Labour Weasels On Venezuela

Combover Crybaby Donald Trump, the living and still breathing definition of an amateur human being, has ordered the armed services of the United States to, effectively, invade Venezuela, which is a sovereign state. Added to this minor breach of international law, he has had the country’s President, Nicolas Maduro, kidnapped, along with his wife.

This is in addition to several acts of piracy upon the high seas, where oil tankers that had loaded up in Venezuelan ports, along with their cargoes, were boarded and seized. Could the charge sheet get any longer? Don’t ask: Maduro has been put on media display, in a flagrant breach of the Geneva Conventions. Worse, Trump did not get Congressional approval beforehand.

But he did consult with the oil industry, so for him, that’s all right, then. He has decreed that the USA is going to “run” Venezuela, which may interest those who remember the chaos in Iraq, when the USA decided to “run” that country. Whichever way you slice it, this is illegal and corrupt behaviour several times over. Which brings us to the international community’s response.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro - whose country is in the line of fire, remember - was unequivocal: “A clan of paedophiles wants to destroy our democracy. To keep Epstein's list from coming out, they send warships to kill fishermen & threaten our neighbour with invasion for their oil”. China has demanded that the US release Maduro. So has Iran.

So, New New Labour, what is the UK Government response to be? How would a confident Government, sure of its interpretation of international law, respond? What would a statesmanlike Prime Minister and his cabinet colleagues do? What would a seasoned human rights lawyer, like Keir Starmer, have done? What would Nietzsche have done?

Sadly, the New New Labour Government, so quick to approve the Israeli removal of water and electricity supplies to Gaza in another display of collective punishment, does not operate on such a lofty intellectual plane, and so the response, when it eventually came, was craven in the extreme.

Here’s Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper: “The UK has consistently rejected Nicolas Maduro’s legitimacy, and called for a peaceful transition of power in Venezuela. I have spoken to our Chargé [d’Affaires] in Caracas, and travel advice has now been updated to advise against all travel to Venezuela … As the Prime Minister has made clear, we support international law”. So you’ll be condemning the US breaches of that international law, won’t you?

As if you need to ask. Instead of any kind of condemnation, Mike Tapp, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Migration and Citizenship, has appeared before the inquisition of Sophy Ridge of Sky News, where he was asked if he would condemn any move by the Trump gang to annex Greenland. “We’re not going to give a running commentary”. Christ on a bike. And it got worse.

He couldn’t say Trump should not invade Greenland? “Diplomacy is delicate, which means we're not here to give a running commentary in the news”. It’s not an intellectually demanding call. Flagrant breaches of international law should be condemned. And what of the UK’s Prime Minister?

Here it comes, per the Guardian. “I want to get all the material facts together and we simply haven’t got the full picture at the moment - it is fast moving”. Meaning he spewed out a word salad of excuses rather than show a hint of backbone. Also, he needed to talk to Trump first. And there we all were believing that the UK was a sovereign state. Silly us, eh?

Steven Swinford of the Murdoch Times has, since then, asserted “Britain will refrain from criticising the US over the capture of Maduro amid concerns about angering Donald Trump”. Airstrip One Redux. He wants to seek closer relationships with the EU, but with his tongue firmly up Trump’s arse, the EU might not want to know. Diplomacy is delicate, dontcha know?

What will it take for New New Labour to get it? Invasion of Greenland? Invasion of Colombia? Handing Ukraine to Putin? Voters who have left Labour will not be returning if this is the level of leadership on show.

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And So This Is Christmas

The world is now a more dangerous, more unequal, more unjust, more authoritarian, and more uncaring place. Peace is in short supply, except in the fevered minds of more of those Here Today And Gone Tomorrow Politicians. And you can forget goodwill. Where it will end we know not. But end it will, with the grim certainty of night following day.

Christmas tree in Lisbon's Praça do Comércio

Centre stage is the most corrupt régime of any modern and allegedly democratic nation, that of Combover Crybaby Donald Trump. This only occasionally coherent, rambling, terminally vain, and obscenely unpleasant being is about to start a war with Venezuela. Over oil. It will not end well for the USA. Meanwhile, Trump is driving the economy off a cliff.

Those cheering him on are an increasingly compliant media, and the ranks of the obscenely overmonied, who care about themselves, and not about the 98% who are becoming poorer by the day. The political and media class in the UK also cares, mostly, about itself, and not about the 98%, but imagines itself to be in touch with those hard-working people it likes to talk about.

But it isn’t: our media elite likes not-even-one-dimensional politicians like Wes Streeting, somehow unaware that the voters dislike him intensely. The media class likes political operators like Morgan McSweeney, unable or unwilling to confront the reality of Labour’s poll numbers, and that half Labour’s membership has got fed up and left since Keir Starmer became leader.

