We are now into the second week since Israel and the US began their assault on Iran. The speculation, voices of support for this action and those of condemnation, and of course not forgetting Keir Starmer who prefers to sit on the fence, have filled the air waves and many, many column inches of the daily newspapers.
 
Stepping back from all the noise, having read the columns, and listened to presenters, and ‘experts’ on the ground, I am inclined to listen to the informed words of Haviv Rettig Gur, the free Press Middle East Analyst and host of the Ask Haviv Anything podcast.
 
In his article in the Daily Mail last week which some of you will have also read, there is clearly more to this war than we have been led to believe. Haviv Rettig Gur explains that this war is not about Isreal, although it is a beneficiary of the conflict, a capable and willing local partner, but not the reason America is in the fight. I find his arguments and explanations intriguing as to why President Trump has acted so decisively.
 
Haviv Rettig Gur explained most graphically that there are two wars. The regional one where Isreal, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the other Gulf States all play a part. Iran’s proxies, its drones and ballistic missiles, its nuclear ambitions, its funding of Hezbollah and the Houthis. All that belongs primarily to the small game, which is known to everyone in the region.
 
The other vastly larger game is between the United States and China, in which the next 30 years is being worked out. The question being whether the American-led global order survives, or whether China displaces it. America is in this war because of China. Specifically, it is about dismantling the most significant Chinese forward base outside of East Asia.
 
For most of its history Iran as an adversary of the United States, existed only regionally. It was a headache, a regional destabiliser. It funded terrorism, harassed shipping, threatened America’s allies, and kept the Middle East expensive and unpredictable. It was Isreal’s problem, the Gulf states problem, and only indirectly Washington’s.
 
That changed, he said, when Iran made one of the most consequential strategic miscalculations of the century.
 
Squeezed by decades of American sanctions and increasingly isolated, Iran turned to China as its economic lifeline. The relationship deepened rapidly. Today roughly 90 per cent of Iran’s crude oil exports go to China, processed through Chinese refineries that operate beyond reach of American sanctions enforcement. That oil revenue supplies around a quarter of Iran’s budget, a huge portion of which is spent on its military forces. Without Beijing, the regime cannot pay its security forces, cannot subsidise basic goods, and would soon face the kind of internal collapse that its own ideology has spent 40 years trying to prevent. Iran has made itself utterly dependent on China.
 
China has not been charitable; it has been strategic. Iranian oil, sold cheaply because Tehran has no other buyers, has helped Beijing build a strategic petroleum reserve exceeding a billion barrels, enough to sustain the Chinese economy for roughly 100 days, in the event of a naval blockade.
 
Energy was not China’s only goal. China was also arming Iran with systems designed to threaten commercial and American assets.
 
Reports emerged in February of a near-finalised deal to supply Iran with supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles capable of speeds exceeding Mach 3 and engineered to evade the aegis defence systems deployed on American carrier strike groups.
 
China was replacing Iranian government and military software with closed Chinese systems, hardening Iran against CIA and Mossad cyber operations. Joint naval exercises between China, Russia and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz were becoming regular events, building Realtime operational familiarity between the three navies. Iran is currently ensuring no oil tankers are gaining access to the route, resulting in hugely inflated global oil prices. China is keeping quiet but is clearly relishing the discomfort the destabilisation being felt within the region and beyond.
 
Iran had switched from the GPS system to the Chinese BeiDou system, and was providing China with the port at Jask, as part of China’s ‘string of pearls’ base system in the Indian Ocean.
Haviv Rettig Gur questions why President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have not explained their reasoning to reassure Americans at home. However, he suggests, they don’t want to push the Chinese to more overt responses. As Mr Gur says, one should always give one’s enemy an excuse not to respond in kind.
 
Once you understand these reasons for America to strike now, the conflict falls into place.  President Trump has clearly acted just in time to prevent the world order becoming dominated by an increasingly forceful China, one who wishes to weaken the USA and control the movement of oil from the Middle East.
 
Chinese power projection and empire-building-positioned at the throat of the global oil supply, armed with weapons designed to penetrate American defences, and kill American sailors. The embedded strategic architecture whose explicit purpose was to constrain American military freedom, including in any future conflict over Taiwan.
 
When Iran began to look like that, it stopped being Isreal’s problem and became America’s.
 
The administration itself has for understandable reasons struggled to explain this; I am pleased that Haviv Rettig Gur has taken it upon himself to do so with such clarity and eloquence. It makes sense to me.

I must begin with an apology to Ed Davey who found himself inadvertently mentioned in my last column. It was an error but as several sharp-eyed readers have told me, my words and description could well apply to him as they do to Ed Miliband. Enough said.
 
It has been wet, very wet but despite the atrocious conditions we have completed the planting of around 7,500 hedging whips, shrubs, and fruit trees. As they mature these fields will under the BNG be transformed over the next thirty years.
 
The scheme, for those unfamiliar with BNG, offsets the carbon footprint of developers building houses on farmland and green sites across the southeast. Ote Hall Farm will benefit through this arrangement, as this scheme ensures that the government, planning authorities and developers cannot bully us into giving up the land by fair means or foul. Not even through compulsory purchase, as threatened by the dreadful Angela Raynor before she was sacked for fiddling her stamp duty.
 
I must admit that I agreed with both Katie Hopkins, Nigel Farage and the Telegraph who advised Sir Jim Ratcliffe not to apologise for his choice of words when he stated that “Parts of the UK have been colonised by immigrants”. Of course, Keir Starmer weighed in calling Sir Jim’s comments as ‘offensive and wrong’.
 
Sir Jim - founder of chemical giant Ineos and one of Britain’s richest men – told Sky News: ‘You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in. Going on to say, ‘the UK has been colonised by immigrants’. This was jumped upon by the ‘wokerati’. He later explained that he was discussing the importance of economic growth, jobs, skills, and manufacturing in the UK.
 
Was he right? Yes, of course he was. Does mass immigration change the dynamics of parts of the UK where they settle?  Just note the rise in the number of Muslim MPs and Mayors across the UK.
 
Following the 2024 General Election, there is a record number of 25 Muslim MPs in the UK Parliament, representing 3.8 per cent of all seats. This marks an increase from the 19 Muslim MPs elected in 2019.
 
The table below gives examples of  some of the trends:
Mayor of London – Muslim
Mayor of Birmingham – Muslim
Mayor of Leeds – Muslim
Mayor of Blackburn – Muslim
Mayor of Sheffield – Muslim
Mayor of Oxford – Muslim
Mayor of Luton – Muslim
Mayor of Oldham – Muslim
Mayor of Rochdale – Muslim
Mayor of Brighton - Muslim
Over 3,000 Muslim Mosques
Over 130 Muslim Sharia |Courts
Over 50 Muslim Sharia Councils
 
Muslims-Only No-Go Areas Across the UK

•  In February 2026, some officials expressed concern that large-scale protests and rising antisemitism were making certain areas feel like "no-go zones" for Jewish people specifically.

 
Muslim Women...78% don’t work and are on free benefits/housing
Muslim Men…68% don’t work and are on free benefits/housing
Muslim Families…6-8 children plan to go on free benefits/housing
…and now all UK schools are ONLY serving HALAL MEAT
 
Of the 25 Muslims MPs elected at the 2024 General Election, several pro-Muslim independent Palestinian candidates secured victories in former Labour Party strongholds.
 
There are 4 million Muslims across the country, representing 6% of the population. In London there are 1.5 million, 16% of the population, and in Tower Hamlets they represent 40% of the population. So, I ask those critics of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, was he so wrong to say parts of the UK have been colonised by immigrants?  I believe he was spot on.
 
Switzerland is to hold a referendum on whether to cap its population at ten million. The plan would prevent the number of their permanent resident population exceeding ten million before 2050.
 
The population is currently 9.1 million, with almost 30 per cent either born, or having moved from, abroad. Supporters of this move believe it is necessary to protect the country’s environment, infrastructure, natural resources, and social services from the pressure of population growth.
 
How about a similar referendum in the UK. It is never too late to take action to try and make things better. The danger lies in doing nothing and allowing things to go from bad to worse.
 
The PM returned from his trip to China telling anyone prepared to listen that it had been a huge success. In fact, the truth is it was a complete disaster. He achieved nothing but was humiliated by his treatment on the world stage with obvious disrespect. He may not have noticed or even cared but this reflects badly on the UK. He most probably avoided further humiliation due to the Mandelson story hitting the headlines as he landed at Heathrow.
 
Congratulations to Nigel Farage and Reform for forcing Keir Starmer to reverse his decision to postpone the May elections. Labour, Conservatives, and the Lib Dems were keen to delay as they are terrified of Reform. Time will tell but at least the electorate can make up their own minds and not be silenced by this disgraceful, undemocratic government.

It looks fairly certain that children up to the age of sixteen will not be able to take mobile phones into the classroom or playground. The experiment in Australia appears to be working well with pupils reporting that their mental health has improved as the pressure from social media has reduced.  They are now communicating directly with their friends, playing games, getting outside, and life is better and more relaxed.
 
What no one is talking about is banning the use of mobile phones within 20 yards of infants and young children. The number of times one sees toddlers clutching a mobile or iPad whilst in their pushchairs and highchairs or sitting on the sofa, glued to the screens is terrifying.
 
If the government is at last acknowledging the damage these devices are doing to the mental health and concentration of school age children, why have they not also grasped the reality of the lifelong damage these devices can do to brains of young children and babies. Their soft skulls give no defence to the microwaves and electromagnetic radiation emitting from mobile phones, iPads and other devices. The magnitude of ignoring the harm to children has long term consequences which cannot and should not be ignored.
 
Whilst talking about mobile phones, it is worth noting the increasing number of households which are bemoaning the demise of their BT landline. If (like me) they are in an area where the mobile signal is less than reliable, trying to make a call or receive one is unreliable and down to luck. If there is a signal, the interruptions are constant as the line drops, and incessant alerts pop onto the screen which dull the sound and interrupt conversations.
 
It certainly does seem crazy that all communications will shortly rely entirely upon a decent supply of electricity to power the internet and Wi-Fi. In an era when the chances of power cuts seem to increase every year - due to storms or interference from hostile states - why are our options being erased.
 
On Christmas Day in 2024, four fibre-optic cables connecting Finland to Estonia and Germany, were severed in what was almost certainly an act of sabotage carried out by the Russians.
 
In March last year, according to Mary Killen, the Spectator’s Etiquette Expert, China unveiled its new deep-sea cable cutter, capable of slicing at 4,000 meters, well beyond the average depth of undersea cables. Clearly it will not be only from beneath their brand new ‘Royal Mint’ embassy that they will be targeting British communications.
 
If I were an MP, which I am mighty glad I am not, I would table a Private Member’s Bill which would ensure that BT had to provide landline call boxes in every street, village, community and appropriate place to ensure everyone has a call box within easy reach of their place of work or home. Instead of our traditional telephone boxes being used as dumping grounds for retired books, they must be re-commissioned as well as many additional new vandal proof telephone boxes being introduced.
 
The day will come, there is no doubt, when our country falls into total darkness with communications reduced to a minimum. That will be when the foolishness of what is happening as the country descends into a digital wilderness, becomes reality.
 
So, they want to ban collars for cattle and feed them ‘magic beans’ to stop burps and save the planet.
 
Collars on cows allow then to graze without fences which saves money, time and enables areas of the countryside to be grazed which are not accessible to vehicles due to steepness or other hazards. Cattle learn quickly, so there is no difference between an electric fence or a collar. If they stray or touch the fence once, thereafter the collar bleeps and they learn their territory.
 
