The Number 10 spokesman has confirmed Starmer’s ‘nothing-to-see-here’ speech to Downing Street staff actually preceded the announcement of Tim Allan’s resignation by around an hour. Hence why there was no reference to Allan in the address…
Number 10 resisted the claim that Allan threw in the towel immediately upon hearing Starmer’s rousing speech, which if true would mean Starmer knew his Director of Communications was about to resign while delivering a speech designed to convince staff his leadership wasn’t imploding. And when asked if the PM planned to resign today, the spokesman said “no”…
Starmer has addressed No10 staff this morning to insist (kind of) that he won’t resign:
“The thing that makes me most angry is the undermining of the belief that politics can be a force for good and can change lives. I have been absolutely clear that I regret the decision that I made to appoint Peter Mandelson. And I’ve apologised to the victims which is the right thing to do…
I’ve known Morgan for eight years as a colleague and as a friend. We have run up and down every political football pitch that is across the country. We’ve been in every battle that we needed to be in together. Fighting that battle.
We changed the Labour Party together. We won a general election together. And none of that would have been possible without Morgan McSweeney. His dedication, his commitment and his loyalty to our party and our country was second to none. And I want to thank him for his service…
In just a few months, we start the work of lifting half a million children out of poverty. A massive thing to do in this country because that means that lives will be changed. For decades to come, children who otherwise wouldn’t have fair chance and fair opportunity. Poverty holds children back like nothing else on earth.
And so getting rid of child poverty opens up opportunities for so many. We must prove that politics can be a force for good. I believe it can. I believe it is. We go forward from here. We go with confidence as we continue changing the country.”
Bookmark it folks…
The pound is now down 0.5% against the euro, with one pound currently worth €1.15 after Morgan McSweeney resigned yesterday. The pound also dropped 0.1% against the dollar. Meanwhile, 10-year gilts climbed to above 4.54% – up three basis points. Jane Foley, a foreign exchange strategist at Rabobank, told Bloomberg:
“The market will be very wary of UK political jitters particularly if it starts to look likely that the next PM may come from the left wing of the Labour party.”
The markets are already pricing in a new PM. The line that a change of leader would trigger a bad reaction won’t stick…
“I have decided to stand down to allow a new No 10 team to be built. I wish the PM and his team every success…”
Meltdown…
The 29 councils that have had their local elections cancelled this year by Labour are set to raise council tax by £121 million next year, according to research by the TaxPayers’ Alliance. Without a mandate to do so…
Peterborough is set to increase tax the most – by nearly £5.4 million. Meanwhile five councils that have cancelled their elections for a second year running are forecast to hike tax by £105.4 million in 2026-27 compared with 2025-26. Council tax across all local authorities is expected to rise by £1 billion next year. Elliot Keck of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:
“Any council cancelling their elections and still considering raising council tax should hang their heads in shame. It represents a serious breach of democratic norms to increase tax without a mandate to do so from the voters, adding insult to injury given these delays are patently unnecessary.”
No taxation without representation…
The TaxPayers’ Alliance has written to Housing Secretary Steve Reed. Keck says:
“It is a core principle of democratic governance that taxation should only be levied with the consent of the people. As far back as the Bill of Rights it was ruled that levying money for the Crown without the consent of Parliament is illegal.
The same principle should apply now. For all intents and purposes, councils with delayed elections are not democratically elected. Just as we would not consider a foreign government democratic once it exceeded its term limit, regardless of how it initially came to power, nor should the British government view councils exceeding their term limits as democratically elected. Local taxpayers certainly won’t.
As a result, we are asking on behalf of the taxpayers of these areas that you bring legislation urgently to parliament to strip these local authorities of the power to increase local tax rates. This would not impact their current tax raising powers, which should be sufficient to last for the coming financial year given successive years of council tax increases.”
People have fought wars over this – just saying…
Read the full letter below:
Continue reading “Councils Cancelling Elections Set to Raise Tax by £121 Million”
Briefings yesterday that Starmer would address the nation today have been quickly rolled back. Post-Morgan grid off to a rickety start…
Guido hears top-level discussions in Downing Street on Saturday with regard to the PM’s recovery plan included a Monday speech from Starmer after McSweeney’s resignation which would address the steps the government was taking to address reforms to the system to increase transparency and improve vetting, along with fielding questions from the press. This was dutifully briefed to hacks the next day…
That has been cancelled now and Starmer’s only hurdle is a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party later tonight. Many of whom are still out for blood…
Starmer loyalist and Housing Secretary Steve Reed told Sky News that Starmer should not be replaced:
“We saw what the Tories did. They were in power for 14 years, and after 2016, I think we had nine education secretaries, seven chancellors, and five Prime Ministers. Doomscrolling through Prime Ministers doesn’t resolve the problem.”