Fewer members means fewer people to canvass, leaflet, persuade uncommitted voters, and get the vote out. There were hints of that problem in the 2024 election results. Voters know that they are being taken for mugs by New New Labour; many are backing Reform UK and its self-appointed Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage. But here a problem enters.

The UK had a congenital liar, racist bigot and con man as PM before, and look where supporting the disgraced Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson got us. Farage, like Johnson, and like almost all the others in the political and media class, does not give a flying foxtrot about the proles. Some in that media class also treat their audience like so many mugs.

Santa driving his tram. Ho ho ho

Who might exemplify this approach? Step forward Gammon Broadcasting News (“Bacon’s News Channel”) to freely pump misinformation, and, indeed, disinformation, to an audience that can no longer tell fact from fiction. GB News’ approach was deliciously busted recently when their “host” Carole Malone, another deeply unpleasant being, was caught defaming live on air.

Sadly for Ms Malone, she had defamed Doria Raglund, whose better-known daughter is the Duchess of Sussex. The “please don’t sue us, we didn’t mean it, honestly” on-air sort-of-apologies were a thing to behold. But a serious point had been made: this illustrated the contempt in which the media class holds ordinary people. A contempt which has been exposed elsewhere.

And that is in the reportage, and associated punditry, concerning the actions of the Israeli Government and its armed forces, mainly in Gaza, but also in the illegally occupied West Bank, Syria and Lebanon. This time, though, smearing those opposed to slaughtering tens of thousands of human beings as anti-Semites is not working. Because the public can see what’s going on.

This, in turn, brings us back to Starmer and the Labour Together cabal that put him in power. They treat the voters with contempt, and are clueless as to how they get those voters to return. Meanwhile, the Greens make steady progress under Zack Polanski, because he is listening to voters, and cares about them. So it is that we reach Christmas 2025.

With a media and political class, many of whom want to pursue policies that will make the 98% yet poorer. A Government like so many rabbits caught in the headlights. An electorate battered by harsh reality, and a tsunami of bad faith media actors. And little prospect of improvement any time soon.

Feliz Natal e Boas Festas, as they say here in Portugal. Eat, drink, be merry, and hope for an end to the period of elite stupidity. That is all.

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Labour’s Loves Long Lost

So with the Government polling well behind Reform UK, a limited company under the control of self-appointed Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage, and now also polling behind a revitalised Green Party, someone in the Starmerbunker has clearly decided that action must be taken to attract voters back to The Red Team. So what is on offer this week?

Shabana Mahmood ...

What would the Labour Party, of which Harold Wilson said was “a moral crusade, or it is nothing”, offer voters? What would a sensible and inclusive party have done? What would Nietzsche have done? Sadly, Labour no longer operates on that intellectual plane. Moral crusades are out. Dog-whistles are in. Performative cruelty and aping Reform UK is also de rigueur.

And so it came to pass that Shabana Mahmood, recently elevated to Home Secretary, told how she was going to be tough on migrants, if not on the causes of migrants. Asylum seekers will only be able to remain in the UK temporarily. If their country of origin is deemed “safe”, they may be deported. And their jewellery may be confiscated to pay towards their accommodation.

This, Ms Mahmood has told, is the only way to see off “dark forces … stirring up anger”, which is not only muddle-headed, but total horseshit. All the changes will do is to embolden the far-right to try and drag migration policy further in their chosen direction. It will not move Labour’s poll numbers, well, not in an upwards direction. Reform UK will profit; so will the Greens.

What else is on the menu? This from the BBC: “Those granted asylum will have to wait 20 years to apply to settle permanently. Previously, they could begin this process after five years … Human rights laws around how the right to family life is interpreted in migration cases will change”. Yes, New New New Labour is going to get tough. Really tough. And it’s really pointless.

If the asylum system is not working, as Government sources are suggesting, then there is stuff all use blaming the poor souls who have endured warfare, prejudice, and the danger of crossing the Channel in an inflatable boat. The system should be overhauled so it works, asylum applications are processed promptly and the amount of accommodation needed reduced to a minimum.

... and her real boss

Instead, the jewellery grab has been confirmed by A Home Office Source: “We will not seize items of jewellery at the border - we aren’t coming after anyone’s sentimental items of jewellery. But where people have a large number of high-value items, we would expect them to contribute to the cost of their accommodation”. No seizure at the border. But maybe somewhere else.

Well, one hates to go full Neil Kinnock, but here we have A Labour Home Secretary of Pakistani heritage - A Labour Home Secretary of Pakistani heritage - scuttling round newsrooms issuing deportation threats and signalling a weakening of Human Rights legislation. Farage and his fellow bigots will think that all their birthdays have come at once.

