Tag: Brexit

Brexit Blues

Iain Duncan Smith, Peter Bone, Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg captured looking exasperated; an exact reflection on their beloved Brexit

Summing up the mood of the nation in relation to the blessed mess that is Brexit, this photograph features the most unlikely foursome.

Looking worn out and exasperated and pictured with a ridiculously inane banner reading: “From Project Fear to Project Prosperity,” the picture includes (right to left) politicians Iain Duncan Smith, Peter Bone, Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Jonathan Freedland, in The Guardian, suggests the image has an atmosphere of “shared pain” and “angst.” We’d go further: It simply shows four of the most stupid and out-of-touch men in history.

#ExitBrexit

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September 13, 2018
An Almighty Allsopp

Is the fuss over Kirstie Allsopp smashing up her children’s iPads justified? Or was it actually a very clever publicity stunt on her part?

On Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine show on Monday, one of the panel, The Hon. Kirstie Allsopp, shared that she’d smashed up her children’s iPads because they weren’t using them responsibly. Outrage invariably ensued.

During the programe, the “strong-minded” daughter of ex-Sotheby’s chairman Lord Hindlip and Location, Location, Location presenter stated:

“This is the first time I’ve said this publicly. In June I smashed my kids’ iPads, not in a violent way. I actually banged them on the table leg.”

“There is a game called Fortnite and another PUBG and I decided… We had made all sorts of rules and all sorts of times when we said you can’t play them and all those rules got broken and in the end I said: ‘Right that is it, I have to physically (break them).’”

In the ensuing hours, Allsopp was both lauded as a sensible parent and slated as reckless and ridiculous on social media and in reply, Tweeted:

“If you found your kids with a packet of cigarettes would you say: ‘I wouldn’t destroy these because they are worth a tenner but please don’t smoke?’ No of course you wouldn’t.”

Before subsequently deciding to delete her Twitter account due to the level of abuse she had been subjected to, she added:

“The second hand value of the iPads is about £70 each, if I feel a lesson was learned about following through then it was worth far, far, far more our family than £140. This is about the value of trust, and the value of people over things.”

Of the debacle, on ITV1’s Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, author Anna May Mangan leapt to Allsopp’s defence:

“I’ve heard her being called ‘Kirstie Allstropp’ on Twitter today. I’d have probably unplugged the router but she certainly didn’t deserve this public hanging. Is there such a thing as a perfect parent?”

Joining the thousands who’ve condemned Allsopp, another guest replied:

“It’s just a waste and sets a really bad example of how to look after possessions. Wilful smashing up an iPad is wasteful.”

Whilst the Independent’s Anthony Cuthbertson bizarrely over-analysed the story by suggesting it “shows a darker side of gaming,” on Twitter, the pugnacious Brexiteer and all-round loudmouth Nadine Dorries MP decided to weigh in also. She remarked:

“Gameboys that [sic] spoilt a family holiday for us once. Wish I’d thought of doing this. I’d have chucked them in the pool.”

Just like the reaction when the foul mouthed yet highly amusing aristocrat Francis ‘F***ing’ Fulford’s wife threw her television in a lake because her children wouldn’t “turn the f***ing thing” off” back in 2004 on the reality show The F***ing Fulfords, ‘Allstropp-gate’ is nothing but a storm in a teacup. It is one, however, that has done one thing: It has generated Ms Allsopp more column inches and thus yet more money making opportunities. To her, that’s most certainly worth smashing a couple of no doubt worn out old iPads for.

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September 12, 2018
The Gamble of Greig

Will ‘more toff than tough’ Geordie Greig take the ‘Daily Mail’ into the realm of rational? Matthew Steeples suggests that’s as likely as Jacob Rees-Mogg donning a Kappa tracksuit and dancing a jig with Diane Abbott

Yesterday, in an opinion piece for The Guardian, Jane Martinson claimed new editor of the Daily Mail Geordie Greig “finds himself walking on a tightrope” as he juggles keeping Brexiteers, remainers, anti-immigrant readers and his pugnacious proprietor happy.

In her overall observation, Martinson is entirely right. Greig’s arrival marks a major change at the paper in that he comes not from the world of political journalism of his “poisoner in chief” predecessor Paul Dacre, but instead is an Old Etonian who has edited “aristocrat’s favourite” Tatler magazine and written about the life of the louche father of fourteen and “unapologetically self-absorbed” portrait painter Lucian Freud.

