary’s office were under constant pressure. There was an atmosphere of constant chasing".
Starmer was therefore wrong to say that "no pressure existed whatsoever".
He must correct the record immediately.
She is still clutching at straws when their is an absolute whopper of an egregious act right in front of her*.
* Sacking Robbins.
I do not agree
Starmer contradicted Robbins testimony to Thornberry
Is @Mexicanpete the only poster who hasn't critised Starmer yet?
You have to be fair, but Kemi is right to take Starmer on when he directly contradicts Robbin's evidence
Today at PMQs, Keir Starmer selectively quoted Olly Robbins’ evidence at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Starmer said on Mandelson’s vetting: "no pressure existed whatsoever in relation to this case".
But Robbins’ own written evidence to the Committee talks of an “atmosphere of pressure" from No10.
On Monday, Robbins told the Committee: "Throughout January, honestly, my office and the Foreign Secretary’s office were under constant pressure. There was an atmosphere of constant chasing".
Starmer was therefore wrong to say that "no pressure existed whatsoever".
He must correct the record immediately.
She is still clutching at straws when their is an absolute whopper of an egregious act right in front of her*.
* Sacking Robbins.
I do not agree
Starmer contradicted Robbins testimony to Thornberry
Is @Mexicanpete the only poster who hasn't critised Starmer yet?
You have to be fair, but Kemi is right to take Starmer on when he directly contradicts Robbin's evidence
This one is clutching at straws. If she gets the win fair play to her. Nonetheless it is unlikely I would have thought.
The Trump family's World Liberty crypto venture is being sued by one of its billionaire backers over allegations of extortion.
Justin Sun has accused World Liberty of an "illegal scheme" to seize his WLFI tokens, a cryptocurrency issued by the company.
Sun alleges the firm, co-founded by US President Donald Trump and his son Eric Trump, has "frozen" all of his tokens and stripped him of his right to vote on governance issues.
Ah, competitive gerrymandering, that's how things should go
Virginia voters have approved a redistricting measure that could help Democrats in their bid to win control of the thinly divided US House of Representatives in the midterm elections later this year.
The Trump family's World Liberty crypto venture is being sued by one of its billionaire backers over allegations of extortion.
Justin Sun has accused World Liberty of an "illegal scheme" to seize his WLFI tokens, a cryptocurrency issued by the company.
Sun alleges the firm, co-founded by US President Donald Trump and his son Eric Trump, has "frozen" all of his tokens and stripped him of his right to vote on governance issues.
Isn't Sun basically a crook who got pardoned by Trump (probably for cash) and has indulged in numerous crypto pump and dumps and other schemes that would have been illegal but for a Trump win?
Today at PMQs, Keir Starmer selectively quoted Olly Robbins’ evidence at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Starmer said on Mandelson’s vetting: "no pressure existed whatsoever in relation to this case".
But Robbins’ own written evidence to the Committee talks of an “atmosphere of pressure" from No10.
On Monday, Robbins told the Committee: "Throughout January, honestly, my office and the Foreign Secretary’s office were under constant pressure. There was an atmosphere of constant chasing".
Starmer was therefore wrong to say that "no pressure existed whatsoever".
He must correct the record immediately.
She is still clutching at straws when their is an absolute whopper of an egregious act right in front of her*.
* Sacking Robbins.
I do not agree
Starmer contradicted Robbins testimony to Thornberry
You should have flagged my post for my spelling "there" as "their".
I do not, nor will I flag any post but spelling and grammar are my failings times as well
Flagging posters for socialism and unacceptable spelling should be encouraged.
Comments
See you tomorrow!
Sorry I missed the flounce though. Was it a good one?
It was to carry his belt and shoe laces.
We are talking the left hand side of the bell end curve.
Actually, I'm wrong to suggest it is hard, it's just bog standard 'The jews are behind X' updated.
Probably comes to nothing again of course, just yet another cjapter
Enthusiastic amateurs beat out staffers every time.
