Chris Whiteside's Blog

 

"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.

Today is Twelfth Night, the last official day of Christmas. If you have not already done so, remember to take all your Christmas decorations down!

I can recommend this Youtube Clip in Nick Cohen's "Lowdown" series, in which he interviews Charlotte Leslie, former Conservative MP for Bristol North West 2010 to 2017 and current Director f the Conservative Middle East Council. The issues they discuss include whether the Conservatives have a future in an environment fixated on Reform UK, what is happening to British Politics and what is happening in the Middle East. Nick Cohen is an openly-left-wing journalist but a very open-minded one and he is the sort of intelligent left-winger who right-wingers ought to listen to if we want to understand perspectives outside our own bubble. Charlotte Leslie is also intelligent and open-minded and I found her perspective very interesting too,

 

Because of the aftermath of the COVID-19 recession, the cost of dealing with COVID and with the economic effects of the war in Ukraine, particularly on Energy prices, Labour inherited a difficult economic position. All parties should probably have been more honest about how difficult the situation was during the last general election and even now only one party leader who is even coming close to being honest about how challenging the position is, which is Kemi Badenoch. However, after 18 month of Labour in office, economic optimism is now lower than during all previous recessions on record. It is lower than during the credit crunch or in the months following the Covid pandemic & Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And that is because Labour, despite their promises to raise growth, cut energy prices and not to put up taxes on working people, have imposed crippling tax rises on jobs, businesses and ordinary working people, and presided over rising energy costs. 

"The brave Iranians on the streets protesting against their despotic and oppressive government are a beacon of hope for us all. The Iranian regime denies its own people basic liberties while exporting terrorism and instability beyond its borders, threatening the UK and our allies. We stand with those risking everything for freedom." (Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch , leader of the Conservative party and of the opposition.)

We are still in the Christmas season until tomorrow, which is 12th Night. I posted a different version of the hymn "Angels from the Realms of Glory" about a month ago as part of the series of carols and Christmas tunes  posted during Advent. However, but as I enjoyed singing so much at Church this morning, and I really like this version, so I didn't think it would be excessive to use it again.  

"There’s a lot of noise from people who couldn’t find Venezuela on a map yesterday. This is clearly a fast-moving and extremely serious situation. I am not going to rush to judgement or speculate on incomplete reports. I’m more interested in what Venezuelans risking their lives for democracy have to say.  The UK’s responsibility is to understand the facts, assess where our national interest lies and consider the consequences for Venezuela’s people and for regional and global stability. It is not for us to second guess from afar the motives and evidence behind these events. Let’s hear what President Trump has to say shortly. I will also be watching closely what is said by Venezuela’s democratic opposition." Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch

Whatever you think about Donald Trump's decision to depose President Maduro of Venezuela  - and I think it is perfectly possible at one and the same time to both consider the Maduro regime illegitimate and have concerns about the USA just unilaterally walking into someone else's country and removing him - it took pretty extraordinary cheek for the Russian Federation regime to condemn it in the language they did. This wasn't just a candidate for the Pot calling the Kettle Black award for the week, but for the decade and the century. The Russian Ministry of Foreign affairs have stated that " The US committed an act of armed aggression against Venezuela, which gives rise to deep concern & warrants condemnation. The pretexts used to justify these actions are untenable. Russia reaffirms its solidarity with the Venezuelan people. " Seriously, these people should quit diplomacy and go into comedy. How can they possibly make that criticism of the US actions in Venezue...

A classic example of trying to eat your cake and have it from the PM today in response to the USA's attack on the Venezuelan government and kidnapping of the Venezuelan President - who had, admittedly, been widely believed to have fraudulently stolen the last couple of elections. Evidently trying to avoid annoying either the Trump administration or those who have concerns about the international law implications, Starmer commented that the UK Government will "shed no tears" about the end of Nicolás Maduro's regime. He wrote: " The UK has long supported a transition of power in Venezuela. We regarded Maduro as an illegitimate president and we shed no tears about the end of his regime. "  Referring to his earlier remark on upholding international law, Sir Keir continued: "I reiterated my support for international law this morning. "The UK Government will discuss the evolving situation with US counterparts in the days ahead as we seek a safe and peace...

 

 

Margaret Thatcher predicting the course followed by Sir Keir Starmer's government decades before he was elected ... “You know, if you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything, wouldn't you, at any time? And you would achieve nothing!” — Margaret Thatcher