The only Boswell daughter was Aveline (Gilly Coman/Melanie Hill), a colourful, enduring model who married Protestant vicar Oswald Carter (Giles Watling) at the end of series 4 (to staunchly-Catholic Nellie's outrage and who she would refer to as "The Proddy Vicar"); after trying to conceive throughout series 5, Aveline gives birth to Ursula in series 6.
I was far too innocent to understand the blatant innuendo.
Back in 2005 I rewatched the entire series.
How had it aged? I don't remember it fondly but according to Wiki at its peak it was attracting audiences of 21 million (!) so must have had something going for it. Like you, I may have been slightly too young first time around.
Alright, but some characters weren't as good as I remembered
1) No unity candidate but Labour and Lib Dems field paper candidates and don't bother campaigning other than to attack Farage. They can't win.
2) Tories have a sensible local candidate, perhaps a business man/woman. Portray themselves as the responsible party.
3) Restore campaign well from the right as the ideologically pure / non corrupt anti-immigrant party.
4) Farage spend a lot of the campaign answering questions about his various unorthodox financial affairs.
Maybe I'm being overly optimistic but I think the Tories could come through the middle of a split Reform/Restore vote to win.
Yes, I agree with your analysis.
Several things need to happen:
*Burnham needs to soft pedal the by election, paper candidate and not camapign too hard for Labour *Restore grab a chunk of the Reform vote *Tories select a sensible pro business candidate, popular with all the locals and Clacton pensioners
Also would be an advantage for Kemi if Farage continued to get hot under the collar and seld destructed somewhat during the campaign.
All of the above are possible, and he didn't break 50% of the vote last time (he got 46%)
It's not naturally good territory for the Lib Dems or Greens so I don't expect them to put much effort in.
Let's see what Rupert Lowe makes of it all later on. No love lost between them so Restore will surely stand
Not a good look for Burnham though if his first act as PM is to enable a Conservative victory.
He's in a similar position to what Starmer was in when a vacancy arrived in Makerfield.
If Starmer was to actively campaign for Labour, he is actively campaigning to help a direct rival in his own party to oust him as Prime Minister If he does not campaign, or lies back and hopes for a Reform victory, he is aiding a rival party who are leading his in the opinion polls.
Burnham would surely be delighted at the removal of Farage, even though he daren't admit it.
RUPERT LOWE will not stand a candidate in Clacton unless there is a second by-election following a ruling against Farage by the parliamentary commissioner for standards.
Interesting that it was reported in the Sundays that the Tories had been put on readiness for by-election in Clacton. It was presumed that meant that report into Farage donation was incoming and he was going to get sanctioned (but Telegrpah says they are nowhere near ready to report).
Did somebody leak within Reform (I presume close to Farage) to the Tories?
A double agent or a regretful defector is not outwith the realms of possibility
The only Boswell daughter was Aveline (Gilly Coman/Melanie Hill), a colourful, enduring model who married Protestant vicar Oswald Carter (Giles Watling) at the end of series 4 (to staunchly-Catholic Nellie's outrage and who she would refer to as "The Proddy Vicar"); after trying to conceive throughout series 5, Aveline gives birth to Ursula in series 6.
I was far too innocent to understand the blatant innuendo.
Back in 2005 I rewatched the entire series.
How had it aged? I don't remember it fondly but according to Wiki at its peak it was attracting audiences of 21 million (!) so must have had something going for it. Like you, I may have been slightly too young first time around.
I was 12ish when it first aired, remember it fondly. I suspect that the mid/late 80s vibe has aged poorly.
Makerfield 2.0 perhaps. Little and Sad de nos jours perhaps? The opportunity for the Conservatives to end Reform?
It’s never that simple but Farage starts with plenty in his favour but the worst result could be him scrambling home with an unconvincing win. Obviously, as the song doesn’t go, any win will do but we all know it won’t and doesn’t.
Let’s say however the gamble pays off and Farage gets back by 10,000 or more. Where does that leave the Conservatives ? We still don’t really know whether if the parliamentary arithmetic after the election allows the Conservatives will back a Reform minority administration or sit on their hands even if that means a continuation of Labour even as a minority Government.
Acrimonious by-election campaigns don’t help but they can be quickly forgotten. Even after the Littleborough & Saddleworth by-election in 1995, plenty still assumed Paddy Ashdown’s LDs would have supported a minority Blair led Labour Government in 1997.
