Thursday 3 April: The staggering wrong-headedness of Starmer’s Chagos giveaway

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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482 thoughts on “Thursday 3 April: The staggering wrong-headedness of Starmer’s Chagos giveaway”

    1. I thought Ozempic was the name of a MP of foreign extraction?
      I'll get me coat…

  8. Good morning, chums. Thanks, Geoff, for today's NoTTLe site. I did better at Wordle today; yesterday was a "Phew!" but today was a Bogey (I think). Looking at the results for NoTTLers yesterday I am assuming that 4 is a Par, 3 is a Birdie, 2 is a Double (? – Not quite sure) and 1 must be a "Miracle!" (the direct opposite of "Phew!"). Am I right?

    Wordle 1,384 5/6

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

  10. Trumps tariffs wont work on cars the experts say,
    Because all the parts are imported.
    But surely that is the plan, isn't it.
    Make the parts in the USA instead.

    1. Well, they will because the tariff is charged on the final good. Admittedly, because the state is stupid Honda will argue that a body panel made in Turkey means the car is, thus avoiding the tariff wall. The EU wins as it gets to crow about jobs created by the EU. Honda wins because it gets to avoid the tariffs on cars.

      The customer gets to buy a car at closer to cost price, however it means long, stretched supply chains where costs mount up, to a degree pollution adds up with transportation of parts and the whole web is vulnerable t idiot moron politicians.

  11. There is so much rubbish about tariffs and taxes being spewed out on the MSM and GBNews this morning. Whereas I'm sure Trump doesn't understand all the tariff/tax regimes and the implications of the changes, the 'Commontariat' are even worse. The TDS lefties are condemning all aspects of the changes without being able to elucidate why Donny is wrong. The Right wing commentators are almost as bad. Broadcasters are rubbish.

    1. There are no left and right wing political commentators on mainstream media, they are all wef controlled.
      No propaganda no job

    2. There are no left and right wing political commentators on mainstream media, the are all wef controlled.
      No propaganda no job

      1. All I know is tariffs are bad because the EU applies them to enforce protectionism. Protectionism is a bad thing as it makes goods expensive for customers. It's all part of a command economy which the EU has tried and 'climate change' is their next effort to implement such.

        1. I understand why Trump is doing them to try and suck manufacturing back to the US. Not doing them is a bit like unilateral disarmament. They are less criminal than say, deliberately blowing up a pipeline that supplies German industry with affordable gas and then telling them that their only option is to buy gas from the US at a much higher price, whilst simultaneously offering German companies incentives to move their factories to the US.

      1. The creatures needs to be pummelled until it is silenced permanently, and the remains displayed for all to see.

        1. Where the other side already has a tariff wall. The EU is crowing horribly about Trump but it's a protectionist system itself.

          They had the tariffs in place first specifically to protect Germans from foreign cars. A Toyota is made 20% more expensive, then has taxes levied at 20% to allow Mercedes and the like to present a cheaper option, but they're not, they're a heavily unionised and thus more expensive manufacturer.

    7. The ignorance is astonishing. I worked in freight forwarding (imports and exports) in the mid 70s, before I joined the Army. Tariffs is another word for import customs duty. Prior to the 2016 referendum, I was having a pub conversation with a life long mate, who was voting to remain because "The Germans will put tariffs on the cars they sell us"
      He had the whole thing back to front. Many critics don't seem to realise that the EU is notorious for charging tariffs to protect their own industries. I despair.

    1. For Al Beeb to publish that fact is astonishing. You'd think they'd be desperate to crow about Labour.

  13. Good morning, all. Sunny. Dry. Don't know the temperature yet.

    To market shortly.

      1. Good morning, JBFox. Bill's stall is probably giving legal advice to the slightly inebriated little pig who cried wee wee when arrested by PC Pig on his way home.

    3. Good morning Bill,

      To market, to market, to buy a fat pig
      Home again, home again, jiggity jig
      To market, to market, to buy a fat hog
      Home again, home again, jiggety jog

      To market, to market to buy a sweet treat
      Home again, home again,
      To market, to market to buy a plum cake
      Home again, home again, market is late
      To market, to market to buy a plum bun
      Home again, home again, market is done.

        1. Reminds me of Rosalind's advice to the cruel Phoebe who spurns the love of the devotedly besotted Silvius.

          "Sell when you can : you are not for all markets."

  15. Good morning all

    Why is the Disasters Emergency Committee creating even more anxiety by implying we should contribute money and assistance to Burma and Thailand .

    Their next door neighbour invests in space rockets and other money wasting schemes , yet we contribute money as part of our aid programme , so why can't India and even Pakistan , Australia , Indonesia etc rally to the aid of affected countries , why is it always the UK who jumps first .. here we are on the other side of the world , with our own problems , huge problems .

    Why does whitey always have to have a social conscience .

    1. Could it be because white people are culturally superior?

      Oh, no – silly me: all cultures and religious faiths are equal.

  16. Good morning all!
    A bit of a dull and overcast start with a slightly less chilly tad over 6°C outside.
    A day at home today and no logs to do at the moment, so a bit of gentle pottering about up the "garden" on the agenda, perhaps digging out for extending a couple of the walls.

      1. We're currently burning through the Hollybush stack but I doubt if we'll get ¼ of the way through it before we stop using the woodburner.
        I've already stopped using the open fire every night and the woodburner is used mainly to heat the water.

  17. Looking at the reaction to Trump on Lefty FB groups, one has to be amazed at the irony of the Left now panicking about falls in the capitalist stock markets around the world.
    When Trump has just brought back $ trillions of investment back into the USA creating industrial jobs for American workers all over their country.
    It's a funny old world.
    One would have thought the Left would be for the workers.
    Why aren't we doing what Trump is doing here in the UK?

        1. Is there any concrete evidence of manufacturing moving from China to the US? Up til now, I’ve only heard about companies shutting in Germany and relocating to the US after NS2 sabotage, plus some from Mexico.

    2. The Left don't like their money to be hindered, but are happy to take from others.

  18. Good morning, all. Clear blue sky all-around.

    Reality kicking in?

    One economist explaining how another politically driven 'economist'; the Secretary for Climate Change and Net Zero; the Prime Minister et al. have got it wrong and are driving the UK into becoming an economic and industrial outlier.

    On the subject of cars, jet engines etc. these products require steel, how will the the material be procured if we do not manufacture it here in the UK? Likewise, plastics and pharmaceuticals that require oil and gas? The lack of joined up thinking in our political class is frightening: but we know that!

    The lure of Green Jobs proposed by this government is a chimera.

    https://x.com/GBNEWS/status/1907545949171261696

    1. And (net zero?) in the meantime they want to build a new runway at LHR.
      And a second terminal at Luton Airport, thankfuly not enough space for a second runway.
      More aircraft more noise more use of jet fuel and a lot more pollution.
      And around 2 million more homes. More waste water use electricity gas you name it.

      1. RE, I do not believe that the Heathrow and Luton schemes are genuine projects being considered by this government. They go completely against the grain of everything else being proposed by Miliband & Co. And as for the housing target, pie in the sky from Rayner. Has she started building yet? That’s not to say that the land required will not be procured: a report a few days ago showed 9% of farmland is to be taken out of use. That I do believe because it fits the narrative.

        As with any group of politicians, see what they do and under no circumstances believe what they say, especially if it appears to be beneficial to the Country and its people.

        1. I read about the Luton expansion in the news today but LHR has been on the cards for years.

    2. We don't 'make' things here. We design them and then have the pieces shipped here from foreign. The components are assembled here. We can't make a jet engine. We couldn't afford the manufacturing costs. For the thousands of different pieces we'd need a thousand factories. The labour taxes alone would make that impossible, let alone the business rates, import costs (as you can't drive a lorry full of ingots around).

      As for making rubber hoses here – the chemical offload we simply couldn't do thanks to the 'climate change' act.

      That wretched, useless ideological tax scam destroys everything.

  19. SIR – It is hardly surprising that President Trump is relaxed about our decision to hand over the Chagos Islands. The United States retains its military base while Britain pays the rent.

    We can see who is likely to be the loser when the Prime Minister negotiates his “reset” with the European Union.

    John O’Donnell
    West Mersea, Essex

    I guess this would be the equivalent of giving Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall and RAF Fylingdales, a Royal Air Force station on Snod Hill in the North York Moors, is still operational, providing a continuous ballistic missile early warning service to the UK and US Governments, to the Chinese or Russians .

  21. LOL of the week..

    Reports coming out of the most corrupt country in Europe that it has started to build a billion dollar ski resort.

    Ukraine has 58 thriving ski resorts.

    1. Bukovel Holidays 2025
      ski in ukraine package from london from http://www.expedia.co.uk
      A family ski holiday in Bukovel offers fun activities the entire gang will adore, like hiking, dog sledding and snow biking.

        1. I've this image of a Roger Moore-esque skiing seequence being chased by men with machine guns before floating off with a parachute.

  22. LOL of the week..

    Reports coming out of the most corrupt country in Europe that it has started to build a billion dollar ski resort.

    Ukraine has 58 thriving ski resorts.

  23. there’s a good article on Spiked by Simon Evans on the ongoing drama that is Adolescence.

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2025/04/02/why-are-we-still-talking-about-adolescence/

    There’s an interesting comment below the line (you can only see comments if you subscribe): “There are rumours online – I’ve not been able to verify – that Starmer has prior with the founder of a charity who are pushing this ‘toxic male’ crap in schools. Charity is Tender and individual is Tamsin Larby. It could be online slop but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it was true.”

    Julie Burchill also has a piece skewering Emily Maitliss’s recent article on her joyous trip to Saudi. I didn’t see it (obviously – I don’t take the Grauniad or the Grimes and even if I did, I wouldn’t read anything she wrote), but an ex-colleague was talking to me about it earlier this week. Based on what my ex-colleague told me, I said it sounded like Maitliss was talking carp – bearing in mind I have been there annually since 2015 for work, bar 2 COVID years, most latterly in January. I told my friend, even if women are “allowed” to wear what they want, they all still mostly wear the full face-covering (at least in Riyadh) although the really daring ones might just wear the headscarf, but all wear the abaya. All. I cannot believe it is through choice. There is a lot of societal pressure/male insistence (be it father or husband).

