POLITICS CORNER

[Tripps]

Uncle Bob used the word 'inutility' in his offering today. A wonderful scholarly way of saying 'uselessness.
I watched this video of the truly ghastly Laura Trott Tax and debt being interviewed by Evan Davies, and I think she is the best example of inutilitousness that I have ever heard. I can hardly believe that she is real and not some kind of comedy parody. The fact that she is 'Chief Secretary to the Treasury' is literally incredible.

[Stanley]

I watched that interview David, thanks for drawing my attention to it. It is so sad that our politics is in the hands of people like Ms Trott who shows no sign of any intelligence at all. Just an ability to memorise the latest Party Line and parrot it on demand at great speed. The fact that she is Chief Secretary to the Treasury also shows the inutilitousness of those who appointed her.

I saw THIS report on a candidate being forced to withdraw from public campaigning by internet trolls, abuse and threats. This too is another measure of how damaged we are as a society, this time due to 'social media'.
I am watching and waiting for somebody to mention principles and the need to protect the poor and needy. So far I have been disappointed.

[Stanley]

See THIS piece by Laura Kuenssberg which as usual is worth reading.
"Farage no more wants responsibility than he wants a vegan cigarette," a long-serving, maybe long-suffering, Brexit campaigner tells me. But the Reform UK leader’s longer-term aim appears to be to smash the Tory Party to bits. An exasperated senior Conservative says: "It’s all about him, full of anger and problems. Zero solutions." But why is a man who has failed to get elected to Parliament seven times causing panic in Tory ranks? Why has a small party become the headline grabber? This week, a much anticipated "crossover moment" arrived – albeit in a single poll, which put Reform UK one percentage point ahead of the Conservatives. Other polls have Rishi Sunak’s party still ahead.
There is much more of course and she makes sense I think.

[Stanley]

See THIS for what passes as hot political news this morning.
Reform UK’s parliamentary candidate in Kemi Badenoch’s constituency has resigned after it emerged he previously urged people to vote for the BNP. Grant StClair-Armstrong, the party’s candidate in North West Essex, told BBC News he had “never supported the BNP” and had been forced to stand down by the party. “I would have let the people decide,” he said. But a spokesman for Reform UK said “Mr StClair-Armstrong has tendered his resignation” after “the revelation of unacceptable historic social media comments”. In remarks first reported by the Times, external, Mr StClair-Armstrong wrote on a website: “I could weep now, every time I pick up a British newspaper and read the latest about the state of the UK. No doubt, Enoch Powell would be doing the same if he was alive. My solution … vote BNP!” Mr StClaire-Armstrong told BBC News he posted the comment sometime between 2004 and 2007 and he was an “angry man” at the time. “I have never supported the BNP. I think they are a disgusting organisation,” he said. Asked whether he had chosen to resign, he said the party had forced him to.
Interesting point of view. Recommending that people should vote for BNP candidates is not seen by Mr StClaire-Armstrong as supporting them......

[Stanley]

This election campaign is so boring....... One of the main reasons why it is so boring is that all the contenders have run out of ideas and something to say. I suspect that THIS is going to be the main level of debate over the remaining two and a bit weeks.
Labour has accused the Conservatives of proposing unfunded tax cuts after Jeremy Hunt suggested key manifesto promises on welfare cuts had already been announced. The Conservative manifesto is funded in large part by proposed cuts to spending on benefits, which the party says are not currently government policy. But the chancellor wrote in a newsletter to constituents last week that the tax cuts in the Conservative manifesto would be funded by savings from "an enormous back to work programme (which I announced in the Autumn Statement last year)". Labour seized on his comments as evidence that the welfare cuts “are not new” and “the money has been spent”. However, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it was not true that the projected savings on welfare were already factored into economic forecasts. Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Hunt's comments were “truly extraordinary”, and amounted to an admission that the Conservatives’ flagship welfare cuts involve “money that is already accounted for”. Sir Keir added: “The money isn’t there and that’s the major problem.”
The various parties will attack each other and genuine statement of policy and principle will be so thin on the ground it will be invisible. This is the level to which UK politics has sunk. A plague on all of them!

