It's Changed Because Of The 'New Swedes', Martin

Last year, a baby named Emanuel was born in Sweden. Before his first birthday, his parents were told that Emanuel could no longer stay in the country. The department of migration ordered his removal, alone, to Iran – despite the ongoing war. Emanuel’s parents were legally in the country. They had Swedish residency permits, but the laws that allowed them to stay were tightened after the baby’s birth, and the family got sucked into a Kafkaesque maze of official hurdles, designed to limit migration to Sweden.

A 74-year-old British man with dementia was told to leave the country after 25 years. Another British man, on a generous World Bank retirement pension, was also told he was not welcome to reside permanently in Sweden because retirement money does not count as salary for the purposes of new income thresholds for migrants. The young, the old, vulnerable people, the wealthy: all are the target of harsh and often aggressive immigration policies. And Sweden’s leaders remain unyielding. “We cannot adjust the law based on each and every personal fate,” Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister, said, commenting on a series of hardline immigration decisions involving children.

Martin sees cruelty in this, but I see desire to save the Swedish nation from the oncoming blight that progressive fools like him have made of it.

Swedes vote in a general election on Sunday 13 September and, according to opinion polls, the centre-left opposition has a slight lead. But even if there is a change of government, many previously unthinkable far-right ideas are now comfortably embedded in the mainstream of Swedish politics.

It’s another thing to add to the list of ‘far right’ markers, the recognising of what unfettered immigration has done to a once pristine country, as encouraged by people like Martin, who of course didn’t stay to enjoy the results of his experiment.

The story of the transformation that now blights Sweden goes back to 2022, when the conservative bloc won that year’s Swedish general election, but only with a tiny margin.

It also launched an attempt to redefine modern Sweden, marking profound policy shifts on immigration, crime, climate and energy, schools and healthcare.

As a Swede who lived in the US for two decades, I was reluctant to admit that my birth country had changed.

Not as reluctant as you're proving to be to admit why it's changed, Martin.  

I brushed away alarming anecdotes as isolated cases, or a brief departure from the status quo. Surely, Sweden would remain itself, guided by the progressive, egalitarian and humanitarian ideals that defined the country and its public life – at least on the surface – when I was growing up.

There must be some way to blame others for this, if only you look hard enough? 

Only 15% of Swedes approve of Donald Trump. And yet ideas quite similar to Trump’s ethnonationalism now define much of contemporary Swedish politics, and are challenging our democratic foundations.

Yes, and for much the same reasons. 

If this authoritarian turn can be widely accepted so quickly in Sweden, where the democratic and humanitarian foundations were until recently solid, it can happen anywhere.

And will happen everywhere, as those who can’t afford to flee overseas like you, or don’t want to, start to fight back against the insanity inflicted on them. 

In just a few years, conservatives have distanced themselves from their two most recent prime ministers, Fredrik Reinfeldt and Carl Bildt, who advocated a more inclusive, centre-right liberalism.

Because such policies don't, can't, work in the face of sustained hostile immigtation from the Third World, and to even ptopose them thows into doubt your claim to be conservative.

This embrace of rightwing populism has also led to a departure from Sweden’s ambitious climate politics and a general turn away from scientific consensus.

Because the people have figured out that's a lie as big and ruinous  as the 'we need immigrants' one!

Sounds About Right For Essex Police…

The incident has been reported to Essex Police, who are investigating the attack. Mr Ahmed said: "I think the group was from another city - they don't have expensive things like computers and phone so they try to steal.

"Dealing with underage people is especially hard for us because the police told us they could not punish them as they are still minors.

There’s a picture of the miscreants at the news report trying to batter their way into the shop, and if you had an image of cheeky schoolboys in short trousers, catapult sticking out of a back pocket, thanks to the description of ‘minors’ it will soon disabuse you, and might in fact have you humming ' Men of Harlech' instead.

It's Not 'Too Hard' To Reverse Direction, Actually...

Gaby Hinsliff takes the field to defend anti racism training, because of course she does...

The two families have never met but are bonded both in grief and in a desire to avoid what Webber called “political grandstanding”.

