The Advertising Standards Authority is doubling down on its mission to ban ads for so-called ‘unhealthy food and drinks.’ Their latest plan targets “online media at any time” as well as Ofcom-regulated programmes between 5:30am and 9:00pm. The dynamic duo of censorship…
Previously ads for brands associated with “less healthy” (LHF) products were allowed as long as the specific unhealthy product wasn’t shown. Now the ASA’s ‘revised guidance’ says “even if your ad does not explicitly refer to or feature an LHF product – it may still be restricted under law”. Meaning even without a burger or a can of Coke in sight if a company’s considered part of the ‘bad for you’ club the nanny-state’s heavy hand will step in. Expect the food industry to be steaming mad…
An email went out to all staff at UCL, on whose campus Starmer delivered his AI speech this morning, last Friday at 4 p.m:
“Dear all,
We’ve just been contacted to host a high-profile visit on Monday morning. It requires producing a significant number of bums on seats for a speech.
If any of you are able and available to be at UCL East from around 10am on Monday to 12.30pm please reply [only to me] with you phone number and we’ll let you know over the weekend whether you need to be in UCL East on Monday.
Best wishes
REDACTED
t: REDACTED| e: REDACTED
UCL | London’s Global University
Please don’t feel obliged to reply to this email outside of your normal working hours.”
Those curious enough to show up must have got quite bored seeing as Starmer only started talking at 11:37 a.m. Adding insult to injury the WiFi wasn’t even working properly at the venue…
Guido hopes the faculty who did put their bums on the seats for two hours weren’t disappointed by the final result. At least they got to see the PM decline to guarantee Reeves’s political future…
As borrowing costs soar and the pound crashes, all eyes are on Rachel Reeves with growing calls for her resignation. Today Keir Starmer faced the simple question of whether Reeves would still be Chancellor at the next election. Starmer refused to answer not once, but twice…
Instead of committing to keeping his Chancellor on, Starmer offered the vague reassurance that “she has my full confidence” whilst insisting the government’s fiscal rules wouldn’t be broken, but stopped short of ruling out tax hikes or spending cuts. A reminder that Starmer’s vowed to keep David Lammy as Foreign Secretary for the remainder of this Parliament. Reeves running on borrowed time…
UPDATE: Downing Street now says Starmer is looking forward to working with Reeves as Chancellor for “the whole of this parliament”. Extending the same guarantee to Rachel from accounts as he did to Lammy…
The markets have continued to worsen on last week. Just as Reeves gets back from China…
Labour will be watching 10-year yields closely – at 5% major alarm bells will be going off. The Treasury will be trying to tough it until March. Good luck…
Starmer is talking AI this morning at UCL. He is pledging to “throw the weight of Whitehall fully behind AI in a bid to boost growth.” Reeves has accordingly started using AI to reply to emails in the Treasury…
Promising AI ‘growth zones’ are set to launch which will allow for faster building of data centres and so on. The government also says it will feed AI through roadside cameras to spot potholes. Don’t think spotting them is the problem…
Watch live: Here’s how our AI Opportunities Action Plan will deliver for you https://t.co/qhYP8tJi5K
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) January 13, 2025
Union Unite has issued a cautious statement warning of the apparent need for “proper protections for workers.” Starmer is due for a Q&A afterwards. Journos might have some other questions for the PM…
Read Starmer’s full speech below:
Continue reading “Starmer Delivers Speech on Artificial Intelligence”
Downing Street is undergoing another shake-up with Olaf Henricson-Bell appointed as the new director of the No 10 Policy Unit. He replaces Ninjeri Pandit and will work alongside Stuart Ingham. He also happens to be the twin brother of Torsten Bell, the former director of left-wing think tank Resolution Foundation turned Labour MP. Double trouble…
Olaf’s previous role as EU Director at the Foreign Office will leave him well-connected with the civil servants now deployed within the “EU surrender unit.” A reminder of his brother’s Torsten’s taxing policy ideas, which include raising capital gains tax on shares to 37%, 53% for real estate, and scrapping the nil-rate band on inheritance tax. Will Bell be a dead ringer for his brother in Number 10?
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”