As an aside, there's a fair chance of Farage scoring more than 80% of the vote, perhaps even 90%, given the competition he is up against. If the turnout is low enough it's something that would make the exercise look even more ridiculous, I think.
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.
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.
To my eye this is a further narrowing of the Conservative Party, which is a time bomb.
Noted.
I’m clearly banned. Big G, HY, TSE can come out of hiding and speak for themselves.
Speaking for myself.
This line > “Mrs Badenoch says that some of her former colleagues “should never have been candidates before” and they will soon be informed they will not be allowed to stand again.” it’s pure Daenerys Targaryen - the mindset of someone who would feed to her dragons the career of anyone who disagrees with her crusade. Because that is exactly what she is doing.
Should never have been candidates in the first place, because they believed in the ECHR and 2050 Net Zero target. Say it again. Just let it sink in. Those two things were creations of the British Conservative Party. Everything Strong and Sensible about the party’s instincts and its sense of purpose at home and the wider world was poured into them.
It’s disgraceful it’s come to this in the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson’s Purge was bad enough - brutally beheading accomplished centre-right politicians with so much more to give the parliamentary party. What Kemi Badenoch’s Purge is doing is subtly different. Butchering the foetuses of talented accomplished centre-right Conservative politicians, before their careers can even be born. So worse. Much much worse.
Yes, you are spot on Mr W - The only logical conclusion - this brings further long term damage to the Conservative Party, being much harder to move away from the glib, right wing, answers of Badenoch, when it needs to return to being the thoughtful, inclusive, centre right party of government again.
Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill will turn in their graves over this. On this i trust and follow the careers and values of Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill - not Kemi Targaryen.
As an aside, there's a fair chance of Farage scoring more than 80% of the vote, perhaps even 90%, given the competition he is up against. If the turnout is low enough it's something that would make the exercise look even more ridiculous, I think.
I think so too but you have to wonder given the resources they are (allegedly) diverting there away from the Greater Manchester vote. There may be concern about an embarrassingly high protest vote. Or maybe he's lonely. Who knows.
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.
I think Farage will get around 14,000 votes, and other assorted loonies will get 5,000 votes.
That annoying binman will save his deposit, as will Lozza.
As an aside, there's a fair chance of Farage scoring more than 80% of the vote, perhaps even 90%, given the competition he is up against. If the turnout is low enough it's something that would make the exercise look even more ridiculous, I think.
I think so too but you have to wonder given the resources they are (allegedly) diverting there away from the Greater Manchester vote. There may be concern about an embarrassingly high protest vote. Or maybe he's lonely. Who knows.
95% vote for Farage on a respectable turnout where he gets most of his 2024 voters to vote for him again is very different to the same percentage where the turnout is a record low for a peacetime by-election.
I'd guess the concern is that the election looks pointless and people don't bother to vote, so most of his 21,225 voters from 2024 need to be persuaded to do so.
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.
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.
What is so special about this government ? Approval of similar foreign takeovers has been forthcoming from every administration since Thatcher.
As an aside, there's a fair chance of Farage scoring more than 80% of the vote, perhaps even 90%, given the competition he is up against. If the turnout is low enough it's something that would make the exercise look even more ridiculous, I think.
I think turnout will be pretty high with so many candidates. Haltemprice in 2008 was a very different time and place.
To my eye this is a further narrowing of the Conservative Party, which is a time bomb.
Noted.
I’m clearly banned. Big G, HY, TSE can come out of hiding and speak for themselves.
Speaking for myself.
This line > “Mrs Badenoch says that some of her former colleagues “should never have been candidates before” and they will soon be informed they will not be allowed to stand again.” it’s pure Daenerys Targaryen - the mindset of someone who would feed to her dragons the career of anyone who disagrees with her crusade. Because that is exactly what she is doing.
Should never have been candidates in the first place, because they believed in the ECHR and 2050 Net Zero target. Say it again. Just let it sink in. Those two things were creations of the British Conservative Party. Everything Strong and Sensible about the party’s instincts and its sense of purpose at home and the wider world was poured into them.
It’s disgraceful it’s come to this in the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson’s Purge was bad enough - brutally beheading accomplished centre-right politicians with so much more to give the parliamentary party. What Kemi Badenoch’s Purge is doing is subtly different. Butchering the foetuses of talented accomplished centre-right Conservative politicians, before their careers can even be born. So worse. Much much worse.
Yes, you are spot on Mr W - The only logical conclusion - this brings further long term damage to the Conservative Party, being much harder to move away from the glib, right wing, answers of Badenoch, when it needs to return to being the thoughtful, inclusive, centre right party of government again.
Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill will turn in their graves over this. On this i trust and follow the careers and values of Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill - not Kemi Targaryen.
It's Kemi bringing the values of most online communities into meatspace. Disagree with her, and she will block you. It's easier that way.
Which is fine, as long as your perspective starts and ends with your own ego. Once you acknowledge that there are other people out there, and they are as real as you and as important as you, especially when they're wrong, it much less fine.
One would have hoped that those who laughed at Corbynites for saying "why don't you just [go away] and join the Tories" were learning the lesson of how ineffective that approach is. It rather looks like Kemi B didn't.
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.
I think Farage will get around 14,000 votes, and other assorted loonies will get 5,000 votes.
That annoying binman will save his deposit, as will Lozza.
That would fall into my, "okay, not good, but not bad," range.
To my eye this is a further narrowing of the Conservative Party, which is a time bomb.
Noted.
I’m clearly banned. Big G, HY, TSE can come out of hiding and speak for themselves.
Speaking for myself.
This line > “Mrs Badenoch says that some of her former colleagues “should never have been candidates before” and they will soon be informed they will not be allowed to stand again.” it’s pure Daenerys Targaryen - the mindset of someone who would feed to her dragons the career of anyone who disagrees with her crusade. Because that is exactly what she is doing.
Should never have been candidates in the first place, because they believed in the ECHR and 2050 Net Zero target. Say it again. Just let it sink in. Those two things were creations of the British Conservative Party. Everything Strong and Sensible about the party’s instincts and its sense of purpose at home and the wider world was poured into them.
It’s disgraceful it’s come to this in the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson’s Purge was bad enough - brutally beheading accomplished centre-right politicians with so much more to give the parliamentary party. What Kemi Badenoch’s Purge is doing is subtly different. Butchering the foetuses of talented accomplished centre-right Conservative politicians, before their careers can even be born. So worse. Much much worse.
Yes, you are spot on Mr W - The only logical conclusion - this brings further long term damage to the Conservative Party, being much harder to move away from the glib, right wing, answers of Badenoch, when it needs to return to being the thoughtful, inclusive, centre right party of government again.
Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill will turn in their graves over this. On this i trust and follow the careers and values of Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill - not Kemi Targaryen.
Actually she is quite right to look for business and professional candidates not connected with the party previously
I have no problem with her unique style that seems to be gathering quite a following
Of course others disagree but then that is politics
Times change and to succeed you have to change as well and whether she succeeds or not time will tell
To my eye this is a further narrowing of the Conservative Party, which is a time bomb.
Noted.
I’m clearly banned. Big G, HY, TSE can come out of hiding and speak for themselves.
Speaking for myself.
This line > “Mrs Badenoch says that some of her former colleagues “should never have been candidates before” and they will soon be informed they will not be allowed to stand again.” it’s pure Daenerys Targaryen - the mindset of someone who would feed to her dragons the career of anyone who disagrees with her crusade. Because that is exactly what she is doing.
Should never have been candidates in the first place, because they believed in the ECHR and 2050 Net Zero target. Say it again. Just let it sink in. Those two things were creations of the British Conservative Party. Everything Strong and Sensible about the party’s instincts and its sense of purpose at home and the wider world was poured into them.
It’s disgraceful it’s come to this in the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson’s Purge was bad enough - brutally beheading accomplished centre-right politicians with so much more to give the parliamentary party. What Kemi Badenoch’s Purge is doing is subtly different. Butchering the foetuses of talented accomplished centre-right Conservative politicians, before their careers can even be born. So worse. Much much worse.
Yes, you are spot on Mr W - The only logical conclusion - this brings further long term damage to the Conservative Party, being much harder to move away from the glib, right wing, answers of Badenoch, when it needs to return to being the thoughtful, inclusive, centre right party of government again.
Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill will turn in their graves over this. On this i trust and follow the careers and values of Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill - not Kemi Targaryen.
It's Kemi bringing the values of most online communities into meatspace. Disagree with her, and she will block you. It's easier that way.
Which is fine, as long as your perspective starts and ends with your own ego. Once you acknowledge that there are other people out there, and they are as real as you and as important as you, especially when they're wrong, it much less fine.
One would have hoped that those who laughed at Corbynites for saying "why don't you just [go away] and join the Tories" were learning the lesson of how ineffective that approach is. It rather looks like Kemi B didn't.
The Corbynites may have said such but there was a great deal more banning, blocking, ostracising and expelling under the Starmerites. Kemi is reflecting the morals of the McSweeny tendency.
As an aside, there's a fair chance of Farage scoring more than 80% of the vote, perhaps even 90%, given the competition he is up against. If the turnout is low enough it's something that would make the exercise look even more ridiculous, I think.
I think turnout will be pretty high with so many candidates. Haltemprice in 2008 was a very different time and place.
Our comment system migration genius is going for a turnout of ~24%. The turnout in 2024 was 58%.
Haltemprice and Howden in 2008 saw turnout decline from 70.1% (in 2005) to 34.5%.
As an aside, there's a fair chance of Farage scoring more than 80% of the vote, perhaps even 90%, given the competition he is up against. If the turnout is low enough it's something that would make the exercise look even more ridiculous, I think.
