Thursday 20 July: Banks that block someone on ‘reputational’ grounds may suffer for it

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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Today’s letters (visible only to DT subscribers) are here.

377 thoughts on “Thursday 20 July: Banks that block someone on ‘reputational’ grounds may suffer for it”

  1. Good morrow, Gentlefolks, today’s story

    Keep abreast of the Menu Price

    Every day, this guy walks past a hot-dog stand in the city, and every day he gives the lady in charge a dollar fifty, then walks away without taking a hot dog.

    This goes on for months, until one day he gives the lady a buck fifty and walks on as usual.

    This time, however, she runs after him. She stops him and says, “Pardon me, sir, but every day you give me a dollar fifty, then you don’t take a hot dog.”

    The guy replies, “I expect you’re going to ask me why I do that.”

    “No, sir,” answers the hot dog lady. “I just wanted to tell you the price has gone up to two dollars.”

  3. ‘Morning, Peeps. Despite the chap on the radio this morning with his dire forecast of rain here (the usual ‘sun is good, rain is bad’ routine) the met office has no rain for this part of yer sarf east and a maximum of 19°C.

    Five of the DT’s Letters today are about the sinister actions of Coutts Bank. This one, the shortest of them, struck a chord with me:

    SIR – Can someone clarify for me what Coutts means by “inclusive”?

    Field McIntyre
    London SW3

    I trust that it doesn’t mean the continued presence of ‘Dame’ Alison Rose at the head of this so-called bank which, along with other organisations, seeks to throw away our hard-won freedoms. She, and all the other fifth columnists now infesting this country, disgust me.

    They obviously have no idea how dangerous it was to pick on Farage and his family, which says a lot about the bank’s crass stupidity.

    1. “She, and all the other fifth filth columnists now infesting this country, disgust me.”

      Fixed it, Hugh

    2. “She, and all the other fifth filth columnists now infesting this country, disgust me.”

      Fixed it, Hugh

    3. The real problem is that we don’t know who will be in power in ten years time, and giving orders to Dame Alison

      or her successor which bank account(s) to close.

  4. ‘Morning, Peeps. Despite the chap on the radio this morning with his dire forecast of rain here (the usual ‘sun is good, rain is bad’ routine) the met office has no rain for this part of yer sarf east and a maximum of 19°C.

    Five of the DT’s Letters today are about the sinister actions of Coutts Bank. This one, the shortest of them, struck a chord with me:

    SIR – Can someone clarify for me what Coutts means by “inclusive”?

    Field McIntyre
    London SW3

    I trust that it doesn’t mean the continued presence of ‘Dame’ Alison Rose at the head of this so-called bank which, along with other organisations, seeks to throw away our hard-won freedoms. She, and all the other fifth columnists now infesting this country, disgust me.

    They obviously have no idea how dangerous it was to pick on Farage and his family, which says a lot about the bank’s crass stupidity.

  5. Morning all. Morning Geoff and thank you for putting these pages up every morning.

  8. Banks that block someone on ‘reputational’ grounds may suffer for it

    Have the WEF shown their hand far too early with their treatment of Farage,
    We now realise that big corporations are keeping MI5 style dossiers on us all, ready to pounce when the time is right.

  13. I was looking for the odds for the world cup starting today – I’ve never seen them written like this before. Does that mean 22/1, 50/1 etc? Seems a bit high. Maybe 2.2/1, 5/1 etc.

    United States +220
    England +500
    Spain+ 500
    Germany+800

    1. Maybe it’s the way they do them on the exchanges (I don’t bet, but I occasionally hear about the decimal expressions of the fractions I’m familiar with)?

  14. Good morning, all. Sunny but misty.

    I see that Thursday is still Wednesday!

  15. Britons bin their copies of Prince Harry’s memoir on holiday
    More than 100 copies of Spare left abandoned in resorts across Europe as tour operator struggles to give them away
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2023/07/20/prince-harry-spare-memoir-britons-bin-copies-on-holiday/

    Britons enjoying their European getaways have reportedly been seen either leaving the Duke’s autobiography by the poolside, shelving it in receptions and rooms, or tossing it into beachside bins by the dozen.

    On The Beach is now planning to give away the surplus books through its social media channels because libraries and local bookstores are refusing to take the copies.

    It also pleaded with the resorts to stop sending them back to London as one employee said “they won’t stop arriving”.

    Should have saved their money and not bought it in the first place. It’s not the type of book I would take on holiday with me.

    1. I usually take several books on holiday with me. “Spare” would never get a look in!

      1. I use a Kindle, which means I can have over 300 books to choose from wherever I am..

        …and Spare isn’t one of them!

        1. I have a Sony e-reader which does a similar thing, although I prefer the paper version.

  16. The UK has decided to give up fighting wars. 20 July 2023.

    Ben Wallace has every reason to be proud of his achievements during his four year stint as Defence Secretary, which is no mean feat given the turbulent nature of modern Conservative politics. By the time he leaves his spacious Whitehall office, he will hold the singular honour of being the longest-serving Tory defence minister since Sir Winston Churchill during the Second World War.

    Yes and the latter is about the limit of his achievement. The MoD is as dysfunctional and shambolic as it was the first day he walked in through its doors! It is still completely incapable of carrying out its task of defending the UK.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/07/20/the-uk-has-decided-it-no-longer-wants-to-fight-wars/

    1. Dont spose there is much ammo or equipment left in the bunker to fight any wars as Rishi has given most of it away.

  17. Good day all,

    Blue skies over the McPhee estate but they’ll be grey by early afternoon. Wind in the Nor’-West but a bit variable, 13℃ with 19℃ forecast. Cool again although we actually reached the long-term seasonal average of 22.5℃ for a brief period yesterday afternoon.

    Here’s something to make you spit your cornflakes out:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLBMkDP7Umw

    Scandalised? Me too. Either EVERYONE pays Stamp Duty on property purchases or no-one does. I feel a bit more investigation and a complaint to my MP coming on (not that it will make any difference but it’ll be fun to see how he wriggles out of this one). Do they get interest-free bank loans and mortgages too.

    1. I think we discussed that anomaly a couple of days ago Fiscal – they have a scam going with HMRC whereby the Islamic Bank does a leasehold job with the buyer.

    2. They buy property through a mechanism similar to the old hire purchase schemes, those which granny would have bought her telly. Simply put, as they dont actually buy the property but lease it, no stamp duty is payable.

      1. What I don’t understand is how or whether the Sharia bank, presumably as the “owner” can also avoid it.

        If it can as well, then I would like an MP to ask a formal question in the HoC to demand to know just how much stamp duty has been avoided, since the legislation was passed, by going this route.

