Chris Whiteside's Blog

Today is All Hallow's Eve (the day before All Saints Day) usually shortened to Halloween. Having just arrived home after two weeks on a cruise, I have not had time to check the UK shops but I have no doubt that the items themed for ghosts, witches, monsters and horror will already have started to be replaced in the shops with material themed for Christmas I was told as a child that this time of the year was originally a great Pagan festival which was co-opted by the early Christian church. In medieval times there was an important three-day festival called "Allhallowtide" in the Christian calendar. It would be all too easy to conclude that the only thing from either the pagan festivals which were once held at this time of year or the Christian festivals which co-opted and replaced them which retains any significant impact on the popular consciousness are the name "Halloween" for the first day of that festival and a humorous "celebration" of ghosts,...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Geoff Hunt's painting of HMS Victory, HMS Temeraire and HMS Neptune leading the weather column of Nelson's fleet towards the French and Spanish combined fleet at Trafalgar, 220 years ago today (21st October 1805.)

 

 

 

 

 

JS Bach wrote a vast amount of superlative original music. But he also wrote a number of equally superb arrangements of music by Antonio Vivaldi, of which this is one. Vivaldi does not always get the credit he deserves. Many years ago a distinguished professor of music wrote to the letters page of The Times that when he had been a student many years before that, he and his contemporaries were told that they would probably never hear Vivaldi's music performed but they should study him because of his influence on the work of other composers. He added that the memory of being told this always made him laugh when " yet another version of the Four Seasons comes out ." (What happened was that the great violinist Yehudi Menuhin decided to bring some of those Vivaldi works back from obscurity - and many other performers such as Nigel Kennedy have continued to play his music since.)  This is an example of one of the works which that previous generation of music teachers were talki...

"So this is where we are this morning. Keir Starmer's position literally is: a) Matthew Collins was asked to provide additional evidence on the China threat by the CPS . b) Collins failed to discuss this with either his boss, or Ministers . c) Collins unilaterally cut and pasted the Government's position from the Labour manifesto. Again, without any discussion with his boss or Ministers. d) The CPS informed him they remained 5% short of the evidential threshold, and needed new evidence . e) Collins took the decision not to provide that additional evidence, collapsing one of the most important espionage cases since the end of the Cold-War. And again, he did so without any consultation with his boss or Ministers. f) Keir Starmer was told of the impending collapse of the case two days before it was announced by the CPS. He didn't ask why it had collapsed. He didn't ask if anything could be done to stop its collapse. He didn't even ask to see the witness statements...

The Bach family produced a number of successful composers over a period of about six generations. In our century the best known is Johann Sebastian Bach, whose music I often post here.  But J.S. Bach is far from being the only member of the family whose music is worth listening to. Among quite a few others is his youngest son, Johann Christian Bach, sometimes known as the "English Bach" because he worked for a time as a composer in London, and who wrote this lovely symphony.

Former Labour and Trade union staffer Dan Hodges , who is now a journalist, had this to say about the government's stated position in respect of the collapse of the Crown Prosecution Service's attempt to bring charges against two people accused of spying for China: "The Government's position isn't that the Prime Minister and National Security Advisor were unaware of what was going on. They have confirmed they were being kept informed.  "Their position is that they were kept informed - and were therefore aware of the CPS request for more evidence.  They knew that a major espionage trial was in danger of collapse. They knew the CPS were requesting more evidence to prevent its collapse.  They knew Collins was not providing the information that was being requested. "Yet the Prime Minister and National Security Advisor supposedly sat back, did not intervene at any point, or even express any opinion on how Collins was managing the case. It's not just prepos...

"Kemi picked Jarvis's argument clean like a Chinatown waiter deboning crispy duck." Quentin Letts , title of newspaper article about the collapse of the China spy trial. Back when the present PM was leader of the opposition, his supporters - he had some then - liked to describe his criticisms of the then government as "forensic." This week the person doing a forensic demolition of a government case was the present Opposition Leader, Kemi Badenoch. I don't always agree with Quentin Letts, but my word, he was right about how thoroughly she demolished the government's defence of the way they mishandled the prosecution of two individuals accused of spying for China. Of course every country spies on every other country, but that doesn't mean we should let people caught red-handed doing so get away with it. Give them that sort of free pass and before long Vladimir Putin won't be the only one who thinks he can send assassins to kill people on our street...

