News Round-Up
- “Inside Project Chainsaw: How Labour copied Trump and moved to the Right” – From slashing foreign aid to waging war on bureaucracy, Starmer has outflanked his rivals and begun to look like a leader, says Tony Diver in the Telegraph.
- “Streeting: I’ll axe more quangos cluttering up the NHS” – The Health Secretary Wes Streeting has warned that hundreds of official bodies are “cluttering” up the health system as he prepares to axe more health quangos, according to the Mail. Why didn’t the Tories do this?
- “Will the real Kemi Badenoch please stand up? It is time for her to turn up the volume” – The Telegraph‘s Camilla Tominey has some advice for the Conservative leader, including that she has “no hope of becoming the next Prime Minister if she doesn’t set out her stall clearly and decisively in her first 18 months”.
- “Putin planning fresh ground invasion of Ukraine, warns Zelensky” – Vladimir Putin is planning a fresh ground invasion of Ukraine, despite Western pleas for a ceasefire, Volodymyr Zelensky has warned, reports the Telegraph.
- “Revisiting the Numbers: Professor Simon Wood on the statistical flaws of the UK’s Covid response” – On Substack, Laura Dodsworth interviews lockdown mathematician legend Simon Wood, who is a Professor of Statistics at the University of Edinburgh.
- “Is SARS-COV-2 of Dutch origin?” – In De Andere Krant, Toine de Graaf outlines Jim Haslam’s case for suspecting Dutch virologist Vincent Munster to be a key player in Covid’s origins.
- “‘Scientists swallowed Beijing’s propaganda on Covid origin’” – The scientific establishments in the US and the UK connived together to prevent discussion about the origin of the Covid pandemic, writes Sir Richard Dearlove in the Mail.
- “How long until they try to shut down society again?” – In the Mail, Peter Hitchens wonders what will be the next excuse for shutting down and ruining the country.
- “No cure in sight for Covid derangement syndrome” – “As the narrative of an unending pandemic persists,” writes Roger Watson in TCW, “the real crisis lies not in Covid itself but in the unwavering grip of fear and misinformation that continues to shape public perception and policy.”
- “How Europe’s electric battery dream ran out of power” – The collapse this week of the Swedish electric vehicle battery-maker Northvolt has once again shown how the countries most committed to Net Zero seem to be the ones which keep missing out on the spoils, while their industries drain away abroad, quite often to China, says Ross Clark in the Spectator.
- “Met Office Peddles Ridiculous NAO Scare Story” – It’s Jackanory time at the Met Office as it spins yet another climate fairy story, says Paul Homewood on Not a Lot of People know That.
- “Electric cars ‘so heavy they can smash through motorway barriers’” – Outdated safety measures on Britain’s roads will not cope with the impact of vehicles loaded with batteries, experts have warned, the Telegraph reports.
- “Trump’s tech bros pose ‘existential threat’ to EU, says Brussels” – Pressure from the US to water down the EU’s disinformation rules for social media are described by Brussels officials as an assault on the bloc’s “regulatory sovereignty” and an “existential threat”, according to the Telegraph. Come again?
- “Waitrose wine expert claims he was suspended for sharing Telegraph cartoon” – A Waitrose wine expert has said his right to free speech has been infringed after he was suspended for supporting Reform on social media and sharing a Matt cartoon from the Telegraph.
- “Why can’t I get pregnant?” – According to several British newspapers this week, men can give birth, leading the Telegraph‘s Michael Deacon to wonder where he’s been going wrong.
- “David Bailey’s son Sascha: Diversity targets mean men are transitioning to enjoy the perks of being a woman” – Three years ago, Sascha Bailey almost changed gender. Now, he’s about to become a father and is sounding the alarm on trans ideology, says the Telegraph.
- “Retard German political establishment responds to Donald Trump with the ultimate checkmate – a constitutionally-anchored pledge to deindustrialise in the next 20 years” – The story of Friedrich Merz’s debt brake overhaul continues to be one of the greatest political farces Eugyppius says he has ever seen.
- “Easy come, Easy go. DEI buzzwords helped you get a grant and now they will cost you one.” – As DEI goes from being a plus to minus in funding applications, Vinay Prasad suggests that next time divisive fads should be avoided.
