I do appreciate that what Nigel Farage said was little more than an attack on the Institution of the EU. And that Stalin's Russia was guilty of crimes against Humanity as vast as those committed by Nazi Germany. Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will always triumph. It is wise to remember that not everyone in the World sees the past and the present the way we in Western Europe see it. The Napoleonic Wars World War 1 World War 2 The Cold War All wars waged against Russia by various Western European Nations and (in the case of the last one) by the United States. I can't blame the Russian People for feeling an abiding sense of paranoia.
Nothing to do with Putin's war though. The Russian people did not want it at first, and Putin has resorted to brutal tactics to repress any show of dissent. yeltsin may have been corrupt but Putin is even more so and having Russia at war always keeps the population onside. Orwell knew this when he wrote 1984. The EU has no military capability in the way NATO has, and the satellite states applied to join NATO to protect themselves from Putin's Russia. The war is all to do with Putin, his version of history and his vast wealth.
Fresh allegations today; https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c511nv3pjd6o Dozens of bets. Potentially thousands of Pounds. It beggars belief. How can so many prominent political operators, who presumably regard themselves as clever people, have behaved so stupidly? Did it not occur to any of them that this news would come out? Greed appears to have totally robbed them of any common sense whatsoever. EDIT: And it seems there is more to come... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crgggw4qkxzo
Sauce for the goose As the old saying goes. If our politicians deem it appropriate to demand that every UK voter provides photo ID at the polling booth in order to clamp down on the vanishingly small number of incidents of voter fraud, then... Prime Ministers should no longer be able to choose the date of a General Election, in order to clamp down on illegal gambling. Governments should serve for a fixed 5 year term, unless they lose a No Confidence vote in the Commons. A sledgehammer to crack a nut perhaps? But then so is photo ID for voting. How low have our politicians and their hangers on sunk, that they cannot be trusted not to line their own pockets in such an obvious and stupid manner.
After the last GE it was thought that the Tories would be in power for at least 15 years, Labour were finished, so I've given up trying to predict our unpredictable politics. IMO it's B****t that's changed everything. No Brexiteer will admit that it was a mistake. The whole thing has been handled by True Believers, and those who say, as Nigel does, that it's their fault it's been messed up, are just adding to the plethora of lies. The Tory claim that Labour want to reverse B****t is no longer a vote-winner, as the tide of public opinion is gradually turning, and 60% now believe we're worse off as a result. It will be ironic if Boris's great vote-winner "Get Brexit Done" turns out to be what destroys the Conservative Party. Remember a majority of Tory MP's were remainers before the referendum.
And to think, once upon a time the Conservatives prided themselves on being the Party of Law and Order. Now the streets belong to shoplifters and drugs gangs. Our Prime Minister was fined for breaching COVID rules. Downing Street & Whitehall incurred more fines than any other organisation. Even Human rights law will be ditched in the UK if Rishi Sunak is elected on July 4th. If those in privileged positions just break the law whenever they feel like it, why should any of us have respect for institutions of justice. All respect has been lost. The next Pandemic will see mass indifference and disobedience. No-one will give a toss what suits behind lecterns tell people to do. EDIT: And here it comes perhaps... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2vv0pgggqzo This new virus is spreading in the Eastern regions of the DRC, which puts it right on the doorstep of Rwanda. What a pity we're having a General Election. All the scientists who are struggling to prevent a new plague could have saved their time and resources. They could have just persuaded Rishi Sunak to pass a Law in Parliament to say the virus is safe and it won't kill anybody.
.Interesting that the opinion polls seem to have stabilised. The rise of Reform UK seems to have stalled, at roughly the same Time Nigel Farage claimed expansion of NATO and the EU provoked Putin into invading Ukraine. That opinion seems to have played badly with Tories thinking of defecting to Reform. And it gave the Tories and Labour a chance to have a solid pop at Farage. I think the stabilisation of the polls reflects voter fatigue as well. People just want to get this GE over with. I doubt that tonight's head-to-head between Rishi and Keir will make much difference. It'll probably be just another round of what we've already heard - but a bit more bad tempered.
Convenient timing, with the Leader's debate this evening... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz77exew09lo A chance for Rishi Sunak to show off his transphobic credentials and mock Keir Starmer again for "not knowing what a woman is". Culture Wars - very nasty.
I don't think David Tennant picked his words very carefully. Wide open to interpretations, the worst of which makes his position look scarcely better than the racist Tory donor who said he wanted to have Diane Abbott shot. But why are positions so apparently polarised? Supporters of trans rights are made out to look as if they are sexist at best, misogynist at worst. Opponents are painted as transphobic and intolerant of a vulnerable minority. I would not claim that Kemi Badenoch is transphobic. But I use the term with precision when it comes to Rishi Sunak. By his own actions over a long period he has earned the title, and he is proud of it (though he would not admit as much).
Flicked between the Leaders' debate and the football this evening. The latter was marginally more entertaining. Rishi Sunak ignored most of the actual questions, claiming that every individual questioner's issue would be solved when he cuts their taxes. And he unveiled his latest oft-repeated slogan; Don't surrender (insert thing) to a Labour Government. A stuck record would have offered more variety. Keir Starmer was his usual lightweight self. Not as punchy as the hyped up PM, but not as abusive either. Got caught out a bit over deporting illegal migrants but didn't make any big Corbyn reference errors. Pretty unedifying. I imagine the audience was not satisfied. Very few of their questions got anything like a straight answer from either leader.
Looks like The Sun may be about to back Keir Starmer. II haven't seen their paper edition today, but if you visit their website it is absolutely plastered with 'Vote Labour' adverts. Either the rag will take anybody's money, or they are backing the probable winner on July 4th. Both, I expect.
Tory MP Philip Davies put £8,000 on himself to lose his seat in the GE. Makes sense; after all his wife ESther McVey is wife is the Minister for Common Sense.
Andrew Parker Reform UK Nice apology Doesn't take much to scratch the veneer off some of this lot does it.
Looks like I was wrong to defend Nigel Farage when he was accused of racist remarks about Rishi Sunak a few weeks ago. Farage has now cried "fake news" at the disgusting comments of Reform UK activists. And he has effectively said that voters who supported the BNP in the past should now vote for Reform UK. The pond life he has attracted is now doing damage to his challenge to the Conservative Party. One voter on TV called Reform "Fascists". We can all draw our own conclusions.
Farage is about to answer questions for 30 minutes on BBC1. Might get a bit tetchy... EDIT: Interesting stuff about the 'Alf Garnet' actor and Channel 4 Nigel's not giving up. Only six days to go...
