Food for Thought #1177

 

The outcome of the trial for arson attacks on properties linked to Starmer is not as the BBC said

Crispin Flintoff spent 21 days at the Old Bailey attending the trial of three men accused of arson attacks on properties linked to Keir Starmer. “What I heard in court was not the story later told by the BBC,” he said.

Three young men stood accused of carrying out arson attacks on a car and two properties linked to Keir Starmer. They had been arrested by counter-terrorism police and spent a year in Belmarsh prison awaiting trial. At the centre of the prosecution case was a mysterious Telegram user known as ‘El Money’, who was alleged to have directed the arsons but was not himself in the dock.

Three young men stood accused of carrying out arson attacks on a car and two properties linked to Keir Starmer. Roman Lavrynovych, 22, a Ukrainian national from western Ukraine, was accused of setting fire to a Toyota RAV4 previously owned by Starmer at 2.42am on Thursday 8 May 2025, and then being involved in fires at Ellington Street at 2.05am on Sunday 11 May and Countess Road at 1.35am on Monday 12 May. Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, a Romanian national who had lived in Britain for nine years, was accused of helping connect people and arrange payment. Petro Pochynok, 35, a Ukrainian-born man who had lived in the UK for several years, was accused of involvement but was later acquitted.

The three had been arrested by counter-terrorism police and spent a year in Belmarsh prison awaiting trial. At the centre of the prosecution case was a mysterious Telegram user known as ‘El Money’, who was alleged to have directed the arsons but was not himself in the dock.

There were obvious questions from the start. How did these men know details about Starmer’s former car and two addresses connected to him? Why had they been held in Britain’s highest-security prison? Who exactly was ‘El Money’? And why, if this was such a serious case involving the Prime Minister, were so few people there to watch it?...<<<Read More>>>...

Food for Thought #1142

 

Under-16 social media ban will be used to shut down political dissenters

Just days before he announced his resignation, Keir Starmer announced a plan to ban under-16s in the UK from accessing social media.

The proposed ban will lead to a massive government-controlled surveillance infrastructure. It will be exploited to monitor and control the behaviour and speech of all, including adults. The UK government has form; the proposed ban will be used to shut down political dissenters rather than just restricting underage internet use.

This morning, Sir Keir Starmer announced his resignation as UK Prime Minister. Though his government is not the first to restrict citizens’ speech in Britain, one of his darker legacies is the intensification of Britain’s censorship regime. Indeed, his parting gift, just a week before his resignation, was the announcement of a plan to ban under-16s from accessing social media in Britain. Unless his successor does a U-turn in the coming months, Britain is on course to introduce one of the most far-reaching social media surveillance systems in the world.

Starmer announced his plan to exclude under-16s from social media at a press conference on 15 June. He planned to introduce a comprehensive social media ban for under-16s, a step he argued was necessary to “give kids their childhood back.” “Tech giants had their chance and failed,” he said, “but we’re stepping in to protect children, back parents and set a new normal for future generations.”

Starmer’s fighting words were dripping with benevolence and nobility. But as Ronald Reagan once said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help’.” Government officials have a compelling interest in protecting their own power and enhancing their control over society. So, when they advocate a major intervention in the public sphere and wax lyrical about “saving our children,” it is not wise to just take their word for it....<<<Read More>>>...

Starmer is Ready to Resign, Say Allies

When Starmer resigns, whoever replaces him will be just the same. ... same script, same lies, same everything. Another WEF puppet carrying out the wishes of the parasites to destroy the UK and open the door to Islamic take over. 

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Allies of Sir Keir Starmer believe he is preparing to step down as he realises the “game is up” after facing an evaporation of support over the weekend. The Telegraph has the story.

A senior Government figure told the Telegraph the embattled Prime Minister was realising that the “game is up” and his thoughts were turning to how he could “shore up his legacy”.

They said there had been “quite a bit of movement” among Cabinet Ministers since Andy Burnham’s Makerfield by-election victory, leading Sir Keir to reconsider his previous commitment to soldiering on.

One Labour MP, who is usually considered to be a loyalist to the Prime Minister, said he believed Sir Keir would announce his departure date as soon as Monday given that his support among MPs was now down to only a handful of “friends and family”.

“There’s no one left. Literally people whose relatives work in No. 10 or people who are long term personal friends of Keir’s are pretty much the only ones left,” they said, adding that trying to stand in the way of Burnham’s path to Downing Street was “like trying to fight gravity”.

One Government figure predicted that “something will have happened by the end of the week”, warning that if Sir Keir did not resign “we could end up in mass resignation territory”.

