The Clacton bin fight, and reactions to it on here, have highlighted what is a surprising (to me) change in the British political landscape.
I watched (years ago now) a great C4 documentary on politicians who were made to live with a struggling family for a month. The Tory politician (Children's Minister, I want to say Tim Loughton but might be misremembering) came across as a thoroughly decent human, the Labour one notsomuch.
Ever since I've agreed with the cliche that, though my political sympathies are with Labour, I'd much prefer to spend an evening getting gently pissed in the pub with a right-wing politician (I suspect Johnson or Cameron would be a thoroughly enjoyable drinking partner, for example, whereas I'd boil my big toe in my own urine rather than spend an evening drinking with Starmer).
Right-wingers seem to do 'human' better. Left-wingers seem to be too tied up in their own worthiness.
But Burnham seems to be genuinely amusing (and Badenoch has her moments too to be fair). At the same time, those supporting Reform seem to have inherited the left-wing mantle of turgid idealism and be unable to see the funny in the absurdity of politics. They also seem brittle and angry, much as parts of old Labour seemed to be.
I wonder if this is just a blip and normal service will resume, or are Reform the new killjoys?
From their point of view I can understand other parties not standing in the by election but think it’s a mistake for the conservatives not to . They would probably win with tactical voting from voters who would never vote Tory normally and therefore start a habit for later . Also the win could springboard a charge to take back being the dominant force on the right . Not standing they just look like part of the smug establishment to many on the right
Good morning everybody.
I could be persuaded to vote Binface. However I'd need a session at the pub with a persuasive and generous friend before I'd vote Tory. Even in these circumstances.
As someone who thinks voting important (obviously) I would be in a quandary as a hypothetical Clacton constituent. I accept in general you make your choices from those in front of you, but I'm certainly not going to vote Farage, not just because he's a malign fraud, but I don't see why I should be forced to accept a man with a bin on his head just because of a lack of alternatives. Mostly I would be very annoyed this election is happening at all.
I bet plenty in Clacton feel like that.
A viable alternative is a serious independent anti-grift candidate. But it would be vital they had no sniff of 'establishment' or 'uniparty' about them. That really limits the field. Maybe to zero since any such person would also have to be up for doing it.
If Binface campaigns as Eek suggests - keep the humour but mix in some seriousness on local issues - he could perhaps fit that bill. He ought to be able to. I doubt he knows (or cares) less about the place than his opponent the sitting MP.
Or the cock-and-balls write-in candidate could get elected....
@NickPalmer wrote: I live in the same constituency as Johnson and chat with him from time to time. It's a strongly LibDem area (Brightwell, near Oxford) and some people refuse to engage with him, even though he never does anything locally that is remotely political.. To some extent I think that professional politicians are readier to mix normally with people of other persuasions, because we've all faced the fact that lots of people just aren't very interested in what we all do.
I think that's called retirement! Quite often hear of ex-servicemen who fought on different sides in the same battle doing much the same thing.
Yes, but it was the same when I was more active (I'm still reasonably active, was CLP chair until recently). The examples in in the Ann Widdecombe stories of her being savage in debate and affable privately are not untypical. Essentially the 650 people in Parliament are sharing an experience quite alien to many people, and have more in common than with someone who doesn't give a toss about any of it.
Yes; TBH I'm not at all surprised. As you say it is a 'special' environment!
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Yes and no.
Objectively, Farage should still win easily, if unconvincingly. After all, his only rival is a bloke with a bin on his head. But because Refrom is just another iteration of the Nigel Farage Party, protecting him is much more important than the more interesting prize in Greater Manchester.
I wonder what broad and general government position and policy on Israel and its relations with the Arab/Islamic world, WRT both words and deeds, would command a reasonable degree of assent from the UK population?
I don't think the general UK population cares about Gaza, nor do they give two hoots about Israel either.
People can care about more than one thing at a time. E.g crime is currently 6th on most important issues facing country. Tax is 9th.
Reflecting the large majority’s view on Palestine seems like an easy win for Burnham. Even more so if you consider the kind of votes he wants back - even the moderate Conservatives on PB are horrified that has happened there.
If he can link it to the shambles of the war on Iran and energy prices then even better.
But what a policy 'reflecting the large majority' on Palestine look like? It is unlikely that the majority want the status quo, or want Israel to be obliterated and undefended, or want misery for Palestinians, or want the current Israeli leadership, or want Hamas. Picking the right words here and there is fine, but what would be the Labour long term policy to command a high degree of assent? So, for example with regards to arms, most will neither want an undefended Israel nor an Israel able to kill and destroy civilian lives more or less at will.
Fully commit to defence of Israel, including direct attacks on Iran, conditional on withdrawal from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank. Formally recognise the genocide in Gaza.
LOL
I’m sure Bibi will commit to that in a heartbeat. 😂
Israel won’t withdraw from any of those places and is doubling down on it.
That’s the reality and we, in the west, have condoned it and gone along with it and enabled it irrespective of what people think.
It’s far too late now to exert any pressure on them to unwind. They’re building more settlements in the West Bank even as we post here.
Yeah, that’s my point. I think 80%+ would agree with that position, and when Netanyahu rejects it then Burnham comes out of it looking reasonable.
I wonder what broad and general government position and policy on Israel and its relations with the Arab/Islamic world, WRT both words and deeds, would command a reasonable degree of assent from the UK population?
I don't think the general UK population cares about Gaza, nor do they give two hoots about Israel either.
People can care about more than one thing at a time. E.g crime is currently 6th on most important issues facing country. Tax is 9th.
Reflecting the large majority’s view on Palestine seems like an easy win for Burnham. Even more so if you consider the kind of votes he wants back - even the moderate Conservatives on PB are horrified that has happened there.
If he can link it to the shambles of the war on Iran and energy prices then even better.
But what a policy 'reflecting the large majority' on Palestine look like? It is unlikely that the majority want the status quo, or want Israel to be obliterated and undefended, or want misery for Palestinians, or want the current Israeli leadership, or want Hamas. Picking the right words here and there is fine, but what would be the Labour long term policy to command a high degree of assent? So, for example with regards to arms, most will neither want an undefended Israel nor an Israel able to kill and destroy civilian lives more or less at will.
Fully commit to defence of Israel, including direct attacks on Iran, conditional on withdrawal from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank. Formally recognise the genocide in Gaza.
LOL
I’m sure Bibi will commit to that in a heartbeat. 😂
Israel won’t withdraw from any of those places and is doubling down on it.
That’s the reality and we, in the west, have condoned it and gone along with it and enabled it irrespective of what people think.
It’s far too late now to exert any pressure on them to unwind. They’re building more settlements in the West Bank even as we post here.
Yeah, that’s my point. I think 80%+ would agree with that position, and when Netanyahu rejects it then Burnham comes out of it looking reasonable.
No, he looks totally ineffective in that scenario. An ineffectual posturing blow hard.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Yes and no.
Objectively, Farage should still win easily, if unconvincingly. After all, his only rival is a bloke with a bin on his head. But because Refrom is just another iteration of the Nigel Farage Party, protecting him is much more important than the more interesting prize in Greater Manchester.
Besides, the North is so far away...
Has the unintended side effect of avoiding a possible Reform win in Manchester and then two or so years of them trying to run a big city region and all the laughs that will involve - thereby warning the people of manchester off voting Reform in GE 2029.
@NickPalmer wrote: I live in the same constituency as Johnson and chat with him from time to time. It's a strongly LibDem area (Brightwell, near Oxford) and some people refuse to engage with him, even though he never does anything locally that is remotely political.. To some extent I think that professional politicians are readier to mix normally with people of other persuasions, because we've all faced the fact that lots of people just aren't very interested in what we all do.
I think that's called retirement! Quite often hear of ex-servicemen who fought on different sides in the same battle doing much the same thing.
Yes, but it was the same when I was more active (I'm still reasonably active, was CLP chair until recently). The examples in in the Ann Widdecombe stories of her being savage in debate and affable privately are not untypical. Essentially the 650 people in Parliament are sharing an experience quite alien to many people, and have more in common than with someone who doesn't give a toss about any of it.
I now visualise you and Boris as the Adolph Galland and Douglas Bader of the post Brexit stushie. They apparently got on like a house on fire post ‘45.
I wonder what broad and general government position and policy on Israel and its relations with the Arab/Islamic world, WRT both words and deeds, would command a reasonable degree of assent from the UK population?
I don't think the general UK population cares about Gaza, nor do they give two hoots about Israel either.
People can care about more than one thing at a time. E.g crime is currently 6th on most important issues facing country. Tax is 9th.
Reflecting the large majority’s view on Palestine seems like an easy win for Burnham. Even more so if you consider the kind of votes he wants back - even the moderate Conservatives on PB are horrified that has happened there.
If he can link it to the shambles of the war on Iran and energy prices then even better.
But what a policy 'reflecting the large majority' on Palestine look like? It is unlikely that the majority want the status quo, or want Israel to be obliterated and undefended, or want misery for Palestinians, or want the current Israeli leadership, or want Hamas. Picking the right words here and there is fine, but what would be the Labour long term policy to command a high degree of assent? So, for example with regards to arms, most will neither want an undefended Israel nor an Israel able to kill and destroy civilian lives more or less at will.
Fully commit to defence of Israel, including direct attacks on Iran, conditional on withdrawal from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank. Formally recognise the genocide in Gaza.
LOL
I’m sure Bibi will commit to that in a heartbeat. 😂
Israel won’t withdraw from any of those places and is doubling down on it.
That’s the reality and we, in the west, have condoned it and gone along with it and enabled it irrespective of what people think.
It’s far too late now to exert any pressure on them to unwind. They’re building more settlements in the West Bank even as we post here.
Yeah, that’s my point. I think 80%+ would agree with that position, and when Netanyahu rejects it then Burnham comes out of it looking reasonable.
The fly in the ointment, as it always is with respect to Israel, is the USA. Handling Trump's reaction to us taking a more principled position on Israel hasn't gone away as a problem.
It will be interesting to see how Burnham handles Trump (on this and more broadly). It's one aspect of Burnham's impending leadership that I'm quietly optimistic about - I think Burnham will probably be quite good at the 'stand your ground whilst not denting his fragile ego' that seems the best approach to the orange one.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Yes and no.
