- “Labour’s tax raids to cost families £1,000 a year more from next week” – Families face a hammering of £1,000 to their annual budgets from next week as Labour’s tax raids and inflation-busting bill hikes come into force, according to the Mail.
- “The BBC makes cutting Britain’s benefits bill almost impossible” – Welfare has become the broadcaster’s sacred cow despite its increasing drain on the economy, says the Telegraph.
- “Two-tier Sentencing Council must be abolished says Labour MP” – Labour MP Jonathan Brash (nominative determinism?) has called for the Sentencing Council to be abolished because it is “completely out of step with the British people” – in a tie looking, erm, very Reform-coloured.
- “Nigel Farage pledges ban on civil servants WFH as he demands UK equivalent of DOGE” – Nigel Farage has pledged a ban on civil servants working from home as he proposed a British version of DOGE during a keynote speech for Reform UK, reports the Telegraph.
- “Studies that Misled the World” – On Trust the Evidence, Carl Heneghan and Tom Jefferson recall when Cochrane Grandees showed their true colours and betrayed science in the pandemic.
- “Labour considers using terror laws to nationalise British Steel” – Terror laws could be used to nationalise Britain’s last steel blast furnaces after their Chinese owner threatened to shut them down, reports the Telegraph.
- “Drivers face Hammersmith Bridge ban under reopening plans” – Plans to ban cars from crossing Hammersmith Bridge when it reopens due to environmental and cost reasons are being drawn up by Ministers in a move likely to infuriate thousands of drivers, the Telegraph reports.
- “UK’s Net Zero tsar: I understand why people are angry” – The Telegraph speaks to Emma Pinchbeck on the compromises needed to hit Britain’s 2050 climate change target.
- “How Just Stop Oil was policed to extinction” – JSO, the climate activist group, is planning its final protest next month after senior figures were given long prison sentences, says the Times.
- “Met smash down door of Quaker meeting house to arrest activists” – More than 20 Metropolitan Police officers broke down the front door of a Quaker meeting house to arrest six women who had met to discuss climate change and Gaza, the Times reports. According to the police, they were planning a protest that would ‘shut down’ London.
- “Father banned for screaming ‘you’re a boy’ at under-12 girl after ‘transgender rumours’” – A parent has received an 18-week touchline ban after screaming “you’re a f—–g boy” at a player rumoured (apparently falsely, though who really knows) to be transgender in an under-12s girls rugby match, the Telegraph reports.
- “Alec Baldwin is in trouble for ‘manterrupting’ his wife – but somebody had to” – Victoria Coren Mitchell defends (some) mansplaining in the Telegraph.
- “Gary Stevenson: trader turned Left-winger accused of telling ‘fibs’” – Former city trader turned Left-wing darling Gary Stevenson is accused of exaggerating and dissembling about his past in the Mail.
- “FCC to investigate Disney and ABC over potential violation in diversity practices” – The Federal Communications Commission has said that Disney and ABC’s DEI efforts may breach equal employment opportunity regulations, according to the Telegraph.
- “Zelensky may regret wishing for Putin’s death” – With most of the other real hardliners coming from the same homo sovieticus generation as Putin, it would be a toss of the coin, says Mark Galeotti in the Spectator.
- “Revealed: How people smugglers move millions around the world without leaving a trace” – Afghanistan’s ancient money transfer system allows migrants to pay their handlers without a paper trail, says the Telegraph.
- “Kathleen Stock case shows the rising bill for denying sex is real” – In the Times, Janice Turner says that while previously senior managers preferred to lose tribunal cases than have a showdown with vindictive woke staff, the times are changing as the bills pile up.
- “The Double Standard in the Human-Rights World” – In the Atlantic, Michael Powell wonders why organisations that explicitly valued impartiality and independence have become stridently critical of Israel.
- “Amanda Spielman’s peerage is richly deserved” – Amanda Spielman, the former Ofsted Chief Inspector, is set to become a Conservative peer after being nominated by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, the Telegraph reports.