- “I was Attorney General. I say it’s time to leave the ECHR” – We must adopt a realistic view of so-called international law and the first step is to free ourselves from a body that has lost its way, argues Sir Michael Ellis in the Telegraph.
- “Saying ‘midwife’ could upset transgender people, medics warned” – The NHS has been told by academics that it should stop using the word ‘midwife’ because it is not inclusive of transgender people, reports the Telegraph.
- “Reeves reignites freebies row over Sabrina Carpenter show” – Chancellor Rachel Reeves got her hands on free tickets to see Sabrina Carpenter in concert in London, reigniting the freebies row, says the Spectator.
- “Trump to ban people from 43 countries from travelling to US” – Donald Trump is set to ban people from 43 countries from travelling to the US, with visas from Russia being “sharply restricted”, according to the Mail.
- “J.D. Vance warns Europe that open borders risk ‘civilisational suicide’” – Speaking on Fox News , the US Vice-President says he fears for the future of the West as many countries in Europe are “unable or unwilling” to “control their borders”, while censorship is rife, reports the Mail.
- “We want to live in America’s 51st state: the Canadians pledging their loyalty to Trump” – To many Canadians, talk of joining the United States is simple apostasy, but for some the idea is appealing, says the Telegraph.
- “US expels ‘race-baiting’ South African ambassador as relationship reaches ‘lowest point’” – America has expelled South Africa’s ambassador, calling the envoy a “race-baiting politician” who hates America and Donald Trump, the Telegraph reports.
- “Republicans buy up Teslas as Trump urges MAGA to back Elon Musk” – Elon Musk’s Tesla is enjoying a sales boost in MAGA-backing parts of America as the billionaire’s support for Donald Trump leads to boycotts from Left-wing opponents, the Telegraph reports.
- “Medical experts ‘struck by witnesses’ lack of expertise’ at Letby trial” – A panel of medical experts reviewing the Lucy Letby baby deaths have said they were struck by a lack of expertise of witnesses at her trial and the failure to consider alternative explanations, the Telegraph reports.
- “Religious school leader appointed Ofsted Chairman” – Sir Hamid Patel will take up the interim role as head of the schools regulator, becoming the first religious school leader appointed to the position, reports the Telegraph.
- “How Reform can survive its civil war” – After a spectacular week of feuding, opinion polls appear to show support for Reform UK remains unscathed, says Patrick O’Flynn in the Spectator. But the real danger lies in large numbers of members now being mightily hacked off with the leadership.
- “A 40 second video from a Shale Gas meeting about the pointless concreting over two Shale Gas wells” – Watch cartoonist Josh’s video summarising why we need to stop the madness.
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“How Europe’s electric battery dream ran out of power”
Northvolt was funded by $6bn from the Swedish National Pension pot. Beware.!
Well if Thieves gets her hands on public sector pensions that is millions of people with an impoverished retirement. Which of course is the plan.
“Trump’s tech bros pose ‘existential threat’ to EU, says Brussels”
The existence of the EU should be brought to an end. Anything that helps that happen is good news.
Streeting: I’ll axe more quangos cluttering up the NHS”
Three card Monte by Streeting and Starmer. The quangos may disappear, but the unions won’t permit the jobs to do likewise.
A bit like abolishing NHS England, the only thing to disappear will be the name.
Putin planning fresh ground invasion of Ukraine, warns Zelensky Russian troops are massing across the border from Ukraine’s Sumy region and preparing for a new ground offensive into Ukraine’s north east. Oh! Well, I must say, that’s a real surprise……or not really. Putin has to sustain offensive activity for as long as he can. Time is not on his side. ‘Oil markets have kicked off the new week on the back foot with the oil price selloff deepening amid a raft of bearish catalysts. Brent crude for May delivery fell 1.38% to trade at $69.39′ ‘Hedge Funds Shed Interest in Crude – Market sentiment in the oil markets is the most bearish it has been in more than a decade….a 40% drop compared to 2024 highs.’ ‘Barclays sees Brent Crude prices…..down by $9 from its previous forecast, as it slashed its global demand growth estimate.’ ‘Russia’s armed forces have already lost more than half of their available military hardware. If no unexpected developments occur, the most likely scenario involves a gradual decline in combat intensity by late 2025 or early 2026, driven by a basic shortage of tanks, armoured vehicles, and artillery.’ Meanwhile, our lads are off to Ukraine: ‘Macron told Le… Read more »
Russia is planning to create a buffer zone around the area of the failed Ukrainian incursion onto the Kursk region to prevent further incursions and to move many Ukrainian drone launch sites out of range of the civilian targets in Moscow.
