As politicians, civil servants and hacks finally take down their Christmas decorations after a leisurely two week break, a quick recap of the holiday season offers some lessons for the year ahead. Happy New Year…
Without doubt the clear winner of the break was Nigel Farage, who managed to be the only frontline politician to post a decent New Year’s message then had to do little else as the off-season narrative became dominated by Reform. The current online resurgence of interest in the grooming gangs scandal – which saw Elon Musk suggest Labour minister Jess Phillips should be in prison – will only benefit the insurgent party, rather than Labour or the Conservatives. An MRP published by More In Common found that Labour would lose 67 seats to Reform if there were to be an election today. The question now is only whether that will go higher and place Reform within reach of governing…
The Tories themselves had little to savour over the break, with a series of unforced spats including rows over sandwiches and membership figures. The Tory commentariat is beginning to boast about selling its shares in the leadership – which is an early danger signal – despite Badenoch having been in place for less than three months. There are plenty of Tories to whom this seems wildly premature – although the Conservative parliamentary party has made a habit of turning on leaders at breakneck pace. Rival camps are beginning to stir…
And the Prime Minister – who has been abroad in Madeira – has more to worry about than angering dozens of British tourists with his queue jumping. His dreadful personal ratings are unlikely to be aided by an in-tray consisting of an imminent recession and the slow realisation among Labour MPs that they are likely to lose their seats at the next election. Labour’s internal politics will dominate much of what matters in 2025, as Starmer begins to run out of road with his own MPs…
Dozens of local elections are set to take place in May – unless Angela Rayner cancels them. County councils have been given a 10th January deadline to tell the Government whether they want to run elections this year or suspend them so they can focus on their amalgamation into bigger ‘strategic authorities’. Which sounds like democracy denied by an unpopular Government…
As always in 2025, the Guido team will continue to bring you the very latest, reporting tomorrow’s news today, with our traffic, engagement, and reach at all time highs. You’re either in front of Guido, or you are behind…
Statement by Paul Dacre, Editor-in-Chief of Associated Newspapers Limited, following Harry’s loss in court today:
“Prince Harry wrote a sad book which boasted about his killing of 25 Taliban, his drug-taking and, in cringe-making detail, how he lost his virginity. There isn’t a laundry in the cosmos big enough to wash all the dirty linen he has aired about his own family. For him, to complain about HIS privacy being invaded takes, not just the biscuit, but the whole tin. Poor Harry. I feel sorry for the way a confused and angry young man has been drawn into this case. The bitter irony is that his mother, Diana, liked the Mail. We were her paper. We took her side in her acrimonious break up with Charles. She and I would speak and meet. The Mail’s superb royal reporter was her friend and confidante. The truth is that this trumped-up action – which has cost well over £50 million and wasted a huge amount of valuable court time – should never have been brought to trial. That it did, raises profoundly disturbing questions about the conduct of elements of the legal profession. Today’s verdict is not just a victory for Associated’s magnificent journalists – several of whom have had a terrible toll imposed on their health and lives – but a free press generally. Make no mistake. This was a conspiracy, supported by Hacked Off, to destroy a paper. Financed by the orgy-loving, racist Max Mosley and involving the actor Hugh Grant, it was also a sinister bid to resuscitate Leveson Two and impose statutory regulation on the press which, even now, is rearing its ugly head in Labour’s Media Green Paper.”