In an awkward slip-up, Hove MP Peter Kyle accidentally said “the Labour is what is standing up to Jeremy Corbyn” before correcting himself. Or perhaps he let slip his own plans…
Despite Boris’s insistence that all Ministers have to be on board with leaving the EU on the 31st October, deal or no deal, it seems not all of his new appointments are quite so enamoured with his policy. Transport Minister George Freeman this morning appeared on the Huffington Post podcast ‘Commons People’ and launched into an anti-no deal rant, claiming that “WTO long-term” would be an “absolute disaster that would leave my party out of office for decades”. Not exactly the Downing Street line to take…
Freeman freestyling on message doesn’t seem to just be confined to podcasts, his Big Tent Ideas Festival this year has a rather unexpected lineup for an event originally billed as coming from the “small c, pro-enterprise, innovation and reforming branch of Conservatism”. Guido is struggling to tell it apart from a Labour fringe event:
- Seema Malhotra. Labour MP
- Lisa Nandy. Labour MP
- Darren Jones. Labour MP
- Peter Kyle. One of the chief agitators for a second referendum
- Ash Sarkar. Literally a communist
- Damian Collins. Former Carole Cadwalla-borator-in-Chief
- Nora Mulready. Former Change UK Candidate
- Ayesha Hazarika. Former Brown, Harman and Miliband advisor
- Isi Daley and Amanda Chetwynd-Cowieson. Full-time Remain activists
- Miatta Fahnbulleh. CEO of nutty hard-left think tank NEF
- Jacqui Smith. Former Labour Home Secretary
- Erica Ramos. NUS and second referendum supporter
- Rory Stewart. One of the most right-wing people there…
In Freeman’s defence there are some Tory Brexiteers going including Bob Seely, Penny Mordaunt and Liam Halligan, although they’re firmly in the minority. He’s going to need a pretty big tent…
While everyone is distracted by the “Revenge Reshuffle” six Labour MPs are trying to push through in the Committee stage of the Charities Bill being discussed at this very moment. The MPs (all new members have tabled a New Clause that would green light to political lobbying by charities.
Power to make representations
(1) A charity may undertake political campaigning or political activity in the context of supporting the delivery of its charitable purposes.
(2) A charity may campaign to ensure support for, or to oppose, a change in the law, policy or decisions of central government, local authorities or other public bodies.
The newly elected Louise Haigh, Peter Kyle, Conor McGinn, Jo Stevens, Wes Streeting, Anna Turley are trying to legalise partisan left-wing charity sock-puppeting by the legislative back door. Surely the Tory MPs on the Committee will oppose this retrograde amendment?
