Guido hears Telegraph leader writer Sam Ashworth-Hayes is joining Reform as part of its beefed-up policy team. James Orr is going on a hiring spree…
Ashworth-Hayes’ blueprint for Reform is revealed in his Telegraph columns. From last October:
“There are steps Reform can take to boost growth without irritating its base – liberalising planning in London and other cities over the heads of local councils, pursuing cheap energy among others…
Reform’s challenge is to find a way to sell benefits reforms to its base as part of a package: shielding its voters as much as possible, but where necessary cutting spending and trusting the migration and culture narratives to carry the day. It’s a hard sell, but not an impossible one.”
It’ll soon be his job to sell it…
Robert Jenrick on the Today programme:
“Can you now give a guarantee to your listeners this morning that no BBC presenter in the future will be exposed as a paedophile, as a number have been in the recent past? No, of course you can’t…”