OneGuyFromBarlick

THIS BBC In Depth article is worth reading if you are trying to understand Trump.

Simon Webb who is more perceptive than most - has spotted that the other members of the new group will be - Zarah Sultana, Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, and Iqbal Mohamed.
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Iqbal Mohamed is Independent MP for Dewsbury. He has spoken in Parliament in favour of first cousin marriages.

Billy Moore has just visited Dewsbury which he found was home to one of the largest mosques in Europe. Well worth a look.

Google 'Deobandi Dewsbury' for more detail about the town and its mosque and its Islamic learning establishments.

Pay no attention to the abandoned vandalised buildings in the town centre, and the fly tipping - that's of no consquence. 'Part and parcel' as Sadiq Khan was once heard to remark.

There were disturbances in Oldham on Friday Oldham riots

Speaking of new political parties..... Have a look at THIS report from the US.....
Updated 36 minutes ago
US President Donald Trump has hit out at former close ally Elon Musk over the multi-billionaire's plan to launch a new political party. "I think it's ridiculous to start a third party," said Trump, speaking to reporters on Sunday before boarding Air Force One. "It's always been a two-party system and I think starting a third party just adds to the confusion." After teasing the idea for weeks, Musk posted on X over the weekend that he had set up the America Party to compete against the Republican and Democratic parties. Trump and Musk were formerly close allies, with the Tesla boss leading the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), which is tasked with helping to cut federal spending. Trump also posted on his Truth Social platform on Sunday: "I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely 'off the rails,' essentially becoming a train wreck over the past five weeks." The post took aim at Musk's push for an "Electric Vehicle (EV) Mandate", saying it would have "forced everyone to buy an electric car in a short period of time."

See THIS report on the visit by President Macron.
4 hours ago
King Charles III will say the UK and France must stand together in the face of a "multitude of complex threats", when he speaks at a state banquet for French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron and his wife Brigitte will be welcomed by the King and Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales, as they arrive for a three-day state visit. The state banquet will be a highlight of the trip, with famous faces, a showcase menu and a message from the King about the "shared history and culture between our two peoples". This is the first state visit by the leader of an EU country since Brexit and the King will emphasise the need to work together on issues from military threats to climate change.

I'm giving you a lot of homework today, and don't expect anyone to do it all - but give it a skim.

I miss Kate Andrews of The Spectator who has now moved back to the USA. She was a regular on UK talk shows until recently and then as now, spoke a lot of sense.

The 'takeaway' from her long interview (for me) is "the state pension is no longer affordable". She should have added "in its present form" but didn't - so no change will happen. The triple lock is of course, and quite correctly, doomed.

However any Government that messes with the state pension - meagre though the basic level is - will find itself rebelled against; as recently with the scandalous PIP payments. Remember we are the world's sixth largest economy therefore can do as we please.

I think the reckoning is beckoning, and won't be too long coming.

I might just patent that. . . .

You could be right David. Like HS2 and abolishing the two child cap on child benefit a decent state pension or the NHS is unaffordable while the real money is being spent on Aircraft carriers defence and nuclear deterrents......
I saw THIS blast from the past in the political news this morning.
Norman Tebbit, who served as a cabinet minister in Margaret Thatcher's government, has died aged 94. Throughout the 1980s he worked as the chairman of the Conservative Party and led the departments of trade and industry and employment. A loyal ally of Thatcher, Lord Tebbit backed her agenda, bringing in laws designed to curb union power - including making them liable for damages if they did illegal acts.
I can't say that I will miss him......

See THIS report on the latest Israeli initiative in Gaza.....
Israel's defence minister says he has instructed its military to prepare a plan to move all Palestinians in Gaza into a camp in the south of the territory, Israeli media reports say. Israel Katz told journalists on Monday he wanted to establish a "humanitarian city" on the ruins of the city of Rafah to initially house about 600,000 Palestinians - and eventually the whole 2.1 million population. He said the goal was to bring people inside after security screening to ensure they were not Hamas operatives, and that they would not be allowed to leave. If conditions allowed, he added, construction would begin during a 60-day ceasefire that Israel and Hamas are trying to negotiate. One Israeli human rights lawyer condemned it as nothing less than an "operational plan for a crime against humanity". "It is all about population transfer to the southern tip of the Gaza Strip in preparation for deportation outside the strip," Michael Sfard told the Guardian newspaper. he UN has also previously warned that the deportation or forcible transfer of an occupied territory's civilian population is strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law and "tantamount to ethnic cleansing". Later on Monday, during a meeting at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about US President Donald Trump's proposal that the US take over post-war Gaza and permanently resettle its population elsewhere. Netanyahu said: "I think President Trump has a brilliant vision. It's called free choice. If people want to stay, they can stay, but if they want to leave, they should be able to leave... "We're working with the United States very closely about finding countries that will seek to realise what they always say - that they wanted to give the Palestinians a better future."
I think I have just seen the Israeli government propose a Final Solution for the Palestinian problem and they have the backing of the United States.
Unbelievable!

