Alex Salmond dies aged 69
“Scotland’s former First Minister Alex Salmond has died suddenly at the age of 69. The former MP and MSP, who led the country between 2007 and 2014, became ill while attending an international conference in North Macedonia. The North Macedonian government said Mr Salmond had lost consciousness at the Inex Olgica hotel, near the city of Ohrid, at about 15:30 local time on Saturday. Local media reports said he collapsed during a lunch and was pronounced dead at the scene. The Alba party, which he led, believe the cause of death to be a heart attack, according to the Press Association news agency.” – BBC
Tory leadership 1) Jenrick pledges to make Rees-Mogg Conservative Chairman
“Robert Jenrick will make Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg chairman of the Conservative Party if he triumphs against Kemi Badenoch in the party leadership contest. The appointment of the former business secretary as party chairman would be one of Mr Jenrick’s first acts as leader of the Conservative party. As chairman, Sir Jacob, who lost his seat at the general election, would be put in charge of the party’s campaigning operations. “Jacob has been a tireless campaigner for the grassroots. He understands better than anyone the need for party reform,” Mr Jenrick told The Telegraph.” – Sunday Telegraph
Tory leadership 2) Jenrick and Rees-Mogg: We will open up candidate selection
“Any Conservative Party member should be able to apply for selection. The role of central office should be limited to ensuring candidates can perform the function of being an MP, and meet the moral and ethical standards expected of those in public life. Candidates must be committed to the fundamental conservative principles and values that define our party so that we reinstate meaning in the blue rosette. Beyond that, choices should be returned to the members. Local associations – made up of longstanding councillors and activists – do not need to be micromanaged.” – Robert Jenrick and Jacob Rees-Mogg – Sunday Telegraph
- My plan for curing UK includes sacking NHS chief – Interview with Robert Jenrick, Sunday Times
- I will reclaim the low-tax, pro-growth agenda and restore our reputation for sound financial management – Robert Jenrick, Sunday Express
- I’m backing Jenrick – Daniel Hannan, Sunday Telegraph
- No matter who Tory members choose, the party has a mountain to climb in 2029 – Paul Goodman, The Observer
- Jenrick’s “just trying to be butch” – Mail on Sunday
Tory leadership 3) Skinner: Too many Cleverly supporters thought they could have their cake and eat it
“I joined in early September and we built our campaign on a radical notion: normalcy…Our greatest strength – Cleverly’s broad appeal and lack of enemies – became our Achilles’ heel. Too many of our supporters, confident in James’s position, thought they could have their cake and eat it too. In the secret ballot, they each independently plotted to knock out their least favourite rival, assuming Cleverly was safe. Thinking they were acting alone; it was a miscalculation of epic proportions. In a twist worthy of a Greek tragedy, up to 20 MPs likely voted against their true preference, thinking they were playing a clever game of 4D chess. Instead, they checkmated their own candidate.” – Tom Skinner, – Sunday Telegraph
- Cleverly warned MPs that tactical votes could kill his leadership hopes – The Observer
Tory leadership 4) Badenoch: Conservatives must use the time in opposition to produce a serious plan for our country
“I will use the time we Conservatives have in opposition to create a real plan to fix the British state and the economy. We need to fix the structural issues – public sector productivity; barriers to new infrastructure, small business and entrepreneurs; the broken machinery of government that means we keep raising taxes for the state, even as public services get worse. This is why my pitch to be leader is about rewiring the entire state, not just single policies such as leaving the ECHR. But to win we need to get serious. Labour wasted 14 years in opposition. We must not.” – Kemi Badenoch, Sunday Telegraph
- Badenoch accused of hiding as she swerves TV appearance with Laura Kuenssberg alongside rival Robert Jenrick – The Sun on Sunday
Tory leadership 5) Nwaubani: I welcome Badenoch’s refusal to indulge in victimhood
“From my perspective in particular, Badenoch represents a refreshing kind of black leadership and a rare voice on the global stage. Many African intellectuals who find themselves in the spotlight often seize the opportunity to rail against colonialism, slavery or the injustices inflicted by white people. I learnt this first hand after publishing my first novel, which catapulted me into the realm of African intellectual discourse. Time and again, I was asked leading questions mostly by white interviewers, seemingly eager for me to condemn colonialism or lay blame at the feet of white people for every misfortune that has befallen my community. In an era where white guilt is worn like a badge of honour, African voices are frequently expected to echo these sentiments. Whenever I strayed from this narrative or lacked a fiery condemnation to offer, interviewers seemed unsatisfied and would prod for a more inflammatory response.” – Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, Sunday Times
P&O owner will attend investment summit despite attack from Haigh
“P&O Ferries owner, DP World, will now attend the UK’s investment summit on Monday, despite a row over a minister’s criticism of the firm. It had been feared they might pull out from the summit – where they were expected to announce a £1bn investment – after Transport Secretary Louise Haigh criticised the ferry firm and urged consumers to boycott the company. An expansion of the firm’s London Gateway port, in Essex, is likely to go ahead, with an announcement expected by some in the coming days. Whitehall sources said on Saturday that there had been “warm engagement” between senior figures in the firm and the government since Sir Keir Starmer distanced himself from his minister’s remarks.” – BBC
- Starmer “has full confidence” in the Transport Secretary – The Observer
