Bank of England Governor attacks Brexit
“The Bank of England governor has urged ministers to “rebuild relations” with the EU, warning that Brexit has undermined the UK’s economy. Speaking at the Mansion House dinner in the City of London on Thursday evening, Andrew Bailey said he took no position on Brexit “per se”, but added: “I do have to point out consequences.” He said Brexit had “weighed” on the economy, pointing out in particular the impact of Brexit on the UK’s trade in goods. “It underlines why we must be alert to and welcome opportunities to rebuild relations while respecting the decision of the British people,” he added.” – The Guardian
- Trump, the final facilitator of Brexit – Robert Shrimsley, Financial Times
- Rules imposed after financial crisis have ‘gone too far’, Reeves tells City bankers – The Guardian
- Reeves to let bankers have bonuses earlier as post-crash City rules loosened – The i
Economic growth slows
“Britain’s economy neared stagnation in the third quarter of the year, official figures show, in a blow to Sir Keir Starmer’s growth ambitions. Gross domestic product (GDP) dropped to 0.1pc in the three months to September, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It was worse than the 0.2pc drop that had been expected by analysts and means the economy grew at a slower pace than the 0.5pc growth recorded in the three months to June. ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: “Generally, growth was subdued across most industries in the latest quarter.” Sir Keir Starmer pledged last year that a Labour government would make Britain the fastest growing economy in the G7 as one of his five long-term visions for the country.” – Daily Telegraph
- Pre-Budget nerves blamed – BBC
- Reeves warned her Budget will wreck small shops and devastate high street – Daily Express
- This cruel Government is the nastiest since the 1970s – James Bartholomew, Daily Telegraph
- How a ‘stealth tax’ deemed inevitable under Labour could end up costing drivers £800 a year – Daily Mail
- Minister hints at council tax shake-up that would hit owners of large homes – Daily Telegraph
- The 291 areas set to pay more council tax than Kensington, mapped – The i
- Bid to soften farm tax change rejected by Treasury – BBC
Free speech 1) Three police forces investigate Pearson tweet
“Three of Britain’s biggest police forces were involved in the investigation into a Telegraph journalist’s social media post. Allison Pearson, an award-winning writer, is being investigated by Essex Police for allegedly stirring up racial hatred in a social media post last November. The force has refused to tell her any details about which post on X, formerly Twitter, is being investigated, or who made the complaint against her.” – Daily Telegraph
- Police force investigating Allison Pearson was worst in country at protecting women – Daily Telegraph
- Why is Essex Police questioning Allison Pearson for writing things on Twitter when burglars, rapists & thieves run wild? – Julia Hartley-Brewer, The Sun
- Pearson did not deserve a visit from the police – Geoffrey Robertson, Daily Telegraph
- Wasting police time – Leader, The Times
Free speech 2) Starmer backs “thought policing”
“Keir Starmer was last night told to ‘police the streets, not tweets’ after he backed the controversial investigation of ‘non-crime hate incidents’. The Prime Minister came under fire after No 10 said he supported police action to ‘capture data’ on incidents and comments which are not serious enough to constitute a crime. Critics say the growing trend is a waste of police time and risks having a ‘chilling effect’ on free speech, with officers sometimes dealing with malicious complaints that amount to little more than hurt feelings. The Free Speech Union has branded the tactics ‘Orwellian’ and described non-crime hate incidents as ‘thought policing’.” – Daily Mail
Free speech 3) Nine-year-old among thousands investigated for hate incidents
“Children are among thousands of people being investigated by police for non-crime hate incidents, The Times can reveal. Police forces recorded incidents against a nine-year-old who called a primary school classmate a “retard” and against two secondary school girls who said that another pupil smelt “like fish”. They were among several cases of children being logged as having committed non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs), according to freedom of information requests to police forces.” – The Times
Britain had biggest migration leap among rich countries last year
“The number of migrants coming to Britain rose more than in any other rich country last year as nearly three quarters of a million people arrived. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that Britain had a 52.9 per cent rise in the number of “permanent-type” migrants in 2023 compared with 2022. Families made up the bulk of the arrivals. The OECD defines “permanent-type” as typically workers and their families, but excludes students as well as refugees from Ukraine.” – The Times
- Reform UK tears into Labour over record-high UK immigration stats – Daily Express