Objectively, Farage should still win easily, if unconvincingly. After all, his only rival is a bloke with a bin on his head. But because Refrom is just another iteration of the Nigel Farage Party, protecting him is much more important than the more interesting prize in Greater Manchester.
Besides, the North is so far away...
Has the unintended side effect of avoiding a possible Reform win in Manchester and then two or so years of them trying to run a big city region and all the laughs that will involve - thereby warning the people of manchester off voting Reform in GE 2029.
Also, having someone with a significant independent mandate who might exploit it to undermine their national leader.
Not that any metro mayor with an gram of integrity would dream of doing that, of course.
I was wondering about what eye catching moves Burnham might take to make a splash home and abroad to buy time to work out the serious stuff that needs doing.
I can see him passing a bill to return the Elgin Marbles for example. He will get lots of love from a lot of the world and on social media and it won’t cost anything.
Anyone got any other “free” things he can do to make himself look different/dynamic?
He could visit Palestine (or try, I doubt the Israeli govt would let him in). He's already changing the rhetoric on Gaza in a way that will likely be helpful.
Koh-i-noor diamond is a big deal in Indian subcontinent and with the diaspora but I think that might cause a stir with the monarchy.
Or he could focus on the uk and its huge debt and deficit and immigration issues and welfare budget
What immigration issues - I'm asking because the issues you have are probably already fixed or at least reduced but most people won't pick up on the fact.
Arrivals by boat from France are down 37% compared to last year but that's news that isn't being reported..
Whilst there is a single irregular boat crossing landing on our shores, that is too much. Simple as that.
Anyone who doesn't understand that was probably also arguing ACstuALLY Its ONlY £100m pER weEK
If there is more than one murder in a week, that is too much. Simple as that. If more than one person dies from a preventable illness, that is too much. Simple as that.
Or maybe it's not that simple? Maybe lots of bad things happen and we try to stop them, but hitting zero is not practical.
I guess the difference with the small boat crossings is that they* weren't happening ten years ago.
If, for example, bread manufacturers started using a new ingredient that suddenly caused one hundred deaths a year, it wouldn't be unreasonable to seek to ban that ingredient and reduce that number of deaths to zero.
* The complicated bit is that people were illicitly crossing the border by other means, and the chances are that some other method will be found if small boat crossings are reduced back to zero. But, still, that's why there's a desire to reduce small boat crossings to zero, and not the same impetus to reduce other unpleasant things to zero. It looks new, even if it isn't completely.
I was wondering about what eye catching moves Burnham might take to make a splash home and abroad to buy time to work out the serious stuff that needs doing.
I can see him passing a bill to return the Elgin Marbles for example. He will get lots of love from a lot of the world and on social media and it won’t cost anything.
Anyone got any other “free” things he can do to make himself look different/dynamic?
He could visit Palestine (or try, I doubt the Israeli govt would let him in). He's already changing the rhetoric on Gaza in a way that will likely be helpful.
Koh-i-noor diamond is a big deal in Indian subcontinent and with the diaspora but I think that might cause a stir with the monarchy.
Or he could focus on the uk and its huge debt and deficit and immigration issues and welfare budget
What immigration issues - I'm asking because the issues you have are probably already fixed or at least reduced but most people won't pick up on the fact.
Arrivals by boat from France are down 37% compared to last year but that's news that isn't being reported..
Whilst there is a single irregular boat crossing landing on our shores, that is too much. Simple as that.
Anyone who doesn't understand that was probably also arguing ACstuALLY Its ONlY £100m pER weEK
If there is more than one murder in a week, that is too much. Simple as that. If more than one person dies from a preventable illness, that is too much. Simple as that.
Or maybe it's not that simple? Maybe lots of bad things happen and we try to stop them, but hitting zero is not practical.
I guess the difference with the small boat crossings is that they* weren't happening ten years ago.
If, for example, bread manufacturers started using a new ingredient that suddenly caused one hundred deaths a year, it wouldn't be unreasonable to seek to ban that ingredient and reduce that number of deaths to zero.
* The complicated bit is that people were illicitly crossing the border by other means, and the chances are that some other method will be found if small boat crossings are reduced back to zero. But, still, that's why there's a desire to reduce small boat crossings to zero, and not the same impetus to reduce other unpleasant things to zero. It looks new, even if it isn't completely.
Previously the same people were hopping into the back of lorries but massive fines and checks at both Eurotunnel and Calais put a stop to it.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Not fully. The party is still in a good place they are just back slightly from the euphoria of the locals and experiencing some negative press, which they respond to with the grace of a pregnant hippo in molasses.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Yes and no.
Objectively, Farage should still win easily, if unconvincingly. After all, his only rival is a bloke with a bin on his head. But because Refrom is just another iteration of the Nigel Farage Party, protecting him is much more important than the more interesting prize in Greater Manchester.
Besides, the North is so far away...
Has the unintended side effect of avoiding a possible Reform win in Manchester and then two or so years of them trying to run a big city region and all the laughs that will involve - thereby warning the people of manchester off voting Reform in GE 2029.
Also, having someone with a significant independent mandate who might exploit it to undermine their national leader.
Not that any metro mayor with an gram of integrity would dream of doing that, of course.
New law incoming to say if a mayor quits early they are ineligible to stand for another post?
The Clacton bin fight, and reactions to it on here, have highlighted what is a surprising (to me) change in the British political landscape.
I watched (years ago now) a great C4 documentary on politicians who were made to live with a struggling family for a month. The Tory politician (Children's Minister, I want to say Tim Loughton but might be misremembering) came across as a thoroughly decent human, the Labour one notsomuch.
Ever since I've agreed with the cliche that, though my political sympathies are with Labour, I'd much prefer to spend an evening getting gently pissed in the pub with a right-wing politician (I suspect Johnson or Cameron would be a thoroughly enjoyable drinking partner, for example, whereas I'd boil my big toe in my own urine rather than spend an evening drinking with Starmer).
Right-wingers seem to do 'human' better. Left-wingers seem to be too tied up in their own worthiness.
But Burnham seems to be genuinely amusing (and Badenoch has her moments too to be fair). At the same time, those supporting Reform seem to have inherited the left-wing mantle of turgid idealism and be unable to see the funny in the absurdity of politics. They also seem brittle and angry, much as parts of old Labour seemed to be.
I wonder if this is just a blip and normal service will resume, or are Reform the new killjoys?
From their point of view I can understand other parties not standing in the by election but think it’s a mistake for the conservatives not to . They would probably win with tactical voting from voters who would never vote Tory normally and therefore start a habit for later . Also the win could springboard a charge to take back being the dominant force on the right . Not standing they just look like part of the smug establishment to many on the right
Good morning everybody.
I could be persuaded to vote Binface. However I'd need a session at the pub with a persuasive and generous friend before I'd vote Tory. Even in these circumstances.
As someone who thinks voting important (obviously) I would be in a quandary as a hypothetical Clacton constituent. I accept in general you make your choices from those in front of you, but I'm certainly not going to vote Farage, not just because he's a malign fraud, but I don't see why I should be forced to accept a man with a bin on his head just because of a lack of alternatives. Mostly I would be very annoyed this election is happening at all.
There's going to be a dozen or more candidates. The voters of Clacton are not being forced to accept Binface as the only alternative.
Wonder if there's a wider principle being manifest here. For most of my life, the orthodoxy has been to outsource things, so that organisations in the public and private sectors tend towards an ideal of a management team and a bundle of contracts.
Initially, that led to improvements in efficiency and quality, because competition will do that. But now the contracted suppliers have rebalanced the power in their favour, so can be more expensive and less good. (My place really struggled to let its recent catering contract.)
Hence insourcing looks more attractive. And so the wheel turns.
Having been in the US for a month, it is something that has noticably changed over the 25 years I have been coming regularly. Go try and hire a car, lots of brands...go and try and contact their customer service and you quickly realise there is essentially 3 hire car companies now. Same with hotels, beef processing, etc etc etc.
This massive consolidations in huge number of industries means the idea of wild competition in a free market is an illusion.
It is where you do need strong government to stop over consolidation. I don't now much about contract catering, but its there like basically Sodexo and errrh Sodexo?
Free marketeers will say there’s nothing to stop new companies emerging but where a business has a wide moat with large barriers to entry that just won’t happen.
Speaking of market failure, looks like EasyJet is the next firm to be asset-stripped.
Asset stripping tends to be more of companies that have gone into administration than those taken over but we will see what happens
After what the Americans did to Cadbury, many think any such takeover should be referred to the Ministry for confirmation that it is not against UK national interests.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Yes and no.
Objectively, Farage should still win easily, if unconvincingly. After all, his only rival is a bloke with a bin on his head. But because Refrom is just another iteration of the Nigel Farage Party, protecting him is much more important than the more interesting prize in Greater Manchester.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
We might think that, it does appear to be a mis-step, hastily made. However, they still lead in the polls and they won three council seats yesterday across the country (a hold and two gains). Only the Conservatives matched them with two gains. No other party was in net gain territory.
Personally, it will be during the general election that they will really suffer. They will fall apart under scrutiny, especially from the public.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Do you really think he hadn't considered the possibility the main parties wouldn't contest the seat?
Yes. Or not considered it properly, anyway.
1 Calling a mid-scandal by-election on personal integrity gives the impression of someone who hasn't heard of the Streisand effect. 2 The possible outcomes are that he wins (in which case, whoopiedoo, he beat a bloke with a bin on his head) or loses (in which case it's game over, because he lost to a bloke with a bin on his head.) 3 This by-election is costing money (which Reform have a binful of, for some reason) and campaigning capacity (which they don't have to excess). See the news from our friends in the north.
It's possible that Farage is cleverer than a binful of monkeys, and this is a stroke of genius. But it's blooming hard to see how.
Wonder if there's a wider principle being manifest here. For most of my life, the orthodoxy has been to outsource things, so that organisations in the public and private sectors tend towards an ideal of a management team and a bundle of contracts.
Initially, that led to improvements in efficiency and quality, because competition will do that. But now the contracted suppliers have rebalanced the power in their favour, so can be more expensive and less good. (My place really struggled to let its recent catering contract.)
Hence insourcing looks more attractive. And so the wheel turns.
Having been in the US for a month, it is something that has noticably changed over the 25 years I have been coming regularly. Go try and hire a car, lots of brands...go and try and contact their customer service and you quickly realise there is essentially 3 hire car companies now. Same with hotels, beef processing, etc etc etc.
