Proportional representation delivers the right kind of Donald! “Poland won! Democracy won! We removed them from power! […] This is the end of bad times.” Donald Tusk, 15 Oct 2023 When we put out Tomasz Oryński’s piece setting out the significance of Sunday’s vote outcome for his country, we shared his anxiety about a further […]
I’ve been waiting for over nine weeks for a meaningful reply from my MP – Anthony Mangnall (South Devon): so far, I’ve only had a three-line response to 19 clear, precise questions I asked about a proposal he made to the Minister for Levelling-Up, regarding government-backed loans to private companies to ‘win’ public money (and […]
This Sunday, when driving past Polish consulate or cultural centres, you might see queues of people. It’s because Poles are going to the polls in the most important elections since 1989. Depending on the results on Sunday, Poland will either sail back to the bright side – the world of European, democratic values and rule […]
Dear Editor, An element of doubt is insidious, I thought, having read about the ‘recording’ posted on X (formerly twitter), purporting to be a tirade from Sir Keir Starmer, effing and blinding at his staff because they forgot to bring his tablet (as in iPad, not paracetamol). Labour staffers were taken somewhat by surprise, it […]
Dear Editor, I have sent this response to the BBC, after their wholly inadequate response to my complaint about the lack of coverage of the big rejoin march in London on September 23: I am incensed and insulted by the generic, risible, unsubstantiated and facile response to my original complaint. “BBC News is unable to […]
On Saturday 23 September, tens of thousands of people marched from Hyde Park to Parliament Square to listen to speakers including former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt and Gina Miller, who has repeatedly stepped up to defend democracy and the rule of law. The BBC did not cover the march or rally, choosing instead […]
At the crack of dawn on Saturday 23 September three coaches set off from the south west; their destination – London and the National Rejoin March. Those of us on the Devon coach had such a good run up the A303 that we arrived over an hour early, only to be told by the police […]
I have been asked on here if I have ever looked at the benefits of freeports. The honest answer is no, but that is because I have never been able to find any such benefits. I have, however, looked at the massive downsides to this idea that both Sunak and Truss support. It is important […]
Greetings, South-westerners! Now you see him… The news that Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for Health, was meeting the Prime Minister for discussions about the NHS refutes the widespread belief, supported by the press and social media, that he is a Virtual Minister. Virtual Ministers are the result of a dire shortage of genuine […]
When Russell Brand issued his pre-emptive denial in an attempt to get ahead of the horrendous allegations of rape and sexual assault aired by The Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches on Saturday, he addressed his 6.6 million YouTube subscribers with the words: “Hello there, you awakening wonders.” It’s Brand’s standard greeting to his followers and […]
Most of those registered to vote do not want a Conservative Government, yet they keep getting elected! How does this happen? Democracy campaigner and author of The Tory Winning Machine, Adam Herriott, explores the reasons. The Conservative Party has always been the party of the rich and powerful. The Tory Party operates to form governments that […]
These Conservatives will do pretty much anything to con the public into voting for them. We ran a story back in January about how they were pumping out looky-likey propaganda to tell us that Tory blue is green. In recent months, they’ve switched their phoney eco-credentials for faux-journalism promoting their candidates as local heroes and […]
A closure of sorts for BCP, as an independent report is revealed at the recent Audit and Governance Committee. The audit covers the 2021-23 era of former Conservative leaders Drew Mellor & Phil Broadhead, and slams their chaotic time in government. The headlines:Red flags were raised against BCP’s financial management, governance, efficiency and effectiveness.Auditors found […]
Hello South-westerners, My name is M I Birtwhistle, retired secret service officer, and I live in a small Somerset village where I’ve kept my neighbours up to date on government thinking almost every month for the last fifteen years. By a strange quirk of family history I recently found I was entitled to a place […]
Did you know that nearly 200 parliamentary seats have not changed party hands since WWII? Conservative East Devon hasn’t changed hands since 1835! West Dorset has been Tory since 1857. That’s 200 seats where the incumbent MPs (or their successors) have felt pretty relaxed about retaining their jobs. No need to panic, come election time! […]
