King Says He's Been Reduced to Tears by Public Support as He Returns to Work after Cancer Diagnosis

Usually, the meeting is held entirely in private, but the King permitted photographs and filmed footage of the first minute of the meeting to be taken | CREDIT: Jonathan Brady
THE TELEGRAPH: The monarch has been photographed meeting Rishi Sunak for their first official audience of the year

The King has said the messages and cards he has received since his cancer diagnosis have reduced him to tears, as he returns to his audiences with the Prime Minister for the first time this year.

The King told Rishi Sunak: “I’ve had so many messages and cards, you can’t believe it. They’ve reduced me to tears, most of them.”

Told by the Prime Minister that it was “wonderful to see you looking so well”, the King joked it was “all done by mirrors”.

Photographs and filmed footage of the first minute of the Buckingham Palace audience, which is traditionally held privately, show the King appearing to be in good health, if a little croaky in voice.

Usually, the meeting is held entirely in private, but the King and his aides are mindful of the public’s interest in his health as he undergoes treatment for cancer. » | Hannah Furness | Wednesday, February 21, 2024 [£]

Michael Lambert: Rishi's Recession and Chaos - All Part of the Plan?

Feb 17, 2024 | Last week Rishi Sunak repeatedly claimed that the UK had turned the corner and that his unspecified plan was working. It was also announced that the UK had been in recession during the last two quarters of 2023.

Sunak's previous employer, Goldman Sachs, published a damning report blaming Brexit for much of the UK's current economic problems.

Social services, the NHS, schools, the Courts, prisons and the military are all desperately in need of further funding and better management. At the same time businesses continue to suffer.

In two by elections at Wellingborough and at Kingsword, the Tories were trounced whilst Reform UK gained 11% in one and 13% of the votes in the other, showing themselves to be a serious threat to the Conservatives at the general election especially if Nigel Farage returns as leader.

The Guardian View on the UK Recession: No Growth and No Ideas Either

THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: The Conservatives have presided over a shrunken British economy, and Rishi Sunak does not have a clue how to make it grow again

“We’re on the up!” claimed the Daily Express about the British economy on Thursday . Sorry, loyal Conservative cheerleaders, but exactly the reverse is true. Instead of being on the up, we’re on the slide. On Thursday, the Office for National Statistics announced that the UK is in fact in recession, with a 0.3% drop in gross domestic product for the last quarter of 2023 to follow a 0.1% drop in the third quarter. The economy is therefore getting smaller. This is a recession. It is a huge national blow, both economically and politically.

It is true that the slide into recession has been a gentle one. Few economists believe that the announcement portends a downward lurch to compare with the recession of 1980 or the one after the financial crisis in 2009, when GDP fell by more than 4%. Do not, though, be misled by talk of a “technical” recession. An economy is either growing or it is not. Ours is not growing. It is shrinking. » | Editorial | Thursday, February 15, 2024

‘Rishi Sunak Is Deluded’ | Susie Boniface

Feb 10, 2024 | “The man’s deluded. What planet is he the minority of more than one? He’s insane.” Rishi Sunak is like a “lunatic at the controls” of the Conservative Party after announcing his game plan for the general election, says Susie Boniface on Times Radio.

”Deluded” and “insane” are pretty apt words for Sunak. Thank you, Susie Boniface! ‘Freaky’ would be another adjective that quickly springs to mind. Which other Brit do you know that doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t eat meat, and fasts for 36 hours each and every week, despite having to do the onerous task of running government? Then, to add to the list, is shameless enough to want to ban smoking for young adults in the whole country, and eventually for all adults, regardless of age. This man is totally out-of-touch with the British character; he is not one of us. Let him go try his insane, incremental smoking ban on Indians in India, and see how far he'll get.

Further, it is to be hoped that Keir Starmer, if and when he gets into office, won’t try this ‘Sunakesque’ stunt on the long-suffering Brits too. If he does, he will also be worthy of similar condemnation. – © Mark Alexander

Michael Lambert: Rishi Sunak - the Great Loser

Feb 10, 2024 | Rishi Sunak should never have become prime minister. As he shows daily, he is incompetent and out of touch. Sunak follows Cameron, May, Johnson, and Truss, some of the worst prime ministers ever. Sunak is like the captain of the Titanic telling everyone that everything is just fine despite the ship sinking.

