Labour ‘favouring unions over pensioners’ with train drivers deal…
“Ministers have been accused of prioritising unions over pensioners, with tens of thousands more rail workers set to get above-inflation pay rises. The government refused to say how much taxpayers will have to contribute towards the 15 per cent, three-year pay rise for train drivers announced on Wednesday, which will cost more than £100 million. Louise Haigh, the transport secretary, argued that a rise worth about £9,000 to the average driver is ultimately better value for taxpayers than allowing strikes that have cost the railways £850 million in lost revenue to drag on. However, the move to settle the train drivers’ dispute is expected to have a knock-on effect with other rail unions, which have made clear they expect to be offered the same terms…” – The Times
- Labour appears to be prioritising train drivers over pensioners – The Times
- Train drivers keep right to restart lunch break if spoken to by a manager – The Daily Telegraph
- Cash bung for hundreds of drivers who have already left the profession – The Daily Mail
- Britain’s railways are still in crisis. Can Labour fix them? – The Times
- Listen: Minister refuses four times to say who will pay for train drivers’ pay rise – The Daily Telegraph
- Labour’s first six weeks: who are the winners and losers so far? – The Times
- Caving to the unions is no long-term strategy – Editorial, The Daily Telegraph
- Labour’s capitulation to Aslef is a green light for inflationary pay awards and more union militancy – Editorial, The Times
- Entitlement and laziness are crushing the life out of Britain – Annabel Denham, The Daily Telegraph
…as GPs ‘next in line’ for cash handout from Starmer
“GPs are demanding an 11 per cent funding rise in the hope of becoming the latest group of public sector workers to secure a cash boost from Sir Keir Starmer. Family doctors across the country are currently taking part in industrial action after the British Medical Association (BMA) threatened to bring the NHS to a “standstill” to gain increased funding for surgeries. Leaked letters reveal that the Government has awarded them an above inflation boost of 7.4 per cent – which the BMA has said is insufficient. The union is instead holding out for an uplift of 10.7 per cent in one year, saying this would bring real-terms income back to 2018/19 levels. It comes as the Government handed train drivers a nearly 15 per cent pay rise over three years on Wednesday…” – The Daily Telegraph
Starmer urged to let Ukraine use Storm Shadow missiles in Russia
“Britain should allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow cruise missiles against targets inside Russia and cut off President Putin’s supply lines, an officer involved in the Kursk incursion told The Times last night. President Zelensky has repeatedly requested permission to use the weapons to strike targets deep within Russia, raising the issue with Sir Keir Starmer as recently as last month during a visit to London. The prime minister had suggested that he was loosening restrictions on how the weapons were used. However, No 10 was later forced to clarify that it had not given permission to Ukraine to fire the missiles into Russia and the position had not shifted since the change of government. Since launching the offensive last Tuesday, Ukraine has continued to advance further into Russia…” – The Times
Labour ‘still planning tax rises’ despite economy boost
“The Government is set to press ahead with tax rises and spending cuts, despite a boost to GDP which makes Britain the fastest-growing major wealthy economy. The economy grew by 0.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2023, following expansion of 0.7 per cent in the first quarter. It means that the UK economy is growing more quickly than any other member of the G7, while inflation data this week showed the rate of price rises remains under control. But Labour ministers insisted the overall economic picture remains bleak ahead of the Budget in October – warning that higher taxes and cuts to spending are still on the table as part of a plan to balance the public finances… The more positive picture on GDP growth will give Rachel Reeves extra room to manoeuvre…” – The I
- Facts continue to make fools of all those talking down Britain – Editorial, The Sun
Reeves urged to ‘come clean’ over ‘fat cat Labour donor’ landing plum Treasury job
“Rachel Reeves was last night urged to “come clean” over how a fat cat Labour donor landed a plum job in the Treasury. Former banker Ian Corfield, who gifted more than £20,000 to the Chancellor and other left-wing politicians ahead of the election, was given the role Director of Investments. It came just months after Sir Keir Starmer delivered a speech vowing a “total crackdown on cronyism”. Mr Corfield’s new position is usually reserved for senior civil servants and could come with a pay packet totalling £160,000. A sleaze row exploded as it emerged that the civil service ethics watchdog was not made aware of Mr Corfield’s nine-year history of donations to Labour. In a damning…Laura Trott demanded answers from the department’s most senior mandarin.” – The Sun
Rayner told new towns plan risks missing England housing targets
“Angela Rayner has been warned that the government could risk missing its housing targets by placing too much emphasis on creating new towns across England. The deputy prime minister announced plans last month for the “largest housebuilding programme since the postwar period”, kickstarted by the construction of a generation of new towns. Designed to help meet the government’s target to build 1.5m homes over the next five years, the plan is inspired by the creation in England of dozens of communities after the second world war, including at Stevenage, Warrington and Milton Keynes. However, analysis…by the urban policy thinktank Centre for Cities shows the programme only accounted for 3.3% of all new housebuilding in the 40 years after the postwar 1946 New Towns Act.” – The Guardian
Lammy travelling to Israel ‘to use every diplomatic lever to end war’
“David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, has vowed to “use every diplomatic lever to bring about a ceasefire” to Israel’s war with Hamas ahead of a trip to the region on Friday. Mr Lammy will meet with his Israeli counterpart who is expected to urge him to impose sanctions on Iran and declare the IRGC a terrorist organisation. He will also be joined by France’s foreign minister. Senior US officials now believe Benjamin Netanyahu’s forces have severely diminished Hamas but will not be able to eliminate the terror group entirely, according to a report in the New York Times. An Israeli delegation arrived in Qatar on Thursday in what has been described as a “last chance” to negotiate a ceasefire deal with Hamas, which could avert a looming attack by Iran and Hezbollah on Israel.” – The Daily Telegraph