‘Magic beans’, will they really save the planet? Cattle were here a thousand years before the industrial revolution, aeroplanes, power stations, cars, lorries and everything else which emit methane and carbon footprints. At least cattle feed the population with healthy food. I dare say we could do without some of the other culprits.
 
LED lights are being linked to cancer, heart disease and mental health problems. Yet, as reported by the Mail on Sunday, councils under pressure from the Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to meet tough climate change targets, are rolling out ‘deadly’ new low energy streetlights across the country.  
 
One study concluded that men, with heavy night-time exposure to outdoor ‘blue-rich’ LED lights, have twice the risk of developing prostate cancer. They also say that exposure is also linked to depression, diabetes and insomnia.
 
LED lights are also shown to inhibit the body’s ability to produce melatonin-a sleep regulator and powerful antidote to prostate and breast cancer that are dependent on hormones.
 
Fred de Fossard, director of strategy at the think tank Prosperity Institute, said: “This is another incidence of the negative aspects of the government’s aggressive drive towards net Zero”.
 
Despite all the warnings, the clown of an Energy Secretary, Ed Davey, in his crazed approach to achieving the impossible Net Zero, seems to be unaffected by the damage he is inflicting upon the entire population. The guy is clearly deranged. Someone should lock him up, reverse much of the damage he has already inflicted upon the country, including the push towards LED lights.
 
A more balanced and practical approach must be achieved if we really need to reduce our emissions which are just 1% of the entire world’s CO2 output. None of which will make an iota of difference to global warming or climate change. What they are achieving is untold damage to the country and its prosperity and health.
 
It seems that not only do these fanatics wish to eliminate all the nations cattle, but they are also happy to kill off half the population, to achieve this unrealistic and futile goal.
 
Keir Starmer will shortly be ordering a removal van as he vacates No 10. There is no way he can survive the outcome of his poor judgement however hard he tries to wriggle out of this one.
 
He knew Mandelson was 1. A deeply flawed individual enthralled by Epstein. And 2. That he is arrogant and open to flattery, if not blackmail. Why on earth did the Prime Minister think Mandelson was a suitable person to send to represent the UK in Washington when he knew of his unsavoury lifestyle and relationship with Epstein?.

It is an indication of the times we live in that I have not, so far, met anyone who is truly excited about the year ahead.
 
We have heard that Tesco, Sainsburys and M & S Food halls have all had a bumper Christmas with sales of their festive foods. I wouldn’t be surprised if much of this was because families had decided to stay at home. They were making their own meals and fun as finances are squeezed and we are all tightening our belts.
 
The lack of Christmas customers has bitten local pubs and restaurants hard. They were already suffering due to Rachel Reeves hiking up the cost of running their establishments with higher NI, minimum wages, and taxes including Business rates.
 
Since writing those opening remarks, I must revise my sense of gloom as I’ve just been speaking to a couple of close friends who choose to be positive about 2026. Although acknowledging the dire state of the UK’s economy and the disaster which is this dreadful government led by the hapless Keir Starmer, they believe that the way to bring us all beyond our current troubles is through kindness.
 
Who can argue with that?  My friends are two of the kindest people I know, they only ever see good of their fellow man. I think they are right, we should spread more positive thinking and go out of our way to shower kindness on both friends and strangers.  Hopefully what we sow we shall reap, so this New Year resolution is worth hanging on to.
 
Mind you, Paul McKenna says that by week three of the New Year, 80% of us fail because we have not made a plan. His latest book is an updated version of his first self-help book, ‘Change Your Life in 7 Days’, written 25 years ago. It says amongst other things, that we should not confuse pleasure with happiness. So, I guess if we can spread a little kindness and happiness around us, we can hope it is catching.
 
The other good news we learnt last week was that Amol Rajan is quitting the Today programme. Thank goodness for that. Now I will find myself less often shouting at the radio as we listen to his supercilious contempt for far too many of his interviewees.
 
The best thing to happen to the Today programme has been the arrival of Anna Foster in April last year. She is a breath of fresh air. Highly intelligent, and courteous, she clearly knows her subject and does her homework, presenting each item of national and international importance better than anyone since the retirement of John Humphreys.
 
Amol will no doubt go on to find other audiences. Good luck to them. Meanwhile Anna will continue to enhance the reputation of the BBC, which is fast running out of credibility, with her talent and understanding as she interviews world leaders or Nora from Beaconsfield.
 
The news could only get better if we also hear that Nick Robinson will shortly follow Amol in finding pastures new.
 
It would seem that President Trump is losing his marbles. We can understand why he wants to get his hands on Greenland, although hardly ethical or legal. Greed is a powerful incentive, so it is also obvious why he was keen to kidnap Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who now await trial at a federal prison in Brooklyn.
 
We can also understand why this man who clearly believes he is King of the World, has his eye on raising the Stars and Stripes above the city of Ottawa. Apparently, he still holds designs on invading Canada.
 
What makes me certain Trump has really lost the plot, is that he has appointed Sir Anthony Blair onto his Board of Peace for Gaza. This is the man whose decision to join the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq resulted in significant loss of 179 British service personnel, while hundreds more were returned to their families with terrible, life-changing wounds and loss of limbs.
 
This is the man who stood in parliament and lied about Saddam Hussein’s ability to target the UK with weapons of mass destruction, so he could cosy up to G W Bush and pretend to be a world leader. Added to the unacceptable loss of life, their combined action resulted in regional instability and chaos. The Chilcot Report found the so-called threat was not imminent or credible and questioned the planning and motives. I think we can put Blair in the same box as Putin; another of Trump’s bizarre and dangerous recruits. No wonder Isreal is questioning Trump’s motives for setting up this far from helpful bunch of warmongers.
 
At least Starmer is ‘considering’ his options. But, if he agrees to join this bunch of !*?!s, the game is surely up for this utterly hopeless PM.

As Christmas draws near, I send you some of my final thoughts from 2025 on this crazy world and our even crazier country in the hands of Keir Starmer.
 
Much of what I include I pick up from friends, acquaintances or even strangers standing in the queue at the Post Office. Many of whom say they would voice their thoughts only in private My view is that unless we all say what we feel and think our silence is taken as accepting these outrages. There is so much more which I will attempt to cover in the New Year.
 
I am aware that some of what I say is viewed as offensive by those who do not agree. For this I apologies but I will not withdraw any of it. I speak the truth as I know it and my research is thorough.
 
I send you my warmest good wishes for a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY and HEALTHY NEW YEAR
 
Best wishes,
 
Carola
 
Christmas 2025
 
They say time flies when you are having fun. Well, I must have had a lot of fun this past year as it has flown by at such an incredible rate.
 
Christmas is once again upon us and during the run up to this Christian event, the BBC decided to air programs called Prayer and Reflection. These included ‘an invitation into sacred spaces across all four nations, from six of the UK’s ‘major’ faiths.’ One was taken from the central mosque in Glasgow; then it was the Hindu’s turn in Leicester, with more to come.
 
This is Advent. We are preparing to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, marking the Incarnation (God becoming human). Advent is made up of traditions blending biblical accounts of nativity and cultural customs, all centred on the message of God’s love and presence.
 
Why is the British Broadcasting Corporation promoting these alternative religions as important? The British public are angry. They want to celebrate Christmas traditionally, not apologetically for fear of offending other faiths.
 
How dare the Brighton and Hove Museums decide that in the name of diversity Father Christmas must be ‘decolonised’ because he is too white and reinforces damaging ideas about power and Western superiority. You really can’t make this stuff up. The museums are urging parents to actively ‘challenge the colonial gaze’ by abandoning the idea of Father Christmas ‘rewarding children based on a Western binary of “naughty/nice”.’
 
They say the story of Santa Claus who asks children of all cultures and traditions if they have been good, is a problem. Whatever next?
 
Andrew Pierce, (Daily Mail) recently brought up the subject of who will replace Sir Lindsay Hoyle when he decides to step down as Speaker. He suggests that local conservative MP for Wealden Nusrat Ghani, a Muslim who regularly plays the race card when she hasn’t got her own way, is the candidate to beat.
 
Ms Ghani recently donned a fellow MP’s tie to give herself a certain edge when she chaired the Budget debate. I would bet my bottom dollar that if you questioned conservative activists and volunteers, who have run the Wealden Constituency Association for her since she took on the seat from Charles Hendry in 2015, they would be appalled at the idea.
 
Let us hope Speaker Hoyle does not relinquish the Speaker’s chair before the next election which will make this outcome less likely, as it is probable that Reform will win her now marginal seat.
 
I have, clearly mistakenly, always believed that the Turner Prize was about recognising artistic excellence. This year, Alex Farquharson, Tate Britain’s director, and the jury’s chairman, chose to give the award to a learning-disabled artist, Nnena Kalu, who makes colourful, cocoon-like abstract sculptures out of materials such as tulle and VHS tape.
 
The Turner Prize has had some questionable winners in the past, most of which do not fall within my idea of ‘art’.  However, considering the prize is meant to recognise significant contributions to British art, with past laureates often becoming major figures in the art world, there are questions as to why Nnena Kalu’s work was chosen. Has the jury rewarded the artist or the artwork? Was this work really the best and most exceptional or is this about being ‘inclusive and PC’ regarding disability?
 
This government really does hate everything to do with rural life, including farmers, country sports and dog owners. Their lates ploy to introduce an Animal Welfare Bill, dressed up to try to persuade the public that they actually care about farm animals and wildlife, is just another ploy to stop drag hunting and other traditions supporting rural Britain.
 
If they succeed in getting this ‘war on the countryside’, through parliament, it will result in hundreds of hounds being destroyed. Retailers whose businesses rely on supplying feed - and much else besides - for the stables which keep the horses, will go out of business, and many of the horses which are kept for this innocent sport, will have to be put down.
 
Drag hunting is about following a scent which is laid by an athletic person running across the fields dragging a rag which has been soaked in a substance attractive to the hounds. Fox hunting was banned by Tony Blair in an act of malice in 2004, now being repeated by this pathetic government. Drag hunts do not kill foxes, they follow a scent spread by a human.
 
Other proposals would force farmers to no longer house hens in cages and stop the use of special pens which prevent farrowing sows from crushing their piglets to death. These rules will not affect foreign farms and their produce, which this government is happy to import and stack in supermarket shelves. It will however make British eggs and pork products more expensive.
 
Sir Keir Starmer last week agreed a Brexit deal that hands control of Gibraltar’s border to the EU. Under the terms of the deal, Spanish border guards will have the final say on whether a UK citizen can enter the British Overseas Territory.
 
The PM has been accused of plotting to undo Brexit, as he sacrifices the hard-won sovereignty by deciding to pay billions to rejoin the EU’s Erasmus programme.
 
In May this year the PM transferred sovereignty of the Chagos Islands , held since 1814, to Mauritius. In 1965 the UK separated them from Mauritius, to form the British Indian Ocean Territory for use as a military UK/US base. Handing them over to Mauritius was an unnecessary act of complete madness which included risking the joint British and US military base, at the same time as giving Mauritius billions of the British public’s hard-earned cash. This amounts to £3.4 billion now and a further £101 million annually over the next 99 years.
 
What next? Will he be handing the Falkland Islands over to Argentina?
 
