Kemi Badenoch Faces Relentless Criticism

I've noticed a concerted effort from political commentators in Britain, dragging down the Leader of the Opposition, the Conservatives leader, Kemi Badenoch. Many of these commentators exalt Nigel Farage to the highest. Does this reflect the opinion of Britons as a whole, or is this a campaign to elevate Farage?

Looking into this, I checked recent polling results as tabulated on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_United_Kingdom_general_election

Since Kemi Badenoch became the Conservatives leader, the party has shown steady recovery. Badenoch herself, has shown a low disapproval rating. On the 4th of December, the Conservatives polled first.

Studying leadership approval, and looking at the latest poll result, the results in order from most negative to least negative are:

Keir Starmer -36

Nigel Farage -11

Kemi Badenoch -9

Ed Davey -8

In all cases, these leaders have a negative response from voters, but if you listened to the pundits, you'd think Nigel Farage could walk on water. Out of the last four polls, only Davey and Badenoch have had a positive result. 

Something I have noticed about Farage, he's sounding a little more Tory every day. The effort appears to be to force a reverse takeover of the Conservatives, thus installing Farage as leader. To me, this sounds like wishful thinking as Reform only have five MP's, well short of predictions prior to this year's election.

It'll be interesting to see how this evolves, but it does look as if Reform UK will implode at some point as they simply lack the numbers in the House of Commons.

GB News Problematic

Should the UK's GB News be shut down? I read a recent report that claimed GB News mentioned Muslims in a predominantly negative light: https://nz.news.yahoo.com/gb-news-broadcasts-half-uk-172108931.html

Watching GB News, I have noticed this slant, and it is concerning that it lacks balance. 

They appear to act as a mouthpiece for the minor UK political party, Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage.

Nigel Farage was, and perhaps still is, a presenter on GB News. So biased is this channel, a casual observer may be mistaken for thinking Nigel Farage is the Leader of the Opposition, and his deputy, Richard Tice an almost equal heavyweight. In fact, Reform UK have five seats in the House of Commons, that's all. They are the fifth equal largest political party in the Commons, alongside the DUP and the Independent Alliance (Muslims). How come the latter doesn't get as much time as Reform does on GB News?

Kemi Badenoch of the Conservatives is the Leader of the Opposition, and performing quite outstandingly. In the Commons she recently eviscerated the Labour government and demolished its leader, Keir Starmer. Watching GB News, you'd have missed this if you blinked. 

My question is this: does GB News have it in for Kemi Badenoch and the Conservatives?

When we look at Nigel Farage, we need to be as objective as possible. He was a central figure behind Brexit and the UK's leaving the EU. He had made it his life's endeavour. But, without Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and the Vote Leave crew, he would have lost in the referendum. Then, under the Reform UK banner, he was touted to win a dozen or more seats in the House of Commons, but Reform came up a long way short with a disappointing five MP's. On election night, that looked to be only four, with the last MP being James McMurdock. I got the impression Nigel Farage didn't even know his name, it was a surprise result. 

Polling does show Reform in a close race between Labour and the Conservatives. FindOutNow have Reform consistently in second place, with either the Conservatives or Labour in first. The next General Election is five years away, and both of Reform's rivals have hundreds of seats and party infrastructure built up over a very long time. If placing a bet, what kind of odds would a bookie give on Reform being able to beat either party? The odds would be long, no matter how much money gets tipped into the campaign. 

Perhaps Nigel Farage knows this and is trying to force a merger with the Conservatives, with himself being catapulted into the leadership of the merged entity. I've noticed a gradual shift in Nigel Farage's position, every day now he sounds a little more Tory, and less the rebel. Why don't GB News go to the actual Leader of the Conservatives for comment, seeing as Nigel Farage is simply Tory Lite, eh what? And just to note, he gets things badly wrong at times, back when Russia invaded Ukraine he was talking about how much Russia was going to lose. Now it is obvious they've won, he's gone silent. 

I can see why people call for GB News to be shut down. They're mostly a negative channel and offer little by way of intelligent debate. The only exception to this is the lovely Bev Turner, but she is someone they don't appear to appreciate. If GB News disappears, they won't be missed.

How the Tories Fell Apart

Matt Goodwin describes what happened and why. Lack of vision, and possibly, they don't even believe in Britain.

Tory Extinction Looms

Did this man destroy the Conservative Party?

UK General Election 2024

Rishi Sunak looks beaten as Reform rise to second place in the latest poll. This could be a breakthrough for the new party, a real game changer. I'm still thinking Labour may not do as well as they expect, leading to a hung parliament:

UK Labour - 27 Point Lead

The UK Labour party are leading the Conservative government by 27 points in the latest polls. Lesson there for the Tories: stop trying to kill the people. 

Note the presenter in the video below avoids mentioning Reform UK, now in third place nationally. But, can they actually win any seats, or will they just be a spoiler? We are about to find out in just a matter of weeks. 

Quality Rant - UK Tory Party

That Suella Braverman Letter

For those who missed it or cannot find it online, here's the resignation letter of Suella Braverman to the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.

Time for a General Election, or a leadership contest?

It's a brilliant letter, very well written, although some pedants have said she doesn't know where to place an apostrophe (but then who does). If you cannot see the images clearly, right click the image and select 'open link in new tab', then click on the image in the new tab - it will increase size for you.

UK Turmoil as Sunak Sacks Braverman and David Cameron Makes Comeback

We see them now. The UK has a cabal running the country. Rishi Sunak is an appointed Prime Minister, rejected even by his own party. Now we see former PM, David Cameron making a comeback by being appointed Foreign Secretary and being placed in the House of Lords instantly. Yeah...the game is rigged.