The Steeple Times

Tag: Sadiq Khan

  • No Room To Swing A Cat – £250k For Overpriced 109 Square Foot Knightsbridge Flat

    No Room To Swing A Cat – £250k For Overpriced 109 Square Foot Knightsbridge Flat

    Tiny, overpriced studio ‘flatlet’ lacking room to even swing a cat in somewhat ‘shady’ building opposite Harrods in Knightsbridge unsurprisingly remains on sale for the not so tiny sum of £250,000 after 3 years on the market reports Matthew Steeples

    • Prison cell-like 109 square foot ‘flatlet’ in Brompton Road, Knightsbridge for sale for staggering £250,000; national minimum allowable size for a flat since 2011 is 398 square foot.
    • Brompton Road is one of London’s most polluted roads; the Brompton Oratory, one of the highway’s main landmarks, was used as a ‘dead letter drop box’ by Soviet spies during the Cold War.
    • Nearby now defunct Brompton Road London Underground station became the control centre for the 26th(London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade during the Second World War.
    • Ritzy department store Harrods, directly opposite, stands on a 5 acre site and was sold to the Qatar Investment Authority for £1.5 billion by alleged abuser of 200 women Mohamed Al-Fayed in 2010.

    Listed initially at £275,000 in December 2022 but now slashed to a still stupendous £250,000 after failing to get flogged, Grow Portfolio estate agents are hawking a minute and clearly overpriced 109 square foot studio flat in Brompton Road, Knightsbridge as a “fantastic base” and “excellent opportunity”. If the ask price were to be achieved, the vendor would earn themselves a very punchy return of £2,294 per square foot; the median average price for this part of London, SW3 has been a significantly lower £1,610 per square foot during 2025.

     

    Offered on a lease of approximately 169 years and having a service charge of “approximately’ £1,000 per annum to include the assistance of a 24-hour concierge, a buyer will garner themselves a single room measuring 6 feet by 11’9” feet with a small adjoining shower room also. The 70 square foot room itself has tiled flooring, a window, a cupboard housing a microwave and cooking hob and a minute fold-down table also. There’s frankly nowt much else to say about it further than in November, the Evening Standard lauded its décor for being a “clinical white” achromatic scheme.

     

    A floor plan shows the very limited scope of the accommodation offered. Tax dodging tennis legend Boris Becker produced a son after a ‘bonk’ in a broom cupboard at the Metropolitan Hotel; given his size now, he might struggle with such activity in this space today.
    A floor plan shows the very limited scope of the accommodation offered. Tax dodging tennis legend Boris Becker produced a son after a ‘bonk’ in a broom cupboard at the Metropolitan Hotel; given his size now, he might struggle with such activity in this space today.
    It’s rare that a property can be entirely shown with just a single photo; in this case, it most definitely can.
    It’s rare that a property can be entirely shown with just a single photo; in this case, it most definitely can.
    In this watercolour by Cyril Farey (1888 – 1954), which Manning Fine Art describe as “capturing Princes Court at its prime”, the golden era of a building is shown. The art dealers observe: “[This] is not merely an architectural drawing it is expressing a lifestyle that only an apartment in Princes Court can provide. As such the fashionable and modern apartment block is surrounded by a Mediterranean blue sky and Hyde Park peaks out from the sides as an Eden of lush green. The smart street is punctuated by smart, friendly, yellow awnings whilst classic, stylish cars and iconic London buses pass by.” The same cannot sadly be said of the setting today given this part of Brompton Road has become better known for housing hookers, Rolex robberies and chronic pollution.
    In this watercolour by Cyril Farey (1888 – 1954), which Manning Fine Art describe as “capturing Princes Court at its prime”, the golden era of a building is shown. The art dealers observe: “[This] is not merely an architectural drawing it is expressing a lifestyle that only an apartment in Princes Court can provide. As such the fashionable and modern apartment block is surrounded by a Mediterranean blue sky and Hyde Park peaks out from the sides as an Eden of lush green. The smart street is punctuated by smart, friendly, yellow awnings whilst classic, stylish cars and iconic London buses pass by.” The same cannot sadly be said of the setting today given this part of Brompton Road has become better known for housing hookers, Rolex robberies and chronic pollution.

    Designed to “resemble an ocean liner” by architect George Valentine Myer (1883 – 1959) between 1934 and 1935, the building in which the studio flat is to be found, Princes Court at 88 Brompton Road, SW3 1ES, was originally named Knight’s Court. This large steel-framed block of 94 flats with 9 retail premises on the ground and first floors directly opposite Harrods began life as “a popular and exclusive place to live”, but in recent years has become more commonly used for Airbnbs and by ‘ladies (and gents) of a certain profession of the night’.

     

    Of the apartment complex, a past resident complained to The Steeple Times: “I did not live there long as I could not even open the windows in the summer due to the pollution and traffic noise from supercars revving in the summer on the Brompton Road. The ‘bedroom banging activity’ from my clearly-a-hooker neighbour did not help me sleep at night either.”

     

    No-longer-so-ritzy Princes Court previously hit the headlines in 2012 when an 84 square foot studio flat went on sale for £89,950, in 2021 when a 128 square foot offering sold for £325,000 and in 2022 when an 88 square foot studio – in spite of lacking even a lavatory and without any kind kitchen – was auctioned with a guide price of £175,000. A two bedroomed flat extending to 877 square feet on the ninth floor of the building is currently being touted by Harrods Estates at a guide price of £1.3 million.

     

    Given the spoof website supporting the homeless charity Shelter that is the National Institute of Feline Orbital Studies (NIFOS) calculates that 78.54 square foot is required to swing an ‘average’ cat and that it would cost £158,180 to “buy enough space to swing a cat in SW3”, the 109 square foot flat offered by Grow Portfolio has not only not enough room to swing a cat, but would not even adhere to the government’s technical housing standards if it were a new build property. The minimum today required to meet regulations is 398 square foot, meaning that this poxy pad falls 72% short of that sum; these regulations do not apply to buildings constructed prior to 2011.

