Chris Whiteside's Blog

Whether you agree with Rishi Sunak or not, this level of honesty from a senior politician is most unusual, and welcome. The below is from a Times Newspapers article this weekend, by former PM Rishi Sunak. More to follow on this issue.

Today the new Whitehaveen and Workington Conservative team had a great campaigning session in Whitehaven with the Conservative candidate to be Mayor of Cumbria, Mike Starkie.  And here is a great performance of a brilliant piece of music to which to relax after the hard work.  You'll see that Hilary Hahn had a most distinguished audience for this performance!

"Knowledge can be enormously costly, and is often scattered in widely uneven fragments, too small to be individually usable in decision making. The communication and coordination of these scattered fragments of knowledge is one of the basic problems- perhaps the basic problem- of any society." Thomas Sowell

Since the election, police numbers have fallen by more than a thousand.  Keir Starmer is weak on crime, weak on the causes of crime. And our High Streets are paying the price. Violent theft from businesses is up by two-thirds. The next Conservative government will recruit an extra 10,000 police officers and crack down on crime, as part of our plan for Stronger High Streets.

A great parody by Russ Abbot of the song I just published as today's music spot

  High streets are struggling. High taxes. Punitive Business Rates. Soaring energy costs. Rising crime. More paperwork. ‍When our high streets struggle our communities fall into decline. That's why the Conservatives have developed a credible plan to get British business booming again. We will: Abolish business rates for 1000s of high street businesses including pubs and shops. Cut electricity bills for businesses with our Cheap Power Plan. Hire 10,000 extra police to crush crime on our high streets. Cut red tape for businesses. Defend key pillars of the community such as post offices, pubs and pharmacies. We will also continue to engage businesses to identify new ways to help communities flourish.‍ Do you back our plan to get high streets thriving again? Is there anything else we should be doing? Let us know. Complete our survey at: Supporting our High Streets

Labour is holding Britain back. Kemi Badenoch has been setting out her plans to put Britain back on track. More details to follow.

 "A regime that can only stay in power through sheer violence and terror against its own population has its days numbered.  It may take weeks, but this regime has no legitimacy to govern the country." German Chancellor   Friedrich Merz on the Iranian regime massacring its' own people in a desperate attempt to retain power.

Professor Slantchev appeared pleasantly surprised that the FT published this letter from him ...

If someone stands for the leadership of a political party, doesn't get it, and then defects to another political party, then they have proved the people who didn't vote for them right. Any such defection probably also says more about the party which is willing to accept that kind of recruit than it does about the party they have left.

"Labour's latest partial u-turn on pubs isn't fooling anyone. Cafes, hotels, and small businesses across the country are still getting clobbered by their tax rises. Only the Conservatives will abolish business rates for thousands of firms and help rejuvenate the high street." Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch

"Not long ago I was flying back from Poland after my first visit to Auschwitz, and mulling the horror of what I had seen - the hills of children’s shoes and suitcases, the tonnes of human hair. What struck me was the sheer scale of the operation and the obvious truth that the Nazis had not done this on their own. The rounding up of innocent people and packing them into trains : this greatest ever act of mass murder was committed with the active complicity of huge numbers of European civilians in every occupied country.  On my plane back from Warsaw I happened to meet the daughter of an old colleague who told me that she no longer felt safe to wear a Star of David round her neck in London. I was furious and ashamed at the failures of policing and political leadership that have allowed her to feel so unsafe. Anti semitism is alive again in Britain, Europe and around the world. The old virus is awake. We must never be so arrogant and so conceited as to believe that our civilisation c...

The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) 2026, 'Bridging Generations', is a call-to-action. A reminder that the responsibility of remembrance doesn't end with the survivors - it lives on through their children, their grandchildren and through all of us. This theme encourages us all to engage actively with the past - to listen, to learn and to carry those lessons forward. By doing so, we build a bridge between memory and action, between history and hope for the future. As the years pass, we’re growing more distant in time from the Holocaust and from the other, more recent genocides that are commemorated on HMD. That distance brings a risk – memory fades and the sharp reality of what happened becomes blurred, abstract or even questioned. Bridging Generations highlights the crucial role of the next generation in preserving the memory of the Holocaust and carrying it forward. It highlights the power of intergenerational dialogue – of listening to those who came before us and ...