An best of luck with putting French troops in harms way, just don’t expect USA to bail them out.
And best of luck using fancy radar against tactical FPV drones and missiles.
Ukrainian armed forces have perfected the art of detecting drones with millimetric wave radar and using ‘Helarm’ to destroy them. Apache has already been used successfully in this role.
https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1889218095535030667?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1889218095535030667%7Ctwgr%5E37af574bbd7c0463b7a48e6be578e2a4696852a6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.defence-ua.com%2Fevents%2Fabout_ukrainian_shahed_hunting_tactics_and_how_poland_north_macedonia_and_the_czech_republic_made_them_possible-13504.html
As I understand it Helarm is a helicopter-mounted anti-tank system, and Shahed derived drones are not used tactrically by troops on the front line.
“If Ukraine asks for the allies’ forces to be on its territory, it is not for Russia to decide whether to accept this or not,” – Macron’s comment on the potential deployment of European peacekeepers in Ukraine.’
“Helarm” is a common abbreviation for “Helicopter, Armed,” which refers to anti-tank helicopters or attack helicopters used for ground combat support.
‘Shahed drones are single-use, long-range attack drones, a type of loitering munition with a built-in warhead that will stay around an area until an operator, often on the ground, picks a target to detonate.’
‘Apache radar is capable of detecting and tracking…..engaging aerial drones (with) the AGM-114L, which features a millimeter-wave radar seeker that is initially cued by the Apache’s AN/APG-78 Longbow mast-mounted radar system.’
‘Russian milbloggers published maps on March 14 and 15 showing Russian and Ukrainian positions in Kursk Oblast that do not indicate Russian forces have encircled Ukrainian forces, and two Russian milbloggers explicitly denied Putin’s claim that Russian forces encircled a significant number of Ukrainian forces in the area on March 13 and 14.
One milblogger characterized Putin’s claims as a narrative intended to influence US President Donald Trump ahead of peace negotiations.’
Head of the Ukrainian troops Gen Syrskiy said “The AFU is not surrounded, in fact they just infiltrated the center of the Russian units”.
‘Ukrainian-controlled territory inside Russia has now decreased to approximately 140 square kilometers……..defensive positions still inside the Russian Federation, but outside the town of Sudzha. Official reports are the Russians are stopped.’ ‘Guys I talk to by phone or text? Same thing, fighting has stopped, lines are stable. The only video the Russians could come up with of massed POWs, dates back to April 2022 and Mariupol. The only “evidence” of cut-off or isolated Ukrainians that I have found, is by Russian milbloggers. Russian local information feeds say the fighting has stopped. We have seen serious Ukrainian defeats before and the indicators are pretty well known. For practical purposes, I have seen zero indications the Ukrainian lines came apart. This is consistent with reports from front-line units. Further, I know of three powerful brigades, that were in the Kursk sector and that now are in reserve positions behind the lines. Judging by unit information feeds, morale is fine and the brigade is going about standard rear area activities like rest, awards ceremonies, meetings with the big brass from Kyiv, and so on. I’ve confirmed at least two big drone battalions backing the Ukrainian line in that sector. Finally, this morning’s daily… Read more »
I highly recommend hedge fund manager David Rogers Webb’s book titled ‘The Great Taking’ (can be downloaded free of charge here: https://expose-news.com/2024/10/11/the-great-reset-and-the-great-taking/.) He describes how, over many years, a legal framework has been set up for the seizure of trillions of dollars of assets from public and private institutions and people. This is clearly linked to “The Great Reset”. On the subject of war, he writes: The people behind the wars have never been investigated and removed from power. They have continued in control of all central banks, and money creation, and have extended their control globally. Certainly many who have abetted this are ignorant of the greater design. But the people behind the wars are, quite literally, lying, thieving killers, and they know it. To say that there is much evidence of this is an understatement. Perhaps they have not killed innocent men, women and children with their own hands, but they have deliberately caused these deaths. That this is done with intent can be known through the persistence of their planning and actions over many decades. While the scale and audacity of this criminality seems unimaginable to us, nothing is unimaginable to them. Their criminality has now reached… Read more »
Why is Putin continuing this war?
