August 2026 Edition
It was often said that when the UK Conservative and Unionist Party chose Andrew Bonar Law as their leader in 1911 they accidentally selected the best man for the job. Much the same may well be said in future about the UK Labour Party’s election of Andy Burnham as their new leader!
Burnham, never forget, twice previously stood unsuccessfully to become Labour Party leader, in 2010 when he lost to the ultra-leftist Ed Miliband and in 2015 when he lost to the even more ultra-leftist Jeremy Corbyn. Both these extreme leftist leaders proved disastrous for the Labour Party of course, so they then turned to a moderate, in desperation choosing Sir Keir Starmer, a man with the charisma of a stale blancmange. Despite winning a thumping victory at the 2024 General Election Starmer quickly proved a disaster for the Labour Party, mainly we believe (as we observed in the May 2026 Edition of the SCN) by totally over-reacting to quite understandable protests following the savage murder of three young schoolgirls in Southport by an immigrant-descended Rwandan. Starmer never recovered from this unpopularity, and this gave an opportunity to more left-wing elements within the Labour Party to try to oust him. Remembering the debacles of the Miliband/Corbyn days the Labour left did not push for one of their own numbers to become leader, but rather joined the mainstream by backing the “moderate” Andy Burnham.
Burnham certainly possesses a charisma which the hapless Starmer never had, but it remains to be seen whether he can recapture Labour’s popularity of 2024. He has started off his premiership in a very positive manner which has clearly produced a “Burnham bounce” in the polls, but his cabinet appointments have been very ambiguous, with some giving great cause for concern. The appointment of John Healey as Chancellor of the Exchequer and the retention of the moderates Douglas Alexander and Yvette Cooper were of course encouraging signs, but the appointment of the extreme leftist and fanatical “net zero” supporter Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary and the effeminate homosexuals Wes Streeting and Chris Bryant as respectively Defence Secretary and Northern Ireland Secretary – posts which they are clearly unsuitable for - definitely present very bad omens.
But the most important matter which will define Andy Burnham’s premiership is the opposition which the faces, both inside and outside Parliament. The Conservative Party under the ridiculous leadership of an unqualified negress is currently completely irrelevant, so it is therefore those new parties of the patriotic right which emerged from UKIP and the Brexit movement where the real opposition to the Labour government now lies. Up until recently this meant only ReformUK, but most regrettable personality clashes have led to the withdrawal of the party whip from the popular MP for Great Yarmouth, Rupert Lowe, and his subsequent establishment of the alternative RestoreBritain Party. The leaders of these parties have clearly both made mistakes – Nigel Farage, the leader of ReformUK, by irrationally suspending Rupert Lowe in the first place and Rupert Lowe by forming a rival party rather than fighting from within to restore his position. Both however are honourable men and true British patriots. We therefore will not take sides, but rather will encourage dialogue and hopefully a rapprochement. Both factions should never forget the words of the old South African national motto: “Unity is Strength”!
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SPRINGBOK CLUB NEWS
The Springbok Club held a second Country Pub Walk through Essex in July, which again proved a most enjoyable success. The following is a report on the event by Susan Gordon :-
“Colne Valley is a leafy suburb in Salisbury (now Harare) where I once frequented, so I was enthusiastic to see why English settlers to Rhodesia replicated the name for their new home. Simple answer – both are Special.
“Chappel Wicks & Colne station delights with its theme of the railway museum housed there. The rail line required a long 398 yard 32 arched viaduct, the wondrous feat of which was appreciated forming the backdrop to the Swan Inn garden. Those clever Victorians built this in just two years 1847-49. The grade II listed pub retains its long history.
“The planned walking route has not been well trodden of late, so it was a case of returning to childhood on a Famous Five (the dog coped best) adventure of pathfinding and bundu bashing*.
“The stop at Marks Tey realistically revealed the sorry state with pub closures but real ales were found around the bend from the prominent St Andrew’s Church with its varied stone walls and interesting shape dating from about 1120.
“John Constable would have been reduced to a frenzied panic were he to paint the number of blues the open sky revealed as we paused at a panoramic view spot in a field of cut and baled wheat nearing the return to the Swan Inn.
“The area warrants a return visit by the Springbok Club.
“*Kenyan term for forging one’s way through wild bushland.”
