Nigel Farage, the leader and indeed owner of Reform UK Ltd is not in Clacton this weekend, as might be expected as he is the MP. Rather as often he is in the US, in fact in Washington for Trump’s inauguration.
Meanwhile it has emerged that deputy leader Richard Tice, who is MP for Boston and Skegness is actually spending a good deal of time not in his constituency but in Dubai. His partner Isabel Oakeshott, the right-wing media commentator, has moved there reportedly because she does not like the Government’s decision to impose VAT on private school fees. All is well however as Tice has noted that his family oversaw the construction of the first tower block in Dubai back in the day.
Donald Trump will be sworn in again as US President on 20th January. The event has been moved in doors, reportedly due to bad weather but also possibly because Trump who is fixated on his numerical support, is concerned that not enough numbers will show.
Whether or not all the far right and fascist leaders Trump has invited will get a seat remains to be seen. We do know who they are however
Meloni. Italian PM and far right
Milei Argentinian leader, far right
Zemmour, French far right politician
Farage, Reform UK Ltd
Tom Van Grieken, Belgian far right politician
Tino Chrupalla, co-leader of German fascists AfD
UK hangers on included Liz Truss, Suella Braverman, Priti Patel & Laurence Fox
The Society of the Spectacle was a book by Guy Debord (1967) that argued that capitalist society was now focused on images rather than reality. Hence advertising provided a framework for what was ‘real’. Beyond this was a political movement, Situationism. Verso (2024) have recently published writing on the Situationists, Leaving the Twentieth Century by McKenzie Wark.
An essay in the current London Review of Books, argues that the second Trump Presidency. Its all about image and smartphones rather than political substance. Politics has always had an element of theatre but on this analysis Trump is taking it to a new level.
In his first few days back in the Oval Office Trump has issued a slew of reactionary and regressive diktats, including an attempt to re-name the Gulf of Mexico, and a fresh attempt to ‘buy’ Greenland. A lot of the diktats will have a harsh impact- as they are designed to do. What Trump is interested in is the spectacle of the pronouncements and keeping himself firmly in the news.
Its not the only analysis of Trump of course but it’s a more interesting perspective than is likely to be found in most of the MSM
One thing I have in common with Adrian Chiles, and indeed Karl Marx, is that my handwriting is now and always has been almost illegible. I still use a range of electronic devices for written communications, thankful that the days of the typewriter and Tipp-Ex are in the past. However, there is such a thing as the tyranny of the screen, so I do now keep some handwritten notes as well. It’s satisfying to mark off things that I’ve done – if I can decipher what they were, of course. Keith Flett Tottenham, London
There is a classic aspect of the Fletter in today’s Guardian (18th January 2025) which is the first of the year. Getting Adrian Chiles and Karl Marx in the same letter is not the most obvious link.
The other two letters in the section came from California and Canada, reflecting that in 2025 its the Global Guardian. As a socialist I’m an internationalist which is perhaps not quite the same thing
MPs usually do Constituency Surgeries on a Friday. Nigel Farage the self styled Clacton MP has never done one but he was available to his Constituents at the Hay Adams Hotel in Washington where for some unknown reason he was the guest of honour at a Stars and Stripes and Union Jack party to mark the forthcoming arrival of Trump Part 2 on Monday.
The event was ticket only but obviously Farage will have made some available to his Clacton constituents
The Daily M*il who were enthusiastic for Oswald Mosley’s fascist blackshirts in the 1930s has decided to mark the forthcoming Holocaust Memorial Day on 27th January by publishing the supposed diaries of British 1930s Hitler fan Unity Mitford.
Whether there is still a shortage of Guinness I’m not sure but it was both reported and actually existing before Christmas 2024. Guinness is owned by global drinks company Diageo.
Another global drinks company Heineken has now reported festive season sales for Murphys the stout brand it has owned since 1983.
Murphys sales in bars and pubs in December 2024 were up to 632%. In the last 12 months sales have increased 176%.
Of course there are independent alternatives to Big Stout, one notable one being Anspach and Hobday’s London Black. A rising tide floats all boats…
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that JD Vance US Vice President on will not be on the Beard of Winter shortlist.
The shortlist will be unveiled in the next few days and after a series of on-line polls the Beard of Winter 2026 will be announced on 31st January.
The campaigners say that facial hair of any kind is rare in the White House historically let alone a beard.
Vance is the first VP with a beard since 1909.
However the four seasonal Beard Awards, which start with Winter, are about those who promote a positive image of the hirsute. The campaigners say that there is significant doubt about whether Vance will do this.
BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we will continue to monitor how JD Vance deploys his beard as Vice President. We haven’t ruled out including him on a future shortlist but for now he’s not on one.
Brewdog co-founder James Watt has opined further after an earlier post arguing that people who sought work-life balance hated work attracted a lot of criticism. In fact Watt notes that some of it was not just critical but threatening. He argues, rightly, that it should be possible to have a discussion on work related issues without recourse to manufactured outrage and worse. Indeed but Elon Musk, Farage and GB News are not helping because this is their stock in trade.
Watt (quoted in the Times 15th January) now argues that Britain has a low work ethic. A Kings College Policy Institute study suggests that Brits place other matters above work, while ONS stats indicate UK productivity is lower than the US, France, Germany etc.
Watt seems to be new to this but it is an historic issue with British capitalism and a well known one. It might be argued that part of it is because Britain was the first to industrialise but in 2025 that can hardly be a key point.
British industrial history is marked by productivity drives, piece work pay rates to encourage workers to produce more and so on. It hasn’t really worked. Is Watt right however that this is due to a low work ethic. Watt agrees that millions of British people work very hard. This might have provoked further thought but it doesn’t seem to have done.
Reasons for low productivity however hard people work relate to lack of investment in modern production techniques, poor working conditions, long hours, inadequate pay. Some of these can be addressed by workplaces being unionised- Brewdog does not recognise one.
Whether the private sector will invest in the UK economy is a perpetual issue- one the current Government is at least aware of, post Brexit. An alternative is for the State to invest directly and take control itself. The Government nationalised breweries and pubs in Carlisle during World War One and it worked well. Perhaps its time to nationalise Brewdog, especially as its long flagged IPO still hasn’t happened.
