Governments usually look silly and become weaker when they seek to discipline their own MPs for disagreeing with them over policy. It is bizarre that Labour MPs are losing the whip over the policy of cutting disability benefits when the government itself has said it was wrong and has changed most of the policy. Many Labour MPs have long proposed a bigger state and sought more people dependent on benefits, so it should have come as no surprise to their leader.
I was concerned to hear BBC Radio 4 turn interviews with Rachael Maskell into Chief Whip type interviews where the interviewer puts pressure on the interviewee to change their disloyal stance. A neutral broadcaster surely should concentrate on the policy disagreements and the drama of the votes without identifying so prominently with the heavy handed and wrong headed approach of the government was unsurprisingly failing.
Maybe it is because the PM spends so much time wanting to please foreign leaders, and because he thinks international law and the EU should direct more of our laws and budgets that he does not get the mood of the country. Many of us are fed up with the huge sums given to foreign governments and new migrants. We want that spending controlled. We are not wanting pensioner or disability benefits hit.,
July 18, 2025
When a political Party reneges on its electioneering promises then rebel MPs are a usually a good thing. Most of us want our MPs to represent the majority view of their constituents, not the whims of their Party elite.
Still, rather than rely on our “representatives” in Parliament, who let us down time and time again, we’d be better served by a Swiss style referendum system to keep Parliament in order.
July 18, 2025
Wanderer, do you think our politicians would accept a Swiss model and diluter their power? I can’t see it.
As for Sir J’s final sentence many of us DO want pension and disability benefits hit or at least controlled. The OBR has said the triple lock is not affordable and benefit payments have risen for decades (amounts & number claiming). Some party is going to have to make savings or the state and the country will be bankrupt by 2040. As John Mauldin says – there will be a reckoning.
July 18, 2025
@ PeteB “The OBR has said the triple lock is not affordable…” – which does not mean it is not!
There will be in future proportionally more pensioners in the population and by 2070 projections (clearly heavily assumption-laden) show with the triple lock applying then the costs would amount to some 7.1 per cent. of GDP, contrasting to c. 6.2 per cent. in each case if only one of the locks were applied up to that date. Who knows what the economy will be capable of supporting by 2070? Well before then perhaps vast numbers will be unemployed (and unemployable!) and universal income will be handed out by government to all.
Further, keep in mind the UK state pension contrasts poorly to amounts paid in other OCED countries. It provides a lower level of income replacement (54.4% vs. OECD average of 61.4%) and leaves the UK with higher-than-average pensioner poverty (14.5%).
July 18, 2025
Retirees who have worked hard and paid tax and NI all their lives should be able to draw it!
We have people arriving from abroad, being given all they want, plus a home – for life – and for free!
That’s not fair!
Why shouldn’t pensioners be entitled?
July 19, 2025
Sharon
The triple lock does not even keep up with inflation or keep your spending power the same because the increase is taxed at 20% so you are gradually getting worse off than in the previous year.
They suggest the living wage is the bear minimum you can actually live/exist on, then why is the Pension only half that sum ?
The last Budget will eventually kill private Pensions, at least the self funded ones. even financial advisors are suggesting alternatives now (Not meant as investment advice)
July 18, 2025
Whatever you deem fair and reasonable for pension payments the facts remain. UK Government spending is now at a record high, tax rates are at the upper limits of historical levels, State spending represents a record %age of the economy and total Government borrowing is pushing 100% of GDP. The direction of travel cannot continue.
No political party is offering a long term plan to bring finances into balance.
July 18, 2025
To them, debt is other peoples problem, they see debt as an advantage
July 19, 2025
Glen it is, as other people (taxpayers) pay for it !
Not those who have caused it and continue to make it worse.!
July 18, 2025
I agree with you proposed Swiss style democracy, up to a point. The reason is we are in the age of such dishonest politicians, who seem to leave integrity and decency at the doors of the Commons, that democracy itself is being so undermined and debased as to make it an unattractive form of government. Humanity has only one other form of government – that of an autocracy.
The mechanics of a Swiss style are complicated, but it should be possible with our level of communication technology. But it will never happen- it takes the power from those who crave it and hold it now.
July 18, 2025
We vote every day in choosing what we buy and where we buy it and we should do the same and have some real democracy we would certainly make better decisions than parliament loaded as it is with liars, vested interests, crooks and deluded incompetents like Lammy, Miliband, Starmer, Sunak, doom loop Reeves!