This massive consolidations in huge number of industries means the idea of wild competition in a free market is an illusion.
It is where you do need strong government to stop over consolidation. I don't now much about contract catering, but its there like basically Sodexo and errrh Sodexo?
Free marketeers will say there’s nothing to stop new companies emerging but where a business has a wide moat with large barriers to entry that just won’t happen.
Speaking of market failure, looks like EasyJet is the next firm to be asset-stripped.
Asset stripping tends to be more of companies that have gone into administration than those taken over but we will see what happens
After what the Americans did to Cadbury, many think any such takeover should be referred to the Ministry for confirmation that it is not against UK national interests.
My most recent flight was Easyjet. Doesn't have a lot of the Ryanair associated nonsense for a cheap carrier, it'd be a genuine shame to see it disappear or change substantially for the worse.
I was wondering about what eye catching moves Burnham might take to make a splash home and abroad to buy time to work out the serious stuff that needs doing.
I can see him passing a bill to return the Elgin Marbles for example. He will get lots of love from a lot of the world and on social media and it won’t cost anything.
Anyone got any other “free” things he can do to make himself look different/dynamic?
He could visit Palestine (or try, I doubt the Israeli govt would let him in). He's already changing the rhetoric on Gaza in a way that will likely be helpful.
Koh-i-noor diamond is a big deal in Indian subcontinent and with the diaspora but I think that might cause a stir with the monarchy.
Or he could focus on the uk and its huge debt and deficit and immigration issues and welfare budget
What immigration issues - I'm asking because the issues you have are probably already fixed or at least reduced but most people won't pick up on the fact.
Arrivals by boat from France are down 37% compared to last year but that's news that isn't being reported..
Whilst there is a single irregular boat crossing landing on our shores, that is too much. Simple as that.
Anyone who doesn't understand that was probably also arguing ACstuALLY Its ONlY £100m pER weEK
If there is more than one murder in a week, that is too much. Simple as that. If more than one person dies from a preventable illness, that is too much. Simple as that.
Or maybe it's not that simple? Maybe lots of bad things happen and we try to stop them, but hitting zero is not practical.
I guess the difference with the small boat crossings is that they* weren't happening ten years ago.
If, for example, bread manufacturers started using a new ingredient that suddenly caused one hundred deaths a year, it wouldn't be unreasonable to seek to ban that ingredient and reduce that number of deaths to zero.
* The complicated bit is that people were illicitly crossing the border by other means, and the chances are that some other method will be found if small boat crossings are reduced back to zero. But, still, that's why there's a desire to reduce small boat crossings to zero, and not the same impetus to reduce other unpleasant things to zero. It looks new, even if it isn't completely.
That's true, but the point remains that "anything bigger than zero" is unacceptable is silly rhetoric. We don't apply that for more serious issues.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
We might think that, it does appear to be a mis-step, hastily made. However, they still lead in the polls and they won three council seats yesterday across the country (a hold and two gains). Only the Conservatives matched them with two gains. No other party was in net gain territory.
Personally, it will be during the general election that they will really suffer. They will fall apart under scrutiny, especially from the public.
I'm not confident of that. It's rare a campaign changes things (though 2017 shows it is possible), and if they lead (everyone or just the Tories) for 3+ years going into a GE, i think the voters may be leds spooked from a poor csmpaign than people think.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Do you really think he hadn't considered the possibility the main parties wouldn't contest the seat?
If he did, why are you so furious that they didn't?
Reform are making the best of it, establishment ganging up etc, but the response has been visceral anger at being mocked rather than 'aha, you fell for our trap'.
Solicitor who declared that he was a 'horny bastard' struck off
A solicitor has been struck off for telling a barrister who was instructed by his firm that he was thinking about her bum, and calling another woman a "cheeky bitch" and telling her he was a "horny bastard".
Michael Alexander initially sent Person A messages about work after his firm at the time, Russell & Russell, had instructed her on a matter.
But the SRA said Person A grew concerned “when the professional relationship became infiltrated with incredibly inappropriate comments”.
Alexander informed the barrister that he masturbated while thinking about her and “her posterior”, and when she reminded him that she worked for with him and told him to stop “he persisted”.
She left the matter and did not attend court as a result, but despite an investigation by the firm and a referral to the SRA, the solicitor moved on to a barrister’s clerk he ferreted out in LinkedIn.
After suggesting that he could possibly employ the woman, who was out of work at the time, as his PA, Alexander then behaved “even more egregiously and offensively” than he had towards Person A, said the SRA.
After Alexander told Person B she could “trust him because he was a solicitor”, he asked if she was “naked in bed” and informed her that he was a “horny bastard”.
When she told him to keep things professional, he left voicemails and called her a “cheeky bitch”, said the SRA.
The irrepressible charmer carried on even as he was under investigation for his conversations with Person A and Person B, contacting Person C over LinkedIn and asking her out in a lunch date. When she asked if she knew him, he replied modestly, “no but I am a top lawyer from Manchester”, reported the Law Gazette.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Do you really think he hadn't considered the possibility the main parties wouldn't contest the seat?
Yep. I don’t think he considered that at all. I think he made a hasty and rash decision
He told the Mail he had not considered the possibility.
Do you have a link to that? Since that would make the 'Farage planned for this, you fools' posts even more hilarious.
What is the 4d chess outcome anyway? Farage wins with whatever degree of comfort then the enquiry into his finances resumes. It’s Trumpian distraction mode without realising that Trump holds the levers of power and essentially dgaf what courts, media or polls say. Of course he could lose. Would that be the end of him?
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Do you really think he hadn't considered the possibility the main parties wouldn't contest the seat?
Yep. I don’t think he considered that at all. I think he made a hasty and rash decision
He told the Mail he had not considered the possibility.
Do you have a link to that? Since that would make the 'Farage planned for this, you fools' posts even more hilarious.
What is the 4d chess outcome anyway? Farage wins with whatever degree of comfort then the enquiry into his finances resumes. It’s Trumpian distraction mode without realising that Trump holds the levers of power and essentially dgaf what courts, media or polls say. Of course he could lose. Would that be the end of him?
Farage’s reputation would be rubbish / down in the dumps were he to lose to a man with a bin on his head.
This election is a waste of his summer with no upside for Farage
The 4d plan was to get a proper election where the Tories were standing out of the way before the real trashy details of Farage’s dodgy dealings are made available
I wonder what broad and general government position and policy on Israel and its relations with the Arab/Islamic world, WRT both words and deeds, would command a reasonable degree of assent from the UK population?
I don't think the general UK population cares about Gaza, nor do they give two hoots about Israel either.
People can care about more than one thing at a time. E.g crime is currently 6th on most important issues facing country. Tax is 9th.
Reflecting the large majority’s view on Palestine seems like an easy win for Burnham. Even more so if you consider the kind of votes he wants back - even the moderate Conservatives on PB are horrified that has happened there.
If he can link it to the shambles of the war on Iran and energy prices then even better.
But what a policy 'reflecting the large majority' on Palestine look like? It is unlikely that the majority want the status quo, or want Israel to be obliterated and undefended, or want misery for Palestinians, or want the current Israeli leadership, or want Hamas. Picking the right words here and there is fine, but what would be the Labour long term policy to command a high degree of assent? So, for example with regards to arms, most will neither want an undefended Israel nor an Israel able to kill and destroy civilian lives more or less at will.
Fully commit to defence of Israel, including direct attacks on Iran, conditional on withdrawal from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank. Formally recognise the genocide in Gaza.
LOL
I’m sure Bibi will commit to that in a heartbeat. 😂
Israel won’t withdraw from any of those places and is doubling down on it.
That’s the reality and we, in the west, have condoned it and gone along with it and enabled it irrespective of what people think.
It’s far too late now to exert any pressure on them to unwind. They’re building more settlements in the West Bank even as we post here.
Yeah, that’s my point. I think 80%+ would agree with that position, and when Netanyahu rejects it then Burnham comes out of it looking reasonable.
The fly in the ointment, as it always is with respect to Israel, is the USA. Handling Trump's reaction to us taking a more principled position on Israel hasn't gone away as a problem.
It will be interesting to see how Burnham handles Trump (on this and more broadly). It's one aspect of Burnham's impending leadership that I'm quietly optimistic about - I think Burnham will probably be quite good at the 'stand your ground whilst not denting his fragile ego' that seems the best approach to the orange one.
This is a problem for Ireland at the moment. There's almost unanimous domestic support for a ban on trade with the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, but the US has made it clear that any Irish sanctions on trade with Israel will be met with US sanctions on business in Ireland. And Ireland is far too reliant on US corporate investment to be able to act independently.
This is why any sensible foreign policy for Britain has to start with sorting out Britain's problems at home. British policy on Palestine mattered in 1917, because Britain mattered. In 2026, not so much.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Do you really think he hadn't considered the possibility the main parties wouldn't contest the seat?
Yep. I don’t think he considered that at all. I think he made a hasty and rash decision
He told the Mail he had not considered the possibility.
Do you have a link to that? Since that would make the 'Farage planned for this, you fools' posts even more hilarious.
On Wednesday night, the Reform leader admitted he had been wrong-footed by the parties all refusing to challenge him.
Asked whether he had considered the possibility of being the only serious candidate, Mr Farage told the Daily Mail: “No, of course not. Why would they [not contest]? It’s a real election.”
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Do you really think he hadn't considered the possibility the main parties wouldn't contest the seat?
Yep. I don’t think he considered that at all. I think he made a hasty and rash decision
He told the Mail he had not considered the possibility.
Do you have a link to that? Since that would make the 'Farage planned for this, you fools' posts even more hilarious.
It's paywalled but here it is.
The Reform leader confessed to being wrong-footed by the Tories, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Restore Britain as they all refused to participate in the run-off.
Asked if he'd considered the possibility of fighting as the only proper candidate, Mr Farage confessed: 'No, of course not.
'Why would they [not contest]? It's a real election.'
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Do you really think he hadn't considered the possibility the main parties wouldn't contest the seat?
Yep. I don’t think he considered that at all. I think he made a hasty and rash decision
He told the Mail he had not considered the possibility.
Do you have a link to that? Since that would make the 'Farage planned for this, you fools' posts even more hilarious.