Does anyone know about Rupert's operation in Clacton?
Is it Restore Britain, or could we have Clacton First?
(I'd saythe former for a Parliamentary election.)
Not running. Always was the danger for Farage. Labour's folded it's hand on this one, as has Davey. Just waiting on Kemi to decide whether to stand a candidate. He is not unopposed though, Binface is up for it. He might even save his deposit if noone else even halfway serious runs. I expect a halfway serious independent candidate might end up getting 25% or so though.
The Commons should refuse to agree to the motion regarding the writ and say the by- election should not happen until the investigation is concluded .
They can't. Unless they want to leave the seat vacant for the rest of the parliament.
They can refuse to agree to the motion and can still vote at a later date to approve it .
Refusing to allow the by-election to happen is an easy win for Reform’s ‘Establishment Fear’ narrative.
No not at all . Surely voters would want to know the results of the investigation to judge him , as Farage is telling us he’s innocent then why not wait till the report is published? We all know why he’s doing this now and the opposition shouldn’t indulge him .
1) No unity candidate but Labour and Lib Dems field paper candidates and don't bother campaigning other than to attack Farage. They can't win.
2) Tories have a sensible local candidate, perhaps a business man/woman. Portray themselves as the responsible party.
3) Restore campaign well from the right as the ideologically pure / non corrupt anti-immigrant party.
4) Farage spend a lot of the campaign answering questions about his various unorthodox financial affairs.
Maybe I'm being overly optimistic but I think the Tories could come through the middle of a split Reform/Restore vote to win.
Yes, I agree with your analysis.
Several things need to happen:
*Burnham needs to soft pedal the by election, paper candidate and not camapign too hard for Labour *Restore grab a chunk of the Reform vote *Tories select a sensible pro business candidate, popular with all the locals and Clacton pensioners
Also would be an advantage for Kemi if Farage continued to get hot under the collar and seld destructed somewhat during the campaign.
All of the above are possible, and he didn't break 50% of the vote last time (he got 46%)
It's not naturally good territory for the Lib Dems or Greens so I don't expect them to put much effort in.
Let's see what Rupert Lowe makes of it all later on. No love lost between them so Restore will surely stand
Not a good look for Burnham though if his first act as PM is to enable a Conservative victory.
He came in as the Reform slayer. I think a Tory win would suit him nicely.
The only Boswell daughter was Aveline (Gilly Coman/Melanie Hill), a colourful, enduring model who married Protestant vicar Oswald Carter (Giles Watling) at the end of series 4 (to staunchly-Catholic Nellie's outrage and who she would refer to as "The Proddy Vicar"); after trying to conceive throughout series 5, Aveline gives birth to Ursula in series 6.
I remember it fondly, but I suspect were I to re-watch it would not entertain. When broadcast there were three/four channels to pick from and I'm not even sure if we had a video player by then. There really wasn't a lot of competition!
The only Boswell daughter was Aveline (Gilly Coman/Melanie Hill), a colourful, enduring model who married Protestant vicar Oswald Carter (Giles Watling) at the end of series 4 (to staunchly-Catholic Nellie's outrage and who she would refer to as "The Proddy Vicar"); after trying to conceive throughout series 5, Aveline gives birth to Ursula in series 6.
Interesting that it was reported in the Sundays that the Tories had been put on readiness for by-election in Clacton. It was presumed that meant that report into donation on Farage was incoming and he was going to get sanctioned (but Telegrpah says they are nowhere near ready to report). Did somebody leak from within Reform to the Tories?
I think somebody very close to Nigel Farage is leaking all this stuff.
My favourite theory is that it is his bodyguards.
Farage gets £5 million for security and he pays his bodyguards minimum wage.
That can't be true. There is loads of work for personal protection / private security people, none of them do it for peanuts, unless they are genuinely big mates with the person they are protecting (and as with Farage it isn't a one off so even then they wouldn't do it).
Even the ‘security’ guy walking round a building site perimeter at night isn’t earning minimum wage.
Proper 24/7 personal security, for someone who receives daily death threats, costs serious money. The people doing it generally have a police or military background and command big money. I suspect that there’s two men in a car parked outside his daughter’s house today as well.
