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International

Keir Starmer becomes new UK prime minister as Nigel Farage finally elected to Parliament

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From LifeSiteNews

By Frank Wright

Britain has a Labour government with a historic majority of over 150 seats, following exit poll projections of the U.K. general election. Thursday’s July 4 vote saw the second lowest voter turnout since 1885, with only an estimated 60 percent of registered voters taking part.

Former lawyer Sir Keir Starmer is set to become prime minister when announced by King Charles today, having purged his party of left-wingers in a successful move to mimic the electoral success of Tony Blair.

4 seats for 4 million votes

Current projections say the Labour Party won 9.6 million votes and an estimated 412 seats, with the Conservative Party second with 6.6 million votes and 120 parliamentary seats. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK took over 4 million votes, making his insurgent populist party the third force in U.K. politics by the popular vote.

Due to the workings of the British electoral system, however, Reform gained only four seats at the time of writing. This result still sees Nigel Farage finally enter Parliament as the MP for Clacton, having failed to win in previous elections.

Hopes for “zero seats” for a Conservative Party widely acknowledged to have conserved nothing were dashed, yet the Labour landslide – the greatest since 1945 – sees the Tories lose over 250 seats in what could be their worst result since their party was founded in 1830.

Winner takes all

Many constituencies saw Reform overtake the Tory vote. Conservative voters who turned to Reform have cost the Tories an estimated 124 seats in splitting the vote. This follows changes to election boundaries made last year.

The U.K.’s constituency boundaries were changed in 2023 to reflect population growth within them, and to arguably “equalize” the numbers of people voting per MP. The causes and demography of this population growth were not explained in reports, nor did any address the obvious mismatch between Welsh, Scottish, and English constituencies.

While the extreme left-wing Scottish National Party lost 37 seats, the eight it held onto were returned by only 666,000 votes. In Wales, the equally progressive Plaid Cymru won four seats with only 194,000 votes cast for the Welsh “nationalist” party.

As a result of this system, the liberal-globalist Labour Party will enjoy a record majority on a vote share lower than their right-liberal “conservative” and right-populist opponents.

Lower vote share, record low turnout?

The current Labour vote share is expected to be lower than that won by Corbyn, at around 36 percent of votes cast. Yet the overall number of votes is, according to one expert, expected to be one of the lowest in decades.

As the Hindustan Times reported, “Prof. Sir John Curtice, the psephologist who led the team that produced the exit poll, indicated that early results align with expectations of a low voter turnout.”

Speaking to the BBC, Curtice explained: “We may discover we are heading towards one of the lower turnouts of general elections in postwar electoral history.”

Curtice warned that the low turnout he expected was due to voter indifference – to what George Galloway has called the “uniparty” politics of the U.K.

“The Left are globalists now” said Galloway in a March 22 podcast, in which he called for an exit from NATO and condemned the U.K.’s involvement in the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza.

Curtice appeared to agree with the sentiment about establishment politics, concluding there was “not that much difference between Conservative and Labour in much of what they were offering the electorate.”

In recent days, former U.K. Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary David Cameron admitted on camera that the British policy on the Ukraine war was “fixed,” and that no change would come with a Labour victory. The power to change foreign policy is clearly outside that offered to the British by liberal democracy.

Whilst Galloway himself certainly offered a different choice, he lost his Rochdale seat to the Labour candidate. Parliament will be far less interesting due to his absence.

Notable losses

Parliament has lost its champion of the vaccine injured, however, as Andrew Bridgen lost his seat in a four-way race won by Labour. Other absences include former ministers and high profile Tory MPs.

Former Prime Minister Liz Truss lost her seat, as did Zionist Defence Minister and former B’nai B’rith youth leader Grant Shapps. Well known Catholic Jacob Rees-Mogg was defeated in Somerset. Many high profile Tories are now out of Parliament, with the former Northern Ireland Minister Steve Baker saying “Thank God I’m a free man” on losing his seat in Wycombe.

What the future holds

Labour under Starmer has promised a “mission-driven” government. This mission appears to be strongly globalist in flavor.

