Politics
How Badenoch forced Labour’s hand on Mandelson
“Will there ever be a normal news week?” one LOTO adviser messaged yesterday. It has been quite a week in Westminster – and one in which Kemi Badenoch has succeeded in carving out the agenda.
Sir Keir Starmer, meanwhile, is on the ropes. Questions over his judgement in appointing Peter Mandelson as US ambassador – despite knowing of his links to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein – have sent Labour into open turmoil. Some MPs are now privately calling for his resignation; others are opnely briefing against him. Only a handful of loyalists remain. “It feels like the end of days,” one Labour MP tells me.
And they now have the option for an unholy alliance as Badenoch yesterday – in a speech that was whipped up within 24 hours – made them an offer to join forces: “Let’s talk seriously about a vote of no confidence.”
A Tory shadow cabinet member adds: “You know things are bad when their MPs are telling me – a Conservative shadow secretary of state – just how awful it is.”
Each Conservative intervention has only made matters worse for the Prime Minister. At PMQs prep earlier this week, things felt routine enough. “We did the prep and asked the questions,” one person involved tells me. “The effect was where it all came down.” By forcing Starmer, on the third attempt, to admit that he knew Mandelson had maintained ties with Epstein after his conviction, Badenoch played a blinder.
“She did well to force Keir’s hand,” a shadow cabinet minister says. “Not only blocking his attempt to stitch up the release of documents, but also making him admit he knew about Mandelson’s Epstein connection before appointing him.”
“You could hear everyone gasp and see the Labour benches droop in despair. It was a genuinely shocking moment.”
A Tory adviser adds: “The last thing we expected was that Starmer would finally confess he’d known about Mandelson’s ongoing relationship with Epstein, at which point Kemi’s PMQs request for all documents to go to Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) became the only real option for the government.” That was despite Starmer dismissing that very option at PMQs.
Inside Tory HQ, they knew they had spotted a moment of “massive weakness” when Starmer gave in to an opposition humble address (a clever bit of Parliamentary procedure) on his own appointment – the same one he had said he had “full confidence” in when Badenoch challenged him back in September. The deliberately broad wording extends the scope well beyond Mandelson’s appointment to include electronic communications and minutes of meetings between Lord Mandelson and ministers, officials and special advisers during his tenure as ambassador.
That could include messages between the disgraced former ambassador and the Prime Minister himself, as well as his chief of staff – and Mandelson protégé – Morgan McSweeney.
“The benefits of having government experience from responding to humble addresses,” a senior Tory tells me, “and helped by the fact that half the parliamentary Labour party hate Mandelson!”.
One shadow cabinet member jokes that by the time disclosure could come around, McSweeney’s phone will probably be destroyed, at the bottom of the Thames somewhere. “But it doesn’t really matter,” they added, “the damage will be done”.
When originally planning the humble address, Badenoch “was absolutely clear she wanted to force Labour MPs either to collude in a cover-up or vote for total transparency”, a Tory adviser says. After Conservative whips “did a cracking job” leaning on Labour counterparts, by the end of the day No 10 had accepted ISC involvement – and “the Prime Minister looked utterly powerless”.
Tory chief whip Rebecca Harris was central to forcing it through, alongside Meg Hillier, who had called for ISC oversight, and Jeremy Wright, the ISC’s deputy chair. They were seen in intense discussions with Labour chief whip Jonathan Reynolds in the chamber. But it was the former government chief whip, now Leader of the House Sir Alan Campbell, who I’m told ultimately helped shepherd it through without a vote.
Those working in LOTO and the Tory whips’ office are credited with “delivering a masterclass” behind the scenes, alongside Alex Burghart – who led ono the humble address – and Neil O’Brien. “They are superb,” one colleague says.
As another shadow cabinet minister puts it: “We’re getting quite good at this opposition thing.”
The “cherry on top” came when, as one Conservative adviser tells me, “we realised we had enough MPs on both sides ready to hurl insults at Starmer”, prompting the decision to drop their second opposition day topic and devote the entire debate – until 7pm – to Mandelson’s appointment.
