Forum Topic

Farage Wins Clacton By-Election

Turnout was 44.37 and Farage won 62% of the vote👍Binface was consigned to the bin!

Sue Hammond ● 6d83 Comments

Mr Brigo'But more to the point, what is your solution to reduce the price we pay for water supply and waste disposal ?"Did I suddenly just get appointed to the government then? I guess I missed the announcement?'I recall this thread was started or at least moved on to cover the Labour Party's plan to nationalise Thames Water and reduce the charges we pay.Many like you objected though some of us thought the running of a monopolistic utility was unlikely to be improved by the  action of putting Civil Servants in charge and in any case the enormous cost of doing so would punch a big whole in Government finances to the tune of many billions.Not sure of Mr Burnham's position today.It was your objections to my criticisms, with as usual, no alternative measures proposed, that got you into the debate.As to you being appointed to the government this would not surprise me.All Labour has to do is get Fleur Anderson to stand down and  you put yourself up for election in her place as was the case with Burnham at Makerfield.I am sure that with your business acumen and obvious general political nous you would soon get a Cabinet post. As to 'Why do you always put a space between the last word and a question mark or exclamation mark? I've noticed it a lot and always wondered...' the answer is that I was taught to do so when studying for my English Language GCE at Grammar school.I understand you learnt English in Naples.Is that not so ?

John Hawkes ● 1d

"But more to the point, what is your solution to reduce the price we pay for water supply and waste disposal ?"Did I suddenly just get appointed to the government then? I guess I missed the announcement?***actual genuine question alert***Why do you always put a space between the last word and a question mark or exclamation mark? I've noticed it a lot and always wondered...I think Putney deserves to know!

Michael Brigo ● 1d

Mr Brigo'Must be nice to be so wealthy that you don't care how much stuff costs?'Oh I do care.For instance the cost I incur to support illegal immigrants and others receiving welfare benefits because mental health issues make it impossible for them to work.My situation since you ask is the result of years of study leading to a well renumerated career and then hard work in it.Plus careful spending especially on luxury items and activities and judicious savings and investments.I think the latter is now regarded as anti-social wealth accumulation and will soon be heavily taxed when I move on to post at that big Forum in the sky !However, I doubt that as a business owner you are short of a few bob.But more to the point, what is your solution to reduce the price we pay for water supply and waste disposal ?Let us know and I am sure one of us will pass it on to Andy Burnham.

John Hawkes ● 1d

"I am afraid that on the issue of water pricing I am now somewhat of the same mind as Clark Gable in 'Gone with the  Wind'."Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn"."Must be nice to be so wealthy that you don't care how much stuff costs?

Michael Brigo ● 2d

Just in case you think this is an easy option!https://www.greenmatters.com/big-impact/desalination-negative-environmental-impacts

Philippa Bond ● 2d

Ms Bond 'Has anybody actually read the White Paper which is on the Govt website - and which I haven't got round to reading yet?'No, and I don't feel I am likely to.I am afraid that on the issue of water pricing I am now somewhat of the same mind as Clark Gable in 'Gone with the  Wind'."Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn".

John Hawkes ● 2d

Has anybody actually read the White Paper which is on the Govt website - and which I haven't got round to reading yet?IIRC the idea is to get rid of Ofwat and have a stronger regulatory authority.  The complaint years ago was that Ofwat would never allow the Price of water to be raised.  The complaint now seems to be that it now has.  How does the UK price compare with other countries? 

Philippa Bond ● 2d

The figure of £100 billion for the renationalisation of the water companies actually comes from Defra, but a lower cost might achieved by defrauding the shareholders e.g. by repaying them the value of their original investment rather than the current value of their shares.But after renationalisation the government would have to find the money to build the reservoirs and repair the leaks, which in the case of Thames Water alone would come to over £20 billion. So I agree with you, Jonathan. Renationalisation isn’t the answer, despite Andy Burnham’s naive comment to the ‘Guardian’.

Steven Rose ● 3d

From the Independent -'A Labour MP has been suspended as he faces questions over taxpayer-funded Covid business loans.Bayo Alaba, the MP for Southend East and Rochford, is understood to have referred himself to the Labour Party for investigation after The Times approached him with queries about a Covid-era loan given to one of his businesses.The newspaper reported that he attempted to wind up one of his businesses before settling one of two bounceback loans he took out.Mr Alaba is now repaying both loans, The Times reports.The Labour Party said the matters will be “investigated in line with the party’s rules”'.Will this be followed up by the leftist MSM with the same alacrity and conviction with which they track Farage's financial dealings ?