Ask a certain Mr Sussex, who’s spent millions trying to convince British taxpayers to fund his security, and is now looking at an eight-figure lawyers’ bill after losing a privacy case today.
The Commons should refuse to agree to the motion regarding the writ and say the by- election should not happen until the investigation is concluded .
They can't. Unless they want to leave the seat vacant for the rest of the parliament.
They can refuse to agree to the motion and can still vote at a later date to approve it .
Leaving the constituency without an MP in the meantime? That would be a spectacular own goal
They don’t have one anyway ! Farage can withdraw his resignation and wait for the investigation to conclude .
I don't think he can withdraw his resignation as it's technically a disqualification for accepting an office of profit under the Crown.
He’s said he’s going to resign , the formalities might not have started . And why can’t the investigation be sped up to conclude before any by-election ? The other parties need to de-legitimise Farage’s pathetic attempt to avoid scrutiny .
I actually think this is the best option for the other parties. Highlights the absurdity of it - imagine the speech at 2am with just the Count behind him.
And there is a small chance the people of Clacton decide to do something very funny.
The only Boswell daughter was Aveline (Gilly Coman/Melanie Hill), a colourful, enduring model who married Protestant vicar Oswald Carter (Giles Watling) at the end of series 4 (to staunchly-Catholic Nellie's outrage and who she would refer to as "The Proddy Vicar"); after trying to conceive throughout series 5, Aveline gives birth to Ursula in series 6.
I was far too innocent to understand the blatant innuendo.
Back in 2005 I rewatched the entire series.
How had it aged? I don't remember it fondly but according to Wiki at its peak it was attracting audiences of 21 million (!) so must have had something going for it. Like you, I may have been slightly too young first time around.
I bought a DVD from the CEX shop for a quid to rip to put on one of my strapons.
It has not aged well at all.
There’s a reason it rarely gets a run out. It’s just not very good.
When they changed Joey’s and Avelines it did not improve
The Commons should refuse to agree to the motion regarding the writ and say the by- election should not happen until the investigation is concluded .
They can't. Unless they want to leave the seat vacant for the rest of the parliament.
They can refuse to agree to the motion and can still vote at a later date to approve it .
Refusing to allow the by-election to happen is an easy win for Reform’s ‘Establishment Fear’ narrative.
No not at all . Surely voters would want to know the results of the investigation to judge him , as Farage is telling us he’s innocent then why not wait till the report is published? We all know why he’s doing this now and the opposition shouldn’t indulge him .
We used to get ‘In the News’ polling but I unfortunately don’t seem to be able to find any of that. TBH, I don’t think the majority know about it. Remember - we’re special, this is our autistic 'Special Interest'.
Interesting that it was reported in the Sundays that the Tories had been put on readiness for by-election in Clacton. It was presumed that meant that report into Farage donation was incoming and he was going to get sanctioned (but Telegrpah says they are nowhere near ready to report).
Did somebody leak within Reform (I presume close to Farage) to the Tories?
A double agent or a regretful defector is not outwith the realms of possibility
I wouldn't be surprised if a newspaper has somebody undercover in Reform. Wasn't it Ch4 that had somebody undercover during the GE and made a programme of various campaigners making dodgy comments (one guy in particular was out and out racist)?
The only Boswell daughter was Aveline (Gilly Coman/Melanie Hill), a colourful, enduring model who married Protestant vicar Oswald Carter (Giles Watling) at the end of series 4 (to staunchly-Catholic Nellie's outrage and who she would refer to as "The Proddy Vicar"); after trying to conceive throughout series 5, Aveline gives birth to Ursula in series 6.
I was far too innocent to understand the blatant innuendo.
Back in 2005 I rewatched the entire series.
How had it aged? I don't remember it fondly but according to Wiki at its peak it was attracting audiences of 21 million (!) so must have had something going for it. Like you, I may have been slightly too young first time around.
I bought a DVD from the CEX shop for a quid to rip to put on one of my strapons.
It has not aged well at all.
There’s a reason it rarely gets a run out. It’s just not very good.
When they changed Joey’s and Avelines it did not improve
I actually think this is the best option for the other parties. Highlights the absurdity of it - imagine the speech at 2am with just the Count behind him.
And there is a small chance the people of Clacton decide to do something very funny.
