Wednesday 12 February: The Conservatives still don’t grasp the scale of the threat from Reform

Posted on by Geoff Graham

An unofficial place to discuss the Telegraph letters, established when the DT website turned off its commenting facility (now reinstated, but we prefer ours),
Intelligent, polite, good-humoured debate is welcome, whether on or off topic. Differing opinions are encouraged, but rudeness or personal attacks on other posters will not be tolerated. Posts which – in the opinion of the moderators – make this a less than cordial environment, are likely to be removed, without prior warning.  Persistent offenders will be banned.

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

492 thoughts on “Wednesday 12 February: The Conservatives still don’t grasp the scale of the threat from Reform”

    1. Small wonder people are pouring in.

      "Go to Britain, they'll house you, feed you, provide free advice and free interpreters to maximise your benefits, there is free health care and free education and you will never have to do a day's work, unless you choose. And if you work in the black economy you'll keep that money as well as all the other benefits "

      2. Easy solution: stop all benefits, food, housing, pocket money, translators and legal aid for all those who have not lived in the UK for five years.

        Millets should do a roaring trade in providing tents.

        1. That, of course, is the solution. But absolutely no chance of that happening.
          This is our biggest problem, which will keep festering until it explodes, probably in violence. God help our children and grandchildren

  4. Court gives Gazans right to settle in UK. 12 February 2025.

    Palestinian migrants have been granted the right to live in the UK after applying through a scheme meant for Ukrainian refugees.

    A family of six seeking to flee Gaza have been allowed to join their brother in Britain after an immigration judge ruled that the Home Office’s rejection of their application breached their human rights.

    This is what you have to worry about. Not the Chinese or the Russians. The political elites plan to replace us.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/11/court-gives-gazans-right-settle-uk-palestine-ukraine/

      1. I sat on the bog that was used by the great and mighty when it was used as a working parliament so I guess I found my station in left.

        1. Mary Rose sat on a pin

          Mary rose

          Where on this place you enter

          To give up what you eat

          Please place it in the centre

          And not upon the seat. 😉🙈

  10. 'Morning All
    Medley Time
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    https://x.com/ministryofwit/status/1889351188690440261?s=61

  11. Excellent letter this morning from our expat Stratford-on-Avon correspondent, Mr R.C Tastey. I would, though, have personally omitted the last four words from this otherwise superb missive.

    SIR – Conservative MPS and members must accept that the Conservative Party has destroyed itself by moving too far to the Left.
    It is now time for the party to disband and for the remaining Conservatives to join Reform or the Liberal Democrats.

    Richard Tracey
    Dinan, Côtes-d’armor, France

    2. Hey Beatnik, he nailed it Dude. 20 years ago, it was a simple slam dunk, Hombre. Is it Davis or Dave? They blew it in fine style- the Heir to Blair and the rest is history, Hoss.

      1. Hey, Dean. This superannuated old bum remembers 1981, Compadre. That Limehouse ‘Gang-of-Four-Numpties’ who started the Saddo Desolation Pretentiousness were bamboozling them pollsters with a 50% popsicle rating.

        But when push came to elbow, Big Dave, Mini Dave, Shirley Not and Woy-the-Boy disappeared up their own Treaty, Dude.

        Mice that roar, Bro, soon feel the heat of Deep State’s Miss Whiplash.

        1. Hey Beatnik, those pinkos popped, all right, Bro. Mind you that "Falklands Factor" was a complete game- changer- the British Military is wot won it, Dude! Hard to know what will pan out except there will be no gold nuggets, Dude in the prospecting pan- just peanut loggies, it's total Turd City all right, Pal.

          1. I joined the SDP in 1981, having defected from the Ecology Party, where I was the local constituency chairman for a while.

            The SDP was always divided between the ex-Labour rightwingers, most of whom either became Tories or returned to the fold under Blair, and the "political virgins" (whom I called the rose-growers), mostly middle class and mostly concerned with good causes and national heritage. I very much belonged to the latter camp and distrusted the ex-Labour crew.

            It came to a head early in 1997 when Neville Sandelson, a former Labour MP turned SDP, published an article in the Sunday Times, following a leaflet campaign orchestrated by Norman Tebbit at the 1986 Party Conference. He argued for the total destruction of Labour as a political force, and the only way to achieve this was for the SDP to support Margaret Thatcher at the 1987 General Election.

            I wrote an incandescent response to the Party newspaper, arguing that the man should be drummed out of the party for treachery. I was on a mission myself to unseat fifty Tories in the South of England, and this wretched man was undermining all that I was doing for the party.

            I was ignored by the leadership, and the party duly folded up later that year. I gave up party politics and have been politically independent ever since.

      1. So that's me out then. "Not wanted here" is their message to me. How can they win an election on that premise?

        1. The Labour Party certainly does not want me or many of the people who contribute to this forum and yet it has, very regrettably, won an election.

          1. I doubt they want even longstanding Labour members, nor the half million recruited under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. They don’t need us – on a low turnout and split opposition, they can claim absolute power on a 20% popular mandate.

    4. Good morning, Grizzly

      See my post above. As I am sure you will agree omissions and distortions are the guiding principle by which the DT Letters' editors work

  13. Court gives Gazans right to settle in UK

    Refugees’ successful use of Ukraine settlement scheme will open floodgates, Home Office warns

    Charles Hymas Home Affairs Editor.
    Sam Ashworth-Hayes.
    Tim Sigsworth
    11 February 2025 9:29pm GMT

    Palestinian migrants have been granted the right to live in the UK after applying through a scheme meant for Ukrainian refugees.

    A family of six seeking to flee Gaza have been allowed to join their brother in Britain after an immigration judge ruled that the Home Office’s rejection of their application breached their human rights.

    The family had made their application through the Ukraine Family Scheme and the decision to accept their case came despite warnings by lawyers for the Home Office that it could open the floodgates to “the admission of all those in conflict zones with family in the UK”.

    Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said the case showed changes to human rights laws were needed so that Parliament, not judges, controlled who could settle in the UK.

    It is the latest in a series of controversial decisions by immigration tribunals, revealed by The Telegraph, which include the case of an Albanian criminal whose deportation was halted partly because of his young son’s aversion to foreign chicken nuggets.

    The Palestinian family – a mother, father and four children aged seven to 18 – had seen their home destroyed by an air strike and were living in a Gaza refugee camp with daily threats to their lives from Israeli military attacks.

    They applied using the Ukraine scheme’s form in January last year on the basis that it best fitted their circumstances and that their situation was so “compelling and compassionate” that their application should be granted outside its rules.

    The Ukraine Family Scheme, set up in March 2022, allowed Ukrainian nationals and their family members to come to the UK if they had a relative who was a British citizen or settled in the UK. Some 72,000 visas were issued before it closed last February.

    The family’s claim was initially refused by a lower-tier immigration tribunal on the basis that it was outside the Ukraine programme’s rules, and that it was for Parliament to decide which countries should benefit from resettlement schemes.

    However, Hugo Norton-Taylor*, an upper tribunal judge, overturned that decision and granted the Palestinians’ appeal, allowing them to come to the UK on the basis of their Article 8 right to a family life under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

    He said the rights of the individual family who were in an “extreme and life threatening” situation outweighed the “public interest” of the rules on entry to the UK, which were designed to limit resettlement schemes and control immigration.

    The Home Office said that, despite the ruling, there was no resettlement scheme for people from Gaza and that it would contest similar claims in the future

    The case, revealed in court documents, sparked criticism on Tuesday. Mr Philp said it was an “alarming and dangerous” judgment, which created “a basis for anyone in any conflict zone anywhere in the world with relations in the UK to come here”.

    “There are two million people in Gaza alone and tens of millions around the world in conflict zones, many of whom will have relations living in the UK. We obviously cannot accommodate all of them,” he said.

    “The UK has generously helped people in Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan and Hong Kong with specific humanitarian schemes. We cannot have judges simply making up new schemes based on novel and expansive interpretations of human rights law.

    “It is clearer than ever that radical changes to human rights laws are needed – so Parliament, and not judges, make decisions about eligibility to come to the UK. Now there is a ceasefire in Gaza, I hope that the Government appeals this decision based on the new facts on the ground.”

    It comes at a time when the future for people living in Gaza is uncertain amid calls by Donald Trump for the area to be cleared of inhabitants and rebuilt.

    On Tuesday, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, said he would restart the war if Hamas did not release hostages by midday on Saturday.

    The UK has more than 34,000 outstanding immigration appeals, with many applicants using human rights laws to fight their removal. Sir Keir Starmer and Lord Hermer, the Attorney General, have insisted Labour will not leave the ECHR and will respect international law.

    It comes as the Government seeks to ramp up the returns of foreign criminals and illegal migrants, having removed nearly 19,000 since the election – the highest six-month total since 2017.

    The court was told that the Palestinian husband and wife had lived in Gaza since 1994 but a brother had come to the UK in 2007 and been granted British citizenship. The court was told there had been no face-to-face contact with the brother for 17 years, but they had remained “close”.

    Joanne Oxlade, the lower tier judge, rejected the application on the basis that it did not satisfy the rules and the Government had chosen not to introduce a resettlement scheme for Palestinians. She ruled “it was not for the tribunal to institute such a scheme”.

