Chris Whiteside for the North

Today is Twelfth Nigh, the last official day of Christmas. If you have not already done so, remember to take all your Christmas decorations down!

Best wishes to everyone reading this for a happy healthy and prosperous New Year, whoever you are and wherever you are.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch insisted the " fight is not finished " after the government made a partial climbdown on the Family Farm tax following 14 months of regular protests by farmers outside Parliament. The threshold for IHT on family farms will now be raised from £1 million to £2.5 million. Kemi said:  "This is a huge U-turn by the government and a big win for the Conservative Party's campaign against Labour's Family Farm Tax." "Earlier this year, I was told to drop our campaign, that there weren't many votes in it, there weren't many farmers, and people assumed they were wealthy enough to cope anyway. I ignored the advice and kept campaigning. "The Family Farm Tax is cruel, immoral and will not raise any money because farmers will stop farming. It would have pushed farms to the brink, damaged our food supply, and hurt the people who work long hours to feed the country. The Conservatives will however continue to fight to se...

The UK Veterans Foundation posted the graphic below and the words, "Please take a moment to remember our brave heroes who won't be home for Christmas." 🎄❤️

During the 2024 General election I had a number of emails from electors in Leeds North East, where I was the Conservative candidate, challenging me on the prediction in my election literature that Labour would raise taxes if they were elected. This prediction was based on the work of analysis at Conservative Campaign HQ who were convinced, as were then Conservative minsters from Rishi Sunak down that Labour could only deliver the programme in their manifesto if they raised taxes. I can't take credit for actually drafting that section of my election address but it went out in my name because I agreed with it and was prepared to own it. And the prediction was right. Labour raised National Insurance by £40 billion in their first budget. Last year they said they would not need to raise taxes again. But this week they did raise taxes again - another £26 billion on income tax by extending the freeze on tax threshold. Even Rachel Reeves admits this measure will hit working people. They hi...

 

The Jewish shopkeeper in this picture from Germany in 1933 is called Richard Stern - and he's wearing an Iron Cross awarded for serving in the German Army in World War One as a Nazi thug stands guard outside his shop as part of a boycott of Jewish businesses. . You can see from the wry smile of Richard Stern's face that the man had incredible guts. It's the brown shirt, not the shopkeeper, whose demeanour radiates fear and tension. This post is taken from a tweet by  Archaeo - Histories on X here  which reprinted an article in the Jewish Observer. After being awarded the prestigious Iron Cross for his service in the German army during World War I, Richard Stern was driven out of his home country by the Nazi regime. MyHeritage’s Research team discovered records of him arriving at Ellis Island at the age of 40 in May 1939 — narrowly escaping the beginning of the war.  In 1942, when Stern was 43 and not yet an American citizen, he enlisted in the U.S. Army to join the war ef...

 

  From "For the Fallen" by Robert Laurence Binyon (1869-1943), published in The Times newspaper on 21 September 1914. Image posted by the Royal Family in their Remembrance Sunday message.

  "If one is remembered by a Friend, one is never truly gone." (Grand Admiral Thrawn: the passage below from which this quote is taken forms the first words of the  the Epilogue of Timothy Zahn's novel "Thrawn." In context these words are clearly about exile, not death. Thrawn himself had been exiled from the Chiss Ascendancy to the Empire: he had written these words in a journal he gave to his friend Eli Vanto who was going into exile in the opposite direction, from the Empire to the Chiss Ascendancy. However, I find the comment to be equally relevant to All Soul's Day. For what is death if it is not an exile from the world of the living?)

  There was a very amusing piece on the Cumbria Chronic site. Some extracts: "A Labour Government is seriously bad for your health, say doctors. They ran tests on millions of people who swallowed Labour last year and have today released their shocking findings. The average Brit was found to have: Severe brain damage from a year of hypocritical Leftism Serious red mist around the eyes and steam from the ears Elevated urine temperatures from boiling piss Severe loss of hair, from where it’s been pulled out in clumps Irreversibly low tolerance levels Catastrophic dental damage from grinding teeth to dust Doctors said many other people who didn’t smoke Labour are now suffering from second hand Labour. Symptoms include spinal damage from years of bending over backwards and apologising for existing; and chronic lip damage after years of biting them. Passive Labour victims report feeling a “ severe pain in the arse ” from long-term exposure on social media to those who spent the Tory yea...

  Iain Dale has put together a book about the 88 most consequential British by-elections since 1769. It will be published on 18th September 2025 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon at British By-Elections 1769–2025: The 88 By-Election Campaigns That Shaped Our Politics: Amazon.co.uk: Dale, Iain: 9781785909788: Books Or from Politicos (signed by Iain) at British By-Elections 1769-2025 - The 88 By-Elections That Shook British Politics edited by Iain Dale COMING 18 SEPTEMBER | Politicos.co.uk Let me declare an interest - I wrote the chapter on the Copeland by-election of 2017 in which, obviously I was a participant as part of the Conservative campaign team. So I am an interested party, but I think this is a really interesting book. I have been racking my brains trying to remember how many of these elections I personally took part in. There were at last a dozen from the Darlington by-election in 1983 where I remember telling in the snow, to the Runcorn & Helsby by-election earlier t...

