There are still plenty of unanswered questions for Angela Rayner as she prepares for her march on Downing Street. Questions any leadership candidate – any future Prime Minister – would not want hanging over them…
Perhaps these questions will be answered in Rayner’s hotly-anticipated memoir. In December, the Guardian gleefully reported of a “bidding war between several different publishers” for the rights to the book. Three months on, no contract has appeared in her register of interests, and this morning Politico heard that won’t change at the next update to the register. So presumably no money has changed hands yet, which is usually the first thing that happens when a book deal is signed…
A memoir would force Rayner into a bit of a corner. She could address the outstanding questions about her property arrangements head-on, which might cause a headache for someone trying to become PM. She could try to avoid them, which would raise eyebrows on its own. Or she could try to spin her way out of it, which never works either. It’ll be a page-turner when (if) it ever comes out…
Rattled…
The Number 10 spokesman in the Lobby briefing of press hacks today:
“We doubled our headroom against our fiscal rules. Borrowing is forecast to be lower than the G7 average… we have delivered stability when it comes to the public finances, and we’ve done so in a way that allows us to invest in priorities such as the NHS, and as you’ll see from next month, bringing people’s energy bills down”.
Rachel Reeves attacks Liz Truss’s mini-Budget with every other breath. The UK’s 10-year gilt yield is currently higher than it ever was under Truss. Last month the government borrowed £14.3 billion, which was almost double the forecasts. When interest rates go back up later this year, who will Reeves blame then? If she’s even still in post…
Trump on Truth Social:
“I AM PLEASE TO REPORT THAT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE COUNTRY OF IRAN, HAVE HAD, OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS, VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. BASED ON THE TENOR AND TONE OF THESE IN DEPTH, DETAILED, AND CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS, WITCH WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK, I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A FIVE DAY PERIOD, SUBJECT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE ONGOING MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP”
His deadline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz was set to expire just before midnight…
Sarah Pochin at Reform Scotland’s manifesto launch event: “I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burka, but apparently I wasn’t allowed… One day let’s do one of these events not live-streamed. We’ll do all the naughty stuff…”