    She had considered the fact that admitting the family could open the floodgates to people from conflicts all over the world.

    However, Judge Norton-Taylor said the family was not seeking for either the Government or tribunal to institute some form of resettlement scheme or protect rights they did not enjoy. He said the absence of a resettlement scheme was “irrelevant” and instead it was about their rights to a family life under the ECHR outside the rules.

    He rejected claims that it would open the floodgates and instead granted their appeal on the basis that it was a “very strong claim”. “Put another way, there are very compelling or exceptional circumstances,” he said.

    A Home Office spokesman said it had contested the claim “rigorously”, adding: “The latter court ruled against us on the narrow facts of this specific case. Nevertheless, we are clear that there is no resettlement route from Gaza, and we will continue to contest any future claims that do not meet our rules.”

    Hugo Norton-Taylor's Dad writes for The Guardian

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

    Delilah Huethorne
    10 hrs ago
    Stop. What are we doing? These people are the most dangerous on the planet. They grow up being told that their purpose is to kill Jews and non Muslims. There’s a damn reason no one wants them. They will kill. Is this just more votes for the insane left?

    2. The blocking on the Telegraph article about this (4000 comments) is so fierce that I can't even read it never mind comment. Lol.

    3. It's a pity they cannot apply human rights legislation to regimes controlled by Netanyahu and Trump, all hell-bent on making their nations great again by parcelling off their troublesome natives to their betrayed Western allies on pain of mass extermination. These troublesome natives should be at home rebuilding their own country and making it great again.

  14. Good morning all,

    Nice to see Mr Tasty's DT letter in print

    He can't possibly have forgotten that the Conservatives were in bed with the Lib Dems , and still are yellow bellied traitors who had 14 years to bring Britain to it's knees , and the final act of treason is being finished off by the Marxist/ Trotsky regime currently in charge of crippling us all.

    1. I'm sure Rastus made no such error. Some juvenile twerp at DTLetters bastardised his words to make a wholly different point.

    2. Conservative merely in bed with the LibDems??
      Cameron's TINOs were more than just in bed with them, they were trying to emulate LibDem policies in every way.

    3. Thank you for noticing!

      In fact what I sent to the DT was a post I had posted on the Nottlers' forum yesterday. But, as Grizzly will confirm, the DT Letters' editor edits and distorts the letters it prints.

      What they printed omitted any mention of the Conservative Party having become a corpse, any mention of the need for a genuine right of centre party, or any mention of the fact that Reform would not welcome the left of centre Conservatives.

      What I wrote was:

      Conservative Party MPs and party members must accept that the Conservative Party has destroyed itself by moving too far to the left and it is now time for it to disband and for the existing Conservatives to join The Reform Party or The Liberal Democrats. There is no point in them staying in a party which has become a corpse and the only hope for current Conservatives is to join a genuinely right of centre party.

      Reform should have no interest in having wets joining their ranks just as no wets would be happy in Reform.

      What the DT printed was:

      SIR – Conservative MPs and members must accept that the Conservative Party has destroyed itself by moving too far to the Left.

      It is now time for the party to disband and for the remaining Conservatives to join Reform or the Liberal Democrats.

      Richard Tracey

      1. Well, the gist is there. They do say on the second line that it is time for the party to disband? The becoming a corpse is missing, yes, but I think your first sentence sets out your view very well in itself. That Lefty Tories wouldn't like Reform rather goes without saying.

        Heck, supposedly right minded Tories don't like Reform.

        1. The Reform Party is flawed as is its leader.

          But until something better comes along what else is there?

          As I have said before on this forum Rupert Lowe would make a better leader but Nigel Farage's vanity would find this hard to accept.

          1. I am nervous of Reform as Farage doesn't seem aware of the enormity of the work facing him. So many things that are interlocked, deliberately to prevent their removal need to be dismantled piecemeal to get to the meat of the problem itself. That alone would take a decade I'd estimate, and then another 5 years to enact genuinely sensible, Right wing policies that would benefit the nation.

            Brexit for example was held up by one woman. Boris wanted to prorogue parliament to get it through and the Left defeated him. There will be endless delaying tactics by the state machine, then the courts, the Lords, then all around again should something as destructive as the HRA be set to repeal. Farage isn't talking about this work.

            You're right, Rastus, but again, what choice is there? The Tories just carried on everything Blair started. The current shower will do worse.

            If the Tories were the first half of this video, Labour are definitely the second:

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

    4. Thank you for noticing!

      In fact what I sent to the DT was a post I had posted on the Nottlers' forum yesterday. But, as Grizzly will confirm, the DT Letters' editor edits and distorts the letters it prints.

      What they printed omitted any mention of the mention of the Conservative Party it having become a corpse, any mention of the need for a genuine right of centre party, or any mention of the fact that Reform would not welcome the left of centre Conservatives.

      What I wrote was:

      Conservative Party MPs and party members must accept that the Conservative Party has destroyed itself by moving too far to the left and it is now time for it to disband and for the existing Conservatives to join The Reform Party or The Liberal Democrats. There is no point in them staying in a party which has become a corpse and the only hope for current Conservatives is to join a genuinely right of centre party.

      Reform should have no interest in having wets joining their ranks just as no wets would be happy in Reform.

      What the DT printed was:

      SIR – Conservative MPs and members must accept that the Conservative Party has destroyed itself by moving too far to the Left.

      It is now time for the party to disband and for the remaining Conservatives to join Reform or the Liberal Democrats.

      Richard Tracey

  15. Good morning all.
    A dreary but not raining 4.2°C on the thermometer with a dull and misty start to the day.
    A VERY flat temperature profile for yesterday. from a low of 3.9° to a high of 4.5°C!

    1. The Warqueen went downstairs during the night for something and commented how cold it was.

      I pointed out that last year the kitchen temperature delta was 3 degrees. It was 10 this time around, and only then because there's a small radiator in the hall way.

  16. Hi, my name is Hugo Norton-Taylor.. I'm a Leftie, but different.. I'm not smug, I'm dangerous.
    I've never met a migrant I didn’t like. In fact, if you’re a criminal I'm even more likely to grant you asylum. Let’s have a look at my project for the next four years.. to make the UK the Gaza of Europe.

    And there's nothing you can do about it.
    .
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5cb274570c463c814f34ee7fd6128c73f1e63f2a874942f30ade09ad81509f99.jpg

      1. Yep. Hugo's daddy is extreme Leftie Richard Seymour Norton-Taylor of The Guardian.. who wrote a play called Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Inquiry about

        Dastardly British soldiers opening fire & bayoneting innocent freedom fighters during an anti-genocide civil rights march in occupied Derry, Ireland.

      2. Yep. Hugo's daddy is extreme Leftie Richard Seymour Norton-Taylor of The Guardian.. who wrote a play called Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Inquiry about

        Dastardly British soldiers opening fire & bayoneting innocent freedom fighters during an anti-genocide civil rights march in occupied Derry, Ireland.

    2. BTL comments.. refer to Nan and grandad managing to get into their 90s using The Herald and Express cut into squares.

      "Ah, yes, without question my favourite magazine; soft, strong and thoroughly absorbent"…

    3. The French have always mocked the British for not knowing what a bidet is for. We have one in the upstairs bathroom and one in the downstairs shower room.

    4. The good doctor is talking out of his backside. There are now available flushable wipes with no chemicals.

    1. You must admit though that it's good for growth, and that it's doing what it was intended to, and to transfer public money, normally wasted on public services and infrastructure, towards more deserving causes, such as those who arranged for themselves preferential share options.

    2. Early reporting said there were fragments of HIV in the vaccine. Clearly it was introduced to weaken our natural defences of what they were subsequently going to introduce.

  20. A belated Good Morning, chums! And thanks to Geoff for today's new NoTTLe page.

    Wordle 1,334 4/6

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  21. Morning, all Y'all.
    Sunny – again! What have I done to deserve it? Mind you, a sunny night means the day started at about -12C, so frost to shift off the car…

    1. Here it’s supposed to be “overcast but dry – chance of precipitation 20%” – it’s actually pi$$ing down!

      2. Despite all the smart clothes hsir do's and arm waving, they never seem to get it right.
        My old grandfather had a piece of seaweed nailed to the garden shed door. If it was wet, it was raining.

      3. I wouldn't mind that. It'd be a change if nothing else. All we have is a concrete coloured sky, just a solid slate of nothing.

  23. Good Morning!

    The Grumpy Old Git returns with a list of gripes about the English language and the mysteries of life in Speakin Inglish . Tell us yours in the comments.

    Yesterday we issued a call for action to stop Labour cancelling the local elections and the equally unjustified rise in council tax, much of which is wasted on woke causes and inflated wages and pensions. If you haven’t done so already let us know if you would support a mass campaign of civil disobedience to stop all this.

    Energy watch 08.00 Total generation: 40.254 GW from: Hydrocarbons 51.2%; Wind 20.9%; Imports 6.4%; Biomass 7.5% and Nuclear 10.7%. Solar: 0. UK demand: 38.7GW, UK generation 36.71GW.

    We are currently both importing electric power to France and exporting electric power to it.

