DARE WE SAY IT? ALI WAS RIGHT! PROBABLY...

Next week's big Westminster by-election could turn out to be a damp squib thanks to Labour.  They were favourites to hold Rochdale, but that was before they disowned their candidate.  On paper, voters have a Labour candidate named Azhar Ali, but it's a wasted vote as he won't represent Labour if elected.  It's a laughable situation and the bookies have since installed George Galloway as the new favourite.  Galloway is standing for his hard left Workers Party of Britain, with the politics of the Middle East at the forefront of the campaign - such is the depth to which Britain has sunk into the multi-cultural abyss.

Meanwhile, Azhar Ali's Labour career is destined to remain in the local politics of the quasi-Islamist towns of south Lancashire and Greater Manchester.  His election would merely give him an independent seat in the Commons for the remainder of this year at best, or just a matter of months depending on which date Sunak goes to the polls.

Ali's career floundered upon a media exposé of his supposedly 'anti-Semitic' views.  Starmer acted to suspend him after a couple of remarks leaked, ostensibly a reference to 'Jewish quarters' in the media and a boast of having persuaded several Lancastrian towns not to parade the colours of the Israeli flag in the wake of the Hamas attacks.  However, he was not suspended for the initial Daily Mail exposé in which he voiced his firm belief that Israel allowed the Hamas attacks to proceed unhindered, thus giving them the justification to attack, invade, occupy and potentially even annexe Gaza.

This 'conspiracy theory' sparked 'outrage' claimed the Mail.  How on earth could a state allow the massacre of its own citizens to justify a war?  Of course, this faux outrage takes place in the established world where us mugs are supposed to believe that the Americans did not do exactly the same thing in September 2001 and used those attacks to justify carnage across the Middle East that continues to this day.

Now bear in mind that the mainstream media is constantly involved in psychological warfare against its own consumers, lurching from one scare story to the next, often creating contradictions in the process.  Lo and behold, it was none other than the Daily Mail itself that was among many news outlets that alleged that Israel deliberately downplayed prior warnings of the Hamas attacks.  The following headline appeared online in November.

The Mail report is based on an actual news story from Israel itself, and so it is remarkably shortsighted that in the space of three months such a significant revelation has become a tinfoil-hatted conspiracy while still - at the time of writing - freely available on the Mail website.

The mass media are so invested in the arrogant belief that its consumers are so stupid they won't ask questions.  Question everything they tell you, because what they tell you is almost certainly not in your own interest.

BY-ELECTIONS 15.02.24

Labour have struck a double blow to Rishi Sunak with two huge Westminster gains in Thursday's two big by-elections.  In the Gloucestershire seat of Kingswood, Labour required an 11.4 per cent swing and achieved 16.4 per cent.  In Northamptonshire the result was even more impressive.  For victory in Wellingborough, the party required at least 17.9 per cent and they smashed it with a whopping 28.5 per cent.  Election guru Professor John Curtice says the latter was the second biggest swing from Tory to Labour since the Second World War and says the results show the government is in 'deep, deep electoral trouble'.  Keir Starmer 'still looks on course to be Britain's next Prime Minister', he added.

As the Tory vote plummeted, Labour were not the only beneficiaries.  Reform UK came from nowhere in both seats to easily hold onto their deposits.  The Lib Dems lost both of theirs.

The two Labour victories may be short-lived - boundary changes mean both constituencies will disappear at the next election - but even so, these results are a devastating reminder that a Labour government is almost certainly on the way.

