31 Comments
User's avatar
Caz's avatar

And I expect the media is lapping it all up and nobody is asking any of the questions that will reveal just what a total crock all of this is. We need people like the guys behind South Park to start doing the journalists' jobs for them.

Expand full comment
Brian's avatar

The only thing more crackpot than Farage is anyone who believes this is even vaguely realistic, humane or will solve the problem

Expand full comment
Rachael Emma  Tomlinson's avatar

You already know the angle I will come from. He does realise we have spent years trying to join the NHS IT up, secondary to primary, etc., never mind trying to create interoperability with all those other systems. He's blown his 2bn on IT before anyone has written any software. With nothing left to even get one plane off the ground.....

Expand full comment
Sara Jayne's avatar

My exact thoughts…

Expand full comment
Alan Sayer's avatar

Sadly, those being influenced by, and fully supportive of, Reform won't (or can't) read past the first headline

Expand full comment
Tiggy Ayoub's avatar

Please could somebody tell me why it is that Farage and the Reform Racist Party are suddenly getting a ludicrous amount of media coverage. I am genuinely puzzled and perplexed, as they are a tiny political party with just 5 (or 6?) MPs, but they are, quite literally, all over the mainstream media channels. BBC is full of them, ITV the same. My village Facebook group is full of racist comments now, as is the Portsmouth page. The more media coverage they get, the worse the racism becomes. This has to stop now.

Expand full comment
Rick Jones's avatar

But what's worse is the endless coverage is all normalising, giving tacit approval. There's no coverage anywhere near the lines of Bear's article, pointing out the uselessness of the proposals. And how come the supposedly saintly Beeb can't manage to come out railing against the immorality of it all. The tone is as if they're reporting a proposal to rearrange allotments.

Expand full comment
Mike Lowres's avatar

Given that Farage is in the USA sometime soon I bet that he has talks with Peter Thiel (Palantir) about getting them to run the IT for his Deportation Command Unit.

The scary bit is enough knuckle draggers will lap it up to vote for him and his PLC political party.

Expand full comment
Caz's avatar

Yes, the Palantir connection (or possibility of one) was my first thought on reading that part of the article.

Expand full comment
Kane Clements's avatar

Human Rights legislation and the ECHR are here to protect me and you and even all those demonstrating against asylum from being attacked by Farage and his ilk on a whim.

In the US they are experiencing what attacks like that are.

Farage is corrupted, morally and intellectually. And the right wing press is promoting him.

This path will lead to conflict.

I don’t want it here.

Expand full comment
Damian Curtis's avatar

Superb analysis as always Bear, but the burning question in me is how do we influence/change the narrative on this? Farage has basically stood up and announced he intends to remove all our rights and sell all our data. This should ring major alarm bells.

Expand full comment
Mike's avatar
4dEdited

I am so fed up with Farage - and his ilk, creating the anger, hatred and distrust in this country. But his populist crud will get enough support - with Labour and the Conservatives dead in the water and circling the plug hole, the Corbyn Sultana party in need of a name let alone some policy, and Westminster is standing there with its pants down “expecting it will probably be all right in the end”, there is no united opposition to this unmitigated disaster just waiting to get his feet under the table and “do a Trump”. I despair.

Expand full comment
Mark Beeney's avatar

👏👏👏👏👏

Dictators produce ‘plan’ on a sheet of A6, across 6 pages, with 4 pages of pics, (references)

🤣🤣🤣

Professional, credible organisation spells it out in a full report, over 127 pages, with 25 pages of references

Didn’t see this report splashed as a ‘global news conference’, 3 years ago, but it addresses the enablers, the igniters and those that pour more fuel on this abhorrent practice of using ‘othering’ as the root of all problems🤬🤬🤬🤬

perhaps

Health and human rights in the new world (dis)order 2021

“What this report illustrates with exemplary clarity is that human rights are under threat

throughout the world, including in the UK. Human rights are curtailed when the rights of

particular groups, often vulnerable minorities, are attacked. Such 'othering' betrays the

universality and inalienability, and the indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness,

of human rights. Those rights apply to all, and apply to all equally.”

“Brexit had complex drivers but among them was an opportunistic attack on the post-war European social project with its deep foundations in the European Convention on Human Rights.”

https://www.bma.org.uk/media/5491/20220104-bmas-human-rights-report-v4-compressed.pdf

Expand full comment
Claudia's avatar

Phil Moorhouse has done a video about the same question, he’s just highlighting some other aspects of this batshit proposal. Apologies, I can’t add a link but you’ll find him under ‘a different bias’ on YouTube.

Expand full comment
Andrea Jennings's avatar

I actually don’t know what is worse all this stirring up of hate to win votes or reading the truth behind it and knowing we are virtually powerless to stop this train. What a world…

Expand full comment
Len Colclough's avatar

What is Reform’s end game? The Immigration debate is the hook/bate. What are the actual policies that they would implement is voted into government? Is there a “Project 2025” style agenda that is actually the scenario?

Tice talks of a low tax, low regulation administration.

Its been suggested Farage would introduce a health insurance system, scrapping the NHS. Fracking, scrap Net Zero.

Alot more scrutiny required before the country votes in its next election.

Expand full comment
Elaine Maisey's avatar

What can I say, if I'm kind, he's absolutely insane.

Expand full comment
Tiggy Ayoub's avatar

Just think of what this could do for our ailing airlines! Farage and the Reform Monsters could save every single plane operator from declaring bankruptcy! Honestly, the man and his funny glove puppets deserve a special seaside show - he could be Punch!

Expand full comment
Steve Clarke's avatar

In simple terms, Mr. Bear (and everyone), let's just face the stark fact that this direction of travel being proposed by Fartage and his entourage is the current American playbook being regurgitated with a "posh" English accent.

It must be highlighted for exactly what it is and resisted with all the might we can muster.

Expand full comment