The Clacton by election was an ideal opportunity for the Rejoin EU party. The main pro EU parties, Lib Dem, Greens and Labour had stood aside. The former MP incumbent candidate was Nigel Farage with a lifetime of being anti EU. Surely this would show that even in relatively Eurosceptic Essex there was a serious minority of support for rejoining the EU, which could then sustain the often quoted argument of the pro EU forces that a majority of the UK would now like to be back in.
Instead the Rejoin EU party polled under 1.5% of the vote. Their candidate John Stevens, an experienced politician and a former MEP, failed to get any cut through with the electors and as a result was ignored by the media. The media rightly worked out the only challenger to Mr Farage likely to get serious support was Count Binface, who as a result dominated the non Farage coverage. This demonstrates that the alleged wish of many to see the UK back in the EU is not true. If it cannot convert to being the leading minority vote in a relatively Eurosceptic part of the country, it cannot be the view of anything like a majority of the UK electorate. Those who wanted back into the EU had nothing to lose by voting for Mr Stevens, as the by election was never going to change the government or make any significant difference to the Commons. A strong vote for Mr Stevens would however have sent a message and would have been greatly used by those who do want us to surrender more powers and align with more EU government.
That is why those of us who think EU Re set and closer alignment will bring us less growth, higher taxes and more bad laws need to remind people that even in the free vote conditions of this bizarre by election the pro EU party got little over 1%, whilst the winner who wants us to stay out got 62.8%. Count Binface campaigned on being in Clacton more than Mr Farage and in favour of cheap ice creams. He promised to build one subsidised home and offered to cut any individual voter’s tax whilst putting it up for the rest. This was preferred by those who did like Mr Farage to the serious – and wrong – proposal that we should re set our relationship with the EU and seek membership put forward by Mr Stevens. Doesn’t that say it all?
August 15, 2026
The former MP incumbent candidate was Nigel Farage with a lifetime of being anti EU. Surely this would show that even in relatively Eurosceptic Essex there was a serious minority of support for rejoining the EU
Nigel Farage is one of a very few MPs in parliament with experience of being in politics unlike the shower/ muppets we have now from both Liebour/ Tory’s/Libdims parties that is why the MSM and MPs are so scared of him becoming the next leader of our country, and so they should be because it will be the end of the political system we have now and one for the people who the current MPs seem to have forgotten
August 15, 2026
This is not a very significant topic. There were a raft of candidates nobody had heard of, or cared much about. Count Binface was the only person with any wide recognition outside of Mr. Farage.
I am more concerned about the voice I heard downstairs yesterday evening. It turned out to be government announcement on my mobile phone, which came through without me having to accept the call. It was about barbecues of all things. I have no interest in barbecues or picnics. I very occasionally eat outside, but the food is cooked inside and brought to the table by a waiter.
Big Brother is here. We even have a Minister of Fire. More pay for this individual. It is Burnham’s way of showing he is doing something, even if nothing is actually achieved.
August 15, 2026
When the Government starts using something that is designed to warn us of an emergency, like a nuclear bomb, for their nonsense propaganda, we know we are in trouble. The alarm woke me up. I’d previously turned these alarms off, but my phone turned them back on without my permission. The government is getting more intrusive by the day. This is an EU initiative. Why are we a part of it? I’m more in fear of unvetted illegal migrants roaming my village than I am of disposable BBQs, so maybe send us an alarm every time a rubber dinghy lands on our shore.
August 15, 2026
The EU directive was adopted in 2018, EU countries were supposed to have national ETSI-compatible operational systems by June 2022.
The UK system, as part of ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute, founded in 1988), was implemented in 2023 during the Sunak government, but not as a direct ‘EU thingy’.
There are four levels of emergencies, three of them can be opted-out.
Right now it is not clear which level was used yesterday (14/08) as most mobile phone manufacturers had adopted by default the ETSI (or similar US WEA).
‘Severe alerts’ and ‘Extreme alerts’ can be turned off in ‘Notifications’ (iPhone, Android). ‘Tests alerts’ do not appear on iPhone. So it might have been a test alert.
Most mobile phone users rarely look for those … given that most are not even bothered disabling the predictive text.
gov.uk ‘Opting out of emergency alerts’.
