WELCOME HOME PAUL FARTHING AND FRIENDS

                                    

                                   

                           WELCOME HOME PAUL FARTHING AND FRIENDS!

A day of mixed emotions.  Great news after these past days of tense uncertainty that this defiant and courageous man would achieve any success whatsoever in bringing out so many animals from Kabul. This news is tempered with despair that by the same mode of transport thousands of refugees have been airlifted to Britain.

What fools we are as a nation, what misguided amateurs we elect...  Ben Wallace, the UK Defence Secretary accused supporters of Paul Farthing of 'bullying, falsehoods and threatening behaviour'.  If Mr Farthing and his supporters hadn't caused a stir, I wonder if he and even one mutt would have been airlifted to safety? 

Mr Wallace nailed his colours to the mast when he stated that he was 'Not prepared to prioritise pets over people... You may dislike me for that.  But that's my view.'  Oh yes, Mr Wallace, I dislike you more than you could possibly know - and the sad thing is that you and people like you never will understand how the vast majority of us feel about animals when compared to the world's displaced...

I am incandescent with rage and frustration.  Has he not reflected for a second on just how taxpayers with any sense of justice feel about this embarrassing, hasty withdrawal and what it says about the western powers and our collective inadequacy?  The vast majority of true Brits are not interested in housing these incomers, they are only too well aware that another umpteen hundred acres of green belt will be quietly removed from the local plan and a corresponding amount of ghastly estates with their mix of 'social housing' quotas and ghettos will displace the badgers, foxes, barn owls and field mice.  We really are fools, short-sighted fools.

Dogs and cats airlifted to a safer environment in this country are welcome, they will cost little to house in the short term and at least have the chance to be re-homed in a loving, caring environment where they will become part of the family.  Umpteen thousand Afghans on the other hand will, as do all refugees, migrants -  call them what you will - cost the taxpayer a fortune in housing and services.  How the hell can we afford them.  Our schools are over-stretched as it is, we lack pre-school care, we lack after-school care, we lack youth clubs, we lack activity centres.  You can bet your bottom pound that all these newbies to our shores will be in need of trauma counselling - more taxpayer expense.  (I wonder how many recipients of our enforced welcome will consider suing the government for a lack of first class accommodation on the flight from Kabul, or possibly a lack of in-flight entertainment maybe, no vegetarian food option?). 

It is with despair and not a little anger that I noted Spelthorne Council in Surrey offering fifty plus stray Afghans accommodation!  Why?  What have the good citizens and ratepayers of Spelthorne ever done to deserve yet another financial burden?  At a time when councils throughout the land plead extreme poverty there is no stopping their collective generosity to the worlds displaced.  It is not our problem!!  People want post offices, libraries, banks, graffiti-free shopping centres, NHS dentists, health centres with doctors you can actually make an appointment to see.  This is a third-world state in everything but name.  Services have been pared to the bone.  We have a shortage of lorry drivers, we have a shortage of fruit-pickers, we have a shortage of nurses, doctors, care staff, social workers... the list goes on!  

Do not blame our leaving the EU, blame our oversized, over-generous welfare system. Blame those recipients of universal credit who have clung to the shirt-tails of a system designed to benefit those on benefit. There are hundreds of thousands of work-shy spongers idling their way through their life and our hard-earned income. When will we see a political party that isn't hell bent on destroying everything that was dear to our nation?  Parties of all political colours have spent decades  replacing all that worked well leaving us with a feckless, disrespectful and selfish society determined to look after themselves and bugger everybody else! And here we are, adding yet more Afghans to our collective financial and social burden. These aspects of life never affect those elected to represent us, the poor sod in the street.  An MP never wakes to damp walls in a northern tenement before making their way to work. They live in splendour, very often splendid isolation - remote family farms spread over hundreds of acres, grand mansions of grand design, it's a different world and they will never be at one with the view of ordinary people because their world is so remote, so contained, so relatively easy...

So, to Paul (Pen) Farthing, I raise my glass... well, cup of tea at this time of day!  Thank you Sir for your tenacity, your commitment and your perseverance, you've made a lot of people  proud.  If your dogs and cats could talk I'm sure they would join me in a toast to a very fine Englishman - a rare breed in itself! Well done that man!!

AFGHANISTAN - A DREADFUL JOB BADLY HANDLED!

 

                         AFGHANISTAN - A DREADFUL JOB BADLY HANDLED!

