BY STEWART SLATER The lines go up. All of them. The only difference is the slope. For, according to the manifestoes, no matter who wins the election, the tax burden will rise. And it is not starting from a low base. Under Labour’s published plans, it will reach record levels. As it will under the Lib Dems but it’s the Lib Dems so, frankly, who … Continue reading Shuffling the Deckchairs
BY FRANK HAVILAND Not since Margaret Thatcher has Britain had a Conservative Government in anything other than name. John Major was too busy ‘putting Britain at the heart of Europe’, David Cameron obsessed with gay marriage; and while Theresa May parroted ‘Brexit means Brexit’, she did a spirited impression of not knowing what it meant. For Boris Johnson, God only knows what conservatism means. Still, … Continue reading Keeping Tories Conservative
BY BEN PENSANT Lord Corbyn may have been perfect in every way but ultimately he was just too nice. And there’s no better example of this too-niceness than his attempts to appeal to normal people instead of targeting lunatics. It pains me to say it, but as thrilling as it was abusing people on the internet for four years, I now realise that instead of … Continue reading Where We Leftists Went Wrong
BY JAMES WILLIAMS When Gerard Batten took over as the leader of the UK Independence Party in February 2018, the party was facing bankruptcy and there was a serious chance of it collapsing. Henry Bolton had reduced the party to a laughingstock after a succession of 6-month leaders. Donors, who had been keen to assist when Farage was at the helm, were no longer interested … Continue reading Pity Those Decent Kippers
BY DAVID EYLES A rarely spotted phenomenon, sometimes acknowledged by one or two of the more astute political pundits, is that the Labour Party has moved away from its core of working-class voters. The leadership has now fully embraced the demands of its middle and upper-middle class hierarchy and has gone full-on Quinoa Marxist. However, the Labour Party is not alone, because the Conservative Party has also … Continue reading The Quiet Revolution
BY JOHN ISMAEL When MEP Gerard Batten became UKIP Leader in February 2018 there was widespread renewed belief among the party faithful. An experienced and safe pair of hands had been chosen, after the disasters of the unbelievable Paul Nuttall and Henry Hard-on Bolton. A financial catastrophe was soon averted by Batten and his sound team of Chairman Tony McIntyre and Treasurer Sebastian Fairweather. Soon … Continue reading Batten’s UKIP Flatlining
BY DAVID EYLES The current chaos and confusion exhibited by the government over the Brexit negotiations begs the question: What will be the electoral consequences of a ‘failed Brexit’ or a ‘weak Brexit’ or even ‘no Brexit’? To answer that question, this report analyses the 2015 and 2017 election results for every current Conservative MP and their constituencies. These are tied back to the 2016 … Continue reading Brexit – Or Else
BY NEIL DAY Here’s new UKIP leader Gerard Batten on Tuesday night in Gloucester telling interviewer Jeff Taylor that UKIP – despite reports otherwise – is back in the black. Facing a large legal bill, Batten reveals that the party leadership has a plan and should not be ignored in upcoming local elections: Anything but Labour! Continue reading UKIP Back in the Black
BY REBECCA HARRIS The next Local Government Elections will be held on Thursday 3 May 2018 and will include: London Boroughs Metropolitan Districts Shire Districts Single Tier Shire Districts For more detail on future elections, the Department for Communities and Local Government publish a list of election cycles by type of local authority in England . It is hard to believe that anyone with a … Continue reading Vote Tory or UKIP in May
BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN Any 21st Century British political party operating without a Countryside Spokesperson should take a long, hard look at themselves. Official figures show that the UK rural population will increase by 6 per cent over the next decade as people choose to leave cities and settle in the countryside. 17.4% of Britons live in rural areas – 11,337,632 people. Cities may seem to … Continue reading The Power of the British Countryside
When Country Squire’s Dominic Wightman arrives in deepest Herefordshire at Ernie Warrender’s sprawling country house in the middle of nowhere, he’s met by Ernie holding a high-power blowtorch. For a moment Dominic considers turning his car around. However, after meeting Ernie, Dominic soon changes his mind. “Come on in,” says the affable Mr Warrender with a huge smile as he welcomes the Country Squire … Continue reading UKIP & Ernie
CSM EDITORIAL As a Tory-supporting magazine, perhaps it is not our place to comment on the leadership contest of another party. Nonetheless, when your friend smells, it is the right thing for a Country Squire to do to offer them a bath, a change of clothes and a quick spray of one’s Penhaligon’s deodorant. Right now, UKIP – the successful force behind Brexit – is … Continue reading Goodbye UKIP, Hello BNP?
BY SAM WHITE There was something troubling about sections of the media’s sneering reaction to Ukip’s statement on the subject of face veils on Monday. The party wants to prohibit the custom of completely covering one’s face in public, as practised by some Muslims. As it’s the widely maligned Ukip who proposed it, the idea was met with a significant amount of derision. “Does this … Continue reading Veiling The Issue
CSM EDITORIAL It is always best to be honest and get one’s politics on the table before commenting on another party. We here at Country Squire Magazine tend to reflect the countryside and be from the land of blue. Most of the editorial team are Tory and many of the writers – given the chance – would likely vote for the Conservatives if there were … Continue reading UKIP Total Rebrand: Needed
CSM EDITORIAL The defeat of Paul Nuttall in yesterday’s Stoke by-election was a real blow for UKIP’s aspirations to be the turn-to alternative party for the working man – as a sane and sound replacement for mad Labour. There were many parameters in play, including some unfortunate website bio notes about Nuttall and Hillsborough which did not help UKIP’s cause. Stoke was not only a … Continue reading Where Next UKIP?