July 18, 2025
Sir Grant Shapps has said he would “do the same thing all over again” over the Afghan data leak super-injunction.
The Telegraph today.
July 18, 2025
That’s the idiot who started HS2
July 18, 2025
No. Autocracy is just as wrong. Power just goes to autocrats’ heads. The problem is a significant drop in Judaeo-Christian and the best of Greco-Roman values (that over-lap with Judaeo-Christian ones) right across the board from politics to the family – and all over the West.
July 18, 2025
Indeed given the many liars and dishonest MPs and ministers we seem to get direct democracy is the only real democracy. Choosing the drivers of the ship every 5 years when these people will not even try to deliver what they promised is not remotely real democracy. Read the last few Tory Manifestos and look at what we actually got. Immigration of up to 1 m PA, vast increases in public debt, vast increases in tax, vast increases in red tape, vastly expensive energy, declining public services, failure to deliver a real Brexit, increased crime, net harm lockdowns and net harm Covid Vaccines.
Many Labour MPs have long proposed a bigger state and sought more people dependent on benefits. Rather like the 14 years of Cameron, May, Boris, Sunak then.
So the Women’s England football team still take the knee to black lives matter! Whom ever made this decision mist be as halfwitted as Rayner and Starmer? Perhaps they should spend less time with this deluded and pathetic virtue signalling and a bit more taking penalties. I assume all the players had to comply or did they all choose to.
They scored three from seven penalties yet this was enough to win. Our boys primary school team would have done rather better.
July 18, 2025
On 2 or 3 of the penalties you’d have thought they were wearing high-heels. Whatever happened to the run up and whack it! Don’t they practise?
July 18, 2025
don’t watch and don’t comment. It will go away
July 18, 2025
Wanderer : “……we’d be better served by a Swiss style referendum system to keep Parliament in order.”
I agree completely. And not simply “to keep Parliament in order” but in order for any Parliament whose majority is not of the Far Left to be able to govern at all. Only referendums are left to be able to overcome the captured Civil Service and most importantly, the judiciary. It is because Parliament is no longer in control but rather the Civil Service and the judiciary that we have the effect of a Uniparty in Parliament. HR legislation is anti-democratic and in fact designed to subvert democracy by giving rights to monorities over the majority and needs to be repealed. BTW, changes to how we vote and who can vote should only be made via a referendum.
July 18, 2025
“a Swiss style referendum” I agree and have suggested the same in the past.
But there also needs to be a recall mechanism.
July 18, 2025
I think 2TK has bigger problems in the pipeline. The revolt starting in the quiet town of Epping (not reported in BBC) is about to spread nationwide.
The clowns politics of Net Stupid are beginning to bite the general public in the wallet and jobs. Even the slowest amongst us can see other countries that use gas have much cheaper energy bills
There is an undercurrent of discontent amongst the electorate and I fear this is going to manifest itself in violence on the streets.
Many of the new politicians must see their careers slipping away from them as a direct result of government policy.
We are at a tipping point.
July 18, 2025
“Even the slowest amongst us can see other countries that use gas have much cheaper energy bills“
Indeed and that exporting industries that then use use coal power in China does not reduce CO2 – not that reducing CO2 plant food is even worth doing! Has Kemi and Coutinho clocked this yet? It seems not!
July 18, 2025
Strangely still not on the BBC
July 18, 2025
BBC has reported it now. If you scroll almost to the very end you’ll find out why the people of Epping are unhappy.
July 18, 2025
What sort of democracy do we live in when each successive Government gets elected on a manifesto and other promises, or sometimes due to widespread disaffection with the one which was in power, this results in a ruling majority.
That governing majority then gets torn into divisions or small parties within the Government, this results in the PM holding power and the often revised Cabinet becoming closer to a dictatorship. No wonder the electorate finds political parties so frustrating.
July 18, 2025
MT:
The reason the elctorate get frustrated is because manifestos mean nothing. This is because Parliament is not in charge and a “winning” party soon finds that the Civil Service is in charge and consequently they are unable to effect their manifesto. This explains why we appear to have a Uniparty in government. It doesn’t matter for whom you vote, the major policies such as mass immigration, high spend & tax and Net Zero remain the same.
July 18, 2025
The CS was not ‘in charge’ when Margaret was in power!
