Author Topic: The Politics Thread  (Read 1041336 times)

Offline WASA38

According to a BBC news report I saw today, the migrant boats are offered assistance by the French whilst in French waters and these offers are refused by the boats- but surprise surprise, once they are in English waters, they accept help offered then by the uk boats/authorities!

Whatever your views on the boats and migrants, the RNLI offer assistance at sea to whoever needs it - and does not ask about the nationalities or ethnicity of those in “need”! I am not a fan of the way  we currently do things but we have to remember they are people and although they take stupid risks, we cannot just ignore the dangers they may be in and let them drown! To my mind we need to do more to stop the boats leaving France and then also just automatically fail asylum applications from anyone entering the country illegally! If they know they won’t be given asylum if they come illegally, surely most won’t come- ok we will need to have some ways they can apply for asylum from outside of the uk! But surely that can’t be too difficult can it?

All very reasonable except it begs the question of what is to be done with them when asylum is refused. Even if they disclose their nationality their home country will likely refuse to re-admt them.

Doubtless the one illiterate sadist on this thread would advocate some gruesome method of murder.

Offline spiralnotebook

Quote
Introduce SHarks onto our coast tbh.

 :lol:

Online bigden40

All very reasonable except it begs the question of what is to be done with them when asylum is refused. Even if they disclose their nationality their home country will likely refuse to re-admt them.

Doubtless the one illiterate sadist on this thread would advocate some gruesome method of murder.

Do you think we have no leverage against countries that won’t take their citizens back?




Online DastardlyDick

All very reasonable except it begs the question of what is to be done with them when asylum is refused. Even if they disclose their nationality their home country will likely refuse to re-admt them.
That, in nutshell, is the issue the UK Authorities face - without proof (usually a Passport or National ID Card) of Nationality - they won't accept them, which is only fair. That means we have to keep them until we can either get such proof of find a Country that will take them.a

Online DastardlyDick

Do you think we have no leverage against countries that won’t take their citizens back?
I
What leverage do you think we have? Cut Government Aid? That could mean more people coming here to escape poverty, and NGOs would probably fill the gap.

Online mills_and_bhuna

I
What leverage do you think we have? Cut Government Aid? That could mean more people coming here to escape poverty, and NGOs would probably fill the gap.
I don't think 'Government aid' is what it says on the tin anyway.
It's always come with strings attached.
It's like the National Endowment for Democracy should be called the American Corporate Outreach.

Online webpunter

That, in nutshell, is the issue the UK Authorities face - without proof (usually a Passport or National ID Card) of Nationality - they won't accept them, which is only fair. That means we have to keep them until we can either get such proof of find a Country that will take them.a

Its not that hard to find out where they're from dish out some cheap crappy mobiles to all of them with a loaded SIM [Vodafone have form for this so they can be approached]
Have them in detention after a while they'll use them they wont be able to resist
Hack the phones & check the call registers it'll become apparent where they're from
Or when they're in detention put them together in room which is bugged & has hidden cameras
AI will link the voices to the individuals they'll end up speaking about the journey where they're from family friends
Haul em in for further questioning with mislamic speaking interviewers & it wont take long for them to crack

Bugging where German prisoners captured were held was very effective during the war
External Link/Members Only
The Nazi prisoners bugged by Germans
One group of German generals captured during World War II thought they had hit the jackpot.
Held in a stately home, they were allowed to keep personal servants, drink wine and eat good food.
As a result they boasted of how stupid the British were, and one even wrote to his family to wish that they could join him at his prison, as he rated it so highly.
But what the prisoners did not know was that British intelligence had bugged every part of their accommodation, from lampshades and plant pots right down to the billiards table around which they relaxed on lazy days.
They were gleaning information about the psyche of the Nazi military from the idle gossip flowing between the prisoners.
Carefully listening in on their conversations were fellow Germans of Jewish origin who had fled from the Nazis

Over 100,000 hrs of recordings  :hi:

No doubt there'll be wokey cunts complaining that this infringes human rights laws
IMO if people arrive here illegally they haven't got any rights, not a sausage
& its way way beyond time that the UK leaves the ECHR