I think so too but you have to wonder given the resources they are (allegedly) diverting there away from the Greater Manchester vote. There may be concern about an embarrassingly high protest vote. Or maybe he's lonely. Who knows.
95% vote for Farage on a respectable turnout where he gets most of his 2024 voters to vote for him again is very different to the same percentage where the turnout is a record low for a peacetime by-election.
I'd guess the concern is that the election looks pointless and people don't bother to vote, so most of his 21,225 voters from 2024 need to be persuaded to do so.
That’s the thing it’s a completely pointless byelection without the other parties.
Apathy and laziness are the issues that Farage will need to get over,
Dislike / hatred of Farage is going go get the anti Farage vote put
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.
The Medicare fraud is massive, with billions stolen.
The daycare fraud is a lot less proven. Or perhaps it would be fairer to say that Nick Shirley was very selective with the evidence he presented. It was an invective rather than an investigation, and -for example- included a day care center that hadn't even opened yet. Another center he identified posted security footage from the day Nick Shirley claimed to have visited it, with lots of children being dropped off... and no Nick Shirley. Plenty of parents were willing to speak to CBS about the fact that they used some of the daycare centers in question every day.
That said, there is definitely daycare fraud: when the government is giving out money, people will find ways to persuade the government to give it to them. And -as Medicare showed- the government in Minnesota was lax in checking on how money was spent.
To my eye this is a further narrowing of the Conservative Party, which is a time bomb.
Noted.
I’m clearly banned. Big G, HY, TSE can come out of hiding and speak for themselves.
Speaking for myself.
This line > “Mrs Badenoch says that some of her former colleagues “should never have been candidates before” and they will soon be informed they will not be allowed to stand again.” it’s pure Daenerys Targaryen - the mindset of someone who would feed to her dragons the career of anyone who disagrees with her crusade. Because that is exactly what she is doing.
Should never have been candidates in the first place, because they believed in the ECHR and 2050 Net Zero target. Say it again. Just let it sink in. Those two things were creations of the British Conservative Party. Everything Strong and Sensible about the party’s instincts and its sense of purpose at home and the wider world was poured into them.
It’s disgraceful it’s come to this in the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson’s Purge was bad enough - brutally beheading accomplished centre-right politicians with so much more to give the parliamentary party. What Kemi Badenoch’s Purge is doing is subtly different. Butchering the foetuses of talented accomplished centre-right Conservative politicians, before their careers can even be born. So worse. Much much worse.
Yes, you are spot on Mr W - The only logical conclusion - this brings further long term damage to the Conservative Party, being much harder to move away from the glib, right wing, answers of Badenoch, when it needs to return to being the thoughtful, inclusive, centre right party of government again.
Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill will turn in their graves over this. On this i trust and follow the careers and values of Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill - not Kemi Targaryen.
Thanks for your reply.
The contemporary language is perhaps now "binned" not "banned".
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.
Yes I read that but seems they say nothing will change so what is the point ?
And for clarification who is Lorraine as I have never heard of her?
"Lorraine" is Lorraine Kelly, a Scottish presenter of ITV breakfast/daytime programming for many years (basically decades at this point). She has a warm, friendly, non-threatening personality that makes her well-suited for the time slot.
To my eye this is a further narrowing of the Conservative Party, which is a time bomb.
Noted.
I’m clearly banned. Big G, HY, TSE can come out of hiding and speak for themselves.
Speaking for myself.
This line > “Mrs Badenoch says that some of her former colleagues “should never have been candidates before” and they will soon be informed they will not be allowed to stand again.” it’s pure Daenerys Targaryen - the mindset of someone who would feed to her dragons the career of anyone who disagrees with her crusade. Because that is exactly what she is doing.
Should never have been candidates in the first place, because they believed in the ECHR and 2050 Net Zero target. Say it again. Just let it sink in. Those two things were creations of the British Conservative Party. Everything Strong and Sensible about the party’s instincts and its sense of purpose at home and the wider world was poured into them.
It’s disgraceful it’s come to this in the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson’s Purge was bad enough - brutally beheading accomplished centre-right politicians with so much more to give the parliamentary party. What Kemi Badenoch’s Purge is doing is subtly different. Butchering the foetuses of talented accomplished centre-right Conservative politicians, before their careers can even be born. So worse. Much much worse.
Yes, you are spot on Mr W - The only logical conclusion - this brings further long term damage to the Conservative Party, being much harder to move away from the glib, right wing, answers of Badenoch, when it needs to return to being the thoughtful, inclusive, centre right party of government again.
Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill will turn in their graves over this. On this i trust and follow the careers and values of Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill - not Kemi Targaryen.
Actually she is quite right to look for business and professional candidates not connected with the party previously
I have no problem with her unique style that seems to be gathering quite a following
Of course others disagree but then that is politics
Times change and to succeed you have to change as well and whether she succeeds or not time will tell
I ask you to consider Kemi Badenoch’s Purges are actually extremely serious for the Conservatives, for they impact long long after her own leadership is long gone. If Parliamentary Candidates don’t pledge to abandon the target to achieve net zero by 2050 and back UKs removal from the European Convention on Human Rights, they cannot be a candidate.
Is Badenoch blocking Penny Mourdant - someone who would have thrashed Badenoch in post election leadership contest, and who the Conservatives need in Parliament for the next leadership contest?
Badenoch writes: “If someone still believes in net zero targets that make energy more expensive and are destroying industry, they are not coming back.” On the required pledge to leave the ECHR, the Tory leader argues “abandoning rulings from Strasbourg is THE ONLY WAY to protect our borders, our veterans, and our citizens”.
She makes the answers to the problems sound so simple and straightforward, doesn’t she? Just like fascists like to do.
Times change you say. But your parties values and whole reason for existing, is she sticking to it?
What the leader of the Conservative Party should stand up for and champion throughout the Conservative Party are democratic principles - freedom of expression, freedom of thought and conscience. Cherish, enshrine and safeguard a baseline of these values, for the sake of human dignity.
Badenoch clearly is not. She’s practicing the exact opposite. Alarm bells should be sounding - this purge is the behaviour of a 1930s dictator.
Youtube is still feeding me adverts from our Tesla correspondent about his recommended luxury floormats to replace the Tesla original equipment and its "flap of doom" (which sounds quite Faragiste this week.)
The Medicare fraud is massive, with billions stolen.
The daycare fraud is a lot less proven. Or perhaps it would be fairer to say that Nick Shirley was very selective with the evidence he presented. It was an invective rather than an investigation, and -for example- included a day care center that hadn't even opened yet. Another center he identified posted security footage from the day Nick Shirley claimed to have visited it, with lots of children being dropped off... and no Nick Shirley. Plenty of parents were willing to speak to CBS about the fact that they used some of the daycare centers in question every day.
That said, there is definitely daycare fraud: when the government is giving out money, people will find ways to persuade the government to give it to them. And -as Medicare showed- the government in Minnesota was lax in checking on how money was spent.
The US day care system is truly extraordinary. When some old folk lose their minds instead of restricting them to a care home facility, they are encouraged and given the resources to create their own alternative universe, where they can pretend to do any role they like, even being President, and create whatever facts suit them at the moment.
As an aside, there's a fair chance of Farage scoring more than 80% of the vote, perhaps even 90%, given the competition he is up against. If the turnout is low enough it's something that would make the exercise look even more ridiculous, I think.
I think so too but you have to wonder given the resources they are (allegedly) diverting there away from the Greater Manchester vote. There may be concern about an embarrassingly high protest vote. Or maybe he's lonely. Who knows.
95% vote for Farage on a respectable turnout where he gets most of his 2024 voters to vote for him again is very different to the same percentage where the turnout is a record low for a peacetime by-election.
I'd guess the concern is that the election looks pointless and people don't bother to vote, so most of his 21,225 voters from 2024 need to be persuaded to do so.
That’s the thing it’s a completely pointless byelection without the other parties.
Apathy and laziness are the issues that Farage will need to get over,
Dislike / hatred of Farage is going go get the anti Farage vote put
There were 11,399 votes for Labour/Lib Dems/Greens. Not sure how many of the Tory votes can be said to be anti-Farage.
My assumption is that a lower proportion of these voters will bother to vote, whether for Binface, or Rejoin EU, or whatever non-fascist options there are, than Reform voters will turn out for Farage.
As an aside, there's a fair chance of Farage scoring more than 80% of the vote, perhaps even 90%, given the competition he is up against. If the turnout is low enough it's something that would make the exercise look even more ridiculous, I think.
I think so too but you have to wonder given the resources they are (allegedly) diverting there away from the Greater Manchester vote. There may be concern about an embarrassingly high protest vote. Or maybe he's lonely. Who knows.
95% vote for Farage on a respectable turnout where he gets most of his 2024 voters to vote for him again is very different to the same percentage where the turnout is a record low for a peacetime by-election.
I'd guess the concern is that the election looks pointless and people don't bother to vote, so most of his 21,225 voters from 2024 need to be persuaded to do so.
That’s the thing it’s a completely pointless byelection without the other parties.
Apathy and laziness are the issues that Farage will need to get over,
Dislike / hatred of Farage is going go get the anti Farage vote put
The only reason they're not fighting it is because they think they can't win it. If, say, Robert Jenrick had resigned in Newark, Labour would probably be contesting the seat because they'd think they had at least some chance there.
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.
They are going to end up trying to out RyanAir, RyanAir aren't they. Rather sad, as I actually quite like EasyJet. Pricing is decent, the carry on luggage restrictions are not overly stingy, leg room etc is fine, they don't spend the flight time as an opportunity to try and bash you over the head with upsells. Its far superior to RyanAir experience in all those aspects.
