As Westminster cranks back into gear one minister is on precarious ground. Guido revealed late last month that City Minister and Economic Secretary to the Treasury Tulip Siddiq was under investigation by the Bangladeshi Anti-Corruption Commission…
In the days before Christmas “sources close to” Siddiq told the Sunday Times that the allegation she co-ordinated meetings with Bangladeshi and Russian officials are “trumped-up charges” and “completely politically motivated” as the paper provided details of her meeting with the Cabinet Office’s Propriety and Ethics team. This included an explanation that Siddiq was pictured at the signing of a £10 billion nuclear power plant deal with Vladimir Putin becase “she visited Moscow… to see her aunt because it was easier to fly to Russia than Bangladesh.” That is where the British press has left it…
Last week the Bangladeshi ACC involved several other government departments in its investigation, contacting the Chief Adviser’s Office, Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), Election Commission, and the Department of Immigration and Passports to seek information on Hasina and her family. The BFIU has been asked for “all documents related to local and international transactions” of Siddiq. Bangladeshi investigative paper the Daily Star adds:
“An ACC official said the investigations team has sought personal information about these individuals from the EC and the passport department.“
Labour has been careful not to comment too widely on the matter while Siddiq herself has only penned a small article on her low-profile local activities over Christmas. Starmer is in an awkward position – will Tulip be allowed tocontinue in her brief as corruption minister while being officially investigated by the Bangladeshi government for corruption?
Peter Mandelson is starting on the back foot as he heads over the pond to shmooze with the new administration. Might not have been a good idea to call Trump a “danger to the world”…
As it turns out one of the Prince of Darkness’ predecessors already made his verdict on Mandelson’s likely success. In former British Ambassador to the US Christopher Meyer’s 2005 account of his career in the Foreign Office, DC Confidential, he compared the diplomatic abilities of then-Northern Ireland Secretary Mandy with his predecessor Mo Mowlam:
“Mo could ‘speak’ American. Europeans divide into those who can ‘speak’ American and those who cannot. This is not a narrow linguistic point. It means having the ability to slip naturally into the American idiom. Peter Mandelson, Mo’s successor as Northern Ireland Secretary, could never do it, for all his intellectual brilliance. He managed profoundly to irritate the Irish-Americans of Capitol Hill, who are ultra-sensitive to any hint of being patronized by snooty Brits. The feeling was mutual. Handling the rough and tumble of debate with Irish-Americans was not among Peter’s armoury of formidable political skills.”
Meyer, who died in 2022, points out that Mandelson was unable to counter the “natural tilt of the White House and Congress towards Irish nationalism” using careful diplomatic nous during a fraught period. Trump’s White House won’t be any more receptive to “snooty Brits” in 2025…
Entries in the comments…
December carried on much the same way as November – with story after story on the budget’s disastrous fallout. With that, a Downing Street collapse and a Cabinet resignation already under his belt the PM kicked off the month with another grand reset. Guido explained the layout of Starmerite foundations, milestones, pillars, missions, and first steps in a simple graph…
Unfortunately no one was buying it and Starmer only managed to cause a massive backlash after he attacked the Civil Service with a Cummings-esque narrative. He U-turned on that one within 24 hours…
Labour looked increasingly isolated on its hated farm tax as key initial defenders of the policy withdrew their support and tractors rolled onto Whitehall to protest the IHT changes. Halfway through the month Starmer’s approval ratings hit a record low, just before Labour made another enemy in the Waspi Women. One thing that did turn out to be popular was the hit Christmas jingle “Freezing this Christmas” which took aim at the Winter Fuel cut. The BBC refused to play it. Music to Starmer’s ears no doubt…
When it came to foreign affairs, Starmer’s Chagos deal took a major hit as the new Mauritius government expressed deep reservations at the proposed arrangements. Lammy offered more cash to Port Louis – no dice. Meanwhile Peter Mandelson was selected as the UK’s new ambassador to the US and within a few hours his fruitier comments about the incoming president (a threat to the world et cetera) were exposed. The Bangladeshi government looked to the UK, with Guido bringing Westminster the news that city minister Tulip Siddiq had been placed under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission there. That’s a live one…
Westminster wrapped up for the year with a Chinese spy story threatening to capsize the boat. Starmer changed his glasses again – another reset – and the Treasury admitted it hadn’t done the most basic costings for key budget measures. Labour will be hoping for better in 2025…
Co-conspirators will remember Guido was first off the mark with the news that Runcorn MP Mike Amesbury had been involved in a violent fracas back in November. The video, which bears continual rewatching, is here…
Amesbury was charged with assault. The CPS said: “Following a review of the evidence provided by Cheshire police, we have authorised a charge of common assault against Mike Amesbury MP, 55. The charge follows an alleged assault in Frodsham, Cheshire, on Saturday, 26 October 2024.” Labour suspended the MP…
Amesbury is yet to appear in court and the outcome is uncertain. For his part, he has called the incident “deeply regrettable”. That said, should the Cheshire constituency of Runcorn and Helsby end up as the first parliamentary by-election contender of 2025, it would be an interesting objective test of the current political weather. The seat, which is a new patch first contested at last year’s general election, takes in most of the original boundaries of the old Weaver Vale constituency. Weaver Vale was held by the Tories from 2010 to 2017…
There’s probably little chance for CCHQ locally though, not to mention the current national situation. Reform was second at the 2024 general election, with just over 7000 votes to Labour’s 22,000. Amesbury’s majority is 14,696 – which would be a challenge for Farage to overturn. Reform has, however, been fastest out of the traps in the seat, already sending out mail and nodding at a recent nearby council by-election which saw the party nab a seat from Labour. Guido would not be surprised if Nigel is spotted in Runcorn soon..
Reeves’ Budget left businesses reeling from the increased cost of hiring staff. Retailers and high-street companies pointed out that companies with lower-wage staff were disproportionately affected by the National Minimum Wage and National Insurance hikes. Minimum wage employees probably don’t count as “working people” according to Labour…
Now fresh research from the Centre for Policy Studies confirms the scale of the cost increase. In 2024, an employer paid £1,617 in NICs for every employee on minimum wage. This year that figure will be £2,583. The total cost for businesses to employ a full-time minimum wage worker on staff will be a whopping £2,367 higher than last year…
The ‘tax wedge,’ which is the total tax paid by employers and employees, will hit an eye-watering 21.3% of salary this year for minimum wage staff – that’s thanks to the NIC rise and the commensurate reduction in the payment threshold. It has previously stood at 18% in 2010 before dropping to 11% in 2015, and was only 17.5% in 2024. Now, wages will go down where possible or firms will hire fewer staff. Talk about January blues…
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.”