        My suspicion is that the bank pays it and recoups it over the life of the agreement.

        1. I’m not sure what happens when you have paid off the term of the sharia ‘lease’ and the property becomes yours. There must be a transfer of ownership. Maybe the scam is that the monetary transaction is zero at that point and thus no stamp duty.

          2. There is a “tax relief” for Muslims so they don’t pay twice.

            Whether a “tax relief” would be available for non Muslims is unclear.

          1. Thank you, I missed it yesterday evening.
            I live in France , so it was past my bedtime…
            };-))

    4. I posted about this yesterday but I don’t think many of you saw it as I was quite late onto it. This claim is actually a misunderstanding of the real situation.

      Under Sharia law, there is a convoluted arrangement which involves two transactions before the property passes from the vendor to the purchaser. Up to 2003, both transactions were liable for Stamp Duty. In 2003 the law was changed to bring Stamp Duty in line with single-transaction purchases.

      So it is not entirely true that Muslims practising Sharia law do not pay any Stamp Duty. They actually pay one lot of Stamp Duty, but not a second lot on the second transaction.

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/530a2f7dccf9acfc4b31e60dbcf2f02403aeb7df7293e28dc6d78662d0906ae9.png

      Of course it can be argued that they jolly well should be paying double what everybody else pays, as they have their two-step system. But that is not what the current debate is about!

        1. Far from soothing, Stig, all it does is enrage that there are two sets of values – one for the indigenous population and another for incomers with an ideological set of values, which we are supposed to respect.

    5. Caroline has looked into this and the arrangement means that stamp duty is paid once but not twice.

      However I find it reprehensible that a constitutionally Christian country with an established church should be prepared to make any concessions to the followers of other faiths. If they do not like our laws they should not demand that we should adapt our own rules for them.

      The whole Muslim mortgage thing is sheer hypocrisy. Muslims are not allowed to borrow so they have come up with a fiddle so that a third party buys the property for them and they pay rent for it and when they have paid enough rent then the property will belong to them.

      1. Nice, eh? Home purchase on the cheap over the life-time of the arrangement – unless the Islamic finance organisation rolls up interest and it is added to the rent. One hopes the Stamp Duty paid by the Islamic finance organistion is added too.

      2. Actually, I believe they are allowed to borrow, but no interest must be paid. It used to be like that here (usury), which is why the Jews were brought in as bankers and lenders.

  18. Good morning, all. High cloud but bright with a forecast of 22C as the highpoint and a light breeze.
    I won’t be around much today as I have big sister, B-i-L and a friend around for a light lunch and a chat.

    For those of an enquiring mind re ‘the science’ of CV-19 etc. here is a good three way interview with a particular theme on ‘the science’ being explained by Mike Adams and Brian Ardis. Ardis is the proponent of venoms – snakes and sea snails – being used as both the ‘virus’ and in the “vaccine”. Ardis has some very interesting research to reveal and the correlation of who was involved in the research, when they were involved and the symptoms and effects of various venoms etc. allows him to make a plausible case.

    Brian Ardis and Mike Adams Interview

  19. My plan to beat inflation is working – it’s vital we stay the course. 20 July 2023.

    It’s why as Prime Minister, I’ve made controlling inflation our highest priority. It is the single most powerful thing the Government can do to ease the pressure on people’s bank balances and make their pay packets go further.

    While we have a long way still to go, the latest statistics should give us confidence that our plan is working. Inflation in May was 8.7 per cent and in June it fell to 7.9 per cent – a bigger fall than financial markets were expecting. This news should bring some relief. But we need to stick to the course.

    This is the moment where if it were on TV you would get up and make a pot of tea.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/07/19/rishi-sunak-my-plan-to-beat-inflation-is-working/

      1. Morning Phizzee. One of his aides would have told him about them along with Cloth Caps and Whippets!

      2. Morning Phizzee. One of his aides would have told him about them along with Cloth Caps and Whippets!

      4. I used to get a pay packet (in the seventies). Small brown packet with a window that backed a section with holes in it (so you could see the cash inside).

    2. It is interesting that the government is claiming that it is their plan that is bringing down inflation. In the past, the independence of the BoE has been shouted from the treetops, and I think it it the job of the Bank to curtail inflation. So why is Rishi claiming the credit. Actually, interest rates will not have a quick effect on general inflation as most mortgages are on fixed rates, but it will usefully moderate house price inflation. With producer prices and energy prices falling, I think that the usual rip-off-Britain inflation has generally cooled as goods and services providers realise that they have pushed their returns as much as they can.

      1. Don’t they understand that inflation is not ‘coming down’ until it goes negative.

      2. Central bank independence? Like western civilisation, I think it might be a good idea.

      3. There was a spike in retail coffee prices. I’ve noticed they’ve been pegged back a little of late.

      4. Stopping the flow of incomers (and getting rid of all the illegals) would do even more for moderating house price inflation. Supply and demand, after all.

    3. His priority should be stopping ALL immigration and deporting those already here

    2. It is said that Dame Woke Rose discussed a Coutt’s customer’s confidential bank details while chowing down with a BBC journalist.
      Thank goodness she’s not a doctor.

      2. It’s interesting that Farage was excommunicated by Coutts as “he didn’t share their values”

        It now appears that Coutts values include freely discussing people’s banking details with BBC journalists.

  21. You will all be glad to know that I shall be off air for several hours – any minute now – while the Electricity Board cuts back branches which interfere with the cables.

    And, to add to the general misery of life – the chap who called at 7 am to see where to place the scaffolding for the roof replacement job discovered a wasps nest……. He won’t do any erection (quiet at the back) until it is sorted. The MR rang the firm that does wasps – and they are ringing back later to say whether they can do it today.

    3. It would be nice if she did, but I have my doubts. She might well think that, but…

    6. If true then there should be a coup, the idiot King and his successors should be locked up in the Tower and Anne II should be enthroned as Queen.

      1. Wouldn’t make any difference. When she was born, the succession laws had not been changed. She would still come after Andrew and Edward.

      1. It’s her hair style – never changes – I wonder if it’s a wig and she really has a punk crew cut

      2. My sister in law has met her a couple of times and says Princess Anne is great fun.

        2. A good friend of mine, Sarah, worked as Prince Philip’s secretary at Buckingham Palace and all the people who worked for the royal family were invited to a ball at Windsor Castle – Sarah invited me to accompany her. Princess Anne and her then husband, Mark Philips, came and chatted to us and as you say she was great fun and had a twinkle in her eye.

