The Contrarian Prize
I’ve been nominated for the Contrarian Prize which was set up “to recognise individuals in British public life who demonstrate independence, courage and sacrifice”.
I’m on a shortlist of four nominees, the others being Suzanne Moore, Will Knowland and the saintly Sunetra Gupta. You can read about all four of us here.
The winner is due to be announced by Michael Crick at 7.30pm so will update you then.
Stop Press: Toby won!
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I don’t think any of the four contrarians should have been nominated!
i see where you coming from.
I don’e, but where er it is, it’s a place for the mean-minded and the ungrateful. A place where fons, concreteheads and newlows feel at home.
There speaks a true conformist 🙂
Way too subtle for the commenters here.
Ordinarily I’d say you’re a shoe in for next year’s prize but I just don’t think it’ll happen again.
Agreed. To spell it out would be to ruin it.
Bloody funny though.
Too subtle for the sixteen downtickers! LOL
At least we still have down ticker unlike YouTube
The ‘contrarians’ who like conformity 🙂
Bit worrying that 23 out of 51 LDS commenters didn’t get the joke…
They’re just being contrarian 🙂
Oh no they aren’t!
In the words of Shania Twain, ‘that don’t impress me much.’
You’re disappointed that Toby doesn’t keep you warm in the middle of the night?
Apologies to the contrarian downtickers for being a contrarian.
The British public has lost faith in the key institutions in our country. Who can blame them? Parliament, the press, the police and bankers are all in the dock. From the expenses scandal, to phone-hacking, to financial mismanagement, we have witnessed abuse on a gargantuan scale. Institutionally rotten cultures have been exposed and trust has broken down .
Not entirely. The zombies trust in every word that cometh out of the mouth of Covidism.
Don’t forget how the church, in particular senior clergy, have also let us down.
They are in the dock as well.
they are actually in the pulpit.
I reckon Major takes the prize this week. Actually nailed Mr Toad for what he is.
Sorry if that was a bit too contrarian for some who like conformity. 🙂
Best wishes to all nominees.
The UK desperately needs more publicly known Contrarians.
But I got 16 down votes! People on here HATE contrarians.
That’s how we show love.
20 down votes now _ I am setting a record.
But doesn’t it show people think they love going against the grain when in fact they really like to go with the flow?
Absolutely. The ‘Groucho Marxist’ comment was tongue-in-cheek, but it has critical force : true ‘contrarians’ don’t conform to the ‘another gang’ as some do here with religious fervour.
A real ‘contrarian’ would immediately demand to be removed from the short list.
Or at least to come last?
No they wouldn’t 😉
Yes they would!😀
Oh no they wouldn’t
Are you here for the five minute argument or the full half hour?
I think we should all just disagree to disagree.
A real contrarian gets 20 down votes.
Are those plugs from Ann Summers or Cocktails n Pulse? Asking for a friend.
Someone ought to start marketing a Greta Thunberg version. All together now: “You can shove your climate crisis……”
Ohhhhhh, I thought they were models of Greta Tombstone. Live and learn!
Aren’t the little see/hear/speak no evil idols a sign of ones compliance with fascism?
It depends on what you do with them, sorry I’m being silly they look too much like sex toys.
Post coitus snacks!
Has to be Sunetra, with you a close second, Toby.
So ridiculous, nominating someone who, before 2020, would have been an absolutely mainstream academic.
A lot of things were different before 2020.
As opposed to a mainstream journalist?
I was shocked to see she was nominated, a socialist vaccinator. I think they’ve got confused about the definition of contrarian. How can a socialist be a contrarian?
Objectively, she is the one who actually stuck out her neck professionally and has the most to lose, even if I disagree with her softness on ‘vaccines’. In fact, ATL ‘Daily Sceptic’ articles have been just as kind towards vaccines, and more excusing of Mr Toad as a closet libertarian.
But I meant what I said about the mark of a true sceptic being also a Groucho Marxists.
Any real contrarian would be embarrassed by a creepy pat on the back (Sorry – ‘head’)
All true contrarians are Groucho Marxists.
Nooooo not Marxists, I wear my contrarians badge with pride I don’t think I fit the definition of a Marxist.
Sorry – no – you also need a sense of humour, to honour Groucho and and avoid dogma.
Toby wouldn’t join any club that allowed him to be a member
Oooo – I think he has a yen to be liked by th Bullingdon Boy. 🙂
What is contrarian about Toby Young?
He was consistent in opposing lockdown because he thought lockdown was wrong.
Peter Hitchens is a contrarian, he waits to see what is popular then advocates the opposite. He is also a socialist turd.
Ten down votes, ignoring the Socialism of Peter Hitchens, combined with his pretentiousness
lovely pic of him here on holiday
I have to agree Moist Von L. – and I’m not a contrarian – is it a booby prize? I don’t understand the valour of someone who opposes the popular line for the sake of it… and I don’t think being a sceptic has anything to do with being a contrarian. It’s got everything to do with being insightful and, in these dark days, being disassociated from a cult which unusually has taken over the entire world. I can’t stand contrarians – usually complete wankers.
