Chris Whiteside's Blog

"Labour are shutting down North Sea extraction, so we buy more gas from Norway who extract from the very same basin. This is mad, does nothing for the planet and means even higher energy bills. A Conservative government will extract British energy for jobs, growth and security." Rt. Hon Kemi Badenoch MP, Conservative leader

" We cannot “trust but verify” with Putin. We must deter and fortify. " Mark Carney (Prime Minister of  Canada, on X here .)

This post was put up in August 2025 in response to a very amusing piece on the Cumbria Chronic site, which, sadly most people can no longer access as it is now a private site. My recollection is that there was a headline along the lines of  Anti-HM government Health Warning - Labour can seriously damage your health The web page was called "Smoking Labour is bad for you." Some extracts: "A Labour Government is seriously bad for your health, say doctors. They ran tests on millions of people who swallowed Labour last year and have today released their shocking findings. The average Brit was found to have: Severe brain damage from a year of hypocritical Leftism Serious red mist around the eyes and steam from the ears Elevated urine temperatures from boiling piss Severe loss of hair, from where it’s been pulled out in clumps Irreversibly low tolerance levels Catastrophic dental damage from grinding teeth to dust Doctors said many other people who didn’t smoke Labour are now s...

According to a report in the Daily Star which you can read  here , Reform UK held a selection meeting in Croydon earlier this year at which they picked Sharon Carby as their candidate. The 70-year-old from Bradford was reportedly parachuted in by party HQ as an ‘approved’ candidate on a ‘majority vote’. According to the Inside Croydon website one of the select group of Reform members who attended the selection meeting said of Sharon: “ I haven’t met her but I’ve been told she’s absolutely brilliant - a working-class patriot from Bradford. ”  There was one slight problem. She had died in September last year. Her husband David, who has continued to run her X account in her memory, posted the sad news that she had suddenly passed away at 3pm that day  on September 27th 2024. Condolences to Sharon's family and friends, but really, if Reform UK's organisation is in such a state that they can select people to stand for important positions without doing enough due dili...

"Reeves whacked up taxes on employers last autumn. Result: Unemployment rises every month and inflation doubles as employers cover costs. Now she wants to tax landlords. Result: Landlords cover costs by putting up rents and our housing crisis worsens. Total economic illiteracy." Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch , Conservative leader.

Yes, I've posted links to various versions of this piece many times before, but there are few better things to relax to on a hot summer Friday evening!

 Kemi Badenoch's statement on the Epping Forest migrant hotel injunction

Farmers are not exactly the bedrock of the Labour party's support, and were not before the election of the present government. However, there have in the past been farmers not merely voting for a range of political parties but willing to openly declare that support, as the presence in fields at election time of posters for candidates of all the major parties used to demonstrate. However, if you see a poster in a field these days it will almost certainly say something along the lines of "End the Family Farm Tax." A poll of 500 members by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) did not find a single one who was planning to vote Labour. They did include a few caveats. A survey, for instance, of members of the Tenant Farmers Association's members might not have shown quite such a complete drop in Labour support (though I'd be willing to bet it would still have shown one.) As the Countryside Alliance point out, " The 0% figure is, however, a stark reminder...

  "Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity, the most important thing in life is to know when to forego an advantage." (Quote widely attributed to Benjamin Disraeli , but I have not been able to either confirm or refute the attribution.) 

"Prosperity won't come by inventing more and more lavish public expenditure programmes. You do not grow richer by ordering another cheque-book from the bank. No nation ever grew more prosperous by taxing its citizens beyond their capacity to pay." Margaret Thatcher .

 

"The majority are right that borders matter; love of nation is admirable; illegal immigrants should be deported; biological males shouldn’t compete in women’s sport; people should be judged on merit, not colour; & western history is admirable, not shaming." ( Matthew Syed in The Times and on X this week.)

  "Time is precious, but truth is more previous than time." Benjamin Disraeli

  Iain Dale has put together a book about the 88 most consequential British by-elections since 1769. It will be published on 18th September 2025 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon at British By-Elections 1769–2025: The 88 By-Election Campaigns That Shaped Our Politics: Amazon.co.uk: Dale, Iain: 9781785909788: Books Or from Politicos (signed by Iain) at British By-Elections 1769-2025 - The 88 By-Elections That Shook British Politics edited by Iain Dale COMING 18 SEPTEMBER | Politicos.co.uk Let me declare an interest - I wrote the chapter on the Copeland by-election of 2017 in which, obviously I was a participant as a member of the Conservative campaign team. So I am an interested party, but I think this is a really interesting book. I have been racking my brains trying to remember how many of these elections I personally took part in. There were at last a dozen from the Darlington by-election in 1983 where I remember telling in the snow, to the Runcorn & Helsby by-election earli...

