Chris Whiteside's Blog

I keep an eye on the viewing stats for this blog and what people are reading. In the past week 200 people have looked at the obit I put up for Kenji Goto after he was murdered eleven year ago. And what I wrote at the time - and stand by - is that he was a man who deserved to be remembered. This is what I wrote about him in 2015. Kenji Goto RIP It's difficult to find more things to say in response to the abominable murder of Kenji Goto which have not already been said in response to the equally abominable murders of David Haines and Alan Henning Shoichi Yukawa, the father of another Japanese hostage who was executed last week, praised Goto for trying to rescue his son: " I just have no words. It's utterly heartbreaking, " he said. " People killing other people - it's so deplorable. How can this be happening? " I am completely convinced of what the Prophet Mohammed would have said about these murders, and which verse of the Qu'ran applies to them. The ...

Many of the leads concerned are in margin of er4ror territory, but both the majority of opinion polls and the average of opinion polls since Conservative conference have shown the Conservatives ahead of Reform UK and at most 5% (and usually less) behind Labour. Latest More in Common poll:

  To the immortal memory of Vice Admiral Lord Nelson and all who fell with him at Trafalgar on 21st October 1805.

"No captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of the enemy." Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, Viscount Nelson

  "If one is remembered by a Friend, one is never truly gone." (Grand Admiral Thrawn, from Timothy Zahn's novel "Thrawn" - the passage below from which this quote is taken forms the first words of the epilogue of that book.) In context these words are clearly about exile, not death. Thrawn himself had been exiled from the Chiss Ascendancy to the Empire: he had written these words in a journal he gave to his friend Eli Vanto who was going into exile in the opposite direction, from the Empire to the Chiss Ascendancy.

"The person who agrees with you 80% of the time is a friend and an ally - not a 20% traitor." Ronald Reagan

"Putin says he wants the Donbas, but why, at the start of the full-scale invasion, was he trying to occupy Kyiv? Is that the east of our country? Is that the Donbas? No, that’s the capital. Without a capital, there is no state. Putin wants to destroy Ukraine. For us, the question is not about withdrawing from the Donbas. The real question is the survival of our state. We stand and fight, because what is the alternative? To be destroyed. Simply put, not everyone feels this because Ukraine is still standing. We have stabilized the battlefield. We are grateful to our partners in Europe, America, and other countries, Japan is helping, Canada is helping, Australia, New Zealand, whoever can. Ukraine stands against such a powerful enemy as Russia. We stand, otherwise we will be destroyed. It’s always difficult, you know, in communications with partners, to find the right words, the warnings that they will truly understand. Putin wants to destroy us. He doesn't respect us, our soverei...

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: