The ‘Five Families’: Why Sunak’s Conservatives Have Splintered Into Factions

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The biggest challenge to Britain’s prime minister comes from his own divided party, which is triggering resignations and a mutiny over immigration.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak leads a Conservative Party that is splintered into multiple rivalrous factions, with some lawmakers seemingly more intent on plotting their own futures than on uniting the party for a coming election against the opposition Labour Party. | Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain faces a litany of woes, from a double-digit deficit in the polls to a grinding cost-of-living crisis. But this week, his biggest source of agita comes from the “five families,” a loose coalition of right-wing factions in his Conservative Party that is threatening, yet again, to torpedo his asylum policy.

That these Tory potential rebels would style themselves after the five organized crime families that once ruled over the rackets in New York City attests to both the enduring appeal of mob movies like “The Godfather,” and the lawmakers’ own self-image as political tough guys. It’s also more than a little double-edged: Most of the leaders of the real five families wound up dead or in prison.

Still, the five-families label has stuck, and this week, the rebels are back with a sequel to their noisy campaign last month to force Mr. Sunak to harden legislation that would deport to Rwanda asylum seekers who arrived on the British coast in small boats. As in December, there have been late-night meetings, hastily arranged media briefings, defiant social-media posts, and offers to Mr. Sunak that he can’t refuse. » | Mark Landler and Stephen Castle | Reporting from London | Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Professor Tim Wilson – Rishi Sunak: Liar Number 3

Dec 26, 2023 | Mostly, a jumble of self-indulgent and utterly worthless word games that deceive nobody but himself.

Led by Donkeys: Sunak's priorities

Sep 6, 2023 | Which schools is Rishi Sunak most concerned about?

Do we really need to cast our net so far and wide to find a prime minister for this country? – © Mark Alexander

Biden Ditches Trade Deal Talks with Britain

THE TELEGRAPH: UK's hopes for agreement fall to 'zero' after president came under pressure from own party about effects on US manufacturing

Rishi Sunak meets Joe Biden on a visit to the White House earlier this year. There had been hopes of talks towards creating a free trade agreement | CREDIT: Simon Walker / No 10 Downing Street
Joe Biden has shelved plans for a pact with Britain that could have paved the way for a full post-Brexit trade deal.

The US president has decided not to move forward with a “foundational” agreement prepared by the US Trade Representative’s Office, that would have included negotiations over 11 areas of trade and regulation, following opposition from his own party in the Senate.

Senate Democrats argued that it would not have provided sufficient protection for American workers, Politico reported.

The UK’s hopes for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the US date from before the Brexit referendum, and faced an early setback when Barack Obama told voters that Britain would be “at the back of the queue” for a deal if it left the EU.

But despite US support for an FTA in the early days of Donald Trump’s presidency in 2016, the chance of a deal has now fallen to “zero” under Mr Biden, the Government believes. » | Tony Diver, US Editor | Monday, December 18, 2023

Ha! Ha! Ha! Yet another Brexit benefit! There are so many benefits of Brexit that one loses count! – © Mark Alexander

Sunak Accused of Toxic Rhetoric after Warning of ‘Overwhelming’ Migration to Europe

THE OBSERVER: Prime minister makes controversial remarks at Rome conference organised by Giorgia Meloni’s party

Italian premier Giorgia Meloni welcoming Rishi Sunak in Rome on Saturday: an onlooker thought they had ‘good chemistry’. Photograph: Franco Origlia/Getty Images
Rishi Sunak has been accused of adopting the “toxic” rhetoric of his former home secretary Suella Braverman, after he warned that migration would “overwhelm” European countries without firm action.

In remarks that will further inflame the Tory row over migration that has been raging for weeks, the prime minister said that “enemies” were “deliberately driving people to our shores to try to destabilise our society”.

Sunak made the comments at a festival in Rome organised by the far-right Brothers of Italy party, led by the Italian premier Giorgia Meloni. He said that both he and Meloni, with whom he has been forging a close relationship over hardline migration policies, were taking inspiration from Margaret Thatcher’s steadfast radicalism in their quest to do “whatever it takes” to “stop the boats”. » | Angela Giuffrida in Rome and Michael Savage | Saturday, December 16, 2023

Sunak ist politisch eine Niete. Er hat überhaupt kein gutes Feingefühl für die Politik. Wenn er sagt, daß das größte politische Problem Immigration ist, ist es absurd. Ungleichheit und Armut sind viel, viel wichtiger als Zuwanderung, obschon Zuwanderung wichtig ist. Und was tut Sunak dagegen? Was sind seine Lösungen? – © Mark Alexander

Michael Lambert: Could Sunak Be Even Worse Than Truss & Johnson?

Dec 16, 2023 | Prime Minister Rishi Sunak presides over chaos. He has little or no charm, is out of touch, quick to become tetchy and irritated and is not popular in his party. He has no political judgement and regularly lies to Parliament and the public.

He constantly quotes statistics which are incorrect. He took legal action in order to avoid having to submit WhatsApp messages to the Covid19 enquiry and when he lost this action, which is said to have cost the public £200,000, he then claimed that he had changed his phone several times and that his messages had all 'failed to transfer across' and were now lost.

He continues to obsess about the Channel crossings of asylum seekers whilst there are so many more important issues. His Rwanda project is not a deterrent and yet has cost £400 million without a single person having been sent to Rwanda.

Only 200 of those crossing out of 40,000 have any chance of ever being sent to Rwanda, a 1 in 200 chance. No deterrent whatsoever.

In the meantime, Scott Benton is the latest MP to lose the Tory whip, Harriet Baldwin, MP for West Bromwich gave £50 to her local hospice and then attempted to claim the payment as a parliamentary expense.

According to the NHS there were 28,000 excess deaths in the first six months of 2023.

A limousine for Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up for three years has been contracted at a cost of £320,000.


Sunak is a chump, a fool. – © Mark Alexander

Rishi Sunak Considers Curbing Social Media Use for Under-16s

THE GUARDIAN: Reports suggest a ban is among potential options to protect young people from online harm

Rishi Sunak is considering limiting social media access for teenagers under the age of 16 to try to protect them from online harm, with reports suggesting a potential ban is on the cards.
r The government is considering further action despite bringing in the Online Safety Act, which requires social media platforms to shield children from harmful content or face fines of up to 10% of a company’s global revenue. » | Aletha Adu and Dan Milmo | Thursday, December 14, 2023

Kick this Puritan out of office with despatch! With this man at the helm, a bleak future awaits young people! First, it was the smoking ban; now, this! What will this little dictator next find to ban?

These bans are unacceptable; so is this little dictator. Banning things is not the British way! Kick the SOB out of office. And with despatch! Indians might like his bans; we British do not! – © Mark Alexander

The Guardian View on Rishi Sunak: The Prime Minister Is Fighting for His Political Life

THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: The Tory splits over lockdown were shallower and less treacherous than on immigration. But ominously they run along similar lines

Rishi Sunak at the Covid inquiry on 11 December; his flagship scheme to boost the restaurant industry was known in Whitehall as ‘eat out to help out the virus’. Photograph: UK Covid-19 Inquiry/AP
In the past decade, Nigel Farage has traumatised the Conservative party and transformed it for the worse. His suggestion that he could return to politics after his stint on reality TV will trigger paroxysms of Tory despair. The prospect of the former Brexit party leader’s comeback only emphasises that Rishi Sunak is fighting for his political life after his party’s civil war restarted over immigration. The prime minister’s appearance at the Covid inquiry is unlikely to help much. His flagship scheme to boost the restaurant industry after the first lockdown was known in Whitehall as “eat out to help out the virus”. » | Editorial | Monday, December 11, 2023

Here’s a catchy play on Rishi’s scheme to help the economy: Kick Rishi out to help the economy out! It has a certain ring about it, don’t you think – a certain je ne sais quoi ? California beckons! – © Mark Alexander

Rishi's Rwanda Spend; Rishi's Rwanda Threats

Dec 8, 2023 | It will only take 29 Conservative MPs to rebel to defeat this bill. As we saw less than a week ago, the Conservative party is ready to rebel and Lord Garnier has given advice to the 109 One Nation group that the bill due for a vote on Tuesday is "political" and "legal nonsense"

Well said! It is an outrage that so much taxpayers' money is being spent on this crap! Much of that money will probably end up in the bank accounts of the rulers there anyway. The petulant Sunak has clearly got more money than sense. It is an irony indeed that he, a teetotaller, is spending taxpayers' money like a drunken sailor! – © Mark Alexander

UK Paid Rwanda an Extra £100m for Asylum Deal

Rishi Sunak defended his Rwanda plans at a press conference on Thursday
BBC: The UK has given Rwanda a further £100m this year as part of its deal to relocate asylum seekers there.

The payment was made in April, the Home Office's top civil servant said in a letter to MPs, after £140m had already been sent to the African nation.

Sir Matthew Rycroft said another payment of £50m was expected next year.

The revelation came hours after Rishi Sunak vowed to "finish the job" of reviving the plan after the resignation of his immigration minister this week.

The scheme to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing, in order to deter people from crossing the English Channel in small boats, was first announced by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson in April 2022. » | Andre Rhoden-Paul, BBC NEWS | Friday, December 8, 2023

FFS! What a tosser Sunak is! Has he taken leave of his senses? Does this country really have to pay all these HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of tax-payers' money paid out for a HARE-BRAINED SCHEME that will probably never work anyway? And, by the way, when large sums of money like that go to such countries in Africa, they usually end up in private bank accounts: the bank accounts of the rulers! They live in the lap of luxury whilst the British taxpayers suffer.

When it comes to paying the elderly a decent state pension, they can never afford the money. Even the triple lock, which is paid because the government has been incapable of controlling inflation in the economy, is, we are told, "unsustainable" in the long-term. Yet the government can find enormous sums of money for silly schemes thought-up up by half-wits!

When I was in school, we had a name for people like this... We'd call them wankers! Sunak is such a person.

Kick him out of office as soon as possible. He was never elected into office in the first place anyway. – © Mark Alexander

Braverman Denies Spreading Poison within Party to Get Rid of PM

THE GUARDIAN: Former home secretary refuses to back Rishi Sunak’s deportation plan and says Tories are in a ‘perilous situation’

Suella Braverman told BBC’s Today programme: ‘sometimes honesty is uncomfortable. If that upsets polite society, I’m sorry about that.’ Photograph: Justin Tallis/PA
Former home secretary Suella Braverman has denied spreading poison within her own party to get rid of Rishi Sunak.

In a combative interview after the resignation of the immigration minister Robert Jenrick on Wednesday, Braverman told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme she was a “plain speaker” and not trying to remove the prime minister.

However, she refused to back Sunak’s Rwanda deportation plan, key to fulfilling one of his five pledges to the British people, insisting “the reality and sorry truth is, it just won’t work”.

She also again warned the prime minister of the “perilous situation” the Conservatives found themselves in given his pledge to stop the boats at the start of the year. » | Aletha Adu, Political correspondent | Thursday, December 7, 2023

Freedom up in Smoke – Baroness Fox of Buckley

Nov 27, 2023 | On Monday 20th November 2023 the smokers' group Forest invited a panel of speakers to discuss the UK Government's plan for a ban on the sale of tobacco to future generations of adults. They included Baroness Fox of Buckley, founder of the Academy of Ideas, who told us, "It's mad."

In these troubled times, one would think that Rishi Sunak would have far, far more important things to think about than whether a young man, or woman, takes up the smoking habit, which is their right in a democracy.

Who does this little dictator think he is? Many dictators in history have been short. Rishi Sunak is no exception to the rule.

If this absurd law goes ahead, one day, it will have to be repealed. New Zealand has abandoned the silly little law; the new right-wing government there could probably see how undemocratic and how unworkable it would have been in practice. And we Brits will have to abandon it too. In any case, the power and influence of the Tories is in steep decline – people have had enough of their silly little, unworkable ideas and the chaos they have brought with them.

