Blackfriars

As some of you will know but for those who don’t, Blackfriar is Cockney rhyming slag for liar. There is often an element of truth in such slang, maybe the order of Blackfriars (aka the Dominican Order) were of an untruthful persuasion. They claim to be a mendicant order (i.e. given to begging), is it possible they are also a mendacious order ?

In the House of Shame no member is ever allowed to call another a liar. I contend if you have to put the word honourable in your title you are nothing of the kind. I am reminded of Dennis Skinner (still going at the age of 93) calling David Owen a pompous sod. When ordered to withdraw the word he replied I withdraw the word pompous. The Beast of Bolsover indeed. He was named for this and this was one of his 10 suspensions.

The lefty side of the House routinely deny just about everything. The problem with using lefty as some kind of definition is that it embraces most of the Tories as well. CallMeDave (I did recently read he was known as the man-baby) destroyed any semblance of a right wing party when he imported LibDems by the lorry load. As we pray daily for the destruction of the Conservative and Unionist Party, its demise will not be lamented by many.

In the latest of a long line of politicians telling fibs we have Jonathon Reynolds, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, insisting that the UK knew about the US missile and bunker buster strike on Iran before it happened. This is a blatant lie, even Keith Starmer has admitted he was not told about the raid. The only truthful part was that we were not involved at all and it should be added that the Americans did not trust us to keep it quiet. We should all hope that the citizens of Stalybridge and Hyde send him packing at the next electoral opportunity.

Mr Reynolds has previous for being economical with the truth. His linked-in profile and his website claimed he was a solicitor when he most certainly wasn’t. He has been warned that if he persists in calling himself a solicitor he will be prosecuted. He worked as a trainee solicitor but didn’t complete his training. Our learned friends are most keen on qualifications and associated titles.

One of the biggest fibbers ever to grace the House of Shame was the fat Turk, aka Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. It is hard to know where to begin with this monster. He claimed to have an over ready deal for Brexit when it was no such thing. Having rammed it through he then claimed he had got Brexit done when he hadn’t.

Boris Johnson our (former Prime Minister): Johnson has been repeatedly called out for inaccuracies, including about his career. For example, in his 2023 resignation statement as an MP, he claimed he had been an MP since 2001. However, he was not an MP between 2008 and 2015, when he served as Mayor of London. Additionally, during his tenure, fact-checkers like Full Fact noted he repeatedly misstated employment statistics in Parliament, though these were more policy-related than personal career claims. He really is a Blackfriar and a charlatan.

Rachel Reeves (Chancellor of the Exchequer): Reeves has been accused of exaggerating her time at the Bank of England. She claimed to have worked there for a decade, but reports suggest she was employed there for about six years (from 2000 to 2006) before moving to HBOS. Additionally, a BBC investigation in February 2025 raised questions about her expenses during her banking career at HBOS, though she denied any wrongdoing and stated she was never formally investigated. Critics have questioned the accuracy of her career timeline, though she has defended her record, focusing on her current role rather than past discrepancies. Not only is Rachel from Complaints economical with the truth, she is utterly useless as Chancellor. The backbench revolt against the proposed welfare cuts may soon result in Keith throwing her under the bus to save his own neck.

Nadine Dorries (Former MP): Dorries claimed on BBC Breakfast in November 2023 to have been an MP for 25 years, despite being elected in 2005, which would amount to 18 years at the time. She also stated she worked as a nurse in the NHS for 10 years, but records indicate she trained and worked as a nurse for about three years before transitioning to a medical representative role. These discrepancies were widely remarked upon as exaggerations.

Rebecca Long-Bailey (Former Labour Leadership Candidate): During her 2015 campaign and beyond, Long-Bailey claimed she worked as a solicitor for the NHS in Manchester for 10 years. Official records, however, show she qualified as a solicitor in 2007 and worked in law for about six and a half years, with no evidence of direct NHS employment. Instead, she worked at law firms, some of which may have had NHS clients, but this was not the same as being an NHS employee. Her only real claim to fame – being known as Rebecca Mong-Bailey.

Grant “Manynames” Shapps has a long history of deception. He has used at least 3 aliases and perhaps more. One of the more accomplished liars on the Tory side of the House Grant was wheeled out on many occasions to lie for the then government. By 2024 even the good citizens of Welwyn Hatfield had heard enough and turfed him out on his ear at the GE. The much criticised Liz Truss returned him to the backbenches. His educational achievements are 5 O levels and an HND in business finance – far more than Crayons managed it must be said. He even fell foul of Google who blacklisted 19 of his websites for copyright infringement. A lifelong chancer is our Grant.

The expenses fiddles were a classic of the genre. Every fiddle going was deemed to be within the rules and therefore not illegal. They kept this up for ages and even when presented with proof that their rules did not cover it they continued to insist they did. With so much available in the way of expenses it is little wonder that MPs are unaware how the cost of living impacts us proles.

Finally we arrive at our Prime Minister. He lies so much it is almost as if he does it automatically. Almost everything he says contains at least a grain of an untruth. £22 billion black hole, fixing the foundations, support our hard working people (he means the unionised ones who are not hard working), the list goes on and on and on. His style of speaking makes the speaking clock sound exciting, his delivery is that of a man reading the telephone directory.

He claims that his number one priority is the safety of our citizens. This is a blatant lie, the invaders continue to be taxied across the channel. His smash the gangs soundbite was not worth the breath he expended uttering it. He has done no such thing and has no intention of slowing the wave down.

The unprecedented speed with which Keith divined that the opponents of the Southport massacre were far right thugs was little short of miraculous. He now claims we are under threat of an attack by the Russians, this would perhaps be caused by his sabre rattling against said Russians. The man is so full of brown stuff, were it not for him gobbing off about Putin we would be basking in peace.

My problem with telling porkies is that I would have to remember them so I could repeat them and this is far beyond my abilities. Most of our politicians just keep telling lie after lie, none of which add up or make any sense and often contradict themselves. We truly live in an age of deception.

Were this article to list all of the untruths uttered by our political class it would run to several volumes so it has to be just a small digest.
 

© well_chuffed 2025