Here we go again, another war-torn country and another umpteen thousand refugees are to be allowed sanctuary in our already overcrowded island!  The BABC described them as being 'welcomed' to Britain in its Red Button news story, but then they would do, wouldn't they!

Have we recolonised Australia?  Maybe New Zealand or most of Africa is once again within our grip and they will be our dumping ground?  Could it be the Americas that are going to take the brunt of the souls fleeing tyranny under Taliban rule?  No, none of that appears to be the case unfortunately which means they will end up here in dear old Blighty, home for those sailing and paddling - as I write - from France  by the boatload.

Why?  Why are we taking one single soul?  They are not our responsibility, never have been and never should be!   Ten thousand over four years is apparently what we have initially agreed to. That is ten thousand too many.  The only native Afghans I would allow are those involved in the animal rescue centre run by an ex serviceman who stayed on to open a sanctuary. Afghans are not generally known for their warmth and care regarding animals.  In fact, the animals would be my only flight priority for a new life here with a caring home.

On the basis that our Islands are still the same size as they were yesterday, can somebody please tell me where all these refugees - women and children first - are going to be housed?  Can someone be honest and tell the public just how much more land still designated 'Green Belt' will be needed for housing as we are concreting at a vast rate of knots - about the same rate of knots as the wind brings migrants from France!

The twenty year intervention by the USA, UK and other allied forces has been a complete waste of time, lives and money.  What must the parents and loved ones think of the death, pain, life-changing injuries and general suffering caused to our troops over that period?  And for what?  Russia didn't win in Afghanistan, America didn't win...  No-one wins in Afghanistan.  To my mind you have two choices, you either avoid the country and let matters take their own course or you are there for a very long time. That means leaving only when change is complete and society is stable and government is strong and in full control.  What the west has done is to fall between two stools where there are losers both home and abroad with fanatics virtually handed the keys to the country.

Did those in charge of western policy really believe that the Taliban wouldn't return?  These people are hell bent on power and ruthless control.  Last Friday I heard a spokesman comment during a radio interview that whilst the Taliban had captured several cities it would be months before Kabul fell!  Unbelievable!  

As our Government announced the terrible news regarding the sheer number we will be allowing in, Labour was telling the country that we are not doing enough. I turned off the news at that stage.  Labour, and their Liberal Democrat sidekicks are hell bent on taking the assumed moral high ground and would invite the whole Afghan population to resettle here given half a chance.  I have only one comment to make on their 'grand gesture' - remember Brexit and why we voted to leave!  Luckily we have the 'Talking Pictures' channel where I can watch English actors in English scenes in an England I can still remember!  Aaaaahhhh...

THEY DON"T JUST THINK IT"S ALL OVER - IT REALLY IS!

 

                   THEY DON"T  JUST THINK IT"S ALL OVER - IT REALLY IS!

That's that then,  England lost on penalties - again!  I didn't watch the match, preferring to become immersed in a 1994 episode of 'Taggart'.  Two hours plus of drama matching that being played at Wembley but without the excruciating spectacle of an English team going down on one knee in embarrassing subjugation to black rights.  That white players should belittle themselves so publicly is shameful and does not bode well for racial harmony despite such fanfare of optimism displayed by the 'media of the left' and the BABC.

If the Italian team had not, out of respect for the opposition so I understand, followed suit and similarly caved in to the race lobby, I would have hoped they had won the match.  There are, as is often the case, several aspects that require a good mulling over.  For instance, the make-up of each team and the behaviour of the supporters. I read that half of England's squad was comprised of players with either a parent or grandparent not born in England, or even within the UK.  Indeed, out of the eleven players who started the match against Denmark last week, only four were actually 'English'.  Seven had either a parent or grandparent from overseas. These figures come from a 'spoke' on behalf of the Migration Museum.  I can't imagine such a museum being so politically incorrect to have a spokesman or a spokeswoman - though I have always preferred the notion of a 'spokeslady'. The form runs parallel to a 'chairlady' as opposed to the cold and impersonal 'chair'!  Regarding behaviour, thugs masquerading as fans caused havoc and mayhem at both Wembley and Leicester Square, with many policemen sustaining injuries.  Their mums will be so proud...

