Ukraine Extortion - Trump Fans Silent

There is no finer example of how populist politics is a total crock of crap than the reaction of its leading British practitioners to the brazen attempt by Combover Crybaby Donald Trump and his gang to extort a significant amount of Ukraine’s mineral resources, while giving that country no security guarantee. To this, the Trump fans in the UK have fallen silent.

As Josh Rogin told his followers on Twitter, X, or whatever Muskrat’s calling it this week, “Multiple lawmakers here in Munich told me the U.S. Congressional delegation presented Zelensky with a piece of paper they wanted him to sign which would grant the U.S. rights to 50% of Ukraine’s future mineral reserves. Zelensky politely declined to sign it”.

Do go on. “This plan, which I have now seen, was presented to Zelenskyy by U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink several days ago, in advance of Secretary Bessent’s trip to Kyiv … In today’s meeting with U.S. lawmakers, Zelensky was telling them about this paper, which many of them didn’t already know about, not the other way around. Zelenskyy said he could not sign it because it didn’t contain any security guarantees for Ukraine”. That’s extortion.

Added to the outburst by alleged Vice President and confirmed moron J D Vance, and the talks about Ukraine that have not included invitations to any European countries - or Ukrainians - and we see the intended endgame of the Trump gang - to sell both Ukraine and the rest of Europe down the river.

Quite apart from the immediate loss of US soft power, and indeed influence, this dereliction of duty to its allies had the FT’s editorial writers concluding “Europeans need to start preparing fast for the day when the US security guarantee to Europe is definitively removed … It should also mean a European mutual defence pact, outside NATO, that extends beyond the EU”.

There was more. “Trump will use any leverage he has to force America’s European allies into compliance on issues from trade and security to their domestic politics. That means that Europe must now start the painful process of ‘de-risking’ its relationship with the US, looking for areas of dangerous dependence on America and stripping them out of the system”.

Which is a way of saying it’s serious. So what of the Trump cheerleaders? Former alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, who was, let us not forget, kicked out by his own party in disgrace, has tried a little too hard to spin his way out of it: “Trump is not betraying Ukraine”. Fraid he is, Bozo. But that bit doesn’t get a mention. Not in selective Bozo world.

But at least he admits Europe will have to “step up”. Something that does not trouble Liz Truss, the very temporary Prime Minister who was outlasted by a lettuce. She’s too busy recycling rubbish from the increasingly desperate and downmarket Telegraph. So what of Farage, biggest Trump fan of all?

Nige is banging on about putting a windfall tax on renewable energy, in a move which would increase household bills significantly. That’s the level of populist idiocy coming out of Reform UK. Oh, and he’s still whinging about nearly losing his Coutts bank account. No word on Trump’s attempt to extort a significant amount of Ukraine’s GDP in return for nothing at all.

Farage’s delusion extends to portraying Himself as the next Prime Minister. But not a peep on his pal Donald selling the whole of Europe down the river, so not a peep on what he would do when faced with a whole host of those Difficult Decisions about a European army that he’s been frightening the crap out of his target audience over. Not that he’s a Putin apologist, you understand.

Whatever your opinion of Keir Starmer, he is prepared to tackle the problems posed by the Trump gang ripping up the USA’s security guarantees that have helped keep the peace since 1945. Bozo is editing it out, Liz Truss isn’t talking about it at all, and Farage … don’t make me laugh. Mr Thirsty is more concerned about his current account status to bother with that.

Populism meets political reality. And promptly scuttles off elsewhere.

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J D Vance - You’re A Moron

Those who thought that the vice Presidency of J Danforth Quayle, the one who had problems spelling such complex words as POTATO (to which he insisted on adding a spurious E), defined the most stupid holder of that office, have now been asked by the current incumbent, J D Vance, to Hold His Beer. Because Vance is not merely stupid. He is a bona fide moron.

This should come as no surprise: he is, after all, Veep to Combover Crybaby Donald Trump, the individual (one hates to use the dignifying term “man” in this instance) least suited to be President since, well, the proclamation of the Republic back in 1783. Trump is monumentally stupid. So his deputy must, to preserve the dignities, be yet more stupid. Vance is ideally suited to that.

Just how stupid Vance really is was demonstrated yesterday in the full glare of publicity: he addressed the Munich Security Conference, to tell all those Goddamned YURPEENS just how wonderful Himself and his world view were. He lectured them about FREEZE PEACH and MOXY, as if the USA had both, and YURP had neither. This went down like a cup of cold sick.

Which may have had something to do with there being no curbs on freedom of speech anywhere in western Europe, while the Trump gang are excluding those who do not toe their particular line from press briefings, and accompanying The Donald on Air Force One. Trump and his supporters have significant past form for harassing media folk of inconvenient view.

Also, as the Guardian pointed out, “Many in the hall were swift to say that Vance had still refused to accept that Trump lost the US presidential election in 2020, a refusal that ultimately resulted in a mob of the president’s supporters attacking the US Capitol”. Trump’s acceptance of MOXY is the kind where he wins. Vance is too scared, or stupid, to accept reality.

And get this claim: “For years we have been told everything we fund and support is in the name of our shared democratic values, everything from our Ukraine policy to digital censorship is billed as a defence of democracy, but when we see European courts cancelling elections and senior officials threatening to cancel others we ought to ask ourselves if we are holding ourselves to an appropriately high standard”. Whoops, flat-out lie time!

As with Reform UK’s self-appointed Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage claiming that the EU interfered in member states’ elections, this is total crap. Vance’s stupidity extended to believing that his audience would not have a grasp of reality superior to that of Himself Personally Now.

It also extended to believing he would secure more approval by cracking this year’s Lamest Joke Ever™. The BBC’s Frank Gardner noted “He made a joke at one point saying, ‘if American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk’. And then he paused for the applause, to be met with absolute dead silence”.

False equivalence. Paranoia. More stupidity. Meanwhile, in the USA, supposed land of FREEZE PEACH and MOXY, judges are under attack for upholding the law, when that law goes against one of Trump’s executive orders (an executive order is not law, and the President cannot make law without the agreement of Congress). Instead, Vance kicks YURP.

But YURP enjoys freedom of speech, and of expression, rather more than the USA right now, with media outlets self-censoring to keep on the right side of the Trump gang. Vance is too stupid to see that comparing western European Governments to totalitarian states, while his own country is ruled over by an enfeebled man-baby and an unelected Nazi, is not a good look.

Good of him, though, to remind YURP that it needs to look after itself rather more, and depend on the Trump régime rather less. Vance could do worse than letting us all know what his country’s position on Ukraine really is. Because, right now, we don’t know. Except that Trump gives the impression he is about to sell the Ukrainians down the river.

Then he can learn a bit more about YURP. And stop being a moron.

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It Was The Sun Wot Done It

And so it came to pass that News Group Newspapers, the official title for the UK chapter of the Murdoch Mafiosi, arrived at the High Court for what was expected to be an eight-week trial over allegations of unlawful behaviour brought by Prince Harry and former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson. And very soon after, NGN caved in and waved the white flag.