Starmer has removed candidates from his party who held strong left-wing and Israel-critical positions. He is widely believed to have moved the party to the “center” to secure a mandate to govern.

The program he has in store does not resemble an abrupt transition to socialism. There is talk of taxing non-state schools, and rumors Starmer will increase income and inheritance tax – to redistribute the wealth of the British to a voter base expanded by over 11 million immigrants since 2011.

A further 6 million are expected in the next 10 years.

The Labour Party under Starmer has a plan to “Change Britain.” This plan is expected to go beyond its 10 headline promises to transfer state power to globalist-aligned NGO-like structures and other bodies independent of Parliament, providing for a permanent continuity of policy. Labour under Starmer has been as fastidious in “purging” anyone who stands for its founding principles, as has the defeated Conservative Party.

The uncertain future of liberal globalism

What is notable about this landslide is that it comes as a result of voter disaffection, with a lower turnout overall, and mounting exasperation with the political settlement of “uniparty” politics.

As Europe – and especially France – risks political instability in its attempts to lock populists out of power, the future for Britain looks less like socialism and more like the last hurrah of business as usual.

Populists are now in Parliament, albeit in a capacity which fails to reflect their level of support across the country. It is their voice which will provide a meaningful opposition to the liberal-globalist agenda, whose power internationally is in terminal decline.

The same can be said of the Labour Party, whose power is purchased in a context of exasperation with establishment politics. This victory is the verdict of a broken system. How long it can prevail against the tide of the times is the question.

International

Elon Musk, JD Vance, others to appear at Trump’s return rally in Butler, PA, on Saturday

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From LifeSiteNews

By Stephen Kokx

Donald Trump is holding a rally on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, at the same location where he was nearly assassinated three months ago, with allies including Elon Musk set to join him.

Saturday afternoon at 5 pm (EST), Donald Trump will hold a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, at the same location he nearly lost his life at just three short months ago. 

“I’m going back to Butler because I feel I have an obligation to go back to Butler. We never finished what we were supposed to do,” Trump told NewsNation earlier this week.  

Trump will be joined by a literal army of his closest political allies, including running mate JD Vance, son Eric and daughter-in-law Lara Trump — co-chair of the Republican National Committee — and Elon Musk, who shared news of his planned attendance on X. 

Also scheduled to appear is the family of slain firefighter Corey Comperatore, a dozen Pennsylvania sheriffs, multiple congressmen, and many persons who also attended Trump’s last rally at the Butler Farm Show Inc. location on July 13.  

Although the Secret Service urged Trump to not hold events outside following the assassination attempt, the former president announced on TRUTH Social just days later that he would not be doing so and that he would be returning to Butler. Some commentators accused the agency’s request of being a form of election interference intended to suppress enthusiasm for Trump. 

Security is expected to be extremely tight at the rally. The monumental breakdown in coordination  between local police and federal agents that allowed a 20-year-old shooter to fire multiple rounds at Trump’s head while he was on stage has still not been fully clarified, prompting speculation that the effort was an “inside job” carried out by intelligence agencies to replace Trump as the GOP’s nominee with a more pro-war candidate.   

After the July shooting, scores of political commentators and religious figures attributed Trump’s survival to God’s protection. Trump himself said as much in his GOP nominee acceptance speech just five days later. “I’m not supposed to be here tonight … I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God,” he said. 

On August 8, the state of Pennsylvania published several X posts informing residents that it is likely there won’t be a clear winner on election night. 

“Pennsylvanians won’t always know the final results of all races on election night. Any changes in results that occur as counties continue to count ballots are not evidence that an election is ‘rigged’,” said the state, which has faced criticism over election irregularities in recent years.

Without Pennsylvania’s 19 Electoral College votes, Trump would have to win Republican-leaning states like North Carolina and Georgia and pick up Arizona and Nevada, both of which he lost to Joe Biden in 2020. And even then, he would only be at 268. He would still have to win a typically Democratic state like New Hampshire (4 Electoral College votes), Wisconsin (10), or Michigan (15), to surpass the 270 threshold. But with Pennsylvania in his column, all Trump has to do is retain North Carolina and Georgia and he will receive the necessary 270 votes. 

