‘Played Like A Fiddle’: Ministers Slammed As Union Announces More Strikes Despite Pay deal

Posted on 16/08/2024 by Boris Clair

Ministers have been criticised after a rail union announced a further wave of strikes just a day after agreeing a pay deal with the government.

Aslef, which represents train drivers, said the latest industrial action, which will see walkouts hitting LNER services on 22 days up until November, is in relation to a two-year dispute over their members’ working conditions.

It is unrelated to the 15% wage increase over the next three years which the union negotiated with transport secretary Louise Haigh.

Nevertheless, the timing of Aslef’s announcement is embarrassing for the government, which has pledged to end the strikes which have hit the railway network in recent years.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “This is extremely disappointing for passengers. The transport secretary has called on both Aslef and LNER to get around the table and work in good faith to resolve this dispute and as quickly as possible.”

Shadow Commons leader Chris Philp told Times Radio: “Clearly the Labour’s trade union paymasters have played them like a fiddle.

“The first rule of negotiation is if you make an offer, in this case a pay offer, you make sure that everything that needs to be settled and agreed is agreed at the same time. You don’t leave things undone, as this Labour government has clearly done.”

Tory leadership contender James Cleverly said: “The Labour government has been played by its union paymasters. This latest wave of strikes will be devastating for families who rely on train travel to see their loved ones.”

The Labour government has been played by its union paymasters.

This latest wave of strikes will be devastating for families who rely on train travel to see their loved ones. https://t.co/F3ytkHAR1V

— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) August 16, 2024

Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: “The continued failure of the company to resolve longstanding industrial relations issues has forced us into this position.

“We would much rather not be here. But the company has brutally, and repeatedly, broken diagramming and roster agreements, failed to adhere to the agreed bargaining machinery, and totally acted in bad faith.”

In a statement, LNER said: “Our priority focus will be on minimising disruption to customers during the forthcoming Aslef strikes, which sadly will continue to cause disruption and delays.

“We are surprised and disappointed to hear this news following recent constructive conversations. We will continue to work with Aslef to find a way to end this long running dispute which only damages the rail industry.”

Nigel No Mates: How The Tory Leadership Hopefuls Are Running A Mile From Farage

Posted on 16/08/2024 by Boris Clair

It was all so different less than a year ago.

At the Conservative party conference in Manchester last year, Nigel Farage was in attendance, albeit in his capacity as a GB News presenter.

Nevertheless, he looked very much at home as he danced with Priti Patel at a late-night party, the pair of them bellowing out Frank Sinatra’s ‘I Love You, Baby’.

Ten months later, however, the mood has changed. Since then, Farage has made his political comeback as leader of Reform UK, and even managed to become an MP at the eighth attempt.

He heads up a five-strong Reform contingent on the opposition benches, alongside the 121 Tories who survived Labour’s landslide general election victory.

There is a school of thought in some right-wing Tory circles that the party needs to reach an accommodation with Farage – who has spoken of mounting a “takeover” of the Conservatives – in order to take on Keir Starmer.

But this week it became clear that whoever succeeds Rishi Sunak, that will not happen.

Even Farage’s former dance partner Patel, who is never confused for a Tory wet, has made it clear that the former Ukip boss is persona non grata.

An ally said in June: “Priti has dedicated over 20 years to the Conservative Party. No one with such a record would welcome someone to the party who has repeatedly stood against Conservatives.”

James Cleverly – described to HuffPost UK by a source in a rival camp as “underpriced” in the leadership stakes – also made it clear to the Daily T podcast that he saw no place in his party for Farage.

“The difference between Boris [Johnson], for example, and Nigel is Boris has never said that he holds an ambition to destroy the Conservative Party,” the former home secretary said.

“I think that is a very significant difference to my open offer to Conservatives who might want to come back into frontline Conservative politics and someone who’s basically said that he wants to destroy my party.”

Robert Jenrick, seen as Kemi Badenoch’s main challenger to be the standard bearer for the Tory right in the contest, has also ruled out allowing Farage into the party, despite previously saying he was “not opposed” to such a move.

Polling by Savanta and seen by HuffPost UK shows why, for now at least, the leadership hopefuls are right to distance themselves from the Reform UK leader.

Farage’s net favourability rating with the public is a derisory minus 19 – lower than every Tory candidate bar Patel, who languishes on minus 30.

Among Tory voters his rating is zero, while among Lib Dems – millions of whom the Conservatives need to win back in 2029 – it is minus 52.