    1. The current installed wind capacity is 70gw. If unreliables are only generating 8gw then they're utterly inadequate.

    1. I don't mind Starmer traveling by private jet. Yes, it's a waste of money but so is his travelling. There is a plane ministers can use.

      Frankly, the concept of 'class' is outdated. I know a chap clarted in tattoos who is erudite, incredibly bright and motivated and earns far more than I ever will. He doesn't travel by dinghy or private jet. Almost no Briton does.

    2. The two are not mutually exclusive. Back from the vets and now a parent to two dogs. Kadi has a beagle friend.

        1. He’s two. His owner is having a baby and doesn’t want him. He’s called Winston. I would like to rename him but he’s used to it and comes when called.

  25. 401553+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    I do not believe it matters one jot the title of the group of peoples that make up the electoral role what matters most is their
    sanity / patriotism rating.

    They sadly lapse badly in the sanity department as seen by the dangerous,treacherous political freaks now in power, tactically voted in via a peoples killing, life maiming consequence overdose of SPITE.

    So reform leads the field and the bulk herd seemingly
    ( think, it could very well be by the nose ring)seeing as this will be the last throw of the freedom dice maybe a party of ENGLISH PATRIOTS only, no foreign intake, should be strongly built on to run parallel with reform, a just in case, you never know,it has happened before, unless we want to forget.

    ALL your eggs in one basket can make ,as is proving
    currently, a decent country a basket case, BIG TIME.

    1. Oggie, starting a second alternative party to Reform, will only dilute their votes. I suspect we simply have to cross our fingers and stick to Reform. If they betray us, then is the time to think again.

  26. Good morning Nottlers, 4°C dry, cloudy, and another easterly breeze to keep us cool on the Costa Clyde. I eased myself back into the gym on Monday and various parts are making their protests known. I haven't told them about a repeat performance after the walking football tomorrow. What fun!

  27. Morning all 😊🤗
    My word our weather is so depressing.
    But 'Wye eye like how ya gannin' my eye is very blood shot, hardly surprising after the surgery.
    But three lots of drops 4 times a day should do the trick.
    Talking of which starmer and Co tricked KC into popping off to Cornwall for the day so it looked like they were nice friendly people.
    I wonder if he realised that he was being set up.
    While the friendly farmers who feed the nation (even kings, lords and politician's) were protesting against appaling government policies in London.

      1. He seems to be in competition with the government, trying to be the most obviously ‘disliked’ ever. Both doing equally as well.

      2. For me, the monarchy died with our Queen. Could never accept an adulterer as my monarch, especially this one..

    2. Another grey, boring day. The weather isn't even interesting, just overcast and gloomy. A bit of rain, sleet or a few rays of sun would at least provide variety.

  28. Reform must resist this drift to the centre
    John Hale : https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/reform-must-resist-this-drift-to-the-centre/

    The key is Nigel Farage's reaction to Tommy Robinson.

    Just as Martin Luther King said that a man or woman should be judged by the quality of his or her character and NOT by the colour of his or her skin so should Tommy Robinson be judged by the quality of his ideas and his steadfast approach to Pakistani rape gangs – for which he has be attacked and persecuted by the state, the police and the law courts – rather than by his rough and ready manner.

    Nigel Farage has allowed snobbishness to colour his judgement.

    1. Indeed, and he is a diminished figure as a result, and risks losing the momentum required to forge a unified national movement of enough mass to win a general election.

      Tommy Robinson may in some quarters be seen as an Irish street fighter, and a cross between White Van Man and Oswald Mosley. I say, it takes all sorts, and there must be room for one in the village, because each one has their niche. For all his uncouth lack of class, he does have something serious to say about Islamic encroachment, and he should be heard, as any prophet should. Otherwise, what sort of free country are we sustaining?

      A civilised nation does not fear or suppress its dissidents; it argues with them, accepts what is valid and dismisses what isn't or is a threat to the nation.

      1. Decades ago Britons used to laugh at the Brownshirts. I remember Jeeves and Wooster lampooning them beautifully (Hail Spode!).

        The problem the state has is it has caused thousands of deaths, maimings and appalling rape of children by pakistani paedophile muslims and cannot have some uppity white lad point that out. The state wants more muslim because it means more state – they are inherently unemployable and unskilled, they demand masses of welfare and return only carnage.

        Robinson told people this and the state didn't like it. The Left never really like the truth, it ruins their doublethink. As a result he had to go.

        There were likely better ways of doing what he did that were not illegal, but the state was going to get him anyway.

        1. Most politicians hate being put i their place which in current times and in very many cases is beneath contempt.

      2. Very well said: "A civilised nation does not fear or suppress its dissidents; it argues with them, accepts what is valid and dismisses what isn't or is a threat to the nation."

        1. So we are not civilised, obviously. We, unfortunately, are being forced by a rotten minority, down the socialist path. Four years is four years, far too long.

      1. Many old Etonians are as common as muck – but Douglas Murray is not one of them!

        Many snobbish people are those who have only recently raised their social status.

        The use of terms such as counter jumper, nouveau riche, parvenu and arriviste indicate a level of disdain from those who think they are above that sort of thing but aren't.

  29. Reform must resist this drift to the centre
    John Hale : https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/reform-must-resist-this-drift-to-the-centre/

    The key is Nigel Farage's reaction to Tommy Robinson.

    Just as Martin Luther King said that a man or woman should be judged by the quality of his or her character and NOT by the colour of his or her skin so should Tommy Robinson be judged by the quality of his ideas and his steadfast approach to Pakistani rape gangs – for which he has be attacked and persecuted by the state, the police and the law courts – rather than by his rough and ready manner.

    Nigel Farage has allowed snobbishness to colour his judgement.

    1. Put lawyers, supreme court & foreign courts above parliament.. and this is what you get.
      Oh and of course vote wet soggy Tory to ensure the vandalism is never reversed.

  31. Yo and Good Moaning all, from the wet, dank, cold C d S

    Out of curiosity, I looked this up on google

    The average cost for a pack of 20 cigarettes in Britain is £16.48 according to the Office for National Statistics. Nicotine replacement products offer significant savings but don't provide a strong success rate for quitting smoking.9 Jan 2025

    back in the 1950's, 200 Woodbines cost 13/4

    2. Good morning OlT

      No wonder many children have to be provided with breakfast at school..

      Yep, parents spend huge amounts on vapes , cigarettes and mobile phone/Sky contracts and wait for it …

      In the UK, the average cost of a tattoo is around £130, with smaller tattoos like those on the wrist or ankle typically ranging from £60 – £80, while larger designs or those covering a forearm can cost upwards of £300 – £500 depending on the complexity and size of the design, as well as the artist's experience and location.

    3. I stopped a habit of 25-a-day, Player's No 6 Tipped, at 0930 hrs, Saturday, 31 December, 1983. Almost immediately after this the smell of cigarette smoke started to nauseate me.

      Edited: New Years Eve it was. At the time stated I visited a hypnotherapist and he explained to me, while in a state of complete relaxation, all the vile things nicotine and tar were doing to my body.

        1. I edited that immediately but I knew that — in true Peddy form — someone would notice that howler.🤣

      2. I gave it up, well never started, in October 1962, when I discovered that I could sell my monthly Free issue of 100 RN Duty Free fags for 2 Bob

      3. As I have said here before I stopped smoking cigarettes at midnight on December 1987 exactly four years after you did so that could give you another advantage in the tontine I mentioned yesterday!

    4. Never smoked cigarettes, but a cigar in the evening after work and with a wine or beer when I was on a contract in southern Spain, at Dragados' yard. Never at home, SWMBO wouldn't tolerate it.

  32. Yo and Good Moaning all, from the wet, dank, cold C d S

    Out of curiosity, I looked this up on google

    The average cost for a pack of 20 cigarettes in Britain is £16.48 according to the Office for National Statistics. Nicotine replacement products offer significant savings but don't provide a strong success rate for quitting smoking.9 Jan 2025

    back in the 1950's, 200 Woodbines cost 13/4

  34. Playing right into the hands of the fascists and nazis, who want the province cleared, so that it can make money for someone as beautiful beachside real estate. Rich settlers welcome. Bloody Muslims can go to Coventry, and the Christians fed to the lions, or if there are not enough lions, just lightly kill them in situ.

    "Accept these people or we break their legs" seems to be the 1930s standard for modern democracy. Must we stand for it?

        1. I do have a pack of Varenicline tablets in the drawer. Problem is they make me go nuts. Decisions decisions.

      2. If you could smoke just one more cigarette a day you would be spending just over £10,000 a year……

          2. I won a jackpot on Jackpotjoy.com Chucked £50,000 into premium bonds which pays out much higher than interest rates. Invested £15,000 in gold which is now valued at £26,000. Bought 200 silver Britannias which have only increased marginally. Spread bet across crypto currencies where my initial deposit resulted in a net gain of £20,000 leaving the initial depo intact.

            Various ISAS and savings accounts.

            I mostly live off the interest.

            Went to the Heron restaurant on the IOW and as i was early i popped into the pub. Put a quid in the slot machine and won the jackpot £100 which paid for the meal !

            Just lucky i guess. And of course my astonishing good looks.

