Legendary columnist Rod Liddle has died at the age of 66 after a short illness. His children Wilder, Tyler and Emmy released a statement this afternoon:
“We’re all very saddened and shocked at the sudden passing of our wonderful father. He raised us much as you might imagine, to be inquisitive, brave and always humorous. Even in hospital in the last few weeks, he consistently held the room and never let the awful situation show. He has left a legacy that we are all incredibly proud of, he will always be our guide on how to live an extraordinary life.”
One of the best in the business. Rest in peace.
The early battle lines are being drawn for the 2028 London mayoral race. New polling from Opinium suggests if the Tories even want to be viable, they would perform better with a fresh candidate from outside Westminster than with a former minister. No one has thrown their hat in the ring yet. Expect Guido’s runners and riders soon…
The polling put the Conservatives on 17% of first preferences, level with Reform and behind Labour on 32% and the Greens on 18%. On those numbers, the Tories don’t make the final run-off…
That said, the voters most open to switching are those currently backing Reform, of whom 29% would consider a Tory, and Labour, on 20%. Respondents were shown two hypothetical Conservative candidates. One was an entrepreneur, and the other had spent more than a decade as a government minister. Asked which they would rather vote for, 37% chose the entrepreneur, compared to 20% for the ex-minister…
The survey also shows 36% naming crime and policing as one of London’s biggest problems and as the issue the Mayor can most influence. Of course, there’s also the question of whether Sir Sadiq / Lord Khan decides to stand for a fourth term. Opinium’s data shows 51% of Londoners think the city is heading in the wrong direction, and Khan’s own approval rating stands at -7. Does David Lammy fancy his chances? He’s not as busy as he used to pretend to be…
Nigel Farage confirmed at a Reform press conference this morning that he reached out to Rupert Lowe last night, after the Restore leader declared the pair should put their bad blood aside “for the good of the country“. Farage claimed today he is “open-minded” about “talks”…
“On the Rupert Lowe stuff, my understanding is he had a bit of a fallout last week with the Conservatives, who he had been working quite closely with for some time. If you want to do a political deal with somebody, you would contact them privately and not do twelve minute video. That said, I did actually reach out back yesterday to him. I did say, look, shall we have a call?
[…]
If it was the offer of a deal, it came in a very unusual way… I have responded to it, potentially with an open mind, as I would, but I’m certainly not going to be ditching people who I view as allies and a great asset.”
If this is the start of a united right coalition, it’s already hit choppy waters. Lowe has since tweeted that Farage “lied” in saying “‘shall we have a call?”. Instead, he claims, Farage said “will call later“, and never did. He nonetheless said the offer stands…
Reform is vowing to call in the Navy:
“Under a Reform UK Government, the Armed Forces would be deployed to intercept unauthorised vessels crossing the English Channel, transfer the illegal migrants onto Royal Navy vessels (treating them medically if necessary), and escort those on board safely back to France or Belgium.
The plan would establish a joint military command involving the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, RAF and British Army, supported by creating an Integrated Surveillance Command using drones, aircraft, helicopters, space satellites and infrared technology to track crossings.”
Burnham confirms he spoke to Trump last night about drilling in the North Sea:
“I indicated in the phone call that we had a week last Monday that I would take a pragmatic approach when it comes to the North Sea, and that is my intention as we go forward from here. There is a resource there. When people are struggling, we can’t ignore that. Hence, me indicating that to the president…”