- “Sadiq Khan is knighted as Keir Starmer hands out ‘reward for failure’: London Mayor becomes Sir Sadiq in the New Year’s Honours – despite launching hated Ulez charge and overseeing a dramatic hike in council tax” – The Mayor of London, a former Labour MP, received the gong in the first batch of appointments made since Keir Starmer entered Downing Street, despite London going seriously downhill on his watch, says the Mail.
- “Network Rail boss knighted despite catalogue of delays and safety failures” – Sir Keir Starmer has knighted Andrew Haines, the boss of Network Rail, the troubled train infrastructure operator, despite a catalogue of delays and safety failures, reports the Telegraph.
- “Gongs for Khan and Thornberry are an insult to White Van Man” – They both are part of Labour’s new identity as the party of the sneering class, says Ella Whelan in the Telegraph.
- “Crashing the economy was just the start, Labour has lots more in store for us” – We’re already heading into recession and Labour has barely started to implement its crazy plans, says Robert Jenrick in the Telegraph.
- “When will Keir Starmer ‘smash the gangs’?” – As small boat arrivals return to the highs of 2022, Starmer has told the British public the third ‘big lie’ in a row from a sitting PM, says Patrick O’Flynn in the Spectator. “Before his pledge to smash the gangs, Rishi Sunak pledged to ‘stop the boats’. And didn’t. Before that, Boris Johnson told people who used dinghies to gatecrash Britain ‘we will send you back’. And didn’t.”
- “Labour urged to drop ‘Western-centric’ science in school curriculum” – Prestigious scientific royal societies are urging the Government to make science less “Western” in an overhaul of the school curriculum, reports the Telegraph.
- “Starmer backs Phillipson’s claim that middle-class parents support private school VAT raid” – Prime Minister Keir Starmer has backed Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson’s laughable claim that middle-class parents support the Government’s private school VAT raid, according to the Telegraph.
- “Schools minister’s naked class envy will wreck Britain” – Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson will soon be to English schools what Chancellor Rachel Reeves already is to the British economy: a wrecking ball, says Andrew Neil in the Mail.
- “Keir Starmer, conservative Prime Minister?” – In the Spectator, former Tory MP Nick Boles advances the bizarre proposition that Keir Starmer “resembles a conservative Prime Minister”. Though if he means a “Conservative” Prime Minister he might be onto something.
- “Kemi Badenoch’s attacks on Farage are backfiring spectacularly” – Kemi needs to discover a much better strategy for handling Nige and turn her fire on Starmer, says Patrick O’Flynn in the Spectator.
- “Kemi Badenoch lacks a strategy to see off Nigel Farage” – Badenoch would do well to realise that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, says Peter Franklin in UnHerd.
- “Pro-Trump German press baron ‘encouraged Musk to back AfD’” – Mathias Döpfner, Chief Executive and part-owner of Die Welt’s publisher Axel Springer, encouraged Elon Musk to openly back the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, according to leaked messages, the Telegraph reports.
- “Elon Musk is the real leader of the opposition” – No wonder the left hates X so much, says Ross Clark in the Spectator. Elon Musk is using it to carve himself a role as Britain’s unofficial opposition.
- “Why Trump wants to buy Greenland” – America, China and Russia are all vying for control over the Arctic, says James Woudhuysen in Spiked.
- “Why both sides are right in the H-1B visas row” – The tech bros and the MAGA populists could chart a new way forward, argues Joel Kotkin in Spiked.
- “Trump imposes social media ban on Cabinet picks after MAGA civil war” – Donald Trump has ordered his Cabinet nominees not to post on social media without approval after a MAGA ‘civil war’ erupted this week over the issue of visas for skilled migrants, the Mail reports.
- “How Europe crashed its car industry” – Short-sighted Net Zero policy gave China the upper hand, says Helen Thompson in UnHerd.
- “Mental health sick days surge in public sector” – NHS staff and prison and council workers are three times more likely to take mental health sick days than those in the private sector, analysis by the Telegraph finds.