The two families referred to being Hanry Nowak's and Barnaby Webber's, victim of Valdo Calocane. United not just by the loss of a family member, but by betrayal of the establishment in dealing with the crime.

There is no way back from this madness without acknowledging hard truths. Calocane was sectioned and discharged four times, and two of his doctors testified that race hadn’t influenced those decisions. But Dr Jonathan Gibson – who saw Calocane four months before the killings, and now believes he should have pushed for his patient to be forcibly medicated – testified that he had been repeatedly told psychiatry was “institutionally racist” and too coercive, especially with young black men, adding that he was “viscerally” aware of the argument and “I do not believe it had no bearing on VC’s care”.

Not do most people. 

If professionals are now questioning their own judgments and assumptions, then that’s healthy and necessary – and I say that as a writer who has had to learn how to do it. But it’s also undeniably difficult, forcing people in already complex, pressured careers such as policing and medicine to work with what can only be described as a bewildering number of mental tabs constantly open – including the idea, expressed in police guidance now being reviewed by government, that fairness isn’t necessarily treating everyone the same.

Give us an ecxample then! 

(Reading a deaf suspect their rights like anyone else is equal treatment, for example, but it’s not fair if they can’t hear you.)

That's clearly the case, because they are physically incapable - so are you saying that black people are physically incapable of obeying the law and refraining from murder!? I can hardly believe it! 

Though a consultant psychiatrist should be capable of exceedingly fine judgments, it’s a big ask of an 18-year-old security guard on minimum wage or a rookie police constable straight out of sixth form. Walking these high wires takes skilled and supportive management, and better diversity training, not less.

Oh, bless them! What sort of 'better diversity training'?  

If any professional has been too squeamish, then the takeaway is that kneejerk assumptions either way are dangerous and need confronting, not that the legacy of the Macpherson report on racism in policing needs dismantling, as Farage is now arguing. The lesson of Henry Nowak’s awful death is not that Stephen Lawrence’s has somehow ceased to matter, but that lessons must be learned from both.

Ding Ding Ding! Lefty Buzzword Bingo in play! 

With Neighbours Like These, You Probably Should Expect It Any Day...

A teenage boy fled from his home screaming 'he's stabbed me' in a Christmas Day horror that left two women dead and another man hurt.

No, not inner London.  

Officers were called to a block of flats on Santa Cruz Avenue in Bletchley near Milton Keynes by residents after they heard screams and saw the teenager covered in blood run outside calling for help. One local told MailOnline: 'I heard screaming and shouting looked outside and the boy was outside saying ''he's stabbed me''. He was covered in blood and had wounds to his chest and head.

'There was a woman on the balcony screaming for help and saying she couldn't breathe and then the guy who did it ran out of the flats, got into his car and drove off but police were there within seconds and we told them where to go and he was caught.'

Another neighbour showed MailOnline CCTV footage of what looked like a white pit-bull limping away covered in blood and police later said the dog was taken to a vet but did not survive.

Block of flats, differing generations living together with unassociated people, family 'pet' is a pitbull and murderer's name not the same as anyone living there..? Yeah, the only surprise is this isn't a trailer park.  

He added:'It's not what you expect around here, it's pretty quiet and not what you expect on Christmas Day of all days. It's really knocked everyone because it is so quiet around here.'

I expect it was before people like this moved in, yes. But now they have, the place has gone to hell.  

And Yet, No One Is Concerned About The Cause Of This Rising Need…

More than £100m was spent last year by local authorities and the government on failed efforts to block support for children and young people with special educational needs in England, according to analysis by the Guardian. The enormous cost in legal fees and staff resources came after councils won just 136 out of more than 10,000 tribunals in 2022-23, a success rate of 1.2%, as record numbers of families took to the courts to challenge councils over agreements known as education, health and care plans (EHCPs).

Why is the cost rising? Well, believe it or not, the cause isn't the litigation, that's just a symptom... 

Experts said the surging numbers of appeals and mounting costs were evidence that special education provision was becoming an adversarial battle between cash-strapped councils and desperate families...

And are we having more of these cases? Reader, we are. 

The number of children applying for and being granted EHCPs has shot up in recent years as school and council budgets have dwindled, leaving EHCPs as the only way for families to get extra funding and support for a child and their place of education.

