James S

UK & Malta 🇬🇧🇲🇹 | Conservative 🌳 | Westminster Politics 🏛️👑

[Kemi Badenoch @KemiBadenoch]

Every life matters.

One law. One standard. For everyone. 

This is about justice, for Henry, for his family and for all our children. They deserve better.

[christine lupton @LuptonChristine]

This…

[Wes Streeting @wesstreeting]

I’m not going to amplify Reform’s ad by sharing it, but the wilful misrepresentation of Kemi Badenoch - selectively quoting what she said about ‘white lives matter’ - is disgraceful and dangerous.

It needs to be challenged, including by those of us who are not Conservatives.

[(((Dan Hodges))) @DPJHodges]

This is Kemi Badenoch at her best. Hits precisely the right tone here.

[Kemi Badenoch @KemiBadenoch]

I don’t want to hear about Black Lives Matter.
I don’t want to hear about White Lives Matter.
Everyone matters.
Henry Nowak matters.

[Conservatives @Conservatives]

Conservatives GAIN: Westminster City Council

[One Nation Conservative Network @ONCNetwork]

Threatening voters into voting for you is unacceptable and drags our politics to a new low.

Parties should focus on delivering for the voters and uniting the country behind a common purpose

[Kemi Badenoch @KemiBadenoch]

Why did Farage run scared from news interviews today?

It’s because there’s something fishy about the £5 million he took. And he knows it.

He’s normally very happy to shout from a TV studio -as long as he controls the terms.

The truth is that cash wasn’t for Reform.
Watch👇

[James S @james_sb]

The Soapbox!!!!

[Tom Harwood @tomhfh]

Politicians arguing with members of the public used to be an absolute staple of our politics.

People blame Blair for soundbite politics and polished photo ops but even he engaged in argument with the public - and wasn't always absurdly differential.

I think it was probably the Gillian Duffy moment that destroyed what was left of politicians feeling able to have a proper barney with random members of the public.

Most self appointed statesmen now seem almost frightened when they encounter someone who might have views they disagree with. They default for 'I hear what your saying', or 'here's how we actually agree', or worst of all 'I'm a nice politician, not like those other nasty politicians'.

It's thin, thin gruel. Weak, weak sauce.

Pathetic politicians have made our public discourse fundamentally worse. Hand wringing and kowtowing take precedence in place of 'I am right, you are wrong, deal with it.'

I wonder if this all peaked in the FBPE era, when a group of quisling politicians somehow convinced large swathes of the media that using the term 'Surrender Act' in place of 'the Benn Act' was in and of itself act of violence, or at the very lest intimidation.

How the giants of the 1970s and 1980s would have laughed at that. I'm reminded of what Margaret Thatcher once told a member of the public who attempted to call her out in 1987 with "why do you see yourself as a general coming up to the final battle?" Thatcher's response? "Oh but yes it is. It is a campaign. Everyone talks about a campaign... it is the battles of democracy."

So it's good to see the spontaneous back and forth Kemi Badenoch had with a random ProPal activist this week. We need much more of this.

And crucially politicians of all parties should take note of its viral success. Far more cut through than any pre-planned stunt or scripted campaign video. People like authenticity.

There are some politicians you could imagine having this sort of interaction, and others who you simply can't. The (current) Prime Minister is and has always been firmly of the latter camp. This fact has helped sow the seeds of his own frailty, and expedited demise.

Put simply, stop being timid. It's okay to have beliefs, and it's okay to disagree with the beliefs of a random voter of the street. Whisper it, the public might even think more of you for it.

Sometimes politics should be combative!

[Tom Harwood @tomhfh]

Politicians arguing with members of the public used to be an absolute staple of our politics.

People blame Blair for soundbite politics and polished photo ops but even he engaged in argument with the public - and wasn't always absurdly differential.

I think it was probably the Gillian Duffy moment that destroyed what was left of politicians feeling able to have a proper barney with random members of the public.

Most self appointed statesmen now seem almost frightened when they encounter someone who might have views they disagree with. They default for 'I hear what your saying', or 'here's how we actually agree', or worst of all 'I'm a nice politician, not like those other nasty politicians'.

It's thin, thin gruel. Weak, weak sauce.

Pathetic politicians have made our public discourse fundamentally worse. Hand wringing and kowtowing take precedence in place of 'I am right, you are wrong, deal with it.'