July 18, 2025
Manifesto mean these are the promises that we think will get us the most votes. Once in we will largely do the reverse, reward party donars and give our mates well paid jobs!
July 18, 2025
Don’t forget the people’s referendum …..that every government since 2016 has ignored
July 18, 2025
Two-Tier is simply highlighting the breakdown of the Parliamentary system.
MPs are elected by, and sent to Parliament, to represent their Constituents. However the Party Leaders think they are his/her MPs and must do his/her bidding, even when it is against their own beliefs and against the interests of their Constituents, as they see it.
Two-Tier said nothing in the Labour Party Manifesto about cutting welfare; pensioners winter fuel (or a great deal else). They were not elected to deliver those policies. Whilst I think welfare must be cut, starting with welfare for immigrants which should not exist at all, those MPs were representing their Constituents.
Two-Tier’s got an idea of how bad things are in the country because he’s resorting to giving votes to school children in the hope that the enormous cohort of left wing “teachers” will brainwash them into voting Labour. I think he’ll get a nasty shock:
Many will vote for Reform (Farage rules on TikTok)
Some will vote Green or for Corbyn/Sultana’s new Party, if they can agree there IS a new Party
And 16 yr olds in the Muslim Block Vote Constituencies will do as they’re told, which will mean fewer Labour MPs and more Gaza Independent ones.
July 18, 2025
The next call will be for ‘political education’ which will give the teachers an approved platform for indoctrinating the kids.
July 18, 2025
Certainly with that comment Graham
July 18, 2025
That already exists under the euphemism “Citizenship Studies.” But I believe there is already a proposal to create Political Studies …. which will be under a great deal of scrutiny.
July 18, 2025
And the lowering of the legal age of marriage.
July 18, 2025
The one thing you can be sure of is that the ’Gaza’ MPs will not be any more independent than the 16 years old and up Mozlems.
July 18, 2025
@Donna – it gives him the advantage of the Socialist indictrination in schools. Cant drive, cant drink, get married, defend the country on the front line, be treated as an adult under the law and so on – but you can vote for Socialism as it about entitlement without contribution. You are told there is no cost, there is always other that will pay
July 18, 2025
Spot on Donna… this could well blow up in Starmer’s face. Let’s hope so.
July 18, 2025
I’m okay with 16yrs getting the vote ….so long as its also 16yrs as the ‘age of majority’
July 18, 2025
Sir John, I think it would be fair to say most of us want the Leave the EU referendum vote respected and delivered. We voted for control of our own affairs. Successive governments have worked with civil servants to block that stated wish. A wish democratically expressed by the electorate. The result of ongoing submission to the EU by our establishment is, Kier Starmer agreeing to be instructed by EU authority and also agreeing to give money to the EU for the privilege of being told what to do and when.
Most of us want lower taxation and better living conditions. Most of us want value for money particularly our tax paid into state coffers. Sadly we are seeing ever more waste and inefficiency of our hard earned contributions squandered by public sector activities.
Most of us are not happy with political performance in Westminster. It can not continue on like this.
July 18, 2025
The best news came a little later. Diane Abbot has now been suspended. A woman who spends every waking hour referencing ‘racism’ But doesn’t see how racist she is herself.
She could join up with her old mate Corbyn in the exciting new ‘old commies’ party.
July 18, 2025
@Old Albion, not the brightest one in the box. But just having an opinion whether you agree or not, is her gang leader inventing new laws and seeking suppression of those whose opinions challenge virtual signalling views.
Ultimately it is the TwoTierKier way of suppressing free speech. The Lord and Master, he who should be obeyed new school of rules
July 18, 2025
She should be Chancellor of the Exchequer. Her maths would get the national debt down double quick.
July 18, 2025
Well she has more idea of the economy than has cry-baby Reeves!
July 18, 2025
If I was Rachel Maskell and the 3 others I would stay independent but follow labour views. I admire the fact they stood up for the country and there constituency on a bad policy drawn on a fag packet. We need reform of the system as its being abused. Start simple perhaps the attendance allowance
July 18, 2025
A strict adherence to Party politics, and lying manifesto’s is killing our so called Democracy
July 18, 2025
y of cutting disability benefits when the government itself has said it was wrong and has changed most of the policy. Many Labour MPs have long proposed a bigger state and sought more people dependent on benefits,
And many Conservatives MPs are too scared of being unpopular with certain sections of Twitter to say “no”. Gordon Brown started the working tax credit cult and the Conservatives embraced the client state and proliferated it.