"Conservatives stand firm with our Ukrainian friends, today on their Independence Day, and every day.  The unwavering determination of the Ukrainian people to protect what is rightfully theirs in the face of Putin’s brutal aggression is truly remarkable.  The UK’s support must be ironclad. Ukraine will remain one of Britain’s very closest allies far into the future.  Slava Ukraini" Priti Patel , Shadow Foreign Secretary.

"He has increased bus fares from £2 to £3 and now wants praise for *cutting* costs - govt comms are delusional." Conservative MP Neil O'Brien calls out that a tweet from our Prime Minister yesterday was completely untrue. Under the Conservatives there was a £2 cap on single bus fares. Labour under Sir Keir Starmer raised this by 50% to £3. That does not "cut costs for families" but increases them. Yet the PM tweeted this: "Our Plan for Change is about putting working people first. The £3 bus fare cap has already cut costs for families." This is fantasy politics. The Conservatives cut costs for families by introducing a £2 cap on bus fares and Sir Keir Starmer increased costs for families by raising it.  

The UK National Debt was already too high as a result of the pandemic and impacts of Putin's invasion of Ukraine when Labour took office. Under Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, the national debt has soared again. As Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride points out, "Labour promised growth but, having botched welfare reform, and spent and borrowed like there's no tomorrow, the only thing growing is the UK's national debt.  Only look if you’re sitting down:" The above image is a snapshot of the UK Debt Clock at 23rd August. Below is a link to the current status of the clock: UK Debt Clock | UK Public Sector Net Debt

"So many questions for Nigel Farage on his absurd ‘Operation Restoring Justice’ plan. Which ‘disused’ military bases specifically is he going to use to create 24,000 bed spaces? How will he negotiate a returns deal with the Taliban? What’s in it for them? How will he use Ascension Island to offshore migrants? It’s a highly sensitive joint-US SIGINT base. How will Farage use an RAF Voyager on standby for deportation flights when they’re leased from Air Tanker? Any journalist worth their salt could, and should, tear it apart. This plan is unworkable." ( Ben Obese-Jecty MP on X, formerly Twitter. today)

  The full article which Kemi Badenoch wrote in the Jewish Chronicle is worth reading. Here are some extracts. "You can tell a lot from what a politician is ashamed of – and what he’s not. It should have been deeply unsettling for Keir Starmer that Hamas described the Labour government’s plan to recognise a state of Palestine as “one of the fruits of October 7”, but he barely flinched. The prime minister’s grandstanding on Palestinian statehood is more than a distraction from his inability to deliver for the British people. This affair exposes a deeper rot at the heart of government – a political inclination to surrender without shame. Days after Labour’s intervention, Hamas released chilling videos of emaciated hostage Evyatar David, forced to dig his own grave. It was a harsh reminder of the evil and psychological cruelty of Hamas. This is an organisation which holds an innocent 24-year-old man in dark tunnels for 680 days, simply because he is Jewish." "We all want to...

"So can I just be clear on what Keir Starmer's political strategy is.  It's to say Britain was broken. But it's now no longer broken, because he's fixed the foundations.  Even though he's now going to have to put up everyone's taxes. After promising not to put up everyone's taxes." Dan Hodges , former Labour staffer, on X today.

Well, whoever would have thought it? Answer: the Conservatives, and a great many others, predicted it. And when Labour tax rises drive an independent school into bankruptcy, this does NOT mean more money for state schools. Or better education for state school pupils. It means that state schools have to educate more students with the same resources, premises, larger class sizes, more crowded facilities.  

The title on the YouTube clips refers to both Mozart and Handel, The first piece is actually by Mozart and the second, which probably won't need any introduction, is Handel's Hallelujah Chorus.  

 

"80 years ago, the guns fell silent in the Pacific marking the end of WW2. Today, we remember those who fought to the very end and the families who endured years of fear and loss. Their courage and sacrifice shaped the free, democratic Britain we cherish. We honour them, always." Kemi Badenoch , Conservative leader.

