So many deliciously awkward moments to enjoy as Mishal Hussain grilled Tony Hall on BBC pay equality this morning, with Nick Robinson sitting a few feet away. Full figures for the 96 best paid Beeb stars coming later…
Top Torbynista Justine Greening has come to the Commons to announce that she lost her fight with the Treasury for new money for her department. The Education Secretary dressed up her “extra £1.3 billion for schools” as a new spending commitment, leading the Lobby up the garden path:
Big question is where this extra £1.3 billion is to come from #moneytree ?
— norman smith (@BBCNormanS) July 17, 2017
Oh look. Another £1.3bn for schools from the magic money tree. The thing about minority governments. They’re expensive.
— Tony Grew (@ayestotheright) July 17, 2017
Justine Greening: extra funding for schools of £1.3bn across 2018/19 + 2019/20 – she’s won battle with Hammond but where’s cash coming from?
— Rowena Mason (@rowenamason) July 17, 2017
Greening has won her argument for extra cash for schools, an extra 1.3 billion for next two years
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) July 17, 2017
The answer? There is no new money, no magic money tree, she has not “won the battle with Hammond“. The cash is coming out of the existing Education budget, which means cuts elsewhere in the department. Remember Greening wanted new cash. Treasury win.
Extra cash for schools will come from savings within Education Department – says Justine Greening
— norman smith (@BBCNormanS) July 17, 2017
So the money’s not coming from the Treasury -Greening taking £1.3bn from free schools and capital budget to pay for extra £1.3bn for schools
— Rowena Mason (@rowenamason) July 17, 2017
Greening spins it up as more cash, the Lobby falls for it, Greening admits there is no new money, the herd follows. Wonder who could possibly have a motive to brief against Hammond…
Shadow Cabinet minister Jon Ashworth confirms Corbyn’s promise to “deal with” student debt has been downgraded to an “ambition”. Johnny Sparkle torn a new one by Susanna Reid – if the Tories packed in their self-indulgence and took a holiday this would be the top politics story in the news…
.@johnmcdonnellMP says Corbyn’s £100bn election offer to write off student debt is just “an ambition” adding “it’s very difficult” #marr pic.twitter.com/yG4uvx5qZ0
— The Andrew Marr Show (@MarrShow) July 16, 2017
During the election Jeremy Corbyn vowed “I will deal with” those who had the “historical misfortune” of large student debts, promising he would “ameliorate” their situation and write it off. Last week Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner confirmed the policy, admitting: “It is a huge amount, it is £100 billion. I like a challenge, but we’ve got to start dealing with this debt crisis that we’re foisting on our young people. It’s not acceptable”.
Today John McDonnell u-turned on that key election promise which won the votes of so many students and young people, telling Marr it was just “an ambition” and conceding for the first time “it’s very difficult” to do. All those who voted Labour to have their debts written off should watch this interview. It was fantasy politics, a pack of lies all along…
Welsh government politicians, special advisers, private secretaries and press officers have billed the taxpayer tens of thousands of pounds to fly around the world on more than 30 foreign junkets in the last year. Welsh Labour leader Carwyn Jones blew more than £10,000 chartering a plane for him and his private secretary to France to watch the football last summer. Why are taxpayers paying for this?
The itinerary of the Welsh cabinet and their flunkies would put globe-trotting A-listers to shame. Expenses documents show Jones spent nearly £50,000 on another two trips to the US, taking in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Washington DC at a total cost to the taxpayer of £47,992. Economy Secretary Ken Skates and his private secretary also went to the Euro football: they attended matches in Toulouse and Paris over five days, total cost £3,232. How did they manage to spend that much?
He and an official also went to Chongqing and Shanghai at a cost of £17,842. Health Secretary Vaughan Gething was also accompanied by an official on a trip to Enetbbe, Uganda, charging £16,582, to mark the “10th Anniversary of Wales for Africa“. Environment Secretary Lesley Griffiths and policy official enjoyed sunny Dubai at a cost of £6,563. Who are these people are why are spending our money?
Welsh politicians have long been on the take and get away with it because no one in the English media cares about what are essentially local stories. At a time when Welsh Labour are breaking their tuition fees promise, their politicians and staff are flying around the world on jollies. How can they justify spending this much on going to watch the football?
George Osborne has defended his employer BlackRock’s half-a-billion pound investment on the front page of the Evening Standard. In the most glaring conflict of interest since his editorship began, today’s Standard blasts Rebecca Long-Bailey as “out of touch” for criticising Uber, and favourably quotes her own colleagues who support the taxi app. BlackRock, which invested in Uber in 2014, has a stake now worth some £500 million. BlackRock pays Osborne a salary of £600,000 for 48 days work per year.
BlackRock keeps Osborne on retainer and it is in BlackRock’s direct financial interests to see Uber defended, Osborne will no doubt argue that he defends Uber on the Evening Standard front page for liberal reasons. Guido did warn him that as editor he would have to navigate a minefield of conflicted interests when he took the job. This was inevitable…
UPDATE: The first edition of the Standard had no mention of Uber on the front page. Second edition splashed it. Did someone pick up the phone to the editor?