Chris Hopkins, Savanta’s political research director, said: “Conservative leadership candidates must first endear themselves to the current Conservative voter base which, while considerably smaller in number now than they would’ve expected two years ago, isn’t all that enamoured with Nigel Farage, according to our research.

“Courting Farage, therefore, is counterintuitive for Conservative leadership candidates at the moment, and risks letting a fox into the henhouse for no obvious gain.

“But I also think there has also been a wider acceptance that winning back Reform UK voters is neither particularly easy, nor enough. Even if everyone who voted Reform in 2024 and Conservative in 2019 hadn’t switched, the Conservatives still would’ve got a pasting at the election.

“Any new leader needs to expand the Conservative coalition to include former Lib Dem and Labour voters, and younger voters as well. The best way to do that will be by appearing competent and not in it for themselves – no mean feat from the opposition benches.”

One Tory aide said: “Farage has made it his business to ‘destroy’ the Tory party at every opportunity. Why on earth would you want someone who hates you to join the party in the hope it would succeed?

“You wouldn’t let vegans run the BBQ and hog roast, would you?”

A source on one campaign team told HuffPost UK: “The way to beat Farage is to eat his lunch. We need to come up with a firm, realistic offer to the country on how we will bring down immigration.

“That will push him further to the extremes, which is where he makes mistakes.”

A Reform UK spokesman, however, was sanguine at the Tory opposition to their leader.

He said: “It’s like six lepers telling a healthy man that he cannot join their colony. Why on earth would he want to?”

Trump Hit With Harsh Dose Of Reality After Blatantly Trying To Rewrite History

Posted on 15/08/2024 by Boris Clair

Donald Trump offered alternative facts about the end of his tenure on Wednesday, prompting critics to pile on with some actual truths.

The former president spoke in Asheville, North Carolina, in what was supposed to be an economic address but ended up including many of his usual tangents and attacks on enemies.

At one point, he spoke at length about the “surging economy” he claims he handed over to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, asserting that “we had some of the greatest periods of economic growth and health that any country has ever seen, I think, probably more than any country has ever seen.”

“You never had it so good. Now you’re not doing so well,” he said.

In January 2021, when Trump left office, the U.S. was experiencing its deadliest month of the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 95,000 lives lost over the course of the month.

Just six days into 2021, a violent mob of Trump’s supporters had laid siege to the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election that he lost.

The unemployment rate was 6.3%, as the nation struggled to recover from the massive job losses of March and April 2020, when Trump was still downplaying COVID-19, casting doubt on government medical advice and suggesting the virus would just “go away.” (The unemployment rate was 4.3% last month).

Journalist Aaron Rupar shared a clip of Trump’s quote. Critics who can remember what life was like at the time shared some memories in return.

Ukraine Reportedly Used British Tanks During Its Surprise Incursion Into Russia

Posted on 15/08/2024 by Boris Clair

Ukraine used British Tanks during its surprise incursion into Russia, it has been reported.

Military sources told Sky News that Challenger 2 tanks took part in the daring advance, which left Vladimir Putin stunned.

Kyiv’s troops launched a cross-border attack on the southwestern Kursk region, 330 miles from Moscow.

The Russian president described it as a “major provocation” and accused Ukraine of the “indiscriminate shelling of civilian” targets.

The Ukrainian operation came two-and-a-half years after Russia invaded its neighbour, sparking the ongoing conflict.

Britain is among a number of western countries supplying Ukraine with military hardware to defend itself.

The Ministry of Defence said it could not comment on “operational” matters, but confirmed there had been no change of policy since the government said Kyiv was free to use UK weapons on Russian soil.

The Ukraine army’s 82nd Air Assault Brigade, which has been using British tanks, took part in the incursion, which was launched last week.

Ukraine now claims to control 386 square miles (1,000 square km) of the Kursk region, according to Associated Press news agency.

Reports from Moscow say more than 8,000 Russians have been evacuated, and more than 6,000 put into temporary accommodation centres.

Earlier this week, Vladimir Putin said Ukraine was waging war against Russia “with the help of its western masters”.

“The enemy will continue to try to destabilise the situation in the border zone, in order to shake up the internal political situation in our country,” the president said, according to Reuters.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenkyy said: “It is only fair to destroy Russian terrorists where they are, where they launch their strikes from. Russian military airfields, Russian logistics.

“We see how useful this can be for bringing peace closer. Russia must be forced into peace if Putin wants to continue waging war so badly.

