A bizarre readout from Cabinet emerged yesterday, reported by The Times on its front page this morning: “Sir Keir Starmer is demanding urgent action from cabinet ministers to avoid a repeat of last summer’s rioting after warnings from Downing Street officials that Britain is “fraying at the edges.” Certainly is…
Journalists were told Angela Rayner blamed a number of factors including “economic insecurity, the rapid pace of deindustrialisation, immigration and the impacts on local communities and public services, technological change and the amount of time people were spending online.” Nothing about the government’s own disastrous handling of Southport, migrant hotels and daily small boat crossings…
The briefing was gobbled up by clueless Westminster hacks and regurgitated as a deep social analysis of Britain’s problems. Liz Lloyd, Downing Street’s executive director of policy and delivery, is also said to have quipped: “Social cohesion is fraying at the edges, as services are unable to keep up with changes in time and migration.” They don’t get it…
Macron may not have noticed Starmer’s faux pas diplomatique yesterday when the PM misspelled Charles de Gaulle’s name on the wreath he laid at the French hero’s statue. Mon dieu…
There was as fiddly ceremony at Carlton Gardens yesterday to lay the wreaths. Starmer’s handwritten note reads:
“In memory of President de Gualle and the free French forces now, as then, we stand together for freedom & democracy on this continent, Keir Starmer.”
An ampersand – lazy. It’s hard when Morgan isn’t writing your copy…
Spotted by a passing Tory adviser the galling mistake may throw a spanner in the works of this afternoon’s private Macron-Starmer meeting in Downing Street. Will the French President push for extra concessions on the one in one out migrant deal after this insult?
Downing Street is yet to form a strategy to deal with an upcoming rebellion over special educational needs provision. Two overnight splashes in the Times and the Guardian have brought the issue to the fore…
Ministers including Bridget Phillipson are making headlines by refusing to guarantee current SEND provisions will be legally guaranteed for children with special needs as the government looks for cost-savings in an efficiency drive for the system, which currently costs £11 billion. A white paper for later in the year is due to involve focussing SEND provision in mainstream schools as opposed to investment in specialist institutions. Costs have skyrocketed in recent years…
Backbench Labour MPs have briefed the papers anonymously while campaigners and charities are already rearing their heads now that there is talk of reform. A Downing Street source tells Guido they are “still working out what to do” on the potential revolt, adding that “proposals weren’t due until the autumn anyway.” On that front Guido hears the current plan is to “just play it long and try to sort the rebels over the summer.” There is time – and a jolted No10 will not be keen on a repeat of the welfare debacle…
Starmer’s spokesman has just confirmed there are no plans to celebrate Labour’s one-year anniversary. Just as there were no plans to celebrate the first 100 days…
Downing Street says it did a reception with public sector workers earlier in the week which is good enough. Asked about dismal poll ratings the spokesman said Brits are “impatient for change.” One way to put it…
The once-back-scratching media and pollsters are rounding up how it’s gone instead. Not pretty…
Sources inside government dispute that Reeves has a secret ‘personal issue’ which caused her to cry. After the extraordinary scenes in the Commons at Wednesday’s PMQs Reeves rushed to Starmer’s NHS speech the next day and told reporters she was dealing with “a personal issue” and added: “Today’s a new day and I’m just cracking on with the job.” Very much wanting to move on – hard to do when you’re the Chancellor and you cried live on TV for about thirty minutes…
A Downing Street source tells Guido there is no one in the No10 political team who believes Reeves and “nobody here knows what the personal issue is.” There are now widespread fears “she has lied to the PM who has assured the nation.” A government source tells Guido: “It’s as it appears. Hoyle being a *****.” So, nothing…
Rumours quickly spread that Lindsay Hoyle had an altercation with Reeves – observers saw Reeves burst into tears after Hoyle asked her to give slightly shorter answers in oral and topical Commons questions. A Downing Street source adds: “We all think it’s total b*llocks. She had a series of minor rows, and was hurt by Badenoch and lost it.” Unsustainable for a Chancellor…
Starmer said to Nick Robinson that her “personal matter” was “nothing to do with politics” and “nothing to do with any discussion between me and Rachel, nothing to do with the matters of this week.” Guido hears there are fears in Downing Street elucidated by one source that “if she has done her usual lying it is very bad for the PM too.” Starmer has gone to pains since Wednesday to say their fates are bound together…
The Chancellor’s team maintains there is a hidden personal issue. Kemi’s spokesperson did ask about this after PMQs and was right to – but the Lobby has gone silent on the matter. This was on live TV, is no one interested in the reason?
The malaise inside Downing Street extends further than political staff. The civil servants are distraught too…
Guido hears abnormally high numbers of mid-ranking Civil Service staff in No10 are plotting their exits. A raft of junior and brash Labour political staff are said to make work frustrating…
Sources inside government say they know of at least ten non-political staff who want to go. Some have been ringing around potential new employers…
Restlessness is particularly high in the No10 press office – no surprise there – and the parliamentary team. When senior Civil Service staff holding things together at the Cabinet Office are also planning to leave you know the rot is deep…
Kemi Badenoch at the 1922-ConHome bash last night:
“I did praise [Burnham] for his stamina, it was amazing. All I had to do was sit back and lie there. I didn’t have to do anything at all…”