Eighty one years ago today, on 27th January 1945, at about 9am, the first Soviet soldier from a reconnaissance unit of the 100th Infantry Division appeared on the grounds of the prisoners' infirmary in Monowitz. The entire division arrived half an hour later. The same day a military doctor arrived and began to organize assistance. In the afternoon soldiers of the Red Army entered the vicinity of the Auschwitz main camp and Birkenau. Near the main camp, they met resistance from retreating German units. 231 Red Army soldiers died in close combat for the liberation of Auschwitz, Birkenau and Monowitz. Two of them died in front of the gates of Auschwitz main camp. One of them was Lieutenant Gilmudin Badryjewicz Baszirow. The first Red Army troops arrived in Birkenau and Auschwitz at around 3 p.m. and were joyfully greeted by the liberated prisoners. After the removal of mines from the surrounding area, soldiers of the 60th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front marched into the camp and broug...

"This Holocaust Memorial Day, we remember the millions of lives lost in the Holocaust. This year’s theme, Bridging Generations, reminds us of our duty to carry these memories forward, especially as antisemitism rises again. We must never let the truth fade. We will remember them." (Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch , Conservative leader, shown here with Dr. Marcel Ladenheim, while signing a Holocaust book of remembrance.)

"Some basics about Chagos for BBC reporters, Sky anchors and others coming new to the debate. 1.  The Chagos Islands lie half-way between Africa and Indonesia, and host a key Anglo-American military base on the main island, Diego Garcia 2.  France ceded the archipelago to Britain in 1814 separately from Mauritius; the islands were always a distinct territory, though, lacking suitable facilities, their administration was sited in Mauritius 3.  To put the issue beyond doubt, Mauritius permanently renounced any claim to the islands in 1965 in return for a cash payment from Britain 4.  It eagerly trousered the money, its first post-independence PM, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, explaining that he had been glad to sell any theoretical right to “ territory of which very few people knew, which is very far from here, and which we had never visited ” 5.  Mauritius is indeed 1337 miles from the islands, and began to press its claim again only when it grew closer to China in ...

 Posted Saturday 24th: "Yesterday, the Conservative team in Parliament delivered a masterclass in how experience and teamwork can defeat bad policy. Thanks to the combined efforts of Priti Patel, Lords True, Callanan, Keen, and Wolfson, along with our defence, legal and foreign policy teams in the Lords and Commons, we forced Labour to pause its reckless attempt to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.  Labour's stupid surrender deal would have cost the British taxpayer £35 billion and weakened a vital UK-US military base in the Indian Ocean. This wasn’t the work of one speech or one person. It was the result of deep experience across the Conservative benches -people who understand how parliament works, how the law works and will knuckle down to get stuff done.  I'm so proud of my team." Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch , Conservative leader

They used to define an intellectual as someone who could listen to this without thinking of "The Lone Ranger" ...

"To Our Allies: I Am Sorry." A US Marine veteran issues a deeply moving tribute to his former comrades from America's NATO allies and apologises for the words of his president.

"Some things are believed because they are demonstrably true. But other things are believed simply because they have been asserted repeatedly - and repetition has been accepted as a substitute for evidence." (Thomas Sowell)  

The Leader of the Conservative party had this to say about the outrageous comments from the US President about America's allies serving "well back from the front" " President Trump’s comments about British Troops in Afghanistan are disgraceful. Comments like this are factually wrong, weaken NATO, and denigrate the memory of our brave soldiers who served there. " Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch 1,100 troops from countries other than the USA died supporting the American-led coalition mission in Afghanistan, including among others 457 Brits, 149 Canadians, and 43 troops from Denmark. Those eleven hundred people were not killed "well back from the front." I wonder how many Americans realise how much anger among America's allies President Trump stirs up every time he makes another gratuitous and cruel insult to people who gave their lives when their countries came to the aid of the USA. Or how much completely unnecessary damage he has done to America's reputat...