I mean, while I would vote tactically for the Tories in such a by-election, I'd be far more enthusiastic in my support for Count Binface as if he/she was the primary opponent.
£250k is an eyewatering amount of money to the vast majority of people.
And that's why this really is an Establishment vs the Rest election. The kind of person who thinks nowt of a £5 million gift. Because it's the sort of money he should have.
Surely the opposition won’t miss an open goal . Just boycott the by-election and make Farage look pathetic. The media could then ask Farage why he isn’t willing to wait for the investigation to report ?
Interesting that it was reported in the Sundays that the Tories had been put on readiness for by-election in Clacton. It was presumed that meant that report into Farage donation was incoming and he was going to get sanctioned (but Telegrpah says they are nowhere near ready to report).
Did somebody leak within Reform (I presume close to Farage) to the Tories?
A double agent or a regretful defector is not outwith the realms of possibility
I wouldn't be surprised if a newspaper has somebody undercover in Reform. Wasn't it Ch4 that had somebody undercover during the GE and made a programme of various campaigners making dodgy comments (one guy in particular was out and out racist)?
Farage has just argued that doing anything in return for money is justified, and a fair number of people agree with him. I wouldn't be surprised if someone is simply leaking information in exchange for cash. Nothing wrong with making a bit of money after all. They might not even see it as being disloyal - just taking some money off the enemy.
The only Boswell daughter was Aveline (Gilly Coman/Melanie Hill), a colourful, enduring model who married Protestant vicar Oswald Carter (Giles Watling) at the end of series 4 (to staunchly-Catholic Nellie's outrage and who she would refer to as "The Proddy Vicar"); after trying to conceive throughout series 5, Aveline gives birth to Ursula in series 6.
I was far too innocent to understand the blatant innuendo.
Back in 2005 I rewatched the entire series.
How had it aged? I don't remember it fondly but according to Wiki at its peak it was attracting audiences of 21 million (!) so must have had something going for it. Like you, I may have been slightly too young first time around.
I bought a DVD from the CEX shop for a quid to rip to put on one of my strapons.
It has not aged well at all.
There’s a reason it rarely gets a run out. It’s just not very good.
When they changed Joey’s and Avelines it did not improve
strapon... going to need to expand on that...
My plug in hard drive. My mate calls them strapons as I strap them onto the tv 👍
So Farage will have to finally go and visit his constituency?
It will be a novelty for him.
That's the other mystery here.
The five million dollar pound man has gone to ground in recent months, for obvious reasons. Unless he plans to just do a video campaign, how does he avoid speaking to nasty people with mean questions?
FFS. It should be blindingly obvious that no political party can pay for an election.
Nigel himself could make a voluntary overpayment of taxes for the amount it costs, which is sort of the same thing? As he told us today, he is now like well loaded after becoming an social media influencer.
I've got mixed feelings about whether Labour should stand in Clacton. I can see the attraction of leaving it to the Tories, or ignoring it if the Tories don't run a candidate.
But on the other hand, Burnham will be new in place, and has already promised to improve growth, life chances etc. in, to quote his words, "every postcode". That presumably includes Clacton. Although they wouldn't stand a chance of winning, it may be useful for Burnham to get a feel for how Labour is doing in such a seat.
Interesting that it was reported in the Sundays that the Tories had been put on readiness for by-election in Clacton. It was presumed that meant that report into Farage donation was incoming and he was going to get sanctioned (but Telegrpah says they are nowhere near ready to report).
Did somebody leak within Reform (I presume close to Farage) to the Tories?
A double agent or a regretful defector is not outwith the realms of possibility
I wouldn't be surprised if a newspaper has somebody undercover in Reform. Wasn't it Ch4 that had somebody undercover during the GE and made a programme of various campaigners making dodgy comments (one guy in particular was out and out racist)?
The only surprising part of that is that there was only one racist.
So Farage will have to finally go and visit his constituency?
It will be a novelty for him.
That's the other mystery here.
The five million dollar pound man has gone to ground in recent months, for obvious reasons. Unless he plans to just do a video campaign, how does he avoid speaking to nasty people with mean questions?
Yes, a fairly obvious flaw in his cunning plan.
Badenoch should be there every week. If the Tories can take the seat back it would be like a disco on Farage's political grave
"Gamblers who spend more than £1,000 online in a 24-hour window will have to undergo a financial risk assessment, the industry regulator has announced.