John Hawkes ● 3d

No inside knowledge Steven, just a belief that a possibly expensive renationalisation of the water industry is unlikely to happen.  The range of cost estimates runs from £10 billion to your £100 billion. The lower number is more realistic but it can be avoided by what I believe he is more likely to go for: "more public control" in the form of much tighter regulation (see earlier posting).

Jonathan Callaway ● 3d

"I wonder how many people, elderly or with mental health issues, were scared out of their wits or worse by this ?"Good to know you are still with us John

Michael Brigo ● 3d

Mr Brigo.Anyway, Andy will fix it !Perhaps he can treat us to another pointless emergency alert.'I wonder how many people, elderly or with mental health issues, were scared out of their wits or worse by this ?Won't help to reduce the burden on the NHS.Perhaps more pertinent is that should the alarm be used to forewarn us of an invasion by Russia then no one will take any notice !However it could be useful in our Channel port towns when another 747s-worth of illegal immigrants are about to depart  their rubber dinghy, hit the beach and rush off to the nearest asylum processing centre or more likely an internet café to register for benefits !

John Hawkes ● 3d

And before private ownership the water companies sold off the site at hammersmith bridge to St Pauls School that had reservoirs and turned the reservoir at barnes into the wetland centre.

Andy Pike ● 3d

It is reassuring to read, Jonathan, that Thames Water won’t be renationalised. Perhaps you have spoken to the Prime Minister since he gave an interview to the ‘Guardian’’ during the Makerfield campaign when he said, ‘Public ownership is absolutely an option. I would say, for Thames Water Water that is what should be done’. But of course aspiring Labour leaders say a lot of things which they disavow once they move into Number Ten. Look at Keir Starmer.

Steven Rose ● 3d

Anyway, Andy will fix it !Perhaps he can treat us to another pointless emergency alert.

Michael Brigo ● 3d

Mr Carter'There was a piece on Farage in Sunday's Observer'You seem to be as obsessed by Farage as the Mail is with Jason Arday.We well understand that you believe Farage is 'extreme right wing' in his politics, perhaps verging on being a fascist.But as regards to his foreign policy what you quote shows him not to be as anti-Israel, nay antisemitic as Lowe or you are.But I ask again, which of Reform's policies do you object to ?

John Hawkes ● 3d

Mr Brigo'And yet you can choose your electricity provider? I haven't noticed all those companies setting up their own infrastructure in the every street?'I can only assume that there is a difference in that the infrastructure required to provide and charge for a non-physical product such as electricity is more straightforward and shareable than it would be for a physical service such as water provision and waste disposal. Though I suppose we could all have water meters fitted by whatever water company we might choose.Anyway, Andy will fix it !

John Hawkes ● 3d

As householders we have no choice who provides us with our tap water - it is a monopoly and we are lucky that it is provided as drinking water standard unlike in many other countries - and we waste it flushing loos and watering gardens when we could and probably should be using much more grey water for those purposes.

Philippa Bond ● 3d

There was a piece on Farage in Sunday's Observer  (https://observer.co.uk/news/politics/article/why-farage-could-be-the-rising-tide-that-sinks-everything-around-him - paywall) which includes this, which provides an interesting sidelight on his views:"Farage treats Restore, in part, as an old problem – one of those beyond-the-pale political parties like the BNP that he has always claimed to have stood as a bulwark against. But in comments last week, it was clear there was wiggle room. 'So we can talk to Rupert Lowe,' said Farage, 'it's fine. But when you have... publicly supportive people demanding that all Jews be removed from the country, just as an example – the condition I would put on it is that those people would have to be out of the inner circle'."Only "out of the inner circle"? Any decent person would expel them at once and exclude them completely. .

Richard Carter ● 3d

Mr Ixer'I can choose my ISP but I don’t think there's any alternatives to my water provider in Putney, I'm stuck with Thames Water?'Does this not prove the obvious differences between the twocommodities/services and hence why market forces cannot be easily applied to water and thus some other governance procedures are necessary ?Oh, and does it really matter ?

John Hawkes ● 3d

"For this to happen they would need to set up their own infrastructure (reservoirs, pipes, tunnels etc.) "And yet you can choose your electricity provider? I haven't noticed all those companies setting up their own infrastructure in the every street?

Michael Brigo ● 3d

Mr Brigo'Which water companies do you have the choice to use John?'Good point but your argument is based upon a non-sequitur.Firstly only one service is being provided here - water provision and disposal and the only differential between providers would be price.For this to happen they would need to set up their own infrastructure (reservoirs, pipes, tunnels etc.) as have other utilities done for their services. eg EE and Vodaphone for telecoms and broadband.And for this effort I would still receive an identical service.So I am not bothered about choice.I am happy for the Government to empower Ofwat to take care of my interests until Burnham nationalises the utility and for his new 'Secretary of State for Water Provision and Waste Disposal' to reduce the price I pay.

