Where’s Nigel?

Maremia- I so wish Meandrogog might have an answer to our question. My answer- it would- but pigs might fly- you're living in the land of make believe expecting that to happen....

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Farage used up some of his 'campaigning' energy and talent for the issues affecting his own constituents in Clacton?

Well over half the elected MPs (63%) have accepted gifts, it may not be a "good look" in your eyes but I definitely think KS looked better in smart glasses and a decent suit. British Prime ministers do not get a clothing allowance but they are expected to represent Britain on the world stage, as is their wife, who also doesn't get an allowance. It is also of interest that KS does not claim the whole of the additional salary that he is entitled to. This is a tradition started by Cameron to show solidarity for the austerity started by his government in 2010. Farage on the other hand has accepted nearly £1m worth of gifts in addition to the £1m a year he's earned besides his MP salary and the £5m he got as a bung from Harborne.

Meandrogrog

foxie48

AGAA4 Yes, I know butI rather like playing ping pong especially when it's clear I'm dealing with facts rather than fantasy!

Agaa4, you can okay ping pong all you like but it does not alter the fact that Starmer accepted freebies, it wasnt a good look.

Meandrodog- to avoid doubt and alteration of fact- Starmer declared his comparatively low value suits and glasses in the proper manner. Starmer did not receive a high value £cash gift to speak as he liked that he kept secret from a cryptocurrency billionaire seeking meetings with the Bank of England to make decisions in crypto millionaires best interests! .

Farage kept his £5million cash gift to spend however he liked from a cryptocurrency billionaire then sought a secret meeting with the Bank of England to lobby the BoE to make a decision in the best financial interest of his crypto millionaire secret gift giver.

However do you square to difference in the facts of both scenarios?

It’s certainly interesting. The ex chairman of Reform David Bull said Farage needs a break, Zia Yusuf admitted he had been refused the chance to stand as a parliamentary candidate, and Jenrick said he thought Farage should give an explanation about the £5m. That was just yesterday. Breaking ranks. The heat is on, it is fair to say.

Just imagine! Sadly it's not in Farage's personal values to serve his constituency in the same way- either by actually delivering his MP role responsibilities or pledging a 15% share of his annual income.

foxie48

AGAA4 Yes, I know butI rather like playing ping pong especially when it's clear I'm dealing with facts rather than fantasy!

Agaa4, you can okay ping pong all you like but it does not alter the fact that Starmer accepted freebies, it wasnt a good look.

Farage has earned £1million a year as well as his MP's salary, imagine what £150K could do for the homeless in Clacton (declared and not including the £5million bung). (Burnham donated 15% of his mayor's salary to homeless charities when he was mayor of Greater Manchester)

Just imagine what Clacton could do with 15% of £5 million!

I agree he doesn't care Catswhiskas. Can't ever foresee a time Farage will donate something back like Andy Burnham as Farage is and always will be self serving

Andy Burnham has said he will be donating 15% of his MP’s salary to local causes in his constituency of Makerfield.
An MP’s salary currently stands at £98,599 and a number of MPs donate all or part of their salary to charities and causes in the areas they represent.

Burnham, who is expected to replace Keir Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister next month in the absence of any challengers, made the announcement in a clip posted online.
As mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham was paid an annual salary of £118,267 and donated part of that to selected causes.
“One thing that I want to continue from my time as mayor of Greater Manchester is donating 15% of my salary,” he said. “I did that for nine years as mayor to tackle homelessness in Greater Manchester and I am going to carry it forward as MP for Makerfield but this time donating to worthy local causes at the heart of our communities.”

Thanks for the explanations, LemonJam and foxie48. It's all beginning to make sense. Why, oh why, does anybody living in a "red wall" constituency in the UK imagine that Farage cares about them? All he's interested in is their votes.

The WHO operates a 2 year budget currently. The approved programme budget for 26/27 is US$ 6.2 billion- ie averaging US$ 3.1 billion a year.

Imagine running that? Imagine the opportunities to attract donations from donors in the tobacco, food, vaping, alcohol, pharmaceuticals industries etc to influence WHOs activities, programmes and locations of support. Imagine Farage viewing himself as a WHO replacement Chair or similar role? Why would he want to be an MP or even a PM with that amount of money and deals on the table?

Rest assured Farage has already imagined his personal financial and political opportunities in this project. Rest assured he has his sticky fingers in other such projects as a result of his links to US and Trump. *We can always rely on Farage's appetite to make huge sums of money above public service. We can always rely on him being a grifter. We can always rely on him keeping his self serving ambition cards close to his chest, rely on his resistance to transparency and his reluctance to make proper, timely disclosures"

Despite being given £5million which he alleges is for his security, Farage has not held a single surgery in Clacton since being elected. He could operate from a nuclear bunker with that amount of cash! However, he's made 10 trips to the US since becoming an MP despite there being more guns than people there. I think I'd feel safer in Clacton but clearly there's no money to be made in talking to his constituents.

