Kemi Badenoch has set the lawyers on the government over the 40% funding cuts that Tory-run Wandsworth Council claims has forced it into a gigantic 94% council tax rise. Band D bills are set to soar from £1,020 to £1,978…
She told Newsnight last night:
“We have actually instructed lawyers, as the Conservative Party, to see if we can challenge the government on this decision.
Because what it looks like Labour is doing is taking money from areas that don’t vote Labour, and giving it to places that do vote Labour.
And I think that’s completely wrong. I think it is outrageous. So we’re talking to lawyers. Andy Burnham has not found 40 percent of anything to cut, but he’s asking Wandsworth to do that. I don’t think that’s fair. I don’t think that’s right.”
The Tories are blaming Rayner’s funding shake-up, which redirects money north to Labour areas. Although the Tories’ own summer spending review at the town hall also points the finger at the Labour administration they turfed out in May for running down reserves and growing the payroll by 14% since 2022. Which is par for the course when the Labour sheriffs are in town…
Sky News has got a leak of Starmer’s May-Autumn policy agenda, drafted by the No10 Policy Unit. The “Save Big Dog” plan…
Most of the policies drafted are exactly the same as those now pursued by Burnham and ones for which the new PM is taking credit. Starmer 2.?
They are summarised in a long list below:
Continue reading “Continuity Burnham Borrows From Starmer’s ‘Save Big Dog’ Policy Plan”
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Guido hears crunch time is approaching for those special advisers who were retained from Starmer’s government. The majority of those who stayed in their jobs were given three-month probationary contracts. Burnham came in on 20th July – one month to go…
Sticking SpAds on probationary contracts is not entirely new practice for Labour. Starmer’s No10 did the same as soon as it entered power under famous SpAd-hater Sue Gray, who instituted four-month probation across the board…
Just prior to the change of government the FDA union, which represents some civil servants, signed a “formal recognition agreement for special advisers” who chose to unionise. The union said:
“In the two years since special advisers made the decision to unionise and choose FDA as their collective voice, significant milestones have been achieved. Three consolidated pay uplifts have been agreed, an independent view of pay was initiated and a new pay policy negotiated, and dozens of individual members have been advised and represented.”
Whether or not they can get union help, Starmer’s surviving SpAds will have to prove their worth to the new overlords. Or leave and plot revenge…
Another steelworks is under state control after Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the Commons earlier this week that the Government is moving to nationalise Speciality Steel UK. Reynolds guesses a price tag of “around £350 million” will be required to pay off the creditors, buy the assets and pump in working capital for up to three years. But the business department still needs to figure out how much the sum really is. Co-conspirators might want to add a margin of error to the cost to the public purse…
Tory MP Mark Pritchard pointed out that Reynolds said at different points the money would come from “existing government budgets” or possibly “fall on the Exchequer“. The Business Secretary didn’t answer beyond saying that Labour’s £2.5 billion steel pot hadn’t all been spent yet…
Now Guido understands Norwegian firm Blastr Green Steel, the preferred bidder since April, put a fully funded proposal (with no cost to the taxpayer) to ministers ahead of the announcement. Labour binned this over ‘serious concerns’ about the financing, Guido understands no one told Blastr in advance…
The Government has already handed British Steel roughly £555 million in working capital for public ownership and is sweeping the railways back into public hands. Even when private businesses offer to help the government avoid nationalisation, they get turned down. Why would any private company invest in British industry with this policy approach?
ICYMI: no2nationalisation.uk
At Mayor’s Question Time. Did Zack get any of that?
Khan said:
“Peace be upon you. I was worried that you would ask the question in Urdu, but you asked your question in English. I’ll be spending time in Holborn and St Pancras this week and I’m going to be there. Maybe, maybe we will meet there.”
Andy Haldane, Burnham’s recent adviser on the economy who has not taken up a No10 job, told Andrew Marr on LBC:
“The market now suspects that this is a traditional tax-and-spend socialist government with better TikTok videos…
imposing windfall taxes on oil & gas or on banks or upping capital gains tax would […] repeat the mistake that Rachel made […] The Achilles heel, the fiscal Achilles heel of this government thus far has been its unwillingness and/or inability to cut public spending.”