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You’re either in front of Guido, or you are behind…
No10 on Mike Tapp:
“It is not for any individual Secretary of State to determine whether the Ministerial Code has been followed, it is a matter for the Prime Minister alone.
Mike Tapp has been reminded of his obligations under the Ministerial Code including collective responsibility and procedures relating to the clearance and presentation of government policy.”
Mahmood rebuked…
Tapp has also published a statement on his tweet comparing Mahmood to the Taliban:
“Earlier today I wrote a poorly judged tweet referencing previous experiences in my professional life. I realised very quickly that it could be misinterpreted and so I deleted it immediately. I apologise wholeheartedly for any offence I may have caused. I have a lot of respect for the Home Secretary and will continue working hard for our country.”
Andy Burnham has said he will continue donating 15% of his salary to local efforts, which he did for nine years as Mayor of Greater Manchester. He said he did so “to tackle homelessness” in Manchester…
Now he says he will this time be “donating to worthy local causes at the heart of our communities.” But only his MP’s salary will go to them…
An MP makes a measly £98,599 compared to the mayoral salary of £118,267. That means communities will receive only £14,789.85 from Andy compared to £17,740.05 they got before – a reduction of almost £3,000. He could announce that he would be donating 15% of his prime ministerial salary too – which would be an uplift…
Guido hears senior personnel in No10 are keen on resignation honours from Starmer. Just one problem with that…
In 2023 Starmer promised never to make a list of resignation honours – defying convention – because he was attacking Tory PMs for doing the same when they revolved out of the door of Downing Street. Once again the piety comes back to slap them in the face…
This week Starmer’s spokesman declined to rule out resignation honours, saying: “We’re getting ahead of ourselves.” A Downing Street source tells Guido that senior staff in the building – expected to go under Burnham – are “all testing how much Keir will stick to his promise about no resignation honours,” adding: “some of them fancy the ermine.” No doubt about that…
Guido has been examining what a Mahmoodian chancellorship would look like. An intriguing proposal from her top SpAd in 2021 suggested an economy-wide carbon tax…
The written-up briefings about Shabana Mahmood being desperate to stay in the Home Office are not necessarily accurate. Her own close fans often discuss how keen Burnhamites are for her to be Chancellor…
In September 2021 Josh Williams, soon to be heading up Labour Together, put forward this idea to fight climate change in the UK:
The moment this tax touched real households and real firms there would be massive pressure for exemptions. Anyone thought of agriculture, steel, cement, ceramics, glass, chemicals, aviation, fishing, remote rural houses, fuel-poor houses, energy-intensive SMEs, and strategic industries?
It is also more inflationary. This is why we don’t have a unified Carbon Tax…
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.”