Chris Whiteside's Blog

As I have previously posted, the Labour government asked 63 councils which were going through local government reorganisation whether they would like to postpone elections due this May (2026). It is important to stress that there were councillors of all parties who voted to go ahead with elections, that a majority of councils did NOT ask to have their elections postponed, and the elections for those councils will go ahead in May. We now know which councils have asked to have their elections postponed, and for which councils the government is bringing forward legislation to do this but for some reason there are discrepancies in what is being reported in the mainstream media and shared on social media about which councils are involved. I have seen various reports that 28, 29 or 30 councils asked for, or are, having their elections postponed - but the government statement lists 29 councils for which it says it is bringing forward legislation to postpone elections this year. They are: ...

This notice has appeared at the premises which used to be occupied by an Italian restaurant, now closed.

Those who defend our country should be defended in turn - and our veterans should not be subject to vexatious "lawfare." Of course, they should do so within the law, but that should be the same law for everyone. It is outrageous that we had an amnesty for terrorists but not soldiers and police officers. Labour are not trying to remove protections for veterans which the last government put in place and only the Conservatives are opposing it. Conservative MPs voted against this bill last night: Nigel Farage and Robert Jenrick did not show up. 

Great interview by Kemi - lots of important points from the need to stand up to Donald Trump by showing strength to the need to have the back of British veterans and the serious problems with the "Troubles bill."

I love both the King's Singers performance previously posted today, and this one by the Gesualdo Six, so I decided to post both

"It is appalling that Keir Starmer is removing protections for our veterans who served in Northern Ireland. I want to make sure that we do right by all our veterans. I want those who have served, are serving, or will serve to know that the Conservatives have your back." Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch , Conservative leader.

 

A statement by Shabana Mahmood, UK home secretary, explaining that she had a vision similar to Jeremy Bentham's idea of a prison called the " panopticon " where " the eyes of the state can be on you at all times. " Am I the only person who finds the idea of anyone with a vision like that as a minister responsible for either Britain's justice system or police to be both chilling and terrifying?  (Source:  Sam Ashworth-Hayes on X: "Shabana Mahmood, UK home secretary: her vision is a "panopticon" where "the eyes of the state can be on you at all times" https://t.co/S5JIJbm3i6" / X )

Yesterday Robert Jenrick criticised the leader of the Conservative party, Kemi Badenoch, for not having expelled Liz Truss from the party, implying that if he had won the leadership election he would have done so. Asked about this by a journalist, Kemi explained: “Well, I'm a fair-minded person. We have rules, and if people break the rules, they get kicked out of the party. Robert Jenrick broke the rules. That's why he got sacked, suspended, and kicked out. Whether or not you agree or disagree with what Liz Truss is saying, she's not breaking party membership rules." She added: "I believe in free speech. She can say whatever she likes. I'm focused now on the people who are actually in Parliament. And the fact that Robert Jenrick is spending time talking about kicking out Liz Truss and so on, this is all psychodrama. That's not what's going to get the country back on its feet.”

Reform UK are very far from the only people who take a very different view to people defecting to them from the view they take of any other form of MPs changing parties. In fact, very few people in any party who demand by-elections when someone defects away from that party have the consistency to also demand one when someone joins them. Nevertheless ... When you have a party which currently has seven MPs, an outright majority of whom, (four) were elected as Conservatives but changed parties in the course of  either the last parliament or this one with no by-election, who am I to resist the opportunity to point out such an obvious case of double standards as can be done by reminding them what their current deputy leader used to say about this ...  

Egremont Town council meets this evening (Tuesday 20th January) at 5.30pm in the Market Hall, Market Street, Egremont. The agenda includes a presentation on a proposed pilot scheme for a community youth project, to consider a draft Cumberland Council Licence regarding "the greasy pole, to consider setting up a basic Emergency Planning document for the community, and items raised (in advance) by members of the community.  

"The US National Security Strategy recognised both the importance of Europe to American interests and the sovereign rights of nations.  I urge President Trump to stick to the principles in his own strategy and withdraw the threat of tariffs, for the good of US & European security." (Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch , Conservative leader)

This morning Robert Jenrick criticised Kemi Badenoch for not kicking Liz Truss out of the Conservative party, implying that had he been elected leader of the Conservatives he would have done so. This lunchtime Nigel Farage, the leader of the party which Robert Jenrick joined last week, (after Kemi Badenoch did kick him out of the Conservative party on receiving proof he was planning to defect) hosted a lunch at which Liz Truss was one of the guests. Tom on X: "This morning, Robert Jenrick said that he would have kicked Liz Truss out of his former party. This afternoon, Nigel Farage hosted Liz Truss for lunch. https://t.co/GtuhrRBQGP" / X