          3. Can you buy me a lottery ticket for Friday Phizz ?
            I never win a single thing…..well i tell a lie actually i did win £ 2.70 last week. 😉

          4. Tell you what. You buy the lottery ticket and if you win you give me half.

            See why i have money now !

          5. Tell you what. You buy the lottery ticket and if you win you give me half.

            See why i have money now !

          6. Can you buy me a lottery ticket for Friday Phizz ?
            I never win a single thing…..well i tell a lie actually i did win £ 2.70 last week. 😉

          8. When it landed i had to pop my eyes back in. £111,000 plus change. I phoned their number. I said i think i have just won one of your jackpots. He said ‘good evening Gizzee. Congratulations. How would you like to be paid?’

            It was a bank holiday weekend and so i said pay me 4 x £25,000 and then leave the rest to gamble.

            Talk about tick tock tick tock until finally it went through 5 days later. Up until then i was just dreaming.

            And i have made it grow.

          9. You’ve never told us how (or why) the “Gizzee” name came about and why it transmogrified into “Phizzee”.

          10. Gizzee was the name i gave my Maine Coon cat after watching the film ‘Gremlins’ Gizmo.
            It went through more changes as i posted about holidays in Malta and Gozo.
            David Wainright christened me gizzee of gozo.
            It then changed using my first name to Phizzee.
            My friends now call me either Fizzy or older friends call me Pip.
            I don’t care what people call me as long as they call me.

          11. I remember a lot of the old-time NoTTLers often getting us confused with the similar user names (both having a capital ‘G’ and a double ‘zz’).

            I have a brother called Philip and his username is “Philippe Flopp”.

          13. Well done, Pip. Better to be born lucky than rich, they say. Unfortunately I am neither! Not good looking either.

          14. Sosraboc says he considers himself ugly. Wibbles says he is really fat. From my point of view it is not how someone looks it is how one behaves.

            Character will out.

  36. This started in Hongkong in 1974 with the formation of the ICAC after the Peter Godber case.
    DOGE is going to investigate federal employees whose net worths have exploded despite their comparatively low pay.

    Samantha Power, former head of USAID, saw her net worth explode to $30 million despite an annual salary under $250,000.
    Where did the extra $23.3M come from? And all of this in just 3 years!

    2. Yes, you see this a lot, especially with Lefties. They get reasonable paying government jobs and swiftly become millionaires with huge property portfolios.

      They never seem to pay a single bill of their own, either.

  37. SIR – Conservative MPs and members must accept that the Conservative Party has destroyed itself by moving too far to the Left.

    It is now time for the party to disband and for the remaining Conservatives to join Reform or the Liberal Democrats.

    Richard Tracey
    Dinan, Côtes-d’Armor, France

    Well done Rastus

  38. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/02/12/reeves-wiped-out-headroom-may-be-forced-raise-income-tax/

    The headline is inaccurate. No chancellor is ever forced to raise taxes. It's a bit like me demanding I be paid more because I've overspent. That's not my company's problem, it's mine. I must spend less to live within the value received from those who employ me. Reeves, who has never worked a day in her life doesn't understand this basic premise: she has overspent. The state entire has overspent. She cannot take more. She must spend less.

    It's not complicated – unless you're a Lefty. The state must be, shredded, strained and the remains put through a blender and taxes cut. Government does not create growth. It just spends money.

  39. Correction; the state just wastes money. Morning all. Just having a look before I go to the vet for Kadi’s second jab.

    1. Doas Kadi not like jabs then?

      Just having a look before I go to the vet for Kadi’s second jab

        1. For Valentines day I took the dogs to be vaccinated. Cheerfully, it's one at a time on different dates, but they all have to go at the same time.

  40. Correction; the state just wastes money. Morning all. Just having a look before I go to the vet for Kadi’s second jab.

  41. Blimey, he's got something right.

    Keir Starmer plans to widen the availability of sites for nuclear power plant construction, which has been extremely restricted.
    The goal: bring down energy costs and provide a boost for the economy.

    1. I tell lies.

      It will be years before anyone notices nothing has been done about Nukey Sites

    2. Or he's adopted the Blair/Campbell approach to press releases. Say whatever improves public relations. Do what they planned to do anyway.

    3. Conveniently overlooking the fact that sites for nuclear power stations are limited to the availability of large quantities of water for cooling. A meaningless political phrase.

      1. Starmer nasally witters on about the UK becoming a World leader in innovation etc. so why not come up with a method that would allow the reactors to be built off-shore, plenty of water available out there. Even better, mix them in with the bloody awful windmills that have already destroyed the many seashore vistas we once enjoyed.😎

        The man's an insufferable fool and a purveyor of wishful thinking.

  42. I remember a girl lamenting that she was being lectured to pay back her 'emergency loan' from 'da cuncil' as she had a gas bill to pay. Then she went on at far greater length at how she had spent that money on getting 'her nails done'.

    Welfare is an unfair and absurdly abused resource that, were it stopped tomorrow would end a huge number of problems.

  43. Blair gave the power away deliberately so it couldn't be revoked by annoyances like democracy. This is why Starmer is so ager to get back into the hated EU.

    1. I believe bliar issued more 'D' notices than most PMs put together.

      Apparently the notices are not legally enforceable.

  44. I gave up on 23 October 1968. I used to smoke 20 a day. I wonder how much money I have "saved"….

    1. You probably saved your life Bill.
      I gave up over 50 years ago. I literally threw the packet of about 12 into a blazing fire. But I never smoke during the day. First after dinner in the evening.

      1. In 1981, I switched from fags to roll-ups and only smoked four a day, only in the evening and in bars or my own accommodation. I never smoked at work. People I worked with didn't know I was a smoker.

    3. July 1977 was when I stopped smoking (10-15 per day). A girl where I worked said that her boyfriend complained that she smelled of stale smoke, so I suggested that both of us should give up together. Three days later she was smoking again. I haven't touched a cigarette since. If I remember correctly, cigarettes were 46p for 20 at the time.

      1. There was an advert on UK television in the 60s or 70s with a gorgeous looking girl whom they called Fag Ash Lil. Two 'lads were discussing her attributes and concluded that kissing her was like kissing a full ashtray.

        (I looked for a clip of it online but could not find one)

  45. Labour's choice for the next borders watchdog has hinted he plans to work part of the time from home in Finland.

    John Tuckett, 73, was named last month as the Government’s ‘preferred candidate’ for the role.

    But in a confirmation hearing in front of MPs yesterday he revealed he is ‘resident in Finland’ and an advocate of working from home.

    As Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, Mr Tuckett would be responsible for assessing the Government’s performance in all areas of immigration, including work to tackle the small boats crisis.

    The job comes with a salary of up to £130,000 a year.

    He said he pictured a ‘60/40 split’ between being available for ‘visible’ appointments and ‘dedicated time wherever’ for ‘quiet reflection’ and writing reports.

    Mr Tuckett indicated he could be available in London five days a week if required.

    But he said that, in his current government role as Immigration Services Commissioner, he closed its office and adopted a ‘fully remote’ model.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14386715/Labours-new-borders-watchdog-WFH-Finland.html

    1. and, who pays his (n doubt First Class) travelling expenses and subsitence, whilst he is in UK?

      Where will his pay be taxed UK or Finland?

  46. 401553+ up ticks,

    As in a coalition, thereby triggering the whole of the last 30 years
    to be repeated, seemingly the veneer of opposition is slowly coming to light.

    Beware where you put your kiss X of consent.

    SIR – Conservative MPs and members must accept that the Conservative Party has destroyed itself by moving too far to the Left.

    It is now time for the party to disband and for the remaining Conservatives to join Reform or the Liberal Democrats.

    Richard Tracey
    Dinan, Côtes-d’Armor, France

    1. As I said below:

      Thank you for noticing!

      In fact what I sent to the DT was a post I had posted on the Nottlers' forum yesterday. But, as Grizzly will confirm, the DT Letters' editor edits and distorts the letters it prints.

      What they printed omitted any mention of the Conservative Party having become a corpse, any mention of the need for a genuine right of centre party, or any mention of the fact that Reform would not welcome the left of centre Conservatives.

        1. This is what I have said in the BTL section:

          'I am always delighted when The Daily Telegraph prints my letters. They used to print them quite frequently but either the Letters' editors have moved to the left or I have moved to the right. I suspect it is the former.

          What they printed of my letter today omitted any mention of the Conservative Party having become a corpse, any mention of the need for a genuine right of centre party, or any mention of the fact that Reform would not welcome any left of centre Conservatives in its ranks.'

        2. This is what I have said in the BTL section:

          'I am always delighted when The Daily Telegraph prints my letters. They used to print them quite frequently but either the Letters' editors have moved to the left or I have moved to the right. I suspect it is the former.

          What they printed of my letter today omitted any mention of the Conservative Party having become a corpse, any mention of the need for a genuine right of centre party, or any mention of the fact that Reform would not welcome any left of centre Conservatives in its ranks.'

      2. 401553+ up ticks,

        Morning R,
        If I must stand corrected then take it I do so,

        Reform would not welcome the left of centre Conservatives.

        IMO,
        Reform, should not welcome ANY current conservative MPs.

