Chris Whiteside's Blog

"Ed Miliband is so far out of his depth he needs a dredging vessel to rescue him." James Melville on X, formerly Twitter, yesterday.,

  "Economic Policies need to be analysed in terms of the incentives they create, rather than the hopes that inspired them." ( Thomas Sowell )

 

Out today (22nd March) as part of a campaigning session supported by the National Conservative Convention for Anne Handley, Conservative candidate for Mayor of East Yorkshire

Election Maps UK have published the latest roundup of council by election results since the 2024 gerneral election. By far the largest group of these were seats Labour was defending - 111 out of 225 seats, so nearly half the total - so this produces a very different picture from what can be expected at this years' local elections, when by far the largest share of seats being defended are currently Conservative held. Because Labour was defending lots of seats in these by-elections they came first in terms of seats won but had far and away the worst net losses, while the Conservatives came second in terms of seats won but first by making far and away the largest bet gains. In May, when the Conservatives will be defending lots of seats won in a very good year for the party at the height of the "vaccine bounce" we can expect the exact opposite - the best the Conservatives can realistically hope for is to come first in terms of seats won but inevitably to make significant net ...

"The great escape of our times is escape from personal responsibility for the consequences of one's own behavior." Thomas Sowell , from “Dismantling America and Other Controversial Essays," (2011) 

Well, what else could one use as the music spot for the 21st of March?

  "Spring is a season of second chances, where nature proves that no matter how harsh the winter, beauty will return." (Anon - I have not been successful in tracing who first said this.)

The Cumbria Chronic has published a piece on the Egremont South by-election, which you can read by clicking on the link immediately below: SHHH! ELECTION TAKING PLACE… – The Cumbria Chronic Most of the time Egremont Town council works together pretty well in a constructive and not-particularly partisan or party-political manner. A vote which took place this week about the forthcoming by-election was, I think, the most controversial since I joined the council two years ago. Normally polling cards are sent out when there is an election to make sure everyone who is entitled to vote knows that there is an election, when, where and how to vote etc. But apparently this is not automatic and when there is a Town Council by election, the council gets to decide whether or not to send out polling cards. If there is a contest when nominations close for the vacant town council seat representing Egremont South at 4pm next Wednesday, 26th March 2025, then there will be a by-election on Thursday 24th ...

A by-election has been called, for which nominations are now open and will remain open until 4pm next Wednesday (March 26th 2025) for a vacant Town Council seat on Egremont Town Council, to cover the ward of Egremont South. If it is contested - as is likely - the election will be on 24th April 2025. More details in next post.

Congratulations to new Councillor Ian Campbell on being elected to Three Rivers district council in a by-election yesterday, gaining the Abbots Langley and Bedmond ward from the Liberal Democrats in a council by-election. 

The 21st of March is traditionally the first day of Spring. It seemed much more spring-like yesterday, but we can tell that the winter is indeed passing!

 

Dan Hodges on Labour's economic strategy: "To repeat. Labour's current strategy is economic and political insanity."

Let me be absolutely clear - almost every recent poll has all three of the Conservatives; Labour and Reform UK parties somewhere in the mid twenties, all three parties have come everywhere from first to third in different polls, and the differences between the parties has usually been well within the margin of error for the respective polls. If any political activist from any party or any journalist tries to spin you a line suggesting that any party has established a decisive lead or that any of the three parties is finished, they are a fool or a liar. There is everything to play for. As Reform UK shouts from the rooftops every poll which has them in the lead, I might as well report on some of those which have the Conservatives in the lead. Conservatives. And we have one today from Deltapoll UK 🔵 CON 25% (-) 🔴 LAB 25% (-4) 🟣 REF 23% (+1) 🟠 LD 11% (-) 🟢 GRN 9% (+1) Via @DeltapollUK, Fieldwork 14-17 Mar (+/- is the comparison with their previous poll 17-20 Jan)

Prince William has led tributes to John “Paddy” Hemingway, the last surviving pilot who fought in the Battle of Britain, after his death aged 105. The Prince of Wales wrote on social media that he was “sad” to hear about the passing of the last of “The Few”. He added: “We owe so much to Paddy and his generation for our freedoms today. Their bravery and sacrifice will always be remembered. We shall never forget them.” Born in Dublin in 1919, Group Captain Hemingway enlisted in the RAF in 1938 and soon became one of the young pilots who fought in the Battle of France. Two years later, he was among the men known as “The Few” , a term coined by Winston Churchill to describe Britain’s Battle of Britain pilots. Chief of RAF Air Staff Sir Rich Knighton passed condolences to Mr Hemingway’s family and friends. “I am thankful that I was able to meet and spend time with him in Dublin, most recently in January this year,” he said. “Paddy was an amazing character whose life story embodies all ...

 

 

"Until this week Labour's strategy was to stimulate growth by hiking taxes, increasing workplace regulation and imposing net-zero. Now it's to stimulate growth by hiking taxes, increasing workplace regulation, imposing net-zero and cutting spending.  This is Truss level madness." Former Labour and trade union staffer, now journalist, Dan Hodges on X. I agree with most of what Dan says. For the avoidance of doubt - I didn't agree with the Truss strategy which is why I voted for Rishi Sunak. But there are two specific reasons why the comparison between the economic policies of the present government and those of Liz Truss is if anything unfair to Liz Truss. The first is that Truss set out in advance when standing for Prime Minister exactly what she was going to do, and did it. Rishi Sunak correctly predicted what would happen as a result, and those of us who thought he was right had the opportunity to vote accordingly. Starmer and Reeves are following policies whic...

No apologies for repeating this one  I was absolutely going to get one of those mugs until I saw that they cost £21 and I wasn't sure that paying so much above the odds for a mug just to own one with a really cool slogan was a good trade-off Thomas Sowell also wrote that Trade-offs have been with us "since the late unpleasantness in the Garden of Eden."

 From the ONS (Office for National Statistics) GDP is estimated to have fallen 0.1% in January 2025, mainly caused by a fall in the production sector. Read the release https:// ons.gov.uk/economy/grossd Former Labour staffer Dan Hodges made the following comment on this: "Said it before, say it again. It was political madness for Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves to pivot and claim growth was their number one priority whilst simultaneously implementing policies that could only suppress growth." Or as CCHQ put it, "Labour inherited the fastest growing economy in the G7, and ground it to a screeching halt. And it's the British people who will have to pay the price. omesticproductgdp/bulletins/gdpmonthlyestimateuk/january2025

"My request to all fellow broadcasters  discussing a possible Ukraine peace settlement: don't forget to ask about what happens to the 19,000 Ukrainian children abducted by Putin and the Russians?   We must keep their fate in the worldwide public eye.  Don't let them be ignored." Michael Crick posting on X, formerly Twitter yesterday