But on the flip side, I can see somebody looking at the fact RyanAir is terrible experience (and not that cheap) yet people still fly on it as a great opportunity to squeeze loads more juice out of EasyJet. Cos if you get pissed off with EasyJet, where are you going to go, RyanAir? Wizz?
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.
Yes I read that but seems they say nothing will change so what is the point ?
And for clarification who is Lorraine as I have never heard of her?
"Lorraine" is Lorraine Kelly, a Scottish presenter of ITV breakfast/daytime programming for many years (basically decades at this point). She has a warm, friendly, non-threatening personality that makes her well-suited for the time slot.
As an aside, there's a fair chance of Farage scoring more than 80% of the vote, perhaps even 90%, given the competition he is up against. If the turnout is low enough it's something that would make the exercise look even more ridiculous, I think.
I think so too but you have to wonder given the resources they are (allegedly) diverting there away from the Greater Manchester vote. There may be concern about an embarrassingly high protest vote. Or maybe he's lonely. Who knows.
95% vote for Farage on a respectable turnout where he gets most of his 2024 voters to vote for him again is very different to the same percentage where the turnout is a record low for a peacetime by-election.
I'd guess the concern is that the election looks pointless and people don't bother to vote, so most of his 21,225 voters from 2024 need to be persuaded to do so.
That’s the thing it’s a completely pointless byelection without the other parties.
Apathy and laziness are the issues that Farage will need to get over,
Dislike / hatred of Farage is going go get the anti Farage vote put
The only reason they're not fighting it is because they think they can't win it. If, say, Robert Jenrick had resigned in Newark, Labour would probably be contesting the seat because they'd think they had at least some chance there.
Not the only reason. Parties put up candidates who know they can’t win all the time. The Lib Dems in Mackerfield and sundry other places for example. The Tories in most of Scotland. So “can’t win” is not the only reason.
It is being reported in Moscow that Putin is having screaming fits at his generals. He is in denial about just how fucked the domestic fuel situation is.
Downfall?
Look. You clearly don't have faith in General Steiner. That man will pull Russia out the fire and his offensive will take Kyiv and..........
To my eye this is a further narrowing of the Conservative Party, which is a time bomb.
Noted.
I’m clearly banned. Big G, HY, TSE can come out of hiding and speak for themselves.
Speaking for myself.
This line > “Mrs Badenoch says that some of her former colleagues “should never have been candidates before” and they will soon be informed they will not be allowed to stand again.” it’s pure Daenerys Targaryen - the mindset of someone who would feed to her dragons the career of anyone who disagrees with her crusade. Because that is exactly what she is doing.
Should never have been candidates in the first place, because they believed in the ECHR and 2050 Net Zero target. Say it again. Just let it sink in. Those two things were creations of the British Conservative Party. Everything Strong and Sensible about the party’s instincts and its sense of purpose at home and the wider world was poured into them.
It’s disgraceful it’s come to this in the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson’s Purge was bad enough - brutally beheading accomplished centre-right politicians with so much more to give the parliamentary party. What Kemi Badenoch’s Purge is doing is subtly different. Butchering the foetuses of talented accomplished centre-right Conservative politicians, before their careers can even be born. So worse. Much much worse.
Yes, you are spot on Mr W - The only logical conclusion - this brings further long term damage to the Conservative Party, being much harder to move away from the glib, right wing, answers of Badenoch, when it needs to return to being the thoughtful, inclusive, centre right party of government again.
Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill will turn in their graves over this. On this i trust and follow the careers and values of Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill - not Kemi Targaryen.
Actually she is quite right to look for business and professional candidates not connected with the party previously
I have no problem with her unique style that seems to be gathering quite a following
Of course others disagree but then that is politics
Times change and to succeed you have to change as well and whether she succeeds or not time will tell
I ask you to consider Kemi Badenoch’s Purges are actually extremely serious for the Conservatives, for they impact long long after her own leadership is long gone. If Parliamentary Candidates don’t pledge to abandon the target to achieve net zero by 2050 and back UKs removal from the European Convention on Human Rights, they cannot be a candidate.
Is Badenoch blocking Penny Mourdant - someone who would have thrashed Badenoch in post election leadership contest, and who the Conservatives need in Parliament for the next leadership contest?
Badenoch writes: “If someone still believes in net zero targets that make energy more expensive and are destroying industry, they are not coming back.” On the required pledge to leave the ECHR, the Tory leader argues “abandoning rulings from Strasbourg is THE ONLY WAY to protect our borders, our veterans, and our citizens”.
She makes the answers to the problems sound so simple and straightforward, doesn’t she? Just like fascists like to do.
Times change you say. But your parties values and whole reason for existing, is she sticking to it?
What the leader of the Conservative Party should stand up for and champion throughout the Conservative Party are democratic principles - freedom of expression, freedom of thought and conscience. Cherish, enshrine and safeguard a baseline of these values, for the sake of human dignity.
Badenoch clearly is not. She’s practicing the exact opposite. Alarm bells should be sounding - this purge is the behaviour of a 1930s dictator.
You last paragraph is just silly and comparing her to a facist
As an aside, there's a fair chance of Farage scoring more than 80% of the vote, perhaps even 90%, given the competition he is up against. If the turnout is low enough it's something that would make the exercise look even more ridiculous, I think.
I think so too but you have to wonder given the resources they are (allegedly) diverting there away from the Greater Manchester vote. There may be concern about an embarrassingly high protest vote. Or maybe he's lonely. Who knows.
95% vote for Farage on a respectable turnout where he gets most of his 2024 voters to vote for him again is very different to the same percentage where the turnout is a record low for a peacetime by-election.
I'd guess the concern is that the election looks pointless and people don't bother to vote, so most of his 21,225 voters from 2024 need to be persuaded to do so.
That’s the thing it’s a completely pointless byelection without the other parties.
Apathy and laziness are the issues that Farage will need to get over,
Dislike / hatred of Farage is going go get the anti Farage vote put
The only reason they're not fighting it is because they think they can't win it. If, say, Robert Jenrick had resigned in Newark, Labour would probably be contesting the seat because they'd think they had at least some chance there.
Not the only reason. Parties put up candidates who know they can’t win all the time. The Lib Dems in Mackerfield and sundry other places for example. The Tories in most of Scotland. So “can’t win” is not the only reason.
I am sure all parties will put up candidates if there is a recall by-election.
The number of ships, mainly tankers, but also dry cargo ships and ferries, attacked near Crimea has risen to 49 in 5 days. One source is reporting that there are thought to be 120 ships currently used by Russia to supply Crimea, so perhaps 71 to go.
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.
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.
To my eye this is a further narrowing of the Conservative Party, which is a time bomb.
Noted.
I’m clearly banned. Big G, HY, TSE can come out of hiding and speak for themselves.
Speaking for myself.
This line > “Mrs Badenoch says that some of her former colleagues “should never have been candidates before” and they will soon be informed they will not be allowed to stand again.” it’s pure Daenerys Targaryen - the mindset of someone who would feed to her dragons the career of anyone who disagrees with her crusade. Because that is exactly what she is doing.
Should never have been candidates in the first place, because they believed in the ECHR and 2050 Net Zero target. Say it again. Just let it sink in. Those two things were creations of the British Conservative Party. Everything Strong and Sensible about the party’s instincts and its sense of purpose at home and the wider world was poured into them.
It’s disgraceful it’s come to this in the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson’s Purge was bad enough - brutally beheading accomplished centre-right politicians with so much more to give the parliamentary party. What Kemi Badenoch’s Purge is doing is subtly different. Butchering the foetuses of talented accomplished centre-right Conservative politicians, before their careers can even be born. So worse. Much much worse.
Yes, you are spot on Mr W - The only logical conclusion - this brings further long term damage to the Conservative Party, being much harder to move away from the glib, right wing, answers of Badenoch, when it needs to return to being the thoughtful, inclusive, centre right party of government again.
Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill will turn in their graves over this. On this i trust and follow the careers and values of Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill - not Kemi Targaryen.
Actually she is quite right to look for business and professional candidates not connected with the party previously
I have no problem with her unique style that seems to be gathering quite a following
Of course others disagree but then that is politics
Times change and to succeed you have to change as well and whether she succeeds or not time will tell
I ask you to consider Kemi Badenoch’s Purges are actually extremely serious for the Conservatives, for they impact long long after her own leadership is long gone. If Parliamentary Candidates don’t pledge to abandon the target to achieve net zero by 2050 and back UKs removal from the European Convention on Human Rights, they cannot be a candidate.
Is Badenoch blocking Penny Mourdant - someone who would have thrashed Badenoch in post election leadership contest, and who the Conservatives need in Parliament for the next leadership contest?
Badenoch writes: “If someone still believes in net zero targets that make energy more expensive and are destroying industry, they are not coming back.” On the required pledge to leave the ECHR, the Tory leader argues “abandoning rulings from Strasbourg is THE ONLY WAY to protect our borders, our veterans, and our citizens”.
She makes the answers to the problems sound so simple and straightforward, doesn’t she? Just like fascists like to do.
Times change you say. But your parties values and whole reason for existing, is she sticking to it?
What the leader of the Conservative Party should stand up for and champion throughout the Conservative Party are democratic principles - freedom of expression, freedom of thought and conscience. Cherish, enshrine and safeguard a baseline of these values, for the sake of human dignity.
Badenoch clearly is not. She’s practicing the exact opposite. Alarm bells should be sounding - this purge is the behaviour of a 1930s dictator.
You last paragraph is just silly and comparing her to a facist
Really
Purging potential MPs based on a single viewpoint is partly how Bozo pushed the party into it's current mess. Remember Boris binned a lot of centralist Tory MPs back in 2020...
