Tag: Conservative Party

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
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
Beastly Boris

Boris Johnson’s timing of divorce announcement simply confirms that all he cares about is power; he is however the Michael Heseltine of our generation

In 2014, Boris Johnson claimed that “the public don’t care about his extra-marital affairs.” Well, plainly though that may or may not have been case, this devious chameleon-like politician’s wife, Marina Wheeler, felt differently and is divorcing him.

Johnson’s announcement is plainly timed to further his eventual attempt to unseat Theresa May. An individual with loyalty to no one but himself, this “selfish bastard” (as his own daughter allegedly branded him) is however likely to go down in history as yet another case of “he who wields the knife shall never wear the crown.”

Boris Johnson, we predict, will just be remembered as the Michael Heseletine of our generation – but without the principles of that Big Beast. He won’t be able to put a DSMA-Notice on that.

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September 7, 2018
Borwick is Back

Former Kensington MP Lady Borwick returns to the fray and is branded a #FearlessPillarOfTheCommunity in spite of her bizarre comments linking the Grenfell Tower tragedy and gangs

“Triple dipper” – branded as such because at one time she was paid nearly £100,000 of public money per year as a councillor, Member of Parliament and member of the London Assembly concurrently – Lady Borwick has now bizarrely branded #FearlessPillarOfTheCommunity on Instagram.

No doubt part of an attempt to resurrect her deservedly dented public profile, this former MP for Kensington – once one of the safest Tory seats in the land and a place where previously even a pig in a blue rosette would have easily won – Lady Borwick most recently was criticised for describing survivors of the Grenfell Tower as “rather like gangs.”

In addition, ‘Call Me Victoria’ – whose son The Hon. Thomas Borwick sold an app to the now disgraced election manipulators Cambridge Analytica and was also Vote Leave’s chief technology officer also – it must be remembered went further. She pompously claimed that a “lack of education” among the residents “compounded confusion over circumstances surrounding the fire” and was even condemned as “completely wrong” by her fellow Conservative and council leader, Elizabeth Campbell.

Lady Borwick is, given the evidence, out of touch with the modern electoral landscape and if the Conservative Party are to have any chance of electoral success in Kensington again, they should jolly well send her off back to a safe space where she can happily “tinkle on [her beloved] ivories” in peace.

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August 30, 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
Terrorising Theresa

This morning’s incident at Westminster should act as a reminder that Theresa May’s cuts to policing are utterly wrong and should be reversed

Whatever occurred this morning in Westminster provides proof of one thing for certain and that is that the Metropolitan Police acted quickly and with the upmost efficiency.

Whether a terrorist attack or something less sinister, that the 20-something year old driver of a Ford Fiesta whose vehicle smashed into cyclists and a security barrier thankfully caused no deaths is to be celebrated.

What, however, ought to be remembered is that policing in the capital is now incredibly under-resourced thanks to Theresa May’s decisions in her previous role as Home Secretary. In 2010, there were 149 police stations in London; by 2020 there will shamefully be just 32.

Matthew Steeples, editor-in-chief of The Steeple Times, comments:

“In my own dealings with the police – with regard to individuals using social media to abuse myself and others amongst other things – I’ve encountered many officers. Off the record, all have shared their frustrations at cuts to office numbers and places where the public can report crime.”

“With an increased threat to public safety, Mrs May must now reverse her terrible decision. This country was lucky this morning but they may not be next time. We need more bobbies on the beat and we need them now.”

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August 14, 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
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
Calamity Corbyn

Matthew Steeples slates Jeremy Corbyn’s failure to secure a 20 point lead in the polls

This publication is regularly criticised for being “anti-conservative.” It most certainly isn’t and that we are blocked on Twitter by both Diane Abbott and George Galloway is definitely evidence of what the true “far left” think of our ramblings.

Recent polls by YouGov suggest the Conservatives and Labour “level pegging on 42 per cent” but also that Mrs May leads 35 per cent to 29 per cent over Jeremy Corbyn on “who’d make best Prime Minister.” Interestingly, however, 36% opted to choose “don’t know” and that could hint that whoever changes their leader first might be in for a better chance of electoral success.

Corbyn’s failure is further indicated in news that Labour membership is falling at a rate of around 4,000 per week. That is pretty appalling for his party but that that he is not 20 points ahead at a time when the worst Prime Minister in history is truly making a dogs dinner of Brexit is proof that it is time for him to simply throw in the towel.

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February 6, 2018
No Faith in Theresa

Theresa May has a perfect right to go to church but why can’t she worship privately?

Week after week, every Sunday, Theresa May appears outside her local church. She is photographed with her garden gnome-like husband and often even a dog.

That Britain’s most incompetent leader ever chooses to believe in the Anglican faith is entirely her right, but that she rams this down the nation’s throat every Sunday is frankly grating. It is time that Mrs May realised that this country, in fact, is now a multi-faith society and it is time that she learnt to respect that.

Elsewhere, talk of a coup to oust the out-of-control Mrs May is gaining momentum. This is hardly surprising given this vicar’s daughter’s true uselessness, but that such talk united contributors to the Daily Mail and The Guardian over the weekend is telling. It’s time the Conservative Party got its act into gear and it’s time to #MakeFebruaryTheEndOfMay.

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February 5, 2018