US Forces have taken the Olina, which was under the flag of Timor Leste, near Trinidad. On Wednesday British Armed Forces aided the capture of Bella 1 off Iceland…
The Olina used to be the Minerva – a Russian tanker sanctioned by the US and EU. It left Venezuela last week with a full cargo of oil…
US Vice President JD Vance has weighed in on the row over the UAE cutting funds for students who want to study in the UK amid fears they will be radicalised by Muslim Brotherhood Islamists. Unlike in most Arab states, the UK does not proscribe the group as a terrorist organisation…
Vance said on X:
“Absolutely insane headline…Some of our best Muslim allies in the Gulf think the Islamist indoctrination in certain parts of the west is too dangerous.”
DPM Lammy must have given off a great impression in DC last night…
Westminster’s Labour MPs are redirecting staffing resources away from London and out to their constituencies as support for the government falls to record lows. Good luck banging the drum for Labour on the doorstep…
As the government commits its 12th major U-turn Guido hears swathes of the PLP will bolster their constituency operations – often neglected – to try and improve their local popularity and do more basic groundwork. Filling a popularity vacuum left by Starmer’s government…
A glance at the Westminster jobs site W4MP confirms numerous Labour MPs have already begun the process as of Wednesday. With backbenchers in open and often successful rebellion against government policies their constituency staff can advertise just how much their MP is championing constituency concerns…
This is the same instinct that leads Anas Sarwar to tell ministers and Starmer to stay “behind their doors” during the campaign in Scotland. Constituency staff will also provide local support during the May election period. Starmer only gets less popular…
Entries in the comments…
Downing Street has called X’s move to limit its image creation function to paying subscribers as “insulting“. Starmer’s spokesman told Lobby briefing this morning:
“The latest move today is not a solution, it’s insulting to the victims of misogyny and sexual violence. It shows that X can move swiftly if it wants to. It’s time to for X to grip this issue. All options are on the table, and that includes from Ofcom, and we will fully support them… We must stop these abhorrent images… X needs to act and it needs to act now.”
The PM’s spokesman added that “our focus is stopping these unlawful images”, though couldn’t give an answer to whether the government had an actual deadline for X to solve the issue. Meanwhile, the government is still using the platform…
The business rates pub relief U-turn is Labour’s 12th significant reversal since coming to power. Twelve you say…
That figure happens to be Starmer’s threshold for “serial incompetence.” He must get teary-eyed when he thinks back to the halcyon opposition days…
Starmer said of Boris’ government: “When they’ve notched up 12 U-turns and rising, the only conclusion is serial incompetence.” Labour says of their own 12 U-turns: ‘It proves that we are a confident government’…
Asked by Lobby hacks about his past comments on Trump (“any UK politician who gave Trump the time of day should be ashamed right now”) Burnham was blithe:
“Politicians say things throughout their career, but now the important thing is to focus on the moment you are in.”
Were it so easy…
