“I am being honest about what people are saying to me” @DavidLammy on the number of people thought to be killed in #GrenfellTower fire pic.twitter.com/cbb6m8NXlr
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) June 26, 2017
In his defence it has been a stressful couple of weeks. But peddling conspiracies about the government and police is not exactly responsible…
‘There were hundreds of fire doors missing’: @sajidjavid reveals the scale of recent fire safety inspection failures in Camden tower blocks pic.twitter.com/gTJP4lnWJx
— ITV News (@itvnews) June 26, 2017
Will Corbyn and McDonnell want to politicise this? Hundreds of fire doors were missing from tower blocks in Labour-run Camden following recent inspections. You can bet if it were a Tory-run council Labour MPs and the Corbynista online army would be a lot more vocal…
Well this would be a lot of fun at the expense of hypocritical Labour MPs this afternoon. Go on Nigel, you know you want to…
Trapstar are outfitters to those wannabees seeking that Corbynista chic. Their t-shirts are available from Harvey Nic’s, so mumsie will be able to stock up in the school holidays for the public school Jez fans in the People’s Republic of Kensington. At £37 maybe Jez is right to say austerity is over…
For the younger Corbynistas we have an updated edition of The Corbyn Colouring Book – now with even less austerity. It includes a prescient rendering of the well-known grime-artist-cum-socialist-pol
The Corbyn Colouring Book (New Austerity-Free Edition) is available from tax efficient Amazon…
Shadow housing minister John Healey and veteran Labour MP Margaret Hodge have condemned John McDonnell’s remarks on the Grenfell tragedy, which he described as “murder” caused by “political decisions“. Hodge said on the Daily Politics: “that is language of the hard left which is not done in my name”. Still, good to rile up the nutters online.
Theresa May says no EU citizens currently living in the U.K. lawfully will be asked to leave https://t.co/kLq8uTYnEl pic.twitter.com/nQrlhOnI0i
— Bloomberg (@business) June 26, 2017
Paddy Power attempted to run this print advert offering a bet on the Conservative-DUP alliance to NOT survive 2017. Sadly it went almost as badly as Theresa May’s election campaign, after getting the heave-ho by not one, not two, but all of Britain’s newspapers. The advert in question pokes fun at the alliance, as well as at the DUP’s controversial stance on gay marriage, through an image of Theresa May and Arlene Foster kissing outside 10 Downing Street under the line: Unholy Union? Conservative-DUP Alliance To Not Survive 2017 – 3/1
You can’t blame them for their failed negotiations though – even the best would struggle. Isn’t that right, Theresa?
Following May’s dismal performance in the General Election earlier this month – which could be the kiss of death to her leadership – the British PM had been scrambling to secure a deal with the DUP to form a minority Conservative government. That deal was finally secured today but, with the alliance built on weak and wobbly foundations, Paddy Power are offering odds of just 3/1 (25% chance) for it to end this year.
Guido’s anonymous source on the Paddy Power marketing team says:
“After almost two weeks of negotiations, it looks like May and Foster have finally agreed on a deal, and what better way to seal it than with a kiss? Joking aside, we were surprised the newspapers didn’t take up our offer, as the subject matter has been on the nation’s lips ever since the general election.”
Newspapers were surprisingly prudish about this kiss ‘n tell story…
Content produced and sponsored by Paddy Power.
David Cameron tweeted his endorsement of Theresa May’s deal, ordering Tory MPs to get behind the PM:
Task facing PM, given the circs, is to deliver the most stable govt possible – today’s DUP deal helps achieve that. All Cons should support.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) June 26, 2017
Seems Dave’s old team didn’t get the memo. Here’s George Osborne’s front page:
Guido can give you Photoshop lessons, George. Meanwhile Cameron’s old comms chief Craig Oliver is also slagging off the arrangement:
This DUP deal will be unpopular in the rest of the UK – and not really solve the problem. Still only needs a few Tory rebels for chaos. https://t.co/9e7dTqXEjl
— Craig Oliver (@CraigOliver100) June 26, 2017
Not listening to the boss anymore…
Labour are complaining today that Northern Ireland should not get more funding than other parts of the UK and that May has given them a deal “to help her cling to power”.
