Newslinks for Wednesday 18th September 2024

Inflation stays at 2.2 per cent despite expectations of a rise

“Inflation stayed above the Bank of England‘s target level in the year to August, with the rate standing at 2.2 per cent in figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday morning. The figure is the same as last month’s, despite economists having predicted it would rise. The Bank of England had expected it would increase to around 2.4 per cent, so the number is a little lower than some expected, though some city economists had predicted it stay at 2.2 per cent. Core CPI – which excludes volatile measures such as energy, food, alcohol and tobacco – rose by 3.6 per cent in the 12 months to August 2024, up from 3.3 per cent in July. Services inflation – which includes hospitality costs and air fares – rose from 5.2 per cent to 5.6 per cent.” – The I

Starmer 1) The Prime Minister’s £100,000 in tickets and gifts more than ‘any other recent party leader’

“Keir Starmer has declared more free tickets and gifts than other major party leaders in recent times, with his total now topping £100,000 after recent support for his lifestyle from Labour donor Waheed Alli. The prime minister has accepted almost 40 sets of free tickets during his time as Labour leader, mostly to football matches but also £4,000 of hospitality at a Taylor Swift concert and £698 of Coldplay tickets in Manchester. He was criticised this week for the scale of gifts given to him by Lord Alli, who paid for work clothing worth £12,000, accommodation valued at more than £20,000 and glasses valued at £2,485 – especially since the donor was temporarily given a pass to No 10…Angela Eagle…struggled to defend the prime minister’s decision to accept so many freebies when pressed…” – The Guardian

• Starmer’s gifts amount to more than just clothes – The Times
• McFadden says Starmer will bring reasons to be cheerful – The Guardian

Starmer 2) He ‘plots to raise bills’ to fund Thames Water bailout

“Sir Keir Starmer is planning to allow water bills across the country to be raised to pay for a Government bailout of Thames Water. New legislation will let the Government charge all water companies the full £10 billion cost if ministers decide to take over the struggling company. These charges would probably be passed on to consumers in the form of higher bills. It comes after the Government’s decision to scrap the winter fuel allowance for the vast majority of pensioners, cutting them off from help with their energy bills. On Tuesday night, ministers said the new powers were a last resort and would only be used if the Government could not find a buyer for the company who would agree to absorb the costs. Thames Water has more than £15 billion of debt…” – The Daily Telegraph

Starmer 3) He ‘refuses to budge’ on football regulator, despite Uefa threat

“Sir Keir Starmer has said he will not change his plans for a football regulator despite warnings from Uefa that it could lead to England being banned from the Euros in 2028. The prime minister revealed that Europe’s governing body had already “slightly reduced their concerns” about his Football Governance Bill after discussions with ministers. Starmer said he was confident that his plans were “perfectly consistent” with Uefa’s rules preventing government interference in football because it would be “a truly independent regulator”. The legislation will create a football watchdog that could stop wealthy clubs joining breakaway leagues, protect clubs from financial mismanagement and…could block investment from controversial countries…” – The Times

Starmer 4) Guy Dampier: The Prime Minister is running out of options to stop the boats

“Could Britain copy Italy’s plan to use Albania for the offshore processing of asylum seekers? Keir Starmer has reportedly said he is interested, during a visit to see Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Under her premiership, Italy has seen a decline in illegal immigration, with a 62 per cent drop in arrivals as of July this year compared to the same period last year. Those numbers must look attractive to the government, which has seen illegal immigration increase in their short term in office so far. Although that might sound tempting, so far none of the facilities in Albania have opened. The deal was only struck last year…Instead, Italy’s success has been because of the Mattei Plan, which involves investing billions in Africa.” – The Daily Telegraph

• How ‘stable’ Starmer won over ‘far-right’ Meloni in softer Brexit diplomacy mission – The I
• More than 10,000 small boat migrants have now crossed Channel since Starmer became Prime Minister – The Sun

>Today:

