Hamza Chowdhury, a Green councillor for Holborn and Covent Garden, is fighting his own leader Zack Polanski for the party’s candidacy in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. This is the one thing Polanski didn’t want to happen…
Chowdhury said this afternoon:
“We don’t need another MP who arrives during the election campaign, puts out a few leaflets and disappears once the votes are counted…”
There were some fears in Polanski’s camp that members might opt for a local candidate. Camden Greens will hold a formal meeting to decide who wins the selection this Thursday. The result is due on Friday. Watch Guido’s YouTube dispatch from the seat by clicking here…
Former Treasury minister and adviser to Burnham in the Makerfield campaign Lord Jim O’Neill, who has turned down a role in his government, said Burnham’s first statement Commons was:
“The last thing investors wanted to hear… gilt yields have risen by a 0.25% in one day, which is a lot. We’ve not had that since Liz Truss days… If your country is under the focus of ‘can they come up with a sensible fiscal strategy’ on a day when the markets think ‘well no, you’re not showing any sign of it’ you’re going to have a tough day…if it stays like this your mortgage rate is going up.”