Chris Whiteside's Blog

  This is, of course, a line spoken by Scrooge at the conclusion of " A Christmas Carol " by Charles Dickens.

For anyone reading this who is of the Jewish, Christian, Muslim or Bahai faiths , May the God of Abraham be with you and all who you love at this time, guard, guide and protect you. For anyone reading this who loves the Christmas story: May the Joy of the Angels, The Eagerness of the Shepherds The Wisdom of the Magi The Patience of Joseph The Love of Mary and the Hope represented by the baby Jesus be with you this Christmas season and throughout the year For anyone reading this of any other faith , may your God be with you at this time. And for everyone reading this , I with you and your family good health and happiness at this time and a peaceful, happy, healthy and prosperous New Year 2026. In other words:  HAPPY CHRISTMAS! 

"At Christmas we mark the birth of Christ. A wonderful story of hope, humility and peace at the most special time of year. Christmas is a time for making merry and seeing friends, but more than anything, it’s about family. That’s why, to those working tomorrow and spending time away from their loved ones, I want to say thank you for keeping the country going. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas." Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP , Leader of the Conservative Party Kemi also posted this, longer message: "Christmas is the most special time of year, a time for making merry, of course, seeing friends. But more than anything, Christmas is about family.  "One of the privileges of being a mother is watching my children grow up, and it happens so quickly. So, this Christmas, I'm excited to spend lots of quality time with them.  "This time of the year also makes me think about loved ones who are no longer with us, like my dad.   "I remember so many Christmases as a chi...

You may have seen this extract from the 2025 naughty list. Unfortunately there appear to be problems with the transparency of data processing for both the nice list and the naughty list. We are advised that: "He's making a list, He's checking it twice, He's noted down who's been naughty or nice, Santa Claus is being prosecuted under Article 5 (1) (a) and Article 6 of the General Data Protection Regulations ..." However, as mentioned in the previous post, St Nicholas IS compliant with aviation regulations. For the benefit of anyone who hasn't read the previous post please see the statement below from the Civil Aviation regulator:

The aviation regulator has announced that Santa has received "all necessary approvals" to fly over the UK to deliver presents:

The poem "A visit from St Nicholas" by Clement Clarke Moore, first published anonymously in 1823.  

I am not the greatest fan of the Vice President of the United States, J.D. Vance. But there is certainly one subject on which he is absolutely right. As he told the Unherd site “ Antisemitism, and all forms of ethnic hatred have no place in the conservative movement. ” “ Whether you’re attacking somebody because they’re white or because they’re black or because they’re Jewish, I think it’s disgusting. ” Vance has justifiable reason for being upset about a number of forms of racial hatred, as there have been some highly inappropriate comments from both right and left about his wife Usha, who is of Indian-American origin. These have come from at least one prominent Democrat, Joe Biden's former speechwriter Jen Psaki, and from the egregious Nick Fuentes. Racism is wrong whoever it comes from and whoever it is directed against.  People who call out racism, especially on their own side of politics, should be supported.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch insisted the " fight is not finished " after the government made a partial climbdown on the Family Farm tax following 14 months of regular protests by farmers outside Parliament. The threshold for IHT on family farms will now be raised from £1 million to £2.5 million. Kemi said: "This is a huge U-turn by the government and a big win for the Conservative Party's campaign against Labour's Family Farm Tax." "Earlier this year, I was told to drop our campaign, that there weren't many votes in it, there weren't many farmers, and people assumed they were wealthy enough to cope anyway. I ignored the advice and kept campaigning. "The Family Farm Tax is cruel, immoral and will not raise any money because farmers will stop farming. It would have pushed farms to the brink, damaged our food supply, and hurt the people who work long hours to feed the country. The Conservatives will however continue to fight to see...

“Balanced budget requirements seem more likely to produce accounting ingenuity than genuinely balanced budgets.” – Thomas Sowell This quote, by the way, is absolutely not put forward as an argument against balancing the budget, but in favour of recognising that actually doing this is much more difficult than just proclaiming that you are going to do it, or even passing a rule to that effect. Sadly these days far too many politicians of more than one party appear to confuse announcing that you are going to achieve some excellent aim such as balancing the budget, cutting NHS waiting lists or providing everyone with an NHS dentist, and actually doing so.

