Two men gave Reform more in 48 hours than every British party raised in 2025. The Government's answer is a working group with no members, no remit and no timetable.
History tells us that Emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Is Prime Minister Burnham 'fiddling' while Farage lights the blue touch paper that will turn the UK into a far-right dictatorship?
When asked, if you could travel back in time, what would you do? The frequent response is, I would stop Hitler. Well, maybe someone from the future could do the honours with Nigel Farage. It is laudable that, in Britain, we offer a fair platform for all political debate and even the robust disagreements between parties are conducted in a generally civilised manner. However, Reform UK presents us with a situation that must not be underestimated. I am convinced that the general voting public have no idea what life would be like if Farage got into No.10. We would see the end of Human Rights, any hint of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion would be stamped out straight away. Unaccountable, unidentifiable, uniformed thugs would have the power to arrest those thought to be dissenters and mass deportations would be the norm. We generally accept that Trump is a deranged lunatic, but he is extremely dangerous and has already demolished a huge number of social safeguards within American society. Farage worships Him! Have we forgotten his threat to establish 'holding camps' in areas where voters had the audacity to vote against him? In the last few days we have seen masked thugs abusing RNLI staff who were helping people in danger on the sea. Those thugs are the sort of people who support Reform UK. They hide their identities and abuse the Union Jack, the Flag of St. George and the Christian Cross, and, they support a pure race theory and openly discriminate against people because of where they were born. I am I scaremongering? You bet! We need to be scared. The time for gentlemanly British political debate has passed. Farage is accumulating vast wealth which he will use to play dirty in any election; he has no respect for democracy whatsoever and if we vote him in we will pay a huge price, including our freedom of thought.
So, please Mr Burnham - don't just 'fiddle' - be bold in your fight against the far-right, call Farage out for what he is and do everything you can to enlighten Reform supporters; make sure they know exactly what type of genie they want to let out of the bottle.
Excellent and thoughtful response, William - thank you. You clearly see what I see. It is a shame more British voters don't. The punchline - if that is the right word - is Trump's approval ratings - lower than low now. Our friends in the US have tried that experiment, and they clearly don't like the results. We need to make sure we learn from them.
Unfortunately in a democracy even scum have rights and if people haven’t seen through Farage yet, then they deserve everything that’s coming their way, I suspect the example of Trump in America has inoculated the British electorate to a certain extent, especially since Farage wanted to join Trump’s insane war.
Let's hope the Lords put the amendment on a £500,000 cap back into the Bill and when it returns to the Commons the Government back it and put a 3-line whip on Labour MPs to support it. Most other sensible Parties will back it too. Of course Reform will oppose it, but with only 8 MPs (and one of them perenially absent), they won't matter a jot.
Precisely, Black Pearl! It's like the fire brigade getting a 999 call that a house full of people is on fire and deciding to add 'How to respond' to the agenda for next Tuesday evening's team meeting. I have to say, I expected better - much better - from Team Burnham. Burnham is just a man, so we shouldn't judge him by 'God' standards. But he has shown himself over recent years to be ambitious in his plans, unafraid of challenging established thinking about how things should be done, and courageous in taking on the forces of vested interests. Where is all that now on this issue?
Precisely. I have written repeatedly to my MP on electoral reform including the House Of Lords & I hoped that Burnham would be braver & dynamic given his support for PR but immediately deferred to the next election/manifesto which typifies the lack of urgency & determination associated with politicians which fuels populism. Labour has a huge majority & it feels like they’re wasting it on traditional procrastination. Trump has created a reality TV transactional image where he signs presidential orders & his base (including here) believe that democratic processes are redundant & that this represents real change & when you consider the People’s Representation Bill, The Assisted Dying Bill’s laborious treatment & sabotage in the HOL (due to hereditary peer’s personal grievances) it’s hardly surprising that Farage can purport to offer real change to a base with his dramatic claims on the national emergency declarations on the boats etc. & that he like Trump will be able to short circuit our laws & democratic processes including the European Convention on Human Rights. As a progressive and democrat who believes our current political constitution is archaic including our elections, HOL & monarchy it’s depressing to see the lack of purpose & urgency in the face of an obvious regressive trajectory.
Morning Elizabeth, I always hesitate to compare the vision I believe Farage has for our country with what Hitler did in Nazi Germany - mostly because no two such things are ever EXACTLY the same. But I do see strong similarities between the core values and driving principles that led to Hitler and the ones we see on the rise today in our country (fanned by Farage and his backers), and I do worry that you will be more right than me.