Described by The Observer in 2005 as “Britain’s most connected man” and married to a Texan, Greig, in many ways, harks back to the era of David Cameron and George Osborne’s politics. He, like them, lives in Notting Hill, is a “friend” of the “socialite” Oxford-LSE graduate wife of (the Mail’s owner) Viscount Rothermere, Claudia Clemence, and is even credited with persuading the former chancellor’s new boss, Evgeny Lebedev, to buy the Evening Standard in 2009. In this regard, I’d argue, this 57 year old is very much a key component of the establishment elite that is what I like to mockingly term: ‘The Club.’

Greig comes from what can limply be termed “a nicer school of journalism” and despite his grandfather having briefly flirted with the far right when he joined the January Club, “an establishment ginger group for the British Union of Fascists,” he is himself seen to be cultural and no enemy of the postmodern era. This former fashion writer collects works by the pro-Margaret Thatcher, pro-Prince Charles collaborative artists Gilbert & George and supposedly has already “[ripped] out Dacre’s [old fashioned] panelling and chintz office and [brought] in his own [‘Notting Hill Set’ style] soft furnishings.” No doubt, the chattering classes will titter and suggest they come from OKA – the furniture emporium founded by Viscountess Astor (the mother of Samantha Cameron) that was sold to Investindustrial, the owners of Aston Martin, in January this year – but in doing so they have a point: Greig is most definitely more toff than tough.

Whether “mild-mannered… by nature liberal, fiscally conservative” Greig will be able to replace Paul Dacre’s “I give my readers a daily hate” racist, homophobic, philistine, “enemies of the people” agenda at the Mail with something more liberal and tolerant remains to be seen. It does, however, seem as likely as Jacob Rees-Mogg donning a Kappa tracksuit and dancing a jig with Diane Abbott.

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September 10, 2018
Win a Knightsbridge Flat (with a Shady Past)

Competition to win a Knightsbridge flat for £10 per ticket neglects to mention its former occupier, a convicted ‘gay sex plot’ royal blackmailer who died in 2016

Increasingly, with sellers unable to offload prime properties due to Theresa May’s inability to secure any kind of Brexit deal and the ongoing effects of former Chancellor George Osborne’s increases to stamp duty, those with luxury flats and houses are turning to raffling them.

An example of such comes in in the form of a ground and first floor maisonette on the corner of Walton Street and Beauchamp Place in London’s Knightsbridge. Extending to 1,063 square foot and including a large reception room, 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, the aforementioned fully furnished property is ambitiously being touted as being worth £3.2 million in spite of having sold for just £1.4 million in 2007 and £575,000 in 2000.

The ground floor sitting room of the flat; the property has been marketed for rental at a price of £2,750 per week in times past

Bisexual ‘royal blackmailer’ Ian Strachan lived in the flat for a period following his release from jail

Now marketed in a competition by a company named Your Laddr – run by a former Alexander McQueen merchandiser named Santa Agolli – for £10 a ticket, Flat 1 at 132 Walton Street, SW3 is being promoted without mention of one of its most recent occupants, a controversial and now deceased ‘royal blackmailer’ who’d sought £50,000 for a set of recordings from various national newspapers in 2007.

Tried under the name of Paul Aðalsteinsson (other aliases included Paul Adalsteinsson, Paul Stein and Charles Goldstein), Grimsby trawlerman’s son turned “playboy” Ian Strachan lived at 132 Walton Street after being released following serving a sentence of five years for a gay sex blackmail plot against an unnamed, married member of the royal family. He subsequently had his left leg amputated following a 30-foot fall from a balcony in Imperial Wharf, SW6 in 2013 and then spent 10 months in jail in Dubai in 2015 after crashing an Audi R8. He died aged just 40 of a drug overdose in South Kensington on Christmas Eve 2016.

The winner of Flat 132, Walton Street will have their stamp duty, legal fees and council tax for one year paid as part of the prize. In addition, they will be ‘given’ a 2017 Jeep Wrangler Black Hawk with 800 miles on the clock, a cash amount of upto £4,000 to cover insurance for one year and a cash payment to cover a Kensington and Chelsea parking permit for one year also. Hopefully they’ll have better luck than the tragic Mr Strachan; may he rest in peace.

To enter the competition, click here.

Flat 1, 132 Walton Street, Knightsbridge London, SW3 1RE – The Numbers

August 2018 – Prize draw remains open indicating that ticket sales must be rather slow.

December 2017 – Offered in a raffle for £10 per ticket with a minimum of 380,000 tickets needed to be sold. This would equate to a return of £3.8 million ($4.9 million, €4.2 million or درهم17.9 million) in ticket sales.

November 2007 – Sold for £1.436 million ($1.845 million, €1.581 million or درهم6.776 million).

October 2000 – Sold for £575,000 ($739,000, €633,000 or درهم2.713 million).