- “Home Office tried to stop prosecution of prolific foreign shoplifter” – The Home Office tried to halt the private prosecution of a prolific shoplifter – an illegal Romanian immigrant whom police had failed to arrest for seven separate store thefts, the Telegraph reveals.
- “I did not expect to be asked for ‘the Jewish figure’ of dead children in Gaza” – Reflecting on a disturbing 2024, Jake Wallis Simons notes in the Telegraph that while Israel is assumed to be biased Hamas casualty figures are reported as if they were just facts.
- “Richard Dawkins quits atheism foundation for backing transgender ‘religion’” – Professor Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist and atheist, stepped down from the board of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), an atheist foundation, on Saturday after it censored an article supporting the belief that gender is biological, the Telegraph reports.
- “Democracy is rotting in Europe” – In the Spectator, Gavin Mortimer highlights the anti-democratic new European ‘lawfare’ that, as in Romania, is making sure unwelcome election results are overturned on paper-thin grounds.
- “Fraser Nelson turns a blind eye to broken Britain” – In TCW, Laura Perrins takes Fraser Nelson to task for his valedictory Telegraph column, where he came out singing the praises of the glorious successes of diverse melting-pot Britain.
- “Christmas Quiz. What links: Christmas, Jesus, Kuhn and EBM?” – Jake Matthews has a festive message in the guise of a quiz on his MediCurious Substack.
- “Nobody’s friend – Justin Welby’s cancellation” – Justin Welby could find himself entirely cancelled if other organisations follow the Children’s Society’s lead after the charity rejected his donation, says Julian Mann in Anglican Ink.
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Monday Morning A33 & Reading Rd, Chineham, Basingstoke
https://unherd.com/2021/09/how-labour-became-the-nasty-party/
‘…it’s Labour that has now become the nasty party……angry people such as Angela Rayner……..what they call justice many of us would experience as persecution.
We would become scum.’ 30 Sept 2021
And we did….and Labour now really is the nasty party…..check it out on the doorstep……
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/labour/2024/06/what-historic-labour-keir-starmer-win-mean-britain-election-andrew-marr
Labour is likely to be facing a rudderless Tory opposition entangled in an existential debate about its own future. Moderate Tory MPs will feel intimidated by Faragist local parties
In his first year, maybe longer, Starmer will not face much of an opposition……One senior figure believes that a three-figure majority would give Labour 18 to 24 months of “enormous political space”.
industrial defence resilience across Europe, and next, for it to spread to climate and environmental agreements.
It would be extremely dangerous to break promises about returning to the EU. By the end of the first Labour government, it is perfectly possible that the opposition will be led by Nigel Farage.’
12 June 2024
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2024/11/pmqs-review-labour-must-beware-accusations-of-vindictiveness
So what did the ‘brilliant’ labour strategists come up with?
‘rising inflation…..the accusation about the government “stoking inflation” with pay rises for the unions and the measures in the Budget were uncomfortable for Labour.’
‘how many farms will be affected by Labour’s changes to inheritance tax…….whether the government could confirm no further increases in this parliament……batted the question away……: “We know what that means: they’re coming back for more.”
‘listing all the groups Labour has negatively impacted so far – farmers, parents of children at private schools, small-business owners hit with the employers’ National Insurance rise, pensioners deprived of the winter fuel allowance
“Isn’t it the truth,” he bellowed with such aggression MPs on his own side looked taken aback, “that if you don’t vote Labour, they don’t care about you?”
The nasty party strategists came up with……even nastier……Genius!
London is a shambles, Wales is a shambles, Scotland is the drugs capital of Europe; the Armed Forces, NHS, railways are a shambles.
I don’t like Farage’s stance on Putin. I cannot understand any words, however hedged, of admiration for a man responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths, torture, the murder of journalists, the use of chemical weapons on British soil, killing an innocent British civilian, the displacement of millions of people from their homes.