“Russia brought war to others, and now it is coming home.”

Russia Slapped Down At UN Meeting As Ukrainian Allies Remind Moscow It Is Not A ‘Victim’

Posted on 14/08/2024 by Boris Clair

Russia did not get the sympathy it was hoping for at an informal UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday.

Ukraine has managed to humiliate Moscow over the last nine days by breaching Russia’s southern borders, reaching into the Kursk region and taking 100 Russian troops as prisoners of war.

Kyiv says it is already occupying 1,000 sq km (386 sq miles) – that’s the same amount of Ukrainian land Russia has seized so far this year.

Despite often boasting of its military prowess and Vladimir Putin’s promise to “kick the enemy out”, Moscow is struggling to remove the Ukrainian forces.

And it’s certainly not getting any help from the West judging from what happened at the informal the UN Security Council.

Ukraine’s allies, the US, France and the UK, did not waver in their support for Kyiv during the mini stand-off, and instead chose not mention the Kursk attack at all.

Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said: “We haven’t heard a word of condemnation of these actions from the Western sponsors of the Kyiv regime who continue to cover up the abhorrent crimes of their puppet.”

He claimed Ukrainians have been killing Russian civilians and questioned what Kyiv wants with the attack, adding: “I would be grateful for the explanation how intentionally targeting civilians serves the goal of disrupting attacks on Ukrainian territory, given the fact that there were no military objects or infrastructure in the area.”

Several members instead accused Russia of hypocrisy, double standards and wasting the council’s time, listing all the ways Moscow has been accused of breaking humanitarian law in Ukraine.

According to Reuters news agency, senior Slovenian diplomat Klemen Ponikvar said: “We will not recognise the aggressor as the victim.”

Military vehicles drive near the Russian-Ukrainian border in Sumy region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024.

UK diplomat Kate Jones said: “We will never falter in our support for Ukraine for as long as it takes to secure just and sustainable peace based on the principles of the UN Charter and international law.”

And US diplomat Caleb Pine joined in, saying: “There is no question as to which country has committed numerous well-documented atrocities, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, on Ukraine’s sovereign territory. That country is Russia.”

The amount of land Kyiv is occupying is nothing compared to the 18% (109,000 sq km or 42,000 sq miles) of its Ukrainian territory Russia is currently claiming as its own, more than two years after its invasion of its European neighbour.

However, diplomats from Syria, Belarus and North Korea spoke out for Russia at the meeting.

Moscow has called Ukraine’s surprising offensive a “major provocation” and claims the country is just trying to strengthen its hand in any upcoming peace negotiations.

The whole operation has been shrouded in secrecy.

Kyiv has not revealed the exact purpose of this offensive, although it has said it has no plans to annex the Russian land, like Moscow has done with Ukrainian land.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy remained elusive on Monday, just saying: “Russia must be forced into peace if Putin wants to continue waging war so badly.”

Ukraine’s allies have repeatedly claimed they had no prior warning of the offensive – the West is also eager to avoid the Ukraine-Russia war pulling NATO into direct conflict.

Kyiv only confirmed that it had indeed breached Russia’s borders on Saturday, days after it first broke through.

And, according to Reuters, both Ukraine and Russia have barred journalists from the battlefield, meaning any claims made by either side cannot be independently verified.

Tory Leadership Hopeful Tom Tugendhat Slams Elon Musk And Nigel Farage

Posted on 13/08/2024 by Boris Clair

A Conservative leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat has hit out at Elon Musk and Nigel Farage in his first major speech since announcing his bid to lead the Tories.

Musk, who owns the social media platform X, has criticised PM Keir Starmer repeatedly over his response to the far-right riots in recent weeks, and even claimed “civil war is inevitable” in the UK.

Tugendhat, a former security minister, responded to those remarks on Tuesday afternoon, saying: “Frankly I found those comments delusional and simply false.

“The question as to how we operate on social media is a difficult one.”

He added: “I refuse to be on TikTok because the algorithm is set by a foreign dictatorship. Others make different choices.”

He did not say politicians should quit X though, after a handful of Labour MPs left.

Tugendhat also ruled out making a deal with populist party Reform UK if he became Tory leader, and said he would not allow the party’s leader Farage into the Conservatives.

He claimed that Farage has been “deeply irresponsible and dangerous” over the riots in trying to amplify “false information”.

The Reform leader had suggested the police were withholding information from the public over the Southport stabbings.