He is out of touch and has almost no support. Several factions within the Conservative parliamentary party oppose Sunak and the latest, known as Popular Conservatives was launched last week under disgraced former prime minister Liz Truss.

More than 50 Tory MPs have said they will stand down at the next general election. Sunak keeps appearing on television in the hope of becoming more popular only to become less popular. His interview with Piers Morgan was a disaster as was his ill-judged comment in PMQs to Kier Starmer concerning Brianna Ghey.

Sunak must know that he has no way of winning the next general election and that by hanging on, matters will only get worse.

Further bad news, three by elections, the May council elections, the interim report from the Covid enquiry and the effects of the new import controls are all likely to make matters worse for Sunak.

Rishi Sunak Says He’s Brought a Culture of “Honesty” to No10 - Even Larry the Cat Is Packing His Bag

Feb 9, 2024

So that's why he wants to take a young adult's right to smoke away, is it? The hypocrite! Kick him out of office asap! – © Mark Alexander

Sunak’s Incremental Smoking Ban

It appals me that our king has joined our unelected prime minister in calling for an incremental smoking ban. However, it doesn’t surprise me, since as Prince of Wales, he had a history of involving himself in political affairs, even though we all know that our monarch is supposed to stay well out of politics.

Both our king and our prime minister are unelected. Therefore, they have no right whatsoever in a so-called democracy to make decisions on the people’s behalf.

The mere idea of banning smoking for adults — a habit which brings great pleasure to many adults even to this day — is undemocratic, autocratic, in fact, and, quite frankly, stupid. There are far more unhealthy habits than smoking cigarettes. Excessive sugar consumption springs quickly to mind, alcohol consumption, the smoking of marijuana and cannabis, and the use of ketamine, and increasingly, of cocaine. How many young people have a cocaine habit, I wonder? London is, in fact, said to be the cocaine capital of the world.

So, cigarette-smoking is the least of our concerns.

I would be the last person on earth to advocate smoking. However, I must admit, until nearly two years ago, I had a twenty-a-day habit, which brought me enormous pleasure. It also kept me slim and free of type-2 diabetes. Since quitting, I have gained weight quickly; and this worries me. Why? Because I know that my metabolism has slowed right down since I gave up. I am not gaining weight because I am eating more; rather, I am gaining weight because of my now slow metabolism.

You can talk of lung cancer, and lung cancer is a terrible thing. But the fact remains that only about 5 – 10% of HEAVY smokers contract it. Indeed, I recently read of an Israeli rabbi many years over a hundred who died of old age despite being an extremely heavy smoker. Like 60 cigarettes a day!

Please do not misconstrue my message: I neither advocate smoking nor condone it. However, I do defend the right of an adult to make his own choice without people in the Establishment interfering in their decisions. (By the way, I am not a republican. Far from it. However, interference like this could push me in that direction.)

The NHS argument holds no water. Smokers contribute approximately £10.5b in taxes, whereas they cost the NHS only £3.5b.

It should also be remembered that a person’s health is more than being about remaining cancer-free. One also wants to be free of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease and type-2 diabetes. One also wishes to remain as slim as possible. Nobody wants to be obese. Smoking has a protective effect on all these maladies.

It is imperative that we look at the big picture; it is also imperative that we keep meddlesome people out of our decision-making process.

If you wish to ban anything, ban meddlesome people from interfering in the democratic process. Keep people’s right to choose. Ban interference from the Nanny State.

