News Round-Up
- “Trump: Taking Greenland is revenge for losing Nobel Peace Prize” – Donald Trump has warned Europe he is no longer bound to pursue peace as he presses his Greenland demand, reports the Telegraph.
- “NATO crisis deepens as Trump demands Denmark cede Greenland to the United States following the failure of the Nobel Committee to award him the Peace Prize” – Eugyppius with his take on how Europeans have responded to Trump’s Greenland threats.
- “Revealed: The message Norwegian PM sent Trump that sparked President’s outburst saying Nobel Peace Prize snub justified Greenland land-grab” – The full message the Norwegian Prime Minister sent to Donald Trump, which sparked the President’s outburst about not winning the Nobel Peace Prize, is revealed by the Mail.
- “Why Trump will beat divided Europe and weak Britain over Greenland” – Trump is positioned to outmuscle Europe and Britain in any Greenland showdown, argues the Telegraph.
- “The death of Davos: Trump prepares to ‘punch allies in the head’ as Greenland threat hangs over gathering of global elite” – Donald Trump will address the global elite at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday as the diplomatic crisis over Greenland spirals, says the Mail.
- “Green leader’s bonkers plan to ‘punish’ Trump if he invades Greenland… by scrapping the UK’s nuclear deterrent and kicking out US troops, leaving Britain at the mercy of Russia” – Zack Polanski has floated scrapping Trident and ejecting US troops to ‘punish’ Trump over Greenland, according to the Mail.
- “Stop arresting Palestine Action supporters, White House tells Britain” – The White House has urged Britain to stop arresting Palestine Action supporters amid free-speech concerns, according to the Telegraph.
- “Rachel Reeves pulls out of London Stock Exchange event as Donald Trump’s tariff threats send markets tumbling… after Chancellor had been due to hail ‘new golden age’ for City” – Rachel Reeves has pulled out of a London Stock Exchange event after Trump’s tariff threats have rattled markets, reports the Mail.
- “Shamima Begum ‘could be free in days’” – Fighting around Syrian prisons has raised fears Shamima Begum could walk free within days, says the Telegraph.
- “Councils put back elections – and put up taxes by £280 million” – Councils have delayed local elections while raising bills, leaving millions without a vote on tax rises, notes the Telegraph.
- “Lib Dems scrap Cheltenham elections after attacking Tories for same thing” – Cheltenham’s Lib Dems have sought to postpone the May elections after criticising the Conservatives for doing likewise, reveals the Telegraph.
- “Labour councillor trying to delay elections could lose job” – A Labour councillor pushing to delay elections has faced a no-confidence bid that could cost him his job, according to the Telegraph.
- “Jenrick says more Tories will defect to Reform” – Robert Jenrick has predicted more Conservatives will defect to Reform as the “door closes” after May, reports the Telegraph.
- “Kemi Badenoch tells Tory MPs pondering defection: You should go” – Kemi Badenoch has told wavering Tory MPs they should leave for Reform if that is their choice, according to the Times.
- “Labour to draw up plans for banning under-16s from social media” – The Prime Minister has moved toward drafting a social-media ban for under-16s to head off a backbench rebellion, notes the Times.
- “Yet another Labour U-turn? Sir Keir Starmer opens the door to Australia-style social media ban for under-16s to see off major backbench rebellion” – Keir Starmer has opened the door to an Australia-style under-16s ban after previously opposing it, says the Mail.
- “Civil Service to hire trans equality chief as Labour dithers over Supreme Court ruling” – The Civil Service has started recruiting a trans equality chief as Labour continues to delay its response to the Supreme Court gender ruling, reports the Telegraph.
- “AI is irresistible to Britain’s worst organisations” – AI has been adopted by failing institutions as cover for managerial incompetence from policing to local politics, says Andrew Orlowski in the Telegraph.
- “Councils should listen to voters on 20mph zones” – Councils have been urged to heed consultations on 20mph zones after majorities have opposed them, reports the Times.
- “Labour’s £8.2 billion of U-turns ‘has damaged growth’” – Labour’s £8.2 billion of policy U-turns has been blamed for weaker growth, says the Telegraph.
- “Killjoys want to stub out this guilty pleasure” – Plans in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill have threatened the old-school appeal of cigar lounges, reports the Times.
- “Iran’s protests don’t fit the Leftist narrative – so they’ve been ignored” – Iran’s protest movement has been sidelined because it has not flattered fashionable Western narratives, says Megan Dent in the Telegraph.
