They just can’t help themselves. Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds was on the morning round today and decided to gloomily declare – just 4 days before Trump’s inauguration – that Trump coming into office is going to be a “challenging time for anyone who is responsible for trade”. He went on to say that he’s “concerned” about any proposed trade tariffs because “the danger to the UK is greater than some comparable countries around”. Not exactly “art of the deal” material…
Reynolds, like the rest of the Cabinet, has a history of Trump-bashing saying in 2016 “We can’t just make stuff up to make ourselves feel better. That’s Trump-esque” and back in November saying Britain would side with the EU over the US if Trump sparked a trade war with China. Instead of focusing on the path of rejoining the EU and cosying up to China, Reynolds and his colleagues should be thinking less about alienating Trump and more about rolling out the red carpet….
Suspended Labour MP Mike Amesbury is due to appear at Chester Magistrates Court this morning. Last November Amesbury was charged with common assault by Cheshire Police following an altercation in Frodsham on 26 October. The Runcorn and Helsby MP was a Labour shadow minister between 2018 and 2024…
UPDATE: Amesbury pleads guilty to assault by beating.
UPDATE II: Amesbury expelled from Labour party.
Starmer is in Kyiv today for a visit to Ukraine. A “landmark 100-year partnership” has been prepared to sign…
It’s the PM’s first visit since he came to office 195 days ago and spent a working month jetting around the globe. Sunak visited within a month of entering Downing Street and Boris was there two months after the war started. Reports from officials claim that under Starmer the UK stopped fervently pushing to provide more and took a deferential tone to Biden. Macron is leading talks on peacekeeping troops potentially getting sent to Ukraine. The delay over Storm Shadow authorisation is seen as instructive…
Keir Starmer arrives in Ukraine on his first trip to the country since being elected in July
The PM was greeted by Ukrainian officials in Kyiv at a train station pic.twitter.com/CDOsxltm39
— ITVPolitics (@ITVNewsPolitics) January 16, 2025
The partnership deal to be signed between Starmer and Zelensky today includes a recommitment to existing aid, pledges for more as well as military collaboration on drones, maritime security, and health. A new British-designed ‘Grain Verification Scheme’ will also attempt to track stolen grain shipments. Starmer getting a visit in just before Trump enters office…
New figures from the Office for National Statitstics show that GDP grew by 0.1% in November last year after a 0.1% contraction the month before. A return to nominal monthly growth for Reeves comes after better-than-expected inflation news yesterday…
Growth is less than the 0.2% that was expected. Services grew by 0.1%, production fell by 0.4% and construction grew by 0.4%. There was no growth in the three months to November. Stagnation…
The Teesside area lost out on massive investment recently thanks to China-owned British Steel scrapping plans to build a “green steel” furnace there. After talks with Labour ministers it’s going to Scunthorpe…
Mayor Ben Houchen raged against the change of plan and attacked the Scunthorpe plan as a “profound mistake with long-term consequences for our economy, local jobs and indeed our national security.” In a classic example of local campaign Houchen launched on the rival area as having “significant challenges” with “grid constraints and extensive remediation needed.” You’d think the local MPs might think the same…
In a letter to Houchen the six local Labour MPs praised the government for recognising steel as a “strategic national industry, critical to the future of our economy.” They went on to praise the loss of investment specifically:
“Labour is committed to making Teesside central to the UK’s industrial future, with major investments like Net Zero Teesside, CCUS and hydrogen projects already placing our area at the forefront of the transition to a green economy. We understand the government’s determination to secure steel jobs in Scunthorpe through the EAFs. However, this is only the first step in a long-term plan to rebuild the UK’s steelmaking capacity.”
That’s an interesting pitch to their constituents. Guido couldn’t help but imagine firebrands like Anna Turley would be on the picket line in any other circumstance…
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”