As for finding a country there is one which has been paid up
Rwanda
Nowt wrong with Rwanda its on the front of Villa shirts, visit Rw...
Arsenal binned out this sponsorship because of complaints & -ve publicity
Villa are desperate for cash from any source it appears [to try & meet SCR]
So VR paying over the odds sports washing they were like 'yes please'

Online DastardlyDick

Its not that hard to find out where they're from dish out some cheap crappy mobiles to all of them with a loaded SIM [Vodafone have form for this so they can be approached]
Have them in detention after a while they'll use them they wont be able to resist
Hack the phones & check the call registers it'll become apparent where they're from
Or when they're in detention put them together in room which is bugged & has hidden cameras
AI will link the voices to the individuals they'll end up speaking about the journey where they're from family friends
Haul em in for further questioning with mislamic speaking interviewers & it wont take long for them to crack
That doesn't get them a Passport or ID Card - making phone calls to anywhere doesn't prove Nationality. Neither does talking about where they got on a lorry.
The bugging of German Generals had two purposes getting an insight into decision making, morale etc was one, the other was evidence gathering for War Crimes.

Online bigden40

I
What leverage do you think we have? Cut Government Aid? That could mean more people coming here to escape poverty, and NGOs would probably fill the gap.

1. The UK can reduce, suspend, or completely halt visa allocations for nationals from non-cooperative countries.

2. Targeted warnings e.g. threats of stripping VIP/preferential treatment, ending fast-track processing, or even a full halt on visas. which Shabana Mahmood successfully worked with DRC, Namibia, and Angola recently.

3. Coordinated action with five eyes partners.

4. Conditioning development aid, remittances, diplomatic access, or wider sanctions with cooperation




Offline Squire Haggard

A second £36m donation for Reform.

''Nigel Farage is today celebrating an astonishing £72million windfall after receiving two donations of £36million in the space of 24 hours.

Mr Farage's Reform UK announced on Friday evening that it had received the first £36million donation — the largest in British political history — from cryptocurrency billionaire Ben Delo.

Now the Mail can reveal that Mr Delo's donation has been matched by another billionaire Reform backer, Christopher Harborne.''

It takes the total amount raised by Reform this year close to £90 million, compared with just over £10million for the Tories and £8million for Labour.''

External Link/Members Only

External Link/Members Only
« Last Edit: September 12, 2026, 03:52:20 pm by Squire Haggard »

Offline juzz

A second £36m donation for Reform.

''Nigel Farage is today celebrating an astonishing £72million windfall after receiving two donations of £36million in the space of 24 hours.

Mr Farage's Reform UK announced on Friday evening that it had received the first £36million donation — the largest in British political history — from cryptocurrency billionaire Ben Delo.

Now the Mail can reveal that Mr Delo's donation has been matched by another billionaire Reform backer, Christopher Harborne.''

It takes the total amount raised by Reform this year close to £90 million, compared with just over £10million for the Tories and £8million for Labour.''

External Link/Members Only

External Link/Members Only

I wonder if Russia or China are lurking in the backround?

Online bigden40

I wonder if Russia or China are lurking in the backround?

No, nothing to do with Russia or China.  This is transparently about cryptocurrency.

Despite being a leading global financial centre the City of London is massively behind other crypto hubs with no significant native crypto businesses, exchanges or trading activity.  Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and some US locations (New York, San Francisco, Miami, Austin) are leading.

One could have a debate about whether more crypto business would be good or bad for the UK, but it’s certainly the driver behind these guys backing Reform with serious money.  Farage has been vocal about the UK's position on cryptocurrencies.

Personally I think that London has the expertise that suits institutional tokenisation and related services and we should open up before we miss the boat. 

Online Blackpool Rock

A second £36m donation for Reform.

''Nigel Farage is today celebrating an astonishing £72million windfall after receiving two donations of £36million in the space of 24 hours.

Mr Farage's Reform UK announced on Friday evening that it had received the first £36million donation — the largest in British political history — from cryptocurrency billionaire Ben Delo.

Now the Mail can reveal that Mr Delo's donation has been matched by another billionaire Reform backer, Christopher Harborne.''

It takes the total amount raised by Reform this year close to £90 million, compared with just over £10million for the Tories and £8million for Labour.''