- “The chilling rise of American Muslim converts being radicalised online” – Online radicalisation has been drawing American Muslim converts toward lone-wolf terrorism, writes Simon Hankinson in the Telegraph.
- “Imam who carried out forced marriage between two children avoids jail” – An imam who carried out a forced marriage between two children has avoided jail with a suspended sentence, reveals the Mail.
- “Social media user charged over posts on X expressing ‘hatred for immigrants, Muslims and non-white persons’” – A social-media user has been charged over X posts expressing hatred and encouraging terrorism, according to the Mail.
- “The long shadow of Alder Hey” – The Alder Hey organs scandal has left a regulatory legacy that has hampered scrutiny of suspected vaccine deaths, says Roger Watson in TCW.
- “Another win against Covid vaccine mandates, inspired by my own” – On Substack, Raphael Lataster celebrates a former New South Wales health employee winning a case against Covid vaccine mandates after being inspired to fight back by his own victory.
- “‘Boob God’ surgeon’s gagging order lifted after model’s two-year battle” – A model has won a court fight to lift a surgeon’s gagging order after a two-year battle to warn others, reports the Times.
- “Pious Europeans fall short on Net Zero” – Germany and France have been falling short on Net Zero promises as political survival has trumped green piety, according to the Telegraph.
- “Chinese Solar Manufacturers Report Major Financial Losses” – Has President Trump’s withdrawal of Biden era renewable subsidies killed the Chinese economy, asks Eric Worrall in WUWT.
- “Climate change advocates at the UN launch new organised assault against free speech and information” – In the American Thinker, Susan Quinn reports on the latest pushes for censorship and ideological conformity at the United Nations.
- “The Perpetual Climate Panic Machine ‘Collapses’” – In Daily Signal, Tim Graham looks at why climate change alarm is losing traction in politics, media and industry as predictions fall short and public scepticism grows.
- “NOAA Calls 2025 Third-Warmest Year On Record — The Science Doesn’t Add Up” – NOAA says 2025 was third-warmest, but sloppy land data and missing ocean measurements make the claim meaningless, argues Lynne Balzer in Climate Change Dispatch.
- “Anti-Racist Education Was Neither” – American schooling has remained dazed by the fallout from the anti-racist education boom of 2020, says Frederick Hess in Education Next.
- “Does it really matter if Grok undresses us all?” – Shame, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, argues Julie Burchill in the Spectator.
- “Hands up, who likes me?” – Suicide threats have become a form of emotional blackmail online and in politics, notes Ed West in the Wrong Side of History.
- “Publishing house launches competition to counter woke West End plays” – Old Sovereign Publishing has launched a playwriting competition that, in an innovative move, prioritises artistic merit over overtly political messaging, reports the Telegraph.
- “Male police officers win case after being moved as part of ‘gender rebalance’” – Male officers have won a tribunal claim after being shifted aside for a ‘gender rebalance’, reports People Management.
- “Police plan to use AI to usher in an era of ‘predictive policing’, targeting criminals before they commit crimes” – This is unbelievably unwise, says Conservative MP David Davis on X.
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As I understand things, the reason (or excuse) for putting off elections is that they’ll have to be run again in 2 years when things are re-aligned, and councils can’t afford the ‘double whammy’ of another election in that timeframe?
Which, in a nutshell, demonstrates just how useless our civil servants are. Surely, the very first question you’d ask is: “when are the elections, so we can dovetail the new with the old?” rather than impose them in the middle of a cycle… it must be nice, spending other people’s money.
Indeed. Another approach would be to question the whole thing – if we are so poor that we can’t afford two elections instead of one, maybe our focus should be on spending less and being more efficient in our current form, rather than a reorganization that will just shuffle responsibility around rather than fundamentally remove any. In fact my understanding is that there will be MORE duplication because a lot of the County Council responsibilities will be pushed down to super-sized district councils. It would have been a lot easier to just absorb all the district council functions into the CC.
Yes, upon reflection, the very first question should, of course be: “is any of this really necessary at all?”
My contact in our County Council told me just now that the CC favours creating TWO Unitaries to replace the CC and the many DCs, but the current DCs favour MORE than two. Well they would, wouldn’t they… And apparently someone has done some calculations and worked out that Labour stand a better chance of winning at least one Unitary if there are more of them, so guess what the Secretary of State is going to choose. It stinks.
Could it be Reform UK controlled councils might ask that very question and conclude, No.
This would scupper Labour’s plan to reduce local control over no longer local authorities, and its preferred plan to strengthen Labour control of bigger chunk of the Country, no matter who is in central Government in future.