"25 years ago, Margaret Thatcher’s “Right to Buy” unleashed home ownership for millions. Now Rachel Reeves should back our fully costed plan to abolish Stamp Duty for homes. Let’s give future generations the Chance to Buy and build a stronger economy." Kemi Badenoch, Conservative leader

"The hostages released today have shown superhuman endurance in the face of evil. The abduction of men, women and children on Oct 7th was a calculated cruelty to break body, mind and soul after inflicting the mindless horror of rape and murder. No cause, no grievance, can ever justify what happened that day. I, for one, will never forget. The incomprehensible response from some in the West, that instinct to equivocate, to indulge in whataboutery and draw false equivalence shows how far moral clarity has eroded.  All right-thinking people know we’ve got a job to do here at home as well to fix this. But today, I am just relieved that 20 families will have hope restored. That hope is tempered by sorrow for those who will never come home.  They will be honoured. They will be remembered and we stand with their families.  May their memories be a blessing." Kemi Badenoch Conservative leader

"One of the big disadvantages of coming up with a great policy in Opposition is that you can't make it happen immediately, and in the interim the Government can steal it. When I announced last week that the next Conservative government will abolish stamp duty on homes, people immediately understood why. You get it. Stamp duty is holding Britain back. Abolishing it would free up the housing market, help every generation, and get Britain moving again. Abolishing stamp duty shows the Conservatives have a serious plan for a stronger economy. But this is not about the Conservative Party, it's about the country. I'm serious about ideas, not territorial about their ownership. If the Government wants to take a good idea, I'll applaud them for it – Britain wins either way. Rachel Reeves would steal it if she has any sense, but we know she doesn't. She should look at the reaction to my stamp duty announcement and think very carefully about why it's had a near-univers...

I don't always agree with Robert Peston, but he has a really good post on X this afternoon,  here , which is well worth reading.  "Stamp duty is a terrible tax.   It is not a tax on bad actions and behaviour, the kind of tax that may have a legitimate social purpose, like the duty on cigarettes.  It actually discourages activity that would be good for the economy and good for society.   The duty dampens the market for houses. It discourages people from selling and buying homes.   As such, it means older people stay in homes that have become far too big for them.  It keeps house prices out of reach for young people.  And it creates a disincentive for people to look far and wide for a new job, because of the incremental cost of selling up and buying a new property.  So for all the £8bn to £9bn giveaways Kemi Badenoch could have dangled to shore up her and her party’s flagging support, and for all your inevitable cynicism that thi...

 

The next Conservative government will abolish stamp duty on your home.  Because Britain should be a country where people who wish to own their own home, can.

"It was almost like listening to Maggie." Mark Francois MP , (Rayleigh & Wickford, Conservative) speaking about Kemi Badenoch's party conference speech today, just after she finished. For the avoidance of doubt, among most Conservative activists such a comparison to Margaret Thatcher is the highest possible praise.)

  Let us all hope that the peace negotiations now underway bring an end to the conflict, an end to the killing of innocent Jews and innocent Palestinian civilians, and the freedom of all the remaining hostages.

Below is the response of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council to the news that a minister in the government of Israel had taken leave of his senses and issued a invitation to the criminal, thug and extremist Stephan Yaxley Lennon (who uses the name Tommy Robinson) to visit Israel. Yaxley-Lennon is a common crook. He already had convictions for fraud and assault when his self-publicising antics at the trials of individuals who were subsequently, but had not yet been, convicted of rape and other serious offences against women and girls earned him a prison sentence for contempt of court.  Far from helping defend women and girls, Yaxley-Lennon's stunts risked undermining the prosecution of these individuals, could have prejudiced their right to a fair trial or resulted in the intimidation of witnesses, and could thereby have caused a miscarriage of justice or the collapse of the case enabling the guilty to walk free. British justice is based on the pr...

Just as I condemn the horrific attack on a Synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur, I also condemn what appears to have been an arson attack on a Mosque in Peacehaven. No community should be held accountable or attacked for what other people might have done thousands of miles away. Attacks on places of worship and innocent people who worship there are always wrong whether the target is a synagogue, a church, a mosque, or any other place of worship.  

I know I have posted the theme from "The Phantom of the Opera" recently. But I have just found this version on YouTube with a particularly good recording, sung by Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford. So good it is worth posting even though I have put up other versions of the same theme not long ago!

It is amazing how often, when you attend a political conference, the way it feels to the vast majority of those taking part in it and the way it is presented in the media (especially by those with a professional or political interest in talking down the party concerned) seem to be two different things. While the 2025 Conservative party conference is not quite as well attended or exciting as last years' - which took place in the middle of a leadership contest and was turned into a massive hustings session - the mood here in Manchester this lunchtime is nevertheless quite upbeat.