The adviser added: “The idea of Starmer being some sort of forensic lawyer must surely now be consigned to history. This is a man who chose not to probe Peter Mandelson’s original claims of innocence. Who chose not to probe the security vetting on Mandelson. And who has been taken apart by Kemi in two PMQs sessions dissecting the Mandelson appointment, to the extent his tenure in No10 is now hanging by a thread.”
Starmer likes to say his career was spent championing victims. Yet he appointed a man he knew had an ongoing relationship with a convicted paedophile to one of the most senior diplomatic jobs in the land.
What happens next is unclear. Many in Westminster expect McSweeney to go first, Starmer later – there is no obvious successor, no easy handover, and a set of awkward local elections to get through in May. But perhaps their fates are bound together.
As one shadow cabinet minister wonders aloud: “Does Keir think: if he has to go, I’ll go too?”
One LOTO source tells me Badenoch wanted her speech yesterday to make clear this was “not just a Westminster bubble story”, which is why she repeatedly stressed that “Britain is not being governed”.
“While Labour lurch around punching themselves in the face,” they say, “the world moves on at pace. And instead of keeping up with it, we have a government that is just not really governing. Not taking any big decisions or passing any important legislation.”
Amid the Mandelson maelstrom, not only have Badenoch and the Tory machine demonstrated their political competence; there was also a personal boost for the Tory leader. At a shadow cabinet meeting this week, pollster Luke Tryl of More in Common noted that Badenoch’s favourability is improving and the party’s polling has stabilised – with her now leading the Conservatives like David Cameron once did.
“Positive news,” one shadow cabinet member texts me. Not a bad way to end the week.
4 min read
MPs must match their justified outrage over Peter Mandelson with meaningful action to break the link between wealth, power, and access.
Exactly 14 years to the day before Peter Mandelson resigned from the House of Lords, my old boss, Chris Huhne, resigned from the cabinet and the Commons for covering up a driving offence, which later saw him sent to prison. As the then-Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer ensured the case was prosecuted. That custodial sentence should sit uncomfortably with the disgraced former Labour peer.
British politics has an eerily familiar way of dealing with scandal.
First comes the revelation. Then the outrage. Then demands for resignation, suspension, or sanction. No matter what punishment follows (or often doesn’t), the story eventually fades, and the system that produced it remains intact. In this ecosystem, all the energy is directed towards chasing the offender; far less towards preventing similar abuses by others.
Now is surely the time for us to acknowledge that this is not good enough.
The allegations against Mandelson demand thorough investigation – no one should escape scrutiny for their actions or complicity. If it is indeed the case that, having enjoyed their patronage, he leaked sensitive and confidential government discussions at the height of a national crisis to his own associates – individuals who potentially stood to benefit from that information – then that would be a very serious matter. Now that the police are investigating Mandelson, perhaps we could turn towards lessons learned and consequent reforms.
Buried within the Mandelson case are uncomfortable but unavoidable questions about the proximity of wealth and power: how former ministers, advisers and donors move between public roles and private interests; how access is sold and influence bought; and how the deepening links between private wealth and public power have become entrenched.
When the Prime Minister took office, he declared that restoring trust would be one of the defining tests of this era. He was right to do so, but this episode will only reinforce a deeply held suspicion: that those with wealth enjoy privileged access to power, that they use that access in their own interests, and that politicians are too often complicit in this arrangement.
Polling consistently shows that public confidence in the integrity of our system is fragile. Yet too often, the political response treats each controversy as isolated, rather than cumulative. That is a mistake.
The Mandelson affair should prompt a broader reckoning to finally break this cycle and send a clear message to the public that these offences are treated with the severity they merit. Fortunately, there are immediate opportunities to do exactly that. Parliament is currently considering measures to reform the offence of misconduct in public office through The Public Office (Accountability) Bill. Used properly, this could bring clarity, strengthen enforcement, and ultimately deter misconduct.