In fact, the number has risen to almost unbelievable levels: 

Department for Education (DfE) figures show that nearly one in 19 children aged between five and 15 in England now have an EHCP...

Why is no-one looking into this? Why is the legal battles it causes the focus instead?  

What Has 'Common Sense' Got To Do With It, Liam?

A foreign paedophile who abused his stepdaughter and two of her cousins has been allowed to stay in Scotland – because deporting him would breach his right to a family life. The man in his 50s, originally from central Africa, was found guilty of vile sex attacks on the three young girls. The severity of his offences meant he was to be automatically sent back to his homeland.

But of course, the intervention of activist judges with warped priorities put the kibosh on that. 

But even though his victims were members of his extended family, his deportation was blocked as he claimed his family life would suffer – despite a judge ruling he ‘continues to pose a risk’. Last night Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘The public will be appalled that this dangerous criminal can remain in Scotland.

'Common sense should mean that public safety is always prioritised rather than offenders.’

We don't operate by 'commmon sense' any more Liam. If we did, this man wouldn't be here in the first place. And initially, he wasn't.  

Identified in official documents as ‘MD’, he arrived in the UK in 2008 and claimed asylum but was initially rejected.

Hurrah! Some common se..

Oh. 

Using publicly funded legal aid, he went to court to argue he should be allowed to remain.

*sighs* 

He married a British woman and fathered three children and became stepfather to his wife’s daughter from a previous marriage.

The Home Office said it is challenging the ruling.

It needs to start challenging the activist judges, too. 

I'm Sure It's Due To An Increase Of Something In The Area...

...I just don't believe the council's claim that it's due to fouling or attacks:

Dog walkers are fuming after finding out a London borough is dreaming up new rules that could stop their pets roaming freely in parks. Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman, who has made headlines in the past for his spats with the Labour party, is overseeing the enforcement of the government's 'Asbos for dogs' policy. Known officially as the Public Spaces Protection Orders, the regulations have already been implemented across the country. However, Tower Hamlets is an oddity by failing to specify which areas dogs are allowed to roam leadless.

Probably none, which would, of course, suit majority population in this little corner of Bangladesh London down to the ground.... 

It is this greyness in the rules which has now left open the possibility that the borough's biggest green spaces, such as Victoria Park, could now become no-go areas for dogs. The council claim that these clampdowns are warranted due to an increase in violent dog attacks in the borough alongside a rise in reported dog fouling.

Well, of course they do..! 

One such livid Tower Hamlets local is Team GB star Scarlett Mew Jensen, who won a bronze medal in diving at last summer's Paris Olympics. The proud owner of black labrador Olive, Jensen has claimed that her energetic canine companion would not be the same dog if mayor Rahman institutes a borough-wide ban on leadless dogs in parks. 'If she's not able to get off the lead, she's not able to be a dog. That adjustment would be really hard', Jensen told the Times. 'She has to run from time to time or she's not herself', the Olympian added.

Perhaps she should move out of the area then. There are far better places to live, after all.  

Reacting to the pushback over its enforcement of the 'Asbos for dogs' policy, Tower Hamlets council have cited data which suggests there were 108 dog attack penalties issued in the area in 2023-24. Although, objecting locals have pointed out that this data mainly features the notorious XL Bully breed which has been under a nationwide ban since the start of 2024.

It's a red herring. The real reason is obvious.  

Another issue of contention with the proposed dog law changes is Tower Hamlets council's plan to hire an additional 31 enforcement officers across the borough whose roles will include policing any pet owners in breach of the new lead rules. This would increase the number of enforcement officers in the borough by almost double, seeing a total of 64 officers employed at a starting salary of at least £55,698. In stark contrast, a new Met Police hire can expect to earn nearly £20,000 less, with a starting salary of just £38,269. The council has so far failed to explain this disparity in wages.

*shrug* That's what Tower Hamlets voted for, it's a bit late for buyer's remorse now.  

Put On Your Big Boy Pants, Maybe?

OK, selecting an agony aunt from the 'Guardian' may not be very wise....

