[Oboogie]

I'm going to make a prediction that the Labour politician who is going to jump into bed with Reform this week will be David Blunkett. If you see some of the articles he has written for the Telegraph over the last year they all seem to lean towards Reform. He has called for the suspension of the ECHR to stop the boats, he has called for a crackdown on benefits and he has opposed the government's policies on net zero.

Laura Kuenssberg asked Tice if Kate Hoey was the defector, I must admit, I'd completely forgotten about her but it's astonishing that she didn't join UKIP years ago.

[Tubby Isaacs]

She left Labour in 2019. It might be her, or Gisela Stuart who also left then. Reform types aren't always the most precise. It could be Blunkett, but I'm sure there are several Labour Lords who've got very rightwing as they've got older, and whose peerage made some sort of sense at the time.

I have mercifully avoided Blunkett's journalism, but would joining Reform help him? There's always a market for a "liberal mugged by reality", so joining Reform might not hurt. But my guess is that his appeal to the Right is stronger if he stays in Labour. Blah blah blah I'm not going anywhere blah, I'm the one who's really Labour, why should I, blah, why won't Starmer listen to me?

[Tubby Isaacs]

For conoisseurs of Labour politicians swinging to the Right, I give the case of Lord Chalfont.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alun_Gwyn ... l1979p1-18

In fairness to him, he didn't hang about in Labour, and the party was genuinely becoming much more hostile to his Labour Right politics at the time (early 70s). But he certainly hung about in the Lords, till 2015, when he was 95. God knows what he was like then. Already in the 80s, he was a strong advocate of sports tours to Apartheid South Africa.

Labour's Lords reform may be modest, but at least Chalfont would have been forced to retire 15 years earlier.

[Bones McCoy]

For conoisseurs of Labour politicians swinging to the Right, I give the case of Lord Chalfont.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alun_Gwyn ... l1979p1-18

In fairness to him, he didn't hang about in Labour, and the party was genuinely becoming much more hostile to his Labour Right politics at the time (early 70s). But he certainly hung about in the Lords, till 2015, when he was 95. God knows what he was like then. Already in the 80s, he was a strong advocate of sports tours to Apartheid South Africa.

Labour's Lords reform may be modest, but at least Chalfont would have been forced to retire 15 years earlier.

Another Rhyming Slang politician, similar to Jeremy Hunt.

[davidjay]

I'm going to make a prediction that the Labour politician who is going to jump into bed with Reform this week will be David Blunkett. If you see some of the articles he has written for the Telegraph over the last year they all seem to lean towards Reform. He has called for the suspension of the ECHR to stop the boats, he has called for a crackdown on benefits and he has opposed the government's policies on net zero.

Laura Kuenssberg asked Tice if Kate Hoey was the defector, I must admit, I'd completely forgotten about her but it's astonishing that she didn't join UKIP years ago.

She was more likely to join the DUP.

[The Weeping Angel]

I'm pretty sure she is still in the DUP.

[Oboogie]

I'm pretty sure she is still in the DUP.

Her Wiki makes no mention of the DUP. It did however inform me that she left Labour in December 2019 (which I either never knew or had forgotten) so, in light of that, I think it's a stretch to call her a Labour defector.
It's either someone else or Reform are bullshitting again - either is possible.

[Youngian]

Blunkett would likely get a hefty discount on that figure. I’ve no idea why anyone would choose to live in a hotel.

A radio caller revealed he lives permanently in a Berkshire hotel as it is cheaper than paying “astronomical” rent.

Speaking to LBC on Tuesday (26 November), listener Matthew shocked host Tom Swarbrick when he explained he has moved into a budget hotel in Reading.

Matthew, who is partially disabled and needs to be close to the city centre, said that his new home saves him from paying for council tax, bills or contracts.

“In a way, that is genius”, said Swarbrick, likening the caller to Steve Coogan character Alan Partridge, who lived in the fictional Linton Travel Tavern hotel. https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/r ... 73541.html

[Abernathy]

Kate Hoey has never been in the DUP.

She also stopped being a Labour Party member about seven years ago.

So it’s not her.

Gisela Stuart told Beth Rigby unequivocally that it isn’t her, either.

In other news, Fargle has apparently announced that the deadline for further Tory re-treads to sign up to Reform UK is the date of the local elections on 7 May. No more Former Tories (or former Labour MPs, if Farage’s own rumour mill is to be believed) will be allowed in after that (aye, right). It’s an attempt by Fargle to fend off the inescapable accusation that Reform is nothing more than a care home for distressed former Tory failures.

[Youngian]

If it was a serving Labour MP, Farage would be shouting about it. I'll pick Glasman as he's an attention seeking twat with few friends in the party.

[Youngian]

American wrestling was on tour at Wembley last week but didn't bother Reform. What is it they don't like about basketball I wonder.

[Tubby Isaacs]

This is one of those US far right memes that doesn't work here. Say what you like about Britain, but we don't really mind watching black people play sport. Nor do most Americans who vote Republican, but that's not where Reform are getting their stuff.

Basketball isn't exactly a recent alien invasion anyway. I can recall watching it live on Channel 4 on Monday nights in 1983. Solent v Bracknell etc (despite the names, those were two good teams from the top division). We also played basketball at school.

Sadiq must be confused. He turns down the Las Vegas Dome and that's bad, anti-American, small time. He welcomes one of the world's most popular sports leagues (also American) and that's bad too.

[mattomac]

It’s a very odd attack for them

All this sports from the states are looking to spandex their global appeal then again every sport is.

Darts is in Bahrain, Golf is everywhere, it’s one thing football can sort of survive without but even leagues like la Liga are taking trying to take their sport over there.

The US sports have had a following in this country for years, NFL leads that but MLB, NHL and NBA have sizeable markets.

It’s literally what a global city will do, anything else is backward which sums up Reform.

[Boiler]

Basketball isn't exactly a recent alien invasion anyway. I can recall watching it live on Channel 4 on Monday nights in 1983. Solent v Bracknell etc (despite the names, those were two good teams from the top division). We also played basketball at school.

Some of us are old enough to remember the Harlem Globetrotters on TV in the 70s and yes, we too played basketball at school in the late 70s/early 80s.

[Youngian]

Saw some middle aged white blokes playing basketball in the local park who are shit hot with all the moves. They were Lithuanians who were badgered as kids in the Soviet school system to practice sports where they could take on the Yanks. And remains popular to this day.

[Abernathy]

Another Tory defector to the Farage party just announced.

As you’d expect, it’s another grade one shit - Andrew Rosindell MP.

[Bones McCoy]

It’s a very odd attack for them

Aren't they all, there's no logic to any of their bad feels attacks.
The strategy is to shotgun mud at everything, and see what echoes with the roundabout painters.

[davidjay]

Saw some middle aged white blokes playing basketball in the local park who are shit hot with all the moves. They were Lithuanians who were badgered as kids in the Soviet school system to practice sports where they could take on the Yanks. And remains popular to this day.

Does anyone, without Googling, know who the reigning professional British champions are?

[The Weeping Angel]

American wrestling was on tour at Wembley last week but didn't bother Reform. What is it they don't like about basketball I wonder.

Do they get this worked up when the American football comes to London?

[Youngian]

Only ever heard of John Amaechi who has long retired.