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The Springbok Club will again be organising this year's "Raising of the Flag" celebration, marking the 136th anniversary of the foundation of the great nation of Rhodesia. The details are as follows :-
Date : Saturday 26th September 2026.
Venue : Hampstead Marshall, near Newbury in Berkshire. (Please let us know if you intend to attend this year's event so that we can inform you of the precise location.)
Times: The traditional ceremony, consisting of the actual raising of the Union Flag followed by key-note speeches, the singing of the national anthems and toasts of Sandeman's Port will take place during the afternoon, starting at approximately 14.30 hrs. Following this a succulent braai will be staged during the evening.
Many supporters are however intending to make a weekend of the event by arriving on Friday 25th September and leaving on Sunday 27th September. If you wish to stay for the full weekend please try to let us know as soon as possible, as B&B accommodation at a splendid hostelry very close to the venue is still available at quite reasonable prices, although vacancies are limited.
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So popular and successful have the Springbok Club’s country pub walks proved to be that another is being planned in October. During November the Springbok Club will be celebrating UDI Day in a more traditional manner, and in December will be holding an event to commemorate the Day of the Vow. More details about all these activities will appear in future editions of the SCN.
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PATRIOTIC FORUM NEWS
The Patriotic Forum will be joining forces with the Springbok Club in the staging of this year’s “Raising of the Flag” ceremony in September, then later during the year will be holding meetings to be addressed by a sitting county councillor and a representative from a leading EuroSceptic organisation. Further details will of course be given in future editions of the SCN.
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LATEST FALKLANDS NEWS
The Falkland Islands Association have recently circulated details of a new publication, “The Falklands Saga”, by Graham Pascoe. This consists of five volumes, with the first three being available in Kindle or printed form, detailing the definitive history of the Falklands from the beginning to the present day. A full description of this work reads as follows :-
“The Falklands Saga describes the history and legal status of the Falkland Islands in four A4 volumes, with illustrations, tables of population and shipping, and a compendium of hundreds of historical and legal documents, in English and also (where different) in their original languages, Spanish, French, German, Latin or Dutch. There is a full apparatus criticus: each volume contains over 2,500 footnotes, a glossary, an appendix and a bibliography.
“’… a work of profound scholarship, rigorous analysis and sound judgement. It will become the new benchmark for serious historical study of the Falkland Islands.’ (former Falklands Governor David Tatham, in The Falkland Islands Journal 2022)
“Kindle edition ₤19.99 per volume; paperback print-on-demand, ₤79.99 per volume, plus p&p. Available from :-
“https://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Graham-Pascoe/s?rh=n%3A266239%2Cp_27%3AGraham+Pascoe
“or
“https://www.amazon.com/s?k=falklands+saga
“or other online outlets, and from bookshops. Prices may vary.”
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GREEN LEADER RECORDING
A supporter still based in South Africa has recently informed us about a full-length recording of the famous Rhodesian “Green Leader” air raid of 1978. He writes as follows :-
“In military history, ‘Green Leader’ was the famous radio call-sign of Squadron Leader Christopher John Taylor Dixon (1943–2011), a pilot for the Rhodesian Air Force. He is best remembered for leading Operation Gatling in October 1978, a major retaliatory bombing raid against ZIPRA guerrilla camps in Zambia during the Rhodesian Bush War. During the raid, Dixon famously communicated with the control tower at Lusaka International Airport, calmly instructing the Zambian authorities to ground all civilian and military air traffic until the Rhodesian strike force had completed their mission—an audio broadcast that became known as the ‘Green Leader Raid’.”
The YouTube version of this recording can now be accessed at :-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey1S5aOh1SE
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PETITION TO STOP THE EARLY RELEASE OF P.C.HARPER’S KILLERS
A supporter from Sussex has recently alerted us to a petition which has been initiated on Change.org calling for the callous killers of P.C.Andrew Harper not to released through the early release scheme being enacted by the new Burnham Government. At the time of writing Burnham seems to be prevaricating about whether to exempt P.C.Harper’s killers from this scheme or not, but all the time that it is a possibility we encourage all supporters to sign this estimable petition. It can be accessed at :-
https://www.change.org/p/petition-to-stop-the-early-release-from-jail-of-pc-andrew-harper-s-killers
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THE STRANGE CASE OF JOSHUA BONEHILL-PAINE
A few years ago we were plagued by a character going under the odd name of Josh Bonehill, though we subsequently learnt that his full name was Joshua Bonehill-Paine. We have no idea how and why this character first made contact with us, but it soon became obvious that he was propagating some extreme neo-Nazi and obnoxious anti-Semitic views. Although quite clearly tech-savvy, he also seemed to be mentally unbalanced, claiming at one stage to be organising a mass neo-Nazi rally in a public park at Yeovil – of all places! It was also very interesting to learn that he was an associate of another anti-Semitic scumbag who was to cause us great problems, namely the notorious Jeremy “Jez” Bedford-Turner who gate-crashed and helped disrupt the Swinton Circle meeting of July 2015.
