Labour Conference is developing a strong anti-media narrative. Starmer’s allies have taken to complaining bitterly about journalists reporting on his and his ministers’ freebie-taking…
At a pro-tax love-in this morning attended by Exchequer Secretary James Murray and a selection of high-tax activists discussed fiscal proposals including more than doubling capital gains tax and imposing additional taxation on the well-endowed. Wealth tax fanatic Arun Advani said he was “optimistic” because the Labour government is “genuinely listening” to his ideas. Which include growth-crushing expansions of existing taxes…
Ex-FT reporter and Labour rising star Yuan Yang MP rounded off the event by claiming that “access to Lobby journalists” is held primarily by vested interests and the majority of reporting on tax issues is “not representative of what people say to me on the doorstep.” She urged Labour activists present to take “action” to combat the media narrative and present the case for higher tax. No doubt those tight new controls on the press will help…
Speaking on Times Radio, former Home Secretary David Blunkett spoke about overdiagnosis of mental problems:
“Let’s distinguish those who are really severely mentally ill, diagnosed with things that require prolonged medical and diagnostic treatment. My wife and I talk about this a lot, because she’s a retired GP, about the fact that you can be sad without being ill. You can be momentarily depressed because your boyfriend or girlfriend’s just thrown you and you’re not mentally ill. You can even have mild issues, which can be dealt with with the right kind of support, but it doesn’t make you mentally ill. So we’ve got a real task, I think, to get the psychology, if you like, of this over. But there are things where you definitely need medical intervention, and there are other things where you need good friends, you need good connectivity, and you need a job.”