There’s no excusing the Tories either. They took £millions in donations from super rich Russians close to Putin. My point is that Labour are in power now and need to take on the far right in all its forms.

If the government concentrated on Reform’s Russian connections instead of aping its immigration policies, think how different British politics might be.

Any sign of Joshua and a few trumpeters?

And why a wall? Of all the structures to choose, why this? A bridge, a garden or a shelter might have been better.

That’s generally fair comment. My concern is that they will all be fatally tainted if this continues. Rayner, away from the front bench, might be insulated.

Whatever talent there is on Labour’s front bench is wrecking itself on the defence of foolish and immoral policies. Who will have the necessary moral authority left to be a credible replacement for Starmer?

Truly appalling. What an indictment of this government.

Which should be enough. All the electoral calculations and focus groups cannot make it otherwise.

But more to the point - offering asylum to people fleeing war or torture or persecution is what decent nations do. It's what defines us. Without that it's just a race to the bottom.

So… someone in the Telegraph saying things were better under a more left-leaning Labour government in the year we voted to be fully part of Europe?

One bad bit of editing doesn’t alter the facts of that day. Indeed, Trump seems proud of his connection to them.

The far right is very good at taking offence about things that aren’t actually happening, on behalf of people who don’t want their involvement, and about beliefs and values they don’t understand.

Fair comment, though I was trying to make the point that I have been following this stuff for a long time, and can’t remember this sort of sustained attention to a third or fourth party until recent years.
Perhaps the BBC should be required to maintain election period standards at all times.

I’ve always felt that the BBC tends to go with the media flow, at least in deciding what the top stories are. That’s probably a good way to hide from criticism. Your more empirical approach might not bear out my general impression, however!

I’m old enough to remember the Alliance riding at over 50% in the polls in 1981. I don’t remember the BBC (or anyone else) treating it as Reform is now treated on the basis of 30%. Opinion polls come and go and are open to manipulation. It’s risky to base editorial policy on them.