Tory MPs are looking forward to a swanky back-to-school reunion on the Commons terrace this evening. The 1922 Committee is set to host a drinks reception, which – while technically informal – will prove a prime opportunity for backbenchers to challenge Rishi over the impending National Insurance rise. And/or the triple lock scrap / Universal Credit changes /furlough / spending review / budget / net-zero costs…
Guido hears Rishi may not be the only Cabinet member in attendance, however, with rumours abound that Boris is now also set to gatecrash. While one committee source says they presumed the PM’s attendance was a given (after his previous invite to the end-of-term party was scuppered following a Covid pinging) there is a strong incentive to keep an eye on your ambitious chancellor, ahead of a choppy week of controversial, No. 10-driven fiscal announcements. Long-lens paparazzi, bagsy your spaces on Westminster Bridge now…
With both Whitehall and Holyrood pushing ahead with plans to implement vaccine passports at large venues by the end of the month, even the most dovish are beginning to express doubts. Speaking to the Institute for Government today, Professor Neil Ferguson responded to questions over the plans by saying:
“Restricting entry…to people who’ve only had two vaccine shots will reduce transmission in those venues…if the main goal of those measures is to encourage people to get vaccinated who otherwise wouldn’t, whether that’s an effective strategy. In some sense coercion often hardens people’s views. And if somebody is resistant to being vaccinated, these sort of measures may well not be very effective at increasing vaccine uptake…The evidence is very mixed.”
On this one, it looks like Ferguson might be right…
The media made plenty of noise last week over the alleged ‘beer shortage’ at Wetherspoons. Both the Independent and the Mirror leapt at the chance to say the chain had “run dry“, with the Mirror then landing its killer blow by insisting this was all “caused by Brexit“. Naturally.
Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has now pushed back to say these claims are all untrue. The reality is that beer supplies actually remain at 2019 (i.e. pre-pandemic) levels, and that the shortage of a few products over the last two weeks is the result of strike action from one major brewer. Martin added:
“There is clearly a shortage of HGV drivers, both in the UK and in mainland Europe- where, some reports say, there is a shortage of 400,000 drivers. Following the pandemic, there are supply chain issues in many other parts of the world also. In the light of the undoubted problems, it is important that the public is provided with accurate information. Factual inaccuracies and partisan Brexit politics will not assist in finding solutions.”
France, Germany, and Spain are all experiencing an HGV shortage at the moment. Probably down to Brexit too, somehow…
Extinction Rebellion’s most persuasive figurehead, Laura Amherst, has promised to embark on a “boob world tour” to strip away misconceptions about climate change and expose the enormous bumps in the road that lay ahead. Laura insists her boyfriend is entirely supportive of her open style of campaigning…
As part of her attempts to milk attention, Amherst recently used Instagram to draw attention to the benefits of a plant-based alternative lifestyle:
Will Laura’s plant milk help bones grow big and strong?
A bombshell internal report written by SNP Deputy Leader Keith Brown has revealed the dire state of the party’s internal affairs: not only does the report suggest creating a new financial scrutiny committee to “restore confidence” in the SNP’s financial governance, it also shows that party has been “overwhelmed” by the volume of member complaints over harassment and impropriety since 2014. Presumably keeping their new ‘complaints adviser’ busy, then…
The report goes into great detail to explain how “recent controversies concerning the party’s finances” (in other words, how a £600,000 referendum war chest seemingly vanished into thin air) have “inevitably raise[d] questions about the SNP’s financial governance”, and recommends creating a more formal financial governance structure that “encourages good financial practices, [and] has the potential to pick up any irregularities”. Which is useful, because the party’s auditors have already washed their hands of that responsibility.
It also says that the party’s “current complaints-handling procedures have themselves resulted in a real dissatisfaction [and] lack of trust” amongst the membership, and that the Governance Review Group often failed to act on incidences of abuse despite repeated warnings from within the party. Considering 1 in 5 SNP MPs has either recently quit, or been sacked, investigated or suspended, perhaps the Governance Review Group has just had its hands full…
Co-conspirators on social media yesterday will have been hard-pressed to miss the emergence of a new NHS blog on their Senior Leadership Onboarding and Support website, entitled “Dear white people in the UK”. Written by their equality, diversity and inclusion lead at the nursing and midwifery council, the blog informs white people they should “be uncomfortable” about racial issues in society. Take back control, protect the NHS, promote critical race theory…
Author Aishnine Benjamin – who, surprise surprise, has a degree in American studies with race and culture from Middlesex University – has a guide for white people on race, as well as a number of reading recommendations:
According to a job ad for a similar-looking position back in 2020, Benjamin is paid between £46,914 – £55,193…