Rather than see the likes of the twinkle-toed yet domestically combative Rebekah Brooks, still NGN’s CEO, cross-examined over what the Murdoch press did to get their stories, and answer all those inconvenient questions about mass email deletion and other less than totally ethical practices, they admitted, for the first time, that the Sun was involved in breaking the law.

Yes, after shelling out more than a billion notes settling claims against the Sun, while denying that It Was The Sun Wot Done It, the Cosa Rupra grudgingly admitted what had been suspected for decades. Without that admission, Haz would not have settled, whatever the scale of the cash mountain on offer. Which was, it seems, in excess of £10 million.

In other words, had the trial gone ahead, even if Haz and Tom had won, they would have had to be awarded more than that sum in order to avoid being hit with the bill for both sides’ costs. It was the kind of risk that put paid to others’ determination to go to trial. This time, NGN will pay for everything, which may well cause the final bill to exceed £25 million. All to stop it going to trial.

As the Guardian told, “The Duke of Sussex has settled his high court legal action … against the publisher of the Sun, News Group Newspapers (NGN) … NGN offered ‘a full and unequivocal apology’ to Prince Harry ‘for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them’ at the News of the World”.

There was more. Haz’ barrister David Sherborne added “I am pleased to announce to the court that the parties have reached an agreement. As a result of the parties reaching an agreement I would ask formally that the trial is vacated … NGN offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by the Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for the Sun”. And who worked for the paper then?

Not only Ms Brooks, but also former Screws and Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan, something which should be borne in mind whenever The Great Man passes adverse comment on Haz and Megs, which happens rather a lot.

Sherborne, meanwhile, wasn’t finished. “The truth that has now been exposed is that NGN unlawfully engaged more than 100 private investigators over at least 16 years on more than 35,000 occasions. This happened as much at The Sun as it did at the News of the World, with the knowledge of all the editors and executives, going to the very top of the company”. Do go on.

“What’s even worse is that in the wake of the 2006 arrest of a royal correspondent, there was an extensive conspiracy to cover up what really had been going on and who knew about it. Senior executives deliberately obstructed justice by deleting over 30 million emails, destroying back-up tapes, and making false denials - all in the face of an ongoing police investigation. They then repeatedly lied under oath to cover their tracks - both in court and at the Leveson public inquiry”. You read that right. Carry on.

“Far from being relics of a distant past, many of those behind these unlawful practices remain firmly entrenched in senior positions today, both within News UK and other media outlets across the world, wielding editorial power and perpetuating the toxic culture in which they continue to thrive”.

Anyone might think he was referring to the currently under-fire Will Lewis. Here on Zelo Street, there is quiet satisfaction that the story first picked up on in July 2009 (see HERE, HERE and HERE) continues to - rightly - embarrass our free and fearless press - and not just the Murdoch chapter of it.

Any more to come? You might wish to ask that. I couldn’t possibly comment.

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Elon Musk IS Dr Strangelove

The titular character in Stanley Kubrick’s dark comedy Dr Strangelove, Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb, is a senior advisor to the US President, who just happens to be a former Nazi who refers to his boss as “Mein Führer”, and whose right arm has to be restrained from giving Nazi salutes. Played by Peter Sellers, it was both dark and hilarious.

Because it was fiction. Otherwise, audiences might not have found the film’s ending, unavoidable nuclear armageddon, to be palatable. Fast forward more than 60 years, and yesterday came the moment when another senior advisor to a US President gave a Nazi salute in public, only for some who should have known better to pretend it was nothing of the sort.

Elon Musk, the unfeasibly rich and staggeringly unpleasant presence who has single-handedly turned Twitter of old into X, a cesspit of far-right intolerance, ignorance, paranoia, misinformation, flat-out lying, and malicious abuse, addressed a gathering in Washington, DC, after Combover Crybaby Donald Trump had been inaugurated as the 47th President of the USA.

As the BBC told, “Elon Musk has caused outrage over a one-armed gesture he gave during a speech celebrating the inauguration of Donald Trump. Musk thanked the crowd for ‘making it happen’, before placing his right hand over his heart and then thrusting the same arm out into air straight ahead of him. He then turned and repeated the action for those sitting behind him”.

There was more. “Many on X, the social medial platform he owns, have likened the gesture to a Nazi salute. In response, Musk posted on X: ‘Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired.’” So, O Great One, why the need to edit it out of the video clip posted later?

The Mirror has noted “Elon Musk's Twitter account edited a moment from his Donald Trump inauguration speech where he appeared to give a 'nazi salute.’ … To many it appeared Musk had performed a fascist salute … [but] by the time Musk posted video of his speech to his X/Twitter account, the moment had been replaced by a crowd shot”. And there was, again, more.

“Last week, Musk hosted an online interview with Alice Weidel, the leader of AfD, Germany's far-right party. During the exchange, Weidel made the repeatedly debunked claim that Hitler wasn't far-right, but a communist or socialist - to which Musk agreed”. Which manages not to explain why socialists and communists were one of the Nazis’ first targets. Also, “Musk has often praised AfD, saying: ‘only the AfD can save Germany.’”

Those who specialise in this kind of thing were in no doubt. “Claire Aubin, a historian who specializes in Nazism within the United States, said Musk's gesture was a ‘sieg heil', or Nazi salute … Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a history professor at New York University, said: ‘Historian of fascism here. It was a Nazi salute and a very belligerent one too.’” Cue the excuses.

It was “an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute” was the ADL’s offering. Others claimed that “Elon” - because they’re all on first name terms with The Great Man - had autism. The increasingly desperate and downmarket Telegraph called it an “odd-looking salute”. The people were urged not to believe their eyes and ears.

Grace Blakeley was unimpressed. “Elon Musk, Henry Ford … Two men who made billions making cars … Two men who preach about free markets but rely on huge government support … Two men who went to war with their unions … Two men who idolize the Nazis … These are the leaders of 'free market' capitalism.” And one of whom has a twitchy right arm.

Even Steve Bannon has denounced Musk as “racist” and “truly evil”, vowing to “take this guy down”. Waitman Beorn, who you can tell as he’s a doctor, was in no doubt what had happened. “Holocaust historian here. Let me see if I can help. That wasn't a ‘weird salute.’ It was a Hitler salute. Because Elon is a fucking Nazi … Hope that helps”. Musk showed us who he is.

Maybe we should believe him that one time. Worrying and disturbing.

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Isabel Oakeshott Muslim Hypocrisy

Only a week ago, Brexiteer supreme Isabel Oakeshott indulged in a slice of Muslim demonisation which was especially nasty, even by her own not especially high standards, while demonstrating a lack of journalistic nous which might surprise those not up to speed with the machinations of our free and fearless press, given she was once Sunday Times political editor.