Shortly after we became aware of Bonehill-Paine we learnt that he had been arrested for his vile anti-Semitic activities, particularly for the harassment of the Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger (now Baroness Berger), and was subsequently found guilty in a number of cases of publishing malicious communications and harassment, and after receiving several suspended sentences was eventually sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment, followed by a subsequent sentence of two years for a further offence.
This we thought would be the last which we’d ever hear of this strange character, but a recent revelation about him has been dumbfounding, for evidently after being released from prison in 2018, after serving barely two years of his sentence, he claimed to have read the Bible and to have abandoned all his anti-Semitic hatred as a result. Furthermore he had become a bit of an AI expert and had founded his own on-line satirical video-comic called “The Crewkerne Gazette” which, although it contained no specifically anti-Semitic contents, was even so vicious in its attacks on members of the current political establishment, particularly against Labour politicians. Bizarrely however it was then revealed that Bonehill-Paine had been adopted as the official Conservative Party candidate for a Crewkerne ward at a forthcoming Somerset County Council election – and that the current Conservative Party leader, the negress Kemi Badenoch, had given her approval to this selection, stating that everyone deserves a second chance!
Now it could well be that Bonehill-Paine did indeed become a reformed character whilst in prison (though the vicious contents of “The Crewkerne Gazette” make this somewhat doubtful), but Badenoch’s hasty action in endorsing him as an official Conservative Party candidate (a candidature from which he himself subsequently withdrew!) without checking the details of his criminal convictions, and without requiring him to serve an adequate “quarantine” period to prove that he was definitely a reformed character, was not so much an error of judgement as a complete failure of duty. Clearly therefore this is yet another reason why Ms.Badenoch is totally unsuitable to be the leader of any national political party!
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MESSAGE FROM ANIMAL SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL
We have recently received the following most worrying message from the Animal Survival International organisation concerning the plight being faced by black rhinos in the “new” South Africa. It reads as follows :-
“Odin, a critically endangered black rhino, was barely two years old when he witnessed his mother being brutally slaughtered by poachers in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. A few months later, fellow black rhino calf Marcules was abandoned by his own mother in the same park. Orphaned and bereft, both calves deteriorated fast.
“The outlook for the grieving infants was grim. To give them the best chance of survival, they were taken in by our expert rhino rehabilitation partner, Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary, and housed together.
“Although black rhinos are solitary by nature, the two youngsters quickly bonded, and their fast friendship gave them the strength to begin to recover and thrive. How touching it was to see them eating together, taking mud baths, and resting side by side.
“But now, Odin and Marcules face a new threat: Poachers, just like the ones who killed Odin’s mother.
“Following their successful rehabilitation and remaining devoted to each other, Odin and Marcules were released together into an intensive protection zone (IPZ), where expert anti-poaching teams watch over them day and night – but as poachers become more and more advanced, our team needs a special tool in their arsenal.
“Poaching remains a serious threat in South Africa, where shockingly, at least one rhino is poached every day.
“We cannot let our guard down. We have a plan to protect these two critically endangered black rhinos from poachers.
“Poachers are more sophisticated and relentless than ever, driven by greed and a lucrative illegal trade that leaves them hell-bent on destroying precious wild species. They do not care about the animals they torture, often leaving rhinos to suffer slow, agonizing deaths after their horns have been viciously hacked off. We are sad to tell you that these cold-blooded criminals even kill baby rhinos for their tiny stubs of horn.
“Odin and Marcules are among the last of their kind – only 6,100 black rhinos remain worldwide. Their survival is crucial for their species, and we MUST protect them.
“Our plan combines traditional conservation methods with cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to provide the highest level of protection for these rhinos.