And finally, as Donald Trump appoints Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland in his bid to claim jurisdiction over this self-governing state which is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, it is becoming increasingly clear why he is so in awe of the warmonger Putin. Clearly Trump believes that if Putin can succeed in his war against Ukraine, in his bid to rape the country of its precious minerals, seaports and much else besides, then he too can succeed in his plan to do the same to Greenland.
 
Greenland is rich in critical minerals essential for green tech, especially Rare Earth Elements like neodymium and dysprosium. Also, lithium. graphite, nickel, titanium, and platinum group metals, alongside significant deposits of zinc, lead, gold, iron ore, and uranium. These so far untapped resources hold global strategic importance for diversifying supply chains away from current monopolies, particularly in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and electronics.
 
Let us hope Denmark , my mother’s homeland, stands firm and protects Greenland from this intended invasion. Unless of course the Greenlanders decide they wish their country to be plundered by bully boy Trump.
 
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, and all good wishes for a Happy and Healthy 2026.

Having spent the past week visiting friends in Scotland, I realise it is not just here in the south where the countryside is being covered by new developments of housing, solar panels and wind turbines. Having worked in Aberdeenshire in the late 1970s, it is shocking to see new towns and housing developments have sprung up, where previously there were farms and woodland.
 
The Highlands are spectacular, even at this time year. But, some of the roads crossing the mountain passes are hairy, particularly at night, in the pitch dark.
 
What is for sure is that there are still an awful lot of sheep in Scotland. The lowland hills and fields are full of them. Cattle too but clearly not quite so many. Who doesn’t love to see Highland cattle peering over a wall or from behind a bush. They certainly are very appealing.
 
Back in Sussex the weather seems similar. The drive down the west coast was relentlessly wet and windy. I wonder how the local reservoirs are doing; surely, they must be filling up by now.
 
The fiasco of the Budget has become something of a saga. I wonder if Rachel Reeves will eventually be hung out to dry by the PM as, surely, she should. There are plenty of politicians and commentators who will not let her ill-judged decision to lie to the house of Commons, and the British public go by unpunished.
 
She chose to shore up a nest egg for future use by over taxing the hard working while handing out these ill-gotten gains to ‘welfare’: those who have chosen not to work and have more children than they can afford. And, no doubt pay off public sector workers in her bid to placate the unions.
 
While all that was going on in the Chamber, the police were arresting innocent farmers. They regularly facilitate pro-Palestine marchers; the people supporting Hamas who murder, rape and behead babies, killing innocent young people, mothers and grandparents. Why do the police decide it is appropriate to arrest hard working farmers, who keep the country fed?
 
Talk about two-tier policing, you really couldn’t make this stuff up. The farmers are protesting against Labour’s policies which are threatening their very livelihoods, their properties and families. Much like the criminals who are currently running wild throughout the countryside, thieving, threatening and damaging livestock and property. All whilst the rural police stand by apparently unable or unwilling to intervene.
 
Rachel Reeves is just as dangerous as these thugs who are breaking into farms and businesses stealing valuable equipment, smashing buildings, and attacking anyone who tries to defend themselves and their property.
 
You can’t blame people for asking: What exactly is going on?
 
The Met insist their decisions are based on risk assessments, intelligence, and operational independence. But the public increasingly sees something else: politics dressed up as policing. Certain causes - progressive, internationalist, are treated with kid gloves. Others - traditional, rural, working, and unfashionable - are met with the full force of the state.
 
Farmers driving tractors to Parliament Square represents, to some officers and politicians, the “wrong” kind of dissent. Too self-reliant. Too unaligned with metropolitan opinion. Too willing to expose the failures of the political class. Meanwhile, mass-mobilised identity politics on London’s streets, no matter how disruptive, seems to enjoy a bizarre, protected status.
 
If the right to protest means anything, it must apply to everyone equally. Not because farmers are saints, and the marchers are sinners, but because the law cannot pick favourites.
If the police want to restore trust, here’s a good place to start: One rule. One standard. One law. For everyone.
 
At last, the government has recognised what a mistake it was for the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition, elected in 2010, to introduce Police and Crime Commissioners. They replaced the police authorities believing elected PCCs would make the police more accountable. It clearly has not, so the sooner they are abolished, the better.
 
Sussex got Katy Bourne which has not been a great success. Whatever the statistics say, the public will tell you that crime in the county has gone through the roof. Rural crime and petty crime including shop lifting, is out of control. Those carrying out these attacks are vicious and have no respect for other people’s property or businesses.
 
Sadly, the local police cannot cope, nor do they seem keen to do so. I recently questioned the Chief Constable about rural crime. She had given a talk claiming how successful Sussex police are at combating crime. Unfortunately, she was totally unmoved when I gave her details of recent rural and farm break ins on her patch. She dismissed my concerns and ignored my suggestions on how to support farmers in protecting their property and livelihoods.
 
How typical of the BBC to enable David Dimbleby to criticise The King and Royal family while presenting the new documentary series called What’s The Monarchy For? Mr Dimbleby, a well-known Republican who despises the monarchy, has been lauded as a distinguished figure within the corporation mainly because of his father, Richard Dimbleby.
 
Richard Dimbleby who died in December 1965 became the BBC’s first war correspondent. He was a famous figure known for his poetic commentary on major events like the late Queen’s coronation and Winston Churchill’s funeral.
 
David and his brother Jonathan followed their father into broadcasting, leaning heavily upon their father’s reputation and dulcet tones. Both capable, but not a patch on him.
​
Surely, David Dimbleby is hardly the most appropriate person to present this series. As has already been noted, he does not offer an unbiased view. I would say this is yet another example of the BBC getting it horribly wrong. Will it now devote similar airtime to broadcast an opposing view, in keeping with some idea of impartiality? I will not hold my breath. The BBC is today packed full to the rafters with left wing, woke individuals who are most probably of the same mindset as Dimbleby. The BBC has lost its voice which the public expect and used to trust. 

The cattle are now in for the winter;. November is later than they have been out at pasture, for several years. They are now cosy in the barn with plenty of straw beneath their feet and feeders full of soft meadow hay. They have done well on the herbal ley despite my misgivings; their weights are above average, so they have clearly had a good summer.
 
I have a few new butchers on the books, all vying for Ote Hall grass fed Sussex beef. It is encouraging to receive the telephone calls once their beast is safely hanging in their chill cabinets, voicing their delight at the top quality we produce. Our old customers are used to this quality which is why they come back for more. It takes a new customer to remind us just how special are these Sussex cattle.
 
80 years ago, Jewish families came to the UK having escaped the terrors of Hitler’s Nazi Germany and beyond. When they settled here, they said they felt they had arrived in heaven. A place where they felt safe and nurtured as they were welcomed into the heart of communities across the country.
 
But, what about today? Why have we allowed the UK to become a country where Jewish families no longer feel safe.  Why have we allowed the growing Islamisation of our towns and cities which have become overridden by people who do not share our culture, our beliefs, our patriotism, and standards? Many of whom clearly hate anyone not of their culture, particularly the Jews.
 
These people crush any objections from the indigenous British population. They poison the minds of disconnected extremists as well as the many hiding within communities, not forgetting those embedded within the BBC.
 
To hear the voices of veterans of the Second World War, including Alec Penstone, a 100-Year-old declaring that winning the War ‘wasn’t worth it’, was heart breaking.
 
As he wept for his fallen comrades, he said: ‘I can see in my mind’s eye those rows and rows of white headstones and all the hundreds of my friends who gave their lives. For what? The country of today? They died for nothing; it was not worth it. Look what our country has turned into. What we fought for was our freedom, but it’s a darn sight worse now than when I fought for it”. That was truly distressing to hear, but also shameful.
 
How could our politicians of all colours allow our country to become what it is today?
 
I recently attended a wonderful concert at Windsor Castle, hosted by The King to celebrate the Duke of Kent’s 90th birthday. I found myself sitting next to Caro Howell, the Director-General of the Imperial War Museum. She serves as head of the museum, responsible for its development, collections, and public funds.
 
I thought, perhaps somewhat unfairly in such surroundings, that this was my opportunity to question her about Lord Ashcroft’s Victoria Cross (VC) collection. It is the world’s largest, with over 200 VCs and a smaller number of George Crosses (GCs). The collection has been displayed in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum, but the exhibition was permanently closed in September.
 
I asked Caro to explain why such a unique collection - which has been housed in the gallery which Lord Ashcroft contributed £5m to set up - has now been returned to him. The collection of war medals was given to the Imperial War Museum on a 10-year loan agreement, which was extended by a further five years to 2025. Throughout the 15 years the medals were on display, along with the moving stories behind each one, they attracted huge visitor numbers.
 
The museum, instead of recognising what a wonderful lasting asset Lord Ashcroft’s collection was and granting it a permanent home, decided to close it down. It now hosts a new exhibition about post-World War II conflicts, such as the Cold War, Falklands, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The museum is also opening the “Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict” exhibition, which explores how propaganda shapes perception of gender and power.
 
I am sure this new exhibition is hugely interesting and honours those who have perished in these conflicts. But as I, and I know countless others before me, have made clear to Caro Howell, surely the Imperial War Museum should be the final resting place for Lord Ashcroft’s remarkable collection. This should be on permanent public display so each story behind these medals can be told to future generations, reminding them of times when duty, bravery and patriotism were natural instincts. A time when people like Alec Penstone went to war to defend our great nation, the Monarch, their families, and our freedom. Sadly, the Director-General was unmoved and unapologetic.
 
The BBC is clearly in trouble having been caught out editing Donald Trump’s speech making out that he instigated the storming of the capital. Heads have already rolled but probably not enough of them. Having listened to Nick Robinson, on the morning the story emerged, attempting to justify such blatant interference by the BBC, was nauseating. It really is time for this biased, self-opinionated presenter to be removed from the airwaves, along with his left-wing ideals and sneering put downs of anyone with whom he disagrees.
 
November 26th is drawing near. Speculation regarding what Reeves and Starmer have cooked up for us is reaching boiling point. Destruction appears to be their main aim, so no doubt the wrecking ball will be out on the day knocking the confidence of every businessman, farmer, taxpayer, and anyone who actually works for a living. Those whose lives depend entirely upon the state for welfare handouts will no doubt come away with yet more handouts and a smile on their faces knowing that the rest of us will be working longer and harder to support their ‘preferred’ way of life.

We have been blessed with the perfect autumn. Farmers have ploughed the fields and scattered the good seed on the ground. We have fed them and now the good Lord is gently watering them; the timing is perfect.
 
Will he send some snow in the winter, the warmth to swell the grain? And, then some soft, refreshing rain, breezes and sunshine in the spring to ensure we have a chance for a successful harvest next summer?
 
The orchards have been heaving with apples and pears, deep freezes are bursting with produce harvested from orchards, gardens and hedgerows.
 
Our young Sussex cattle are still out happily munching away on the late flush of grass which grew slowly during the spring and summer due to the drought but is now making up for delayed growth. They will stay out until they begin to poach the ground as it gets wetter. But, for now they are enjoying the last of their freedom before they come into the barn for the winter. The lush grass has little nutritional value, so it is supplemented with meadow hay to ensure they continue to thrive.
 
This week we have our annual TB test which is always a concern until we get the all- clear. I heard from a farmer friend this week that the farm in East Sussex, where he works, has been hit with salmonella which appears to have come from nowhere. They have lost a number of dairy cows and countless calves which have been aborted.
 