     

    Fair warning to whoever purchases this ‘flatlet’ suitable only for someone seriously slim: In February 1988, an actual broom cupboard measuring 5’6” feet by 11 feet “with not even a cooker” in Princes Court sold for £36,500 (the equivalent of £102,500 today) during what Pete May termed an “obscene property boom” in his 2012 book Rent Boy. The self-professed “punk-turned-journalist who spent 20 years falling off the property ladder’ added: “Even I wouldn’t live in that. Yet it was recommended as a purchase for ‘those who like eating out’.”

     

    Within months of the cupboard sale, the economy tanked and studio flats, given their limited appeal, were the very first properties to see their values plummet. In 2025, with Rachel Reeves ‘Queen of Thieves’ having her grubby mitts on the nation’s tiller, this is probably not the time to be shelling out £250,000 for what the “honest estate agent” and Brothel in Pimlico author Roy Brooks would have likely marketed as a ‘broom cupboard in a brothel building in Knightsbridge’. At this time, perhaps, ‘buyer best beware’ would better be borrowed.

     

    Curious facts about Brompton Road

    Landmarks of Brompton Road Knightsbridge
    • The area of ‘Brompton’ dates to the 15th century and originates from the name ‘Brokendon’ – meaning “a place near a brook”.
    • The road itself starts at Knightsbridge Underground station and ends at the crossroad intersection known as ‘Brompton Cross’ where Fulham Road begins. It is thought to have ‘officially’ first been designated as ‘Brompton Road’ in 1863 on land originally owned by the Moreaus, a wealthy French Huguenot family.
    • Brompton Road is one of London’s most polluted highways due to heavy traffic, especially from diesel vehicles. In 2013, the London Assembly claimed pedestrians were being “showered in dangerous airborne particles” on this road identified as having NO2 levels massively exceeding World Health Organization guidelines.
    • Between 1906 and 1934, passengers on the Piccadilly London Underground line were able to alight at Brompton Road tube station. It was closed due to being surprisingly little used, but served as the command centre of the 26th (London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade during the Second World War. During this period, the tunnels, subways and lift-shafts were adapted to provide bomb-proof accommodation and in 2014, the site was sold to Dmytro Firtash, a billionaire Ukrainian businessman for £53 million. His plans to convert the 28,000 square foot site into residential accommodation have still not come to fruition.
    • The best-known retail landmark on Brompton Road is Harrods department store. It stands on a site that covers an astounding 5 acres in total and includes 1.1 million square feet of retailing space.
    • Famous customers of the store, which first opened in its present form in 1894, have included Agatha Christie, Beatrix Potter, Oscar Wilde and Asma al-Assad, the wife of the former President of Syria. She used an alias to shop there in order to get around European Union sanctions that froze the assets of her and her husband.
    • In 1898, Harrods debuted Britain’s first ‘moving staircase’ (or what we now term an ‘escalator’). At the top, “nervous” customers were offered brandy to revive them from the “ordeal” of their ride, The Drapers’ Record reported at the time.
    • Harrods was bombed by the IRA in 1983 and 1993. The first attack killed 6 people and the second injured 4.
    • The store was bought by the now late alleged serial sex offender Mohamed Al-Fayed in 1985. The ‘Phony Pharaoh’, as the Egyptian was nicknamed, is said to have abused at least 200 women on the premises during his ownership. He sold the business to the Qatar Investment Authority for an astounding £1.5 billion in 2010 and died in 2023 without ever having been brought to justice.
    • In 2022, Apple opened a store on the road in what was once the Brompton Arcade. It is staffed by over 200 employees, or as the tech giant prefers to call them – team members.
    • Another major landmark, and a building like Harrods complete with a dome, is the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This Catholic parish church is better known as the Brompton Oratory and also referenced as the London Oratory.
    • Consecrated in 1884, the church was where ‘Master of Suspense’ Sir Alfred Hitchcock married Alma Reville in 1933 and it is said to have inspired Nick Cave to write the song Brompton Oratory in 1997.
    • During the Cold War, this ornately decorated church was used as a ‘dead letter drop’ (or ‘DLD’ to those in the know) by Soviet agents in Britain. Spies would visit the church and place documents and microfilm behind one of the pillars for later collection by their compatriots; the location suited given the building’s proximity to the Russian embassy and as Harrods was a suitable rabbit warren for losing a tail if they thought they were being followed.
    • Standing behind the Brompton Oratory and accessed from Brompton Road is Holy Trinity Church, Brompton. ‘HTB Brompton’, as it is now generally referenced, stands on a site of 3.5 acres and is now one of the primary sites for the teaching of the Alpha course programme that focuses on “the evangelization of the nations, the revitalization of the church and the transformation of society.’

     

    Further photographs of the £250,000 Princes Court flatlet

    The kitchen facilities would not exactly excite Gordon Ramsay.
    The kitchen facilities would not exactly excite Gordon Ramsay.
    The shower room is modern and clean; there’s not much further to say further than that.
    The shower room is modern and clean; there’s not much further to say further than that.
    Both the shower room and ‘studio’ room have windows; a ‘Brucie bonus’ for sure.
    Both the shower room and ‘studio’ room have windows; a ‘Brucie bonus’ for sure.
    A view of the ‘studio’ towards the door; most prison cells are bigger than the space offered here.
    A view of the ‘studio’ towards the door; most prison cells are bigger than the space offered here.
    If you bought the studio offered and needed to host a visitor, you could do so in the lobby of Princes Court. It’s got seating and space aplenty in comparison to the ‘flatlet’ itself.
    If you bought the studio offered and needed to host a visitor, you could do so in the lobby of Princes Court. It’s got seating and space aplenty in comparison to the ‘flatlet’ itself.
    Princes Court (here partly shrouded in scaffolding) is literally opposite Harrods, undoubtedly one of the most famous department stores in the world.
    Princes Court (here partly shrouded in scaffolding) is literally opposite Harrods, undoubtedly one of the most famous department stores in the world.
    The rear of Princes Court with Harrods department store behind and the store’s former depository, now apartments also, to the right.
    The rear of Princes Court with Harrods department store behind and the store’s former depository, now apartments also, to the right.
  • Ban The E-Scooter in Britain

    Ban The E-Scooter in Britain

    Video of e-scooter turning into fireball illustrates why these dangerous death traps should be completely banned in Britain

    Shared by London cabbie feed @TaxiLeaks on Twitter with their 11,000 followers on Saturday, a video of an e-scooter’s battery smoking and then exploding provides proof yet again that these unregulated nuisance machines must not be allowed on Britain’s roads and pavements.

