Chris Whiteside for the North

 A joint statement from all the political parties in Southport.

"Quite remarkable how the Twitter Left cavalierly dismiss the loss of the winter fuel allowance for 10m pensioners as “they can afford it”.  Some can. But they have no idea how many more will be hit by it.  And, of course, if the Tories had done this the very same twitterati would have been moaning about the “evil blood-sucking Tories”." ( Andrew Neil on X formerly Twitter)

 

A final response to Labour's preposterous claim that the new government had a uniquely bad economic inheritance ...

"It is the oldest sleight of hand in the political playbook. Deny until the cows come home while seeking election that you plan to raise taxes then, duly elected on a 'no-tax-rises' platform, you hold up your hands in horror. 'We've seen the books!' you exclaim. 'It's much worse than we thought.' Cue a slew of big tax rises." "Labour embarked on this phoney process the moment they took power on July 5. From Keir Starmer down – orchestrated by his Chancellor, Rachel Reeves – leading Labour politicians grabbed every opportunity to deride their 'dire Tory economic inheritance'. Ministers lined up to aver it was 'catastrophic', even a 'deliberate cover-up'. Chancellor Rachel Reeves told the House of Commons she'd discovered a £22billion black hole in the public accounts that had previously escaped her attention Reeves resorted to ridiculous hyperbole, claiming Labour had inherited the 'worst set of [economic] ci

There are no words. Thoughts and prayers are with the children and adults who were killed or injured in the senseless knife attack on a children's dance class in Southport yesterday and with their families.

"You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common; they don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit their views." ( Tom Baker, as the Fourth Doctor, in Doctor Who, "The face of Evil.")

(Central to Labour's election campaign was)  "a promise to get Britain's economy growing faster than any other G7 country's. Muddying the picture somewhat, however, is the fact that" ... "this milestone may already have been passed - under the Tories. Britain has resoundingly bounced back from its brief recession in late 2023, and at a speedier pace than most forecasters expected. The economy grew by around 1.1% 1.1% (a 2.3% annualised rate) over the first half of 2024. That compares with 0.8% or so for America and Canada over the same period, and 0.3% to 0.5% for France, Germany and Italy. Throw in Ja[an's lacklustre numbers and Britain is likely to have outpaced the rest of the G7 over the final months of Rishi Sunak's Premiership." "The economy seems to be doing fine for now. The stronger  showing complicates Labour's narrative that its' inheritance has been uniquely dire." "Labour needs the economy to grow faster if liv

 

GOP Senator  Mitt Romney's  statement on President Biden dropping out of the race:  “I’m a classic Republican and he’s a classic Democrat; obviously, President Biden and I usually didn’t see eye-to-eye. I opposed many of his initiatives. But we did find common ground on infrastructure, Ukraine, the Electoral Count Act, adding religious liberty protections to the marriage bill, gun safety measures, and chip manufacturing. Others will judge his presidency. However, having worked with him these past few years, I respect President Biden. His decision to withdraw from the race was right and is in the best interest of the country. Ann and I send warm personal wishes to the President and First Lady.”

  "We are running out of time." Alain Catzeflis, title of a powerful piece on "The Article" website which you can read in full by following this link: Ukraine: we are running out of time | TheArticle

The Conservatives have just taken a hell of a beating. People will not be interested in what we have to say for a while.  But this government needs an opposition. And like it or not, that's us.  Every government runs into trouble. It might happen sooner than many people think. At that stage it will be important again whether the Conservatives can provide a constructive and positive alternative.  That will have to include being a broad church - addressing some of the issues which caused some of our voters to despair of us and go to Reform while also addressing the problems which caused other people who have voted Conservative in the past to vote Lib/Dem or Labour. We will not win again without winning back voters on both the right and in the centre. That will require competence, integrity, and common sense. It will not be achieved by lower-common denominator politics. And above all, we need to remember these wise words from "The great communicator" a man who was often wron

As I passed the Trinity Centre in central Leeds this afternoon, I saw a demonstration of people protesting against Russia's barbaric and illegal attacks on Ukrainian civilians. They were suggesting that Russia's repeated attacks on hospitals, most recently on a children's cancer hospital in Kiev this week, are a war crime. They are right. Putin and his crew of murderers calling themselves a government belong in the dock of the international criminal court at the Hague. I am pleased to see strong support for Ukraine being agreed at the 75th anniversary NATO summit.  