- “Bulgarian at heart of Britain’s biggest benefit fraud could be back home with children within months” – A Bulgarian woman who was jailed for eight years for her role in the biggest benefit fraud ever uncovered in Britain could be sent home and reunited with her children within months, the Telegraph reveals, as she is set to be deported and Bulgaria has no plans to imprison her.
- “Why did I bother getting a job?” – In the Spectator, Sophia Falkner wonders why she bothered getting her first £18,000 job in London when families in the capital on benefits receive the same income as a household on £65,000.
- “Head of Prince Harry’s Sentebale charity accuses him of ‘harassment and bullying at scale’ after calling the Sussex brand ‘toxic’ – and claims they asked her to defend Meghan Markle against negative publicity” – The head of Prince Harry’s Sentebale charity, Sophie Chandauka, has accused him of “harassment and bullying at scale” after calling the Sussex brand “toxic”, reports the Mail.
- “Iran will target Britain’s Chagos base if Trump attacks” – Iran has warned that it will target British forces in the Chagos Islands if Donald Trump attacks the Middle Eastern nation, according to the Telegraph.
- “Councillor warned by police about helping parents who complained about school” – County councillor Michelle Vince was warned that she faced becoming a suspect if she helped parents who complained about their daughter’s school, as she says she fears her property will be raided, according to the Telegraph.
- “Arresting parents for complaining devalues the very idea of ‘harm’” – It’s not surprising the police are confused when our language has turned the mildest feelings into trauma, says Matthew Syed in the Times.
- “‘Arrogant’ BBC bosses rejected antisemitism training for staff” – Tim Davie, the BBC’s Director General, refused antisemitism training for the broadcaster, the Government’s adviser on anti-Jewish hatred, Lord Mann, has revealed, reports the Telegraph.
- “Hamas agrees to Gaza ceasefire proposal” – Hamas has agreed to a Gaza ceasefire proposal it received two days ago from mediators Egypt and Qatar, the Palestinian militant group’s chief said on Saturday, as Israeli media suggest Hamas needs the cessation to suppress the protests, according to the Telegraph.
- “How the West can defeat the evil death cults that murder with glee” – Douglas Murray offers his advice in the Mail.
- “We win if the Right unites: that is the lesson from Canada and Australia for the Tories and Reform” – The Trump effect is not a good one for many Right-wing parties outside of America, but to win the Right needs to unite, says Daniel Hannan in the Telegraph.
- “Should young women really be working in men’s prisons?” – In the Telegraph, Camilla Tominey questions the wisdom of allowing young, inexperienced female prison officers to guard wily lags.
- “The Europeans don’t have a clue what they’re doing in Ukraine” – Europeans are threatening to sink Trump’s peace initiative with Putin, but what are they realistically proposing instead, asks Daniel DePetris in the Telegraph.
- “Rachel Zegler’s Snow White flop sparks anti-woke U-turn at Disney” – According to the Mail, Hollywood whistleblowers have revealed how trans actors and progressive-themed films are being dumped in a ‘crisis mode’ panic. We can but hope.
- “Record applications to top state sixth forms after VAT hike” – Record numbers of children, many from private schools, are applying to top state sixth forms for their A-levels, a rise partly driven by the introduction of VAT, according to head teachers, the Times reports.
- “Labour MP branded disgrace after she uses taxpayers’ cash to pay for dog” – Senior Labour MP and whip Taiwo Owatemi is using taxpayers’ cash to pay ‘pet rent’ so she can live with her cockapoo dog in London, the Sun reports.
- “Our warnings went unheeded: how neo-Marxists’ anti-racism destroyed British education – Part 3” – In TCW, Dr Frank Palmer laments that his and his colleague’s warnings in the 1980s fell on deaf ears.