The milk yield is down, and they are unable to sell their young stock. The vets are baffled and have recommended inoculating the cows against salmonella, something I was unaware was possible. Each shot, of which they require at least two, costs over £6. As the herd is over five hundred strong, to date the cost to the farm is way over £100,000. I wonder if the general public, or the government for that matter, understand how events such this, and TB, are devastating and wipe out any possibility of making even the smallest profit.
 
It is a complete mystery as to why this labour government consistently diverts funding and support away from British farmers and small businesses which in many cases result in redundancies, forced sales and bankruptcy while at the same time, announcing new funding to boost overseas conservation projects.
 
They prefer to support communities and the environment in Bolivia, forests in St Helena and endangered eagles in the Philippines, than support the endangered family farms which are the backbone of our countryside and rural communities.
 
The families who run and manage these farms have decades of experience not only looking after the flora and fauna but also the wider environment, as well as producing food to feed the nation.
​
Of course, it is important to recognise the importance of these and many other overseas projects, but should our government prioritise these above ensuring the UK has enough food and, equally importantly, water to service the millions of additional homes they threaten to build on our green and pleasant land.
 
They keep bleating about climate change, which I am assured will remain unaffected by any amount of ‘net zero’ efforts introduced on our tiny island, a mere spec in the dirt compared to China, India, Russia, the deforestation of the Amazon and Indonesia, and other major industrialised nations.
 
So, why are we being penalised in this mad rush to ‘lead the way’. We are the laughingstock of the rest of the world. They think we are bonkers to put our country and businesses in jeopardy just so politicians can climb onto the stage at future COP gatherings, preening themselves while the country is going to the dogs.

We have been blessed with the perfect autumn. Farmers have ploughed the fields and scattered the good seed on the ground. We have fed them and now the good Lord is gently watering them; the timing is perfect.
 
Will he send some snow in the winter, the warmth to swell the grain? And, then some soft, refreshing rain, breezes and sunshine in the spring to ensure we have a chance for a successful harvest next summer?
 
The orchards have been heaving with apples and pears, deep freezes are bursting with produce harvested from orchards, gardens and hedgerows.
 
Our young Sussex cattle are still out happily munching away on the late flush of grass which grew slowly during the spring and summer due to the drought but is now making up for delayed growth. They will stay out until they begin to poach the ground as it gets wetter. But, for now they are enjoying the last of their freedom before they come into the barn for the winter. The lush grass has little nutritional value, so it is supplemented with meadow hay to ensure they continue to thrive.
 
This week we have our annual TB test which is always a concern until we get the all- clear. I heard from a farmer friend this week that the farm in East Sussex, where he works, has been hit with salmonella which appears to have come from nowhere. They have lost a number of dairy cows and countless calves which have been aborted.
 
The milk yield is down, and they are unable to sell their young stock. The vets are baffled and have recommended inoculating the cows against salmonella, something I was unaware was possible. Each shot, of which they require at least two, costs over £6. As the herd is over five hundred strong, to date the cost to the farm is way over £100,000. I wonder if the general public, or the government for that matter, understand how events such this, and TB, are devastating and wipe out any possibility of making even the smallest profit.
 
It is a complete mystery as to why this labour government consistently diverts funding and support away from British farmers and small businesses which in many cases result in redundancies, forced sales and bankruptcy while at the same time, announcing new funding to boost overseas conservation projects.
 
They prefer to support communities and the environment in Bolivia, forests in St Helena and endangered eagles in the Philippines, than support the endangered family farms which are the backbone of our countryside and rural communities.
 
The families who run and manage these farms have decades of experience not only looking after the flora and fauna but also the wider environment, as well as producing food to feed the nation.
​
Of course, it is important to recognise the importance of these and many other overseas projects, but should our government prioritise these above ensuring the UK has enough food and, equally importantly, water to service the millions of additional homes they threaten to build on our green and pleasant land.
 
They keep bleating about climate change, which I am assured will remain unaffected by any amount of ‘net zero’ efforts introduced on our tiny island, a mere spec in the dirt compared to China, India, Russia, the deforestation of the Amazon and Indonesia, and other major industrialised nations.
 
So, why are we being penalised in this mad rush to ‘lead the way’. We are the laughingstock of the rest of the world. They think we are bonkers to put our country and businesses in jeopardy just so politicians can climb onto the stage at future COP gatherings, preening themselves while the country is going to the dogs.

It is the season of ploughing matches and party conferences. I am a big fan of the former but not the latter which I have successfully managed to avoid even when immersed in politics during times gone by.
 
I have never understood the point of these gatherings other than for party leaders and key players to preen themselves amongst the party faithful. The posturing, pointless speeches, and as we saw last week when Keir Starmer delivered his ‘keynote’ speech, the spouting plenty of nonsense, including the vile and abusive language he and his deputy directed towards Reform and Nigel Farage.
 
In comparison ploughing matches embrace the heart of rural life, championing the good people who have for generations nurtured the precious soil we so depend upon to grow the food we rely upon to feed the nation.
 
The competitors whose ages ranged from 80s to mid-teens who took part in the Hurstpierpoint & District Ploughing Match which we hosted last weekend, are the crème de la crème of the farming world. We were blessed with fine weather. There was some very fine ploughing, interesting trade stands, and a surprisingly large number of members of the public. Many had walked from Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill, and surrounding villages.  Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the occasion.
 
The event was prepared, beautifully run and then at the end of the day cleared away, leaving the fields spotless, by the chairman and his small army of dedicated volunteers of all sorts. The fields have now been worked into a seed bed and planted with grass seeds including a mix of wildflowers, just in time for the rain which was well timed.
 
Whose idea was it to include Tony Blair in the efforts to bring peace and stability to Gazza? He has clearly promoted himself for his own agenda, just as he is apparently promoting ID cards which will no doubt benefit Tony Blair some way along the line.
 
His incompetent track record in the Middle East is chronic, and we know the man is a charlatan, so I am surprised President Tump has allowed him within a hundred miles of the White House. Even the dodgy Jeremy Corbyn said he wouldn’t consider electing Blair to be a dog catcher. Not that Corbyn who considers Hamas to be “an organisation dedicated towards the good of the Palestinian people”, and that the British government’s labelling of Hamas as a terrorist organisation “is a big, big historical mistake”, has much to crow about.
 
The devastating attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur, brought Keir Starmer out onto the airwaves with his crocodile tears, doing his best to sound sincere. He gave not a single word of apology for having given the green light for such an attack, despite only recently having rewarded Hamas by recognising Palestine, despite its ferocious attack on Isreal two years ago when they raped and beheaded women children and babies, killing 1,200, before taking 251 hostages.
 
Anti-Semitism has been escalating in the UK over several decades. That escalation has spiked as hordes of legal and illegal Muslim immigrants have moved into our towns and cities, gradually taking over key positions within our governing institutions. Just how many of these towns and cities have Muslim mayors and councillors?
 
Just about every community has a mosque, prayer room, or use of a hired hall; there are around 1,858 mosques at the last time of counting. Some imams preach hatred, some encourage their followers to carry out acts of terrorism, and if they don’t personally, they certainly do not attempt to control the extremists in their congregations.
 
These mayors do not represent ‘the people’, they represent their Muslim communities. Just watch how Sadiq Khan is behaving in London as he ignores questions from Susan Hall who asked him how many grooming gangs who rape and trade young white children for sex are within his city. Khan repeatedly chose to ignore the question as he goaded Mrs Hall into calling them Muslim gangs so he could call her a racist. May he be forgiven.
 
The last time I raised these matters was following the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017. Later I was branded a racist and suspended as chairman and president of the Lewes Constituency Conservative Association at the time Theresa May attempted to scupper Brexit in 2019 after her Chequers weekend. My column was brought to light by some over enthusiastic journalist who sent a copy to Brandon Lewis the chairman of the Conservative party. Nothing could have been further from the truth, I care not what people’s skin colour is, or who they pray to, what I do care passionately about is, what they do and how they behave.
 
At the time I resigned from the party in disgust, my words were not racist, I told it as it was. My only crime being that when I quoted the local imam in Rochdale, I didn’t use quotation marks! What ever happened to free speech?
 
More recently I have resigned once again. This time my list of complaints regarding the history, current direction and recent underhand manner Central office handled the election for the conservative candidate standing for Sussex Mayor in 2026, being the final straw. A sad day: the party is not and has not been for some while the Conservative party is used to be and should be.

​

As we closed the gate on the final field of combinable crops, there was a sense of relief. All our crops are safely in the barns, but we shall not dwell on the fact they are not exactly bursting at the seams.
 
Another year gone and onto the next. Most fields are prepared for drilling next year’s crops. Let us hope all the costs and effort entailed will be rewarded; it certainly hasn’t been this year.

Times are changing just like the weather pattern, so we must change our routines and cropping. What we can’t do is doggedly push water uphill whilst telling ourselves that we have always done things this way and so shall continue in the same vein.
 
So, we have less arable crops and more grass, herbal leys, and winter bird seed crops. This latter crop has looked splendid with flowers of many colours including sunflowers which were spectacular when in full bloom. Many bunches found their way into the house as we celebrated my grandson’s christening.
 
Sunflowers make me smile and clearly, they have the same effect upon others as they lighten the mood. We journeyed to our beautiful Norman church which nestles in the heart of the farm, across the fields. A bunch of kids and some adults were bundled into the back of our ancient pickup. There was much laughter and gaiety as we proceeded across fields and down Cow Lane, (along which as a child I walked our dairy cows in for milking), to where we ended up in the field adjacent to the churchyard.
 
I think Father Christopher was somewhat surprised as they all piled out and skipped up the path, past my parent’s grave, and into the church, where he kindly conducted a very special christening service.
 
At last, the true character of Peter Mandelson and his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein have been exposed. Not only is the man dodgy, but he is also shown to be somewhat grubby. He and his mentor Tony Blair, another Champaign socialist, are the very worst type of labour politicians. It is all about ‘do as I say, not as I do’. They wrap themselves in a silver lining giving off an aura of being competent and important as they fill their gold lined coffers, whilst pulling the wool over the public’s eyes.
 
So too has Keir Starmer been exposed as being incompetent, dishonest and a very poor judge of character or understanding of the level of openness and decency expected by the public. Starmer really does believe everyone outside his immediate circle of left-wing activists, are halfwits unable to recognise when there is a fox in the hen house. Angela Raynor was a prime case and keep your eye on Rachel Reeves who is doing her best to completely screw up the economy. 
 
It’s all about to get worse: the growing black hole in Reeves’s public finances mean that another round of crippling tax rises is a certainty in the Budget. They will further dampen what is left of Britain’s traditional spirit, and threaten a doom loop of higher tax, lower growth, even higher tax and so on.
 
Let us hope they and all those who have knowingly supported these people who have done all they can to undermine Great Britain financially, and militarily, and by destroying our industries, our energy providers, employment opportunities,  and by leaving the door wide open to encourage the invasion of dangerous Muslim young men.
 
They come from countries which have no affiliation to Great Britain or our Christian culture. They disappear below the radar as have millions over the past 20 years. They are abiding their time and will invariably strike when they are directed to do so by their masters. They are arriving illegally and should be collected up off the beaches and ports and transported directly back to their last port of call. No ifs or buts.
 
The steady flow of conservative MPs, former MPs and members walking away from the Tory party towards Reform is gathering pace. They are not leaving the conservative party; it has left them as it increasingly leans to the left, opposes free speech, becomes increasingly woke and is deeply fractured below the water line.
 
Central Office is up to its old tricks of undermining local associations and ignoring the advice from those with their feet on the ground who know the facts, know the individuals, and are better at identifying the best candidates to take on the opposition at elections.
 