Someone had posted a doctored video to Twitter, X, or whatever Muskrat’s calling it this week, claiming “In Wales, the Welsh Refugee Council is using 12-year-old girls in ads meant to entice migrant men to come to Wales. Most members of this council are from the Middle East, India and Pakistan”, before adding “I think I’m going to throw up”, just to tell those viewing what to think.

The video, to no surprise at all, had nothing to do with the Welsh Refugee Council, whatever its makeup, but was a school video project. It was produced in response to those arriving in the Principality from Ukraine, had been released two years ago, and then later withdrawn from circulation. A so-called “real investigative journalist” should have figured that out.

Instead, Ms Oakeshott just shovelled it on, adding the comment “This is INSANE. On so many levels”, Nudge nudge, wink wink, nod’s as good as a wink to a blind bat, eh? She left the Tweet up, even when the reality of the video, and its later selective editing, was pointed out. As a result, those involved in its original production faced a barrage of threats and abuse.

Then, as the London Economic has told, “Staff at a refugee charity in Wales say colleagues have had ‘their lives threatened’ after Elon Musk shared a social media video suggesting young girls are being used to ‘entice’ migrants to the UK. The Tesla billionaire shared a video posted by the Welsh Refugee Council (WRC) in 2023 which was shot by year seven students at Brynteg School, who wanted to welcome refugees escaping the war in Ukraine”.

There was more. “South Wales Police said it was looking into an allegation of malicious communications. Andrea Cleaver, the chief executive of WRC, said the video ‘was never intended as an advert to encourage migration and was shared to show the positivity of pupils’”. But Muslim bashing is OK, innit?

In the meantime, the Observer, soon to be given away by its current owners, has gleaned that Ms Oakeshott may be stirring up hatred against Muslims in the UK (knowingly or otherwise), but she has no problem living in a country where Islam is the recognised religion. Yes, she’s left the UK - several months ago, it seems - and has now rocked up in the Middle East.

As the Obs tells, “Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK and its MP for Boston and Skegness, is splitting his time not just between his Lincolnshire ­constituency and the House of Commons, but is also spending time 3,500 miles away in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) … The Observer has established that some months ago his partner, the journalist Isabel Oakeshott, moved out to Dubai with her children”. Do go on.

“The couple are still very much ‘an item’, both insist, and are now seeing each other whenever time and Emirates airlines allow. ‘She has been based out there for a few months … I occasionally go there and she ­occasionally comes here,’ said Tice”. Cue excuses about how liberal Dubai is, honestly.

And there was yet more. “Oakeshott, who is working from Dubai as international editor at Talk TV and as a columnist for the Daily Telegraph, said that Labour’s ‘pernicious tax on private schools' prompted her to look elsewhere for the best places to educate her children. The UAE, she said, offered ‘endless opportunities’ and had a ‘booming economy’”.

Like upping sticks to Dubai costs less than VAT on school fees. Or maybe not. What Ms Oakeshott has demonstrated is that she’s fine with Muslims if it’s to her benefit, and for similar reasons, she’s fine with amplifying misinformation about them. Maybe other right-wingers will follow her to Dubai. Malaysian misinformation specialist Ian Miles Cheong is already there.

High principles can also be flexible principles. For the rich, that is.

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Ivor Caplin - Hello BBC

You might not have heard of Ivor Caplin - at least, not until last weekend brought the news that he had been arrested after a vigilante sting. But the reporting of his being stung and subsequently arrested should ring alarm bells - not because some media outlets are reporting it, but because some are not, even those whose preferred political stripe is at odds with his.

Ivor Caplin

Caplin is 66 years old. He is also openly gay. Neither of these attributes is improper or illegal. What is potentially illegal is the idea of that person allegedly showing interest in sexual activity with someone under the age of consent. And that is what caused Caplin to be stung, by a vigilante group supposedly on the hunt for potential paedophiles. And it gets worse.

He had spent eight years as a Labour MP, representing Hove. Later, he spent a short time as chair of the Jewish Labour Movement, the organisation that expended considerable energy undermining Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party. That he was part of the political establishment was shown by the number of senior party figures who followed his social media feed.

On which subject, it gets worse still: Caplin’s feed on Twitter, X, or whatever Muskrat’s calling it this week, featured a succession of images depicting young men, not merely in a state of undress, but also featuring displays of genitalia, sometimes in a state of obvious arousal. Yet, it seems, no-one at the top of the Labour Party had the time to say “Er, ma-a-a-a-ate”.

Also, to quote his Wikipedia entry, “In June 2024 Caplin was suspended from the Labour Party due to ‘serious allegations’ made about him. The allegations were not made public”. And then, “In January 2025 Caplin was arrested by Sussex Police on suspicion of engaging in online sexual communications with a child, after being involved in a sting operation carried out by a group of anti-paedophile activists”. Were the two events in any way related?

We are not told. But it is the latter event where reportage has been so selective. The increasingly alt-right Spectator magazine has informed its readers, but, it appears, the primary motive here is because the arrest came “days after attacking ‘unacceptable’ Elon”. First name terms, natch.

So the Speccy’s motivation is kicking anyone who criticises “Elon”. Apart from that chapter of the brown tongue brigade, not so many other mainstream media outlets have the news. The Mail has told “Ivor Caplin, 66, the former MP for Hove, was released on bail after spending the night in a police cell, with officers launching an investigation into the alleged incident”. Do go on.

“He was stopped by a group of activists on Saturday who claimed they had arranged to meet him posing as an 'underage boy’ … Mr Caplin denied the claims multiple times on video before the group called the police. Mr Rowland [leader of the group enacting the sting] claims his group handed their 'evidence' over to officers who arrested the former MP”.

But the rest of the mainstream press pack has said very little, despite Reform UK and its self-appointed Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage, and of course the Spectator’s hero “Elon” making sure they tell their followers. And one mainstream source that would have been expected to carry the news has said nothing at all as yet: step forward the BBC. Silence. Not even crickets.

Starmer speech, Sturgeon-Murrell separation, “Five-minute fines”, Meghan delaying her Netflix show, a fall in the value of Sterling, what Kemi Badenoch says should happen to Tulip Siddiq, calls for yet another “Grooming gang” inquiry, monitoring “Elon’s” social media whingeing, all feature. But nothing about a former Labour MP who just happens to be an establishment figure.

As Owen Jones has summed up, “The big questions about Ivor Caplin are who knew what, when, and what action did they take”. The Labour Party, and especially all those who followed Caplin on Twitter/X, knew about all those images he posted. So what action was taken? And what about a little of that investigative journalism from the BBC? Just a mention, eh?

Or is the establishment closing ranks? Bit of a sad hill to die on, mind.

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Banksy And Wiggy Ha Ha Ha

Reform UK’s self-appointed Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage has at least one principle which he maintains unwaveringly, and that is the concept of strong borders. No-one should complain at nation states deciding for themselves who is let in, and who is not. But now a problem has entered, and it concerns one of his Bestest Pals from the recent past.

