Peers voted overwhelmingly to ban social media for under-16s in the Lords last night. In total, 261 peers backed the Tory amendment compared to 150 opposing. A massive government defeat…
This week Science Secretary Liz Kendall announced a three-month ‘consultation ‘on a social media ban in an effort to stave off another backbench rebellion. Meanwhile, a report commissioned by the Labour government found that there is little evidence that a ban would work – as safeguarding minister Jess Phillips rightly pointed out last month. Prepare for another U-turn…
The Tories are still managing to ban everything from outside government. Remarkable…
Veteran Labour MP Graham Stringer has written in the Telegraph today to call for his colleagues to block Starmer’s “shameful” Chagos surrender deal. He says:
“This disgraceful excuse for scrutiny was supposedly acceptable because the Government said the Bill was required by the rules-based international order. That rationale now lies in tatters. Far from simply doing something that was not in our manifesto, the Diego Garcia Bill does something that our manifesto commits us not to do….always defend their [British Overseas Territories] sovereignty and right to self-determination…Today all Members of Parliament, especially Labour Members, will have an opportunity to support our electoral promises made in 2024.”
The surrender bill is back in the Commons today for consideration of Lords amendments, the same day as Trump calls the deal an “act of stupidity“. This headache won’t go away for the self-styled statesman Starmer. Kill the bill…
Labour has splurged an eye-watering £215.9 million on advertising since entering office. That’s a cool £381,705 every day…
According to a written answer to Tory MP Mike Wood, government departments have spaffed £214,900,056 on digital, press, radio, and television adverts since 04 July 2024. Governments of all stripes like to push their latest projects with taxpayer cash along with informing the public about policy changes, health and safety, and so on…
The promo blitz will no doubt include flogging half-baked policy resets, earnest departmental campaigns nobody asked for, and some thinly-disguised party propaganda. Cost-of-living crisis? Never heard of it…
There are now an eye-watering 5,948 full-time equivalent staff in the Government Communications Service. Business is booming given the constant self-inflicted crises this government finds itself managing…
Across all departments and quangos, the Health and Social Care Department tops the table with 772 communications staff. The Cabinet Office has 406 comms gurus, Richard Hermer’s department employs 97, and the Home Office has 187. Meanwhile the Treasury has 84. Will be interesting to see whether that number goes up or down after the Budget leaks ‘investigation‘…
Read the breakdown of comms staff below:
Continue reading “Embattled Government Employs Nearly 6,000 Communications Staff”
Labour’s favourite think tank the Resolution Foundation has clocked up the cost of all of Labour’s U-turns. They estimate the reverse ferrets up to the Winter Budget has cost the Exchequer at least £8.2 billion. And that’s not even including the ones since then. We’re on 13 now…
Aside from ex-Chancellor Hunt scrapping much of Liz Truss’ mini-budget, Labour’s string of policy reversals has cost more than any other government’s climb downs since 2012. The think tank, whose ex-personnel now run the Treasury, said this“damaged growth” and added:
“There’s lots to welcome in the Government’s economic growth strategy. But it has spent much of the past 18 months undermining that strategy with policy U-turns, kite-flying tax ideas and timidity in areas like trade where it needs to be bold.”
And these people are embedded in this Labour government. “Get it right the first time,” anyone?
Lucy Powell has given a long, meandering interview with British Vogue. Other than talking about “passion and purpose” (huh?) and posing for a few snaps, Labour’s Deputy Leader admits her “friend” Rachel Reeves didn’t exactly handle the budget as well as she could have. Which is putting it mildly…
“There were too many leaks, speculation and briefings but Liz Truss took everyone by surprise with her radical budget and that was worse.”
She also takes aim at Starmer’s leadership:
““We’ve given the sense that we’re not on the side of ordinary working people who are struggling to get by… We’ve got to change how we’re doing things. I’ve called it a course correction. We have to be the leaders of the anti-Farage alliance and we have to show that mainstream progressive politics can deliver change – or what comes after us is pretty horrifying.”
As for her sacking, it was apparently a blessing in disguise. As Deputy Leader, she claims she has “had more influence in the last six weeks than most other members of the cabinet.” Which is probably true, if you count backing Burnham’s plot to return to Westminster…
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”