Category Archives: POLITICS

Is That It? Kemi Badenoch Accused Of ‘Deckchair Shuffling’ After Frontbench Shake-Up

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Kemi Badenoch has been mocked over a Tory reshuffle that left nearly all of her senior frontbenchers in the same jobs.

The shake-up was prompted by the resignation of shadow health secretary Edward Argar for health reasons.

While former foreign secretary and Tory leadership contender James Cleverly made a comeback as shadow housing secretary, the rest of the reshuffle was seriously underwhelming.

It was also a major U-turn after her spokesman insisted in January that there would be no reshuffle before the next election.

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick – who Badenoch beat to become leader last November – is staying in the same job, as are shadow home secretary Chris Philp, shadow chancellor Mel Stride and shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel.

Kevin Hollinrake becomes the new Tory chairman – as revealed by HuffPost UK this morning – while Stuart Andrew replaces Argar in the health role.

Nigel Huddleston replaces Andrew as shadow culture secretary, while Richard Holden becomes shadow transport secretary and Julia Lopez has been appointed shadow science secretary.

Badenoch said: “The Conservative Party’s mission of renewal continues, and these changes demonstrate exactly that.

“This new frontbench team reflects the rich experience within the party – from the tenacious campaigners fighting for Britain, to the experienced MPs who will keep holding this disastrous Labour government to account.

“Unlike Labour and Reform, the Conservative Party is unashamedly on the side of Britain’s makers: the people that work hard, do the right thing and want to get on in life.”

But Labour chair Ellie Reeves said: “No amount of deckchair shuffling can hide that the architects of 14 years of Tory failure still sit around Kemi Badenoch’s top table.

“The Conservatives haven’t changed and they haven’t once apologised for the mess they left behind. Only Labour is focussed on delivering a fairer Britain.”

The Lib Dems also picked up on the Titanic theme, pointing out that Cleverly had called on Tory MPs not to oust Liz Truss as prime minister.

Sarah Olney, the party’s Cabinet Office spokesperson, said: “Kemi Badenoch has appointed the very man who said that replacing Liz Truss as prime minister would be a terrible idea. It’s like appointing an iceberg apologist to a role steering the Titanic.

“The public won’t forgive this group of failed former Conservative ministers for the damage they did to our economy and NHS.”

But a former Tory cabinet member welcomed the reshuffle, telling HuffPost UK: “I think it’s positive and keeps us moving forward.”

Another former minister said: “There are some welcome moves which will hopefully bring some renewed energy to the frontbench.”

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How Does Farage Want To Protect The UK From ‘Collapse’? By Sending Prisoners To El Salvador, Of Course

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Nigel Farage has a brand new plan to help save Britain from “societal collapse”, apparently.

In a press conference, the Reform UK leader declared his party would cut crime in half amid a rise of alleged “lawlessness” in Britain.

As his party continues to lead in the polls, here’s the £17.4bn vision he set out for how Reform would manage criminals if it were to win the next general election – including the rather bizarre figures who inspire him…

Utilising other countries – like El Salvador

Farage suggested sending British prisoners overseas to countries like El Salvador in Central America to complete their sentences.

This is one of the arguments Reform has presented as part of the argument in favour of leaving the European Convention on Human Rights.

Farage told the media today: “We can send some of our worst violent criminals overseas to serve their terms.

“If that means that [child murderer] Ian Huntley goes to El Salvador…our attitude is so be it.”

When reminded that the detainees in El Salvador have questionable human rights – they are isolated, do not have access to significant legal recourse and held in concerning conditions – Farage quickly backtracked, calling it an “an extreme example.”

Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin then jumped in: “If they [offenders] lose some human rights about family visiting or whatever else it might be, Sky News in the cell. then it’s a good thing, because it’s about time we got tougher with these people.”

But veteran broadcaster Andrew Neil still slammed the idea on Times Radio, saying: “I don’t like his idea of sending prisoners to El Salvador, to some godforsaken hellhole, we’re a civilised nation we shouldn’t be doing that.”

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\"I don’t like his idea of sending prisoners to El Salvador, to some godforsaken hellhole.”

Nigel Farage’s proposal to send prisoners to El Salvador is inhumane for a “civilised nation” like Britain, says @AFNeil. pic.twitter.com/gbC3Zn0nqb

— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) July 21, 2025

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“I don’t like his idea of sending prisoners to El Salvador, to some godforsaken hellhole.”