August 16, 2026
I don’t have at mobile phone. It’s great, you should try it.
August 15, 2026
Are you certain that Binface was not a pro-EU candidate?
Reply His interviews and songs did not highlight the EU issue.
August 15, 2026
Reply to reply. No but he worked for the BBC and wrote unfunny comedy so being pro EU would have been in the job description.
Mauritius with the consent of the UN has annexed the waters surrounding Chagos. What if anything are the government going to do now the disposable BBQ problem is sorted.
August 15, 2026
+1
August 15, 2026
Bins are not as yet an EU competence
August 15, 2026
The idea that this meaningless by-election tells us anything about popular support for rejoining the EU is absurd, but the fact that you try to pretend it does shows how terrified you are that your precious Brexit is being exposed as a hopeless failure. Meanwhile the government is actively resetting our relationship with the EU by aligning our rules with it, a great boost for British exporters who have suffered so badly as a result of Brexit, and polls consistently show a sizeable majority want to rejoin.
Reply Aligning with their higher carbon taxes will speed de industrialisation and mean we have fewer goods to export
August 15, 2026
It’s the government not Brexit that is being exposed as a hopeless failure, and British exporters have suffered because of bad government, not Brexit.
Brexit didn’t stop my company exporting into Europe, let alone the rest of the world that wasn’t a party to Brexit. A far bigger problem is government making UK industry less competitive through high taxes, excessive bureaucracy and high cost of living (housing and energy) policies.
August 15, 2026
Hear, hear! DA
August 15, 2026
@Dave Andrews – exactly
The UK Parliament, the Establishment, never wanted to leave and want back in so seemingly disrupt everything that leads to them showing signs of running the Country. They have at their core the need to be told by the unelected unaccountable bureaucrats in foreign lands what to do, the last people they want to work for and with is those that lend them their power and pay them
August 15, 2026
Hard to understand what you mean Ian. All EU rules are made by democratically elected politicians. You do know the European Commission doesn’t make laws? Don’t you?
August 15, 2026
@John in Kent – the EU Parliament cant make, amend or repeal laws as happens in a democracy. It is the unelected unaccountable EU bureaucracy that makes, amends and repeals laws. What is called a Parliament is limited to only discussing and rubber-stamp the proposals, if they the MEP’s disagree they get to vote until they do agree.
This situation was highlighted in the Media by Claire Fox when she was an MEP.
The technical wording is that the Parliament ‘shares’ powers with the Bureaucrats, but it only the Bureaucrats that do the proposing, changing etc.
August 15, 2026
You mean the MEPs vote on bills the EU Commission want implemented, and don’t vote on what they don’t want implemented. I didn’t realise that could be called democracy, John.
August 16, 2026
The EU Parliament can’t propose laws, only the Commission proposes laws and they are deemed to have passed unless a majority of the full complement of the ‘Parliament’ (not a majority of those who voted) votes them done!
Did you not know? In effect the unelected bureaucracy dictates the laws.
August 15, 2026
JK
You may perceive Brexit as a failure, but is it really ?
Certainly many of the advantages we could have had have did not happen because of self harm caused by our own politicians thoughts and policies.
Remember the disgusting action of those Mp’s who actually had meetings in Europe encouraging them to allow us nothing, when we were negotiating to leave.
97% of Companies in the UK do not export to Europe, so why should we/they need to obey their rules.
Yes if you do export, then of course you accept the rules/regulations of any Country you export to, like the USA and others etc, but they do not set rules for our home market.
Most of our MP’s have done their best to hamper any sensible leave agreement in the last 10 years, and many EU Mp’s want to punish the UK for having the guts to leave, and wanting to govern ourselves.
I still holiday in Europe, not a problem, one of our nephews went to a French University for a year with no problems (after we had left) so absolutely no need for the new more costly agreement made of late.
If Europe is so great, why do illegals want to come here to escape Europe. ?