We are also anticipating an elections bill. That legislation offers a chance to break the link between wealth and power, to end the dependency of our political parties who are increasingly reliant on a small number of very wealthy individuals. When a billionaire can do no more for them than someone running a local shop, the attention of some politicians will inevitably shift.
We will soon, therefore, know if the righteous outrage voiced by backbenchers in Parliament this week translates into courageous champions for deeper reform.
The latest Mandelson affair should not be remembered solely as another chapter in Westminster’s cycle of outrage or the downfall of a political figure. It should be the moment when we finally acknowledge that restoring trust requires changing the rules of the game, not just disciplining those occasionally caught out.
This case underscores how enabling environments for corruption can intersect with other serious abuses. Where elite networks operate without oversight, and where misconduct faces no real consequences, multiple forms of exploitation – including sexual violence – continue with impunity. Accountability gaps don’t exist in isolation.
We owe it to the victims at the heart of this story to challenge the power structures that first meant their abusers thought they could carry on with impunity. That might be our best chance of no longer seeing scandal repeated and yet more suffer its abuses.
Duncan Hames is Director of Policy at Transparency International UK and a former Liberal Democrat MP.
But while it’s since been pointed out that the garment in question may have been a promotional opportunity for The Biebs’ latest fashion line, it seems the Canadian star may have given less thought to what he wore on stage than you might have thought.
Earlier this week, Grammys executive producer Ben Winston gave an interview on Rolling Stone’s Music Now podcast, spilling some behind-the-scenes tea about this year’s ceremony.
In his wider interview, Winston went on to say that when he and his team first contacted Justin about his plans for his Grammys performance, he didn’t have much to tell them.
“When we had got reached out to him about his creative, he was just like, ‘I’m just going to get on stage and sing’,” he noted.
He added of the eventual performance: “It was what he wanted to do. It was all him. It was a career-defining moment for him. It was so different to what we’ve seen over the years.”
After an extended break from releasing music, Justin unveiled two albums in 2025, Swag and the follow-up Swag II, the former of which earned him four nominations at the recent Grammys, including the coveted Album Of The Year title.
Fresh from her first win at the Grammys over the weekend, Lola Young has announced she’s returning to live performing with a one-off gig.
In October 2025, the British performer announced she was stepping back from her work commitments, including several planned live performances, in order to “work on myself and come back stronger”.
Prior to this, the chart-topping star – who has spoken candidly about her struggles with her mental health throughout her time in the spotlight – had been through a turbulent few weeks, notably collapsing while on stage at a US music festival.
Over the weekend, the Messy singer gave an acoustic rendition of her signature hit as part of a medley of performances from the nominees in the Best New Artist category at the Grammys, where she picked up the award for Best Pop Solo Performance.
Days later, on Friday morning, Lola announced a one-off show at the Palladium in her hometown of London, to mark her official return to live performing.
“I’m going to be playing my first headline show in a while,” she told her fans. “Performing live is everything to me, and asking you, my fans, to show up for me after cancelling my tour is something I don’t take for granted.”
Lola continued: “I am planning a small intimate show in London on 4 March at The London Palladium.
“I’m aware that with this being a one-off show, that I can’t accommodate tickets for everyone who bought them previously. I can only hope that in time when I’m able to play bigger shows, that you’ll still be willing.”
“Thank you all so much for believing in me, and giving me this time and space,” she added.
How can I get tickets for Lola Young’s one-off concert at the London Palladium?
Those hoping to attend Lola Young’s London show next month must first register their interest on her official website before 12pm GMT on Tuesday 10 February.
After that, a select number of fans will be randomly allocated a unique code allowing them access into the ticket sale, which they will receive in their email inbox, alongside more information about how they can purchase tickets.
Fans who receive a code will be able to buy two tickets for the show. For more ticket information visit Lola Young’s website here.