Kingswood Parliamentary By-Election

Damien Egan (Lab) 11,176 (44.9%) +11.5%

Sam Bromiley (Con) 8,675 (34.5%) -21.7%

Rupert Lowe (RefUK) 2,578 (10.4%) New

Lorraine Francis (Grn) 1,450 (5.8%) +3.4%

Andrew Brown (LDem) 861 (3.5%) -3.5%

Nicholas Wood (UKIP) 129 (0.5%) New

Lab GAIN from Con

Wellingborough Parliamentary By-Election

Gen Kitchen (Lab) 13,844 (45.9%) +19.4%

Helen Harrison (Con) 7,408 (24.6%) -37.6%

Ben Habib (RefUK) 3,919 (13.0%) New

Ana Gunn (LDem) 1,422 (4.7%) -3.2%

Marion Turner-Hawes (Ind) 1,115 (3.7%) New

Will Morris (Grn) 1,020 (3.4%) -0.1%

Kev Watts (Ind) 533 (1.8%) New

Alex Merola (BritF) 477 (1.6%) New

Nick the Flying Brick (Loon) 217 (0.7%) New

Andre Pyne-Bailey (Ind) 172 (0.6%) New

Ankit Love Jknpp Jay Mala Post-Mortem (Ind) 18 (0.1%) New

Lab GAIN from Con

There were also five council by-elections on Thursday and proceedings largely belonged to the Lib Dems with two strong holds and a gain from Labour.  The Tory vote was down in the three elections it contested, with Labour having mixed results, albeit they gained an independent seat in south Wales.

Tring West & Rural, Dacorum Borough Council

LDem: 899 (62.7%) +12.9%

Con: 303 (21.1%) -3.0%

Grn: 122 (8.5%) -9.6%

Lab: 109 (7.6%) -0.3%

LDem HOLD

Four Marks & Medstead, East Hampshire District Council

LDem: 1,212 (62.2%) +18.9%

Con: 736 (37.8%) -2.3%

LDem HOLD

Avenue, Hull City Council

LDem: 1,186 (45.7%) +4.3%

Lab: 1,029 (39.7%) -8.4%

Grn: 198 (7.6%) n/c

Ind: 139 (5.3%) New

Con: 43 (1.7%) -1.3%

LDem GAIN from Lab

Briton Ferry East, Neath Port Talbot Council

Lab: 287 (52.4%) +8.0%

Ind: 234 (42.7%) -1.9%

Grn: 27 (4.9%) New

Lab GAIN from Ind

Rhos, Neath Port Talbot Council

Ind: 494 (52.1%) New

Plaid: 242 (25.5%) -29.1%

Lab: 137 (14.5%) -30.9%

LDem: 60 (6.3%) New

Grn: 15 (1.6%) New

Ind GAIN from Plaid

Abbreviations

Lab = Labour

Con = Conservative

RefUK = Reform UK

Grn = Green

LDem = Liberal Democrat

UKIP = United Kingdom Independence Party

BritF = Britain First

Loon = Monster Raving Loony

Plaid = Plaid Cymru

Ind = Independent

LABOUR AT THE DOUBLE?

Labour candidates are hoping to succeed outgoing Tory MPs Chris Skidmore (left)
and Peter Bone (right)

Labour cannot now win in Rochdale next week, but they are still odds on favourites to pick up two morale boosting gains from the Conservatives this week.  These imminent Westminster by-elections centre on two shire towns - Kingswood in Gloucestershire and Wellingborough in Northamptonshire.  Labour victories here would be short-lived as both constituencies will cease to exist at the next election thanks to boundary changes.  Kingswood is being abolished altogether and Wellingborough will be redrawn as Wellingborough and Rushden.

The Kingswood constituency will bow out in its fiftieth year, having spent 23 years with a Labour MP (1974-79, 1992-2010) and 27 years with a Tory (1979-1992, 2010-2024).  From 2010 the seat has been represented by Chris Skidmore, a net zero fanatic who wanted to make the ultimate protest statement by resigning before his seat was abolished.  His claim to fame is that he was the minister who signed the government's net zero pledge into law.  That was back in 2019 under the premiership of Theresa May and since then he has become increasingly focused on net zero and so-called 'climate change'.

Skidmore departs the Westminster gravy train with his rattle firmly thrown out of the pram in protest at Rishi Sunak's relaxation of key net zero targets - the PM's 'greatest mistake' according to Skidmore.  The electorate clearly disagree, as we now see Labour too rowing back on their own insane climate pledges.  Is there an election around the corner?

