News Round-Up
- “Inside the battle engulfing Reform” – The dispute between leader Nigel Farage and little-known MP Rupert Lowe reveals the true scale of the division within the party, says the Telegraph.
- “Nigel Farage is the Messiah” – And Rupert Lowe is a very naughty boy, says J’Accuse as the blog sets out why Lowe’s judgement was spectacularly poor in effectively declaring against Farage last week.
- “Reform has acted responsibly over Rupert Lowe” – In the Telegraph, Nigel Farage gives his take on the Rupert Lowe debacle: “The stakes are too high: my party has an election to win in 2029.”
- “If anyone deserves to be removed from Reform, it’s Zia Yusuf” – Reform cannot win a General Election without accepting democratisation, argues Ben Habib in the Telegraph.
- “Rupert Lowe blasts Lee Anderson as a ‘pathetic, vindictive’ liar after chief whip said ‘no man is bigger than our party’ as Reform UK’s civil war explodes” – Reform UK’s chief whip Lee Anderson has been branded a “pathetic, vindictive” liar after wading into a spat with Rupert Lowe who claims he was “knifed” after questioning Nigel Farage’s leadership, the Mail reports.
- “No one liked what happened in the White House – and I can assure you it wasn’t meant to happen. But Trump’s peace plan is now becoming clear. Next step: A brutal squeeze on Putin…” – In the Mail, Boris backs Trump: “His plan is one that I believe will help deliver the interests of Ukraine and of the US.”
- “Why Russia has shrugged off Trump’s sanctions threat” – While Donald Trump may be threatening Moscow with major new sanctions, as it continues to hammer Ukraine, the Russians seem unfazed, says Mark Galeotti in the Spectator.
- “Blaming the Victim: Trump’s Ukraine Démarche” – What does Trump’s overt tilt in favour of Putin portend for Ukraine, NATO and the world, asks Peter Baldwin on the Politics and Civilisation Substack.
- “How Russia turned immigrants into weapons” – Russia uses migration like “a tap”, which it can turn on and off to influence European leaders, experts have said, the Telegraph reports.
- “Labour is finally waking up to the benefits crisis” – The welfare bill currently stands at an unsustainable £314 billion and is forecast to reach nearly £380 billion by the end of the decade. Little wonder Labour is finally seeing a need to tackle it, says Michael Simmons in the Spectator.
- “Streeting refuses to intervene in NHS puberty blocker trial” – Wes Streeting has refused to intervene in an NHS puberty blocker trial despite concerns about children’s safety, the Telegraph reports.
- “Keir Starmer’s EU reset risks £1 billion blow to farmers” – Tory MPs have warned Starmer not to throw home growers “under the bus” by agreeing to Europe’s restrictive agricultural terms, the Telegraph reports.
- “Tory Minister backed ‘two-tier justice’ guidelines” – Gareth Bacon, a Tory Minister at the time, backed a draft of the Sentencing Council’s ‘two-tier justice’ rules in February 2024 despite his party now leading the backlash against them, documents obtained by the Telegraph reveal.
- “Integration is a futile delusion when people cannot speak our language” – Migrant communities need to stop self-segregating and learn English, says Rakib Ehsan in the Telegraph.
- “The ECHR is to blame for absurd immigration tribunals” – Leaving the court would allow us to reform our immigration law without judicial meddling, argues Guy Dampier in the Telegraph.
- “The English city where a staggeringly high percentage of women are married to their cousins – and how it can have terrible consequences for their children, as Keir Starmer signals he will block laws seeking to ban the practice” – In Bradford nearly half (46%) of the female Pakistani community were in a ‘consanguineous relationship’ meaning they have a common ancestor, a 2024 study found, according to the Mail.
- “A new era of science and dissent: Dr Jay Bhattacharya’s promise” – In TCW, Kathy Gyngell looks forward to the (likely) incoming NIH head clearing the swamp that the agency became in the Fauci years.
- “The vindication of a heretic” – Jay Bhattacharya is right, says Brendan O’Neill in Spiked: ‘scientism’ is a menace to truth and liberty.
- “Never forget that making Britain into a broke, repressive dystopia was a deliberate choice” – Just five years ago, our leaders doomed us to a spiral of decline by failing to stand up to lockdown fanatics, says Daniel Hannan in the Telegraph.