A Labour Party whistleblower has confirmed to the Canary that the disgraced Epstein associate Peter Mandelson, alongside then Director of Campaigns Morgan McSweeney, helped to vet Labour candidates for the 2024 general election.
Mandelson: the scandal continues
I have been investigating McSweeney’s operations for the last six months, and have personally heard accounts from several party insiders of widespread corruption in the run-up to the election, with local candidates systematically dumped in favour of Mandelson-McSweeney picks with no apparent connection to the area.
Furthermore, I was contacted by a former Labour MP who served as a frontbencher under Ed Miliband. He claims that Mandelson and McSweeney worked together to “get rid of” him. He added:
Everyone has overlooked Megan McCann, [McSweeney’s] former due diligence officer. She is his Achilles heel.
Megan McCann told me at a famous curry house meeting that when she had finished doing in candidates or getting them through, she built a dirty dossier on every MP. McCann takes instructions from McSweeney.”
As it emerges that Peter Mandelson assisted McSweeney in building a covert network within the Labour Party to ensure their positions became policy, MPs who have defended the Epstein associate for so long are now moving to distance themselves.
We now know that as Business Secretary, Peter Mandelson passed classified government information to likely Israeli intelligence asset Jeffrey Epstein, even messaging the notorious paedophile on the day former Prime Minister Gordon Brown “finally got him to go.” But Mandelson had two deputies at the time, assisting him in his work: David Lammy and Pat McFadden.
Last year, Lammy, who was Foreign Secretary at the time, vehemently defended the appointment of Mandelson as US Ambassador, saying that he was “a man of considerable expertise”. Not words many of us would use for a person who described a convicted paedophile as their “best pal”.
Things get murkier when we take into account David Lammy’s 2014 failed London mayoral nomination bid.
Murky
His campaign was led by a former chair of Labour Friends of Israel, David Mencer, who went on to become a spokesman for the Israeli government. You may have seen Mencer on television in recent months, defending the most heinous crimes of the Gaza genocide.
Life-long Israel lobbyist Trevor Chinn donated £30,000 to Lammy’s the short-lived mayoral campaign. Chinn has funded both Conservative and Labour Friends of Israel throughout his life, and was personally awarded for “service to the state of Israel” by Israeli President and genocidaire Isaac Herzog.
But Chinn was also a director and major funder of Morgan McSweeney’s “Labour Together Ltd.” outfit. When McSweeney was found to have concealed £739,492 worth of donations to Labour Together, one of his excuses was that he trying “to protect Trevor”.
Another of Lammy’s financial backers is Lady Woodford-Hollick, the wife of Labour peer Clive Hollick. Clive Hollick was another funder of the Labour Together project, but he also previously served as a Special Adviser to Peter Mandelson.
From acting as his deputy in 2008 to defending him in interviews last year, the question needs to be asked: what did David Lammy know about the Mandelson-Epstein communications?
The McFadden link
Peter Mandelson’s other deputy during his tenure as Business Secretary was Pat McFadden. McFadden has been described as “the most powerful Labour politician most have never heard of”. He initially worked on Tony Blair’s 1997 election campaign alongside Peter Mandelson and Alistair Campbell.
In 2008, he was made Mandelson’s right-hand man. Indeed, in a fawning article printed by the Guardian in September 2023, Mandelson waxes lyrical on his former assistant, saying: “Pat has seen it all. He is a walking encyclopedia of political and policy knowledge, and experience in government.” But had McFadden “seen” Mandelson’s communications with Epstein?
During the 2024 general election campaign, McSweeney and McFadden’s desks were “right in the middle of the room” at Labour HQ. His wife, Marianna McFadden, was already McSweeney’s no. 2. Mandelson said that McFadden and McSweeney would complement each other, opining that “Pat is cautious…[whereas] Morgan is a hard-driven street fighter.” High praise all round from the Epstein-informant.