A study published by the Resolution Foundation, (a think tank which is very far from being an uncritical supporter of the Conservatives or Reform UK,) into the cost of repeated U-turns and policy climbdowns during the course of this parliament, has found that chopping and changing by Chancellor Rachel Reeves has cost the exchequer £8.2 billion. This figure includes the impact of policy changes on the Winter Fuel payment, Personal Independence Payments, Universal Credit, and the two-child benefits cap. Figures were calculated using Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) data. There figures do not include the impact of the most recent U-turns on business rates for pubs, inheritance tax for family farms, Jury Trials or compulsory digital ID. The report finds that policy uncertainty is at the highest level since 1979 where an index measuring it was first introduced. Greg Thwaites, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation, said that the government had spent much of the past 18 months u...

 

Some extracts from a very interesting article which appeared in the Financial Times this week. I'm not endorsing every word of it, but I think it makes some points that are worth thinking about. In particular, most British people have traditionally been, particularly when voting, both moderate and "small-c" conservative. The part of the political spectrum referred to in the article as " a broad sweep of the electorate lying between supporters of the populist right and those who lean to the left. " is a description of the voters whose support put the Conservative party in power for most of the last hundred and fifty years - and the Liberals or Labour in power on those occasions when the Conservatives lost that support. As the FT correctly identifies, there is currently a gap in that part of the electoral market. And I predict that whoever eventually corners that market, possibly at the election after next rather than in 1929, will be in power a good chunk of the ...

Two final sets of quotes and responses on Greenland. John Bolton, who was President Trump's national security advisor in his first administration, has written an article for the Sunday Telegraph headlined " This is the worst move of his Presidency " which includes the following: " Donald Trump's extraordinary tariff threat against the united Kingdom and other countries for things they have said and done regarding Greenland is without doubt his most dangerous and destructive assertion during the five years of his presidency. To say it is without precedent radically understates how foolish and contrary to fundamental American interests it is. Apart from the ignorance of history and incoherence of Trump's social media post, it's ramifications for the special relationship and NATO alliance - indeed for the credibility and trust the United States has spent decades trying to establish - is incalculable. " I can only agree with John Bolton. The only people ...

"Most foreign policy issues are difficult and complicated. Greenland isn’t one of them. Let’s have a look at seven points: 1. The U.S. needs Greenland for its own defense - Golden Dome, radars, basing .  ▶️ The United States can do virtually anything it'd like in Greenland, security-wise, without taking possession of it . The 1951 Greenland Defense Agreement, which was renewed in 2004, allows the United States to build bases there, station troops, and more.  2. Greenland is about to fall into the hands of Russia and China, and the U.S. can’t let that happen . ▶️ The U.S. once had 10,000 U.S. troops in Greenland; now there are around 200 . If there is an imminent threat of Chinese or Russian takeover (there isn’t), perhaps start by increasing that number?  3. Russian and Chinese ships are swarming Greenland and the Danes can’t fend them off. ▶️ If Russian and Chinese ships are really menacing the island, the U.S. Navy could sail around it right now en masse. It isn’t....

The Conservative leader's response to the US President's announcement that he plans to impose tarffs on Britain and several other countries over Greenland:   "A terrible idea. President Trump is completely wrong to announce tariffs on the UK over Greenland. People in both UK and US will face higher costs. These tariffs will be yet another burden for businesses across our country.  The sovereignty of Greenland should only be decided by the people of Greenland.  On this, I agree with Keir Starmer." Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch , Conservative leader and leader of His Majesty's loyal opposition.

Hat tip to Nick Tyrone, who I don't aften agree with, for posting this excellent description of Sir Keri Starmer by Ian Leslie:

 

'Monosyllabic' is not. ‘Abbreviation’ is 12 letters.  ‘Thesaurus’ doesn’t have a synonym.   'Non-hyphenated' is hyphenated. Say what you will about English, but it has a sense of humor. (Hat Tip to Merriam-Webster who posted this on X.)

Kemi on Jenrick and Reform UK: 'Reform is the party of traitors. You can’t trust them.' 'I realised he wasn’t just leaving because he was unhappy, he wanted to burn the Conservative Party to the ground. That is what Reform wants, not to hold Labour to account or transform this country for the better, but to destroy our party. I am never going to let that happen 'Here was someone who was woke when it was cool to hug a husky. Who was anti-immigration when that became the thing. Now he thinks that Reform is the new show in town. But he is wrong because they are a flash in the pan if I have anything to do with it.' 'We cannot have people running our country who lie and lie and lie so easily, deceive their colleagues and people around them. We need to have honest people and that is what I am doing.' (Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch , extracts from an interview with Alice Thompson at The Times. Also:)