Chris Whiteside's Blog

I have been trying to get to the bottom of the story of the Jewish MP who was prevented from visiting a school in his constituency. Although the statement issued by the school concerned claims that the visit was only postponed rather than permanently banned, I have found sufficient evidence that left-wing activists connected with the National Education Union and pro-Palestine campaigners boasting about having prevented the visit, and read those boasts, to enable me to conclude that the essential point of the story - that antisemitic campaigners have successfully interfered with the ability of an elected politician to do his job because he is Jewish, married to a citizen of Israel, and they do not regard him as sufficiently critical of the government of Israel - is true. Here are some extracts from a piece by Stephen Daisley in the Spectator about this affair. You can read the whole piece at Why can’t a Jewish MP visit his local school? "Ruth Wisse defines anti-Semitism and anti-Zi...

The cartoonist and creator of "Dilbert," Scott Adams has died of cancer at the age of 68. He will be missed. Rest in Peace.

"The House of Lords can see that Labour's Chagos surrender weakens our national interest. It costs £35 billion when we should be spending that money on defence. Britain deserves better. If Starmer had a backbone he would change course." Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch , following yesterday's vote by the House of Lords to "regret" the proposed Chagos Islands deal.

Protesters who targeted a Jewish-owned restaurant in London shouting “get out of Notting Hill” have been criticised by Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader. Footage shared on social media showed several dozen protesters on Friday night standing behind a banner reading the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) outside Miznon, the restaurant. The restaurant chain was founded by Eyal Shani, a celebrity chef who was a judge on MasterChef Israel, and Shahar Segal. Kemi Badenoch was responding to the historian Simon Sebag Montefiore who said the protesters were “ a gang of bigots ” and had posted footage showing dozens of police standing nearby and watching the protest. He wrote:  “ This intimidation by a gang of bigots is frightening ordinary people, abusing the law, wasting police time, trying to ruin a small business and using the privileges of British freedom of speech to protect a mob of bullying brownshirts. It must be banned now. ” He added that he was “shocked to see...

The latest YouGov polling on who the public think would be the best PM show quite a change between August 2025 and January2026. Kemi Badenoch has closed what was a ten point gap and is now level pegging with Keir Starmer. She has overtaken Nigel Farage and gone from two points behind to ten points ahead. 

I was surprised to see that Nadhim Zahawi has defected to Reform. Here were his past words on the Reform UK leadership and on any suggestion that he might join a party led by Nigel Farage. When asked if he might defect to UKIP, the party Mr Farage was then leading, Nadhim Zahawi responded on 27th September 2014: "No chance. Been a Conservative all my life and will die a Conservative." On 12th March 2015, Nadhim Zahawi tweeted in response to comments from Nigel Farage that he is as British as Nigel Farage is, that Farage's comments were " offensive " and " racist " and that he would be frightened to live in a country run by Mr Farage. I think any further comment would be superfluous.

Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk delivered a moving speech at the final of the WTA tournament in Brisbane, which received a standing ovation from the audience. She said: "I want to say a few words about Ukraine. I play every day with pain in my heart. In Ukraine, thousands of people are without electricity and warm water right now. It’s minus 20 degrees outside, and it’s very, very painful to live in this reality every day. You know, it’s very hot here in Brisbane, so it’s difficult to imagine. But my sister is sleeping under three blankets because it’s so cold at home. I was incredibly moved and happy to see so many Ukrainian fans here this week. Thank you so much, everyone. Slava Ukraini!"

"I have worn this country’s uniform. I know what it means to place your trust - and your life - in the decisions taken by political leaders back home. Nigel Farage’s refusal to stand with the Prime Minister in supporting Ukraine tells us everything we need to know about the kind of leader he really is. When a brutal, authoritarian regime is attempting to redraw Europe’s borders by force, Mr Farage’s immediate declaration that he would vote against sending British troops to Ukraine as part of a peace settlement - is not principled restraint. It is an abdication of responsibility. It is walking away when leadership is required. Evading our moral duty to help secure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine is not patriotism - it is politics without courage. It is a failure to rise to the role he seeks to play. Those who have served do not talk lightly about deploying troops - because we are the ones who live with the consequences long after the headlines move on. But understanding the cos...

" The scrapping of an Eton-backed free sixth form in Middlesbrough tells us more about Labour than any manifesto ever could. A project designed to educate the brightest children from one of the poorest parts of the country was not stopped because it failed, cost too much, or lacked need. It was stopped because it threatened to succeed. And success, when it cannot be controlled, is intolerable to this government. This was not a fee-paying outpost or a vanity scheme. It was a free school, approved under the last government, partnered with a proven academy trust, aimed squarely at deprived pupils with high academic ability. The offer was simple: take children who show promise and give them an education equal to the best in the country. That should have been uncontroversial. Instead it triggered hostility, suspicion, and finally cancellation. Not because of what it would have done, but because of what it symbolised. The real offence was a four-letter word: Eton College. That name shor...

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said that, "The regime in Iran brutalises women, persecutes gay people, and spreads terror around the world. If the regime falls, the UK cannot be a sanctuary for enforcers of repression." This is a letter on the subject which she has sent t the Prime Minister.

Although this beautiful piece is normally considered to be Christmas music, it does refer to the Shepherds saying farewell to the Holy Family as they leave Bethlehem. Hence it was entirely appropriate that the Choir of Selby Abbey performed it this morning during the service for the Sunday after Epiphany. (Their performance was singled out for special praise and thanks by the priest who conducted the service and rightly so.) It is equally appropriate for me to post this version performed by the Royal Choral Society as my music spot for today.