Margaret Thatcher, although not a smoker herself, would never have introduced such a silly, unworkable, undemocratic law. She respected liberty and people's rights too much.

It is clear to me that Rishi Sunak is like a schoolboy trying to function in a man's world. – © Mark Alexander

Le gouvernement britannique vers un durcissement drastique de sa politique migratoire

LE MONDE : Le Royaume-Uni souhaite diminuer les arrivées annuelles d’au moins 300 000 personnes. Une décision qui pourrait accentuer la pénurie de personnel dans les secteurs de la santé et de l’aide sociale, notamment.

Le premier ministre britannique, Rishi Sunak, lors d’une session plénière de la COP28, le vendredi 1er décembre 2023, à Dubaï, aux Émirats arabes unis. PETER DEJONG / AP
Le gouvernement britannique durcit significativement sa politique migratoire au risque de pénaliser l’économie du pays, déjà handicapée par la pénurie de main-d’œuvre. Le ministre de l’intérieur, James Cleverly, a annoncé lundi 4 décembre un relèvement du plancher de ressources annuelles nécessaires pour venir s’établir au Royaume-Uni : il va passer de 26 200 livres sterling (environ 30 552 euros) à plus de 38 700 livres. » | Par Cécile Ducourtieux (Londres, correspondante) | lundi 4 décembre 2023

Pour continuer la lecture, vous devez être abonné. Si vous souhaitez vous abonner, cliquez ici.

Brazen Sunak’s Conflicts of Interest | #shorts

Sunak broke the ministerial code.

Michael Lambert: UK Has No Future Outside the EU

Dec 2, 2023 | The UK economy is in a very bad state. Cost of living crisis, high taxes, NHS and other public services in crisis, businesses collapsing and councils going bankrupt.

Rishi Sunak caused a diplomatic incident this week by refusing to meet the Greek Prime Minister after he had responded to a question from Laura Kuenssberg about the Elgin Marbles.

Sunak, King Charles and David Cameron each flew to the Cop28 in the UAE in separate planes where Sunak would be the Prime Minister who had rolled back on EVA's and was presiding over the opening of a new coal mine and giving hundreds of new licences for oil exploration in the North Sea.

Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England said Britain's growth outlook was the worst he had ever seen and that there would be little or no growth for the next two years.

The EU has done a better trade deal with New Zealand than the one negotiated with the UK. Eurozone inflation at 2.4% is half that of the UK.

Sunak for the Conservative Party and Starmer for Labour both say they will resolve the UK's problems with economic growth. But where will this growth come from? The UK is struggling noticeably and, at the same time China is rapidly becoming the world champion of green technology and the U.S. is investing hundreds of billions of dollars.

Alone, outside of the EU, the UK has no future and more and more people are coming to understand this. 92% of young people and over 60% of the population believe that we would be better off inside the EU. Ursula von der Leyen has said that the UK is on a clear direction of travel toward rejoining the EU. Michel Barnier has said repeatedly that the door is always open for the UK to return. It is likely that the UK will begin negotiations towards rejoining the EU sooner rather than later


Michael, this is a superb analysis of the dire situation this country finds itself in. I agree with your conclusion that we will re-join the EU sooner rather than later. If we don't, this country is going to be in deep, deep trouble.

Rishi Sunak, as you rightly say, is pathetic; further, his snubbing of the Greek prime minister was, quite frankly, rude in the extreme. The man has shown a total lack of savoir-vivre. In good, plain English, the man showed his ignorance!

We are living through very depressing times indeed. Our politicians aren't making our lives any easier, either. Never mind! Onwards and upwards! We'll arrive home in the EU sooner than we might think. The hill is steep, so the climb is going to be tough, but it can be climbed. To borrow from the motto of my old grammar school, I will say: We ought. We will. We must. – © Mark Alexander

UK Should Rejoin EU to ‘Fix’ Brexit, Says Ursula von der Leyen

THE TELEGRAPH: European Commission president says she tells her children ‘we goofed it up’ when discussing UK’s departure from EU

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, told a conference in Brussels she felt there was a 'new beginning' between the UK and EU | CREDIT: OLIVIER HOSLET/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
The United Kingdom should rejoin the European Union to “fix” Brexit, Ursula von der Leyen has said, after Labour pledged to forge closer ties with the bloc if elected.