Nevertheless, conditions are unlikely ever to be more propitious for a small protest party to capitalise on the sheer incompetence and buffoonery on display from present and past governments across the land.
In any case, Farage’s position on Putin simply mirrors that of President Trump, whose own position on the Russian dictator is, no doubt, in the process of undergoing a Damascene conversion.
A lot will turn on the next council elections. Conservative party rhetoric will only change if election results dictate such a change…..but….that scent on the wind? Perhaps a whiff of ozone signalling a sea change in British politics.
God knows, we need it!
“Schools minister’s naked class envy will wreck Britain”
Bob Dylan once sang ”I can’t think for you, you’ll have to decide”
And this seems to be the crucial factor in education are we;
.1.Teaching children the reading, thinking and academic skills so that they can think for themselves and work out for themselves what is going on? or
.2. Are we trying to programme children like a bunch of zombie robots to parrot the current political and social dogma?
As a youngster I remember the sense of freedom I had when I learnt to read and could go to the local library or bookstall and read whatever took my fancy. Today’s horror politicians are horrified that people might follow the words of Dylan and think and decide for themselves. This fear of people making up their own minds seems to be behind the reaction to the riots. If you are afraid of people making up their own minds it seems to me it is because you have plans and ideas that are sinister and not in the best interests of the people.
My understanding of the origin of the word education is that it means to draw out the best in people and yet our current education politicians seem to think education is about pumping young minds full of their ideas.
Democracy is rotting in Europe
There is real fatigue with the two main parties who have dominated the scene in Romania for years.’
But
‘After ten minutes or so, the scrum around the politician parted to set him free and I managed to get close. I wondered whether (Georgescu) was now calling people out onto the streets to demand that the “coup” he has claimed, be reversed? “I am not here to protest, I was just here to pray,” Mr Georgescu replied mysteriously, without breaking step. His guards then brushed me aside and bundled him back into his car.’
‘”You can’t be very pro-Russian in Romania, it doesn’t work,” analyst Sorin Ionita points out. “But every point of Putin’s agenda was part of his campaign.” On Ukraine, for example, Mr Georgescu told me that he would end all military aid immediately and push for peace but would not say whether this should be on Kyiv’s terms.
He called Vladimir Putin a “patriot”.’
Sounds familiar?
It gets worse:
https://www.ft.com/content/cb3e97fc-78aa-4aca-8138-f894f54e7212
‘Potra was released from pre-trial detention on Tuesday, after authorities raided his properties and found over €2mn in cash, in various currencies. He is barred from attending any public gatherings and has to wear an electronic tag. His lawyer Christiana Mondea declined to comment on the origin of those funds. The police said they found firearms, machetes, swords, a professional drone and more than €20,000 worth of cash in his car which “were allegedly intended to be used to incite some individuals to commit crimes during unauthorised public gatherings and to reward them”.
‘Georgescu initially denied knowing Potra. On Monday, when he was confronted with photos showing them together, he said he couldn’t “recall precisely” when he had last seen Potra and said he had been at that ranch for riding lessons and to film the clip.’
‘Calin Georgescu’s insistence that he spent “zero” to disseminate his election message is also now under investigation.’
‘One man is said to have spent almost $400,000 (£313,000) promoting online content linked to the former candidate, who claims not to know him. Authorities have searched the house of this mysterious benefactor, Bodgan Peschir, and also called internet influencers in for questioning. Some have admitted being paid to mention the election in videos where they’d usually promote detergent or lipstick. Those political posts were then flooded with hashtags like #wearevotingcalingeorgescu. Campaigning without clear identification is banned by both TikTok and Romanian election law.’
‘“I get threats. It’s grown since the first round of the elections,” Brianna confides. “There’s language I didn’t hear before, like ‘traitor’. That’s a very heavy word…’
Democracy is indeed rotting in Europe…..in so many different ways…..
That is our ‘peace dividend’…..
We have lowered our guard.