What is the 4d chess outcome anyway? Farage wins with whatever degree of comfort then the enquiry into his finances resumes. It’s Trumpian distraction mode without realising that Trump holds the levers of power and essentially dgaf what courts, media or polls say. Of course he could lose. Would that be the end of him?
It's virtual chess - played in your imagination on one of Rishi Sunak's 100 "Outdoor Chessboards for your Public Space", where his Govt paid for the board, but did not supply any pieces.
Branding works well in a city already most famous for its vice.
Before his time is over I expect he'll want the name of the whole country changed to Trump, with its new capital city, Trump, in the state of Trump, lying on the Trump coast, renaming the old capital Trump in the District of Trump, colloquially Trump DT.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Do you really think he hadn't considered the possibility the main parties wouldn't contest the seat?
Yep. I don’t think he considered that at all. I think he made a hasty and rash decision
He told the Mail he had not considered the possibility.
Do you have a link to that? Since that would make the 'Farage planned for this, you fools' posts even more hilarious.
What is the 4d chess outcome anyway? Farage wins with whatever degree of comfort then the enquiry into his finances resumes. It’s Trumpian distraction mode without realising that Trump holds the levers of power and essentially dgaf what courts, media or polls say. Of course he could lose. Would that be the end of him?
I think part of his gamble is that he knows parliament will find him guilty of not fezzing up about the five million quid in the interests register but he is gambling they wont force a recall petition because he just won a by-election in august.
Solicitor who declared that he was a 'horny bastard' struck off
A solicitor has been struck off for telling a barrister who was instructed by his firm that he was thinking about her bum, and calling another woman a "cheeky bitch" and telling her he was a "horny bastard".
Michael Alexander initially sent Person A messages about work after his firm at the time, Russell & Russell, had instructed her on a matter.
But the SRA said Person A grew concerned “when the professional relationship became infiltrated with incredibly inappropriate comments”.
Alexander informed the barrister that he masturbated while thinking about her and “her posterior”, and when she reminded him that she worked for with him and told him to stop “he persisted”.
She left the matter and did not attend court as a result, but despite an investigation by the firm and a referral to the SRA, the solicitor moved on to a barrister’s clerk he ferreted out in LinkedIn.
After suggesting that he could possibly employ the woman, who was out of work at the time, as his PA, Alexander then behaved “even more egregiously and offensively” than he had towards Person A, said the SRA.
After Alexander told Person B she could “trust him because he was a solicitor”, he asked if she was “naked in bed” and informed her that he was a “horny bastard”.
When she told him to keep things professional, he left voicemails and called her a “cheeky bitch”, said the SRA.
The irrepressible charmer carried on even as he was under investigation for his conversations with Person A and Person B, contacting Person C over LinkedIn and asking her out in a lunch date. When she asked if she knew him, he replied modestly, “no but I am a top lawyer from Manchester”, reported the Law Gazette.
Branding works well in a city already most famous for its vice.
Before his time is over I expect he'll want the name of the whole country changed to Trump, with its new capital city, Trump, in the state of Trump, lying on the Trump coast, renaming the old capital Trump in the District of Trump, colloquially Trump DT.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Do you really think he hadn't considered the possibility the main parties wouldn't contest the seat?
Yep. I don’t think he considered that at all. I think he made a hasty and rash decision
He told the Mail he had not considered the possibility.
Do you have a link to that? Since that would make the 'Farage planned for this, you fools' posts even more hilarious.
What is the 4d chess outcome anyway? Farage wins with whatever degree of comfort then the enquiry into his finances resumes. It’s Trumpian distraction mode without realising that Trump holds the levers of power and essentially dgaf what courts, media or polls say. Of course he could lose. Would that be the end of him?
I think part of his gamble is that he knows parliament will find him guilty of not fezzing up about the five million quid in the interests register but he is gambling they wont force a recall petition because he just won a by-election in august.
I expect he's going to be surprised.
We've also got 34 days of this to go - because they missed time frames the by-election will be on August 13th.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Do you really think he hadn't considered the possibility the main parties wouldn't contest the seat?
Yep. I don’t think he considered that at all. I think he made a hasty and rash decision
He told the Mail he had not considered the possibility.
Do you have a link to that? Since that would make the 'Farage planned for this, you fools' posts even more hilarious.
What is the 4d chess outcome anyway? Farage wins with whatever degree of comfort then the enquiry into his finances resumes. It’s Trumpian distraction mode without realising that Trump holds the levers of power and essentially dgaf what courts, media or polls say. Of course he could lose. Would that be the end of him?
I think it would. Even Farage couldn't survive a public humiliation of that magnitude.
Solicitor who declared that he was a 'horny bastard' struck off
A solicitor has been struck off for telling a barrister who was instructed by his firm that he was thinking about her bum, and calling another woman a "cheeky bitch" and telling her he was a "horny bastard".
Michael Alexander initially sent Person A messages about work after his firm at the time, Russell & Russell, had instructed her on a matter.
But the SRA said Person A grew concerned “when the professional relationship became infiltrated with incredibly inappropriate comments”.
Alexander informed the barrister that he masturbated while thinking about her and “her posterior”, and when she reminded him that she worked for with him and told him to stop “he persisted”.
She left the matter and did not attend court as a result, but despite an investigation by the firm and a referral to the SRA, the solicitor moved on to a barrister’s clerk he ferreted out in LinkedIn.
After suggesting that he could possibly employ the woman, who was out of work at the time, as his PA, Alexander then behaved “even more egregiously and offensively” than he had towards Person A, said the SRA.
After Alexander told Person B she could “trust him because he was a solicitor”, he asked if she was “naked in bed” and informed her that he was a “horny bastard”.
When she told him to keep things professional, he left voicemails and called her a “cheeky bitch”, said the SRA.
The irrepressible charmer carried on even as he was under investigation for his conversations with Person A and Person B, contacting Person C over LinkedIn and asking her out in a lunch date. When she asked if she knew him, he replied modestly, “no but I am a top lawyer from Manchester”, reported the Law Gazette.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Do you really think he hadn't considered the possibility the main parties wouldn't contest the seat?
Yep. I don’t think he considered that at all. I think he made a hasty and rash decision
He told the Mail he had not considered the possibility.
Do you have a link to that? Since that would make the 'Farage planned for this, you fools' posts even more hilarious.
What is the 4d chess outcome anyway? Farage wins with whatever degree of comfort then the enquiry into his finances resumes. It’s Trumpian distraction mode without realising that Trump holds the levers of power and essentially dgaf what courts, media or polls say. Of course he could lose. Would that be the end of him?
I think part of his gamble is that he knows parliament will find him guilty of not fezzing up about the five million quid in the interests register but he is gambling they wont force a recall petition because he just won a by-election in august.
I expect he's going to be surprised.
Presuming the standards committee suspends him for 2 weeks or more, a recall petition requires 10% of the voters in Clacton to sign up for one, rather than anyone else.
Wonder if there's a wider principle being manifest here. For most of my life, the orthodoxy has been to outsource things, so that organisations in the public and private sectors tend towards an ideal of a management team and a bundle of contracts.
Initially, that led to improvements in efficiency and quality, because competition will do that. But now the contracted suppliers have rebalanced the power in their favour, so can be more expensive and less good. (My place really struggled to let its recent catering contract.)
Hence insourcing looks more attractive. And so the wheel turns.
Having been in the US for a month, it is something that has noticably changed over the 25 years I have been coming regularly. Go try and hire a car, lots of brands...go and try and contact their customer service and you quickly realise there is essentially 3 hire car companies now. Same with hotels, beef processing, etc etc etc.
This massive consolidations in huge number of industries means the idea of wild competition in a free market is an illusion.
It is where you do need strong government to stop over consolidation. I don't now much about contract catering, but its there like basically Sodexo and errrh Sodexo?
Free marketeers will say there’s nothing to stop new companies emerging but where a business has a wide moat with large barriers to entry that just won’t happen.
Speaking of market failure, looks like EasyJet is the next firm to be asset-stripped.
Asset stripping tends to be more of companies that have gone into administration than those taken over but we will see what happens
After what the Americans did to Cadbury, many think any such takeover should be referred to the Ministry for confirmation that it is not against UK national interests.
My most recent flight was Easyjet. Doesn't have a lot of the Ryanair associated nonsense for a cheap carrier, it'd be a genuine shame to see it disappear or change substantially for the worse.
O'Leary has said that he expects European aviation to consolidate into four airlines - Ryanair, IAG (British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus), Air France-KLM, and Lufthansa (inc. Austrian, Brussels, etc airlines).
Solicitor who declared that he was a 'horny bastard' struck off
A solicitor has been struck off for telling a barrister who was instructed by his firm that he was thinking about her bum, and calling another woman a "cheeky bitch" and telling her he was a "horny bastard".
Michael Alexander initially sent Person A messages about work after his firm at the time, Russell & Russell, had instructed her on a matter.
But the SRA said Person A grew concerned “when the professional relationship became infiltrated with incredibly inappropriate comments”.
Alexander informed the barrister that he masturbated while thinking about her and “her posterior”, and when she reminded him that she worked for with him and told him to stop “he persisted”.
She left the matter and did not attend court as a result, but despite an investigation by the firm and a referral to the SRA, the solicitor moved on to a barrister’s clerk he ferreted out in LinkedIn.
After suggesting that he could possibly employ the woman, who was out of work at the time, as his PA, Alexander then behaved “even more egregiously and offensively” than he had towards Person A, said the SRA.
After Alexander told Person B she could “trust him because he was a solicitor”, he asked if she was “naked in bed” and informed her that he was a “horny bastard”.
When she told him to keep things professional, he left voicemails and called her a “cheeky bitch”, said the SRA.
The irrepressible charmer carried on even as he was under investigation for his conversations with Person A and Person B, contacting Person C over LinkedIn and asking her out in a lunch date. When she asked if she knew him, he replied modestly, “no but I am a top lawyer from Manchester”, reported the Law Gazette.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Do you really think he hadn't considered the possibility the main parties wouldn't contest the seat?
Yep. I don’t think he considered that at all. I think he made a hasty and rash decision
He told the Mail he had not considered the possibility.
So one thing I genuinely can't get my head round. What do Reform think a "win" in Clacton actually looks like? They're obviously worried, which is why they're pulling out of Manchester. But worried about what? Falling below what benchmark? https://x.com/DPJHodges/status/2075219293222944793
Branding works well in a city already most famous for its vice.