Megan McCann is now a Special Adviser to Labour Chief Whip Jonathan Reynolds. Like former Mandelson deputy Pat McFadden, Reynolds is also a vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel, and both men have travelled on LFI-funded delegations. In 2019, Reynolds even accepted a £100 donation directly from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Israel connection and Labour Together
Recently, Starmer tabled an amendment to the motion to release the Mandelson Files, calling for an exemption for “papers prejudicial to UK national security or international relations”. The amendment was signed by the PM and three other Labour MPs. Jonathan Reynolds was one of them.
Another signer of the failed amendment was fellow LFI supporter and Chief Secretary to the PM, Darren Jones. Jones, who received over £57,000 in donations from Labour Together, recently said that Starmer picked Mandelson “because we want to do things differently”.
The third signer of the amendment to restrict the release of the Mandelson Files was Nick Thomas-Symonds. Thomas-Symonds received £35,521 from Labour Together.
Before working for Reynolds, McSweeney’s former “due diligence officer” Megan McCann was on the staff of Labour MP Oliver Ryan. Another suspected McSweeney-Mandelson “pick”, Ryan received £10,000 from Labour Together.
Tom Rutland, the new MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, was another member of Labour Together’s “£10k club”. A pattern is coming to the fore: the Mandelson-McSweeney cabal used not only Excel spreadsheets, but also the financial weight of Labour Together to ensure those loyal to them got elected.
Mark Sewards also received £10,000 from Labour Together. Last August, Sewards became the first Member of Parliament to create an “AI version of himself” to communicate with constituents, a disturbing move condemned by many for its potential detrimental effects on many of the most vulnerable in society.
Recently, Sewards travelled to meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Last November, her was announced as the new parliamentary chair of Labour Friends of Israel after previously accepting an LFI-funded trip to occupied Palestine in May 2025. These are the individuals waiting in the wings for Starmer’s downfall.
Tony Blair as well
Another of the new crop of Labour MPs is Georgia Gould, a member of the Jewish Labour Movement who previously served on Camden Council. Whilst there, fellow Camden Labour councillor + JLM member Izzy Lenga posted a photograph on Facebook in which she is wearing an Israeli military uniform, holding an automatic weapon and draped in an Israeli flag. The photograph was subsequently deleted.
Before moving into politics, Gould worked for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. She has previously been described as a “Blairite heiress who could be Labour leader one day” and a “close ally and mentee” of Alistair Campbell, the third wheel in the Mandelson-McFadden team behind Blair’s rise to power.
Marianna McFadden, Pat McFadden’s wife, had her own links to the infamous war criminal, having previously worked at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. She was later appointed as Starmer’s deputy campaigns director. The most unpopular Prime Minister ever is a continuation of Blair’s legacy in more ways than one.
Georgia Gould is the daughter of two “peers for life”. Her husband, Alex Zatman, was previously a Special Adviser to Liz Kendall, but is now a director at Teneo, a controversial lobbying firm with close links to the Clinton family. When Teneo was established in 2011, both Tony Blair and Bill Clinton were named as members of their advisory board. Clinton, who departed in 2012, had a yearly salary of $2.5 million.
In one leaked e-mail from the Jeffrey Epstein files, Ghislaine Maxwell writes to his “best pal” Peter Mandelson:
Pete, what is wrong. I am here for you. Call me – Clinton sd he will do what you want at the conference…PS Don’t be disgusting.
The e-mail is dated September 14th 2002. On October 2nd 2002, Clinton addressed the Labour conference in Blackpool. Ghislaine of course was the daughter of Robert Maxwell, the now deceased member of the British House of Lords, media baron, and, according to ex-Israeli intelligence operative Ari Ben-Menashe, Mossad asset.
Mandelson’s hands are all over the past 25 years
The extent of Epstein-informant Mandelson’s influence on government policy, and further revelations over the next days and weeks will be devastating for the Starmer regime and all those who defended him.
When Morgan McSweeney initially joined Labour in 2001, not long after his stint on an Israeli “kibbutz”, he was put to work on Mandelson’s “Excalibur” database, used to gather information on “internal political rivals”. The two have been close ever since, and the bullying tactics once employed by Mandelson are echoed by his political heir McSweeney today.