- “A Democrat finally dared to tell the truth about trans women – and the Left are furious” – Trump’s liberal opponents will remain in the political wilderness until they accept that Gavin Newsom is not a bigot, he’s right, says the Telegraph‘s Michael Deacon.
- “Welcomed to the UK: Palestinian asylum seeker gunman who called on God to ‘kill all Jews’, boasted about terrorising Israel and posed proudly with cache of weapons” – The Mail reports on a Gaza militant who has turned up in the UK on a small boat and is claiming asylum.
- “Ozzy Osbourne among 200 stars accusing BBC of anti-Israel bias” – Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are among more than 200 entertainment industry figures who have accused the BBC of bias over its Gaza coverage, the Telegraph reports.
- “Friends legend David Schwimmer turns on Hollywood pals over silence” – Friends star David Schwimmer has slammed Hollywood stars refusing to speak out against antisemitism, reports the Mail.
- “Avoid ‘Eurocentric’ prayers to boost inclusion, says ‘anti-racist’ guide” – Christians should avoid “Eurocentric” prayers in order to be more inclusive, according to guidance from a Church of England diocese, reports the Telegraph.
- “Britain blocks launch of Elon Musk’s self-driving Tesla” – Britain has thwarted the launch of Tesla’s self-driving car software, limiting key features and further risking the ire of Elon Musk, says the Telegraph.
- “This Lent I will turn atheism to ashes” – In the Times, Giles Coren says that after growing up a godless Jew he is now surprised to be finding belief in a Christian church.
- “The Allison Pearson scandal is more sinister than you think” – The police genuinely believe it’s their job to police our tweets, thoughts and feelings, says Fraser Myers in Spiked.
- “How safe is the Letby verdict?” – New omissions have come to light, say David Rose and Cleuci de Oliveira in UnHerd.
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“How Russia turned immigrants into weapons” “We discovered, for instance, in 2019, just before the European elections, that there was a deliberate attempt to push a new wave of mass migration from Turkey, Greece and so on, in the direction of northern Europe,” “The wrong information was being spread by certain people, who we suspect are Iranian and Russian agent provocateurs’ Intelligence documents detail plans for Russian agents to set up a “15,000-man strong border police force” comprising former militias in Libya to control the flow of migrants. ‘“We have seen a very deliberate manipulation of migration flows. We see that at the border to Poland. We have seen that at the borders to Hungary as well as, of course, from Africa. We also saw a rise in arrivals with boats from eastern Libya prior to the last Italian elections. “You turn on and turn off the tap as you want, and you put European politics under pressure. “Migration has become, as we know, the major theme for the political Right and populists saying ‘they’re coming, we have to stop that’. The Russians clearly use that theme to make Europe nervous and influence elections.” “I said I disliked (Putin) as a person,… Read more »
“No one liked what happened in the White House – and I can assure you it wasn’t meant to happen. But Trump’s peace plan is now becoming clear. Next step: A brutal squeeze on Putin…” – In the Mail, Boris backs Trump
Same De Pfeffel reported in April 2022 acting as Slippery Joe’s messenger boy in scuppering peace negotiations…
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/09/02/diplomacy-watch-why-did-the-west-stop-a-peace-deal-in-ukraine/
“… Diplomacy Watch: Did Boris Johnson help stop a peace deal in Ukraine?”
He is, however, spot on.
Indeed. Strange old world.
“Tory Minister backed ‘two-tier justice’ guidelines” – Gareth Bacon, a Tory Minister at the time, backed a draft of the Sentencing Council’s ‘two-tier justice’ rules in February 2024…
…Lest we forget the other weasels who ran the country for 14 years.
Never forget that making Britain into a broke, repressive dystopia was a deliberate choice ‘Kristina Dahl, a climate scientist…….said….“The science is irrefutable…..’ ‘Irrefutable? As in impossible to deny or disprove? Then it’s not science – it’s faith.’ ‘Dissent is the very essence of science’ Jay Bhattacharya 2025 ‘If it’s true that the coronavirus would kill millions of people without shelter and place orders and quarantines, then the extraordinary measures being carried out in cities and states around the country are surely justified. But there’s little evidence to confirm that premise.’ Jay Bhattacharya 24 March 2020 ‘So H1N1 goes from a 5% mortality, 4% mortality, which is what the World Health Organization was saying at the time to a 0.01% mortality on that order, disease.’ ‘So it is on the top of my mind when I saw the World Health Organization in 2020 say that we have a 3% mortality rate…….They meant that three out of 100 people that had been identified with COVID died from it.’ ‘We learned (from two serial prevalence studies) that in both LA County and Santa Clara County, there were 40 or 50 infections per case identified. 40 or 50 per case identified.’ ‘the numbers we… Read more »
I see little chance of “accountability” in the UK. The only major political force not complicit in the covid debacle is Reform, who are busy fighting each other and IMO they are unlikely to focus much on “covid” – possibly rightly. They will focus on more forward looking matters such as immigration and energy security.
