SNP Finance Minister Shona Robison has just announced much-anticipated spending cuts in the 2024/25 Scottish Government budget. £500 million getting immediately cut, including from “sustainable and active travel” spending. What will the Greens say?
Robison blames the Tory government for failing to increase Scotland’s funding settlement and Labour for imposing “austerity.” The Scottish Fiscal Commission, Scotland’s OBR, has actually placed the blame on Robison for giving out millions in unbudgeted public sector pay rise deals. Cue groans in the Holyrood chamber as Robison says this wouldn’t have happened with independence…
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has been doing a misplaced victory lap on social media over the government securing 131 new clean energy projects. The first bidding round for green energy projects took place under the Tories in 2023, though no deals were made as the subsidies were too low, so they increased the subsidies for the 2024 round. Miliband upped them even further, doubling the allowance. Not solely a Labour – or Miliband – win, then…
This isn’t something to boast about, especially since the expansion will saddle energy bill payers with a £10 billion cost. Consumers will end up paying foreign companies £82 per MWh in government subsidies to build these solar and wind farms. Meanwhile, Net Zero Watch has research that suggests a loophole in Government contracts could cost households up to £180 million a year. Their director aptly said:
“How many times were we subjected to the chorus of ‘wind is cheap’? That refrain now rings hollow and these results show Miliband’s green utopianism to be even more costly and impractical than once feared.”
Still, Reeves continues to blame the Tories for the surprise “black hole” as she prepares for the “painful” budget that’s sure to see tax rises for working people. Labour are doing as they always do: tax and spend, tax and spend…
Jeremy Hunt has taken the opportunity to force Reeves to answer questions on Labour’s crony appointment of Ian Corfield. The banker gave £20,000 to Labour politicians, including Reeves, and somehow scored a directorship in the Treasury. All before Corfield rowed back and stepped away from the job…
Hunt needled Reeves at Treasury Questions in the Commons: “Can she tell the House whether she told the Treasury permanent secretary that Ian Corfield had made a donation to her before she got him appointed as a director in the Treasury, yes or no?” Reeves replied that the donation “was declared over a year ago in the proper way and we answered all the question in the right way.” Not quite the spirit of the rules…
Hunt points out paragraph 7.1 of the Ministerial Code, which makes clear that “Ministers must ensure that no conflict arises, or could reasonably be perceived to arise, between their public duties and their private interests, financial or otherwise.” Reeves hit back by attacking “the partying
at Downing Street” under the Tories. Not the deftest deflection…
While Tory leadership hopefuls give exalted speeches the central party machine is running on fumes. Guido hears Matt Lane and Gareth Fox, both top-level staff in the Candidates Department, took voluntary redundancy and are out of the door. The same goes for the vast remainder of the team…
The department is naturally responsible for sourcing Tory candidates for election and its representatives get sent to association selection meetings to oversee events. A hiring round is in order shortly but HQ sources say the coffers are rather empty…
Co-conspirators report a large number of CCHQ staff are still off on holiday. Meanwhile, the party’s break clause on its pricey 4 Matthew Parker Street headquarters is fast approaching. Tory bean-counters might be minded to trigger it…
Shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat is launching his official leadership campaign today in Westminster. Expect some “sorry”s about Tory infighting and expressed anger at the “games” played before the election. His slogan has now changed from Unite, Rebuild, Win to Serve, Lead, Act. A third change…
Watch live: Conservative leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat makes his case for the job in a major speech ahead of tomorrow’s vote https://t.co/xItZsH7tea https://t.co/LiWozZEruJ
— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 3, 2024
Tom will be appealing to those One Nation Tory MPs who are deciding between him and Cleverly. It’s all to play for…
Tom’s team opted for foam fingers and M&Ms with his face on them as the choice of merch. How fun…
Guido has uncovered the threat of mass of US-style class action lawsuits under Labour, thanks in part to measures included in Angela Rayner’s ‘Plan to Make Work Pay’, targeting job creators and high street businesses (making it easier to sue them on political grounds). Labour’s extensive links to the lefty lawfare industry are unravelling…
Word is spreading as councils and companies face ever-increasing legal demands – and a recent appointment by Starmer won’t calm nerves. On Thursday, Sir Keir promoted Catherine Smith KC to one of the highest legal positions in the land: Advocate General for Scotland. Smith is Labour royalty: not only is she the daughter of former Labour leader John Smith (a red princess to match Labour’s collection of red princes), but she is yet another experienced claimant lawyer, specialising in “personal injury, clinical negligence and judicial review cases.” A speciality which often means clobbering employers and businesses with expensive legal action…
Starmer has once again promoted a claimant lawyer to a top role. Packing the place with lefty activist lawyers, no wonder UK firms think the shine is coming off Labour’s attempt to woo business…
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.”
