At Southwark Crown Court, Mr Justice Bennathan will deliver the remarks…
UPDATE: Brand gets 10 years and six months in prison. Release on licence after two-thirds…
According to the closely-watched Lloyds house price index the average house price in Britain fell by 1.2% to £296,285 in the twelve months to October. The steepest drop since October 2023…
The market in London is in steep decline. Flat prices have dropped by an average of £50,000 over the year…
Government materials updated this autumn promote taxation to children as young as eight in schools. Start them young…
HMRC has a collection of material for teachers to dish out in schools, divided by age groups. The materials were launched in 2022 and have been updated this year. Children from the ages of 8 and 13, as part of the Junior Tax Facts course, watch classroom videos promoting false myths about taxation:
One video:
“You can think of tax as one shared bank account that everyone in the country pays into. The government is then in charge of looking after this bank account and sharing all the money to help everyone in the country. This money is also used to pay for the things that your town or city needs. When you’re older and you get a job, or maybe even start your own business, the taxes you’ll pay will all be added into this shared bank account.
Now, maybe you’re thinking it’s not fair that people have to pay tax. But think about all the things that would disappear if we didn’t have the money from taxes. Your school and your teachers, hospitals and ambulances, doctors and nurses, libraries, and museums would all be gone. There would be no one to collect our rubbish or keep our streets clean, and no police officers or firefighters to keep us safe.”
Now you can see how important taxes are, and how they pay for the important things in our lives. Even things we don’t think about. The tax we collect is there to keep our country safe, to provide essential services for your local community, and to make life better for you and your family.”
Another egregious video script:
“Can you imagine life a long time ago, in the age of woolly mammoths, sabre-tooth tigers and cavemen? You and your family would have found it very difficult back then, with no teachers to teach you, no doctors to care for you, and no police officers to protect you from ravenous beasts. It’s a good job things have changed!”
One activity tells teachers to “write this question on the board for this age group: Do you think life was harder for people before tax? Give your reasons.” Guido can confirm there is no mention of the Laffer Curve or any acknowledgement that taxes can negatively impact behaviour for any age range…
Secondary school children from age 14-17 are given the opportunity to invent a new tax in one classroom activity: “Students create a new 10% tax on an item or service. Students will then present to the other groups, justifying their reasons, and the class will vote either for or against each proposal.” The pupils are told to work in pairs, and in the same activity they are taught to fear tax cuts:
“Option B: In pairs, you are tasked with putting a new 10% tax on an item or service. You will need to work together to come up with a name for this new tax and explain why you think it is a good idea and why it will benefit society. Be prepared to present to other groups, justifying your reasons, and the rest of the class will vote either for or against your proposal.”
Option C: It’s your turn to decide where the money collected from taxes is spent! … Stretch: What public services would you be prepared to give up if you could pay less tax and what might be the impact?”
Children from 8-13, told to allocate tax revenue, are not able to suggest that less should be spent on the welfare state or debt interest, instead being presented with an anodyne chunk of the UK spending packet:
“Tax priorities. Who gets the money? Give each area a number from 1 to 6. There are no wrong answers. You decide in your groups. Give reasons for your chosen order! Health. Protecting the environment. Museums. Armed forces. Education. Police. 1 = should get the most money. 6 = should get the least money. Stretch question: You may have found this activity hard. Can you think of some reasons why it was tricky to decide who should get the money?”
The documents were refreshed in October, including updating HMRC’s total tax haul from £600 billion in 2022 to £850 billion this year. Funnily enough that figure is already out of date as the taxman has now brought in £966.4 billion in one year…
Another new module, promoting tax facts to 16+ pupils, has also been launched. Full team ahead on tax propaganda…
UPDATE: Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith reacts: “So Johnny, if you work really hard, you can pay for Jack, Emily and Olivia to sit on welfare for life!”
South Western Railway, the first train operator renationalised back in May 2025, paid out a whopping £8.25 million in Delay Repay compensation last year, with about a third of its trains running late. Campaigners reckon the real cost, with taxis and hotels for stranded passengers included, is closer to £15 million. Under Burnham’s nationalisation drive, more of these costs will land with the taxpayer…
Telegraph travel correspondent Simon Calder told the BBC the government “may possibly come to regret” its promises, since “simply bringing it into public ownership does not mean that we’re suddenly going to discover that all the trains to and from London Waterloo run on time.” The DfT maintains that cancellations are down and this is all apparently “benefitting passengers”. An onslaught of Delay Repay compensation bills are now heading directly for your wallet…
The Green Party executive’s election team is preparing for an election in 2027. No one is listening to Burnham’s denials…
Candidate statements have leaked for a series of London-based roles for which Green members are voting this month. Faaiz Hasan, who is one of two national election co-ordinators on the Green Party Executive, is hoping to be re-selected as the London election co-ordinator.
In a leaked statement Hasan, who worked on Gorton & Denton and the recent Holborn by-election, said Green Party priorities for the next twelve months are:
Hasan also boasts that the London Greens spent £250,000 in the May 2026 locals, “around 50 times the original pre-surge plan.” The London Greens had a team of ten field staff and London’s share of membership fees called in early was £230,000. All before the party started blowing itself up…
The Greens’ next scheduled leadership ballot also takes place in summer 2027. That’s one election Zack Polanski will be sweating about…
Alex Challoner, who was knocked off the longlist for the Tory London mayoral selection, has backed James Cleverly as voting opens today.
Challoner, who founded Cavendish Communications, made a bid for the Tory nomination with a policy blitz but didn’t make the shortlist of three announced at the end of last month. Challoner tells Guido he now backs Cleverly:
“London needs a champion. It needs someone who can reach every part of the capital and connect with every community in our great city. And it needs a mayor who can unleash London’s full potential. That is why I am backing James to be the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London.
James spent his life in this city, and he knows that a family in Bexley and a family in Brent want the same things: safe streets, a home they can afford and the chance to get on in life.
The coming election is our party’s best chance of winning in years. It is not just about who will be the next mayor, but it will be a battle of ideas over what London’s future should look like. James has a clear vision for London as a city that is proud of its success, aspirational and affordable, and the engine of the British economy.
Above all, James loves this city. He has the drive to make the capital better for every Londoner, not just a few. James is the only candidate that can take the fight to Sadiq Khan and I will do everything I can to help him win.”
Cleverly for his part said: “It’s great to have Alex’s support and I look forward to working closely with him to make the case for change, and lay out my plan to make London a city we can all be proud of again.” Always nice to get a rival…
Voting opens at midday today and runs for two weeks. The other candidates are Westminster City councillor Festus Akinbusoye and former Richmond Park PPC Sara Gezdari. Meanwhile Khan can’t decide if he wants to do it again…
Mail commentator Dan Hodges – who was kind to Burnham during the Makerfield campaign – now concludes: “The truth is Andy Burnham doesn’t have a 10 year plan. He’s barely got a 10 week plan.“