          Employees at Buck House could also access the Royal Box at the Albert Hall when the family weren’t using it. Sarah took me to see Gordon Lightfoot from the Royal Box.

        3. I’ve met her and spent some time chatting with her – my favourite Royal…

      3. She was (still is) our Colonel On Chief and I’ve never heard a bad word from many who have met her.

  25. Good morning all. After yesterday’s lovely afternoon, a disappointing dull, overcast10°C start today, dry at the moment and actually forecast to continue dry! Staggers back in amazement!!

    And interesting loint of paw raised in the letters page:-

    SIR – At the heart of the de-banking scandal is Coutts’s belief that it has the right to choose arbitrarily with whom it does and does not do business. The idea that it should have no such right is ancient. In the case of “The Six Carpenters” (1621), Sir Edward Coke held that an innkeeper who hangs out a sign welcoming guests must not turn away a traveller prepared to pay for accommodation.

    That English common-law case became the foundation for the American legal doctrine of “common carriers”, in which the same principle of general service was extended first to teamsters (haulage companies) and then to telephone companies. Later “public accommodations” laws generalised this to protect against racial discrimination.

    The time has come for us to extend it to cover all large corporations that offer their services to the general public. We already regulate banks and utilities heavily; as a society, we hardly treat their “freedom” as sacrosanct. We should not now be too shy to protect free speech from all fear of retaliation by faceless corporate managers.

    Malcolm Hutty
    Chislehurst, Kent

    2. The problem is, we essentially chucked out our belief in common law when we were i. The EEC/EU – which does not operate a common law system. And i’m not sure our judges are keen on going back.

    3. It was British Railways status as a common carrier that was partly responsible for its increasing debts in the 1950s. Road services, nationalised by Labour in 1948, were effectively privatised by the Tories in 1952, resulting in road hauliers taking the most profitable business and leaving BR with the rest of the awkward, loss-making traffic.

    1. I expect he’s insured.
      But did I miss something as I skipped through all that bling ? Plenty of descriptions but not of the armed robber, potential murderer. Too young to be named and shamed.

        1. I spent some time working in Chiswick, home to many celebs back in the early 80s

    2. Poetic justice, when one considers how skewed his programmes have now become towards diversity.

      1. Haven’t seen any of his programmes since, well, probably since I had hair and that’s a long time ago. 🙂

    3. I’m not sure whether I’m mean, poor or stupid.
      How on earth can a watch be worth £17,000? Let alone some of the other prices that are mentioned.

      1. It’s a high end brand. £17,000 is one of the cheaper ones. Wealthy people buy these things simply because poor slobs can’t afford them.

        1. I can’t think why he was wearing it.

          Our daughter’s friends who work in London take off all their jewelry, and only wear a cheap petrol station

          watch when walking to/from work.

          They say that street robberies and muggings are common nowadays, and the Met. are uninterested.

          .

          Was it Mr Khan who said “import the Third World, become the Third World”?

          2. I think Khan would be more likely to say “Import the Third World, get more voters to vote for me”.

          3. Khan said it was all part an parcel of living in a big city (strange it never was until we imported all this foreign dross) so get used to it.

        2. A few years ago a friend got a Longines (at about £800) for 25 years service from his employer. He remarked to the Company MD that his £20 Seconda told the exact same time.

          1. I received one of those expensive watches for my 25 years of service. It was good for about five years but I cannot afford a replacement battery.

            The best was at thirty years. The company had switched to an awards scheme where you could pick from an online catalogue and the CEO would present the award during a company meeting. Ooh look a grandfather clock, let’s see the big guy lug that on stage.

          2. My Rolex (a gift from MOH) is a wind up so no batteries required. Every time I turn a page I wind it (unlike the grandfather clock which requires pulling the chain to lift the weight and wind it daily).

      3. Last year there were some Van Cleef and Arpels appeared on my LinkedIn feed. Some of them were on their website at somewhere north of £100k. The website isn’t listing prices today.

      4. You should take a look at the watch Rafael Nadal wears to play tennis. A bit more than £17,000. Here’s a quote:

        The Spanish Rafael Nadal has a habit of wearing his watch during his match. On day 2 of the US Open 2022, he was seen wearing his $1M Richard Mille 27-04 Tourbillon ‘Rafael Nadal.’

        I mean, the watch is said to be able to withstand shocks and is very comfortable to wear because it only weighs 30 g (including the strap). Also, I need to mention that Nadal is the pioneer in wearing a watch during a tennis match.

  27. Morning all 🙂😊
    Cloudless sunny sky.
    Forecast is Rain later and a wet weekend.
    Oh dear.
    Well we all know that we have a problem with banks. They take our money on the basis of looking after it but give almost nothing in return. Not even a convenient branch anymore.

    1. 13°c here in The Borders and the sun is shining.

      Rain and 16° forecast for 13:00 but only brief.

  28. The Farage de-banking scandal: Another one for the chop? She should be if there was any justice. A philosophy and politics product of Durham University she was was bound to have a well-balanced view of the world. Wasn’t she?

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/07/19/coutts-bank-camilla-stowell-boss-remain-voter-nigel-farage/

    The 50-year-old, who sits on Coutts’ executive committee, has embraced its pivot towards saving the planet and putting diversity at the heart of the business.

    Ms Stowell expressed concerns about the “climate crisis” and attended the Cop26 summit for Coutts. She was also a judge for a diversity essay prize run by the bank, in conjunction with Eton, for children in the Thames Valley.

    Clear them out.

    2. Could we pay the People Traffickers to take them to France. Or Albania.
      Or Rwanda?

    3. From BTL in the DM.

      Diversity and inclusion mean the opposite to wokeists. Diversity means
      only people who agree with them. Inclusion means excluding people who
      don’t think like them. They are a living example of Orwellian
      doublespeak.

    4. Why ever should Coutts send employees to the Cop26 jamboree?

      Did she go by ‘plane or train?

    5. Why ever should Coutts send employees to the Cop26 jamboree?

      Did she go by ‘plane or train?

    6. I frequently express concerns about the idiocy of pushing the “climate crisis”, “net zero” and DIE.

  29. The Farage de-banking scandal: Another one for the chop? She should be if there was any justice. A philosophy and politics product of Durham University she was was bound to have a well-balanced view of the world. Wasn’t she?

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/07/19/coutts-bank-camilla-stowell-boss-remain-voter-nigel-farage/

    The 50-year-old, who sits on Coutts’ executive committee, has embraced its pivot towards saving the planet and putting diversity at the heart of the business.

    Ms Stowell expressed concerns about the “climate crisis” and attended the Cop26 summit for Coutts. She was also a judge for a diversity essay prize run by the bank, in conjunction with Eton, for children in the Thames Valley.