Nadine Dorries’ resignation letter in full. It was quite fun to read. I fluctuated between “what on earth is she talking about” to “ha ha, she’s bang on there”; a mixture of whining “poor me” to real hatred towards Sunak! Wow – a lot of the things she thinks she achieved during her time as […]
This summer’s figure of fun is Mid-Bedfordshire MP Nadine Dorries. She resigned on June 9, 2023 in solidarity with disgraced former prime minister Boris Johnson, who resigned suddenly and unexpectedly that same day as an MP when he realised he would be unable to avoid a sanction by the House of Commons that would lead […]
Suella Braverman is the kind of person who cuts corners and ploughs on regardless. Nothing gets in her way. Not our constitution. Not parliamentary sovereignty. Not the rule of law. Now, in her latest project, the Bibby Stockholm detention barge for asylum seekers, those behaviours have put the lives of people under her department’s care […]
We’re just waiting for the Conservatives to take credit for the Lionesses’ epic win, to be honest, but in the meantime, here are the latest shocker whoppers being trotted out to con the public. The fall in the rate of inflation is all down to government policies and the refusal to pay public sector workers […]
We are not, as a rule, a nation that takes to the streets. More’s the pity, many would say and some would point to Stop the War and the People’s Vote marches, both huge, and ask what they achieved. On the face of it, not a lot. But to dismiss these marches (and pro-EU groups […]
Dear Editor Thank you for your great article on gaslighting. It made me wonder if there’s a ‘how to spot a climate change denier’ type exercise or set of questions anywhere? There seem to be various myths which are trotted out in meetings or conversations as excuses for inaction – not just fear of change […]
The other day I heard Sir John Hayes MP, close confidant of Suella Braverman, saying that the “culture wars” are an important aspect of politics because they are about values. The implication being that they are a good thing. I also heard him saying that – in any case – it was the “other side” […]
Could have done 100, to be honest, but it would just be even more depressing. It’s important that we don’t let the Conservatives get away with these and other dreadful lies: New gas drilling will reduce domestic bills. Desperate people arriving on boats are the cause of all our woes. Government has no control when […]
How many people have been nudged, goaded or battered into believing that the NHS is now beyond saving? How many have been nudged, goaded or battered into believing that privatisation for some or all services is the only way forward? What a very clever campaign the Conservatives have fought! How very happy their many private […]
It’s amazing how, as a country, we seem to let Sunak and this government do things which are bad for us, bad for our kids, bad for the planet and then suck it up while they tell us it’s all good or use their actions to create more division and anger in society. It’s pretty […]
There is something disconcerting about wild creatures behaving in an unnatural way, like the pigeon that turned up in our drive one Saturday afternoon. However close we got, he made no attempt to move away from us, seemingly unable or unwilling to fly. It was a hot day, so we gave him water and he […]
We all have at least one neighbour who has become despairing about the state and trajectory of the UK. And despair is not a basis for change. This article suggests three simple and powerful messages that you can share with anyone open-minded enough to listen and which, once they are aware, might give them cause […]
Every day in Toryland seems crazier and more disturbing then the last, doesn’t it? We are in the middle of a climate emergency and a cost-of-living crisis. The energy companies are making outrageous profits from ordinary people. The Tories have shrugged off landmark defeats in two by-elections as nothing, while Labour ties itself in knots […]
The position of Foreign Secretary is one of the Great Offices of State. It requires tact, command of a brief, outstanding communication skills, and a real interest in the wider world. Here’s a look at recent incumbents, picking a random starting point of June 2016. In January 2017, Boris Johnson accused the then French president […]
In the UK today, it’s largely accepted that we should cherish and celebrate a culture of inclusion. We like to promote acceptance and diversity in all things – from religion and ethnicity, to age and sexual orientation. We even value diversity in the languages we speak to one another. Why is it then, when it […]