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2025/04/02/emily-maitlis-should-take-off-that-hijab/

    1. When I visited Jordan, which is relatively liberal, all the women wore a coloured abaya and a white hijab. Children both male and female wear jeans and t-shirts but clearly adult women comply with traditional dress. There is some logic to the big white headscarf. My neck and shoulders got burned in the sun.

      1. When I visited Kosovo and Albania last year, there was little visible sign that these are Moslem countries.

        1. Living in the desert does make the Jordanian approach a practical option. Many village houses there are still square white biblical dwellings with a flat roof and steps up the side – often with a satellite dish!

        2. I found the same in Tunisia in 2010. Tunis to Sfax in two x four-hour railway journeys without the usual company minder. I never once saw a woman in a headscarf. Oddly enough, though, I went to the pub the day I returned. My brother pointed to the TV and said "It's all kicking off in Tunisia."
          The image on the screen was of Tunis main railway station with signs of rioting. A lucky near-miss, I think.

      2. Being blunt, that's probably where it came from – protection from the sun in desert country's. That it's become related to muslim is down to the tendrils religion places into everything.

        Heck, Noah's story likely started out as a tribal story of 'pack as much food as you can, and get to high ground and or build boats'. It was only twisted when religion got involved – same as our own mythology of the green man and nature goddess became Mary and the Devil.

  24. The lefty SIR Starmer is not fit to be a knight of the realm ..

    He is ruining my country , his team are inner city twerps ,and so are his MPs , one of which represents South Dorset , where upon he wants to ram hundreds of wind turbines off our part of the coastline and more homes in our rural villages , when we don't have the infrastructure , we are a rural food growing county which is now blighted by solar farms

    Where the hell is our cheap electricity .. why haven't prices come down ?

    Why does our what was once fresh water taste so foul now?

    1. UK mains water has always in my memory tasted of swimming pool, there's so much chlorine in it. All it lacks are the loose hairs and old elastoplasts…
      Morning, Belle. Sunny day here.

      1. UK mains water has passed through so many kidneys, it need to be chlorinated.

        1. Urgh… don't drink pool water, almost everybody pisses in it.
          One sub-aqua training in Bedford, in the pool, we saw a beige turd rolling back & forth in the diving end… ugh.
          Sorry.

          1. I have to confess I was once caught peeing in a swimming pool, the lifeguard shouted at me so loud I nearly fell in

      2. I think the 'climate change' committee should be handed sewage filled water for their meetings. Then they can have a reminder of how we use energy.

    2. Yo T_B

      He is doing the same to Lincolnshire.

      Soon there will be no room to grow food

      1. Miliband doesn't care. He doesn't have to understand things like future planning, reality or common sense. The creature is a zealot.

    4. Energy prices will remain high because of the cross party obsession with 'climate change'. It's a tax scam perpetrated as a wealth transfer system, from earner to state. That's why the fiction was invented, that's what it's for.

    5. Yours too? Mine is undrinkable. It actually smells, sort of chemical sewage aroma. For cooking or drinking I have to use bottled water. Complain and they claim it is fine, implying it's your imagination. But none of my neighbours drink the water from their taps either.

  25. Intuitively I could not understand Trump's claim that VAT acts both as a trade barrier to US exports and somehow favours domestic producers in countries where VAT is applied at the expense of US rivals wanting to sell in those countries. The truth is, indeed, more complex than my simplistic assumptions but, nonetheless, VAT is not the unfair trade barrier posited by Trump and his allies. Either he misunderstands how it works or it's an outright dissimulation to justify the imposition of his own unfair trade practices.

    https://taxpolicy.org.uk/2025/04/02/no-vat-isnt-a-tariff-but-the-us-would-benefit-from-adopting-it/

    1. It is, however, the case that we and our continental neighbours raise far more of our revenues in sales taxes (for that is what VAT is) than is the case in America. Remember, introducing VAT was a condition of our accession to the EU.

      1. What you say is true but I cannot see how it disadvantages US businesses wishing to export to the EU, UK and the majority of countries worldwide which have VAT as their preferred form of sales tax. Domestic rivals of US businesses face the same imposition.

          1. I remember buying a leather case for a telephone for £15 and £20 of fees was slapped on it.

            This is what stifles trade.

        2. I believe it is charged on top the tariffs, so the US goods effectively get taxed twice, the tariff itself and then VAT on the tariff.

          2. Another argument goes as follows: VAT is applied to tariffs. Therefore if a US manufacturer sells a car to a UK consumer there’s a 10% tariff, and then 20% import VAT on top of that. Total VAT on the price plus the tariffs of 22%

            But a UK manufacturer selling to a UK consumer faces no tariffs – total VAT plus tariffs of 20%. Discrimination!

            But on close inspection this doesn’t make much sense:

            Almost no US car manufacturer sells direct to a UK consumer. They’d sell to a UK distributor, and the distributor will recover its VAT – including the import VAT on the tariff. The same is true for most goods (and services aren’t subject to tariffs). So, in practice, non-refundable VAT applying to a tariff is a rarely seen complication.

            But even in theory, it’s not VAT that’s the problem here. VAT makes the effective rate of tariffs higher, like it makes everything higher. The problem is the tariff, not the VAT.

          3. I wasn’t arguing about the tariff, I was explaining how I thought VAT was an additional issue, in answer to your question.
            I’m not convinced tariffs are an effective tool when labour costs vary so significantly worldwide.

      2. Remember also that a percentage of VAT went to the EU. I wouldn’t be surprised if it still does.

    2. If you've ever tried buying something from the US you'd realise the taxes and charges are prohibitive. I once bought a T shirt from Float – which donates a proportion to animal charities – and the taxes doubled the price. Think of that for larger items like cars.

      1. To whom were all those taxes paid? UK Customs & Excise, or the US?
        As I recall, VAT and import taxes were levied on the item price plus transport and every other cost they could think of, so ended up enormous in proportion to the (tee shirt?) purchased, so I never did that again.

        1. We were still in the EU at the time so they would have had a cut. The rest was UK I think. Not the US unless they charge their own companies to export.

        2. That's part of the problem. The product has a fixed price, the only beneficiary of taxes, duties (taxes in all but name) is the state. The loser is always the customer and the business, as these taxes reduce trade.

          The most rational nations simply don't levy such import and export duties because they want to sell goods and crucially, services internationally.

    3. No, VAT should be scrapped and replaced with a sales tax that's applied locally. It was a tax levied as an item had 'value' added to it, but this is now a nonsense as Brown expanded it to so many things, including food.

      The US should not adopt it because it's a messy, byzantine, stupid tax applied to business and individuals alike unfairly.

      1. There is a reasoned justification for VAT in the link. It's rather more difficult to evade than a simple sales tax. End consumers, for example, would pose as businesses to avoid incurring it.

  26. Good Moaning.
    And it is; so on with the tin foil titfer.
    Altogether now: We're All Doooooomed ………

  29. Just hung the washing up the "garden" and started doing a minor job and suddenly realised, my fingers are flaming well freezing!
    For all the bright sunny weather lately, the air temperature is still lagging behind!

    1. 18ºC here today. Our washing dried in no time yesterday under another relentlessly sunny sky.

    2. Wet washing and wind'll do that. It isn't bad out there (saying that, the sun has just gone in).

      I've the towels outside. They'll dry in no time with the wind being warmer. Like a tumble dryer outside.

  30. It was horrendously windy yesterday. The ladder that OH had left propped against the gable end wall blew down with a tremendous crash.
    Somehow it didn't smash my largest pot but came very close. We managed to manhandle the ladder together and lie it down flat at the edge of the drive. An empty waterbutt has been blowing around as well.

      1. Womanhandle reads like something that should get one arrested.
        Morning, Grizz.

    2. Unlike your largest pot, I was not spared. A bird pooped on my sleeve, yesterday morning, as I was walking to the GP. The only consolation was that it missed my head. Upon arriving at the practice I went straight to the WC and used toilet paper with liquid soap to clear away most of the mess. By the time I emerged, the green-yellow slime was barely visible. Nonetheless, the fleece jacket I was wearing went into the washing machine upon my return home.

    1. Yet we're still held up by countless myriad nonsense EU policy – such as plastic use, waste generation. Instead we pack our rubbish into shipping containers and post it to China or Africa who dump it in the sea and send us a pointless certificate.

      We should be recycling it locally.

  33. If it wasn't for the intransigent Remainers in Parliament, we would have had a trade deal up and running with the USA in Trumps first term and would not now be getting it with the 10% tariff.
    Thanks Remainers

  34. Not being toffee nosed here , but this is quite sad ..

    The Lady facing closure after 140 years of class and classifieds
    The long-running women’s magazine is at risk of liquidation.

    Financial pressures increased as The Lady’s circulation fell below 20,000 copies a month in December 2023, according to the most recent figures available.

    It follows the demise of Reader’s Digest, which published its final edition last May after 86 years.

    In February last year The Lady faced a winding up order over back taxes of £360,000. On Friday creditors received a letter from the law firm MJ Advisory notifying them that the magazine was being placed into administration, after the board agreed to start liquidation proceedings. The decision is expected to be approved by a judge at a hearing on Wednesday.

    The Lady’s publisher, Ben Budworth, took control of the business in 2008 after buying the magazine from his uncle Tom Bowles and mother Julia Budworth, who were grandchildren of its founder, Thomas Gibson Bowles, and cousins of the Mitford sisters.

    Ben Budworth was responsible for controversial decisions including installing Rachel Johnson as editor in an attempt to modernise its output, as well as selling its historic office in Covent Garden and moving staff to Borehamwood in Hertfordshire six years ago. Budworth’s wife, Helen, was appointed editor in 2022.

    Contributors and former staff expressed their disappointment about the demise of the title, which had pressure from online competition, an ageing audience and declining advertising figures.

    Johnson, who left as editor in 2012 and is the sister of Boris Johnson, said: “There is a huge amount of affection for The Lady, which was read by upstairs and downstairs, by the housekeepers and the duchesses. And it had turned into quite a good little product. It’s a shame to see it go the same way as WH Smith, another British stalwart which has also turned turtle in the last few weeks.”

    https://www.thetimes.com/uk/media/article/the-lady-facing-closure-after-140-years-of-class-and-classifieds-cgrtzwq9p

    I was searching for a house to rent due to our return from Scotland 1972, Moh was to be based back at Portland , and I found the cottage in Chideock advertised in the Lady as a winter let .. there were very few properties to rent in those days , re adverts in local papers etc.

