POLITICS CORNER

[Whyperion]

BBC Live Reporting...
`White House says release of emails claiming Trump spent hours with Epstein victim creates 'fake narrative'' LINK

Out of all the email / evidence exchanges 20 000 pages released most are still being read through. BBC mentions the one above - but we dont know the age of the victim and maybe they were just having tea and biscuits.
The other says G Maxwell was ask to stop (as in desist). doesnt say stop what , I assume it relates to "stealing girls from mar-a-lago" which trump has already said he fell out with Epstein about , rather than stop any illegal activity as such.
It seems odd to me no one has looked in to any happenings over the years at mar-a-lago (never mind the dodgy ways of building expanding and leaning on rival clubs in the area) another place of generally older men with generally younger women as waitresses etc - maybe its just a distraction technique in the casino area.

[Stanley]

Meanwhile, see THIS report of reaction from Starmer as pressure mounts on his Leadership.
Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he has "never authorised" attacks on his cabinet ministers, calling briefings against them "unacceptable". The PM was speaking at Prime Minister's Questions after some of his allies told numerous media outlets he could face a leadership challenge from another cabinet minister such as Health Secretary Wes Streeting. There has been speculation about the extent to which Sir Keir was aware of the anonymous briefings, which had been aimed at shoring up his position, or had encouraged them in some way. Streeting has denied he was lining up a leadership bid, and called on those behind the briefings to be sacked. Asked at an NHS conference in Manchester if he would fight alongside Sir Keir if there were any plots to oust him as PM, Streeting said: "Yes." "The bizarre thing about some juvenile briefing overnight is it's people in No 10 who've said the PM is fighting for his job. "I don't think that's a helpful or constructive thing to say, I also don't think it's true," he added. Streeting has attacked the "toxic culture" inside No 10, but has said he does not think the PM is behind the briefings. Asked whether he thought Sir Keir's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney was responsible for the culture in Downing Street, he said: "I am not going to add to the toxic culture by contributing to the toxic culture and going after individuals. "I don't think that is a constructive or positive thing to do. "One thing I would say for Morgan McSweeney is there wouldn't be a Labour government without him."
The plain truth is that Starmer attempted to emulate Bliar and drag the Labour Party to the Right but failed as backbenchers opposed some of his key policies and he was forced into U-turns to retain any semblance of Leadership. This is not going to get any better and he knows that the Budget is going to spark yet more opposition inside the ranks of the backbenchers.

[Tripps]

I watched an interview by Robert Peston with Kenneth Clarke last night. He is old now and looked it. The talk was done at his house. Like me - he would not enjoy a trip to the studio. He started by stating the obvious - It is foolish for any Chancellor to give a promise not to increase taxes, and he would never have done it. Rachel from Customer Services shows how again how her appointment was a mistake. Her inexperience and misjudgement has caused the Governent great problems.

PS There's life in him yet!. He's live on BBC Question Time. Same shirt and tie as he had on yesterday I'd say, but a bit of extra Brylcreem had livened him up. Well done - good effort for eighty five.

[Whyperion]

T part of the problem of Govt by media- and the Tory claim that Lab always increase takes (which has some truth of redistributive ones , or necessary when he economy has gone wrong - from external shocks rather than mismanagement as such)

[Stanley]

Most politicians are guilty of offering the most ridiculous hostages to fortune. I think it stems from the fact that they hate dead air, they always have to have something to say. Just think of the number of times you have been listening to a speech and you hear something which you are certain is going to be regretted later. (San you remember D Cameron promising no limit on spending on flood prevention?)

[Stanley]

See THIS update on the BBC Woes.....
Updated 47 minutes ago
US President Donald Trump has said he will take legal action against the BBC over how his speech was edited by Panorama, after the corporation apologised but refused to compensate him. Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One on Friday evening, Trump said: "We'll sue them for anywhere between $1bn and $5bn probably sometime next week." The BBC has said the edit of the 6 January 2021 speech had unintentionally given "the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action". The BBC apologised but said it would not pay financial compensation.
Trump is finding this matter very useful as a distraction tactic against scrutiny in the Epstein case.....

[Stanley]

See THIS to remind ourselves of the situation in the West Bank. Netanyahu and the Far Right want this as well as the Gaza Strip.....
The marks of the attack on Hamida Mosque, near Deir Istiya in the occupied West Bank, are still scattered on the ground outside. Charred furniture, lecterns and smoky curls of carpet are piled around the entrance - its guts emptied, and debris cleared, in time for Friday prayers. Dozens of men arrived for the prayers in a show of defiance - their backs turned towards the scorched and blackened wall. The imam here, Ahmad Salman, told the BBC the attack on Thursday was a message from Jewish settlers, amid a wave of settler violence across the West Bank. "The message they want to send is that they can reach anywhere - into cities, into villages, that they can kill civilians and burn houses and mosques." "I feel it in my soul," he said. "It's not right to touch places of prayer, wherever they are." But there was a message here, too, for Israel's regional military chief - scrawled in Hebrew on the mosque's exterior wall: "We're not afraid of you, Avi Bluth."

[Stanley]

See THIS report on migration.
Updated 3 minutes ago
Plans to fast-track the deportation of illegal migrants as part of sweeping reforms of the UK's asylum policy are to be announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood. In a statement to MPs later she will outline plans to end multiple appeals against removal and for an overhaul of legislation on human rights law. For those granted asylum they will only be given it on a temporary basis and will be returned home if their country is at any time deemed safe. They will have to wait 20 years to apply to settle permanently. Mahmood will also say the UK will stop granting visas to people from three African countries if their governments do not improve co-operation on removals of illegal migrants. Mahmood told the BBC on Sunday: "This is a moral mission for me, because I can see illegal migration is tearing our country apart, it is dividing communities."