‘And, if you believe the forecasts and the estimates are based on actual work, the real work of people who understand this, who have devoted their whole lives to this, in 15 years, there may be 22 million fewer Russians. I ask you to think about this figure: a seventh of the country’s population. If the current trend continues, the nation’s survival will be in jeopardy’ Putin 2000
‘According to UN data from the beginning of the invasion, more than 2.8 million Ukrainians had to cross the Russian border, lacking almost any possibility of leaving the occupied territories to the Ukrainian side. But the Russian authorities proudly announced numbers almost twice as high at 5.3 million, among them 738,000 children, thus showing their pride in the forced displacement of millions of Ukrainians and simultaneously articulating their hidden desire: millions of new potential citizens.’
The person who actually knows is Putin. The Western “experts” guess and have been proven wildly inaccurate.
Take for example the number of times we were told that Russia would run out of shells, rockets and drones in days or weeks.
Your fabled direct line into Putin’s brain would be invaluable to them. I assume you have this from the number of times we are told what Putin is thinki.ng and planning.
Yawn, yawn, the same old.
Putin is continuing the war because Russia faces the continuing US/NATO threat of having nuclear missiles aimed at Russian cities placed on its border. If Ukraine had remained neutral, if USA had not orchestrated a coup d’état replacing a democratically elected Ukrainian government with a Nazi regime, there would never have been a war.
The idea that a government starts a war to increase population size – when wars logically decrease population sizes – is hardly convincing.
You don’t expect logic or consistency from our cut and paste merchant, do you?
If the loss of so many people is a threat to the nation’s survival ask yourself what will happen to Ukraine with so many people leaving the country vlountarily or dying on the front lines’
The Kremlin leaks like sieve: ‘…the most interesting hacks were of the Russian Presidential Administration, which “added to the transparency of the Russian government system.” “We found all the structure, how the government controls media in Russia, how they spread their messages through members of parliament and loyal TV channels or newspapers. How they start criminal investigations against [the] opposition or journalists without any real basis.” The leaks do give some insight into Russia’s influence in Ukraine – showing its material support and financial control of separatist leaders. A document labelled “Operation Troy” detailed a Russian plan to create a land bridge to Crimea by having Russian forces dress as Ukrainian nationalists in order to take over the southern regions of Dnipro and Zaporizhia. Similarly, further hacks of figures inside the “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DNR) – a pro-Russian group designated as a terrorist organisation by Ukraine – show the inner workings of Russia’s proxies, including internal discussions as to which journalists should be given accreditation to visit Donetsk.’ 2019 ‘The Russian president told a story about an imaginary Russia that might have been but sadly never came to be. If not for the massive geopolitical shocks of the 20th century, he… Read more »
‘Igor Girkin-Strelkov from prison believes Moscow may be forced into a 30-day ceasefire, which he sees as futile, leading to more future concessions. If fighting resumes, he says Russia will face a stronger enemy, but declining the ceasefire could prevent showing weakness. Yet he says the Kremlin will most likely agree.’
To paraphrase some complete no hoper: ‘America hasn’t even started yet…..’
“Reeves reignites freebies row over Sabrina Carpenter show”
You might have thought that after the last hoo-haa over freebies that senior ministers would have been told to pay for their own tickets.
“How Reform can survive its civil war”
Hardly a Civil War except in the minds of journo’s with nothing better to write about. There are some ideological differences between the idealists and the realists, as there will always be when you put political opinions together. A win in Runcorn and a decent showing at the council elections and everyone will want to be part of it again.
Not sure.
Whatever the truth, this has been handled very badly and some of the new recruits don’t fill me with confidence.