During the campaign leading up to the 2016 EU referendum, Nige was backed to the hilt by the self-styled “Bad Boys of Brexit”, those being businessman Arron Banks, and his slippery sidekick Andy Wigmore, the pair giving the appearance of being the very personification of J J Hunsecker and Sidney Falco. Banksy and Wiggy were, also, big Trump backers.

So it was no surprise to see Banksy wanting to celebrate the return of The Donald to the Presidency, at a rooftop venue in Washington, DC. But here, as Caroline Wheeler of the Murdoch Sunday Times has told, a problem entered, as in, Banksy didn’t. Here’s what she had to say about it.

“Arron Banks, the multimillionaire businessman who helped fund the Brexit campaign, is unable to attend his own £150,000 party celebrating Donald Trump’s return to the White House after he was denied entry to the United States … [he] was due to host 300 guests at the lavish ‘Stars and Stripes and Union Jack Party’ on the ­rooftop of the historic Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington this Friday night”. Except, now, he wasn’t. Do go on.

“Invitees include the president-elect and members of his family, Elon Musk, the US senators Rick Scott and Pete Ricketts, and the former Trump adviser Steve Bannon. The guest of honour is Farage … But Banks set to miss the occasion after his electronic entry permit to the US … was blocked. His business partner, Andy Wigmore has also had his entry to the US denied. The pair claim it is a ‘political decision’ and criticised the Biden administration”.

What was that about sovereign nations controlling their borders? How did Nige and his pals put it … “taking back control”? How will Isabel Oakeshott spin that one? And when will the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog mention it (no word as yet)?

But all is not lost for Banksy. According to the Mirror, “A furious Mr Banks appeared to mockingly declare that he would instead cross the border from Mexico ‘along with the hundreds of thousands of gang members’ to join the party”. Of course he would. I mean, that “Open Tex-Mex border” claim must be true, mustn’t it? Wouldn’t be just a right wing pack of lies, would it?

The Mirror also had more on Banksy’s response. “Mr Banks blasted the decision to deny him US entry, branding it ‘a political decision and revenge for the failed Russia Hoax’. In a long statement, he ranted about President Joe Biden being to blame and hit out at the ‘dying fake media’”. Rather than the more prosaic explanation, which is that he was just refused entry to the USA.

Nige was, of course, all sympathy. “He was also backed by Reform UK leader Mr Farage, who posted online: ‘Arron Banks is a good man and a friend of America. It is astonishing that US Citizenship and Immigration Services have denied him entry for the inauguration.’” And Banksy wasn’t finished.

“I was accused of Russian collusion in the Brexit campaign, investigated and cleared by the National Crime Agency … I would estimate it cost me over £100million in lost business and legal fees. My businesses were de-banked and attacked by vicious opponents during this period. All for supporting Brexit and President Trump”. All of which has stuff all to do with his entry denial.

As a spokesman for the US embassy in the UK put it, “Visa records are confidential under US law, therefore we cannot discuss the details of specific visa cases”. Of course not: they can leave the discussion aspect to Banksy, Wiggy, and Mr Thirsty to pontificate that it’s all so terribly unfair.

While many others look on, try unsuccessfully to suppress the urge to laugh out loud, and conclude “Oh dear, how sad, never mind”.

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Elon Musk - A Suitable Case For Treatment

Appallingly entitled and obscenely overmonied migrant Elon Musk is yet another example of what happens when there is no-one present during the time he was supposed to be growing up to say NO. Errol Musk, his father, was maybe too busy getting his own step-daughter pregnant.

Son Elon, who has been rambling and ranting about “Grooming Gangs”, had no problem being seen out and about with Ghislaine Maxwell, pal of the now deceased Jeffrey Epstein. Maybe there was, once again, no-one there who could have told him that this was Not A Good Idea.

Musk Junior’s attacks on the UK Government are yet another example of how this supposed genius trusts far-right disinformation, and what looks like a combination of ego, paranoia and ignorance builds on that misplaced trust to show that The Great Man not only does not know what he’s talking about, but also believes that all those bots and trolls backing him are real people.

So it was that he declared “America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government”. What’s he proposing? Invasion? Who in the UK voted for him? Whisper it quietly, but the most recent poll asking voters their attitude to Musk brought forth a mostly negative response. Also, he had already showed UK voters what a complete clown he is.

Having previously had Reform UK Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage cosy up to him, suggesting that an unspecified number of Musk millions would be deployed in support of Nige’s limited company, sorry, party, he yesterday about turned and told his adoring followers “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes”. Yeah, right.

Reform UK is a one-man band. And that one man is Farage. None of the other Reform UK MPs would have a snowball in hell’s chance of matching the electoral performance achieved by Mr Thirsty, either as head of UKIP in days past, or the Brexit Party in the last European Parliament elections in which the UK participated, or at the last General Election with Reform UK.

Then, overnight, it got worse. On Reform UK, he more or less endorsed Rupert Lowe: “I have not met Rupert Lowe, but his statements online that I have read so far make a lot of sense”. That’s Reform UK stuffed, then. And yet worse. “Starmer must go. He is national embarrassment” he concluded, as he quoted someone talking well, but lying badly. Then came “Starmer is complicit in the crimes”, followed by the opening of a new front, with “Gordon Brown committed an unforgivable crime against the British people”. WHAT?

Musk quotes Radio Genoa (yes, Radio Genoa) claiming that the Southport attacker was a Muslim (he wasn’t), then sneers “Prison for Starmer”. Could he get more unhinged? Don’t ask: “Am starting to wonder how anyone made it through childhood in Britain without severe trauma”. And so he comes to quoting Visegrád24. Another source of far right disinformation.

He quotes Ian Miles Cheong, who is so close to the action in the UK, as he lives in … Malaysia. And, just to be on the safe side, congenital liar and peddler of far-right disinformation Peter Imanuelsen, who claimed for some time to be in Sweden, and calls himself Peter Sweden, but in fact lives in the Not Really Swedish At All town of Northallerton. In the UK.

And now he’s back to defaming politicians. “Gordon Brown sold those little girls for votes” … “British legal system is not serving its people” [there is no “British legal system”, as Scotland has its own] … “Starmer was deeply complicit in the mass rapes in exchange for votes”. And then came the pièce de résistance, which confirms Musk as totally barking.

Once more quoting Visegrád24 on calls for a new inquiry, he declares “What an insane thing to say! The real reason is that it would show how Starmer repeatedly ignored the pleas of vast numbers of little girls and their parents, in order to secure political support. Starmer is utterly despicable”. But all those bots and trolls back him, so that’s all right then. Except it isn’t.

Elon Musk may be rich. But, sad to say, he can’t recognise reality. End of.

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Musk Stupidity Puts Farage On Spot

Among the few discernible principles to which Reform UK’s self-appointed Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage is still prepared to cling is keeping his, and his party’s, distance from Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson. The grim memory of what happened to former UKIP leader Adolf von Batten is still fresh.

Yes, Batten cosying up to the Even Further Right Than Kippers, and the party’s vote imploding as a result, still haunts Mr Thirsty. But now he has a problem with that stance: his bestest new pal Elon Musk, the obscenely overmonied and also self-appointed sidekick of the President-Elect, Combover Crybaby Donald Trump, has become enamoured of Lennon.

