Labour has given away the Chagos Islands to China-aligned Mauritius, the move being slammed as “weak” and “outrageous” by hacks and Tory benches alike. Starmer and Lammy have managed to dodge the heat, pushing this decision through during recess—convenient timing, keeping them safely out of the firing line in the Commons…
It was less than a month ago that Jonathan Powell was appointed as the special envoy on talks. And just a few days ago, Lord Kempsell was told by ministers that “it was too early to speculate on timelines and conclusions” on negotiations:
Nine days ago, the government asserted that no conclusion had been made. They say a week is a long time in politics, yet how can this decision have been made in such a short period of time?
Politics Live today has seen fiery exchanges between Energy Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh and critics of Labour’s extreme freebie donation hypocrisy. Brexit veteran Lord Stewart Jackson had a few choice words for Labour:
“We’ve seen a bacchanalian orgy of greed – this is ridiculous frankly and with respect you’re responsible for the the way people are thinking about this I have no problem with people taking hospitality and declaring it in the rules. But the Labour Party have this sort of moral relativism where they say ‘it’s all right for us because we’re the virtuous ones and the Tories are uniquely greedy self-serving incompetent et cetera.’ The number one political rule is: don’t believe your own PR.”
Jackson pointed out that the problem is the hypocrisy: “you’ve framed the debate in terms of ‘the Tories are greedy’ and people hate hypocrisy from politicians.” He added interestingly that the public “will forgive a sex scandal… what they loath is hypocrisy.” It’s not letting up for Downing Street…
Behind closed doors some Labour figures are unsettled by the perception that Lord Alli has effectively privatised the Labour frontbench. Along with hundreds of thousands in donations his properties have been used extensively by the Labour leadership for numerous roles, as Guido revealed…
The “he doesn’t have any agenda because he’s already a peer” spin, which claims he doesn’t intervene politically apart from ‘being Labour’, took a hit on Friday when Guido revealed Alli argued against the removal of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Almost zero information exists in the public domain about Alli’s role in the Middle East, which includes his multiple meetings with Assad…
Guido can reveal that Alli was also dispatched to Iraq by No 10 to meddle in the January 2005 elections. Blair’s Downing Street pledged clandestine support to Iyad Allawi, the former member of Saddam’s security services who had earlier been chosen as interim Prime Minister by the coalition forces…
After the Labour lord was installed in Allawi’s office there was a huge increase in advertising spending on his campaign. Allawi dominated the Iraqi media landscape from that point on, leading Al Jazeera to brand him an “American puppet.” Jack Fairweather, author of ‘A War of Choice: the British in Iraq’ wrote that Alli and former Labour Party General Secretary Margaret McDonagh, his partner for the mission, suggested the “classic New Labour ploys” of polling data analysis and “working with focus groups to coordinate campaign messaging“, which were received with zero enthusiasm by Allawi’s campaign team.
By the end the Allawi campaign was a foreseeable failure, gaining a mere 13.8% of the vote. The winner was Ibrahim Al-Jaafari – the candidate of the Shiite religious establishment. Predictably Labour’s intervention to support Allawi damaged UK relations with new PM Al-Jaafari, against UK interests…
What was Alli, a TV executive best known for producing ‘The Big Breakfast’, doing intervening in foreign elections on Labour’s behalf? Why has his role been kept out of the public eye? Who paid for it? Why did Alli go on to have multiple meetings with Assad in Syria? There is much more to discover…
The government has just announced that it is handing sovereignty of the Chagos Islands away to Mauritius. Confirming long-held fears that the British strategic interests were to be trumped by progressive waffle…
The joint announcement states:
“Under the terms of this treaty the United Kingdom will agree that Mauritius is sovereign over the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia. At the same time, both our countries are committed to the need, and will agree in the treaty, to ensure the long-term, secure and effective operation of the existing base on Diego Garcia which plays a vital role in regional and global security. For an initial period of 99 years, the United Kingdom will be authorised to exercise with respect to Diego Garcia the sovereign rights and authorities of Mauritius required to ensure the continued operation of the base well into the next century.”
The Chagos Islands are 2,152 kilometres away from Mauritius itself and have belonged to the UK since 1810. They have never belonged to Mauritius. There goes vital strategic access to the Indian and Pacific Oceans…
Despite claiming that the agreement secures the use of the US military base on Diego Garcia there’s no getting away from the fact that the government has now agreed to hand over a UK/US military asset to a firmly China-aligned country. Massively harming UK interests – you can hear the cheering in Beijing from SW1…
Labour’s ceaseless Britain-bashing and their relentless “doom and gloom” script have pushed the panic button on the economy. Talk of a “painful” budget has businesses running for cover. A staggering 71% surge in mergers and acquisitions—business owners are frantically selling up ahead of Labour’s capital gains tax raid. Start-ups are being strangled by Labour’s crackdown on innovation tax credits. And now 9,500 millionaires set to flee the UK in 2024…
The drip-feed of pessimism from Labour’s economic doomsayers is doing its damage. Investors are voting with their feet, with £666 million drained from UK-focused funds in September alone. Equity income funds shed £416 million. Edward Glyn, head of global markets at Calastone, said:
“The new government’s rather pessimistic commentary about the UK economy appears to have put a stop to the nascent revival in interest in domestic equities that we first detected in trading data in July. UK-focused funds seem to be off the menu for investors for the time being.”
Rachel Reeves might be betting on pulling an “Osborne”—permanently saddling the opposition with the tag of economic incompetence — though it’s backfiring fast. Labour can’t just blame the other lot without bringing solutions to the table. The clever-sounding spin from Labourites—set low expectations of a tax-heavy budget only to swoop in with a “not quite as bad” reveal—has completely flopped. Businesses are bolting. Labour’s doom-loop of self-fulfilling prophecies is driving the very decline they keep talking about…
Business and Energy Minister Sarah Jones has had the unenviable task of fielding the morning round after Downing Street made freebiegate even worse last night by announcing that the PM would repay £6,000 worth of gifts he’d received since becoming PM. But not the football – Starmer still needs free use of a box for vague ‘security reasons‘…
Jones was asked on Times Radio if there was a suitable reason for someone like Jonathan Reynolds to accept tickets to Glastonbury, seeing as if a corporate donated them for business it would seem like corruption and if they were donated for entertainment it would look like a freebie. Her answer hinted at just how thought out the government’s new strategy on dealing with freebie criticism is…
“Well, I think that is the question that the prime minister is asking through the new set of principles… I think the question is now being asked. And that is the question that the prime minister is asking, as well as other people, for what purpose are we going to these events? Let’s look at these issues.”
Jones added later: “I’m not going to go to another event like that that I’m invited to,” while failing to explain why Starmer should be paying back his freebies and his ministers shouldn’t. Labour is struggling to deal with the logical aftermath of its incessant pious screeching over donations while in opposition…
Jones also claimed that “there is a difference between government and opposition when you’re building relationships in opposition.” These lines are unravelling the moment they’re said…
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.”