It was interesting to note that France had 17 members of its squad with overseas - or non-French connections.  Switzerland was second highest with 16, they must be desperate, trawling the world for wannabe flag bearers.  England was third (one place below last night's final position in fact) with 15, while Wales, with 14 appears to be following Switzerland in the race to dissolve their... well, race...  At the other end of the list, the low end in numbers, but the high end in heritage and national dignity, Italy only had 4, while Poland can stand proud with 0! Nil!  None!  Bugger all!  How good that must feel as a nation, but then, while we were conquering all and sundry over a number of centuries, Poland was consumed from both the left and right of its borders.  As England drowns in a sea of diversity, Poland produces home-grown talent giving vent to national pride.  How joyous that must feel in comparison to the  timid acceptance of an England moulded and populated to please the sandal-wearing dons of Oxbridge and all those students who follow their doctrines.

Dissolving my enthusiasm even further was the understanding that during one match, Harry Kane, England's great white hope wore a rainbow armband in support of LGBTQXI... or whatever, rights.  This was due apparently to the Hungarian prime minister bringing in legislation banning the subject of transgender rights, and all that goes with it, being taught in schools to under 18's.  It is Hungary's policy, not ours.  The European Union is up in arms, a situation that always warms the cockles of my genuinely English heart.  I have to ask, why get involved in another country's policies?  Why not just leave politics out of it, especially the more tawdry side of politics?  Going down on one knee is not going to bring harmony between races, more likely the complete opposite judging by the number of like-minded people who have had the guts to express their views though the media - the section of the media still believing in freedom of speech and opinion that is! 

There was an interesting comment from a lady called Lauren Tavriger who regales under the heading of 'executive assistant at Best of Britain', whoever they are.  Anyway this slightly thought-skewed lady stated that: 'The squad is a wonderful example of the benefits of immigration and is a celebration of diversity.'  She goes on, 'Cheering on football this summer will not just be about celebrating when the ball hits the back of the net.  It will also be to celebrate diversity, immigration and freedom of movement.'  I wonder how many football fans felt the same way as this sad, deluded, out-of-touch-with-the-common-man executive assistant?

What I do know is that when all was said and done, when push had come to shove and the 90 minutes plus extra-time and penalty shoot-out was concluded, Italy were the victors.  It appears that they were generally considered the better team on the night.  As far as I could tell they all had good old Italian names. Names you would identify with the players being Italian.  Maybe that helped their camaraderie?  Thirty-four matches unbeaten tells you something, the match going to penalties tells you that England's chances had dipped considerably by the end of extra-time.  Five England penalties, two taken and scored by white players, three taken and missed by black players.  Missing a penalty is one thing, the manner in which it is missed is another!  I watched a repeat of Mr. Rashford's woeful attempt. What on earth was he thinking?  All that posturing, playing mind games with the Italian goalkeeper, moving position, dance-like movements - and all before he struck the ball.  It must have been music to the goalkeeper's ears.  Every Rashford pre-kick move gave advantage to Italy.  The goalkeeper must have thought 'What a twat!' - or whatever the equivalent phrase is over there, probably Il Twatto?  I note that Dover's female Tory MP suggested that Sir Marcus of Manchester (my description) might consider practising penalties rather than getting involved in poverty politics. The lady's not wrong.

All three players have been subjected to on-line abuse for their penalty failings.  I do not condone that action for one minute, but it is not surprising when you step back and look at the role played by the authorities and the sycophantic cries on behalf of lives mattering for one colour but another not even getting a mention.  The hoot of all this kneeling malarkey is that the man whose death spawned the movement, an American, wasn't exactly someone you'd want as a neighbour, let alone a family member.  In short, he wasn't an overly-nice person, but the manner of his death gave those with spare time to conjure up yet another racial cause the inspiration for world division and derision.  Thanks for that!

If England had won, we could have looked on it as an example of the country's newly-found confidence having left the EU.  A sort of  'This is what independence from the stifling club means to us' moment.  It wasn't to be our greatest two hours, but who minds, we still have our never-fading memories of 1966 when we fielded a 'proper' England team that included eleven English men!  We won that afternoon as I recall...

THE 19th OF JULY AND ALL THE PRESSURE THAT COMES WITH IT!

 

                    THE 19th OF JULY AND ALL THE PRESSURE THAT COMES WITH IT!

So, after seventeen months we are (hopefully) going to see restrictions lifted and a sense of normality return.  Many false dawns along with many false starts have seen society accept, adapt and carry on regardless.  It is what the majority of us do because we have an innate desire to survive.  Sadly, it is the minority who for a wide number of reasons, make life awkward at best and dangerous in the extreme for those who have toed the line, followed guidance and been vaccinated twice.  