Now Labour seems unable to put it back in the box.
July 18, 2025
The politicians have lost control.
Completely.
They don’t know it yet.
July 18, 2025
The politicians defination of ‘control’ differs from the people’s defination …..and lets face it they don’t care
July 18, 2025
I had assumed the whip withdrawals were done not over disability benefits but for making Starmer and pals look stupid.
I chanced to see Ms Maskell interviewed by Sky News soon after being told she had lost the whip. That interview seemed generously fair, giving her much time to answer in her own terms and without interruption. She likely did herself much good amongst Labour Party members.
July 18, 2025
‘for making Starmer and pals look stupid.’
He and they manage it very well without backbench help.
July 18, 2025
I am beginning to think that a referendum system could be better, now that we have the technology to do it.
July 18, 2025
I suspect results of referenda would reflect the mood of the moment. National decisions need debate and due consideration, for which there is an elected body to deal with them.
We have a referendum every five years, and judging by the result of the one last July the electorate show poor judgement.
July 18, 2025
DA : “National decisions need debate and due consideration, for which there is an elected body to deal with them.”
Have you ever watched a Select Committee’s evidence session? The MPs do not know their subject. The Civil Service sets the MPs “questions” which are given in advance to those giving the “evidence” and no-one with an opposing view is allowed to participate. It’s the blind leading the blind and no wonder such poor decisions are made.
Reply Select Committees do not make decisions. They write reports with recommendations for improvement sent to the department they question and follow. A good Chair can help fashion the agenda and ask good questions, which could lead to policy change
July 18, 2025
Reply to reply
What goes on in Select Committees gives us a window to the standards of debate in Bill Committees which do vote to change drafts of Bills or to put amendments to the next reading.
July 18, 2025
Reply to Reply : You are correct, Sir John. These Select Committees do not make the decisions. But the way they are run means that often their reports are worthless if not actually wrong and I agree with Mark below that the transcripts should be open to public comment and debate.
July 18, 2025
Then those who pose the questions will hold a lot of power, and the counting machines did a great job for the USA in 2020.
Look forward to surprising results tIme after time – which cannot be challenged.
I can see the population voting for more migration, and plenty of interviews with delighted white middle class women confirming that they knew they were in a majority.
You think MPs go through the lobbies with their faces examined each vote by both sides for nothing?
You will only learn the hard way I fear.
July 18, 2025
What’s the point if they don’t 100% comply with it ?
July 18, 2025
We are not wanting pensioner or disability benefits hit.,
The mood of the country (those who pay rather than receive) is that there are 9 million econmically inactive working age people and we fell that is OK if those people are supporting themselves but not if they are being paid for by the tax payer.
Pensions are a contributory receipt but even so pensioners should only receive average wage increases and not the triple lock. Pensioners should be subject to the same income risks as the rest of us.
Disability benefits should be for the truly disabled not for the insta variety.
July 18, 2025
Pension payments are subject to Income Tax, isn’t that enough?
Disability benefits ‘in total’ need to be assessed to ensure they do not exceed normal average pay after all deductions.
July 18, 2025
I don’t class pensions as a benefit but for the purposes of this answer will include them. All benefits should be taxed.
If the average wage increase is good enough for workers, it is good enough for pensioners and benefits recipients.
July 19, 2025
NR
Why not go the whole hog and only let taxpayers vote, after all it’s their money that funds everything.
Perhaps we then many get some management back with some sensible policies, because people would not vote for profligate spending plans if they know they have to pay the bill.
Problem we have at the moment is those who get benefits do not pay anything, so do not care who pays, as long as it’s not them.
Quite honestly if you can read, write, speak, and use your hands, you are capable of some sort of work, even if it was at home.
When I left school way back in the 1960’s not a single school leaver in our school, was allowed on or given any sort of Benefits, they all got a job and worked !.
July 18, 2025
These are marginal.
What we want is NO MORE MONEY FOR ALIENS, no more money for international unelected dictatorial bodies, no more money for NGOs and no more money for foreign countries. None whatsoever.
I don’t even want to fund NATO.
Britain must never go to war again unless actually attacked – ie defensive only. Sure the Afghan debacle illustrates that is necessary? The latest of many ridiculously punishing lessons?
July 18, 2025
+1
July 18, 2025
“… he does not get the mood of the country” – Oh dear! So on the way out then?