Andrew Neil's monologue on Trump's Greenland climbdown: "So it’s peace in our time after all.   Trump marched his ego to the top of the hill then marched it down again.  After numerous demands that he be allowed to annex Greenland coupled with threats of penal tariffs on anybody who opposed him, Trump backed off in Davos yesterday, agreeing a framework with NATO to bolster security in the High North — Greenland and the Arctic region.  NATO secretary-general Marc Rutte, who brokered the deal, says US ownership of Greenland — something Trump had insisted was essential for US security — wasn’t even raised in his Trump talks.  So it was all much ado about nothing. A waste of everybody’s time for those covering this story and for those trying to follow it. Sorry about that.  The usual Trump sycophants and know-nothings are piling in to claim it’s all just another example of his negotiating genius, the art of the deal in action again, in all its vain glory.  He p...

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:)

"The public don't care about narcissistic defections. They care that our great country is starting to exude the halitotic stench of socialism." Boris Johnson on X (formerly Twitter) Boris Johnson on X: "The public don't care about narcissistic defections. They care that our great country is starting to exude the halitotic stench of socialism https://t.co/0bhHTMLAxV" / X Also in the Mail:

Journalist - “ Are you next, are you off to Reform UK ?” Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg -  “ No, I’m off home actually ...” (he added that he's he’s “still supporting the Tory Party”)

 

"The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I. They saw too much of it in the last government, they’re seeing too much of it in THIS government.  I will not repeat those mistakes." Kemi Badenoch , Conservative leader.

Kemi Badenoch, presented with evidence that Robert Jenrick was planning to defect, has sacked him from the Shadow Cabinet, removed the whip, and suspended his Conservative party membership. Here is what Stephen Pollard wrote about it today in the Spectator and on X. "The most important thing about Robert Jenrick’s sacking isn’t Robert Jenrick. It’s that it is yet another demonstration of Kemi Badenoch’s increasing stature as Tory leader.  For most of her first year – Badenoch Mark I, as it were – the mood music was all about when she would be deposed. The assumption was that her replacement would be Jenrick. That changed pretty much overnight at last year’s Tory conference, when Badenoch Mark II emerged. She made a stomper of a speech that was clear and convincing and told a story about her party, while Jenrick’s speech was a damp squib. That coincided with Badenoch’s PMQs performances moving from halting to dominant. They are now a weekly opportunity for her to display her streng...

'It couldn’t have been more off the mark if a plasticine dog was added to the cast and it was retitled William Wallace and Gromit.' ( John O'Farrell on the egregious disregard for historical accuracy of Mel Gibson's film "Braveheart" - not the only Gibson film which bears little resemblance to true history, of course. " The Patriot " was if anything even worse.)

For anyone who doesn't get the relevance, scrapping compulsory digital ID yesterday - which I welcome - was Keir Starmer's 13th major U-turn, so he has now passed the twelve for which he ridiculed Boris ...

From a  report on a speech this week at Policy Exchange by the UK's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation , Jonathan Hall KC: Goodness knows it should be possible to criticise the actions of the present government of Israel - and some of their actions should be criticised - without stirring up hatred of all Israeli citizens, let alone all Jews, but we have all seen both those lines crossed again and again. Jonathan Hall was immediately accused of conflating Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism. I think that charge is both unfair and says a great deal about those who attacked him. The first response to those who accuse Mr Hall of conflating anti-Zionism and antisemitism is that in none of the quotes I have seen of his speech use the expression "Anti-Zionism." What he criticised, and pointed out is defined as racism under the Public Order act 1986, was stirring up hatred against Israel and Israeli citizens living in Britain.  Those who accuse him of conflating anti-Zionis...

 Well, thank God for that, Labour has actually done something sensible with their 13th major U-Turn. Compulsory Digital ID was always a solution in search of a problem, and likely to make things worse. Most commentators are welcoming this, but there are concerns that the government may try to reintroduce the idea via the back door. I think we have to look at any new proposals which may come forward on their own merits. It was always the "compulsory" part of "Compulsory Digital ID" which I objected to. We don't need to be luddite about this.  

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