That is a scarily low number of Farage voters given that Reform are polling in the high 20s%
It's Ipsos, so it compares to the 26% saying they would vote Reform in their last opinion poll. And most polls find a fair proportion of Tory voters have warm feelings for Farage. Oh. It has don't know still in the base, so we're not comparing like with like.
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.
What is so special about this government ? Approval of similar foreign takeovers has been forthcoming from every administration since Thatcher.
To once more repeat the obvious. Our capital account has to balance. As we run a deficit every year we need to sell sufficient assets to cover that deficit. So every year tens of billions of UK assets need to be sold to foreigners. If you don’t like it demand that the government implements policies to eliminate the trade deficit.
Edit sorry @foxy. I didn’t see your comment until I refreshed.
To my eye this is a further narrowing of the Conservative Party, which is a time bomb.
Noted.
I’m clearly banned. Big G, HY, TSE can come out of hiding and speak for themselves.
Speaking for myself.
This line > “Mrs Badenoch says that some of her former colleagues “should never have been candidates before” and they will soon be informed they will not be allowed to stand again.” it’s pure Daenerys Targaryen - the mindset of someone who would feed to her dragons the career of anyone who disagrees with her crusade. Because that is exactly what she is doing.
Should never have been candidates in the first place, because they believed in the ECHR and 2050 Net Zero target. Say it again. Just let it sink in. Those two things were creations of the British Conservative Party. Everything Strong and Sensible about the party’s instincts and its sense of purpose at home and the wider world was poured into them.
It’s disgraceful it’s come to this in the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson’s Purge was bad enough - brutally beheading accomplished centre-right politicians with so much more to give the parliamentary party. What Kemi Badenoch’s Purge is doing is subtly different. Butchering the foetuses of talented accomplished centre-right Conservative politicians, before their careers can even be born. So worse. Much much worse.
Yes, you are spot on Mr W - The only logical conclusion - this brings further long term damage to the Conservative Party, being much harder to move away from the glib, right wing, answers of Badenoch, when it needs to return to being the thoughtful, inclusive, centre right party of government again.
Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill will turn in their graves over this. On this i trust and follow the careers and values of Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill - not Kemi Targaryen.
Actually she is quite right to look for business and professional candidates not connected with the party previously
I have no problem with her unique style that seems to be gathering quite a following
Of course others disagree but then that is politics
Times change and to succeed you have to change as well and whether she succeeds or not time will tell
I ask you to consider Kemi Badenoch’s Purges are actually extremely serious for the Conservatives, for they impact long long after her own leadership is long gone. If Parliamentary Candidates don’t pledge to abandon the target to achieve net zero by 2050 and back UKs removal from the European Convention on Human Rights, they cannot be a candidate.
Is Badenoch blocking Penny Mourdant - someone who would have thrashed Badenoch in post election leadership contest, and who the Conservatives need in Parliament for the next leadership contest?
Badenoch writes: “If someone still believes in net zero targets that make energy more expensive and are destroying industry, they are not coming back.” On the required pledge to leave the ECHR, the Tory leader argues “abandoning rulings from Strasbourg is THE ONLY WAY to protect our borders, our veterans, and our citizens”.
She makes the answers to the problems sound so simple and straightforward, doesn’t she? Just like fascists like to do.
Times change you say. But your parties values and whole reason for existing, is she sticking to it?
What the leader of the Conservative Party should stand up for and champion throughout the Conservative Party are democratic principles - freedom of expression, freedom of thought and conscience. Cherish, enshrine and safeguard a baseline of these values, for the sake of human dignity.
Badenoch clearly is not. She’s practicing the exact opposite. Alarm bells should be sounding - this purge is the behaviour of a 1930s dictator.
You last paragraph is just silly and comparing her to a facist
Really
Purging potential MPs based on a single viewpoint is partly how Bozo pushed the party into it's current mess. Remember Boris binned a lot of centralist Tory MPs back in 2020...
If a party leader cannot lead a broad party with a variety of different views, how will they manage to lead a country? They can't just get rid of voters who don't agree with them.
To my eye this is a further narrowing of the Conservative Party, which is a time bomb.
Noted.
I’m clearly banned. Big G, HY, TSE can come out of hiding and speak for themselves.
Speaking for myself.
This line > “Mrs Badenoch says that some of her former colleagues “should never have been candidates before” and they will soon be informed they will not be allowed to stand again.” it’s pure Daenerys Targaryen - the mindset of someone who would feed to her dragons the career of anyone who disagrees with her crusade. Because that is exactly what she is doing.
Should never have been candidates in the first place, because they believed in the ECHR and 2050 Net Zero target. Say it again. Just let it sink in. Those two things were creations of the British Conservative Party. Everything Strong and Sensible about the party’s instincts and its sense of purpose at home and the wider world was poured into them.
It’s disgraceful it’s come to this in the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson’s Purge was bad enough - brutally beheading accomplished centre-right politicians with so much more to give the parliamentary party. What Kemi Badenoch’s Purge is doing is subtly different. Butchering the foetuses of talented accomplished centre-right Conservative politicians, before their careers can even be born. So worse. Much much worse.
Yes, you are spot on Mr W - The only logical conclusion - this brings further long term damage to the Conservative Party, being much harder to move away from the glib, right wing, answers of Badenoch, when it needs to return to being the thoughtful, inclusive, centre right party of government again.
Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill will turn in their graves over this. On this i trust and follow the careers and values of Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill - not Kemi Targaryen.
Actually she is quite right to look for business and professional candidates not connected with the party previously
I have no problem with her unique style that seems to be gathering quite a following
Of course others disagree but then that is politics
Times change and to succeed you have to change as well and whether she succeeds or not time will tell
I ask you to consider Kemi Badenoch’s Purges are actually extremely serious for the Conservatives, for they impact long long after her own leadership is long gone. If Parliamentary Candidates don’t pledge to abandon the target to achieve net zero by 2050 and back UKs removal from the European Convention on Human Rights, they cannot be a candidate.
Is Badenoch blocking Penny Mourdant - someone who would have thrashed Badenoch in post election leadership contest, and who the Conservatives need in Parliament for the next leadership contest?
Badenoch writes: “If someone still believes in net zero targets that make energy more expensive and are destroying industry, they are not coming back.” On the required pledge to leave the ECHR, the Tory leader argues “abandoning rulings from Strasbourg is THE ONLY WAY to protect our borders, our veterans, and our citizens”.
She makes the answers to the problems sound so simple and straightforward, doesn’t she? Just like fascists like to do.
Times change you say. But your parties values and whole reason for existing, is she sticking to it?
What the leader of the Conservative Party should stand up for and champion throughout the Conservative Party are democratic principles - freedom of expression, freedom of thought and conscience. Cherish, enshrine and safeguard a baseline of these values, for the sake of human dignity.
Badenoch clearly is not. She’s practicing the exact opposite. Alarm bells should be sounding - this purge is the behaviour of a 1930s dictator.
This purge, if it is that, is sadly not unlike those practised by Keir Starmer and Boris. Go back just a little further and David Cameron and Michael Howard also ended others' careers on ideological grounds. Kemi sounds crass as well as authoritarian however, if those are her words.
Apparently they've got rid of the electronic net cord device at grand slam tennis tournaments because the company that supplied it went bankrupt, but in that case why don't they bring back the human net cord judge instead of just relying on the umpire?
One policy that might reduce the deficit is to generate more than 100% of our energy needs. This involves more spending on renewables, utilising the North Sea and developing other sources such as tidal. But morons like our Energy Secretary think importing more energy from abroad shows us giving a lead. Or something.
To my eye this is a further narrowing of the Conservative Party, which is a time bomb.
Noted.
I’m clearly banned. Big G, HY, TSE can come out of hiding and speak for themselves.
Speaking for myself.
This line > “Mrs Badenoch says that some of her former colleagues “should never have been candidates before” and they will soon be informed they will not be allowed to stand again.” it’s pure Daenerys Targaryen - the mindset of someone who would feed to her dragons the career of anyone who disagrees with her crusade. Because that is exactly what she is doing.
Should never have been candidates in the first place, because they believed in the ECHR and 2050 Net Zero target. Say it again. Just let it sink in. Those two things were creations of the British Conservative Party. Everything Strong and Sensible about the party’s instincts and its sense of purpose at home and the wider world was poured into them.
It’s disgraceful it’s come to this in the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson’s Purge was bad enough - brutally beheading accomplished centre-right politicians with so much more to give the parliamentary party. What Kemi Badenoch’s Purge is doing is subtly different. Butchering the foetuses of talented accomplished centre-right Conservative politicians, before their careers can even be born. So worse. Much much worse.
Yes, you are spot on Mr W - The only logical conclusion - this brings further long term damage to the Conservative Party, being much harder to move away from the glib, right wing, answers of Badenoch, when it needs to return to being the thoughtful, inclusive, centre right party of government again.
Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill will turn in their graves over this. On this i trust and follow the careers and values of Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill - not Kemi Targaryen.
Actually she is quite right to look for business and professional candidates not connected with the party previously
I have no problem with her unique style that seems to be gathering quite a following
Of course others disagree but then that is politics
Times change and to succeed you have to change as well and whether she succeeds or not time will tell
I ask you to consider Kemi Badenoch’s Purges are actually extremely serious for the Conservatives, for they impact long long after her own leadership is long gone. If Parliamentary Candidates don’t pledge to abandon the target to achieve net zero by 2050 and back UKs removal from the European Convention on Human Rights, they cannot be a candidate.
Is Badenoch blocking Penny Mourdant - someone who would have thrashed Badenoch in post election leadership contest, and who the Conservatives need in Parliament for the next leadership contest?
