Barnier lasted three months. Pau mayor François Bayrou, 73, says he is a “man of the countryside.” His appointment came after two hours of talks with Macron…
Far-left LFI has already indicated it will table another no-confidence motion – the other three left-wing parties say they are open to talk. The RN’s President Jordan Bardella says “this new Prime Minister must understand that he has no democratic legitimacy or majority in the National Assembly.” The RN says its red lines, which brought down Barnier, are still in effect. Now Bayrou has to form a government…
Guido has been tracking butter-fingered Civil Service departments and agencies. Some of the numbers beggar belief…
Our tax overlords over at HMRC have been losing devices at a startling rate. On average, 12 mobile phones and laptops were lost or stolen per week since April. That’s 2.41 every working day…
An increase on 2023 figures. Before the election mobile phone and laptop losses totalled 138 – afterwards the figures shot up to 227. July itself saw a surge of mobile phone losses to a whopping 77. Starmergeddon…
Significantly more devices were lost than stolen. While HMRC tries to shut down its phone lines while doggedly pursue civilians for their cash they can’t even hold onto a laptop for more than a day…
UPDATE: An HMRC spokesperson says in response:
“We take quick action to deactivate any lost or stolen devices and investigate all security incidents, taking steps to reduce future recurrences.” Hasn’t worked wonders so far…
Labour’s at it again, rolling out yet another plan – this time Ed Miliband’s grandly titled “Clean Power 2030 Action Plan.” The plan, complete with a chirpy press release, boldly claims it will decarbonise the electricity grid while dangling the promise of “lower bills.” Though there’s no mention of Labour’s pre-election pledge that these changes would “help families save up to £300 off their energy bills.” Instead, the document hedges its bets, warning that “the precise impact we will see on bills in coming years will depend on a range of factors.” Reassuring…
Miliband hit the airwaves on the Today Programme this morning to defend his plan. Nick Robinson pressed him on the obvious flaw: what happens when “the wind doesn’t blow” or “the sun doesn’t shine?” Miliband responded with that’s “why we have [oil and gas] reserves” – an ironic nod given that renewables accounted for just 8.3% of the UK’s energy yesterday. Miliband’s plan to hit 95% renewable energy by 2030 still looks up in the air…
When pushed on why his plan wouldn’t necessarily lower bills, referencing the National Energy System Operator boss who admitted lowering prices for consumers was “not what we set out to do”, Miliband admitted that they said there was “no guarantee” his plan would lead to lower bills. Miliband finished strong: “It’s exciting… there will be bumps along the way… but this transition is unstoppable.” More hot air…
It’s safe to say there are some conflicting views in Labour over its fateful decision in 2013 to block bombing of Syria after Assad used chemical weapons on his own civilians. On Question Time last night Health Secretary Wes Streeting pointed out that “if the West had acted faster, Assad would have been gone” and stressed that “the hesitation of this country and the United States created a vacuum that Russia moved into and kept Assad in power for much longer.” A view shared by Middle East analysts and figures including Ed Miliband’s own brother…
Asked on Sky News about the 2013 vote Miliband was defiant about his decision and hit out at Streeting: “The view that some people seem to be expressing about history is just wrong.”
“There was no plan for what this British involvement would mean where it would lead and what the consequences would be, and I believe that in the light of the Iraq War we could never send British troops back into combat unless we were absolutely clear about what a plan was including what an exit strategy was. To those people who say that President Assad would have fallen if we bombed him in 2013 that’s obviously wrong because president Trump bombed president Assad in 2017 and 2018 so he didn’t fall.”
Some might point out that the actual result of our non-action was to stay the United States, and that in 2013 Russia was obviously not entrenched in Syria, as it was during subsequent Trump-led attacks on chemical production facilities which Miliband mentions. Quite recent history, that…
Pat McFadden has famously spoken of his regret in voting according to Miliband’s instruction while Culture Secreatary Lisa Nandy has previously echoed Wes in saying she thinks “there are consequences of actions but sometimes there are consequences of inaction, too. So I really struggle with how the world seems to have just turned away [from Syria].” Many view Lammy, Miliband, and Co’s jubilation at Assad’s fall with a curled lip…
Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that GDP fell by 0.1% in October. Services showed no growth while production and construction contracted…
Reeves responds: “While the figures this month are disappointing, we have put in place policies to deliver long-term economic growth.” Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith meanwhile says it’s “clear the government has no growth plan. The economy is now flatlining and urgently needs CPR from the reversal of Labour’s jobs tax and a replacement Chancellor.”
Construction fell 0.4% and production 0.6%. Pubs, restaurants, retail, and oil and gas fell. That means in the the three months to October the economy only posted growth of 0.1%. There won’t be happy faces at the Treasury this morning…
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.”