The Gambling Commission said this would also apply to anyone spending over £3,000 in a rolling 90-day period."
I've got mixed feelings about whether Labour should stand in Clacton. I can see the attraction of leaving it to the Tories, or ignoring it if the Tories don't run a candidate.
But on the other hand, Burnham will be new in place, and has already promised to improve growth, life chances etc. in, to quote his words, "every postcode". That presumably includes Clacton. Although they wouldn't stand a chance of winning, it may be useful for Burnham to get a feel for how Labour is doing in such a seat.
As I said in the previous thread, Clacton had a Labour MP between 1997 and 2005 as part of the Harwich constituency, and although Clacton wouldn't have been the most Labour-friendly section of the seat, they still must have picked up a pretty significant share of the vote in that area.
"Gamblers who spend more than £1,000 online in a 24-hour window will have to undergo a financial risk assessment, the industry regulator has announced.
The Gambling Commission said this would also apply to anyone spending over £3,000 in a rolling 90-day period."
Good for the match, because it means Argentina will have to make an effort to do more than win 1-0 which often seems to be their preferred way of winning matches.
Nige is doing all he can to get the 'anyone by Reform' vote out in Manc at the end of July, quite suboptimal in a STV election.
Walking through town on the way to the tram this evening, group of half a dozen women, likely in their twenties, gave an audible cheer when the LBG advert changed over to 'Farage Resigns as MP'.
I am no fan of Farage, but I think that is bit thin gruel. Retired from politics, on a reality TV show, ITV surprise him with a family member (even if she was down on a list of people they could surprise him with). TBH, I actually didn't even know he had kids.
Its a bit like people saying Starmer is lying about similar claim, because he gave a few speeches where there was a photo of his kids in shot to give the impression he was in his office at home rather than Lord Ali's flat or him saying about got to take his son to the footy as reason for private box. I don't see either of those as massive "leveraging his kids for political purposes" or him lying about protecting them.
BREAAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKING NEWS....Count BinFace is standing.
The people has spoken.
Labour, Tories, Lib Dems and Greens: I demand you stand down in Clacton. I will be a unity candidate and pledge to build at least one affordable house.
Nigel Farage says he wants The People versus the Establishment. So be it.
BREAAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKING NEWS....Count BinFace is standing.
The people has spoken.
Labour, Tories, Lib Dems and Greens: I demand you stand down in Clacton. I will be a unity candidate and pledge to build at least one affordable house.
Nigel Farage says he wants The People versus the Establishment. So be it.
BREAAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKING NEWS....Count BinFace is standing.
The people has spoken.
Labour, Tories, Lib Dems and Greens: I demand you stand down in Clacton. I will be a unity candidate and pledge to build at least one affordable house.
Nigel Farage says he wants The People versus the Establishment. So be it.
The other parties should not stand. A straight Binface v Farage is the way to go. Turn the 'people v establishment' framing right back on Mr £5m.
It would be hilarious, but outside of Speaker contests (and that intermittenly) have the big two ever not stood? No matter the circumstances it looks bad to not try.
The other parties should not stand. A straight Binface v Farage is the way to go. Turn the 'people v establishment' framing right back on Mr £5m.
It would be hilarious, but outside of Speaker contests (and that intermittenly) have the big two ever not stood? No matter the circumstances it looks bad to not try.
I don't thing anyone serious stood against David Davis in his vanity byelection.
BREAAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKING NEWS....Count BinFace is standing.
The people has spoken.
Labour, Tories, Lib Dems and Greens: I demand you stand down in Clacton. I will be a unity candidate and pledge to build at least one affordable house.
Nigel Farage says he wants The People versus the Establishment. So be it.
The other parties should not stand. A straight Binface v Farage is the way to go. Turn the 'people v establishment' framing right back on Mr £5m.
It would be hilarious, but outside of Speaker contests (and that intermittenly) have the big two ever not stood? No matter the circumstances it looks bad to not try.
David Davis vanity by-election. None of the major parties stood and ended up with 10-11 novelty candidates.
In their dreams this would be a Tory Reform fight in which Kemi says do you want an MP all about their ego vs a hardworking Tory, and have it be the defining contest in whether Tories absorb Reform or vice versa.
“We will be standing a candidate in the real by-election, which will follow the standards investigation into Nigel Farage’s fishy finances.