And it is they who will claim credit for New New New Labour coming over all tough. While Reform UK’s poll numbers may not improve as a result, those voters leaving Labour for the Greens will continue to sap the former’s numbers as they boost the ratings of the latter. Whoever dreamed up this reprehensible set of measures has damaged Labour badly. Very badly.

So it should come as no surprise that increasingly well-regarded Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is not the only name being touted as a replacement for the beleaguered Keir Starmer. Angela Rayner, a genuinely caring and effective politician, is another name in the frame. The only counter of the Morgan McSweeney cabal is to suggest Wes Streeting.

Who is so popular that he almost lost his seat at the last General Election. Thus the cluelessness of McSweeney and his acolytes: while hacks in and around Westminster like Streeting, very few others do. Moreover, McSweeney’s only successes thus far have been in breaking the rules, plus smearing his own party leadership, and throwing the 2019 General Election.

With him effectively in charge, Labour is doomed. No change there, then.

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Oh Tommy - Now Threatening MPs

Infamously, Nigel “Thirsty” Farage, now self-appointed Oberscheissenführer of Reform UK, claimed after the 2016 EU referendum that the result had been achieved “without a shot being fired”. As so often with the far-right, he was lying: Labour MP Jo Cox had been murdered by a Britain First supporter. And Ms Cox was not the only MP to be killed carrying out their duties.

Tory David Amess was, like Ms Cox, murdered at a constituency surgery, as recently as 2021. Both killers were given whole life sentences. Which brings us to yet another incoherent self-pitying outburst from Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson, in response to an MP doing nothing more than asking a question in the House of Commons.

Daisy Cooper, who represents the constituency of St Albans, which returned her to Parliament last year with a vote share of 56.6%, used Prime Minister’s Questions this week to pass adverse comment on Lennon, which, given she enjoys Parliamentary Privilege, and Lennon is so supportive of free speech (ho ho ho), one might think would not cause him a problem.

Here’s what she said. “The far right, hate preacher Tommy Robinson, who is currently on trial for allegedly refusing to comply with counter-terror Police, claimed that his legal costs are being paid by Elon Musk. It is outrageous that a man who has so much control over what people read online every day could be funding someone who stokes far right extremism on our streets. If this was Putin, the Government surely would act”.

Daisy Cooper MP

So what say the great champion of FREEZE PEACH to that? As if you need to know. “WHAT A DISGUSTING PIECE OF SHIT!!! This lying (citation needed), censorious (lie), authoritarian (even bigger lie) masquerading as a liberal democrat is none other than the Deputy Leader of her party”.

Lennon’s schtick is that Ms Cooper has not posted sufficiently, or perhaps that should be “not in accordance with his requirements” about Grooming Gangs. About which he later claimed “the fact that the MAJORITY of 'grooming gangs' are in fact MUSLIM”, which is another lie.

Ms Cooper maintained her stance in an interview with Andrew Marr on LBC. Which only sent Lennon off again. “CALLING OUT THIS LYING, SLANDERING PIECE OF SHIT FOR WHO SHE IS … I don't give a shit about you, you're a crybully and filthy smear merchant … What a piece of filthy shit she is … Her 'values' have led to the industrialised rape and enslavement of generations of British children”. Another one to keep.

Because that last sentence is actionable. And it gets worse: above a video clearly showing Ms Cooper’s Commons intervention, he sniggered “We have them rattled [Elon Musk] just wait till I get my not guilty verdict”. And another one to cut out and keep: that is a nailed-on threat against the MP.

Those of us who have had this SOB rock up on their doorsteps in the dead of night know what that means - either he’s going to attempt to confront Ms Cooper, or he doesn’t mind if one or more of his followers confronts her, or both. Thus the asymmetrical application of free speech in Lennon Land: he can have it, and get away with anything he says, but anyone exercising it to pass adverse comment on him is a legitimate target for intimidation.

So complete is Stephen Lennon’s commitment to keeping women safe (ho ho ho) that he has no problem with threatening, defaming and intimidating them, merely for exercising the same free speech right that he claims to support. But then, he was lying about that one, too. Ms Cooper is probably going to have to step up the security around herself and her staff.

Not that Brave Tommy gives a shit about the consequences of his self-pitying rantfest. In addition to him being a bully, a liar, a racist, and a serial player of victimhood, he’s also a stinking hypocrite. He would be little more than a tiresome irrelevance, except that he is also a malign influence on others, some of whom may take his rant as a green light for more intimidation.

It’s high time that Lennon’s little wild west show ended. This time for good.

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Oh Tommy Tommy - Racist Liar

Quite apart from the campaigns of harassment, the gratuitous violence meted out seemingly on a whim, and the baseless claim that he gives a flying foxtrot about his adoring followers, there are two things about which Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson, is especially sensitive. One, he hates being labelled racist, and two, everyone else tells lies bar him.