    I don't know how we achieved anything in those days by virtue of a public phone box , a telegram or short letter!

    1. The Lady? Is that a pretentious rag for those uppity women who feel too posh (and far too important) to read Woman's Own?

      I bet it doesn't have recipes or knitting patterns, those are only for the downstairs maids.🤣

    3. Rachel Johnson turned it into just another women's magazine as far as I remember, whilst pulling silly disrespectful stunts. That was about the point where I would have started reading it, as my mother did….I wasn't tempted.

      1. She is the disgusting daughter of a disgusting father and has ghastly brothers. For some reason beyond my ken – her "articles" appear everywhere. Self-obsessed creature invariably writes about herself. And, often, her despicable brother.

      2. I don't see what's terrifying about that. It's a per capita comparison.

    2. It's probably like canada, there are so many new arrivals that even though gdp is rising, per capita gdp is going down.

      1. Which is why the state refuses to mention gdp /capita as it is embarrassing. More unskilled violent savages from countries with an IQ average 20 points lower than our own… what could go wrong?

    2. One can see where this is going. Starmer: "It has taken us five years to fix the foundations which required a far greater depth than we thought when we took hold of the reins. We need a further five years at the helm to achieve the level of prosperity we hoped to bring you during our first term."

  37. I'm off to catch the train for a day's shopping trip to Malmö.

    It's my first visit to that city since before the 'Covid' hyperbole took a grip on everyone's sanity. I'll be very careful and try not to be stabbed, impaled, shot, grenaded, piked, halberded, bombed or camel-trampled.🔪🔫🧨💣🐪

  40. Furious Brussels vows to retaliate
    This is fightin man's talk. The old One-Two..
    "Yeah, I'm fine. I snapped my chin down onto Trump's fist and hit him with another one in the knee with my nose." (Credit: Woody Allen).

    “We are now preparing for further countermeasures,” says European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
    as the bloc braces for a flood of cheaper exports coming from China and elsewhere that will be shut out of the U.S. market.

    “There would be two [responses]. There will be the first response to the steel and aluminum tariffs from the U.S. And there will be a second response that clusters together everything else,” said Olof Gill, the Commission’s spokesperson for trade.

    1. But aren't the tariffs imposed by the EU on the US already far higher than the tariffs Trump is about to impose on the EU?

      1. Yes. It works by the same logic the Mohammedans use. They're entitled to blow us up. We're not entitled to complain.

      5. Sir John Thomas
        3h
        The EU put tariffs on the U.K. for daring to leave. The Remoaners applauded this and said the EU was defending itself. Now the US is doing the same and the same people are doubling down on their DT derangement syndrome. You need a heart of stone not to laugh…😂

  41. Furious Brussels vows to retaliate
    This is fightin man's talk. The old One-Two..
    "Yeah, I'm fine. I snapped my chin down onto Trump's fist and hit him with another one in the knee with my nose." (Credit: Woody Allen).

    “We are now preparing for further countermeasures,” says European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
    as the bloc braces for a flood of cheaper exports coming from China and elsewhere that will be shut out of the U.S. market.

    “There would be two [responses]. There will be the first response to the steel and aluminum tariffs from the U.S. And there will be a second response that clusters together everything else,” said Olof Gill, the Commission’s spokesperson for trade.

  42. Rachel Reeves has forgotten this A-level economics rule
    The Chancellor may think she’s found an easy tax target, but she’s in for a rude awakening
     https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/rachel-reeves-forgotten-economics-rule/

    BTL

    I was not a brilliant student but I have a relatively humble degree in Economics and Philosophy.

    I understand the Laffer Curve, I understand the Laws of Diminishing Returns and Supply and Demand, I can also understand the kinky oligopoly curve and the fundamental flaw in the Keynsian equation: Y = C + G + I + (Exp – Imp), and my wife and I have also run a successful business for over 35 years. Rachel Reeves has shown herself to be incapable of understanding or doing any of these things.

    1. Conservatives say the Laffer Curve is proven. Socialists say it isn't. Both swear blind that their view is supported with hard evidence. Honestly, I've tried arguing the point with a socialist.

      1. If our course prices are too high we do not find any students and we do not make any money; if our course prices are too low we do not make as much money as we could.

        We have to get the balance right.

        Anyone who has run a business knows this. Very few few politicians and very few socialists have ever run their own businesses which is why they don't understand it.

    1. She can't do anything, we're at the end of a half-century long fiat currency experiment and so deep in debt that we're past the point of no return.
      All their savings and more will be forced upon us shortly. I'd forgive them taking away the 'freebies' upon which people have come to rely if not the billions that they are wasting on stuff like the green fraud, the invasion and paying Mauritius to take the Chagos islands off our hands.

  45. Morning all. Weather, ready 😊
    Brits baked in 19C sunshine this week amid a glorious mini heatwave – warmer than parts of Spain.

    But when it crashes, temperatures will plummet – and significantly too. According to forecasters, it will be as cold as -8C in the next two weeks, and this means snow is likely across large swathes of the UK. Northern England and parts of Wales are set to see the heaviest snowfall, which is expected on Wednesday April 16 and may continue for a few days.

    This is according to meteorologists at Metdesk, which produces WXCharts to illustrate the forecasts. The striking maps show by midday on Wednesday April 16 snow will blanket most of the UK, with as much as 6cm per hour anticipated throughout that afternoon.

    By 6pm that day, Cumbria, Northumberland and Durham will see the heaviest dumpings, the forecasters at Metdesk understand. Overnight, it is thought the white stuff will move southwards.

    Up to 4cm per hour could fall over the North Pennines early on Thursday April 17, while there could be a light dusting from Birmingham to Stoke, covering the West Midlands and Staffordshire.

    By 12pm on Thursday April 17, large parts of England are set to be blanketed by snow, including much of the Midlands, the north, the east and south east of England, along with Wales, reports Birmingham Live.

    The publication again cites Metdesk, which understands 6cm of snow per hour could fall over the North Pennines on Thursday April 17. By 6pm that day, snow is set to remain in patches across the Midlands and south of England, along with the north of England and eastern fringes of England.

    And by 6am on Friday April 18, the snow is set to be confined to the east and northeast of England, with up to 5cm forecasted to land over parts of North Yorkshire. Meteorologists say temperatures will be at their coldest levels of the whole week – at -8C – on Friday April 18, which of course is Good Friday this year.

    But the Met Office, a different service to Metdesk, does not yet reference snow in its long-range forecast. For the period of April 16 to April 30, the Met Office says: "Weather patterns are most likely to remain fairly slow-moving through the second half of April.
    "There could be some interludes of rain or showers for a time around mid April, but on the whole plenty of dry and fine weather is expected with high pressure looking to remain in charge for most of the time. Temperatures are likely to be around or a little above average overall, and feeling warm inland at times during the day, although some chilly nights are still possible under any clear skies."

    The service frequently updates and amends its forecast, though, when new information comes to light. It recorded a high of 19.2C on Tuesday in Kinloss, Scotland, and said it was 18.8C on the Isle of Anglesey, northwest Wales, on the same day.

    Meanwhile here in West Sussex it is a cool and sunny day.

    1. Thanks for the heads-up!!! Who to believe? Last night i was planning a hike up Kinder Scout and a challenging walk of the Shropshire Ring over Easter! Or a possible Sca Fell Pike/Kinder Scout combination!

    3. I cannot recall any snowfall of consequence in Stevenage since 2010. I'll be very surprised if there's anything worth reporting here before next winter. Frosts, too, have become increasingly infrequent and less severe over that period.

    4. I cannot recall any snowfall of consequence in Stevenage since 2010. I'll be very surprised if there's anything worth reporting here before next winter. Frosts, too, have become increasingly infrequent and less severe over that period.

    1. Why did this nice looking Jewish woman ever marry a despicable man who does all he can to appease Islam?

      1. Strictly speaking Lady S is not Jewish because only her father was born Jewish, and her mother converted to that faith.

  50. Back from a very busy market. Tony (of the knock off stall) very proud. His son finished his basic army training at Catterick last week and has been accepted in the Parachute Regiment. In this miserable age, it is still heart-warming that there are young men prepared to join the colours of their own free will. Countryside looking wonderful. Will finish the log clearing up this afternoon. And sow "Green Magic" broccoli.

  51. A stroke within 20 minutes of the jab – and they call it coincidence
    https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/a-stroke-within-20-minutes-of-the-jab-and-they-call-it-coincidence/

    We know they are lying.

    They know they are lying.

    They know we know they are lying.

    But the politicians don't give a toss and they will go on pushing the Covid jabs like the heroin pusher who won't accept responsibility for any damage done as the money and the backhanders continue to pour in.

    1. Thank you Rastus:-) my GP knows I continue to have problems (mostly STML) from Covid vaccine Cominarty (medic jabbed it straight into my arm, blood ran down back into vial – she said she was training to be a vet assistant – poor animals)….GP told my husband he had several patients similarly affected ('and strangely they are all women hahaha). Nevertheless surgery has now asked me ten times to got for flu/Covid combined vaccine. No chance of that. I do remember begging my daughter not to take my grandson, thankfully she listened.

      1. I had 'flu vaccine once, and was sicker than a dog, with 'flu-like symptoms. Never again. I take vit D3 and don't even catch colds now.

        1. Me2, Paul. Even vet now seems to prescribe supplementary type meds for dog. I remember reading, years ago, medics were becoming concerned about the use of anti-biotics in that human bodies were becoming used to them and concerned would eventually no longer be effective. Perhaps that’s implicated, somehow? I worked in a Health shop decades ago, people used to swear by vitamin (& mineral) pills.

        2. I've had flu jabs annually for at least the past 5 years without adverse consequence. I will continue to do so. I had a pneumonia jab on Tuesday with just a mild ache in the upper arm that evening and quite gone the following morning. I will have the shingles jab next year and continue to have Covid boosters without any qualm.

