Nobody seems to have noticed the LibDems’ Foreign Affairs spokesperson Layla Moran dropped this absolute howler on Any Questions. Admittedly listening to the LibDems talk about Net Zero is a low priority for most people on a Friday evening. Perhaps Moran would have gotten away with it if Guido hadn’t rewound the tape…

 Moran lamented how “economically illiterate” the government’s Net Zero changes are, and claimed we should be following the lead of the US… and China:

“You look at the States, where they’re already pumping billions of dollars towards this, you look at China, which is already ahead, actually we had an opportunity – we have still an opportunity – to forge an economy for the future… not only are the Conservatives intent on trashing today’s economy, they seem to want to also trash the future economy as well.”

Apparently China is “already ahead” on climate and Net Zero. This will, of course, be news to anyone living on planet Earth, where China accounted for a whopping 30.9% of carbon emissions in 2021, and is currently rated “highly insufficient” on climateactiontracker.org.

With a Net Zero target date of 2060, not 2050, they are, by a mile, belching out more emissions than anyone else, and building coal power projects faster than you can blink. “Already ahead” in that sense at least…

Robert Jenrick called out “the Greatest NIMBY in the House of Commons”, Layla Moran, for calling for open door immigration, whilst opposing building projects to meet existing demand. In response to the Libdem MP criticising the government for “stifling our economy” by restricting student dependant visas, Jenrick charged:

“She is probably the greatest NIMBY in the House of Commons today. She always opposes new homes, new development, new infrastructure in and around Oxford. And so it is quite wrong for her to say we should have an open door immigration policy, welcoming more and more people into her community and others, without meeting the demands that come with that.”

Presumably, then, the government is committed to building a million homes ahead of tomorrow’s migration figures…

Julia Hartley-Brewer providing one of the most entertaining Politics Live appearances in a while today, taking LibDem Layla Moran to town over Covid hypocrisy and Brexit without breaking a sweat. Guido particularly enjoyed Moran claiming schools “never closed” during the lockdowns, and insisting she “is still wearing a mask” as she sat barefaced shoulder to shoulder with her fellow panelists. Julia’s resigned looks to the camera made it even better… 

The LibDems are a fount of bright ideas at the moment. Having already vowed today to raise taxes AND increase borrowing, they’re now also tabling a conference motion to ‘enhance our education system’ by making critical thinking and media studies a core part of the national curriculum. These skills might be lacking within the party, though mandating them for all school kids is probably over-egging the soufflé…

This isn’t the first time the LibDems have floated ridiculous changes to the school policy: last year, then-education spokesperson Layla Moran insisted teachers should receive better training to avoid making microaggressions, while also demanding that training be “more racially inclusive“. This morning, Ed Davey promised the party would “go strong on education”. Guido thinks they should stick to lying about tuition fees…

Constituents in Layla Moran’s constituency, Oxford West and Abingdon, were made to pay £2 for the pleasure of receiving a campaigning letter from the MP, urging them to vote for Cllr John Howson in the upcoming County Council elections.  Constituents were alerted to a ‘mystery package’ by the postman which they could only open to discover the contents after paying the postage fee. Guido didn’t realise LibDem finances were that bad…

Constituents were not impressed that they were being made to foot the LibDem’s postal bill. This is not a recommended campaign strategy. 

This afternoon saw a rare court victory for Jolyon Maugham as his Good Law Project won a case in the High Court against Matt Hancock, with the ruling:

“The Secretary of State acted unlawfully by failing to comply with the Transparency Policy” and that “there is now no dispute that, in a substantial number of cases, the Secretary of State breached his legal obligation to publish Contract Award Notices within 30 days of the award of contracts.”

Guido’s all for government transparency when it comes to how taxpayer’s money’s being spent, so has few bones with Jolyon over this one…

Behind the victory celebrations, however, Guido spotted an interesting ruling in the court’s judgement; admonishing lefty MPs Caroline Lucas, Layla Moran and Debbie Abrahams for adding their names to the case just to garner personal publicity and make the claim look political rather than legal:

“It is particularly important that this guidance is adhered to in cases where the parties sought to be added are politicians. No doubt, the addition of politicians as parties may raise the profile of the litigation. It may make it easier to raise funds. But these are not proper reasons for adding parties. In a case where there is already a claimant with standing, the addition of politicians as claimants may leave the public with the impression that the proceedings are an attempt to advance a political cause, when in fact their sole legitimate function is to determine an arguable allegation of unlawful conduct.”

Remainers? Showboating? There’s a first time for everything…