[Stanley]

See THIS update on immigrants.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has defended sweeping changes to the UK's asylum system, telling MPs the current situation is "out of control and unfair". Speaking in the House of Commons, Mahmood said: "If we fail to deal with this crisis, we will draw more people down a path that starts with anger and ends in hatred." Under the plans, refugee status will become temporary, guaranteed housing support for asylum seekers will end and new capped "safe and legal routes" into the UK will be created. Some Labour MPs expressed concerns, with Nadia Whittome calling the plans "dystopian" and "shameful", but the Conservatives gave the measures a cautious welcome. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the proposals were "positive baby steps". However, she warned that unless the UK left the European Convention on Human Rights, Mahmood's efforts would be "doomed to fail". Badenoch urged the home secretary to work with the Conservatives, saying she may find their votes would "come in handy" if Labour backbenchers did not support the changes.
Advocating that Labour should work with the Tories serves as a reminder that the drive towards harsher immigration rules stems as much from fear of Farage and ReformUK as anything else.

[Whyperion]

BBC
UK net migration 20% lower in 2024 than first thought, ONS says

But year to 2023 March 38,000 more migrants coming in than previously reported.

2024 net migration supposedly due to more British going overseas.
( is this just a fluke of when easter falls getting two holidays in one count year ? )- Though people are requested to state when going out if they intend coming back - recently there have been the out via UK port/airport back via Ireland then no report for a trip by ferry etc from Ireland back to UK.

Question also is - what countries are taking the British - Dubai for those with money I guess and europe still has a pull.

[Tripps]

RE - proposed changes to Labour's immigration policy

Rebel Labour MP Cat Eccles, without a hint of irony, tells Times Radio:
"It just feels that they are trying to just be seen to be doing something just to appease the electorate."

Perhaps someone should have a word with her and explain the role of "the electorate" in the whole process.

[Stanley]

Agreed David!
Do you share with me the impression that the 'incompetence quotient' is higher than ever in this Parliament?
See THIS headline in this morning's Politics thread....
Security minister Dan Jarvis has said the government will not tolerate "covert and calculated" attempts to interfere with the UK's sovereign affairs, after MI5 warned MPs of the risk from Chinese spies. An alert issued to MPs, peers and parliamentary staff by security services identified two LinkedIn profiles, which it says are used on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS). It says they act as "civilian recruitment headhunters", targeting individuals working in British politics to solicit "insider insights". A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the UK said accusations of espionage were "pure fabrication" and accused the UK of a "self-staged charade". "We strongly condemn such despicable moves of the UK side and have lodged stern representations with them," the spokesperson said. They urged the UK to "stop going further down the wrong path of undermining China-UK relations". Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and his counterpart in the House of Lords, Lord McFall, circulated the MI5 warning to MPs and peers on Tuesday. The alert specifically identified two LinkedIn profiles set up with the names Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen.

[Whyperion]

Trump seems the victim of popularism in the US as the demand for Epstein files has just about suceeded and he has reduced inport tariffs on Coffee Beans and other food staples as the diquiet on price rises ,rises. If you live to create a mass movement to follow you , beware when it turns.

UK migration , I think it is unlikely that total incoming numbers will fall from irregular routes or other requests for asylum, but that the fear is always of rises , which IF a better world situation can occur could decrease.
Ukraine remains a problem and many will return when that becomes long term peace, similar for Syria and maybe Iraq. The immediate problem is housing and the lack of easy affordable for children of the english near to good quality well paid work. The are some small solutions - some of which is in the traditional building societies funding self build and local small infill build projects

[Tripps]

They haven't done the important thing yet - every other measure can be reversed. when circumstances change.. They are doing the minimum to pander to populist public opnion. You'll be aware that Viscount Stansgate - who asked a written question yesterday in the House of Lords - is the son of Tony Benn (sic) who renounced his father's title. The family know a thing or two about renouncing titles then sneaking them back when no one is looking.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
Andrew still remains the Duke of York but cannot use the title -
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor still remains the Duke of York by law, with the Government stating that there i “no need” to legislate to remove his titles, it has emerged. The disgraced former prince saw his titles and honours axed by his brother, the King, last month, amid growing controversy over his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. King Charles also confirmed the removal of Andrew from the Roll of the Peerage as the Duke of York. However, according to an expert Commons research briefing, his exclusion from the list only means he cannot be referred to by the title in official documents and does not scratch the peerage itself.

The disgraced former royal, who continues to hold the peerage, is set to fuel demand for steps to be taken in Parliament to deprive him of the rank.

[Stanley]

And his cause won't be helped by the renewed interest in Epstein which will follow release of all the papers.

THIS heads the domestic political news this morning. There seems to be a rash if incompetence sweeping through Whitehall.......
2 hours ago
Albania's prime minister accused Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood of "ethnic stereotyping" after she singled out Albanian families in a speech about abuses of the asylum system. Edi Rama criticised Mahmood for telling MPs around 700 Albanian families were "living in taxpayer-funded accommodation having failed their asylum claims" as she announced major reforms on Monday. Rama called the number a "statistical drop in the ocean of post-Brexit Britain's challenges". Official data show the UK has deported more than 13,000 people to Albania since a returns deal was signed in 2022. Rama called the deal one of "Europe's most successful partnerships on illegal migration."
Bad tactics to attack one of the few countries that are giving us genuine assistance,