News Round-Up
- “Bloated public sector is damaging economy, warns Andrew Bailey” – The Governor of the Bank of England has warned that Britain’s bloated public sector is dragging down the economy after the Bank slashed its 2025 growth forecasts in half, reports the Telegraph.
- “Britain is inexorably heading for bankruptcy” – We are heading for financial ruin, warns David Frost in the Telegraph. Tax rises won’t boost revenue and Labour can’t unleash growth or cut spending.
- “Revealed: how much poorer you are now than in 2020” – A typical British family is as much as £15,000 per year poorer than they were five years ago, according to the Telegraph.
- “British ICC prosecutor faces US travel ban under Trump sanctions” – Donald Trump has signed an executive order sanctioning International Criminal Court officials which is expected to extend to British lawyer Karim Khan, its chief prosecutor, says the Telegraph.
- “Morgan McSweeney is urging Keir Starmer to go for the kill” – Labour’s strategist-in-chief Morgan McSweeney is urging Keir Starmer to ditch cosy establishment politics and fight for survival at the polls, writes Michael Gove in the Spectator.
- “Starmer ditches plans to end Britain’s ‘sick note culture’” – A flagship Tory plan to tackle worklessness has been abandoned even as the crisis in long-term illness grows, reports the Telegraph.
- “Reform councillor reprimanded after calling mental health ‘modern bad back excuse’” – A Reform UK councillor has been reprimanded by a council watchdog after saying mental health struggles were “the 21st Century version of the bad back”, says the Telegraph.
- “Mandelson tells reporter to ‘f— off’ when quizzed over Epstein relationship” – Lord Peter Mandelson says he regrets ever meeting paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, according to LBC.
- “Labour’s meddling won’t stop us winning at the next general election” – Angela Rayner’s decision to cancel local elections will only double Reform’s determination to beat her party, says Nigel Farage in the Telegraph.
- “‘All politicians are w—ers’” – The Reform UK leader has called all politicians “w—ers” during an interview with the Standard, covering the state of British politics, his relationship with Donald Trump and his chances of becoming prime minister.
- “Beware a return of Boris” – Boris is the Tories last chance at survival, argues J’accuse on Substack.
- “SAS troops face criminal charges over IRA killings” – SAS soldiers who shot and killed four IRA members in an ambush more than 30 years ago to face prosecution after a coroner ruled that the use of lethal force was unjustified, reports BBC News.
- “Net Zero rules to trigger even deeper electric car discounts” – One of Britain’s biggest dealership chains predicts that Net Zero rules are set to trigger another year of steep price cuts to electric cars, says the Telegraph.
- “From bugs in bread to brainwashing kids: the great climate fear factory” – Another week, another dose of eco-doom, nudging and psychological manipulation, writes Laura Dodsworth in the Free Mind.
- “Scientist prosecuted over ‘here to talk’ sign outside abortion clinic” – A retired medical scientist is being put in the dock in a landmark freedom of speech case after she stood near an abortion clinic holding the sign “Here to talk if you want to”, reports the Mail.
- “Release Lucy Letby under house arrest immediately, urges expert behind medical review” – Lucy Letby should be released immediately under house arrest until her case is reheard in the courts, the medical expert at the heart of her appeal tells the Telegraph.
- “AstraZeneca boss denies falling out with Labour despite scrapping £450 million factory” – In the Telegraph, AstraZeneca boss Sir Pascal Soriot has dismissed claims of a rift with the Government as “fake news” after scrapping plans for a £450 million Liverpool vaccine factory.
- “How magazine went from publishing Einstein to calling Jedi racist” – Scientific American has been accused of abandoning objective rigour for a ‘woke’ agenda, writes Josie Ensor in the Times.
- “Pro-Palestinian activists were planning London march as October 7th massacre unfolded” – Pro-Palestinian groups planned their first march in Central London just hours after Hamas launched its horrific October 7th attack on Israel, reveals the Mail.
- “How gentle, liberal Sweden is now home to evil criminality” – Once a peaceful paradise, Sweden is now rocked by shootings, gang wars and deep racial divides, writes Sue Reid in the Mail.
- “Both USAID and the CIA were behind the impeachment of Trump in 2019” – On the Public Substack, Michael Shellenberger claims that the CIA, USAID and OCCRP helped impeach Trump using tactics akin to their regime-change ops abroad.