August 15, 2026
Alan, I am happy to have the chance to explain to you the basic economics of why Brexit has been so damaging for our country. You ask why 97% of Companies in the UK who do not export to Europe should need to obey their rules. The 97% figure is wrong – a great many companies who do not export directly to the EU are nevertheless part of supply or productions chains which ultimately involve export to the EU. So in fact a high percentage of UK companies are dependent on the EU market. And, next point, it makes every economic sense for UK rules to be identical to EU rules. That alignment means that making something for the UK market also makes it fit for the EU market (whether or not the maker wants also to exploit the EU market). It saves a lot of money. If our rules are different from EU rules it doesn’t help those trading only in the UK, but it does waste a lot of money for those who want to trade in the EU, because it forces them to have two production lines, one set up for UK rules and one for EU rules. We could align to US or Japanese rules but the EU market is far far bigger and next door to us, so it is basic economic good sense to follow EU rules. And even better to do what Mrs Thatcher invented and what the Conservative Party used to understend, join the EU single market
Reply What the UK thought was going to be a common market with easier trading became a monster power grab with thousands of new laws. Our growth rate in the single market was only half our growth rate before we joined. Deeply damaging. Aligning with US rule and taxes, our biggest single national export market, would help our businesses more. Better still to get on with using Brexit freedoms to boost UK business with lower taxes and just the necessary laws.
August 15, 2026
Thank you once again for allowing me to correct these very basic misunderstandings. The “thousands of new laws” were exactly what was needed to create “a common market with easier trading”. Without common EU laws, there are only different national laws – and no free trade. Our growth rate in the single market was only half our growth rate before we joined – and had we not joined the single market, our growth rate would have been a lot lower. And export figures make clear that for us the US market is tiny compared to the EU market
Reply All you needed for a truly common market was the principle that anything allowed to be sold in your home market could be offered for sale throughout the EU with clear labelling.
August 15, 2026
John
I ran my own small business for 30 years (home market only), so am fully aware of the thousands of Gold plated EU laws and regulations, which had absolutely nothing to do with my business at all, but which I had to obey at significant cost, and wasted time.
Go on holiday in the EU and the businesses there simply ignore such rules and regulations, I blame OUR politicians for enforcing much of this Gold unnecessary plating.
Thus our opinions, experience, and thoughts differ !
August 15, 2026
That is an EU rule then. So you do now understand that for a common market, there have to be EU rules. Progress I suppose!
August 15, 2026
@John in Kent – the thousands of Laws the EU generates to do ‘trade’? Why are they needed? The UK as does the majority of the ‘free world’ trades trades with one and other with almost a hand shake and no hindrance.
The laws the EU Imposes even now on the outside of the block UK are more onerous than they impose on any other Nation.
The US and China do significantly more trade with the EU than the UK does, but at no stage does the EU tell those countries how they should govern themselves inside their own borders. The EU has imposed a non-compete restriction on the UK, the UK is even now outside the block is not allowed to do anything that could be conceived as being competitive with the EU. Lets see the EU demand that restriction with China and the USA
August 15, 2026
The EU set rules which the UK struggled to obey and was therefore uncompetitive.
The other EU countries frequently ignored the ‘rules’.
August 15, 2026
But John, why should businesses in the UK have to be burdened with rules, regulations, directives and laws from the EU when they don’t sell into the EU?
Berkshire Alan is correct.
There were good laws protecting consumers from shody products before the EU imposed itself on us.
It is sad the EU went down the road of legislating for conformity and compliance.
August 15, 2026
The only people I hear wanting to rejoin the EU are expats living in Spain who seem to have a hatred of Britain until they want to return for the NHS and welfare payments. We could not afford to rejoin the EU, and most people realise that the propaganda spouted by the leavers never materialised. Rejoining is just a media and Government cause. The public has moved on.
August 15, 2026
@Christine – agreed
August 15, 2026
Our biggest trading partner by far is ourselves – that is, domestic trade. Which doesn’t need EU rules. Our next biggest trading partner is the rest of the world. Which doesn’t need EU rules. Our smallest trading partner is the EU. Which doesn’t need EU rules because we both trade under WTO rules and the trading agreement of May 2021. So what is your EU for?
August 16, 2026
Exactly! Norris McWhirter always knew the exact percentage of our overall trade exports to the EU represented. It was always a minuscule number.