Before his time is over I expect he'll want the name of the whole country changed to Trump, with its new capital city, Trump, in the state of Trump, lying on the Trump coast, renaming the old capital Trump in the District of Trump, colloquially Trump DT.
Solicitor who declared that he was a 'horny bastard' struck off
A solicitor has been struck off for telling a barrister who was instructed by his firm that he was thinking about her bum, and calling another woman a "cheeky bitch" and telling her he was a "horny bastard".
Michael Alexander initially sent Person A messages about work after his firm at the time, Russell & Russell, had instructed her on a matter.
But the SRA said Person A grew concerned “when the professional relationship became infiltrated with incredibly inappropriate comments”.
Alexander informed the barrister that he masturbated while thinking about her and “her posterior”, and when she reminded him that she worked for with him and told him to stop “he persisted”.
She left the matter and did not attend court as a result, but despite an investigation by the firm and a referral to the SRA, the solicitor moved on to a barrister’s clerk he ferreted out in LinkedIn.
After suggesting that he could possibly employ the woman, who was out of work at the time, as his PA, Alexander then behaved “even more egregiously and offensively” than he had towards Person A, said the SRA.
After Alexander told Person B she could “trust him because he was a solicitor”, he asked if she was “naked in bed” and informed her that he was a “horny bastard”.
When she told him to keep things professional, he left voicemails and called her a “cheeky bitch”, said the SRA.
The irrepressible charmer carried on even as he was under investigation for his conversations with Person A and Person B, contacting Person C over LinkedIn and asking her out in a lunch date. When she asked if she knew him, he replied modestly, “no but I am a top lawyer from Manchester”, reported the Law Gazette.
He might have been a top lawyer, but he's not the brightest human being!
Incidentally, how long before he can re-register? One of my ancestors, a commercial solicitor got imprisoned for fraud, but appears to have returned to practice after serving his sentence. This was around 1900.
Though some context is needed. 73% of Britons describe Nigel Farage as sleazy, including 56% thinking he is *very* sleazy This includes 40% of Reform UK voters seeing Farage as sleazy Belief Reform UK as a party is sleazy has increased by 18 points over the last two years, with the public now more likely to consider them to be dodgy than Labour 77% of the public feel British governments are generally sleazy Keir Starmer is seen as sleazy by 51% of Britons, with 42% saying the same of Zack Polanski and 34-36% of Kemi Badenoch or Andy Burnham..
Solicitor who declared that he was a 'horny bastard' struck off
A solicitor has been struck off for telling a barrister who was instructed by his firm that he was thinking about her bum, and calling another woman a "cheeky bitch" and telling her he was a "horny bastard".
Michael Alexander initially sent Person A messages about work after his firm at the time, Russell & Russell, had instructed her on a matter.
But the SRA said Person A grew concerned “when the professional relationship became infiltrated with incredibly inappropriate comments”.
Alexander informed the barrister that he masturbated while thinking about her and “her posterior”, and when she reminded him that she worked for with him and told him to stop “he persisted”.
She left the matter and did not attend court as a result, but despite an investigation by the firm and a referral to the SRA, the solicitor moved on to a barrister’s clerk he ferreted out in LinkedIn.
After suggesting that he could possibly employ the woman, who was out of work at the time, as his PA, Alexander then behaved “even more egregiously and offensively” than he had towards Person A, said the SRA.
After Alexander told Person B she could “trust him because he was a solicitor”, he asked if she was “naked in bed” and informed her that he was a “horny bastard”.
When she told him to keep things professional, he left voicemails and called her a “cheeky bitch”, said the SRA.
The irrepressible charmer carried on even as he was under investigation for his conversations with Person A and Person B, contacting Person C over LinkedIn and asking her out in a lunch date. When she asked if she knew him, he replied modestly, “no but I am a top lawyer from Manchester”, reported the Law Gazette.
From the days when governments hit their military targets…
Some say the Tapestry reveals the path the World Cup will take
England will bow out at the first French shot?
If it's like Hastings there will be a long slog of french attack and English defence and at the end the English will rush forward to try to win only to be swept away by a french counter attack. And Harry Kane will be injured in the process.
Of course the parallels could be herioc defeat of Norway followed by heroic defeat to France soon after.
But... the Bayeux Tapestry doesn't mention the Norwegians, the gap was 19 days not 4 days, the Normans weren't French, and all such omens are bollocks anyway.
From the days when governments hit their military targets…
Some say the Tapestry reveals the path the World Cup will take
England will bow out at the first French shot?
If it's like Hastings there will be a long slog of french attack and English defence and at the end the English will rush forward to try to win only to be swept away by a french counter attack. And Harry Kane will be injured in the process.
Of course the parallels could be heroic defeat of Norway followed by heroic defeat to France soon after.
But... the Bayeux Tapestry doesn't mention the Norwegians, the gap was 19 days not 4 days, the Normans weren't French, and all such omens are bollocks anyway.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Do you really think he hadn't considered the possibility the main parties wouldn't contest the seat?
Yep. I don’t think he considered that at all. I think he made a hasty and rash decision
He told the Mail he had not considered the possibility.
Do you have a link to that? Since that would make the 'Farage planned for this, you fools' posts even more hilarious.
It's paywalled but here it is.
The Reform leader confessed to being wrong-footed by the Tories, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Restore Britain as they all refused to participate in the run-off.
Asked if he'd considered the possibility of fighting as the only proper candidate, Mr Farage confessed: 'No, of course not.
'Why would they [not contest]? It's a real election.'
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Do you really think he hadn't considered the possibility the main parties wouldn't contest the seat?
Yep. I don’t think he considered that at all. I think he made a hasty and rash decision
He told the Mail he had not considered the possibility.
Do you have a link to that? Since that would make the 'Farage planned for this, you fools' posts even more hilarious.
It's paywalled but here it is.
The Reform leader confessed to being wrong-footed by the Tories, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Restore Britain as they all refused to participate in the run-off.
Asked if he'd considered the possibility of fighting as the only proper candidate, Mr Farage confessed: 'No, of course not.
'Why would they [not contest]? It's a real election.'
I was wondering about what eye catching moves Burnham might take to make a splash home and abroad to buy time to work out the serious stuff that needs doing.
I can see him passing a bill to return the Elgin Marbles for example. He will get lots of love from a lot of the world and on social media and it won’t cost anything.
Anyone got any other “free” things he can do to make himself look different/dynamic?
He could visit Palestine (or try, I doubt the Israeli govt would let him in). He's already changing the rhetoric on Gaza in a way that will likely be helpful.
Koh-i-noor diamond is a big deal in Indian subcontinent and with the diaspora but I think that might cause a stir with the monarchy.
Or he could focus on the uk and its huge debt and deficit and immigration issues and welfare budget
What immigration issues - I'm asking because the issues you have are probably already fixed or at least reduced but most people won't pick up on the fact.
Arrivals by boat from France are down 37% compared to last year but that's news that isn't being reported..
If its not being reported how do you know?
Difference between reported and Reported.
The data are published by the government every day. But they only make the news when things go wrong. It's not just true of boats, or even of government responsibilities. We tend not to get media reports of the million things that go well every hour, because why would you bother?
Hence the polling that shows that "my life is fine, but the country is going to pieces" is a really common opinion.
I also think that while the numbers are down, to those that are annoyed/incensed by the crossings, any number that's not zero is a problem. They are, after all, fleeing France, a well known, safe country. Progressives can explain till the cows come home about there being no requirement to claim asylum in the first safe place, but it doesn't wash with many.
Point of order - France is not a safe country.
According to a number of internationally recognised aid organisations, conditions inference for the refugees are utterly intolerable.
Being unable to deal with refugees in a sensible manner means they are a Failed State.
And they have oil.
We all know what we do with Failed States with oil, don’t we, children?
Though some context is needed. 73% of Britons describe Nigel Farage as sleazy, including 56% thinking he is *very* sleazy This includes 40% of Reform UK voters seeing Farage as sleazy Belief Reform UK as a party is sleazy has increased by 18 points over the last two years, with the public now more likely to consider them to be dodgy than Labour 77% of the public feel British governments are generally sleazy Keir Starmer is seen as sleazy by 51% of Britons, with 42% saying the same of Zack Polanski and 34-36% of Kemi Badenoch or Andy Burnham..
My in-laws should be natural Reform voters but they won’t vote Reform for exactly that reason, and they think he’s a bigot.
Solicitor who declared that he was a 'horny bastard' struck off
A solicitor has been struck off for telling a barrister who was instructed by his firm that he was thinking about her bum, and calling another woman a "cheeky bitch" and telling her he was a "horny bastard".
Michael Alexander initially sent Person A messages about work after his firm at the time, Russell & Russell, had instructed her on a matter.
But the SRA said Person A grew concerned “when the professional relationship became infiltrated with incredibly inappropriate comments”.
Alexander informed the barrister that he masturbated while thinking about her and “her posterior”, and when she reminded him that she worked for with him and told him to stop “he persisted”.
She left the matter and did not attend court as a result, but despite an investigation by the firm and a referral to the SRA, the solicitor moved on to a barrister’s clerk he ferreted out in LinkedIn.
After suggesting that he could possibly employ the woman, who was out of work at the time, as his PA, Alexander then behaved “even more egregiously and offensively” than he had towards Person A, said the SRA.
After Alexander told Person B she could “trust him because he was a solicitor”, he asked if she was “naked in bed” and informed her that he was a “horny bastard”.
When she told him to keep things professional, he left voicemails and called her a “cheeky bitch”, said the SRA.
The irrepressible charmer carried on even as he was under investigation for his conversations with Person A and Person B, contacting Person C over LinkedIn and asking her out in a lunch date. When she asked if she knew him, he replied modestly, “no but I am a top lawyer from Manchester”, reported the Law Gazette.
'Irrepressable charmer' seems a generous description for 'inappropriate harrassing horndog'
Yep that phrase did seem somewhat out of place. I have known a few genuine charmers over the years (as opposed to self declared ones) and they would never have stooped to anything so crass as these sorts of messages. Indeed that was part of their charm.
Solicitor who declared that he was a 'horny bastard' struck off
A solicitor has been struck off for telling a barrister who was instructed by his firm that he was thinking about her bum, and calling another woman a "cheeky bitch" and telling her he was a "horny bastard".