[Stanley]

I post THIS item of political news as an illustration of how thin real news is on the ground.
A billionaire who gave the Conservatives £500,000 before the last general election has told the BBC he will vote Labour for the first time in his life next month. John Caudwell, the founder of Phones 4U, described Rishi Sunak as an “absolute dud” and said the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer “just really hits the spot with a lot of issues with me”. The businessman has been critical of Labour’s plan to charge VAT on private school fees and has said some of Reform UK's policies "sound sensible", external, although he ruled out backing Nigel Farage's party over its stance on climate change among other things. He stopped short of saying he would donate money to Labour at this election. But he added: “The Labour Party in my estimation, as much as I disagree with some of the policies, are absolutely the very best for Britain going forward.
The criterion seems to be "Who gives me the best chance of making money"
Sunak's main policy statement this morning is to stay loyal to the badger cull....... No. 10 must be a very strange place at the moment.....

[Stanley]

Once again real news is thin on the ground so see THIS BBC report that heads the political news this morning.....
A second Conservative candidate is being looked into by the Gambling Commission over a bet relating to the timing of the general election, the BBC can reveal. Laura Saunders is the party’s candidate in Bristol North West and has worked for the party since 2015. It is understood she worked most recently in the party’s International Division – a department of Conservative Campaign Headquarters which liaises with other centre-right parties around the world. It is not known when the bet was placed or for how much money.

Of course the real news story is that all the signs point to a demoralised Tory Party being wiped out at the polls and not even being sure to be the second Party in Parliament and therefore the official opposition. Alternative right wing minority parties like Reform and the Worker's Party will not win many seats but they will dilute an already weak Tory offer. We may well see the LibDems being the official opposition.
We live in interesting times. 15 Years ago I forecast that the Tory policies and lack of principle would lead to the breakdown of society and the erosion of core services and that is exactly what has happened. I also forecast that eventually it would be followed by the destruction of the Conservative and Unionist Party as we know it but I didn't believe I would live long enough to see it. It would appear that I was wrong, I am going to see a Tory wipe out comparable to the one in Canada under Brian Mulroney in 1993. Not much consolation for the erosion of our economy and political system but better than nothing.

[Stanley]

See THIS report from the BBC Fact checkers.....
Ed Davey, John Swinney, Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak faced audience questions in a Question Time Leaders' Special. They made claims on spending, migration, Brexit and the NHS, among other issues. We examined some of them.
The report is worth reading, possibly the most sensible contribution to the debate we'll see today.

[Tizer]

`Former Tory minister vows to vote Labour over party’s climate failures' Guardian
The Conservatives’ former net zero tsar has revealed that he intends to vote Labour for the first time because Rishi Sunak has been “siding with climate deniers” to politicise the energy transition. Writing exclusively in the Guardian, Chris Skidmore, a former energy minister, said he could not back the Tories, who had argued that net zero was “a burden and not a benefit”, a decision that he said would cost it votes....

[Stanley]

Once again Farage steals the political headlines.... See THIS BBC report.....
Nigel Farage has said the West "provoked" Russia's invasion of Ukraine by expanding the European Union and Nato military alliance eastwards. The Reform UK leader told the BBC that "of course" the war was President Vladimir Putin's fault. But he added that the expansion of the EU and NATO gave him a "reason" to tell the Russian people "they're coming for us again".
Marginally true of course but guaranteed to steal the headlines which is what Farage and Reform are all about.
See THIS BBC report on today's headlines.
While general election coverage features on several front pages, the Guardian carries an exclusive story that the UK's National Crime Agency is "considering striking back" against a Russian ransomware gang who stole 300 million NHS patient records. The paper reports that the leak by the Qilin gang included "highly sensitive" data, like blood tests for HIV and cancer for patients at the London hospitals affected. A helpline has been set up to respond to questions amid "widespread alarm" over the hack, the Guardian says.
The Times is reporting that Harry Potter author JK Rowling has accused Sir Keir Starmer of "abandoning women" with concerns over transgender rights. In an article for the paper, she claims the Labour leader has taken a "dismissive and often offensive" attitude to women, adding that she will struggle to vote for the party because she does not trust Sir Keir's judgement and has a "poor opinion" of his character. The Times is also one of several papers to feature a picture of Prince William and his children holding hands and jumping on a beach holiday in Norfolk, taken by the Princess of Wales last month.