Labour ‘not enforcing’ three-day office week for civil servants

“Ministers are quietly ignoring rules requiring civil servants to be in the office three days a week, saying they have no interest in policing home working. As Labour plans to give far more staff the right to flexible working, ministers are said to be taking a “less dogmatic” approach to their own staff as they say forcing civil servants back to the office is no longer a priority. However, Kemi Badenoch, one of the frontrunners to be Conservative leader, has reopened a political divide on home working, saying it was “extraordinary” that Labour was giving people more rights to work flexibly. Industry groups say that although flexible working is a “valuable tool” to attract staff, ministers must not make it harder for bosses to refuse requests that would harm business.” – The Times

• Teachers ‘to be allowed to work from home’ – The Daily Telegraph
• Labour’s proposal to make hybrid working a mandatory option for all employees could harm business and productivity – Editorial, The Times

Reeves ‘beats Rayner’ in battle for Dorneywood country pile…

“Rachel Reeves has been given the keys to Dorneywood after speculation that the grace-and-favour government mansion might go to Angela Rayner instead. The Chancellor is listed as the latest occupant of the 18th-century property and is understood to have had access to it since July. The move is a break from Labour tradition. John Prescott, when deputy prime minister, was allowed access to the 21-room mansion over Gordon Brown…Ms Rayner, as Deputy Prime Minister, would have been given Dorneywood had this precedent been followed. Generally, the Buckinghamshire house is used by chancellors, but the Prime Minister can grant it to any member of the Government… In April…Jeremy Hunt…called a summit there to attract companies to the London stock market.” – The Daily Telegraph

…as she orders a ‘crackdown’ on government use of consultants

“UK chancellor Rachel Reeves has ordered that all major new Whitehall consultancy contracts must be signed off by a department’s most senior civil servant or its cabinet minister, as she seeks to halve spending on external contractors and save more than £1bn over two years. Reeves’s crackdown is part of what will be a bruising spending review, as she looks to make savings in next month’s Budget to help close what she claims is a £22bn fiscal hole. Government officials said an edict had been sent out that consultancy contracts above a certain value would in future have to be signed off by the permanent secretary or minister in charge of a department… Consulting firms have been told that any contract above £100,000 will have to be signed off by a permanent secretary…” – The Financial Times

• Our ‘iron chancellor’ is set for a humiliating climbdown – Jeremy Warner, The Daily Telegraph

Lammy says pledge of £12 billion in climate finance ‘to be reviewed’

“Britain’s pledge of giving almost £12 billion in climate change finance to other countries will be subject to the government’s spending review, David Lammy has said. In his first big policy speech, the foreign secretary said climate change would be “central to all the Foreign Office does”. Lammy said that Britain and other rich countries had committed at UN climate talks 15 years ago to giving $100 billion a year to poorer nations in the spirit of working together. But in an apparent reference to Boris Johnson’s 2019 pledge to give £11.6 billion in climate finance between the financial years of 2021-22 and 2025-26, he said: “The reality is that the British contribution to this target was a promise which the Tories casually made, but for which they did not have a plan.” – The Times

• Climate is the wrong priority for Lammy – Editorial, The Daily Mail
• Our Foreign Secretary’s doom-laden climate rhetoric, just as we appear to be heading for global conflict, is a lesson in virtue-signalling puerility – Leo McKinstry, The Daily Mail

Ministers ‘frustrated’ over BBC’s handling of Edwards as Nandy urges review

“Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy believes the BBC must urgently press ahead with its review into workplace culture in the wake of the Huw Edwards scandal, i understands. Ministers are understood to be increasingly frustrated over the BBC’s handling of the Edwards incident amid grave concerns that lessons will not be learnt from the affair. The BBC board announced in August that it would be carrying out a full independent review into the office culture of the broadcaster after Edwards was charged for making indecent images of children. It said that the terms of reference for the review and an independent figure to lead the process would be in place by “early September”, but neither have been announced by the broadcaster.” – The I

• Astonishing leniency towards Edwads exposes a two-tier justice system which must be rebuilt – Editorial, The Sun
• Two-tier justice system favours the social elite – Tim Newark, Daily Express

>Today:

Silent prayer outside abortion clinics faces ban

“Silent prayer faces being banned outside abortion clinics under a new law to be introduced at the end of next month. The Government is enacting new legislation from Oct 31 that would bar protests, including silent prayer, within a buffer zone of 150 metres of a clinic or hospital providing abortion services. Labour has ditched draft guidance by the last Conservative government that told police silent prayer should be allowed inside the new “safe access zones”. It has also scrapped exemptions allowing “consensual” communication within the zones, which has been interpreted as permitting the handing out of leaflets or activists engaging people in conversation. The changes mean that silent prayer will be banned in the zones…” – The Daily Telegraph

Ministers plan ‘shake-up’ of welfare system to tackle working-age inactivity

“UK jobcentres will spend less time policing the benefits system and more time helping people to find work, under government reforms aimed at raising the employment rate to the highest in the G7. Alison McGovern, employment minister, told the Financial Times that a white paper due later in the autumn would set out “big changes” to a welfare system that left too many people “on the scrapheap”. “The first thing has to be cultural change,” she said, calling for a return to the founding principles of the welfare. “(William) Beveridge knew that for social security to work you need a well-functioning health system and an approach for full employment. We’ve lost that wider view of the economy,” she added, referring to the economist who inspired Labour’s postwar reforms.” – The Financial Times

Labour pains 1) Abbott: Starmer treated me as ‘non-person’ in race row

“Diane Abbott has accused Sir Keir Starmer of treating her as a “non-person” during a controversy over racist comments allegedly made by the Conservative Party’s largest donor. The Labour MP said Starmer “never reached out to me personally” after reports of the remarks by Frank Hester, the tech businessman who has given £10 million to the Tories. Hester was alleged to have said in 2019 that Abbott, Britain’s longest-serving black MP, made him “want to hate all black women” and that she “should be shot”. He apologised in March for making “rude” comments about Abbott, but denied his criticism had anything to do with her gender or skin colour. Abbott told BBC’s Newsnight that the comments made her feel in danger and referred to the deaths of Jo Cox in 2016 and Sir David Amess in 2021.” – The Times

Labour pains 2) Suspended Labour rebels ‘could be permanently kicked out’

“Former shadow Chancellor John McDonnell is among five suspended Labour MPs who face being permanently kicked out of the Labour Party, according to sources. The group have rebelled twice against Sir Keir Starmer during his short tenure. The first rebellion saw seven MPs defy the party whip in July to vote in favour of an SNP motion calling for the Government to scrap the two-child benefit cap. Five of the MPs then rebelled again last week, in a vote tabled by the Conservatives which opposed the Government’s plans to make pensioners’ winter fuel payment means-tested. They include Mr McDonnell, as well as Apsana Begum, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne and Zarah Sultana… Alan Campbell is expected to make a decision “sooner rather than later” over how to discipline the MPs…” – The I

Labour pains 3) The Treasury ‘saying no to everything’ will hit growth, warns Burnham

“The UK Treasury needs to help unlock infrastructure investment rather than “saying no to everything”, a senior Labour party figure has said, as fears grow about looming spending cuts in next month’s Budget. Andy Burnham…said Whitehall’s powerful finance ministry will have to fundamentally change the way it thinks if chancellor Rachel Reeves is to hit her overriding goal of boosting economic growth. Upcoming decisions on transport infrastructure outside London and the South East provide a particular test for the government’s growth ambitions, he said.  “There are a number of ‘growth tests’ looming — not least on rail infrastructure — and we will find out soon whether the Treasury is able to transform itself into the growth department,” Burnham told the Financial Times.” – The Financial Times

Labour ‘losing support in Scotland’ after winter fuel payment row

“Labour has fallen significantly behind the SNP after its decision to cut winter fuel payments, a poll has found. The survey of voting intentions for the next Holyrood election would severely damage Anas Sarwar’s prospects of forming a Labour government in Scotland for the first time since 2007. The poll was conducted in the days leading up to the tenth anniversary of the Scottish independence referendum on Wednesday and suggests the SNP’s stranglehold on Scottish politics remains intact despite Scottish Labour rising as a strong challenger. In a dramatic surge for Reform UK, Nigel Farage’s party would equal the number of Conservative MSPs, underlining the scale of the challenge facing the new Scottish Tory leader.” – The Times