     

    In their 0:45-second video – accompanied by the caption: “This is the death trap device that Sadiq Khan, Heidi Alexander, Will Norman and TfL are promoting. This is what happens when the battery becomes faulty (apparently a common problem). I’m sure Heidi can explain being deputy Mayor for transport” – illustration was clearly provided of the dangers of these uninsured ‘mobile weapons.’

     

    Elsewhere on our pages previously, The Steeple Times have highlighted other examples of death and destruction caused by these still for the moment mostly illegally used devices. In July 2019, we reported on the case of Ambar Zohra, a foul-mouthed cretin who hit a pedestrian in London’s Walton Street on a pavement on her scooter, just days after another user was killed on such a device on a roundabout in Battersea.

     

    Whilst later, in July 2020, we commented on the government’s decision to trial rentable e-scooters after no doubt being bunged by operations such as the £1.6 billion valued American provider Bird, @TaxiLeaks’ video today again shows whilst it time the UK did to the contrary: It is time to make e-scooters illegal and to banish them from Britain.

     

    E-scooter accident
    Only last month, a man and woman suffered “serious injuries” after riding an e-scooter they were both on hit a VW Golf in Wolverhampton. At the time, the ‘Daily Mail’ remarked: “Evidence is mounting over their safety record, with critics suggesting they make it easier for criminals to whip people’s phones from their hands on the street and make a fast getaway. And in July 2019, TV presenter and YouTube influencer Emily Hartridge was killed while riding her e-scooter in Battersea, London. Hartridge, who was thrown from the scooter on a roundabout, is believed to be the first person to die in the UK in an accident involving an e-scooter. She was later ruled to have been riding too fast with an under-inflated tyre when she was tragically killed in a crash with a lorry. In the UK, two other people are now known to have died using them, while in the United States the number of e-scooter accidents that leave people needing hospital treatment has risen by more than 222 per cent in four years.”
    E-scooter accident
    Yesterday, in the ‘Daily Mail,’ Peter Hitchens wrote of his “near-miss with an idiot on an e-scooter.” He observed: “The point being that if e-scooters become legal, you can expect to see a lot of them careering along a pavement near you. There’s a strong chance that they will crash into you from behind, breaking one or more of your bones. This happened to a three-year-old child in Feltham a few weeks ago, and as far as I know the culprit has not been found. And, while that will itself still be against the law, nobody will do anything about it. For the same reason, they are the perfect tool for those drug couriers who are already swapping their pushbikes for them. Legal businesses such as fast-food delivery, which seem to employ some of the most ruthless people in the world, will also no doubt take advantage. We don’t actually need to find all this out. Cities all over Europe are licking their wounds after legalising e-scooters, especially Paris. Singapore last year more or less banned them after several injuries and fatal accidents, as well as fires in public housing blocks caused by faulty batteries… But Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, and the House of Commons Transport Select Committee both seem to have been beguiled by the e-scooter lobby, which appears to mesmerise its victims in much the way that a cobra is said to do.”
  • Word of the Week 2021 – Going to the Polls

    Word of the Week 2021 – Going to the Polls

    Susie Dent shares the fascinating origin of “going to the polls” just as Count Binface looks to get more votes than Laurence Fox in spite of the latter having a ludicrous £5 million campaign pot

    With voting underway across the country, “that woman in Dictionary Corner” Susie Dent this morning shared with her 753,000 followers on Twitter the origin of “going to the polls” this morning:

     

    Origin of the day: the ‘poll’ in ‘going to the polls’ originally meant ‘head’, referring to the counting of heads or votes. A ‘noddypoll’ was an incompetent fool, a ‘clod-poll’ a blockhead, and a ‘tadpoll’ (later ‘tadpole’) a ‘toad-head’.        

     

    Referencing what a lacklustre bag of bilge Londoners have been offered by the mainstream parties and echoing Nikolay Kalinin’s analysis of Labour’s national multifaceted mess for The Steeple Times yesterday, Inside Croydon declared of the campaign:

     

    “It has been a very long, and very tedious, London election campaign, but for some of the capital’s voters, perhaps bewildered by the multitude of different voting systems employed and vast number of candidates for Mayor or the London Assembly, there has been one bright spot: Count Binface.”

     

    “In elections that were postponed from 2020, among the various races-within-the-race for City Hall, there is a fascination among those who long ago tired of the lies of Tory Shaun Bailey or the deadly dull platitudes of Sadiq Khan (did you know: his father was a London bus driver?), the idea that a geezer with a bin on his head could attract more votes than the spittle-flecked campaign of Laurence Fox has lightened the mood these past couple of weeks.”

     

    “And what’s more, unlike so much of so many of the pointless political campaigns, Binface is actually doing some good, by raising thousands of pounds for homelessness charities.”

     

    Elsewhere on social media yesterday, Count Binface himself shared an amusing video based on Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody asking his followers to make him their first choice today. The Steeple Times’ editor Matthew Steeples duly obliged when he headed to St Columba’s Church of Scotland in Pont Street, SW1 this morning and casted a protest for Max Fosh as his second choice also.

     

