Labour is continuing its clamp down on free speech. Yvette Cooper has reversed the Tories’ decision last year to stop police recording so many “non-crime hate incidents” as it was a waste of police time. Under the Tories police were restricted to recording incidents which posed a real risk of escalating into “significant” harm…
Labour proudly declares today that “Home Office has committed to reverse the decision of the previous government to downgrade the monitoring of anti-Semitic and Islamophobic hate, at a time when rates of those incidents have increased.” Police will now be told to record the “non-crime” incidents, which is apparently needed to “monitor tensions.” It’s OK, though: Labour says it is “balancing” the plans with the right to free speech. How long will it be before Labour re-commits to locking up those who go about “misgendering” people…
The news of the Gallagher brothers getting back together for an Oasis British Isles Tour has united the country in ways that no party can. Guido thought to look back on the tune of Noel Gallagher’s political views that fans might be a bit of a Headshrinker for those Oasis lefty lovers…
Perhaps that’s why Starmer was so gauche about the brothers getting back together today. He may be looking back in anger…
The government has started hiring on LinkedIn for state energy investment vehicle GB Energy through DESNZ. So far thirteen mid-level positions are being advertised, all for £52,985 and spread across London, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh and Salford. £688,805 in taxpayer-funded salaries up for grabs…
All the job adverts say GB Energy only wants its progenitor staff in the office 40-60% of the times and offers “a variety of flexible working options” which includes working from home. On top of that comes a neat £14,305 towards being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Meanwhile – up go the energy bills…
William Yarwood, media campaign manager of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, sounds a warning note:
“GB Energy has barely started walking and the civil service is already hiring copious carers to babysit it while it teeths. The government needs to make sure that GB Energy does not turn into a taxpayer funded jolly for busy body bureaucrats.”
Interviews take place on the 16th of next month over Microsoft Teams. Start as you mean to go on…
Rishi Sunak has finally mustered up the strength (in-between fine dining in Beverly Hills) to speak out on social media, having been off grid for 23 days. You’d thing amongst riots, tax hikes in sight, and prisons filling up, the Leader of the Opposition would have something to say about the state of the nation…
An hour after Starmer’s speech today, Sunak managed to tweet the profound and insightful comment that it looks like Labour will raise taxes. Almost like he never really wanted the job in the first place…
Labour just can’t get enough of their previous political staff handed supposedly neutral civil service jobs. In what is now becoming a major scandal, ministers are failing to justify the provision of mass-Labour donor Waheed Alli with a Downing Street pass and Labour aides are entering the civil service in droves. It’s not just Sue Gray bringing on her loyalists…
Wes Streeting’s political press officer Joe Davies, employed by the Labour Party in the four months to election, was handed a civil service media relations role this month. DHSC deploys the usual line when asked about this parachute job by Guido: “The department does not comment on individual personnel matters. Any appointments are made in line with the civil service rules on recruitment.” The department has not denied that the job was given without interview. Normally ministers’ civil service press teams are composed of impartial civil servants…
If the job wasn’t advertised externally, what exception was used? Who signed off on the exception? Did Streeting make a declaration of interest?

Starmer’s line when asked at his ‘State of the Nation’ speech was that “most of these allegations are coming from the very people who dragged the country down in the first place.” Which is complete nonsense as it’s the press, not Tories, digging out these appointments…
Guido is told that, while donor Ian Corfield’s crony civil service appointment won’t be going ahead, Jess Sargeant’s position in the Propriety and Constitution Group hasn’t changed. There’s no stopping this train…
YouGov has done some polling on Tory Party members’ views. It should make interesting reading for leadership contenders…
52% of members say that a merger with Nigel’s “real opposition” would improve Tory chances of winning at the next election. A lower 42% say they want to see it actually go ahead. Reflecting the rough split between the poacher and merger camps…

Support for moving to the centre sits at a low 34% as over half of members say the party should shift to the right. A hefty two-thirds say the UK should leave the European Convention on Human Rights. Leadership contenders need to come up with an answer to the Farage question, and quick…
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.”