Another Government source said Sir Keir was reflecting on his future over the weekend, adding that “the sorts of people” who were now telling him that his time was up were “different – they are not the usual suspects”....<<<Read More>>>...

Food for Thought #1134

 

Food for Thought #1132

 

Food for Thought #1130

 

Starmer announces intention to implement facial recognition and digital ID to access social media

 The UK government, reinforced by Keir Starmer at a press conference today, has announced its intention to ban social media access to under-16s from early next year.

The ban will be enforced using facial recognition software and digital IDs. To enable this, everyone wishing to use social media will be subject to facial recognition and digital IDs.

Aside from the obvious destruction to online privacy and freedom of speech, and the totalitarian control over every aspect of our lives which will ensue, how accurate is the technology that the UK government is imposing on the entire population?

Today, the UK government announced a ban on social media access for all children under the age of 16. Starmer is hoping the regulation will be passed through Parliament before Christmas and the ban enforced in the Spring of 2027.

Described as an “Australia plus” policy, this measure is one of the strictest online crackdowns in the democratic world and goes beyond the limits previously imposed in Australia.

The government plans to use “highly effective” age assurance systems, including age-recognition facial scans and digital IDs, to verify user ages.

We should note that everyone, not just under-16s, will be subjected to facial scans and digital IDs – “to protect children online” is a ruse to implement control over the entire population using whatever digital technology they have at their disposal.

Apart from ending online privacy and aiming for complete control over the information we can share and have access to, their digital tools are not as fail-safe as they like to pretend....<<<Read More>>>...

Food for Thought #1129

 

Starmer to Ban Under-16s From 10 Social Media Apps, Including X, but not Bluesky

 This is purely and simply a silly dictator attempting to prevent the next generation of Brits from waking up and being allowed to think for themselves. Its nothing to do with child safety ... 

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Sir Keir Starmer is set to announce sweeping reforms tomorrow banning under-16s from 10 major social media platforms, including X, but not the Left-wing platform Bluesky. In addition, he will introduce daily curfews for 16 and 17 year-olds, going further than Australia’s restrictions. The Times has the story:

Teenagers will be banned from certain social media platforms and have their daily usage curbed under sweeping reforms to be announced by Sir Keir Starmer on Sunday.

The ban will go further than the one imposed by Australia in December by targeting technology deemed harmful to children, including chatbots and certain features on gaming apps.

Under-16s in Australia have been banned from using ten platforms: TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, X, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, Twitch and Kick. It is understood that the UK will follow suit by raising the minimum age on social media to 16, from the average of 13, for the same ten sites.

Curfews for older teenagers will be introduced. Daily social media use will be restricted for 16 and 17 year-olds in a move designed to curb unhealthy late-night scrolling habits.

A Government source said: “Keir has been clear we need a game-changer to keep our children — and future generations — safe online.”....<<<Read More>>>....

Starmer issues ultimatum to technology companies to implement client-side scanning; this is the end of online privacy

 Starmer has issued a three-month ultimatum for major technology firms to implement client-side scanning; so that all content on all digital devices sold or used in the UK can be scanned using a dystopian combination of age verification and content scanning.

Client-side scanning is a surveillance technique that analyses content on a user’s device before encryption. And, if the Government succeeds, it marks the end of online privacy – for everyone.

Signal has issued a statement on the UK government’s demand. “This proposal will not safeguard children. It endangers us all,” Signal says.

Age verification is spreading worldwide. It is a Trojan horse for limiting access to content that they do not wish the public to see. We need to look no further than what the UK government is doing worldwide under the pretence of keeping children safe online.

In July 2025, provisions in the Online Safety Act 2023 (“OSA”) were enacted, introducing age verification checks for online content. Using these new rules, just a week after they were implemented, a variety of content unrelated to children’s safety was already being censored.

“British people are being forced by the state to verify their age and hand over personal information to view political news about their own country. It is the sort of thing for which British diplomats would castigate third-world or tyrannical governments, but there seems to be little awareness of the danger of this law among our own governing class,” The Critic said in the week after the new rules began....<<<Read More>>>...

Starmer Poised to Ban Under-16s From Social Media in ‘Australian-Plus’ Crackdown

 Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to announce a ban on under 16s using social media in the next 10 days.

The Prime Minister has been considering what action to take after a three-month consultation on an Australian-style social ban on children under 16.

There is growing speculation that Sir Keir will opt for a so-called “Australian-plus” model with a ban on a wider range of sites combined with restrictions on “addictive” features and tougher age checks to prevent children circumventing the rules.

Sir Keir is said to be carving out policies to provide him with a “legacy” as he faces the threat of a leadership challenge from Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor who is favourite to secure a return to Parliament in the Makerfield by-election in less than two weeks’ time.