- Get Britain working to cut migration – Leader, Daily Telegraph
Streeting challenged over assisted dying stance
“Health Secretary Wes Streeting is facing pushback from senior Labour figures over his repeated strident interventions against a move to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales. MPs will have their say on the issue later this month – in what is known as a free vote, where they are not instructed how to vote by their parties. The government is attempting to maintain a neutral stance. Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, the UK’s most senior civil servant, told ministers last month, external they should “exercise discretion and should not take part in the public debate”. But Streeting’s view became public after he told a large, notionally private, meeting of Labour MPs what he thought.” – BBC
- Kendall says she will vote for assisted dying – The Guardian
- Assisted dying cannot be decided upon in an unseemly rush – Leader, Daily Telegraph
- The right to die is about freedom – don’t let those who see it as a line on a spreadsheet torpedo it – Polly Toynbee, The Guardian
PM claims arrest of people smuggler gang leader “significant”
“PM Sir Keir Starmer yesterday praised the arrest of a suspected people-smuggling kingpin. The Turkish national, 44, was held in Amsterdam on Wednesday. Sir Keir said his arrest was a “significant piece of the jigsaw”. He added: “I’m not pretending it’s the silver bullet. Other steps are going to be necessary, but this is a very important step.” The suspect is accused of storing dinghies in Germany to be moved to France. He faces extradition to Belgium for trial.” – The Sun
Milei becomes first world leader to meet Trump
“Javier Milei, the Argentinian president, has become the first foreign leader to shake hands with Donald Trump since his election win. Mr Milei also met Elon Musk when he visited Mr Trump’s Florida residence, where the billionaire tech entrepreneur has been staying most days while celebrating and planning for the Republican’s return to the White House. The brash libertarian economist was expected to talk to Mr Musk, the owner of Tesla, SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter), about their shared interest in slashing public spending and jobs.” – Daily Telegraph
- If only we had an Elon Musk to shrink the British state – Alex Brummer, Daily Mail
- Trump picks RFK Jr as health secretary – BBC
- Climate talks hit by double blow yesterday as French minister cancels visit and Argentina withdraws delegation – Daily Mail
- Musk will help Trump pummel Dems on economy and still run own business, says Shark Tank star – The Sun
- Companies rush to US bond market as Trump rally cuts borrowing costs – Financial Times
- Biden ‘asked Trump to work with him for hostage deal in Middle East’ at White House meeting – Daily Telegraph
- UK must offer Trump concessions on China to avoid tariffs says trade committee chair – Financial Times
>Today:
Nelson: All is not lost for Ukraine
“Before the election, Waltz was discussing another idea: giving Ukraine permission to use American missiles to strike certain targets (oil refineries, airfields, troop clusters) deep inside Russia…As ever with Trump, it’s hard to discern what method – if any – lies in his madness. But the rise of Rubio and Waltz – combined with a Senate with a pro-Kyiv majority – suggest that there may be hope for Ukraine yet.” – Fraser Nelson, Daily Telegraph
- Think Trump’s an isolationist? Think again – Gerard Baker, The Times
- The DC Swamp is right to be terrified of Trump’s new model White House – Paul du Quenoy, Daily Telegraph
- British defence figures ‘alarmed’ by Trump’s choice of ‘pro-Moscow’ Tulsi Gabbard – Daily Telegraph
- The censored Trump video that proves his battle to save free speech is deadly serious – Poppy Coburn, Daily Telegraph
Other political news
- JCB boss funded £8,000 helicopter flight for Nigel Farage – Financial Times
- Musk will help Trump pummel Dems on economy and still run own business, says Shark Tank star – The Sun
- Report criticises Conservatives for “rushed” asylum site purchase – The Guardian
- Drive to ban ‘racist’ dogs from the Welsh countryside to make the outdoors more ‘inclusive’ – Daily Mail
- Zombie knives still for sale online despite ban – BBC
- Call for summits only to be held in countries that support climate action – The Guardian
- Gray ‘sorry’ after chauffeur trips to football – BBC
- Israeli defence minister rules out ceasefire in Lebanon – The Times
- Three in four England universities expected to be in the red next year – The Guardian
- UN climate talks ‘no longer fit for purpose’ say key experts – BBC
News in brief
- Rachel Reeves is turning into Gordon Brown – Ross Clark, The Spectator
- What does Trump’s victory mean for UK politics? – Tim Bale, LSE Blog
- Farmers threaten to bring Britain to a standstill – Guido Fawkes
- The NHS doesn’t need more micromanagement – Kristian Niemietz, CapX
- The anti-Trump ‘sex boycott’ is peak liberal hysteria – Jenny Holland, Spiked Online
- The folly of Net Zero – Jacob Rees-Mogg, Substack