        2. Up to a point, Lord Copper.

          There are a few, the happy few, the band of brothers (?) who are sound. Of course they should have stood down from the Conservative Party before the last election. Remember our Christian morality – as opposed to the Islamic one – believes in forgiveness.

          I find it very frustratingly annoying that JRM sticks with the Conservative Party when his reason must tell him that it is a lost cause. Or, to be more accurate the Conservative cause is a cause without a cause!

  50. BTL comment by Robert Catesby:

    'Even fortress Sevenoaks has been taken. It's now Lagos in the Weald.'

  51. I've just seen an article on tv referring to the problems that local councils are having because of shortage of income.
    Recycling depots are being closed due to lack of finance. But of course this means more fly-tipping. Lack of finance of course will be caused by the fact that many people are living in the area's with out making any contributions towards their keep. Perhaps before the councils employ people their commonsense factor should be considered.

    1. shortage of income.
      I suspect it's because of the ridiculous equal pay rights.
      Birmingham City Council has paid out almost £1.1bn in equal pay claims..
      which has translated to.. increase in Council Tax for cancelled services.. and of course cancelled elections.

      1. I just received a letter from Birmingham city council inviting me to participate in a survey in something called "Liveable Neighbourhoods Project" to be conducted on behalf of the council by arc4 Ltd. Their offers the following:

        https://www.arc4.co.uk/arc-knows-the-uk-housing-market-inside-out

        The council is bankrupt, I'm bracing myself for the next council tax demand yet they can spend money on such surveys? I'm thinking of filling it in with one reply:

        FIX THE BL**DY POTHOLES!

  52. The bcc are 'far right' emotionally involved today. Complaining about European 'far right' supporters this morning.
    Commonsense seems to be spreading across other European countries and upsetting the Brussels mafiosi.

  53. My Uncle Bob did that – he was doing some task that involved using glue – which made him feel sick, so he chucked the packet of fags in the fire and never smoked again.

    1. I too quit 50 years ago. Fed up with being taken for a ride by the tobacco companies I simply crushed the pack and threw it in the bin – after 3 weeks the cravings stopped. However, it has had an adverse side effect. I can't stand the smell of tobacco smoke. Until smoking was banned inside premises I would often leave a restaurant before being served because someone else had just lit up…. It's also the reason for me not being able to enjoy having a pint in a pub garden during the summer months as I seem to be a smoke magnet!!

      1. I've never smoked and I don't like the smell either. At least outside you can move and sit away from the smokers, depending on the wind direction.

        1. About 45 years ago, i was sitting to the left of a smoker, who's smoke was drifting in my direction. We swapped seats and the smoke still drifted in my direction.

      2. And notice the way that smokers always hold their cigarette as far away as possible from their own faces (noses)… bastards!

    2. Neither of my sisters smoke very much either, although both their hubbies did. It was never a habit with me. All three of us might have been put off by the fact that both our parents smoked like chimneys. My mother senior service and dad a pipe. We could hardly see across the living room most nights.

    1. I hadn't noticed the weather. Busy cleaning up after yesterday. Just the four Champagne coupes to wash. I feel like a drink now. Is it too early for a glass of Madeira do you think?

      1. Danish D-i-L's father had a glass of Gammel Dansk every morning with his breakfast.
        On the first morning, we politely sipped and smiled. By the third morning we were actively looking for it.

        1. Yep. I noticed Germans like a dark beer at breakfast time. Slippery slope for me though given how much i imbibe.

          1. I'm strictly 1730 hours. except early doors at the pub Fridays and Wednesdays which are 1700 hours.

        1. I am a great fan of Flanders and Swann but I must admit I prefer Lou Gottlieb and the Limeliters' version.

        1. Caroline does an excellent sauce to accompany steak made with black olives and Madeira.

          2. Olives are meaty. Sweet too is you know what you are buying.

            Taggiasche Denoccialate. Just add chilled Vodka.

          3. I sauteed the carrots, onions and celery. I then added beef bone broth. Then while that was ticking away i roasted the bones with marrow.
            Added beef stock. Hendersons, Marmite, pink peppercorns.

            Added more beef jelly from a previous roast.

            Reduce reduce reduce.

            Strained through muslin.

            New pan.

            Pan hot…chuck in four ounces of butter. As that browns upend a bottle of Madeira. Leaving just enough for the chef (me).

            Bung in what has now become your demi glace and whisk like crazy adding small cubes of frozen butter.

            How to kill people with an emulsion of love……

    1. All his visitors were written to and told they wouldn’t be allowed to visit him last week, so nobody knows. Absolutely horrendous.

  58. We elect a government to run the country but it is run by unelected judges and quango heads as Blair planned. A Labour government is unlikely to change things.

  59. An idiot on GBN last night stated that it isn't racial harassment if aimed at white people because white people are the majority here. So if I go to downtown Lagos and yell "I hate n*ggers!", will the same principle apply?

    2. Some of the left wing bigots that GB News employs to 'provide balance' are incredibly confused.

      Has anyone come across Susie Stride? She is quite astonishingly incoherent and muddle-headed and yet, apparently, she has a Cambridge degree in Geography which must make one wonder about the sort of people Cambridge admits to study there.

  61. I hope Nigel is doing a Trump (preparing for Government and getting all the plans to repeal legislation in place)

      3. By "sound shift", the writing (spelling), Grimms Law, etc. It's quite remarkable how philologists figure it out. Look philology up, it's a fascinating science.

        1. We've got our very own Phil-ologist posting as I type…..although some might doubt he is sound…..

      4. By "sound shift", the writing (spelling), Grimms Law, etc. It's quite remarkable how philologists figure it out. Look philology up, it's a fascinating science.

  65. Oopsy! Starmer has figured out that Gaza migrants are not the most popular flavour of the month.

    Starmer: Judge behind Gaza migrant ruling was wrong

    Key moments
    Updated 12 minutes ago
    12:12pm
    Tory leader: We need to put our national interest before the ECHR
    12:09pm
    Badenoch urges Starmer to tackle exploitation of immigration laws
    12:06pm
    Judge made ‘wrong decision’ in Gazan family case, says Starmer

  66. Dontcha just love Progressive Liberal Marxists in the BBC and on the street..
    All those "innocent" Palestinians all dressed up in balaclavas and combat gear armed to the teeth with RPGs & AK47s standing next to the hostages. The BBC only ever show Hamas military groups wearing medical gear, with mostly peaceful UN aid workers.

    Anyhow, starting Saturday.. they'll all be dead.

  68. Israel calls up reserves as Gaza returns to the brink of war. 12 February.

    Israel called up its reserve forces on Wednesday after Hamas ordered senior leaders to stop using mobile phones, as both sides prepared for fighting to restart in Gaza.

    Benjamin Netanyahu threatened on Tuesday to resume “intense fighting” if Hamas failed to release more hostages by Saturday. This came after the hostage release deal was postponed by Hamas, which cited Israeli breaches of the ceasefire.

    I don’t actually know the answer here but I wouldn’t fall over with surprise if there are no more Israeli hostages to be released. Hamas may well have murdered them all and got as many of their own people out as they can.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/02/12/israel-hamas-war-gaza-egypt-hostage-release-ceasefire/

  70. They're having a laff…

    Labour-run council staff given ‘wellbeing’ day off after residents opposed LTN plans

    Frustrated residents become ‘hostile’ towards council staff at public consultation over traffic management scheme

    Steve Bird
    12 February 2025 1:23pm GMT

    Staff at a Labour-run council were given a “wellbeing” day off after residents became “hostile” towards them at a public meeting over plans for a low traffic neighbourhood (LTN), the High Court has heard.

    In April 2023, Lambeth council held a drop-in consultation event at the West Norwood library in south London about its intention to create the West Dulwich LTN.

    But the meeting became a “shambolic fiasco” because residents were “relentless” in their opposition to the scheme and staff required a “lunch break” to “get away”.

    Legal papers lodged by the council now show the former head of transport strategy and programmes offered staff who attended the meeting a day off to recover.

    Lambeth’s skeleton argument was filed at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Wednesday as the West Dulwich Action Group (WDAG), made up of residents and businesses, began its legal claim that the council conducted an “illegal and unfair” consultation about the LTN.

    The action group claims the council ignored its own consultations by introducing the LTN despite two-thirds of residents telling them they opposed the scheme. The group wants the LTN, which closes roads to non-residents and fines motorists from outside who stray into the zone, scrapped.

    The council’s legal papers say “the difficulties” at the library drop-in, attended by about 50 people, “were patently not the fault of the council”.

    It adds: “The claimant’s [WDAG’s] own evidence is that ‘there was considerable hostility and anger shown by residents at the council’s plans’ that some of the councillors were in tears and the council team took a lunch break ‘to get away’.

    “The experience of officers attending the event for the council (on a Saturday) was so negative that the then-Head of Transport Strategy and Programmes offered them a day of wellbeing leave.”