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August 29, 2018
Brexiteer Tim Martin’s Dog’s Dinner

Whackjob Wetherspoons owner Tim Martin has followed up on banning foreign booze including Moët & Chandon and now banned dogs from his entire chain of pubs

Pro-Brexit publican Tim Martin has landed himself quite literally in dogshit.

According to a report in Friday’s Mirror, Martin’s pub chain, Wetherspoon, will ban dogs from both the inside and outside areas of his 880 pubs from Monday 10^th September 2018. The reason? “The group’s hard-working staff had grown tired of picking up poop.”

Back in June, this king of ‘making a dog’s dinner of it’ scored another own goal when he banned European alcohol such as Moët & Chandon champagne from his premises also. At the time, this multi-millionaire commented: “The EU’s customs union is a protectionist system which is widely misunderstood. The products we are now introducing are at lower prices than the EU products they are replacing.”

In April, plainly showing how much he likes to ban things, Martin ordered his staff to delete all the firm’s social media profiles. Whatever next? Will he ban his very own customers?

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August 24, 2018
F*** Off Farage

Nigel Farage’s return to “frontline politics” is going to bring nothing but division and diversion suggests Matthew Steeples

Nigel Farage just can’t help himself: A failed candidate seven times in British Parliament elections and leader of UKIP twice, this bombastic brute is now “returning to frontline politics” in order to “challenge Theresa May’s ‘fraudulent’ Brexit plan.”

A man of contradictions, Farage – who is anti-Prince Charles, pro-Vladimir Putin and in favour of the legalisation of handguns in the UK – wrote of his intentions in this morning’s Daily Telegraph in an article titled: “The time has come to teach the political class a lesson: I’m back fighting for a real Brexit.” In the opinion piece, he remarked:

“Over the last few months, and particularly since the Chequers betrayal, scores of people have stopped me in the street to ask: ‘When are you coming back?’ Well now you have your answer: I’m back.”

“Theresa the Appeaser has produced a set of ideas that are nothing more than a cowardly sell-out. With all this in mind, now is the time for action.”

“It is now beyond doubt that the political class in Westminster and many of their media allies do not accept the EU referendum result. It is equally clear to me that, unless challenged, these anti-democrats will succeed in frustrating the result.”

“Well, I’ve had enough of their lies, deceit and treachery. The time has come to teach them a lesson – one that they will never forget.”

In response to this predictable publicity stunt, James McGrory, of the pro-remain People’s Vote campaign group, told The Guardian:

“Nigel Farage has had more comebacks than Frank Sinatra, just without the success. If he was serious about making a return to frontline politics, he would stand to be an MP. I can only hope that Nigel Farage sticks to the promise he made live on TV to have a people’s vote on the final Brexit deal.”

In reality, all this move shows is that Farage is nothing but self-motivated. In the past I’ve termed him a “man of the elite” but now I’ll go further: Nigel Farage is nothing but a self-serving meddler and yet again – mark my words – the insane nightmare he desires serving up to the British public will fall flat on its face.

#ExitBrexit

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August 18, 2018
Analysing Borwick

The Cambridge Analytica connection you’ve most likely never heard of; meet The Hon. Thomas Borwick, son of ex-Tory MP Lady ‘Call Me Victoria’ Borwick

The Hon. Thomas Borwick is a figure in the Cambridge Analytica scandal you’ve probably never heard of.

Bizarrely largely overlooked by the mainstream media, the son of the ousted ex-MP for Kensington Lady ‘Call Me Victoria’ Borwick is an extremely well connected man who keeps himself under the radar on social media. The 31-year old has just 500 followers on Twitter – a surprisingly low number given he has been described as a “computer specialist” – and was put in a position of huge power as Vote Leave’s chief technology officer from August 2015 to July 2016.

Educated at the University of Richmond, Virginia from 2006 to 2010, with a period studying law courses at Cambridge briefly during 2008, Borwick subsequently worked in IT for the financial services company Killik & Co in 2012 and simultaneously “developed music technology for interactive lessons.”

More interestingly, this youngster’s move into political data profiling came also in 2012 when he founded a company named Kanto Systems with an aim of “bring[ing] UK Campaigning into the 21st century.” Here, Borwick developed a “mobile canvassing app” and came into contact with Cambridge Analytica in order to provide them with “digital services,” according to The Huffington Post. In turn, he sold an app to Cambridge Analytica’s parent company, SCL, and now, in March this year, his firm was brought in by Ireland’s Save The 8^th anti-abortion campaign group as part of their efforts “to persuade Irish voters to keep the country’s strict anti-abortion laws.”