Its still very early days with Reform. Its growing fast and there are a lot of holes being filled with lots of bodies, and I agree some of them will not be the right ones. I have a lot of sympathy with Rupert Lowe, he’s an honourable guy, but he cant drive the growth of Reform on policies that would be politically difficult, or even counter productive. As I suggest, a win in Runcorn and a good showing in the locals, and the spat will be yesterdays chip papers.
Labour got into power with an unpopular sitting government, and a bunch of vague promises about vague ideas and policies. Reform should take that onboard, and not get hung up on policy detail. Those kind of micro-divisions are what kept Labour far from power during the Michael Foot era. Politics is about power, and there’s no power if you don’t win. Stopping Reform is the objective from the left.
I disagree – I’d say the last few weeks have been disastrous for them. I don’t buy the ‘let’s play it safe’ strategy – for me their objective is simple, they need to convince Conservative voters with their policies, to vote Reform. They aren’t going to do that by having equally wishy washy policies as the Tories or Labour. I get the theory no one wants to ‘scare the horses’ with anything too honest, but perhaps now it’s actually the right time to do that with some home truths, a la Donald style?
I’m not sure thats what I said. I think you can be bold and honest about your values and state the things that are important without getting embroiled in the details. The details are where the press and opposition will try to kill Reform.
Trouble is the details are what matters – in fact I’d say Reform could take the initiative and actually define some details (which will take time and effort) and then challenge the other parties to share theirs – the mad situation on netzero is a great example, all uniparty calculations lead us to ruin… but because these ‘details’ are not out there, many can’t yet see it. Why not set the tone and take the advantage, challenging the other parties to either lie further or to be honest?
it’s a given the press and other uni parties will try and kill Reform, so I’d not be too concerned about that, instead think about how to use that against them somehow. It’s a tricky situation I understand, but fortune favours the brave… and we need some brave leaders
Reform and it’s current make up with Useless as chairman is a complete non-starter. A muslim heading a so-called British patriot party? Who are they trying to kid?
Yusuf and Reform? Oil and water. In fact it is a bloody insult.
I think it is a tricky one. If Reform moves more towards uniparty policies to get more votes, they will lose some of their ardent supporters.
“Revisiting the Numbers: Professor Simon Wood on the statistical flaws of the UK’s Covid response” – Laura Dodsworth interviews lockdown mathematician legend Simon Wood, who is a Professor of Statistics at the University of Edinburgh.
Limited hangout. Personally, I go with another physicist turned bio-modeller, Dr Rancourt in Canada – “It was the State that killed Granny“.
“No cure in sight for Covid derangement syndrome”
From Roger Watson in Wuhan at the outset of the The State Killing Granny:
“I was in Wuhan in December 2019… This was the time, according to demonstrably faked videos, when people were collapsing in the street and bodies were being collected from the pavements. No such thing was happening, and after I returned to the UK, maintaining contact with my Chinese colleagues in Wuhan, a year on from my visit not one of them reported having covid.”
Absolutely fed up with this current plethora of articles about the origins of the C1984; it was a con, a Scamdemic and that’s all we need to know.
Yes (and no). Need to prove State Killed Granny to general public (ditto climate).
Five years to the day since publication of Imperialist College Paper Number 9.
I never saw any dead or dying littering the streets and pavements in my locality when I nipped out to Asda or Tesco, despite what Ferguson, Whitty, Vallance and Van Tamm professed would happen. Just scaremongering lies.
“Met Office Peddles Ridiculous NAO Scare Story”
Myth Office talking tosh again, this time on Jet Stream going rogue.
And if they hadn’t been built?
https://www.ecoportal.net/en/it-will-save-one-million-wind-turbine/3465/
I noticed that charts in the Telegraph article about Canada becoming the 51st state were drawn as a politician or sociologist would do. They were labelled in reverse of what they meant. Why does the DT not employ statisticians or mathematicians? Perhaps they do not know any.
BTW does anyone know if Canadian provinces can leave the federation. If so perhaps the western ones could become the 51st state or a US territory and leave Quebec and Ontarion to enjoy Net Zero on their own. The other provinces would have to make their choice.
