Chris Whiteside's Blog

 

Margaret Thatcher predicting the course followed by Sir Keir Starmer's government decades before he was elected ... “You know, if you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything, wouldn't you, at any time? And you would achieve nothing!” — Margaret Thatcher

Here are some thoughts on what the New Year will bring. 1) Labour will take a massive beating in most of the UK in the May 2026 elections. Most of the other parties - Conservatives, Reform UK, Greens, Lib/Dems and Nationalists - will be able to point to at least some victories and encouraging signs but Labour will lose overall and very badly. 2) Following the May elections Keir Starmer will step down as PM or be forced out by the Labour party and the candidates to succeed him will include Ed Miliband, Angela Rayner, and Wes Streeting. 3) The UK economy will continue to suffer from the harmful policies of Rachel Reeves and if she is replaced by Starmer's successor, those of the new chancellor. 4) Attempts to set up peace negotiations to end the war which resulted from President Putin's illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine will continue throughout the year but fail because Vladimir Putin is not interested in offering any peace deal which Ukraine would find acceptable. 5) Pu...

Phil King, who is an experienced Conservative councillor, has a superlative piece on Conservative Home about when local government reorganisation brings benefits and when it is vandalism. It includes some excellent quotes. Here are some extracts. " Over Christmas, many of us are reminded of what home really means. Time spent in our houses, villages, towns and neighbourhoods brings into focus the places, services and communities we rely on every day. Home is not an abstract concept. It is where people raise families, care for ageing parents, put down roots, and build a sense of belonging that no national slogan can replicate. For most people, politics only really matters when it touches their home: whether they can afford to live there, get a GP appointment nearby, feel safe on local streets, and trust that growth will not overwhelm the place they love. Yet across the country, we are failing at exactly that. Too often, decisions that shape homes and communities are taken far away f...

 "Britain is not destined for decline.  We are a GREAT country, full of potential, and there is so much to look forward to.  So bring on 2026, and don’t lose hope, because @Conservatives are building a plan to Get Britain Working Again." Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch , Conservative leader.

 

Best wishes to everyone reading this for a happy healthy and prosperous New Year, whoever you are and wherever you are.

Tom Slater, editor of Spiked magazine, has published a piece in the magazine about the Leader of the Green party which has probably given the magazine's lawyers palpitations. It starts with a title which describes the charismatic leader of the party now challenging Labour on the left as " Zack Polanski: king of the braindead left ," and gets less polite from there. Here are a few extracts: "Polanski, 43, is very much a millennial – in the worst possible sense of the word. He represents all that has made those of us born between 1981 and 1996 ashamed of our generation. There’s the prudish authoritarianism, the identity politics, the self-righteous preening – the grimly defining features of a cohort who spent their university years trying to get redtops banned from the campus Co-op before taking their babyish offence-taking into the workplace. He recently appeared on stage with thirtysomething hipster-rap duo Rizzle Kicks, where Polanski proceeded to chant a number of ...

Most grateful  to Andrew Locking (@andrewswalks) for posting this gorgeous picture of Crummock Water in Cumbria on the last day of 2025.

 

This is "The Windmills of your mind" sung by Mel Torme ( fifty-seven years ago! ) as used in the end credits of the finale of the second series of "Severance."

Let's start with some overdue honesty. There are people from every part of the political spectrum, including not just the present Labour government but also some members of all the opposition parties including my own party and Reform UK, who have egg all over their face in respect of Alaa Abd El-Fattah and some pretty serious lessons we all need to learn.  This goes from the present Prime Minister and Foreign secretary down: both of them were tweeting on Boxing Day how pleased they were to have him in the UK and were forced into a hugely embarrassing reverse ferret within three days; The PM tweeted on 26th December, as you can read in  this thread , " I’m delighted that Alaa Abd El-Fattah is back in the UK and has been reunited with his loved ones, who must be feeling profound relief. I want to pay tribute to Alaa’s family, and to all those that have worked and campaigned for this moment. Alaa's case has been a top priority for my government since we came to office. I’m g...

 

There are few issues on which I have as much respect for those who disagree with me as on the ban on hunting of live foxes with dogs. I opposed and would vote to repeal the ban on hunting foxes because the animal welfare issues are far from clear - a point brought out by the report commissioned at the time by the very Labour government which passed the original legislation - and because I don't believe the people who passed the law understood either the impact it would have on the countryside or the difficulties of enforcement. However, I do understand those who do not think it is right to kill a live animal for pleasure. Trail Hunting is however, if you will excuse the metaphor, a horse of a completely different colour. A trail hunt does not pursue a live animal, instead before a trail hunt a false trail is spread and the hounds and riders pursue an imaginary fox over a pre-planned course. During a properly conducted trail hunt there is no more risk of any animal being harmed than...

 

"You always own the option of having no opinion." Emperor Marcus Aurelius , "Meditations"  

“Facts do not speak for themselves. They speak for or against competing theories. Facts divorced from theories or visions are mere isolated curiosities.” – Thomas Sowell

The Feast of Stephen is the 26th of December (a.k.a. Boxing Day) so the only possible music to choose for today is the carol "Good King Wenceslas." Here is the Irish Rovers version of this classic carol.

 

Being an arch traditionalist, I have been posting a piece of traditional Christmas music on this blog every day since the start of advent, usually a Christmas carol (except for "Winter" from Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" on the first of December.)  However, on a new blog to which I occasionally contribute, which reviews science fiction and fantasy books, films and TV shows, they have been having a Space Opera Christmas with various Star Wars, Star Trek and other Sci-Fi related carols and parodies, like this spoof of "Mary, did you know? Here are a links to a few more examples: A Space opera Christmas: The Mandalorian meets "Carol of The Bells" A Space Opera Christmas - "Let it Snow" Star Wars version A space opera Christmas: "The 12 Days of Star Trek" A Space Opera Christmas "All I want" The Orville parody song Space Opera Christmas "All I Want for Christmas is Batuu" A Space Opera Christmas: "Kahles...

  This is, of course, a line spoken by Scrooge at the conclusion of " A Christmas Carol " by Charles Dickens.

For anyone reading this who is of the Jewish, Christian, Muslim or Bahai faiths , May the God of Abraham be with you and all who you love at this time, guard, guide and protect you. For anyone reading this who loves the Christmas story: May the Joy of the Angels, The Eagerness of the Shepherds The Wisdom of the Magi The Patience of Joseph The Love of Mary and the Hope represented by the baby Jesus be with you this Christmas season and throughout the year For anyone reading this of any other faith , may your God be with you at this time. And for everyone reading this , I with you and your family good health and happiness at this time and a peaceful, happy, healthy and prosperous New Year 2026. In other words:  HAPPY CHRISTMAS! 

"At Christmas we mark the birth of Christ. A wonderful story of hope, humility and peace at the most special time of year. Christmas is a time for making merry and seeing friends, but more than anything, it’s about family. That’s why, to those working tomorrow and spending time away from their loved ones, I want to say thank you for keeping the country going. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas." Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP , Leader of the Conservative Party Kemi also posted this, longer message: "Christmas is the most special time of year, a time for making merry, of course, seeing friends. But more than anything, Christmas is about family.  "One of the privileges of being a mother is watching my children grow up, and it happens so quickly. So, this Christmas, I'm excited to spend lots of quality time with them.  "This time of the year also makes me think about loved ones who are no longer with us, like my dad.   "I remember so many Christmases as a chi...