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ROD LIDDLE
Keir Starmer is not a man of principle – he said he’d tackle anti-Semitism but was happy for one to stand in Rochdale
Nazis and Islamists are always banging on about Jews controlling the media
THE Labour Party is back in heaps of trouble – and this time its leader is making matters much, much worse.
The party’s candidate for the Rochdale by-election, Azhar Ali, was recorded saying stuff which was anti-Semitic.
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He claimed that Israel knew all along that Hamas was going to carry out those atrocities on October 7 last year.
This is part of the usual anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that suggests Jews control the world and are behind all the bad stuff that happens everywhere.
You may remember the kind of thing from the Nazis, in World War Two.
Chap called Joseph Goebbels was very good at it.
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When this came to light, Sir Keir Starmer made Ali apologise.
Which he did, his nose growing longer with every sentence he spoke.
Quite clearly the bloke meant what he had said, otherwise he wouldn’t have said it, would he?
The apology was a charade dreamed up by Starmer so that they could hang on to the by-election, a safe Labour seat.
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Then another comment from Ali came to light.
This time it was about Jews in the media.
Sir Keir Starmer in huge u-turn as he officially ditches flagship pledge to spend £28bn on green projects
This had the same sort of anti-Semitic theme as the other one.
Nazis and Islamists are always banging on about Jews controlling the media.
Whereas, in fact, they do not. Not remotely.
So Starmer was forced to disown Ali and withdraw Labour support from his election bid.
Just 24 hours after having ordered his party spokesmen to go out and offer him their support after he had apologised.
This shows two things very clearly.
First, as Rishi Sunak and many others (including me) have pointed out, there is absolutely no subject or issue upon which Starmer will not turn 180 degrees. Quite often overnight.
Frankly, it is becoming hilarious.
Second, it shows that the Labour leader is not a man of principle.
Having pledged to rid his party of anti-Semitism, he was nonetheless happy for an anti-Semite to stand for Labour in Rochdale.
Because it was too late to replace him.
That is hypocrisy on a grand scale.
The truth is, I reckon Sir Keir doesn’t really give a monkey’s about anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.
He just wants to convince you, the voter, that there isn’t any. But very clearly there is.
Large contingent within the party loathe Israel
Because now another Labour candidate is in the mire.
Graham Jones, the candidate for Hyndburn, Lancs, said that anyone who went from the UK to fight for Israel should be “locked up”.
He also referred to “f***ing Israel”.
And here’s the problem for Starmer, before he decides what to do with the horrible Jones.
My guess is a sizeable chunk of Labour activists and a large proportion of its candidates agree with every word said by Azhar Ali and Graham Jones.
A very large contingent within the party loathe Israel and, by extension, the people who live there. The Jews.
It is still at heart a party for anti-Semites.
And what will happen over the next few months before the election is that more and more of these comments will come to light.
And Starmer will be put in the position of having to kick them out of the party.
Or forgetting he was ever worried about anti-Semitism at all.
Already Labour’s lead over the Tories is slipping — quite drastically. Down from 19 to 12 percentage points.
Much more of this and that lead will evaporate all together.
Leaving the Tories with a most unexpected victory.
Special type of halfwit
I WONDER if The Apprentice will be won by Dr Asif Munaf?
He is a halfwit, but then so are the rest of them.
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Taken together, they have the collective IQ of the black mould growing in my shower closet.
But Dr Munaf isn’t just a halfwit. He’s also an anti-Semite. He has been found out posting obnoxious stuff about Israel and Israelis on X/Twitter.
Zionism is a godless, satanic cult, was one of his pleasant observations.
Any other form of racism and the contestant would be off the programme before you could say KKK.
But when it comes to Jews, the BBC doesn’t seem to give a monkey’s.
Tikked off with lame attempts
THE Home Office is to pay influencers on TikTok to persuade people not to come to the UK illegally.
Comedians and dancers in Turkey, Albania, India and what have you can trouser £5,000 a time if they pump out the British Government message.
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Well, OK. I’ll support anything that might reduce the endless flow of people to our shores.
But here’s my problem.
Is there any evidence, anywhere, that “influencers” actually influence anyone?
THE Met Police have been doing their stuff again. Harassing Christian evangelists in the street.
This time they started bullying missionaries preaching outside Uxbridge station in West London.
A single member of the public had complained about “homophobia”.
But all these people were doing was reading from the Bible.
It is only Christian speakers who face this level of official intimidation.
In what is supposedly a Christian country.
Bye bye rentals
A COUPLE of years ago the Government unveiled a new charter restricting the rights of landlords.
I warned then that the effect would be to drive landlords out of the market (and into hosting Airbnb).
That would mean a shrinking private rented sector at a time of crisis in the housing sector.
That is EXACTLY what has happened.
Now the Government is planning to scrap “no-fault evictions”.
So landlords who cannot raise the rents of their tenants are now banned from terminating the leases, even if they are going bust because of high mortgage rates.
The effect of this? Still more landlords will get the hell out.
If you want a strong private rented sector, don’t make life impossible for the people who provide the properties, you mugs.
THERE’S something a bit queasy about those BBC tributes to the DJ Steve Wright.
It was the public – the licence fee payers – who really enjoyed listening to Steve.
The BBC execs couldn’t seem to stand him.
And they treated him “shabbily”, axing his show in 2022 and treating him “like a tin of beans”, says ex-colleague Liz Kershaw.
Meanwhile, Radio Two’s audience figures went into freefall.
RIP, Steve.
We’ll miss you.
You can sort it, Shapps
DEFENCE Secretary Grant Shapps says an “extremist culture” has infiltrated our Armed Forces.
He’s referring to the absurd woke agenda obsessed with gender and race.
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It has even been suggested that security clearance should be loosened a little so that more ethnic minority candidates can be recruited.
Shapps has said that will not happen.
But YOU are the Defence Secretary, Mr Shapps. YOU have the power.
If an extremist culture is at work within the Armed Forces, get rid of it.
Sack the people who promote it.
And how about this?
Scrap all quotas and targets. Stop favouring one kind of applicant over another.
Just choose the best people for the job, regardless of sex, race or religion.
MY Valentine’s Day gift to my partner this year was a dried pig’s ear.
She bloody loved it, I’m telling you.
Spent the evening next to me on the sofa, gnawing at it while we watched Netflix.
Every so often she would release these fabulously rank bursts of gas from her bottom.
And then look at me guiltily.
I didn’t mind so much.
As an extra Valentine treat she got a flavoured worming tablet and a slice of my pizza.
That’s true love, isn’t it.
Dash it, Belfast
THERE are lots of exciting things to see in Belfast.
But surely one of the best must be the pedestrian crossing at Ormeau Park.
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It’s one of the busiest crossings in the city.
And the little green man is only lit up for around six seconds.
You would need to be Usain Bolt to get across without being flattened.
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The authorities say they are looking into it.
So the locals may only have a short time further to watch the poor pensioners drop their Zimmer frames and make a mad run for it.
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