And thus the problem: Musk has convinced himself that Lennon’s accusations about the violent assault on a young Syrian refugee at a school in Huddersfield are true, despite Lennon having pleaded guilty in a court of law to spreading, and continuing to spread, false claims about the young refugee, notably in what he grandly called a “documentary”.

As a result of his court appearance and guilty plea, Lennon was sent to prison, where he remains. Cue Muskrat: "Why is Tommy Robinson in a solitary confinement prison for telling the truth? He should be freed and those who covered up this travesty should take his place in that cell”. He didn’t tell the truth, there was no cover-up, full stop, end of story.

Or rather, it will never be the end of the story when so many who unquestioningly follow Lennon, Musk, or both of them, are prepared to believe that Bill Gates, George Soros, the WEF, a sundry convocation of so-called “Globalists”, and no doubt others, somehow control the UK, and perhaps all manner of other countries. And so it begins.

Musk has called Lennon’s defamatory “documentary” “worth watching”, and proclaimed “Free Tommy”, on the back of calling himself “Kekius Maximus” on Twitter, X, or whatever he’s calling it this week. His new profile image is Pepe the Frog, and as the BBC puts it, that’s “a meme that has been used by far-right groups”. At least it wasn’t Naughtius Maximus or Sillius Soddus.

So what is Farage to do? Reform UK has its East Midlands conference in Leicester today, but don’t expect Nige to even mention the issue of his own volition. He wants Musk’s money, but knows that cosying up to Lennon will damage his brand as surely as it did with UKIP. But it is an issue he cannot ignore, because Musk’s ranting has gone on to a new level.

What level would that be? Here’s a sample: “[Keir] Starmer was complicit in the RAPE OF BRITAIN when he was head of [The] Crown Prosecution [Service] for 6 years … Starmer must go and he must face charges for his complicity in the worst mass crime in the history of Britain”. This, it must be stressed, has no evidence to back it up, and is potentially highly defamatory.

And it got worse: as ITV has reported, “On Thursday, Musk … called on the King to dissolve Parliament, sharing a post that asks if King Charles ‘should Dissolve Parliament and order a General Election... for the sake and security of the country?’, with the comment, ‘yes’”. Those who believe the Gates, Soros and WEF paranoia have no problem with Musk sticking his oar in.

For them, this is just another Knight In Shining Armour who, like their hero Farage, is merely “telling it like it is”. The problem for our free and fearless press, as well as the Labour leadership, is that they have all been routinely lying to the voters for years, so are on very shaky ground calling out Musk, Lennon, Farage et al for lying, even though in this case they are right.

Added to that is the continuing attempt by the far-right - which includes Farage and his pals - to demonise Muslims, and brown people en masse, by inference. Mr Thirsty is as guilty as Musk or Lennon on that count. Meanwhile, an increasing number of British citizens live in fear, as the bile is poured out and too few people stand up for the actual rule of law.

Nigel Farage can no longer trim and deflect. He must face reality.

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Khan K Exposes Press Racism

Whenever there is an accusation of racism levelled at our free and fearless press, they close ranks, issue forthright denials, and of course restate the claim that they wouldn’t dream of such things, they have all cleaned up their acts since Leveson, and generally attempt to get everyone to Look Over There at whatever dead cat they can, in the meantime, dream up.

It was the same when the increasingly desperate and downmarket Telegraph was called out for anti-Semitism in the wake of its attack on George Soros. It was the same when the Mail, under the less than benevolent control of the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre, launched a viciously anti-Semitic attack on the memory of the late Ralph Miliband. Now it has come round again.

And again, it is the Telegraph and Mail being exposed as racist newspapers, after both of them launched a spiteful and petty assault on London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has been knighted in the New Year’s Honours. Khan has won three terms as elected Mayor. He has helped to reduce the capital’s chronic pollution. His free school meals initiative helps the least well off.

He has also tried his best to keep a lid on public transport costs. His prospectus has won through against a variety of Tory opponents, two of whom, Zac Goldsmith and Shaun Bailey, have since been ennobled. By complete coincidence, you understand, there was no press outcry about rewarding failure by sending Tories who failed to the Lords.

But enough of that: let’s see what the Mail and Tel have ponied up for the delectation of their unfortunate readers. The inmates of the Northcliffe House bunker have howled “PM’S ‘REWARD FOR FAILURE’ AS SADIQ KHAN IS KNIGHTED … London Mayor row risks overshadowing New Year Honours”. A row which the Mail and Telegraph have concocted. So it’s their fault.

Not that they will admit that. But do go on. “SADIQ Khan has been handed a knighthood in the New Year Honours - prompting furious claims of a ‘reward for failure’ [you said that already] … Leading Tories pointed to his ‘track record of failure’ in the capital, including over tackling knife crime and dramatic hikes in council tax, congestion charges and emissions levels”.

Emissions have not seen a dramatic hike, but hey ho. They probably mean the ULEZ, which failed to get Khan defeated last time round, much to the annoyance of the same right-wing papers that are now pouring out spite. The Telegraph offers “PM knights Khan in ‘reward for failure’ … Starmer accused of putting party before country as he hands honours to ‘cronies’”.

Those quote marks are doing seriously heavy lifting. So what else is testing the Tel? He allegedly “waged war on London’s drivers with the Ultra-Low Emission Zone and capitulated to unions over Tube strikes”. He did? “He … handed Tube drivers a 5 per cent pay increase”. And ended a disruptive series of strikes, which don’t affect the Tel’s rich bosses, so they don’t care.

There is more of this tedious drivel. But one person escapes any criticism, and to no surprise, that person is the disgraced former Prime Minister and occasional former Mayor of London Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, who bequeathed a mess to Sadiq Khan which he has had to sort out. And it was Bozo, let us not forget, who brought the ULEZ to London in the first place.

It was Bozo who foisted a thousand vanity buses onto TfL, for which a premium over conventional buses had to be paid. It was Bozo who shelled out tens of millions on the Garden Bridge fiasco. It was Bozo who spaffed millions up the wall (his own happy phrase) on the impractical Thames Estuary Airport study. It was Bozo who caved in to George Osborne and relinquished TfL’s subsidy from central Government. And so on.

But Bozo escapes the ritual and spiteful slagging off because he’s a Tory, he’s one of their own, and he’s white. Sadiq Khan, for all his efforts to make life better for all Londoners, will get no more than abuse, because he’s a Rotten Lefty™, he’s brown, and he’s a Muslim. The attacks are straight-up racism.

The racist and hopelessly out of touch right-wing press don’t care about ordinary Londoners. Sadiq Khan does. But you knew that already.

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Labour - A Study In Cowardice

Once more we are informed that Rachel Reeves is asking spending departments of Government for cuts. There have been tax rises, but little investment. Pensioners, the disabled, those on or below the poverty line, and most recently WASPI women, all have been turned away. They will have to make do with less. It does not have to be this way, and well she knows it.

