Labour’s panicked positive-news announcement this morning has raised eyebrows in SW1. It’s old…
Back in April the government announced and made a big deal out of its school-based nursery programme:
“We invited schools across England to apply for funding to open an initial 300 new or expanded nurseries. The 300 new or expanded nurseries will offer an average of 20 places per site and up to 6,000 new places in total, with up to 4,000 set to be available by the end of September 2025.”
Equalities minister Jacqui Smith took the morning round to talk up a “milestone” announcement that “about 200 school-based nurseries will open in England this September.” Phillipson will even announce this in the Commons…
This was the only positive announcement Labour produced for this morning as it is rocked by Starmer’s welfare humiliation and Labour ministers’ mealy-mouthed reactions to events at Glastonbury. So strange was it that Nick Robinson mocked Smith for her being put up to the Today Programme slot:
“Lovely to talk to you but where is the welfare secretary, the minister for disabled people… You’re not a minister in the relevant department, you’re not in any of the meetings, you’re not in the Cabinet, you’re not in the House of Commons.“
Eagle-eyed co-conspirators will have noticed that the “milestone” is just the same number of nurseries that Labour claimed back in April it would open agreeing to open. Nothing new whatsoever…
As Guido pointed out at the time Reeves’ tax hikes are set to close more nurseries than Labour is opening with this vaunted programme. If “we are still doing this policy” is the best Labour can pull out of the drawer on a morning like this…
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”