External Link/Members Only

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Not bad for a grifter eh and I guess that as he effectively owns most of "The party" then this is more of less his own cash  :unknown:

Most politicians look at making a bit of cash from contacts / side hustles etc while they are an MP and for the PM they get their big payday once they leave office, £20K for a quick visit / speech, £50K for some business advice etc but for Farage and Tice they appear to have hit the big time without having to bother with all that.

So what happens now if Farage decides to dissolve the company, as the major share holder does he walk off into the sunset with £50M+ of this cash  :unknown:


Online bigden40

Not bad for a grifter eh and I guess that as he effectively owns most of "The party" then this is more of less his own cash  :unknown:

Most politicians look at making a bit of cash from contacts / side hustles etc while they are an MP and for the PM they get their big payday once they leave office, £20K for a quick visit / speech, £50K for some business advice etc but for Farage and Tice they appear to have hit the big time without having to bother with all that.

So what happens now if Farage decides to dissolve the company, as the major share holder does he walk off into the sunset with £50M+ of this cash  :unknown:

I imagine that the guys who provided the money would be somewhat unhappy if funds were not used for purpose provided. Who knows what men of means might do in such circumstances.

Online DastardlyDick

No, nothing to do with Russia or China.  This is transparently about cryptocurrency.

Despite being a leading global financial centre the City of London is massively behind other crypto hubs with no significant native crypto businesses, exchanges or trading activity.  Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and some US locations (New York, San Francisco, Miami, Austin) are leading.

One could have a debate about whether more crypto business would be good or bad for the UK, but it’s certainly the driver behind these guys backing Reform with serious money.  Farage has been vocal about the UK's position on cryptocurrencies.

Personally I think that London has the expertise that suits institutional tokenisation and related services and we should open up before we miss the boat.
But where did the funds to buy Crypto come from? Farage has indeed been vocal about Crypto, because he and his Company benefit from it, but he didn't mention his meeting with the Governor of the Bank of England to discourage the BoE launching an "official" version did he? That most definitely wouldn't suit the likes of Harbourne, would it?
« Last Edit: September 12, 2026, 05:26:26 pm by DastardlyDick »

Online bigden40

But where did the funds to buy Crypto come from? Farage has indeed been vocal about Crypto, because he and his Company benefit from it, but he didn't mention his meeting with the Governor of the Bank of England to discourage the BoE launching an "official" version did he? That most definitely wouldn't suit the likes of Harbourne, would it?

One can be against CBDC (due to privacy and surveillance; programmability and control; and disintermediation concerns) and for Crypto quite legitimately. 

You can find where Delo and Harborne's wealth came from quite easily.

Online Blackpool Rock

One can be against CBDC (due to privacy and surveillance; programmability and control; and disintermediation concerns) and for Crypto quite legitimately. 

You can find where Delo and Harborne's wealth came from quite easily.
Delo previously pleaded guilty to breaching anti money laundering rules in 2022 so another dodgy fucker doing dodgy stuff for dodgy people, oh and the cherry on top is that Trump gave him an unconditional pardon, I didn't think you could stack dodgy that high  :rolleyes:

Offline Charliehutton

Not bad for a grifter eh and I guess that as he effectively owns most of "The party" then this is more of less his own cash  :unknown:

Most politicians look at making a bit of cash from contacts / side hustles etc while they are an MP and for the PM they get their big payday once they leave office, £20K for a quick visit / speech, £50K for some business advice etc but for Farage and Tice they appear to have hit the big time without having to bother with all that.

So what happens now if Farage decides to dissolve the company, as the major share holder does he walk off into the sunset with £50M+ of this cash  :unknown:

I wouldn't be too concerned. It it's legal, then there is no issue. If it isn't, then it'll soon be rooted out.

Offline juzz

No, nothing to do with Russia or China.  This is transparently about cryptocurrency.

Despite being a leading global financial centre the City of London is massively behind other crypto hubs with no significant native crypto businesses, exchanges or trading activity.  Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and some US locations (New York, San Francisco, Miami, Austin) are leading.

One could have a debate about whether more crypto business would be good or bad for the UK, but it’s certainly the driver behind these guys backing Reform with serious money.  Farage has been vocal about the UK's position on cryptocurrencies.

Personally I think that London has the expertise that suits institutional tokenisation and related services and we should open up before we miss the boat.