Councillors arguing for delaying the elections from a cost-saving perspective are handing a huge propaganda ‘stick’ to their opponents. They want to cancel elections to save money but they are pissing money away on ideological projects.
I hope it backfires on them!
Yes. We need to take note of every occasion they claimed a delay would save ‘x thousands of pounds’ and throw that in their faces every time they spend as much or more.
Reorganbisation will mean there is no continuity of comparison on finances. The costs will rise and service levels fall but no accounts will be available for years. My DC was two years in arrears with its audit so no one knew the right numbers when the last elections were held.
That is what is happening in Cambridgeshire which has gone from being three counties when I was younger to a single one and that absorbs all district councils as well. I overheard employees talking together and they are rubbing their hands with glee at the status and pay rises to come, just in time for their retirements.
I can’t see any money being saved any time soon, and a massive loss of focus where leadership and other senior officers are navel gazing instead of doing real work.
Delaying the elections because the council is in the middle of a difficult project suggests that they don’t trust the people to choose the right councillors for the job. They think that the new/replacement councillors might want to do things differently and that that would be wrong and anti-democratic. It’s outrageous arrogance.
Do the people in the area want a Unitary Authority at all? Do they have a choice in the matter? Shouldn’t they be able to influence the formation of the authority?
When the councils do eventually become part of a Unitary Authority the representation on that authority will reflect the make up of the abolished councils. The election delays are intended to prevent the people’s current choices affecting the new authority.
I am pretty sure very few people have a clue this is happening, beyond those already politically engaged. I’ve not seen any consultation coming from our councils.
We have not seen any consultation yet in Essex because the structure has not yet been determined by Labour and merger plans are not complete.
Much of the cost is an annual running cost regardless of elections. The department in the District Council has to maintain electoral lists, voting places and ballot boxes and it has to keep staff trained in case there is an unexpected by-election.
I wonder how elections will be run after local government re-organisation. Will district offices be closed and jobs moved to the county town miles away. Where will the local count take place. No information about such basic issues has been published locally and I suspect it is because they don’t know.
NATO crisis deepens as Trump demands Denmark cede Greenland to the United States Greenland has had a representational office within the Danish Embassy in Beijing since 2023. ‘Economic independence is the precondition to political independence: Greenland has to develop a self-sufficient economy first. Given Greenland’s economic structure, the mining industry would be the most promising to achieve economic independence, with fishing and tourism as two other pillars. China, a deep-pocketed investor with a huge consumer market, could play a key role in the development of Greenland’s three industries, particularly considering that other major economies’ growth more or less came to a halt in recent years. Cooperation with China could bring in enormous income for Greenland and substantial benefits to its residents and communities and could propel the process of its economic independence. The potential economic opportunities in Greenland are undeniably enormous and attractive to China’ https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/7706/14453 Greenland sees Chinese investment as key to its independence. Chinese investment elsewhere has had political strings attached. That is quite clearly not in the interests of the U.S. One of the key industries in which Greenland seeks Chinese investment is fisheries. That is a threat to both North American and European fisheries. It will… Read more »
‘Key findings PRC leaders see the Arctic as important to achieving the PRC’s overarching strategic objectives, including the following: • Sustaining economic development. Authoritative PRC writings describe the Arctic’s abundant energy and mineral resources as important to China’s economic development. They also note that Arctic shipping routes would drastically reduce the time and distance—and therefore shipping costs—of transporting goods between Northeast Asia and Europe and North America. • Defending national sovereignty, security, and development interests. People’s Liberation Army (PLA) strategic thinkers have noted several reasons that the Arctic is important to China’s security objectives, including the deterrent value of deploying nuclear missiles to the Arctic and the fact that Arctic shipping routes offer potential alternatives to the Suez Canal, Panama Canal, and the Strait of Malacca, all of which are potential chokepoints. • Reforming the global system to align with PRC interests. PRC leaders seek to restructure the international system in ways that suit China’s interests and afford it great power status. PRC policy statements describe the Arctic as part of the “community with a shared future for mankind”—a community in which Beijing hopes to play a leadership role. Although China’s military is not currently active in the Arctic, the… Read more »
What does Putin’s Russia make of President Trump’s Greenland gambit?
Oh!
“If Trump annexes Greenland by July 4 2026, when America celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, he will go down in history as a figure who asserted the greatness of the United States,”
Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
Maybe Russia doesn’t want China dominating Greenland either?
Maybe President Trump and Putin cooked this up together…you know…Ukraine for Greenland kind of thing?
Surely not! Impossible!
Hmm…
Not sure why there is a problem. If Trump or the Danes were to get in touch with Starmer he could tell them how to give away territory without consulting the residents and pay the nbew owner a dowry for the privilege.