"Anyone who tells you that there are easy answers to the problems Britain faces is either lying to you, or lying to themselves." Kemi Badenoch , conference speech, 5th October 2025

Before the formal opening of the Conference we had, as usual, a meeting of the National Conservative convention. This was mostly an introduction to the week ahead, but it was a good session, including a speech from the party leader, Kemi Badenoch and a fraternal visit from former Australian Prime Minister John Howard. The Conference was officially opened by Stewart Harper who is this year's conference chairman, He was followed by the party chairman Kevin Hollinrake MP, whose welcome to delegates included asking for a minute's silence for the victoms of Thursday's attacks. Kevin introduced the following speaker, Matthew Syed, the Radio 4 and Sunday Times journalist, who had stood for Tony Blair's Labour party in 2001 but joined the Conservative party a couple of weeks ago. Here is a link to the piece I posted about his article a week ago in the Sunday Times explaining why he joined the Conservatives. Matthew Syed in the Sunday Times on why he joined the Conservatives las...

Kemi Badenoch, Conservative leader, had this to say after visiting the site of Thursday's attack on a synagogue in Manchester. " Today I visited the site of the horrific terrorist attack at the Heaton Park Synagogue. The overwhelming feeling I have after that visit is rage. How dare a man welcomed into our country as a child repay that generosity with terror and bloodshed? So many lives ruined, so much trauma, pain, anxiety and loss left behind. I am absolutely sick of seeing Britain’s kindness turned against us. The brazen anti-semitism on display on Yom Kippur under the pretence of “protest” is another example of people abusing the rights and freedoms we have. Yet too many still champion causes and cultures that do not respect those same rights and freedoms. The naivety of those who believe this will all go away with warm words is also taking our country down a dark path. This hand-wringing has a cost. Before the visit I also spoke to the Prestwich Hebrew Congregation. The s...

 

  "First they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me." Martin Niemöller (There are multiple versions of Pastor Niemöller's famous quote,  “First they came for….” Some versions include a different list of victims. This is because Niemöller often presented his lectures impromptu and changed the list of victims from lecture to lecture. At different times and in different combinations, Niemöller listed: communists, socialists, trade unionists, Jews, people with mental and physical disabilities, and Jehovah's Witnesses.) 

 

Responding to the awful news that two innocent people had been killed in a terrorist attack at a Manchester Synagogue on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which is often regarded as the most holy day in the Jewish calendar, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said:  "The murders in Manchester shock us all. Jews murdered simply for being Jews. That should not be the UK of 2025. But it is. On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Jews take time for introspection. To ask themselves - where have we gone wrong in the past, and what do we need to do to be better in the future. These are questions we urgently need to ask ourselves as a nation. Today’s murders raise new questions. And they will require new answers." She also told the PA news agency: "I’m absolutely horrified by these attacks. I think it’s a disgusting and vile act. I cannot imagine how tough it must be for all the people affected. And my condolences go out to the families of the people who’ve lost their lives and thos...

A terrorist attack has taken place on a Synagogue in Manchester. Any terrorist attack is awful, but it is particularly vicious to attack a place of worship on that religion's most holy day, and this attack took place during the Jewish festival of Yom Kippur. A car was reported to have been driven at members of the public, and victims were also stabbed. Greater Manchester Police responded rapidly and shorts were fired: one person, believed to be the perpetrator, has been shot and is apparently dead. Two innocent people have been killed and three are in hospital with injuries from the attacker's vehicle, stab wounds, or both. Greater Manchester Police should be praised for their prompt response. Thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. MP Kevin Hollingrake said: " Heartbreaking to learn that two people have lost their lives in the horrific attack in Manchester on Yom Kippur.  Antisemitism has reared its ugly head again and is a stain on the social fabric...

From Stephen K Bush this week, hat tip to John Rentoul on X for reposting:

Dame Jane Goodall, the naturalist, campaigner for the protection of the environment, and the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees has died at the age of 91. Goodall was the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and the Roots & Shoots programme and had worked extensively on conservation and animal welfare issues. She was on the board of the Nonhuman Rights Project from 2022 until her death earlier today. She was enormously respected and received a large number of honours and awards. She will be missed. Rest in Peace.  

"Labour can’t manage money, so they’ll take more of yours. Conservatives believe you should keep more of what you earn." Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch on X this week.