The dilemma I am a 53-year-old husband, happily married for 10 years. Everything is as good as it could be, but I sometimes feel like a neglected housewife living in the 1950s, while the “husband” (my wife) is ignoring the real me – and that real me is a writer.

Whew! Thank goodness, I was rather expecting 'the real me' to turn out to be something else entirely... 

About a year ago, I spoke to her about needing her support as it’s a lonely pursuit, and she listened. But nothing changed. I then realised she was not interested in me as a writer, so my question is not how do I force her to be interested but what do I need to do for it not to hurt any more? What do I need to do for it not to feel personal?

You need to man up.  

This Deserves A Double Facepalm...

"Here’s a maths problem for you.

Adam borrowed £44,000 to go to university and has paid back £7,000 since graduating four years ago. How much does he owe? The answer is £54,000. That's because he is one of thousands of graduates in England and Wales who took out a type of student loan between 2012 and 2023 on which interest rates hit a record of nearly 8% earlier this year."

What sort of graduate is going to be taken by surprise over having to pay interest on a loan?

"Adam, 26, studied in London for a BSc in economics..."

The kicker?

He now works in finance in the capital...

*boggle* 

H/T: CJ Nerd via email

Past Labour MPs Had Something Positive To Celebrate

 

Sir Keir Starmer could perhaps have timed it better. On the day that Oasis, the band that symbolised the mood of sunny optimism that swept Tony Blair to power in 1997, announced their reunion, the prime minister’s message to the nation was that things would get worse before they got better.

And he immediately set about making them worse, personally.  

Politically, it is quite a gamble. There haven’t been all that many Labour governments in the past 125 years, but they have tended to arrive in power accentuating the positive. That was true of Blair in 1997 and true of Harold Wilson in 1964. It was certainly true of Clement Attlee in 1945, who insisted – despite the country being skint at the end of the second world war – that there would be no going back to the Great Depression of the 1930s.

I think what's coming under Sir Kier Stalin will make the Great Depression look like a regretted week in Bognor... 

His argument is not just that Britain is in a mess after 14 years of Conservative government, but that the mess is even worse than Labour imagined when it was in opposition. The prime minister says the prisons are full to bursting and a harsh budget will be needed to repair the public finances, while the recent riots are evidence of a “societal black hole”.

Not for nothing are you dubbed 'Larry Idiot'. Don't look at what he says, look at what he does. 

If the prisons are full, why is he filling them with people whose crimes wouldn't normally rate a spell in the cells? If the public finances are so bad, why is he giving away money overseas? If there's a problem in society, why is he tinkering with inconsequentialities rather than trying to repair society?  

Is This Why The Civil Service Has Become The Enemy Within?

Ahmar, who is of Egyptian and French dual heritage, said she raised concerns about racism and was increasingly blocked from meetings before being told that her secondment from the Treasury was ending abruptly for “poor behaviour”.

Because this is the sort of recruitment 'success' that's made them what they are today?  

An employment tribunal hearing against the Cabinet Office and senior civil servants began on Monday alleging a “hostile racist working environment” but the case was withdrawn on Wednesday. Ahmar had lodged two claims arguing she was subject to “direct discrimination and harassment on the grounds of her sex and race” as well as “victimisation”. The Cabinet Office said her claims were “completely unfounded” and noted that Ahmar had withdrawn the case with no payment made. She said she walked away because she was starting a new job on Friday and did not want to spend a month in court.

I wonder if it's a real job this time or just another civil service department appointment?  

In the interview, Ahmar said that “the whole illegal migration taskforce was really clumsy, made of people who don’t know anything about migration or really understand why people would want to come to this country”.

They understand that 'people who want to come to this country' for legitimate reasons don't do it by smuggling themselves in lorries or small boats. Why don't you?   

Ahmar said the taskforce was “looking into migration from a very narrow point of view” and that they “didn’t want to look into safe and legal routes” to bring asylum seekers to Britain. Ultimately, Ahar said, she “didn’t really feel comfortable being head of policy in a taskforce where they talk about things like [using] turnaround tactics, so they can just die, basically.” She said: “The civil servants are all white. They don’t understand how hard it is for migrants to be here.”

We aren't talking about 'migrants', we are talking about illegal immigrants.  