Phillipson: Private school closures due to parents’ choices
“Private schools are closing or struggling with their finances because of parental choice, the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has suggested. Two schools in Scotland announced this week that they would close, partly because of VAT being added to fees from January. A-level results show that almost half of exams taken at private schools were graded at least an A. Independent schools had 49.4 per cent of their results at A or A*, up from 47.4 per cent last year. Grammar schools had 41 per cent of A-levels at A or above, up from 39.3 per cent last year. Results for academies increased from 25.4 to 26.5 per cent and for comprehensives from 22 to 22.3 per cent. At further education colleges the percentage rose from 14 to 14.8 per cent.” – The Times
Home Office ‘considering banning silent prayer outside abortion clinics’
“The Home Office is to consider banning silent prayer outside abortion clinics, The Telegraph understands. MPs voted for legislation last year which would ban protests, including silent prayer, within a buffer zone of 150 metres of a clinic or hospital providing abortion services, but it has not yet come into force. And despite the vote, draft guidance published in December told police that silent prayer should be allowed inside the new “safe access zones”. It also allowed for “consensual” communication within the zones, which has been interpreted as permitting the handing out of leaflets or activists engaging people in conversation. The Telegraph understands that ministers will now be reviewing this guidance.” – The Daily Telegraph
Contaminated blood scandal payouts to start by end of year, says the Government
“Victims of the contaminated blood scandal will begin receiving compensation before the end of the year, and some people will be entitled to more than £2.5m, the government has confirmed. An outline of the long-awaited compensation scheme was set out in May, after the final report of the infected blood inquiry laid bare what Rishi Sunak, the then UK prime minister, called “a decades-long moral failure at the heart of our national life”. More than 3,000 people died and many more had their lives ruined because of diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C caused by infusions of contaminated blood given between the 1970s and 1990s. Campaigners spent decades urging successive governments to take responsibility, and compensate victims and their families.” – The Guardian
Two-tier concerns must be addressed by police, says Cleverly
“Police must treat all groups equally when concerns about two-tier policing are raised, James Cleverly has said. The former home secretary said concerns over “differential policing response” had been aired “too many times”, and that police forces needed to tackle it. Accusations of two-tier policing – the idea that Right-wing protesters are treated more harshly than those on the Left – have been raised following the riots in the aftermath of the Southport stabbings, in which three children were killed… It comes after Dame Priti Patel, a Tory leadership rival, came under fire for saying perceptions of two-tier policing undermined public trust… Cleverly also said that “we need to ask ourselves some serious questions about the nature of integration” in the UK.” – The Daily Telegraph
Clarke endorses ‘extraordinary’ Badenoch for Tory leader
“A senior ally of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss has thrown his support behind the “extraordinary” Kemi Badenoch to be the next Conservative leader. Writing in The Telegraph, Sir Simon Clarke said that Mrs Badenoch “will never shy away from levelling with the British people about the challenges we face”. He also pointed to her past support for Brexit, saying Mrs Badenoch would “fight any attempt” by Labour to make the UK a “rule-taking shadow member of the EU”. Sir Simon was chief secretary to the Treasury under Mr Johnson and communities secretary under Ms Truss. He lost his seat in Middlesbrough at the general election last month. He was also a vehement critic of Rishi Sunak, becoming one of only two Tory MPs to publicly call on him to step down…” – The Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday:
Patel tells ConservativeHome readers: I’d let Tory members elect party chairman
“Dame Priti Patel has said the party’s 170,000 members will choose who becomes chairman if she wins the Tory leadership contest. In what many will view as an attempt to woo grassroots Tory voters, Dame Priti said members had been left with “no voice”, with the national party having “an out-of-touch, one-size-fits-all approach”. Writing for ConservativeHome, she said: “I’ve been listening to our members for many years, and have long believed that there is a democratic deficit in our party. I will address it through a package of reforms, including an elected party chairman chosen by members.”… The Conservative Party chairman attends Cabinet and is responsible for overseeing CCHQ. Under current rules, the position is decided by the party leader…” – The Daily Telegraph
- Patel’s 100-day plan is the first step in reviving the depleted Conservative Party – Jonathan Gullis, Daily Express
>Yesterday:
Ross ‘plotted to quit a year ago and install close ally as successor’
“Douglas Ross plotted to quit as Scottish Tory leader more than a year ago and install the current favourite to replace him as his successor, senior party figures have alleged. Sources told The Telegraph that Mr Ross invited Kathleen Robertson to his home in July 2023 and said he wanted to replace her as the party’s general election candidate for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey. They said he told Ms Robertson, who is the leader of Moray council, that he would quit immediately as party leader if he could be selected as the candidate as “his heart was in Westminster, not Holyrood”. If she agreed to stand aside, Mr Ross is said to have promised her that she would be selected as the Tory candidate in the equivalent Holyrood seat for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.” – The Daily Telegraph
News in Brief:
- Labour’s train driver capitulation is the first step to fiscal ruin – Ross Clark, The Spectator
- Jailing Brits for Facebook posts isn’t justice – Niall Gooch, UnHerd
- The spectre of dissent – Adam LeBor, The Critic
- School leavers should choose their options carefully – Henry Hill, CapX
- What do Tory members want? – Ben Walker, The New Statesman