- “Politico pleads innocent, claims tens of millions in government subscriptions totally normal” – Politico insists $27 million in taxpayer-funded subscriptions isn’t government funding – just a “transaction”, says ZeroHedge. Much like Hunter Biden’s art sales weren’t influence peddling…
- “Shut down the Department of Education” – “I served as the 11th US Secretary of Education. That’s how I know it’s beyond repair,” says Betsy DeVos in the Free Press.
- “Meet Elon Musk’s ‘baby-faced assassins’ leading Doge takeover” – In the Times, Josie Ensor profiles the 19-25 year-olds with no government experience who are asking US state employees to justify their jobs.
- “Wikipedia accused of blacklisting conservative US media” – Wikipedia has been accused of favouring Left-leaning media sources while almost completely blacklisting major conservative outlets, reports Newsmax.
- “Trump announces task force to end ‘anti-Christian bias’” – President Trump has unveiled a task force to root out “anti-Christian bias” in government as he accused Joe Biden of persecuting Christians, according to the Times.
- “Who’d have thought Trump would be the champion of truth when it comes to trans athletes?” – The US President is on the right side of history by keeping biological men out of women’s sport, says Judith Woods in the Telegraph.
- “Why did it fall to Trump to get men out of women’s sports?” – The outrage of men battering women on the sports field should never have happened in the first place, writes Lauren Smith in Spiked.
- “Female swimmers sue to strip trans athlete Lia Thomas of medals” – Three former Ivy League swimmers are suing to strip trans swimmer Lia Thomas’s records from official standings, arguing they unfairly rewrite women’s sports history, reports Lawyer Monthly.
- “MPs and charities back call to ban trans women from women’s spot” – Olympian Sharron Davies says that Keir Starmer should follow Trump’s order banning biological men and boys from competing in women’s sport, according to the Mail.
- “Google joins US firms abandoning diversity recruitment goals” – Google has become the latest big US firm to scrap its goals to recruit more workers from underrepresented groups, says BBC News.
- “DEI is dead in America – now the City wants to kill it in Britain” – The Telegraph reports that Trump’s crackdown on diversity rules has prompted British business leaders to question similar initiatives in the UK.
- “Controversial Mermaids given £400,000 part-funded by taxpayers” – A controversial charity that helps children ‘transition’ has been handed almost £400,000 by foundations that are part-funded by the taxpayer, reveals the Telegraph.
- “What sort of parent believes their toddler is trans?” – Liberals who claim that a two-year-old can question their gender are only stirring further support for Trump’s transition ban, says Michael Deacon in the Telegraph.
- “Navy allows officers to wear saris in diversity overhaul of uniform policy” – The Royal Navy has allowed officers to wear saris in order to make its formal dress code more “inclusive”, reports the Telegraph.
- “‘Pregnant people’? Even rail chiefs have bowed to the woke god of inclusivity” – Bit by bit, the English language is being dismantled, warns Allison Pearson in the Telegraph.
- “talkSPORT host Alan Brazil is dubbed a ‘dinosaur’ live on air” – Alan Brazil has been branded a “dinosaur” by his female talkSPORT co-host after he argued that Manchester United’s primary focus should be on the men’s team, reports the Mail.
- “Catholic prayer app ‘Hallow’ faces potential EU ban” – Hallow, a widely-used Catholic prayer app with over 22 million downloads, is facing a potential shutdown across Europe due to regulatory over-reach, says Christian News.
- “‘Centrist Dad smashes the far-Right bigots” – On YouTube, Andrew Lawrence, posing as a Centrist Dad, rails against the literal tidal wave of literal Hitlers making life difficult for Keir Starmer.
- “‘This was authoritarianism on an unprecedented scale’” – On BBC’s Politics Live, Spiked’s Tom Slater calls for a reckoning with lockdown – when our civil liberties were shredded, our economy devastated and thousands of children abandoned.
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Thursday Morning Henley Rd & Caversham Park Rd
Caversham Reading
SAS troops face criminal charges over IRA killings ‘Mr Justice Humphreys said the experienced soldiers lying in wait at the church would have known the men would need to dismount the machine gun and in that scenario the ability to arrest them would have improved.’ And is Mr Humphreys an experienced soldier, which enables him to pontificate on soldiering? ‘Whilst at the Bar Mr Justice Humphreys was Chair of the Commercial Bar Association and Bursar to the Bar Council of Northern Ireland. He is the Deputy Chairman of the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland and in September 2021 was appointed as Presiding Coroner and has overall responsibility for legacy litigation. Away from the law, he is a former Chair of the Board of Governors of Methodist College and a Director of the Northern Cricket Union of Ireland.’ Presumably, in his judgement, the actions of the British Army in forestalling a major terrorist incident whilst taking no casualties themselves were simply not cricket? And which is the law firm bringing these allegations? Oh! ‘SOLICITORS acting for Sinn Féin MLAs Martina Anderson and Karen Mullan have issued a statement refuting “scurrilous allegations” made against them in recent days. The following statement was issued… Read more »
“Morgan McSweeney is urging Keir Starmer to go for the kill
Labour’s strategist-in-chief Morgan McSweeney is urging Keir Starmer to ditch cosy establishment politics and fight for survival at the polls”
That twerp hasn’t got any go.. fight..or kill in him!