July 18, 2025
No word so far on the catastrophic data breach and the insane (and should be unconstitutional) attempts to use legal means to cover it up. Obviously a terrible error by the individual who pressed send with the data. But a question I haven’t seen asked: how can there possibly exist a file – unencrypted it seems – with all these data? It seems Dominic Cummings is right, we are appallingly served by an incompetent and over-staffed blob. The episode obviously reflects terribly on the last government. Especially the minister who reportedly “used emotional blackmail” to ensure mass immigration of a list of people, only one in 15 of whom (it is alleged) had any genuine claim.
Reply I agree the data abuse was completely unacceptable. This blog has long highlighted lack or productivity and quality in departments.
July 18, 2025
@Richard1 – Parliaments laws of keeping you safe, keep the door open to them monitoring you and yours. Keeps the door open to all nefarious wrong doers that populate the net. What it doesn’t do is keep anyone safe, it just makes it more dangerous and it ’causes’ so-called breaches
July 18, 2025
Indeed.
As to reply so much of what the state does huge net harm so it is money spent to do damage – vast negative productivity:- Net Zero, road blocking, Chagos, vast low skilled immigration, net harm dangerous Covid vaccines, net harm lockdowns, the lab manufactured Covid Virus, HS2, rigged markets in energy, education, housing, transport, banking, Blair’s moronic wars…
July 18, 2025
@Lifelogic – harm at a massive unrealistic cost to all
July 18, 2025
I don’t beieve the leak of the data was an accident.
July 18, 2025
I always assume leak means somebody released it, not by accident.
July 18, 2025
I think it was an accident.
But I also think it explains why Sunak and Two-Tier have done nothing to stop the channel invasion. How to hide the deliberate importation of thousands of Afghans in plain sight? But letting thousands more come in “illegally” over the channel so the numbers can be hidden.
July 18, 2025
There’s a subtle difference between accident and incompetence
July 18, 2025
How can it even be the case that someone in the MoD or government can have all this un-encripted data in a file that can be copied, stolen, emailed or leaked so easily with such dire consequences?
July 18, 2025
It wasn’t an accident!
July 18, 2025
The problems with computers, especially in the hands of morons, is that they can mess up big. The usual damage a soldier/civil servant/doctor/banker/broker can do individually is containable.
Giving them a computer is like giving them a finger on the red button.
I’m in favour of computer rationing.
July 18, 2025
One computer per house/flat, one hour online each per day?
July 18, 2025
This blog has indeed been a voice of sense on waste and incompetence. Another factor I haven’t seen mentioned – the root cause of the disaster was of course Biden’s precipitous surrender in Afghanistan which is what caused the panic. That terrible, weak and incompetent move by Biden has had huge global ramifications, almost certainly including the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
July 19, 2025
+1 But then let’s face it, Biden was away with the fairies. Someone else (Obama, Mrs Biden, who knows) was making the decisions.
July 18, 2025
Sir John
It comes back to who we expect our MP’s to work for. Is it those that elect, empower and pay them? Are they their to support their constituencies, constituents and the Country? Or is it the ‘gang’ leader that in all probability had a hand in selecting them and was able to bribe them with election funding?
One of those options to me doesn’t sound like a working democracy.
There has to be a way for Parliament to be kept in check and challenged, that is none existent in our corrupt system.
July 18, 2025
Look at the BDI. It’s proposal can be extended now that we have Brexit.
It was tying MPs to their electorates by Oath (not to HM) by enforcing the Chiltern hundreds on any MP who broke his oath (refused to reinstate and protect our constitution), but that can be extended to the electoral manifesto.
The prospect of by-elections changes the balance of power between MP and Party Whip.
The electorate must freely choose their own candidates. Maybe the whole electorate could choose which party candidate they want to vote for in the selection process. Only one vote.
We MUST be able to outwit these morons who have destroyed democracy and USE democracy to destroy them!
July 18, 2025
@Lynn Atkinson – elections for MPs every two years as happens in real democracies can change the balance of power. Especially if the leader is on four year terms as happens elsewhere. People, those we empower and pay then Listen. Five year is just obscene it has the traits of a third world dictatorship embedded – causing corruption
July 18, 2025
What is Parliament for, what are MP’s for, if it can’t challenge, views and orthodoxy. I don’t agree with those that have been sacrificed by their ruler who has a different agenda to that of the UK and its advancement. But I do support them being able act as they see it on behalf of their electorate and country – it should be their electorate that is the arbiter.