John Hawkes ● 3d

Oops "a fundamental MISundernding of the business"!

Michael Ixer ● 3d

In my opinion comparing the privatisation of telecommunications which, was going through radical technology changes - computerisation of switching, introduction of optical technologies, the initial mobile phone services, the move towards new communications protocol standards - with that or water (or an oil company) shows a fundamental understanding of the business. Don't forget, BT Openreach still provide the ISP connections to the majority of premises - some have cable but that's been through some financial difficulties before Virgin's consolidation - and my understanding is BT still provide many national trunk and international connections for other telcos.I can choose my ISP but I don’t think there's any alternatives to my water provider in Putney, I'm stuck with Thames Water?

Michael Ixer ● 3d

"Do you wish our phone and broadband services were still provided solely by a monopolistic BT and hence giving you no other choice ?"Which water companies do you have the choice to use John?

Michael Brigo ● 3d

Mr CarterI thought the issue was lack of rainfall (I blame God) not lack of storage capacity.If the water companies are such money grabbing price gougers, why would they not build more reservoirs ?Anyway Andy Burnham will be re-nationalising Thames water soon, assuming he can lay his hands on our money to do so.'The estimated cost for the government to renationalize Thames Water could range from £10 billion to over £100 billion.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has estimated the cost at approximately £100 billion, which includes both equity and debt. Other estimates suggest costs could be as high as £144 billion, considering additional investment commitments and inflation'.

John Hawkes ● 3d

Ms Bond'No,  they can't face the fact that the privatisation "experiment" as Margaret Thatcher called it - was and is an expensive and complicated mistake!'Do you wish our phone and broadband services were still provided solely by a monopolistic BT and hence giving you no other choice ?And are BP and others with North Sea gas and oil extraction licences not contributing to the country's economy not least in the licence fees and taxes they pay  ?

John Hawkes ● 3d

Please do remember that in order to build reservoirs they have to use land which is sure to be in other use eg:  already housing people (and there is always a call for more housing rather than less) and farming land (there is also a call for more food to be grown here rather than importing so much).  It is easy for people in London who are unlikely to have a reservoir built in their back garden (with years of heavy lorries and equipment trundling around etc disrupting their lives) or suffer from the other two situations above to just want another reservoir so that they can be carefree or careless with their water use.  There is much more than one side to every story and those who will be otherwise affected by new reservoirs are calling for more attention to be paid to the trillions of water leaks and the outdated equipment that they don't ever see enough, hear enough or read enough about being done.We could for a start use a lot more 'grey water' as they have learned to do in Australia.  You can now buy not just loos that use less water (dual flush) but also loos which have a basin on top so that the water you use to wash your hands then drops down to be used for flushing - something that could be considered for the smallest room in the home.  Since so much of our water in London goes into a combined drainage system (mostly buildings before 1972 I believe) much more needs to be done to separate our rainwater so that there isn't flooding when it does rain since much of the rainfall when it comes is so much heavier now and there is huge and fast run off when the land is so dry. (Check out water butts, water storage and rain gardens etc as well as reducing concrete and paving and creating rather than reducing a lot more permeable surfaces).The irritation and bad and dangerous behaviour of people who may well be caused some delay on the roads by broken and leaking pipes is too often wrongly directed towards those workers on the street trying to fix one problem when so often fixing one bit of pipe causes stress on another part causing another leak. There is more most of us could do about the situation ourselves!

Philippa Bond ● 3d

Renationalisation will not take place and even if it did compensating shareholders and lenders to moribund commercial enterprises will not cost anything like their current valuations. What is far more likely is a new, much tighter, regulatory regime that forces them to do all the things they have failed to do over previous decades.The water companies have failed us, their shareholders have loaded them with debt, extracted the proceeds as dividends, management fees, enormous bonuses and the like, leaving grievously underinvested companies with leaky pipes, an appalling pollution record and record debts.  At the moment consumers, who have zero choice in the matter, are paying the cost through their water bills.As for reservoirs, this can be described as a whole system failure - the companies, the planners, local and national authorities have all failed to act.  Now we have a major drought (in the south and southeast at least) perhaps the government can impose an action plan with a chance of success.I am currently in Scotland, where the rain gods have been as active as ever, and some of the more extreme Nats up here see this as an opportunity to flog their excess water to England.  If only it were that easy!  There is no pipeline connection currently and I doubt there will ever be one big enough to supply all the water the south of England needs.  And who would pay for it anyway??And, in case nobody noticed, they have had major moorland fires in the Cairngorms, so even here the rain gods have a job on their hands.

