An interesting intervention from Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho in The Times this morning, slamming North Yorkshire power station Drax over its biomass technology. She criticised the firm, saying the case for its technology had ‘unravelled’, briefing that the Tories have ‘withdrawn’ their support (despite extensive previous Tory backing from multiple Prime Ministers). An intervention intended to impress plenty of sound net zero sceptic Tories like Dominic Lawson, who have made similar points before. There’s only one problem…
As Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Coutinho herself signed off plans to approve an expansion of the very technology, by the very same firm. A Development Consent Order, signed off by her, reads:
“The Secretary of State has considered the overall planning balance and, for the reasons set out in this letter, has concluded that the public benefits associated with the Proposed Development outweigh the harm identified, and that development consent should therefore be granted.”
She writes in her op-ed:
“As secretary of state, I faced enormous insistence from officials to pass legislation to enshrine these plans. However, after a development consent order was sent off in my name, I started pulling at threads and the case for Beccs simply unravelled.'”
‘Sent off in my name’ doing a lot of heavy lifting there. It ain’t easy being (anti) green…
Amid the flurry of pre-budget briefing the FT now reports that Reeves will extend Sunak’s 2021 income tax threshold freeze beyond 2028, when it was due to end. The current threshold freeze will raise more than £33.5bn by 2029 and will drag 3.8 million more taxpayers into the additional rate band….
The stealth tax was a big focus for Labour’s attack operation before the election. Reeves said last year “Labour aims to lift a freeze on tax thresholds that is on track to cost workers on the basic 20% rate of income tax £750 a year each.” The party’s assault on the “25 Tory Tax Rises” singled out thresholds in particular: “Labour has found that Tory stealth tax rises over the next two years have hit the average sales assistant with a £660 tax bombshell.” Not only will Reeves not reverse the tresholds – she is specifically set to make the “bombshell” worse for longer…
Labour claims that the manifesto pledges won’t be broken with this because Labour only pledged to keep rates at the same level. The public are sure to be sympathetic…
Capital is fleeing the country at breakneck speed thanks to Reeves’ looming “painful” budget. According to Begbies Traynor, a corporate restructuring specialist, the number of British firms facing “significant” financial distress has skyrocketed by nearly a third compared to last year, reaching a staggering 632,756 between July and September—the highest figure since records began back in 2004. Meanwhile, a survey by Evelyn Partners reveals hundreds of business owners are threatening to flee Britain if Rachel Thieves goes ahead with her tax raid. Labour’s scaremongering and relentless chatter of tax hikes has entrepreneurs running for the hills…
A flurry of budget briefings splashing across the headlines ahead of 30th October will make for grim reading for British businesses and investors. Along with inheritance tax and stamp duty hikes for first-time buyers, Reeves is set to cut business asset disposal relief, which allows business owners to sell their assets at just a 10% tax on the profits of a sale. Guido’s old enough to remember when Sir Keir insisted Britain was open for business…
Surprise, surprise – the Chinese press is celebrating Lammy’s obsequious visit to Beijing. The Global Times says “the visit may have the purpose for the UK to review and adjust its China policy.” The state-run paper says it’s about abandoning Tory opposition to the regime:
“The Labour government needs to change the UK’s chaotic China policy over the past decade or so, therefore the visit could be an attempt to stabilize and improve the relationship with Beijing… Although the new Labour government reportedly seeks less confrontational ties with China and to resume trade and investment talks, they still need to balance the impact of the Conservative Party. To bring China-UK relations back on track, the Keir Starmer administration needs to make a clear distinction between its China policy and that of the Conservative Party… the UK should reassess its China policy from a more practical and impartial perspective.”
The praise doesn’t stop there:
Obviously none of them bother mentioning the FCDO’s briefing to concerned Western journalists that Lammy will “raise human rights concerns about China’s treatment of the Uyghurs and its support of the Russian war in Ukraine.” Cursory castigation from Lammy which will be ignored…
China sees this as a sign that Labour is taking the opposite approach to the Tories. Lammy has walked into the dragon’s mouth…
Foreign Secretary David Lammy is in Beijing today, pictured next to the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. This is the same Wang Yi who denied allegations of Chinese genocide against the Uyghurs, claiming such accusations were “ridiculously absurd” and “a complete lie.” Human rights groups would disagree – as did Lammy himself just last year…
For years there have been reports that over a million Uyghurs have been detained in “re-education camps,” with hundreds of thousands imprisoned in recent years. Now, Starmer’s spokesman is claiming the UK will “cooperate and compete [with China] where needed”. A notable softening of the language now Labour are in government, and Lammy has a red box…
Lammy is spinning this visit as a crucial step for resetting UK-China relations, saying:
“Engagement with China is pragmatic and necessary to support UK and global interests. From stopping Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine to supporting a global green transition, we must speak often and candidly across both areas of contention as well as areas for cooperation in the UK’s national interest.”
That would make for awkward small talk. Just last month, Wang was singing Vladimir Putin’s praises and applauding strengthening China-Russia ties, saying this to Putin’s face:
“Under your leadership, the strong momentum in China-Russia relations has been maintained, making both countries key contributors to strengthening multilateralism on the global stage… we are continuously achieving new results in all areas of cooperation, for the benefit of our nations.”
Beijing and Moscow will be popping the champagne over these photos…
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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.”