[Whyperion]

maybe a solution to some ransomware is to make things like ones health status public knowledge, it might help prevent spread of some disease.

The Chinese supposedly want all knowledge of everybody too. So data harvesting is not exclusive to the Kremlin.

I think Farage may just have lost votes over his Russian view. Could there have been a possibility that members of the russian federation joining the EU, that might have been possible 9 years ago to think it could be so 20 years from then.

If you want net zero commitment you should really vote Green.

Question - Was BBC Fact Checker in place for the EU Referendum claims ?

The conservatives were always going to split over europe anyway, and that happened. Question is where are the moderate/family value/work hard get rewarded conservatives now - maybe 20percent of population was all they ever were, a mix of land owners and business people who thought they had a right to rule ?

[Tizer]

Once again Farage steals the political headlines.... See THIS BBC report.....
Nigel Farage has said the West "provoked" Russia's invasion of Ukraine by expanding the European Union and Nato military alliance eastwards. The Reform UK leader told the BBC that "of course" the war was President Vladimir Putin's fault. But he added that the expansion of the EU and NATO gave him a "reason" to tell the Russian people "they're coming for us again".
Marginally true of course but guaranteed to steal the headlines which is what Farage and Reform are all about.

On the Today programme Ben Wallace did an excellent job of showing the fallacy of all Farage's claims about the war and showing him to be the fool that he is.

[Stanley]

The reaction to Farage's comment is pretty universal in condemning him but will that worry him?

See THIS response from Farage......
Nigel Farage has defended his claim that the West provoked Russia's invasion of Ukraine, following condemnation from leaders across the political spectrum. Writing in the Telegraph, the Reform UK leader said he had never been an "apologist or supporter of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin" but that "if you poke the Russian bear with a stick, don’t be surprised if he responds".
He's in the headlines again today and that was what he was after.

HERE'S what has grabbed the headlines this morning.
A fourth Conservative is reportedly being looked into by the Gambling Commission over bets allegedly placed on the date of the general election. The Sunday Times is reporting that a senior Conservative Party official allegedly placed dozens of bets, which the paper says could have generated winnings of thousands of pounds. A spokesman for the official told the paper that he denied wrongdoing, while the Tory party said it was "not permitted to discuss any matters related" to any Gambling Commission investigation.
Mr Sunak is going to be even more annoyed!

THIS thoughtful report by the BBC Insight Team into why politicians aren't talking about social care is worth reading.
About a million people in England receive services that support them in care homes as well in their own homes, according to the King’s Fund think-tank. Many who rely on the care system want to know why the major political parties aren’t talking about it more. An open letter has been sent to politicians signed by 24,000 people and more than 50 organisations warning it would be a betrayal of the public if a new government ignored social care. A second letter from another 20 bodies, including council groups and care workers, urges politicians to use the remainder of the campaign to be ambitious about reform.
I was surprised that the number was as low is 1 million. I would have guessed more than that. It is a long time since Boris Johnson assured us he had an 'oven-ready solution' ready to be rolled out. Needless to say we never saw it.

This is symptomatic of this campaign, nobody is talking about principles and ethics. The main preoccupation seems to be money......

[Tripps]

They're calling it 'Gamblegate' now.

I can't take it seriously. Remember when spread betting first started, and you could guess estimate the time of the first throw in? Remember the player who went 'short' and kicked the ball straight into touch from the kick off? 'How clever' people said.

Caveat Bookie - When Bookmakers offer such a bet- - they know what they are doing, and and would be wise to a 'stroke' within seconds. I doubt if any offence has even been committed. The Copper has been dealt with under 'misconduct in public office' not insider dealing.

There is a possible political angle, though you wouldn't know it without Guido Fawkes website. One of the appointed Commissioners of the Gambling Commission is one Lloydette Bai Morrow who was with the CPS for quite a while, when Keir Starmer was in charge. Will be interesting to see if she receives any preference when her former boss becomes PM.