    Going to the Polls – Count Binface morphed into Whitney Houston to share his final pitch to be the next Mayor of London “and/or the UK’s next Eurovision entry.” He urged: “Make me your first choice vote, and together we will crush the loopy candidates. (You know who I mean.)”
    Going to the Polls – Susie Dent, as ever, brought a bit of insight on polling day 2021.
    Going to the Polls – Boris Johnson was escorted to vote in Westminster by his latest baby mama Carrie Symonds at just before 8am this morning. Whether she had to help the ‘noddypoll’ PM mark his voting card or not is unknown.
    Word of the Week 2021 – Going to the Polls – Fox v Binface – Susie Dent shares the fascinating origin of “going to the polls” just as Count Binface looks to get more votes than Laurence Fox in spite of the latter having a ludicrous £5 million campaign pot.
    Going to the Polls – Many Twitter users mocked the ex-actor Fox and remarked of their desire for Count Binface to actually be his ex-wife Billie Piper in disguise.
    Word of the Week 2021 – Going to the Polls – Fox v Binface – Susie Dent shares the fascinating origin of “going to the polls” just as Count Binface looks to get more votes than Laurence Fox in spite of the latter having a ludicrous £5 million campaign pot.
    Going to the Polls – The parody Boris Johnson account went further and declared: “To be honest, I don’t care if we take Hartlepool, as long as Count Binface beats that streak of piss, Laurence Fox.” 1,200 clicked “love” in response. Author Emma Kennedy added: “When Count Binface gets more votes than Waitrose Tommy Robinson tomorrow, I look forward to the 3682 5k thinkpieces/profile articles in The Telegraph and Sunday Times telling us what a brave visionary Count Binface is. Also: BBCQT AHOY!” and got 1,600 “loves” also.
    Word of the Week 2021 – Going to the Polls – Fox v Binface – Susie Dent shares the fascinating origin of “going to the polls” just as Count Binface looks to get more votes than Laurence Fox in spite of the latter having a ludicrous £5 million campaign pot.
    Going to the Polls – John O’Connell announced: “Duty done. I voted. Now I can freely spend the rest of the day taking the piss out of Shaun Bailey and Laurence Fox, and cheering on Count Binface.”
  • Starmer’s Multifaceted Mess

    Starmer’s Multifaceted Mess

    Nikolay Kalinin suggests that in spite of their crusade against Tory sleaze, Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer is failing to make any inroads and finds himself in a multifaceted mess

    A week ago, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer attempted to present himself as the superhero British politics needs in order to rid the country of Tory sleaze. He proffered that his scrutiny at Prime Minister’s Questions and photo-ops at John Lewis illustrated that Labour will annihilate the Tories in tomorrow’s elections simply because the governing party are just ‘no good.’

     

    Yet, the truth for Sir Keir is actually far bleaker and a multifaceted mess, as ever since February the gap between the Conservatives and Labour in the polls has been increasing in the governing party’s favour and this has mostly been due to the UK government’s incredibly successful vaccination programme.

     

    Even after the ‘Wallpapergate’ scandal, it seems like nothing much has changed, as a YouGov poll has projected that on 6th May, Labour is most likely to lose 59 seats in ‘Red Wall’ local councils, whereas the Conservatives are set to gain 90. Furthermore, 38% of people in ‘Red Wall’ council areas have stated that Boris Johnson would “make the best Prime Minister,” compared to just 30% for Starmer.

     

    The by-election in the Hartlepool constituency meanwhile – which has been described as the first litmus test of Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour leadership – has also left many expecting Labour will lose their hold over the area. A poll conducted by Good Morning Britain concluded that 50% of the people interviewed in the area would vote for Conservative candidate Jill Mortimer, compared to the 33% that would vote for Labour candidate Paul Williams.

     

    In even worse news for Labour, another GMB poll concluded that most people in Hartlepool had favourable feelings towards Conservatives (46%), compared to Labour’s 31%. Furthermore, 45% of people expressed negative feelings towards Labour, compared to 31% who expressed negativity towards Conservatives. It seems therefore like Labour is on the path to losing the seat, which has been controlled by them since its establishment in 1974.

     

    Still, there has also been evidence in the last few days that suggests otherwise; a recent UK voting intention poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies has seen the Conservatives’ lead being slashed by 4%, whereas Labour has gained 4% in the polls, meaning that the gap between both is now a mere 2%.

     

    As expected, Labour London Mayor Sadiq Khan is expected to retain his position as he maintains a fairly stable lead in the polls, with predictions that he’ll get 61% in the first round whereas his hapless Conservative rival Shaun Bailey will achieve a mere 39%.

     

    There’s a dangerously high chance that the Conservatives will be able to use the vaccination success in order to win over the voters in councils and in Hartlepool, who will ignore the fact that their PM has used donated money for his own expenses and didn’t even disclose it.

     

    Why has Sir Keir Starmer, in general, failed to deliver a fatal blow to the Tories in the lead-up to the elections? It’s most likely due to lack of a uniting ideology, but more importantly due to the lack of opposition; because of the government’s role in fighting against COVID-19, it’s possible that the role of Labour as an opposition party has been substantially reduced, as they are actually unable to scrutinise the Tories like they would normally have had had there been no pandemic. In some way, Sir Keir seems to be lacking the appeal that Jeremy Corbyn had as Labour leader, which allowed the party to receive an influx of members after decades of falling membership.

     

    So far, the sleaze scandals have not hurt the Conservatives at all – as a matter of fact support for them has been increasing – and even more surprisingly the Labour Party that has been leading the campaign against sleaze is getting pummeled in the polls. It truly is concerning that a party that has such a large lack of connection with people is leading in the polls, because this should not happen in a country that is supposedly a representative democracy. We’ll just have to wait and see, but a very important first signal will emerge with the results tomorrow.

     

    Starmer’s Multifaceted Mess – Sir Keir Starmer certainly did not help himself when he found himself kicked out of a pub in Bristol in April. His minder’s bullyboy conduct reflected very badly upon him and the fact that his aides had not checked the venue out first shows a shocking lack of coordination on the Labour Party’s part.
    Starmer’s Multifaceted Mess 2021 – Labour fail to make inroads – Nikolay Kalinin suggests that in spite of their crusade against Tory sleaze, Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer is failing to make any inroads and finds himself in a multifaceted mess.
    Starmer’s Multifaceted Mess – Sir Keir Starmer believes: “Another future is possible,” but thus far he has failed to convince he is the man who could deliver such in post-coronavirus pandemic Britain.
  • Flushing Out Fosh – An Interview with wannabe Mayor of London Max Fosh

    Flushing Out Fosh – An Interview with wannabe Mayor of London Max Fosh

    Nikolay Kalinin asks YouTube star Max Fosh about why he decided to run as a candidate in the 2021 London mayoral elections

    Max Fosh is running a campaign to simply get more votes than ‘Detective Sergeant Ignoramus,’ the actor Laurence Fox, in next week’s London mayoral elections.

     

    However, outside of appearances on his YouTube channel, Fosh has not spoken much about his campaign and his rivalry with Fox, so I decided to get to know him better and asked him 10 questions on behalf of The Steeple Times:

     

    NK: Did you intend to run for London Mayor back in 2020 before the pandemic, or was it only after Laurence Fox announced his campaign that you decided to run?