The underhand way Central Office recently interfered with the election to select the conservative candidate to stand in next year’s election for Mayor of Sussex, was as far as I am concerned the final straw. Backing a candidate with a poor record of service and who supported Sussex police’s policy of allowing trans men to strip search young girls and women, was totally irresponsible and unacceptable.
 

The countryside is awash with bugs, bees, wasps and butterflies of many shapes, colours, and sizes. The question is, is this increase due to the weather this year or because of the changes we and others have made to our farming practises. Whatever the reason, it is good to see all these creatures busily pollinating frantically as they search for fresh nectar or targeting prey.
 
Likewise, the bird population is also increasing. This joy  to see them is tempered by the over population of rooks, crows and magpies which are attracted by the myriads of tiny garden birds such as sparrows, tits all kinds, swifts, and swallows on which they regularly dine.
 
It seems that memories are short when it comes to recalling the source of much of today’s troubles in the NHS. I think someone should remind the minister, Wes Streeting who is currently in charge and appears to be completely out of his depth. He is clearly ill informed and in denial but should understand just when the root of today’s many problems set in.
 
Between 1997 and 2007 almost 32,000 NHS hospital beds were cut. One year more than 40 per cent of maternity units turned away women in labour and some 60 local hospitals closed or lost their accident and emergency or maternity services. We should recall the many Save Our Hospital campaigns which sprang up across the country, including at the Princess Royal in Haywards Heath.  All of this under Tony Blair’s watch, when he said he would transform the NHS. He certainly did that!
.
During the same decade when the number of beds were cut, death rates from infections MRSA and Clostridium difficile rose five-fold. Investigations into the biggest C. diff outbreak in Britain, which killed 90 patients at hospitals run by Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells trust in 2005 and 2006, found that overcrowding amid pressure to meet hospital waiting targets, due to a lack of beds and doctors, was a factor behind the infection’s spread.
 
It takes ten to fourteen years to train a doctor. During the Blair years doctors were leaving the country in droves when they were told they were superfluous to requirements.
 
Today the NHS has set targets to reach net zero emissions from its own activities by 2040 – 10 years ahead of the national target. This ambition at a cost to the very patients who rely upon it to keep them healthy and in many cases alive.
​
As the NHS is once again in crises with more than 7m people stuck on waiting lists and financial pressures rising, this is clearly bonkers.
 
Hospitals, GP surgeries, suppliers of medicines and medical equipment are being told they must hit net zero by 2045, if they want to keep working for the health service.
 
By 2027 all NHS suppliers must report their emissions publicly. Instead of concentrating their efforts on improving waiting lists or the tens of thousands who wait more than three days in A&E each year, the government has decided to concentrate instead on achieving net zero for the NHS by 2040 and their suppliers by 2045. These targets will increase costs for most suppliers, which in turn will escalate costs for the NHS.
 
None of this will help the patients of staff. Neither will it have the slightest effect upon climate change, so why on earth have these ridiculous targets been imposed.
 
Can you imagine the outcry which would erupt if Bull Fighting was ever introduced in Great Britain. This is the season of the running of the bulls at the San Fermin festival in Pamplona from July 6th to 14th , and bullfights. Other bullfighting events and festivals take place throughout the year across Spain, such as Seville, Madrid, Valencia and Malaga.
 
The Spanish are clearly a blood thirsty nation, and it could be said this barbaric so-called sport, is their ‘heritage’.  But surely the time has come to call a halt to this cruel spectacle.
 
While Spain doesn't have a direct equivalent of the RSPCA specifically focused on stopping bullfighting, there are animal welfare organizations and legal frameworks in place that address animal cruelty, though clearly not always effectively in the context of bullfighting. It is still legal in most parts of Spain, except for the Canary Islands and Catalonia, where it was banned but later overturned by the Constitutional Court. Perhaps our over eager animal rights activists could take a trip to Spain and do something useful over there.

We and countless others have been busily making hay while the sun shines. At last Mother Nature appears to be on side, hopefully making up for the challenging wet winter and spring drought.
 
The young steers continue to protest as they are moved to yet another field of delicious herbal ley which they still don’t appreciate. I hope they will eventually get used to it and tuck in as they are supposed to.
 
It looks like the combines will soon be rolling as crops turn golden, but I fear the yields will be disappointing due to the lack of rain at the right time.
 
I am truly shocked to read in the national press that Sussex Police along with four other police forces and the British Transport Police, until recently allowed trans (male) officers to strip search girls and women. Why anyone considers it acceptable that a man who decides to change his pronouns, is a suitable individual to strip search young girls and women, is beyond comprehension.
 
Fortunately, due to the legal advice following the Supreme Court ruling which found that sex is biological under the Equality Act, these police forces have been made to reverse this practise.
 
Considering Sussex has a female Police and Crime Commissioner, Katy Bourne, and Chief Constable, it is hard to understand why this was ever allowed. It is not good enough to suggest the leadership was unwilling to offend the trans community. This is unacceptable, an outrage.
 
It has also been reported that Sussex Police scrapped warrant cards that identified officers as male or female but instead labelled males with letters A or C and female officers with B or D in November last year. The move prompted complaints that it would make it harder to find a female officer to carry out duties only a woman could do - such as searching a female suspect. Let us hope this too has been scrapped.
 
The force was subject to ridicule in 2017 after a sergeant warned high street stores that “feminine care” signs on women’s sanitary products breached gender equality rules.
 
It is time to scrap Police and Crime Commissioners; I never thought they were a good idea; I am on record for saying so. Katy Bourne who has held this post since 2012, is now seeking to be the conservative candidate to take on the role of Mayor of Sussex. I would suggest these inappropriate decisions taken under her management, make her unsuitable for this important position.
 
The current heat which we are experiencing has caused the authorities to publish advice on how to keep cool and healthy, reminds us that our forefathers knew how to build homes which coped well with both the summer heat and cold winters.
 
Those of us fortunate enough to live in old houses have the advantage of a home which keeps cool in these conditions and cosy during the winter. These houses breath, they allow the air to flow.
 
We can only feel for those living in modern buildings which have been built to conform with modern planning regulations, invented by environmentalists and people who believe the climate will remain constantly moderate; never too hot or too cold.
 
These hermetically sealed boxes circulate toxins from plastics, cleaning fluid, electrical impulses, and harmful radiation coming from the screens of mobile phones, laptops and other gadgets which cannot escape and are harmful and detrimental to our health, particularly young children and babies.
 
Those of us who have resisted sealing up the roof and filling in the cavity walls of our old buildings allowing fresh air to circulate are at an advantage. Modern buildings will be like ovens during this heatwave.
 
I wonder when governments, environmentalists, planners, and architects will recognise the damage they are inflicting upon our population. Creating hermetically sealed boxes to ‘save the planet’, is causing huge damage to the health of the nation as they breath in toxic fumes, dust, and chemicals. If the NHS is struggling now, God help it in years to come.

The crops benefitted from the recent rain, which was most welcome, but we badly need more. The spring beans and barley are looking less parched, but I fear the weeks of drought will be reflected in the yield at harvest.
 
We are now fighting natures little and not so little critters. For the past few years, we have had a growing problem with moths. They are now rampant throughout the house despite all efforts to exterminate them with smoke bombs, sticky backed traps, steam cleaning, and placing rugs and clothes out on the lawns on hot sunny days, as my mother used to do.
 
Our carpets are now thread bare, clothes have holes the size of 50p pieces and there is a general air of hopelessness as all our efforts result in an escalating number of moths.
 
Outside in the garden which should by now be full of colour with roses, geraniums, and other annuals, it is a sea of green. Not a single rose bud has survived and all the wonderful geraniums which filled the pots and beds around the house have been decapitated, many pulled out and strewn across the lawns. The deer are back with a vengeance; we have never suffered so much destruction.
 
We are hosting the Church Fete this coming weekend and have a few weddings and other events through the summer. Visitors are going to be deeply disappointed by the lack of colour, despite all the pruning, spraying, feeding, and watering.
 
We have tried the usual preventative methods, scary objects and paraffin which used to keep them at bay. Latterly I have hung creosote-soaked rags amongst the roses which I am hoping is working.  Matthew has spent a number of evenings and early mornings out with his rifle, but was hampered by the many footpaths; getting a ‘safe shot’, is far from easy.
 
I have also set off rope bangers in the garden, which made us all jump as they went off but whether they kept the deer away for long I am not entirely sure. They will no doubt annoy the neighbours for which I apologies, but in our desperation to drive these vandals away, we will try anything.
 
My story about our young Sussex steers hating the herbal leys caused a flurry of comments from my farming friends who found this interesting and baffling. To follow up; we decided to cut a couple of fields for hay as they had grown too tall to graze. This we fed to the fat cattle still in the yard. They went mad for it and got through the bales in record time. When we weighed them yesterday, they had put on an average of 50-63kg in just four weeks. Now that is a result. We have taken samples to see if a dose of sodium or other trace elements are needed to improve its palatability.
 
There are rumours the chancellor will shortly be receiving her P45 as the PM moves her out of No 11, and not a moment too soon. Since her first budget last October, the Bank of England has downgraded its economic forecast for this year from 1.5 per cent to 0.7 per cent, and the office of Budget Responsibility cut its growth estimate in half, from 2 per cent to 1 per cent.
 
In April, inflation jumped back up to 3.5 per cent (way above the 2 per cent target). In May manufacturing suffered the sharpest drop in new orders in 19 months and unemployment is up 10 per cent since Labour won the GE last July.
 
Rachel Reeves’s record-breaking £40 billion tax raid has been blamed for Britain’s leading business group cutting its growth forecasts for this year and the next.
 
We have another four years of this financial incompetence along with Labour’s record of disastrous decisions on: the Chagos Islands, Gibraltar, the EU, repeated attacks upon the farming industry, delays to prosecute the Pakistani Muslim grooming gangs, and now voting to allow the termination of full-term babies while still in their mother’s wombs. These are just a few examples of the damage this government has already wreaked upon the very fabric of our once Great country in just eleven months. With their huge majority in the House of Commons there is nothing to stop these people destroying what is left before the next General Election. 

I am so grateful to all my chums who instead of spending their evenings relaxing under the shade of a handy tree with a glass of something refreshing, have, no doubt much to the surprise of their family, dogs and neighbours, been doing their best to impress the Rain Gods, Mother Nature or whoever else is in charge of precipitation, with their rendition of a Rain Dance. Well, congratulations and Thank You it worked.
 
The spring crops were on their last legs and looking decidedly exhausted as they battled to stay alive as they searched in vain for moisture in the parched earth. Well, here’s hoping this is not too little too late and they will now blossom forth and make a magical recovery.
 
It would seem the Gods have not been shining so favourably on Ed Miliband. Nor for that matter has the press. The man is either a genius which I doubt or, with the deepest respect and I say this advisedly and quote, “a complete moron”. His mad Helter Skelter towards Net Zero, and to hell with the consequences, endangers the future of UK energy provision and leaves us reliant on a fragile and targetable electricity supply.
 
BP is in the throes of cancelling its Teesside hydrogen project which was at the heart of Miliband’s net zero plans. They were set to produce “blue” hydrogen from natural gas and then capture and store the carbon emissions. It was to deliver more than 10pc of the 2030 target set by Miliband for hydrogen production and was expected to come online by the late 2020s.
 
It is reported that BP is now likely to scale back or indeed cancel the 1.2-gigawatt project as the FTSE 100 company struggles to secure enough customers to make the investment worthwhile.