For Labour to win in Kingswood, they require a swing of 11.4 per cent to overturn the Tory majority of 11,220.  There are six candidates in total.

Kingswood Candidates

Sam Bromiley (Con)

Andrew Brown (LDem)

Damien Egan (Lab)

Lorraine Francis (Grn)

Rupert Lowe (RefUK)

Nicholas Wood (UKIP)

The Wellingborough vacancy came about by way of a successful recall petition against its Tory MP Peter Bone.  Since the Recall of MPs Act in 2015, this mechanism has been used five times across the UK, four of which have reached the minimum 10 per cent of signatures required to dismiss the MP in question.  Bone is the second Conservative to be kicked out this way, with 13.2 per cent of his constituents as signatories.

Bone's downfall came after repeated allegations of bullying and sexual misconduct were upheld by an independent body set up specifically to tackle complaints against MPs.  The male complainant contacted the body in 2021 after the issue had been raised with former PMs Cameron and May without success.  The panel recommended that Bone be suspended from the Commons, an outcome that was upheld after appeal.  The suspension triggered the recall process and Bone was stripped of the Tory whip, although he still denies the accusations.

Bone gained the Wellinborough seat from Labour in 2005 and built a solid majority from 2010 onwards, the largest of which was in 2019 and stood at 18,540.  The selection of Bone's lover Helen Harrison as the Tory candidate means that he could still potentially retain the seat by proxy.

At 17.9 per cent, Labour require a bigger swing to win here.  The ballot paper will be a crowded affair, with eleven candidates and a couple of intriguing names.

Wellingborough Candidates

Nick the Flying Brick (Loon)

Ana Gunn (LDem)

Ben Habib (RefUK)

Helen Harrison (Con)

Ankit Love Jknpp Jay Mala Post-Mortem (Ind)

Gen Kitchen (Lab)

Alex Merola (BritF)

Will Morris (Grn)

Andre Pyne-Bailey (Ind)

Marion Turner-Hawes (Ind)

Kev Watts (Ind)

LABOUR DEBACLE IN ROCHDALE

Azhar Ali and Keir Starmer in happier days

In a bizarre turn of events, next week's Westminster by-election in Rochdale will be defended by a Labour candidate who has been suspended from the party.  Azhar Ali was suspended on Monday after comments came to light regarding Israel and Jewish media influence.

The initial 'revelations' about Ali came in the Mail on Sunday, that had obtained a recording in which Ali addresses a Labour meeting following the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel.  In it, he suggests that Israel 'allowed' the attacks to proceed in order to justify their invasion of Gaza.  As media interest in the story grew, Ali issued several grovelling public apologies on social media and Labour initially stood by their man, saying that he had 'fallen for an online conspiracy theory'.

"The Egyptians are saying that they warned Israel ten days earlier.  Americans warned them a day before: 'There's something happening'.  They deliberately took the security off, they allowed the massacre of 1,200 innocent people and that gives them the green light to do whatever they bloody want."

(Azhar Ali, Lancashire Labour meeting, October 2023)

However, the Mail had more ammunition in reserve and on Monday morning released further audio transcripts, including details of how Ali and colleagues put pressure on local councils to not co-operate with Rishi Sunak's decree that all government buildings be decked out in the colours of the Israeli flag.  Ali asserts that the exercise would 'cause community problems and tensions' and says: "We do not want the Israeli flag flying from the town halls at Nelson, Burnley, Accrington, [inaudible, possibly Blackburn], Preston."

Ali goes on to defend hard left Labour MP Andy McDonald, who was suspended from the party following a speech he made at a pro-Palestine rally last year.  Ali then refers to the media response to McDonald's speech from 'certain Jewish quarters'.

Keir Starmer finally bucked to media pressure on Monday afternoon and all Labour campaigning on behalf of Ali was ordered to cease that evening.  Later, having announced that the party had 'withdrawn support' for Ali, it was confirmed that his party membership had been suspended.  It was too near polling day to remove Ali as the Labour candidate altogether and his name will still appear on the ballot paper as a Labour candidate, although if he is elected he will enter Parliament as an independent.