Think it through, 2TK and his team know they are working against the UK for and on behalf of someone else’s political agenda , by keeping the troops in line they will then have the numpties that when he says jump they well say how high.
July 18, 2025
The contradiction, cutting benefits to fund prolific waste, funding foreign regimes and over-spending on virtual signals.
July 18, 2025
“We are not wanting pensioner or disability benefits hit.”
I think most of us want only those deserving of the benefits to receive them and only paid at a rate the country can afford. There is not a bottomless pit of money to shell out. As a pensioner myself, I think the Triple Lock should go and pensions only uprated by inflation. The one thing the Labour Government did of which I approve was ditching the Winter Fuel Benefit (now partially restored). As a country we are broke and everyone will have to pay the price.
Reply I have set out how I would control the costs of welfare and pensions, starting with no benefits for migrants and a further rise in state pension age above 67
July 18, 2025
@Michael Staples – as you say we are as a Country broke, but not because of pensions, triple lock or winter fuel. We are broke because there is no control administered to actual expenditure. If one are of the State is failing, the only answers offered is to throw money at it and employ more staff. How many Government departments now use Taxpayer money to fund virtual signalling discrimination projects?
The triple lock was as is all things a clumsy attempt by government to protect those that can’t because of age develop a new earning stream, pensioners, allowing them to be protected from the ravages of inflation caused by government. The winter fuel payment likewise is a backdoor way of lessen the burden inflicted by government for its excessive loading of costs(taxes, levies) on UK energy bills.
The bit missed is that pensioners do pay tax, the greater their inflow the more they pay. Chancellor Hunt under Sunak has ensured that keeps increasing regardless of inflation – so you could say the claw back is built despite the headline increases.
Of course if, you never contributed you can get paid more than those that did. In the same way if you have tennis elbow the Taxpayer funds you to have a new car.
The whole system is rotten to much priority on bending minds, then trying to compensate those that were trapped unintentionally. You finish up with a systems of layers, caveats, get outs that the administration of it is in reality its biggest burden. It is not fair or honest, just ego stroking
July 18, 2025
A long bat tunnel built on HS2 cost £100m. Who authorised or recommended? How many got their P45?
July 18, 2025
I had to ‘google’ that, as I just couldn’t quite believe it …..Its true and I still don’t believe our government allowed this …madness
July 19, 2025
Even worse I think the bats don’t want to use it. The designer was clearly batty.
July 19, 2025
The lunatic responsible for “delivering” (actually he’s NOT delivering HS2) said he’d do it again.
Why? Because he is complying with EU Regulations and Government Policy on the protection of listed (endangered) species. The EU has identified which species are endangered on a “whole of the EU” basis. Hence creatures which are not endangered in parts of Europe still get the same protection. There is no proportionality in the Regulations. If the lunatic responsible had decided to spent £1 billion “protecting” a few bats, he would justify it.
Of course, bats can fly in and out of an open-end tunnel. So they’re not protected anyway.
I guess we should be grateful that they obviously didn’t find any signs (signs, not bodies) of a possible dormouse.
July 18, 2025
‘PM spends so much time wanting to please foreign leaders,’ as reported in the media yesterday and today by Ian Duncan Smith the PM’s big reset, with the EU means the UK is now not only accepting the EU as our law maker, but the UK taxpayer will be paying for the privileged.
This was not a reset with the EU it was a reinterpretation of Democracy by 2TK. No other Sovereign nation on the planet has to take on EU Laws in their own lands.
As is to-days piece from Sir John, As I read is intimating democracy is being trashed, not only doesn’t 2TK like the UK or Parliament he is putting more and more of the UK control and rule into the hands of the unelected unaccountable elsewhere. It is what is called elsewhere treachery being carried out by those working for foreign powers.
Labour and Parliament needs to get a grip on their purpose before even that is gone
July 18, 2025
‘PM spends so much time wanting to please foreign leaders’ – -put simply answering to WEF.
July 18, 2025
The missing bit to above
Starmers sell-out is up there with the Windsor sell-out, the UK is but someone else’s colony
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/07/17/britain-forced-pay-eu-under-starmer-reset-deal/
7. Neither agreement should give the United Kingdom the right to participate in the Union’s decision-making.
18. As part of the principle of dynamic alignment described above, the agreement should ensure that the United Kingdom in respect of Great Britain dynamically aligns with the relevant rules,
34. The United Kingdom should contribute financially to supporting the relevant costs associated with the Union’s work in these policy areas.