“With your help, we can equip Odin and Marcules with state-of-the-art, AI-enabled tracking devices, specially designed to combat poaching.
“These devices are non-invasive, solar-powered and fit comfortably around a rhino’s foot.
“AI-powered tracking devices are true game changers. They include smart algorithms that continuously monitor an animal’s location and behaviour, generating real-time alerts at the first sign of anxiety or abnormal activity. This allows anti-poaching units to respond within minutes, making the difference between life and death - and helps to nab criminals.
“If we can raise $5,000 (£3,900), we can purchase two cutting-edge AI-powered tracking devices for Odin and Marcules. These devices will help safeguard their lives and secure a brighter future for their entire species.
“Despite their traumatic start, Odin and Marcules have found friendship, resilience and the protection of a team that will do everything in their power to keep them safe.
“But our team cannot do it alone. With your donation, we can ensure they have the best possible protection from cruel poachers. You can be a hero for Odin and Marcules today! Please, help us give these magnificent black rhinos the safe future they deserve by donating generously to Animal Survival International now.
“Saving animals and the planet,
“General Manager, Animal Survival International.
“P.S. Demand for rhino horn continues to plague the species and threaten its existence. We must protect black rhino orphans Odin and Marcules. Every donation brings us one step closer to a world in which rhinos are free from the threat of poaching.”
To contact Animal Survival International, or to make a donation to assist their campaign to help save black rhinos like Odin and Marcules, visit their web-site at :-
https://animalsurvival.org/
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THE 2026 COMMONWEALTH GAMES
The city of Glasgow is to be congratulated strongly upon stepping in at the last minute to stage this year’s Commonwealth Games (or to give it its traditional title, “The British Empire and Commonwealth Games”) – and to stage them so well! This year’s Games were of course originally planned to be held in the Australian State of Victoria, centred in the cities of Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo, but controversial Victorian State Premier Daniel Andrews decided in a fit of anti-Commonwealth pique to cancel the hosting in 2023, giving the Commonwealth Games authorities only three years to find an alternative host city!
The last minute change of course presented huge logistic and administrative problems, but the Glasgow authorities coped well, utilising much of the same infrastructure which they had used so successfully in staging the 2014 Games. Alas it still had to scale-back significantly, dropping a number of sports which have strong Commonwealth origins and connections such as Cricket, Rugby Union Sevens, Hockey, Badminton and Squash Rackets (though weirdly retaining the non-Commonwealth Japanese nation’s sport of Judo!). Even more regrettable, however, was the dropping of all the road racing events from both the Athletics and Cycling programmes, including the Marathons, which of course are always usually the highlight of global sporting spectaculars such as these!
If the Glasgow authorities were to be castigated for the exclusion of the Marathons, then they must be congratulated in the extreme for re-inserting Mile races into the Athletics programme for the first time since Kingston, Jamaica, in 1966! The Swinton Circle (the predecessor of today’s Patriotic Forum) staged a campaign to include Mile events at the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, which although unsuccessful did generate a lot of publicity. One significant place where this campaign was publicised was in the Brussels-based magazine EUToday – but this publicity resulted in a most bizarre incident, for a letter was written to the magazine by Daniel Wilkinson (a former stalwart of the Swinton Circle who had sadly sided with the late Allan Robertson when he unsuccessfully tried to usurp control of the organisation with the help of a handful of trouble-making extremists) in which he ridiculously tried to claim that the campaign had not been initiated by the Swinton Circle! The editor of EUToday then checked the facts and of course discovered that Wilkinson had been talking nonsense, and so “binned” his letter. How pathetic of Wilkinson!
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SEARCH SERVICES FOR THOSE SEEKING LOST RELATIVES
Find any South African, even those who have emigrated. We also search Botswana, Namibia and ex-Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. Please use the search request form at :-
http://www.bellemodel.biz/emails/emails.php?id=emails_from_SCN
Also check :-
https://www.bellemodel.biz/uruguay/uruguay.php?id=uruguay_from_letter_uy
(This site is for people who have considered emigrating from South Africa, specifically to Uruguay.)
