So, the #NationalConservative conference is over.
Is #NatC the far-right future? Or the death rattle of a party at war with itself?
Let's take a closer look at what the National Conservative movement says about itself.
WARNING: this thread could make you combust... 1/
First, whatever's gone wrong with the UK, it's not the Conservatives' fault.
No, it's Liberals.
The last 13 years of Conservatism? You imagined that.
18 years of Thatcherism? You imagined that too.
UK media dominated by Conservatives? Meh.
Everything is the fault of LIBERALS. 2/
And what does the LEFT do? It "deliberately tries to polarise".
The cheek of it.
Countless polarising headlines in the Express and Mail?
Didn't happen.
Countless polarising statements by Conservative hard-righters?
Nope.
Immigration, borders, Brexit? Liberal obsessions. 3/
And how does the Left retain all this power?
That's right. They're underwritten by the biotech industry.
It's a radical conspiracy to hand over biomedical self-mastery. Obvs. 4/
The most important thing to remember about The Left is that they're "completely out of touch with normal ideas".
Got that?
Completely. Out. Of. Touch.
So, back to National Conservatism. What issues are they concerned with? 5/
Yes. Penises. That's what people want to talk about on the doorstep. Penises.
But the Nat-Cs aren't all about schlongs, you know. They have political depth... 6/
What else keeps the Nat-Cs awake at night?
Getting rid of renewable energy. Will no-one think of the birds?
Only NatC-ism can save us from the "post-apocalyptic landscape." 7/
Nat-Cs know the real threat behind renewable energy. Net Zero will leave Brits "cold and poor".
(Citation required.)
Because obviously the average Joe will have to pay for any costs.
Not the rich.
NOT THE RICH. 8/
And then there's marriage. It's not about you. It's a "public act". You're doing it for society.
(Unless you're gay.)
So, no pressure, but this is what people worry about on the doorstep. Whether your marriage will survive. 9/
And here's why. No marriage means no babies. And lack of babies is The Big Issue facing us all. Even more than neo-Marxism.
Yes, liberalism has failed to deliver babies, and only NatC-ism can show us the way. Give us babies.
(White babies only, obviously.) 10/
After all, "Britain is a Christian nation or nothing at all."
It's god or bust.
Which is why NatC-ists are so kind to other people.
(Don't mention immigrants.) 11/
After all. NatCs believe that it's not racist to endlessly rage at foreigners for the last decade.
Especially not at a far-right rally. Um, I mean, Conservative conference.
But wait. We haven't spoken enough on that subject... 12/
There's no racism in UK, and definitely not in the Nat-Cs.
But multiculturalism? That's not who we are.
We may be a genetic mix of Celts, Vikings, Angles, Saxons, Francs, Romans...
And people from all over the world might call the UK home.
But diversity? No, not here, thanks. 13/
But we need to look after our "natural population". You know who we mean.
And if we let The Others outbreed us, the country will be amok with dogs and homeless.
Just like, um, San Francisco. 14/
And of course, the rot sets in at school.
Today's kids don't sing the national anthem. And their parents refuse to move them to Non-Woke schools.
The Nat-Cs would discipline your kids, don't you worry. 15/
And the Nat-Cs don't hate Britain the way the LIBERALS do.
No, the Nat-Cs love Britain.
And they know that people around the world love Britain too.
They remember the good old days of colonialism and empire and brutality "with fondness".
No legacy issues there at all.
None. 16/
And people should be proud of nationalism.
After all, it's had a bad rep.
The Nazis just "mucked up" nationalism a bit.
Mucked. Up.
Got that? Are we clear about Nat-C views now? 17/
It's not nationalists with the crazy ideas.
No, it's the Left.
After all, the Left "want to replace the Holocaust with slavery."
The Left has "ire" for the Jews, because... jealousy.
(No-one's sure what the guy's saying here, but he hates the Left, so it's allowed.) 18/
Finally, remember that Nat-Cs support YOUR RIGHTS.
(As long as you're a straight white right-wing British Christian.)
The right to expression is so important.
That's why they restricted the rights to vote, strike and protest.