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2025/02/12/TELEMMGLPICT000410425199_17393660309750_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwSX5rhseiWKOo9p9OQ-ymek.jpeg?imwidth=680
    An action group claims Lambeth council ignored its consultations by introducing the LTN despite two-thirds of residents opposes the scheme Credit: Richard Baker/In Pictures
    Charles Streeten, the barrister representing those opposing the LTN, told Deputy Judge Tim Smith that his client’s case was that residents “were not abusive” but they recognised some at the library were “bordering on abusive”.

    He said the six-hour meeting became a “horrible time”, with each resident frustrated at getting only 10 minutes with the council employees.

    He added that the staff’s decision to have a lunch break together stemmed from the fact the “challenging” situation meant “they didn’t want to leave someone on their own” with the public.

    But as a result those residents who turned up during lunch “were unable to take part”, he added.

    A petition, signed by 1,021 residents claiming, among other things, that the LTN would cause more traffic congestion on the South Circular, was also presented to council staff.

    The statutory review brought by WDAG focuses largely on another consultation carried out by the council in which 67.5 per cent of those who responded “were either unhappy or very unhappy” with the scheme. WDAG claims that consultation was “ignored”.

    In response, the council’s legal papers say the group is “unduly nit-picking” and the LTN scheme was amended in the light of the opposition.

    The group claims that despite such public opposition, the council went ahead with the LTN.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2025/02/12/TELEMMGLPICT000395851977_17393662480440_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqgsaO8O78rhmZrDxTlQBjdLdu0TL-Cg_AMOUqySXmFgU.jpeg?imwidth=680
    Residents gathered in protest of the LTN introduced in West Dulwich Credit: Belinda Jiao
    The council says the group’s “claim is without foundation and should be dismissed” because all of its consultations were “not unfair at all”.

    It insists the council consulted “extensively”, citing a public engagement responded by 1,300 residents. It also posted signs on lamp posts and details on its website explaining how to respond to the council’s proposals.

    However, Mr Streeten also quoted a media interview with Councillor Rezina Chowdhury, the council deputy leader and cabinet member for Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air, which he suggested “showed the authority’s approach” to consultations on LTNs.

    The court heard Ms Chowdhury reportedly saying “let’s not get bogged down in consultations, let’s just get on with it.”

    The council, however, says it is not “blinkered” about how it implements LTNs.

    The hearing continues and is expected to last a day.

    2. It's very simple: the citizen is king, the council the servant. If the public do not want it, then it doesn't happen. It's really as simple as that. They are not rulers. They're staff.

    3. Is this the same Lambeth council that, during the '60s & '70s, used the plans to construct the South Circular Road as an excuse to buy up, under compulsory purchase, large swathes of the borough that they had declared as redevelopment areas that just happened to be parts of Tory voting wards?
      This cost the borough several thousand homes, demolished for a failed scheme, that they have not yet fully recovered from.

  71. Crystal ball time.. a glimpse of the future. Change the word "Jewish" to something closer to home.

    Two nurses in a Sydney hospital have been suspended from work for threatening to kill Jewish patients and refusing to treat them in a video.
    The woman said she would not treat any Jewish patients and instead kill them.
    The man, with a threatening gesture, said he had already sent many Israelis, who visited the hospital, to 'Jahannam', the term for Islamic hell in Arabic.

    Ah, that's nice to know.. gives you a warm fluffy feeling.

    2. The Australian government has made the same mistakes as many other western based governments. Trust in humanity that simply doesn't actually exist in certain people.

  72. BTL @ Guido

    The pact at the next election will be between Tories and Labour, to keep Reform out. This pattern has already emerged all over Europe, where the mainstream parties are being forced together to preserve the system in which they have a shared interest.

    1. It really is sickening isn't it. The denial of democracy. My suggestion would be that for any time they turn up on your door step looking for a vote is to not only 'give them hell' but also make them afraid.

    2. 401553+ up ticks,

      Afternoon C1,

      Which makes me see the need for a born English patriot party to run parallel with reform,
      a safeguard party, against ALL comers.

    3. Possibly they might try to form a coalition if the numbers are right for them come the next GE, but that would also drive a lot more true conservative voters to reform.

  73. Mayor Sadiq Khan has frozen Transport for London (TfL) fares across London’s transport network until March 2025.

    Freezing fares is a key part of the Mayor’s programme to support Londoners through the cost-of-living crisis. Millions of Londoners are set to benefit from the Mayor’s bold action, with potential savings of up to £90 a year.

    The Mayor previously froze TfL fares from 2016 until 2021, before the restrictions imposed on TfL by the Government’s funding conditions during the pandemic. Today, fares are 21 per cent cheaper than they would be had they risen by inflation.

    As London emerges from the pandemic, the Mayor is freezing TfL fares once again, to get even more people onto public transport and offer a boost to London’s cultural, hospitality and leisure sectors. It will also make it more affordable for workers to commute into the office more regularly.

    Which fares are frozen
    The following TfL fares are frozen until March 2025:

    all pay as you go fares on the bus, tube, tram and DLR
    most pay as you go fares on the London Overground and Elizabeth line
    single and return paper fares.
    The Mayor only has the power to set fares on TfL services. Travelcard prices and daily and weekly caps are set with the train operating companies, and reflect the government’s rail fare policy.

    Savings for passengers
    How much passengers can save
    £54
    Someone commuting from Harrow-on-the-Hill to a Zone One station, like Baker Street on the Metropolitan line, three days a week will avoid a potential 20p increase to their Zones 1 to 5 peak single pay as you go fare, saving up to £54 a year

    £72
    Someone commuting from Southall to a Zone One station, like Bond Street on the Elizabeth line, four days a week will avoid a potential 20p increase to their Zones 1 to 4 peak single pay as you go fare, saving up to £72 a year

    £90
    Someone commuting from Hornchurch to a Zone One station, like Westminster on the District line, five days a week will avoid a potential 20p increase to their Zones 1 to 6 peak single pay as you go fare, saving up to £90 a year.

    2. https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/what-mayor-does/priorities-london/mayors-priorities-transport

      Younger son lives with his partner on the IOW.. His partner commutes to the City .. he does that twice a week , the rest of the week he works from home , zoom etc works perfectly well ..

      According to the big bosses , Sadiq Khan has requested that bosses encourage their WFH staff to use the City more , TFL are suffering from financial problems apparently , and public transport in general is not in good health .

      Son's partner takes the hovercraft or Red funnel from the IOW , prices are steep there , and then train from Portsmouth to Waterloo .. fares are so chunky .. he is wondering what on earth to do .

      He says that Khan's London is a nightmare now, not very safe and the journey into the financial hub of the city is rather fraught .. He will some times walk or tube , but not the bus .. He has seen loads of bad situations , and breathes a sigh of relief when he arrives back on the Island .

      How can Sadiq Khan enforce rules about not working from home but making more people travel ?

      The train and tube drivers are crippling the country and peoples pockets.

    1. It's about time they slept with the fishes. They are fucking disgusting and deserve concrete wellies.

      1. Shirley you mean 'king disgusting.
        Wouldn't that be nice, concrete boots and a one way helicopter ride out over the Atlantic.

  75. Google Calendar has erased so called ‘cultural’ dates including Pride, Black History Month, Indigenous People Month, and Hispanic Heritage, and will only display official public holidays and national observances going forward.

      1. I have scribbled out all references to the heathen celebration in my (paper) diaries and on calendars. This is a Christian household.

      1. I am on my phone because talk talk is playing up again. The only way I can get on line at the moment is to use my data. At least it allows me to upload photos so there may be some of the garden some time. I now have crocuses out.

    3. Long ago one of my sisters had a Westie. Named Tammy.
      Then a flat coat retriever labs and a spaniel.

  80. Just had a successful feed time. The beagle was supposed to guard his food but they were okay with me standing between them.

      1. Apart from him needing 15 miles a day walks (better still twice!) – he will be a constant joy to you.

      2. Good for you, Conway! What fun you’re going to have!! I do love a beagle and Kadi looks like a little angel!

  82. Chagos Judge Is Russian Diplomat With Four Awards for “Protecting Interests of Russian Federation”

    Attention is increasingly turning towards the judges responsible for providing 2019’s advisory ICJ opinion on the Chagos Islands – the legal insecurity which Starmer uses as his only justification to hand over the islands. And adherence to which is purely voluntary…

    One of the judges, Xue Hanqin, was a Chinese state official and diplomat prior to joining the ICJ. She wasn’t the only one…

    Another judge to support the 2019 opinion was Kirill Gevorgian. Formerly of the USSR/Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gevorgian was appointed by Putin as Russia’s ambassador to the Netherlands back in 2003 – a role he occupied until 2009. Hanqin happened to be China’s ambo there from 2003 to 2008…

    After leaving his ambassadorial role Gevorgian returned to Moscow to serve as the legal director for the Russian foreign ministry. He has received four state awards from Putin, including a certificate of honour in 2011 “for active work to protect the interests of the Russian Federation.” Gevorgian voted in 2023, along with Hanqin, against a ruling that Russia should suspend its invasion of Ukraine…

    His awards in full:

    Gratitude from the President of the Russian Federation (2002) – for active and fruitful diplomatic work in the CIS area.
    Order of Honor (2008) – for great contribution to the implementation of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation, many years of impeccable diplomatic service.
    Order of Friendship (2010) – for a major contribution to the implementation of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation and many years of conscientious work, merits in scientific and pedagogical activities and the training of highly qualified personnel.
    Certificate of Honor of the President of the Russian Federation (2011) – for active work to protect the interests of the Russian Federation.
    China and Russia are both very keen on the Chagos surrender deal and it was only a judge from the United States supported the UK in that 2019 advisory ruling. Is Starmer about to hand our enemies their biggest joint legal victory yet…

    12 February 2025 @ 15:06

      1. Starmer is shameless – he does not even pretend to conceal the fact that he is a traitor.

        Will the next government – if they ever is one – bring back the death penalty for treason?