And I wish he would try for survival at the polls.. North or south I wouldn’t mind!
All politicians are w—ers’
“Let’s face it, they’re all wankers, the lot of them”. Perhaps unconsciously, Farage has put his finger on the problem.’
Looking at the house of commons in session, Mr Farage would appear to be spot on.
The problem is a lack of calibre.
MPs should be paid properly so that they face more competition.
You think paying them more would get a better quality of MP? Making them work in business for at least 5 years before being an MP might get a better quality person than going straight from uni PPE and into politics.
It feels the days of vocations in jobs has long gone.
Competition improves the breed.
The Prime Minister would now be earning £300k/year if the PMs pay had kept pace with inflation just since 2009.
Work experience? Good idea, but define ‘business’? Put in place a minimum age of, say, fifty and double their pay.
Not sure about too much extra money, however I think there should be a requirement to have worked in a real business or organisation for 10 years or similar – career politicians we don’t want
I believe the problem is candidate approval and selection. Party leaders over the past (say) 30 years have selected people like them: globalist, career politicians, weak, lazy and left.
Partly correct. Missing the corrupt / corruptible aspect.
Seconded.
Unfortunately paying MPs more to encourage competition might positively increase the numbers of MPs whose skills are ‘climbing the greasy pole’. And we already have patronage baked in to Parliamentary life – which has not worked well, so far.
Drop the crap about MP’s pay. If you knew how much these shysters really “earn,” not including backhanders, and the shenanigans involved in getting elected in the first place you might want to revise your views.
Agreed 100%
‘Whilst an MP’s salary is generous by any yardstick, anecdotal evidence suggests it may be insufficiently high to attract and retain good candidates, who may well be taking a significant pay cut to become an MP……
a ban on second jobs, which is regularly mooted, is another matter causing concern for colleagues and constituents alike. This would further insulate the Commons from the outside world and the wealth of experience that legitimate outside interests often bring.
In any case, any ban on second jobs would somehow have to square how being a Minister isn’t like having a second job – which to all intents and purposes, especially in time commitment and increased remuneration, it is.
Meanwhile, current events in Gaza, coupled with the murder of two colleagues within the last decade, highlight the threats that MPs now face.’
https://commentcentral.co.uk/higher-paid-mps-can-benefit-democracy
“a ban on second jobs, which is regularly mooted, is another matter causing concern for colleagues and constituents alike. This would further insulate the Commons from the outside world and the wealth of experience that legitimate outside interests often bring.”
For goodness sake, these people aren’t taking jobs stacking shelves in supermarkets! They’re taking ‘Directorships’ sometimes in companies they will slide into when they get booted out, or a side hustle talking in front of like minded people how their experience could help the businesses they want to slide into.
None of that is experience of the world outside politics, it is politics.
They are all wankers, always will be. It’s the nature of the job. Same in councils and the public sector, para-statal sector…Whitty, Ferguson sum up that lot.
I would simply prefer it if the h of c comprised a bunch of capable wankers.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14369907/Now-MPs-womens-charities-call-Starmer-follow-President-Trumps-order-banning-transgender-women-girls-competing-womens-sport-Sharron-Davies-demanded-UK-action.html
Can’t see that happening. Kneel is too much of a coward, he’ll say he will leave it up to sporting bodies, that way he avoids doing anything. Although I would be delighted to be proved wrong.
Starmer..the man who couldn’t define what a woman is, has no idea how to do that.
‘This was authoritarianism on an unprecedented scale’
Very well said, Mr Slater.
The silly and pathetic banging of pots outside sums up the madness…..and that madness is still out there.
Mr Slater is correct. It needs confronting. This country is, though, in such dire straits in so many different ways that it is going to take the good ol’ U.S. of A. to kick off this confrontation.
Will even they do it?
Beware a return of Boris
Yes.
