The week hasn’t got off to the best start for the Tories, as turmoil within the left and right of the party over Sunak’s new Rwanda bill grows. One Nation Tories are telling whips they will be voting with Labour in a bid to kill the bill, while those on the right (namely Braverman and, err, Jenrick) are also set to reject it. Growing discontent in the party has been reflected in the polls in a major way…

The last time to the Tories managed to garner 30% in the polls was late-September 2022. Since then, there have been 62 consecutive polls, with 60 of them giving the Tories a measly score in the 20’s and two of them 19% – the worst extended run of poll ratings in the party’s history. CCHQ is hoping that there will be a bump in the polls before the next election. Though if their ratings continue to plummet as they have been, they might want a rethink before things get even worse…

New figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) show the UK’s tax-to-GDP ratio rose to 35.3% in 2022/2023 – the highest since their records started in 2000. That’s a 0.9% increase from last year’s 34.3% record from last yet. As the government rakes in increasingly gargantuan amounts we’re slipping down the tax competitiveness rankings…

This comes after the OECD downgraded our growth forecast and recommended that Sunak ease fiscal pressure and quickly implement supply-side reforms to get some life out of the economy. The OBR’s current statistics show us headed towards a 37.7% ratio in five years, which would beat even post-war highs. The Treasury continues to insist “the UK tax system is highly competitive“, which no one believes. Meanwhile we can’t even call HMRC any more…

GB News presenter and former UKIP leader Nigel Farage placed third in I’m A Celeb – the same as Matt Hancock last year. Fresh out of the jungle and sporting a much-needed shave, he was interviewed on Good Morning Britain this morning, poked by Ed Balls on whether a return to politics would be his next adventure. He used the question to blast the government as a “shambles”, describing Sunak as a “lame duck walking“. No punches pulled…

Farage went on to say “we need people at the top with firm guidance“, and on trying to get onto the green benches, one should “never say never“. Leader of Reform UK, Richard Tice, said Farage would find it “hard to resist” playing a greater role in the party. Now Farage has banked the “biggest pay cheque [he’s] ever had”, Tice might be right…