Chris Whiteside's Blog

I had the privilege to know David Amess. He was a lovely man and a dedicated public servant, murdered five years ago today while doing his and making himself accessible to his constituents. Today we remember him.

 

Today Kemi Badenoch's Conservatives voted to scrap inheritance taxon the family home. The other parties did not.

No more delays. It’s time to give Jackdaw and Rosebank the green light and get Britain drilling.

The YouGov poll finding the Conservatives ahead of Reform is now matched by a More in Common poll.  More in Common say: "The Conservatives seem to be enjoying a conference bounce as they jump to second in our voting intention, while Labour lead by 4. 🌹 LAB 28% (-1) 🌳 CON 24% (+3) ⏩ REF 21% (-3) 🔶 LIB DEM 11% (+1) 🟢 GREEN 7% (-) ⚫ RES: 5% (+1) N = 2,101 | Fieldwork 9-12/10 | Changes w 5/10

The PM has appeared the float the idea that a commitment in the next Labour manifest to re-join the EU might provide sufficient mandate to do so, despite the referendum to leave being the largest vote in British history. The public do not seem to agree.

"Putin doesn’t want peace. Putin wants Ukraine. Enough is enough.  President Trump should rescind the diesel deal with Russia and return to the strong policies of our four years in the White House; use the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia Act to impose harsh sanctions on any nation purchasing Russian energy and work with our allies to ensure Ukraine has the military support it needs to repel and defeat this Russian invasion once and for all. Slava Ukraini" Mike Pence (who was Vice President of the USA during President Trump's first term) Mike Pence on X: "Putin doesn’t want peace. Putin wants Ukraine. Enough is enough. President Trump should rescind the diesel deal with Russia and return to the strong policies of our four years in the White House; use the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia Act to impose harsh sanctions on any https://t.co/uw11mEkh0x" / X

Pollster YouGov say: "Our latest Westminster voting intention poll (11-12 October 2026) shows a close race between the largest parties: Labour: 24% (-3 from 4-5 Oct) Conservatives: 23% (+3) Reform UK: 21% (-1) Lib Dems: 12% (+1) Greens: 11% (=) SNP: 3% (=) Restore Britain: 2% (-1) Plaid Cymru: 1% (=) Obviously the difference between the three main parties is margin-of-error. Nevertheless it is significant that this is the best result for the Conservatives since the YouGov tracker re-started in January 2025 and joint worst for Reform UK. 

"We never communicate what we will do next in our operations. Last night, we did not attack any energy facilities on the territory of Russia because President Trump said that there would be an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. We did not attack, while Russia attacked our gas stations, energy infrastructure, and other facilities.  I think it was Putin’s answer to President Trump. And the message from Russia was very clear – they don't know anything about the energy ceasefire. It's a pity, because they always find reasons not to stop this war. Which is why I think we need more pressure on Russia."  Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky   From an interview with Fox News. 

"Ukraine’s freedom is not President Trump’s to bargain away. He is wrong to ease sanctions on Russian diesel, wrong to blame President Zelensky for prolonging Putin’s war, and wrong to undermine a nation fighting for its right to exist. Russia is the aggressor. Always has been. Reward Russia, and we should expect to see more aggression, including from other countries. We can also kiss goodbye to any just and lasting peace. This is why Conservatives have stood with Ukraine against Putin. Ukraine’s future belongs to Ukrainians. They alone have the right to choose their president, and we stand with President Zelensky because he fights not for himself, but for the survival of his country and his people." Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch , Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch on X: "Ukraine’s freedom is not President Trump’s to bargain away. He is wrong to ease sanctions on Russian diesel, wrong to blame President Zelensky for prolonging Putin’s war, and wrong to undermine a nation fighting...

  A stronger economy. Lower taxes. Secure borders. A country that rewards work, backs families and defends itself. That is the Britain that the next Conservative government will build.

 

"It is sickening that the USA is now lifting sanctions on Russian fuel, and transparently ridiculous to blame Ukraine for the spike in prices that obviously began with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Putin is murdering innocent Ukrainian civilians every day. The Ukrainians are fighting for their lives. And yet the White House is apparently determined to force American drivers to bankroll Putin’s slaughter. It won’t work and I doubt it will make much difference to the price of fuel.  If we want Russian oil and gas back on the world market then let’s end this war - with a free, sovereign and independent Ukraine." Boris Johnson on X Boris Johnson on X: "It is sickening that the USA is now lifting sanctions on Russian fuel, and transparently ridiculous to blame Ukraine for the spike in prices that obviously began with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Putin is murdering innocent Ukrainian civilians every day. The Ukrainians" / X

There are not many left-wingers whose views I find interesting enough to quote. Nick Cohen is one of the exceptions. Here is an extract from his take on the comprehensive defeat of the Green party yesterday in Sir Keir Starmer's old seat, which not long ago Zack Polanski could reasonably have been expected to win. "Zack Polanski has destroyed the old Green Party Will the new version be darker? Labour has just comprehensively defeated the Greens in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. The victory was a tribute to Andy Burnham and to the optimism he’s brought to the Labour Party, and to an excellent local candidate, who came to the UK as a refugee from Somalia, fought off the most disgusting racist abuse during the campaign, and is now a Member of Parliament. However, that’s not the whole story, as you probably already know. The election was also a catastrophic defeat for Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green Party, who you might have expected a few months ago to have taken ...

 YouGov finds strong support for Kemi Badenoch's proposals on Inheritance tax:

 

 

For a good indication of how utterly desperate Richard "Pants on Fire" Tice and the liars of Reform UK are, check out the link in the Community Note note on the post linked to  HERE . He's not only a mendacious rascal, he doesn't even have the originality of mind to make up his own original smears. He's repeating a "Labour Press" smear which had already been debunked. 

 

 "In most wars in history, you can make the case that it may or may not have been necessary. The Second World War is the absolutely classic case of good against evil." "Tucker Carlson, like many people who get on social media, find that to get clicks, they need to become more and more controversial, and they end up saying things that no sensible person could possibly believe." Rt Hon Jacob Rees-Mogg. I will confess to doing a complete fanboy on JRM this evening. Seeing him come up the stairs at the ICC in Birmingham, I went over, offered my hand, and said that I thought his demolition of Tucker Carlson had been brilliant. With his usual exquisite courtesy he shook the proffered hand and told me I was too kind.

"I have children who are half black, half white. They’re mixed race. I don’t want to hear rhetoric that makes them feel that they’re not a part of this country.” (Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch , Conservative leader)

 

 As the Green party of England and Wales adopted today the highly problematic policy that "Zionism is racism" here is a handy reference guide to all the British political parties who have had that policy:

 I think the best way to begin this diary of the 2026 Conservative conference in Birmingham is with this YouTube clip of Kemi's opening speech.