I bet it’s even smaller now, JR will probably know the current percentage.
August 15, 2026
I see that Burnham is trying to use the mobile phone emergency alarm system as a further blanket, net zero propaganda tool. Entirely inappropriately.
The idea that the UK lowering CO2 emissions is the way to stop wild fires is moronic. The way to reduce wild fires is controlled burning, stop re-wilding, have fire breaks, more grazing, removing and using the inflammable material…
August 15, 2026
I don’t know, there still seems to be a number of people who haven’t got the message that taking a disposable barbecue into the countryside and letting it burn is something to be avoided. Not everyone keeps abreast of current affairs, living in their social media bubble instead.
August 15, 2026
My wife’s phone went off yesterday, causing her much alarm.
My phone didn’t go off (I’ve no mobile roamimg) and I told her they just sent these messages to potential “risk numbers” – known arsonists etc. Just for a moment (or two) she was even more concerned (as to why she as on the “list”) but unfortunately I couldn’t keep a straightface… 🙂
August 15, 2026
The Count’s most articulate policy was wanting lower taxes for you, but higher for everyone else. He must have taken a lot of votes from Labour with this.
August 15, 2026
Labour was too “frit” as Thatcher put it to stand.
Most voters want lower taxes and better public services but this something that actually could easily be delivered if the government were run properly, was far smaller and concentrated on what actually matters to voters – but it never is.
August 15, 2026
This is hilarious the amount of conclusions you are able to draw on EU support from a by election but if you believe this reflects lack of support for more Eu alignment , you just go ahead, but it is all rather sad. John
August 15, 2026
I expect there are more than 1.5% EU lovers even in Clacton, but for them the anti-Farage candidate was the person to vote for. They hate Nigel Farage more than they love the EU.
August 15, 2026
Sooo . . . a democratic vote is no indicator of democratic support (or the lack of it) in your world??
August 15, 2026
It’s what Brexit is reduced to, ten years on. Crowing about Farage beating a bin in Essex
August 15, 2026
Dan Hannan tweets.
Did I really need an alarm to tell me not to go around starting fires?
And:-
This is the most significant test for our new PM, his Falklands moment. Mauritius has made a hostile claim on our territory. Does he resettle the Chagos Islands with their original inhabitants and hold what we have? Or does he carry on with the disastrous Starmer approach?
I assume the latter as he gets almost everything wrong.
August 15, 2026
Yes it would appear they have now claimed 145,000 square miles of the Indian Ocean around the Chagos as belonging to Mauritius and under their control, with rights of entry and use.
Seems it has also gained approval by default as the UK put up no argument for retaining it ourselves.
I wonder what the USA think of a secure base now ?
August 15, 2026
Oops, Square Kilometres not Miles. Still a huge amount of ocean and control.
Seems like the UN has approved it, if reports are to be believed !
August 15, 2026
Do we and the US not have a UN veto power?
August 15, 2026
Reports suggest we did not use it at the time. ?
As for the USA, think they will probably do as they like, and ignor it if it suits them to do so !
August 15, 2026
The UN keeps thinking its a Law maker with no democratic right, no policing or enforcement powers.
They need to be told to get a life.
Who do they deem as owning the Spratly Islands? It would appear they have no interest in getting involved when their ‘Big Boss’ is involved, they same boss that wants its own access to the Chagos Islands.
Will the UK Parliament do or say anything? I doubt it, they are to concerned about their own personal Socialist ideology, that by coincidence is very much aligned to the ‘Big Bosses’ way of thinking
August 15, 2026
I wouldn’t read too much into the failure of the rejoin EU candidate. Reform v Binface was the competition.
Whatever, it’s clear to anyone who bothers to look. We are already re-joining the EU. It’s being done by stealth. Drip-drip of adopting EU policies. No vote, just pushed through parliament.
No surprise though is it. Cameron was sure he would win the Brexit referendum (that’s why he granted it) The people had other ideas. Now the Westminster Uniparty still sobbing over our departure from their beloved gravy train (the EU) are doing all and everyting to slide us back in via the back door. Tratorious shower that they are.