I understand there are those who, due to a medical condition cannot be given the jab, but in similar vein to disabled badges, 'vaccination exemptions' appear to be handed out willy-nilly.  I suspect that in many cases, the exemption holder feels, in the same way as a parent of a child with so-called 'special needs'... well, special!  It appears to be an achievement all of its own.  Something to be talked about, someone to be talked about.  We live in times when the needy are at their neediest. In a way - a very small way - I can cope with stories, or hearing word of these people, because they are basically sad under-achievers with little self-esteem and you're rather glad you don't know them personally.  I do not possess the greatest patience or time for those who do not help themselves, they generally blame everyone else for their situation and wallow in self-pity and helplessness.

Apart from the genuinely exempt and the needy exempt are those with agendas - the naysayers, disbelievers, conspiracy theorists, those who use their religion as a shield instead of a vaccination, the arrogant, the sheer bloody-minded and worst of all, the 'professional' protester, those incomplete wastes of space who drain our welfare system and contribute the square root of bugger-all to the country that houses, feeds and clothes them... (Feeling better now!)

However, cometh the 19th, cometh the implementation of our potentially new-found freedom, the finer detailed points of which are, at the time of writing, still to be announced.  It is expected that face-masks will still be necessary on transport and possibly when shopping.  I fully expect people to be keeping their distance for many a month yet regardless of any relaxation we may be afforded.  There are many who still do not wish to venture out, for the fear is palpable in many instances, especially in the older age bracket.

What I would like is a breakdown of statistics in relation to who exactly is defying advice and continuing to remain unprotected.  They obviously consider themselves above infection, or are convinced that Covid doesn't exist.  Either way they have complete disregard for others.  Ninety-nine per cent of all new cases are of the Indian... sorry, sorry... Delta variety, averaging 25,000 new cases daily, though with many fewer hospitalisations.  We've previously discussed the most infectious geographical areas and the make-up of those who live there, but is it race, religion or arrogance that deters due to information from mainly 'white professionals' advising you of both risk and protection.  A lot of professional, informed Asians work within the medical profession and encourage those within their fellow religion or race to protect themselves and others. The 19th should/will see greater numbers meeting in closer proximity.  Is it fair on those who have been responsible to have to sit next to, shop next to, have a meal next to someone who has flouted advice and therefore the opportunity of a jab? 

I still feel that a vaccination passport is the answer.  No playing the game, no freedom of movement. Arrogance fronting any perceived reason would mean being housebound.  Home deliveries only, no travel, no friends or family other than those living within that household.  Those within that household who enjoyed a modicum of intelligence and had been vaccinated would be forced to forego their freedom due to the stubborn or misguided soul(s) within their family who had made things bad for everyone.  How do we know who is a danger and who is not.  Pressure from the airline and travel industries isn't helping with more pressure heaped upon the government for one reason and one reason only - money!

I realise there would be hell to pay by the libertarians but you either play your part in society or you face the consequences.  It would of course give the rest of us a fighting chance but we sadly live in a world where rights are everything and responsibility comes a very poor second...

WHAT PRICE SUCCESS... AND FALSE PRIDE?

 

                                          WHAT PRICE SUCCESS... AND FALSE PRIDE?

Winning is everything, the taking part is essential, but the ultimate glory goes to the winner and all who sail in their moneyed fame and triumphal wake.  Agents take their cut, media invitations offering a myriad of celebrity opportunities arrive with remarkable ease and Britain's latest sensation has hit the headlines. Fame lasting from fifteen minutes to a lifetime beckons.

Not that I watch, for I have little interest in perpetual grunting, but one cannot be unaware that Wimbledon is back and taking up a lot of screen time.  Mr Murray has just been knocked out of the Men's Singles and our remaining hopes lie with... no, I do believe they have all gone, knocked out, defeated in the early stages.   So, no surprise there, but at least they took part, which is nice if you're not overly bothered about winning, but a complete bummer if you're of an extremely competitive disposition!

With the ladies 'our' collective hopes commenced this time round apparently with Johanna Konta, Heather Watson and Emma Raducanu... oh... and there is also Naiktha Bains and Eden Silva to add to the list of flag-flying hopefuls over the next few years... maybe.