© Mark Alexander
All Rights Reserved

Oh God! Here we go again! When is the risk of type-2 diabetes reduced after quitting sugar? Or the risk of a car accident when you quit driving your car? Or the risk of liver disease after you quit drinking alcohol? Or the risk of an STD once you quit sexual contact with your partner, straight or gay? Unfortunately, life is for living; and we cannot get out of this life alive. All this preaching is oh so tiresome. For heaven's sake, live and let live! It behoves us all to live moderately; and to enjoy life, to get our kicks where and when we can. One of these fine days we will not wake up! We'll all be dead! – © Mark Alexander

Hold On to Your Seats as PM Rishi Sunak Tells Piers Morgan What a Great He’s Doing on His Pledges

Feb 5, 2024

Vape Ban, Smoking Ban: Rishi Sunak's "Nanny State" | The New Statesman Podcast

Feb 3, 2024 | This week's disposable vape ban follows a generational ban on smoking and an XL Bully ban. Is this Rishi Sunak's legacy?

The mere idea of having a smoking ban for an adult is OUTRAGEOUS! Kick Sunak OUT of OFFICE NOW!

By the way: Maybe Sunak’s daughters will one day fall in love with, and marry, smokers. What a delightful, delicious thought! – © Mark Alexander

Michael Lambert: The UK Has No Future Outside the EU

Feb 3, 2024 | It is now four years since the UK finally left the EU. The period since Brexit under an incompetent and corrupt Conservative government has brought economic decline, social division and poverty to millions. Every week brings more economic bad news. Under Rishi sunak, the Tories are deeply divided and the prime minister has resorted to regularly lying in order to defend his lamentable record of incompetence.

Labour will inherit an economy in severe difficulty and decline and, even though it is widely accepted that Brexit is responsible for many of our problems, Keir Starmer has repeatedly insisted that under his leadership, the UK will never seek to rejoin the Single Market, the Customs Union of the European Union or agree to freedom of movement, or attempt to return to membership of the EU. Britain, however, has no future outside the EU and seems destined to continually decline.

Inside the Tory Plot to Oust Rishi Sunak | Stories of Our Times

Feb 1, 2024 | A former adviser to the prime minister is working with a secretive group of Tories to remove him from office before the general election. MPs have been out publicly backing Rishi Sunak and denying their involvement, but it risks setting off yet another civil war in the party. So who are the rebels? | Guest: Steven Swinford, Political Editor, The Times. | Host: Luke Jones.

Whisper It, but in Opposing Rishi Sunak’s Smoking Ban, Liz Truss Might Be Right

THE GUARDIAN: Restricting flavoured vapes make sense, but halting tobacco sales altogether for all entering adulthood is bizarre

Screengrab from the Guardian: ‘Smoking is both enjoyable and harmful. The state’s job is to regulate the balance.’ Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA
At least twice as many school pupils smoke cannabis as smoke tobacco. Cannabis is illegal, tobacco is legal. If legality meant anything, the figures should be the other way round.

Smoking, like alcohol and narcotic drugs, is both enjoyable and harmful. The state’s job is to regulate the balance. Health education, together with nudge measures like banning smoking in public places, have cut tobacco consumption steadily since 2000. The number of smokers has fallen in the past decade from 20% to 13% of the population. The one alarming development has been the use of vaping by children, with more than 20% of 11 to 17-year-olds now saying they’ve tried it, which is why the government’s proposed restriction on flavoured vapes is long overdue and is rightly directed at manufacturers blatantly promoting them to teenagers. How effective it would be remains to be seen.

Rishi Sunak’s plan to ban tobacco sales altogether for all entering adulthood, however, is bizarre. … » | Simon Jenkins | Monday, January 29, 2024

It is to be hoped that this legislation will fail, for if it doesn't, what will be next? Alcohol? Doughnuts? Meat? The possibilities are endless. In the name of God, stop this freakery! – © Mark Alexander

Nigel Farage on Sunak’s New, Stupid, Insane Incremental Smoking Ban | #shorts

Here’s Nigel Farage’s take on it. Nigel Farage is a man with whom I rarely agree on anything, but he is ABSOLUTELY RIGHT on this ludicrous, incremental smoking ban. The ban is unworkable, unenforceable, unpoliceable, insane, and just plain stupid. That silly woman in New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, thought up this nonsense; thankfully, the new right-wing government in New Zealand has abandoned the idea. Alhamdulillah!. It should be remembered that Sunak is a puritanical freak. He doesn’t smoke, he doesn’t drink, he doesn’t eat meat, and he fasts for 36 hours each and every week! How representative is this man of the British electorate? I would wager that he is not representative of the British electorate at all! – © Mark Alexander