An excellent brief article from TCW explaining the dire situation we are in. All engineered by the Davos Deviants. The emphasis is on our potential saviours and no surprise Nigel is not one of them. https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/the-breaking-point-why-the-west-needs-a-reset/ “THE CURRENT order is disintegrating. You can sense it in the air – whether you are in the United States or the United Kingdom, the systems that once united us are collapsing under their own weight. This is not merely a hunch; it is a reality we can no longer ignore. Overgrown bureaucracies, soaring debt, unchecked immigration, and cultural decay masquerading as progress have driven us to the brink. We can no longer afford this, not financially, socially, or morally. Time is running out. I am convinced that men like Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen, Peter Thiel and others recognise this as well. These men are not merely billionaires with inflated egos; they are innovators who have transformed industries with remarkable speed and scale. Instead of staying passive as the West struggles, they are actively supporting a new US administration, recognising that their businesses, wealth, and futures are at stake in an overburdened system. They desire a society that operates efficiently, not one mired in… Read more »
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/my-tcw-week-in-review-9/
Kathy Gyngell outlining the horrendous implications of the Online Safety Act. From tomorrow the Readers comments section will be closed !
“Will the real Kemi Badenoch please stand up? It is time for her to turn up the volume”
Kemi has already lost. She is smart and a decent speaker, but she fails to assert herself at PMQ’s week in and week out. She isn’t what any of us need.
We certainly don’t need the treasonous tories.
A weak Tory leader is exactly what Reform need I’d say – no point in be clever if you can’t inspire people. Question is, can Reform take advantage?
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/03/14/religious-school-leader-ofsted-chairman-first/
Will there be questions raised about OFSTED’s continued impartiality?
Will there be explicit safeguards to ensure religious neutrality in school evaluations?
Will MPs demand parliamentary scrutiny of this interim appointment and assurances regarding the eventual permanent appointment?
Will there be an abundance of sightings of flying pigs?
Well, it seems that Norway & Sweden, the two most enthusiastic countries for a Cashless Society, are backtracking now, realising how helpless they will be if Putin or anyone else shuts down their cashless computer systems.
Back to cash: life without money in your pocket is not the utopia Sweden hoped
“Such is the perceived severity of the situation that the authorities are trying to encourage citizens to keep and USE CASH IN THE NAME OF CIVIL DEFENCE. In November, the defence ministry sent every home a brochure entitled If Crisis or War Comes, advising people to use cash regularly and keep a minimum of a week’s supply in various denominations to “strengthen preparedness”.”
“In its report, the central bank says: “Measures need to be taken to strengthen preparedness and reduce exclusion, SO THAT EVERYONE CAN PAY, EVEN IN THE EVENT OF CRISIS OR WAR.” For years, it says, efficiency has been the priority for payments, but now safety and accessibility “are at least as important”.”
“Electric cars ‘so heavy….. Sceptical about the rationale, which is to do with the older crash barrier capability re vehicle weight. The max weight of HGVs hasn’t suddenly gone up (although it was increased a bit in the past). Perhaps the author has ignored a lot of the freight that uses the roads.
Interesting that only a few weeks after Lettuce Liz Truss announced her creation of a new Free Speech Network for Britain( Truss praises Trump and Musk as she announces new ‘free speech media network’ ), some insights into her character suddenly appeared in the news today: Liz Truss affair partner Mark Field reveals bombshell details of 18 month ‘marriage-wrecker’ – Mirror Online Mark Field said, “I knew in an instant that my own marriage was over. Liz’s marriage, however, had, and still has, endured.” “Mark said: “She was, I found, always exhilarating to be around. She could turn on a sixpence from being a wide-eyed wannabe, hanging on my every word, to an opinionated, stubborn and somewhat belligerent know-it-all. Her manic energy was intoxicating, disconcerting and exhausting. Not to mention at times utterly infuriating.” He continued, “She has many of the qualities that are essential to reaching the highest rank in politics – limitless ambition and self-belief, raw intelligence, resilience and an overwhelming sense of personal destiny.” “Yet for a decade she held a succession of Cabinet roles in which she was tipped for the sack at virtually every reshuffle. Having made it to 10 Downing Street against the odds,… Read more »
On Friday the Supreme Court, in an historic ruling against a Prime Minister, ruled that Starmer was effectively bypassing democracy.
Major blow to Starmer. Can’t find this on any news platform as yet.
June Slater has a very good video…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXC8F5LK-l0