We will not be standing a candidate in the fake by-election that Farage is causing to distract people from what is happening. We need to let that investigation run its course, and I think the reason why Nigel Farage has resigned is because he’s terrified that he’s going to be found to have done something wrong.
The best thing for him to have done would have been to call a press conference and explain what he did with the money, apologise if needs be, and that would have been the end of it. Instead, he has been running away from scrutiny. No one is bigger than parliament. We all have to register our interests.
We, the Conservative Party, are very focused on uniting the country around sensible policies. We’re going to focus on getting Britain working again and showing some common sense, not throwing random by-elections out because we’re having a hissy fit.”
The other parties should not stand. A straight Binface v Farage is the way to go. Turn the 'people v establishment' framing right back on Mr £5m.
It would be hilarious, but outside of Speaker contests (and that intermittenly) have the big two ever not stood? No matter the circumstances it looks bad to not try.
The precedent is David Davis resigning to contest a by-election. Labour and Lib Dems didn't stand candidates. Greens came second with about 7.5%.
I think in this circumstance the argument that they're not standing in this by-election because they're waiting for the by-election after the standards inquiry, is a good basis for sitting it out.
The other parties should not stand. A straight Binface v Farage is the way to go. Turn the 'people v establishment' framing right back on Mr £5m.
It would be hilarious, but outside of Speaker contests (and that intermittenly) have the big two ever not stood? No matter the circumstances it looks bad to not try.
David Davis vanity by-election. None of the major parties stood and ended up with 10-11 novelty candidates.
I couldn't remember if they'd bothered then. So clear precedent for vanity contests, so it will mean nothing as it won't even clear Farage of future accusations.
The other parties should not stand. A straight Binface v Farage is the way to go. Turn the 'people v establishment' framing right back on Mr £5m.
It would be hilarious, but outside of Speaker contests (and that intermittenly) have the big two ever not stood? No matter the circumstances it looks bad to not try.
Individually, yes, a few times.
Labour did not stand against Davis. Tories did not stand after the murder of Jo Cox. Labour did not stand after the murder of Sir David Amess.
The incumbent party stood all those times but precedence for non incumbents to step aside.
BREAAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKING NEWS....Count BinFace is standing.
The people has spoken.
Labour, Tories, Lib Dems and Greens: I demand you stand down in Clacton. I will be a unity candidate and pledge to build at least one affordable house.
Nigel Farage says he wants The People versus the Establishment. So be it.
Comments
If Starmer was to actively campaign for Labour, he is actively campaigning to help a direct rival in his own party to oust him as Prime Minister
If he does not campaign, or lies back and hopes for a Reform victory, he is aiding a rival party who are leading his in the opinion polls.
Burnham would surely be delighted at the removal of Farage, even though he daren't admit it.
But if not, then Binface should be the white suit (of armour) candidate.
I suspect that the mid/late 80s vibe has aged poorly.
Is it Restore Britain, or could we have Clacton First?
(I'd saythe former for a Parliamentary election.)
Makerfield 2.0 perhaps. Little and Sad de nos jours perhaps? The opportunity for the Conservatives to end Reform?
It’s never that simple but Farage starts with plenty in his favour but the worst result could be him scrambling home with an unconvincing win. Obviously, as the song doesn’t go, any win will do but we all know it won’t and doesn’t.
Let’s say however the gamble pays off and Farage gets back by 10,000 or more. Where does that leave the Conservatives ? We still don’t really know whether if the parliamentary arithmetic after the election allows the Conservatives will back a Reform minority administration or sit on their hands even if that means a continuation of Labour even as a minority Government.
Acrimonious by-election campaigns don’t help but they can be quickly forgotten. Even after the Littleborough & Saddleworth by-election in 1995, plenty still assumed Paddy Ashdown’s LDs would have supported a minority Blair led Labour Government in 1997.
Don't cry for me, Argentina?
Walk Like an Egyptian?
We can't possibly have a two-way contest between an obviously ludicrous, fringe oddball, and a man dressed as a dustbin.
He is not unopposed though, Binface is up for it. He might even save his deposit if noone else even halfway serious runs. I expect a halfway serious independent candidate might end up getting 25% or so though.
On the other hand, nice to have £5 million.
I think a Tory win would suit him nicely.
