Ed Howker retweeted
Publication day! The Haunted Wood is in bookshops now. Please buy a copy. (If you do I'll be your best friend AND you can share the Twix from my packed lunch.) oneworld-publications.com/wo…
It's notable that Walz isn't responding in that way but hoping to rise above JD Vance's claim. I wonder if that will succeed?
A "stolen valor" gambit might work better if Walz had said "combat". What he said was: "We can make sure that those weapons of war that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at". Walz received a medal for his role in a war (page 108): ausa.org/sites/default/files…
Trump supporters will be pleased by JDV's answers here. But his carefully argued attack that Gov. Tim Walz mislead voters about carrying weapons "in war" can't succeed. After all, Walz received the "Global *WAR* on Terrorism Service Medal". Or was that not the right kind of war?
WATCH: CNN's Dana Bash, frustrated after getting her Stolen Valor questions and whataboutist followups wrapped around her head by @JDVance, desperately moves to abortion.
Ed Howker retweeted
.@paulwaugh defeats Galloway in Rochdale. There’s a result for us all to celebrate.
For years, Tory sweat & treasure has been spent keeping Nigel Farage from the Commons. One Tory staffer even committed election spending fraud fighting him in South Thanet in 2015: judiciary.uk/wp-content/uplo… Mr. Farage has often cited this during the 2024 campaign in Clacton.
All that changed when a Tory MP defected to UKIP but, as it happens, the defector refused to release UKIP's short money: bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-3… All the past wrangling likely disappears tonight. And Short Money becomes another reason for the Conservatives to fear Mr. Farage.
For years, Mr. Farage has been trying to get hold of short money. It was a bitter blow that, while UKIP sometimes polled millions of votes, it never returned an MP, and so could never claim this public cash.
Reform's likely victory in Clacton will ensure that it can claim some short money. And, the more MPs and votes Reform receives, the bigger the cheque they will get. This money will help cement Reform’s permanent political footing. And may well fund a large staff for Mr. Farage
To claim public funding, Reform needs to return at least one MP and receive more than, say, 150,000 votes. And more votes = more cash. Here’s some more info on the complex calculation that’s involved: commonslibrary.parliament.uk…
If the trend in Sunderland South, Washington & Gateshead South continues nationally, British politics dramatically and possibly permanently changes. These results may not produce MPs but they help to boost the Short Money – public cash – Reform may be paid:
Strictly, there are limits on what you can spend the money on - parliament.uk/site-informati…
They qualify if they return an MP and receive more than 150,000 votes: commonslibrary.parliament.uk… I'll do a thread.