It was rhetorical question.  As BR says above, and a quick Google shows, it stinks. One of the key features of crypto is the ability to traverse boundaries, regulation and control. For example Ben Delo's BitMEX was fined $100 million by US regulators for "willfully flouting" anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act laws. Delo pled guilty to these violations in 2022 but received an unconditional pardon from your mate Donald Trump. 

Disclosure - Gemini played a part in this reply, but didn't know Donald is your mate  :lol:
« Last Edit: September 12, 2026, 10:54:37 pm by juzz »

Online bigden40

It was rhetorical question.  As BR says above, and a quick Google shows, it stinks. One of the key features of crypto is the ability to traverse boundaries, regulation and control. For example Ben Delo's BitMEX was fined $100 million by US regulators for "willfully flouting" anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act laws. Delo pled guilty to these violations in 2022 but received an unconditional pardon from your mate Donald Trump. 

Disclosure - Gemini played a part in this reply, but didn't know Donald is your mate  :lol:

Dig deeper, the case was more complex.

The four executives of Bitmex (a non-US company trading outside the US) took a plea deal with a fine and no jail time because it can significantly be less painful to do so. The “war on crypto” under Gary Gensler was a real thing, Bitmex were targeted around the same time as Coinbase, Binance and Kraken and mass debanking of anyone involved in crypto. There were clear issues in the sector, including fraud and aml/sanctions failings; but there was significant regulatory overreach too, with critics on both sides of the aisle.

Trump's pardon was kinda symbolic given they had only be sentenced to probation, but reflects his currying favour with the tech bros in the '24 election cycle.

And it’s still not China and Russia funding Farage.

Offline juzz

Yep, I agree there may have been regulatory overreach in the US, but that doesn't change that the money and people involved are pretty dubious. These two donors do have links to China and Russia through their business activities, so potential influence cannot be simply brushed away.

People outside the UK don't give £36m to Reform without a motive. Links to China and Russia will by definition be not easy to find.
« Last Edit: September 13, 2026, 01:16:55 am by juzz »

Offline Adoniron

No, nothing to do with Russia or China.  This is transparently about cryptocurrency.

Despite being a leading global financial centre the City of London is massively behind other crypto hubs with no significant native crypto businesses, exchanges or trading activity.  Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and some US locations (New York, San Francisco, Miami, Austin) are leading.

One could have a debate about whether more crypto business would be good or bad for the UK, but it’s certainly the driver behind these guys backing Reform with serious money.  Farage has been vocal about the UK's position on cryptocurrencies.

Personally I think that London has the expertise that suits institutional tokenisation and related services and we should open up before we miss the boat.

Which is why these crypto billionaires are funding Reform, which claims to be the party of working people.

Its pretty obvious what they want in return, and don't expect to get from Labour or the Conservatives.
« Last Edit: September 13, 2026, 08:04:09 am by Adoniron »

Offline RandomGuy99

The world's best peace negotiator and diplomat, Donald Trump, decided to wade in on a united Ireland. He's done such a great job on Iran and Ukraine that sorting out a united Ireland is mere child's play.

BBC News - Trump's comments on a united Ireland may have targeted audience across the Atlantic
External Link/Members Only

Online bigden40

Yep, I agree there may have been regulatory overreach in the US, but that doesn't change that the money and people involved are pretty dubious. These two donors do have links to China and Russia through their business activities, so potential influence cannot be simply brushed away.

People outside the UK don't give £36m to Reform without a motive. Links to China and Russia will by definition be not easy to find.

Duh, just like any political donor.  In this case because they want crypto-friendly policy.

And they may be “outside the UK.” but they’re both British.

IMO the way all the major political parties are funded stinks, and i do understand why people don’t like Reform being competitive financially.

Online Punting2022

So what if someone donated reform money. They got to get funded somehow. If leftie labour got it no one would care.

Lovely scenes at portsmouth yesterday. 2 tier policing again.
A woman got arrested for a burkha on the protest for face covering. Yet other woman dont get arrested for the same thing on usess free palestine ones

Online bigden40

The world's best peace negotiator and diplomat, Donald Trump, decided to wade in on a united Ireland. He's done such a great job on Iran and Ukraine that sorting out a united Ireland is mere child's play.