The problem is, just how 'British' are they? Heather Watson was at least born here to parents carrying British passports.  That her British family history and lineage does not go back the five hundred years I would make a prerequisite for being 'British', I have to accept that this principle could be subject to discussion in certain left-wing circles.  Johanna Konta's claim to represent Britain is laughable.  She was born in Australia to Hungarian parents.  How on earth can she so readily trade nationalities and sides?  Could it be because she might, just might, win a few matches for her adopted country of choice?  And whose choice was it?   Did she make the move to become British and thus represent our mongrel land, or did the tennis authorities spot her and think 'We'll take a chance on this one 'ere!'   Who knows, but it does make you think... No it does, really!

With regard to Emma Raducanu, this seemingly talented young lady was born in Toronto to a Hungarian father and a Chinese mother.  The family moved to the UK when Emma was two years of age.   Other than living here for the majority of her still young life, what qualifies her to racket for Britain?   Hungary, China or failing that her country of origin, in her case, Canada all seem to be fair game, so surely her links to Blighty, other than residency are tenuous?  But... she might be a winner, and that's what counts!

In the case of Leeds born Naiktha Bains, her father is Indian.  She moved with him to Brisbane when she was eight years old.  Now, with the previously-mentioned thoughts in mind, she could play for GB due to her being born here, however,  there is a whopping great fly in a rather syrupy ointment.  From 2014 to 2019 she represented Australia.  She then changed allegiance and from that same year is now strutting her stuff for Britain, though she continues to be a resident of Brisbane and commutes between the two continents whilst contributing greatly to the worlds carbon footprint.  I have to ask, 'Is this right?'   Eden Silva, born in London is the offspring of a Russian father and a Sri Lankan mother.  Why is she not representing one of the two countries she is linked to by parentage as opposed to a city her parents have adopted for either work or personal reasons?  It appears to be a case of 'bugger the ethics, we need a  winner! '  Game, Set and Match to misguided and unwarranted national pride...

WHEN 'DELTA' REPLACED 'INDIAN'

 

                                                WHEN 'DELTA' REPLACED 'INDIAN'

Delta!  The new, politically-correct name for Indian, a well-known variant brought to you by the Covid family.  We've had the Kent version, now re-named Alpha, Brazil's offering is now Gamma, while South Africa chimes in with good old Beta.  It's interesting to note that nobody worried about the latter three being associated with two countries and an English county - as it happens, the 'Garden of England' - but India!  Living in Surrey, a county bordering Kent, I didn't descend into panic mode and not cross the border.  I didn't sue for compensation and trauma.  I know many a 'Man of Kent'...  and many a 'Kentish Man' come to think of it.  Mind you, they are what I'd call 'proper people' born and bred in 'Sarf East London' in the days when most of it was still Kent. 

Suddenly, a new strain appears on the Asian horizon and all hell breaks loose at the World Health Organisation.  You can just imagine a gaggle of Head Office headless chickens running about in panic as the realisation that the very origin of this latest variant could cause an outbreak of anti-Indian sentiment in far-flung overseas Indian territories such as the north-west of England for instance!  

Who do the WHO think we true Brits are?  We are no more likely to mutter a word of anti-Indian criticism or comment, for as a nation we've been programmed to accept colonisation by the migrant masses for decades.   It's what we do best, we accept.  We are a nation of acceptors.  We might grumble at home to loved ones who have witnessed Britain's diverse decline and are of a like mind, but speak publicly of fears and concerns? Only at the ballot box during the referendum did we see the public express its dissatisfaction with Britain's lot.  Sadly we, the present generation, ironically pays the price for our colonial forebears who landed on continental shores two to three hundred years ago and left us to pay for it by way of what some would  describe as 'ethnic communities' and which  many more would consider 'ghettos'. 

It isn't without coincidence that many north west towns in Lancashire and those previously within that once beautiful county and now enmeshed within the sprawling metropolis that is Manchester, have shown an inordinate increase in Covid cases.  Bedford, Luton, Slough, Reading, the 'Republic of East London' and many more towns and areas densely populated with Asians have all recorded spikes in cases, enough nationally to put back the end of lockdown while denying millions of community-spirited and responsible people from resuming their work after fifteen months of enforced lay-off!  But that's OK, everyone has rights.  Everyone has the right to say 'No' to a vaccination thus depriving themselves of protection and more importantly, others who they will undoubtably contaminate.  