    2. This research paper from 2022 seems relevant:
      https://academic.oup.com/eurheartjsupp/article/24/Supplement_I/I190/6823835?login=false
      From the Abstract: "According to some recent studies, the incidence of a significant increase in blood pressure after COVID-19 vaccination is about 3.2% (95% CI: 1.62–6.21). The incidence of serious hypertensive emergencies or stage III hypertension has been reported as 0.6%. It is well known that the ‘spike protein’ of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, the synthesis of which is induced by vaccines, binds to ACE2 receptors, inducing their migration towards the inside of the cell. This would result in a lack of ACE2 activity on cell surfaces and therefore a relative deficiency of angiotensin1-7 with a relative excess of angiotensin II, which could explain, at least in part, the blood pressure increases."

    3. Back in 1970, I collapsed within 15 minutes of having a 'flu' jab.

      I have never had another one since.

  52. Labour knowingly chose ‘most disruptive’ date for private school tax raid
    January start was chosen to maximise revenue, court documents obtained by The Telegraph show
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/04/03/labour-chose-most-disruptive-date-private-school-tax-raid/

    Why did they impose the VAT raid in the middle of the school year if not as an act of hatred?

    The sheer sadistic spite and contempt for schoolchildren that this repulsive government has defies belief.

    1. Hmm. Was the "milk" one during the plague? When one was imprisoned by Johnson?

    2. If you listen to the video soundtrack, you will find he appears to be on a provisional licence, did not have L plates and was driving unaccompanied.

    3. "UK Cop Hunter". That says it all. Yet another moronic cunt who has nothing better to do than hound the police.

      If he'd tried that stunt back in my day, his equipment would have suffered an irreplaceable 'accident'.

      Whoops!

  54. Noted vehicles backed up to here earlier. Was told an accident down towards Cromford so had a walk down.
    Didn't realise the driver of the white car was still trapped in his vehicle.
    The onlooker was actually the passenger of the pickup. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/89377a91abc1ed7d1cba759e9aa948360182b6801c882363bf65e9b410d8dabb.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ca7a0dda7a9f379a224bdaa068ef77bfbb62f4d6dd70c06083f701ce680e82fc.jpg After the driver had been freed and taken to the ambulance. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/71b04c0b21048d52c89da8ca7cf940883e07dc665dcd471ff6376c9f3ef1b9d9.jpg He was actually still conscious when he was removed! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ad3b1b58d803df336a69018d5e53b920875f898dd5960e0878d8bfd96b5fb3ab.jpg

      1. As I say, he was still conscious and groaning as they moved him.
        Poor bugger, wasn't nice for him.

  55. Matthew Lynn looks on the bright side but omits to mention that if there is any improvement, however slight, in the UK economy as a consequence of Trump's actions, Starmer and Reeves will claim credit for it, ignoring completely their own attitudes towards the EU.

    Trump just proved Brexit was the best decision Britain ever made

    Britain will escape the punishing levies the US is imposing on imports from the EU. Europe’s manufacturers may even decide to move to the UK

    Matthew Lynn • 2nd April 2025, 10:45pm BST

    We have not seen much in the way of deregulation. Nor have we signed many blockbuster trade deals. And yet for anyone who is still wondering what the benefits were of Brexit, we now have a decisive answer. It has allowed the UK to escape the worst of Donald Trump’s tariff wars – and in the medium term that could pay extraordinary dividends.

    As he unveiled his global tariffs at the White House, the UK was mercifully low down on the list. It wasn’t quite the “nul points” we often get at Eurovision, but our exporters will only face a 10 per cent levy on everything they sell into the US. It was less than much of the rest of the world. And perhaps most importantly, it was only half the 20 per cent imposed on the EU.

    Sure, that will still hurt. The United States is our single biggest export market, and the levies will depress demand. Even so, there is no question that we have been let off relatively lightly.

    And we can thank Brexit for that – for three reasons. First, if we were still part of the bloc, or even the Customs Union as hardcore Remainers would like us to be, we would be facing an immediate 20 per cent tariff rate, twice as high as we now will.

    Next, the EU will almost certainly start a pointless tit-for-tat tariff war. It will impose retaliatory tariffs, prompting another round of higher levies from the White House, until tariffs hit 40 or 50 per cent on both sides. Inside the EU, we would have no choice but to go along with that. Instead, Sir Keir Starmer and his Chancellor Rachel Reeves should be able to see that there is no point in trying to humiliate Trump or force him to back down. It won’t work. Our tariffs will stay at 10 per cent and we may even be able to negotiate them even lower or eliminate them completely, something the EU will find impossible.

    Finally, it will mean British industry now has a clear competitive advantage over the rest of Europe. For Americans, a Scotch will be cheaper than Cognac, and Burberry cheaper than Hermes, but still with a luxury feel. Even better, there will now be a powerful incentive for EU manufacturers to ramp up production in the UK when they are selling products into the US. They will face lower tariffs while still manufacturing in Europe. A few may even move completely.

    Of course, the tariffs will still damage the global economy. In effect, they are a huge tax increase, and one that will be paid by American consumers. They will leave the international economy in far worse shape than it was. Even so, the UK has clearly escaped relatively lightly. We might even be better off. And we have our departure from the EU to thank for that.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/comment/2025/04/02/trump-just-proved-brexit-best-decision-britain-ever-made

    1. While any Brexit benefit is to be welcomed, it's a bit of a stretch to give Brexit the credit when at no time during our protracted departure was it said that the UK would escape lightly in the event of a US-EU trade war if the UK was on the outside. Of course, when I state UK, more accurately I should say Great Britain because of Northern Ireland's particular relationship with the Republic of Ireland/EU. What's the position of the Crown Dependencies? Will the Isle of Man and Channel Islands face no more than a 10% penalty on their exports to the US as their contribution towards Making America Great Again and also for greedily exploiting US generosity and laxity over several decades?

      1. Perhaps if Lynn had written 'Brexit has turned out to be the best decision Britain has ever made' you might have been less inclined to give it the BBC-literalist treatment.

      2. If only Brexit had not been deliberately maimed by the MPs, Lords, the Civil Service and the MSM Britain would have had a booming economy by now and a trade deal with USA set up during Trump's last presidency.

        1. I see little evidence of a great appetite amongst the political class to deviate very far from the strictures of EU membership. The leeway already permitted is not taken full advantage of. Had greater freedom been negotiated, and it wouldn't come free, it would still be lying dormant and untouched.

          I now regret having voted in that referendum. I should have abstained. My vote gave a personal endorsement to what now looks very much like a sham.

          1. The people wanted a proper Brexit. The PTB refused to give it them.

            In spite of Cameron promising that UK subjects living in EU countries would have the vote in the referendum he reneged on that promise.

            But I did vote to stay in the Common Market in the original referendum because I was naively unaware that I was being lied to.

          2. “The people wanted a proper Brexit”. Almost two thirds of the electorate did not vote for Brexit – they either voted to remain or were not sufficiently enthused about the issue to actually vote. Since then, the large number of people who at the time of the referendum were too young to vote are now able to do so and all polls show that a majority of them are opposed to Brexit. If you haven’t got your “proper Brexit” by now, the chances of doing so are diminishing by the day. It is too soon to ascertain whether or not Trump’s tariff war will be of benefit or damage to the UK and, hence, whether or not Brexit will turn out to have been the “best decision that Britain has ever made”.

          3. Well, you could say that the vast majority of voters last year did NOT vote for Cur Ikea Slammer and his policy of destroying the UK. But that is the way the system works.

            A majority is a majority. There was a majority to leave the EUSSR. None of those in power or in opposition wanted it. So it didn't really happen.

          4. Yes, it's a most unsatisfactory system. If a PR system was in place, a Labour/LibDem minority government might have emerged. It's difficult to know because they way people vote is influenced by the voting system in place. Some of those LibDem votes were cast, not to elect a LibDem government, but to prevent a Conservative one.

          5. We don’t vote on a binary issue at General Elections so I am not sure that much can be drawn from their results in comparison to a Referendum. Once the referendum results were in, it was up to the Brexit protagonists to implement it and their failure to do so is entirely their fault.

          6. My point was – under the system in the UK a majority – however small, however low the turnout = WINS.

          7. The reality was that, given the closeness of the result and that the majority did not vote for Brexit, the protagonists needed negotiating skills, leadership, communication competence and political nous to deliver the Brexit that those who voted for it wanted. Instead, they seemed to think that it was all over and Brexit would deliver itself. What on Earth did Brexit voters think was going to happen?

          9. There were several shades of Brexit. It's naive – and I was among the innocent to a certain extent – to pretend that we were offered just one variety and that it was clearly outlined at the outset. The 48% were not of one mind either. Some would have preferred a deeper relationship with the EU, rather than maintaining the status quo, by surrendering the opt-outs and adopting the single currency. In truth, we were given a chance to make a binary choice with the winners free to sort out the nuances after the event. What about those who wanted a Swiss-style or EFTA-ish relationship with the EU? How were their wishes represented in the way the referendum was framed? There was no satisfactory way of doing it. Given 10 choices on the ballot paper, none would have secured at least 50%. Acceding to the wishes of the winner, perhaps 30% at best, would have been howled down. With a binary choice, it was black or white and for many it was a matter either of not voting or choosing the option, vaguely outlined at best, least misaligned with their preferences.

          10. No, in this case it was a binary choice – in or out, completely. The electorate, understanding this, chose "out"- completely out- despite the huge tranches of public (our own) money thrown at trying to persuade us of the joys of being ruled by the unelected, unaccountable EU instead of our own elected people. Yet this (the express wish of the electorate) has not happened. Why? (I know why)

          11. I said it was a binary choice. However, those who voted for it included those who tolerated it as the least bad option. I do not and never will accept that those who voted for Brexit were all of identical mind, any more than those who voted for Remain. What if you wanted a Swiss or Norwegian style relationship? How were you expected to vote? For the status quo, for a cleaner break than you wanted or to not vote at all? As for those Remainers who wanted a deeper or closer relationship, all that was available to you was more of the same. No, I will never accept that the 52% wanted an identical out. For some, it was not as bad as staying in on the same terms. As for why the clean break never materialised, in part the political class didn't agree with the public vote, but some also recognised the complexity of trying to satisfy a proportion of the 52% who were dissatisfied with the options available but chose to leave because it was less undesirable than remaining in on the same terms.