In 2TK’s eyes the UK Legislators cannot be allowed to define how the UK works internally
July 18, 2025
It was interesting to listen to Nick Robinson’s interview this morning with Chancellor Merz on the Today Programme.
His clear and refreshing views were fascinating and as clear as could be a break with views of the last two holders of his office. We can be satisfied that our biggest European Ally is steadfast in its policies on European defence, but it seems a great pity that he is hamstrung by the need to take orders from Brussels over almost everything else.
I came away with the impression that if we were able to discuss trade 1 : 1 with Chancellor Merz, many of the difficulties would disappear. One decidedly does not get that view listening to Macron, one of many world leaders I’m sure President Trump does not trust.
Of most interest was H. Merz view on Brexit : He went to some lengths to lay the blame for Brexit on the EU, and in particular, on Merkel. Although she was not named, he correctly identified that sending a humiliated David Cameron home with nothing and her catastrophic mistake in allowing into Germany, a million undocumented muslim migrants in a single year were to largely to blame for our leaving.
European countries and we are still paying the price for her policies, which she introduced with no discussion with anyone else. History is not going to be kind to her. I have always believed that she was a closet communist and more recent events make that seems increasingly likely.
July 18, 2025
Yes, I’m expecting Merkel to turn up one day in Moscow. Her parents moved from West to East Germany and she held a senior position in the USSR organisation Agiprop before the fall of the Berlin Wall. She was also instrumental in ensuring that Germany closed down its nuclear power stations and at the same time became heavily reliant on Russian gas. You may remember how the Germans at the UN laughed when Trump said they were making a big mistake. It must have helped Putin make the decision to invade Ukraine.
July 19, 2025
Yes Merkel did more damage to EU and the wider Europe than Putin has managed so far.
July 18, 2025
The problem for Merz is that his refusal to deal with AfD is leaving him forced to adopt SPD policies because they threaten to bring him down otherwise. Germany continues to be governed from the left. PR is not a good system when you get the tail wagging the dog.
July 18, 2025
“I was concerned to hear BBC Radio 4 turn interviews with Rachael Maskell into Chief Whip type interviews where the interviewer puts pressure on the interviewee to change their disloyal stance”.
The BBC’s default position is that they support Starmer and his policies – anyone who has an opposing view, be it from the right or Corbynite left, will be given a hard time. In such cases when the left and right then point out this bias the BBC take it as evidence of their “balance” because they are being attacked by both sides.
July 18, 2025
How do you get ‘Public scrutiny’ all the while gang leaders in Parliament seek to suppress ‘free-speech’ and challenges.
Being diss-enfranchised means that the big (I personally would call it corrupt) money doesn’t come your way at election time. Another reason why election campaign money should only come from within the community where the candidate is seeking support and wishes to represent.
Parliament is supposed to be adversarial, it my look bad and unruly at times from the outside, but continual and constant challenges to thoughts and deeds is how good policies evolve.
July 18, 2025
As desirable as Swiss-style referendums are, there is a better way. We need the ability to recall MPs so they can’t ignore their constituents. Now, once elected at a GE, they can ignore voters and do what they want, bending slightly the closer it gets to the next GE.
If they knew they could face being recalled and forced to fight for their seat again, it would be possible for voters to hold them to account.
A classic example is Ed Miliband, pursuing Net Zero with religious zeal, blithely uncaring about the cost or the effect on the UK and our industry. Faced with the possibility of being recalled, maybe he would consider the facts and realise he is chasing a chimaera! Net Zero will never be achieved.
July 19, 2025
I very much doubt that Red Ed will submit himself to be held to account by the people of Doncaster at the next election. I predict he’ll jump ship to the role he’s applying for with our money in the Global Climate-scam Quangocracy.
July 19, 2025
Recall of MPs Act 2015, introduced September 2014, received Royal Assent on 26 March 2015.
July 18, 2025
For me,the huge influx of migrants and their offspring have changed the NHS beyond recognition.It is not just about money and staff but rather time taken to sort out problems where both patients and staff do not understand basic principles of the NHS . Communication is a huge problem and the time taken to sort all problems presented due to a lack of grasping British ethics and a total lack of understanding what is involved in the running of patient care is exasperating.No extra time is given for day to day management to sort out the problems made by Higher management.The public don’t know half of it.
