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…
Starmer has been gearing the nation up today for a “painful” budget this October, once again dodging the question of wealth taxes, particularly a capital gains tax raid. He insists that “broader shoulders should bear the heaviest burdens” to fill the so-called black hole. Meanwhile, businesses and landlords are scrambling to sell up to avoid the looming raid, and green energy investors are hitting pause on their plans, spooked by the prospect of Reeves’ Autumn Statement on the eve of Halloween…
With capital gains tax raids in sight, private investors are getting cold feet. NatPower UK’s CEO, who promised to pump £10 billion into UK green energy, says investors are stalling due to the expected tax hikes:
“I’m talking with investors and they are definitely considering and waiting for decisions to be made so that they can make their own decisions. For infrastructure investors in the energy transition, it is the capital gains tax that is particularly relevant.”
Labour’s been pushing the narrative that their costly GB Energy plan will be bankrolled by the private sector, sparing taxpayers the cheque to reach Net Zero, though as Guido’s flagged before, the numbers don’t add up. Labour cutting their nose despite their face on capital gains tax could force them into yet another policy U-turn. If private investors bolt, “working people” will be left footing the bill to meet Net Zero targets—or more likely, the 2030 goal will be quietly shelved. The latter might be the better option…
Starmer has used this speech to set the narrative for Autumn, which is: “We had no idea it was so bad.” In summary:
- Growth, meaning wealth creation, is number one priority of government. Hence wealth fund, planning reforms, Great British Energy, and “ending the national strikes.” See how that goes…
- Labour has done more in 7 weeks than the Tories did in 7 years.
- “Things are worse than we ever imagined” – this isn’t a performative statement, the £22 billion black hole in finances wasn’t seen by OBR prior to the election.
- “Mindless minority of thugs” smashed up communities and terrified minorities. Crime has consequences.
- Society is “deeply unhealthy“, weakened by a “decade of division and decline.“
- Tory “populism” offered more failure.
- Dealing with this round of riots was harder than 2011 because Starmer didn’t know if courts could handle it.
- The UK has a “societal black hole.“
- Tough choices are ahead. Things will get worse before they get better. Ding…
- Starmer didn’t want to release prisoners early – the government wouldn’t have been able to respond to the riots if it had not been done.
- Starmer didn’t want to means test the Winter Fuel Allowance.
- Unpopular decisions coming now for the long term.
- Tories won’t accept the cost they have inflicted on country or apologise for it.
- starmer made huge asks of police and justice system during riots.
- Parliament returns next week – it won’t be business as usual because there is serious work to do.
- Budget in October is “going to be painful” and there is no other choice. He says it’s right that the “broadest shoulders should bear heaviest burdens”…
- Big asks will be made of the country at the budget too.
- Riots revealed the cure because people repaired damage done.
- Let’s fix the country together.
Starmer is asked to be honest about tax rises and refuses to spell out which ones are in consideration because what he “didn’t expect was a £22 billion black hole.” He also says the Winter Fuel Allowance is not a “well-designed scheme.” Starmer’s line on cronyism is that he “won’t take lectures.” Will this be enough to calm the mob?
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”