The European Commission president said “we goofed it up” when asked if Britain could ever reverse Brexit on Tuesday night in Brussels.

She was speaking amid much improved UK relations since the signing of Rishi Sunak’s new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland in February and after the shock victory of Geert Wilders, who wants the Netherlands to leave the EU, in Dutch elections last week.

“First of all, thank God, with the Windsor agreement, we had a new beginning for old friends. Very important,” Mrs von der Leyen said at an event hosted by the Politico website.

“And then I must say, I keep telling my children, you have to fix it. We goofed it up. You have to fix it. So I think here, too, the direction of travel, my personal opinion is clear.” » | James Crisp, Europe Editor | Wednesday, November 29, 2023

God bless Ursula von der Leyen! – © Mark Alexander

Sunak rejects von der Leyen’s comments that UK could rejoin EU: European Commission president said Brexit could be fixed because leaders had ‘goofed it up’ »

What a load of tosh Sunak speaks! If anyone “goofed up”, Cameron did! – © Mark Alexander

Au Royaume-Uni, « l’effet “glacial” du Brexit sur les investissements » : Après six ans de bouleversements politiques dus à la sortie du pays de l’Union européenne, l’image économique de Londres est sévèrement abîmée, estime Eric Albert, journaliste au « Monde », dans sa chronique. » [€]

Parthenon Marbles Row: Rishi Sunak Cancels Meeting with Greek PM

THE GUARDIAN: Tory source says ‘it became impossible for meeting to go ahead’ after Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged return of antiquities to Athens

Greece’s prime minister has criticised the decision of his British counterpart Rishi Sunak to cancel planned talks at which he had hoped to raise the issue of the Parthenon marbles, as disagreements over the antiquities erupted with renewed vigour.

As aides described Sunak’s move as “wrong and undignified”, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who is visiting London, voiced irritation at the scheduled Downing Street meeting being called off at the 11th hour.

“I [want to] express my annoyance at the fact that the British prime minister cancelled our scheduled meeting a few hours before it was due to take place,” the centre-right leader said in a statement released by his Maximou office as the diplomatic row intensified.

“Greece and Britain are united by traditionally strong ties of friendship and the framework of our bilateral relations is exceptionally broad. The views of Greece on the Parthenon sculptures are well known.

“I had hoped to have the opportunity to discuss them with my British counterpart along with other international challenges: Gaza; Ukraine; the climate crisis; migration.”

The statement ended with Mitsotakis berating Sunak for failing to rise to the challenge of discussing the fate of antiquities that have spawned the west’s longest running cultural row. “Whoever believes in the correctness and justice of his views is never afraid of opposing arguments,” it read. » | Helena Smith in Athens | Monday, November 27, 2023

Fishy goings on in Rishi’s Downing Street hideaway! I hadn’t known before this that being rude to prime ministers of other European nations was in our own prime minister’s remit. Does Rishi's rude behaviour show lack of courage or lack of politesse, or perhaps a lack of both? – © Mark Alexander

Rishi Sunak Goes It Alone on Smoking as New Zealand Ditches Nanny State Gigarette Ban

YAHOO! SPORT: Rishi Sunak is facing fresh demands to axe his “nanny state” smoking ban after the flagship policy that it followed was torn up by the New Zealand government.

The Prime Minister announced a phased ban on cigarettes last month, with the age of sale rising by one year every year from 2027 onwards under the plans.

But Conservative MPs urged him to change course after New Zealand’s recently elected coalition government tore up the country’s own proposals to prohibit anyone born after 2008 from ever buying tobacco.