I wonder if this all peaked in the FBPE era, when a group of quisling politicians somehow convinced large swathes of the media that using the term 'Surrender Act' in place of 'the Benn Act' was in and of itself act of violence, or at the very lest intimidation.

How the giants of the 1970s and 1980s would have laughed at that. I'm reminded of what Margaret Thatcher once told a member of the public who attempted to call her out in 1987 with "why do you see yourself as a general coming up to the final battle?" Thatcher's response? "Oh but yes it is. It is a campaign. Everyone talks about a campaign... it is the battles of democracy."

So it's good to see the spontaneous back and forth Kemi Badenoch had with a random ProPal activist this week. We need much more of this.

And crucially politicians of all parties should take note of its viral success. Far more cut through than any pre-planned stunt or scripted campaign video. People like authenticity.

There are some politicians you could imagine having this sort of interaction, and others who you simply can't. The (current) Prime Minister is and has always been firmly of the latter camp. This fact has helped sow the seeds of his own frailty, and expedited demise.

Put simply, stop being timid. It's okay to have beliefs, and it's okay to disagree with the beliefs of a random voter of the street. Whisper it, the public might even think more of you for it.

Sometimes politics should be combative!

[Don McGowan @donmcgowan]

I believe this is called voter intimidation.

Or in Mafia terms, a shakedown.

Either way, both pathetic and illegal.

[BBC Newsnight @BBCNewsnight]

“The first role of any Government… is to leave something better for the next generation than your generation inherited - this is not done now”

Ex-PM Sir John Major says young people are inheriting a “more difficult” and “less favourable world”.

#Newsnight

[Toby Byfield @TobiasByfield]

This is actually unbelievable. Here, Zia Yusuf (Reform's 'Shadow Home Secretary') is effectively *threatening* voters by saying they will place migrant detention centres in their constituencies if they don't vote in a Reform MP or a Reform Council.

This is absolutely disgusting.

[James S @james_sb]

This was a brilliant impromptu response from Badenoch, it proves that Soapbox politics still has a place in the modern age, and with social media may be ever more effective than it was in the 90s!

I strongly encourage CCHQ to consider to bring back the soapbox!

[Conservatives @Conservatives]

We won’t be shouted down for standing up for Britain’s Jewish community, who are under siege.

Unless we stand up for the truth, what happened in the 1930s will happen again.

Watch @KemiBadenoch take down a leftist heckler on the campaign trail ⬇️

[Kemi Badenoch @KemiBadenoch]

Here’s how I see it.

[Kemi Badenoch @KemiBadenoch]

You may not agree with me, but you will always know where you stand with me.

Today in Billericay, a heckler tried to shout me down as I spoke about the normalisation of hatred towards Jews. I did not back down, because it needs to be said. British Jews are being targeted and too many people are pretending this is the same experience of other minorities. This lady implied Muslims are being similarly targeted. This is simply not true.

Let's be honest about what is happening. Certain groups (in particular but not solely Islamic Extremists) are creating a climate of fear and intimidation that is normalising Jew hatred. I will never stand for that. Governments have spent too long hand-wringing, making excuses and hoping it would go away. It is time to call this what it is: a national emergency in our attitude, our urgency and our response.

I will always engage with people who disagree with me. That is politics. But there is a difference between argument and intimidation. Shouting does not make a bad case good. It's done to silence others. And it certainly does not change the truth.

The truth is that British Jews have been made to feel less safe in their own country. Our country. They are being singled out, threatened and harassed in ways that should shame everyone in public life. If we do not stand up now and stop this rise in antisemitism, then why bother saying "Never Again" at Holocaust Memorial Day? Because this is how it starts.

I am not prepared to play along with the pretence that this is normal, or manageable, or just another example of tension between groups. It really is not. It is targeted hatred and it is getting worse.

So my message is simple. Not here. Not in Britain. And not on our watch. We need to stop the hand-wringing and start doing the right thing. That means standing with British Jews openly, unapologetically and without fear.

[James S @james_sb]

Britain didn’t have their support the last time either.

[Politics UK @PolitlcsUK]

🚨 NEW: The US is considering a review of its stance on the Falkland Islands as punishment for the UK not supporting the war on Iran

[@Reuters]