Michael Alexander initially sent Person A messages about work after his firm at the time, Russell & Russell, had instructed her on a matter.
But the SRA said Person A grew concerned “when the professional relationship became infiltrated with incredibly inappropriate comments”.
Alexander informed the barrister that he masturbated while thinking about her and “her posterior”, and when she reminded him that she worked for with him and told him to stop “he persisted”.
She left the matter and did not attend court as a result, but despite an investigation by the firm and a referral to the SRA, the solicitor moved on to a barrister’s clerk he ferreted out in LinkedIn.
After suggesting that he could possibly employ the woman, who was out of work at the time, as his PA, Alexander then behaved “even more egregiously and offensively” than he had towards Person A, said the SRA.
After Alexander told Person B she could “trust him because he was a solicitor”, he asked if she was “naked in bed” and informed her that he was a “horny bastard”.
When she told him to keep things professional, he left voicemails and called her a “cheeky bitch”, said the SRA.
The irrepressible charmer carried on even as he was under investigation for his conversations with Person A and Person B, contacting Person C over LinkedIn and asking her out in a lunch date. When she asked if she knew him, he replied modestly, “no but I am a top lawyer from Manchester”, reported the Law Gazette.
'Irrepressable charmer' seems a generous description for 'inappropriate harrassing horndog'
Yep that phrase did seem somewhat out of place. I have known a few genuine charmers over the years (as opposed to self declared ones) and they would never have stooped to anything so crass as these sorts of messages. Indeed that was part of their charm.
I was wondering about what eye catching moves Burnham might take to make a splash home and abroad to buy time to work out the serious stuff that needs doing.
I can see him passing a bill to return the Elgin Marbles for example. He will get lots of love from a lot of the world and on social media and it won’t cost anything.
Anyone got any other “free” things he can do to make himself look different/dynamic?
He could visit Palestine (or try, I doubt the Israeli govt would let him in). He's already changing the rhetoric on Gaza in a way that will likely be helpful.
Koh-i-noor diamond is a big deal in Indian subcontinent and with the diaspora but I think that might cause a stir with the monarchy.
Or he could focus on the uk and its huge debt and deficit and immigration issues and welfare budget
What immigration issues - I'm asking because the issues you have are probably already fixed or at least reduced but most people won't pick up on the fact.
Arrivals by boat from France are down 37% compared to last year but that's news that isn't being reported..
Whilst there is a single irregular boat crossing landing on our shores, that is too much. Simple as that.
Anyone who doesn't understand that was probably also arguing ACstuALLY Its ONlY £100m pER weEK
If there is more than one murder in a week, that is too much. Simple as that. If more than one person dies from a preventable illness, that is too much. Simple as that.
Or maybe it's not that simple? Maybe lots of bad things happen and we try to stop them, but hitting zero is not practical.
I guess the difference with the small boat crossings is that they* weren't happening ten years ago.
If, for example, bread manufacturers started using a new ingredient that suddenly caused one hundred deaths a year, it wouldn't be unreasonable to seek to ban that ingredient and reduce that number of deaths to zero.
* The complicated bit is that people were illicitly crossing the border by other means, and the chances are that some other method will be found if small boat crossings are reduced back to zero. But, still, that's why there's a desire to reduce small boat crossings to zero, and not the same impetus to reduce other unpleasant things to zero. It looks new, even if it isn't completely.
Previously the same people were hopping into the back of lorries but massive fines and checks at both Eurotunnel and Calais put a stop to it.
And now the sale of visas is soaring - shutting off the care home pipeline simply moved it elsewhere.
A visa that promises a job fetches £15k+, and there is little chance of the vendors getting caught. When they are, criminal charges are rare - they simply move to the next company they have to sell visas there.
It was 20 degrees last night and yet it didn't bother me. (No AC).
Maybe you get acclimatised to hot weather after a certain time.
I think you definitely get used to it if it persists. I think the issue for many is it arrives fairly suddenly and it can be a real challenge. Portable AC in our bedroom is helping, and our three year old has to share our bed, as we can't cool two rooms...
I was wondering about what eye catching moves Burnham might take to make a splash home and abroad to buy time to work out the serious stuff that needs doing.
I can see him passing a bill to return the Elgin Marbles for example. He will get lots of love from a lot of the world and on social media and it won’t cost anything.
Anyone got any other “free” things he can do to make himself look different/dynamic?
He could visit Palestine (or try, I doubt the Israeli govt would let him in). He's already changing the rhetoric on Gaza in a way that will likely be helpful.
Koh-i-noor diamond is a big deal in Indian subcontinent and with the diaspora but I think that might cause a stir with the monarchy.
Or he could focus on the uk and its huge debt and deficit and immigration issues and welfare budget
What immigration issues - I'm asking because the issues you have are probably already fixed or at least reduced but most people won't pick up on the fact.
Arrivals by boat from France are down 37% compared to last year but that's news that isn't being reported..
If its not being reported how do you know?
Difference between reported and Reported.
The data are published by the government every day. But they only make the news when things go wrong. It's not just true of boats, or even of government responsibilities. We tend not to get media reports of the million things that go well every hour, because why would you bother?
Hence the polling that shows that "my life is fine, but the country is going to pieces" is a really common opinion.
I also think that while the numbers are down, to those that are annoyed/incensed by the crossings, any number that's not zero is a problem. They are, after all, fleeing France, a well known, safe country. Progressives can explain till the cows come home about there being no requirement to claim asylum in the first safe place, but it doesn't wash with many.
Point of order - France is not a safe country.
According to a number of internationally recognised aid organisations, conditions inference for the refugees are utterly intolerable.
Being unable to deal with refugees in a sensible manner means they are a Failed State.
And they have oil.
We all know what we do with Failed States with oil, don’t we, children?
Though some context is needed. 73% of Britons describe Nigel Farage as sleazy, including 56% thinking he is *very* sleazy This includes 40% of Reform UK voters seeing Farage as sleazy Belief Reform UK as a party is sleazy has increased by 18 points over the last two years, with the public now more likely to consider them to be dodgy than Labour 77% of the public feel British governments are generally sleazy Keir Starmer is seen as sleazy by 51% of Britons, with 42% saying the same of Zack Polanski and 34-36% of Kemi Badenoch or Andy Burnham..
The trouble is that most people have thought this for years but they will still vote for him because they view the rest of the political class in a similar manner (though probably not to the blatent extent of Farage). The attitude seems to be he may be a crook but at least he's our crook.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Do you really think he hadn't considered the possibility the main parties wouldn't contest the seat?
Yep. I don’t think he considered that at all. I think he made a hasty and rash decision
He told the Mail he had not considered the possibility.
Do you have a link to that? Since that would make the 'Farage planned for this, you fools' posts even more hilarious.
What is the 4d chess outcome anyway? Farage wins with whatever degree of comfort then the enquiry into his finances resumes. It’s Trumpian distraction mode without realising that Trump holds the levers of power and essentially dgaf what courts, media or polls say. Of course he could lose. Would that be the end of him?
I think part of his gamble is that he knows parliament will find him guilty of not fezzing up about the five million quid in the interests register but he is gambling they wont force a recall petition because he just won a by-election in august.
I expect he's going to be surprised.
Farage will be surprised by the news the PSC will also be looking at the Posh George allegations, which seem to my unqualified eye to be more troublesome.
FPT: DecripterJohnL asked: "American schools have dedicated police officers?"
The Chicago public schools all had them when I was there (late 1960s) and, almost certainly, have them now.
In general, I would expect to find them in poor urban schools, but there are some in suburban schools, too. In fact, there was a protest in this area when a school board voted to end having one in a suburban high school: Hundreds of Bothell High School students stood outside Bothell City Hall last month, carrying signs and chanting "Vote them out! Vote them out! Vote them out!"
They were there speaking in support of Officer Garrett Ware, a popular school resource officer who has worked at the school since 2017.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Do you really think he hadn't considered the possibility the main parties wouldn't contest the seat?
Yep. I don’t think he considered that at all. I think he made a hasty and rash decision
He told the Mail he had not considered the possibility.
Do you have a link to that? Since that would make the 'Farage planned for this, you fools' posts even more hilarious.
What is the 4d chess outcome anyway? Farage wins with whatever degree of comfort then the enquiry into his finances resumes. It’s Trumpian distraction mode without realising that Trump holds the levers of power and essentially dgaf what courts, media or polls say. Of course he could lose. Would that be the end of him?
I think part of his gamble is that he knows parliament will find him guilty of not fezzing up about the five million quid in the interests register but he is gambling they wont force a recall petition because he just won a by-election in august.
I expect he's going to be surprised.
Farage will be surprised by the news the PSC will also be looking at the Posh George allegations, which seem to my unqualified eye to be more troublesome.
I don’t think he’s surprised - I think they are why he was trying to get ahead of the story
I was wondering about what eye catching moves Burnham might take to make a splash home and abroad to buy time to work out the serious stuff that needs doing.
I can see him passing a bill to return the Elgin Marbles for example. He will get lots of love from a lot of the world and on social media and it won’t cost anything.
Anyone got any other “free” things he can do to make himself look different/dynamic?
He could visit Palestine (or try, I doubt the Israeli govt would let him in). He's already changing the rhetoric on Gaza in a way that will likely be helpful.
Koh-i-noor diamond is a big deal in Indian subcontinent and with the diaspora but I think that might cause a stir with the monarchy.
Or he could focus on the uk and its huge debt and deficit and immigration issues and welfare budget
What immigration issues - I'm asking because the issues you have are probably already fixed or at least reduced but most people won't pick up on the fact.
Arrivals by boat from France are down 37% compared to last year but that's news that isn't being reported..
If its not being reported how do you know?
Difference between reported and Reported.
The data are published by the government every day. But they only make the news when things go wrong. It's not just true of boats, or even of government responsibilities. We tend not to get media reports of the million things that go well every hour, because why would you bother?
Hence the polling that shows that "my life is fine, but the country is going to pieces" is a really common opinion.
I also think that while the numbers are down, to those that are annoyed/incensed by the crossings, any number that's not zero is a problem. They are, after all, fleeing France, a well known, safe country. Progressives can explain till the cows come home about there being no requirement to claim asylum in the first safe place, but it doesn't wash with many.
Point of order - France is not a safe country.
According to a number of internationally recognised aid organisations, conditions inference for the refugees are utterly intolerable.
