Richard Holden, born in Blackburn, the Conservative MP and Chairman of the Tory Party who has done a "chicken run" from his constituency of North West Durham in the north of England with a majority of 1,144 in 2019 to a safe southern seat 300 miles away, Basildon and Billericay, selected automatically against local wishes with no other candidates against him just before the deadline last week.

This took my breath away to see, taking a pool interview with veteran Jon Craig and refusing to even acknowledge the question. The arrogance of it, the refusal to answer anything.

Just look at the state of this and weep that men like this hold public office. He has no place being elected and hopefully the electors in this constituency will boot this 39 year old disgrace out with a mighty big kick up the backside that hurts.

Just a matter of weeks ago this same man said he was - "bloody loyal to the north east".

I'm a lifelong Tory voter. I was going to vote Tory with a very heavy heart on 4th July until this weekend. Having just seen this sorry excuse of an interview I've come to my senses and will switch to Reform. The Tories must die as a party now. This behaviour must never be accepted and when you treat the public like this your party deserves evisceration.

youtu.be/HYlX5WkjiQQ?si=YDxPiHOwyDDTqVkl

That is unacceptable and very arrogant. But Nigel Farage has parachuted himself into an "easy" seat in a place where he told the Times in February "Do I want to be an MP? Do I want to spend every Friday for the next five years in Clacton?" and also recently got hoity toity with a BBC newsreader, refusing to answer his questions and saying "pass", "pass", "pass" (clip in video below starts at 12 mins, 20 secs). So with that contempt and arrogance it's hard to see how Reform are likely to be any better.

The BBC have always been twattish against Farage. So he gave the BBC the same treatment.

I'm sorry Jo but no comparison between the odious Holden and Farage.

Holden is a sitting MP who has professed his loyalty to the seat he won and has now run away based on pure self interest because it's marginal and I actually think everything about him, his decision and that interview screams out COWARDICE about every fibre of the man. Although actually the way he spoke in that interview, in not wanting to engage legitimate questions has said so much more about the calibre of the man than if he had answered the question like a normal human being and not a pre-programmed automaton. He oozed a shocking level of arrogance and self entitlement. I agree with you Dave, and hope that constituency are paying attention and act accordingly. Apparently the local tory association are refusing to canvas for him at all and upping sticks and going to campaign for the neighbouring Tory MP instead.

Series 67, episode 10 of Have I Got News For You. Proving that garbage should have been off our screens long ago. Not a great thing to use to make your argument. That show has no BBC impartiality and is painfully past it, unfunny, over scripted and sneering at the slightly centre right leaning majority in this country. That's why it's lost much of the audience in the last 8 years, including me. Why am I going to sit through that and be sneered at week after week for my perfectly reasonable views?

The BBC don't know the real nation they broadcast to and they do not reflect Britain as it really is and when forced to do so they clearly come up short and do it with resentment. Just look at that newreader the other day on BBC who couldn't resist labelling Farage as 'inflammatory' and was clearly forced to apologise on air by her news editor boss.

Another thing about Holden before I go. He wasn't talking to some young wet behind the ears young journo there and trying to intimidate them, he was talking to Jon Craig who has been doing that job since 1982, three years before Holden was even born. That he pulled that attitude with him is astounding. Good for Jon Craig.

The guy was just trying to ask Farage why, if he had already failed 7 times to get elected as an MP, he thought he'd succeed on the 8th attempt. Seems a reasonable question to me and probably one a lot of people are thinking. So why not ask that question? Farage could have used it as a jumping off point to state his views and draw in support. If the BBC hated Farage, he wouldn't be invited onto Question Time so often. According to this, he's the non-MP who has appeared most often on the programme this century: yorkshirebylines.co.uk/politics/an-open-letter-to-the-bbc/

Failed by vote rigging Jo.

Ballot boxes turn up late or missing or even takes days after the election to count up. Votes have even turned up in shopping bags.

My reply was to Green Man. Greg's reply wasn't visible at that time. I can see your points, Greg, though I don't necessarily agree with them all.

Greg wrote:
I'm sorry Jo but no comparison between the odious Holden and Farage.

Holden is a sitting MP who has professed his loyalty to the seat he won and has now run away based on pure self interest because it's marginal and I actually think everything about him, his decision and that interview screams out COWARDICE about every fibre of the man. Although actually the way he spoke in that interview, in not wanting to engage legitimate questions has said so much more about the calibre of the man than if he had answered the question like a normal human being and not a pre-programmed automaton. He oozed a shocking level of arrogance and self entitlement. I agree with you Dave, and hope that constituency are paying attention and act accordingly. Apparently the local tory association are refusing to canvas for him at all and upping sticks and going to campaign for the neighbouring Tory MP instead.

Series 67, episode 10 of Have I Got News For You. Proving that garbage should have been off our screens long ago. Not a great thing to use to make your argument. That show has no BBC impartiality and is painfully past it, unfunny, over scripted and sneering at the slightly centre right leaning majority in this country. That's why it's lost much of the audience in the last 8 years, including me. Why am I going to sit through that and be sneered at week after week for my perfectly reasonable views?

The BBC don't know the real nation they broadcast to and they do not reflect Britain as it really is and when forced to do so they clearly come up short and do it with resentment. Just look at that newreader the other day on BBC who couldn't resist labelling Farage as 'inflammatory' and was clearly forced to apologise on air by her news editor boss.

Another thing about Holden before I go. He wasn't talking to some young wet behind the ears young journo there and trying to intimidate them, he was talking to Jon Craig who has been doing that job since 1982, three years before Holden was even born. That he pulled that attitude with him is astounding. Good for Jon Craig.

Seems that that the rest of Europe have had enough of wokey politics.

Farage hadn't been on QT in 5 years.

They didn't invite him on because they wanted to but because they had to.

The failed to win 7 times is a red herring. Farage has shaped politics in this country miles more than many lengthy time serving MP's on any side of the house, and let's not forget has actually won 2 national elections as party leader, the 2014 European Election as UKIP leader and the 2019 one as Brexit Party leader.

Mark wrote:
Farage hadn't been on QT in 5 years.

They didn't invite him on because they wanted to but because they had to.

The failed to win 7 times is a red herring. Farage has shaped politics in this country miles more than many lengthy time serving MP's on any side of the house, and let's not forget has actually won 2 national elections as party leader, the 2014 European Election as UKIP leader and the 2019 one as Brexit Party leader.

Seems Farage, lives in Jo's head rent free. Like Trump lives in Wyot's head.

I agree Mark, Farage did cause panic to the establishment hence why the UK got their vote to leave. However, the establishment have gone out their way to ruin Brexit, sadly it's Brexit in name only. Starmer has admitted he is a globalist.

Wake up!