        1. Having had local elections cancelled in Surrey and sundry other areas who’s to say general elections won’t be.

  86. OT – just finished the Noel Coward novel (his only one) – Pomp and Circumstance. A cracker.

    I won't bore you – there are so many quotable lines – this will do:

    A visitor had called mid-morning unannounced:

    Hostess: " I expect you could do with coffee or a drink."
    Visitor: "Far too early for a drink, but I wouldn't say no to a whisky and soda."

  88. PS – This is probably unnecessary advice – but beagles are notoriously greedy. He'll NEVER say: "Thanks, not just now – I have just eaten."

    Sad to say many beagles that I have come across are fat – because of this greedy gene….

    1. There is only one Legal Beagle and he is very slim – in fact he boasts that he is the same weight now as he was when he was 21 years old.

    1. One of the commenters below put Mikey the Israeli Brute Hater straight..
      But training is usually announced, this will be shock and awe…

    2. If they think that no more hostages are alive, a couple of well placed bunker buster bombs could do a lot of damage to remaining tunnels.

      Of course it might just be Trump leveling the rubble before building his new casino.

  91. We should welcome small boat migrants to Britain… because we welcomed Paddington: Labour MP bizarrely claims fictional bear would be denied UK citizenship under toughened Home Office rules
    By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT FOR MAILONLINE

    Published: 12:02, 12 February 2025 | Updated: 15:24, 12 February 2025 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14388981/Labour-MP-bizarrely-claims-Paddington-denied-UK-citizenship-toughened-Home-Office-rules-lashes-changes-making-harder-small-boat-arrivals-passports.html

    1. But, but…Paddington didn't come from Peru, he came from Selfridges.
      "In 1956, author Michael Bond noticed a lonely teddy bear on a shelf at Selfridges on Christmas Eve.
      He took the bear home to his wife, Brenda, and they named him Paddington.
      The first Paddington book was published in 1958".
      Selfridge was American of course, though of Northern Irish protestant descent. When he came here there weren't any border controls but nor were there large numbers of immigrants. Selfridges opened on 15 March 1909.

      1. Strangely I recall that the original bear had a different name, but agreed to be 'Paddington' for the books. To preserve his privacy, one imagines.

      1. Nothing at all. On most of the royal docs, Andrew worked with freelance archive producer Anna Amico. It was Anna who let me know.

    3. So sorry you have lost a great inspirational work colleague , Sue .

      I always enjoyed the Arena arts docs , how very sad that a talented creative man has now left an empty vacuum . RIP.

      Please try to relax Sue , remember you are being cared for .. and are been investigated x

  94. Deutsche Bank claimed autumn Budget would destroy 100,000 jobs. It was wrong. An estimated 300,000 will go in the retail sector alone.
    This morning, one of Britain’s oldest department stores Beales announced it will close as a direct result of her budget.

    Pah, you haven't see notin yet. Reeves has given the green light for CCPs Alibaba to roll out across the UK.

    1. Whoops, and who is going to pay for trillions of bricks and rest of the billions of pounds of building materials needed for the 2.5 million 'king homes they want to build for all the gimigrants and invaders?

  95. Wordle No. 1,334 3/6

    ⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
    ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    Wordle 12 Feb 2025

    A flowing Birdie Three?

    1. Another par for me.

      Wordle 1,334 4/6

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

        1. No, it was cancelled today as I’m coughing, sneezing and have a bright red dripping tap snout. I discussed it with the cardiologist’s assistant and we decided it was best. I’m now waiting for a new date.

          2. Good, you certainly don’t want to be coughing and sneezing. At the same time, Sue, when you do have it done, you’ll find that the team (5 people or so) that do it are very comforting and aware of one’s fears and feelings.

    2. It feels like a letdown after yesterdays albatross but a nice birdie here as well

      Wordle 1,334 3/6

      ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
      🟨⬜🟨🟩⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    4. Well done. Just back from the pub. A nice birdie I did this afternoon.

      Wordle 1,334 3/6

      🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜
      🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

  96. Well done – fairly straightforward birdie here also after a couple of good starters.

    Wordle 1,334 3/6

    ⬜🟩⬜⬜🟨
    ⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

  97. After a two plus hour conversation Vlad and Donny have agreed to talk on ending the war in Ukraine.
    Good on them.

      1. You'll have to ask them Bill who knows. If I remember correctly the conflict was all about NATO. And countries with border disputes cannot join. I some time ago remember ex general Sir Richard Dannatt speaking about it on the news he seemed to have explained and expressed the problem very well. But hasn't been seen on tv since.
        Our leftie media can't handle the truth.

          1. He always seemed to make sense when he spoke. But as I mentioned the left wing couldn’t put up with that.

    1. I have seen quite a few episodes of 'Escape to the Country' (I know – daytime TV) and it seems to feature a disproportionate number of homosexual couples seeking properties.

      4. What it very rarely features is anyone who buys a house and some of the excuses are so flimsy that one suspects the participants go along for the ride and to get on telly.

  101. That's me for today. Finished the Noel Coward novel (Pomp and Circumstance). The MR bought it second-hand in the late 1980s at an excellent bookshop in Leiden (The Netherlands) but had never read it! It is available on e-bay for about £20.

    Market tomorrow and – possibly (but I doubt it) a hint of sunshine.

    Have a jolly evening.

    A demain.

  102. OOpps

    President Donald Trump revealed he has begun negotiations with Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

    In a 90-minute phone call on Wednesday the two leaders also laid the groundwork for historic summits between them in the U.S. and Moscow.

    Trump made the bombshell announcement in a lengthy post to his Truth Social account, declaring that 'the war must end.'

    He also said the two leaders agreed to visit each other's countries soon. Trump would be the first U.S. President to visit Russia since Barack Obama in 2013.

    Announcing the negotiations, Trump wrote: 'We want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine. President Putin even used my very strong Campaign motto of, 'COMMON SENSE'.

    'We both believe very strongly in it. We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other's Nations.'

    The president said his next call would be to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

    He added: 'We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now.'

    Trump's pronouncement will send shockwaves around the world.

    Earlier Wednesday, his administration said it was ending all American aid to Ukraine – a blow to Zelensky, who is struggling to hold his nation together.

    Trump's move also put pressure on European allies who have been a bastion of support for Kyiv.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14390245/trump-putin-phone-call-end-war-ukraine.html

    And for those who can read the DM
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14389607/pete-hegseth-ukraine-europe-nato-donald-trump.html

    Looks like Zelensky had better be firing up his private jets

      1. It would certainly help the world's economic outlook, but the EU will doubtless do everything in its power to screw everything up.

  105. I am back on line with Talk Talk, at least until the 20th – roll on August when I can switch. They are raising yet another "missing payment" because they lost my payment in January and are cutting me off because it hasn't been paid. They didn't send me a bill for February but have told me how much I owe. After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing I discovered this includes the missing payment from January AND a late payment fee. I've told them where to stick it. Next step is complaining to Ofcom, but I doubt that will do any good.

      1. I have spent ages trying to sort it. I have now communicated with seven "agents", each of them foreign. Some didn't seem to understand English. They keep cutting me off and then I have to go through all the same rigmarole to establish who I am and validate the account and eventually get reconnected to the internet, at least temporarily until the next time.

        2. They don't seem to have improved their customer service then! We were with Talktalk from 2005 to 2011 and they were abysmal so we went back to BT. They certainly aren't perfect but we don't have too much grief from them.

          1. We ditched Talk Talk years ago, but unfortunately, ended up with them again due to mergers and take overs. I shall be leaving them again as soon as I'm out of contract.

    2. Do they claim that you did not make the payments or did they not collect the direct debits. I have an interest here!

      1. They claim I didn't make the payment although I provided proof of sending it and that it had gone from my account. There is NO way I would give them access to take money out of my account! They'd be taking money and I'd never get redress.

        1. TY, my issue is quite the reverse. The DD seems to have faded away but I still get a service..strange!

    3. Remember the regulators work for the unions, then the industry.

      If it were me I'd call them, set out the situation and offer to make a payment to cover any missed months (even when it's their fault) then when the money issue has gone away get someone with a brain to sort out the mess and go from there.

      Why is it though, that companies with a credit of your account won't refund the info to your bank, but send you a cheque!

      1. I finally got an itemised bill. I deducted the amount I'd already paid plus the late payment fee (not my effing fault if they'd lost it; I paid on time) and paid the rest. They can sort it out.

  106. Let's hope the dying and destruction is shortly at an end.
    Too many have died already. No more.

        1. It’s whatever you’re used to and the Stainer is much easier to sing. One of my brothers and his wife chose Love Divine for their wedding and didn’t realise that they needed to specify the tune. The organist played the Welsh tune and was met with silence. None of us had heard it before and we assumed he was playing the wrong hymn.