BBC News - Trump's comments on a united Ireland may have targeted audience across the Atlantic
External Link/Members Only

Trump's comments were incredibly loose and unwise here (as they often are) although they were rhetorical and he did somewhat hedge his position, and ultimately there was no policy change.

But let’s not pretend that his predecessors have been much better on the subject. Sure they’ve not made such open and direct rhetorical comments but they’ve all played to the Irish-American vote and many (notably Carter, Reagan. Clinton and Biden) have acted to undermine British interests in relation to Northern Ireland.

Offline Jomoore

The world's best peace negotiator and diplomat, Donald Trump, decided to wade in on a united Ireland. He's done such a great job on Iran and Ukraine that sorting out a united Ireland is mere child's play.

BBC News - Trump's comments on a united Ireland may have targeted audience across the Atlantic
External Link/Members Only

The interesting part of this issue is that what each side in the debate actually desires is often the direct opposite of that which is expected of them or attributed to them. 

Eg, it is assumed that Ireland wants to take possession of NI, but the UK wants to keep it.  This is not the case; Ireland knows that NI costs the UK taxpayer a huge amount (estimates vary, depending on bias, from £18 Bn to £3 Bn pa).  Ireland also knows that NI is full of extremist nut-jobs (and I speak with some very close familiarity with the subject) and would be reluctant to take it on.

Likewise the UK would love to be rid of NI, but doesn't want to be seen to "give in to terrorism", or, depending on the parties in power on each side of the water, lose political support in Westminster.  Also, it would end the stupid border/ non-border situation that exists.

If a referendum were to be held on re-unification it's not clear which way NI residents would vote, as I assume they'd be aware they'd eventually have to swap the pound for the Euro, and even some republicans may not be up for that.

The whole situation has been a tragedy since 1920, when the UK govt did another cack-handed split along religious lines not dissimilar to its balls-ups in Kashmir or Israel.  So views are grounded not in knowledge and analysis, but tribal fears and hatreds, not unlike Sunni-Shia, or Muslim-Jew. The youngsters of NI don't really give a toss, they're more focused on their education, jobs, mortgages and enjoying popular culture, which transcends petty but violent squabbles about re-unification.

But the influential American -Irish, who gob off a lot but understand little, have caused this Trumpism.  Let's see how it plays out.

Online Blackpool Rock

So what if someone donated reform money. They got to get funded somehow. If leftie labour got it no one would care.

Lovely scenes at portsmouth yesterday. 2 tier policing again.
A woman got arrested for a burkha on the protest for face covering. Yet other woman dont get arrested for the same thing on usess free palestine ones
What total bollocks, people have been getting in a spin about Labour taking money from the Unions for decades

One of the news items pointed out that the 1st £36M equated to the last 5 years of Labour funding, and then a couple of days later they got gifted another £36M

Be interesting to see if they have to give the money back though as it was also said that the rules on funding have been being looked at for a while now and when the funding review was announced it was also clear that any subsequent donations would fall under any new rules implemented.
So it's retrospective and known to be retrospective however no doubt Farage will cry about being picked on to try and bolster more support  :cry:

Online bigden40

What total bollocks, people have been getting in a spin about Labour taking money from the Unions for decades

One of the news items pointed out that the 1st £36M equated to the last 5 years of Labour funding, and then a couple of days later they got gifted another £36M

Be interesting to see if they have to give the money back though as it was also said that the rules on funding have been being looked at for a while now and when the funding review was announced it was also clear that any subsequent donations would fall under any new rules implemented.
So it's retrospective and known to be retrospective however no doubt Farage will cry about being picked on to try and bolster more support  :cry:

The rules on funding, which would cap overseas funding art £100,000 are not yet law.  They are being advanced through the Representation of the People Bill which is with the Lords for a second time and likely to face significant amendments

« Last Edit: September 13, 2026, 02:44:38 pm by bigden40 »

Offline WASA38

The interesting part of this issue is that what each side in the debate actually desires is often the direct opposite of that which is expected of them or attributed to them. 