August 15, 2026
+1
August 15, 2026
+1
August 15, 2026
@Old Albion – the problem, the precedent. No UK Parliament has ever asked their constituents, their electorate, the people of the UK whether Parliament should surrender it powers to the EU – they just went ahead and did it. The UK Parliament keeps proving it doesn’t do Democracy, its about personal ‘self and ego’, the rest of you, you minions get over it, its the Norman Conquest being repeated – Lord & Surfs
August 16, 2026
Then you have admitted that the Returner was not even in the competition.
I agree.
That ship has sailed.
August 15, 2026
I think you are assuming too much about voter behaviour Lord Redwood.
Too many voters use elections to vote for a winner rather than to register an opinion. This makes it very difficult for small parties to gain traction and cements the larger parties in their dominant position.
Elections are an opportunity for voters to register their opinion through their choice of vote. For too many (as witnessed by Labour’s large majority from just 20% of the vote) they just mean voting against something
August 15, 2026
+1
This is what I alluded to in my deleted post from this morning.
We are no reading what is behind these by-elections.
August 15, 2026
If the leaders of the ‘major’ parties had really wished to harm Mr Farage’s credibility, they should have fielded candidates for their parties. Mrs Badenoch sent a message to the voters of Clacton, stating her concern for them, but to me, the message was rendered completely vacuous in the absence of a Conservative candidate to show that her concern was real, not just facile verbiage.
August 15, 2026
The Clacton by-election or bye election if you prefer was a political stunt with honourable foundation.
It only became a circus when the long standing Parliamentary parties collectively decided (who coordinated that) not to engage in the election, for obvious reasons.
The ridiculously long list of would be representative candidates made the whole event yet more farcical, simply adding to the pantomime.
Bring on the main support character.
The bin man a symbol of all that is wrong in the political world. The absent Parties from the proceedings meant bin man carried all their reputations and showed the contempt for voters, now present in the political scene.
Nigel Farage was always going to win the seat. Why? Because the issue that prompted him to stand down is itself a pathetic example of the Parliamentary dirty tricks brigade a farce in itself. They are trying any and every way they can, to denigrate someone they can not accept is a legitimate member in their club. The voters whether in Clacton or elsewhere now understand how clubby the Parliamentary representation system has become. Farage has a legitimate right to sit in Parliament. He will make errors from time to time, who doesn’t?
The fact a £5million gift given privately at a time when he was not a member of Parliament is weaponised against him, because he didn’t note it in the register, is revealing. It is worth remembering, failing to record a notifiable private gift is just a procedural mistake not a malicious or criminal matter.
As for the by-election being a quasi vote on the EU? That is a stretch to say the least.
August 15, 2026
Well said, Rod. The public sees that there is a witch hunt against Nigel Farage, and they don’t like it. John doesn’t think there’s a uniparty; I beg to differ. The actions of all the main parties in this by-election show us it’s the Globalists v the people. I’m just glad the people in Clacton have more common sense than those in Makerfield. It gives me some hope that people aren’t being brainwashed by the constant lies and propaganda being spouted by the media and our Government.
August 15, 2026
Let us hope the voters are waking up after so many years slumbering, no doubt thinking something will turn up to improve things stop the decline. They have to make their presence felt. No more staying at home, they have to get out and vote. If they don’t this tragic slide into insignificance and economic decline will continue.
August 16, 2026
Trying to spike a Report by the Standards and Privileges Committee and then the House of Commons by calling the election yourself and fighting it on the basis that you declare that you have ‘done nothing wrong’ is not honourable.
August 15, 2026
It wasn’t in play.
Rejoin EU was neither a serious idea nor a serious political party. You might just as well argue that the Libdems are a serious party for government. They’re just not.
Drivers today are the removal of liberty, immigration, the state of the services we supposedly pay taxes for and the level of those taxes. Whether it’s Farage or somebody else who turns this around, it needs doing.
This by election was about pro-Farage and anti-Farage..
Whilst we can discount the Libdems-non-party and Labour because only benefit recipients would vote for them, it would have been a more interesting competition had Badenoch had the guts to stand a candidate.