Badenoch writes: “If someone still believes in net zero targets that make energy more expensive and are destroying industry, they are not coming back.” On the required pledge to leave the ECHR, the Tory leader argues “abandoning rulings from Strasbourg is THE ONLY WAY to protect our borders, our veterans, and our citizens”.
She makes the answers to the problems sound so simple and straightforward, doesn’t she? Just like fascists like to do.
Times change you say. But your parties values and whole reason for existing, is she sticking to it?
What the leader of the Conservative Party should stand up for and champion throughout the Conservative Party are democratic principles - freedom of expression, freedom of thought and conscience. Cherish, enshrine and safeguard a baseline of these values, for the sake of human dignity.
Badenoch clearly is not. She’s practicing the exact opposite. Alarm bells should be sounding - this purge is the behaviour of a 1930s dictator.
You last paragraph is just silly and comparing her to a facist
Really
Purging potential MPs based on a single viewpoint is partly how Bozo pushed the party into it's current mess. Remember Boris binned a lot of centralist Tory MPs back in 2020...
At the same time the Jenricks Braverman and others were no loss at all and Kemi is changing the party to put behind the days of Johnson with a very different policy offering
I do not know who she may block but certainly looking for new blood is the way forward
To my eye this is a further narrowing of the Conservative Party, which is a time bomb.
Noted.
I’m clearly banned. Big G, HY, TSE can come out of hiding and speak for themselves.
Speaking for myself.
This line > “Mrs Badenoch says that some of her former colleagues “should never have been candidates before” and they will soon be informed they will not be allowed to stand again.” it’s pure Daenerys Targaryen - the mindset of someone who would feed to her dragons the career of anyone who disagrees with her crusade. Because that is exactly what she is doing.
Should never have been candidates in the first place, because they believed in the ECHR and 2050 Net Zero target. Say it again. Just let it sink in. Those two things were creations of the British Conservative Party. Everything Strong and Sensible about the party’s instincts and its sense of purpose at home and the wider world was poured into them.
It’s disgraceful it’s come to this in the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson’s Purge was bad enough - brutally beheading accomplished centre-right politicians with so much more to give the parliamentary party. What Kemi Badenoch’s Purge is doing is subtly different. Butchering the foetuses of talented accomplished centre-right Conservative politicians, before their careers can even be born. So worse. Much much worse.
Yes, you are spot on Mr W - The only logical conclusion - this brings further long term damage to the Conservative Party, being much harder to move away from the glib, right wing, answers of Badenoch, when it needs to return to being the thoughtful, inclusive, centre right party of government again.
Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill will turn in their graves over this. On this i trust and follow the careers and values of Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill - not Kemi Targaryen.
Actually she is quite right to look for business and professional candidates not connected with the party previously
I have no problem with her unique style that seems to be gathering quite a following
Of course others disagree but then that is politics
Times change and to succeed you have to change as well and whether she succeeds or not time will tell
I ask you to consider Kemi Badenoch’s Purges are actually extremely serious for the Conservatives, for they impact long long after her own leadership is long gone. If Parliamentary Candidates don’t pledge to abandon the target to achieve net zero by 2050 and back UKs removal from the European Convention on Human Rights, they cannot be a candidate.
Is Badenoch blocking Penny Mourdant - someone who would have thrashed Badenoch in post election leadership contest, and who the Conservatives need in Parliament for the next leadership contest?
Badenoch writes: “If someone still believes in net zero targets that make energy more expensive and are destroying industry, they are not coming back.” On the required pledge to leave the ECHR, the Tory leader argues “abandoning rulings from Strasbourg is THE ONLY WAY to protect our borders, our veterans, and our citizens”.
She makes the answers to the problems sound so simple and straightforward, doesn’t she? Just like fascists like to do.
Times change you say. But your parties values and whole reason for existing, is she sticking to it?
What the leader of the Conservative Party should stand up for and champion throughout the Conservative Party are democratic principles - freedom of expression, freedom of thought and conscience. Cherish, enshrine and safeguard a baseline of these values, for the sake of human dignity.
Badenoch clearly is not. She’s practicing the exact opposite. Alarm bells should be sounding - this purge is the behaviour of a 1930s dictator.
This purge, if it is that, is sadly not unlike those practised by Keir Starmer and Boris. Go back just a little further and David Cameron and Michael Howard also ended others' careers on ideological grounds. Kemi sounds crass as well as authoritarian however, if those are her words.
It’s frankly ridiculous gestures like that which make me, a natural Conservative for the last 30 years, feel disinclined to support the party.
Listened to Jo White, Labour MP for Bassetlaw '24 intake, on WATO. Campaigned as Labour, elected as Labour but wants Reform UK policies, I think because her constituents voted Reform in the council elections but possibly she's also quite Reform minded.
It's disappointing that someone elected on the Labour manifesto isn't prepared to campaign for it once elected, I think she should just join Reform.
Listened to Jo White, Labour MP for Bassetlaw '24 intake, on WATO. Campaigned as Labour, elected as Labour but wants Reform UK policies, I think because her constituents voted Reform in the council elections but possibly she's also quite Reform minded.
It's disappointing that someone elected on the Labour manifesto isn't prepared to campaign for it once elected, I think she should just join Reform.
But this is the future of UK politics. All parties becoming more like Reform. Even Ed Davey complained about the plans to remove Churchill from banknotes.
As an aside, there's a fair chance of Farage scoring more than 80% of the vote, perhaps even 90%, given the competition he is up against. If the turnout is low enough it's something that would make the exercise look even more ridiculous, I think.
I think so too but you have to wonder given the resources they are (allegedly) diverting there away from the Greater Manchester vote. There may be concern about an embarrassingly high protest vote. Or maybe he's lonely. Who knows.
95% vote for Farage on a respectable turnout where he gets most of his 2024 voters to vote for him again is very different to the same percentage where the turnout is a record low for a peacetime by-election.
I'd guess the concern is that the election looks pointless and people don't bother to vote, so most of his 21,225 voters from 2024 need to be persuaded to do so.
That’s the thing it’s a completely pointless byelection without the other parties.
Apathy and laziness are the issues that Farage will need to get over,
Dislike / hatred of Farage is going go get the anti Farage vote put
The only reason they're not fighting it is because they think they can't win it. If, say, Robert Jenrick had resigned in Newark, Labour would probably be contesting the seat because they'd think they had at least some chance there.
Not the only reason. Parties put up candidates who know they can’t win all the time. The Lib Dems in Mackerfield and sundry other places for example. The Tories in most of Scotland. So “can’t win” is not the only reason.
They're not fighting it because he called it to interrupt the standards investigation, simple as that.
Listened to Jo White, Labour MP for Bassetlaw '24 intake, on WATO. Campaigned as Labour, elected as Labour but wants Reform UK policies, I think because her constituents voted Reform in the council elections but possibly she's also quite Reform minded.
It's disappointing that someone elected on the Labour manifesto isn't prepared to campaign for it once elected, I think she should just join Reform.
But this is the future of UK politics. All parties becoming more like Reform. Even Ed Davey complained about the plans to remove Churchill from banknotes.
Given the reduction in cash being used - changing our bank notes does feel a bit pointless
Listened to Jo White, Labour MP for Bassetlaw '24 intake, on WATO. Campaigned as Labour, elected as Labour but wants Reform UK policies, I think because her constituents voted Reform in the council elections but possibly she's also quite Reform minded.
It's disappointing that someone elected on the Labour manifesto isn't prepared to campaign for it once elected, I think she should just join Reform.
But this is the future of UK politics. All parties becoming more like Reform. Even Ed Davey complained about the plans to remove Churchill from banknotes.
The plan to remove Churchill (and all people except HMK) from banknotes is stupid though. It offends (some) people for no obvious gain. There should have been a phone call on day one to head this off at the pass.
Listened to Jo White, Labour MP for Bassetlaw '24 intake, on WATO. Campaigned as Labour, elected as Labour but wants Reform UK policies, I think because her constituents voted Reform in the council elections but possibly she's also quite Reform minded.
It's disappointing that someone elected on the Labour manifesto isn't prepared to campaign for it once elected, I think she should just join Reform.
But this is the future of UK politics. All parties becoming more like Reform. Even Ed Davey complained about the plans to remove Churchill from banknotes.
Andy, politics is cyclical. What goes around comes around. Team Farage is not the long term future of British politics. Mind you authoritarians only have to win once...
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.
To my eye this is a further narrowing of the Conservative Party, which is a time bomb.
Noted.
I’m clearly banned. Big G, HY, TSE can come out of hiding and speak for themselves.
Speaking for myself.
This line > “Mrs Badenoch says that some of her former colleagues “should never have been candidates before” and they will soon be informed they will not be allowed to stand again.” it’s pure Daenerys Targaryen - the mindset of someone who would feed to her dragons the career of anyone who disagrees with her crusade. Because that is exactly what she is doing.
Should never have been candidates in the first place, because they believed in the ECHR and 2050 Net Zero target. Say it again. Just let it sink in. Those two things were creations of the British Conservative Party. Everything Strong and Sensible about the party’s instincts and its sense of purpose at home and the wider world was poured into them.
It’s disgraceful it’s come to this in the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson’s Purge was bad enough - brutally beheading accomplished centre-right politicians with so much more to give the parliamentary party. What Kemi Badenoch’s Purge is doing is subtly different. Butchering the foetuses of talented accomplished centre-right Conservative politicians, before their careers can even be born. So worse. Much much worse.
Yes, you are spot on Mr W - The only logical conclusion - this brings further long term damage to the Conservative Party, being much harder to move away from the glib, right wing, answers of Badenoch, when it needs to return to being the thoughtful, inclusive, centre right party of government again.
Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill will turn in their graves over this. On this i trust and follow the careers and values of Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill - not Kemi Targaryen.
Actually she is quite right to look for business and professional candidates not connected with the party previously
I have no problem with her unique style that seems to be gathering quite a following
Of course others disagree but then that is politics
Times change and to succeed you have to change as well and whether she succeeds or not time will tell
I ask you to consider Kemi Badenoch’s Purges are actually extremely serious for the Conservatives, for they impact long long after her own leadership is long gone. If Parliamentary Candidates don’t pledge to abandon the target to achieve net zero by 2050 and back UKs removal from the European Convention on Human Rights, they cannot be a candidate.
Is Badenoch blocking Penny Mourdant - someone who would have thrashed Badenoch in post election leadership contest, and who the Conservatives need in Parliament for the next leadership contest?
Badenoch writes: “If someone still believes in net zero targets that make energy more expensive and are destroying industry, they are not coming back.” On the required pledge to leave the ECHR, the Tory leader argues “abandoning rulings from Strasbourg is THE ONLY WAY to protect our borders, our veterans, and our citizens”.
She makes the answers to the problems sound so simple and straightforward, doesn’t she? Just like fascists like to do.
Times change you say. But your parties values and whole reason for existing, is she sticking to it?
What the leader of the Conservative Party should stand up for and champion throughout the Conservative Party are democratic principles - freedom of expression, freedom of thought and conscience. Cherish, enshrine and safeguard a baseline of these values, for the sake of human dignity.
Badenoch clearly is not. She’s practicing the exact opposite. Alarm bells should be sounding - this purge is the behaviour of a 1930s dictator.
You last paragraph is just silly and comparing her to a facist
Really
Purging potential MPs based on a single viewpoint is partly how Bozo pushed the party into it's current mess. Remember Boris binned a lot of centralist Tory MPs back in 2020...
If a party leader cannot lead a broad party with a variety of different views, how will they manage to lead a country? They can't just get rid of voters who don't agree with them.
Obviously you wouldn't expect a socialist (like me) to be a Tory MP, but I'd think the ideological definition would be fairly broad. Something like:
Wanting the government to get out of the way, wherever possible. Suspicious of radical change, believing that the ways things have been done have likely developed for good reason.
That's basically it, isn't it?
Having purity tests over the minutiae of policy is a sign of a weak and unimaginative leader. It was one of the signs of Starmer's poor leadership that he was so quick to remove the whip from people who voted against his wishes.
Listened to Jo White, Labour MP for Bassetlaw '24 intake, on WATO. Campaigned as Labour, elected as Labour but wants Reform UK policies, I think because her constituents voted Reform in the council elections but possibly she's also quite Reform minded.
It's disappointing that someone elected on the Labour manifesto isn't prepared to campaign for it once elected, I think she should just join Reform.
But this is the future of UK politics. All parties becoming more like Reform. Even Ed Davey complained about the plans to remove Churchill from banknotes.
The plan to remove Churchill (and all people except HMK) from banknotes is stupid though. It offends (some) people for no obvious gain. There should have been a phone call on day one to head this off at the pass.
No it isn't.
Historical figures have come and gone on banknotes for years, indeed are a fairly modern innovation.
Was there such a fuss when Elizabeth Fry was evicted from the fiver?
Listened to Jo White, Labour MP for Bassetlaw '24 intake, on WATO. Campaigned as Labour, elected as Labour but wants Reform UK policies, I think because her constituents voted Reform in the council elections but possibly she's also quite Reform minded.
It's disappointing that someone elected on the Labour manifesto isn't prepared to campaign for it once elected, I think she should just join Reform.
But this is the future of UK politics. All parties becoming more like Reform. Even Ed Davey complained about the plans to remove Churchill from banknotes.
The plan to remove Churchill (and all people except HMK) from banknotes is stupid though. It offends (some) people for no obvious gain. There should have been a phone call on day one to head this off at the pass.
There never used to be anyone on banknotes. Not even the monarch. That’s an invention of the 50s/60s. Until relatively recently the situation in England was akin to that in Scotland with a number of banks issuing their own notes.
Listened to Jo White, Labour MP for Bassetlaw '24 intake, on WATO. Campaigned as Labour, elected as Labour but wants Reform UK policies, I think because her constituents voted Reform in the council elections but possibly she's also quite Reform minded.
It's disappointing that someone elected on the Labour manifesto isn't prepared to campaign for it once elected, I think she should just join Reform.
But this is the future of UK politics. All parties becoming more like Reform. Even Ed Davey complained about the plans to remove Churchill from banknotes.
The plan to remove Churchill (and all people except HMK) from banknotes is stupid though. It offends (some) people for no obvious gain. There should have been a phone call on day one to head this off at the pass.
No it isn't.
Historical figures have come and gone on banknotes for years, indeed are a fairly modern innovation.
Was there such a fuss when Elizabeth Fry was evicted from the fiver?
There was from me because I used to like showing colleagues from overseas Elizabeth Fry's blue plaque near the Bank of England and whipping out a fiver. Before Churchill was added, no-one cared. Now that he is there, removing him is controversial. Rational or not, them's the facts.
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 is no forcing in free elections because anyone, including the puzzled voter, is free to stand or to refrain from standing. The election system is not about 'them', it is about 'us'.
In a way, it's a curious thing- deciding how the nation is run depends on voluntary organisations, largely made up of amateurs doing it as a hobby to sustain a much smaller cadre of professionals. If those volunteers get bored, immobile or die, and aren't replaced, the system collapses. Heck, in many places, it has to a significant degree. Consider how many campaigners you need to convincingly leaflet, let alone canvass, a council ward.
And OK, going down the road of the state mandating and funding political parties creates a whole other set of problems. But so does the current alternative of parties depending on a few rich weirdoes to provide lots of money for direct mail and online adverts.
For really major historic public institutions like the expressions of party democracy to flourish they will either be run from historic wealth (St John's, Oxford) the tax payer (Barts and Guys, your local school founded in 1700 but not private) or a mass membership. The only one that can work for political parties is mass membership, otherwise they become corrupted by wealthy interest. There are similarities with the problems facing churches, where mass membership is the only real answer.
In both cases the only good answer appears impossible to attain.
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 is no forcing in free elections because anyone, including the puzzled voter, is free to stand or to refrain from standing. The election system is not about 'them', it is about 'us'.
In a way, it's a curious thing- deciding how the nation is run depends on voluntary organisations, largely made up of amateurs doing it as a hobby to sustain a much smaller cadre of professionals. If those volunteers get bored, immobile or die, and aren't replaced, the system collapses. Heck, in many places, it has to a significant degree. Consider how many campaigners you need to convincingly leaflet, let alone canvass, a council ward.
And OK, going down the road of the state mandating and funding political parties creates a whole other set of problems. But so does the current alternative of parties depending on a few rich weirdoes to provide lots of money for direct mail and online adverts.
For really major historic public institutions like the expressions of party democracy to flourish they will either be run from historic wealth (St John's, Oxford) the tax payer (Barts and Guys, your local school founded in 1700 but not private) or a mass membership. The only one that can work for political parties is mass membership, otherwise they become corrupted by wealthy interest. There are similarities with the problems facing churches, where mass membership is the only real answer.
In both cases the only good answer appears impossible to attain.
Mass membership doesn't matter so much for historic churches like the Roman Catholic church and Church of England, old public schools and Oxbridge colleges which have built up large endowments over hundreds of years. It does matter more for politicial parties, especially newer ones like Reform so they aren't reliant on just a few rich donors
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...
When Andy B was standing down to fight Makerfield it was assumed Reform were a shoe-in for the Manchester mayoralty but the righties seem to have gone very quiet on the issue lately.
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 is no forcing in free elections because anyone, including the puzzled voter, is free to stand or to refrain from standing. The election system is not about 'them', it is about 'us'.
In a way, it's a curious thing- deciding how the nation is run depends on voluntary organisations, largely made up of amateurs doing it as a hobby to sustain a much smaller cadre of professionals. If those volunteers get bored, immobile or die, and aren't replaced, the system collapses. Heck, in many places, it has to a significant degree. Consider how many campaigners you need to convincingly leaflet, let alone canvass, a council ward.
And OK, going down the road of the state mandating and funding political parties creates a whole other set of problems. But so does the current alternative of parties depending on a few rich weirdoes to provide lots of money for direct mail and online adverts.
For really major historic public institutions like the expressions of party democracy to flourish they will either be run from historic wealth (St John's, Oxford) the tax payer (Barts and Guys, your local school founded in 1700 but not private) or a mass membership. The only one that can work for political parties is mass membership, otherwise they become corrupted by wealthy interest. There are similarities with the problems facing churches, where mass membership is the only real answer.
In both cases the only good answer appears impossible to attain.
The answer IMHO is to reduce the scope and the power of the parties. Very strict low spending limits concentrated on the constituencies and much greater limits on the ability of parties to influence both candidate selection and control over elected MPs.
Listened to Jo White, Labour MP for Bassetlaw '24 intake, on WATO. Campaigned as Labour, elected as Labour but wants Reform UK policies, I think because her constituents voted Reform in the council elections but possibly she's also quite Reform minded.
It's disappointing that someone elected on the Labour manifesto isn't prepared to campaign for it once elected, I think she should just join Reform.
But this is the future of UK politics. All parties becoming more like Reform. Even Ed Davey complained about the plans to remove Churchill from banknotes.
The plan to remove Churchill (and all people except HMK) from banknotes is stupid though. It offends (some) people for no obvious gain. There should have been a phone call on day one to head this off at the pass.
There never used to be anyone on banknotes. Not even the monarch. That’s an invention of the 50s/60s. Until relatively recently the situation in England was akin to that in Scotland with a number of banks issuing their own notes.