Now - back to earth - Come on Scotland. . . .

[Stanley]

Gamblegate..... I'll take that seriously David, you know about these things.
See THIS overview by Chris Mason......
The gambling regulator’s inquiries into bets placed on the timing of the general election involve more people than those publicly named so far, the BBC understands. Other people linked to the Conservative Party or the government are being looked into by the Gambling Commission, I am told. The Commission itself has at no point named any of those it is taking a look at nor said how many. The BBC has previously reported that four Conservative officials, including two election candidates, are being looked into.

See THIS for Laura Kuenssberg's report on James Cleverly trying to defend/explain why his aide, James Sunderland called the Rwanda policy 'crap'......
Home Secretary James Cleverly has told the BBC that his aide had been trying to "shock and grab the attention of the audience" when he described the government's flagship Rwanda immigration policy as "crap". James Sunderland, who was the MP for Bracknell from 2019 to 2024 and is running to represent the constituency again, was recorded expressing the view at a private event in April. In the recording, passed to the BBC, he is heard to say: "The policy is crap, OK? It’s crap." He goes on to defend the plan, saying it will deter migrants from trying to enter the UK by crossing the Channel. "It’s not about the policy. It’s about the effect of the policy," he says. Mr Sunderland was speaking on 2 April at an event for Young Conservatives organised by a group called the True Blue Patrons Supper Club and titled: What’s it like behind the scenes at the Home Office.

[Stanley]

I get the feeling that Rishi Sunak has accepted the fact that the Tories are a lost cause see THIS BBC summary of yesterday's campaigning.
Rishi Sunak said he was "not aware" if other Conservative candidates were being investigated by the Gambling Commission, and said his party is carrying out its own internal inquiry. Keir Starmer accused him of delaying the probe until after the election. Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay, in an interview with Nick Robinson, defended the party's tax plans, calling them "fairly normal" by European standards. The PM and Starmer once again faced a TV grilling, this time by the Sun's Harry Cole, with key questions about immigration and Jeremy Corbyn. And, during a final campaign stop, Sunak said he understood people hesitating over voting Tory, but said the election was about the future

I think it was Enoch Powell who said that all political careers end in failure if not cut off in mid-stream at some happy juncture because this is the nature of human life and politics. Mr Sunak is yet another illustration of this general truth.

[Tizer]

We've been watching Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart on `The Rest is Politics' on Channel 4. LINK It's good to hear two experienced people talking sense about politics despite very different backgrounds.

[Stanley]

That's a good illustration of what happens to politics when 'self' is removed from the equation. Neither of those two has a stake in what happens, they are able to concentrate on the facts and have a rational discussion. No need for lies obfuscations and misleading statistics.

See THIS BBC article which addresses the only topic in political news this morning.
A Conservative cabinet minister has admitted placing three bets on the date of the general election in the weeks before Rishi Sunak’s surprise announcement. Scottish Secretary Alister Jack told the BBC that in April he placed a successful bet that the election date would fall between July and September - after losing two similar bets in March. Mr Jack who is standing down at the election after seven years in Parliament, says he has not breached any rules. He had originally told the BBC he had made £2,100 from one of the bets - but later claimed his comments were "a joke... I was pulling your leg".
What this demonstrates is that Sunak could have saved the taxpayers a lot of money (And himself a lot of grief) if he had gone for the same day as the council elections in May and put everyone out of their misery.
With a week to go it looks as though everyone has accepted that the result is going to be a Tory wipe-out and a Labour administration so they have stopped campaigning. This is bad for politics and also could affect the turn-out.

[PanBiker]

Campaigning has not stopped in our part of the forest. Interesting to note that The Liberal Democrats have announced that they are the main opposition in Pendle and Clitheroe! They base this solely on how many local councillors they have! Labour is placed last in the running and the electorate are being told that they cannot win. The campaign is being pushed to some degree a by a certain Mr DW so not unexpected. Slightly different voting trends in a General Election. I wonder if their candidate has contacted nearly 50% of the electorate as ours has, the feedback and current statistics tell a different story entirely. In just over a week we will know one way or the other.