Tugendhat slammed Farage for criticising the breakdown of law and order, “but not the riots themselves”.

Tugendhat also discussed the conspiracy theory that there is “two-tier” policing in the UK, which claims the authorities treat some protesters more kindly than others.

Musk has even called the PM “Two tier Kier” over this claim, which Starmer – and the police – have vehemently denied.

Tugendhat, now the shadow security minister, said he did not believe there was a two-tier approach, but claimed there is sometimes “inconsistency”.

He said: “A two-tier approach suggests there is an active choice to treat communities differently. I don’t believe that that is the case.”

He claimed “inconsistency” leads to “lack of predictability”.

He added: “As security minister, I constantly had to encourage the police to make arrests on the day as crimes were being committed rather than waiting until after the protest had finished.”

Tugendhat will be competing alongside James Cleverly, Priti Patel, Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch and Mel Stride to lead the Tory Party.

Most Brits Do Not Care Who The Next Tory Leader Is, Brutal New Poll Finds

Posted on 13/08/2024 by Boris Clair

Most Brits do not actually care who the next Conservative leader is, according to a new poll.

In yet another humiliating twist for the Tories – just a month after their worst ever electoral defeat, Ipsos UK has found 62% of Brits surveyed were not interested in following who would replace Rishi Sunak.

To make matters worse, that includes 36% of Conservative voters.

The pollsters found none of the candidates are very well known among the British public, despite all of them holding ministerial roles at some point.

Just 45% of the 1,091 adults surveyed said they know a great deal or a fair amount about former home secretary Priti Patel, followed by 26% for shadow home secretary James Cleverly, and 24% for shadow housing secretary Kemi Badenoch.

The polling, which took place between August 2 and 5, also found 34% of the public said they do not favour any of the current candidates.

There was a narrow preference for Cleverly among those surveyed, with 18% suggesting he would do a good job, followed by Patel (17%) and shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat (17%).

Badenoch is slightly behind on 14%, putting her on par with former migration minister Robert Jenrick.

Meanwhile, 9% thought shadow pensions secretary Mel Stride would do a good job leading the opposition – which, unfortunately, is the same percentage of respondents who backed a candidate called “Stuart Lewis”, a fake politician added to the poll by Ipsos.

But, it’s not all doom and gloom for Stride.

While a whopping 44% of respondents said they thought Patel would do a bad job, (and 22% thought the same of Badenoch, 20% of Cleverly, 15% of Jenrick, 11% of Tugendhat), just 9% said thought Stride would also perform poorly.

Trinh Tu, UK managing director, public affairs, said: “This new poll suggests high level of public apathy about the Conservative leadership race.”

She added that Patel seems to be most divisive figure at the moment, but for the most part, “Britons are unfamiliar with the main candidates and say they do not care very much about who will emerge at the winner”.

Meanwhile, 65% said a backing from ex-PM Liz Truss would give that candidate the worst chance of winning.

Far fewer (46%) said Reform leader and MP Nigel Farage would have a negative effect on a candidate’s hopes of victory, and 44% said the same for ex-PM Boris Johnson.

Only former PM and Rishi Sunak’s foreign secretary David Cameron was seen as the one who could have a positive impact overall – 31% said it would worsen a candidate’s chances with an endorsement, compared to 32% who said it would improve.

Russia – And Possibly Farage – May Be Looked At By Security Services In Riots Probe, Ex-MI6 Head Says

Posted on 12/08/2024 by Boris Clair

The former head of MI6 claimed the intelligence services will be investigating Russia, Tommy Robinson and possibly even Nigel Farage in their probe into how the far-right riots started.

The UK was hit by a wave of far-right extremism and violence earlier this month, triggered by social media disinformation around the suspect in the Southport stabbings, where three young girls were killed.

Various accounts falsely claimed the person behind the horrific incident was an asylum seeker and on the MI6 watchlist – allegations which then acted as a catalyst for the anti-immigration riots.

Former MI6 spy, Christopher Steele, previously put together a dossier on Donald Trump’s relations with Russia.

He worked for MI6 between 1987 and 2009, and believes intelligence services will now be looking at who evoked the riots.

He told Times Radio on Sunday he believes Russia was involved, while also noting that English Defence League (EDL) founder Robinson, and Reform Party leader, MP Farage, could also be under the spotlight.

Steele said: “I think the Security Service will be looking very carefully at the instigators of these activities, including people like Tommy Robinson, even conceivably Nigel Farage, who incidentally said that we were being misinformed by the government about Southport.”

