As the local elections approach some councillors are deploying the usual creative thinking when it comes to scoring votes. A common method is to strategically forego any mention of your own party…
Over in Essex of all places Tory councillor Ross Playle is going for some Reform-style colouring on the top of his main pamphlet – with now mention of the Tories either. Nice quotes on display there…
No mention of the Tories here either:
Chameleon politics…
UPDATE: Ross says this was posted on an online group that doesn’t “allow” political material. Doesn’t explain the Reform colour…
Péter Magyar’s election victory has stirred the hearts of left-wing liberal media in the UK. It’s quite the phenomenon…
Alistair Campbell remarked this afternoon that Magyar “matched the strategy to the needs of the time” and Emily Maitlis said: “Young people spurred on by the need to see their country change.” You can sense the slight discomfort…
Magyar summarised:
- “They are eating the ducks.” Magyar claimed Filipino guest workers at a Samsung plant were so starved they ate ducks and goldfish from the Budapest Zoo. He later corrected himself to say it was the City Park lake.
- Stricter on immigration than Orbán: Pledged to ban all non-EU guest workers from June 2026. Accused the government of importing “60,000 Asian economic migrants a year.” AFP reported his anti-immigration views are “even stricter than Orbán’s.”
- Tisza manifesto: keep the border fence, reject the EU Migration Pact, “zero tolerance” on illegal migration.
- Opposes arms to Ukraine: Opposes sending weapons to Ukraine or deploying troops. Said Ukraine joining NATO and the EU would “increase the chances of” escalation. Has publicly clashed with Zelensky…
- Silent on gay rights: Called the Pride ban a “red herring.” Has not endorsed same-sex marriage, gender recognition, or reversing any Orbán-era restrictions. Activist Geza Buzas-Habel told AFP: “The main opposition is unwilling to communicate on LGBTQ rights, so we must pressure them.“
Keir Starmer said: “This is an historic moment, not only for Hungary, but for European democracy. I look forward to working with you for the security and prosperity of both our countries.” Zack Polanski even chimed in: “Orban’s defeat shows that when we stand together against the politics of hate and division, hope wins and the far right friends of Farage can be defeated.” That’s a Magyar endorsement – wouldn’t be the first time Polanski had changed his colours…
10 a.m. Eastern Time. The IRGC have said they will retaliate. It goes on…
Traumatised Labour has not yet started the recruitment process for a new director general in the Propriety and Constitution Group of the Cabinet Office. This is usually a powerful role for a civil servant which can decide political fates and deals with a lot of sensitive events in the day-to-day of Whitehall…
The post was previously staffed by Darren Tierney, who was rated as capable, before he left to run the ONS in August last year. The post has still not been filled…
In response to a parliamentary question from Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake a Labour minister said:
“The Director General for Propriety and Constitution Group is currently filled on an interim basis, a permanent appointment has not been made. The recruitment campaign is still currently in planning stages and details will be released in due course.”
Ellen Atkinson is listed on government website as the Director General for group – she was hired in violation of ethics rules. Interestingly the government has decided that she is there on an interim basis…
That is a gap of nine months before the government has even bothered beginning the process to find a new propriety chief. Has Starmer lost interest in the concept…
Speaking at an IPPR think tank event in London, the Health Secretary compared striking junior doctors to mutinous sailors.
“I feel like we’ve turned the ship, the boat’s going in the right direction, except some of the crew are trying to row in one direction while the rest of us are going in the other. You can’t make progress that way. We are seeing an improving NHS, and we’ve seen improvement despite resident doctors’ strikes, but the fact is, performance would have been better and there would have been more money to invest in staff and services if the BMA hadn’t been undertaking the strike action.”