  "Conservatives stand firm with our Ukrainian friends, today on their Independence Day, and every day.  The unwavering determination of the Ukrainian people to protect what is rightfully theirs in the face of Putin’s brutal aggression is truly remarkable.  The UK’s support must be ironclad. Ukraine will remain one of Britain’s very closest allies far into the future.  Slava Ukraini" Priti Patel , Shadow Foreign Secretary.

Today is the 80th anniversary of the surrender of Japan. There will be VJ Day 80 commemorations to mark the anniversary of the final end of the second world war. A series of events will be held in Britain and around the world, although the USA commemorates VJ day a few days later than we do. In Britain: There will  be an event at the National Memorial Arboretum to honour VJ veterans which will be broadcast live The Red Arrows will join historic Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft for a flypast over national VJ Day 80 commemorations Members of the public are encouraged to participate in a national two-minute silence at noon BST on Friday 15 August  to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.  A Service of Remembrance will honour and remember those who fought and died during the Second World War in the Far East at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, which will be broadcast live on BBC1 from midday.  It will host a spectacular tribute to v...

  "80 years ago, the guns fell silent in the Pacific marking the end of WW2. Today, we remember those who fought to the very end and the families who endured years of fear and loss. Their courage and sacrifice shaped the free, democratic Britain we cherish. We honour them, always." Kemi Badenoch , Conservative leader.

  "In times of war and in times of peace, the greatest weapons of all are not the arms you bear but the arms you link." His Majesty King Charles III From the message the King will broadcast later today praising the work of the heroes of WWII.   His majesty tell the nation and the world how the sacrifice of the heroes of VJ Day will never be forgotten. In an audio message echoing one broadcast by his grandfather, King George VI, eighty years ago, King Charles will describe how those who lived and died in the Far East  ‘gave us more than freedom; they left us the example of how it can and must be protected’.

 Following the VE day commemorations in May this year to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, VJ Day 80 on Friday will mark the anniversary of the final end of the war. A series of events will be held in Britain and around the world, although the USA commemorates VJ day a few days later than we do. In Britain: There will  be an event at the National Memorial Arboretum to honour VJ veterans which will be broadcast live The Red Arrows will join historic Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft for a flypast over national VJ Day 80 commemorations Members of the public are encouraged to participate in a national two-minute silence at noon BST on Friday 15 August to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.  A Service of Remembrance will honour and remember those who fought and died during the Second World War in the Far East at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, which will be broadcast live on BBC1 from midday.  It wil...

 

Those of a certain age will remember that the slogan "Labour isn't working" has been used before. It was part of Mrs Thatcher's successful campaign against a Labour government which had massively increased unemployment. But there's reason for using this slogan again. True in 1979  and still true now - Labour governments cost jobs. Every Labour government in history has increased unemployment. And it's not hard to see why. One of the first thing the present Labour government did on taking office was to break their promise not to increase National Insurance and impose the biggest tax rise in history on Employers National Insurance contributions A forty billion pounds a year tax on jobs. Is it any wonder that this is what happened to the creation of jobs?  

 Lord Norman Tebbit, one of Margaret Thatcher's closest allis, has died at the age of 94. He will be remembered as many things by many people, but the image which will stick in my mind was what a kind and courteous man he was when I met him. He was described as an “i con in British politics ” by the current Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch., As employment secretary he took on the trade unions, and as chairman of the Conservative Party from 1985 to 1987 he helped Mrs Thatcher secure her third general election victory. As employment secretary he took on the trade unions, and as chairman of the Conservative Party from 1985 to 1987 he helped Mrs Thatcher secure her third general election victory. He also served as trade secretary and had a reputation as a political bruiser. He suffered grave injuries in the 1984 Brighton bombing, which left his wife, Margaret, paralysed from the neck down. After the 1987 election success he left his post as Tory chairman to help care for Margaret, who...

I was very sorry to learn that Alderman John Jackson, a former councillor and Mayor of Copeland has died. (To avoid any confusion, I should probably explain that he was Mayor when this was the title of the councillor who was in the council chair that year, and who acted as the ceremonial mayor and first citizen. It was an entirely different post from the subsequent office of directly elected Mayor, who was essentially an elected leader.) John was a straightforward, no-nonsense honest and kind individual who worked hard for his constituents as a councillor and for his community in everything he did. He will be missed. Rest in Peace. 

Remembering all the brave men - Brits, Americans, Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis, lovers of freedom from every country in the commonwealth and all around the world - who landed on the D-Day beaches or jumped out of aeroplanes 81 years ago today so that Europe would be free again.

Labour blinked. But don’t be fooled. This fight isn’t over. Yesterday, I challenged Keir Starmer from the despatch box. I demanded he reverse his unfair Winter Fuel Payment cuts. Cuts that hit the poorest pensioners hardest. After a year of pressure, Starmer finally admitted he would  “revisit the threshold”.  That’s not a plan. That’s a vague promise. He hasn’t said how, when, or for how many. Is this a full U-turn or just a cosmetic tweak? We don’t know.  They’ve offered headlines, not answers. Some of the country's poorest pensioners are worrying about paying their energy bills this winter.  They need certainty now, not a vague promise of help tomorrow. Labour still haven’t explained who will now qualify. They haven’t explained how they’ll fix the mess that left thousands of eligible pensioners out in the cold.  And they haven’t given a date for when, or if, anything changes. We’re not letting this drop. Labour’s supermajority doesn’t mean a free pass. We’ll ...

Today is the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war in Europe. To commemorate and remember all those who died, there will be a two minute silence at 12 noon BST today.