- World business leaders will be served halal meat at summit to show best of British – The Sun on Sunday
- The boss of Microsoft UK will chair a new ‘industrial strategy advisory council’ – Sunday Express
- Labour can no longer indulge in naive boss-bashing now they need big business – Leader, The Sun on Sunday
Miliband “wasting money” on pylon rollout
“Ed Miliband’s plan to erect thousands of pylons across Britain has been criticised after an official report found that burying electricity cables underground can be cheaper. One of the Government’s core arguments for ruling out the possibility of burying cables underground to help meet net zero targets by 2030 is that it is “more expensive” than building pylons with overhead lines. But an official report into the East Anglia Network – where a large-scale pylon roll-out from Norwich to Tilbury is planned – has found that burying cables is cheaper over the longer term.” – Sunday Telegraph
Hereditary peers “will go by Easter”
“Ministers will force legislation abolishing hereditary peers through the House of Lords even if members block the proposals, it can be revealed. MPs will vote this week on the government’s plans to get rid of the 92 hereditary peers, a key manifesto commitment that represents the biggest shake-up of parliament in a quarter of a century. It could see result in hereditary peers being removed by Easter.” – Sunday Times
Attorney General “put pressure on Scotland Yard” to grant blue-light police escort for pop star
“Taylor Swift was granted blue-light police escorts to her London shows after the Government’s chief law officer put pressure on Scotland Yard, it was claimed last night. Sources said that Attorney General Lord Hermer was asked to intervene after the Metropolitan Police warned that giving the billionaire pop star such protection would breach its protocols. But it was unclear who in Government had requested that its top lawyer get involved, according to reports last night. However, it was claimed that it was only after Lord Hermer wrote to the Met that senior officers reversed their original decision and granted a level of security normally reserved for royalty and top-level politicians.” – Mail on Sunday
- Cooper is facing demands to make a Commons statement – Mail on Sunday
Johnson urges Covid inquiry to consider if lockdown worked
“Johnson is still on the fence about where the trade-offs lie between curbing the disease and the financial, social, educational and health consequences of lockdown. “I think the lockdown measures did inhibit the spread of the disease, they turned down the epicurve,” he says. “What I’m not sure about is what proportion of the downturn in the epicurve was due to lockdown and what proportion was the natural pattern of a pandemic. When you look at the bactrian humps of the disease it was a familiar pattern whether you had the [draconian] Chinese approach or the [light-touch] Swedish approach.” He is surely right when he says: “I do think that’s the key thing that the inquiry should be looking at.” – Interview with Boris Johnson – Sunday Times
>Today: ToryDiary: Johnson. Still the Starman. Still jiving us that we were voodoo. But not the Stardust we need.
Colvile: Reeves will have to ditch her promises
“She promised to be generous, but also thrifty. To spend, but also to save. And why did Reeves promise six impossible things before breakfast? Because Labour high command thought voters wouldn’t accept the truth: that spending costs money. Better to get into power first and worry about the bills later….The decisions she is having to make are so hard precisely because she and her party decided that the voters couldn’t cope with honesty, sacrifice or self-discipline. And the sad thing is, they may well have been right.” – Robert Colvile, Sunday Times
- Labour want to move on from counting the costs of investments to recognising the benefits – Rachel Reeves, Sunday Times
- Labour must ensure commitment to put booster rockets under growth, productivity and fairness come to fruition – David Blunkett, The Sun on Sunday
- Reeves urged to cut ‘extremely valuable’ public sector pensions – Sunday Telegraph
- 70 Labour MPs urge Reeves to spend tens of billions more on ailing public services – The Observer
- Britain’s gin distillers call for help from Labour in Budget – Sunday Express
- Starmer’s had a shaky start. Now he wants to rebuild – Sunday Times
- The marriage and a bitter rivalry that explain chaos at the heart of Starmer’s disastrous first 100 days – Mail on Sunday
- Downing Street still an ‘active warzone’ despite Sue Gray’s departure – The Sun on Sunday
- Starmer accused of ‘spending too much time abroad’ – Mail on Sunday
- Gray knows where the bodies are buried. Starmer and his new streetfighter chief of staff should be worried – Dan Hodges, Mail on Sunday
Other political news
- Harris risks losing Pennsylvania over Biden’s economic mistakes – Sunday Telegraph
- ‘Crisis’ in autism care as patients wait four years for diagnosis – Sunday Times
- Two-thirds of UK benefits claimants with debts ‘have gone without food’ – The Observer
- School Rebuilding targets missed – BBC
- Time spent by Home Office staff on ‘woke’ work is equivalent to 19 full-time staff a year – The Sun on Sunday
- Plaid wants HS2 cash before helping Labour budget – BBC
- Stop pushing heat pumps or face major backlash, green energy magnate tells Labour – The Observer
- King Charles and Sir Keir Starmer to face demands for the UK to pay £200 billion over slave trade, when they attend Commonwealth summit – Mail on Sunday
- Freedom of speech is in crisis, warns Braverman after Cambridge cancellation – Sunday Times
- UK-linked firms suspected of busting Russia sanctions – BBC
- New poll gives thumbs down to early prison release – Sunday Express
News in brief
- The coup against Sue Gray – Jacob Rees-Mogg, Substack
- The self-destruction of the centrists – Henry Hill, The Critic
- It’s time for Britain to build an empire of tax havens – Harry Phibbs, CapX
- Labour will regret its war with P&O – Ross Clark, The Spectator
- There’s no dignity in assisted dying Politicians are full of bogus compassion – Kathleen Stock, Unherd