All correct. Peter Hitchens is a conservative social justice warrior. He truly is a contrarian, I remember he waited until ‘Skyfall ‘ became widely praised before he condemned it in true hipster fashion, he has no views of his own, a complete wanker.
Opposing lockdown is not contrarian, it is refusing to accept the absurd presented as science.
Note the true conformist here – labelling anyone who is actually contrarian in this context ‘socialist’. Ooh – the screeching here when Hitchens declared he’d take the vaccine in order to travel. Went against the doctrine.
(Note : I carry no candle at all for Hitchens, just relate the facts and the blindness of preconceived dogma)
Peter Hitchens is a contrarian and a socialist. He isn’t explicitly a socialist, he just demonstrates it with his writing.
Your post is irrelevant, it in no way refutes my claim.
In fact, your post in no way describes any aspect of reality.
Why all the vitriol? We’re all very lucky to have this forum to vent spleen and share ideas and be identified by Big Brother as dissidents. Good luck Toby. Oh it’s gone 19:30; did you win?
Well put.
You cannot vent your spleen on here. Go the the Reddit swamp and see real discussions and contributions
I manage to!
Yes you can!
Well deserved, TY, although Sunetra Gupta was a damn fine candidate.
Spot on cg – well said.
I suspect Toby’s award was primarily for setting up the Free Speech Union which is undoubtedly a very contrarian thing to do. Advocates of free speech are routinely cancelled and de-platformed these days and, if the Online Safety Bill goes through then sites like this one could be shut down or, failing that, the more ‘contrarian’ members could be banned. So, while I don’t agree with everything Toby says, he nonetheless deserves credit for the positive action he’s taken in standing up for the underdogs. Give credit where credit’s due: well done Tobe’s!
Not contrarian at all but correct.
I beg to differ on the grounds that it very much depends upon one’s understanding and use of the word ‘contrarian’. I’m going with the definition: ‘A person who opposes or rejects popular opinion or current practice’. In other words – the mainstream narrative which, needless to say, is something pretty well everyone who subscribes and comments to the Daily Sceptic bitterly rejects and is vehemently opposed to. Ergo, we – and Toby as the the founder of this fine site – are contrarians.
“Why all the vitriol?”
aka : contrary views. 🙂 🙂
Another contrarian.
The Measles Myth (odysee.com)
Dr Sam Baily.
and she’s prettier than Toby!
that’s not very contrarian…..
Canada now has medical apartheid. The vaccinated and unvaccinated are now legally segregated. Unvaccinated Canadians are second class citizens denied their civil liberties, human rights and Charter freedoms. Did we learn nothing from history?
https://rumble.com/vo38mc-justice-matters-with-john-carpay-medical-apartheid.html
Congratulations Toby
The fix is in! TY is a yes man and a place man, and I believe him to be a mere token opposition. James D although he may tilt at windmills has more nregritt and belief in his righteous cause than TY
“It was cock-up not conspiracy, James. Right, shall we have our first advert?”
Do you comment under “Skippy” Delingpole!?
re:saintly Suzanne Moore, one should not need to asprie to saintliness, merely to point out what is transparently obvious.Boris Johnson and his entire government of ulta-crass sycophants has become deeply embarrassing to the entire nation!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59238464
It will take us a while to climb back from this, it is what happens when Britons vote for a berk.
Your no contrarian, i’m a contrarian I literally don’t agree with anyone or anything, I look for things to disagree with for the sheer sake of it most of the time, that’s a contrarian. & I don’t agree with awards, medals or trophies neither.
Hubs! Is that you?!!!
Contrarianism without measure is madness,
Do we want to be seen as contrary? I prefer to be viewed as the sane mainstream that has been deviated from.
I can see why a larky lad type like Toby would think this was a jolly jape, but I doubt Sunetra Gupta wants to be seen as a contrarian.
Excellent observation
When this disaster began, Sweden said they weren’t experimenting, everybody else was.
Deserved.
No idea what this was all about, but I for one am very thankful for what Toby has created here.
Well done Toby the freedom fighter
Congratulations Toby. Thoroughly deserved.
Congratulations Toby.
Well done all.
Congratulations
What are those things in the picture? Butt plugs or something?
Yes had quite a humorous flow of thoughts on this yesterday but today all those comments have disappeared. Really disappointing to see that DS censors. Or was that the infamous daily cull of comments?
Ah, now I see – yesterday’s article recycled as a new story today. Yesterday’s article and all comments filed under yesterday’s date. Odd way to manage a website but there you go.
In a world rapidly approaching full totalitarianism and camps for dissenters, every little helps. Congratulations and keep up the good work.
Well done,Tobes!
Well done Toby!!
I’ll bet James will change that to ‘Cucktarian’ of the Year. Nevertheless, compared with such polite opposition, you were a shoe-in, Toby. Next year the same – with automatic weapons.