Labour’s muddled definition of “working people” has now shifted three times in a week, adding to the farcical spectacle surrounding their manifesto tax pledges. Yesterday, Keir Starmer said that Britons earning income from shares or property aren’t “working people.” Sparking fresh fears of looming tax hikes for investors…
In a failed attempt to clarify the “working people” line, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray, made the morning media rounds. Speaking on the Today Programme, he was asked six times a simple question: “Do landlords work?” And six times, he dodged the question, hiding behind a stream of evasive waffle instead:
This won’t be music to the ears of 2.82 million private landlords in the UK, who now brace for the potential of steep tax hikes in the upcoming budget. Labour has taken the “campaign in poetry, govern in prose” approach to whole new level…
Starmer continues to peddle the line that Trump trying to sue the Labour party won’t affect his relationship with the former President, though his cabinet’s past (and very public) disdain for Trump doesn’t exactly bode well for the special relationship if Trump does get in to the White House. Nor will having Labour MP Stephen Doughty as the Minister for North America…
Doughty has never hidden his feelings on Trump. In an interview with the BBC, he labelled Trump as “racist, incompetent or both” and in 2019, branded him a “racist, sexist, divisive and a liar”, “offensive to civilised values” and that Trump “represents the very worst of the world”. Tell us how you really feel…
The Minister for North America also sponsored not one, but two Early Day Motions against Trump when he was President. First in 2017, sponsoring an EDM to stop Trump from speaking in Westminster Hall, and in 2019, he sponsored an EDM to rescind the offer of a state visit to Trump. If Trump does win as many polls suggest, it may make for awkward small talk if Doughty is shipped out to American soil in this role…
Wes Streeting’s boyfriend Joe Dancey has been appointed Labour’s new Executive Director of Policy and Communications. Stitch-up accusations abounded as Dancey was selected for the Stockton West constituency despite living in London with Wes. It didn’t matter in the end – he lost to Tory Matt Vickers in the only Labour defeat on Teesside…
Dancey will now be based in London to “provide strategic leadership across the organisation to ensure that Policy and Communications functions are at the cutting edge.” Before the election Labour had two separate roles for communications and policy, headed up by Matthew Doyle and Stuart Ingham. With those two headed into government the Party combined the roles into one £104,985 position, which Dancey has now filled. Politics is a family business…
Labour is reopening asylum hotels at a staggering cost of £4 million a day. Just a year ago, the Conservatives shut down 150 of these hotels to deter illegal entry. It’s yet another U-turn from Labour. Their manifesto promised to “end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions of pounds”. Now it’s ‘reopen asylum hotels, costing the taxpayer billions of pounds’…
Yvette Cooper’s decision to overturn the law preventing illegal migrants from claiming asylum has sent asylum seeker numbers skyrocketing, so it’s no surprise Labour has opted to reopen hotels to house them. With 27,225 migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats so far—a 5% increase from the same time last year—many of these newcomers will soon find themselves in the very hotels Labour has revived. It’s an open-door policy with the bill landing on the taxpayer. No wonder Channel migrants love Labour…
Labour has branded itself the party for business and growth, though the only thing they’ve managed to grow is fear in the markets. Business leaders are running for the hills, thanks to the threat of higher taxes on the horizon. Even Google’s former CEO Eric Schmidt confessed he “was shocked when Labour said it was in favour of growth”…
It’s hardly surprising, though, when not a single member of the cabinet has any real-world business experience. None of them have ever run or managed a successful private enterprise. Instead, it’s a cabinet full of career politicians, union apparatchiks, and those who’ve spent their lives in the warm embrace of the public sector. Guido has a breakdown of the numbers:
Reeves, as she often reminds the public, worked at the Bank of England. Scotland Secretary Ian Murray found event management business called 100MPH Events, though it’s been dormant since 2015 and currently has £11,618 in liabilities. Not exactly stellar business CVs…
The only cabinet member who notably tried their hand at business is Keir Starmer. His brush with “business” came as a student when he and a mate attempted to sell ice cream on the French Riviera—illegally. Not only did they find themselves not making any money, the illegal act actually saw Starmer’s mate get arrested. Not exactly a Dragon’s Den success story. It’s no wonder investors are running scared when the only cabinet member who’s tried to run a business ended up getting his collar felt by the rozzers…
Labour marked its 100 days in power by…losing its poll lead. Over the weekend, a poll from More in Common shows the Tories and Labour are neck and neck at 27%. Labour’s lead wiped out after 934 days, after 100 days in government…
Meanwhile, Reform polls just 6 percentage points behind at 21%, reportedly sparking some of Starmer’s allies to worry that Reform could overtake Labour by the time of May’s local elections. The real opposition…