The owl and the pussy cat went to sea, in a beautiful pea-green boat...
If you are interested in old notes, the Bank of England museum is recommended. Actually, no it's not. It is surely the world's dullest museum and I say that even though I suspect in America there will be a museum dedicated to Liberace's candelabras.
Listened to Jo White, Labour MP for Bassetlaw '24 intake, on WATO. Campaigned as Labour, elected as Labour but wants Reform UK policies, I think because her constituents voted Reform in the council elections but possibly she's also quite Reform minded.
It's disappointing that someone elected on the Labour manifesto isn't prepared to campaign for it once elected, I think she should just join Reform.
But this is the future of UK politics. All parties becoming more like Reform. Even Ed Davey complained about the plans to remove Churchill from banknotes.
The plan to remove Churchill (and all people except HMK) from banknotes is stupid though. It offends (some) people for no obvious gain. There should have been a phone call on day one to head this off at the pass.
There never used to be anyone on banknotes. Not even the monarch. That’s an invention of the 50s/60s. Until relatively recently the situation in England was akin to that in Scotland with a number of banks issuing their own notes.
The owl and the pussy cat went to sea, in a beautiful pea-green boat...
If you are interested in old notes, the Bank of England museum is recommended. Actually, no it's not. It is surely the world's dullest museum and I say that even though I suspect in America there will be a museum dedicated to Liberace's candelabras.
The British Museum’s online catalogue has a good collection of images of historic regional British bank notes.
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
Looking at the YouGov polling on sleaze, I think it points up a significant underestimated element of the Farage/Reform sleaze row.
I would not expect it to have much effect on the direct levels of support for Reform, which having dropped are steady at 23-28%. This is a realistic core support level which, while it will drop a bit will be slow to do so.
The more important effect is on the up to 65% of voters who don't want Reform. It will over time increase their determination to vote to keep Reform out, rather than just for their preferred party. The next election will be highly tactical. This presents its own challenges, but bettingwise I suggest it helps Labour a bit, since they are the incumbent in 400 seats, and therefore the most obvious tactical anti-Reform vote.
Footnote: Krugerwatch. He still has not tweeted in support of the by election; his only comment has been half hearted, very limited and in a very obscure place.
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
Listened to Jo White, Labour MP for Bassetlaw '24 intake, on WATO. Campaigned as Labour, elected as Labour but wants Reform UK policies, I think because her constituents voted Reform in the council elections but possibly she's also quite Reform minded.
It's disappointing that someone elected on the Labour manifesto isn't prepared to campaign for it once elected, I think she should just join Reform.
But this is the future of UK politics. All parties becoming more like Reform. Even Ed Davey complained about the plans to remove Churchill from banknotes.
The plan to remove Churchill (and all people except HMK) from banknotes is stupid though. It offends (some) people for no obvious gain. There should have been a phone call on day one to head this off at the pass.
There never used to be anyone on banknotes. Not even the monarch. That’s an invention of the 50s/60s. Until relatively recently the situation in England was akin to that in Scotland with a number of banks issuing their own notes.
The owl and the pussy cat went to sea, in a beautiful pea-green boat...
If you are interested in old notes, the Bank of England museum is recommended. Actually, no it's not. It is surely the world's dullest museum and I say that even though I suspect in America there will be a museum dedicated to Liberace's candelabras.
The British Museum’s online catalogue has a good collection of images of historic regional British bank notes.
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
A Rejoin the EU candidate is standing.
And? - this is Clacton, Brexit city, he will get a few votes and that's it.
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.
When I was young, trump meant fart.
Please miss, David has just trumped.
It's onomatopoeic. Trrrump.
When I hear the word trump, I automatically think fart.
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.
When I was young, trump meant fart.
Please miss, David has just trumped.
It's onomatopoeic. Trrrump.
When I hear the word trump, I automatically think fart.
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.
When I was young, trump meant fart.
Please miss, David has just trumped.
It's onomatopoeic. Trrrump.
When I hear the word trump, I automatically think fart.
It's a smelly world.
The name Trumpton, for the City previously known as Washington, is already taken I believe.
There were dozens of football supporters blocking the road.
Sounds like a pretty quiet summer night in the Smoke.
I am being simultaneously triggered by 'what are they doing in the country anyway?' and 'why is it only football which engenders this sort of reaction?'
Listened to Jo White, Labour MP for Bassetlaw '24 intake, on WATO. Campaigned as Labour, elected as Labour but wants Reform UK policies, I think because her constituents voted Reform in the council elections but possibly she's also quite Reform minded.
It's disappointing that someone elected on the Labour manifesto isn't prepared to campaign for it once elected, I think she should just join Reform.
But this is the future of UK politics. All parties becoming more like Reform. Even Ed Davey complained about the plans to remove Churchill from banknotes.
That's not Reform. Churchill was a Liberal Minister alongside David Lloyd George.
To my eye this is a further narrowing of the Conservative Party, which is a time bomb.
Noted.
I’m clearly banned. Big G, HY, TSE can come out of hiding and speak for themselves.
Speaking for myself.
This line > “Mrs Badenoch says that some of her former colleagues “should never have been candidates before” and they will soon be informed they will not be allowed to stand again.” it’s pure Daenerys Targaryen - the mindset of someone who would feed to her dragons the career of anyone who disagrees with her crusade. Because that is exactly what she is doing.
Should never have been candidates in the first place, because they believed in the ECHR and 2050 Net Zero target. Say it again. Just let it sink in. Those two things were creations of the British Conservative Party. Everything Strong and Sensible about the party’s instincts and its sense of purpose at home and the wider world was poured into them.
It’s disgraceful it’s come to this in the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson’s Purge was bad enough - brutally beheading accomplished centre-right politicians with so much more to give the parliamentary party. What Kemi Badenoch’s Purge is doing is subtly different. Butchering the foetuses of talented accomplished centre-right Conservative politicians, before their careers can even be born. So worse. Much much worse.
Yes, you are spot on Mr W - The only logical conclusion - this brings further long term damage to the Conservative Party, being much harder to move away from the glib, right wing, answers of Badenoch, when it needs to return to being the thoughtful, inclusive, centre right party of government again.
Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill will turn in their graves over this. On this i trust and follow the careers and values of Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill - not Kemi Targaryen.
Actually she is quite right to look for business and professional candidates not connected with the party previously
I have no problem with her unique style that seems to be gathering quite a following
Of course others disagree but then that is politics
Times change and to succeed you have to change as well and whether she succeeds or not time will tell
The Conservative Party I once was prepared to vote for was a broad church; those days are long gone. It's difficult to see how this is anything other than a further narrowing of what it means to be a Conservative, and it's a very odd one.
It's not as though this is some great principle, either. It's the sort of thing which might exclude you from cabinet if you couldn't accept collective responsibility on the issue, but hardly a matter for exclusion from being able to stand as a Conservative.
Those who call her "arrogant" have another small piece of vindication.
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.
In fairness its pretty mutual. Neither the residents of Gaza nor Israel are likely to spend any time caring what we think.
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.
When I was young, trump meant fart.
Please miss, David has just trumped.
It's onomatopoeic. Trrrump.
When I hear the word trump, I automatically think fart.
It's a smelly world.
The name Trumpton, for the City previously known as Washington, is already taken I believe.
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.
The school I trained in in Bristol had a dedicated police officer, because of the high risk of grooming, gang culture and knife crime.
Unfortunately he was not only useless, he was worse than useless, as he had a thing for 14 and 15 year old girls which some of them were only too happy to let him indulge.
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.
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.
The school I trained in in Bristol had a dedicated police officer, because of the high risk of grooming, gang culture and knife crime.
Unfortunately he was not only useless, he was worse than useless, as he had a thing for 14 and 15 year old girls which some of them were only too happy to let him indulge.
No surprise he was dedicated in those circumstances.
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.
In fairness its pretty mutual. Neither the residents of Gaza nor Israel are likely to spend any time caring what we think.
Though strangely Israel/Israelis seem to expend large amounts of effort and cash to influence opinion in the UK.
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.
In fairness its pretty mutual. Neither the residents of Gaza nor Israel are likely to spend any time caring what we think.
Though strangely Israel/Israelis seem to expend large amounts of effort and cash to influence opinion in the UK.
Do you think Westminster, Holyrood and Cardiff are the only governments who waste money?
Listened to Jo White, Labour MP for Bassetlaw '24 intake, on WATO. Campaigned as Labour, elected as Labour but wants Reform UK policies, I think because her constituents voted Reform in the council elections but possibly she's also quite Reform minded.
It's disappointing that someone elected on the Labour manifesto isn't prepared to campaign for it once elected, I think she should just join Reform.
But this is the future of UK politics. All parties becoming more like Reform. Even Ed Davey complained about the plans to remove Churchill from banknotes.
Andy, politics is cyclical. What goes around comes around. Team Farage is not the long term future of British politics. Mind you authoritarians only have to win once...
I think you might want to do a bit of research around authoritarianism. Banter bans, shutting down unfriendly media, blashphemy laws, rozzers coming round to warn you off saying anything too fruity, a papers please society - these are some of the accoutrements of actual authoritarianism. If your dictionary definition of authoritarian just says 'someone who once said something nice about Putin', perhaps you should upgrade from the Fisher Price edition.
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.
In fairness its pretty mutual. Neither the residents of Gaza nor Israel are likely to spend any time caring what we think.
Though strangely Israel/Israelis seem to expend large amounts of effort and cash to influence opinion in the UK.
Do you think Westminster, Holyrood and Cardiff are the only governments who waste money?