China… the benign benefactor who will want nothing in exchange.
China wishes to build an empire – that doesn’t have to be by military conquest.
The British Empire was not established by military conquest.
Monday Morning Windlesham
“Councils have been urged to heed consultations on 20mph zones after majorities have opposed them”
The corner of my town that I live in recently adopted a 20mph zone. There was a “consultation” which I responded to (opposed it). I don’t know what the consultation results were, but the live survey of drivers indicates that very few support it because almost nobody keeps to 20mph. Bear in mind our little corner isn’t on the way to anywhere so almost all the cars driving on our roads belong to residents.
We have them in our local town (I suppose most everyone does these days), and the only result seems to be that those who would drive past the school doing 50mph in a 30mph zone, are now doing the same in a 20mph zone…
Apparently certain sections of the population have unreadable or false number plates.
And quite a few 20 signs have been mounted where they are essentially useless, given that most people would not be much more than that without them. A long way back, there were road design standards for new developments that required deliberate structures that would reduce max speeds, if the overall area was supposed to limit it to 20. The current snag is trying to plonk it onto roads that do not have features that automatically enforce it.
We have those square humps and all they do is lead people to use the road space in unnatural ways. In general, very few people drove stupidly in our neighbourhood before the 20 signs arrived, and probably those same people still do – the only problem point is a bend with parked cars and poor visibility, that requires caution, which most people exercise but some don’t. If anyone wanted to solve driving issues in our area, they could have simply addressed that by taking away one or two car parking spaces – everyone has a drive anyway. But it was about being SEEN to be doing something. Communist Green Councillors in the Home Counties. God help us.
Who the f#ck really cares about Greenland?..it’s a fridge freezer with 55000 inhabitants clawing a living from it and im sure if asked they wouldn’t be all that worried about American ownership,they would probably get better looked after!
There are no official rights of ownership to Denmark or anyone else for that matter, it’s certainly not worth falling out with the US over
Not many ever view the earth map from the top! Greenland is the perfect natural battleship to launch attacks on any country in the northern hemisphere
If invaded by Russia or China all the America’s and Europe would be under far greater threat than we are now!
Northern hemisphere
Britain used to be considered by the Americans as an aircraft carrier moored off the coast of Europe. Maybe Trump no longer considers the UK to be a reliable partner. Trump certainly doesn’t want Russia or China to dominate Greenland and become a hostile aircraft carrier moored off the coast of the USA.
They got Home Rule in 1979, so can choose as they wish. They also left the EEC/EU, so their supposed sudden attachment to “Europe” is odd.
In the same vain, why isn’t the Danish owned west indies being mentioned in the mainstream? Oh.. slave labour! That Denmark carried on for 15 years after Britain abolished slavery! That really doesn’t fit with the European agenda, shinning a light on Denmarks slavery history, is Denmark being asked to pay reparations for their involvement in the slavery triangle?
The Danish West Indies were a Danish colony in the Caribbean from 1672 to 1917, consisting of the islands of St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix; they became the U.S. Virgin Islands after Denmark sold them to the United States for $25 million in gold, partly to prevent German acquisition during World War I. Their economy was built on slave labor for sugar, rum, and cotton production before slavery was abolished in 1848, after which the islands became a financial burden, leading to the sale.
Imagine what this knowledge would do if highlighted against the current situation with Danish owned Greenland in the western media! Shit..fan
Pious Europeans fall short on Net Zero
Oooh! Sir! Sir! I know!
Of course Trump may want Greenland as a launch point for attacks against Russia or China. it is the old NATO(US?) ploy of moving up to Russia’s border.
Just saying.
From the northern hemisphere map above, Alaska looks a better bet for attacking China (without over-flying Russia too much) – and the USA already has that.
To the DS team:
the like/dislike symbols (not the numbers) have disappeared on the primary comments (not the replies). I have not changed anything my side, so maybe a glitch your end?
I think you may have already sorted it… does now appear on my comment.
Shamima Begum ‘could be free in days’
Yep. Free to go anywhere her Bangladeshi passport will let her.
Why is it so slow to access DS these days. Is there a problem with the server.
See Burnham at https://order-order.com/2026/01/20/burnham-attracts-only-100-viewers-for-economic-vision-speech/ He said “We can’t stay where we are, we are in a rut,” and said “bottom up devolution” is required for growth.” It is difficult to see how “bottom up devolution” can work when elections are cancelled for millions of people. I suppose he means devolution to councillors and quangos, not the people.