Christopher Luxon, the incoming prime minister, confirmed he would abolish legislation passed by Jacinda Ardern, one of his Left-wing predecessors, in December last year, shortly before Ms Ardern’s unexpected departure from politics.

While Downing Street insisted it was “committed” to pressing ahead with the smoking ban – which it now looks set to become the only country in the world to introduce – senior Tory backbenchers called on Mr Sunak to think again.

Seeing common sense

Philip Davies, the MP for Shipley, said: “I commend the New Zealand government for seeing common sense, and I very much hope the UK Government will follow suit. » | Dominic Penna | Friday, November 24, 2023

It is encouraging to see that New Zealand is ditching Jacinda Adern's silly smoking ban for the young. It was a hare-brained idea from the very start. It was also undemocratic and a policy typical of policies a Nanny State would introduce. It is socialist and meddlesome at its very core.

The politically-naïve Rishi Sunak will also have to abandon this stupid policy. It is totally unworkable. Especially in an international world. What, for example, would happen if one of these young people went abroad to work or vacation and took up the smoking habit whilst abroad, then returned to the UK? Does Rishi Sunak have plans to jail such people for enjoying a puff? Or what other plans does he have for them in his health Utopia? Moreover, what will happen if a person marries someone from abroad who already smokes and where smoking is legal for a person of that age? Sunak clearly hasn't properly thought through this ludicrous policy. Further, introducing such a stupid ban will bring with it no end of policing and enforcing difficulties. Stupid is as stupid does. – © Mark Alexander

Sunak 'Thought It Was OK to Just Let People Die', Covid Inquiry Hears | ITV News

Nov 20, 2023 | Rishi Sunak "thought it was OK to just let people die" instead of imposing an economy-crippling second lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic, the UK Covid-19 inquiry has heard. It was also suggested the then-chancellor did not consult scientists on his controversial Eat Out to Help scheme despite the risks being "obvious" to anyone involved. Private diaries - written as a "brain dump" by the government's former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance as a way to protect his mental health - have shone a light on the now-prime minister's attitude during the pandemic. Number 10 said Mr Sunak was due to give evidence to the inquiry soon and would not comment on anything claimed during Sir Patrick's testimony.

So, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, otherwise known as ‘BoJo the Clown’, isn’t as erudite and clever as he would have us all believe. None of us should be surprised! From the very start, it was obvious to me, as it surely was to many.

Reading just some of his articles will tell you who and what he is. But… even though I am not surprised by is his economic illiteracy — that was pretty clear to me from day one — his statistical illiteracy does surprise me. His Eton and Oxford education should have done much more for his education and erudition than that! It’s a sad state of affairs not to be able to cope with rudimentary graphs and statistics when in high office, especially when as prime minister one is also, ex officio, First Lord of the Treasury! Dear oh dear!

Further, as for Rishi Sunak’s comment on letting people die, that is graver still. A day or so ago, I asked the question whether Sunak was truly fit to govern us. Now, with this news snippet, I have got my answer! – © Mark Alexander

Sunak Could Block Human Rights Act to Force through Rwanda Asylum Plan

THE GUARDIAN: No 10 has discussed possibility of ‘disapplying’ key human rights law to emergency bill to head off legal challenges

The prime minister is under intense pressure from the Conservative right to get the Rwanda scheme working. Photograph: Leon Neal/PA
Rishi Sunak is considering blocking a key human rights law to help force through plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda amid growing pressure from rightwing Conservative MPs.

No 10 has discussed the possibility of “disapplying” the Human Rights Act to an emergency bill in an effort to minimise legal challenges against the prime minister’s key immigration policy. Ministers are aware such a proposal could face rebellions in the Commons and the Lords, which could vote down the proposals.

A Conservative party source said: “This would tear the party apart. Several cabinet ministers and the one nationers would not stand for it – the prime minister wouldn’t even get it through the Commons. Never mind that this wouldn’t placate the head-bangers on the right either.” » | Rajeev Syal, Home affairs editor | Sunday, November 19, 2023

Is this man truly fit to govern us? – © Mark Alexander