“Where is the money for the Tory-DUP deal coming from? And, will all parts of the UK receive the much needed additional funding that Northern Ireland will get as part of the deal? This Tory-DUP deal is clearly not in the national interest but in May’s party’s interest to help her cling to power.”
Almost gotta admire the hypocrisy…
In 2010 Gordon Brown wrote to the DUP seeking a deal to help him cling to power. He guaranteed money for Northern Ireland and implied Northern Ireland would need more cash than the rest of the UK:
“I am writing to confirm my continued commitment to the block grant for Northern Ireland for the current financial year and to confirm the financial settlement for the budget of the newly established Department of Justice… As you know, I believe it is an imperative to stabilise the economic recovery in Northern Ireland…. I recognise that the legacy of the past will make this more difficult to achieve in the coming months than we may expect in other parts of the United Kingdom. This is a challenge we must all meet. The achievements made by you and the political leaders of Northern Ireland have been an example to us all. I remain firmly committed to doing all I can to support this momentous progress and you can count on my continued support.”
In 2015 Labour under Miliband did the same. Read Gordon’s letter to the DUP, there are lots of similarities with May’s words today…
Tory Leavers will support the government on interim Brexit arrangements lasting two or three years so long as the period is strictly time-limited and cannot be extended. Leave-supporting ministers and MPs say they back the government’s plan for a so-called “softer landing”, arguing it is both sensible and necessary to achieve a proper Brexit outside the single market and customs union. Yesterday leading Brexiter and Open Europe chairman Lord Wolfson called for a “smooth” rather than “rushed” departure process. The feeling among Tory Leavers is that the destination is the same – a clean, open Brexit – but there will be a “softer” journey to get there.
Suella Fernandes, the new head of the influential European Research Group of 80 Leave Tory MPs, tells Guido:
“It is entirely pragmatic and sensible, as we do with other legislation, for there to be a strictly time-limited interim implementation phase, but by no means should that be read as a cover up for staying in.”
Leave MPs have two main conditions for supporting an interim arrangement. They say it is crucial the period is “time-limited” – that an irrevocable departure date is set and cannot be extended. Their fear is that without a time-limit continuity Remainers and civil servants will aim for “permanent transition” or repeated delays to ultimately keep the UK inside the EU. Leavers also want Britain fully out of the single market and customs union within two or three years, well in time for the next election. Tory MPs are concerned that the public will want to see progress on immigration and trade deals by the time they next vote. One of David Davis’ main reasons for lobbying Theresa May to call a snap election was so Brexit could be fully completed by the next election. This means an interim period of two or three years, over well in time for 2022.
The Remain media’s focus on “soft” versus “hard” Brexit has been misleading. Everyone in government including Philip Hammond agrees on a destination outside the single market and customs union. It is the journey that is interesting – Hammond and Leavers now agree on a “softer landing”, so long as the transition is short and time-limited. Expect UKIP to complain (they have to, or else they have nothing to say). But so long as Leave MPs’ conditions are met this seems to Guido a sensible approach for a smooth, real Brexit…
Arlene Foster drives a hard bargain, especially considering the Tories didn’t need a formal deal for the government to survive. £ rising on the news…
UPDATE: You can download and read the deal in full here. Additional details of UK government financial support for Northern Ireland have also been released. It is intended to last for the entire length of the parliament…
UPDATE II: Key details:
+ £400m for Northern Ireland infrastructure
+ £150m for superfast broadband
+ £100m for immediate health and education pressures
+ £200m for health service transformation
+ £50m for mental health
+£100m for relieving deprivation
UPDATE III: TaxPayers’ Alliance slams the deal:
“Taxpayers resent politicians cooking up deals behind closed doors that invariably end with their cash being thrown wherever is politically advantageous rather than where it could be best spent. The unfair way in which money is allocated between the Home Nations has been clear for decades, best illustrated by the significantly higher levels of public spending in Scotland than in considerably poorer parts of England. But until there is a major decentralisation of tax raising powers, Westminster politicians will always have ultimate control of the purse strings and be able to dish out taxpayers’ cash in a way that benefits them more than the general public.”
Guido has got hold of the video of Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell telling a Glastonbury crowd that the Grenfell victims were “murdered“. In fact he says it twice. Worth watching for the awkward audience reaction when he repeatedly drops the M-word.