Reply She will if there has to be a re run after the Ethics Inquiry
August 15, 2026
Reply to Reply – She would do far better coming out against this witch hunt of Nigel Farage and stop wasting taxpayers’ money. She hasn’t a cat in hell’s chance of winning, but she could look good by not participating in this farce. People would respect her more. Unfortunately, politicians nowadays can’t read the room.
August 16, 2026
No witch hunt. I would want ANY MP who accepted £5 million and chose to try to hide the fact by not declaring it, investigated, especially if they had prioritised the business of the donor unexpectedly.
Would you NOT want that procedure to attempt to keep all our representatives honest?
Reply Mr Farage says this was not a political donation but a personal gift, and he was not an MP when he received it. If an MP gets an expensive present from family or friends unconnected to politics it does not have to be declared.
August 16, 2026
If theMP who gets an expensive gift from friends immediately promotes their business (crypto) which he had not done before, you have to ask whether the gift had strings attached,
August 15, 2026
Yes we saw some of the people from Clacton on TV they didn’t come across as being terribly well informed as they agonised whether to vote for someone like a Farage or a bin
August 15, 2026
heretofore
Do you think any other parts of the Country are better informed ?
Unfortunately we get the politicians we deserve because far too few people are really informed, and the majority only wake up when it really starts to bite and affect them personally, and we are now starting to reach that stage, hence the growth of Reform.
August 15, 2026
The growth of Reform is a cry of desperation from a lost people only used to following the lowest common denominator as set out by the gutter press for the Baa Baaing of sheep
August 15, 2026
Oh if only this had been the general election we all so badly want.
Labour are becoming popular which is a problem – while Burnham leaks small concessions on the cost of living we know labour is still pursuing their tax n spend policies, as well as freedom reducing digital legislation.
They won’t have been put off seeking an EU reset as they hardly noticed the EU candidate in Clacton or his loss.
Labour may think they are going to do well with polls up, but there’s plenty of time for them to screw things up again, and illegal immigrants are a force that could yet bring them down, reeling.
Farage will make sure that the subject of the boat people invasion will continue to be a large thorn in labour’s future.
In the meantime we must keep up pressure on this treacherous government to stop them in their tracks as far as their EU ambitions are concerned.
Reply Which is exactly what the Conservative Opposition have been doing this summer whilst Mr Farage took his diversion from the task. Mr Philp did an excellent job exposing the lack of French response to the new jumbo boats.
August 15, 2026
Nigel Farage exposed the illegal boats some six years ago. Yet the then Tory Government did nothing about it. Their problem now and then is the old chestnuts: the ECHR and Blair’s HR Act.
Reply The Conservative government did largely close down the illegal lorry migration and had the Rwanda plan to stop the boats, but went for an early election before completing court processes delaying it. The new Conservative leadership agrees it should have scrapped the international laws getting in the way and will do so if elected next time.
August 15, 2026
reply to reply…..on what basis do you state ‘did largely close down the illegal lorry migration’?
Just because some lorries were found to have had illegals on board and often ran away not to be caught, or died inside after being abandoned. What you don’t know – you don’t know!
August 15, 2026
@JR
That’s good news regarding Philp exposing the lack of French response to the new jumbo boats – but that’s only one aspect of the problem.
Why isn’t the opposition seething with anger about this EU reset – Why aren’t we being informed of the machinations behind the scenes that the Tories would learn about – Are they fighting these?
Yes, Conservatives are very strongly against Re set and pressing for debate in Parliament
August 15, 2026
Clacton was an election that trying to read anything meaningful into would be pointless, Low turnout, hot weather, holiday period could all be factors.
The only takeaway it that this Socialist UK Parliament fears the idea that the UK People are centre ground. Lots of conspiracy theories abound of dirty and dodgy shenanigans being at play. That when added to why the review into there being some shady goings on in a time before the candidate was admitted to Parliament seems to be being deliberately therefore maliciously dragged out – the pronouncements should and could have been announced long ago. Then couple that with those doing the review have shown themselves to be biased and the haters of the UK’s centre ground, people that see themselves as being under threat from the centre ground. So nothing impartial or independent at play, just vested interest – hence the kangaroo court notion. Also it enhances the double standards, the two tier message that Starmer and crew have embedded in the UK. Try to defraud the taxpayer, get found guilty find yourself in Government. Along with a chain of other miss-steps that are shuffled aside as having no consequence to the way the UK is Governed. It is the UK Parliament that is bring itself into disrepute.