Jonathan Callaway ● 3d

Is that no, we don't need more reservoirs, or no, their construction has not been blocked by local authorities, or no, Reform's policy of overriding local objections to building reservoirs is wrong, or no, anything proposed by Reform is wrong (until it is proposed a left wing party)?Renationalisation of the water companies would cost over £100 billion to compensate shareholders (which include pension funds). And after renationalisation the state would need to find the £20 billion or so needed to repair the infrastructure of Thames Water alone. Where is that money coming from?

Steven Rose ● 3d

Just to underline that, the privatised water companies haven't built a new reservoir in over 30 years!

Richard Carter ● 3d

No,  they can't face the fact that the privatisation "experiment" as Margaret Thatcher called it - was and is an expensive and complicated mistake!

Philippa Bond ● 3d

I think Reform's point is that Britain is blessed with abundant rainfall, so rather than rationing water, we should be building more reservoirs, whose construction is often blocked by local authorities.

Steven Rose ● 4d

Mr CarterIf you had bothered to read the Metro article (and by the way I am pleased to see you take your information from a journal that I would agree has more intellectual credibility than the Guardian) you would see the key point raised was -'Announcing a new plan to end annual hosepipe bans, Nigel Farage’s party said the situation is ‘the consequence of the Tories importing 12 million people over fourteen years, placing huge strain on our infrastructure’'.Do you not think it might be possible that a vast increase in the population may have put a strain on our water infrastructure ?Especially as most lefties like you seem to be attacking Thames Water for its lack of infrastructure investment over the period with as much venom as you attack Farage.As Harry Hill might have said -"Who do we hate most Reform or a money gouging water utility company called Thames ?There's only one way to find out - FIGHT"

John Hawkes ● 4d

Reform gets wackier and wackier. Now they're claiming that immigration is the cause of the hosepipe ban! Furthermore, they propose scrapping the target of reducing public water supply usage in England by a fifth by 2038, arguing the UK "must embrace abundance."So their answer to the likely water shortage is ..... just use more of it! Crazy or what?https://metro.co.uk/2026/08/16/reform-uk-says-mass-immigration-blame-hosepipe-ban-affecting-millions-29388954/

Richard Carter ● 4d

Oh !I also forget to remind posters of the free clothes, concert tickets and other freebies that were accepted by Labour Leader Starmer, his wife (sic) and Deputy Rayner.'On 24 August 2024, in what has been dubbed the "passes for glasses" affair, The Times reported that, shortly after Starmer became the prime minister, Lord Alli, Starmer's biggest personal donor, had been given a security pass. The pass gave Alli unrestricted access to Downing Street, and he then hosted a party there for other Labour Party donors. This gave rise to suspicions of "cash for access" and claims of cronyism.On 15 September 2024, reports emerged in the British media that Starmer had initially failed to declare £5,000 of gifts used to purchase clothes for his wife, Victoria Starmer. The gifts had been given by Waheed Alli, Baron Alli, who had also given Starmer a number of clothing-related gifts, including £2,435 worth of glasses, and had given Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner gifts worth £3,550 of clothes in June 2024. The donations, which included a personal shopper and clothing alterations, were said to have occurred both before and after the general election.It was subsequently reported that Starmer had accepted over £107,145 worth of gifts, benefits, and hospitality since the 2019 general election, including tickets to Arsenal F.C. matches and concerts from Taylor Swift and Coldplay, two-and-a-half times more than any other MP. It was also reported that Health Secretary Wes Streeting had been gifted four Taylor Swift concert tickets, worth a total of £1,160, by The Football Association, and that Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves had accepted £7,500 worth of clothes in 2024 from Juliet Rosenfeld, which were registered as donations "to support the shadow chancellor's office".So if Farage is accepting political financial donations from what the MSM likes to call 'dodgy doners' he is following in the footsteps of the leaders of the Righteous Party.For some reason or another however only he receives daily media scrutiny.

John Hawkes ● 4d

Mr Rose'Nevertheless it seems to me that many of the criticisms of Farage on this thread are not based on fact and chiefly motivated by prejudice'. Absolutely right.He seems to be speaking out loud what many are thinking but his detractors will never explain why they detest him so.(Cue Messrs Ixer, Carter, Ainsworth).For some reason Farage receives from some posters on this Forum (the West Putney middle class faux-progressives) and on a daily basis from the Guardian (most posters I would assume being its readers and subscribers), personal attacks and investigations into his financial affairs and other aspects of his private life which no other politician is exposed to.For instance Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government since 2026 resigned in 2025 after a stamp duty underpayment controversy but was later cleared of deliberate wrongdoing. This was on her second home, by the sea. Careless and obviously incompetent.And on 28 November 2024, it emerged that Louise Haigh who has served as First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office since July 2026 and previously served as Secretary of State for Transport from July to November 2024, Haigh had pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation in 2014 after falsely reporting in 2013 to police that her work phone had been stolen; she subsequently resigned as Transport Secretary'.Careless and just a little bit dodgy.What criminal offence has Farage committed ?More to the point what Reform policies does the Labour Party and many Forum posters take such an exception to ?Not illegal immigration across the Channel surely; the electorate's most pressing concern.On this issue Farage is closer to the British public than Burnham is.That is assuming Burnham has any views on the matter or if he does is not too frit to share with us what they are.Nor what he is going to do about it.Still we must applaud the speed with which he applied himself to the burning issue (sic) of portable BBQs !