    Clear them out.

  30. The Farage de-banking scandal: Another one for the chop? She should be if there was any justice. A philosophy and politics product of Durham University she was was bound to have a well-balanced view of the world. Wasn’t she?

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/07/19/coutts-bank-camilla-stowell-boss-remain-voter-nigel-farage/

    The 50-year-old, who sits on Coutts’ executive committee, has embraced its pivot towards saving the planet and putting diversity at the heart of the business.

    Ms Stowell expressed concerns about the “climate crisis” and attended the Cop26 summit for Coutts. She was also a judge for a diversity essay prize run by the bank, in conjunction with Eton, for children in the Thames Valley.

    Clear them out.

  31. Good Moaning.
    Phew!
    I was about to panic. There was bright yellow thing in the sky and I knew – just KNEW – it would be all my fault.
    Back to grey now, so I can relax again.

  32. Letter to the DT which will probably not be printed!

    Sir,

    When Charles III acceded to the throne he accepted that he would have to step back from politics.

    The treatment of Nigel Farage by Coutts Bank for having opinions with which the people running the bank did not agree shows that the bank is politically biased. This being undeniably the case the King should close all his accounts with Coutts with immediate effect to show that he understands that continued association with this organisation will do him, his family and the whole institution of the Monarchy considerable reputational damage.

    Percival Wrattstrangler

    1. I am hoping that this will prove to be the Budweiser moment for Coutts and that their share price will collapse when there is a mass exit of their clients’ funds to other banks.

      I agree with Ratty – The Idiot King should lead the way and, for once, use the brains God didn’t give him and close all the royal family’s accounts with Coutts.

      1. Coutts is a NatWest subsidiary and I think the taxpayer may still be on the hook, so it will the the taxpayer who loses, as usual.

    2. Following William’s summary of the Twitter comments beneath the BBC Newsnight tweet posted by Sue, I had a look myself. William is spot on. The contempt for Farage overwhelms any support for him. If they are truly indicative of national sentiment, then Charles III has no need to worry about reputational damage to the Royal family by continuing to bank with Coutts. Quite the contrary, to my dismay.

      1. Farage does have support. Not enough obviously. Left wing trolls and the nudge unit come out in force to attack. Normal sane people don’t form mobs.

      2. Twitter seems to be populated by urban left liberals; however Telegraph btl comments are broadly in favour of Nigel, and those comments which are negative have a downvote majority.

    3. Following William’s summary of the Twitter comments beneath the BBC Newsnight tweet posted by Sue, I had a look myself. William is spot on. The contempt for Farage overwhelms any support for him. If they are truly indicative of national sentiment, then Charles III has no need to worry about reputational damage to the Royal family by continuing to bank with Coutts. Quite the contrary, to my dismay.

    1. A majority of the comments are in favour of this appalling woman. Some of the hatred of Farage is frightening.

        1. We saw this during the Covid era, when they rushed to embrace masks and dob on neighbours who didn’t obey the “rules” exactly

          Edit: yet in their minds, if they had been living in 1930s Germany, they would have resolutely opposed the mustaschioed evil one.

          1. In my day sneaks were taken behind the bike sheds and shown the errors of their ways.

      2. Common Purpose at large amongst us.

        And what do most people do?

        Just shrug and say, “That’s the way it is.”

        Strewth, I wish I was young enough to fight again.

    3. By her logic, any energy supplier could refuse to do business with anyone whose views they disliked,

    1. “Exploding Kittens” is actually good fun. In the days when the RAH didn’t consider it a security issue to let prommers queue for hours outside the hall instead of needing both a “queue ticket” and digitial ID to be allowed in, a cat loving friend used to bring along that card game and we’d play while we waited.

        1. Rather like Richard, I have midriff padding which reduces lap space. It serves as an air bag in collisions.

      2. That must make navigating the supermarket aisles a tricky business when you go shopping.

        1. Years of sailing boats with tillers enabled me to adapt to a tiller steered mower which is remarkably efficient to manoeuvre once you get the hang of it.

          You can turn on a sixpence by going forward with one wheel and in reverse with the other.

          1. After visiting my father in the New Forest on a very rainy night my motorcycle got soaked and wouldn’t start. He used the sit on mower with jump leads to get me on my way.

            Much more than a useful grass cutter but also a mobility scooter with attitude.

          2. Lucky you. I could never get away from pushing the handles away for a panic stop.
            I managed to destroy several trees that way.

  37. For Huw Edwards read Dan Wootton?

    Dan Wootton admits ‘errors of judgment’ amid sex scandal

    GB News presenter addresses allegations he offered media colleagues thousands of pounds for explicit material

    A GB News presenter accused of offering colleagues thousands of pounds in exchange for explicit material has conceded he made “errors of judgment” but insisted any “criminal allegations” were untrue. Dan Wootton, a broadcaster and former tabloid journalist, told viewers on his nightly show he has been the “target” of a “smear campaign” following recent claims published by Byline Times.

    The 40-year-old addressed reports he allegedly offered former colleagues thousands of pounds for explicit material of themselves under a pseudonym reported to be Martin Branning. Wootton spoke about recognising that he is a “polarising figure” and talking to viewers could mean public attention.

    He said: “As a journalist, I feel uncomfortable being the story but I’ve always promised you that this show has no spin and no bias and no censorship so I owe it to you to address this.”

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/07/19/dan-wootton-gb-news-accusations-admits-errors-judgment

    From his Twitter account:
    “There are dark forces out to try and take this brilliant channel down. And that’s because GB News is the biggest threat to the establishment in decades, and they will stop at nothing to destroy us.”

    Let’s hope you haven’t given them a helping hand…

    1. These two TV news presenters obviously get a thrill from sailing close to the wind. Given their inside knowledge of investigative journalism, you’d think they’d be all the more cautious about exploring the seedier avenues of sexual interest. The risk of getting caught and being made a very public example of must make these adventures even more spicy.

      2. Wootton states that these allegations have come from someone he admits is an ex-lover. Needs to be more careful who he beds of course but promiscuity is a common pitfall in rainbow land?

        1. We have a friend who used to be a CID inspector in London. He said that the most gruesome and bloody crimes of violence he ever had to deal with were committed by homosexuals.

          There does seem to be a particularly vindictive and vicious streak in people who are homosexual.

    2. Busy troubled minds with foreign quarrels. Forget Huw Edwards. Look at the evil Right winger!

  38. ‘Morning All

    Will Rose be forced to resign??