See THIS latest atrocity in Gaza.
At least 15 Palestinians, including eight children and two women, have been killed in an Israeli strike while queuing for nutritional supplements in front of a clinic in central Gaza, a hospital says. Video from al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah showed the bodies of several children and others lying on the floor as medics treated their wounds. US-based aid group Project Hope, which runs the clinic, said the attack was a blatant violation of international law. The Israeli military said it struck a "Hamas terrorist" and regretted any harm to civilians. They were among 66 people reportedly killed in Israeli strikes on Thursday, as Israel and Hamas continued talks on a ceasefire deal. Despite optimism expressed by the US, which is acting as a mediator along with Qatar and Egypt, they do not so far seem to be close to a breakthrough.
Do these lives not matter?

See THIS BBC report on the continuing row over the proposed 'concentration camp' being proposed by Israel in Rafah......
For Gazans, a 60-day ceasefire being negotiated between Israel and Hamas would be a lifeline. A window to bring in large quantities of desperately needed food, water and medicine after severe – and at times total - Israeli restrictions on aid deliveries. But for Israel's defence minister Israel Katz a two-month pause in military operations would create an opportunity to build what he has called a "humanitarian city" in the ruins of the southern city of Rafah to contain almost every single Gazan except those belonging to armed groups. According to the plan, Palestinians would be security screened before being allowed in and not permitted to leave. Critics, both domestically and internationally, have condemned the proposal, with human rights groups, academics and lawyers calling it a blueprint for a "concentration camp".
This is possibly the most insensitive political initiative I have ever seen.

See THIS BBC report on the proposed junior doctors strike.
46 minutes ago
Talks between Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the British Medical Association (BMA) will take place next week in a bid to avert strike action in England's NHS, the BBC understands. Resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors, announced earlier this week that they will walk out for five consecutive days from 25 July until 30 July over a dispute about pay with the government. The BMA said strikes would only be called off if next week's talks produce an offer it can put to its members. The government has insisted it cannot improve its offer of a 5.4% increase for this year.
I think I agree that the doctors deserve more money but I have a certain amount of sympathy with Streeting about the timing of this latest demand.

HERE'S an interesting read for anyone who is appalled by Trump.....
Hungarians have a popular saying: "Visszanyal a fagyi". Translation: "The ice-cream licks back." In other words, watch out, because what you enjoy devouring, might enjoy devouring you. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has assiduously attacked a liberal world view for at least two decades, transforming the country into what he has variously called an "illiberal democracy" and nation of "Christian liberty". Meanwhile he has drawn admirers around the world, including US Deputy President JD Vance and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze. US President Donald Trump has called Orban "smart" and "a tough person". "One of the most respected men, they call him a strong man," Trump said in September 2024. Ahead of the next Hungarian election in April 2026, the LGBTQ community appear to be among Orban's targets – his Fidesz party rubber stamped a new law that sought to ban Pride from going ahead. And yet between 100,000 and 200,000 people turned out last month - up from just 35,000 last year. But watching huge crowds march through Budapest to celebrate gay pride, free speech and the right to assemble - all in defiance of the ban - many wonder: could the liberal worldview bite back?
There is much more, perhaps there is hope yet for the US and the rest of the world.

See THIS BBC report on Nigel Farage's view of the Trump visit.
Nigel Farage has said it is "shoddy" that Donald Trump will not have the chance to address Parliament during his unprecedented second state visit. It comes after it was announced the US president will begin a three-day trip on 17 September, a day after the House of Commons breaks for the traditional party conference season. The Reform UK leader said the "cowardly" timing of the trip showed the Labour government's "real priority" was to favour relations with Europe. Downing Street denied the trip had deliberately been scheduled for the recess, saying questions on timing were for Buckingham Palace. State visits, however, are traditionally organised in conjunction with government.
Farage is currying favour with his supposed friend Donald Trump instead of doing the job he is paid for, representing the voters who gave him power. Am I alone in thinking that his main purpose in life is benefiting himself?

Trump should not get to come again, he has been once which is the established protocol.

I heard him on the radio news describing PM Starmer as a "cute cookie" as he is one of the only leaders to have agreed a trade deal with the US. I think he called our King a "nice man".

He sounds like a four year old with his range of vocabulary.

"He sounds like a four year old with his range of vocabulary."
Ian, many observers, particularly in the US where they are exposed to his foibles daily, suspect that there are problems with Trump's cognitive function.... They could well be correct.

