Co-conspirators may remember the short-lived First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf. The former SNP leader has now announced he won’t contest the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections in May. He says the “next Scottish Parliament elections in 2026 will be the right time for me to move on, to provide an opportunity for the next generation of MSPs to step forward, and to explore where I can best make a contribution in the future, in helping to tackle some of the most pressing challenges our world faces.” Including waging a bizarre war with GB News….
Humza says he will be reflecting on his “mistakes, and even regrets.” You’d hope so…
Read his full very long letter below:
Continue reading “Humza Yousaf Quitting Scottish Parliament”
Bad news from the Budget isn’t stopping just because it’s Christmas. Figures this morning from the Office for National Statistics show the number of job vacancies has fallen to a three-year low of 796,000 for the month of November. Not many incentives to hire on offer…
That is the 29th consecutive fall over two and a half years in job vacancy numbers, with 9 out of 18 industry sectors posting a decline. Hiring dropped to 818,000 in the three months to November, a decline of 3.7% from the previous quarter. Wholesale and retail have been hit in particular. Yesterday’s S&P Global flash UK purchasing managers’ employment index showed private sector employment in December falling at the fastest pace since January 2021 or 2009 if you exclude the pandemic. Meanwhile the estimated number of people on payrolls slumped by 35,000 to 30.4 million from October to November. How’s not taxing “working people” going, Rachel?
Kemi’s PR-heavy last week included briefing that she “is not the PR for Nigeria” as the Tory leader stood by criticism of the country amid kickback from Nigeria’s Vice-President. In a punchy interview with Bari Weiss Badenoch said she wants to reassure people that she doesn’t “want to recreate Nigeria in the UK.” Over the weekend “allies” of Kemi’s have been briefing about that Nigerian VP’s political history…
Mischievous co-conspirators have uncovered that back in 2010, when Badenoch (still Adegoke) was trying to get elected as MP for Dulwich & West Norwood, she took to the Naijaland blog to call for votes from the Nigerian community. Kemi asked for “help now to support a Nigerian who is trying to improve our national image and do something great here” and promised to “use whatever influence I have to speak out against those who are cheating and robbing Nigeria.” Badenoch even ran a “Nigerians for Kemi” mailing list for regular updates on her efforts…
Kemi briefed to the Nairaland website during the same campaign that she was targeting Brixton thanks to its “high concentration of Nigerians”:
“Adegoke has bolstered her regular campaign team, drafting in a few of her Nigerian friends and members of her family, including her father, Femi, who recently flew in from Lagos. ‘They will be able to talk to Nigerians in a way that nobody else will.'”
Badenoch advertised to potential supporters that her campaign was “a chance to have someone who has real influence over what is going on with British-Nigerian relationships.” Tempora mutantur…
Over the weekend the Sunday Mirror published pictures of Michael Gove engaging in a modest and momentary public display of affection in a restaurant. Their application for a Pulitzer Prize will have to wait…
Mikey Smith, the hack in question, hit ‘publish’. The SW1 reaction came in. Not from adoring fans or rival newsdesks begging for publication rights – but instead from everyone on X who saw no public interest and couldn’t have cared less. In fact, it was a total self-own from the Mirror, as the backlash was ferocious…
“This is not news“, said one punter. “You people are ghastly” said another. Owen Jones called it “trash” (proving a broken clock is right twice a day). Even – checks notes – Labour MP Shaun Davies asked the question the Sunday Mirror obviously didn’t: “Why does this matter?” Reach PLC is looking for further job cuts and hires who will do more with less – any of the online commenters over the weekend would have shown better judgement than their current crew…
Four days ago, CNN were patting themselves on the back for their “remarkable” scoop, gushing over their discovery of a “Syrian prisoner freed from Assad’s forced detention.” The story, breathlessly fronted by the network’s chief international correspondent, Claire Ward, racked up over a million views on YouTube, and CNN was awash with praise for Ward’s incredible reporting. According to CNN, she had unearthed a man who had been left “alone and unaware the Assad regime was no more”…
Unfortunately for CNN, it turns out the “freed prisoner” was actually a “regime torturer” named Salama Mohammad Salama, a first lieutenant in Syrian air force intelligence. According to the fact-checking organisation Verify-Sy, Salama is accused of killing civilians and torturing young men on trumped-up charges. No wonder CNN found him cowering under a blanket. Giving even BBC Verify a run for their money…
Over the weekend arch-Starmerite think tank Labour Together released its flagship immigration proposals for the government, which it calls “A migration system that puts country first.” The think tank echoes recent briefings from Downing Street in arguing that net migration needs to be substantially lower, and advocates “credible, long-term targets that lead to sustained reductions in immigration while ensuring that Britain’s economic needs are met” to do so. They also boast of their “close ties to the Labour leadership” while doing so…
SW1 expects the Morgan McSweeney-founded think tank’s plan to form a basis for medium-term immigration policy in No 10. It boasts three main features:
Guido noticed a few similarities in the 8-page Labour Together report and a 117-page Centre for Policy Studies report co-written by Robert Jenrick in May this year. Some of them are:
If Starmer goes ahead with his think tank’s proposals he will have Robert Jenrick and the Thatcher-founded CPS to thank for them. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…
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.”