John Hawkes ● 5d

I am not a Reform supporter, principally because I don't think Nigel Farage and his team have sufficient experience or competence to run the country. While I agree with some of their policies I don't think their plan to deposit illegal migrants on French shores has been thought through. And I don't support their populist refusal to restore the two child benefit cap.Nevertheless it seems to me that many of the criticisms of Farage on this thread are not based on fact and chiefly motivated by prejudice viz:1) Clacton was a 'pyrrhic victory' - he actually got more votes than last time2) the election was a waste of public money - true, but so were Makerfield and Manchester3) Farage disrespected the people of Clacton by failing to turn up at the declaration - possibly, but not more than the mainstream parties who refused to to field any candidates4) Farage lied by claiming that the police had warned him of a possible demonstration at the declaration - he may well have been given an unofficial warning by someone on the police force, a warning later found to be based on credible evidence5) Farage is hypocritical in presenting himself as anti-establishment becausea) his first name is Nigel - sillyb) he went to a public school - is Harriet Harman disqualified from representing Labour because she went to St Paul's?c) he made money as a city trader - are Labour ministers, all of whom earn well in excess of £100k pa, hypocritical in claiming to represent 'working people'?I suspect that the motive for the dislike of Farage exhibited on this thread has little to do with Reform's policies and a great deal to do with lingering resentment over the Rerendum, an issue in which people generally have invested far more emotion than it deserves.

Steven Rose ● 5d

Mr Rose'Much has been made of the waste of public money by calling this election but no one seemed to be concerned when an election was called in  Makerfield in order to parachute Andy Burnham into a safe seat, which in turn necessitated a mayoral election in Manchester.'But at least the taxpayer was not asked to stump up for a donkey to take him on his messianic tour of the country !'The notion that Nigel Farage is disqualified from attacking the establishment by virtue of having attended an independent schools and made money as a city trader is rather silly. If he proposed the abolition of private education or advicated swinging taxes on banks, he could be accused of hypocrisy. But he has advocated neither of these policies, unlike many in the Labour movement.'And while we are onto the topic of political hypocrisy involving the charging VAT on private schools AND and wealth derived from nefarious work in the City, how about this."A Labour Cabinet minister has been accused of hypocrisy after it has emerged she sends all three of her children to private school.Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh confirmed to the Mail on Sunday that her children are privately educated, despite backing Labour's decision to impose VAT on private school fees.Ms Fahnbulleh, 46, declined to say how much the family spends on fees, but the MP and her City trader husband, Graham, are believed to pay at least £50,000 a year.🎼🎵🎶 "The working class can kiss my arse I'm in the Labour Cabinet at last"

John Hawkes ● 5d

Pleased I'm thawing out your icy heart, Mr Hawkes. 

Michael Ixer ● 5d

‘Who is this Carter bloke?  He always seems to be such a bad loser…’🤣

Sue Hammond ● 5d

Totally transparent, Mike!

Jonathan Callaway ● 6d

Who is this Carter bloke? He always seems to be such a bad loser..

Michael Brown ● 6d

swingeing

Steven Rose ● 6d

Much has been made of the waste of public money by calling this election but no one seemed to be concerned when an election was called in  Makerfield in order to parachute Andy Burnham into a safe seat, which in turn necessitated a mayoral election in Manchester.The notion that Nigel Farage is disqualified from attacking the establishment by virtue of having attended an independent schools and made money as a city trader is rather silly. If he proposed the abolition of private education or advicated swinging taxes on banks, he could be accused of hypocrisy. But he has advocated neither of these policies, unlike many in the Labour movement. Farage's main complaint against the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat establishment is that they have allowed waves of immigration which have undermined living standards in working class communities. He

Steven Rose ● 6d

I was going to second Lucille's comment, Jonathan. Now you'll think I'm just doing it for a coffee and pastry :-)

Michael Ixer ● 6d

Gosh, thank you Lucille! Next coffee is on me, with a suitably unhealthy pastry on top!  :))

Jonathan Callaway ● 6d

@LucilleIt is being widely reported now that the police were informed of a demonstration which turned out to be a very large group of masked men planning to disrupt the election process.  Reform appears to to have made the decision not to possibly inflame the situation by Farage attending.  There are clips on line.