However, the children’s commissioner has proposed that any social media ban should be extended to 16- and 17-year-olds

Dame Rachel de Souza has said that any ban must apply “equally to all children” up to 18.

She also urged Sir Keir Starmer to draw up a list of features that tech firms would be forced to ban because they encourage children to stay online, put them at risk of seeing harmful content or enable them to be contacted by strangers.

The Prime Minister is expected to announce the first stage of the crackdown on Monday with tech companies being forced to install software that makes it impossible for children to take or share nude images.

If businesses including Google and Apple fail to comply within three months, Sir Keir will say legislation will be introduced that would mean the companies could face fines, regulations on phone sales to children or criminal sanctions....<<<Read More>>>....

Sir Keir Rodney Starmer, Political Obituary of a PM

 There is a particular kind of political failure that is almost harder to forgive than corruption or scandal. It is the failure of a leader who was handed everything — a historic Parliamentary majority, an exhausted opposition, a public desperate for competent government — and still managed to squander it with the quiet, methodical thoroughness of a man who had clearly been planning to squander it all along. Keir Starmer is rapidly becoming the defining example of that failure for his generation.

When Labour swept to power in July 2024, the scale of the victory was intoxicating. Over 400 seats. A majority of 170. What was easy to miss in the euphoria was that Labour had achieved all of this on just 33.7% of the popular vote, with turnout barely scraping 60%. It was not a nation embracing Starmer. It was a nation exhausted by the alternative — and there is quite a difference between a country that wants you and one that has simply run out of worse options. Starmer never seemed to grasp this distinction, which may explain why he has spent the intervening period behaving as though he won a revolution rather than a weary national shrug.

A leader who understood the fragility of his position would have moved with urgency, clarity and purpose. Instead, Starmer has governed as he campaigned — cautiously, reactively and with a forensic attention to process that has proved entirely useless when what the moment required was instinct, conviction or the faintest flicker of inspiration....<<<Read More>>>...

Keir Starmer Condemned the Wrong Rally

 The Unite the Kingdom rally was an outlier in recent London marches in having no mass chants calling for death to minority groups, yet perversely this was the one Sir Keir Starmer chose to condemn, says Jonathan Sacerdoti in the Spectator. Here’s an excerpt.

Perhaps the strangest thing about the Unite the Kingdom rally was just how unremarkable it felt. There were no mass chants calling for the death of particular groups, no calls for the eradication of foreign countries and no flags of terrorist groups or tyrannical theocracies waved in the crowd. Nobody cited scripture to urge the slaughter of another people, nobody waved terrorist symbols and nobody I saw during the entire day covered their face.

We live in such peculiar times that this is what set the march apart from the dozens of others which have descended on the streets of London over the last couple of years, totally unchallenged – even protected – by the police and our Government. Yet this outlier was the first march Keir Starmer decided to speak out against since taking office as Prime Minister, threatening police action and the full force of the law against those involved, and pulling out all the stops to block foreign speakers from entering the country at the last minute. Of all the political protests we’ve witnessed since Labour won the General Election – and we’ve witnessed many – this was the one he chose to obstruct repeatedly. This was the hill he chose to die on.

And just in case anyone had forgotten what the other type of march looks like, they handily held one just around the corner so we could compare and contrast. The far-Left omnicause supporters took to the streets waving their PLO and Iranian flags – the ones representing the Islamic Republic regime, not the sun-and-lion version indicating solidarity with the Iranian people. Some were even sporting Al-Qassam Brigades red triangles, a symbol made popular by the terrorists when marking out targets for death in videos.

Unite the Kingdom focused mostly on domestic issues, British society and Christianity. Mostly the crowd waved Union flags, St George’s crosses and saltires. The other march featured few no Union flags, but a sea of red, white, green and black PLO flags....<<<Read More>>>...

Food for Thought #1087

 

Starmer Bows to Miliband’s Demands to Go Faster on Renewables and Commit to No New Drilling in North Sea

 Sir Keir Starmer bowed to Ed Miliband’s demands to go faster on wind and solar power and commit to no new drilling in the North Sea as he unveiled a flagship “Energy Independence Bill” in the King’s Speech. The Mail has more.

The Prime Minister backed the Energy Secretary’s plans to ensure the country goes “further and faster to deliver clean energy”.

But there was no mention of whether the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields in the North Sea would be approved.  Instead, the bill restates the commitment to not issue new licences for exploration and keep the ban on fracking.

While the Labour manifesto commits the party to not issuing new North Sea oil and gas licences, this will be the first time that the pledge is written into law.

The move will infuriate those who have been arguing for Britain to use homegrown oil and gas rather than relying on expensive imports.