July 18, 2025
I read that Mark Pritchard, Conservative MP for the Wrekin, is proposing that there should be fines for those providing false evidence to Select Committees. Can’t he see how that would work? The government would deem any evidence that undermines its policies to be false, and once it started fining those providing critiques the result would be chilling and an attack of free speech just where it is most vital.
MPs should have some skills to understand when evidence presented to them is probably shaky. But if they need assistance then the best way of achieving that is allowing public comment on oral evidence transcripts and published written evidence, and promoting public debate so they are better informed. Making such comment public might provide a rich vein for journalists, many of whom are quite incapable of analysing government policy proposals adequately without assistance.
Sunlight is the best disinfectant – not allowing nodding donkeys to nod on in ignorance. Perhaps we also need intervention from the Speaker to ensure that non-answers are replaced by proper written answers that address the questions posed.
July 18, 2025
Mark :
Yes, I’ve also thought that “public comment on oral evidence transcripts and published written evidence.” should be allowed for public Select Committee Meetings. Unfortunately, because the Civil Service are in control of the whole proceedings, inviting those who give evidence, setting the questions for the MPs and giving the questions in advance to those giving evidence, the MPs are never given the information they need to make the right decisions. I’ve tried writing to the Select Committee Chair when I’ve spotted a clear case of false evidence but to no avail.
July 18, 2025
398 criminals were illicitly transported, in plain sight, into the UK yesterday on the 17th July from France……
I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a ‘super-injunction’ hiding a secret pact to accept French illegal migrants
July 18, 2025
gc :
Yes, we’ve now discovered that our own government has been smuggling immigrants into the UK. Since the French Navy are now handing out life jackets and accompanying the illegal migrants to mid Channel what would happen if when they instruct our Border Force to come and collect our Border Force simply refuses to come out on the basis that there is no danger to life as the French have given them lifejackets and are escorting them? Would the French Navy just abandon them mid Channel or escort them back to France?
July 18, 2025
not secret, merely small print in the treasonable terms of almost escaping the EU.
We keep looking at the barbed wire and deciding not to try and get over it.
July 19, 2025
Neither would I Glen. I’ve been suggesting for well over a year that there’s a secret deal that “we’ll take our fair share.” It’s the only thing that explains the close co-operation between the French and British Authorities to ship them over.
July 18, 2025
Rachel Maskell and other Labour MPs who oppose any change to the UK’s over-generous benefits system, invariably speak of ‘supporting my constituents’ or ‘advocating on behalf of my constituents’, or ‘representing my constituents’.
But they are only speaking for *some* of their constituents. Those constituents who work for a living will be paying more tax to subsidise the government’s inability to cut welfare costs. An inability based on a large majority supported by only 20% of the electorate.
Very few Labour MPs represent the interests of their constituents who work and pay tax – except for workers who work in large, unionised state enterprises, when their financial contributions help the MPs win their seats.
It is interesting that areas benighted by worklessness and economic decay have returned Labour MPs for many decades, during which several Labour governments have come and gone, without making any discernible difference to the area’s poverty.
July 18, 2025
It has become very clear that our Prime Minister cares more for foreigners than he does his own electorate.
Just how far he can go and for what period of time can only be determined by his own MPs.
Until they stand up for their constituents and put them and OUR country FIRST, we are destined to be running second fiddle and subservient to even more Nations around the world.
He has no clue on what he wants, but is prepared to accept everything the other side places on the negotiating table. Hence, the bad deals with Mauritius, India and the USA, France, Germany and now the EU. He and his cabinet continually blame 14 years of Tory rule only to commit us to even worse times. Hypocrisy is in the socialist DNA. And with four more years with he and his band of third rate politicos running amok, we all should be fearful for the state of OUR nation and the future for our offspring, by 2029.
July 21, 2025
This government is out to bankrupt the country so that outside elements can be called in to take control via money etc. When financiers have control of you have had it. Happened in 1970s and we had to have a strong woman like Thatcher try to correct it with some very good advice from prominent politicians at the time. However, the new breed came in and took her down and it has been all downhill since. This person in No 10 has had communist training in his career so I think we have the old commie lot after us again. It was prominent in the 1970s with Jack Jones and others so it has been lying dormant since then ready to rise up again. How we stop them before they completely ruin us this time round I do not know so am in misery.