Robert Wheeler ● 6d

Ms Grant'I agree Richard, Farage is definitely an 'establishment' man'.Whereas Mr carter is a horny handed man of the people.

John Hawkes ● 6d

Mr IxerHeart warming to read the Ixers are both willing to deliver comfort to their friends in need AND so knowledgeable regarding Wagnerian opera !

John Hawkes ● 6d

Ms Guy'It is the Labour Party who lost touch with the workers, and this really showed itself with the snooty Lady Nugee.Will the Labour Party be housing refugees on Hampstead Heath and Primrose Hill?@Spot on.Nor will it house any in West Putney.

John Hawkes ● 6d

Where did I knock the US, Mr Hawkes? It's your strange imagination. My point was; if Farage spends so much time in the US, perhaps he could divert some investments to assist his constituents? I've a lot of time for US tech, having worked for a small US software house at one time - and without Cisco. Microsoft, Bell Labs, etc I'd probably never had a career. I am, of course, disappointed when great UK companies such as Darktrace end up in US hands, but if that's where the investment is, so be it. I agree a warehouse would provide employment - why do you image I suggested it? Your logic baffles me! of course, the introduction of robots and AI, etc will reduce such opportunities but will have the benefit of reducing prices for consumers. Unfortunately, with probably and even greater decline of retail outlets in High Streets.Yes, when large amounts of money was being thrown at "the Internet" Bezos had the business model and staying power to exploit it when many didn't really see how to make money from it - I'm sure AI will have a shake out soon.Fleur Anderson does do a lot of campaigning in Parliament on behalf of Putney: traffic/Hammersmith Bridge, Wimbledon Tennis Club Expansion, local amenities, etc; but I don't think Sue answered my question?

Michael Ixer ● 6d

Ms Grant'No one is being 'snobby', Robert. It's a fact that Farage went to a prestigious private school and worked in the City.'Why do you find this so relevant such that you have to comment on it ?Are you against private education (I assume neither you, members of your family or friends did so) and do you not recognise that Finance is about the only industry in which the UK has world leadership 'Nationally, the financial and professional services industry contributed a record £110.2bn to the public purse in 2023. This is 12.3% of total UK tax receipts: more than the government’s annual education budget and more than half the health budget.'So why do you you denigrate those that work in it ?

John Hawkes ● 6d

Ms Grant'I watch French and American news outlets and Binface has definitely put Clacton on the map'.This person was a self-serving publicity seeking upper class leftie.From Spiked Online -'Binface was the ideal mouthpiece for Britain’s death-rattling political class. His real name is Jonathan David Harvey. He’s 46 (maaate). He went to Oxford. He’s a longstanding regime comedian, penning safe gags for knackered shows like Have I Got News For You. He poses for selfies with Ian Hislop for heaven’s sake. And – you won’t believe this – he hates Brexit. One of his policy proposals is to have a referendum on whether we should have another referendum. My splitting sides. Little wonder this state-sanctioned edgelord, this lapdog in a leather cape, was embraced by the elite as the ideal shit-stirrer to send down to Clacton.The chattering-class swooning over Binface was insane. ‘I am supporting Count Binface’, said Lib Dem leader Ed Davey. The then PM, Keir Starmer, backed him too. Then there was all the maniacal cackling in the ‘liberal’ media. Every bald podcast dad frothed over the prospect that Farage might ‘lose to a bin’. Is Binface ‘the hero the country needs?’, wondered a nutter at the Guardian. Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart – the kings of turbo-smug centrism – gushingly interviewed him, which I guess is a step up from gushingly interviewing former psycho jihadists whose armies butchered ‘infidels’. Better a man in a bin talking shit than a man in a mask slaughtering Christians'.And I am surprised to read that you who I take to have very sound and sensible views when it comes to Israel and the attacks it suffers, can be so patronising regarding fellow citizens .'The idiots in Clacton are the 22,239 who voted for a man who couldn't care less about them'.This is of course has no basis in fact and you would not dare write such were the people referred to were non-white and lived in say Brixton.'No serious contender from either Labour or Conservatives were put up against Farage'.Which shows what contempt they have for the voters in Clacton and also they were scared, especially Labour, of how many votes they would receive compared to Reform.I wonder if Burnham will deign to visit Clacton when he goes on his regal tour of the UK ?And BTW is he coming to Putney ?