          12. Well, it is a sham, and that vote along with the ensuing government response tells us all where we stand as regards to democracy.

          13. It isn’t the vote that was a mistake, it was the undemocratic response to it. Brexit should not have been a sham. It was the political classes that made it one.

    2. What's the thinking behind the US levying duties on EU stuff? Protection(ism), that the EU might be subsidising production, what?

    1. Starmer? Raynor? Reeves? Lammy?

      Can't be Milioaf. He's already there as Famine.

  58. Just back from the market…. nuff said.

    SWMBO came with me to do the weekly shopping, solo I spend about 40 quid, dual it was close to a ton, without any alcahol. disgusting

    Now I must resume my place in the kitchen

  59. Who’s in charge here?
    Rod Liddle

    I heard the self-important whine of a police siren so pulled back the curtains a little to see what was happening. I was in a bed and breakfast in Royston, Herts, so I assumed the rozzers were on their way to handcuff someone who had been mildly disobliging about their child’s school on a social media site. But there, just down the high street, the coppers had pulled up outside a pub. They got out of their car and stood about a bit. Then another police car pulled up and then another. Coppers got out of them too, and stood about a bit outside the pub.

    There were a few drinkers also outside the pub and one bloke seemed to have fallen over. There was, so far as I could see, no trouble. Certainly not the sort of trouble that would demand three police cars and six coppers. No, sorry – make that five police cars and ten coppers, because two more cars swung by the pub and disgorged officers of the law, who also proceeded to stand about a bit, outside the pub. This all lasted for about 20 minutes, then everybody went home. No arrests, nobody hurt, so far as I could see.

    So I suppose just six plod marching up the drive in their stupid yellow waistcoats to arrest a middle-aged couple for being a bit arsey about their daughter’s school was an expression of restraint by the Herts old bill, or maybe they were just understaffed that day. The coppers said later that six officers were needed in order to sequester ‘electronic devices’ and also to look after the children.

    I had always believed the police when they insisted how chronically short-staffed they are these days – after all those Tory cuts – but then it seems that the likes of Hertfordshire bizzies can’t attend any crime, no matter how insignificant, unless it’s in a kind of battalion. I daresay health and safety guidelines are in there somewhere and they, of course, take precedence over every other consideration, including common sense. But then I suppose if you relax the recruitment guidelines so that you can be a bit more DEI and end up hiring lots of dwarfs, weaklings and overweight women, then you must recourse to strength in numbers.

    The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, responded to the arrest of those parents by saying that the police should focus on cutting serious crime, such as violence against women and girls and knife offences, as well as shoplifting and antisocial behaviour. Of course, she is right and it is refreshing to hear a member of this mercifully reborn government say as much. But she is the Home Secretary, so one supposes that if she really wanted police to focus upon real crime, instead of more congenial imaginary crimes, she could kind of make it happen.

    Except that she can’t – and this is the point of this article. There is seemingly nothing anybody in power can do about anything. These progressive idiocies have rooted themselves so firmly within the guts of all of our institutions that there is seemingly no way of gainsaying them. Even after Cooper had made her observations, for example, the morons at Hertfordshire Police were lecturing MPs, telling them that they too could be investigated by the force if they dared to help the parents, or advocate for them – a frankly outrageous abuse of power.

    You see? It doesn’t matter what the elected government says, or indeed the views of Hertfordshire constabulary’s ultimate boss, the Home Secretary – this poison is ingrained and there is seemingly no viable antidote.

    The problem stretches well beyond the plod, of course. It is everywhere in our society. It does not matter that the last government insisted that trans women should be banned from being treated in women’s wards in our hospitals: the NHS effectively said that it would completely ignore this ruling, so suck it up. Meanwhile it has been left to a bunch of five nurses in Darlington to take their local NHS trust to court after they were compelled to share a changing room with a trans woman who, according to the nurses, was hung like a priapic rhino and had a girlfriend. They have faced vilification from their employer.

    Similarly, the Prime Minister has expressed disquiet over the fact that a three-year-old kid was suspended from his kindergarten for the crime of being ‘transphobic’. Like most people – including, one suspects, Sir Keir – I find it a challenge to the imagination that a three-year-old child could express transphobic statements. Did he stand up from his Play-Doh and say: ‘You know, having given the matter considerable thought, I have decided that I stand with Kathleen Stock and J.K. Rowling on the point of principle that sex is determined at birth and that there are two genders. I’m sorry, classmates, but that is how it is. Now let’s go watch Balamory.’

    But Sir Keir’s views count for nothing when put up against the guidelines insisted on by such toxic – and ridiculous – organisations such as Stonewall. Starmer may also be alarmed to discover that 94 primary school children under the age of eight were suspended from schools last year for having shown a bit of premature terfism. But it seems there is nothing he can do about it, any more than Rishi Sunak could.

    If there is hope, then I suppose one might find it buried in the row over the odious sentencing guidelines put before judges which would mean offenders from ethnic minorities would be treated differently to those who were white. To her immense credit, the Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood immediately pronounced this unacceptable. ‘These guidelines create a justice system where outcomes could be influenced by race, culture or religion,’ she said. ‘This differential treatment is unacceptable – equality before the law is the backbone of public confidence in our justice system. I will change the law to ensure fairness for all in our courts.’ The Sentencing Council having first been minded to ignore the government, it now seems that this stricture will be put on hold. A small but glimmering victory for rectitude.

    *************************************************

    Fouquieria
    10 hours ago edited
    This is what happens when Being Nice, or at least pretending to be so in front of one’s peers, takes precedence in the motivations of our politicians over Doing Anything Sensible. Particularly if most of the general public would approve of it, in which case just do the opposite, since they are ignorant, fascistic scum who should be corralled in their squalid panopticon and punished heavily if they object to being treated so poorly by the very state for which they are compelled to pay. Rub their filthy, ungrateful noses in it. It's for their own good.

    These same politicians are also the worst sort of cretins; the industrious sort. Ever-energetic in their efforts to be "progressive", whatever loony form that takes this week, the more so towards the sort of newly-arrived folk with whom they will never have to share a neighbourhood, because that will make them look Even Nicer. Their friends will tell them so at the dinner parties and black tie events for which their ticket has been provided by some financially incontinent supporter/chum/partner.

    Their energy, however, quails at the notion of the sort of gruelling, thankless, necessary labour required to bring real change and improvement to a nation. You know, the sort those disgusting proles keep whining about, like national borders so porous a million unwelcome strangers arrive every three weeks to demand free room and board somewhere with a decent TripAdvisor rating. As this sort of tricky stuff is potentially a bit difficult, such work is best left to specialists, so it's obviously far better done by a quango. Which means more money for chums and, when there's blowback from the voters for the five minutes we actually need them, they can't blame us. Trebles all round, Lord Alli!

    Mr R M Bellamy
    6 hours ago
    Good article, Rod.

    The rot, as you put it, has gone further, quicker, earlier than we think.

    Like a garage door that suddenly won't shut, we find that years of neglect has allowed wet rot to spread unchecked.

    We now know that our 'secret' security apparatus has already failed, due to a bizarre belief that recruiting one's potential enemies and inserting them into the bosom of our protective body is A Good Thing.

    Personally, I blame Tony Blair for folding Special Branch into the Anti-Terrorism Squad. Like throwing away the rot preventer.

    Margaret Robinson
    6 hours ago edited
    No Rod, sex is determined at CONCEPTION, not birth.
    Silly, silly mistake that actually plays into the hands of those who claim that sex is assigned at birth.
    Correction please.

      1. If they're human cells, yes. Every one of the thirty seven trillion cells in the human body can be defined as male or female. It's written in the DNA.

    2. I quite agree with Rod Liddle, which is why I've concluded that voting changes little beyond that of the names of ministerial office holders. Can anyone here seriously imagine a world in which Tommy Robinson, Rupert Lowe or similar saviour eventually becomes the UK's Primus Inter Pares, it least within the lifetimes of most who assemble on this forum?

  61. The most chilling thing about Southport? It could have been stopped

    Axel Rudakubana was known to the authorities. It is unforgivable that he slipped through the net.

    Rakib Ehsan • 2nd April 2025

    Rudakubana was clearly a ticking timebomb. And Prevent failed in its fundamental task to protect the public. His case was closed because he lacked any coherent terroristic or religious ideology – even though Prevent also caters to would-be killers of this kind…there is an increasing threat posed by non-ideological actors, which Prevent is struggling to grasp..tracking those with an uncertain, incoherent combination of motivations poses significant challenges for authorities accustomed to dealing with more traditional Islamist or far-right forms of extremism.

    He displayed a chilling obsession with acts of terror, genocidal violence and school shootings…suggesting the through-line here wasn’t ideology or religion but a revelling in mass violence itself.

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2025/04/02/the-most-chilling-thing-about-southport-it-could-have-been-stopped

    So far, so good, Mr Ehsan but a breakdown of violent crime of all types by race, culture and land of origin would also be very helpful. I wonder what it would show? Not much from the far-right, I suspect.

    1. The security services waste their time – deliberately – chasing the fictional 'far right' because big fat state is most threatened by the nuclear family, common sense, informed, educated citizens. Thus it doesn't really care about the real dangers of muslim terrorism.

    2. Rudakubana did not lack coherent motivation. He likely lacks brain cells but that's another matter. He is a black African Moslem. He ticks all the boxes.

      1. Yet for some reason those problems are not being considered.

        Yet… at the other side of things I have a Nigerian friend who is a staunch Catholic (sort of. he falls off the wagon too often) and putting it bluntly, if you broke your back, you want him putting you back together.

        1. Oh, I think their motivation was very coherent, KJ! Deflect from the Islamic threat, demonise the indigenous. Weaponise the term "far right" against the deplorables.

          1. ‘Evening opopanax…ever the voice of reason and good sense after a less than sterling day, thanks x

          2. Evening KJ! I'm about to fold. Just off to do the Neds then will either reappear or go in my basket. We'll see. Hope all well at Castle KJ xx

          3. I feel the same, hammock it is as soon as poss. All is well…as my dad would say ‘it’s t’uther *******s’ Sleep well, opo xx

      3. Every where I have lived in Africa … the same old cry , " What have you brought for me , European "

        My parents carried bottles of Aspirin tablets , malaria tablets , and coloured pencils to give out , just in case .