Mr Johnson is a gifted journalist and public speaker.
That is the sum of his talents.
Boris was OK before his most recent marriage. It is Mrs Boris whispering in his ear that has done for him.
“Navy allows officers to wear saris in diversity overhaul of uniform policy”
I hope all this floaty flailing fabric doesn’t get caught in any water tight doors or personal being accidentally hung descending tight ladders!
The defence of the nation is in a sari state?
Arrrg🫣!
👍👍👍
I’m wondering if the wearing of a sari is confined to naval officers of the female variety, or whether it’s acceptable for any naval officer to wear it.
Gilbert & Sullivan are waiting to rewrite their opera!
There is no ‘two-sided’ debate on anthropogenic climate change. The Government’s policy to support ambitious action on climate change reflects the overwhelming scientific consensus.
So that proves it.
Disappointing number of signatures on the petition. Are there really only 17,119 of us?
What petition?
The petition titled ‘Repeal the Climate Change Act 2008 and Net Zero targets‘ is still open for signatures until 6 June 2025 (D-day) We consider that Parliament must revoke The Climate Change Act 2008 and related Net Zero targets as since 2008 when The Climate Change Act became law many hundreds of scientists up to the highest Nobel Laureate level have jointly declared “There is no climate emergency”.We believe the Climate Change Act 2008 and related Net Zero targets are both now in effect based on just one side of a two-sided scientific debate as we do not consider there to be a scientific consensus on the hypothesis of human emissions causing climate change. We consider that one side only of a two-sided scientific debate is not an acceptable basis for significant legislation that could have major impacts on the UK’s economy and citizens. We want the issue of Climate Change to be reconsidered from scratch based on views and evidence from all sides. The government’s (Ed Miliband’s) initial response is dismissive: There is no ‘two-sided’ debate on anthropogenic climate change. The Government’s policy to support ambitious action on climate change reflects the overwhelming scientific consensus. There’s a longer response… Read more »
“Alan Brazil has been branded a ‘dinosaur’ by his female talkSPORT co-host after he argued that Manchester United’s primary focus should be on the men’s team…”
…Home truths hurt. Of course peformance of the heirs to Busby, Charlton, Law, Best, Ferguson, Beckham and the rest matters more than imposters peforming at the level of a youth team Sunday league side.
No substitute for the real thing, driven by XY chromosomes, testosterone, physical fitness and athleticism delivering at the top level of sport.
YouTube has lots of ladies football compilations – absolute comedy gold. 😀😀
Ouch! (I hope Mogs doesn’t read that Hux)😆
Shebahn Aherne is really easy to wind up. I thought it was hysterical, and I, along with my XX chromosomes, agree with Mr Brazil.
Seems to me that all charities and all tax payer recipients in NGOs, etc should be barred from giving money to others. Only payment at arms length market prices for actual goods and services should be allowed.
in that way the merry go round of funding for unemployable lefties and left wing campaigns would be no longer funded by tax.
Strictly speaking charities are not allowed by law to donate to each other unless it is for the purpose of a shared objective.
Of course some wide-boy Kneel wannabe could soon make objectives fit but that’s the law in Starmerville.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/06/britain-is-inexorably-heading-for-bankruptcy-obr-reeves-uk/
I think I might have been warning about this for a couple of years or more. David Frost needs a subscription to DS in order to keep up-to-date.
https://www.jaccusepaper.co.uk/p/beware-a-return-of-boris
A useless, lazy, mendacious, corrupt coward. And those are his good points.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq8kpxgdyyvo
The comment was going to be …”unbelievable” but in Kneel’s Orwellian nightmare no it isn’t. Those poor guys.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14368769/How-gentle-liberal-Sweden-home-evil-criminality-two-shootings-week-shocked-world-multi-cultural-nation-divided-racial-discord-writes-SUE-REID.html
Kneel’s template for Britain.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/06/navy-uniform-policy-mess-dress-saris-culture-diversity-dei/
Well if the picture headlining this paywalled article is anything to go by this “navy” couldn’t sink a rowing boat on a park lake. And the idiot that published this photograph should be sacked.
Navy? This lot look like some walk-on rejects from a bad episode of Coronation St.
https://x.com/spikedonline/status/1887380826167353538
Always start your takedown with…
“There was no pandemic.”
Wishy washy London thinking.
U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts says the Washington Post
This will get interesting. Outrageous overreach by the UK government. I wonder if the UK needs Apple more than Apple needs the UK? We may be about to find out.