I dare say Bibi considers months and months of Starmer & co wibbling and prevaricating over Gaza as money well spent. Israel having the right to cut off power and water to Gaza would have been a high point.
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.
When I was young, trump meant fart.
Please miss, David has just trumped.
It's onomatopoeic. Trrrump.
When I hear the word trump, I automatically think fart.
It's a smelly world.
Yes. It used to mean something unpleasant and embarrassing. But now it means Donald Trump.
Comments
Yes I read that but seems they say nothing will change so what is the point ?
And for clarification who is Lorraine as I have never heard of her?
I’m clearly banned. Big G, HY, TSE can come out of hiding and speak for themselves.
Speaking for myself.
This line > “Mrs Badenoch says that some of her former colleagues “should never have been candidates before” and they will soon be informed they will not be allowed to stand again.” it’s pure Daenerys Targaryen - the mindset of someone who would feed to her dragons the career of anyone who disagrees with her crusade. Because that is exactly what she is doing.
Should never have been candidates in the first place, because they believed in the ECHR and 2050 Net Zero target. Say it again. Just let it sink in. Those two things were creations of the British Conservative Party. Everything Strong and Sensible about the party’s instincts and its sense of purpose at home and the wider world was poured into them.
It’s disgraceful it’s come to this in the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson’s Purge was bad enough - brutally beheading accomplished centre-right politicians with so much more to give the parliamentary party. What Kemi Badenoch’s Purge is doing is subtly different. Butchering the foetuses of talented accomplished centre-right Conservative politicians, before their careers can even be born. So worse. Much much worse.
Yes, you are spot on Mr W - The only logical conclusion - this brings further long term damage to the Conservative Party, being much harder to move away from the glib, right wing, answers of Badenoch, when it needs to return to being the thoughtful, inclusive, centre right party of government again.
Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill will turn in their graves over this. On this i trust and follow the careers and values of Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill - not Kemi Targaryen.
That annoying binman will save his deposit, as will Lozza.
I'd guess the concern is that the election looks pointless and people don't bother to vote, so most of his 21,225 voters from 2024 need to be persuaded to do so.
Approval of similar foreign takeovers has been forthcoming from every administration since Thatcher.
Which is fine, as long as your perspective starts and ends with your own ego. Once you acknowledge that there are other people out there, and they are as real as you and as important as you, especially when they're wrong, it much less fine.
One would have hoped that those who laughed at Corbynites for saying "why don't you just [go away] and join the Tories" were learning the lesson of how ineffective that approach is. It rather looks like Kemi B didn't.
I have no problem with her unique style that seems to be gathering quite a following
Of course others disagree but then that is politics
Times change and to succeed you have to change as well and whether she succeeds or not time will tell
Haltemprice and Howden in 2008 saw turnout decline from 70.1% (in 2005) to 34.5%.
What rough number would be pretty high?
Apathy and laziness are the issues that Farage will need to get over,
Dislike / hatred of Farage is going go get the anti Farage vote put
Their economic policy has been based around open borders and anyting-for-sale.
I am not sure how sustainable that is in 2026, nor how they can ideologically evolve their policy.
The daycare fraud is a lot less proven. Or perhaps it would be fairer to say that Nick Shirley was very selective with the evidence he presented. It was an invective rather than an investigation, and -for example- included a day care center that hadn't even opened yet. Another center he identified posted security footage from the day Nick Shirley claimed to have visited it, with lots of children being dropped off... and no Nick Shirley. Plenty of parents were willing to speak to CBS about the fact that they used some of the daycare centers in question every day.
That said, there is definitely daycare fraud: when the government is giving out money, people will find ways to persuade the government to give it to them. And -as Medicare showed- the government in Minnesota was lax in checking on how money was spent.
The contemporary language is perhaps now "binned" not "banned".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorraine_Kelly
Is Badenoch blocking Penny Mourdant - someone who would have thrashed Badenoch in post election leadership contest, and who the Conservatives need in Parliament for the next leadership contest?
Badenoch writes: “If someone still believes in net zero targets that make energy more expensive and are destroying industry, they are not coming back.” On the required pledge to leave the ECHR, the Tory leader argues “abandoning rulings from Strasbourg is THE ONLY WAY to protect our borders, our veterans, and our citizens”.
She makes the answers to the problems sound so simple and straightforward, doesn’t she? Just like fascists like to do.
Times change you say. But your parties values and whole reason for existing, is she sticking to it?
What the leader of the Conservative Party should stand up for and champion throughout the Conservative Party are democratic principles - freedom of expression, freedom of thought and conscience. Cherish, enshrine and safeguard a baseline of these values, for the sake of human dignity.
Badenoch clearly is not. She’s practicing the exact opposite. Alarm bells should be sounding - this purge is the behaviour of a 1930s dictator.
My assumption is that a lower proportion of these voters will bother to vote, whether for Binface, or Rejoin EU, or whatever non-fascist options there are, than Reform voters will turn out for Farage.
Oh wait? He couldn't attack?
Really
Clacton faces the ultimate choice 🗑️
33% of Brits would prefer Count Binface to win the by-election in Clacton, while 21% would prefer Farage to win.
https://bsky.app/profile/ipsosintheuk.bsky.social/post/3mqc5ak6c4t2h
No one seems interested in economic measures like this any more.
Farage did once come third behind a man dressed as a dolphin at one election, so there is precedent.
Politicians can survive being loathed as long as it is not universal, but surviving ridicule is not easy.
Edit sorry @foxy. I didn’t see your comment until I refreshed.
But morons like our Energy Secretary think importing more energy from abroad shows us giving a lead. Or something.
I do not know who she may block but certainly looking for new blood is the way forward
Campaigned as Labour, elected as Labour but wants Reform UK policies, I think because her constituents voted Reform in the council elections but possibly she's also quite Reform minded.
It's disappointing that someone elected on the Labour manifesto isn't prepared to campaign for it once elected, I think she should just join Reform.
"If you've just joined us, you've missed nothing."
ITV daytime TV summarised in one sentence.
Wanting the government to get out of the way, wherever possible.
Suspicious of radical change, believing that the ways things have been done have likely developed for good reason.
That's basically it, isn't it?
Having purity tests over the minutiae of policy is a sign of a weak and unimaginative leader. It was one of the signs of Starmer's poor leadership that he was so quick to remove the whip from people who voted against his wishes.
Historical figures have come and gone on banknotes for years, indeed are a fairly modern innovation.
Was there such a fuss when Elizabeth Fry was evicted from the fiver?
In both cases the only good answer appears impossible to attain.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/jul/10/world-cup-2026-france-power-on-quansah-ban-fallout-spain-v-belgium-buildup-live
If you are interested in old notes, the Bank of England museum is recommended. Actually, no it's not. It is surely the world's dullest museum and I say that even though I suspect in America there will be a museum dedicated to Liberace's candelabras.
I would not expect it to have much effect on the direct levels of support for Reform, which having dropped are steady at 23-28%. This is a realistic core support level which, while it will drop a bit will be slow to do so.
The more important effect is on the up to 65% of voters who don't want Reform. It will over time increase their determination to vote to keep Reform out, rather than just for their preferred party. The next election will be highly tactical. This presents its own challenges, but bettingwise I suggest it helps Labour a bit, since they are the incumbent in 400 seats, and therefore the most obvious tactical anti-Reform vote.
Footnote: Krugerwatch. He still has not tweeted in support of the by election; his only comment has been half hearted, very limited and in a very obscure place.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66543589
Sounds like a pretty quiet summer night in the Smoke.
Two memorable moments:
- claiming Michael Howard had "something of the night about him"
- on ITV's "The Chase" (Bradley Walsh and co), getting told off by Walsh for answering questions too quickly!
Please miss, David has just trumped.
It's onomatopoeic. Trrrump.
When I hear the word trump, I automatically think fart.
It's a smelly world.
https://www.tendringdc.gov.uk/news/date-set-for-clacton-constituency-by-election
Nominations close at 4pm on Friday July 17th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrX9mAi1LLA
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj6g41pzy41o
"Cool in 90 seconds' - the fake portable air conditioners sweeping the internet"
It's difficult to see how this is anything other than a further narrowing of what it means to be a Conservative, and it's a very odd one.
It's not as though this is some great principle, either. It's the sort of thing which might exclude you from cabinet if you couldn't accept collective responsibility on the issue, but hardly a matter for exclusion from being able to stand as a Conservative.
Those who call her "arrogant" have another small piece of vindication.
Man nearly sucked out of window mid-air on Ryanair plane, passengers say
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgk65knkyzdo
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 It is worth pointing out some schools in this country have dedicated police officers too.
The school I trained in in Bristol had a dedicated police officer, because of the high risk of grooming, gang culture and knife crime.
Unfortunately he was not only useless, he was worse than useless, as he had a thing for 14 and 15 year old girls which some of them were only too happy to let him indulge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bothell,_Washington It is worth pointing out some schools in this country have dedicated police officers too.
The school I trained in in Bristol had a dedicated police officer, because of the high risk of grooming, gang culture and knife crime.
Unfortunately he was not only useless, he was worse than useless, as he had a thing for 14 and 15 year old girls which some of them were only too happy to let him indulge.
No surprise he was dedicated in those circumstances.
Word of advice, if I may. When quoting, use italics not block quotes. Screws up the quote function.
May be irrelevant in a couple of weeks, of course.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/10/police-investigating-ann-widdecombe-death/ (£££)
POLICE are investigating the sudden death of Ann Widdecombe over fears she was murdered, it emerged today.
The 78-year-old former Tory minister turned Reform UK politician was found dead at her Dartmoor home in Devon, on Thursday.
It is understood she was found covered in blood after sustaining a serious head wound.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/39714312/ann-widdecombe-dead-police-suspicious/