Eg, it is assumed that Ireland wants to take possession of NI, but the UK wants to keep it.  This is not the case; Ireland knows that NI costs the UK taxpayer a huge amount (estimates vary, depending on bias, from £18 Bn to £3 Bn pa).  Ireland also knows that NI is full of extremist nut-jobs (and I speak with some very close familiarity with the subject) and would be reluctant to take it on.

Likewise the UK would love to be rid of NI, but doesn't want to be seen to "give in to terrorism", or, depending on the parties in power on each side of the water, lose political support in Westminster.  Also, it would end the stupid border/ non-border situation that exists.

If a referendum were to be held on re-unification it's not clear which way NI residents would vote, as I assume they'd be aware they'd eventually have to swap the pound for the Euro, and even some republicans may not be up for that.

The whole situation has been a tragedy since 1920, when the UK govt did another cack-handed split along religious lines not dissimilar to its balls-ups in Kashmir or Israel.  So views are grounded not in knowledge and analysis, but tribal fears and hatreds, not unlike Sunni-Shia, or Muslim-Jew. The youngsters of NI don't really give a toss, they're more focused on their education, jobs, mortgages and enjoying popular culture, which transcends petty but violent squabbles about re-unification.

But the influential American -Irish, who gob off a lot but understand little, have caused this Trumpism.  Let's see how it plays out.

Thanks Jomoore, an interesting and informative exposé. Wish those gobby Irish yanks could be made to read it.

Wonder if there's a case for a not necessariy binding referendum amongst the entire population of both islands. Would be very interesting how that went.

Online DastardlyDick

Thanks Jomoore, an interesting and informative exposé. Wish those gobby Irish yanks could be made to read it.

Wonder if there's a case for a not necessariy binding referendum amongst the entire population of both islands. Would be very interesting how that went.
There was a Survey done earlier this year which shows that 59% of respondents,in Ireland and 63% in NI would vote in favour of a United Ireland within the EU

Offline Nomerzypuntr

Can somebody explain please about why the UK is like this? The government left or right, need to be focused on how things to be done favour of people living here. Asylum seekers or people coming through boats needed to be stopped, coz they getting government funds which the money paid by Brits, other ethic people who came legally, working and paying taxes, they treat like that nothing. Inflation, strict laws which reverse migration. I know people not getting jobs of their qualification like me, but there are jobs and vacancies but I would say it’s getting harder. Am not native person, idk it’s coz of Brexit thing?? And next thing I noticed about certain people celebrating their religious special days, completely degrading civic sense. It’s a different country, so we need to respect the culture that already being here, like just see the FiFa World Cup some national team players, I think everyone understands what I mean coz some things I can’t openly write here coz of racism and offence. But it’s the reality. Now, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland are planning to independent from the UK. May be I think change need to done like Poland, about funding for political parties, it needed to be discussed, not here by the government if there a foreign party trying to involve makes some worse thing (illegal funding).

I like UK coz I get appreciation on the job I do, people have good manners here, they are punctual. I did masters in Social Policy but am worried about this country if they go like this




Offline RedKettle

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Obviously fake, It's Ceuta not Cueta  :dash:

he is a muppet who believes any old fake thing if it conforms with his prejudice.

Online webpunter

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SNP signs historic deal with Plaid and Sinn Fein pushing to break-up the UK

As for devolution Ireland & Wales yes fucking please, crack on
Trumpy hit the nail on the head on Ireland
Have always wanted 'failed in wales' to vote for this

For the sweaties we need the submarine bases & the north sea is good for oil & gas for another couple of decades
They can off-you-fuck in twenty years put this in writing now

Offline mh

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The rules on funding, which would cap overseas funding art £100,000 are not yet law.  They are being advanced through the Representation of the People Bill which is with the Lords for a second time and likely to face significant amendments

Yes still going through, but there's a fixed retroactive date for March this year when the bill was introduced, like with budgets where measures will take effect from the date of their announcement even while not yet enacted in law. Typical with bills where people can see what's coming and try to avoid it.

Online DastardlyDick

Yes still going through, but there's a fixed retroactive date for March this year when the bill was introduced, like with budgets where measures will take effect from the date of their announcement even while not yet enacted in law. Typical with bills where people can see what's coming and try to avoid it.
I see Farage hasn't grasped the concept of (some) legislation being retroactive External Link/Members Only

Online bigden40

Yes still going through, but there's a fixed retroactive date for March this year when the bill was introduced, like with budgets where measures will take effect from the date of their announcement even while not yet enacted in law. Typical with bills where people can see what's coming and try to avoid it.