"In times of war and in times of peace, the greatest weapons of all are not the arms you bear but the arms you link." His Majesty King Charles III From the message the King will broadcast later today praising the work of the heroes of WWII.   His majesty tell the nation and the world how the sacrifice of the heroes of VJ Day will never be forgotten. In an audio message echoing one broadcast by his grandfather, King George VI, eighty years ago, King Charles will describe how those who lived and died in the Far East  ‘gave us more than freedom; they left us the example of how it can and must be protected’.

Tomorrow is the 80th anniversary of the surrender of Japan. There will be VJ Day 80 commemorations to mark the anniversary of the final end of the second world war. A series of events will be held in Britain and around the world, although the USA commemorates VJ day a few days later than we do. In Britain: There will  be an event at the National Memorial Arboretum to honour VJ veterans which will be broadcast live The Red Arrows will join historic Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft for a flypast over national VJ Day 80 commemorations Members of the public are encouraged to participate in a national two-minute silence at noon BST on Friday 15 August to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.  A Service of Remembrance will honour and remember those who fought and died during the Second World War in the Far East at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, which will be broadcast live on BBC1 from midday.  It will host a spectacular tribute to vet...

 

GDP growth has HALVED in just three months. Don’t let Labour gaslight you. This is a direct result of the decisions Rachel Reeves has made. Only the Conservatives will get spending under control and get Britain growing again. Headline UK economic growth slowed in the second quarter of the year to 0.3% The detail: This was better than economists had forecast but still marks a slowdown from 0.7% growth in the first quarter The why: In the first quarter of the year there was a rise in exports and house sales before US tariffs and stamp duty hike kicked in - this growth fell away in the second quarter Chancellor Rachel Reeves says the figures show "continued growth...but there is more to do" but shadow chancellor Mel Stride accused her of "economic vandalism". Meanwhile, Lib Dem Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper says “snails would scoff at the pace that our economy is growing".

 

 "There has never been a society in human history that has taxed its way to growth." Kemi Badenoch , Conservative leader, on X (Formerly Twitter) yesterday.

I remember from my time on various planning committees (unforgettable from the number of scars it left on my back - it is absolutely impossible to serve on a planning committee, no matter what decisions you take, without making lots of enemies) that many planning applications can be extremely important to the people directly affected by them, or who think they are, and can be highly controversial. If you vote to grant planning permission for a contentious application, you annoy the people who objected. If you vote to refuse, you'll annoy the applicant and anyone who wanted to live in, work or use whatever they wanted to build or provide. If you abstain, without some good reason such as having declared an interest because you are connected to the applicant or a prominent objector, both the supporters and opponents of the application will be cross with you and rightly so.  Whatever system of determining planning applications a country uses. lots of people will be very unhappy with it...

I started putting "music to relax after campaigning" clips up on this bog many years ago during a by-election campaign in Cumbria. It was intended as a short term thing, but I got some very positive feedback and the usage stats show that they are some of the most popular posts on the blog, so I have kept putting up music posts and try to vary them enough to keep them interesting. I do have to check that YouTube hasn't taken the pages for the musical performances I linked to down or barred access at the request of the copyright owner. This isn't often a problem, however. My apologies for the fact that there was recently an issue with how YouTube clips linked to in Blogger displayed from the top level of the blog. The images did not display and you could not launch the clips from the main page of the bog - although if you actually opened the post by clicking on "read more" you could. I'm pleased to say that this problem appears to have been resolved.   

"Unemployment is up again. The tenth month in a row.  We warned Labour that their Jobs Tax would mean more people out of work. They have squeezed businesses. But they are not done. Tax rises are coming this autumn.  We are the only party committed to living within our means." Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch on X, formerly twitter. The quote was accompanied by a retweet from the Office of National Statistics, confirming that the latest revised employment payroll figures are down, which reads as follows: " The revised estimate of employees on the payroll in June 2025 was down 26,000 on the month.  The provisional estimate for July 2025 was down another 8,000. Read the release ➡️  Earnings and employment from Pay As You Earn Real Time Information, UK - Office for National Statistics "

Following the VE day commemorations in May this year to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, VJ Day 80 on Friday will mark the anniversary of the final end of the war. A series of events will be held in Britain and around the world, although the USA commemorates VJ day a few days later than we do. In Britain: There will  be an event at the National Memorial Arboretum to honour VJ veterans which will be broadcast live The Red Arrows will join historic Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft for a flypast over national VJ Day 80 commemorations Members of the public are encouraged to participate in a national two-minute silence at noon BST on Friday 15 August to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.  A Service of Remembrance will honour and remember those who fought and died during the Second World War in the Far East at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, which will be broadcast live on BBC1 from midday.  It will host...