One prospective parliamentary Labour candidate in London, Sara*, spoke to me about being hauled in front of a now infamous three-person committee: Luke Akehurst, Sharma Tatler, and Anu Prashar. “I was given 5 minutes notice and then told I was not suitable, with no right to appeal”, she said.
Tom*, a Labour member from east London, told me about a culture of fear surrounding McSweeney: “Everyone is so scared to speak, and people are getting suspended for anything.” Sara told me: “You have to prove your loyalty by being mean and nasty…it’s a cesspit.”
The Mandelson-McSweeney-Starmer cabal has ruled Labour with an iron fist, but the house of cards is beginning to fall.
*Names have been changed to protect whistleblowers’ identities.
Featured image via the Canary
It’s only been a few weeks since The Traitors left our screens, but we’re already looking ahead to the next celebrity series.
Naturally, speculation is already in full flow about who the next bunch of celebs heading to the Scottish castle could be, but it turns out there’s one casting rule that helps determine just that.
Geordie Shore star and Celebrity Big Brother winner Charlotte Crosby has made it clear that she won’t be getting a call-up for The Traitors because of a supposed “no reality stars” rule.
“That is a genuine fact,” she told The Sun. “My agent is on the line and he will confirm. They take no reality stars.
“A lot of shows have this rule. I’m A Celebrity used to have this rule. But it gets to the point where they’ve obviously run out of big names so they have to start delving into [reality TV].
“So, they’ll have this rule for maybe three or four series, and then they might have to break the mold a bit.”
“As soon as they do, I will be there with my fucking cloak,” Charlotte quipped.
The inaugural celebrity spin-off last year saw Alan Carr win the show against all odds, fending off competition from the likes of Nick Mohammed, Jonathan Ross, Paloma Faith and Stephen Fry in the process.
True to Charlotte’s claims, none of the stars made their name on reality television, although a small handful had appeared on such shows.
Eastenders actor Tameka Empson appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2016, while Kate Garraway was on the show in 2007, and followed it up with appearances on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! and The Masked Singer.
Even Celebrity Traitors champion Alan Carr dipped his toe in reality TV for charity, with previous appearances on The Great Celebrity Bake Off and a celebrity spin-off of The Apprentice for Comic Relief back in 2009.
Sadly, we’ll have to wait until the end of the year before we get another series of The Celebrity Traitors, but speculation is already rife about who could join the line-up.
At this point, the following shouldn’t surprise anyone about Trump, and yet it is staggering to see:
BREAKING: Trump just posted an incredibly racist photo of the Obama’s faces photoshopped on to the body of apes.
Every day is a new rock bottom for this ugly pig. pic.twitter.com/GlMM7Cfjoe
— Dean Withers (@itsdeaann) February 6, 2026
Pure, unfettered racism from Trump
Everyone accepted long ago that it’s racist to depict black people as apes, and the video does literally nothing besides depicting the Obamas as apes.
There is no attempt to hide what his intent is here.
The only excuse you could make for Trump is that he’s too stupid and/or unwell to understand what he posted.
If that’s the case, WHY IS HE THE PRESIDENT?
A racist president is intolerable; a sick president with access to the nuclear button is potentially world ending.
Here’s how people have reacted to Trump’s latest hate crime:
This is the racist video Donald Trump posted.
This is where we’re at. pic.twitter.com/kH49rMWfVH
— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) February 6, 2026
Trump posted a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys. Incredibly racist and disgusting. Beneath the office of the presidency, like everything he does.
Every American must condemn this. pic.twitter.com/vYbGgqqv09
— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) February 6, 2026
Global problem
Given how America throws its weight around, it’s a problem for everyone in the world for there to be a racist and/or fascist president. It’s an even bigger problem for us in the UK, because politicians like Keir Starmer, Nigel Farage, and Kemi Badenoch all think there job is to suck up to this man.