- “USAID Officially Shuttered After Court Victory” – USAID has been officially shuttered after a federal appeals court on Friday determined that the Trump administration could continue dismantling it, reports ZeroHedge.
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Where is Rachel from accounts?
It’s 2nd Thursday in the month and on her to-do list today is filing last month’s invoices and printing the wage slips.
The Princess of Theeves is hiding in the Number 11 broom cupboard with a Do Not Disturb notice on the door.
Rayner is on a building site back in Adswood knocking up another council house to make some more ackers out of on the side.
Lammy is in the Caribbean hunting for any sugar plantations overlooked by Wilberforce and the Royal Navy two hundred years ago.
Phillipson is checking the VAT returns and getting all the whiteboards changed back to blackboards.
And last but not least, Sir Kia is in Islamabad canvassing for the voters of the future.
Drôle.
Ultimately in a capitalist economy, whether you like it or not, the markets will pass judgment on your competence. The signs are not good for Rachel from Accounts.
To be fair on her, and with compassion towards a fellow human being, it can’t be easy for her. She must know she is incompetent. She knows she sexed up her CV. She knows she is being hated by a lot of people. This must put a lot of psychological stress on her.
Downticked you, sorry, I have no compassion for her. I feel sorry for the people she is exposing to misery because of her incompetence!
That’s OK, you can disagree.
But despite everything, she is still a human being. Incompetent, hopeless, out of her depth. She should admit it and resign. But even if I had absolute power over her, I would only want her to resign. Nothing more than that. So that’s my compassion.
JOpenmind – I agree with you. I have plenty of sympathy for people in poorly paid jobs who are stressed as they struggle to pay day to day bills because of increased taxes and increased costs due to inflation.
I feel sympathy for stressed people in the lower layers of organisations with impossible workloads working for tyrannical managers.
I feel sympathy for stressed people juggling family responsibilities with work.
I have zero sympathy for Rachel Reeves and similar people who use ruthless determination to climb the greasy pole – and then find it stressful due to their own uselessness and incompetence. Entirely self inflicted.
My view is 100% science driven. For those who are OK with Anglo Saxon language – see dial here: https://tenor.com/view/dont-care-bs-whatever-stop-gif-22436087
Also no compassion. If her mendacity is now causing her stress as she realises that she is not up to the job, the solution is simple – resign.
Karma. When she gets a bit more experience in life she’ll learn about balance and how the universe cannot abide a credit without an equal and opposite credit. Tell a lie and bad things have a habit of coming back to bite you.
Human? I dispute that.
I have no compassion for failed Lefties ever. I hope their life is totally miserable.
At least she knows what a woman is!
Good! If one is too arrogant and/or deluded to pay heed to the judgment of others then they deserve all the opprobrium heading their way.
Here is a list of things I find ridiculous.
— Rachel Reeves
— People who think that the UK economy depends on what Rachel Reeves does.
— People who think that the price of UK debt depends largely on what Rachel Reeves does or says.
I couldn’t rank them though. Quite how ridiculous they esch seem depends a bit on my mood.
While I agree that macro economics across the world impact on national economies in a way that Governments admit when things are going badly and deny when times are good, I disagree with you on two of your points. If Rachel from accounts decides to tax jobs, employment will be affected, everything else being equal and likewise, if she borrows more, again everything else being equal, the cost of that debt will increase. In the days when you could walk in to see your bank manager, if he perceived you to be a low risk, you paid a lower rate of interest than if he thought you to be a marginal or high risk and so it is on capital markets. With her budget, she has shown herself to be a high risk, so in a time of static or increasing rates, the price of our Government borrowing is having an even higher margin applied
Your points are logical. Except that if she tanks the general economy (likely) and company profits take a nose dive (likely), there will also be a huge demand for safety and liquidity and moderate inflation protection in government bonds. Quantifying the magnitude of that demand is tough, to say the least.
Yes, I understand the theory as well.