    Not a chance,she is a diseased tick firmly embedded in our body politic,a fully paid up member of the blob

    “Alison Rose has extensive experience in financing energy efficiency.

    NatWest Group has committed provide £100 billion of Climate and

    Sustainable Funding and Financing between 1 July 2021 and the end of

    2025 to help families buy energy-efficient homes and create jobs that

    will deliver our transition to Net Zero.

    The Taskforce launched today also includes Department for Energy

    Security and Net Zero Minister Lord Callanan as Co-Chair. Membership of

    the Taskforce’s Steering Group will be announced in due course.”

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/alison-rose-appointed-to-help-accelerate-energy-efficiency

    Now the medley

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f5e87fc49a1dcfa3b08ed6ab85f8f7ca7840bf687fbe0ce37df6240fa19848f6.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9ee3d4a0a55b487ee63c781d29452f35055759b112a70fb272dfab541cbff6af.jpg

    https://twitter.com/ScottyGoesAgain/status/1681763327301636097?s=20

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b3905b528a3663242dd31dac7a35e2158dbefbf9159d909292abb834c80d9897.png

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/cf16601618232334de6d437a39b582a6e201ad92086ae0b9b0ccf3150eb25338.jpg
    https://twitter.com/robinmonotti/status/1681625398856040448

    1. The conference was also be attended by the Energy Secretary Grant Shapps and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Therese Coffey, with specific discussions on Regulation, Financing, Skills & Supply Chains, and Exports.

      That will make sure nothing good will come of anything anyone out side politics tries to do, does not amount to any form of success in the public eye.
      Everything they come into contact with……….

    2. Notable that these banks ‘acquire’ ex MPs and civil servants precisely to protect them from the annoyances of law. No doubt Callahan will take the banking quangocrat out to lunch to make sure this is all hushed up and Farage quietly left without any options.

      The entire establishment is bent.

  39. Right time for a break dealt with th banking problems and back on line.
    Now for the car insurance, best quote 98 pounds less then our latest.

      1. Seems to be a piece just for US drivers. I think insurers here already take mileage into account.

        1. Worth exploring the get outs here too.

          How was the Italian? Did he live up to expectation? :@)

          1. My seafood ravioli was good – his pollo alle funghi was a bit much and he didn’t like the Marsala sauce much. He brought the rest of the chicken home in a box.

        2. It may not effect the premium significantly but my insurance company wants to know how far I expect to drive in a year as well as the type of driving.

          Probably just lining up the ah buts if I ever try to make a claim.

          1. Same here. They want to know my annual mileage. Once I’ve gone over that, I’m not covered as I understand.

    1. I hope the corporation has plenty of stock elsewhere. A sudden shortage of medicines would be rather unwelcome.

        1. Yes, a lot of the generic ones I imagine. I should think that Pfizer concentrates on those for which it sill holds patent monopoly rights.

    2. Damn – now I’ll never get my prescription for Caverject (look it up if you must).

  41. DT excitedly reporting that the Wagner group are exercising in Belarus near the Polish border. I’m not entirely convinced that a ragbag of mercenaries is about to attack a NATO member. However, if they do manage to get to Calais, we are toast, as it seems that once they are afloat they are untouchable.

  42. Why Putin has joined the global attack on the trans community. 19 July 2023.

    Trans Russians face more danger as Kremlin’s war on LGBTIQ community ramps up with ban on trans healthcare.

    Russia has banned gender-affirming surgery and health care in a landmark bill that threatens to further endanger the country’s already marginalised and persecuted trans community, as part of the Kremlin’s increasingly aggressive anti-LGBTIQ agenda.

    The bill was unanimously approved by Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament, on Friday. Once it is signed by Putin and approved by the Senate, the upper house, it will become law.

    There’s no doubt that we are on the wrong side here.

    https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/russia-putin-trans-gender-affirming-surgery-ban-transphobia/

    2. “Gender-affirming”. “Health Care”. The inversion of language stinks. So Russia doesn’t want to sterilise its citizens by castrating or spaying them. What are “Trans Russians” anyway? People who self identify as Russian? Je suis Russkie in that case.

    1. If he hadn’t, Rik, Farage would have sued him, along with the other curs, for every penny he might have.

    2. But well done Jon Sopel and well done Nigel Farage who has behaved very gracefully and accepted the apology.

      I am now waiting for Chris Bryant to behave decently. I hope I will not have too long to wait.

      2. I did! I went with my friend and we sat through the film three times, and three times through the Edgar Lustgarten film as well.

  47. I don’t know about “may” in the headline. Must would be my choice of word! Otherwise you’re cancelled for not slavishly following the woke rubbish. I’m on early because I was due to go out to a meeting tonight, but another councillor is going instead, so I’ve sent my apologies.

  48. Rishi Sunak breaks promise on transgender guidance for schools. 20 July 2023.

    The Government confirmed on Thursday that the publication of the guidance has been delayed indefinitely. The broken pledge means that teachers will continue to face uncertainty over how to respond to the rise in children who are questioning their gender.

    Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the Government needed more time “to speak to teachers, parents, lawyers and other stakeholders”.

    He’s incapable of saying, “It’s nothing to do with you!”?

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/07/20/rishi-sunak-breaks-promise-on-transgender-guidance-schools/

  49. Just passing through. Electricity back on. Wasp man came and did the needful. Now elder son here. Just lovely to see him.

    I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon. Play nicely.

    Toodles.

  50. have noticed some one who self-styles themselves as ‘ Hugso’ has up-voted a couple of my comments but never commented at all.

    I do realise that this an open forum, but I thought the majority of us are friends.

    1. Folk can comment if they choose to, or not if they don’t. I don’t mind who upvotes my posts – or downvotes them. I just ask for the engagement to say ‘No, you’re wrong, here’s why’.

      It’s when petty, small people simply block that you’re dealing with morons too weak to justify themselves.

      1. I’m not for one second suggesting that they might be, but hiding behind bushes raises my awareness.

        2. If you get a round of applause, do you want to take the names of the audience?

          2. As a seminar leader, I conducted them with good humour and consideration for the attendees, from all walks of life.

    3. Confessions from a ‘lurker’. With a 5 hour time difference, it is hard to keep on top of the latest comments here!!

    4. I was a lurker at first, upticking comments before I got round to commenting at all.

    1. This is absolutely true.
      In my old local The Adam & Eve. The Ridgeway Mill Hill NW7.
      One regular Irish customer had the name known as Pat. Patrick McInerny.
      He ordered ham eggs and chips or similar. The barman shouted through to the kitchen. And 15 minutes later three plates of ham eggs and chips appeared in the bar.