Cheaper to pay 5% of GDP now for defence than 50% in a few years……
““Richard Dawkins quits atheism foundation for backing transgender ‘religion’”
Ah, that’s really funny! It made my day. The atheists are having a religious war.
And good old Richard thought atheism was all rational, logical, reasonable.
Isn’t it amazing how a piece of paper can magically transform a person into the opposite sex in the eyes of the Clown World law? Or at least an organization as captured by the woke ideology as the NHS. What’s also noteworthy is the lack of men playing hell about their sex-based rights being violated and private spaces being invaded by women larping as men, despite there supposedly being more FtM than MtF transitions, according to someone on here. Anyone would think a Grand Canyon-sized opportunity has been made available for fetishists and perverts ( it’d be remiss of me not to acknowledge the sports cheats also ) of all flavours, and this sort of behaviour demonstrably being very much a one-way street;
”Hundreds of transgender hospital patients were recorded as female in NHS records despite having medical conditions that only affect biological males, new analysis has revealed.
Data from hospitals in England and Wales suggests that 482 patients were logged as women despite being admitted with prostate, testicle or penis-related conditions in the year to March.
The figures emerged from analysis of hospital admissions data, highlighting cases where patients with male-specific medical issues were documented under female gender markers, The Sun reports.
The largest group among these cases involved 263 patients who were admitted with prostate hyperplasia, a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland that cannot occur in biological women.
A further 85 patients were recorded as female despite being treated for prostate cancer.
The data also revealed 48 cases involving “disorders of male genitals” where patients were logged as women in hospital records.”
https://www.gbnews.com/news/trans-row-hospital-patients-admitted-as-women-male-conditions
Firkin hilarious.
Hello, I’m hoping someone here can help me. I thought that the oil contained in wind turbines was not recyclable as well as the blades. Family say it’s just gearbox oil and can be burned, does anyone have links or evidence if I’m right or do I need to eat some humble pie
?
I can’t answer your question directly but I suspect it’s ‘just’ gearbox oil. Most modern cars use ‘fully synthetic’ engine oil which has to be changed regularly. A car which is burning too much oil will fail the MOT. Burning gearbox oil is probably considered a really bad idea.
Gearbox oil is not flammable. If you want to burn it you’ll need another fuel to get it hot enough to burn. I guess you could feed it into an electric arc instead – assuming the electricity comes from a renewable source, of course.
Naughty, naughty.
Thanks, whenever I try to speak up against net zero and all the rest of it my family shout me down.
This is precisely why I don’t drive when I visit home. My neural pathways have been re-routed since moving to the Netherlands and now I’d find driving in the UK too stressful, particularly roundabouts. lol;
”A “frightening” surge in wrong-way driving on England’s motorways is linked to foreign drivers.
National Highways figures reveal that 988 incidents involving “oncoming vehicles” were reported on motorways in the year to Nov 17 – up by 15 per cent on 2023.
That is up from 858 during the previous 12 months, and represents an average of 19 every week.
The data, released in response to a Freedom of Information request by the PA news agency, relates to unconfirmed reports of wrong-way driving made to National Highways’ operations centres by various sources such as the police, traffic officers and the public.
Edmund King, the AA president, said: “Some incidents have been linked to foreign drivers used to driving on the other side of the road, although now there are signs in different languages close to UK ports warning drivers to ‘drive on the left’.
“In locations where genuine mistakes have been made, there should be a full review of signage and road layout to ensure they are intuitive.