     

    MF: I decided to run when I saw a BBC News article outlining all the potential candidates, and at the bottom it had the different things that one needs to do in order to become a nominee, which was to get 66 signatures from 33 different boroughs – 2 individual signatures per borough – and to raise a £10,000 deposit. That’s what caused me to run, and I decided my main target was Laurence when I realised: ‘Hey, Sadiq’s going to win this election,’ so I wanted to have my own candidate to run against. I saw Lozza – similar background [they both went to school at Harrow], no experience in politics, he’s got 5 million quid and I don’t – and I decided to see who wins.

     

    NK: Do you feel as if people your age and occupation are not taken seriously, especially by politicians?

     

    MF: I think people my age and occupation are taken seriously, especially when they are pulling in numbers that they are. I mean, Niko Omilana has 5% of the vote, and he’s polling high in the 18-25 year old demographic, so I think we are being taken seriously.

     

    NK: What was your reaction when you saw all these articles about you appearing on sites such as Daily Mail and Metro and, of course, in The Steeple Times?

     

    MF: My reaction was of course: ‘Ooh! How interesting!’ Look, I know my media is online, so any information or any article that’s written about me in the mainstream press is always… well, I wouldn’t say it’s a welcome bonus, but it’s there and as long as more people can read the story of Max Fosh and his mayoral run then that can only be a good thing.

     

    NK: In regards to Laurence Fox, what are you doing in order to get more votes than him besides making videos featuring you pranking him? It’s essential to note that you were tied with him in the ITV opinion poll revealed some time ago.

     

    MF: I wouldn’t say I’m pranking him at all. I’m just positioning myself as a candidate. I’m just trying to utilise my audience to go out and vote and I have to preface this – I said this in multiple videos: I don’t want people to vote for me just because it can be fun. I want people to look at all the candidates running and make a formal decision and vote for whom they think is the best Mayor of London.

     

    Would I be the best Mayor of London? Absolutely not. Would Laurence? Absolutely not. I’m just using my audience and the platform to encourage young people to vote.

     

    NK: Will Laurence Fox in your opinion ever reach his political ambitions of first becoming London Mayor and then MP? What will happen to his Reclaim Party?

     

    MF: I do not have the personal political expertise at all to be able to tell you whether he’ll reach his political ambitions. I mean, I’m not sure what his political ambitions really are; in this election, do I think he’s going to become Mayor of London? Absolutely not. In regards to the Reclaim Party, I really could not say, because it’s not my place to say. That’s more of a question for the party.

     

    NK: How are you planning to react if you fail to get more votes than Fox?

     

    MF: I would shake his hand, congratulate him and retire from politics.

     

    NK: If you were legitimately running for position of London Mayor, what policies would you write in your manifesto?

     

    MF: I am legitimately running for the position; I don’t think you could get any more legitimate than putting your name on the ballot paper. If you would like to see my manifesto, it’s all on laurencefox.org.

     

    NK: Would you ever consider creating your own political party?

     

    MF: No, not at all. I very much intend to retire after 6th May from politics altogether – whatever the result (obviously even if I win, which is an infinitesimal chance).

     

    NK: How do you feel about major media outlets such as BBC, ITV and LBC ignoring your campaigns and instead interviewing and organising debates only between candidates from big parties?

     

    MF: I totally agree with them. There are 20 candidates who are running, and four of them are considered the big players who are going to get most of the votes, so I think the big media outlets should be focused on them. It doesn’t mean they should be ignoring other campaigns, and they haven’t. I’ve been featured in every single nominee list, so I don’t really mind.

     

    NK: Finally, do you think that your and Niko Omilana’s attempts to go into politics will start a trend where Internet personalities will try to run for public office?

     

    MF: I don’t think that it will start a trend, because the trend has already happened; look at the US with Donald Trump, look at Ukraine with their President, so I don’t think this is going to kickstart a new trend; it’s already happening.

     

    Follow Max Fosh on Twitter at @max_fosh and on Instagram at @max.fosh. Join his 423,000 subscribers on YouTube by clicking here.

     

    Flushing Out Max Fosh 2021– Interview with wannabe Mayor of London Max Fosh – Nikolay Kalinin asks YouTube star Max Fosh about why he decided to run as a candidate in the 2021 London mayoral elections.
    Flushing Out Fosh – Max Fosh appeared at Laurence Fox’s campaign launch with a car wrapped with the message: “Don’t Believe Everything You See On A Bus.”
    Flushing Out Fosh – Max Fosh’s campaign in the 2021 London mayoral election centres around his use of YouTube as a medium to communicate with his clearly vast audience of 18 to 25 year olds.
  • Bailey Bombs to 84/1

    Bailey Bombs to 84/1

    Nikolay Kalinin reports wannabe Conservative Mayor of London Shaun Bailey has sunk to 84/1 on Oddschecker; he suggests voters back outsiders such as Max Fosh, Count Binface and Niko Omilana as a sign of protest against the ineptitude of mainstream candidates

    Shaun Bailey – the man who once promised to give London “a fresh start” – is once again facing a massive decline in support. This is far from surprising given some newly unearthed remarks he has been found to have made.

     

    If you thought this Conservative Mayoral candidate would stop going after women – whether they be pregnant teenagers of female MPs – then you would be seriously wrong as now this misogynist dullard has gone one stage further and decided to go after female domestic abuse victims too.

     

    In a post found on the website of Conservative Women’s Organisation, Bailey claimed: “If you could get girls to accept less of men’s rubbish then men would have to change because ultimately men are after a girl.” In doing so, all he achieved was invoke the idea that it is the fault of women if they find themselves getting abused. I would love to hear him say that to the faces of the thousands of women who were trapped in hostile environments with abusive partners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

     

    It’s perhaps not surprising then that Bailey’s odds of winning the election on the betting site Oddschecker plummeted to 84/1 yesterday – another 20 points lower than he was 3 weeks ago. Commenting of this news, the Labour MP for Ealing Central and Acton, Rupa Huq, stated: “Someone with Bailey’s hard right attitudes should simply never have the opportunity to lead a city that counts more than 4 million women and girls among its population.”