Being unable to deal with refugees in a sensible manner means they are a Failed State.
And they have oil.
We all know what we do with Failed States with oil, don’t we, children?
Point of order: for all that I am in favour of invading France - or reclaiming it as it would be properly phrased - I fear trying to find oil in France would be like trying to find chemical weapons in Iraq, or a brain cell in Ed Milliband's head.
They are all a fiction created by dishonest politicains.
I wonder what broad and general government position and policy on Israel and its relations with the Arab/Islamic world, WRT both words and deeds, would command a reasonable degree of assent from the UK population?
I don't think the general UK population cares about Gaza, nor do they give two hoots about Israel either.
People can care about more than one thing at a time. E.g crime is currently 6th on most important issues facing country. Tax is 9th.
Reflecting the large majority’s view on Palestine seems like an easy win for Burnham. Even more so if you consider the kind of votes he wants back - even the moderate Conservatives on PB are horrified that has happened there.
If he can link it to the shambles of the war on Iran and energy prices then even better.
But what a policy 'reflecting the large majority' on Palestine look like? It is unlikely that the majority want the status quo, or want Israel to be obliterated and undefended, or want misery for Palestinians, or want the current Israeli leadership, or want Hamas. Picking the right words here and there is fine, but what would be the Labour long term policy to command a high degree of assent? So, for example with regards to arms, most will neither want an undefended Israel nor an Israel able to kill and destroy civilian lives more or less at will.
Fully commit to defence of Israel, including direct attacks on Iran, conditional on withdrawal from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank. Formally recognise the genocide in Gaza.
I’d estimate that Israel would have absolutely no truck with partners that recognise the genocide in Gaza, reference to which sets off the Hasbarah bot army. Probably part of the larger rage that ensues at any suggestion that a nation that ghettoises a people, inflicts a hungerplan upon them, imprisons thousands of them without trial and slaughters them Indiscriminately might resemble a certain regime in Western Europe’s in the 1930s and 40s.
Anyway, onwards to the most moral concentration camp in the world.
You’re right, but that would be on them not the UK government. I think it’s a fair and generous offer.
I don't think it's workable. I don't think there's enough in there for Israel, and why should the UK commit to attacking other countries on their behalf in return?
I believe that the UK should support the removal of the Palestinians from Gaza, and their re-homing in the West Bank, in return for the removal of Israeli settlers from the West Bank, back into Israel proper. Thereafter, the West Bank could proceed to full statehood.
There is just no point having a big blob of autonymous, armed, and deeply resentful (understandably) Palestinians in the middle of Israel, for Israel or the residents of Gaza. But equally, the settlers need their marching orders.
Solicitor who declared that he was a 'horny bastard' struck off
A solicitor has been struck off for telling a barrister who was instructed by his firm that he was thinking about her bum, and calling another woman a "cheeky bitch" and telling her he was a "horny bastard".
Michael Alexander initially sent Person A messages about work after his firm at the time, Russell & Russell, had instructed her on a matter.
But the SRA said Person A grew concerned “when the professional relationship became infiltrated with incredibly inappropriate comments”.
Alexander informed the barrister that he masturbated while thinking about her and “her posterior”, and when she reminded him that she worked for with him and told him to stop “he persisted”.
She left the matter and did not attend court as a result, but despite an investigation by the firm and a referral to the SRA, the solicitor moved on to a barrister’s clerk he ferreted out in LinkedIn.
After suggesting that he could possibly employ the woman, who was out of work at the time, as his PA, Alexander then behaved “even more egregiously and offensively” than he had towards Person A, said the SRA.
After Alexander told Person B she could “trust him because he was a solicitor”, he asked if she was “naked in bed” and informed her that he was a “horny bastard”.
When she told him to keep things professional, he left voicemails and called her a “cheeky bitch”, said the SRA.
The irrepressible charmer carried on even as he was under investigation for his conversations with Person A and Person B, contacting Person C over LinkedIn and asking her out in a lunch date. When she asked if she knew him, he replied modestly, “no but I am a top lawyer from Manchester”, reported the Law Gazette.
'Irrepressable charmer' seems a generous description for 'inappropriate harrassing horndog'
Yep that phrase did seem somewhat out of place. I have known a few genuine charmers over the years (as opposed to self declared ones) and they would never have stooped to anything so crass as these sorts of messages. Indeed that was part of their charm.
I was wondering about what eye catching moves Burnham might take to make a splash home and abroad to buy time to work out the serious stuff that needs doing.
I can see him passing a bill to return the Elgin Marbles for example. He will get lots of love from a lot of the world and on social media and it won’t cost anything.
Anyone got any other “free” things he can do to make himself look different/dynamic?
He could visit Palestine (or try, I doubt the Israeli govt would let him in). He's already changing the rhetoric on Gaza in a way that will likely be helpful.
Koh-i-noor diamond is a big deal in Indian subcontinent and with the diaspora but I think that might cause a stir with the monarchy.
Or he could focus on the uk and its huge debt and deficit and immigration issues and welfare budget
What immigration issues - I'm asking because the issues you have are probably already fixed or at least reduced but most people won't pick up on the fact.
Arrivals by boat from France are down 37% compared to last year but that's news that isn't being reported..
Whilst there is a single irregular boat crossing landing on our shores, that is too much. Simple as that.
Anyone who doesn't understand that was probably also arguing ACstuALLY Its ONlY £100m pER weEK
If there is more than one murder in a week, that is too much. Simple as that. If more than one person dies from a preventable illness, that is too much. Simple as that.
Or maybe it's not that simple? Maybe lots of bad things happen and we try to stop them, but hitting zero is not practical.
I guess the difference with the small boat crossings is that they* weren't happening ten years ago.
If, for example, bread manufacturers started using a new ingredient that suddenly caused one hundred deaths a year, it wouldn't be unreasonable to seek to ban that ingredient and reduce that number of deaths to zero.
* The complicated bit is that people were illicitly crossing the border by other means, and the chances are that some other method will be found if small boat crossings are reduced back to zero. But, still, that's why there's a desire to reduce small boat crossings to zero, and not the same impetus to reduce other unpleasant things to zero. It looks new, even if it isn't completely.
Previously the same people were hopping into the back of lorries but massive fines and checks at both Eurotunnel and Calais put a stop to it.
And now the sale of visas is soaring - shutting off the care home pipeline simply moved it elsewhere.
A visa that promises a job fetches £15k+, and there is little chance of the vendors getting caught. When they are, criminal charges are rare - they simply move to the next company they have to sell visas there.
What War On X does this remind you of?
You need to deal with demand, not supply.
You often say this but what evidence is there to back up your anecdotology?
The channel you don't watch unless you like Lorraine is being bought by the channel you don't have to watch because @Big_G_NorthWales tells you about it.
They really are on the back foot... Farage has totally ballsed this up, hasn't he?
Do you really think he hadn't considered the possibility the main parties wouldn't contest the seat?
Yep. I don’t think he considered that at all. I think he made a hasty and rash decision
He told the Mail he had not considered the possibility.
So one thing I genuinely can't get my head round. What do Reform think a "win" in Clacton actually looks like? They're obviously worried, which is why they're pulling out of Manchester. But worried about what? Falling below what benchmark? https://x.com/DPJHodges/status/2075219293222944793
The main challenge will be turnout (though postal voting should help with that). You can construct a series of benchmarks, ordered from most triumphal for Farage to most embarrassing.
Increasing the absolute number of votes for Farage. In 2024 Farage received 21,225 votes. If he receives more votes than that in the by-election it would be a genuine triumph.
David Davis level. In his 2008 by-election David Davis received 75% of the votes he had received in 2005 (17,113 vs 22,792). A similar result for Farage would see him receive 15,919 votes. That would look pretty good right now.
Ahead of the Tories in 2024. At the 2024 GE the Tory candidate received 12,820 votes. If Farage were to fall below that level that wouldn't look good.
Record low turnout. The record low turnout in a peacetime by-election, since 1918, is the 18.2% turnout in the 2012 Manchester Central by-election. That equates to about 14,400 votes cast in total, of which I'd expect Farage to receive at least three-quarters (about 11,000). This is not the sort of record Farage wants to be setting. It would be a clear repudiation by the electorate of his choice to seek a renewed mandate.
10,612 votes. Losing half of his 2024 voters would be highly embarrassing.
10,000. It might be an arbitrary round number because we don't use the superior dozenal number system, but falling into four figures, below 10,000 votes, would be humiliating.
7,924. This is 10% of the 2024 GE electorate, which will be somewhat larger or smaller this time, and is notably also the threshold for a recall petition to force a recall by-election. Would be symbolic for Farage to win fewer votes than signatures required to trigger a by-election.
The channel you don't watch unless you like Lorraine is being bought by the channel you don't have to watch because @Big_G_NorthWales tells you about it.
It really shouldn't have been allowed. Quite disgraceful the virtual monopoly (foreign owned) it creates. Unfortunately we have a Government that is at best incompetent and at worst actively working against the interests of the country.
The channel you don't watch unless you like Lorraine is being bought by the channel you don't have to watch because @Big_G_NorthWales tells you about it.
Comments
Objectively, Farage should still win easily, if unconvincingly. After all, his only rival is a bloke with a bin on his head. But because Refrom is just another iteration of the Nigel Farage Party, protecting him is much more important than the more interesting prize in Greater Manchester.
Besides, the North is so far away...
It will be interesting to see how Burnham handles Trump (on this and more broadly). It's one aspect of Burnham's impending leadership that I'm quietly optimistic about - I think Burnham will probably be quite good at the 'stand your ground whilst not denting his fragile ego' that seems the best approach to the orange one.
Not that any metro mayor with an gram of integrity would dream of doing that, of course.
If, for example, bread manufacturers started using a new ingredient that suddenly caused one hundred deaths a year, it wouldn't be unreasonable to seek to ban that ingredient and reduce that number of deaths to zero.
* The complicated bit is that people were illicitly crossing the border by other means, and the chances are that some other method will be found if small boat crossings are reduced back to zero. But, still, that's why there's a desire to reduce small boat crossings to zero, and not the same impetus to reduce other unpleasant things to zero. It looks new, even if it isn't completely.
https://x.com/visegrad24/status/2075470278621065366?s=61
With a bin.
https://x.com/visegrad24/status/2075470278621065366?s=61
Personally, it will be during the general election that they will really suffer. They will fall apart under scrutiny, especially from the public.