Oh, heard on the news this morning that there are another 14 or was it 15 Tory MP's being investigated by the Gambling Commission.

This one made me smile:

Meme.jpg

[Tripps]

The campaign is being pushed to some degree a by a certain Mr DW so not unexpected.

Yeas it's a ruthless no holds barred game. Look at the lengths some will go in their all consuming urge to serve the electorate. "I cannot tell a lie, that was me".

PS. - This just arrived by Royal Mail personally addressed to me.
The Candidate describes himself as "Your Local Choice for S. Cambs".
At a glance it could easily be taken as Starmer leaflet, and it takes a word search to find the Party that dare not speak its name - whisper it -

► Show Spoiler

Conservative

The betting reflects his attitude - he is 6/1 against winning - in a Tory held seat.

Tory1.pdf

[Stanley]

Ian. I like the cartoon! I shall be voting Labour but it wouldn't surprise me if the LibDems did take the seat because any Tories that default are I think more likely to vote LibDem than Labour. We shall see on the day.
You say that campaigning still proceeds Ian. On a local level you may well be right but as regards any wider national debate, I can't see any mention of policies and principles, only attacks on each other and of course endless questioning about betting.

[PanBiker]

I watched the leader debate last night an have to say that I thought it was a bit biased towards Sunak. Mishal Husain who hosted or who was supposed to be in charge was somewhat overwhelmed by Sunak who was very vociferous and constantly shouting over Starmers replies to questions from the audience. This is not just comment from someone who may be biased it was noticed by most of the political commentators also. Sunak latched on to the word surrender, I counted at least 14 times that he used the "do not surrender" this that or the other statement regarding anything that his opposition said. At the end he actually only used three main arguments over the entire length of the program repeating them ad infinitum. Thank goodness that was the last one it was an assault on the senses.

I have a fix for the interruption and shouting in such events. Why doesn't the host have mute buttons for the microphones of each of the antagonists so that they can be switched off so you can hear what individuals have to say? I would say that was a pretty simple solution.

I also noticed that there was a "Shouty Man", probably outside the venue who could be heard in the background throughout the program.

[Tripps]

Thank goodness that was the last one it was an assault on the senses.

And an insult to our intelligence. Sunak persists in the Rwanda fantasy - though their Government has abandoned it, and sold the properties that were prepared for their arrival.

Originally the total number was to be a couple of hundred, and the Rwandans would in return, send an equal number of their disabled (Congolese war?) refugees. Starmer put down a marker to grant amnesty to all arrivals by saying that was the de facto situation now.

Measure them by their actions not their words. Neither of them really, now or at any time, wants or ever wanted, to 'stop the boats'.

We have our own 'mute button' on the remote control - no need to trust the judgment of Ms Husain - and you can always watch the football. Come on Georgia!

PS:latest betting scandal is said to involve recently knighted Sir Philip Davies candidate for Shipley. Reported to have backed himself to lose his seat to the tune of £8000. He has strong links to the betting industry so I guess having eight grand on a strong favourite would be almost second nature. I assume he backed Labour at odds of 8/1 on. which is the current price. A virtual certainty with no insider knowledge needed. I can't see any offence has been committed except being in contempt of hs constituents. which with very few exceptions I now take as a 'given'.

He is married to Dame Esther McVey - another Tory piece of work, who until the election call was "Minister for Common Sense" in the last "Government" (sic).

File all under "You couldn't make it up".

[PanBiker]

I noticed on the news today that the scheduled verbal dual between Biden and Trump on the other side of the pond will use what I have suggested here. They will mute each candidate as the other one speaks. The only issue then is whether the person in charge gives equal time to each of them. You could fix that also by setting a timer on each response. Should make the proceedings reasonably coherent.

"Brevity is the essence of communication" was the mantra of a radio amateur friend, Howard G3RXH from Skipton from many years ago. He used to quote it often. No longer with us, he passed away in 2010.

[Tripps]

"The England players won't be voting in the upcoming election.
Let's face it, they can't even find the box, let alone put a cross in it."