        1. I remember the story so well. Ham eggs and chips for…….
          Pat, Mack ‘an’ Ernie

  52. This article from today’s DT hopefully will cause NatWest enormous grief. The BTL comments are also damning.

    NatWest faces a wave of demands from “debanked” customers to discover why they lost their accounts.
    In a Facebook group of close to 10,000 people who claim to have had their NatWest accounts closed down, former customers are sharing templates and instructions on how to lodge Subject Access Requests with the institution.
    It comes after Nigel Farage used the data protection right to obtain a dossier outlining the reasons behind Coutts’ decision to exit him as a customer.
    The papers obtained, which Mr Farage described as a “36-page Stasi-style surveillance report” on his political views, revealed how the private bank, which forms part of the wider NatWest Group, chose to end its relationship with the prominent Brexiteer after deciding his views did not align with its values.
    Writing on the Facebook group, called “NatWest closed down my account”, former customers discussed how they could obtain information on their own cases in the same way.
    One poster shared a template of a request which they said they had sent directly to Dame Alison Rose, NatWest’s chief executive, who faces questions over her role in the decision to close Mr Farage’s accounts.
    His post read: “I strongly believe that we all have the right to know why our accounts were closed. If you’re in the same situation, I encourage you to send a similar request to NatWest. The GDPR gives us the right to access our personal data and the bank has a legal obligation to respond within one month.
    “I have sent my SAR to the CEO of NatWest, Alison Rose…If we collectively make our voices heard at the highest level, it may prompt a more immediate response.
    “In light of the recent disclosure by Nigel Farage (love him or loathe him), it’s crucial that we stand together and demand transparency. If this is indeed a case of large-scale direct discrimination, it’s important that we bring it to light and take appropriate action.”
    He added: “Like many of you, my personal account with NatWest was closed without any clear explanation. This has caused me significant inconvenience and distress.
    “In an attempt to understand the reasons behind this abrupt action, I have drafted a Subject Access Request (SAR) under the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).”
    One member of the group said everyone who had been affected should do the same and shared instructions from the Information Commissioner’s Office about how to file an access request. “Thank you, we will do this,” replied another.
    NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose faces questions over her role in the decision to close Mr Farage’s accounts
    NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose faces questions over her role in the closure of Mr Farage’s accounts CREDIT: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
    Under GDPR rules from 2018, everyone has a legal right to ask an organisation, including a bank, whether or not they are using or storing their personal information.
    You are also able to ask them for copies of personal information, in writing, over the phone and in person at a branch.
    Vance Martin, who owns a car dealership in Cheltenham, said he suspects his business and personal accounts with NatWest were closed in November because he criticised NHS waiting lists and immigration on social media.
    He said that he filed his SAR “within a couple of hours” after learning of Mr Farage’s successful request, in a bid to confirm his suspicions.
    He said: “I filed it [the SAR] through the last point of contact I had, which was the business manager. I received assurances from her that she would pass it on to the right person.”
    Mr Martin said that he “felt sorry” for the former Ukip leader, saying: “I know what he’s gone through because I’ve gone through it.
    “If they give us a reason then you don’t continually worry about what you have done. It still plays on my mind now. Why did they do it? I am fearful that they may have closed it on my political views.
    “It caused me and my wife untold stress. It did upset us greatly. You consider your bank to be something you can trust implicitly. I wasn’t sleeping at night. You go over and over in you mind asking ‘what have I done?’”
    A NatWest spokesman said: “We would always encourage customers who have any queries about their accounts to contact us directly in the first instance.
    “Customers who wish to obtain a Subject Access Request have a right to access and receive a copy of their customer data, and can do so by visiting natwest.com.

    BTL comments coming in thick and fast

    Jane White

    2 MIN AGO

    I’d just like to thank Nigel Farage for sticking his head above the parapet and telling us what is happening to himself and, seemingly, thousands of other people whose bank accounts are closed without explanation. It can’t have been easy for him but, hopefully, he will have brought about real change in the banking sector and we should be the beneficiaries of new protections in the future.

    1. Another BTL

      Wim Kotze

      1 MIN AGO

      “ It did upset us greatly. You consider your bank to be something you can trust implicitly”

      Mr Martin is right to be upset. With Farage it not only closed his account due to his views, but the bank’s boss was in all probability complicit in spreading a false damaging rumour regarding the reason why. How low could they go?

      That getting exposed on this does not embarass Alison Rose enough to have resigned immediatly, on the spot, is the most shocking of all.

      1. And another

        Ian Thomas

        49 MIN AGO

        I am so glad that they will drown in their own mire. Time for them to own their decision and let’s see how good being woke feels.

        1. One cannot say it enough. ‘Go woke, go broke.’ When will they learn, how long will it take? Such arrogance.

      2. What! And give up £5 million per annum for doing the square root of buggerall?

    2. I got in first and closed my NatWest a/c because they closed the branch in my nearest town.

      1. Such a shame you cannot close it again to show your displeasure! I feel like that about the tv licence, which we legitimately stopped paying years ago.

        1. Of course he can.

          Just send them a letter that he had an account at the now defunct branch so please close all open accounts and send a cheque.

          It will waste their time.

          1. Unfortunately, I closed the account some years ago (we have had dwindling access to banking locally for some considerable time) and don’t hold any others with the company.

    3. I notice how closing an account has morphed into the seemingly harmless procedure of “Exiting and account”.

  53. Par Four today.

    Wordle 761 4/6
    ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜
    ⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩
    ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    1. Bogey five for me.

      Wordle 761 5/6

      🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜
      ⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜
      ⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      1. Me to.
        Wordle 761 5/6

        ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
        ⬜🟩🟩⬜🟨
        ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
        ⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
        🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    2. Me too.
      Wordle 761 4/6

      🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    3. Me too.
      Wordle 761 4/6

      🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

  54. Latest leftard meltdown

    https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-07-19/jason-aldean-try-this-in-a-small-town-desantis-ramaswamy-fox-news

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/20/jason-aldean-try-that-in-a-small-town-rightwing-embrace

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12318103/Leading-gun-control-activist-takes-credit-getting-Country-star-Jason-Aldeans-hit-Try-Small-Town-pulled.html

    The attempts to get the song/video banned has had the usual result

    Straight to No 1

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1_RKu-ESCY

    1. Lol. The video shows all the burning, looting and other egregious behaviour practiced by the Leftards and yet e.g. Sheryl Crowe is tweeting about the song condoning violence? Sample lyrics: “Try that in a small town and see how far you get down the road; try that in a small town, we take care of our own….I recommend you don’t”. Yeah, really powerful incitement to violence.

