Trump 1) Past criticism is ‘old news’, says Lammy
“The foreign secretary has dismissed his previous criticism of Donald Trump as “old news” and insisted he would be able to find “common ground” with the president-elect. When he was a backbench MP in 2018, David Lammy described Trump as a “tyrant” and “a woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath”. But in his first interview since Trump’s victory, he told the BBC’s Newscast podcast the president-elect was “someone that we can build a relationship with in our national interest.” – BBC
- Lammy fails to say he regrets comments – Daily Telegraph
- Rayner risks damaging UK-US relations after once labelling Donald Trump a ‘buffoon’ – The Sun
- Cabinet minister refuses to say if Trump has ‘Neo-Nazi sympathies’ as he’s grilled over Lammy tweets – The Sun
- Trump could threaten to withhold intelligence from UK, security sources warn – The i
- Farage is clearly the best choice to woo Donald Trump – and that’s a problem for Labour – Daily Telegraph
- Starmer ‘missing opportunity of a lifetime’ by charming EU instead of Trump, warns Rees-Mogg – Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday:
Trump 2) President-elect to focus on tariffs and tax cuts
“Donald Trump wants to make a quick start on cutting taxes and protecting US business from foreign competition in his first 100 days as part of his long-held ambition to reverse the era of globalisation that has shaped the modern world. The president-elect, who appointed his campaign mastermind as chief of staff on Thursday night, has tasked advisers with drawing up plans to push through the rapid renewal of his far-reaching 2017 tax cuts. There will be extra measures to reward companies that move their overseas supply chains back to the US. This could be combined with tariffs on almost all players in the $3 trillion US import market, which Trump believes will spur massive relocation into America and the creation of thousands of US-based jobs.” – The Times
- Macron warns Starmer not to play off EU against Trump in trade talks – The i
- Can Europe’s unity survive as its sense of crisis grows? – Financial Times
- How a celebrity squirrel became a harbinger of Trump’s return – Daily Telegraph
- Putin hails ‘courageous’ Trump after election win – BBC
- A crushing blow to the celebrity political activists – Daily Telegraph
- No guarantees Trump will give Netanyahu all he wants – BBC
- How Barron Trump helped his dad win the ‘bro’ vote – Daily Telegraph
- Chief of Staff named – BBC
Trump 3) Handover of Chagos Islands could be blocked
“Donald Trump could kill off Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius over fears it will help communist China. Allies of the new president slammed the decision last month to hand the British Indian Ocean Territory over to Mauritius, which is 1,300 miles from the archipelago. The deal includes a 99-year-lease on the US airbase on Diego Garcia. But the Mauritian government is friendly to China and fears have been raised that Beijing operatives will able to get close to the facility. But it has yet to be signed, and questions are now being raised over whether it will happen before Trump enters the White House in January.” – Daily Mail
Trump 4) Nelson: Musk could be the right choice to rewire the US Government
“Musk has a formula – he calls it his “algorithm” – aimed at dissolving bureaucracy. The idea is to empower and trust workers, telling them to regard every rule as stupid unless proven otherwise. They are asked to simplify, innovate and “delete” as many requirements as they can, adding them back later if need be. “If you do not end up adding back at least 10 per cent,” he tells staff, “you did not delete enough.”…Applying this to government is harder, because its rules are laws. Skip them and you can be sued in a judicial review, as is now happening to a paralysing extent on both sides of the pond.” – Fraser Nelson, Daily Telegraph
Other comment
- What Labour must learn from Harris’s loss – Patrick Maguire, The Times
- What kind of capitalism does Donald Trump believe in? – Gillian Tett, Financial Times
- When Guardian editor sends her traumatised staff an email offering ‘free support services’, you know something truly joyous has happened – Mick Hume, Daily Mail
- It’s OK to feel despair at Trump’s victory. The important thing is not to give up – Polly Toynbee, The Guardian
- No wonder working classes ditched the Democrats – Gerard Baker, The Times
- The Trump restoration is an unmitigated disaster for Germany – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Daily Telegraph
- Has Labour burnt its bridges with Donald Trump? – Leader, Daily Mail
- There’s a lesson the Tories must take from Trump’s landslide: there’s nothing wrong with patriotism – David Frost, Daily Telegraph
- Hillbilly Veep JD Vance is now the MAGA heir apparent – Freddy Gray, Daily Mail
- The Left have failed miserably in labelling everyone they disagree with as fascists – Tom Harris, Daily Telegraph
- The US and UK are headed in utterly different directions. Our prospects for economic growth look doomed but Trumponomics could save America – Alex Brummer, Daily Mail
- Trump’s return is terrible news for Ukraine. Europe should step into the breach – but will it? – Timothy Garton Ash, The Guardian