“Hiring Thomas Borwick to create and manage a website is like employing the SAS to run security at a school hop or bringing in Einstein to tot up your shopping bill,” comments journalist Fintan O’Toole in The Irish Times, and in further revelations in the Evening Standard late March, Borwick himself admitted to also having worked with the equally controversial Canadian data firm Aggregate IQ – an operation that earned £3.5 million working for Vote Leave during the 2016 referendum campaign.

The public and press need to wake up and smell the coffee. The manipulation of politics in America, Britain, Ireland and elsewhere runs far deeper than even the most avid viewer of the Daily Politics could imagine. Figures like Thomas Borwick may well operate in the backrooms but it is increasingly becoming apparent that with doorstep canvassing all but irrelevant, such people are worryingly our new political powerhouses.

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April 17, 2018
Brexit and the Beeb

“Cherry picking” Theresa May ridiculously boasts that people living in the EU will still be able to watch the BBC post-Brexit; she’d do better to stick to galumphing through wheat fields

Perched on a rickety old chair, Theresa May appeared on this morning’s The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One.

Sporting a surprisingly snazzy blue jacket, the hectoring vicar’s daughter announced: “We’re doing a very simple thing… We’re very clear that we do want to be able to continue to trade… But we’re coming out of the Single Market” before bizarrely adding: “Let’s face it, there are lots of people in member states of the EU who like to switch on the BBC, so let’s let them.”

If only the world were that simple: Mrs May would do best to steer clear of matters she doesn’t understand and she’d do even better if she simply stuck to wandering in wheat fields.

#BetterTogether #ExitBrexit

#BringHerDown #MakeMarchTheEndOfMay

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March 4, 2018
Toynbee Turns

Left-wing firebrand Polly Toynbee does an about turn and brands government in Britain today worse than under her arch-enemy Thatcher in the 1980s

Polly Toynbee was always amongst the loudest voices of the left in Britain. She has been known to rant and rave in support of atheism, the SDP and unilateral nuclear disarmament but on Saturday, this great-great niece of philanthropist and economic historian Arnold Toynbee surprisingly branded the government of Theresa May to be worse than that of Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.

In a wide-ranging interview about working at The Guardian, when asked: “How does this political moment compare with others you have lived and worked through?” Umbrian villa owning Toynbee answered:

“There has never been an austerity like this in my life-time. If Thatcher’s 1980’s cuts seemed savage, I would never have guessed a future Tory party would go so much further than she dared, in shrinking the state, crushing local government, squeezing the NHS as never before, leaving schools bereft. As for the shock Brexit vote, it has split the country in half in ways it may take decades to repair, if ever, as it sends Britain into a downward spiral. These are the darkest days I have known – plenty to write about, but very hard to think of optimistic themes.”

#GodHelpUsAll

Pictured above: Multi-millionairess Polly Toynbee in a Ferrari F430.

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February 26, 2018
Picture of the Week – A Frosty Cabinet

Image of Theresa May’s ‘Brexit war cabinet’ illustrates how divided her government truly is

Thursday’s ‘Brexit war cabinet’ was supposedly a bit of a bloodbath but now – in a picture published in the Mail Online late on Saturday –the frostiness between those in her pathetic orbit was made truly clear.

Photographed in the Great Hall of the Buckinghamshire mansion Chequeurs with the Worst Prime Minister in History sat bolt upright next to a roaring fire, May arranged Brexiteers and Remainers as far apart as possible. Indicative of the clear divide amongst those plotting as to her succession, never has a clearer image of a government deservedly about to fall been shown.

#BringHerDown #MakeFebruaryTheEndOfMay

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A numbered list of attendees at Theresa May’s meeting at Chequers follows:

1) Theresa May, Prime Minister

2) David Davis, Brexit Secretary

3) Boris Johnson, Foreign Secretary

4) Julian Smith, Chief Whip

5) Philip Hammond, Chancellor

6) Greg Clark, Business Secretary

7) Liam Fox, International Trade Secretary

8) Gavin Williamson, Defence Secretary

9) David Lidington, Cabinet Office Minister

10) Amber Rudd, Home Secretary

11) Karen Bradley, Northern Ireland Secretary

12) Michael Gove, Environment Secretary

13) Peter Hill, Principal Private Secretary to the PM

14) Oliver Robbins, No 10 Brexit Adviser

15) Jeremy Heywood, Cabinet Secretary

16) Jo Penn, No 10 Deputy Chief of Staff

17) Gavin Barwell, No 10 Chief of Staff

18) James Slack, PM’s Official spokesman

February 25, 2018