    1. What I don’t understand is why one of the Other banks doesn’t contact NF and offers him banking facilities. Are they that afraid of the pathetic Left?

      1. The banks were obviously in cahoots as they all seemed to deny NF a business account at the same time. And there was I thinking commercial cartels were not legal..

        1. Alison Rose has offered him a NatWest account, but why not just reinstate his Coutts account?

  56. “The chief executive of the banking group that owns Coutts has apologised to Nigel Farage for “deeply inappropriate” comments about him after his account was closed.
    Natwest boss Alison Rose said the comments did not reflect its view.
    Former leader of the UK Independence Party Mr Farage had said that Coutts had targeted him because of his political views.
    However, the bank had said the account closure was a commercial decision.”

    Absolute Bollocks

      2. She’s offered him a bank account with NatWest – he should tell her to stuff it up her jacksie

      5. Coutts must have a rogue leftie lurking in its vaults. I’m sure they’ll be punished appropriately with a bonus.

    2. If the Bank feels that the comments Rose made does not reflect its view, perhaps the Board should fire her. I shall not be holding my breath..

    3. I cannot understand why Alison Rose has not resigned – as any honourable person would.

      I reckon her eventual, forced, resignation will be deeply humiliating for her – and deeply damaging for Nat West’s thousands of shareholders.

      1. Perhaps she is not an honourable person. Maybe she wouldn’t have got where she has if she were in today’s climate. Will she be forced to resign? I’m not holding my breath. I think they will close ranks and protect their own.

        1. She’s the same protected species as Dildo Thingy who splurged £37 billion on track’n’trace.

    4. “Sorry we got caught, we will certainly hunt for the person who leaked the report, with a microscope, and make sure they are hung, drawn and quartered so that it never happens again.”

      2. Sorry BB2 but the normal course of events would be:

        Drawn, on a hurdle or similar to the place of execution

        Hanged, only game birds are hung – humans are ‘hanged’.

        Quartered only happened after the accused was cut down, alive, and disembowelled before his very eyes.

        Then decapitated, and his body cut into quarters for display throughout the town or city of execution.

        So the correct description should read, Drawn, hanged, disembowelled,, decapitated and quartered..

        Grim I know.

      3. Sorry BB2 but the normal course of events would be:

        Drawn, on a hurdle or similar to the place of execution

        Hanged, only game birds are hung – humans are ‘hanged’.

        Quartered only happened after the accused was cut down, alive, and disembowelled before his very eyes.

        Then decapitated, and his body cut into quarters for display throughout the town or city of execution.

        So the correct description should read, Drawn, hanged, disembowelled,, decapitated and quartered..

        Grim I know.

      4. “…the person who leaked the report…”

        I thought he was entitled to see it.

  57. Has anyone heard anything from True_Belle (Maggie), it seems quite a while since seeing her comments here. Hope she is okay.

    1. I sent her an email the other day but she didn’t reply. But she did wish me a Happy Birthday yesterday on Facebook. She wasn’t well last week so maybe she’s taking a break from here.

          1. Oooops, missed again. I always seem to be trying to catch-up nowadays.

            Belated Happy Birthday and many happy returns for the future! It’s good tht you enjoyed your day. Now to enjoy the rest of the week…

          2. Thankyou! Another year older…….. but I’m still here, compos mentis (more or less) and still able to get around.

        1. Will do. Will try emailing again. I have two addresses for her so perhaps I tried the wrong one.

          2. I’ve just sent another email and also tried contacting her on Twitter. She has been doing some retweets, but not today I think.
            I hope she’s feeling better too.

          3. The trapped nerve has untrapped itself, the chill on the kidneys has ended, and – apart from phlegm on the lungs – I am almost back in the land of the living. The iMac, however, is still giving me grief and makes it hard to post here because the screen disconnects from the internet in mid-post and I have to wait for a reconnection. Aaargh!

    2. I have sent a message on Ar5ebook and await a response.

      I’ll check again in the morning but I’m desperate for some zeds, like NOW.

  58. Another interesting article from Spiked: “gender ideology has captured the state.”

    Here’s a sample:
    “ The best way to protect children from gender ideology would be to ban social transition altogether, as Sunak and Badenoch suggest. Yet the attorney general has warned that this would be ‘unlawful’. This is because the Equality Act 2010 states that gender reassignment is a ‘protected characteristic’, regardless of age. The prime minister now faces a choice: issue a watered-down version of the guidance or introduce new legislation to prevent children socially transitioning at school.

    The idea that discouraging kids from transitioning may potentially break the law should sound an alarm about the state of Britain today. Who is really in charge here – government ministers or lawyers and civil servants? And whose views are being reflected in the law and in policy – the views of citizens and voters, or those of a woke cultural elite?

    The Equality Act has become a serious obstacle for ministers who want to implement change. Passed in 2010, the act identifies nine ‘characteristics’ such as age, disability, race and sex that receive additional legal protections. The Equality and Human Rights Commission describes it as ‘a discrimination law that protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society’. It might be more accurate to say that it protects only certain individuals, sometimes at the expense of others.”

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/07/20/gender-ideology-has-captured-the-state/

    We have seen three instances in recent years where things have been deemed “unlawful” – the prorogation debacle of 2019, the Rwanda plan and now this. I don’t remember things ever being “unlawful” before.

    2. I think the correct term is illegal. The Equality Act is itself unlawful in common law terms. The Egalitarian Myth is of course predicated on a lust for power. Let’s call gender reassignment what it actually is, which is adults getting sexual gratification from sterilising children, then ask if that is unlawful.

    3. “ Passed in 2010, the act identifies nine ‘characteristics’ such as age, disability, race and sex”

      Is gender in there somewhere?

    4. The Equality Act was a last throw of the dice by Harriet Hateperson before the Brown government vanished into the oubliette.
      Many “Conservatives” let it slip past them.

    6. I knew the Cons had been captured when they passed the Equality Act. It was and is a terrible piece of legislation.

  60. Just put a 5 post Tw@ter thread up on the police’s reaction to the DT’s car getting written off on Friday:-
    https://twitter.com/BeardedBob7282/status/1682055390677155842

    For the non-Tw@terati, here’s the text:-

    1/
    @DerbysPolice @DerbysPCC
    I am NOT impressed by your Force’s handling of Incident 1355/15/7/23 where a driver drove off after ramming my wife’s parked car and our gate on Friday night.
    You were provided with the vehicle’s registration number within 10min of the incident and,
    2/
    when the vehicle was located dumped up in Bonsall that information was also passed on to you.

    However, despite this, your force did not see fit to send someone round to the registered keeper’s address to question him about the incident and thus lost the chance to breathalize him.