"Any policy is a success by sufficiently low standards and a failure by sufficiently high standards." ( Thomas Sowell ) Stop and think about the implications of Thomas Sowell's words for political debate. When someone refers to a policy (presumably their own) as a success, or another policy (presumably that of their opponents) as a failure, consider what criteria that success or failure is being judged on. And if you are comparing two alternative policies for the same portfolio, should the success criteria be the same? If they are not, why not?

"Let us never forget this fundamental truth: The state has no source of money other than the money people earn themselves. If the state wishes to spend more, it can do so only by borrowing your savings or by taxing you more. And it is no good thinking that someone else will pay—that "someone else" is you. There is no such thing as public money, there is only taxpayers' money. Prosperity won't come by inventing more and more lavish public expenditure programs. You don't grow richer by ordering another chequebook from the bank. No nation ever grew more prosperous by taxing its citizens beyond their capacity to pay. We have a duty to make sure that every penny piece we raise in taxation is spent wisely and well." ( Rt Hon Margaret Thatcher)

The UK Veterans Foundation posted the graphic below and the words, "Please take a moment to remember our brave heroes who won't be home for Christmas." 🎄❤️

 

‘News flash: Those who hate Jews hate the rest of us too.’ ( Douglas Murray , title of article in "The Australian" today)

Well done to the councillors of all parties on Colchester City council who passed a Conservative motion rejecting the proposal to defer elections due in 2026 in Essex. I hope all the councils the government have offered the chance to defer elections take the same stand. Here is a letter to the government from the council and signed by the leader of Colchester City Council and the leaders of the Conservative, Labour, Lib/Dem and Green groups, opposing deferring elections. I hope all councillors who are consulted on similar proposals have the courage to take the same stand.

 

Punchy statement from the Electoral Commission.  “As a matter of principle, we do not think that capacity constraints are a legitimate reason for delaying long planned elections. Extending existing mandates risks affecting the legitimacy of local decision making and damaging public confidence.”

The Carol "While shepherds watched their flocks by night" has been sung to at least three tunes. Most people probably know this carol as performed to a tune referred to by organists as " Winchester Old " and if you click on the link you should arrive at a YouTube page for the choir of Kings' College Cambridge performing it to that tune. It's also been performed to " The Yorkshire Anthem " tune ("On Ilkley Moor Bah't 'at" or to give the tune it's proper name, Cranbrook, composed by Thomas Clark in 1805) and if you don't believe me, here are the choir of Ely cathedral doing just that. But personally my favourite tune to which to sing this carol is Lyngham. I share a taste for this arrangement with the late Thora Hird, who once insisted during a "Songs of Praise" performance, after everyone had sung the carol to Winchester Old, on them singing it again to Lyngham! And here is the carol to that tune!

Congratulations to Cllr David Page on gaining Market Harborough-Logan from the Liberal Democrats in Harborough.

“This is a frightening time for all communities. Antisemitism and anti-Muslim hostility have both reached alarming levels. We must resist attempts to turn these tragedies into polarising incidents that pit communities against one another.” Imam Qari Asim,  co-chair of the British Muslim Network, from his article in The Times,  " Ordinary Muslims utterly condemn antisemitic attacks " He also wrote that My Jewish friends are increasingly frightened to turn on the news, only to discover that another atrocity has been visited on innocent community members. I, like the majority of British Muslims, share their horror and disgust. I am disgusted too at the extremists who continue to twist and corrupt the name of Islam. These extremists do not represent Islam, Muslims or the faith as it is understood and practised by the overwhelming majority of believers. There is no theological justification, cultural excuse or political grievance that can legitimise the murder of innocents. You ca...