"We learn the £22 billion Black Hole has become a £50 billion Black Hole. But in her Mansion House speech Rachel Reeves said “It was our government, this government, that restored Britain’s reputation as a beacon of stability by putting the public finances back on a firm footing, getting debt on a downward path”.  How is that statement defensible? ( Dan Hodges, former Labour and Trade Union staffer, on X formerly Twitter, this week.). What a good question.

 

(Sung in German with English and French subtitles)

  In the above form this quote is usually attributed to Admiral Lord Nelson. In various slightly different forms a similar maxim is often attributed to his adversary Napoleon. According to the Quote Investigator website, the version for which there is the earliest evidence and which may therefore be the most likely to be the authentic original saying, comes from a book written in 1836 about a battle in 1805, which suggests that when his marshals wanted to counter-attack a move by an opposing general, Napoleon replied that the French should first wait twenty minutes, and quotes him as follows: “ In that case, ” said Napoleon, “ let us wait twenty minutes; when the enemy is making a false movement we must take good care not to interrupt him. ”

"Reform don’t care about women’s rights. They never have and they never will. The fact that Nigel Farage doesn’t know whether men should be put in women’s prisons proves the point. Conservatives are the ONLY party that will protect women’s spaces." Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch For anyone who wants to check, this you can see Nigel Farage stating that he doesn't know whether it is OK to put men in women's prisons on X, formerly Twitter, by clicking on the link here .

 

Labour's new rules insisting that only the children of people in "Working class" occupations can be recruited to civil service professions would still have been an attack on diversity and fairness, not a way of promoting them, even if their definition of who is "working class" made any sense. It doesn't. Look at how arbitrary this is. If you are a nurse or a clerical worker, Labour doesn't want your kids to be civil servants and will ban them from becoming interns. But if you're a foreman, that's OK, they get the go-ahead. If your parent was a taxi driver when you were 14, you’re not working class and can't become an intern. But if your parent was a train driver, you can. If your parent was a roofer, you’re not working class and can't become an intern. If your parent was a bricklayer, you can. If your parent was an IT engineer, you’re not working class and can't become an intern. If your parent was an electrician, you can. If your par...

"This is a terrible idea. Under my leadership, a Conservative government would scrap all this rubbish and simply hire the best people." "Bring back meritocracy." Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch responds to Labour government plans to require ALL civil service interns - not a quota, all of them - to be "working class" based on what job their parents did when they were 14. This doesn't mean that if you think of your position as working class your children would b eligible, there is a list of jobs which are classified "working class" and if you are a nurse, a driving instructor, run a corner ship, or work in IT, Labour will block your kids from the main route for recruiting civil servants. 

We recognise that one of the things every recent government including the Conservative ones didn't get right was securing control of our borders. The present Labour government promised to "smash the gangs" but because all they have essentially done is scrap some of the things we were already doing and repackage the rest, the number of people crossing the channel in small boats this year is actually up on the numbers crossing to the same point in 2024. Keir Starmer's policy appears to be to talk tough and adopt ineffective gimmicks. The Conservatives have published proposals to address this. What about Reform UK, you may ask? What a good question! 98 days ago Reform UK promised to produce their deportation plan … Still no sign. We’re starting to think they don’t have one.  

A number of famous and highly talented figures from the world of entertainment have died over the last two or three weeks, all of whom will be greatly missed. I'm going to single out Tom Lehrer who died this week at the age of 97 for two reasons. First, he was one of the funniest men who ever lived. Secondly because when he had made all the money he wanted, he renounced copyright on his work and allowed anyone to use it for free. Now that was something special. Tom Lehrer was a popular song satirist who lampooned marriage, politics, racism and the Cold War, then largely abandoned his music career to return to teaching maths at Harvard and other universities. Lehrer had remained on the maths faculty of the University of California at Santa Cruz well into his late 70s. In 2020, he even turned away from his own copyright, granting the public permission to use his lyrics in any format, without any fee in return. A Harvard prodigy (he had earned a maths degree from the institution at ag...