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International

Multiple women’s college volleyball teams forfeit matches rather than face male opponent

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From LifeSiteNews

By Sarah Holliday

Southern Utah, Boise State, and Wyoming universities forfeited women’s volleyball matches against San José State over the inclusion of a male on the female team, sparking Christian non-profit Concerned Women for America to launch a lawsuit against San José State.

Both Southern Utah University (SUU) and Boise State University’s (BSU) female volleyball teams made the decision to refuse competing against a team with a male-born player.

San José State University’s (SJSU) Blaire Fleming (born Brayden Fleming) is the 6’1 biological male competing on the SJSU female volleyball team – the individual various outlets have attributed to the school’s undefeated winning streak. However, after reassessing their initial decision, the University of Wyoming (UW) has added itself to the list of schools demanding fairness and safety in women’s sports.

When UW first learned of the transgender-identifying opponent, they first decided to move forward  with their October 5 game. But not long after BSU chose to forfeit, “It appears [UW] … had a change-of-heart,” wrote OutKick’s Dan Zaksheske in response to the team announcing they would, in fact, not compete.

SUU was the first school to opt out of play against SJSU in a preseason matchup and BSU was the first to cancel conference play. Both teams did not explicitly state their reason for forfeiting, and UW also kept their public statement vague. They shared in a statement from Tuesday:

After a lengthy discussion, the University of Wyoming will not play its scheduled conference match against San Jose State University. Per Mountain West Conference policy, the conference will record the match as a forfeit and a loss for Wyoming.

But as Zaksheske added, “While Wyoming is the latest school to cancel a match against San Jose State, don’t be surprised if more schools follow suit.”

It turns out SJSU chose to initially hide the fact that Fleming is a biological male – from both his own teammates and other competitors. This reality, alongside an increasing number of colleges refusing to compete, has not merely sparked controversy, but action as well.

The conservative Christian non-profit Concerned Women for America (CWA) has filed a complaint against SJSU. “We want to protect the integrity of women’s sports but also the safety of these female athletes,” said Macy Petty, a CWA legislative assistant and a NCAA volleyball athlete.

According to Petty, the issue is rooted in the fact that “many of these schools were unaware that there was a male athlete on” the female team. “We just want to make sure that these schools know exactly what is going on in this athletic program because the NCAA and SJSU had not previously given them the decency to even let them know what was happening.”

In a comment to The Washington Stand, Doreen Denny, CWA senior advisor, stated, “What is happening in NCAA women’s volleyball is a game changer.” As she went on to say, this is the first time we’re seeing “NCAA member institutions … taking a stand against the NCAA’s trans athlete policy that directly discriminates against female athletes and are upholding the integrity of women’s sports.”

CWA CEO Penny Nance also praised UW’s decision in a statement, emphasizing her gratitude that the university “has taken seriously the issues of unfairness and discrimination against female athletes when males compete in women’s sports.” She added, “No NCAA member institution should have to be making this choice.”

In addition to CWA’s complaint, former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines has filed a lawsuit against SJSU. Included as a plaintiff in this lawsuit is Brooke Slusser, a player on the SJSU volleyball team. The document reads:

Due to the NCAA’s Transgender Eligibility Policies which permit Fleming to play on the SJSU women’s volleyball team and which led to SJSU recruiting Fleming, giving Fleming a scholarship, and allowing Fleming to be in positions to violate Brooke’s right to bodily privacy, Brooke has suffered physical and emotional injuries, embarrassment, humiliation, emotional distress, mental anguish and suffering.

In comments shared with OutKick, Slusser said, “It’s crazy to say, but it was an easy decision for me to join because it’s something I truly believe in.… This is something that so many people do care about. It’s just that so many people are scared to talk about it.”

“While these schools have not given a full explanation for their decisions to forfeit matches against San Jose State University,” concluded Denny, “their actions are speaking louder than words.”

This article is reprinted with permission from the Family Research Council, publishers of The Washington Stand at washingtonstand.com.

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