Someone bereft of ideas, versus ...

The Starmer Government has itself stuck in what Simon Fletcher called a “Right wing doom loop” in a recent Byline Times article (read it HERE). Ms Reeves has pinned her hopes on growth, but growth is not forecast to occur any time soon. Her embrace of economic orthodoxy means more needless austerity, more wasted years of poor economic performance.

That it does not need to be this way has been known for more than 85 years, since the first publication of The General Theory Of Employment Interest And Money. John Maynard Keynes’ ideas, and, indeed, his prediction of where over-reliance on economic orthodoxy would lead, were not lost on a new generation of economists, as J K Galbraith later observed.

He later put this directly in The Age Of Uncertainty: “In 1937, recovery from the Great Depression was slowly under way; production and prices were rising, although unemployment was still appalling. The men of sound judgment now asserted themselves. They moved to cut spending, raise taxes and bring the federal budget into balance”. There was more.

“The few Keynesians protested; our voices were drowned out in the roar of orthodox applause. As the budget moved towards balance, the recovery came to a halt. Presently there was a new and ghastly slump, a recession within the Depression. It was entirely as Keynes had predicted. The men of sound judgment had made our case”. Pages 219 and 220 in my edition.

What is Ms Reeves doing? It looks very much like “cut spending, raise taxes and bring the … budget into balance”. And the forecast result, no growth in the foreseeable future, or even a recession, is, once again, exactly as Keynes would have predicted. The mistakes made in the USA in the late 30s were only countered by increased spending, this time on war.

... someone who was never thus constrained

The Keynesian remedy - running a deficit when the economy needs supporting - is known to any economist, or economic thinker, in the UK, Europe and elsewhere. It is available to any economy with control of its own currency - like the UK. For a country whose infrastructure is in such a run down state after fourteen years of Tory neglect, it seems a no-brainer.

Yet Starmer and Ms Reeves appear unable, or unwilling, to embrace the approach that served the Labour Government of the immediate post-war years so well. Britain was virtually bankrupt by 1945, yet Attlee and his team brought the Welfare State into being, along with a series of nationalisations, and of course the NHS. Plus, yes, more or less full employment.

Instead of actually taking action, though, we are assailed by a deluge of press releases masquerading as policy. One day it is the deeply dislikable Wes Streeting telling how he is transforming the NHS; today has brought Lucy Powell claiming, and as Treeza might have said, I am not making this up, “We're turning the tables to put ordinary people at the front of the queue”.

One slice of meaningless drivel after another. What does Powell’s assertion even mean? And all the while, there is a daily slew of bad faith knocking copy emanating from our free and fearless press. In a routine show of hypocrisy, they slate anyone they deem to be “talking the country down”, while they constantly talk the country down. But only when Labour are in charge.

As Simon Fletcher has observed, Labour is “relying on an argument that growth in the future will deliver a resolution to the country’s problems”. But what they are doing is not bringing growth, and in the timescale required, is most unlikely to bring growth. Thus they are talking themselves towards defeat, and worse, enabling the far right con men of Reform UK.

Keynes had the answers. His legacy still has them. Hello Rachel Reeves.

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Behold Lord Tobes Of Bellend

And so it came to pass that the time of year meant party leaders nominating a variety of the undeserving and otherwise underemployed as new members of the House of Lords, the Other Place that the current Government was so keen to abolish, but now, seemingly, isn’t. Labour has put forward thirty names, but most of them will escape scrutiny, thanks to Kemi Badenoch.

As ever, at times like this, the opposition rides to your rescue: Ms Badenoch, not content with making herself and her party look less credible with every week’s PMQs, has put forward one name guaranteed to put those of Charlotte Owen and Ross Kempsell, ennobled at the behest of disgraced former occasional PM Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, in the shade.

Because the latest name in the Tory prospective peerage frame is none other than the loathsome Toby Young, who has for many years been full value for his nickname of Captain Bellend. I first observed the deep and sincere affection his peers in the media held for Tobes some years ago.

At the launch event for the HuffPost UK, Zelo Street was there in the auditorium, sitting in the back row as the launch presentation and debate began. Some 20 minutes later, the entrance door to my left opened, someone walked through it, and a chorus of booing ensued. What, I asked the bloke to my left, was all that about? “It’s OK, it’s only Toby Young” came the reply.

It got worse: Tobes was apparently having difficulty finding a seat. The disruption was brought to a swift end when Arianna Huffington recognised The Great Man, and no doubt also knew about all the snarky abuse that he had dispensed in her general direction. “Would you like to join us?” she asked, at which point Tobes thought better of making an even bigger arsehole of himself, and found himself a seat with remarkable swiftness.

That is the memory coming to the fore every time our free and fearless press attempts to polish the turd that is Captain Bellend: the foot-soldiers of this industry have a rather lower opinion of his munificence than their bosses. So most of the crap being spoken about him in reaction to the peerage nomination can be taken with one gigantic piece of salt.

Pride of place in that department goes to the increasingly desperate and downmarket Telegraph proclaiming “Free speech champion Toby Young awarded peerage”. As Billy Connolly once said, there’s going to be some swearing … FUCK OFF. Anyone and everyone has the right of free speech. But all too many on the right don’t like actions having consequences.

It gets worse, as a perusal of Tobes’ Wikipedia entry demonstrates: “Young has admitted using cocaine at the Groucho Club in central London, and also supplying drugs to others. He was subsequently expelled from membership of the club in late 2001 for writing about the cocaine use of friends he had supplied with the drug during a 1997 photo shoot for Vanity Fair”.

Any more minus points? “Young has come under criticism for comments he made on Twitter … These included what an Evening Standard editorial called ‘an obsession with commenting on the anatomy of women in the public eye’”. And how’s this for vanity? “Young is reported to have edited his own Wikipedia page 282 times over the course of six years”. Modest with it, eh?

Maybe this comment from Dawn Foster sums up Tobes’ true place in the establishment pantheon: “Young seems to think he is held in high regard by free school advocates. When I mentioned his name in the course of interviewing a former Department for Education employee for the piece, my interviewee headbutted the restaurant table in exasperation. I have found the sentiment, if not the gesture, to be common among his ideological comrades”.

That is merely reinforced by the knowledge that he was taken on, and then sacked, by the Times, under the editorship of Charles Wilson. This part of his career trajectory he shares with Bozo The Clown, someone else who is full of crap and gobby with it. He’s called Captain Bellend. Because he’s a bellend.

Lord Tobes of Bellend, of the borough of Leering in the county of Misogyny. Because they couldn’t find a horse called Incitatus.

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BBC Farage Promo BLOWS BACK

Whether well-intentioned or not, what the BBC’s political editor Chris Mason did, live on air last week, was to polish the political turd that is Reform UK’s self-appointed Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage to the point of apparent endorsement, or at the very least, acceptance of his legitimacy. It did not take long for reality to intrude on this establishment love-in.

