Last ditch negotiations are underway in London as Starmer attempts to ram through his Chagos sellout before Trump’s inauguration. Earlier today Guido revealed how the deal would see UK nuclear options sold out as part of the giveaway…
Guido is in touch with multiple sources close to the negotiations and in the Trump team, who are aware of the issue and monitoring Starmer’s moves. Trump advisers say that the President-elect is currently “extremely angry” over the sellout of the Panama Canal. Trump has mentioned the issue several times in recent speeches, blaming President Carter for the US sellout, and has raised similar concerns over Greenland. He has not ruled out using military force to take either territory…
Trump advisers now say the President is beginning to see Chagos as one of the same issues. “If Starmer sells out UK sovereignty disabling the US base and nukes, it’s going to make Trump as furious as over Panama” says one well-placed Trump team member. In another development, sources close to the UK negotiations say Starmer is personally pressuring the deal to be concluded as soon as possible, effectively writing a blank cheque to Mauritius. The Mauritian delegation are trying to up the cash value as high as possible by stalling their signature. Could Trump see the Chagos proposal as an opportunity for US force projection, like Panama and Greenland? US-UK relations are certainly shaky enough…
The ‘progressives’ are still licking their wounds after Meta announced it would no longer be censoring posts on Facebook and Instagram, using community notes à la Musk rather than deploying “fact checkers”. The rollout begins in the US, with the UK and EU likely to follow. Zuckerberg finally conceded that his censors had been “used to shut down opinions”. Cue swathes of sanctimonious outrage from free speech deniers…
It’s not just progressive outlets lamenting Meta’s decision. Full Fact—a UK-based “fact-checking” charity—is also reeling from the shake-up. The charity stands to lose a significant chunk of change when Meta inevitably no longer requires its services. In 2023, Meta donated £373,510 to Full Fact for its ‘Third Party Fact-Checking Programme,’ a 29% increase from 2022 and a whopping 4.19 times the average funding amount of £89,096. Little wonder Full Fact’s CEO, Chris Morris, described Meta’s decision to sever ties with fact-checkers in the US as “disappointing and a backwards step that risks a chilling effect around the world.” A “chilling effect” translating into dwindling coffers…
Incidentally, Morris is no stranger to partisan commentary. The Brexit-basher identifies Boris Johnson and Donald Trump as “populists driven by a powerful political instinct: that the story is more important than the detail.” He also dismissed Truss as “a manifestation of a dogma of delusion.” Such remarks would undoubtedly attract a community note or two…
Olly Robbins has just now been confirmed as new Permanent Under-Secretary at the FCDO. The Sue Gray ally missed out on the prized CabSec gig…
The arch-remainer will replace Philip Barton who is stepping down. Lammy says Robbins is “exactly the person” to help him “rewire the FCDO to act as the international delivery arm of this government’s missions.” Will the Cabinet Office EU surrender unit, made up in large part of FCDO officials, soon fall into his control? Co-conspirators will remember Robbins’ May-era Brexit shenanigans well, including completely trashing May’s public line on no-deal. Did he ever get that Belgian citizenship off Guy Verhofstadt then?
10-year gilt yields are as this story goes to pixel at 4.8% and were at 4.829% at 1:30 p.m. They opened the day at 4.68%…
The Truss spike which peaked at 3.47%. This jump has pushed yields to the highest point since the financial crisis – the rate of their growth outstrips other big economies despite a global sell-off currently taking place. Blame zero growth prospects and high spending…
This follows 30-year gilt yields rising to their highest since 1998 yesterday as increased borrowing costs threaten Reeves with a ‘headroom’ wipe-out. Those have risen again today to 5.37%. Freefall…
The panicking Chancellor says she will cut departmental budgets as the spring statement on 26 March approaches, when the all-powerful OBR will rule on whether the ‘fiscal rules’ have been met. Roberto Garcia, head of G10 FX strategy at bank BBVA says this “looks like a small ‘Truss moment’ that could be amplified if investors start to price a more dovish BOE“. Investors are running scared…
As Guido reported earlier, Starmer’s independent adviser probe into Siddiq won’t actually investigate corruption claims in Bangladesh, though questions over her family ties to the authoritarian regime aren’t going away. New revelations have surfaced that Siddiq spoke at an event in 2016 hosted by a group accused of supporting her aunt’s authoritarian party through the spread of disinformation. Turns out Siddiq’s ‘despot’ aunt was more than eager for Siddiq to engage in Bangladeshi politics…
Speaking at the event organised by Centre for Research and Information, Siddiq revealed how her aunt Hasina had urged her to become involved in politics in Bangladesh, saying “When my aunt saw me, she told me, ‘Come here, do politics here.’” Keen for help…
Siddiq explained her mother Sheikh Rehana advised against it: “My mother did not want me in politics even anywhere in the world due to her personal experiences. Politics destroyed my mother’s life. But I got her nod when I joined politics in Britain. She even supported my entire campaign”. Rehana is described as “a prominent leader of the Awami League” and a “strong advocate for the Awami Lague’s causes”, organising party meetings on Hasina’s behalf when she was in imprisoned in 2007-2008. A reminder that Awami League’s UK wing reportedly supported Siddiq’s re-election campaign in 2019…
Siddiq went on to say that a politician could serve people from anywhere in the world. “You don’t have to be in Bangladesh or England…I try to help Bangladeshis in England in whatever way it is possible.” Meanwhile, Siddiq’s been living in a £2.1 million home in East Finchley owned by executive member of Awami League’s UK wing Abdul Karim since 2022. Growing scrutiny over Siddiq’s involvement with Hasina’s regime is pushing her closer to the brink…
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”