Keir Starmer has been accused of running "scared" from voters again, after Labour moved to cancel yet more elections for millions of voters next year. I recently wrote about the latest Labour plans to defer four more Mayoral elections. It also emerges that some council leaders in areas due to have elections next May have been contacted by the government and asked if they would like to defer those elections. Responding to today's reported delay, Sir James Cleverly, speaking on behalf of the Conservatives,  accused Labour of running " scared from the voters ". He told the Express: " Labour promised council elections would go ahead as planned as recently as last week. Now they're saying they won't. Another broken promise. Voters will now be denied the right to elect their own representatives - and not for the first time under this Labour Government. "Labour are scared of the voters. They thought they could completely overhaul local government and ...

I've been posting a piece of traditional Christmas music each day since Advent Sunday on this blog. Another blog with which I am associated has had Christmas parodies, and I will link to some of them on that blog tomorrow. But I thought one amusing Christmas parody here might be appreciated, so here is "Yo Ho Ho it's Christmas," a pirate sea shanty. 

Defence of the realm must be the first duty of government.  Today the Conservatives are announcing our plan to back British defence by unlocking £50bn of investment, to create a more effective armed forces and make our country safer. The fund would invest in UK defence start-ups and reduce reliance on hostile states in supply chains, while allowing the armed forces to obtain new technologies like drones. Under the Conservative party's plans, £6bn would be reallocated from the government's research and development budget to the Ministry of Defence. Meanwhile, the National Wealth Fund, which was launched by the government last year, would become the National Defence and Resilience Bank. The fund was set up to invest in projects which support economic growth and the push for clean energy but in March its remit was expanded to also consider investments in sectors which support the UK's defence and security. The Conservatives would re-allocated £11bn from the fund which the curr...

The body of Lance Corporal George Hooley was returned home to the UK yesterday. Before his death, Lance Corporal Hooley wrote a letter to his family and friends to be opened in the event of his death, a letter which epitomises the service and sacrifice so many members of the armed forces have given to this country. His family asked the Ministry of Defence to publish the letter, and they have done so. Here is an extract released by the MoD.   

 

Iman A Atta recently posted on on LinkedIn. She run s @TellMamaUK which is the Muslim community’s version of CST - monitoring anti-Muslim hatred.  This is what she had to say about 'the broader landscape of hate." "REFLECTION: it is tiring, it is relentless, it is emotionally taxing. This is how I have been feeling for some time now given the work that we do in tackling and monitoring anti-Muslim hate, and if it sounds easy to some, it is not! A core component of our work involves diligently monitoring community tensions and the broader landscape of hate. The sheer volume of antisemitism and extremism we are currently observing, in both digital and physical spaces, is staggering. It is critical to state that while these behaviors appear to be becoming normalised and accepted by some, this is fundamentally unacceptable. As Jewish communities observe the third night of Hanukkah while experiencing significant grief, trauma, and heightened fear following the recent Bondi terr...

The Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police will take a more 'assertive' approach to pro-Palestine protestors who chant 'globalise the intifada' because of the 'escalating threat context' Sir Mark Rowley, head of the Met Police, and Sir Stephen Watson, the head of Greater Manchester Police, have issued a statement saying they will take action despite the CPS advising that it doesn't meet the prosecution threshold 'Antisemitic hate crime has surged, protests have intensified, and online abuse has grown since 2023. These trends create real fear and disrupt daily life – and have an impact on how safe the Jewish community feel when attending synagogues and other communal spaces. Jewish children attend schools behind fences, guarded by security and routine police patrols. No community should have to live like this. That must change. 'The words and chants used, especially in protests, matter and have real-world consequences. We have consistently ...

Statement by the Global Imams Council condemning the Bondi Beach terrorist attacks. They don't pull their punches. This is as clear and unambiguous a condemnation on behalf of Islam both of this specific attack and of terrorism and antisemitism as you could possibly ask for. "The Global Imams Council condemns in the strongest, clearest, and most unambiguous terms the barbaric terrorist attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, where innocent Jewish families were deliberately hunted down and murdered while celebrating Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. I have just spoken with families of the victims, extending solidarity and unity in the face of an act of terror that has shaken the conscience of humanity. This was not merely an act of violence. It was a calculated, antisemitic act of terror driven by hatred, cowardice, and moral depravity. The murder of worshippers, including children and respected community figures, is an unforgivable crime that stains the conscience of human...