Proper 24/7 personal security, for someone who receives daily death threats, costs serious money. The people doing it generally have a police or military background and command big money. I suspect that there’s two men in a car parked outside his daughter’s house today as well.
Ask a certain Mr Sussex, who’s spent millions trying to convince British taxpayers to fund his security, and is now looking at an eight-figure lawyers’ bill after losing a privacy case today.
£250k is an eyewatering amount of money to the vast majority of people.
And there is a small chance the people of Clacton decide to do something very funny.
It has not aged well at all.
There’s a reason it rarely gets a run out. It’s just not very good.
When they changed Joey’s and Avelines it did not improve
The kind of person who thinks nowt of a £5 million gift.
Because it's the sort of money he should have.
I have spoken to the CEO of Tendring District Council. Reform has offered to cover the cost of the by-election.
I will be writing to Rachel Reeves later today with the same message.
Given that we asked for this by-election in the first place, it’s only right that we pay for it."
https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/2074499712376303784
It will be a novelty for him.
The five million dollar pound man has gone to ground in recent months, for obvious reasons. Unless he plans to just do a video campaign, how does he avoid speaking to nasty people with mean questions?
But on the other hand, Burnham will be new in place, and has already promised to improve growth, life chances etc. in, to quote his words, "every postcode". That presumably includes Clacton. Although they wouldn't stand a chance of winning, it may be useful for Burnham to get a feel for how Labour is doing in such a seat.
Badenoch should be there every week. If the Tories can take the seat back it would be like a disco on Farage's political grave
The Gambling Commission said this would also apply to anyone spending over £3,000 in a rolling 90-day period."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqj1xvy44xno
This is going to make it harder for me to take money from desperate punters on Betfair.
Good for the match, because it means Argentina will have to make an effort to do more than win 1-0 which often seems to be their preferred way of winning matches.
Here's Nigel Farage with his daughter, Isabelle, on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2023.
https://x.com/i_ammukhtar/status/2074503009329958945?s=46
Walking through town on the way to the tram this evening, group of half a dozen women, likely in their twenties, gave an audible cheer when the LBG advert changed over to 'Farage Resigns as MP'.
Its a bit like people saying Starmer is lying about similar claim, because he gave a few speeches where there was a photo of his kids in shot to give the impression he was in his office at home rather than Lord Ali's flat or him saying about got to take his son to the footy as reason for private box. I don't see either of those as massive "leveraging his kids for political purposes" or him lying about protecting them.
“If this by-election does go ahead now, we are calling on all parties to stand aside and refuse to give oxygen to Farage’s vanity project.
“But the Government should just say no to Farage’s ego-trip and block his resignation until the Standards Commissioner has finished investigating him.
“The people of Clacton should have all the facts before they cast their votes.”
Who resign when investigated, then get a job with another force.
Labour, Tories, Lib Dems and Greens: I demand you stand down in Clacton. I will be a unity candidate and pledge to build at least one affordable house.
Nigel Farage says he wants The People versus the Establishment. So be it.
Leave him to me.
https://x.com/CountBinface/status/2074513701286162752
Dammit, I positively want Farage to lose to a man with a bin on his head.
Despite bullishness and posturing he must have been terrified to do this though - it's not a stunt to pull lightly.
Ice cold. I love it.
I don't think their dream will come true.
And they know it, so won't stand.
We will not be standing a candidate in the fake by-election that Farage is causing to distract people from what is happening. We need to let that investigation run its course, and I think the reason why Nigel Farage has resigned is because he’s terrified that he’s going to be found to have done something wrong.
The best thing for him to have done would have been to call a press conference and explain what he did with the money, apologise if needs be, and that would have been the end of it. Instead, he has been running away from scrutiny. No one is bigger than parliament. We all have to register our interests.
We, the Conservative Party, are very focused on uniting the country around sensible policies. We’re going to focus on getting Britain working again and showing some common sense, not throwing random by-elections out because we’re having a hissy fit.”
- Kemi
I think in this circumstance the argument that they're not standing in this by-election because they're waiting for the by-election after the standards inquiry, is a good basis for sitting it out.
Labour did not stand against Davis.
Tories did not stand after the murder of Jo Cox.
Labour did not stand after the murder of Sir David Amess.
The incumbent party stood all those times but precedence for non incumbents to step aside.