Reform is ramping up its attack campaign in Makerfield. The clip above is the party’s first video ad targeted at the constituency, which it will launch across social media as part of its air war against the Burnham camp in the lead-up to 18th June. Leaning heavily into Brexit, and pushing back against Burnham’s anti-establishment credentials…
The game is on. Reform selected Robert Kenyon as its candidate yesterday. Already his launch video has more views than Burnham’s. A Reform source tells Guido “he’s got Oasis, we’ve got Rob on the tools”…
Down from 3.3% in the year to March, and largely the result of the energy price cap kicking in. Expect next month to be much worse…
Rachel Reeves is trying to impose price caps on supermarkets in backroom negotiations, according to the FT. UKSSR…
The Treasury is pressuring major supermarkets to voluntarily cap prices on essentials. Rachel Reeves is said to be hoping to announce the policy alongside a cost-of-living package on Thursday. In exchange Labour is offering regulatory “incentives” including easing packaging rules and delaying healthy food regulations…
Supermarkets are obviously furious and describing it as a knee-jerk reaction to the SNP’s similar scheme, which has been roundly dismissed as a 70s-style gimmick. Reeves has also also demanded guarantees that farmers wouldn’t lose income from the caps. Has everyone at the Treasury with an economics degree been locked in the cellar?
The Trades Union Congress collaborated formally with civil servants to produce counter-analysis of the Employment Rights Act that propagandised Rayner’s legislation.
In private email correspondence uncovered by Guido’s FOI Unit, a TUC official wrote to two DBT officials: “I have also attached our final note on the government’s ERB impact assessment, which, you may be aware, has been checked with your analysts.” The ‘note’ presented analysis from the TUC to claim the Employment Rights Act would boost the economy by £10 billion…
The TUC analysis’ stated objective was to hit back against the government’s own forecast that the Employment Rights Act could cost £5 billion for businesses across the country. The email said:
“It emphasises that the often quoted (small) £5bn cost is the maximum potential cost if every measure in the Act were to generate its highest estimated impact each year AND that it is not an accurate figure of net quantified benefits nor net unquantified benefits.”
The TUC note argued the £5 billion figure was inflated by the methodology used and complained that policies were placed into cost buckets and the upper bound of each bucket was summed. The note presented the TUC and Landman Economics’ own estimate of unquantified benefits at £10.3 billion per year, claiming these were “37 times higher than the net costs (-£280m) quantified in the government’s economic assessment.” The largest single component of the TUC’s claimed £10.3 billion in benefits was “reduced workplace conflict” – others included “days lost to stress/depression/anxiety” apparently worth £974 million and “improvement in wellbeing”(£930m). ‘Landman Economics’ is a tiny outfit which produces pro-Labour and pro-migration analysis for waving around by activists…
The note was also shared with DBT SpAd Nicola Bartlett. So DBT’s own analysts had pre-approved a TUC document designed to minimise the cost of the government’s own legislation…
Thankfully the propaganda analysis never caught on to overtake the government’s low estimate of a £5 billion cost to businesses. It will likely be higher…
Co-conspirators will remember Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s weird podcast with leftist supremos Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart. What was that about?
The links between the new Syrian regime and Labour’s top brass are deeper. As Guido revealed, staff from Powell’s former consultancy (which he founded), Inter Mediate, are embedded in Al-Sharaa’s Presidential Office in Damascus. The government has repeatedly refused to say how much taxpayer’s cash is being funnelled to Powell’s old shop, the FCDO partially funds it…
So it’s no shock that when Al-Sharaa visited London in March for a handshake with Keir Starmer, there were other events on the programme. FCDO minister and Labour nepo baby Hamish Falconer hosted a roundtable in partnership with the Syrian British Business Council, which posted on Facebook:
“Following the main reception, the SBBC and the FCDO jointly hosted a private roundtable Chaired by Minister Hamish Falconer MP and attended by sponsors and members, as well as Rob Dixon, FCDO Director; Ann Snow, the UK Special Representative for Syria; and David Hunt, Head of the Iraq, Syria and Yemen Department . . . Notable guests also included SBBC member representative Mr. Bahaa Hariri and prospective members Mr. Wafic Said and Mr. Ayman Asfari.”
One name stands out there…
Wafic Said is a longtime businessman and was a key broker in the famous Al-Yamamah arms deal. Powell’s brother Charles is a trustee of the Said Foundation Trust and Chairman of the Said Business School Foundation. As Arab newspaper The National put it: “This personal connection and the work done by the Said Foundation has given Mr Powell a long-standing and extensive knowledge of the country and the issues it faces, according to those who know him”. The Tories recently called for an inquiry into Powell’s work with Inter Mediate and its web of interests…
Did Powell meet Wafic Said during the London visit? As regional outlet Sana put it: “the outcomes of President al-Sharaa’s visit were reflected in the immediate visit of UK-based Syrian businessman Wafic Saïd to Damascus the following day to begin establishing a major international-standard hotel. He said Saïd’s meeting with the president gave him momentum to launch this significant economic and tourism investment”. The proximity of the National Security Adviser to such activities is eyebrow raising to say the least, but don’t expect transparency under the Starmer premiership…
Paula Barker, Liverpool Wavertree MP backing Andy Burnham, told Times Radio there wouldn’t be trouble from the markets under Burnham:
“The markets will have to fall in line.”