That been said, if Chelsea need somebody for the last few games of the season, I can probably fit them in my diary. Will do thm a solid, £100k a game.
Barak Ravid
@BarakRavid
"Trump is ready to give another three to five days of ceasefire to allow the Iranians to regroup," a senior American official briefed on the matter told me. "This is not going to be an open and unlimited ceasefire."
https://x.com/BarakRavid/status/2046952882646155593
Neither were across the detail, both were inconsistent, hugely self-absorbed, liked to blame others, and rapidly lost the confidence of their team.
The difference is that Starmer doesn't have the humour or the sex, but loves process, and Boris was more flippant and lazy, but loved a story.
Epic fail.
It could have been Sunak's legacy.
I remember when he and some PBers frottaged themselves into excitement over Starmer having to resign over the Durham trip, but there have been many others.
“The British government shouldn’t snub Brexiteer Nigel Farage’s offer to act as a Donald Trump whisperer, according to the man hotly-tipped to be the new U.K. ambassador to Washington.
Peter Mandelson said the centre-left Labour government should utilize the Reform UK leader as a bridge to the president-elect, after ministers rebuffed the offer of help from a the right-wing populist.
“You can’t ignore him,” Peter Mandelson — a Labour peer who is a leading contender to become Britain’s man in D.C. said of Farage.
“He’s an elected member of parliament. He’s a public figure. He’s a bridgehead, both to President Trump and to Elon Musk and others.
You’ve got to be pragmatic, practical about this. You’ve got to work the national interest in and that national interest is served in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways.”
November 24, before Amby Mandy
https://www.politico.eu/article/nigel-farage-donald-trump-uk-labour-party-peter-mandelson/
For example how would so many people who only know that little have gone off Reform recently?
I feel there is more in the public climate than this degree of non-knowledge. Something else is going on. Though how it works is mysterious.
Javier Blas
@JavierBlas
·
2h
CHART OF THE DAY: The size of the 🇨🇳 Chinese strategic petroleum reserve is mind blowing: larger than 🇺🇸 US + 🇯🇵 Japan + the whole of 🇪🇺 Western Europe combined.
https://x.com/JavierBlas/status/2046956211438841864
Think the Hooded Claw at the end of every episode of the Perils of Penelope Pitstop.
If SKS finds a quiet moment to do a Harold Wilson and retire due to age/health, Dan might explode.
Close.
We get a lot of crank calls and emails.
These bellends are convinced that because Jews & Muslims don't eat pork that means they are alike, and not eating pork means you're not really British.
Obviously I never saw the contract but Frank Lampard was Chelsea manager during 2020/21 and was sacked midway through the season and Thomas Tuchel was appointed and won the Champions League that season.
Mr Lampard would have argued that he was due the say £3 million bonus in his contract for winning the Champions League.
2026 4/5 Betfair
2027 9/2 Betfred
2028 12/1 Betfred
2029 or later 10/1 Betfred
Looks like an arb opportunity.
That said, just take the 4/5, if it's still there when you look.
During Covid and Ukraine/Inflation he was able to continually attack the gov for their decisions and say he would do differently and this could never be tested.
He was up against a Tory gov who so many people, including the media, were happy to get rid of.
He was praised by his party and others for “forensically” taking apart Boris at PMQs. He had the freest of free hits v Truss and his attacks on Sunak were obnoxiously arrogant.
I think he really did believe that he was more intelligent than Sunak, a better politician than Boris and he would sweep in and be a “grown up” and be “fair” and that would be enough.
He worked in a rarified world where he was a human rights lawyer then running the CPS, that doesn’t shriek of wide experience with business, industry (sorry, forgot his old man was a toolmaker) the wider public sector, the military or frankly anything but his arrogance made him think he had all the answers and skills.
Exclusive: Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly gives his strongest hint yet that he will run for Mayor of London in 2028.
"It would be daft for anyone who is passionate about politics not to at least consider it," he told me yesterday.