I have to tell The Great Man that he’ll have to hate being called racist for some time to come, because he is a racist, and that when it comes to telling lies, he is standing in a terribly draughty glasshouse. Both these traits have come to the fore in the past week, after he was condemned for inferring that a grandparent taking his grandchildren to play at a local park wasn’t.

Moreover, the grandchildren were white, and the grandparent was black, which should be no big deal, but in the warped and paranoid, yet righteous, world of Stephen Lennon, such a combination was, for reasons he somehow managed not to disclose, Streng Verboten. So it was that he took to Twitter, X, or whatever Muskrat’s calling it this week, and smeared the grandparent.

As the Guardian has reported, “Family in fear after Tommy Robinson shares video of black man with white granddaughters”. Do go on. “Olajuwon Ayeni racially abused and falsely labelled a paedophile as far right weaponises clip of family in park”. And how did Lennon manage to accomplish this task?

“A family say their lives have been ruined after a video of a black man and his brother playing in the park with his white granddaughters was shared by Tommy Robinson and weaponised by the far right … Olajuwon Ayeni, a musician from Redcar, North Yorkshire, has been racially abused and falsely labelled a paedophile in the week since the family video was stolen from the TikTok account of his wife, Natalie, whom he married five years ago, and shared by extremists online”. There is more. Rather a lot more.

“On Tuesday, the couple’s local MP, Anna Turley, was forced to write a letter providing a reference of good character for Ayeni when he was suspended by his management after the online disinformation … ‘I’m devastated to receive the email from my management’ Ayeni said”. So what did Lennon do?

“The far-right activist wrote on his X account: ‘Wtf is even going on here? Where are the parents?!’ Lennon … has not removed the video despite numerous replies debunking it and calling for him to delete it”. He has, it seems, now removed the video. After the damage had been done. After he’d played the race card and lied about the subject of the video.

Worse, this is not the first time Lennon has Done A Racism. After Wing Kingz in Milton Keynes declined to serve him, we got “I’ve gone to Milton Keynes, with my children, to have dinner at a new restaurant. I’ve gone in, I’ve sat down, and then I’ve been told I need to leave. They can’t give me an answer, just who I am … d’you know what I found, it’s a black-owned business”.

It’s DA BLACKS! That’s after he used the P-word. After lying several times to justify his harassment of journalist Lizzie Dearden. And he’s still at it, telling his followers “Tower Hamlets send the whole squad out to remove the St George's Cross put up by patriots. Every one of them an import”. Imports.

Whoops, another racism! And there’s another on the way. “Pakistanis blocking the roads of Manchester to celebrate independence day for Pakistan. Ask yourself, 'if a war broke out between Pakistan and the UK, which side would these rats be on’? The enemy within.” Rats. Enemies.

What about that right to protest? “Typical Liberal wet wipes want a 'review' of a violent, pro Hamas, pro terrorist, far left revolutionary group that literally carries out sabotage attacks on British Military bases?” Four lies? Five? Whatever. Have another go. “Behold the pro Palestine, pro illegal migrant, stand up to racism, socialist worker far left, professionally organised demonstrators.” Keep making it up. Keep blaming others. Keep being racist.

Stephen Lennon gets branded racist. Because he is racist. Likewise, he gets called a liar. This time he targeted an innocent man. And didn’t say sorry. Because saying sorry is for the little people. What a total creep.

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Oh Tommy - Bravely Ran Away

Not much time passes before Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson, appears in the news, and usually for all the wrong reasons. His latest appearance is no exception: yesterday evening, emergency services attended a man who had been rendered unconscious, in the vicinity of London’s St Pancras station. We know Lennon was involved. He said so.

Paramedics worked behind a makeshift curtain to return the man to consciousness, while treating his injuries, which had left a large pool of blood on the floor. The victim has been transferred to hospital, where his situation has been described as “serious but not life-threatening”. As the news spread, so did the spin from Lennon’s pals, which did not help his cause one bit.

First out of the traps was Avi Yemeni, a deeply unpleasant individual who “reports” from Australia for Ezra Levant’s far-right propaganda outlet Rebel News. He was quite sure what had happened: “Tommy Robinson was ATTACKED at St Pancras Station … Tommy is okay … The attacker not so much”. But he was lying, as Lennon and his pals later admitted.

That, though, was not the point: what Yemeni did was to get the excuses in as early as possible. That Lennon had laid out the unfortunate individual now - hopefully - recovering in hospital was confirmed on video by The Great Man himself, telling anyone who would listen “he’s come at me, bruv”. In other words, he decked the other bloke. As the BBC account makes clear.

“The British Transport Police (BTP) is investigating an alleged assault at St Pancras station in London … It comes after footage emerged on social media appearing to show far-right activist Tommy Robinson walking back and forth near a motionless man lying on the floor at the station … The clip does not show how the man ended up on the floor”. And the BTP want a word.