Chris Mason

Here’s what Mason said: “Never before have we seen a man as rich, with a megaphone as large, so willing to get stuck in to politics not just at home but abroad, and that is pretty profound in its consequences. Little wonder Nigel Farage’s domestic political rivals are fretting, frankly, about just how influential he’s proving to be at the moment”. Added to that was another telling remark.

“Nigel Farage is a man who is a master of political storytelling”. The problem with that comment, and Mason should know how serious a problem it is, is that Farage is, as I have concluded after observing so many of his claims, a congenital liar, in addition to being a racist bigot and a con man.

Worse, Mason’s knowledge of media history is woefully lacking. Maybe he never heard of Max Beaverbrook. Or perhaps he forgot about Rupert Murdoch. Maybe he also missed who is handing Farage that large megaphone of which he speaks. That would, whisper it quietly, be the BBC, which has once again given Mr Thirsty a seat at the Question Time table to dispense his lies, bigotry, and worst of all, his false prospectus.

What Farage is so keen to dispense to his all too easily persuaded followers was demonstrated in the aftermath of a deadly attack on a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg. A man drove his car into the crowds attending the market: thus far, five have died, and more than 200 have been injured. The suspect was originally from Saudi Arabia. Cue Farage.

“We have allowed people who hate us and our values into Europe. Christmas is their target. Any guesses why?” he mused on Twitter, X, or whatever his pal Muskrat is calling it this week. He’s not making accusations, you understand, he’s just a concerned citizen asking the kinds of questions that lead those being dog-whistled to the conclusions required by Himself Personally Now.

The problem for Farage was that, although the suspect was Saudi Arabian, he had arrived in Germany to take refuge because he was an ex-Muslim, someone who had renounced Islam. Worse still for the occasional MP for Clacton, the suspect had endorsed German far-right party AfD, and had spoken approvingly of Stephen Yaxley Lennon, aka Tommy Robinson.

This mildly inconvenient fact has been brought to us by, among others, Shashank Joshi, defence editor at The Economist, who has told "German attack suspect: 'I can say from experience, everything that [Tommy] Robinson says, what Musk says, what Alex Jones says, or anyone who is called radical or right-wing extremist by mainstream media - they are telling the truth’”.

Joshi goes on to quote further from Der Spiegel. “The alleged perpetrator A. is obviously a fan of the AfD, according to an evaluation of … his social media accounts by the SPIEGEL. Eight years ago, he wrote on Twitter that he wanted to start a project together with the AfD: an academy for ex-Muslims”. Musk has endorsed AfD. Farage has endorsed them too.

Even former Murdoch editor Andrew Neil has urged caution: “The Saudi doctor behind last night’s deadly Christmas market massacre in Magdeburg appears to be not quite what many on social media rushed to assume”. And why target a Christmas market? Isn’t Christmas a Christian thing? So it is. But Jesus of Nazareth is also a revered prophet in Islam.

So those killed and injured could quite easily be non-Christians. None of this helps get Mason and the wider BBC off the hook, of course: they keep giving Farage the megaphone, then say “look, he’s got a big megaphone”. Overnight, Farage has shown the BBC who they are promoting. Lying, dog-whistle racism, and the con that is Reform UK. Not a good look.

Nigel Farage has scored more than five million views with that Tweet. The dogs have been whistled; more rabbit holes dug. Hello BBC Farage fans.

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Snivelling Streeting’s Dead Cat

Whenever Labour leader Keir Starmer, or one of his ultra-loyal lieutenants, briefs a dead cat to our free and fearless press, one is reminded of a classic line from the mini-series Smiley’s People, which dates from more than forty years ago, in the days when the BBC could be relied upon to produce classic and memorable television. It comes as Smiley grills an old colleague.

He is questioning former “lamplighter” Toby Esterhase, when the latter fires back “Kindly answer me something. Who is speaking here? Is it George Smiley? Is it [senior civil servant] Oliver Lacon? Who is speaking, please?” It is a question that entered yet again at the weekend, when the deeply dislikable Wes Streeting moved to smear NHS staff by inference.

Moreover, he did so in the pages of the increasingly desperate and downmarket Telegraph, under the headline “Streeting vows to root out NHS anti-Semitism … Health Secretary will urge regulators to discipline doctors and nurses expressing ‘racist or extremist views’ about Gaza conflict”.

And so someone - whether Streeting himself, someone on his behalf, or one of the Tel’s luckless hacks - instantly fell foul of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, which states that criticism of Israel, as one might criticise any country’s Government and actions, is not in itself anti-Semitic. The thought also enters that Mr S may be chucking the dead cat to distract from his own shortcomings, or that someone else, whisper it quietly, may be speaking.

But let’s see what else the Tel has been told, however predictable and pathetic. “Wes Streeting has called on regulators to strike off doctors who bring extremist views about Gaza into the workplace in a crackdown on anti-Semitism in the NHS” … The Health Secretary told the Telegraph he would enforce a ‘zero tolerance approach’”. Two things here.

One, if there is to be a crackdown on anti-Semitism, it must not only exist in the NHS, but must also not be taken seriously at present. But neither Streeting, nor the Tel, does any more than cite a few personal opinions. And Two, if he’s “calling on regulators”, then it is they who take the appropriate action. So Streeting isn’t going to “enforce” anything himself.

So when the Tel says “A number of NHS medics have been reported for anti-Semitic activities … Jewish doctors in the NHS have reported a surge in anti-Semitic abuse from colleagues since Oct 7 [one assumes that is ‘Oct 7’ in 2023]”, that is for the relevant disciplinary processes to be applied, and the regulators to take decisions as a result, but not for Streeting to interfere.

Which brings us to the question of who is speaking. Is it really Streeting? Is it one of Starmer’s inner sanctum? Is it someone like, oh I dunno, Morgan McSweeney? It was the latter who has been quoted by “sources” not unadjacent to Himself as being involved in actions to discredit former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn by playing the anti-Semitism card. Rather a lot.

And why go running to the Telegraph, a title that has veered so far to the right that it now regularly gives space to Reform UK and its Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage, someone who I concluded long ago was a congenital liar, a racist bigot, and a con man? Did Streeting take that step of his own accord? Did other titles turn down this particular Dead Cat Opportunity?

If whoever is speaking is not an elected MP, then perhaps they could rectify the problem by becoming one. Meanwhile, maybe Wes Streeting, or someone on his behalf, could confirm that this apparent attempt to cause voters to Look Over There has nothing to do with what his former opponent Leanne Mohamad had just told her Facebook followers.

“I have sent a letter of complaint this week to the Electoral Commission and Redbridge electoral services outlining serious irregularities on the night of the count on July 5th in Ilford North, raising questions regarding compliance with electoral law and guidance. I have retained Bindmans LLP and specialist King’s Counsel on this issue”. Which could result in a by-election.

A by-election which Wes Streeting may well lose. I’ll just leave that one there.