To me the interest is the exposure of peoples bank details to the media, details that only the bank involved, HMRC and this review committee have access to, that is the real crime. How the UK Parliament, its Government and MPs handle that will be the thing that shows those we empower and pay in their true light.
Reply Our system makes Parliament sovereign, subject to the sovereign rights of the people to vote MPs out at General elections or through recall in special by elections. If the Labour majority abuse their power with undue influence over what is meant to be impartial enforcement of the conduct rules applying to MPs it is another reason to get rid of them at the next election. In the case of Mr Farage it will of course be the electors of Clacton who will decide his fate were the Commons to find against his conduct. He stays as MP unless the voters petition for a by election and then vote him out.The Labour majority cannot evict him.
August 15, 2026
Reply to reply.
No, Parliament is not sovereign. We, the people are sovereign. And we temporarily loan that sovereignty to each new Parliament.
August 16, 2026
@NickC – that’s the problem for the Country and its People – what is thought of Parliamentarians tend to be egotistical individuals concerned with self and not those that pay their wages and lend them their powers.
August 15, 2026
I cannot understand why anyone claiming to be British would want to hand back our sovereignty to a group of faceless foreigners who were neither elected to make EU laws nor made accountable to EU citizens.
The EU is the result of an alliance between the Germans and the French who sought to control Europe by peaceful means, in which its rules and regulations favour the Germans in manufacturing and the French in agriculture.
Furthermore, when we were members, we were running a balance of trade deficit of £100 billion per year with them, despite paying around £10 billion for the privilege of membership.
Now, free of EU clutches, we can have trade deals with the rest of the world and on our terms rather than be under the control of those in Brussels (who always know what is best for us! LOL).
To those who crave us to rejoin the EU, I say, ‘you leave us and go join them, for we Brits prefer our independence’. After all, two world wars were fought and won to keep it in British hands.
August 15, 2026
@Derek +999
August 15, 2026
@Derek – one of the weird parts, from those that want rule from others like to suggest that those in the UK who want us to govern ourselves, have a dislike of the European People. That is far from the truth or being honest on their part.
The European People are not the EU, the all suffer from Napoleonic laws and Rule forced on them by the unelected and unaccountable. If the European People were allowed democracy in the same way we hopped for, there would be more trade more working together than could ever be forced on them by an unelected and unaccountable bureaucracy. Its the ‘ego’ of Politicos that hinders and holds things back as they want to dictate a World in their very personal image
August 16, 2026
Bonhoeffer’s theory.
They are so invested in the stupid evil enterprise that they simply cannot admit that it is stupid and evil, so they continue…
August 15, 2026
I thought Count Binface was secretly Ed Davey but I realise now that the latter wouldn’t have received almost 9,500 votes in the recent by-election.
August 15, 2026
JR
Why was my post from this morning deleted / withheld ?
On topic. No disparaging remarks, other than to say both by-election were not in the interests of voters, and an alternative perspective on the each of the results.
August 15, 2026
I don’t mind this dishonest antidemocrat displaying once again that the losers in the EU referendum are wreckers, but I did mind the media reducing the by election campaign to a false two horse race, between Farage and Binface. That was lazy and deceitful of them. They could have interviewed the best candidate, the most serious, and the most conscientious, William Clouston, and thus given the people of Clacton a real choice. But they completely hid him, as they always do. No doubt because he is a Brexiteer.
August 15, 2026
Yet another good article but Mainstream Media doesn’t get it, which really annoys me as history shows MSM has had considerable inf;luence in the past with promoting the things that the general public (voters) actually want.
The very good point you make is that the moronic Binface idot had moore policies than |Burnham seeems to have!
Keep up this good work Sir John, the only voice of common sense I can always read, thank you!
August 15, 2026
EU/Commonwealth/Rest of the world.UK has a healthy surplus balance of trade in goods and services with two blocs and a substantial deficit with one.I voted for Brexit and would welcome another referendum to ensure
an end to “re-alignment” with EU and eventual Brussels control.The vote is a foregone conclusion with
perhaps Scotland bucking the trend and only resident British and Northern Irish voters eligible.