THIS heads the political news this morning.
Updated 1 hour ago
Thousands of Afghans have moved to the UK under a secret scheme which was set up after a British official inadvertently leaked their data, it can be revealed. In February 2022, the personal details of nearly 19,000 people who had applied to move to the UK after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan were leaked. The previous government learned of the breach in August 2023 when some of the details appeared on Facebook. A new resettlement scheme for those on the leaked list was set up nine months later, and has seen 4,500 Afghans arrive in the UK so far. But the existence of the leak and relocations were kept secret after the government obtained a super-injunction stopping it from becoming public. Details of the major data breach, the response and the number of Afghans granted the right to live in the UK as a result only came to light on Tuesday after a High Court judge ruled, external the gagging order should be lifted. The leak contained the names, contact details and some family information of people potentially at risk of harm from the Taliban. Downing Street would not confirm whether the official responsible for the leak had faced disciplinary action, with a spokesman saying they would not comment on individuals. The government also revealed on Tuesday: The MoD believes 600 Afghan soldiers included in the leak, plus 1,800 of their family members, are still in Afghanistan.
The scheme is being closed down, but relocation offers already made to those who remain in Afghanistan will be honoured

The secret scheme - officially called the Afghan Relocation Route - has cost £400m so far, and is expected to cost a further £400m to £450m

The breach was committed mistakenly by an unnamed official at the MoD

People whose details were leaked were only informed on Tuesday

Speaking in the House of Commons, Defence Secretary John Healey offered a "sincere apology" to those whose details had been included in the leak, which came to light when some appeared on Facebook.
My only comment is that if the original promises made to the Afghans who aided us had been kept none of this would have happened.

See THIS BBC report about the state of the Labour Party.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has suspended four MPs from Labour over repeated breaches of party discipline. Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff and Rachael Maskell have had the party whip removed, meaning the MPs will sit as independents in the House of Commons. Three other Labour MPs - Rosena Allin Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Mohammed Yasin - have been stripped of their trade envoy roles. It comes after all four of the suspended MPs and the former trade envoys voted against the government's welfare reform bill earlier this month. In all, 47 Labour MPs rebelled against the government's proposed cuts to welfare and forced ministers to water down their plans. The rebellion undermined Sir Keir's authority, which was weakened after a series of policy reversals, such as restoring the winter fuel allowance to millions of pensioners. The MP for York Central, Maskell was a key figure in organising the rebellion against the welfare bill, and said this was behind her suspension. In a debate in the Commons, Maskell called the bill an "omnishambles" and described the benefits changes as "Dickensian cuts belong to a different era and a different party".
Rachel Maskell is quite right and the person who ought to be suspended is Kier Starmer!

See THIS update on the Diane Abbott affair....
Updated 16 minutes ago
"It is obvious this Labour leadership wants me out", Diane Abbott has told BBC's Newsnight, following her suspension from the party over comments she made about racism. The suspension means Abbott will sit as an independent MP, known as losing the whip, pending an investigation into her remarks. Labour said it would not be commenting "while this investigation is ongoing". It comes after a BBC interview in which Abbott was asked about a 2023 controversy, when she was suspended as a Labour MP for a year after comments she made about racism in a letter to a newspaper. Asked by the BBC's James Naughtie if she looked back on the whole incident with regret, she said: "No, not at all."
Kier Starmer must have a death wish.... This is not the way to manage people. He doesn't want independent thought but apparatchiks.

Commentators sympathetic to Labour have tied themselves in knots today trying to explain this situation. and make some sense out of the explanations given by Ms Abbott. James O'brien in particular.

They have given the most complex detailed explanations, but carefully kept away from the obvious one -

Th woman is a blithering idiot.
I wonder what 'blithering' means?

I'll admit that she isn't the sharpest knife in the box David and as I have said elsewhere, I hold no brief for her or her opinions but my opinion of her is no justification for the way she is being treated. Like you I ask myself why she said what she said, it was waving a red rag at a bull but was there a different way to respond to the situation?
I have just read THIS piece by Chris Mason and can see the sense in what he says. It is obvious that I am not qualified to have any role in politics.... and my opinion counts for nothing.
Political parties, like the rest of us, are forever confronting choices. But, also like the rest of us, sometimes those choices are rather limited if maintaining consistency is seen to be important. It is this that lies at the heart of the latest chapter in the long running saga of Diane Abbott and the Labour Party. A saga whose central character is pioneering and history making: Diane Abbott was the first black woman ever elected to the House of Commons and is now the Mother of the House, the most long standing female MP, having been first elected in 1987. The roots of this latest row are traced back to April 2023, when Abbott wrote a 118 word letter to The Observer newspaper. Her precise words then and her precise words now are worth attention, but what really matters is what led to her suspension as a Labour MP then is the very thing that has led to it now – because, crucially, she has now said she doesn't regret those initial remarks.