Labour should abolish graduate visas in bid to reduce migration, report urges

“Britain should abolish graduate visas and scrap the ‘shortage occupation list’ to reduce migration numbers to the tens of thousands, a new think-tank report has urged. Researchers at the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) said overall gross domestic product (GDP) – the total value of the country’s output of goods and services – has been ‘artificially boosted’ by a larger population – but GDP per capita has stagnated. Its ‘Selecting the Best’ report found that while mass migration is not necessarily the cause of the UK’s poor economic performance, it is helping to sustain the current situation. In a bid to cut net migration, the ASI said the ‘open-ended’ graduate visa should be axed along with the Government’s 600,000 target for international students.” – The Daily Mail

>Today:

>Yesterday:

Robert Jenrick: Starmer must not break promise to proscribe Iran’s IRGC

“Labour must hold true to their promise, for the safety of our people and the world. On our streets we know that the IRGC has supported groups sowing division with attacks on Jewish people and Israel, which I visited in the aftermath of the Oct 7 attacks. They support mosques, charities and schools to radicalise people in our communities against our British way of life. And they use criminal gangs and thugs to intimidate people on our streets, forcing journalists out of our country last year. MI5 and police revealed they had foiled 15 Iranian assassination plots over a year against UK residents who the regime wants rid of. Proscribing the IRGC would allow UK authorities to crack down much more tightly against groups linked to the Iranian regime’s terror sponsors.” – The Daily Telegraph

Starmer has a two-tier approach to sleaze, ‘blasts Badenoch’

“Sir Keir Starmer has a two-tier approach to sleaze, Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch has blasted. She said “frock-gate” — as the PM faces criticism over luxury clothing donations for his wife — is exposing “a significant amount of hypocrisy”. Ms Badenoch told our Never Mind the Ballots show of Labour politicians’ stance: “They think that they’re just better people and that when they do things, it’s OK. But when people on the right, when Conservatives do things, that’s when it’s bad.” She added: “It’s not just the clothes. It’s the use of private jets, which they criticised Rishi Sunak for. There’s a feeling it’s not about the action, it’s about who’s doing it.” Sir Keir met former model Naomi Campbell at Downing Street on Monday…” – The Sun

Davey calls for ring-fenced cash to ‘winterproof’ the NHS

“Ministers have been urged to “winterproof” the NHS by setting up a taskforce dedicated to averting the annual “crisis” in the health service. Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, called at the party’s conference for senior health leaders to report directly to the government on how they plan to avoid the NHS being overwhelmed, prior to warnings about pressures on hospitals this year. Funding worth £375 million should be ring-fenced for NHS trusts and integrated care boards, Davey said. An average of £376 million is spent by the government each year on reacting to the winter crisis. Davey said that the funding was ad hoc and announced as an emergency package, preventing NHS trusts from being able to plan their budgets more efficiently to build resilience.” – The Times

• Lib Dems to ‘press Reeves’ to raise taxes on banks and the wealthy – The Financial Times
• Davey’s party enjoyed a historic revival in the election. But what are they for? – Editorial, The Times
• Lib Dem strategy rests on how it responds to Labour and Tories – Stephen Bush, The Financial Times
• Oh, how the Lib Dems laughed – but reality is about to hit – Kitty Donaldson, The I
• For those who dislike politics, Lib Dems are the least likeable party of all – Tim Stanley, The Daily Telegraph
• Crowd goes wild for Davey’s Abba tribute – then it gets weird – Tom Peck, The Times
• Davey has become that dreaded thing – a dullard who thinks he’s a real card – Quentin Letts, The Daily Mail

News in Brief:

• Now we know how Starmer will fall – Stephen Daisley, The Spectator 
• How to read like a man – Matt Feeney, UnHerd
• Davey’s grip on Middle England won’t hold for long – William Atkinson, CapX 
• Explaining reality to Miliband – Chris Bayliss, The Critic 
• The exploding pagers of Lebanon – Megan Gibson, The New Statesman