BP is however pressing ahead with the separate Net Zero Teesside Power scheme. This will see it build a flexible gas-fired power plant equipped with carbon capture technology. The outcome and viability of these projects will be worth keeping an eye on.
 
It must be disappointing when a well-loved view becomes obscured by a new housing development or Leylandii trees turning a once stunning rural view with lambs skipping around in the spring, to be blocked by a red brick building planted outside your bedroom window.
 
We have all seen reports of the new phenomenon which is emerging around our shores which are becoming increasingly overcrowded with wind turbines. It is not the view that is being taken but the wind. We read headlines such as, “Wind farms fight over the North Sea breeze”. Wind farms across the North Sea are having to deal with a situation described as the “wake effect” as the wind is literally being taken out of their sails.
 
This intriguing situation is threatening to cost companies such as Orsted, RWE, Scottish Power, Total and Equinor billions of pounds. They are apparently waging war in the planning system over who will take precedence and who picks up the bill.
 
Industry insiders have coined a term for it: wind theft.
 
Ed Miliband is deeply concerned that it risks creating unhelpful turbulence as he seeks to steer the country towards his goal of net zero by 2030 and beyond. He has commissioned a national study led by Manchester University on how to prevent or resolve these disputes.
 
Off the coast of Europe Belgium is being blamed for stealing wind from the Dutch, and the Dutch are being blamed for taking wind from Germany. You really couldn’t make this stuff up.

The problem is getting worse as there is limited seabed that is suitable for fixed wind turbines, and these are getting bigger. A typical turbine was around 200 metres tall but now turbines are being built in Brandenberg, Germany, which can reach as high as 364 metres – higher than London’s Shard.
 
The financial consequences are said to be disastrous. Orsted and Equinor complained that Total’s proposed Outer Dowsing wind farm off the Yorkshire coast could cost them a combined £363m in lost revenue. These situations are popping up all round our coast, including in the Irish Sea.
 
Ross Clark in the Daily Mail has brought to our attention that Starmer is pushing ahead with the £10billion AI data centres on the Northumberland coast. This data centre project, given planning permission in March and with Blackstone’s £10billion investment, is part of the PM’s plan for Britain to become a world leader in AI.
 
This is most commendable; however, data centres consume huge quantities of electricity. ChatGPT for example is estimated to use up to ten times more power than a Google search. It is also estimated that the site could emit more carbon dioxide than Birmingham Airport.
 
At a time when the building of new wind and solar farms has failed to keep pace with the closure of coal-fired power stations, such projects clearly have a problem, effecting the whole country. Our national grid was designed around large power stations in the Midlands. Wind and solar farms are far more dispersed and lie some distance from population centres where most power is consumed.
 
Now is the time to gear up the production of SMRs (small modular reactors) a quick and affordable source of low-carbon electricity. The talking must stop, licenses must be given to Rolls Royce, now.
 
What will our little island look like in years to come. The coastline will be encircled by wind turbines and our green and pleasant land covered in solar panels. Our roads will be clogged up by abandoned electric driverless vehicles with flat batteries. Raving AI ‘driver’ robots will die, and many EV vehicles catch fire. Already the number of EV fires have increased by 77 per cent over the past two years. These are more dangerous than petrol or diesel car fires as they are very hard to extinguish.
 
Our cities will grind to a halt as rogue states target our power supplies, and as everything is heading in the direction of the total dependency on electricity, nothing will work.
 
This includes the computers which direct the traffic, trains, airports, sewage, food distribution, hospitals, crematoriums, satellite systems, mobile phones, internet and so much besides. Is this the future the British public envisaged when they put their trust in government? There will riots and looting, and blood shed with everyone out for themselves.
 
This scenario is not a case of if but when. It is people such as Ed Miliband with his crack pot ideas of net zero without any understanding of the consequences, who are driving this forward in their blinkered madness.
 
His decision to close and cap our oil reserves, close coal mines and destroy coal fired power stations borders on criminal. Gloat as he abandons fracking and cheers from the sidelines as Cumbria’s Whitehaven coal mine lost its battle to provide coking coal for our fragile steel industry.
 
I quote, ‘the £165M underground metallurgical coal mine had been granted planning permission in December 2022 by the then secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, Michael Gove.
 
But planning consent for the mine was quashed in the High Court last September after Gove’s decision was challenged by Friends of the Earth (FOTE) and South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC) on environmental grounds.
 
The mine’s future has been in doubt since Keir Starmer’s Labour government, egged on by Ed Miliband, announced that it would not be defending Gove’s decision to grant planning permission. It said that planning permission had been unlawfully granted and withdrew its defence of the mine.
 
The UK government has since announced that new coal mining licences are set to be banned in the UK, making it the first Group of Seven (G7) country to ban coal mining.’
 
How utterly irresponsible; this will prevent future generations from achieving as a nation, energy production which previous generations benefitted from.
 
It is easy and tempting to criticise the actions of governments and ministers particularly when those actions effect the future of the country and all its citizens, whatever their colour. My deep concern and that of so many others is that this mad dash to net zero is being driven by politicians and their ideology and environmentalists who would prefer to see the country grind to a halt and descend into chaos, unable to defend our borders, feed the population or generally function. When will the grownups with practical and unblinkered solutions, enter the room? Time is running out.

It is agonising watching crops withering in the fields due to the lack of rain. The April showers failed to materialise, and May is not much better. We had one useful downpour two weeks ago, since when nothing.
 
Half our winter barley failed due to sitting in waterlogged fields which we replaced with spring barley, rather against my better judgment. All too often we face drought conditions in this part of the country in the spring but one needs to have faith in mother nature and hope she doesn’t bowl us a second whammy and kill off two crops.
 
In hindsight I should have sat on my hands and done nothing. Unless we get some decent rain in the next few days, we shall have little to sell to the grain merchants this coming autumn.
 
On a positive note, the herbal leys are growing splendidly. In fact, we are in danger of being overwhelmed with too much grazing. I only wish the Sussex steers liked it; they don’t they hate it and do their best to find alternative nourishment as they rummage in the hedges and ditches. They have reduced the headland to bare earth and look longingly over the gate into the adjoining field,  grass destined for hay.
 
They do occasionally venture out into the herbal ley and gingerly wrap their tongues around a few blades of grass which they carefully pick from amongst the red and white clover, Sheep’s parsley high in iron and vitamins A & C, high protein Lucerne, Birdsfoot Trefoil with its non-bloating qualities. There is also Chicory which offers a range of health benefits, including support for digestion, liver health, and blood sugar control. It also apparently acts as a mild laxative and a diuretic.
 
What is there not to like about this mix with its herbs and variety of grasses which I was assured they would go mad for, and it would increase their weight gain dramatically. I do my best to encourage them tuck in but watch in vain as they spit out anything other than grass, in a cow sort of way.
 
There are those who have decided the Prime Minister has no alternative but to surrender power to Brussels over our national sovereignty, borders, defence procurement, fishing grounds and youth mobility. They paint Britain as some poor third world nation cowering under threat from Putin, China’s President Xi and Trump with our only friend in the world being the European Union.
 
Nothing could be further from the truth. It is a pity this weak minded, blinkered Europhile Prime Minister lacks the leadership skills to stand up and be counted. He should be defending Great Britain and leading from the front rather than from behind EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s skirts. 
 
I doubt this is what the public wants but they have been listening to those in the press and media who for years have been led by the nose by left wing Europhile MPs of all parties who fail to understand the implications of being beholden to a failed regime which is slowly sinking beneath too many EU laws and regulations.
 
Any closer alliance will result in too many people from the rest of Europe coming to work in Britain; are 30-year-olds really students? Our borders will become less safe than they are now. We will be sucked into subsidizing agriculture in other EU countries and will be pressured onto accepting too many imports from the rest of Europe.
 
Any trade deals with the USA will certainly be withdrawn by Trump who quite rightly, has utter contempt for the EU.
 
Parliament will end up having less power. Britain will once again become a rule taker rather than a rule maker. Is that really what we wished for as we celebrated last week and remembered all those brave men and women who served our country during WWII, and their families and friends who were bombed out of their homes and places of work. I don’t believe so.
 
Britain has outperformed the EU for the past nine years. Due to Brexit, we had the freedom to enter into trade deals with India, the US, and the Pacific market. None would have been possible without Brexit. The EU has as Daniel Hannan says, always wanted to take back control of our trade policy. It resents the idea of our buying foods that it has banned on protectionist grounds. To keep Britain as their captive market, Eurocrats want to set our standards in perpetuity.
 
Starmer has clearly sold out to the EU. He has surrendered our fishing rights to European fishermen for a further nine years in exchange for a long-term agreement on food standards.
 
He has sold out our armed forces. Britain will be expected to take part in new intelligence-sharing mechanisms, as well as co-ordination of conflict prevention and peace mediation. This could mean that British soldiers could be sent to “civilian missions and military operations and missions, upon the invitation of the EU”. For which we are expected to pay, heavily. Britain’s policy, even as a member of the EU was to oppose any defence integration outside Nato.
 
The “reset” deal will force the UK to follow European food standards and submit to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), in what Brexiteers and Labour rebels said amounted to “the worst of both worlds”. 
 
It is barely a year since Labour won the General Election. If they can cause so much damage to our country both inside and outside our borders, think Chagos islands, in a few short months, what in God’s name will be left of Great Britain after a further four years?

It would appear that I am not the only one baffled by the appointment of Minette Batters (former President of the NFU) to provide recommendations for a review into farming profitability as part of the New Deal for farmers.
 
It is perhaps not that surprising that Dame Batters is eager to support this Labour government, she was always very critical of the previous government, Boris Johnson in particular. I question why she is taking Labour’s shilling; will this latest quango really help the farming industry?
 
Defra is already engaged in several policy reviews, including the Farming Roadmap, a Food Strategy Advisory Board, a Land Use Framework consultation, the creation of a National Estate for Nature, a Sustainable Farming Incentive review and now this Farming Profitability Review.
 
I suspect that Secretary of State Steve Reed mistakenly believes that by asking Minette Batters to lead yet another review, farmers will be impressed and believe she and he have our backs.
 
From the feedback I have been getting nothing could be further from the truth. Minette was a good talker; she could talk for England and frequently did. But what she achieved for the industry could be written on the back of a cigarette packet. No doubt she will be get a tidy fee but is this public money for public good, let alone for the good of farmers?
 
This new committee costing thousands of pounds will make little difference. We all know where the problems lie, it doesn’t take a genius. In fact the current NFU President Tom Bradshaw could do it in an afternoon and I am sure he has already done so. This appointment is purely a distraction, a waste of taxpayers’ money.
 
In the UK, electricity prices are exclusively linked to the price of gas as the energy market uses a system called "marginal cost pricing." This means the price of electricity is set by the cost of the most expensive energy source needed to meet demand, which is often gas-fired power plants. While renewables like wind and solar are becoming more prevalent, gas-fired power plants still play a crucial role in meeting the peak demand, especially when renewable sources are less reliable. 
 
The result being UK energy prices are the highest in the world. Currently we pay 25.85 pence per kwh, whilst others such as France pay 17.84 p/kwh, Spain 13.38 p/kwh and Portugal 9.2 p/kwh.
UK energy prices, particularly for electricity, are heavily influenced by global gas prices. When gas prices rise due to factors like increased global demand or supply disruptions, the cost of generating electricity also increases, leading to higher electricity prices for consumers. 
 