Rishi Sunak: Weekly Fast Is Important Discipline for Me

Read the BBC article here

Oh dear, oh dear! You like sugary drinks? Surely, your government should ban them. We can’t have people enjoying themselves, can we? Ban sugary drinks with despatch! – © Mark Alexander

Sunak Forced to Rule Out Conscription as Russia War Threat Rises

THE TELEGRAPH: Downing Street shoots down comments by Gen Sir Patrick Sanders that the UK must be ready to train and equip citizens for future conflict

Downing Street has been forced to rule out conscription after the head of the Army warned that British civilians would need to fight Russia in a future war.

Gen Sir Patrick Sanders said the UK needed a military that could not only expand rapidly but also “train and equip” a citizen army, in a speech first reported by this newspaper.

In his address to the International Armoured Vehicles conference in Twickenham on Wednesday, Gen Sir Patrick stressed that the Army, which is predicted to have just 72,500 fully trained soldiers by 2025, would not be big enough to fight an all-out war with Russia even if it numbered 120,000.

Defence sources previously told The Telegraph that Gen Sir Patrick wants there to be a shift in the mindset of British men and women, in which they think like troops and are mentally prepared for a possible war with Russia. » | Danielle Sheridan, Defence Editor | Thursday, January 25, 2024

War with Russia is coming. Britain is determined to lose: »

‘No Time to Go Wobbly’: Why Britain Is Lobbying U.S. Republicans on Ukraine: The U.K., often a wingman to the United States in defense, is pushing its ally to stand firm against President Vladimir V. Putin, amid fears that Russia poses an existential threat to Europe. »

Senior European Judge Claims Rwanda Plan Is Illegal

THE TELEGRAPH: Leader of international court says ignoring Rule 39 orders would breach legal obligations

Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda plan was dealt a blow on Thursday as Strasbourg’s most senior human rights judge said that his deportation scheme would breach international law.

Síofra O’Leary, the president of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said that the UK would be in breach of its legal obligations if it refused to comply with a Strasbourg injunction, known as a Rule 39 order. » | Charles Hymas, Home Affairs Editor | Thursday, January 25, 2024

Rishi Sunak Must Quit before He Leads Tories to Extinction, Says Ex-minister

THE GUARDIAN: Simon Clarke, who served in Liz Truss’s cabinet, sparks renewed Conservative party infighting

Simon Clarke, left, with Rishi Sunak in 2020. Photograph: Danny Lawson/AFP/Getty Images
Rishi Sunak should resign before he leads the Conservatives to “extinction”, a Tory MP has said in an excoriating attack on the prime minister.

In a dramatic intervention on Tuesday night, Simon Clarke, who was a cabinet minister in Liz Truss’s short-lived government, urged Sunak to quit and make way for a new Tory leader.

In an op-ed for the Telegraph, Clarke said Sunak’s “uninspiring leadership is the main obstacle to our recovery” and that he has “sadly gone from asset to anchor”.

He argued that Sunak “is leading the Conservatives into an election where we will be massacred” because “he does not get what Britain needs. And he is not listening to what the British people want.”

Clarke’s article set off a fresh round of internal party warfare. Tory grandees from all wings of the party hit back at Clarke on social media. » | Eleni Courea | Tuesday, January 23, 2024

That the Conservative Party is divided and weak should not surprise us one little bit. The Party pulled a fast one on the electorate with that nonsensical and unwise Brexit Referendum. With it, the Party was rent asunder rather than glued back together. Not only that, but the country was divided too – seriously divided. As it states in the Bible, as Jesus said: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” Matthew 25, NKJV.

This country needs a good, pro-business party, but one that is fair to all sectors of the economy and society, one that is pro-EU. (There's is big market across the English Channel: 450m consumers!) The Conservatives brought us Brexit and speaks incessantly of reviving Thatcherism. It is Thatcherism that has created the colossal divide in this country between the haves and the have-nots, the colossal divide between the rich and the poor, wealth inequality which this country hasn't seen since the Victorian Era.

