A week of riots rages on throughout the UK, with it looking unlikely that Labour will quell the storm anytime soon, as 370 arrests have been made so far. Last night, Plymouth saw police injured, Belfast saw businesses burned, and a Sky News reporter was forced off the air in Birmingham after a group of Asian men gathered around her, shouting, “Free Palestine. F**k media.” Charming…
Starmer has chosen to pick a fight with tech tycoon and X boss Elon Musk, who warned yesterday that the UK could be facing “civil war.” Starmer slapped down the comment, only for Musk to reply to an X post from Starmer questioning the decision to provide extra protection for mosques. Meanwhile, Labour luvvie and former terrorist cop, Neil Basu, has argued that rioters should be classed as “terrorists”—as if that would deescalate tensions. Things can only get better…
The so-called “government of growth” has abandoned yet another investment initiative—the £1.3 billion fund aimed at supporting UK tech and AI projects. The Edinburgh exascale supercomputer’s future has been thrown up in the air – one of the world’s fastest computers that could revolutionise breakthroughs in AI, medicine, and…clean low-carbon energy. A reminder: investment and reform in the UK’s tech industry was a key pledge in Labour’s manifesto, which promised to:
“to grasp the opportunities of new technologies, with an AI sector plan, a new national data library to support cutting-edge research, 10-year budgets for key world innovation institutions, and planning reform to build the datacentres and infrastructure we need.”
Now, Labour has scrapped what they label “unfunded” plans to nurture the very industry they previously touted as essential for economic growth. This isn’t the first pro-growth initiative they’ve shelved since taking office. Angela Rayner has reduced the housebuilding target in London by 20%, while Rachel Reeves has cancelled numerous infrastructure projects, including the building of 40 new hospitals and 45 railway lines. Just weeks ago, Reeves positioned Labour as the party of “investment and reform.” As usual, Labour promised the land of milk and honey, only to quickly reverse course and set the stage for higher taxes instead…
Reeves announced a 3% increase in the top rate of the energy profits levy — a.k.a. the North Sea windfall tax—bringing it to a staggering 78% and stretching its tenure to 2030. On top of that, she’s stripping away the investment allowances. This policy will carve out a £5-7 billion gap in the national accounts as the regime loses £2.2-6.2 billion in annual income, while still bearing the £2-3 billion yearly cost of decommissioning existing projects. Reeves, naturally, is happy to blame the Tories for the black hole in the books, yet conveniently sidesteps the fact that she’s busy digging a fresh one…
Labour’s sheer ignorance in this climate-crusader policy may be linked to their dubious choice of tax advisor, named by City A.M.: Heather Plumpton, a rainforest historian under the employ of the Green Alliance, a group bankrolled by Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and renewable energy firms. Back in 2022, Plumpton pitched, on behalf of the ideological climate lobby group, a proposal to ramp up North Sea taxes to Norwegian levels (78%), sans the generous investment incentives that make Norway’s steep rates somewhat bearable. Now Labour have taken it on. Guido can’t help but wonder the lefty outcry over ‘Government being bought by corporate interests’ if it were oil companies lobbying to raise taxes on renewable energy sources instead…
Labour campaigned on the economy during the election and took the line: “no tax rises for working people“. Reeves and party spokesmen said:
Labour constantly attacked the Tories for raising taxes and pledged not to raise them “on working people“. Three weeks later that one’s dead in the water…
Rachel Reeves tells The News Agents that “we will have to increase taxes in the budget“. According to their own definition the taxes Labour is teeing up will break its manifesto promise…
Labour’s honeymoon is pretty much over. Reeves’ speech on Monday went down like a cup of cold sick, particularly the headline announcement of scrapping the social care cap, which has led to Labour being dubbed “the nastier party.” Even Tory-bashing, Labour luvvie Carol Voderman couldn’t defend the Reeves package on LBC when a pensioner called in, vowing to “never vote Labour again” after this move. Carol getting a brutal introduction to reality…
Meanwhile, the Southport stabbings have sparked riots outside a mosque, with hundreds throwing bricks, masonry, and fireworks at police officers and Starmer faced a hostile reception while laying flowers at the attack site, met with cries of “You can’t do sh*t!” from the enraged crowd. ‘I was DPP…’…
Labour attempted to blame the Tories for the ‘surprise’ (definitely not a surprise) £22 billion black hole, despite Reeves claiming the figure was £71 billion of unfunded Tory plans just last month. Now, the harsh reality is setting in, and Labour is preparing to fall back on their usual (and unpopular) strategy: whack up taxes. Which Reeves herself has made headlines admitting…
Some manifesto pledges Labour made are just not going to happen. Miliband’s pledge to totally decarbonise electricity supply by 2030 is away with the fairies. Expect that to be revised by reality soon.
The other ambitious pre-election pledge was the pledge to build 1.5 million homes by the next election. 300,000-a-year, or 25,000-a-month. Today the Housing Secretary Angela Rayner told MPs the Government planned to oversee building of 370,000 homes every year, up 70,000 from the figure Labour promised in the General Election. The target for new homes is now 1.85 million homes within five years – more than 30,000-a-month. Last quarter there were 22,310 housing starts nationally. To meet their target they will have to quadruple the pace of building. It is doable if the government has the will to drive it whatever the cost in terms of votes…
Was this increase triggered by the taunts of Kemi Badenoch? Kemi wickedly identified that it won’t be easy:
🔥 @KemiBadenoch gives Angela Rayner and Labour a reality check. pic.twitter.com/VtNlZugK4k
— Conservatives (@Conservatives) July 19, 2024
In the UK, a house or a flat is counted as started on the date work begins on the laying of the foundation. The figures are released quarterly, economists expect some 50,000 starts this quarter. Rayner will need to accelerate that dramatically, press releases are easy to send, laying bricks is much harder. Guido wishes them well, we’ll be tracking how they are doing on making that target every quarter…
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.”