Farage seems to have gone lite on the immigration issue, possibly because the recently installed chairman is a practising…
Oh dear.
I know plenty of first and second and multi generation immigrants who think there is too much immigration. They came here to find English culture. But you may be right. In any case that and the climate scam must surely be Reform’s number one issues otherwise what is the point of them?
“The vindication of a heretic”
Out with the old, in with the new at the NIH.
“It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot, irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it.”
J. Bronowski (1908-1974)
“If you care about what others think of you, then you will always be their slave” James Frey. A sentiment that I think both Rupert Lowe and myself share. If people can’t cope with your honest opinions, even when they’re supported by evidence, tough! That’s their problem. Carry on regardless and self-censoring is for wimps, is what I say. Rupert’s latest; ”It has been reported in today’s Telegraph that sources in the Reform leadership, ‘close to Nigel Farage’, are upset with me because I have been outspoken on the need for a large number of deportations. This is not new information to me. Just so that everyone is crystal clear – I stand by every single word I have said on the subject. If you are here illegally, you should be deported. That has to be the objective. If that results in one million plus deportations being the eventual aim? Then so be it. It may be uncomfortable to some, but there is NO other way. Nigel may not agree with that, but it’s the right thing to do and it’s a perfectly reasonable policy discussion to raise. I do not want unvetted, unchecked, unknown young men roaming our streets,… Read more »
”This is a key point from Rupert Lowe and one of the reasons I severed my ties with Reform UK.
Nigel Farage is on the record saying he is against the mass deportation of illegal migrants.
If we won’t detain and deport all illegal migrants, no matter the complexity of doing so, we will never regain control of our borders.
And as a critical precursor we must physically enforce our borders!” Ben Habib
Exactly.
“WE MUST ENFORCE OUR BORDERS!” says Pakistani Jewish Ben Sour Grapes Habib from Pakistan, Pakistan, Pakistan.
As a Reform member, decidedly tenuous at the moment, I support Rupert Lowe 100% and so do many other Reform members.
Everybody firmly on the same page, from what I can see. Whether they’re household names with big accounts or the people responding in the comments sections. There’s no variance in how people feel about this fiasco. I’d be interested to hear what yourself and anybody else thinks of this person’s take on things. I agree, though. Without the assurances to deal with the long out of control immigration situation, what have you got? Just a different flavour of the Uniparty, surely? Reform are losing supporters at the same rate they’re losing credibility, and I can’t see them being able to claw back any sort of public trust now; ”I’ve been saying for several months now that we need to step over Reform. The Reform bus is not going to our preferred destination. It’s not even going in our direction. It seeks to replace the Tory party by becoming the Tory party when nobody wants a Tory party. As such, it is not a shortcut to anything. It’s a decoy that will only waste energy, money and time. You cannot build an authentic movement from the top down. It has to be build on solid foundations from the ground up, and… Read more »
This here was Rupert Lowe’s doing, as he’s been very proactive at digging away to get the facts and figures which just support his arguments against mass immigration and for mass deportation. And let us not forget the fact he gave his monthly MP’s salary away to a different charity every month, so nobody can accuse him of being a career politician who’s in the game for selfish reasons. As an aside, in the village of Wethersfield, Essex, migrants housed at the RAF base now outnumber villagers, 800 vs 700+, and residents have predictably been experiencing various problems as a result; ”Taxpayers shelled out £6.6 billion on asylum seeker and refugee support schemes including trips to the zoo and tennis lessons, a Sunday Express investigation has revealed. Sandwich deliveries, friendship services and even a visit to Sir Keir Starmer’s beloved Arsenal football stadium were also included in programmes to help them “integrate” into British life. The massive cost was racked up in 200 government and local council-funded schemes during the past five years. One contract detailed the “self-sufficient” Wethersfield Asylum Accommodation site, where arrivals were greeted with £20,620 worth of sports coaches and equipment for activities such as volleyball, tennis and… Read more »
Rupert Lowe is 100% correct. Farage needs to keep his grasping maws in his pockets. He currently has two very substantial incomes with an MP’s salary and an EU pension plus of course his journalism. He needs to stop being a greedy firker and start doing the work that members expect – immigrants out. Believe me “we want our country back” is the number one priority for the membership.