1 Calling a mid-scandal by-election on personal integrity gives the impression of someone who hasn't heard of the Streisand effect.
2 The possible outcomes are that he wins (in which case, whoopiedoo, he beat a bloke with a bin on his head) or loses (in which case it's game over, because he lost to a bloke with a bin on his head.)
3 This by-election is costing money (which Reform have a binful of, for some reason) and campaigning capacity (which they don't have to excess). See the news from our friends in the north.
It's possible that Farage is cleverer than a binful of monkeys, and this is a stroke of genius. But it's blooming hard to see how.
Reform are making the best of it, establishment ganging up etc, but the response has been visceral anger at being mocked rather than 'aha, you fell for our trap'.
Airport officials said the rebranding would continue over "several weeks", while the three-letter airport code will change [to DJT] in August.
https://news.sky.com/story/florida-airport-renamed-president-donald-j-trump-international-airport-13562146
A solicitor has been struck off for telling a barrister who was instructed by his firm that he was thinking about her bum, and calling another woman a "cheeky bitch" and telling her he was a "horny bastard".
Michael Alexander initially sent Person A messages about work after his firm at the time, Russell & Russell, had instructed her on a matter.
But the SRA said Person A grew concerned “when the professional relationship became infiltrated with incredibly inappropriate comments”.
Alexander informed the barrister that he masturbated while thinking about her and “her posterior”, and when she reminded him that she worked for with him and told him to stop “he persisted”.
She left the matter and did not attend court as a result, but despite an investigation by the firm and a referral to the SRA, the solicitor moved on to a barrister’s clerk he ferreted out in LinkedIn.
After suggesting that he could possibly employ the woman, who was out of work at the time, as his PA, Alexander then behaved “even more egregiously and offensively” than he had towards Person A, said the SRA.
After Alexander told Person B she could “trust him because he was a solicitor”, he asked if she was “naked in bed” and informed her that he was a “horny bastard”.
When she told him to keep things professional, he left voicemails and called her a “cheeky bitch”, said the SRA.
The irrepressible charmer carried on even as he was under investigation for his conversations with Person A and Person B, contacting Person C over LinkedIn and asking her out in a lunch date.
When she asked if she knew him, he replied modestly, “no but I am a top lawyer from Manchester”, reported the Law Gazette.
https://www.rollonfriday.com/news-content/solicitor-who-declared-he-was-horny-bastard-struck
It was a short, so I won't find it again.
Of course he could lose. Would that be the end of him?
Farage: I expected rivals to fight by-election
Reform leader says he was surprised by main parties’ refusal to challenge him in Clacton
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/07/09/nigel-farage-i-expected-rivals-to-fight-clacton-by-election/ (£££)
This election is a waste of his summer with no upside for Farage
The 4d plan was to get a proper election where the Tories were standing out of the way before the real trashy details of Farage’s dodgy dealings are made available
This is why any sensible foreign policy for Britain has to start with sorting out Britain's problems at home. British policy on Palestine mattered in 1917, because Britain mattered. In 2026, not so much.
On Wednesday night, the Reform leader admitted he had been wrong-footed by the parties all refusing to challenge him.
Asked whether he had considered the possibility of being the only serious candidate, Mr Farage told the Daily Mail: “No, of course not. Why would they [not contest]? It’s a real election.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/07/09/nigel-farage-i-expected-rivals-to-fight-clacton-by-election/
The Reform leader confessed to being wrong-footed by the Tories, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Restore Britain as they all refused to participate in the run-off.
Asked if he'd considered the possibility of fighting as the only proper candidate, Mr Farage confessed: 'No, of course not.
'Why would they [not contest]? It's a real election.'
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15963771/Farage-Binface-election-deadly-Labour-Tories-election.html
There are lots in the North-West, it seems.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cprglvj820po
I expect he's going to be surprised.
the SDT ordered him to be struck off and to pay £75,000 costs.
Apparently
https://x.com/nickshirleyy/status/2075414571700113415?s=61
https://x.com/DPJHodges/status/2075219293222944793
And there'd likely be bipartisan support for renaming this* after Trump.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atchafalaya_Basin
*America's largest swamp.
Maybe you get acclimatised to hot weather after a certain time.
Incidentally, how long before he can re-register? One of my ancestors, a commercial solicitor got imprisoned for fraud, but appears to have returned to practice after serving his sentence. This was around 1900.
Most Britons say Nigel Farage is ‘very sleazy’
https://yougov.com/en-gb/articles/55146-most-britons-say-nigel-farage-is-very-sleazy
I don't see the by election changing that.
Though some context is needed.
73% of Britons describe Nigel Farage as sleazy, including 56% thinking he is *very* sleazy
This includes 40% of Reform UK voters seeing Farage as sleazy
Belief Reform UK as a party is sleazy has increased by 18 points over the last two years, with the public now more likely to consider them to be dodgy than Labour
77% of the public feel British governments are generally sleazy
Keir Starmer is seen as sleazy by 51% of Britons, with 42% saying the same of Zack Polanski and 34-36% of Kemi Badenoch or Andy Burnham..
But... the Bayeux Tapestry doesn't mention the Norwegians, the gap was 19 days not 4 days, the Normans weren't French, and all such omens are bollocks anyway.
Apart from that...
But... the Bayeux Tapestry doesn't mention the Norwegians, the gap was 19 days not 4 days, the Normans weren't French, and all such omens are bollocks anyway.
Apart from that...
They are definitely anti-Restore, before the Makerfield by-election they chided Rupert Lowe for handing the seat to Burnham.
They've also called out some of his more extreme rhetoric (the mass deportation of people legally here and who haven't done anything wrong.)
According to a number of internationally recognised aid organisations, conditions inference for the refugees are utterly intolerable.
Being unable to deal with refugees in a sensible manner means they are a Failed State.
And they have oil.
We all know what we do with Failed States with oil, don’t we, children?
A visa that promises a job fetches £15k+, and there is little chance of the vendors getting caught. When they are, criminal charges are rare - they simply move to the next company they have to sell visas there.
What War On X does this remind you of?
You need to deal with demand, not supply.
Portable AC in our bedroom is helping, and our three year old has to share our bed, as we can't cool two rooms...
This old soak has always been a piece of shit
https://fb.watch/IgAXGmPfe1/?fs=e
https://x.com/KarlTurnerMP/status/2075364966610120826
War bonds are the answer to Burnham’s defence dilemma
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/07/10/war-bonds-are-the-answer-to-burnhams-defence-dilemma/
War bonds are the answer to Burnham’s defence dilemma
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/07/10/war-bonds-are-the-answer-to-burnhams-defence-dilemma/
“Brexit backing, animal loving Strictly star Ann Widdecombe dies aged 78”
Does that tell you more about her, or the BBC?
The Chicago public schools all had them when I was there (late 1960s) and, almost certainly, have them now.
In general, I would expect to find them in poor urban schools, but there are some in suburban schools, too. In fact, there was a protest in this area when a school board voted to end having one in a suburban high school:
Hundreds of Bothell High School students stood outside Bothell City Hall last month, carrying signs and chanting "Vote them out! Vote them out! Vote them out!"
They were there speaking in support of Officer Garrett Ware, a popular school resource officer who has worked at the school since 2017.
Students say Ware does more than just monitor the school’s campus — he makes an effort to connect with people, and checks in with kids who are sitting alone or wandering the hallways at lunch. He goes to school concerts and sporting events.
source: https://www.kuow.org/stories/as-districts-sever-ties-with-police-this-bothell-school-is-fighting-to-keep-its-cop
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bothell,_Washington
They are all a fiction created by dishonest politicains.
I believe that the UK should support the removal of the Palestinians from Gaza, and their re-homing in the West Bank, in return for the removal of Israeli settlers from the West Bank, back into Israel proper. Thereafter, the West Bank could proceed to full statehood.
There is just no point having a big blob of autonymous, armed, and deeply resentful (understandably) Palestinians in the middle of Israel, for Israel or the residents of Gaza. But equally, the settlers need their marching orders.
https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugkxn5n1muu6nZV-SOn2HQ25sR90zahkEgfR
https://www.itv.com/news/2026-07-06/itv-agrees-sale-of-media-and-entertainment-business-to-sky-for-up-to-16bn
https://news.sky.com/story/sky-to-pay-1-6bn-for-itvs-broadcast-and-streaming-division-13531722
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/get-big-or-die-era-european-tv-sky-itv-deal-1236639762/
Increasing the absolute number of votes for Farage. In 2024 Farage received 21,225 votes. If he receives more votes than that in the by-election it would be a genuine triumph.
David Davis level. In his 2008 by-election David Davis received 75% of the votes he had received in 2005 (17,113 vs 22,792). A similar result for Farage would see him receive 15,919 votes. That would look pretty good right now.
Ahead of the Tories in 2024. At the 2024 GE the Tory candidate received 12,820 votes. If Farage were to fall below that level that wouldn't look good.
Record low turnout. The record low turnout in a peacetime by-election, since 1918, is the 18.2% turnout in the 2012 Manchester Central by-election. That equates to about 14,400 votes cast in total, of which I'd expect Farage to receive at least three-quarters (about 11,000). This is not the sort of record Farage wants to be setting. It would be a clear repudiation by the electorate of his choice to seek a renewed mandate.
10,612 votes. Losing half of his 2024 voters would be highly embarrassing.
10,000. It might be an arbitrary round number because we don't use the superior dozenal number system, but falling into four figures, below 10,000 votes, would be humiliating.
7,924. This is 10% of the 2024 GE electorate, which will be somewhat larger or smaller this time, and is notably also the threshold for a recall petition to force a recall by-election. Would be symbolic for Farage to win fewer votes than signatures required to trigger a by-election.
Kemi Badenoch has rejected former Conservative MPs as candidates for her party at the next election because they support net zero.
The Tory leader has refused to allow back former members, including MPs who lost their seats at the 2024 election, who disagree with her policy shift.
Full article link:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/456b4575e713b904
Kemi's own article full link:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/c13e3d53102ac7bd
To my eye this is a further narrowing of the Conservative Party, which is a time bomb.
https://resiliencemedia.co/russia-is-jamming-gps-from-space/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz23G_UXCGA (35 mins)
https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/06/tests-suggest-russian-satellites-can-jam-gps-on-a-continental-scale/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48409664