     

    Bailey’s campaign spokesperson responded to the criticism, not by saying that he has taken accountability for his statements – or even better that he would be dropping out of the Mayoral election – but by accusing Labour of “taking old comments out of context.” The spokesperson added that they believed his point was that “the only way to end domestic violence is to change the behaviour of men.” This, I’d argue, is a blatant lie.

     

    It should be mentioned that Bailey has a history of speaking before thinking about many matters. In 2017, it was reported that he called the region of North Kensington where he grew up in a “ghetto” – which hugely contrasts with the high house prices in the region, as well as the fact that the very wealthy ex-PM David Cameron is a resident of that very same area.

     

    In the meantime, the mayoral campaigns of YouTuber Max Fosh and Count Binface – both of whom The Steeple Times have endorsed (given there’s little to nothing else on offer) – have been expanding greatly, with Fosh continuing his crusade against blockhead Laurence Fox, calling out his ex-fellow Old Harrovian for failing to debate with him.

     

    Fosh has also created a website where he has written out his election policies. They include a pledge to “put Laurence Fox on the call back list for every acting job in London” and another to build Jurassic parks across the city.

     

    Count Binface has also released a campaign manifesto of his own on Twitter, where he has pledged – amongst many other ingenious things to banish Piers Corbyn to the Phantom Zone, finish Crossrail and get London to go it alone and join the EU.

     

    I would like to encourage readers to vote for Max Fosh as your first preference on 6th May, and Count Binface or Niko Omilana – who has stated he wishes to deport all EDL members to Poland and ban Prince Andrew from going within a 4-mile radius of all London schools as your second preference.

     

    These three people, unbelievable as it may seem, are way more appealing than the three leading clowns Sadiq Khan, Shaun Bailey and Brian Rose, so let’s show them that on 6th May. It’s time to give the Conservatives and Labour especially the kick they well and truly deserve.

     

    Bailey Bombs to 84/1 – Shaun Bailey no chance to be Mayor of London – Nikolay Kalinin reports wannabe Conservative Mayor of London Shaun Bailey has sunk to 84/1 on Oddschecker.com; he suggests voters back outsiders such as Max Fosh, Count Binface and Niko Omilana as a sign of protest against the ineptitude of mainstream candidates.
    Bailey Bombs to 84/1 – Shaun Bailey has been endorsed by the pretty awful Priti Patel. If that’s the best he can do, God help the guy.
    Bailey Bombs to 84/1 – Shaun Bailey no chance to be Mayor of London – Nikolay Kalinin reports wannabe Conservative Mayor of London Shaun Bailey has sunk to 84/1 on Oddschecker.com; he suggests voters back outsiders such as Max Fosh, Count Binface and Niko Omilana as a sign of protest against the ineptitude of mainstream candidates.
    Bailey Bombs to 84/1 – Even ‘King of Tory Sleaze’ Boris Johnson appears to be distancing himself from Shaun Bailey’s flagging campaign. Frankly, this bombastic bozo might as well give up.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-ItPJWU6QQ
    Bailey Bombs to 84/1 – ‘The Steeple Times’ urges readers to back independent candidates to send a signal to the mainstream parties that their campaigns in the London Mayoral elections have been dreadful in 2021. Contributor Nikolay Kalinin suggests Niko Omilana as one such option.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcy5V4JwfnA
    Bailey Bombs to 84/1 – Max Fosh is the favoured first choice of ‘The Steeple Times.’
    Bailey Bombs to 84/1 – We also rather like Count Binface and urge choosing him as your second choice.
  • A Rotten Rose – Brian Rose: An Entire Circus of Idiocy

    A Rotten Rose – Brian Rose: An Entire Circus of Idiocy

    New contributor Nikolay Kalinan delves into the history of the American ex-heroin addict and wannabe Mayor of London Brian Rose and finds his curious claims to be rather hollow

    Several weeks ago, Brian Rose seemed to have it all; his odds of winning the London Mayoral election stood at 18/1 – 2nd place to Sadiq Khan – and he was organising what he called “the largest outdoor campaign in British political history” supported by 2 million subscribers on his ‘London Real’ YouTube channel and 1.6 million followers on his Instagram pages.

     

    Yet, the truth be known: Rose’s image of supposed runaway success is nothing but total fakery. In an opinion poll, only 2% of the respondents said they would vote for Rose, which is actually less than the amount of people who expressed their support for Niko Omilana – someone who doesn’t even have serious election policies apart from the genius pledge to make Boris Johnson “shush.”

     

    For years now, ‘Brian The Piss-Drinker’ has created an image of his being a knight in shining armour, but that hides his utter incompetence and shallowness. Indeed, this was evident back in April 2020 when he conducted an interview with the fruitcake David Icke. During that discussion, Icke claimed that COVID-19 was not real, and was actually spread by 5G towers – no surprises there – with the purpose of creating a fascist world order.

     

    When faced with criticism regarding the Icke interview, which was quite justifiably subsequently removed from YouTube, Rose first responded by stating that he was simply protecting freedom of speech, and then by him re-uploading the interview to his own video service, the Digital Freedom Platform. He then doubled down on the whole controversy by releasing interviews with more nutjobs, including the angry and delusional radio host Alex Jones and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

     

    Aside from Rose’s pandering to COVID-sceptics giving a sense of how great a wrong’un he genuinely is, a look at whether he has kept his promises in regards to the Digital Freedom Platform he created illustrates further the deception that surrounds this American ex-heroin using transplant.

     

    Initially, of that, Rose said that the medium would be a new video platform “of the people, by the people and for the people.” Almost a year later, and with some £720,000 raised for the project, you would think that he would do what any “politician of the people” would do and fulfil his promise by officially opening up the platform but, of course, he didn’t.

     

    Instead, Digitial Freedom Platform has been transformed into a library of content for amateur conspiracy theorists and is also being used as another piece of marketing for Rose’s mayoral campaign. So, to recap, Brian Rose spent £720,000 donated to him by ordinary people on creating InfoWars 2.0 and what did they get back? Nothing.

     

    Things don’t get any better when you look at Brian Rose’s election manifesto, which looks like a bunch of regurgitated campaign promises from candidates such as Shaun Bailey and Laurence Fox. Rose has aped such pledges as that by Bailey to put thousands of police officers on London’s streets and build thousands of homes that will cost just £100,000 each, as well as Fox’s pledge to end lockdown and create a festival celebrating London’s culture.