Nigel Farage’s proposal to send prisoners to El Salvador is inhumane for a “civilised nation” like Britain, says @AFNeil. pic.twitter.com/gbC3Zn0nqb

— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) July 21, 2025

Nightingale prisons

According to Farage, pop-up prisons inspired by the Nightingale hospitals set up during the Covid pandemic would help ease the capacity crisis in Britain’s justice system.

He said 12,400 offenders who have committed low-level crimes could be put up in these new constructions at the cost of £5bn over a five-year parliament.

But Farage overlooked how many of the Nightingale Covid centres never had a patient – as the Guardian reported in 2020 – and that two-thirds of those beds were allegedly unfit for use.

Reform would also unveil 100 pop-up custody centres for crime hot spots, and reopen 50 “mothballed premises” for use as courts.

Borrowing from Rudy Giuliani

Farage admitted his party’s attitude would be inspired by Rudy Giuliani’s crackdown on crime during his time as New York mayor three decades ago.

In his famous “broken windows” theory, Giuliani famously focused on lower level crime in an effort to deter larger criminal operations.

The Reform UK leader said they were “borrowing from the Giuliani playbook unashamedly”.

“What Rudy Giuliani did to New York in the 1990s was nothing short of a blooming miracle,” he said.

Giuliani, formerly a lawyer for Donald Trump, was disbarred in New York earlier this year when he was found to be in contempt of court for falsely accusing officials in Georgia of committing election fraud in 2020.

Inspired by Miliei

Although this plan would cost £17.4bn over a five-year parliament, Farage said:“It’s not really a question of ‘can we afford to do this?’ It’s a question of ‘can we afford not to do this?’ That’s just how grim and serious the situation is.”

“Of course you’re going to say where is the money going to come from,” he noted, before suggesting the funds would come from abolishing the HS2 project, Net Zero and diversity, equality and inclusion programmes.

He then pointed to Javier Milei, Argentina’s libertarian president.

He said Milei was accused of being a “madman” but “look what’s happening”.

Farage continued: “He has cut the size of the public sector by about 15%, 20% in some cases. Argentina is beginning to see the beginnings of an economic miracle.”

Miliei has undoubtedly improved the country’s struggling economy – its high inflation has cooled and its currency controls have fallen – but public sector salaries have also declined in response, and protests have become a weekly occurrence.

Yes, that Milei....
Yes, that Milei….

via Associated Press

Wait, what ‘societal collapse’?

Of course, all of Farage’s proposals are based on several assumptions.

Firstly, that the country is on the cusp of “nothing short of societal collapse” due to its high crime rate.

Secondly, he set out the premise for his plan by saying: “The crime survey for England and Wales is based on completely false data. If you look at police recorded crime… there are some significant rises in crimes of all kinds, particularly crimes against the person.”

There was a 14% increase in crime last year on the year before – but prior to that, there have been significant successive falls over the last three decades.

Thirdly, the MP for Clacton also claimed “tourists are increasingly reluctant to come to London”.

Actually, out of all the city destinations in the world, London had the second highest rate of international arrivals in 2023 with 18.8 arrivals, according to the UN World Tourism Organisation.

Is this all just ‘headline-chasing’?

Naturally, Farage’s political opponents were quick to tear into the announcement.

Labour Party chair Ellie Reeves said: “Nigel Farage repeatedly tried to block tough measures to make our streets safer.

“Reform is more interested in headline-chasing than serious policy-making in the interests of the British people.”

Chris Philp the Tories’ shadow home secretary, said: “Nigel Farage is writing his own crime fiction.

“Their own document admits it is unfunded – which means they are not being honest about the price you will pay for their policies just like Labour.

“This is the same Nigel Farage who calls immigration enforcement ‘divisive’, wants an amnesty for illegal immigrants who’ve ‘integrated’, and says mass deportation is a ‘political impossibility’. You cannot trust a word he says.”

And former chief inspector of prisons, Nick Hardwick, told Times Radio: “Where I think what he’s saying just doesn’t add up is that first of all, what he’s proposing will cost far, far more than he’s suggesting and secondly, I don’t actually think it will address the real concerns that people have got about crime.”

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