    4. … "even though Prevent also caters to would-be killers of this kind".…
      I had to reread those words; and then had a long think.

  62. Gamblers are turning to unregulated markets in record numbers, potentially depriving the Treasury of up to £335 million over the next five years, it is claimed.
     https://www.telegraph.co.uk/racing/2025/04/03/grand-national-black-market-betting-gambling-illegal-stakes/

    Laffar curve discussed in the DT today

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e57be83ac6b4a84cafe39ba11f9cd03e5267004af59444f686b7f9bbfb1252aa.png
    Reeves and Starmer won't be laffing much now!

    1. The gamblers are probably making better use of the money than the Treasury would. At least they are getting some thrills as their money disappears into a black hole!

      1. They probably don’t have anything that complicated in the complaints department??

  63. That's the logs staked, the ground cleared – everything ready for a bonfire – possibly Wednesday next week.

    Green Magic broccoli and Cobra beans sown in greenhouse.

    Time for a short break. Tea, for example.

    1. And Starmer is wrong. Welfare is what stops people doing dirty jobs. If they weren't paid to loaf about, they wouldn't. Then they'd realise they want to better themselves so they don't have to do such jobs.

      1. Logical. But as you know 'they' don't want people to aspire to anything. They want slaves.

  65. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/09bef7d6b9c1625001dcca9295afc6e9b6974e90dad066099d3d4f6526b33e88.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c6a5072cfa906cc11a15f63249c739d10fff718a2ee6929b1895b47d970dafd8.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/91b6ee717f32028067519f95ecb5f61ed9e201e37985054b5ac7608d803f463e.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e383f545380128c32c2c313ec947fcd5ab8b7306d2cba44c55d31193f4a607d7.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b96e31af21a8839827fc6a3e83867c7c3ab2fa2734ee7aab0a573e30422ccdd1.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3f68b15bbbb871891a2bfc75f9060d0d62b626e28af1fce3967ec43291b0e62e.png There I was, heading into the war-zone of strife-ridden Malmö; tin hat on, along with kevlar jacket, AK-47 and sidearm, ready for anything that wretched city could throw at me.

    Strangely it was more like Paris's Left Bank than downtown Beirut! What had gone wrong with my careful preparations? Downhearted I cast aside my armour and weapons and succumbed to an excellent quality sirloin steak and a quaffable IPA at a very good open-air restaurant.

    There was nary a burqu, nor an iffy middle-eastern dialect, anywhere to be seen (or heard). Even the Japanese cherry trees are in full bloom, and it is only the third of April!😲

    1. Maybe there's a plan? A working one? I'll be having similar dinner (sirloin, Asahi). Good you made it out safely…

      1. I have visited Malmö on countless occasions — for all manner of events — and I have never experienced a single problem of any sort, Katy.

        1. September 2023

          " Clashes erupted in an immigrant neighborhood in Sweden's third largest city after an anti-Muslim protester set fire to a copy of the Quran, police said Monday.

          Police in Malmo said they were pelted with rocks and dozens of cars were set on fire, including in an underground garage, and described the events that started Sunday and lasted overnight as "a violent riot."

          The clashes started after an anti-Islam activist, Salwan Momika, burned a copy of the Quran on Sunday and an angry mob tried to stop him, police said. At least three people were detained, they said.

          Early Monday, a crowd of mainly young people set fire to tires and debris and some threw electric scooters, bicycles and barriers in Malmo's Rosengard neighborhood, which has seen similar clashes in the past. Several banners condemned the Quran burning."

          Voice of America report

          1. And, of course, nothing remotely like that is happening on the streets of London, Birmingham, Luton, Bradford, Leicester, Derby …

          2. You can push that old 'news' as much as you want, but the fact remains that — nowadays — Swedish streets are much safer than English ones. And, as you are all aware, the English problem is escalating while the Swedish one is now under better control.

          3. I am not “pushing” old news – merely pointing out that Malmö has not escaped slammer violence.

          4. Dismal. Coming to every town and village. Why do they want to come here, why allowed to?….ok, free housing, benefits, bring your family….ECHR..why don’t we leave? NI Agreement..

    2. While there I passed a shop for expats called A Taste of Britain. It sells all manner of British foods and other goods, but at a very expensive price. I didn't particularly want to buy anything there (I can get most things much cheaper online) but I explored their wares in any case. On one shelf was a fairly large stock of Atora 'vegetable' suet; but not a single packet of proper Atora beef suet in sight.

      When I enquired why, I was told by the (English) assistant that EU rules made it difficult for them to source animal products. She then went on to praise the 'vegetable' alternative as an 'excellent' product for making dumplings.

      She was somewhat downcast when I told her that beef suet is a proper, delicious and nutritious foodstuff; but that the ersatz, Frankenstein 'vegetable' suet (which contains no vegetables, whatsoever) is a poisonous and hazardous trans-fat, manufactured from seed oils, that has been proven to be deleterious —injurious — to human health.

      Time the EU were properly educated about food and their cretinous staff sacked!

      1. WTF is "vegetable suet" – and is it even edible?
        Do they have marmite & Heinz salad cream?

        1. Precisely. WTF is it!

          They had Marmite, Bovril, Heinz salad cream (and sandwich spread), Bird's and Ambrosia custard and a few more 'staples'.
          Trouble is they are so expensive. BritSuperstore is much cheaper.

    3. Thank you for some perspective. I visited London on Saturday, Kensington and Chelsea, not Lewisham, admittedly, and at no point did I feel unsafe, despite travelling to and from Finsbury Park on the tube. Yes, the risk of being a victim of crime is greater in large cities, but it remains the norm to return home without being shot, stabbed, assaulted, robbed or bombed. You are not lucky to return home safely, you're unlucky if you don't.

      1. I like the opportunity to visit a city, especially to buy the things you cannot source at home. But, as Frank Sinatra memorably said:
        “… But it’s so much nicer,
        Yes, it’s so much nicer to come home.”

    1. Well the thieving gits certainly have their hands in my pocket, but I doubt it's to put cash in there.

    2. They must be Joe King.
      Any one who votes for these AHs must be insane. Or not British.

      1. I have a choice of Lab, LD, Con and Reform. All, in their various ways, suspect.

          1. I had the nomination notices emailed to me. I have only had one leaflet (Reform, as it happens).

      2. In Essex and Norfolk – possibly in other areas as well – there are no local elections.

  67. Busy morning / afternoon .

    Specsavers .. drat and double drat .. start of 2 cataracts.. I have veered away from new varifocals and just asked for distance specs, my varifocals have always made me feel dizzy when out for a walk , have worn them for years , useful for reading and TV / laptop but I have tripped up several times and fallen over whilst out in the countryside .

    Moh needed new glasses.. especially for distance when he plays golf .

    Then wandered off to B+Q .. everywhere very quiet … I mean quiet .. Lots and lots of people are not happy .

    B+Q didn't have what we wanted in their garden section so we visited a local nursery and bought a largish Photinia to fill a gap in our dying hedge, well we would need a few , some extra colour will be nice.

    Drizzling now .

    There were 2 huge heath fires on the Poole side , Upton and Canford Heath last night / early hours .

    1. ' have worn them for years , useful for reading and TV / laptop but I have tripped up several times and fallen over whilst out in the countryside' .

      I'm no specialist but … think about what you said.

      1. It's the drink, Phil – she pretends to be TT but the evidence is there to see…!

        1. If only Bill… if only .

          Moh and I have full vino bottles here there and everywhere .. he wins many at golf , but we don't imbibe anymore , so they are then put into the elderlies raffle as and when .

        1. As i say i am no professional.

          When watching TV or looking at a laptop or Kindle you are normally seated.

          When out walking you are looking up and down and side to side.

          You said it yourself.

          Perhaps a pair of standard glasses for walks so you get the big picture rather than the detail.

    3. My advice, Maggie: Never wear varifocals!

      They distort vision ''at the sides' and can cause loss of balance – and a fall.

      1. Hello Lacoste ,

        So true and thankyou x
        I have worn varifocals for years and have always had a problem .. I have tripped up in the countryside , very embarrassing , many times , lost my balance feels as if I am on a ship , whoa .

        I figured out my vision was distorted far too late , so today , Specsavers advised me to try a pair of distance glasses to wear whilst I am out with the dog / shopping etc .

        So have ordered a cheap pair and will pick them up in a couple of weeks .

    1. Well done! After my starter word I thought I might make eagle – had to settle for birdie!

      Wordle 1,384 3/6

      ⬜🟨🟨🟨🟩
      🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      2. Thanks, GGGG. Now I know that doing Wordle on the second attempt is called an "Eagle".

    2. Options, options – pick a matching letter, any letter will not do.

      Wordle 1,384 4/6

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

      2. Earlier I wondered if doing Wordle in 2 might be called a "Double? Your post suggests that it is called a "Flier". Is this correct, or did you suggest that you had simply got off to a flying start? I need to know.

          1. Thanks, lacoste. GGGG managed to put me straight shortly before you did.

        2. Flying start. ARISE has been good for me in the past, but I do use other starter words too.

  69. Afternoon, all. Went out to lunch today with friends. On the pudding menu was spotted dick. Took me back to my school days.

    You could put any number of policies after “staggering ineptitude” when applied to Starmer.

    1. How agreeably old-fashioned that "spotted dick" is still allowed these dreadful, woke days.

    2. Spotted Dick was my No 1 favourite school pudding. It was so delicious and moist I often ate mine without custard.

      1. I loved Rolly Poly pudding .. oh yes .. and of course proper Bakewell Tart , oh yum…

        We haven't had a proper pudding for years because Moh's type 2 diabetes wouldn't allow it .

        1. My wife is type-2 diabetic but she uses the Canderel Bake! or Canderel Stevia when making desserts such as crumbles etc. I can't stand drinks using sweeteners e.g. tonic water, but I can't tell the difference when they are in a cooked dish.

        2. Take your dog and a friend and go for a sweet treat, Maggie. Your OH won't notice if he's golfing.

          1. Ours was so thick, sixth former cut it with a knife. (Six to a table, one from each year, first year (me) being at the far end, alone, and thin pickings….)