“The BTP said its suspect was from Bedfordshire. It added that detectives were continuing to investigate the incident and bring the suspect into custody for questioning … In the footage, a man who appears to be Robinson walks next to the person lying face-down on the floor, near some stairs. A commuter looks to be trying to stop the man thought to be Robinson from moving around and calls for help”. And then came another admission.

This time it was a Twitter/X user who calls himself Mike Hacks, who was trying to defend Lennon, but just happened to drop the ball as he stated unequivocally “A pre-emptive strike is totally legal”. In other words, The Great Tommy decked the other bloke, and he also struck the first blow.

And so it came to pass that Lennon let the world know just how innocent he thinks he is: what that BBC report also tells is that “a 42-year-old male suspect had boarded a flight out of the country in the early hours of Tuesday morning”. Running away before the cops interview him, and well before they have the chance to potentially charge him, and remand him in custody.

Worse for The Great Man, he is supposed to be hosting one of his “free speech” - as in freedom for Himself Personally Now to shoot his mouth off, while no such freedom is given to his critics, who can expect him to rock up on their doorsteps and have their addresses doxxed - next month. If he turns up, he gets nicked, and if he appears via video link, admits he’s a coward.

Worse still, given Lennon’s history of violently assaulting others, the cops might just oppose his being given bail, thus ensuring he doesn’t get to headline his own gig. All the BTP needs to do is to cite the flight risk, because flight is exactly what Lennon just did. May have been to mainland Spain, may have been Tenerife, may have been the Algarve. He’s not beyond the law.

And he’ll soon find that if the Guardia Civil come looking for him, or indeed the GNR if he chose the Algarve, there is only so much aggressive gobshitery they will tolerate before moving directly to having the cuffs applied. This time he’s in real trouble, made worse by him and his pals either lying about it, or owning up that he not only did it, but also threw the first punch.

Stephen Lennon could be back in the UK rather sooner than he would like, and in less than luxurious surroundings. Just rejoice at that news.

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Oh Tommy Tommy - Back In Court

And so it came to pass that Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson, was released from jail early, not because he had scored some kind of victory over the hated MSM and the alleged Deep State, but because he had agreed to withdraw a variety of untrue and defamatory claims against a Syrian refugee - and not to repeat them.

To show how badly he had not been treated during his period of incarceration, Lennon appeared unshaven, as if shaving was banned for those doing a stretch in the old chokey. But he had not forgotten his faithful followers, for whom he teased the prospect of another of those FREEZE PEACH rallies, as in freedom of speech for him, but not for anyone of differing view.

What, then, would attendees as the latest Lennon rally have served up to them? Grok, from the world of far-right hero Elon Musk, has helpfully summarised the narrative. “Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was released early from prison on May 27, 2025, after his sentence for contempt of court was reduced”. There was, sadly, more.

“Upon his release, he immediately resumed his public activities, criticising what he referred to as ‘Islamic rape gangs’ and announcing plans for a large ‘Free Speech Festival’ in London. His release has sparked reactions from both his supporters (only two of them, eh?), who view him as a champion of free speech, and his critics, who accuse him of promoting Islamophobia”.

And, as Jon Stewart might have put it, two things here. One, if he really wants to tackle child sexual exploitation, and indeed, grooming of young people as a whole, he could start in his own back yard. Louise Raw, who you can tell as she’s a doctor, informed The Great Man “While you were away watching movies and going [to the] gym at our expense, even MORE far right men have been exposed as paedophiles”. Rather a lot of them, in fact.

Do go on. “You REFUSE to speak on this. Why are the far right covering up this scandal?” She concluded “you’ll see your one time close friend RICHARD PRICE here. You founded the EDL with him. AFTER he was on the sex offenders’ register, the EDL called him a ‘hero’. WHY WON’T YOU ADDRESS THIS? WHAT ARE YOU HIDING?” Questions Lennon’s rally won’t address.

Moreover, Two, this is just another playing of the “Look Over There” card. As the Guardian pointed out, “Tommy Robinson, the jailed far-right activist, has been charged with harassment of two journalists … is accused of two counts of harassment causing fear of violence between 5 and 7 August last year”.

Oh? Do tell. “He will appear at Westminster magistrates court on 5 June 2025, according to a statement issued on Wednesday by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). ‘We have authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, 42, with harassment causing fear of violence against two men,’ a CPS spokesperson said”. And there was a coda.

“The far-right figure is facing a separate trial in October next year over an accusation that he failed to provide the Pin for his mobile phone when stopped by Kent police in Folkestone in July 2024”. Out of clinky just in time to appear in court, with the distinct possibility that he gets, er, sent back to said clinky. And I have more bad news for The Great Man.