“Is democracy working? It didn’t work if you were a family living on the 20th floor of Grenfell Tower. Those families, those individuals, 79 so far and there will be more, were murdered by political decisions taken over recent decades. The decision not to build homes and to view housing as only for financial speculation rather than meeting a basic human need murdered those families. The decision to close fire stations and to cut 10,000 fire fighters and then to freeze their pay for over a decade . They were political decisions.”
So does McDonnell think the many, many Labour councils who also approved unsafe cladding are attempted murderers?
After a tough couple of weeks for the British PM – what’s next? Here’s @rabbitandcoffee with ‘Theresa May and the Holy Grail’. #auspol pic.twitter.com/P7Pnb0vwMo
— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) June 25, 2017
.@gerard_coyne warns there is a "real danger" of purges in Labour and says the electorate will never forgive them if this happens #bbcsp pic.twitter.com/oRQ0jESL37
— DailySunday Politics (@daily_politics) June 25, 2017
Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis has said Jeremy Corbyn told him he will get rid of Trident “as soon as I can“. Quotes via Somerset Live:
When asked about the Labour leader’s appearance, Michael Eavis said: “Wasn’t he fantastic?”
“I said to when are you going to be prime minister? He said: ‘In six months’.”
Eavis said he asked Corbyn: “When are you going to get rid of Trident?”
“He said: ‘as soon as I can’.”
And Jezza’s Glasto appearance was going so well. Penny for Nia Griffith’s thoughts…
Will @patel4witham rule herself out as a candidate to be the next Leader of the @Conservatives? #Peston pic.twitter.com/gVYUh4faQM
— Peston on Sunday (@pestononsunday) June 25, 2017
David Davis criticised “self-indulgent” colleagues plotting leadership bids on Marr, though failed to rule out a run himself, insisting: “I’m not getting into it”. Always ambitious Priti Patel gave even less of a non-denial on Peston, refusing to answer the question several times. Count them in your runners and riders…
Notable that Davis broadly endorsed Hammond’s desire for transitional arrangements (though his preference is two years rather than four). The Sunday papers are reporting a Hammond-Davis plot to take over from Theresa May, and Davis’ former SpAd James Chapman is stirring it up:
.@DavidDavisMP agreed with @PhilipHammondUK on need for Brexit transition. Increasingly powerful, pragmatic alliance #marr
— James Chapman (@jameschappers) June 25, 2017
A ticket that would be tough for Leave Tories to stomach…
‘Jobs and the economy’ come first over immigration for the @UKLabour cabinet, says Shadow Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti #Ridge #Brexit pic.twitter.com/eZqyk8XUCw
— SophyRidge On Sunday (@RidgeOnSunday) June 25, 2017
Shami Chakrabarti didn’t really have a grasp of the detail on Ridge but she made clear Labour would not take back control of borders and would support the continuation of free movement in some form:
“We haven’t said we’d have control of free movement of people, you can’t necessarily have control… what’s important is that jobs come first, the economy comes first and that means getting tariff-free access to the single market… There’s a lot of room for negotiation about what types of free movement, what kinds of priority… It’s possible for friendly countries in and outside Europe to give priority for certain nationals.”
Not quite what they said in their manifesto… going to alienate a lot of Labour’s working class Northern vote…
“If you want a Party that’s in favour of illegal war, form your own Party and get on with it” @paulmasonnews to Progress. Absolute boy. pic.twitter.com/5e61eWdxVM
— EL4C (@EL4JC) June 24, 2017
Speaking at the Progress conference today, Paul Mason told Blairites and Remainers to set up their own party:
“If you want a centrist party, this is not going to be it for the next ten years. If it’s really important to you to have a pro-Remain party that is in favour of illegal war, in favour of privatisation, form your own party and get on with it.”
Labour unity creaking today…
The BBC Radio 1 Twitter account has pushed impartiality to the limit with a post celebrating Jezza’s Glastonbury speech this afternoon. Radio 1’s Twitter feed has 2.8 million followers and huge cut through with the under 25s. It has now been deleted…[…] Read the rest
Philip Hammond uses a trip to Berlin to mock the Foreign Secretary:
“A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest piece. Wise words with some applicability to the Brexit negotiations although I try to discourage talk of “cake” amongst my colleagues.”
