Business confidence has hit a record low, according to the latest Institute of Directors survey. Optimism in the economy fell to -74 in September, a 13-point drop from last month. That’s the lowest level since the survey began nine years ago. And below levels after Truss’ mini-budget…
Businesses blame looming tax hikes in the Winter Budget, with the IoD’s Chief Economist Anna Leach saying:
“Conditions worsened across the board, with cost expectations hitting a record high, driven notably by employment costs. Persistent fears that taxes on business and assets will rise are stifling confidence, holding back investment and threatening growth and living standards.”
Starmer thanked businesses for their “contribution” in his speech yesterday after the last tax raid. Soon he won’t have many businesses left to thank…
Zia Yusuf this morning claimed that Nigel Farage’s parliament-supplied security team has been downgraded by a three quarters. Bizarre…
Reform’s head of policy said on Times Radio:
“Two weeks ago, the authorities cut Nigel’s security detail by 75% and then we have seen the most extraordinary 48 hours of demonisation… The Parliamentary Security Department that is responsible for security in both houses, that frankly for inexplicable reasons, decided to materially downgrade Nigel Farage’s security. Those are the facts of the matter. And I think that they place into context everything that we have just seen. Now, again, I want to be very clear that donors have stepped in, thankfully, to shore up that security and make sure that Nigel is well protected… Keir Starmer is desperate, he knows he cannot beat Nigel Farage at the ballot box, so he’s resorted to the most extraordinary and frankly, nefarious means.”
Farage has hit out at Starmer’s decision to attack Reform at racist on the grounds that it puts members of the party, along with the leader, in danger. Dangerous given Charlie Kirk…
After a relatively low-key Labour conference for Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader sat down with the Daily Express to brand Starmer as “dangerous”, while warning that Farage would be “worse“. The usual fare…
When the interview strayed onto the topic of her often being misconstrued, Badenoch mused that sometimes people can get the impression she is being “mean” to them because she likes a laugh:
“That’s not what I’m like all the time… I think it can actually end up looking quite flippant, like I’m not taking things seriously. So I probably overcompensate that because I love to have a laugh. I like to tease people, which is why. And they don’t always like being teased. They don’t always like being teased, so they think that I’m being to them. But I’m just having a laugh and I like being teased. I think it’s quite funny. I grew up being teased. I grew up in a banter family. And my new family now, obviously with my three children, it’s all bantz.”
Starmer barely mentioned the Tories in his speech yesterday and the Tories remain at all historic crisis lows in the polls. Badenoch added: “Everybody keeps talking like there’s an election tomorrow, but we’ve got Labour for another four years.” Spinners say she will unveil her new “policy renewal” programme at conference. All eyes on Manchester next week…
It has taken David Lammy only 3 hours to retract his claim that Farage “flirted with the Hitler youth” while at school. The Deputy PM there…
Lammy made the claims on Politics Live at around 2:15 p.m. and recanted them at 5:17 today. Lammy said he “accepts” that Farage denied the claims, which first appeared in a Channel 4 news article in 2013. Channel 4 said that one of Farage’s young teachers complained about his upcoming prefectship at Dulwich College because he was a “fascist” and sang suspect songs back in the day. Farage has denied the claims…
Lammy, who is supposedly trained as a lawyer, did however refuse to apologise after Reform said his claim was libellous. Ever the statesman…
Rachel Reeves is doing little to push back on this evening’s briefings to the Sun and the Guardian on the lifting of the two-child benefit cap. Speaking to Matt Forde at Labour Conference this evening, Reeves said of the reports:
“Keir said in his speech today that we will reduce child poverty in this parliament, but we will set out the policies in the budget. I think we’ve been pretty clear this week that we can’t commit to policies without explaining where the money is going to come from… over the last year the conflicts in the world have continued and intensified. That puts pressures on government budgets, we’ve had disruptions to the supply chains which keeps inflation high…”
Asked later if she would, as reported, introduce a tapered chid benefit system, Reeves again said she would set all that out at the Winter Budget. So that’s a ‘yes, but brace for tax hikes to pay for it’…
At Labour conference last night, DCMS minister Stephanie Peacock praised GB News for giving a “voice” to her constituents and “championing stories across our nations and regions.” She was joined by a number of Labour MPs and peers at the GB News reception in Browns’ Brasserie…
Her warm words put her at odds with DCMS Secretary Lisa Nandy, who earlier this month claimed the channel was corroding trust in news and undermining the “shared understanding that is the basis of democracy.” Nandy warned: “We’ll look closely at what Ofcom presents to us, but it is an area in which we intend to act”…
Two ministers, two messages. “Polarised” and “fragmented”, in the words of Nandy…
Paula Barker, Liverpool Wavertree MP backing Andy Burnham, told Times Radio there wouldn’t be trouble from the markets under Burnham:
“The markets will have to fall in line.”