I've seen a lot of versions of this quote, attributed to various different people. After the Conservatives had the worst result in our history last week, they are all relevant. We must not kid ourselves that the electorate were wrong: we must learn from what they told us. We must not imagine that there is a simple answer to the challenges facing the Conservatives any more than there are simple answers to the challenges facing the country. (If there were, we would have found them.) The country needs an opposition. At the moment, that's us. We have to provide it. We've been knocked down,  but the worst thing we could do is stay down.

  "Learn from what actually happened last week, not what you are told happened by those with an axe to grind. As an example, look at the polling evidence which shows that only 36% of Reform voters say they would have voted Conservative if Reform had not stood. Simplistic solutions which involve adding the Reform vote to the Tory vote and saying “Look, there is a rightwing majority here” are delusional." "Reject any attempt to narrow the party’s appeal so that it only aims at “real Conservatives”. At a personal level I resent this attempt to say that moderate one nation Conservatives like me are lesser Conservatives than say, David Frost, who promulgates this idea frequently. I have fought nine general elections in the Conservative cause so I think I have earned my party membership card. More importantly, saying to millions of potential Conservative voters that they are not Conservative enough is weapons-grade idiocy in a first past the post electoral system. If the Conse

 

"Democracy is never wrong" from the concession speech by Penny Mordaunt in the early hours of yesterday morning.

 

 

  Andrew Neil's Election Day Monologue on @TimesRadio yesterday "In praise of British democracy.  It’s election day in the United Kingdom, a seminal event we too often take for granted. We also do it in a very British way.  There will be no armed guards at the polling stations. No intimidating mobs. Just paper and pencil, trusted tellers and friendly canvassers.  If the British people decide it’s time to change governments, that will happen quickly and without fuss. The military will not be mobilised. Barbed wire will not be arranged around public buildings. Defeated candidates will not be fleeing the country. Riot police will not be assembling on side streets.  But a removal van — something we’ve all had to use at some stage in our lives — will turn up sometime Friday morning to help the incumbent move out. Another will bring the belongings of the new prime minister and family.  A few words from the winner outside 10 Downing Street, a round of applause as he goes through the

A big thank you to everyone who voted for me in Leeds North East. The Conservatives must think about what the voters said to us and learn from it. I congratulate the Labour government on their election & wish them well for Britain.  But the country needs an opposition to hold them accountable.

The polls are now closed and the counts are beginning around the country. I am about to head to the count in Leeds North East. The voters have spoken - now we will find out what they have said.

The polls are now closed and the counts are beginning around the country. I am about to head to the count in Leeds North East. The voters have spoken - now we will find out what they have said.

The polling stations have now opened in the UK general election. They will remain open until 10pm this evening (Thursday 4th July.) YOU WILL NEED PHOTO ID TO VOTE. Acceptable forms of ID include a driving licence, passport or a number of other options as listed on the link here: Accepted forms of photo ID | Electoral Commission This is an important election and in many constituencies the result could be very close. Whether or not you agree with anything that I write on this blog, your  vote matters. People have fought and died for the right to vote. And however imperfect our democracy may be - and I accept that it is not perfect - every country which holds meaningful elections is a better place for it. There is not a single country in the world which holds meaningful elections where I would not rather live than in any country which does not. So if you are a UK citizen with the right to vote, and have not already voted by post, (as I have,) I strongly urge you to go out and vote today.

 It is now 12 hours until the polls open in the UK general election. Polling stations open at 7am tomorrow (Thursday 4th July) and close at 10pm. YOU WILL NEED SOME FORM OF PHOTO ID TO VOTE. Acceptable forms of ID include a driving licence, passport or a number of other options as listed on the link here: Accepted forms of photo ID | Electoral Commission This is an important election and in many constituencies the result could be very close. Whether or not you agree with anything that I write on this blog, your  vote matters. People have fought and died for the right to vote. And however imperfect our democracy may be - and I accept that it is not perfect - every country which holds meaningful elections is a better place for it. There is not a single country in the world which holds meaningful elections where I would not rather live than in any country which does not. So if you are a UK citizen with the right to vote, and have not already voted by post, (as I have,) I strongly urge you

I support this pledge.