[Killer Whale]

https://nation.cymru/news/reform-uk-con ... ng-x-spat/

Totally normal political party, ready for power...

Oliver Lewis is no longer the face of Nigel Farage’s party in Wales and is not a candidate for the upcoming Senedd election, Reform UK has confirmed.

It comes after the Welsh Conservatives posted a clip of Lewis to social media claiming he was “the FIRST declared Reform UK Senedd candidate in Wales”.

Nation.Cymru understands that this is not the case and that the former Welsh spokesman is now merely a member of the party.

A Reform UK Wales Spokesman said: “Oliver Lewis is not a spokesman for Reform and is not a candidate for 2026.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Every time it's been tried (according to John O'Farrell, the most dreaded words any comedy writer fears hearing are "Why don't we have a new version of TW3/a British Daily Show?"), it's been crap.

Partly because British television loves to compartmentalise. Comedy and satire have to be clearly labelled (think of the BBC's big and loud 'comedy music', as heard on Would I Lie to You/HIGNFY), so as we saw with 10 O'clock Live, guests tended to treat it as a jolly. Also, you can't be partisan in the way John Stewart is. But mainly, TV executives don't trust viewers with that much intelligence.

Also, US shows tend to have big production and writing teams. British ones are still likely small teams who would be quickly burned out doing nightly shows.

The writers on the Larry Sanders Show were Phil and briefly Larry's old alcoholic mate who immediately let everyone down. Who needs teams of writers?

Actually, the point was that the show was rubbish, wasn't it?

[Youngian]

Ch4 tried a politics and comedy format a few years back with David Mitchell, Charlie Brooker and I think Jimmy Carr but it was so much less than the sum of its parts.
A weekly late night chat show is another established US format that hasn’t translated over here. Perhaps Brits go to bed earlier. BBC2 had a very strong post Newsnight arts slot for many years but that’s fallen by the wayside.

[Andy McDandy]

Yes, that was 10 O'clock Live.

Iannucci did the Friday Night Armistice in the 90s, and was probably the best of the lot. But again, short runs and quit before it goes stale.

[satnav]

I can remember writing some jokes for Bremner, Bird and Fortune but that was over 20 years ago. The format was good but in terms of sketches it relied heavily on Bird and Fortune doing their talking heads routine. I think for a topical show to be successful you need to have a very big writing team all competing to get their material on the show.

[Andy McDandy]

After 2003, all Bremner basically did was stand there and go "Tony Blair invaded Iraq".

I've commented on the writing pool for Radio 4's Saturday morning offerings before.

[Boiler]

These days I find myself aligning with C. P. Scott's view on television and thinking that Isaac Shoenberg would be sighing.

[The Weeping Angel]

[Tubby Isaacs]

Every council will get a media DOGE, in the shape of Nigel and his mates. Their best result is that they fuck the Tories up but don't win too many councils. They didn't come into the politics game to decide whether to prioritize bin men wages or meals on wheels.

[Youngian]

If Reform gain a council I hoped they're approached for a fly on the wall doc so everyone can see these dickheads in action.

[Boiler]

With my local council elections looming, I've had another leaflet from the Homeland Party through the front door. That went straight in the recycling bin as it's shiny so rather too close to Izal for comfort, if you know what I mean.

[Abernathy]

Embittered former Reform UK deputy leader Ben Habib has apparently decided to launch a brand new* political party. What’s he called it, you ask ?

The Integrity Party .

I’m not making this up. Honest.


* actually the same old far-right racist shite

[Youngian]

A bitter bun fight has broken out in Wisbech between the Tories and Reform.

Tories accused of ‘stifling democracy’ as angry ‘hate crime’ row erupts at Reform UK stall https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics ... ore-target

[Rosvanian]

Embittered former Reform UK deputy leader Ben Habib has apparently decided to launch a brand new* political party. What’s he called it, you ask ?

The Integrity Party .

I’m not making this up. Honest.


* actually the same old far-right racist shite

Ah yes, the Integrity Party, committed to shooting asylum seekers in the channel - with integrity.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Cunts.

They're everywhere, everywhere I look, cunts...

[Tubby Isaacs]

What happened with Ben Habib? He got the Wellingborough by-election gig, just like Rupert Lowe got Kingswood, so you'd have expected him to be lined up for a general election seat in Lincolnshire or the seaside, or both- Grimsby and Cleethorpes might have suited. But he ran in Wellingborough again- was that his hubristic choice, or had he (pre return of Farage) given up? He came 2,800 behind the Tories in third.

Unlike the Green Party, who have lots of local government and policy campaign interest, there's not really anything in Kipper politics to keep people interested and focussed, even if they aren't enormous egomaniacs. Rupert Lowe is an actual MP and can't keep himself from pissing about. Perhaps if they had proper briefs they might work better, but I can imagine that Farage looks at that lot and thinks "I'm not having them giving interviews and making up policy".