Ahmar first took a secondment from the Treasury to become a chief of staff before Cop26 in 2021, before being ordered to leave the climate summit early after complaining of bullying and harassment.

A serial complainer, then. Is this why nothing ever gets done?   

Other Countries Can Act...

...why not ours?

A Revolving Door Spinning So Fast, It Could Generate Electricity For The National Grid...

A paranoid schizophrenic who kicked a female custody officer to death has been freed just two years after he was given an indefinite psychiatric hospital order.

If that sounds familiar, then you're probably a long-time Reader of this blog.

Burke admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility and was handed an indefinite hospital order at the Old Bailey in January last year - the same sentence given to Nottingham stabbing killer Valdo Calocane.

In shocking new pictures the killer, 30, can be seen working out unsupervised in a packed boxing gym and casually strolling to the shops to pick up his groceries. Just like the families of Calocane's Nottingham rampage Ms Barwell's relatives say they believed he would never be released.

A relative quoted said that 'the killer is 'making a mockery of the system'...' but it's not him doing so, it's the justice system itself. It should call itself something else.

An MoJ spokesman told The Sun the matter was for the mental health trust treating Burke to comment.

Passing the buck as always. 

A spokesman for Oxford Health mental care trust said: 'Due to patient confidentiality, we do not comment on, or confirm the identities of those in our care.

'However, we can say that if a person is being cared for by us as a result of a placement into mental health services rather than a prison sentence, part of their therapeutic time may well be spent in the community as opposed to being on a ward all the time.'

Perhaps if a patient's 'time in the community' had to be served with the psychiatrists' own family, instead of the general public, it might change things? 

And He's Probably Not The Only One...

Fury is growing over how the chemical attacker who maimed a mother and her two daughters was allowed to stay in the UK despite being convicted of a sex crime after arriving here illegally in a lorry.

Yes, you read that right. AFTER being convicted of a sex crime. 

This isn't a case of 'We don't know who we are letting into the country' (although we don't), this is a case of 'They showed us who they were WHEN we let them into the country'... 

The man hunt for Abdul Shokoor Ezedi, 35, continued last night as Tory MPs called for all asylum seekers who commit crimes in Great Britain to be deported.

Gosh, haven't they had 13 years to call for this? 

It was emerged last night that Ezedi is a former asylum seeker from Afghanistan who was allowed to stay in the UK despite being convicted of a sexual offence, following two failed applications. 

Find the two civil servants who turned down his applications, and promote them. Find the one who granted asylum and fire them.

And kick out anyone who is sheltering him.

Bribing Us With Our Own Money!

And why? Because it works.

Jeremy Hunt has dangled the prospect of big tax cuts in his March budget, in what is seen as one of the last opportunities for the Conservatives to claw back Labour’s huge opinion poll lead.

'Elect us again, and we'll steal less from you!' Well, it's a slogan for the times, I guess...

In his first public comments on his budget strategy, the chancellor made clear that only unexpected bad news would prevent him from answering the call from Tory MPs for a substantial giveaway before an expected autumn general election.

And where did he make this pronouncement? From No 11? Or from the real seat of power in the UK? 

Speaking in Davos, where he was attending the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum...

Thought so.  

One senior Tory MP suggested that Hunt could focus on cutting national insurance.

I'd be satisfied with him just renaming it. Since it's not insurance at all.  

Better Rebrand...

...as 'GoBack':

A fleet of electric buses has been taken out of service after a doubledecker caught fire in south London this week.

Transport for London (TfL) said the electric buses had been “temporarily withdrawn” by operator GoAhead.

As Longrider points out, these EVs seem to be contributing more emissions than the manufacturer's claims would have one believe...

Pretty Soon, You Won’t Be Able To Give Them Away…

The number of new cars registered in the UK has jumped by nearly 18% but electric vehicle demand is flatlining, prompting the industry to call for a VAT cut to stimulate sales.

The lacklustre growth in the electric vehicle market comes despite a government goal to totally phase out petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles by 2035, albeit one that was diluted by Rishi Sunak last September from an original target of 2030.

And it's still not enough. So, scrap it, or try even more desperately to ram these things down the throats of reluctant consumers? 

