Labour Party Chairman Ellie Reeves was questioned by Kay Burley on Waheed Alli’s Downing Street pass. Reeves’ scattered defence lines contradicted themselves:
Reeves refused to say who authorised the pass. Meanwhile Shadow DSIT Secretary Andrew Griffith is calling for an investigation by Laurie Magnus, No 10’s Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests, into the cronyism scandal. Maybe the Propriety Group’s Jess Sargeant should look into it?
The armageddon of mass far right protests supposedly due to take place across Britain last night came to… absolutely nothing whatsoever. As Sky News’s long-serving crime reporter Martin Brunt put it:
“There’s no evidence yet that our teams on the ground have seen any far right activity – the counter protests have got no protests to counter.”
As the night wore on, special coverage arranged by the main broadcasters – which sent cameras across the country, dispatching correspondents and TV helicopters far and wide – became increasingly embarrassing. An example from ITV’s Paul Brand summed up the position:
In all honesty there seems to be very little purpose to the gathering here. You hear the odd word about immigration but most people seem to have come out for a look and to see if anything kicks off. A fair bit of drinking and low level aggro but no major unrest.
— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) August 7, 2024
As news hounds desperately tried to spot the slightest hint of far-right activity, there was less attention on the developments of the past few days, including:
As it turned out, the threat turned out not to be in evidence. Were rioters just taking the night off, or is this much-hyped episode of disorder now over?
Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt last night, officially confirmed by the US authorities as a full on attempt on the former President’s life. One bystander was killed and two others were critically injured after “multiple shots” were fired, the Secret Service confirmed in a statement. Authorities further identified the suspected shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, a Pennsylvania man who lived an hour’s drive from the rally. There’s no doubt this was a serious and premeditated attempt to kill Trump with a rifle in a JFK-style assasination…
Odd, then, that some mainstream media hot takes came out of the oven undercooked. As the former President came within a whisker of being blown into oblivion on live TV, this was the reaction of Sky News’s James Matthews:
“In the aftermath of events in Pennsylvania, there were reminders from Trump opponents about how, in the past, he had joked about the brutal assault on the husband of former Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Likewise, his downplaying of a kidnap plot against Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer wasn’t forgotten. No one’s claiming that anything justified an assassination attempt but the clear suggestion is that Donald Trump played his part in changing the rules of engagement and recklessly drove hostility in US politics.”
The station coupled the piece with this tweet – seeming to suggest Trump was to blame:
Nothing justifies an assassination bid – but did Trump play part in changing the rules of engagement?
Read more🔗https://t.co/yMvXN0EKJs
— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 14, 2024
Politico reported earlier this week that Biden reportedly told donors: “I have one job, and that’s to beat Donald Trump. I’m absolutely certain I’m the best person to be able to do that. So, we’re done talking about the debate, it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.” Brace for more liberal hot takes…
Lord Cameron was rolled out for the morning round today. When asked by Kay Burley what he would do if the Conservatives lost the election he replied:
“If my mother had wheels she would have been a bicycle, I don’t answer questions beginning with ‘if’.”
It’s almost the verbatim Gino D’Acampo joke from May 2010. Has Cameron been reminiscing with the aid of daytime TV from the exact month and year of the first election he won? Simpler times…
Sky News call this a “Leaders Event” instead of a debate. It’s 20 minutes with Beth Rigby followed by 25 minutes with the Grimsby-based audience. Lots were drawn, Starmer is going first…
Guido will give you live updates below:
UPDATE: That’s it done. Starmer did better than in the ITV head-to-head. Sunak had a battle or two with questioners. Guido can’t feel the dial shifting…
UPDATE II: YouGov snap poll: Sunak 36%, Starmer 64%. Two-to-one…
The latest YouGov poll for Sky News has a rise of 4 points for the LibDems and a small drop for Labour. Most importantly, Tory/Reform gap gets to its narrowest point yet. Crossover inbound…