Having had Lennon rock up on my doorstep in the dead of night - twice - in an act of harassment, I have to tell him that, should the prosecution require more evidence of his modus operandi, I will be more than willing to provide it. There is also the case of his turning up at Lizzie Dearden’s place and harassing her and her partner, for nothing more than reporting what happened in court.

Come to think of it, I can recall another three acts of harassment perpetrated by Lennon in the recent past, all justified by peddling a pack of lies about those he harassed. He lied about Ms Dearden’s reporting. He lied about me. Now, Lennon’s pals claim he is “fighting the [Daily] Mail”. It’s a criminal charge he’s facing. So he isn’t fighting the Mail. It’s just another pack of lies.

But the plea for donations is as predictable, and real, as ever. Except that, this time, Lennon really does face being banged up for a handful. Sad, really.

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Reform UK And The Rise Of Ignorance

Opinion polls continue to show a rise in support for Reform UK, headed by its self-appointed Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage, with the result that the clueless coterie which is claimed to be running the Labour Party has become concerned enough to take action. Their problem is that the ship has already sailed, and no matter what they do, they can’t out-Farage Farage.

Ignorance is strength!

Reform UK may be a shambolic affair, with no shortage of revelations concerning the views of its newly-elected representatives, usually revealing sneering and vicious racism, coupled with staggering ignorance and an inability to understand that Great Britain and England are not interchangeable terms. This last was exemplified by new Lincolnshire Mayor Andrea Jenkyns.

There had, she argued, to be a way to stop the “Pull to England” which brought so many refugees. Perhaps if they arrived in Scotland or Wales, all would be well. No matter though, her pals at Reform UK have diverted the attention of voters with claims that the councils they now control will ban all that Woke Nonsense, although they probably couldn’t define “Woke”.

Richard Tice (he’s not very nice) has gone as far as to assert that Reform UK councils will crack down on planning applications for new wind farms. His problem is that pre-judging such applications is highly likely to lead to those councils being sued and costing a significant amount of public money in the process. He is also dishonestly blaming Net Zero for, well, anything.

None of this deters the voters, though. Nor does the further ignorance displayed by Tice’s unappealing partner Isabel Oakeshott, who recently trilled “[Reform UK] will go to court to close asylum seeker hotels in [Reform UK] council areas. When it comes to ending this scandal, the party means business”. That would be outside a council’s remit. Still, details, eh?

One might have expected an alleged investigative journalist to have thought that through before shooting off their online mouth, but there’s prejudice to spread and ignorance to feed, so off she goes. One incoming Reform UK councillor didn’t seem to know that you can’t obtain British citizenship without being able to speak English. Others will defend anything Farage supports.

The 3D chess ain't making it

So when the Economist looked at Reform UK’s spending plans and concluded that they would result in a worse fiscal shock than Liz Truss’ infamous intervention, there was the Reform UK brains trust claiming that this was only “The MSM” and they always lied about their hero. Farage is a congenital liar, but there are none so blind as will not see.

So what has Labour’s ruling clique done in response? Tried to out-Reform Reform. This is a colossal act of stupidity: Reform UK is a safe haven for racists, and they are not going to jump ship for Labour merely because they are pretending to be tough on all those migrants, which in practical terms means Scary Muslims™. Still, off they went, to no effect whatsoever.

Bringing the unedifying spectacle observed by Adam Bienkov of Byline Times: “Yvette Cooper gives an exclusive interview to GB News about her immigration plans, during which the interviewer tells her that some of their viewers live near asylum seekers and their ‘children can't leave home’ … No push back from the Home Secretary”. That was bad; Kier Starmer was worse.

One hates to go all Neil Kinnock on the PM, but here we had A Labour Prime Minister - A Labour Prime Minister - scuttling round media outlets saying “We risk becoming an island of strangers”. So close to Enoch Powell’s “They found themselves made strangers in their own country” from his infamous 1968 “Rivers of Blood” speech as to make no difference.

Who is driving the Labour bus? If, as has been claimed by those close to The Great Man, it is the cabal headed by Morgan McSweeney, maybe he should be the one defending this disgraceful descent into scapegoating and bigotry. And, as a side order, explaining why Labour can’t leave Mr Thirsty to his racism and just improve voters’ lives. Because that’s what they’re there for.

They thought they were so clever in throwing the 2019 election. But the dirty tricks won’t win voters back. Now they are lost. And ignorance is king.

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Reform UK Laid Lowe By Musk

Not since the split in the Peoples’ Front of Judaea has there been a more futile and pointless gesture than the urging, by some among our free and fearless press who should know better, to found a splinter party out there on the right led by those who have grown fed up with Reform UK and the leadership of its self-appointed Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage.

Yes, Reform UK is a Farage one-man band, as was the Brexit Party before that, and back in the mists of time, as UKIP was before idiots like Paul Nuttall and Adolf von Batten led it. But Farage knows how to whip up the mob just short of being called for incitement. He also knows how to be vague enough on policy not to give so much away, and let the voters assume he’s with them.