Because the Nat-Cs love freedom. 19/
Now, the haters will hate. Some people will even talk nonsense about what was said at the Nat-C rally.
But listen to the Nat-Cs in their own words.
Listen very, very carefully.
Because the Nat-Cs may not be able to run a bath.
But they run the Conservative party.
20/20
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A shockingly misleading & dangerous piece from @matthewhood on @SchoolsWeek, lobbying for an end to EHCPs.
With Matt Hood's Oak Academy enjoying influence over @educationgovuk thinking, this should worry all parents & teachers.
And worst of all, the piece is just plain wrong.
🧵
The misdirection begins at once, describing "the EHCP approach" as "the primary cause of the SEND crisis".
But as every parent & school knows, the crisis isn't caused by a child's individual needs, or the attempts to support them.
It's caused by lack of resources & commitment.
⬇️
The SEND crisis, like most public-sector crises, is about under-delivery caused by under-funding & under-planning.
SEND is a system born & raised by Austerity, and has never been given wings.
Yes, kids have been let down relentlessly, but not by EHCPs.
⬇️
The answer may surprise you.
The reality will certainly be a shock for Reform, now holding 10 English councils.
And it might also offer a lifebelt to Labour... if it can actually grab it...
🧵
The key influence over councils isn't councillors, but central govt.
First, funding.
From 2010-20, real-terms funding of councils by govt was cut by 55%. This led councils to cut staff & services by around £25bn in just 12 years.
Less money coming in = less services going out.
⬇️
The funding collapse meant that almost all councils used tax increases to plug some of the gap.
Since the 2% adult social care precept was launched in 2016, councils have been able to increase CT by 4.99% every year.
More CT revenue = more spending.
⬇️
The claim is based on this finding in the parent feedback (see link & chart).
Ofsted says this shows that 76% of parents wanted separate grades for each inspection area.
But... does it really?
Um, nope.
⬇️ assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66d06d7f…
Firstly, the question tested attitudes to a limited range of alternatives to single-word judgements for schools.
Every alternative is more popular than single-word judgements.
But all this shows is a preference for ANY alternative over the dysfunctional status quo.
⬇️
March 20th is exactly 5 years since I picked my son up from school ahead of UK lockdown.
It would be his last day there for 6 months.
What happened next was a betrayal of all our children.
No, I'm not debating Covid, or protesting lockdown.
I'm talking about what came after.
🧵
To understand what I mean, you have to see that time through the eyes of a young child.
Imagine a Yr6 girl looking ahead nervously to secondary school.
Or a Yr1 boy like my son was, still near the start of primary.
Or a toddler, adapting to preschool.
And now...
⬇️
In the blink of an eye, every child's life was transformed.
School: gone.
Peer contact: gone.
Social learning: gone.
Family & friend visits: gone.
Even the playparks were closed.
But the loss of socialisation was just the start...
⬇️
There's only one Attendance Contract needed in England's schools right now.
@bphillipsonMP & @educationgovuk, you'd like to crack down on school absence.
Okay.
But first, you need to crack down on the things schools do which stop kids from learning.
Let's take a tour...
🧵
Kids can't do class learning if they're not in the class.
So crack down on schools isolating or suspending them for their haircuts or socks, for speaking in the corridor or failing to SLANT.
If you want them in the class, stop schools needlessly removing them from the class.
Kids can't learn if they're in physical distress.
So crack down on schools blocking access to those who need the toilet at school - including young girls struggling with periods.
Better to lose them entirely for 5 minutes than almost entirely for 40.
Followers of the BCP Council saga will recognise this: the first shoots of a Conservative media strategy to convince people they didn't actually trash the finances.
Long-suffering BCP residents have seen this at first hand from controversial ex council leader Phil Broadhead...
🧵
Broadhead's party lost power in BCP's 2023 election, in a crushing, humiliating defeat. This followed 3 years of financial chaos, poor governance, police investigation & criticism by their own Govt.
Yet almost from the start, Broadhead was in denial. 2/4 bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/23681500.…
Despite bringing BCP to national disgrace, Broadhead recently complained to a party conference about "fruitcakes" taking over local councils. In the same speech Broadhead reiterated his opposition to road safety measures. 3/4