The Government should make it a lot tougher, a lot more difficult to say 'No'.  I'd like to see a public proclamation stating the rights of the individual versus the penalty for nonconformity.  This would include the inability to work as it would be a condition of employment that full vaccination had taken place.  No jabs - no job!  There would be a complete withdrawal of all welfare benefits as it was the lack of action from a stubborn, selfish sod who decided to put him or herself in this position in the first place.  Admittance to any shop, leisure activity, museum, pub... in fact any outdoor pursuit would be prohibited.  In essence, one would be grounded, confined to a ghetto, literally ring-fenced by bricks, mortar and quite possibly flammable cladding.  The only travel allowed would be via a one way flight to a destination of our Government's choice, namely the country that gave its name to the variant in the first place.  Hopefully a huge dollop of humble pie would be eaten and not a little reality finally kicking in with others of a similarly selfish ilk also signing up for a jab - or two.  

What fools we are to put up with such dissent by those from an ethnic background who fail to accept our science or culture.  What fools we are to equally put up with the dross that spreads misinformation about the virus, in all its forms.  Do they really not believe what has happened worldwide over the past year and a quarter?  That the virus hasn't 'taken out' those who contribute little to humanity and all that goes with it is a real bugger, and not a tad disappointing if I'm honest, but that's life... or possibly death if you fail your fellow man - or woman, obviously!

THE CHESHAM AND AMERSHAM BY-ELECTION - AN INTERESTING RESULT

 

          THE CHESHAM AND AMERSHAM BY-ELECTION - AN INTERESTING RESULT 

This was a previously safe Tory seat although the party had been haemorrhaging votes over the past two elections in 2017 and 2019.  The constituency's seemingly popular MP, one Cheryl Gillan, achieved 33,514 votes in 2017.  That equated to 60.7 per cent of the total votes cast.  In 2019 the lady attained 30,850 votes, equal to 55.4 per cent.  

Her death brought about last weeks by-election where the Tory candidate polled a miserable 13,489 votes (35.5 per cent)  coming second to the Liberal Democrats who are probably preparing for government. They certainly would be if the now somewhat discredited David Steel was still at the party's helm!

Often the second largest party nationally takes advantage of a mid-term opportunity, but Chesham and Amersham  is not what you'd call traditional Labour territory.   It is Bucks not Bolton, very little in the way of ferrets, cloth caps and ghettos.  It has green rolling countryside... or rather it has green rolling countryside that is being built upon at a vast rate of knots.  As elsewhere in the south-east of England, county councils are under extreme government pressure to build anywhere - everywhere!  We are fools, we destroy the very reasons people moved to these towns and villages in the first place.  There is no joined-up thinking in government policy regarding house-building, merely joined-up towns. 

The Tories may well poo-poo this result but the writing was on the wall during the recent local elections when they lost many council seats to the Lib-Dems.  The irony of that lies within that party's wider policies of  relaxing immigration and refugee laws should that 'bastion of Remainers' ever get into power.  How many houses would we need for them?   The country is steeling itself for the next invasion from Hong Kong, it's only a matter of time, and where do we put all of them - their offspring, their parents, their grandparents, their Aunt Fanny Hoo Poo who is once removed twice over in the family pecking order but cannot be left behind!

This constituency is also suffering great upheaval and change brought about by the ridiculous HS2 project. Indeed, only today it was mentioned in the papers for no worse reason than its cost has just risen by another 1.6 billion pounds.  This is an added bone of contention to the local non-yokels and another reason for dissent, for protest, for voting tactically and giving a bloody nose to those who fail to listen.

Whilst the Lib-Dems crow their success it has to be noted that even though locally the party is against HS2, nationally they support it.  So what would happen if False God forbid, they ever did achieve power?  Well, national policy trumps local every time, so the destruction would continue - only with more allotted space for social housing.

What is significant is the dramatic fall in the Labour Party vote.  As mentioned above, it is not a 'Red Wall' area, but back in 2017 Labour amassed 11,374 votes (20.6 per cent) coming second, in 2019 their vote was 7,166 (12.9 per cent) coming third.  Last week they scrambled 622 votes, coming fourth after the Greens (1.1 per cent).  To rub salt into their unknown policy wounds the Labour Party ended up with less than half of the Green Party's haul of 1.480 votes (1.6 per cent), which in itself is pretty abysmal!

We have Batley and Spen, a true 'Red Wall' constituency by-election coming up next week.  'Ee by 'eck as like, that should make reet good reading and no mistake...  Now where's that ferret?