So it was either all-in or fold.
So if he can overcome that then it would be the biggest chance the Tories have had in a long time to reclaim the mayoralty.
If they are second or better then Kemi stays and Cleverly can run for Mayor instead
Hypothetically, you might be right. But I don’t think anyone needs to hear it again
If it comes true, fucking go for it
But please stop, at least for now
A Cabinet minister tells @theipaper they've lost patience with Sir Keir Starmer but that it was up to the Cabinet as a whole to move to depose him.
“It’s bleak. It’s a question for the Cabinet and colleagues need to come to a view. I know what my view is," they said
https://electionmaps.uk/polling/vi
Both think themselves a bit above the communication, representation and media bits of the job.
Boris for all his faults was very happy to be the front man.
How do journalists and tv commentators avoid revealing their sources by accident .
You see them chatting on programmes like Newsnight and I’ve often thought you think the law of averages would mean they’d accidentally mention the name .
He's a Tory activist, he's polite, and you know, he has a better handle on the Tory party than most.
I used to do everything possible to get out of art classes because it was always fucking drawing fruit or some such shit and not only did I not enjoy it I was fucking useless at it.
Good news: Cleverly is a way stronger candidate than Hall.
Bad news: Can Conservatives hoping to form a government in 2029 really cope if lose him? See the Anguish of Andy.
Whenever anybody posts a tweet from Dan Hodges criticising Starmer over appointing Mandelson they must also post this too.
DAN HODGES: Ruthless, cynical and cunning - why Mandy is the perfect choice as US ambassador
https://www.dailymail.com/debate/article-14215417/DAN-HODGES-Ruthless-cynical-cunning-Mandy-perfect-choice-ambassador.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=social-twitter_mailonline
Track record: it's why I listen to HYUFD, but not Dan Hodges.
I am, frankly, torn between getting involved in some way to see if I can help and going, no, I would like some peace and care at the end of my life and forget it as much as I can.
I have been solving problems for others since I was 16 when my father first became seriously ill and then professionally for decades and even now people ask me to help on all sorts of stuff and I try to do so where I can and where I can add some value.
But, oh Christ, there is a part of me that just longs for a life without problems, without me being expected to sort stuff out, with me being cared for and others having the burden, because that is why I was hoping and planning for and trying to reconcile what I face with what I want and thread the needle to Joy and peace and relaxation is a bit bloody hard some times. And it really gets me down some of the time. After all what the fuck can I actually do, at this point? Nothing.
Added to which I now have inguinal ligament inflammation, probably as a result of a very bad fall a few weeks back. (That's a groin ligament and, please, keep your filthy thoughts to yourself.)
OTOH tomorrow work on building my raised beds in stone is starting and as the person doing it is both very handsome, talented, funny and very nice, there is that.
Hodges is a political commentator, he's more about entertainment not prognostication.
Pundits are not (usually) journalists in the way most people would think, and accuracy of prediction is a bonus not a core goal.
https://www.natesilver.net/p/trump-approval-ratings-nate-silver-bulletin
I don't think the Iran war dragging on is developing in his favour domestically.
Only a little over 6 months until mid-terms...
Justin Sun has accused World Liberty of an "illegal scheme" to seize his WLFI tokens, a cryptocurrency issued by the company.
Sun alleges the firm, co-founded by US President Donald Trump and his son Eric Trump, has "frozen" all of his tokens and stripped him of his right to vote on governance issues.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8x7kxjgq9xo
He is bloke who bought that art piece that was a banana taped to a wall for millions and eat it.
Virginia voters have approved a redistricting measure that could help Democrats in their bid to win control of the thinly divided US House of Representatives in the midterm elections later this year.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c895j8zgqe4o
I asked whether it was ethical to own so many properties during a housing crisis.
She told me her property ownership, which she said is ethical, is 'irrelevant'
https://x.com/craigymeighan/status/2046984731766436085
https://x.com/_BoldPolitics/status/2046925486064812139