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BOOK OFFERS
“LIEUTENANT COLONEL ALFRED JAMES TOMLINSON: MEMOIRS OF AN AFRICAN PIONEER AND BSAP OFFICER" is now available at Amazon.com, and can be shipped to anywhere in the world. This book contains excerpts from Lieut. Tomlinson's writings detailing his experiences as a member of the BSAP in Southern Rhodesia, where he rose from the rank of an ordinary trooper to retire as the commanding officer. It also includes the personal story of Majaqaba Ncube, a man who was enslaved by Lobengula when his entire village was massacred by the chief's soldiers. After he escaped, Lieut. Tomlinson saved him from certain death and gave him a job. They lost contact and were reunited after 45 years, when Majaqaba presented Lieut. Tomlinson with an earthenware jar.
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"THE SAINTS" – a unique documentary in support of the book on the brief history of the RLI.
DVD available along with other premium titles of historical interest from Msasa Enterprises. Visit www.rhodesianvideos.co.za or write to msasavideos@gmail.com for more information. UK contact telephone: 07865088212.
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW ?
No.333: JOHAN & ENGELA NORTJE JUNIORS
Johan Nortje snr. was a great Durban patriotic activist during the 1980s who sadly died following a botched hernia operation in 1999 at a tragically young age. His widow Engela was featured in this section of the April 2014 Edition of the SCN, though alas we received no responses from it. Johan and Engela had twin children who they named after themselves, i.e. Johan and Engela Nortje juniors. They must be well into their 40s now, but we have no idea whether they are still living in the “new” South Africa or not. It would however be very interesting to learn what became of them.
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RECOMMENDED WEB-SITE OF THE MONTH
Rob Hersov is a South African entrepreneur and business executive who has been fearless in his criticisms of the policies of the ANC regime, and of the presidency of Cyril Ramaphosa in particular. He has produced a YouTube video entitled: “White Smokescreen – Ramaphosa’s Desperation Strategy Exposed” in which he castigates Ramaphosa for his stupidity in his ignorant and counter-productive dealings with President Donald Trump. It is well worth a view, and can be accessed at :-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glKeO5G47cs
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
TRUMP CARDS
Sir,
Things do not look good in UK. How do you feel my old friend Farage will do? Trump continues on a path of near miracles and I note has some support in UK despite the ultra left wing media. Trump and Farage would be a great Anglo-American combo of leadership.
Yours etc.,
John Browne, Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.
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ZERO CHANGE
Sir,
It is blindingly obvious from published information that the UK’s current annual effect on global temperature can be measured in millionths of 1°C. Hence, it is also blindingly obvious that Miliband’s persistent refusal to quote this figure, even when asked for it in Parliament, is because it is so small that it would make the public realise that his drive to net zero is completely ridiculous, which it is.
Therefore, the possibility must be considered that net zero is being used to achieve a different objective to that of reducing global temperature. One possible objective is that it might be being deliberately pursued to destroy the economy of the UK and thereby the UK itself. This is a distinct possibility, bearing in mind the horrendous costs of net zero, the certainty of its causing blackouts and the completely unrealistic chance of it being achieved
Obviously, if true, this alleged Labour Party policy of self destruction was allegedly also fully supported by the Conservative, Lib Dem and Green parties as well, as they all fully supported the application of net zero. In addition, the EU must have known what it was doing when it insisted that the UK maintain its environmental commitments as part of the Withdrawal Agreement. Indeed, this was fully accepted by Conservative PM Theresa May, who allegedly even guaranteed the potential eventual destruction of the UK by making the net zero policy a legal requirement. So, Kemi Badenoch’s recent statements apparently abandoning net zero are a sick joke, as they are decades late!
Clearly, the best way out of this horrendous state of affairs may be for the King to dissolve Parliament and call another general election. This is most likely to lead to a Reform government which is committed to abolishing net zero. Unfortunately, from his ludicrously stupid dire predictions when Prince of Wales it is evident that the King is possibly still wholly in favour of trying to limit Anthropogenic Global Warming. This may mean He is in favour of net zero as well. If so, whether or not He is also in favour of destroying the UK is open to question and the best way for HIM to refute this suggestion is for HIM to dissolve parliament as suggested. If not, His reasons for promoting this obviously ruinously expensive and destructive scam must be fully examined by an independent and professional non-governmental technical organisation.
This problem must be tackled immediately as a top priority, as the complete collapse of the UK economy is highly likely to be achieved within the remaining period of this Labour government.
Yours etc.,
J.Wraith, Wiltshire, U.K.
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OBITUARIES
ROD LIDDLE
It was with much sadness that we learnt of the recent death of Rod Liddle, the acclaimed journalist/columnist, at the tragically early age of only 66.