"The Family Farm tax is cruel. It is driving farmers to the brink. Today, Labour MPs had the chance to scrap it. This evening they chose not to. Conservatives will abolish this tax. We are the only party with a fully funded plan to get rid of it." Kemi Badenoch

There are two particularly beautiful tunes to which the carol "In the bleak mid-winter" has been set. Earlier this Christmas season I posted a performance by Kings Cambridge which used the Harold Darke setting, here Nigel Short conducts Tenebrae singing the carol to Gustav Holst's music.

"Dame Andrea Jenkins, Reform's Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, promised to sack Diversity officers, only to discover there were none." (From article in this week's "The Economist" magazine, " Contact with reality " 13th to 19th December 2025)

Imams in Australia have condemned the Bondi Beach attack, saying  "We stand in solidarity with the Australian Jewish Community" and that  "while this attack has targeted the Jewish Community, it is in reality an attack on all of us, including the Muslim community. This violent terrorist attack constitutes an attack on all Australians."

 

The King released this message to the people of Australia in response to the disgusting terrorist and racist murders in Australia today.

"Heartbreaking scenes emerging from Bondi Beach of what looks like another despicable terrorist atrocity.  As Jews across the UK gather to welcome Chanukah, we must once again remind ourselves of the enduring power of the story of the Maccabees, not only to Jewish history but to universal themes of resilience, courage, and hope. We need them more than ever in the battle of light over darkness." Kemi Badenoch The Conservative party published this Chanukah message: "To the Jewish community this Chanukah: we stand with you. May the candles be lit in remembrance, resilience and resolve.  Chanukah is a reminder that Jewish light has always been forced to burn against the dark. This year, we light candles in grief, defiance and remembrance."

Today is Gaudete Sunday. As I've already posted the Steeleye Span version of this ancient carol this year, here are the King's Singers performing "Gaudete."

 

Apologies, the link I used was working at the time I originally set up this post but it appears to links to a version of the quote which has been moved or deleted. I think the quote which disappeared was "One of the most pathetic - and dangerous - signs of our times is the growing number of individuals and groups who believe that no one can possibly disagree with them for any honest reason." Thomas Sowell Here is a replacement image.

The first piece sung entirely in Latin to reach the UK charts. I dare say that a lot people probably don't even realise that this is a song celebrating Christmas, but it is. The words of the chorus can be translated into English as  "Rejoice, rejoice, Christ is born of Mary the virgin! Rejoice!

Eaglescliffe West, Elton, Long Newton and Aislaby ward (Stockton on Tees council) - congratulations to Councillor Steve Dodds who held the ward for the Conservatives yesterday with an increased vote share of over 60%. Armitage with Handsacre, (Lichfield District Council), congratulations to Councillor Martyn Punyer who held the seat for the Conservatives: 

"It takes a lot to change my mind, but enough is enough. "I'm ending a lifetime of support for my beloved Labour party." "This nightmarish totalitarian rabble has done more damage to our country than Margaret Thatcher and the Luftwaffe put together." "My wife is completely apolitical and this is the first government she has ever truly loathed. Was it compulsory digital ID that sent her over the edge? The end of trial by jury? The destruction of the High Street with national insurance hikes for employers? The fact that you have more chance of seeing Santa Claus than your local GP this Christmas? No, it was it's carefully planned destruction of the countryside." "Her parents were farmers as is her brother and she comes from a long line of people whose only real crime is minding their own business and supplying the country with food every night." Extracts from a "Writers Notebook" piece by Mark Millar in the Christmas 2025 is...