Farage falsely claimed the police were not telling the whole truth around the tragedies in Southport shortly after the stabbings first happened, and suggested the suspect was already known to the security services.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has been encouraging the riots online while on holiday in Cyprus.

Steele continued: “The Security Services require warrants, obviously, to do some of that.

“But I think essentially, looking at communications, looking at travel, looking at financial transfers is the heart of this problem.

“And if we’re going to get to the bottom of it, certainly the government should be doing those things in terms of the instigators. Now, whether Nigel Farage in the end is defined as an instigator of this, I don’t know.”

He added: “They’ll be looking at things like their travel movements, who they’ve been in touch with, monetary transfers, and so on, because that will reveal or not, as the case may be a pattern of behaviour, which can lead to some conclusions about the degree to which Russia has been interfering in this situation.”

Steele explained that he thinks think it’s “clear” there is some Russian involvement, but added: “The degree to which that’s happened and the effectiveness I think is still out for question.

“I mean, when you look at the original disinformation that surrounded the Southport killings, that does seem to have come from a Russian linked website.

“It’s in very much Russia’s interest to destabilise countries like Britain and the United States.”

James Cleverly Accuses Nigel Farage Of Spreading ‘Gossip And Rumour’ After Southport Killings

Posted on 11/08/2024 by Boris Clair

James Cleverly has accused Nigel Farage of spreading “gossip and rumour” following the killing of three young girls in Southport.

The Reform UK leader posted a video shortly after the murders suggesting “the truth is being withheld from us” by the police.

He also repeated false claims that the alleged killer was being watched by the security services.

A vigil for the victims, who were all under 10 years old, later descended into violence, sparking far-right riots throughout the country.

Farage has since admitted that he was repeating false claims made on social media by, among others, Andrew Tate.

He has defended his actions by insisting he was only trying to find out “the truth”.

On Times Radio this morning, Cleverly, who is running to be Tory leader, said Farage “needs to decide is he a politician or is a social media content creator”.

He said: “I think some of the things that he has framed as questions are clearly designed to generate traffic, generate digital content, and he needs to decide is he a politician or is a social media content creator because there is a friction between those two functions.

“As politicians, we have a duty to think very very carefully about what we do and very very carefully about what we say. What we must do is not intentionally reinforce gossip and rumour, particularly if it has serious real world implications.

“The question that he will need to ask himself and perhaps others as well is do you believe parliament is an important institution where serious decisions are made and the country is governed or is it just part of a PR operation for clicks and likes and monetised content.

“That is the question I would pose to anybody and everybody when commenting about very sensitive issues like the brutal murder of those little girls in Southport.”

Another Tory leadership candidate, Mel Stride, has also attacked Farage’s response to the Southport killings.

He told Sky News: “His suggestion that the police might not have been telling the truth about that situation, I think helped fuel conspiracy theories around what was happening [and] was deeply unhelpful.”

Ruth Davidson Has Backed James Cleverly To Be The Next Conservative Leader

Posted on 11/08/2024 by Boris Clair

Ruth Davidson has endorsed James Cleverly’s campaign to be the next Conservative leader.

The former Scottish Tory boss said the shadow home secretary had the “pragmatism, optimism and confidence” needed to succeed Rishi Sunak.

Her comments are a major boost for Cleverly, who is one of six candidates vying to become the next Tory leader in the wake of the party’s shattering general election defeat.

Writing in the Sunday Times, Davidson said his experience as a former foreign secretary, home secretary and Tory chairman made him the ideal person for the job.

She said: “We need to pick a leader who can demonstrate and communicate the unity, pragmatism, optimism and confidence we must have to start winning again… for me the standout choice to take us forward is James Cleverly.

“A military man who understands duty and service. A business man who knows how to run organisations. A big hitter, holding two of the great offices of state at the Home Office and Foreign Office. A pragmatist who can unite all sections of the party.”

Davidson said Cleverly had “both rallied world leaders to Ukraine’s cause as foreign secretary and rallied local constituency activists during his time as party chairman”.

She added: ” He knows that we must look outward to rebuild, not turn in on ourselves.

“As leader, he will keep the Conservative Party a broad church, knowing that’s where success lies. And his appeal has breadth, too, enabling us to win back voters that we lost to Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Reform.”

The other candidates for Tory leader are Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat, Robert Jenrick, Priti Patel and Mel Stride.

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