Here we go- all very murky and infers a desire to have political control on WHO activities to protect alcohol, smoking, food and vaping industries- just as a starter for 10

Action on World Health has other London-based board members including Amanda Moslé Friedman, a US businesswoman and associate of Farage who works for the nuclear technology company IP3, and Greg Swenson, the chair of Republicans Overseas UK.

In 2024, the Guardian revealed Action on World Health had links to the nicotine industry. Its other co-founder is David Roach, a Reform UK local election candidate, whose company previously provided secretariat services to the Global Initiative on Novel Nicotine, which advocated for nicotine pouches and other products. Roach’s company also lobbied on behalf of a vaping company called ANDS.

In the Action on World Health “manifesto”, released before the UK election in 2024, it opposed “excessive regulation” on vaping. It said: “Adults should be treated like adults, instead of the WHO bullying countries into treating its citizens like children through excessive regulations on food, alcohol, fizzy drinks, and vaping products that are 95% less harmful than smoking.”

Roach, asked about his clients at the time, said no vaping or novel nicotine companies were providing funding to Action on World Health, and that David Roach Consulting was not being paid for its services to the organisation. He said Action on World Health did not have a public list of funders because that would breach confidentiality. So transparent- Farage does like his secrets in all his activities

Why does Farage want to campaign against the WHO? What's in it for him?

Another reason Farage has little time to be an MP for Clacton and another example of him getting his fingers into an enterprise worth £$ millions and no doubt hopes to attract dubious political donors. As reported today:

Nigel Farage’s campaign against the World Health Organization (WHO) is moving to the US with a new board of lobbyists raising questions over why the Reform UK leader is involved in an American pressure group to campaign against the WHO

As part of its relaunch, it has hired Farage’s longtime friend and Brexit campaigner Andy Wigmore for its board, alongside Gerry Gunster, an American lobbyist and political strategist who worked on Farage’s leave campaign for the 2016 EU referendum.

Farage is the honorary chair of Action on World Health, which is pushing for the replacement of the WHO, an organisation it claims is too close to China, “compromised by private funding” and “far left”.

The decision to move the campaign to the US and solicit donations in dollars comes after Farage has spent a substantial amount of time there since becoming an MP in July 2024, making at least 10 trips to the US in that time. The pressure group’s website is now appealing for donations by payment card or US bank account and has a website form for people from around the world to email their politicians to speak out against the WHO, although it does not include an option for people from the UK to email their politicians.

Where’s Nigel?

After yesterday evening’s BBC Question Time, probably ducking questions on why his “Shadow Home Secretary” Zia Yusuf is not deemed fit to stand for election.

foxie48

AGAA4 Yes, I know butI rather like playing ping pong especially when it's clear I'm dealing with facts rather than fantasy!

None so blind as those who are not willing to accept your facts foxie48 😂

AGAA4 Yes, I know butI rather like playing ping pong especially when it's clear I'm dealing with facts rather than fantasy!

It was very clear the first time foxie and using this to detract from what Farage has been doing is not working.

Meandrogrog

I give up! None so blind……..

Oh sorry, I thought I'd been clear enough for you to see my point. The point of Register of Members' Financial Interests, in which Farage failed to declare his financial interests and outside earnings on time on 17 separate occasions, totalling more than £384,000, is so that there is transparency. It requires public officials and board members to disclose private financial interests or benefits that could reasonably be perceived to influence their public duties, votes, or decisions. (AI gen) Farage consistently fails to declare these interests (including the £5million bung from Harborne) whereas KS has. That is the point, I hope it's now clear enough for you.

CatsWhiskas

Meandrogrog

I give up! None so blind……..

Is that some kind of joke connected to specs?

Ha ha! Wish I had been clever enough to have meant that!

Your post did make me smile 🙂

Meandrogrog

I give up! None so blind……..

Is that some kind of joke connected to specs?

I give up! None so blind……..

Meandrogrog

foxie48

But, of course, it does matter! Some decent specs and a smart suit so the new PM looks the part to represent the UK on the world stage (which were declared) is very different to a £5million bung (which was not declared) to persuade a reluctant man to stand for parliament so that he can represent the interests of a man who live in Thailand.

And you think Starmer was too poor to provide those items for himself?

Not the issue though is it? They were declared and Farage's £5million was not.