Sunak wasted no time at taking a jab at the turmoil in Number 10. Attacking Labour’s changes on employment law, Sunak took a swing at Sue Gray’s sacking:
“When did the Prime Minister first become a convert to fire and rehire?”
Cue much roaring of laughter and cheers from the Commons…
Angela Rayner’s “New Deal for Working People” is set to be unveiled in parliament tomorrow after jostling over the finer details with Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds. Disgruntled union officials claim it will be a “skeleton” thanks to Labour’s promise to introduce it in the first 100 days of government…
The expectation is that a ban on zero-hours contracts will be delayed until the completion of a consultation on it and other measures. Labour has made a big deal of banning the popular contractual arrangement, claiming in its manifesto that an outright ban would be immediately enforced as one of the party’s “initial steps to confront poverty.” They might be surprised by the views of actual people…
New research from the Centre for Social Justice finds that what is dubs “precarious work” is actively sought out by 16-34-year-olds, who don’t want to see it banned and the vast majority of whom (75%) are fully satisfied with their working conditions. Satisfaction remains high at 68% among the very poorest groups surveyed and in total only 24% say they are dissatisfied. Meanwhile data newly released from the Centre for Economic Performance finds that zero-hours contracts actually attract 25% more applicants than “comparable permanent jobs.” It’s almost like having greater freedom in your work contract is progressive and popular. Labour and the unions will have to arbitrarily flood the consultation to get their preferred result…
Boris was the toast of Westminster’s elite last night, as the former Prime Minister made a grand entrance (albeit 45 minutes late, as is his usual form) at the swanky Institute of Directors on Pall Mall for the launch of his book, “Unleashed”. The room was packed with hacks and cabinet ministers of past and present. Of the leadership hopefuls, only Cleverly showed up, managing to sneak a snap with the former Prime Minister. Doesn’t mean it’s an endorsement from BoJo, though..
Boris’ speech was (characteristically) peppered with jokes. He quipped his publisher commissioned Starmer to write his vision for Britain for £18,000 in advance but, unable to produce anything, he returned the money – “ a totally uncharacteristic decision” – that paid for the launch party. The former PM then went on to reflect on the string of “random events” that derailed his reign:
“If only Dylan the dog had not so rudely rogered the leg of one of my senior advisors…If only I had not gone out to an excessively convivial dinner with Charles Moore and others after the triumphant UK chairmanship of COP26…If only my friend Chris Pincher had not allowed his hand to wander freely. If only, above all, a certain short-sighted pangolin had not made a pass at a bat in a cave in Wuhan, or possibly a lab, or wherever it went. “
One insider who was in the room said:
“It was classic Boris on best form, the room was rammed, as the misery of the Tory leadership drags on, everyone left thinking: what the hell did we get rid of him for?”
If only, Boris said, he could “have saved this country from an insane Marxist Labour party.” He went on to tease: “I feel it would be much better if I was to run the show”. Never say never…
Kay Burley and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy have been arguing on Sky News this morning over the ridiculousness of the government lobbying the police to give Taylor Swift a presidential-style motorcade to a gig. Tickets for which were being handed out by her record label to the PM and his ministers…
Nandy eventually caved under pressure and launched on an offensive:
“You know, we’re now in a situation where I mean you know most of Sky News was at these events in these same boxes as well to be completely fair.”
Burley hit back: “Who was there? I paid for my tickets. Don’t do that, no.” Nandy claimed Keir Starmer had paid for his too. A few weeks late, mind…
Nandy couldn’t name any other Sky personnel who went along for free when asked and ended with: “People can judge for themselves.“ A cruel summer for cronies…
Guido—and likely John Woodcock himself—was shocked to read in the hard-left propaganda site Byline Times yesterday that Woodcock (now Lord Walney), the government’s anti-extremism adviser, had supposedly been sacked. What’s less surprising is that Byline Times journalists Josiah Mortimer and Adam Bienkov had written totally incorrect information. In reality, Lord Walney remains the government’s extremism adviser and is, in fact, giving evidence today to the Police and Crime Committee of the London Assembly. Byline published complete fake news, then…
This wasn’t a case of a story being ‘too good to check.’ Byline Times actually received a response from Number 10, the background line confirming that Woodcock was still in post. The highly marginal site chose to ignore this critical detail and ran with their false claim anyway. Now, after being forced into a humiliating U-turn, they’ve had to correct the article’s headline to state that Lord Walney “Remains in Post.” Though The Times now reports that his position is “under review” following his warnings about far-left protests. Just another example of the left-wing media pushing their narrative before verifying the facts…
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.”