John Hawkes ● 6d

Mr Ixer'Hasn't he spent more time in Washington, DC and Mar-a-Lago than Clacton.  Is US Big Tech going to build an AI datacenter there? If so, I've not heard about it; perhaps Amazon could build a distribution warehouse there? 'Why do you always go out of your way to knock the USA ?Such a warehouse I am sure would be a valuable source of employment and well received.That is why Amazon was welcomed with open arms, even by the SNP, when it opened such just outside Glasgow.Not built by 'US Big Tech' but by US initiative and finance which as you well know is able to take risks on such a new method of on-line shopping.And now of course Bezos is re-investing in space travel.I wonder what revolutionary economic and technological ideas Peter Kyle has in mind ?That is when he has put them in front of and had them accepted by The Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP the Equalities (DEI) Minister. BTW what benefits has our Labour MP Fleur Anderson brought to Putney ?

John Hawkes ● 6d

So why did he lie about a police warning given to him that there was going to be trouble? Honestly Sue, Farage has pulled the wool over your eyes.

Lucille Grant ● 6d

Sue, I've known Jonathan for very many years and he is the least snobby person I know.

Lucille Grant ● 6d

Never thought I'd be agreeing with you Richard! Hypocrite is too kind a term for these two charlatans.

Lucille Grant ● 6d

No one is being 'snobby', Robert. It's a fact that Farage went to a prestigious private school and worked in the City.

Lucille Grant ● 6d

I agree Richard, Farage is definitely an 'establishment' man.

Lucille Grant ● 6d

None of them understand irony …

Sue Hammond ● 6d

Yes Sue I am serious. I watch French and American news outlets and Binface has definitely put Clacton on the map. The idiots in Clacton are the 22,239 who voted for a man who couldn't care less about them. No serious contender from either Labour or Conservatives were put up against Farage as it was a farcical bi election and a complete waste of tax payers money and energy.

Lucille Grant ● 6d

The Uni Party is complaining that Nigel didn't turn up for the result, but the Uni Party was absent for the election! 🤣

Michael Brown ● 6d

@MI 13.38  Michael, I have no idea about any forthcoming data centres or Amazon warehouses  being built in Clacton, but who knows? 🤷🏻‍♀️ However Farage must have been beneficial as Clacton’s MP or this by-election would have been the perfect opportunity for the voters to kick him out forever.  I am now now waiting for you to mention the Russians …🤣

Sue Hammond ● 6d

That's fair enough, Sue. I prefer going for a drink with my mates to celebrate rather than any critics, but why seemingly make up a false story about a credible threat that Essex Police have contradicted? I'd agree it's credible that Binface or others might have taken the piss out of him; why not just be honest: that he thought the whole charade - that he started - demeaned democracy, if that's what he thought? Anyway, Mr Farage's victory did some good. My wife was visiting an elderly friend in hospital who's had a major stroke and apparently the friend perked up on hearing about Farage's victory. Another friend posted a picture on Facebook from Bayeuth of Angela Merkel looking grumpy, but it's unclear if that was because of Nigel's victory or disapproval of the AI Das Rheingold production ...

Michael Ixer ● 6d

Clacton Has Strengthened FarageRoss Clark - The Spectator https://spectator.com/article/clacton-has-strengthened-nigel-farage/BTW to everyone who is squawking that Farage was wrong to not show up for the declaration - he was actually hosting huge a celebratory party for his followers which, to him, was far more important.  Plus he had no intention of giving any credence or photo opportunities to the dustbin dunce.  Or to any of the other 33 nobodies.

Sue Hammond ● 6d

I think it was the late Jilly Cooper in her book “Class”, who wrote back in the 80s that the upper class and working class have a lot more in common than you would think, and Nigel Farage realises that.  
It is the Labour Party who lost touch with the workers, and this really showed itself with the snooty Lady Nugee. Will the Labour Party be housing refugees on Hampstead Heath and Primrose Hill?

Martine Guy ● 6d

Sue, what benefits has Mr Farage brought to the voters of Clacton? Hasn't he spent more time in Washington, DC and Mar-a-Lago than Clacton.  Is US Big Tech going to build an AI datacenter there? If so, I've not heard about it; perhaps Amazon could build a distribution warehouse there? I guess the votes for Binface were protests ... listening to a couple of his interviews, he didn't seem to want to win ...

Michael Ixer ● 6d

Mr Brown'Well done, Nigel - Keep up the good work.'Good work in two spheres.Firstly, speaking for an increasing percentage of the people who are p!ssed off with Burnham and the Labour Party allowing the invasion of the country from rubber dinghies by Africans and those of other alien ethnicities who then commit much crime as well as costing us a small fortune in welfare payments to them.But he does have some ideas as to how to stop this by 2029 ! And secondly for irritating Mr 'Nice, caring (except for Jews) progressive type' Carter.By the way I believe that Burnham is looking to set up migration camps in 'middle class areas' for example just off the Upper Richmond Road near Putney Heath.Hope Mr Carter has put his name down to make some of his spare rooms available to these beleaguered individuals.