          1. At my brother's first wedding I had, understandably, been blackmailed into promising to belt out the hymns so that others could mumble along.

            I didn't know that Catholics sang the same hymns I was used to, but to different tunes! Aaaargh…

          3. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
            I will confess that, on the odd occasion I do attend a church service, I check what hymns are going to be sung, but with the question of "I wonder what tune they are going to use?"

          4. Same here. Sometimes I have never seen the words before, but I recognise the tune. Last Sunday we sang a hymn to the tune of Scarborough Fair!

          5. Customs change over time too. The Victorian’s, in Dicken’s time, sang While Shepherds Watched to the tune of On Ilkla’ Moor Bar T’at.

          7. In my primary school.we sang “There is a green hill far away” to the tune of “The House of the Rising Sun”. Made hearing the latter a bit weird throughout my life… 🤣🤣

          8. Oh dear!
            At least when the DT & self had it, I knew enough to specify Blaenwern.
            I also like Hyfrodol.

        2. When I were no-but-an apprentice under training, at RNAS Arbroath, we had a new Volunteer Band Master.

          On morning divisions, he directed the band to play little known tunes to well known hymns

          We all sang the well-known tunes to the hymns

          He then changed his tune…

  108. 401553+ up ticks,

    Evening EB,

    As much as I would like to I cannot agree.
    To go into the next General Election unprepared for treachery and knowing what we know would be the action of fools.

    We need a fall back party to safeguard democracy, and the remaining freedom of spirit and speech.

  110. Tomorrow's letters:

    12 February 2025 5:43pm GMT

    Human rights judgments that clash with the wider public interest

    Plus: Assessing overseas doctors; EPC madness; best of the BBC; defunct telephone boxes; and 17th-century advice for achieving straight oaks

    Earlier and earlier

    1. The black woman before was a diversity hire. Even if she had a clue, she struggled to articulate it. She was also in an administration run by someone who was cognitively impaired and presenting truly moronic, nation destroying policies.

  115. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/12/starmers-britain-is-no-longer-a-democracy/

    Mr Heath is confused. The UK hasn't been a democracy for many decades. It is the death throes of the failed, bloated state that is causing the backlash. The utter failure, incompetence and arrogance of big government is why so many are simply packing it in and not working or, at the grifter end, creating non-jobs to create even bigger government from which to trough.

    It is finished. Bankrupt, failed and wasteful, stuffed with greedy idiots desperate to continue the trough. Inevitably these fools will do so much damage that the only thing that gives it power – our money – will eventually be removed as the public adopt a different currency that the state cannot control (this is already happening).

    Business will abandon the failed government currency, taxation will collapse, government employees, so used to troughing away on other people's money will find inflation finally renders them penniless as what they are paid in no longer has the shared mythology of value as the private sector abandons it.

  116. For Valentines I have bought some cheese. The Warqueen really likes the rambol cheese, and I've bought 3 small packs of it. I'd like to find a cheaper type (and have seen it in a layered form) https://www.finecheesesltd.co.uk/product/rambol-with-walnuts-incorporated-2kg/

    But even we'd struggle to get through 2kg of cheese.

    Not much of a Valentines considering her husband leaves at 8 and doesn't get home until 7 for nigh the last 2 months and for the last week has brought home pizza, a few ready meals and generally isn't organised but hasn't had the time or energy to do the dinner thing for his family.

    It's also bally cold. Thing with a heat pump is the heat from the radiators is slow, but almost continuous.
    It's also the same temp. And not very warm. So putting clothes on them to dry leads to… not drying clothes.

    A house came up where we want to move to and we both wondered if we could over extend and buy it, then sell here but decided to keep to the plan. Regretting that as my fingers are flipping cold.

        1. Good luck. It's very local to us.

          We love it, and frequently buy one.
          The "use by" is almost certainly set over-cautiously. We've "cut and come again" over much longer periods and come to no harm.

          1. The only problem with my surprise idea is that while my French is poor, hers is exemplary (and 6 other languages) . I'll get her to translate the site!

          4. Try DeepL. Automatic translation, better than Google Translate.Easy way to preserve the surprise!

    1. They will continue to insist I haven't paid and I will continue to send them proof that I have. It could go on for years – or at least until I am out of contract. I am not going to pay twice.

  118. From Coffee House, the Spectator,

    It was in a plush central London office space lined with leafy wall plants that Reform UK chose to make its big economic announcement today. Attendees were warmly welcomed with a lavish spread of wraps, canapés and even beer on tap – before Nigel Farage and Richard Tice cut to their news: ‘We will scrap net stupid zero.’

    Farage was quick to trumpet his party’s anti-establishment credentials, noting Westminster’s cross-party consensus on the environment. Not Reform – whose politicians are insistent they can ‘right some of the wrongs’ of the renewable sector. ‘Reform is serving notice on the industry,’ Tice told attendees. ‘We are going to win the next general election and things are going to change.’ The party lamented the rising costs of energy, with Tice even drawing on a graph of energy bill sums versus use of renewables to back up his point that Britain is being ‘ripped off’.

    So what’s in the small print? Reform’s four new ‘net zero’ policies are characteristically against the grain. The party – which plans to win the next general election, Tice reminded today’s attendees – will introduce a ‘windfall tax on wind’ and other types of renewable energy. Farmers will be urged to ditch renewable subsidies, with the party adamant that ‘solar farms damage our food security’.

    While Reform has pledged to scrap Labour’s farm tax, the party has warned that farmers who continue to use land for solar panels will be subject to a ‘special tax’ upon their death – ‘expected to be at the current rate of inheritance tax’. The party will also ban battery energy storage systems built alongside solar farms and has promised to force the National Grid to replace pylons with underground cables.

    Farage was quick to trumpet his party’s anti-establishment credentials

    But while Reform is adamant it isn’t afraid of the might of the renewable industry retaliation – ‘once we start drilling in the North Sea again, we’ll be fine for support,’ one party insider told me – are its politicians at odds with the public on this one? Recent polls have shown Brits tend to be on side with net zero policies. ‘You have to ask the right question,’ Farage responded, adding that environmental concerns can coexist with frustrations at rising energy costs. ‘I’ve been an environmentalist all my life,’ he insisted – before suggesting that while climate change is ‘happening all the time’, it is ‘irrelevant’ to the conversation his party believes is necessary.

    With just over three months until the local elections in May, is Reform confident that this latest – and controversial – set of policies will entice more voters to their cause, rather than do the opposite? ‘We’re topping the polls – we wouldn’t be announcing something like this if we weren’t confident in it,’ a party source confided, adding: ‘If you ask people what they want more, net zero or lower bills, they’ll go lower bills every time.’

    It’s yet another bid to cement Reform’s relatability with voters fed up with government buzzwords and desperate for straightforward, pragmatic policy. In May’s local elections, the party is gearing up for its first big electoral test since 4 July 2024. It is keen to draw dividing lines between itself and its opponents; today’s net zero announcement could be the biggest one yet.

    Written by
    Lucy Dunn
    Lucy Dunn is The Spectator's diary reporter. She is a qualified doctor from Glasgow.

    1. He shouldn't scrap the farm tax but inheritance tax entirely. Just get rid of this appalling, miserable tax.

      Then they have to look at those taxes that make life expensive for the low paid, all the stealth taxes Brown introduced and scrap them. Alongside that the endless red tape and regulatory drivel of DIE and climate nonsense. That does incredible damage to businesses. Why does it matter how many women we hire? We hire the best person. If a company doesn't hire women, fine. If it doesn't hire men, fine. If the owner is a prejudiced wonk and doesn't hire the diversity then that's their choice. The state has no right demanding this nonsense be provided simply to get the less able a job.

      1. Inheritance tax only punishes the middle classes. The rich are able to hand on their wealth without hindrance. My experience is that it is a scam for greedy lawyers who seem to think that they have the right to help themselves to a share of other people’s inheritances.

    1. Man: I don't smoke, I'm a vegan, don't use drugs, don't drink or fool around with women and I'm celebrating my 80th birthday next month.

      Other man: How?

  122. Well, chums, I have decided on an early night tonight. After a massive effort over 3 days I have managed to reduce my emails from over 106 to fewer than 40. So I will now quickly check what has been posted on Breitbart, Guido Fawkes, and the Telegraph headlines, before returning to this site and wishing you a proper Good Night as usual. I hope you all sleep well, and I hope to see you all tomorrow morning. Since Conners has so far not yet retired for the evening, may I say in advance (for whenever it is that he does) "Good Night, Conners – and Kadi and Winston".

    1. Thank you very much, Elsie. I hope Winston is happy and relaxed for his first night in a strange house.

  123. Viz Top Tip, eh?

    "Browsing seed catalogues and drinking Empress 1908 gin in February can remind you that it will not always be cold, and offset the inverted gallic shrug at the nights forecast for 18" to 30" of snow."

    1. Ahhhhh! I was talking about this the day before yesterday, and couldn't for the life of me remember who said it.

      Thank you! 🙂

Comments are closed.