That, along with the constant scratching of the racist itch, either explicitly or merely a little nudge-nudgery, is how Reform UK scored themselves enough of the popular vote at last year’s General Election to get five of their supposed big hitters elected. It is a reality which some on the right are finding extremely difficult to understand. One of their number is Elon Musk.

Muskrat has already told anyone who will listen that Farage is no longer the right leader for the party, while appearing to lean towards Rupert Lowe. This may have emboldened Lowe, but now the landowner and former not-always-popular chairman of Southampton FC has found himself cast out, reported to the Police for alleged bullying and threats of physical violence.

And it then got worse: as the BBC has reported, “A senior lawyer appointed by Reform UK to independently investigate allegations against MP Rupert Lowe and his team has denied making comments he says she made … Last week, Lowe said he had spoken to the senior lawyer looking at the claims and said she had told him she was ‘shocked’ at the process, and that no evidence had been given”. Got that? There was then more. A lot more.

“On Sunday, the lawyer, a KC who has not been named by the party but whose credentials have been verified by the BBC, said: ‘I have seen a number of statements made by Mr Lowe MP which are attributed to me and which describe my reactions to the process conducted by the party into the allegations made against both Mr Lowe MP and his constituency manager’”.

HOWEVER. “'I find myself in the unfortunate and regrettable position of having to make this statement to correct the record … I have not expressed either 'dismay' or 'shock' at any time as to the process. Nor have I said 'there is zero credible evidence against [Mr Lowe]', let alone said this ‘repeatedly’”.

It got worse still. “He accused the party of an ‘outright lie’ in claiming he had not co-operated with the investigation … ‘I have been in discussions with my legal team this afternoon, and this will be followed by legal action in due course …I will not have my name dragged through the mud as part of a political assassination because I dared to question Nigel Farage. You have to stand up to bullies, and I am doing exactly that.’”. He’s lost the Reform whip.

But that has not stopped the wacko end of the press, exemplified by the increasingly desperate and downmarket Telegraph, punting headlines like “Ousted Reform duo may create new party”. The other part of this duo is Ben Habib. And then the FT joined in, but why is not known.

“Musk looks at backing rival to Reform as Farage feud sinks party in civil war” tells their headline. Well, Muskrat can throw as much dosh as he likes at a vehicle for Lowe and Habib, but it won’t make it fly, or make it credible. Indeed, Musk’s own credibility is not an exactly bankable currency right now.

For instance, after Twitter/X/Whatever suffered a series of outages yesterday, The Great Man declared that the culprit was a DDoS attack, which had originated in Ukraine. Sadly, he was lying: that’s not how it works. David Gilbert of Wired has put it directly: “Twitter's servers were not secured properly and were publicly visible”. In other news, Tesla shares have lost $700 billion in market value since December 23rd last, down 53%.

Musk has screwed his own credibility, and whoever has screwed that of Reform UK, it too is screwed. The Fash eats itself. Just rejoice at that news.

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Dale Vince Bursts Fawkes Bubble

The previously accepted myth concerning the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines, for so long the presence behind the Guido Fawkes blog, was that his vehicle for attacking, smearing, selective and partisan politicking, and crawling his way into the media establishment was difficult-to-impossible to sue, because it was registered in an offshore jurisdiction. This has now been disproved.

We know this as a result of a legal action taken by green energy promoter and environmental campaigner Dale Vince, whom The Great Guido claimed had called Hamas “freedom fighters”, which he had not. Staines and his pals have now thrown in the towel following a preliminary hearing finding that what they published were statements of fact, and defamatory of Vince.

Press Gazette told “Guido Fawkes has settled a defamation case brought by Ecotricity founder Dale Vince after a preliminary ruling went against the political blog. Guido editor and owner Paul Staines said the decision to settle instead of continuing to fight the libel case at a full trial at the High Court was a ‘purely commercial’ one to avoid potentially ‘ruinous’ costs”.

It was purely because the Fawkes rabble lost, and yes, it would have been “ruinous” to continue - and to lose rather more. But do go on. “Guido had raised almost £100,000 from donors to fight the case, which related to two articles published in March 2024 about comments made by Vince on Times Radio about the 7 October 2023 terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel”.

So he’s only 10k short, according to Vince’s own estimate. What’s his problem? But there is more. “The first article included a 16-second clip of Vince’s comments, which he said ‘distorted the views that he had expressed across the whole’ interview, and asked: ‘If Labour thinks donor’s cash donations should be returned when they say extreme things, what do they make of Vince’s views?’” Ah yes, Fawkes and anti-Semitism.