          1. Good grief, Grizzly, I have just seen your avatar for today. Have you moved from Sweden to the Yukon? Lol.

  70. Watching this with interest…

    "Dear Gab Community,

    Just days after we exposed the UK government's escalating attacks – including their admission of targeting our infrastructure providers in an act of economic terrorism – new developments confirm that our warnings about the dangers of the UK's Online Safety Act are being recognized at the highest levels, while simultaneously revealing the truly draconian nature of their threats.

    First, the Vindication: A recent report in The Guardian has revealed that officials from the U.S. State Department directly challenged the UK's communications regulator, Ofcom, regarding the severe threat the Online Safety Act poses to freedom of expression.

    According to the report:

    -Officials from the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) met with Ofcom in London.
    -During this meeting, they explicitly raised concerns about how the Online Safety Act risks infringing free speech.
    -A State Department spokesperson confirmed this, stating: "As vice-president Vance has said, we are concerned about freedom of expression in the United Kingdom. It is important that the UK respect and protect freedom of expression.”

    This is significant validation of everything Gab has been fighting against. Even elements within the US government recognize the UK Online Safety Act for the threat it is.

    Now, the Stark Escalation: While Ofcom downplays the Act, claiming it only targets "illegal content," the reality is far more sinister and extends into unprecedented personal threats. The scope of this law isn't limited; it potentially applies to any user-to-user service accessible in the UK.

    And here's the truly chilling part: Buried within this tyrannical legislation is the power for UK authorities to bring criminal charges against named senior managers at companies deemed non-compliant.

    Let that sink in. They genuinely believe they have the authority, under this Act, to target individuals – like myself – and potentially send American citizens to PRISON for the supposed crime of refusing to implement the UK's subjective censorship regime on a US-based platform protected by the First Amendment.

    This isn't just delusional; it's a stunning display of authoritarian overreach. It's as if they've forgotten we operate in the United States, under US law. This threat to literally imprison executives of foreign companies demonstrates the absolute extremity of their censorship agenda and their disregard for international norms, national sovereignty, and fundamental rights.

    (then he asks for donations to help Gab fight OFCOM)

    The masks are off. The UK's agenda involves censorship, economic warfare, and now, the audacious threat of jailing individuals who refuse to comply. We will not be intimidated. Stand with us now, stronger than ever.
    Stay vigilant, stay vocal, stay free.
    With unwavering resolve,

    Andrew Torba and the Gab Team

    Christ is King

    1. You played this on Tuesday. Try to be original, Paul. Mozart did compose over 700 musical pieces!!

      1. What musical pieces? It's the heaving cleavages that he likes replaying again and again.

  74. Malmo (sorry no dots) is famous for it, Bill. I am astonished that dear Grizzly is in such denial. It's akin to pretending that London remains an English city.

          2. Neither do I. I am not Glaswegian (nor am I Norwegian). I use a standard English keyboard.

            Spelling Malmö as 'Malmo' is just as bad as spelling it 'Malmz', 'Malmq', or 'Malmv'. The letter Ö is not a funny O with two dots on top, it is a completely separate letter of the alphabet — with a unique pronunciation — as are D, N, Å and T.

          4. Let me try something, Grizzly: Señal (Spanish for Sign or Signal). Wow, this is a fantastic learning. (Or is it Señàl, I can't recall). I seem to remember that the accent is always on the penultimate syllable unless it ends on a vowel or n or s in which case you can change the accent to the final syllable by adding an acute accent. Hence Corazòn, Compàs, Acà, Casè, Aquì, Perdiò, and Ombù. Compras (purchases in Spanish) has the emphasis on the penultimate syllable, whereas Què compràs? (emphasis on the final syllable) means What are you buying?

            Now I am getting a little confused because Señor ends neither in a vowel nor an n nor an s, yet the accent is still on the final syllable. But the words Señora and Señorita follow the normal rule where the accent is on the penultimate syllable? As Fagin sang in the Lionel Bart musical "Oliver!" "I think I'd better think it out again." Time to dig out my primary school Spanish textbooks for a short refresher course.

          5. I’ll have to take your word on that, Auntie Elsie, because as a language, yer España … Είναι όλα ελληνικά για μένα!😉

        1. That’s why (or one of the reasons) that I am an unreconstructed old-fashioned person!

        2. Let me try that, Annie. Grizzly recently visited Malmö. Wow, it worked! And let's see what else I can do: Corazòn (Spanish for Heart) and perhaps œvre (French for Works or Repertoire). The things one learns on this site.

    2. What am I in denial about? I've always felt safer walking the streets of Malmö than I ever did in most English cities.

      1. Maybe, but that is beside the point, Grizz. Are you really saying that it remains a peaceful, Swedish city that benefits from its recent enrichment? Maybe the UK is even worse – who knows? But the awfulness that we endure here in the UK does not make it OK if yours, there, is less bad.

        1. "Are you really saying that it remains a peaceful, Swedish city …"

          You sound like that Channel 4 woman. Show me where I have said that.

          1. Don't want to have a bust-up with you, Grizzly. I really don't! (I like you very much). Just sayin' that Malmo (with the dots – tried Bill's advice and it didn't work for me) is maybe not the paradise that you say it is. Nor is the UK uniquely awful.

  76. That's me for this very pleasant day. Log work completed. Just waiting for a north wind so that the trimmings (quite a lot) can be burned.

    I forgot to mention that one good thing about Wivno yesterday was seeing three swifts circling. And a crow visited my sister-in-law's pond to feast on the frogspawn. What a large bird it is!

    Have a jolly evening.

    A demain.

        1. A search of the databases, for today, on the Birdguides and BTO websites, tell me that there have not been any sightings of Common swift Apus apus in the UK yet. Their earliest arrival is usually between mid-late April and early May.

          Perhaps you saw house martins, sand martins or barn swallows, all of which occur earlier.

          3. The swallows are early here, but seeing a swift this early would have been amazing.

    2. Crow ,

      Wow please listen here , I have had a Raven visiting the front garden .. huge creature , shaggy feathers .. and you should have seen how clever she is .. she gathers the bread bits and stale pork pie into a pile , guess what she then grabs the pile in her bill and flies off , ten minutes later she is back for a drink from the large water dish in the front garden ..

      I felt so emotional , have seen her 4 times over a period of days .. at around 10am when I throw the scraps on the lawn .. so clever .

      I expect your sister-in-law's pond feast has attracted a Raven .. huge bird .. and amazing .

      1. Can't you put the leftovers in a carrier bag, to make it easier for your raven?

        4. The ravens here are very resistant to capture or training. I would love a pet raven. :-((

      2. The wind howls like a hammer,
        The night blows cold and rainy,
        My love she's like some raven
        At my window with a broken wing.

        [Love Minus Zero : Bob Dylan]

          2. Thanks opopanax, much appreciated. My LPs stolen in a house move, long ago. Never got over it. I especially love how his rhymes are so obvious. Lived on my own, must be half a century ago, in an attic flat…a boyfriend left quite a few of his LPs and this was one. A good memory, wish I was still back there 🙂

        2. "My love, she speaks like silence,
          Without ideals or violence…"

          Blimey, I've come over all silly.

      3. They are so special…have one here, occasionally flies low over my head when out walking, the silence and then suddenly the wings…

      4. I don't think ravens live in Essex.
        Apart from the captive ones in the Tower of London, they tend to be found in the west.

  77. I know – and Paul has been married all that time; one would think he'd have grown out of it!

  79. Emotional support dogs causing chaos in courts
    Defendants must be stopped from bringing untrained pets to cases, judges told after animals defecate in courtrooms and ‘attack’ witnesses.

    Defendants must be stopped from bringing untrained “emotional support” dogs and other animals into courtrooms after several cases were disrupted by barking and growling, judges have been told.

    Judiciary officials have shared guidance on dealing with the issue following a surge in defendants and witnesses seeking to bring along pets to help them cope with stress.

    There have been reports of “untrained” animals jumping at or even attacking witnesses – including people who are scared of dogs or have allergies.

    US courtrooms have also seen a similar recent increase in people bringing animals, including ducks, a squirrel and an alligator, to cases.

    An alert sent to courts, seen by The Telegraph, states: “Increasingly, parties have been trying to bring emotional support animals (ESAs) into court and tribunal hearings in much the same way as a disabled person would bring in a highly trained assistance dog.

    “Assistance animals, such as guide dogs, hearing and medical alert dogs, are covered by equality legislation which means courts must allow them into proceedings.

    “ESAs, however, are not regulated, have not necessarily undergone any training nor serve a specific function, and in some instances may be little more than family pets; there have been examples of people bringing cats and lapdogs into courts and tribunals, without making any advance requests.”

    Last year, at Grimsby Crown Court, Vincent Harvey brought his nine-week-old Staffordshire terrier with him when he was sentenced to eight months in prison for dangerous driving.

    His dog ended up urinating and defecating on the floor of the court’s foyer after he was sentenced.

    In 2017, Aidan Wiltshire, a 73-year-old man accused of stalking, was allowed to bring his pet cat to his trial at Chelmsford Crown Court to help calm his nerves.

    Aidan Wiltshire with his cat outside Chelmsford Crown Court in March 2017

    The next edition of the Equal Treatment Bench Book, which provides advice to courts in England and Wales, would be updated to include guidance on the issue, the alert from officials said.

    In the interim, courts have been urged to follow the advice of Judge Clare Jane Hockney.

    She wrote in a recent article: “There is concern that allowing court users to bring in potentially untrained pets, claiming them as ESAs, could cause disruptions that significantly impact on the fairness of the hearing and the rights of others.

    “For example, an uncontrolled dog barking or growling throughout the hearing, or jumping at other witnesses, particularly where a person is scared of animals or has an allergy to dog hair.

    “There is anecdotal evidence of this happening in tribunals. Untrained pets could further particularly interfere with genuine assistance dogs by barking, jumping at or even attacking them. There is of course no requirement to admit a regular pet.”

    Untrained pets ‘should not be permitted’
    Judge Hockney said judges should ask anyone who wanted to bring an ESA to “explain” how it might assist their mental health or participation in the hearing.

    This would normally include a medical or psychological report about their condition and how the animal supported them, she added.

