A new week begins back here at Bigland Towers. We returned from the Todmorden annexe yesterday, not that it made much difference to the weather, which remained dank and dismal throughout and looks like it’ll stay that way for the foreseeable, which is a bit of a bugger to say the least. The lack of blue skies and sunshine is starting to weigh on the both of us. Oppressive, low clouds and semi-twilight don’t make for great mood-enhancers. Oh, for clear skies and warmer climes…

There’s one consolation, which is having access to all our normal home facilities for both work and pleasure. Dawn’s been slaving away in her upstairs office whilst I’ve been making the most of working in the living room and having access to all my hard-drives and records. One thing that’s allowed me to do is add a shedload of new stuff to my eBay account. There’s new railway memorabilia and souvenirs but also a selection of old pop/rock concert badges from the 1970s onwards. So, if you fancy an old Black Sabbath 1978 tour badge, Led Zeppelin at Knwbworth in 1979 (and many others) take a look here.

Whilst working I’ve been keeping one eye on the latest political psychodramas as they unfold. Sometimes I think the British media and much of the commentariat have completely lost the plot – hence the storm in a teacup about the Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, not being allowed to stand in a by-election in Manchester. Labour (quite sensibly) have decided that as Burnham’s only half-way through his term of office letting him stand and having not one but two elections is a waste of energy and money. Needless to say, this is far too simple for some members of the 4th estate, who’re making it out as a referendum on Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership. But lets get something clear. Even IF Burnham had been allowed to stand, and even IF he became an MP, there’s a very long process before any leadership challenge. Plus, Burnham’s been here before – and lost in 2015.

Of course, the media love all the speculation as it fills column inches. But let’s be clear about something else. Even IF Labour lose the by-election in Gorton and Denton, their current working majority is 168 – and there’s no general election until 2029. Plus, we’ve no idea who the Labour candidate will be as one hasn’t been chosen yet, so calling it as a loss is premature to say the least.

Meanwhile, across the floor at the Reform home for aged and useless Tories, they have another recruit in the shape of Cruella – sorry – Suella Braverman, another former Minister in Boris Johnson’s Cabinet. That means Reform now have Boris Johnson’s old Chancellor (Zahawi) – communities secretary (Jenrick) – culture sec (Dorries) – attorney general (Braverman) – political sec (Kruger) – skills minister (Jenkyns) – Northern powerhouse minister (Berry) – health minister (Caulfield) – parliamentary private sec (Nici) – assistant whip (Holloway) and Scottish minister (Offord).

If that’s not mad enough, Reform have Liz Truss’s Party chairman, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, Home Secretary and Minister for Health! Talk about putting the band back together!

You can see why Reform have dropped their ‘vote for change’ slogan, can’t you? Oh, they’ve also acquired the human chimp, Gullis. What a bunch of all-stars! There’s also the supreme irony of children of immigrants joining a party that would have refused their parents entry to the UK, and I’m not entirely sure the influx of ethnic faces like Braverman and Zahawi is going to sit easy with some Reform voters, who’ve struggled as it is with Zia Yusuf and Laila Cunningham. This could get interesting…

What’s also going to be entertaining to watch over this year is the way all these competing egos deal with the fact that Reform is less of a political party and more of a dictatorship with one supreme leader – Farage, with whom all the power rests. As we’ve seen many times in the past, Farage makes short work of anyone who gets too uppity and thinks they’re as important as the Dear Leader – just as Rupert Lowe for a start!

Oddly, whilst the media pick over (in forensic detail) any mistake or supposed mistake Labour make, Farage seems to be teflon coated. No-one’s asking where the near £1m came from for his girlfriend to buy the house in Clacton, nor is their any real interest in the £360,000 of earnings Farage ‘forgot’ to declare to Parliament in his register of members interests. And there’s very little interest in the murky connections and finances of donations to Reform from the Iranian billionaire who paid for Farage’s little jolly to Davos. But, if You’re Angela Rayner or Rachel Reeves, the media are like terriers, always snapping at your heels…

Phew! What a year – and it’s only January! I’ll be glad when it’s Spring and I can start to think of getting away for a while! In the meantime, here’s today’s picture. There’s no sunshine in the UK, so I’ve dug into the archives to bring you some. Here, have a beach!

I’ve a small favour to ask…
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Cheers,

Paul