Furthermore, it is the Conservatives who have brought this country abject poverty and food banks with Cameron and Osborne's insistence on austerity, year after year.

It is clear that the Conservative Party's glory days are well and truly over. Again, as it states in the Bible, in Ecclesiastes 3: To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; ... KJV.

Maybe the Tories have outlived their usefulness; maybe it really is time for the Party to go the way of the Whigs: into oblivion. – © Mark Alexander

Rishi Sunak Heckled by Member of the Public over State of NHS

Jan 19, 2024 | Rishi Sunak was challenged by a member of the public over the state of the NHS and his handling of strike action during a walkabout in Winchester today. A video clip played by Sky News at lunchtime showed Mr Sunak being grilled by a woman as he walked along a shopping street.

Sky News criticised by Tory MPs over edit of Sunak being challenged by member of the public: Sky News has been criticised by Conservative MPs over their edit of footage of Rishi Sunak being challenged by a member of the public. / A video clip played by Sky News at lunchtime showed the Prime Minister being grilled by a woman over the state of the NHS as he walked along a shopping street during a walkabout in Winchester. / The woman told Mr Sunak: “You could stop it all. You could make it go back to how it used to be where we had… where if you had a problem you could go to the hospital. My daughter spent seven hours waiting…” »

Rishi Sunak is an AWFUL prime minister. One of the worst prime ministers in my lifetime! He is totally and utterly clueless. He is like a head boy in a senior school. He has no idea about politics and he is totally out-of-touch with ordinary people. His incremental smoking ban is STUPID, UNDEMOCRATIC, TOTALLY UNWORKABLE and UNPOLICEABLE. It is to be hoped that it will fail, as it surely will.

How the Conservative Party tolerates Sunak’s incompetence is beyond my comprehension. The Party needs to get a grip before it goes the way of the dodo. Rishi Sunak is the last in a long line of failed Conservative leaders.

Were I to be Sunak, with all his money, I’d retire with despatch and be off to California to be with fellow crackpots. – © Mark Alexander

Tobacco Giant Threatened Sunak with Legal Action over Smoking Bill

THE TELEGRAPH: Philip Morris attempted to delay Tory plans to phase out smoking, but then changed course after amendments to government consultation

Rishi Sunak hopes to pass legislation which would raise the age at which people can buy tobacco products CREDIT: CARL COURT/GETTY
Tobacco giant Philip Morris threatened legal action in an attempt to block Rishi Sunak’s plans to phase out smoking. A parliamentary vote is due to take place next month about landmark legislation which would raise the age at which people can buy tobacco products – currently 18 – by a year, every year.

Health officials feared that the legal threat over the matter could have ended up in the High Court, causing lengthy delays before any laws could be passed. » | Laura Donnelly, Health Editor and Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter |Thursday, January 18, 2024

This law should never be passed. It is undemocratic and stupid. If the worst a young person does in life is smoke a few cigarettes, he'll be doing pretty well. Young people these days, I am told, are more likely to snort cocaine than light up! So does this silly man think that we will be living in a health utopia if all people stop smoking cigarettes? If he does, the man is very naïve.

In an age in which Western countries are busy relaxing laws on marijuana and cannabis, it seems rather asinine to try and pass legislation for something relatively far less harmful than drugs. It happens to be a fact that cigarette smoking does not cause lung cancer in all smokers. In fact, it DOES NOT cause lunhg cancer in more than 5 - 10% of smokers. This study suggests the reason why this might be so.

Discourage smoking by all means, but don't take a person's right to smoke away from him/her. What will be next? The right to enjoy a drink of alcohol? If this man is allowed to remain in power, it shouldn't surprise us. The man ios a non-smoking teetotaller. It is time for him to retire to California. They like people like that over there. Unfortunately, Keir Starmer is no better. – © Mark Alexander

Suella Braverman Launches Scathing Attack on Rishi Sunak over Rwanda Bill

Jan 17, 2024 | Suella Braverman launched a scathing attack against the ECHR from the backbenches as she warned British patience is stretched thin.