The UK’s exposure to global energy prices has meant it has been far more impacted than other countries through bills and inflation.

Despite this, Miliband has refused to make use of the North Sea supplies and instead focused on renewables.

The Energy Independence Bill also commits to “accelerate” the UK’s drive for energy security through wind and solar power and hydrogen.

It restates commitments to reform planning rules to make it easier to install renewable energy infrastructure.

Elsewhere, the bill restates the Budget commitments to move the cost of some green taxes off bills and on to general taxation.

This enables Labour to claim it’s reducing prices though in reality it is just moving the costs so bills look smaller.

Despite the move – and Labour’s pre-election pledge to reduce bills by £300 – energy bills are still £190 higher than when it came to power last year.

They are expected to rise far higher when the next price cap takes effect in July as they will factor in the costs of the Iran war....<<<Read More>>>....

Food for Thought #1083

 

Farage Begs Starmer Not to Quit as Labour Local Election Bloodbath Triggers Calls for PM to Go

 Nigel Farage has begged Keir Starmer not to quit today, quipping he’s the “greatest asset we’ve got”, as Labour’s catastrophic local election bloodbath prompts fresh calls for the PM to go. The Mail has more.

Calls are already emerging for the PM to go with results overnight showing a bloodbath for the party across English councils. A meltdown is also looming in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd later.

But the Reform leader joked that he would be “very sad” to see Sir Keir ousted – adding “he is the greatest asset we have got”.

Farage boasted of a “truly historic shift in British politics” and said he is heading for No. 10, as Reform plundered seats in previous Labour strongholds in the North and Midlands. It also seized Newcastle-under-Lyme council from the Tories.

Sir Keir said he would not “sugarcoat” the “tough” situation and it “hurt”. He admitted “unnecessary mistakes” had been made.

But he said would not “walk away” and was planning announcements in the coming days to convince the public that “things will get better”. “Days like this don’t weaken my resolve to deliver the change that I promised,” Sir Keir added.

Labour has lost control of Redditch, Hartlepool, Tamworth, Exeter and Tameside councils – the latter after 47 years – following major swings to Reform.

It shipped 15 of 16 seats it was defending on Halton Council in Cheshire to Reform, although it retained overall control.

It was a similar situation in Wigan as Farage’s insurgents scooped all but one of the 25 seats available, including 20 from Labour.

Classic ‘Red Wall’ seats in Chorley, Lancashire, Salford in Greater Manchester and Merseyside also dramatically switched. Things were little better in the South, with Labour booted out of control in Southampton and Wandsworth....<<<Read More>>>...

Political Betting: Will it be ‘Starmageddon’ for Labour in the Local Elections?

 The polls and the pundits are broadly agreed on the outcome of today’s elections – the only issue in doubt is exactly how great the earthquake will be. 

If we map the Richter scale onto our domestic politics, a rating of around five would be expected to “cause some damage to well-designed structures” and a number higher than eight to lead to “total destruction in communities near the epicentre”. Applying such descriptions to the established political parties (as opposed to the voters themselves), I am firmly in the camp that we will be rather closer to eight than to five.

Looking first at the English local elections, the Conservatives and Labour could find themselves battling it out for the wooden spoon, with one of the grand old parties finishing fourth and the other fifth in terms of council seats won.

Reform will comfortably win the day both in terms of NEV (the national equivalent vote share, which maps the results onto a putative General Election) and in terms of councillors. With regard to the latter, the party is currently defending just 78 of the approximately 5,000 seats up for grabs and will likely emerge with more than 1,500. You might still just find odds of 1/50 on Farage’s teal army taking first place if you fancy a 2% return on investment over just a few days.

The scale of the apocalypse facing Labour is almost unimaginable. Last year the party lost two thirds of the seats it was defending and it may fare even worse this time. In absolute rather than relative terms, the position is bleaker still. In 2025, it had fewer than 300 councillors up for re-election as the areas voting were largely the Tory shires. This time, over 2,000 seats start in the Labour column and it could be reduced to 600 or even fewer. Swathes of the party’s campaigning infrastructure will be overwhelmed as a turquoise tsunami engulfs the Red Wall. Outside London it may struggle to maintain majority control in any area at all with ‘all out’ elections – although it has sufficiently impregnable majorities to remain in power in a good number of places which elect in ‘thirds’.

 You can still just about get 1/2 on the betting exchanges that Starmer will be replaced as Labour leader this year, and I believe that represents good value – as does the 5/2 that a new leader will be in position at some point between July and September. (I see the biggest danger to this latter bet being that the thus-far-hapless coup leaders get their act together and somehow manage to manufacture a coronation before the end of next month.)...<<<Read More>>>...