Now apply the theory and make some specific predictions of the level of any of these standard economic indicators based on different actions by Rachel Reeves (or anyone in the British government for that matter).
The problem is you can’t. Nor can anyone. Too many other variables the net effect of which overwhelms anything that Rachel Reeves may or may not do.
I have yet to encounter anyone anywhere that can make reliable economic predictions. All so called economic experts do is construct narratives about what happened, drawing attention to the bits they (randomly) got right and giving plausible explanations for the bits they (randomly) got wrong.
Put in a different way, I could get a monkey to throw darts at a board with plausible economic indicator predictions and then afterwards construct a coherent analysis of the difference with the actual data (which is also BS btw), explaining what was accurate with appropriate references to economic and giving plausible sounding reasons for deviations.
In fact, it would make for a great comedy skit.
Economics. The dismal science! Short term micro-economic predictions have some value, but beyond that it gets so complex… But governments think the reverse, claiming they know the picture for the next ten years and can model the effects of tax increases with certainty. Shocking that so many folk fall for it.
Well I agree it’s not a cause and effect science, but broad brush she believes in and is trying to implement a more centrally planned economy, higher taxes, higher government spending. We know from history that the more you go in this direction, the poorer you get. Scandinavia has highish tax rates but they have (or had) better human capital on average than we do, and a lower welfare budget supporting unproductive people, and we now have on top of all this a mad “energy policy” and I think you could draw some nice graphs correlating energy prices with prosperity and growth or the lack of it.
I’m sure one could draw all sorts of graphs.
But we’ve been on a NetZero war path for over a decade and promoted by every government’s during that time. And while that has remained constant, the 10 year rate has fluctuated. So…
Truss wanted to cut taxes and gilt yields went up. Reeves wants to raise taxes and gilt yields go up. Go figure.
The idea that these people have buttons that actually create predictable outcomes is just an illusion.
Buttons no, but they can certainly over time get in the way of human endeavour
I wouldn’t look at bond yields as a measure of anything useful
But these long term policies aren’t decided by politicians. Nothing major changes from election to election. It’s all pretty much pre-detwrmined.
Bond yields are very real and tangible. They go up and if you hold the debt, your wealth goes down and vice versa. That’s very real.
And for a country that is broke and needs to borrow money, yields better.
But Reeves doesn’t really affect any of that (which is what the article is about)
Politicians have the power to change course, usually not the will though.
It’s true that it’s not good if borrowing costs go up, I am just sceptical about the short term wisdom of the bond markets.
Reeves pushed the button that increased job taxation for employers. It was obvious that it would discourage recruitment and pay rises, and that’s exactly what has happened.
Yep. Some good points. UK 10 year gilt tracks US 10 year pretty neatly. And what drives the price of the US 10 year is v v complex. The US dollar is much more than just a currency these days. It is, at least in part, a payment network nicknamed “Eurodollar”. Anyone who can tell you with confidence where the US 10 year note will be in 3 months is a liar. … But – my guess is down, along with the UK 10 year. Check out the general direction of 10 year rates across the West…
‘Preparing for a jaunt to China …’
No jaunt. Just like Starmer and Lammy, as a committed communist she’s there to get her orders.
Notice how everything this government does benefits the CCP.
Whither Rachel – perhaps out searching for the ubiquitous yet invisible Far Right?
The trouble with the Student Union is who is there that is remotely competent? It is really scary that the vacant Anneliese Dodds was her predecessor.
Busy polishing up her CV for the next job she is not competent to hold?
I really wonder what she will achieve for the UK with her China ‘mission’? They will smile politely and send her back!
Rachel from Accounts is indeed pretty useless.
But take another look at that gilt yields graph. The big increase in gilt yields happened in 2023, under the Fake Conservatives. Rachel has just carried on with their policies.
The Telegraph’s attempt to paint this picture of Labour rapidly wrecking the economy is pathetic. Their own Conservatives were and are every bit as bad.
The Uniparty as we’ve said for a while…