The heat remained on Angela Rayner, as weeks of Guido’s relentless coverage of her murky living situation finally forced the mainstream press to take notice. Labour scrambled, pulling 21 Facebook ads featuring the then Shadow Deputy Leader, while Greater Manchester Police announced they were investigating her for numerous allegations including tax and electoral issues. The story continued to rumble…
Labour stubbornly refused to release documents that could clarify which house Rayner was living in, though even her loyal colleagues found it tricky to defend her sticky situation: Cooper struggled to defend her tax hypocrisy, Starmer couldn’t support Rayner 100% and Lammy’s strongest argument was that it was “different” because Labour wasn’t in government yet. Rayner then began briefing that no capital gains tax was owed because she had “renovated” her kitchen. Guido tracked down pictures of the so-called renovation — a modest job that hardly looked expensive enough to erase a capital gains bill. The numbers didn’t add up…
It was trouble in paradise north of the border as Humza Yousaf scrapped his governing deal with the Scottish Greens. The move came after the SNP ditched its own climate target to cut emissions by 75% by 2030—so much for saving the planet. The Scottish Tories and Labour seized the moment, tabling a no-confidence vote. Humza clung on, declaring he wouldn’t resign. Spoiler: he resigned. Just three days later, Yousaf threw in the towel, stepping down as First Minister after a staggering 397 days in office. Unsurprisingly, Time Magazine didn’t come calling on Humza again for its next cover on “extraordinary leaders”…
The Tories couldn’t stay out of drama either. Tory MP William Wragg confessed he’d fallen victim to a honeytrap scammer on Grindr and had leaked personal phone numbers of several MPs. Those numbers, naturally, ended up being used in a phishing scandal. Another Tory MP Mark Menzies resigned following accusations that he used party money to pay off “bad people” in a hostage situation. Colleagues weren’t exactly sympathetic for the either of the now former MPs. Politics is a dirty game…
Over in Brussels, Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman turned up for the National Conservatism Conference. The Socialist mayor wasn’t having it, ordering police to swoop in and shut it down “to guarantee public safety,” claiming the “far right is not welcome.” The police dutifully obliged, shutting the event down early. Proving Nigel’s point about free speech…
Honourable Mentions:
Headline of the Month: Beeb Slammed for Spaffing £3.2 Million on Left Biased BBC Verify
Paula Barker, Liverpool Wavertree MP backing Andy Burnham, told Times Radio there wouldn’t be trouble from the markets under Burnham:
“The markets will have to fall in line.”