“The increase in the number of vehicles being driven in the wrong direction on motorways is frightening. The consequences of wrong-way driving can be devastating and deadly.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/12/30/foreign-drivers-spark-rise-wrong-way-motorway-incidents/
If you’re not already familiar with the furore in response to Fraser Nelson’s piece on mass immigration then it’s best to read the TCW article linked above. Here is an excellent rebuttal by Sam Bidwell, which is very long so here’s just an excerpt;
”Like it or not, we are a nation state, with complex norms, habits, and methods of social arrangement. These have been built up over centuries – yes, centuries. I would urge you to read the work of French anthropologist Emmanuel Todd, and historians such as Alan Macfarlane and Peter Laslett. They note that many of the facets of our culture – nuclear families, individuated responsibility, bourgeois working and saving habits, relatively equitable treatment of women, high degrees of social trust, etc. – can be readily identified by at least the 12th century. The political status quo of the late 20th century (which is really what your definition of “Britishness” captures) are fleeting and mutable. These facets of our culture have been around for much longer; they are what made us successful in the first place.
They are also what gave us our free society, which I love deeply. Free speech, freedom of association, our constitutional political system – in Britain, these were not the product of philosophical ideas. They are the customary lifestyle habits of the British, a product of our cultural norms – there is a reason that Voltaire wrote his Letters On The English.
Our freedoms are not about high-minded concepts; they are a feature of our culture. Lose the culture, and we’ll lose the freedoms too. That’s why I care so much about this issue.
My article outlined that, in nation states, assimilation is a possibility. It has happened before. Could a small number of highly intelligent, highly skilled people from compatible cultures assimilate into British life? Absolutely.
But assimilation into a national culture is not the same as propositional integration. The latter requires us to pretend that we are something that we are not, and to ignore meaningful human behaviours. The latter reduces the complexity of our society to a handful of easily-taught – and easily-misunderstood – buzzwords. We are better than this.
If this is as good as it can possibly get, maybe we should never have undertaken this experiment in the first place. You were so preoccupied with whether or not we could that you didn’t stop to think about whether or not we should.”
https://x.com/sam_bidwell/status/1873788558974066841
I have little time for Fraser Nelso and his politics drifts with the tides. For some reason he appears to carry some weight with the London mob but God knows why. Not so much a critical thinker more a shit stirrer.
“Starmer backs Phillipson’s claim that middle-class parents support private school VAT raid”
Refers back to
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/private-school-vat-fees-bridget-phillipson-gpdglkssh
Where we find
What a damn foolish thing to say. Really? A key method to improve state schools is pushy parents (middle-class or otherwise)? Why the hell have the schools not been ‘pushed’ before? Is the difference between (say) Michaela Community School and Beacon High, Islington down to the aspirations of the pupils’ parents? Shame on the parents of the pupils of the worst performing schools – they’re not doing enough ‘pushing’. I’m not sure quite what they should be pushing though.
Note that working-class pushy parents won’t cut the mustard. It’s got to be middle-class parents (the pushy bastards).
Sheesh.
“Speaking before the policy takes effect on Wednesday, Bridget Phillipson said she would be “the voice of pushy middle-class parents” who had been priced out of sending their children to private schools, and would “demand better from state schools”.
The words of a bloody imbecile.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/12/30/labour-urged-drop-western-centric-science-curriculum/
Presumably the teaching of science will be based on voodoo then or a muslim equivalent. All very appropriate as we begin our return to feudalism.
I wonder who Kneel will appoint as High Priest of Alchemy? Surely this is a position just waiting to be born and which would sit very comfortably beside the Princess of the Runes, Rachel.
“Why Trump wants to buy Greenland”
An interesting comment by the public:
“If you read between the lines, Trump’s territorial expansion plans suggesting Canada & Greenland become states is a veiled attempt to allow far northern hemispheres people an evacuation route to the south. Kinda like immigration without calling it that. These people have a great deal more experience dealing with cold and snow. Billionaires like Trump & Musk know exactly what is coming.”
https://electroverse.info/
“Snow reaches Athens, Delhi plunges, US to freeze, Arctic Ice up 26%, Murcia’s Record Lows; Red Alert In Bidar Amid India’s Cold Wave; Italian Alps Hit -31.1C (-24F); + U.S. Cold-Deaths Double Since 1999—The Establishment Blames Global Warming”
Happy New Year, assisted by characters like Neil Oliver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhfFQIMRms0&list=WL&index=1