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Reform UK - A Hundred Thousand Mugs

Reform UK’s self-appointed Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage last week used his season ticket for BBC Question Time, a show whose currency has been fatally debased under the watchful eye of Robbie Gibb, who should never have been let in the door, and host Fiona Bruce, whose determination to “both sides” anything and everything is tedious in the extreme.

Farage’s appearance was despite his assertion some time earlier that he was boycotting the Beeb, a claim which turned out to be yet another flat-out lie, to go with all the other flat-out Farage lies. But one claim that appears to be true is that Reform UK now has a membership in excess of 100,000. Or perhaps that should be worded “for some value of membership”. Why so?

Ah well. Reform UK is not a political party in the same way that Labour, the Lib Dems, and even the Tories are. It is a limited company, and as a visit to Companies’ House confirms, those with “significant control” are Farage and his deputy Richard Tice (he’s not very nice). You pays your membership fee and you takes … no control whatsoever. No vote. Nothing.

This is despite Mr Thirsty telling anyone not yet asleep that he was going to give up control of Reform UK by divesting himself of his shares. That was at the time of the party’s, sorry, limited company’s, conference back in September. Press and broadcasters alike swallowed the Farage propaganda, with the BBC’s example being particularly good on the grovelling.

Under the headline “I'm giving up ownership of Reform UK, says Nigel Farage”, readers are told “Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has revealed he is giving up ownership of the party ahead of its conference this weekend”. Ownership? Indeed. “Unlike most political parties, Reform was established as a private limited company, with Farage holding the majority of shares”.

There was more. “He said this was done to fast-track the creation of the Brexit Party, now Reform UK, in time for its victory in the 2019 European elections. The company structure also allowed him to ‘to stop the party being hijacked by bad people,’ he told BBC Radio Kent”. Or, as most political parties call such things, representative democracy. But do go on.

“The Clacton MP will continue to be Reform UK's leader but said: ‘I no longer need to be in control of Reform so I'm surrendering all of my shares’ … Reform UK is planning a major overhaul of how it is run at its Birmingham conference, with Farage claiming he was ‘giving ownership of the party and the big decisions over to the members’”. Which meant what, exactly?

“For the first time, members will be able to vote on policy motions, including to adopt a new constitution, which sets out party rules and the responsibilities of the leadership”. And to that I call bullshit. Why so? Just one question, Sir … how much control has he given up, as at December 9th? Have a guess, Reform UK members. It’s a nice round number. A very round number.

Let’s mosey over to the Companies’ House website, and bring up Reform UK Party Limited. That’s the one with registered number 11694875. Then “People” and “Persons with significant control”. This reveals that there are “2 active persons with significant control”. One is Nige’s deputy Tice, who owns “More than 25% but less than 50%” of shares. And the other?

That would be Farage himself. He owns “More than 50% but less than 75%” of the company’s shares. Which means either he is taking a very long time to surrender that control, or he was just lying back in September, and the media establishment amplified his whoppers accordingly. That’s why I consider him to be a congenital liar, as well as a racist bigot and a con man.

Which leaves those 100,000 plus “members” of Reform UK where? Exactly where they were before: unable to exercise any control over the party’s, er, sorry, limited company’s, leadership, handing their money over for very little in return. And that’s why I conclude that every one of those “members” is just another mug, another mark, being played along by the Farage flannel.

What our free and fearless press chooses not to tell you. No change there.

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Fawkes’ Sick Reeves Obsession

The greatest efforts of the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog churned out post after post of knocking copy aimed at Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner. They would get her; she was going to be yet another scalp for The Great Guido. And little good it did them. Ms Rayner is still deputy leader; their smear campaign got them nowhere.

It is the kind of abject failure that the Fawkes massive is unable, or unwilling, to consider as it goes after yet another senior Labour politician who just happens to be a woman. This time, the target is Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and indeed the first female to hold that job. The pretext for this latest smear job is that Ms Reeves claims to be an economist.

In this she has some of those inconvenient things called facts in her favour: she has a Master’s degree in economics from the LSE. She is therefore correct in calling herself an economist. Much of the Fawkes moan about her is over her job titles since graduating. Big deal. As any fule kno, job title and what skills are actually required and used are very different things.

But that thought has not been allowed to enter chez Fawkes, as a succession of bad faith sneers has brought forth “Reeves Pushed ‘Economist’ Myth To Win Seat” (she won it as the Labour candidate, Fawkes folks), then “Pressure Piling On Reeves Over CV Farce” (it wasn’t), and then “Starmer Keeps Schtum On Reeves LinkedIn Fiddling”. Which got them precisely nowhere.

But they had to pretend that their obsession was justified, and so we got “Guardian Gets Excuses In Early For Reeves”, telling readers “The press is piling pressure on Reeves”, with a link that cites Themselves. And on it went, the next effort titled “Tories Target Chancellor Over Career Edits”. Except that her career had not been edited. So was that the end of it? You wish.

Later the same morning came “Labour Veteran: CV Edits Are A Good Thing”. That afternoon bought an alleged “Exclusive”, with “Retail Banking Reeves Signed Legal Documents Claiming To Be Economist”. Which she was, and is. On it went, the following morning bringing “Reeves Reeling From Economist Claim Fallout”. Which she wasn’t. Yet the obsession continued.

The next day brought “Latest Desperate Reeves Defence Line Deployed”, with The Great Guido still calming “Pressure is still piling on Rachel Reeves”, which it wasn’t. One day later, it was “Reeves’ Real Customer Relations Role Revealed”, then later the same day “Reeves’ Economist Myth In Labour Candidate Contest”, the Fawkes rabble now recycling old attacks.

But enough; you get the picture. And to make it worse, in the very next breath, the Fawkes blog is extolling the virtues, such as they be, of Reform UK Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage. A congenital liar, racist bigot, and con man. But this should surprise no-one: they were cheerleaders for disgraced former alleged PM Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson.

Rachel Reeves can still legitimately call herself an economist. Which is more than a whole succession of former Tory Chancellors could do. Like Winshton, who conceded that he did not know much about economics, but that shooting Montagu Norman would have been a good thing. There were others.

Long-serving Chancellor Neville Chamberlain was not an economist. Nor was Harold Macmillan. Nor were Selwyn Lloyd, Reggie Maudling, Tony Barber, Geoffrey Howe, John Major, Ken Clarke, George Osborne, or, indeed, Kwasi Kwarteng. And nor is Farage, the latest to be championed by The Great Guido. But that’s not the point: this is the kind of creepy obsession that would earn lesser mortals a visit from the Police and a suggestion to desist.

I am not Rachel Reeves’ greatest fan, and have passed adverse comment upon a variety of her decision making since Labour won this year’s General Election. But what the Fawkes rabble, whether encouraged by Staines, or by his successor Ross Kempsell, sorry, “Lord” Ross Kempsell, is doing, this sick and creepy obsession is bang out of order. But it should surprise no-one.

Because Guido Fawkes is part of the press establishment. This is how that establishment moves against its hate figures. I’ll just leave that one there.

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