August 15, 2026
93 illegals yesterday
August 16, 2026
GC – Yes, 93 in just one boat,
Plus 82 in just 1 boat 15 August.
Total now for 2 weeks – 01 to 15 AUG inclusive is: 1705 arrivals – 12 boats.
Official figures.
August 15, 2026
The Clacton by-election may well “say it all” in that quite possibly it shows how future (by-)elections will be fought. Because the parties of the Left all support the major issues of continued mass immigration (legal and illegal), Net Zero, international law and high wasteful spending to justify high taxation etc. and are therefore desperate to eradicate Reform I can see a Binface candidate to unite the Left standing in all elections. Even the Conservatives, whose leader we’re told has made big policy changes, has urged Labour to stand aside if there is a second by-election in Clacton in order to boost their chances of ousting Nigel Farage.
August 15, 2026
I agree with John Redwood’s comments over the lack of deep popular support beyond the Palace of Westminster for rejoining the E.U. – if there was such support many more people would have voted for their serious candidate rather than for the unserious Binface.
More generally, though I advocated for the Conservative Party putting up a candidate it is clear they would not have won. You can’t defeat a candidate who can mobilise over 20,000 votes in a byelection! This has rather vindicated Farage’s tactics as he might have lost after several months of bad publicity from the so called standards committee composed solely of his political enemies. It is a sure thing they will find him guilty of misconduct but they now face an unenviable choice between cutting their losses and only suspending him for y about 5 days or suspending him for long enough (as I am sure they originally fully intended to do) to create the opportunity for a byelection which would only cause them further humiliation from Farage- either not getting the 10% to force a byelection, now a real possibility or another victory for Farage from his electors against what would seem like political persecution to most people.
August 16, 2026
Farage might very well refuse to stand in a real by-election after the Report is delivered. He is looking for a way out.
He knows he can’t be PM (rather like Burnham who does not want to be in Downing St at all).
This is a Cambridge University situation being forced on untalented Mr Farage by the well meaning people of the U.K.
August 15, 2026
The PM says Britain is a tinderbox and sends in the military to deal with wildfires. Britain is a tinderbox but not in the way the PM imagines. He won’t be deploying the military to defend our shores from invasion. We never used to deal with invasions by inviting the invaders in with free accommodation in newly built houses, free healthcare, free legal services, free SIM cards and the freedom to roam our streets and escape when they want.
August 15, 2026
Who keeps the £500 deposit lost on contesting Clacton for all but 2 candidates? After all only 2 people paid and got deposit back.
August 15, 2026
This by-election appears to have cost the taxpayers about £250k. Wouldn’t it be good if ‘Clacton council’ could recuperate £16k from the 32 walk-on part candidates?
But actually MHCLG (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) gets the forfeited deposits.
August 16, 2026
The election cost several hundred thousand to run.
It was a lossmaker.
August 15, 2026
NF: 62.82%, BF: 26.71%. The first two therefore get 89.53%. The third one got 1.40%. So it was a two-horse race and it is clear the other candidates were just walk-on parts.
As for the SDP candidate, however sad some people supporting him and his ideas might be, with 0.7% media or no media he did a poor campaign not very dissimilar to all those campaigns that the SDP2.0 have been running since 1990 (wikipedia, Social Democratic Party (UK 1990-present).
BTW, Just talked this afternoon with my granddaughter (19) on the phone: ‘Rather the bin than the trash’, said she. Who said that teenagers are not interested in politics.
August 16, 2026
Your grandaughter is a voter and I’m glad to hear she is interested in politics.
Pethaps she could reflect that due to living in the UK (I assume) she has the ability to be able to vote for a large range of parties who have very diffetent views.
PS
I would not however, describe any as “trash”
August 15, 2026
Interesting observation tonight, while having a couple of pints in my local pub, the opposite side of the street had a power cut for an hour, including four restaurants ….everybody left the restaurants without paying as the norm is to use a card and nobody had ‘cash’ …..everybody in the pub was musing what would happen if this power cut was area/region wide ….makes yeah think