Starmer and Farage both drape themselves in flags but once again it’s really clear where their loyalty really is.
It’s Trump first. They will always be on the side of the super rich and powerful – no matter how heinous the crime.
This is not patriotism. It’s subservience. https://t.co/M7sVgGLgMJ
— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) January 3, 2026
Featured image via X
Nick Buckley MBE is the Advance UK candidate in the Gorton & Denton byelection. With the fight for the seat heating up, we thought it was time we shone a light on what Buckley actually stands for. And it’s pretty dark:
This is what feminism has done to women – turned them into whores and made them unhappy – 20% of U.K. women are on antidepressants.
Feminism:%20Myths,%20Lies%20&%20Ungratefulness%3A%20Exploring%20Ground%20Zero%20Of%20The%20Woke%20Virus https://t.co/1vxHNVOYJ2
— Nick Buckley MBE (@NickBuckleyMBE) October 26, 2024
Let’s get it out of the way, you’re going to see a lot of misogyny and racism, so buckle up.
Another woman-hating, racist wanker on the ballot
Buckley has been on some really fucking wild rants on Twitter. Firstly, he states women shouldn’t have tattoos, and we can’t do anything right:
Female tattoos are just a trendy way to self abuse – just like cutting, not eating, gender ideology, abortion and always picking wrong men. https://t.co/su3L2sTgx4
— Nick Buckley MBE (@NickBuckleyMBE) September 5, 2025
He fucking hates abortions and apparently all women do is hoof antidepressants and kill babies:
If we do not support women across the globe then how are they going abortion their babies, rely on antidepressants, neglect their children, hate men and contribute to the coffers of the multinationals??
— Nick Buckley MBE (@NickBuckleyMBE) January 28, 2026
And comparing abortion to the holocaust is absolutely wild:
We are killing our babies almost as fast as we are making them. Abortion is out of control and a shame on our society like slavery and the holocaust. History will judge us and it will not be pleasant. https://t.co/XEAkgJ1mIB
— Nick Buckley MBE (@NickBuckleyMBE) January 23, 2026
He really fucking hates abortion:
Feminism taught us that men and women are the same. Women are just as evil as men and commit horrendous acts – they just do it differently to men. pic.twitter.com/UgY75PFrVX
— Nick Buckley MBE (@NickBuckleyMBE) January 15, 2026
And let’s throw a little transphobia in there for good measure:
The Trans lunatics are back! The NHS, our NHS as we are constantly told, is going to be experimenting on kids – legally. All doctors involved should be stripped of their license and prosecuted for child abuse. pic.twitter.com/Q5ekCC2fJz
— Nick Buckley MBE (@NickBuckleyMBE) November 26, 2025
Policing
Let’s be honest, it’s not shocking at all that Buckley is racist. It’s almost a given with Advance UK:
This is a great example of the failures of DEI. We recruit rapists because we have to give blacks a job to ensure no one thinks we are racist. It started with feminism but ends with rapists. pic.twitter.com/3JXAQHU5Kq
— Nick Buckley MBE (@NickBuckleyMBE) January 8, 2026
One commenter was quick to point out the case of Wayne Couzens, a white copper who killed Sarah Everard:
That’s never happened before. pic.twitter.com/8KRjEWrhgf
— catrellneff (@catrellnefff) January 9, 2026
The police literally ignored sexual harassment allegations made against him. Oh, and two other coppers shared racist and misogynistic messages with Couzens.
This isn’t an issue of political correctness; it’s an issue of the police ignoring the offences of its officers.
This disgustingly racist rhetoric is absolutely bullshit.
Currently, 97% of rape allegations are not even brought to charge in the UK; why the fuck isn’t he screaming about that? 6 out of 7 assaults against women are carried out by someone they know.
Why the fuck are we bringing race into this when it’s clearly just a man problem?
