Starmer said too many journalists were outside his house and his son needed somewhere quiet to study for his GCSEs. Who else but Lord Alli was there to provide…
Alli’s £18 million penthouse in Covent Garden is the perfect choice for any studious 16-year-old. Of Alli’s known properties (the other is a Kent mansion) this is the most likely – it’s one Starmer already admitted using for meetings and on election night. With three en-suite bedrooms to choose from, the flat offers panoramic views of London from no fewer than two terraces, all to help soak in crucial facts…
After a few hours of work in the spacious office any teen would let off steam in the games room before settling down to watch some telly in the dedicated TV room. A large roof terrace offers yet another study location with “lush evergreens” to keep the air fresh…
With 5,000 square feet of space there’s little chance a revising teenager would be disturbed by anyone else using the property, like Starmer and his team. Imagine how big the house is going to have to be for A-Levels…
Immigration minister Angela Eagle accused Donald Trump of fuelling “overt racism” in the UK at Labour conference and unsurprisingly it didn’t go down well with former President. Trump’s spokesman hit back with a damning response:
“Nobody knows who this random person is or cares what comes out of her mouth. Who is she and what does she do?”
The Donald entirely correct on this one…
This morning, Keir Starmer was out justifying the £20,000 in “donations” from Labour peer Lord Alli towards accommodation, spinning the tale that his son needed a quiet place to study for his GCSEs. Cue the violin. Speaking to the Today Programme, Starmer said:
“My boy, 16, was in the middle of his GCSEs. I made him a promise, a promise that he would be able to get to his school, do his exams, without being disturbed. We have lots of journalists outside our house where we live and I’m not complaining about that, that’s fine. But if you’re a 16-year-old trying to do your GCSEs and it’s your one chance in life…I promised him we would move somewhere, get out of the house and go somewhere where he could be peacefully studying.”
Naturally, Guido had a peek at the records. The dates of their luxury £20,437.28 stay? From 29th May 2024 to 13th July 2024. The first GCSE exam was on 9th May 2024, and the final one wrapped up on 19th June 2024. So, not only did Starmer’s son start exams weeks before they checked in, but his last paper was nearly a month before they checked out. How much “revision” time do you need in a five-star pad post-GCSEs?
Figures like Labour MP Kate Osborne and TUC boss Paul Nowak turned up to a wine-saturated fringe event last night in support of Colombia’s socialist president Gustavo Petro. Speakers hailed former communist guerrilla Petro’s failed policy of “Total Peace” with armed groups in the country…
Fabian Hamilton MP, who was just twelve months ago a frontbencher as the now-abolished Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament, arrived to give assurances that the Foreign Office under Lammy is on Petro’s side. Hamilton claimed “progressive” Colombia “will be fully supported by this labour Government,” which includes drawing the “expertise of our diplomatic corps… to assist negotiations with paramilitary groups.” So far Petro’s policy has resulted in an increase in crime and violence…
Hamilton, who served as shadow minister in Lammy’s team for two years, added that Labour has also pledged to work “with Petro’s administration on the climate and nature emergency“, adding: “I know our Foreign Secretary David Lammy is totally committed to integrating the green agenda into every aspect of our foreign policy and has my full support in doing that.” Good to see Lammy is aiming to get the UK to net zero global influence…
At a panel event yesterday evening billed for “policy nerds” the Resolution Foundation discussed Labour’s “New Economic Plan” to get growth up and emissions down. Energy Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh was asked whether the government would institute taxpayer-funded energy bill support in Labour’s net zero transition:
“So the long-term solution for us is clean power, but we know that as we transition the question of bill support is a genuine thing… It’s interesting, you know, all the charity sector and actually most of the energy suppliers are now very aligned around a social tariff – so there was a very strong message coming into government… it is quite a coalition.”
Miatta suggested that the Labour would cave to pressure from leading social tariff campaigners like Citizens Advice, whose Chief Executive Clare Moriarty was also at the event. The organisation proposes a “cash payment to fuel poor households” from £381 to £1,500. The minister made clear plans were in the works:
“We will look at the range of options available to us… but I think we’re quite clear that we’re not going to do what the last government did which is just kick it around.”
Fahnbulleh suggested splitting the cost of the new energy benefit between the taxpayer and energy companies and hinted that the government could withdraw companies’ ability to operate if they don’t comply with new support strictures. Rely on Labour to crush the market into shape…
“I don’t think this is just a proposition for government, I think suppliers have a big role to play and when you think about other models where there is bill support there is always co-funding… so I think about the example in Holland, the example in France. I think there’s a big role for energy suppliers to be part of the solution here – they have a regulatory obligation to look after vulnerable customers. We need need to make sure that we are maximizing that – you know for me it’s a question of the licence to operate and I think showing that you are looking after all your customers and your vulnerable customers in particular.”
During her tenure as head of the Corbynite New Economics Foundation Miatta campaigned for nationalisation of the banks, “flooding the market” with nationalised energy companies, and “free basic energy” for everyone. Spending billions on bill support is a drop in the ocean compared to her stated intentions…
With the gloomy budget and business-crushing tax rising ahead, Labour ministers aren’t exactly the go-to choice for many CEOs to enjoy a drink with. Labour tried to cosy up to chief executives at Labour conference, though apparently, even on their own turf, they didn’t exactly impress…
Now corporate bosses are demanding a refund after shelling out £3,000-a-head for Labour’s “business day” at the party conference, calling it “bleak” and a “waste of money.” Seems to be a theme in the Labour party…
Labour bragged about hosting hundreds of top execs at their biggest-ever business day, with big names promised access to the PM, Chancellor, and other top ministers. Though executives have been left with a bitter taste after getting “minimal time” with ministers and being “talked at” for four hours from the stage. That is bleak…
One chief complained: “We paid £3,000 to come here and what did we get? A livestream of Rachel [Reeves]’s speech and then to be made to queue in a bleak corridor for a drinks reception where there was no access to ministers.” Labour and little value for money, eh…
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.”