    The person would also be expected to provide evidence of their pets’ training, such as certificates.

    “They would need to provide confirmation that the animal will lie next to the owner, be on a lead (for a dog), or under the person’s control, not foul in the courtroom, not jump up or wander freely,” she added.

    Judge Hockney said all sides in a case should be consulted, “with any objections, such as serious dog allergies, which should be taken into consideration when deciding whether to admit the ESA.”

    Alternatives could include a witness or defendant giving their evidence remotely by video with their ESA alongside them.

    However, judges would still retain the right to exclude an animal if they decided an in-person hearing was required, she advised.

    “The judge will need to carefully balance up the competing rights to come to a decision. While a disabled person can simply bring their assistance dog into court, without giving prior notice, and be accommodated, a person should not just turn up at court/tribunal with their ESA and expect to be allowed in by simply stating that it supports their mental health,” said Judge Hockney.

    She added: “A pet that is untrained and meets no evidenced mental health needs should not be permitted. Judicial oversight is vital as abuse of the use of ESAs could impact on those with genuine needs, and even lead to a general scepticism of genuine assistance dogs.”

    In January 2016, Judge Lynn Roberts, a family judge for Essex and Suffolk, permitted dogs into Chelmsford county court in what was a UK first.

    Pets As Therapy, a national charity, and Canine Concern, a similar organisation, were tasked with providing the animals, with the aim of reducing stress for witnesses and defendants.

    Judge Roberts said she would have “loved” to also allow donkeys into court but stopped short because of their size. The scheme came to an end in 2019 when a new judge ruled against it.

    Truro Crown Court in Cornwall followed suit in early 2018 by allowing therapy dogs to help witnesses before they gave evidence.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/04/02/dogs-causing-chaos-court-judge-clare-jane-hockney-uk/

    Tintin LeChien
    4 hrs ago
    This is where the west has lost the plot. We have never allowed any animal onto planes, buses and other public places. All of a sudden, some woke inclusive idiot decided a pet is not a pet, when you call it ‘comfort’ xxxing xxx show, and voila you can bring your

    Peacock (really – on an American plane)

    Lizard

    Snake

    Tiger

    Spider

    Because you are such a snowflake.

    Stop this nonsense before our system is destroyed by subjective feeling. edited

      3. It was because they climbed up your ladder but still couldn't see your elephant.

    2. Beautiful clear sky here… some rain would be useful, get rid of leftover ice & snow.

  81. So why do the mainstream Left hate Trump so much? all he is doing is creating the environment for manufacturing, industry and agriculture to thrive in his country, while providing quality meaningful employment for American workers.
    The Left like to personify poor unemployed people in Americas rust belt states as sub-human, this is what they think of working people.
    It is not much different here in the UK these days.
    These people traditionally are the people the Left once had their roots in.
    It's almost as if they no longer want a successful wealthy industrial country.
    I wonder what has changed in the last few decades, for them to so despise the class of people that powered the industrial revolution.
    Then we have to look at what is left of the mainstream Right, the Conservatives.
    They appear to hate Trump too, when creating the environment for manufacturing, industry and agriculture to thrive in his country, while providing quality meaningful employment for American workers should be equally an aspiration for all right wing thinking people too, in our country.
    Trump has exposed how politics has been hijacked here and in most western countries, whereby there is no longer a divide between mainstream Left or Right, it's all in name only, they all appear to be working against the people they are supposed to represent.
    Most free thinking people have known or suspected this for a long time, we need to thank Trump for exposing it all so openly, he truly is a genius.

    1. Couldn't read all that properly (text too dense) but what i saw looked good and true.

        2. It was the lack of spacing (paragraphs) that did for me. Just can't do it – too "old, and ill, and tired, and tight"

          1. I cut and pasted it from a FB post
            It always seems to lump it all together for some reason

          5. Oooh, lovely; thanks! (Madeleine Dring composed a setting of this which was always one of my favourite party pieces. 😎) x

    2. Trump has handed on a plate more excuses to allow our useless government escape from its responsibilities. More lies and BS. To follow.

    3. The "poor" that you describe are also reactionary – they don't like change, they are patriotic and support their country and fellows. That's why the Left hate them so much – small "c" conservative.

      1. Reminds me of many of the characters in 'The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists'. There's much in what you say.

    4. To a significant degree, the thrust of Trump's moves are to undo the UN's phoney 'environmental' initiatives which started with the Kyoto Accords in 1997. They pretended to focus on reducing 'Global Emissions' but, as was later admitted by senior UN officials, were really designed to shift primary industries (e.g. steel making, aluminium smelting, coal mining/electricity generation, etc.) out of 1st world countries by making them prohibitively expensive via artificial levies and into 3rd world countries by exempting those countries from any such penalties for hosting 'polluting' industries. The loss of US jobs in coal mining, alumina smelting, steel making, and other primary heavy industries was a major factor in putting Trump into the White House for his first term. The more I explain this to my 'liberal' American friends (inc. my 4 TDS children) who supported Kyoto, the more dismayed they become.

      Subsequent UN 'Climate Change' initiatives have moved in the same direction shifting secondary manufacturing industries out of 1st world countries overseas towards 3rd world countries. Quite understandably, people such as US's UAW and others are pissed off and support Trump's moves to rebalance via tariffs.

      Our homegrown Marxist Militwat's net zero nonsense is in complete sync with his Marxist pals at the UN who want to destroy the 1st world economies, flood those countries with low IQ incompetents, and move to World Government with Marxist Technocrats sitting on top of the pile of detritus.

      Go Donald! [although I don;t think he or his team fully understand the trade/tax interplay in its full complexity. Few Americans do because foreign trade is a comparatively small part of their overall economy]

      1. Today Trump and his team have discovered that US built products contain an awful lot of foreign parts, so for example US domestic car manufacturers' prices will rise. As that sunk in, all US stock markets went down significantly. I don't think they have hit bottom either.

        Nobody in power has apparently ever read Adam Smith.

        p.s. no tariffs on Russia. Wonder why not since there are tariffs on pretty much everyone else.

        1. Russia is sanctioned for most things, and I suspect it may be a lever for peace in Ukraine.

        2. No tariffs on Canada either – as long as you overlook the 25% on steel and aluminium. Oh and the 25 percent on cars, not forgetting ten percent on energy. Then don't forget the never ending tariffs on softwood lumber, I am sure those extra costs are going down well in California when they try to rebuild.

          No doubt a few new blast furnaces and smelters can be built in the next week or two so that american companies can come back from the increased import costs they face.

  82. I see Rod Liddle has finally woken up to the fact that the UK does not have a functioning democracy, nor functioning parliament.
    Starkey & Cummings been warning you for months. The quangos, select committees, civil service & Judicial reviews by courts & judges effectively decide the rules and run the country as they please.

    "Keir Starmer has said that he is “disappointed” at the Sentencing Council’s refusal to agree to the government’s request to withdraw the guidelines that have led to claims it is promoting “two-tier” justice.

    "Look, I’m disappointed in this response, and the lord chancellor is obviously continuing to engage on this, and we’re considering our response.
    All options are on the table. I’m disappointed at this outcome, and now we will have to consider what we do as a result.

    FFS you are the PM?

    1. Been struggling with Liddle for years in the Speccie, not sure why I still buy it.

      1. Isn't he an SDLP supporter, Bob…think they're very middle of the road kind of party..

          1. Ah thanks, Geoff…one vodka too many, too early:-) hope you’re doing OK x…anyhow, speaking of Norn Iron – how much longer before they’re integrated?

    2. Liddle's been writing contemptuously of the state of the UK for years. He really got into his stride during the viral madness.

    1. He was on GBN when it first started but disappeared early on and without explanation.

  84. I was just pouring myself a large single malt, while thinking to myself well at least this is tariff free, but then I realised how much tax was levied upon it.
    Then I remembered it was a Christmas present, so I just praised the Lord and Trump

    2. Devon or Cornwall surely. I would have said Looe, but maybe one of those posh south Devon villages?

    6. I was about to respond that the chapel is distinctive… it triggers a memory.
      Brixham?

    7. I haven't been able to place it in any of the obvious Cornish or Devonian villages, nor in the Channel Islands.

    9. Well it’s not Newlyn. I know the person who lives on the former seaman’s mission/chapel there.

        1. I know. I was boasting about the fact i know the guy who lives in the former one in Newlyn! I am expecting Kudos please!!!!!!

  88. I know it's early but my word after my day's work turning (sawing, plaining, drilling,screwing) discarded decking into low level fencing around our wildlife pond I'm knackered. Just making sure that the grandchildren don't disturb the newts and tadpoles 😊
    I must have felt day's like this😒 coming on 12 years ago when I actually retired.
    Good Night all 😴

    2. The ruling comes following the longest-running mischief trial in the history of Canada.

      The crown has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Lich and Barber have committed mischief.

      “Mischief”?

      What a shame Canuckplod and its justice system is as lost as ours.

  93. Yes, Elsie, it’s basically golf terminology – probably because in both games ‘par’ is the average score….

    So, do it in 1 it’s a hole in one,
    2 is an eagle (two below par)
    3 is a birdie (one below par)
    4 is par
    5 is a bogey (one over par)
    6 is a double-bogey (two over par) or a Phew!! as Wordle would have it….

    1. Thanks for that, GGGG. Not being familiar with golfing terminology, except for having read some P G Wodehouse short stories, would you say that failing to get it in 6 might be a "Niblick"? Lol.

      1. I didn't realise that you needed to take up golf to understand Wordle. Lol.

      2. Yes, indeed, but I didnt want to complicate it further – an albatross usually only applies to a par 5 hole, I’ve never heard of a hole in one on a par 4 referred to as that, although, technically, it is!

      3. Rare though they are, albatrosses have happened. As I cannot envisage a hole-in-one on a par 4, I presume they have been on shorter par 5 holes, cutting the corner of a dog leg from the tee shot then, from the fairway, the second shot has been enhanced by a following wind, receiving a lucky bounce as well as the benefit of a downhill slope allowing the ball to roll towards the hole further than usual.

  97. Well, my bedtime of 11 pm approaches, so I will now bid you all a Good Night. Sleep well, and I hope to see you all early tomorrow morning.

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