Advance UK throws another stereotype into the ring
Let’s be honest, none of this is shocking from a far-right party endorsed by Tommy Robinson and Elon Musk. But this sets a dangerous precedent for the trajectory of Advance UK. For a party that claims it’s not far right, it definitely seems like it is. And the leader, Ben Habib seems to fully support Buckley:
I am delighted @NickBuckleyMBE will be standing for @_AdvanceUK in the Gorton and Denton by election.
Nick is a proud patriot, local to the area where he also based his charity, Mancunian Way. His MBE was for charitable work.
Nick offers real change, not the same old or the…
— Ben Habib (@benhabib6) January 31, 2026
Luckily, Advance UK’s man seems somewhat irrelevant, but we need to be calling out these fascist wankers whenever we can, and Buckley is definitely one of them.
Featured image via Instagram
The post Is the English countryside ‘too white’? appeared first on spiked.
Rivals fans who’ve been waiting over a year for the next instalment of the award-winning series are about to have their patience rewarded.
And we’re happy to report that the new episodes of the Disney+ show look every bit as raunchy as season one.
The new trailer for Rivals season two was released online on Thursday evening, opening with cast member Emily Atack declaring in character as Sarah Stratton: “Welcome to the naughtiest show on television.”
Within the first 10 seconds of the new trailer, we’re treated to a snapshot of everything you’ve come to expect from Rivals, including a steamy shower scene, luxurious and decadent partying and the return of David Tennant as Lord Baddingham.
“Sorry I’m late, darling, I’ve had a terrible headache,” he declares, referencing that infamous season one cliffhanger.
Meanwhile, the minute-long montage also includes shots of fan-favourites Danny Dyer and Katherine Parkinson, as well as a snippet of new addition Hayley Atwell in character.
Take a look at the full trailer for yourself below:
A press release for season two previously teased: “Rivals returns in 2026 with even more wit, desire, and jaw-dropping twists. Power struggles intensify, rivalries deepen and ambition pushes loyalties to the brink.”
Rivals was adapted from the Rutshire Chronicles novels series, made popular by British author Dame Jilly Cooper, who died last year at the age of 88.
While Dame Jilly was laid to rest at a private funeral towards the end of 2025, last month, a more public memorial service took place in her honour attended by Rivals cast members Aidan Turner, David Tennant, Danny Dyer and Alex Hassell, as well as Queen Camilla.
Back in December, Queen Camilla also paid a visit to the Rivals set for a behind-the-scenes tour, where she was joined by members of the late Dame Jilly’s family.
Rivals returns to Disney+ on Friday 15 May.
Keir Starmer was torn apart by an audience member on BBC Question Time last night as questions over his judgement continue to mount.
The prime minister is facing pressure to resign from some Labour MPs after appointing Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to Washington, despite knowing about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
As the show discussed whether Starmer should now step down, one audience member suggested this was the final straw.
“I think that since Keir Starmer became prime minister, he upset the pensioners by saying about the winter fuel allowance, then he upset the farmers, then there was the Angela Rayner scandal, and then Alli,” she said, alluding to the clothes the prime minister received from Lord Alli.
“I think how can people trust this prime minister when he appointed Mandelson and he knew that he had the relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and also he has done so many U-turns on different policies,” she continued. “He has betrayed the British people, especially on disappointment with Mandelson, so how can we trust him and how can we keep him as a prime minister?”
However another member in the audience said “no major party is without scandal”, and that since July 2024 is the only time there’s been stability in governance especially with a shift in the international world order.
“I feel like right now it’s better off either keeping the party current or keeping the leader current to avoid destabilising the country,” he said.
A third audience member said Starmer “looks like a very broken man” when he issued an apology over Mandelson on Thursday.
However, she added: “But I can’t excuse what he did. I really was hopeful that he would be a good leader. I thought he had all the qualities. So if he doesn’t, then who does? How do we move forwards?”
Environment secretary Emma Reynolds defended the prime minister, saying he has dealt with international challenges “very skillfully” in a difficult geopolitical period.
“The security services did not advise against appointing Mandelson,” she noted, while adding that this process clearly needs to be improved.
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