Richard North has an excellent piece on the Lowe / Farage spat:
https://www.turbulenttimes.co.uk/news/front-page/politics-consequences/
Thanks for the link, an excellent article. I had forgotten Farage’s baggage – quite a collection.
cheers!
“In the Telegraph, Nigel Farage gives his take on the Rupert Lowe debacle: “The stakes are too high: my party has an election to win in 2029.”
And herein lies the problem. Members of Reform do not believe the Party belongs to Farage. This dreadful spat has done serious harm to Reform but it has served the useful purpose of revealing why the installation of a practising muslim as chairman is a non-srarter. Yusuf has to go, Lowe must be re-instated and Andersen should be side-lined so effectively has he claimed the dunce’s hat he awarded Lammy.
This debacle is an utter disgrace. “Reform has acted responsibly,” meaning Nigel has acted responsibly. No Mr Farage you haven’t, you have behaved in an appalling, childlike manner and need to grow up.
“Boris backs Trump.”
From the man who has caused the deaths of thousands and scotched the first peace plan. He won’t be missed when he’s gone.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14469179/Keir-Starmer-block-laws-cousin-marriage-consequences-children.html
And the cost in benefits is astronomical.
Cost is not the only reason to worry about the benefits bill. The lives of those earning little or nothing are damaged thereby.
Te fault lies with the elites who prefer non-English speaking, barely literate immigrants to the existing population. Attempts by Ian Duncan Smith to reduce the problem were opposed at every stage by the Treasury and by Labour and also many in his own party.
After hundreds of billions of pounds waste and hundreds of thousands of damaged lives the elites now want to find someone to blame.
Ban Habib has skin in the game towards Reform only as a critic. The fact he was formerly a member and since resigned only makes his atacks more partisan and bitter. It is no surprise the MSM are making the most of the issues betwwn Rupert Lowe and Reform. They want the elites to survive and insurgents to be driven back. I do not know anything about the issues other than what I read on social media and in the press (rarely). I do know that outsiders with no wish to help Reform have been encouraging discord between Rupert Lowe and the party leadeship for months. It had seemed to me Rupert had carved out a role on particular issues. he interviews well and does his research. That seemed to me a valuable role. The task of party leader is wider and leadership generally needs more than a single person. Reform was lucky to have each of the five MPs and the Chairman. Together they seemed to me to be developing the party in the right ways. I would like to rewind to earlier days but words cannot be unsaid. I suspect this may be the end of Rupert’s membership… Read more »
I think it is worth considering whay might have been any disagreements between Rupert and Nigel. So far as we can tell Rupert was alone in whatever his different views were. So far as I can imagine the issues might have been from among these: 1 Should Reform allow Tommy obinson to join (supposing he wanted to do so), I don’t think so. Such a disagreement ought not to become a reason to challenge the leadership. 2 Should Reform allow former emected representatives of other parties to join. I think they should but with great care to keep out gold diggers and wilfull trouble makers. Again, that is a question of degree and I cannot imagine it would be a matter of public disagreement. 3 Should Reform MPs or others be allowed to speak on any issue they like.. I think not, especially MPs. The envelope is wide but not limitless. 4 Should Reform create branches and adopt candidates for local elections with haste. I think they are doing that so I cannot conceive a reason for a bust-up over what would be a question of degree if at all. 5 Is there some particular policy issue where Rupert and… Read more »
I am not a Christian but I have never thought of it as a European religion. It surely claims to be world wide, indeed omnipotent.
Is the report you mention intended to suggest that local patois should be used instead of English. Or do they want references to be amended to refer to jungles and shanty towns. Perhaps they are seeking to expropriate ethnic and alternative social language or values and put them in place of the teachings common among Christian sects.
Who knows what they want except to destroy.
“Nigel Farage is the Messiah”
This talk of Messiah comes from Pakistani Jewish Ben ‘disgruntled Sour Grapes’ Habib, and I think Rupert Lowe was mistaken to parrot it, showing how much Habib has been stirring up all this discord behind the scenes.