“Kemi Commands Commons: Starmer Clings To Tired Tactics” “ It doesn’t matter much whom you marry as it always turns out to be someone else, ” as Aristotle, I think, said. So it is with political leaders.  “Keir Starmer’s vows (country before party, end of chaos, adults in the room) turned out to be quite the opposite of his promise. And so it is with Kemi – she’s now a dazzling Commons performer. It’s taken a year but been worth the wait. She holds the floor. She says things Conservatives want to hear. She has claimed an anti-benefit position no one else has dared to and public opinion around that is coming very nicely to the boil.” That was the Guido Fawkes ' website take on yesterday's Prime Minister's questions. Kemi Commands Commons: Starmer Clings To Tired Tactics – Guido Fawkes

The amount of ad hominem abuse in British politics has increased, is increasing and ought to be diminished. For the avoidance of doubt, there are too many personal attacks coming from every part of British politics and too many aimed at every part of British politics. As Kemi Badenoch and her team have raised their game in the last few months and both Labour and Reform have started to get rattled about it, we have seen a substantial increase in the number of speeches and posts criticising her from both Labour supporters and the leadership (less so the supporters) of Reform UK. This comes with the territory: Kemi shows no signs of being bothered by it, even when the attacks get personal, and nor should she be. A great Conservative leader had this to say on the subject:    It does however amuse me the number of people on the left who manage to combine in the same speech or post and often in consecutive sentences, both complaining bitterly about how in their opinion the Leader of...

The Prime Minister claimed today in the House of Commons that there are more teachers in post now that when Labour was elected and accused the opposition of using "dodgy data" to claim the figures are down -  Until it was pointed out that those figures came from the Department for Education's own website. If they are dodgy, who's to blame for that?

"Last month, Labour hiked taxes on working people to increase benefits for those who do not work.  It's no surprise that a MILLION more people are on benefits since the election.  Only Conservatives will cut welfare by £23bn and build a Britain where those who can work, do work." Kemi Badenoch

"A 78 per cent tax rate on UK oil and gas is not a strategy. It is economic vandalism. Mark my words, when investment leaves, jobs go with it. And when production falls, we end up at the mercy of foreign suppliers who do not share our values, our standards or our interests. Labour simply do not get it. Their choices weaken Britain and the consequences are unforgivable. Conservatives will scrap this levy, back British workers and protect our energy security with competence and common sense." Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch , Leader of the Conservative party and the opposition. 

For the first sixty plus years of my life the cornerstone of the defence strategy of Britain and all other NATO members was the alliance with the United States of America, based on the belief, perfectly reasonable until this year, that the United States is a reliable ally. I didn't doubt this during the first Trump administration. Despite his sometimes scary rhetoric and often chaotic way of running things, in his first term President Trump appointed some very smart and knowledgeable people and often listened to them. Talk of "America First" it not necessarily in itself a problem. Any government of every nation has to put the safety and wellbeing of the people for whom it is responsible first, and most governments do. This is not incompatible with a policy that maintaining a strong network of alliances and treaties is immensely helpful to your national security and a conviction that this means treating your allies in particular and other countries with which you deal in g...

 

"The political stupidity of Lammy and Starmer’s attack on trial by jury is astonishing. They have handed their enemies a gift. The radical right can say – entirely truthfully – that Labour wants to take power from ordinary people and give it to its mates in the judiciary." Nick Cohen on X, formerly Twitter, today.

Today is #SmallBusinessSaturday where we celebrate and support Britain’s small businesses. The Conservative Party will always stand with small businesses We’re the only Party committed to abolishing business rates for thousands of small and high street businesses.

 

The MP for Whitehaven and Workington, Labour's Josh MacAlister, was sent out today to justify Labour's decision to delay four Mayoral elections for two years. As the Guido Fawkes website put it, at  Labour Minister: We are Cancelling Mayoral Elections as 'We've Only Recently Become the Government' – Guido Fawkes he came out with this "distinctly flimsy" line of defence to Sky News: “To be fair, we have only recently become the government, this is a new set of devolution that we are bringing forward. We are speeding this up in a major way. The people who are saying this are the same people who not that many years ago were proroguing parliament. We will take no lectures from them.” Every part of this statement is wrong. Let's fisk it, shall we? “To be fair, we have only recently become the government" * They've been in power for 17 months.  " this is a new set of devolution that we are bringing forward." * this set of devolution e...