     

    In fact, it just feels as if Rose has copied and pasted whole sections from Bailey and Fox’s manifestos and then replaced some words and numbers with ones of his own. In summary: Here is someone incapable of actually coming up with anything original.

     

    Brian Rose is inevitably heading for doom on May 6th, and the truth – whether he likes it or not – is that it doesn’t matter how much money he spends on campaigning or how much he says that he is a crusader for “freedom of speech.” The reality is clear: Brian Rose won’t become the next Mayor of London because he’s simply nothing other than an utter nutter.

     

    Pictured top: Naughty boy Brian Rose being given a ticking off (and a fine subsequently) for campaigning when and where he shouldn’t have been.

     

    A Rotten Rose – Brian Rose: An Entire Circus of Idiocy – New contributor Nikolay Kalinan delves into the history of the American ex-heroin addict oddity and wannabe Mayor of London Brian Rose and finds his curious claims to be rather hollow.
    A Rotten Rose – According to an interview he gave to Susannah Butter, published in the ‘Evening Standard’ on the 14th April 2021, plainly delusional “Brian Rose is already referring to himself as the Mayor [of London] and says Londoner’s are too.”
  • Bailey Bombs to 64/1

    Bailey Bombs to 64/1

    As ingeniously ironic Old Harrovian wannabe Mayor of London Max Fosh photobombs his fellow Old Harrovian grumpy groaner rival Laurence Fox, their clapped-out Conservative rival Shaun Bailey sinks to likely 3rd place at odds of 64/1

    Late last month, Conservative candidate Shaun Bailey’s chances of becoming the next Mayor of London looked to be improving. Whilst odds on him winning were just 45/1 in January, they’d moved to 31/1 and later to 25/1  – in spite of an endorsement from the irksome, well-known associate of dildo floggers, Karren Brady.

     

    Things seemed to finally be swinging in this bombastic berk’s favour, but now, today, Oddschecker shows he’s retreated into third behind Labour’s laughable Sadiq Khan (1/16) and independent oddity Brian Rose (18/1). Today, Bailey stands at an astonishing 64/1 whilst the Liberal Democrats’ Luisa Porritt has sunk to 999/1.

     

    Elsewhere, earlier this week with a supposed £5 million behind him courtesy of a Vote Leave donor named Jeremy Hosking, angry ex-actor Laurence Fox (250/1) launched his campaign whilst being driven around on a red London bus emblazoned with “Free London. Vote for Laurence Fox. Your London. Your freedom. Reclaim it.”

     

    Amusingly, making a complete mockery of him, a seemingly likeable young chap named Max Fosh (100/1) has come forward and raised the £10,000 deposit required to run. The 26-year-old, who studied at Harrow School with Fox, wrapped his car with text that read “Don’t Believe Everything You See On A Bus” and photobombed Fox’s bus.

     

    Shared subsequently on his YouTube channel and watched already by just under 100,000 viewers, Fosh turned up at Fox’s launch event with his car and then introduced himself to the Reclaim leader.

     

    Speaking to The Tab subsequently of his “Max Fosh to Mash Fox” campaign on Friday, Fosh explained:

     

    “The reason I want to beat Laurence is because he seems like a very upset man. He’s a bit of a grumpy guy…. Politics is just a cesspit of name-calling and anger, and it’s just going to make Laurence grumpier. So, I want to beat Laurence in this election to get him out of politics and get him back to doing what he does best.”

     

    “It’s basically a philanthropic mission at this point. Wouldn’t it be nice to see more of such kindness and sincerity in politics today?”

     

    Today, given the quality of candidates on offer in this election is so dire and thus Khan’s likelihood of returning as Mayor is sadly so high, we urge those eligible to do the only sensible thing left available in the absence of our long since departed favoured choice Rory Stewart. Please don’t spoil your vote, but instead back Max Fosh as you first choice and Count Binface as your second.

     

    Doing so on the 6th May 2021 will send a signal to Laurence Fox that in spite of the millions of pounds in wonga behind him, he shouldn’t be in charge of a bus ticket let alone a capital city, but it’ll also do something else: It’ll tell the Tory Party that they made the worst of choices in Shaun Bailey and it might persuade them not to put a twerp of such epic proportions on a ballot paper ever again.

     

    Join the 19,900 followers of Max Fosh on Twitter at @Max_Fosh and Count Binface’s 20,200 at @CountBinface.

     

    Bailey Bombs to 64/1 – Shaun Bailey Bombs to 64/1 in London mayoral election – Vote Max Fosh and Count Binface instead – As Old Harrovian wannabe Mayor of London Max Fosh photobombs his fellow Old Harrovian rival Laurence Fox, their clapped-out Conservative rival Shaun Bailey sinks to likely 3rd place at odds of 64/1.
    Bailey Bombs to 64/1 – Max Fosh might not have the financial resources of Lawrence Fox’s £5 million campaign pot, but he’s creative and likeable. We urge readers to support this breath of fresh air.
    Bailey Bombs to 64/1 – Shaun Bailey Bombs to 64/1 in London mayoral election – Vote Max Fosh and Count Binface instead – As Old Harrovian wannabe Mayor of London Max Fosh photobombs his fellow Old Harrovian rival Laurence Fox, their clapped-out Conservative rival Shaun Bailey sinks to likely 3rd place at odds of 64/1.
    Bailey Bombs to 64/1 – Count Binface – formerly Lord Buckethead – has always amused readers of ‘The Steeple Times.’ He’s certainly worth voting for ahead of Sadiq Khan, Shaun Bailey and Brian Rose.
    Bailey Bombs to 64/1 – Shaun Bailey Bombs to 64/1 in London mayoral election – Vote Max Fosh and Count Binface instead – As Old Harrovian wannabe Mayor of London Max Fosh photobombs his fellow Old Harrovian rival Laurence Fox, their clapped-out Conservative rival Shaun Bailey sinks to likely 3rd place at odds of 64/1.
    Bailey Bombs to 64/1 – Shaun Bailey was mocked by ‘THis Is North Kensington’ for “wringing the wrong numbers” whilst his campaign was summed up by ‘From The Hornets Nest’ with the following: “The Conservative Party made a massive miscalculation in backing this man. His appalling record as one of the laziest members of the London Assembly should have been a warning that Bailey was an insubstantial dud.”