History tells us that Emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Is Prime Minister Burnham 'fiddling' while Farage lights the blue touch paper that will turn the UK into a far-right dictatorship?
When asked, if you could travel back in time, what would you do? The frequent response is, I would stop Hitler. Well, maybe someone from the future could do the honours with Nigel Farage. It is laudable that, in Britain, we offer a fair platform for all political debate and even the robust disagreements between parties are conducted in a generally civilised manner. However, Reform UK presents us with a situation that must not be underestimated. I am convinced that the general voting public have no idea what life would be like if Farage got into No.10. We would see the end of Human Rights, any hint of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion would be stamped out straight away. Unaccountable, unidentifiable, uniformed thugs would have the power to arrest those thought to be dissenters and mass deportations would be the norm. We generally accept that Trump is a deranged lunatic, but he is extremely dangerous and has already demolished a huge number of social safeguards within American society. Farage worships Him! Have we forgotten his threat to establish 'holding camps' in areas where voters had the audacity to vote against him? In the last few days we have seen masked thugs abusing RNLI staff who were helping people in danger on the sea. Those thugs are the sort of people who support Reform UK. They hide their identities and abuse the Union Jack, the Flag of St. George and the Christian Cross, and, they support a pure race theory and openly discriminate against people because of where they were born. I am I scaremongering? You bet! We need to be scared. The time for gentlemanly British political debate has passed. Farage is accumulating vast wealth which he will use to play dirty in any election; he has no respect for democracy whatsoever and if we vote him in we will pay a huge price, including our freedom of thought.
So, please Mr Burnham - don't just 'fiddle' - be bold in your fight against the far-right, call Farage out for what he is and do everything you can to enlighten Reform supporters; make sure they know exactly what type of genie they want to let out of the bottle.
Excellent and thoughtful response, William - thank you. You clearly see what I see. It is a shame more British voters don't. The punchline - if that is the right word - is Trump's approval ratings - lower than low now. Our friends in the US have tried that experiment, and they clearly don't like the results. We need to make sure we learn from them.
Unfortunately in a democracy even scum have rights and if people haven’t seen through Farage yet, then they deserve everything that’s coming their way, I suspect the example of Trump in America has inoculated the British electorate to a certain extent, especially since Farage wanted to join Trump’s insane war.
Let's hope the Lords put the amendment on a £500,000 cap back into the Bill and when it returns to the Commons the Government back it and put a 3-line whip on Labour MPs to support it. Most other sensible Parties will back it too. Of course Reform will oppose it, but with only 8 MPs (and one of them perenially absent), they won't matter a jot.
Well written and put across Cathy. Spread it far and wide.
I'm sure that a task force will sort out the problem over the next ten years or so... And Father Christmas will head it up!
Precisely, Black Pearl! It's like the fire brigade getting a 999 call that a house full of people is on fire and deciding to add 'How to respond' to the agenda for next Tuesday evening's team meeting. I have to say, I expected better - much better - from Team Burnham. Burnham is just a man, so we shouldn't judge him by 'God' standards. But he has shown himself over recent years to be ambitious in his plans, unafraid of challenging established thinking about how things should be done, and courageous in taking on the forces of vested interests. Where is all that now on this issue?
Precisely. I have written repeatedly to my MP on electoral reform including the House Of Lords & I hoped that Burnham would be braver & dynamic given his support for PR but immediately deferred to the next election/manifesto which typifies the lack of urgency & determination associated with politicians which fuels populism. Labour has a huge majority & it feels like they’re wasting it on traditional procrastination. Trump has created a reality TV transactional image where he signs presidential orders & his base (including here) believe that democratic processes are redundant & that this represents real change & when you consider the People’s Representation Bill, The Assisted Dying Bill’s laborious treatment & sabotage in the HOL (due to hereditary peer’s personal grievances) it’s hardly surprising that Farage can purport to offer real change to a base with his dramatic claims on the national emergency declarations on the boats etc. & that he like Trump will be able to short circuit our laws & democratic processes including the European Convention on Human Rights. As a progressive and democrat who believes our current political constitution is archaic including our elections, HOL & monarchy it’s depressing to see the lack of purpose & urgency in the face of an obvious regressive trajectory.
They want to turn the UK into Nazi Germany! 🤬
Morning Elizabeth, I always hesitate to compare the vision I believe Farage has for our country with what Hitler did in Nazi Germany - mostly because no two such things are ever EXACTLY the same. But I do see strong similarities between the core values and driving principles that led to Hitler and the ones we see on the rise today in our country (fanned by Farage and his backers), and I do worry that you will be more right than me.
BenD-e-low before the bank of Reform - and F*** Democracy