See THIS BBC In Depth piece by Laura Kuenssberg.
Who is in charge? You might think the answer should be obvious. "This government should be walking on water, there should be nothing it can't do," a Whitehall insider suggests, given the rows and rows and rows - and yes, rows - of Labour MPs who line up behind the prime minister every Wednesday. But, by booting out a small band of backbenchers this week, Sir Keir Starmer's put the question of his authority back on the table. Answering the question of who is in charge isn't so simple after all. This government has a "backbench they - and we - are surprised to discover they can't control," says one senior official......

See THIS BBC report of a statement by the Environment Secretary.
The number of times sewage is discharged by water companies will be halved by 2030, the environment secretary has pledged. Steve Reed told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that people were "furious" about the "broken" state of the water sector, and that they could judge him at the next election if he had not overseen an improvement. Serious pollution incidents by water companies in England rose by 60% in 2024 to the highest number on record, data published by the Environment Agency on Friday shows. It marks the first time the government has set a clear target on the number of pollution spills, following public outcry over the state of the UK's waterways. Reed said he had spoken to people "up and down the country" who were "furious about the state of our water". He told Laura Kuenssberg that he would be held accountable if there had not been improvements in water quality by the next election. "Politicians come and say we're going to do things. Of course our job should be on the line if we don't," he said. There has been widespread scrutiny of water companies over the increasing number of sewage discharges into UK waterways amid rising bills - all while the firms paid out millions to executives and shareholders. The Environment Agency said water companies recorded 2,801 pollution incidents in 2024, up from 2,174 in 2023. Of those, 75 were considered to pose "serious or persistent" harm to fisheries, drinking water and human health - up from 47 in the year previous. A landmark review of the industry by the Water Commission is due on Monday, which could include a recommendation to scrap the sector's regulator Ofwat. Reed said Ofwat was "clearly failing" and that "regulation must change" - but did not say whether it would be shuttered.
Brave words but will there be any action against the financial sharks who are ruining our environment? (And what does shuttered' mean?)

For `shuttered' read `shut'. Unfortunately the long word is replacing the short one in recent years. The Collins dictionary web page gives lots of examples going back to 2011. In the past we were always taught to choose the short word rather than the long, especially in journalism and science. Now we often see the opposite.

Agreed Peter, many people seem to believe that use of longer words conveys an impression of intelligence.....

See THIS BBC report....
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been grilled by MPs at the Liaison Committee on the government's welfare changes and plans to tackle poverty. Labour MP Debbie Abrahams presses the PM on the "fear and anxiety" caused by the government's welfare bill, before the plans were later watered down - telling him the proposals were "far removed" from Labour values. Starmer says ensuring disabled people feel supported is "central" to his plans and getting people into work is an "important Labour value". He also defends the freezing local housing allowance, saying: "We made the right decision". The PM is asked what he wants the UK to look like in three years' time - he says he wants people to "feel better off" and that the health service is working better for families
In another report it is said that future pensioners are going to be worse off. I suppose that had to happen.....

THIS seems to be the height of politics in the UK this morning....
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has made Sir James Cleverly her shadow housing secretary as part of a reshuffle of her senior team. The new role will see the former foreign and home secretary go head-to-head with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner in Parliament. Announcing Sir James's return to the front bench, Badenoch said her party was "moving into a new phase" and she wanted to "make sure all our heavy hitters are on the bench".
There is more than a hint of fantasy about this. At the moment the Tory Party is only recording 18% in the polls.....

See THIS BBC report on the latest moves against small boats in the Channel....
Gang leaders and small boat suppliers are among the first 25 targets to have their UK assets frozen in an effort to combat migrants crossing the Channel. The suspected criminals are also banned from travelling to the UK, after they were the first to be hit by a wave of new sanctions targeting people-smuggling. The list includes Albanian Bledar Lala, linked to smuggling migrants from Belgium, and Alen Basil, a former police translator now said to be running a people-trafficking network from Serbia. Foreign Secretary David Lammy described the move as a "landmark moment" but experts said the impact was likely to be limited given the scale of smuggling networks.

See THIS reprt on a new political party....
Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is launching a new political party to "take on the rich and powerful" and campaign for the redistribution of wealth. The independent MP for Islington North said the party - which does not yet have a name - would offer an alternative to the "control freaks" of Labour and the "dangerously divisive" politics of Reform UK. Earlier, Corbyn issued a joint statement with Zarah Sultana, who recently quit Labour to become an independent MP, saying: "It's time for a new kind of political party - one that belongs to you." Responding to the launch, a Labour Party source said: "The electorate has twice given its verdict on a Jeremy Corbyn led party." In a statement announcing plans to form a new party, Corbyn and Sultana vowed to fight injustices such as child poverty, giant corporations making "a fortune from rising bills" and the government saying "there is no money for the poor, but billions for war".
Whilst I sympathise with their sentiments I fear they are flogging a dead horse. Possibly the most useful thing that this initiative could spark is a revolt in the Labour Party against Starmer's appalling leadership.