Daily Archives: 29 January 2026

Manchester by-election a battle ‘for the soul of our country’

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/manchester-election-battle-soul-our-country

GB News presenter Matthew Goodwin speaking at the Reform UK annual conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, September 5, 2025

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Green leader Zack Polanski, whose party is in a race with Reform to win the Labour-held seat, said Goodwin’s candidacy was an insult to the constituency.

Mr Goodwin had “a track record of anti-Muslim bigotry,” Mr Polanski said, terming the campaign a battle “for the soul of our country.”

The advent of Mr Goodwin further enflamed the by-election, already at the centre of controversy after Keir Starmer acted to block popular Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham from standing for the seat, which Labour held in 2024 with a 13,000 majority.

The Reform candidate, once a liberal academic before journeying to the far right, has attracted particular controversy for claiming that being born in Britain does not necessarily make someone British.

People from black, Asian or other immigrant backgrounds were not always British, he said: “It takes more than a piece of paper to make somebody ‘British’.”

He has declined to qualify that claim, despite seeking election in a seat in which 44 per cent of voters identify as from an ethnic minority.

The battle for the soul of the Labour Party also heated up, with new Unison leader Andrea Egan and former party chair Ian Lavery MP both slamming Sir Keir’s leadership.

Ms Egan, writing in Tribune, warned that “the first far-right government in our history is a very real prospect” — a prospect she described as “existential” for trade unionists and democrats.

“But from witnessing the recent behaviour of Labour’s ruling faction, you wouldn’t know it. Spearheaded from Downing Street, this narrow Westminster grouping often gives the impression it would rather hand the country over to Farage and put the labour movement’s survival on the line than consider any change in policy direction or lose the slightest control over the party machine.”

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Original article is at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/manchester-election-battle-soul-our-country

Nigel Farage blames the Muzzies.
Nigel Farage blames the Muzzies.
Nigel Farage reminds you that he's the man that brought you Brexit and asks what could possibly go wrong.
Nigel Farage reminds you that he’s the man that brought you Brexit and asks what could possibly go wrong.
Nigel Farage attacks the NHS
Nigel Farage attacks the NHS
Continue ReadingManchester by-election a battle ‘for the soul of our country’

Nigel Farage says ‘thanks for the money’ after he’s tricked into Ian Watkins tribute

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Nigel Farage says ‘thanks for the money’ after he’s tricked into Ian Watkins tribute

Nigel Farage has responded after he fell victim to a prankster who duped him into paying tribute to a man with a notorious name.

Ian Watkins was also the name of the dead Lost Prophets frontman and notorious paedophile.

It cost £98 for John Smith to commission the Reform UK leader to film the clip on his Cameo account where he had previously been duped into a supportive message to the IRA.

In the 27-second clip, he says: ‘This message is to pay tribute to Ian Watkins, a good man, a really good guy who is very much in contact with me.

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‘He loved his children and will be sorely missed by them forever. He will always hold a very special place in everybody’s heart.

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‘I am concerned that he could not see through my frankly paper-thin deception and his willingness to do anything for money without even a rudimentary check.

‘If he would do this for a small amount of money, what would he do for paymasters with deeper pockets?

‘I hope to show the world that Farage is a man who will do and say anything for whoever is paying him. I suspect he has no actual ideology and will follow the path to power that offers the least resistance.’

‘If I could speak directly to him I would ask why he did not do even a rudimentary check? Will he blindly accept what he is told by the Kremlin, the White House or anyone with £70 going spare for a Cameo?’

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Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him and his Deputy Richard Tice. He says that Reform UK has received £Millions and £Millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.
Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him and his Deputy Richard Tice. He says that Reform UK has received £Millions and £Millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.
Nigel Farage explains the politics of Reform UK: Racism, Fake anti-establishmentism, Deregulation, Corporatism, Climate Change Denial, Mysogyny and Transphobia.
Nigel Farage explains the politics of Reform UK: Racism, Fake anti-establishmentism, Deregulation, Corporatism, Climate Change Denial, Mysogyny and Transphobia.
Nigel Farage blames the Muzzies.
Nigel Farage blames the Muzzies.
Continue ReadingNigel Farage says ‘thanks for the money’ after he’s tricked into Ian Watkins tribute

The Guardian view on long waits for disability benefits: the system should not push people closer to poverty

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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/13/the-guardian-view-on-long-waits-for-disability-benefits-the-system-should-not-push-people-closer-to-poverty

A protest at the Houses of Parliament in July 2025. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing/Getty Image

Long delays in processing personal independence payment (Pip) claims have become one of the most damaging and least defensible failures in the UK’s welfare system. Pip is designed to support disabled people with the additional costs of daily living and mobility, yet for many claimants it has instead become a source of prolonged uncertainty, financial hardship and distress. Waiting months – and in some cases more than a year – for a decision can push people into debt, rent arrears and poverty, especially as Pip unlocks other support such as carer’s allowance.

Parliament has been sounding the alarm over the scale of the problem – but it appears the Department for Work and Pensions has its fingers in its ears. The stock response is that a new “health transformation programme” will lead to efficiency gains made by replacing paper Pip applications with an online claims system. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the chair of the public accounts committee, last week pointed out that MPs had been told “three years ago that improvements would have manifested by now; we are now told that they are a further three years off”.

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Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/13/the-guardian-view-on-long-waits-for-disability-benefits-the-system-should-not-push-people-closer-to-poverty

Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership is intensely relaxed about assaulting those least able to defend themselves - the very poorest and most vulnerable.
Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership is intensely relaxed about assaulting those least able to defend themselves – the very poorest and most vulnerable.

Back on track ;)

Continue ReadingThe Guardian view on long waits for disability benefits: the system should not push people closer to poverty

OCHA: One million people in Gaza urgently need shelter amid dire humanitarian conditions

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

A view of a street as displaced Palestinians struggle to maintain their daily lives amid the rubble left behind by Israeli attacks in Gaza City, Gaza on January 26, 2026. [Saeed M. M. T. Jaras – Anadolu Agency]

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Tuesday that despite a modest increase in humanitarian assistance, humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip remain dire for hundreds of thousands of families in need. 

OCHA said more than one million people urgently need shelter support due to widespread destruction and a severe lack of basic resources.

The office stressed the need for sustainable solutions to meet people’s needs, including tools to repair damaged homes, materials to set up shared heated shelters, and equipment to remove rubble.

“The office and its humanitarian partners reached more than 7,500 families with tents, tarpaulins, sealing-off kits, mattresses and blankets, and child protection partners delivered winter clothes to some 1,400 children across the strip,” OCHA said.

The UN office added the United Nations and its partners provide daily bread to at least 43 per cent of Gaza’s population, either free of charge or at subsidised prices of less than one US dollar for a two-kilogram pack. This support is provided alongside monthly wheat flour distributions, with food assistance this month reaching about 1.2 million people.

READ: School kits enter Gaza following years-long halt on education supplies: UNICEF

dizzy: Please get help to Gaza urgently

Continue ReadingOCHA: One million people in Gaza urgently need shelter amid dire humanitarian conditions