Dan Hodges has a very powerful piece in the mail about the shambles of a budget last week Here is an extract. "Finally. After the days of obfuscation, deflection and flat-out lying surrounding Rachel Reeves's Budget deceit, Kemi Badenoch has cut through to the heart of the issue.  Tuesday saw the scandal's first resignation, with Office for Budget Responsibility head Richard Hughes falling on his calculator after the leak of his organisation's Budget report 45 minutes before the Chancellor addressed the Commons. It had been, he said, 'a technical but serious error'. Though rumour holds he was pushed by the Prime Minister and Chancellor, who were desperate to find a scapegoat for the most shambolic fiscal event in modern parliamentary history. Yet in their willingness to sacrifice Hughes, they made a fatal blunder. One that the Leader of the Opposition exploited to ruthless effect at Prime Minister's Questions today. Given Sir Keir Starmer had accepted Hughe...

 

This was posted by Michael Crick in June 2024, a month before the Starmer government was elected. Spot on - indeed it came true a lot faster than in two or three years. :

Q: "Did you lie?" A: " Look, I'm a Labour Chancellor " I didn't expect her to confess so quickly. Neil O'Brien on X formerly twitter, referring to an interview with Rachel Reeves. Neil O'Brien on X: "Q: "Did you lie?" A: "Look, I'm a Labour Chancellor" I didn't expect her to confess so quickly" / X

"Tony Blair attempted to impose 90 days detention without charge, and, thankfully, we defeated him.   Today, Starmer wants to impose digital ID and effectively abolish jury trials for all offenders, and I appeal to all those who believe in the rule of law to help us stop it." David Davis MP.

Nick Cohen has an excellent piece on Substack on the need to defend trial by Jury. It includes the quote " Trial by jury in England goes back to the reign of Henry II in the 12th century. It has survived not only the Stuarts, but also the Wars of the Roses, the Reformation, the Industrial Revolution, the Napoleonic wars, two world wars and the Cold War. But it can’t survive Keir Starmer and David Lammy. " The article is illustrated with a picture of a plaque which stands at the Old Bailey, in honour of Jury foreman Edward Bushel and his fellow jurors who refused to convict the future founder of Pennsylvania when the judge wanted them to, even when locked up for two nights to ty to make them convict.  Nick concludes his article,  " Soon they may have to take it down ." You can read the article at “Progressives” extinguish the lamp of freedom

Yes, the Chancellor has finally given a straight answer in plain English -  "I am asking people to pay more tax". At the election she said she would not be raising taxes on "working people." After putting up National Insurance, a tax on jobs, by £40 billion at the 2024 budget she said it was a one-off and she would not need to raise taxes again. This week she admitted that she is putting your taxes up. 

A new mural has appeared in Ternopil, dedicated to children killed in Russia’s attack. The artwork, showing a child shielding her toys from a Russian missile, was created by artist Andriy Yermolenko. He described it as “a cry for help to the global community.”   “The girl protecting her toys — that’s all she has. This is my cry for help. As an artist, I can speak about it through my work.” On November 19, six children were killed in the Russian strike on Ternopil.

"Labour’s Budget this week was not about fixing Britain. It was about getting Labour MPs to feel good about themselves and keeping Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves in Downing Street. After the debacle over their removal of the winter fuel payment, they wanted something they could parade around as proof of their compassion. A chance to pose as the only decent people in the room. Labour think they are kinder than you, more moral than you, and therefore entitled to spend your money as they please. The problem is they do not understand where that money comes from. The tax system is not a magic cash machine. It’s the hard-earned wages of people who get up early, go to work, and keep this country going. On Wednesday, Starmer and Reeves increased taxes even higher on beleaguered workers to pay for more benefits, then congratulated themselves for being caring. Since the budget, I’ve done dozens of local radio and TV interviews and been asked the same question over and over again: “why are y...