Roderick Edwin “Rod” Liddle was born at Sidcup, Kent, in 1960, the son of a working-class family who worked in the railway industry. He moved with his family to Middlesbrough when aged eight and attended the Laurence Jackson Comprehensive School and the Prior Pursglove Sixth-Form College in Teesside, before cutting his teeth in journalism as a cub-reporter for the South Wales Echo. At school he was a far-left extremist, being briefly a member of the Trotskyite Socialist Workers Party, but the realities of life which he experienced through his early journalistic career tempered his political views and he joined the Labour Party as a result, quickly becoming employed by the party as a researcher and speech-writer.
From then onwards his rise was meteoric, joining the BBC to work on the Today programme and becoming a columnist for The Guardian, before in 1998 being appointed editor of the Today programme. Increasingly however he found himself estranged from these two pantheons of the liberal establishment, and becoming more and more aware of the restrictions being placed upon free speech (which he believed in fundamentally), and the lack of opportunities for working-class White kids like himself, the stance of the Today programme started to change accordingly. This eventually became too much for his BBC masters, and he was forced to resign as editor of the Today programme in 2003.
This move proved to be the making of Rod Liddle however, for he quickly found alternative employment as a columnist with The Spectator, The Sun and The Sunday Times – where he rapidly built up a substantial, enthusiastic and loyal following of readers. His style of writing was satirically humorous, passionate and waffle-free, and as such he managed to relate to all classes. He was fearless in what he wrote, doggedly championing the rights of free-speech and the neglected White working-class, and exposing the hypocrisy and self-righteous cant of trendy-lefty panjandrums such as The Independent columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown - whose vile vitriol this publication has been the target of in the past!
Rod Liddle’s change in emphasis did not reflect a complete change in his political stance however, for he remained a member of the Labour Party until 2016, when following an article in which he criticised the party for its “strange affection for anti-Semitism” he was expelled by the Corbynite gang then in charge. By this time he had moved back to Kent, living in the village just outside Canterbury. Prior to the 2017 General Election, as Canterbury was then considered a Conservative stronghold, he decided to change his electoral address back to Teesside where he thought an anti-Labour vote would be more effective. When, to the surprise of everyone, Labour narrowly won the Canterbury seat in 2017, and he was subsequently interviewed on Newsnight about this, he came out with the immortal comment “fucking students”! Rod Liddle’s political odyssey didn’t end there however, for he joined the Social Democratic Party, which by then had metamorphosised into a staunchly pro-Brexit party, and stood for them in the Middlesbrough South constituency at the 2024 General Election. So strong was his personal popularity through his newspaper columns that he surprised everyone – including himself – by coming fourth!
The fact that Rod Liddle was struck down with cancer (he was evidently a heavy smoker) at such an early age just when his profile and influence were increasing massively has been truly tragic for the nation. Our sincere condolences are extended to his wife Alicia and to his three children, and to all his many journalistic and political colleagues.
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ZHU RONGJI
Zhu Rongji, who died earlier this month aged 97, served as Premier of the People’s Republic of China from 1998 until 2003. Born into a wealthy land-owning family, he obviously didn’t fit in after the Communists took-over the country in 1949, so he studied and qualified as an electrical engineer - and kept his head down. An off-guard remark in 1957 made him a marked man however, and come the cultural revolution of 1962 he was banished to work on a collective farm.
With the advent of the more enlightened “revisionist” regime of Deng Xiaoping he was able to resume his academic electrical engineering career however, but it didn’t take long for his administrative skills to come to the notice of leading figures in the new regime, and although clearly not an ideological Communist he rapidly made his way up the CCP greasy-pole. He came to the attention of Jiang Zemin and succeeded him as Mayor of Shanghai, where he fought corruption and prevented a Tiananmen Square-style atrocity taking place in that city.
He was clearly a canny pragmatic politician whose position in relation to the various factions within the ruling Chinese Communist Party politburo always remained unclear. If he rather than the hapless Hu Jintao had succeeded Jiang Zemin then relations with the West would undoubtedly have become far better, a more conciliatory rather than an aggressive stance towards the Republic of China (Taiwan) would have developed, and the terrible spectre of the Xi Jinping leadership would have been avoided. He was therefore one of the great “what if?” men of history.
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