PMQs this week again focused on – surprise, surprise – strikes and the state of the NHS. Rishi remonstrated on his new minimum service level legislation, before rounding off his performance with one well-targeted attack line:

“When it comes to the honourable gentleman, he isn’t just for the free movement of people. He’s also got the free movement of principles.”

As the Home Secretary nodded on enthusiastically, the mood of Tory MPs was surmised by one jeer from the green benches. “Another one lost, Keir”…

Keir Starmer tells Times Radio he’s broken the activists rule on snogging Tories…

“Well I’m afraid I’ve broken that rule. I’m not tribal. I think this actually comes from coming into politics later in life. Outside of politics, most of the time, most people at home or at work see a problem, get people around and try to fix it and bring people together, bridge people together and do it. That’s what I bring to politics. Therefore, I’ve worked across parties. I’m on very good terms with many, many Tory MPs. I’m not ashamed about it and I’ve got very good friends who are Tories and they’ve been very, very good friends of mine for a very, very long time and long may that last.”

Once again Keir Starmer’s Labour party are saying one thing and doing the opposite.

Whilst Sir Keir has enforced a shadow cabinet boycott of the Qatar World Cup, citing human rights abuses against workers and LGBT people, his top team have accepted thousands of pounds in trips to similarly egregious destinations. Since 2016, they amount to around £60,000…

Amongst the worst offenders are Ed Miliband, who received a hamper worth £2,500 from the Sultan of Brunei – the absolute monarch of a country where sexual relations between men are punishable by death. Miliband says he gave it to charity…

Rosena Allin-Khan diversified her sources of ignoble freebies, raking in over £7,500 from Poland, Bangladesh, Jordan and Qatar. Jon Ashworth and Ian Murray have also each made trips to the World Cup host since 2016. Guido wonders what has changed in Qatar to relegate it from a favourite destination of the shadow cabinet between 2016 and 2021 to utterly unconscionable now…

For the interest of co-conspirators, a more comprehensive list of MP’s travel sponsors is as follows:

• Angela Rayner: £7,500 (Pakistan)
• Shabana Mahmood: £2,515 (China and Bangladesh)
• Bridget Phillipson: £1,070 (Bangladesh)
• Jonathan Ashworth: £9,050 (Qatar and Bangladesh)
• Rosena Allin-Khan: £7,624 (Qatar, Poland, Bangladesh and Jordan)
• Ed Miliband: £7,270 (China and donation from Brunei)
• Steve Reed: £4,800 (Iraq and Bangladesh)
• Wes Streeting: £3,042 (China)
• Lucy Powell: £3,500 (UAE)
• Preet Kaur Gill: £2,405 (Uganda)
• Ian Murray: £7,603 (Qatar)
• Peter Kyle: £2,677 (China)
• Emily Thornberry: £960 (Bangladesh)

Perhaps the hypocrisy of Sir Keir’s virtue-signalling boycott is why he’s been unable to convince Mark Drakeford to follow suit…

The Labour Party has been quick to criticise Liz’s “unfunded” tax cuts, while jumping at the opportunity to announce unfunded spending of their own. Using the justification of reversing Kwasi’s cut to the top rate of income tax, Labour has announced a swathe of expansionary policies, supposedly without breaking their own fiscal rules. The claim is that the £2 billion in “savings” doesn’t count as borrowing. They seem to think their reallocating of borrowed money is different to Kwasi’s borrowing…

Among Labour’s flagship pledges is the provision of breakfast clubs for all primary school children. Labour’s press release fails to mention that the government already provides breakfast clubs for those who need them most. The effect of the policy is making the spending less focused, not exactly ideal in an inflationary period…

The £2 billion in reassigned borrowing is being spent as follows:

• NHS modernisation plan – £1.6 billion
• Expanding school breakfast clubs – £186 million

Looking through Labour’s other spending commitments, partly justified by their fiscal rules which conveniently don’t count borrowing “to invest” as borrowing, the costs quickly add up:

• 0.7% GDP on International aid – £4 billion
• National Wealth Fund – £8 billion, from £28 billion previously announced
• Growth plan tax cuts, minus changes to corporation tax and top rate – £24 billion
• Accepting the government’s energy price cap – £85 billion

The party claims they would raise more revenue through a windfall tax and by reversing Kwasi’s corporation tax rise. Though by Labour’s own figures the windfall tax would raise just £8 billion, and the £19 billion corporation tax “savings” are again being made from existing borrowing. Doesn’t quite cover it…

Starmer’s policy promises are fully costed… only if you ignore the billions they’ve excluded from the costings.

Keir Starmer writing in the Guardian…

“… the likes of the Stop the War coalition are not benign voices for peace. At best they are naive; at worst they actively give succour to authoritarian leaders who directly threaten democracies. There is nothing progressive in showing solidarity with the aggressor when our allies need our solidarity and – crucially – our practical assistance, now more than ever. The kneejerk reflex, “Britain, Canada, the United States, France – wrong; their enemies – right”, is unthinking conservatism at its worst. To truly stop war, you need to show you are serious about standing up for peace, that you are serious about keeping your promises to your friends, and that you will always stand up to those who threaten.

…

Russian tanks sit, engines revving, on the verge of annexing Ukraine, but protest placards waved here by the usual suspects condemn Nato, not Moscow. Any equating of the right of a sovereign nation to determine its own future, even to exist, and the vicious aggression of a neighbour is an intellectual sham. To do so is not merely misguided: it is morally wrong.“

Yesterday’s reshuffle was subject to additional drama thanks to Sir Keir’s decision to “blindside” Angela Rayner, withholding information of his specific intentions and launching the shake-up during her big anti-sleaze speech. It now appears Keir has snubbed poor Angie again…

Guido’s been passed the invite for this year’s LOTO Christmas Lobby drinks. According to the text, hacks have been asked to “save the date for Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves’ Christmas party”. It seems odd that Keir’s hosting his big festive shindig in conjunction with his Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves, rather than the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Angela Rayner. At any rate, Jenny Harries may yet have the drinks party cancelled…