John Hawkes ● 6d

@ Lucille 10.03Clacton on the world map because on Binface? 🥹  Are you actually serious?? 🤣  The only reason Binface will be remembered is because 9,455 idiots in Clacton voted for another idiot in Clacton! If Farage hasn’t done anything for his constituents why did 22,239 of them vote for him yesterday?  Increasing his share of the vote since the 2024 election when it was 21,225.  Don’t let your anti-Farage bias distort your judgment Lucille.

Sue Hammond ● 6d

“ Really Jonathan and Richard you couldn’t be more snobby.”Oh I bet they could.  Don’t underestimate them Robert!

Sue Hammond ● 6d

Richard you are the gift that keeps on giving.  Try taking a different perspective for a while and not the white professional middle class Putney one you exhibit so well and while your at it don’t be so personally rude.

Robert Wheeler ● 6d

Just to make it crystal clear to the hard of understanding here, I was not being "snobby" but trying to point out that, for two men who are quite obviously part of the establishment to claim that they are against the establishment is utterly hypocritical. Got it now?

Richard Carter ● 6d

Just the same as Burnham being a “bloke” l think Jonathan. Thankfully it was up to the electorate to decide and in Clacton they have done.

Robert Wheeler ● 6d

Voice of the people, Nigel Farage, does it again. Well done, Nigel - Keep up the good work..

Michael Brown ● 6d

My point, which I thought pretty clear, is that these two individuals are presenting themselves as opposing the Establishment that they are so clearly products of. I’m certainly not being snobby about anything but it does jar somewhat in my view. The word charlatan springs to mind.

Jonathan Callaway ● 6d

Mr Wheeler'Richard you couldn’t be more snobby.'I think the term 'champagne socialist', cliched though its use often is, suits Mr Carter perfectly.Perhaps the fact that he seems to have something against people he calls rich (compared to who - himself ?) is the reason that he believes all Jews are rich and hence his antisemitic posts.

John Hawkes ● 6d

Mr Carter'Indeed, how much more establishment can you be when you're educated at a top private school and having made a fortune as a commodities trader in the City (Farage) or educated at a top private school and making a fortune as a banker (Lowe)?Men of the people they are not!'Which is more odious in your view ?That these two went to private schools or that they worked in the City ?Perhaps you can reveal to the rest of us where you were educated and in what sphere of industry you worked in.Bog Street Comp. and then the school of hard knocks, qualifying you for a job in a shop, a factory or even mending potholes ?Obviously both did you well enough to live in one of the most affluent areas in the country !Aren't you a bit of an inverted snob ?And don't you wonder that even if his reputation and support  have both taken dips recently, a large portion of the 'working class' support what he says and stands for.

John Hawkes ● 6d

Well done you are now insulting people because of their name, classic you couldn’t make it up.  Farage needs protection which has been proved given previous events, even more so after Ann Widdecombe’s murder and her funeral only this week.  Why should Farage attend, the other main parties couldn’t even be bothered to put up candidates, if Clacton electorate are happy with that so be it.Really Jonathan and Richard you couldn’t be more snobby.

Robert Wheeler ● 6d

Indeed, how much more establishment can you be when you're educated at a top private school and having made a fortune as a commodities trader in the City (Farage) or educated at a top private school and making a fortune as a banker (Lowe)?Men of the people they are not!

Richard Carter ● 6d

It always amuses me that the two men vying to challenge the establishment, the Blob, the MSM etc on behalf of the People are called Nigel and Rupert. With apologies to any Nigels or Ruperts out there, how much more establishment can you get than being called Nigel or Rupert?

Jonathan Callaway ● 6d

Binface won a very respectable 9,455 votes. He has put Clacton on the world wide map and no doubt tourism will increase thanks to him. What has Farage ever done for his constituents when he can't even be bothered to turn up for the count and lied that the police said there were threats against him!

Lucille Grant ● 6d

Farage managed barely 60% of the vote whilst Binface got almost 27%: churlishly, the winner refused to appear at the declaration, claiming that the police advised him not to. Spoiler alert: the police gave no such advice. And the parliamentary commissioner for standards has immediately reopened the sleaze enquiry into Farage. So, having caused the completely unnecessary waste of £250,000 public money to achieve a pyrrhic victory, Farage ends up looking a complete fool. What a triumphant win that is!

Richard Carter ● 6d