"The fact that someone makes a stupid mistake does not mean that they are a stupid person. Every human being sometimes makes stupid mistakes. Indeed, the most catastrophic mistakes are nearly always made by highly intelligent people, because they are the ones who are most likely to be in a position to make them. You can identify the more intelligent human beings, not because they never make stupid mistakes, but because when they do make a stupid mistake and survive the experience, they learn from it. And you can identify the most intelligent human beings because they learn from everything. The most foolish thing you can do is not to make a stupid mistake, it's to make one and fail to take the opportunity to learn from it." Chris Whiteside See also: 1)  When clever people do stupid things 2)  Why clever people do stupid things

 

"Some Socialists seem to believe that people should be numbers in a State computer. We believe they should be individuals. We are all unequal. No one, thank heavens, is like anyone else, however much the Socialists may pretend otherwise. We believe that everyone has the right to be unequal but to us every human being is equally important." Margaret Thatcher

The fracture clinic where my wife works had 110 referrals yesterday rather than the usual 30 to 40. The high number largely due to people falling over on the ice. So if you are driving, or out and about on foot, anywhere subject to very cold weather, be careful!

The Labour government invited 63 councils which were due to hold elections in May this year to consider postponing them. A survey by the Daily Telegraph of which councils have taken up the offer or are considering doing so makes interesting reading. Of nine Conservative councils which replied, seven have voted to go ahead with elections this year and ruled out asking to postpone them, and only two have applied to put the polls back.  Of nine Lib/Dem controlled councils which replied, eight have voted to go ahead with elections this year and ruled out asking to postpone them, and only one has applied to put the polls back. Of the Labour councils which replied, those in Hyndburn, Chorley, Preston and Blackburn with Darwen told The Telegraph they had requested a delay to the poll. The Labour leadership in Exeter is also suggesting a delay, saying it would save money and allow officers to concentrate on the reorganisation. A formal decision will be taken in the next few days. In 17 Lab...

 

This post yesterday from Nick Timothy MP provides context to that from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch which forms my "Quote of the day" for today. " What was left of the credibility of West Midlands Police has been destroyed today. We learned earlier that their initial reason for banning Israelis from Villa Park was the danger *to* away fans *from* "armed” locals.  But to justify the ban they portrayed the Israelis as “uniquely violent” and military-trained. They used “intelligence” supposedly from Dutch police that has been utterly repudiated - by the Dutch police and other authorities. And when the Home Affairs Select Committee asked why the vital information about the danger *to* Israelis was kept secret, the Chief Constable ludicrously said it was because he had not been asked for it.  In other words: “We won’t tell you the truth because you didn’t ask a specific question about a thing you didn’t know because we hadn’t told you.” Yes. That was his defence...

"West Midlands Police capitulated to Islamists and then collaborated with them to cover it up. They knew extremists were planning to attack Jews for going to a football match, and their response was to blame and remove Jewish people instead. They presented an inversion of reality and misled a Parliamentary Committee. We have had enough of this in Britain. The Chief Constable’s position is untenable. The British Police serve the British public, not local sectarian interests." Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch, Conservative leader.

YouGov / Sky / Times voting intention Reform UK 26% (+1), CON 19% (no change),  LAB 17% (-3),  LDEM 16% (+1),  GRN 15%(nc) Note that Labour's voting intention score of  17% matches their lowest figure in this parliament if not ever,  (previously reached in October).

Two messages yesterday from the Conservative leader, Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch,  in respect of Venezuela: 1)  "The events in Venezuela have shown that the Prime Minister is on the outside looking in, not respected abroad or at home. I will be in Parliament later today to ask what Starmer's foreign policy strategy is in light of the US's actions. He should be telling us himself." ( Posted yesterday afternoon, Monday 5th January 2026 ) 2) "The Foreign Secretary was quite cross that I didn’t congratulate Labour for all the hard work they’d done in Venezuela which includes… *checks notes*…ringing up the opposition leader and asking people to be nice to each other. ↘️She had no answer when I asked her about UK defence spending.  ↘️No answer on any foreign policy changes after these extraordinary events.  ↘️No answer even to her own backbenchers who attacked her position.   This drifting Labour government and its self-inflicted wounds leave us VERY exposed in an incre...

Due to a points failure in the Selby area, Rail travel in and out of Selby station was blocked for part of this morning (January 6th 2026) causing significant disruption to all rail services between York and Leeds.   “ A points failure between Selby and Leeds and York means that some lines are blocked. As a result, trains running through these stations may be delayed by up to 50 minutes, revised, or diverted, ” said a spokesperson for Network Rail.  The initial statement was that disruption was expected until 8am, but at ten past eight and there was no news of the problem being fixed yet. Ticket restrictions have been lifted during this and Northern tickets will be accepted, at no extra cost, on TransPennine Express services via any reasonable route. SEE BELOW FOR UPDATE    POSTSCRIPT 9.00 am - NETWORK RAIL ANNOUNCEMENT Incident: Selby | National Rail The points failure between Selby and Leeds / York has been rectified, allowing trains to run again on all lines....

" Keir Starmer's authority within his own party is shot to hell "  Andrew Neil in a Times Radio interview shortly before Christmas. You can watch the entire interview below.