The UK also operates some of the highest excise duties in Europe, combined with a 20% VAT rate.
 
UK steelworks are facing significantly higher electricity prices compared to their European competitors. For the 2024/25 period, the average price faced by UK steelmakers is approximately £66/MWh, while prices in Germany and France are around £50/MWh and £43/MWh respectively, meaning UK steelmakers pay significantly more for their electricity. 
 
Britain's steel industry has called on the government to help with electricity prices that it says can be 50% higher than those paid by European competitors. In March the sector was hit by a 25% tariff on exports to the U.S. that make up around 9% of the value of Britain's steel exports. Surely it is time for the UK to set electricity prices independently from the global price of gas. There is nothing to stop this move which would help industry and domestic supplies.
 
Last week both Labour and the Conservatives watched as Reform changed the face of UK politics. I could re-phrase that by saying. Nigel Farage changed the face of UK politics. Without him at the helm the results would have been significantly different.
 
Likewise, if Boris Johnson remained leader of the Conservative party and had not been stabbed in the back by so many of his colleagues, Remainers, London’s political elite, the BBC and many others, I am certain Starmer would not have entered No 10 on the tail of 411 Labour MPs, on a turnout of just 59.7% of which only 33.7% voted labour. It is worth recalling that over 80% of the electorate did not vote labour.
 
The airwaves and papers are now awash with analysis and predictions as to what the future holds. Most are disparaging about both Starmer and Badenoch, neither of whom have leadership skills let alone I fear have any idea as to how to lead the country out of its current difficulties.
 
Out of those who acknowledge Farage’s charisma and leadership skills, most tend to question whether he has a feasible financial plan to implement the changes he proposes to make.
 
With President Trump rearranging the world order with his tariffs and ideology for change, including sanctioning President Putin’s land grab in Ukraine whilst eyeing up Canada, Greenland and the Gulf of Mexico for himself, it is vital that Starmer and his left-wing bandits face a credible opposition. I suspect the only way to achieve that is for Nigel and Boris to drop their simmering feud, make up and create a formidable alliance. They have just four years to persuade the British electorate that between them they really can ‘Make the UK Great Again.’

I wonder why Starmer, Reeves and this Labour government hate farmers quite so much. Is it because they really are ignorant about the role we play supporting and maintaining the environment and countryside and supplying food for the nation as well as making a contributing to GDP.
 
Are they just stupid or is it a way of putting us in our place as they recognise, we are mostly independent, bloody-minded individuals who have little respect for politicians and have until more recently largely manage to avoid falling under their control, but when as is currently the case, we are baited we bite back.
 
They have certainly put the boot in since taking office. Having promised repeatedly that they had our backs during the General Election campaign, (unbelievably too many trusted them), they have since stabbed us in the back well and truly and now they are twisting the knife.
 
First it was IHT bomb shell with its hidden agenda for land grab. Now we are informed that the SFI 2024 schemes which were put in place by the last government to replace the EU Common Agricultural Policy, have without notice or consultation been shut down. And now Angela Raynor has directed council planning departments that they can compulsory purchase land from farmers at agricultural land value, despite valuing the same land for IHT at ‘development value’. You really can’t make this stuff up.
 
The NFU and CLA continue to tell us they are working closely with government hoping to get Starmer’s team to change its mind. I have yet to notice either organisation ever being listened to by politicians or able to sway governments of any colour, but no doubt they do their best and are a nice bunch particularly at local and county level.
 
My mother refused to give the NFU a penny as she believed they were useless. My view is that the local representatives are decent people and do their best to communicate with and support farmers. My opinion regarding the national hierarchy is pretty much the same as that of my mother and I suspect unprintable.
 
Last weekend there has been a focus by the BBC on Rural Crime. Across Sussex and the South East it is not unlike the Wild West. Gangs of criminals are trawling the countryside targeting farms to steal quad bikes and gators. Since Christmas in and around Eridge, Groombridge, Hastings and Ashburnham alone, over 50 of these vehicles which are used daily to move livestock, feed sheep and generally get around rain-soaked fields in the winter months, where tractors cannot travel.
 
These criminals, and we know who they are and often where they come from, break into barns and sheds, sometimes breaking down walls and removing straw bales and farm equipment in their quest to get at the quad which the owner believed was secure having protected the building with locks, CCTV, lighting and padlocked bollards.
 
Unfortunately, the police are under resourced and cannot cope with this epidemic which leave farmers and other businesses vulnerable and defenceless. These criminals are not only aggressive, they are also ruthless and will stop at nothing. They attack farmers who try to stop them from taking their property, with baseball bats, and fire ball bearings at them and ram their vehicles when they try to stop them. These gangs are driving stolen vehicles, so they don’t care.
 
The Rural Police try to help by giving us DNA packs to mark our property, machinery, tools, and vehicles so they can be identified if found after a break in. This is fine but leans towards closing the door after the horses have bolted. We need to stop this now; prevention is always better than cure.
 
Farmers and small businesses want the law changed so we can protect our property and livelihoods without finding ourselves becoming victims of the law. Currently the law appears to be on the side of the criminals not the victims they target. When vehicles are stolen and reported to the police, we are told they cannot track a vehicle or retrieve it, particularly if it is known to be parked at a traveller’s site, which I would suggest is mostly the case. When farmers inform the police that they will go and retrieve their property themselves they are told they could be arrested for trespassing! 
 
This epidemic is not confined to farmers; local businesses are also being targeted. Tree surgeons, Electricians, Plumbers, Builders, Carpet layers and Butchers are seeing their vans broken into resulting in thousands of pounds worth of vital tools of their trade, produce and equipment being taken.
 
The Fire Station at Patridge Green was broken into in January and all their vital hydraulic cutting equipment taken and then used locally to break in and steal quads and ride-on lawn mowers near Gatwick.
 
We all need to protect our property, our livelihood and our families. The police are totally overwhelmed and under resourced, they clearly cannot cope. So, we should be allowed to defend our property and businesses. We pay our taxes, including council tax which has escalated sky high including yet another rise in the Sussex Police precept, which is set by the Police and Crime Commissioner, a post which should surely now be abolished.
 
The Wild West is currently unbalanced, the criminals can target us with an arsenal of dangerous equipment but if we dare to confront them with our shotguns when we are alone, vulnerable and completely outnumbered, it is us who get arrested. I would suggest that until these criminals are wiped out, locked up or stopped by an army of Rural Police which isn’t going to happen, those of us with shotgun and firearms certificates should be issued with Tasers and Stingers.
 
The public believe that rural crime is all about fly tipping. That is indeed the soft end where it starts but it ends with criminals killing their victims as happened to our friend Julian Gardener near Robertsbridge some years ago. He went out in the middle of the night to stop a gang of six from stealing his customer’s 4 x 4 vehicles from his farm workshop. They used a vehicle to ram him against a building where they left him to die, yards away from where his eighty-year-old mother was sleeping in her bungalow.
 
Julian was a lovely, very popular hard-working guy, who was a member of our farm shoot at Ewhurst Green. He was found dead the following morning by one of his chums. The gang were traced to Kent and four were charged and convicted on manslaughter charges. A soft sentence if there ever was one.
 
I only mention this case in an attempt to make people understand just how serious this matter is, and the consequences of not stopping this ‘civil war’ which is dangerously escalating.
 
The BBC gave me two minutes in which to make our case. I fear I failed miserably but at least it got the local politicians talking about Rual Crime, but will anyone do anything about is.

At last, spring is in the air. The countryside is coming alive and soon a carpet of blue will return to our woodlands, and yellow daffodils nod their heads whilst basking in the sunshine and gentle breeze. Hopefully when spring truly arrives after what looks like a fresh bout of cold northerly winds heading our way, the feeling of melancholy which came to me with the season will fade.
 
Instead of feeling optimistic about this coming year the opposite is true. It has been a while since our world felt quite so sad, unsafe, broken and lacking purpose. One by one those who have been our inspiration, role models, the ones who gained our respect, made us feel safe through their leadership so we felt they were a safe pair of hands, have fallen by the wayside.
 
Looking about internationally, nationally, and closer to home there are very few who I feel we can rely upon to do what is right. Previous politicians, statesmen and leaders had experienced life, seen the world when things had gone horribly wrong. They were intelligent and patriotic, they cared about their country, its people and the future – where are they now?
 
It is now hard to pick one true stateman, a natural leader, a person who is not ‘in it’ for their own gratification. There is not one who could say, ‘trust me’ and I would believe them.
 
It is unbelievable that Mark Carney has been elevated to Premier of Canada. His statement that Canada will not become the 51st state of the USA is in marked contrast to the years he tried to persuade the British that we should rightfully be a municipal of the European Union.
 
Having spent his time as Governor of the Bank of England 2013 – 2020 a role where he did little to guide the UK through financial turmoil, whilst doing his utmost to persuade the British to remain and then re-join the EU as the 28th ‘state’, why be so precious about Canada.
 
The man has some explaining to do. Surely what he considers good for the UK should be fine for Canada. At least The Trump is an obvious dictator whereas the EU is run by a bunch of grey, often invisible unelected bureaucrats determined to bring the bloc to its knees. Good luck to Canada under Carney’s watch. I must own up to having a vested interest as my father was Canadian.
 
Andrew Neil wrote at the weekend, “The last week has confirmed what those of us who gave Trump the benefit of the doubt have, in our heart of heart, always feared: That he is an unprincipled, narcissistic charlatan.
 
When the President of the USA told the world that he intends to seize control of Canada, Greenland, and the Gulf of Mexica which has already been renamed by Google Maps the Gulf of America, it is hardly surprising that he is comfortable supporting President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
 
Trump stood in the White House declaring that Ukraine invaded Russia and Putin has every right to fight back whilst condemning President Zelensky for not grovelling to him or apologising for doing his best to prevent his mate Putin from killing the entire population of Ukraine and taking the country by force. What was that about?
 
Benjamin Wittes, senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington, told an audience at a thinktank when discussing the Trump administration: “In the bilateral battle between malevolence and incompetence, incompetence is certainly winning.”
 
The Reform Party is in turmoil. Rupert Lowe has clearly crossed the line with utterings which were unacceptable; the man clearly has a temper. However, it seems Nigel Farage has lost some of his star dust having turned on President Zelensky in his attempt to keep in with Trump and Vance. It seems he has also fallen out with Elon Musk and there is no going back there.
 
Time will tell how this latest ding dong will end but what is certain is that Reform will never become an electable party without Farage, just as the Conservatives will fail without Boris. The public are fickle, it is about people not necessarily about policies. Grey uninspiring individuals who mistakenly believe they are ‘the one’ do not make any party electable.
 
Leadership takes courage, inspiration, vision, charisma and a willingness to raise one’s head above the parapet despite the possibility of being shot down. It is also about connecting with people, the electorate and understanding life from the grass root’s perspective, not from within ivory towers.
 
Starmer and Reeves are holding out against the farming community and small businesses. They have decided to shut their ears and ignore the bombardment of perfectly reasonable arguments as to why their policies are destructive towards running these businesses, employment, fiscal common sense, food production, preservation of the countryside and the environment, not to mention being major contributors to the country’s GDP.
 
As government ministers and Starmer talk about the importance of food security and supporting UK food production they are doing all in their power to undermine it. Family farm tax, increased national insurance, cheap food imports not produced to UK standards, removal of the Basic Payment Scheme and the slow deliver of the Sustainable Payment Incentive are hitting the industry hard, as Rob Chapman who owns and manages Westover Farm Contractors on the Isle of Wight so eloquently puts it in the Farmers Weekly. Farm contractors have a finger on the pulse of UK farming, they are feeling a worrying change including a lack of investment by farmers clearly worried about their future.
 