Sure.  But legislation being pushed by the party in government that is principally directed at a political rival is bad enough, making it retroactive, when the burden falls almost entirely on one party, looks like an abuse of power.


Offline Charliehutton

Sure.  But legislation being pushed by the party in government that is principally directed at a political rival is bad enough, making it retroactive, when the burden falls almost entirely on one party, looks like an abuse of power.

It would be a blatant abuse of power. If they do that, they should hang their heads in shame. But they won't of course, because they are entirely shameless and will rig the system to suit them.

Offline RedKettle

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It would be a blatant abuse of power. If they do that, they should hang their heads in shame. But they won't of course, because they are entirely shameless and will rig the system to suit them.

Is it when it was made clear that the rules would apply from March?


Online mills_and_bhuna

It would be a blatant abuse of power. If they do that, they should hang their heads in shame. But they won't of course, because they are entirely shameless and will rig the system to suit them.
While of course Reform are like choirboys and ethically pure.
Anyone who thinks 72 million pounds of  donations, from two sources, never mind from foreign billionaires with dodgy resumes, is fine and totally not corruption101  needs to give their heads a wobble.
Just look at the US with AIPAC, superPACs, and all their shenanigans .
And they call it democracy.
« Last Edit: September 14, 2026, 04:29:05 pm by mills_and_bhuna »

Offline RedKettle

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While of course Reform are like choirboys and ethically pure.
Anyone who thinks 72 million pounds of  donations, from two sources, never mind from foreign billionaires with dodgy resumes, is fine and totally not corruption101  needs to give their heads a wobble.
Just look at the US with AIPAC, superPACs, and all their shenanigans .
And they call it democracy.

for once I agree with you!!

Online bigden40

While of course Reform are like choirboys and ethically pure.
Anyone who thinks 72 million pounds of  donations, from two sources, never mind from foreign billionaires with dodgy resumes, is fine and totally not corruption101  needs to give their heads a wobble.
Just look at the US with AIPAC, superPACs, and all their shenanigans .
And they call it democracy.

Point of order, British billionaires of variable dodginess.

It’s not fine, but let’s not pretend it’s uniquely corrupt, whether that’s the identity of the donors e.g. Hester, Ashcroft (Tories generally) or the mechanism e.g. secret loans, opaque routing and policy-adjacent timing (Labour generally).

Offline Charliehutton

Is it when it was made clear that the rules would apply from March?

Yes, because the rule change was only announced in March, not enacted. There was never a question of it being retrospective until those donations were made.

Offline Charliehutton


Anyone who thinks 72 million pounds of  donations, from two sources, never mind from foreign billionaires with dodgy resumes, is fine and totally not corruption101  needs to give their heads a wobble.

And they call it democracy.

By the same token, the Trades Unions - who've given Labour around £150 million since 2010 - expect, and get, plenty of bang for their buck.

I also have a deeply cynical view of 'democracy', by the way.

Offline Squire Haggard

Our system is corrupt, but how do we change it?

Maybe a dictatorship like Fatty Kims would be better because there would be no problem with donations? :rolleyes:

The House of Lords is an abomination IMO, but there are some deserving cases who have not bought their way in.

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« Last Edit: September 14, 2026, 06:31:02 pm by Squire Haggard »

Online Blackpool Rock

Yes, because the rule change was only announced in March, not enacted. There was never a question of it being retrospective until those donations were made.
Are you sure of that  :unknown:
The way i'm reading things is that when the legislation on party funding was proposed it was know that the cut off date would be 25th March so it would always have been backdated if large donations were made

The fact that it wasn't shouted about and put on the main news broadcasts at the time doesn't mean it wasn't known about in and around Westminster

I'm happy to accept that the legislation was proposed to stop exactly the sort of donations recently made to Reform and more than likely they knew or thought that it would be happening but that's not the question here is it

Offline Charliehutton

Apparently we've now given France nearly £1 billion to help stop illegal immigrants from crossing the Channel. Is this not a triumph of hope over common sense? Why on Earth would they want to stop them?