- Europe will have to spend more on defence – Leader, The Times
- It’s not racism that cost Kamala the election – Andrew Roberts, Daily Telegraph
- Why Trump’s victory is a win for the world – Lee Anderson MP, Daily Express
Reeves driving up prices with tax and spend Budget, warns Bank of England
“The Bank of England last night warned Britain is facing a fresh spike in inflation as Rachel Reeves’s tax and spend Budget piles extra pressure onto households and businesses. Lenders have been raising mortgage costs in recent days despite the Bank’s highly anticipated interest rate cut to 4.75pc on Thursday, with financial markets betting it will be the final cut this year.” – Daily Telegraph
- Interest rates cut – BBC
- BT says UK Budget will lift costs by £100mn as it lowers revenue guidance – Financial Times
- Sainsbury’s and M&S warn Budget may push up prices – BBC
- New Lord Mayor to push pension funds to invest more in London-listed companies – Financial Times
>Today: ToryDiary: This parliament’s critical test for Labour – and the Tories – will come before the next election
Amesbury charged with assault in street
“MP Mike Amesbury has been charged with assault after a video appeared to show him punching a man to the ground in the street. The charge against the 55-year-old, who has been suspended from the Labour party, relates to reports of an assault on a 45-year-old man in Frodsham, Cheshire, at just after 02:45 BST on 26 October. The MP will appear in court at a later date to be formally charged with common assault.” – BBC
Council tenants may not be able to buy new homes
“The deputy prime minister has suggested she wants to stop new council homes in England from being sold under the Right to Buy scheme. Angela Rayner told the BBC the government would put restrictions on new social homes in England “so that we aren’t losing that stock”. For decades, the Right to Buy scheme has allowed social housing tenants to buy their homes, often at a significant discount.” – BBC
>Today: Judy Terry on Local Government: If the Government wants councils to allow more housing then the infrastructure must be provided to match
UK’s support for Ukraine “iron-clad”
“Sir Keir Starmer has assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the UK’s support for Ukraine in its war with Russia remains “iron-clad”. The two men met at a summit of the European Political Community in the Hungarian capital, Budapest…The prime minister said the summit was “not just about sovereignty of Ukraine”, but also “our freedom, our democracy and our values.” – BBC
Scholz rejects call for confidence vote
“Germany’s embattled chancellor, Olaf Scholz, was resisting demands on Thursday night to hold a vote of confidence within days to formally end his government after his fractious coalition collapsed in acrimony. Scholz was pressed to pave the way for snap elections while he struggled to restore political stability following the breakdown of the tripartite coalition.” – The Times
- Time is almost up after Germany coalition chaos – The Times
- With Germany in turmoil, Europe must now step up and do its bit – Leader, Daily Telegraph
Tributes to John Nott who has died aged 92
“Tributes have been paid to Conservative grandee Sir John Nott after his death aged 92. Sir John was Margaret Thatcher’s defence secretary when the Falklands Islands were invaded by Argentine forces in 1982. He twice offered his resignation in the days afterwards amid intense criticism, but Mrs Thatcher insisted he say. Sir John then became known for walking out of an interview with broadcaster Robin Day during the Conservative Party conference in October 1982. Day had repeatedly asked him about cuts to the navy budget and branded him a ‘here today, gone tomorrow politician’, prompting Sir John to remove his microphone and brand the interview ‘ridiculous’ as he walked away. His death was announced last night by his daughter Sasha Swire, the author and diarist.” – Daily Mail
Other political news
- Clarkson’s fury as farmers blocked from ‘tractor tax’ protest – The Sun
- Prince William reveals he’s had the ‘hardest year in my life’ – Daily Mail
- Stop focusing on exam results, Education Secretary tells schools – Daily Telegraph
- COP29 chief exec caught promoting fossil fuel deals – BBC
- Rail chiefs forced to fork out more than £100million of taxpayers’ cash to build bat shed – The Sun
- Private schools ‘using the system’ to get extra time in exams in England, expert warns – Financial Times
- 3,100 criminals have been freed under Labour’s early release scheme so far – Daily Mail
- Israeli football fans attacked in Amsterdam, officials say – BBC
- Two in five GP practices cut appointments in ‘work to rule’ – Daily Telegraph
- Reform UK leader will be the “main challenger” to Labour at the Senedd election in 2026, claims Farage – BBC
News in brief
- Inside Kemi Badenoch’s first shadow cabinet – Katy Balls, The Spectator
- Dale Vince wants to block our site – Guido Fawkes
- Africa needs free trade, not reparations – Harrison Griffiths, CapX
- The president-elect rides the cowboy spirit – David Samuels, Unherd
- The downfall of the podcast-industrial complex – Ben Sixsmith, The Critic