  • A Coked Candidate

    A Coked Candidate

    Wannabe Mayor of London Shaun Bailey makes a berk of himself discussing drug use by the poor; he neglected to mention wealthy coked-up Conservative sorts

    In spite of Sadiq Khan having proven himself an utterly incompetent Mayor of London, the Tories are still running in third place behind the frankly Frankenstein-esque whack job Brian Rose.

     

    Now, following on from Shaun Bailey having been reported to the CPS over some dodgy leaflets he’d produced and blundered over giving out burglar alarms for free and forcing homeless people to find £5,000 deposits for housing, this batshit bonkers Conservative candidate has turned his blimp of a brain to drugs.

     

    Featured this morning in the Guardian, speaking before the London Assembly’s economy committee about universal basic income (UBI) yesterday, Bailey bizarrely told those gathered:

     

    “I know some people would absolutely fly if you gave them a lump sum to deal with every week. I know some people who would buy lots of drugs. So where is the care in this, where is the care for the person? How do you get past just universally giving people money?”

     

    Responding to this “extraordinary” baloney, Simon Duffy of the Centre for Welfare Reform thinktank remarked:

     

    “I’m sure the people spending most of the money are not the poor – they’re the well-off. It’s your City traders and their cocaine habits. Where’s the love for them?”

     

    “There is a trope or a myth that ordinary people don’t know how to spend money, and that people who are poor are, in some way, incompetent at spending money. And therefore, what the state needs to do is control them or their spending in some way. This is utterly false.”

     

    “It’s not just false, it’s clearly unproven. It’s clearly the opposite of any evidence we have about the world.”

     

    Previously last August, Bailey was slammed by associate professor of addiction at the University of York Ian Hamilton for calling for random drug testing of all employees in companies employing more than 250 staff.

     

    Writing in the Independent of a policy pledge that would actually just “punish big businesses” primarily, Hamilton commented:

     

    “Bailey’s pledge to introduce workplace drug testing does nothing for his credibility. He knows, or should know, there is no evidence to support this policy. As with legal markets, the drug market is diverse: those dealing and using cocaine are not the same as those using and dealing crack cocaine and heroin. The latter is associated with violence whereas the former is not. So if the justification for invading employees’ privacy is to make a dent in knife crime, all the evidence suggests it will be a failure.”

     

    “But I suspect that isn’t the point of this announcement. It’s a blatant attempt to capitalise on people’s fears and win their votes.”

     

    Elsewhere, in slightly better news for the brazen bozo, Bailey’s odds of actually winning have moved from 45/1 in January to 37/1 on Oddschecker. Still, however, his chances of becoming the next Mayor of London look as likely as that of seeing Madeleine McCann ride into town on Shergar the racehorse.

     

    A Coked Candidate – Tory wannabe Mayor Shaun Bailey on the poor and drugs – Wannabe Mayor of London Shaun Bailey makes a berk of himself discussing drug use by the poor; he neglected to mention wealthy coked-up Conservative sorts. Trailing in 3rd behind Brian Rose and Sadiq Khan.
    A Coked Candidate – Later, plainly seeking to justify Shaun Bailey’s latest balderdash whilst failing to respond to the point about coked-up Conservatives, a spokesperson for him arrogantly answered: “Shaun won’t take any lectures from career politicians on what life is like for those struggling to get on.”
    A Coked Candidate – Tory wannabe Mayor Shaun Bailey on the poor and drugs – Wannabe Mayor of London Shaun Bailey makes a berk of himself discussing drug use by the poor; he neglected to mention wealthy coked-up Conservative sorts. Trailing in 3rd behind Brian Rose and Sadiq Khan.
    A Coked Candidate – That Shaun Bailey is trailing even Brian Rose – a genuine oddjob who was arrested in January for “unlawful campaigning” – speaks volumes as to his sheer incompetence and unsuitability to be the next Mayor of London.
    A Coked Candidate – In January, on LBC, Shaun Bailey was “tied in knots” after saying “London is unsafe and also the best place in the world.” Responding to his all-over-the-shop contradictory comment, presenter Iain Dale commented: “You sound like Donald Trump.”
  • Stupid Shaun Bailey SINKS to 45/1

    Stupid Shaun Bailey SINKS to 45/1

    Odds of Tory twerp Shaun Bailey becoming Mayor of London in 2021 unsurprisingly sink to 45/1

    Banger-on about being the son of a bus driver Sadiq Khan has without a question of doubt been a totally useless Mayor of London, but the prospects of his Tory rival beating him have now sunk to 45/1 from 29/1 last week.

    Whilst Khan will go down in history for increasing the congestion charge at a time when the public would be safer in private cars than on pandemic spreading public transport, the result of batshit bonkers Bailey’s strange and frankly stupid policy ideas are most definitely the reason that he has fallen into third place behind the equally awful Brian Rose.

    Aside from halfwittedly claiming homeless people can and should save £5,000 to get a home, Bailey’s pointless pledge to give away 300,000 pointless screeching (and likely to be completely ignored) burglar alarms has been deservedly condemned as “utterly ludicrous.”

    Equally, this warbling wazzock’s bigotry has plainly come home to roost with a reminder of his comments in 2005 about “accommodating Muslims and Hindus” in the UK “robbing Britain of its community.” Given the 2011 census revealed that 40.2% of London’s population to be non-white, one can see why such offensive remarks will hamper his already hapless campaign

    The best thing now for Bailey? Quit the Titanic before the iceberg hits.

     

    Shaun Bailey SINKS to 45/1 – Tory twerp in 3rd place for Mayor of London – Odds of Tory twerp Shaun Bailey becoming Mayor of London in 2021 unsurprisingly sink to 45/1.
    Stupid Shaun Bailey SINKS to 45/1 – In January 2019, ‘The Red Roar’ reported Bailey was forced to return donations to his campaign from an an “impermissible donor” linked to the Paradise Papers scandal.
    Stupid Shaun Bailey SINKS to 45/1 – Who’s more stupid Shaun Bailey or Owen Jones? During a 16:29 minute YouTube feature in May 2019, Bailey declared: “Nobody has a monopoly on common sense,” but then went on to prove he’s totally lacking in even an ounce of such.