That’s the game where the Fawkes massive jump down the throats of any Rotten Lefties™ against whom they can call “anti-Semitism”, while back in the day when Ed Miliband was Labour leader, indulging in bouts of virulent anti-Semitism. Which, the last time I looked, were still live chez Fawkes.

Worse for The Great Guido, “Staines had sought to defend the case on the grounds of honest opinion but Mr Justice Pepperall decided what he published amounted to statements of fact. He said the website created the impression that ‘the statements that Mr Vince described Hamas as, and thinks that Hamas are, freedom fighters are statements of fact’”.

And the inevitable conclusion, “The publication was also found to have been defamatory. The judge wrote: ‘Given the nature of Hamas and the appalling atrocity committed on 7 October 2023, the imputations about Mr Vince’s statements and beliefs were plainly defamatory at common law. Indeed, it is not argued otherwise.’” Vince also demolished another Staines claim.

Which was the idea that The Great Guido was somehow defending FREEZE PEACH. “People that support Palestinian rights are not terrorists and free speech is not the freedom to be dishonest”. Moreover, free speech does not immunise the speaker from the consequences of that speech. There was equally bad news for those among our free and fearless press.

Vince again: “Rinse and repeat - The Daily Mail broke a promise not to repeat a false allegation against me - so today in the high court they apologise again - and pay costs and damages - again. Their cash is on the way to Gaza again”. The thought enters that the Mail may have thought they could indulge in more of that “studs up litigation” and thus deter Vince.

Only this time they, and the Fawkes rabble, came up against someone with the means to take them on. The grubby end of the media establishment fought Dale Vince, and Dale Vince won. They were so determined to smear him as anti-Semitic that they veered across the defamation line. They so wanted the smears to be true, but they were not. Now they are undone.

The Great Guido is full of crap. But you knew that already.

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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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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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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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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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Farage + Fawkes = Violence Hypocrisy

The perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog, now overseen by “Lord” Ross Kempsell, were in their element last Friday, talking up the far right for all they were worth, while jeering at those rotten Labour people who were, of course, total poo. This version of the far right was Reform UK, and their Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage.

Violence? What violence?

“Reform Kicks Off Runcorn & Helsby Campaign With Amesbury Sucker Punch Letter … Reform Running Punchy Runcorn Campaign” leered the Fawkes post, going on to proclaim “Reform is out of the traps early with a new letter campaign across Runcorn and Helsby. The party has gone for two visual elements: A massive picture of Nigel and a snapshot of sitting MP Mike Amesbury ‘allegedly’ thumping a constituent”. All first name friends, eh?

There was more. “The expectation is of course that a by-election is inbound”. They think that Mike Amesbury is going to go to jail for a significant stretch, do they? And that on the back of previous Fawkes headlines “‘Frodsham Bruiser’ Amesbury Suspended” and “Helsby Hellraiser’s Greatest Hits”.

But then a problem enters: this is yet another example of The Great Guido using the same tactics as their fellow members of the press establishment, choosing not merely what to publish, but what not to publish. And when it comes to Reform UK and gratuitous violence, the Fawkes massive are likely to end up in one of those Very Difficult Positions.

That’s because James McMurdock, the Reform UK MP not as well known as Farage, Richard Tice (he’s not very nice), Rupert Lowe, and 30p Lee Anderson, and who is sitting on a majority of just 98 votes in the constituency of South Basildon and East Thurrock, has a past which does not sit well with his usual smiling bonhomie. Because it includes domestic violence.

Ross Kempsell, sorry, "Lord" Ross Kempsell

This from the Guardian: “The Reform UK MP James McMurdock was apparently detained as a teenager for repeatedly kicking his then girlfriend, it has emerged, despite him previously claiming she was hurt after he pushed her …[he] spent 21 days in a young offender institution after kicking the victim ‘around four times’ in an incident outside a nightclub in Chelmsford when he was 19”. Who hasn’t confused pushing and kicking in the past?

And there was, once again, more. “Later in July, the mother of his former girlfriend told the Mail that the new MP was ‘a monster’ who had ‘left marks on her body’, saying: ‘It took two security guards to pull him off her.’” Reform supporters have been busily passing it off as a youthful indiscretion.

And yet more. “According to a copy of the court register extract, the magistrate explained that McMurdock was given a custodial sentence that ‘was not suspended in light of serious nature of the offence’. Such an offence ‘requires immediate punishment’, the extract said, adding that a pre-sentence report appeared to show a ‘lack of willingness to comply’”.

Before The Great Guido joins the “20 years ago” chorus, perhaps Stanies, Kempsell (sorry, “Lord” Kempsell) and their pals could explain why it would have been OK for Farage’s pals, but whatever Rachel Reeves may or may not have been employed to do 20 years ago is fair game to dig up and rake over again and again and again, ad infinitum, and indeed ad nauseam.

The Fawkes rabble are stinking hypocrites. But you knew that already.

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