Should I be more upbeat and cheerful? Yes, I probably should but for now I am saying it as I see it and these examples hardly touch the surface. I will try to do better next time to find that silver lining.

​I have decided that it is increasingly important to keep alert and one’s antennae up and to listen with care to the variety of opinions hot on the airwaves locally, nationally, and internationally before taking sides.
 
We all have challenges of one kind and another; our local community is rife with problems. The British farming and business community of all sorts from hospitality, industry and educators to our senior citizens are also under siege from this Labour government and beyond. Bosses of the UK’s 5.5 million family-run pubs and shops face an uncertain future as Reeves’s tax raid takes hold.
 
Workers are being laid off and unemployment is on the rise. In 1967 Harold Wilson announced that “The pound in your pocket will be devalued by 14%”. A decision previously politically unthinkable. Today most of us are fortunate if we have any pounds in our pockets, and that for many who are really struggling, is a genuine problem.
 
So, we have a Prime Minister who has been applauded for not coming home from the USA with egg on his face. The fact that he came home with very little and failed to take the opportunity to defend Ukraine and President Zelensky who is a legitimate hero but was the following day verbally assaulted and disrespected by Trump and Vance, is I believe not unrelated.
 
Our countryside and precious resources are under siege despite what we are led to believe by ministers such as the hapless Ed Miliband who with any luck will soon be dismissed and returned to the back benches. Permanently sealing off our oil and natural gas reserves so neither we nor future generations can access them is at best reckless at worst a criminal act. I would say treasonable; the man should be locked up.
 
Steve Reed Sec of State Environment Food & Rural Affairs last week wrote to farmers following his appearance at the NFU conference where I understand he was received with little enthusiasm and stony silence except for the hecklers and noisy tractors outside the conference hall.
 
His letter said, “I am writing to provide a summary of the updates I announced, with a package that will support everyone. Farms will become more profitable and sustainable businesses for the benefit of our nation’s food security and the environment.”
 
He went on to say the government will be working with farmers and growers to increase productivity, animal health and welfare etc, through equipment and technology. He highlighted Higher Level Stewardship (HSL) payments which he said will improve the environment.
 
Also, capital grant schemes which will re-open in the summer, these have been on hold since 24th November 2024 leaving farmers in the lurch. They allow farmers to apply for funding towards equipment, technology and infrastructure. However, be warned, before you can apply, you must sell your soul and your farm’s future as most of these come with strings attached. They assume they have invested into your business therefore they will now have a share in that business. A bit like Trump with Ukraine.
 
Call me cynical, but I believe we have reason to be so. All these organisations from National Parks, RPA, DEFRA and the ministers have very little understanding, or maybe it is just part of the agenda towards land nationalisation by the back door. Certainly, little of this will help the farming community long term to support sustainable food production, maintain high standards or protect family farms.
 
Wherever one looks around the world there is a crisis caused by both civil and interstate war such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Innocent people are dying in their thousands including women and children, many of whom are out of sight and out of mind, particularly in regions of Africa.
 
Aggression and criminality are on the rise, it is seeping into every corner of the UK’s communities. We appear to have bred or imported a generation of feral, undisciplined, disrespectful individuals who are roaming our street, ransacking homes and businesses totally out of control. The authorities either cannot cope, don’t care or are turning a blind eye. As Richard Littlejohn wrote last week, ‘We used to be a nation of shopkeepers – now we are a nation of shoplifters.
 
Our education centres including universities once the envy of the world have been infiltrated by left wing liberals hell bent upon indoctrination and control. The intelligent students who do know better and are the majority, do their best to buck the trend. They work hard and plan for a future making the world a better place. However, they are silenced, intimidated and targeted by an aggressive minority whose views on politics, gender, wokeism, BLM and LGBT stuff make a mockery of free speech and fuel aggression.
 
Finally, what is wrong with the Imperial War Museum? At a time when we have precious few heroes or role models who invoke respect and admiration within our institutions or government, it has turned its back on those who heroically risked their lives. It is essential that young people have somewhere to go to understand just who and why those who were young with their whole lives ahead of them, risked their lives to protect our Monarchy, the British, our heritage and way of life, and our shores to safeguard the freedom we enjoy today.
 
It is little surprise that the families of Britain’s bravest along with much of the public, are dismayed by the decision to permanently close the gallery displaying our heroes’ Victoria Cross medals.
 
Last week the IWM announced that the Lord Ashcroft Gallery would close in less than four months. The collection of 230 Victoria Cross and George Cross medals would be removed from public view without even informing Lord Ashcroft. Shame on them.
 
Michael Ashcroft loaned his personal £70 million collection of medals in 2010 and donated £5 million towards the gallery’s opening. An example of the heroism of those awarded such medals was Warrant Officer Norman Jackson, aged 25, who was awarded his VC by King George VI in 1945 after crawling onto the wing of a blazing Lancaster bomber at 22,000ft to try to put out an engine fire. His VC was auctioned in London in 2004 and purchased by Lord Ashcroft for £200,000. At the time it was the highest auction price ever paid for a VC.
 
Norman Jackson’s son David Jackson, 71, lives in East Preston, West Sussex and has recently finished writing a book about his father. He said: “I thought the medals would always be on show to the public. What can you put that is more important in their place?”
 
The stories of the greatest acts of bravery and sacrifice in defence of our nation behind these medals should be compulsory reading and viewing for everyone, particularly young people now facing a world filled with shallow me-too light weights and very few who show true leadership and bravery.
 
Let us hope the public outcry will be loud enough to penetrate the cloth ears of those who made this ill-thought out ridiculous and insulting decision. These heroes cannot be brushed under the carpet or hidden in dusty storerooms. If they are, God help Great Britain in the future; along with so much else going on soon we shall rightly have to drop the ‘Great’. 

I think farmers are beginning to get a little tired of listening to the government saying how much they value farmers, wish to support them and promote economic growth. As I am constantly telling my family, “Actions speak louder than words”.
 
If they really value those who put the food on our tables, why are they not genuinely supporting farmers rather than putting obstacles in our way? An example of how to promote agricultural economic growth would be to concentrate their efforts on such matters as small local abattoirs to ensure they are not forced out of business and shut down.
 
In January, the last abattoir in Hampshire closed leaving many farmers struggling to find an outlet for their livestock. Newman’s was an independent family-run business based in Farmborough. This leaves just a handful of multispecies abattoirs in the South East meaning farmers are having to travel longer distances which is not ideal for animal welfare or is it time efficient.
 
As reported in the Farmers Weekly, rising operating costs including the hike in NI and small business tax, stringent regulations from the Food Standards Agency and limited profit margins are believed to have made it increasingly difficult for the Newman’s facility to remain viable.
 
We are fortunate to have a small family run abattoir Morley Farm, within a 15 minute drive but if that were to close which in the present unhelpful political climate is increasingly likely, I would have to take my cattle to Guildford where ABP have a huge abattoir which handles hundreds of livestock every day, but they are unable to separate specialist quality beasts from the rest of the cattle.
 
So, our quality Ote Hall grass fed Sussex cattle would end up on supermarket shelves, processed or as burgers. What a terrible waste of quality grass fed beef which currently makes a premium through local and London butchers and farm shops when processed through Morley Farm. Where would these outlets source their quality meat?
 
The previous Conservative government started to recognise the value of small abattoirs’ facilities at the heart of the rural economy, and as Christopher Price, Rare Breeds Survival Trust, pointed out, they also committed substantial funding to their future through the £4m Smaller Abattoir Fund. As he highlights, a robust and resilient local abattoir network, capable of processing small numbers of different species and breeds, is vital for the sustainable livestock sector, for the supply of local meat, recovery of rare breeds, and animal welfare.
 
According to the AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board), there were just 49 red meat abattoirs in England in 2023, but at least four have closed since. It is vital this government recognises the vital role they play in supporting family farms which are the beating heart of the countryside and farming community. If they don’t, someone needs to tell them.
 
We know the imposition of IHT will eliminate many of these farms which will either be taken by government in leu of tax or swallowed up by huge commercial enterprises specialising in ‘factory farming’. This directly due to Ms Reeves destructive Budget attacking not just farmers but also independent and small businesses. Why do Labour Governments always think they know better about how to manage enterprise, economic growth and innovation, than the private sector and individuals. Surely, they should know by now having been caught out time and time again, that they don’t.
 
So, what’s the solution?  The industry knows it starts with recognising that farming isn’t a sideshow to tourism or a quaint relic of the past. It’s the foundation of a functioning society and farmers don’t need gimmicks or patronising suggestions to “diversify”; they need policies that support the actual business of farming. That means fair but hopefully short-term subsidies, sensible tax regimes, and investment in rural infrastructure. It means treating food production as a strategic priority, not an afterthought.
 
As was pointed out recently, ‘If Emily Miles who left the Food Standards Agency where she was CEO to join DEFRA as Director General last autumn, and her colleagues spent a week on a farm - not as a photo-op, but actually mucking in - they might begin to understand the depth of the problem’. Farming isn’t failing because farmers lack imagination or entrepreneurial spirit. It’s failing because successive governments have eroded its viability, all while mouthing platitudes about the importance of British agriculture. It is doubtful that any have ever ventured out of their offices let alone onto a farm.
 
Lord Frost is deeply concerned that Keir Starmer will return the UK to the clutches of the EU. Ever a Remainer the PM clearly does not recognise the benefits we have already gained as we celebrate the fifth anniversary of Brexit.
 
We recognise there are still problems, many of which predate Brexit such as immigration, a slow and unreformed public sector, the rush to net zero and growing levels of tax, spend and regulation.
 
But, now as David Frost tells us we have the freedom to solve these problems ourselves without having to run to Brussels asking for permission to change Vat; establish freeports; change our farming support system; reach new trade agreements; to do foreign policy deals with our old allies, like Aukus (between Australia, the United Kingdom and the united States); to change our rules on gene editing of clinical trials; to alter our animal welfare provisions; to cut tariffs on things we don’t produce ourselves; to protect the environment in our fishing grounds; to change our rules on driving licenses, the size of lorries or the cost of car insurance; and so much more. How helpful to see such examples written down so we can take them in and understand just what UK independence means.
 
Apparently, Keir Starmer believes it is ‘not normal’ for the UK to be free from asking permission from Brussels on how to run our country. He clearly does not recognise that the EU is in a worse financial mess than we are, but still wishes to re-tie the apron strings. He wants Brussels to negotiate the UK’s foreign policy on our behalf and also give them control over our food and drink sector.
 
Starmer is currently pushing a Bill through Parliament that lets the EU set our goods regulations, and we should be aware he is about to give up full control of our fishing grounds, just as we are about to grasp this freedom due in 2026 after years of quota-sharing.
 
The opposition in Parliament is weak, outnumbered and divided on such matters which are vital to our future. The start of our journey to restore our sovereignty, freedom and independence was hard fought for in 2016 but not since completed. Now we have a Labour party led by a weak PM who clearly has little if any regard or understanding of our history, heritage and legacy, as he is poised to revert Brexit.
 
I doubt this battle will be fought in Parliament, it will be down to the public who must listen to voices of people like, David Frost, Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson, Daniel Hannan and indeed President Trump who has made his view on the subject loud and clear. We must stand up for democracy and make our voices heard too.