    The driver did come down to “apologise” on Saturday morning at 07:00 but gave the impression of still being under the influence. He did did provide us with his name and address, but, beyond the name of his insurers, did not, and to this point still has not provided us with his insurance details.

    Furthermore, my wife advises me that your force has decided not to take further action, ostensibly because there is no CCTV Video evidence!!!

    All in all, a rather piss poor performance, but sadly one we have come to expect from not just Derbyshire Police, but the Police nationwide.

      1. And since then they have been celebrating Trans Day, Black Lives Matter Day, and days to DIE for.

    4. So, somebody just got away with drunk driving and hitting a gate and a parked car?
      He’ll kill someone next time. There’s no law and order in Britain any more.

  61. As you might expect due to the joint devil may care attitudes of NHS ‘workers’.
    I’m just waiting for my letter of cancellation for my hospital appointment I’ve waited two years for. And my gp practice is chasing up a shingles jab I’ve 4 days to make up my mind on. Fur cough.

      1. I’m finding it very difficult to be anything but pessimistic to be honest Conners.

  63. Sorry, not been around much.
    Busy day counting out all the coins dredged from back of sofa, smashing open piggy bank and rootling out parking coins from the Noddy car.
    Sadly still not enough to open an account at Coutts bank.
    And I reely, reely wanted to open one, so I could close it the next day and further depress their figures.
    Yah, boo and sucks to posh crooks.

    2. Not to worry, I’ve closed all the Coutts’ accounts with my banking group, they won’t be impressed!

  68. University ‘elite overproduction’ has shifted the UK to the Left

    The enormous growth in graduation rates has not just incurred economic costs. It has also driven regrettable social changes

    MIRIAM CATES • 17th July 2023

    The Government has unveiled plans to cap the number of students studying for “low-value” degrees. This is a welcome intervention and, I hope, marks the beginning of the end for the overblown and under-scrutinised expansion of the higher education sector over the past 25 years. Tony Blair’s dream for half our young people to go to university has been realised, but to what end and at what cost?

    The Prime Minister points out that many young people leave university saddled with debt and without the skills required for productive work. In the past, gaining a degree would guarantee a well-paid career, but this is no longer the case. Indeed, men who attend the lowest-ranked universities are now likely to earn less than their non-graduate peers. Too many graduates will never earn enough to pay off their student loan in full, leaving the taxpayer with an outstanding bill of £206 billion and rising.

    The perverse incentives for universities are extraordinary. The less “useful” the degree, the less the graduate will earn and the less likely the loan will be repaid. In other words, the more useless the degree, the greater the taxpayer subsidy. It’s a racket, and the Prime Minister is absolutely right to call time on it.

    But the enormous growth in graduation rates has not just incurred economic costs, it’s also driven regrettable social changes. We now have a whole generation of young people educated for professional-level jobs but unable to find them: five years after leaving university, a third of graduates are overqualified for their roles. Imagine being saddled with £50,000 of debt, having been told since childhood that a degree will be your passport to a well-paid career and then finding yourself unable to progress from junior barista in Starbucks or an entry-level admin job.

    Of course, these jobs have value and need to be done, but perceiving yourself to be overqualified for a role is likely to engender resentment. There simply are not enough top-level jobs for the half a million young people graduating each year, and this has social and political consequences.

    Indeed, so-called “elite overproduction” has created a generation whose understandable disappointment with society has pushed them down a rabbit hole of destructive ideological causes. It is even argued that some adopt “high status” political views to compensate for the reduced economic status they are able to achieve.

    From critical race theory (which says white people are all racist) to radical gender ideology (which threatens the safety of women and children) to extreme climate catastrophism (which seeks to impoverish our nation): the views of those under 30 are markedly different from older people. In fact, almost half of young people believe that Britain was founded on racism.

    These causes, championed in universities and the public sector, have no basis in reality, are deeply de-stabilising to society and have nothing concrete to offer our young people.

    Cracking down on useless degrees is a much-needed step. But we also need a radical new offer for young people, based on meaningful skills training, cheaper housing, lower taxes and a solution to economic unfairness in which 80 per cent of the wealth is held by the over-60s. Our society increasingly favours old over young and until we address this, we won’t begin to heal the generational divide.

    Miriam Cates is the Conservative MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/07/17/university-elite-overproduction-has-shifted-uk-to-left/

    1. There are an awful lot of very thick students who are over educated and know nothing.

    2. A good piece except for the last two sentences. I lived hand to mouth when I was young. I now have savings. That isn’t injustice and saying that it is just encourages more degrees in grievance studies.

      1. Same here. My mother struggled to work and bring me up after she was widowed. I left school after A levels and went to work. Money was always short and I had three jobs to make ends meet to support my two sons after their father moved out.

        Now I do have savings and can afford to travel while I am still fit enough to do so. I don’t owe anything to anyone. Young people have time on their side to make their own way in life.

      2. Same here. My mother struggled to work and bring me up after she was widowed. I left school after A levels and went to work. Money was always short and I had three jobs to make ends meet to support my two sons after their father moved out.

        Now I do have savings and can afford to travel while I am still fit enough to do so. I don’t owe anything to anyone. Young people have time on their side to make their own way in life.

      3. There was a time when I was living in a shared house when my flatmate and I bought a 50lb sack of potatoes between us and that’s all we ate for about three months, with the occasional shared tin of beans or a bit of cheese on top as a treat.

      4. Many of those with worthless degrees have the bank of mum and dad. Why should i pay for their short sightedness?

    1. He seems to have disappeared. Geoff might know as they met for lunch one day a few months ago with Tom and Sue.

  73. Haven’t been here much today- just not up to it. Another paper sack full of pills which I will go through tomorrow.
    Hope y’all are well.

  74. The wheels have fallen off the Biden wagon in the Ukraine. The US should urgently seek negotiations with Russia to end the proxy war.

    This would save lives yet I suspect the Biden administration will persist with their mad ideas and ruin Ukraine completely, just as they are persisting in ruining the USA.

    The fundamental lesson we are witnessing is quite simply that illegitimate leaders (elected by fixing elections) always end in total disaster. Joe Biden, decrepit but pure evil as he has been is still enabled to wreak immense damage on the world and on the USA.

    I suppose this affair exposes the corruption of all aspects of US government and the immense difficulty faced by President Trump in combatting the shenanigans of the Democrats and RINOs holding the votes in Congress and the Senate.

    We live in a state of overbearing evil. We just have to break out from this oppression. I support President Trump and hope Bidens, Clintons and Obamas rot in hell.

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