It is unclear as to how this clown show will influence the result of the February 29th by-election, but the bookies have now made George Galloway odds on favourite to win a seat in which the Muslim vote appears to be the only one that matters.

COUNCIL BY-ELECTIONS 08.02.24

It's been a while since we looked in on council by-elections, but with a big month for Westminster by-elections coming up we thought it was time to look in and see what's happening around the country.

This week there were four council seats up for grabs - two in England and two in Wales.  Every seat changed hands, with a gain each for the Tories, Plaid and Lib Dems.  The Crewe Central result raised a few eyebrows in the Twitterverse with the Conservatives taking a seat off Labour with a huge swing.

Ebbw Vale South, Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council

Ind: 239 (60.4%) New

Lab: 124 (31.3%) -11.0%

Grn: 33 (8.3%) New

Ind GAIN from Ind

Crewe Central, Cheshire East Council

Con: 335 (43.3%) +19.8%

Lab: 277 (35.8%) -18.9%

CFst: 128 (16.5%) +1.2%

WEP: 22 (2.8%) New

Grn: 12 (1.6%) New

Con GAIN from Lab

Criccieth, Cyngor Gwynedd Council

Plaid: 381 (71.9%) +30.3%

Ind: 129 (24.3%) New

LDem: 11 (2.1%) New

Con: 9 (1.7%) New

Plaid GAIN from Ind

East Hunsbury & Shelfleys, West Northamptonshire Council

LDem: 820 (38.8%) +15.8%

Con: 746 (35.3%) -16.9%

Lab: 547 (25.9%) +1.1%

LDem GAIN from Con

Abbreviations

Lab = Labour

Grn = Green

Con = Conservative

CFst = Crewe First

WEP = Women's Equality Party

Plaid = Plaid Cymru

LDem = Liberal Democrat

Ind = Independent

LABOUR'S SHOCK URDU VIDEO

The death of Labour's Tony Lloyd last month sparked a by-election that was rapidly scheduled for the 29th of February.  Labour hit the ground running, selecting Rochdale councillor Azhar Ali as their candidate before Mr Lloyd was even cold.  Nomination papers are already in for all candidates, weeks ahead of Lloyd's funeral.

Last week Cllr Ali appeared in a video posted to Twitter, alongside Manchester Gorton MP Afzal Khan.  Ali addresses the camera in English, which is followed by a translation from Khan into Urdu.  This shock video formed the basis of our latest YouTube effort (click below).

Labour's reliance on the block Muslim vote is well documented, but for a candidate to produce a video in the national language of Pakistan for a by-election in England shows a damning lack of integration for a community already viewed with suspicion following repeated rape gang convictions.

Labour are odds-on favourites to win the Rochdale by-election, a seat they have held since 2010.  Prior to that the seat changed hands several times between Labour and the Lib Dems throughout the 90s and 00s.  Labour's majority in 2019 was 9,668 over the second placed Conservatives.

Second place this time around is anyone's guess, with George Galloway out for revenge and likely to whip up his own Muslim support by putting the politics of the Middle East front and centre of his campaign.  Galloway is not the only former Labour MP standing with vengeance in mind.  Eyebrows were raised when Reform UK selected Simon Danczuk as their candidate.  Danczuk was Labour MP for Rochdale between 2010 and 2017, although he had the party whip withdrawn in 2015 after it emerged that he had exchanged explicit messages with a 17-year-old.

The full roster of eleven candidates is as follows.

Azhar Ali (Lab)

Mark Coleman (Ind)

Simon Danczuk (RefUK)

Iain Donaldson (LDem)

Paul Ellison (Con)

George Galloway (Workers)

Michael Howarth (Ind)

William Howarth (Ind)

Guy Otten (Grn)

Ravin Subortna (Loon)

David Tully (Ind)