Mike Hawes, the SMMT chief executive, said: “Government has challenged the UK automotive sector with the world’s boldest transition timeline and is investing to ensure we are a major maker of electric vehicles.

“It must now help all drivers buy into this future, with consumer incentives that will make the UK the leading European market for ZEVs.”

*sighs* 

“Is It Us Who Are Wrong? No, It’s The Rest Of The World!”

The Mayor of Drugstown:

In the Netherlands, we used to look on the international “war on drugs” with a certain amount of disdain. Its solutions were prohibition, criminalisation, stiff penalties and sentences; our national drug policy, on the other hand, focused for decades on reducing the health risks for users – and was relatively successful. We are lenient on soft drugs such as cannabis, allowing for personal use under specific conditions. Hard drugs are technically illegal, but possession of small amounts (like half a gram of hard drugs or one ecstasy pill) is often not prosecuted. Police cracked down on the largest drug traffickers, who mainly operated locally. There was drug crime and even killings, but these remained traceable and largely manageable. Drug trafficking hardly affected our economy or daily life.

And is it still a befuddled paradise for stoners and normal folk alike? No, Reader, it is not...

That is no longer the case. Spurred on by globalisation and the international criminalisation of drugs, the illegal drugs trade has become more lucrative, professional and ruthlessly violent. The effects have been disastrous. In the past decade, the port of Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe, has become a global transit hub for cocaine. The Dutch authorities have increased their efforts to combat drug trafficking, but they have not turned the tide.

Our current approach in the fight against drugs is like mopping with the tap running.

So will you be abandonging your approach? 

The challenges we now face in the Netherlands are not an indictment of our liberal drug policy.

Oh! There's a surprise, Reader... 

What the Netherlands’ problems reveal is the need for a global shift in the current approach. It’s not a matter of retracting our user-centred policy, but rather advocating for international recognition that the war on drugs is counterproductive.

To spare your blushes, the whole world must turn to your approach? I would ask what you've been smoking, but... 

And It's Bred...!

Outrage has greeted the news that 19-year-old TikTok menace Mizzy - a father of one- will be locked up for 18 weeks in a young offenders institution with children rather than an adult prison.

The 'prankster', real name Bacari-Bronze O'Garro, has been jailed for violating court orders which ordered him 'not to upload directly or indirectly, any original video content on social media, without prior documented consent of the people in that content'.

In another ridiculous step for the so-called 'justice system' we have in this country, he qualifies for this soft treatment purely due to the age at which he committed the offence.

...speaking to MailOnline, Ernest Aduwa, Partner at Stokoe Partnership Solicitors explained that Mizzy's containment in the youth system was how the penal system was intended to operate.

He said: 'When deciding which prison a person is sent too (sic), it's not so much determined by any representations made by the defence solicitor at a time of sentence.

'Any mitigation put forward in relation to the offense committed - so any remorse, or any mitigating circumstances personally relating to that offence, and to that offender in particular.

'It won't affect what prison that offender is sent to.

'Young offenders institutions aren't any less of a prison than an adult prison - they're just separated from adults over the age of 21.'

Sure, sure, we all believe that, don't we? 

In mitigation remarks, Barrister Paul Lennon, defending O'Garro, urged the court to consider his young age and his personal circumstances.

None of which will be a surprise: 

'In terms of his family relationships, his relationship with his mother is both good and bad. He has not had any contact with his father since he was two years old.'

'His relationship with the mother of his child is difficult, but he still attempts to have as much time with his child as he can.'

Perhaps, like the well-to-do registering their young offspring for Eton, the mother should be considering which juvenile offenders institute she'd prefer the child to go to in the future?  

It's A Mad, Mad World At The Moment...

Does it feel that way to anyone else? 

The news is full of manufactured outrage, when the headlines are full of reports of some fat mouthy nobody providing the 'conflict' that she was surely hired for, while further down the page arrogant celebs do what they've been getting away with for years because they are never brought to heel.

Meanwhile, the slightest glimmer of return to normality is greeted with effusive praise it doesn't really deserve. And everywhere are signs people are getting dumber.

I blame the media - beauty and wonder comes way, way down the list. Maybe it should be reversed?