News Round-Up

• “Labour risks relegating Britain from Premier League of nations” – In the Times, Tony Blair warns that Labour has retreated into a Left-wing comfort zone, with ministers more focused on welfare than the economy.
• “The downfall of Scotland’s political power couple” – The rise and spectacular collapse of Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell, once the most powerful couple in Scottish politics, is charted in forensic detail by the Telegraph.
• “How Sturgeon’s embezzler husband declared ‘I’m the man with the money’” – Nicola Sturgeon faces fresh calls for “transparency and accountability” after new details emerge about her husband’s conduct at the heart of the SNP financial scandal, reports Mail.
• “Witness casts doubt on Sturgeon’s motorhome denials” – A witness places the former First Minister near the motorhome purchased by her husband with embezzled SNP funds, directly contradicting her claim to have been unaware of its existence, according to the Telegraph.
• “Did you really not know about your husband, Nicola Sturgeon?” – Nicola Sturgeon’s insistence that she had “no knowledge or suspicion whatsoever” that her estranged husband was using SNP funds for personal benefit is straining credulity, notes the Telegraph.
• “Labour is giving 16-year-olds the vote. It’s in for a nasty surprise” – Legislation to lower the voting age is currently going through Parliament, but many teenagers have major reservations about being handed the franchise, says the Telegraph.
• “How Labour became the party of youth unemployment” – Once the champion of Britain’s young people, the Government has trapped a generation in economic inactivity through its own policies, notes the Telegraph.
• “Next boss attacks Labour over ‘dramatic fall’ in entry-level jobs” – The chief executive of Next criticises Labour over a “dramatic fall” in entry-level jobs as retailers brace for a new ban on zero-hours contracts, according to the Telegraph.
• “Fears Reeves is planning steeper ‘stealth’ raid on drivers in 2,027” – Figures quietly published by HMRC suggest the Chancellor will hit drivers with a 3p-a-litre fuel duty hike in one go on January 1st, raising accusations that her recent U-turn on fuel duty relief was a con, says the Mail.
• “‘Rachel Reeves’s days are numbered – she’ll leave us a nasty parting present’” – Rachel Reeves’s tenure as Chancellor is approaching its end and she looks set to leave behind serious economic damage on her way out, reports the Express.
• “Starmer considers social media ban tougher than Australia” – The Prime Minister is promising “game-changer” action within weeks after meeting bereaved parents, with proposals that would go further than Australia’s social media ban for under-16s , says the Telegraph.
• “Westminster recycles tobacco-style panic campaign for internet crackdown” – Government insiders are drawing on the same fear-based messaging playbook used against tobacco to build public support for a sweeping crackdown on online free speech, notes Reclaim The Net.
• “Andy Burnham was trained by a US billionaire” – On her Substack, Charlotte Gill reveals that Andy Burnham is among a string of British mayors who have attended Mike Bloomberg’s American political training schools, raising questions about transatlantic influence on UK local politics.
• “Does Rupert Lowe want to be the man who made Burnham PM?” – The Makerfield by-election is shaping up as the most consequential contest in modern British democratic history, with Rupert Lowe’s strategy risking a path to Number 10 for Andy Burnham, reports the Mail.
• “Restore Britain is the enemy of populism” – Rupert Lowe’s cult of personality is thwarting the rebellious ambitions of the English working class rather than channelling them, argues Brendan O’Neill in Spiked.
• “Greens put up new Makerfield candidate – who is on maternity leave” – The Greens have selected Sarah Wakefield to contest the Greater Manchester seat despite growing pressure from members to stand aside and let Labour win, reports Mail.
• “Reform issues ‘English-only’ demand after Islamic prayer at council meeting” – Reform UK is calling for council meetings to be conducted in English only after an Islamic prayer was delivered in a language it says “many residents do not understand”, notes the Express.
• “Yusuf and Jenrick in row over Reform’s deportation plans” – Zia Yusuf publicly rebuked Robert Jenrick after the former Conservative MP told Trevor Phillips Reform wouldn’t deport foreign nationals living in social housing, according to the Telegraph.
• “Don’t bite the hand that really backs the UK bond market” – British politicians have long treated economic sovereignty as a matter of domestic taxes and regulation, but the real power over UK bonds lies elsewhere, writes Izabella Kaminska in the Telegraph.
• “Fordingbridge rape sentences will go to Court of Appeal” – Sir Keir Starmer confirms that the Court of Appeal will review the sentences of the teenage boys who were given youth rehabilitation orders for the Fordingbridge rape case, reports the Times.
• “Gisèle Pelicot attacks judge’s decision to spare teenage rapists from jail” – Rape victim Gisèle Pelicot has denounced a judge’s decision not to jail teenage rapists, arguing that UK courts should recognise the suffering of victims, says the Telegraph.
• “Teenage boys spared jail for rape of schoolgirls go to Court of Appeal” – Two boys who raped girls aged 14 and 15 in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, and avoided custodial sentences now face a Court of Appeal challenge to those rulings, says Mail.
• “‘Disturbing’ moment furious migrant threatens cameraman with rock on TalkTV” – Footage broadcast on TalkTV shows a migrant brandishing a rock at a cameraman in what presenter Kevin O’Sullivan describes as a deeply alarming encounter, reports the Express.
• “‘Wrench attacks’ leave crypto billionaires living in fear” – The surge in cryptocurrency wealth has prompted a wave of violent physical assaults targeting holders of digital assets, says the Telegraph.
• “Laid bare – the implacable march of jihad in the UK” – A detailed examination of the growing penetration of jihadist ideology across British institutions and communities reveals a deeply troubling picture, says the Conservative Woman.
• “Gatwick British Airways refuse flight to boy with Tourette’s” – Armed police marched a 13-year-old and his family out of Gatwick Airport after British Airways refused to allow the boy, who has Tourette’s syndrome, to board his flight, according to the BBC News.
• “Vorderman demands Reform by-election candidate apologise for online abuse” – Television presenter Carol Vorderman accuses Reform by-election candidate Robert Kenyon of endorsing online abuse directed at her and demands a public apology, reports the Telegraph.
• “Brexit vote was ‘dangerous bluff’, says Mark Carney” – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney claims the Brexit vote was a “dangerous bluff” and that the UK is “still trying to undo what people didn’t think they were voting for”, reveals the Telegraph.
• “Teen mobs threaten violence and chaos amid 36C heatwave” – The hottest Bank Holiday on record descended into disorder as someone was allegedly shot at an unofficial ‘day party’ in Hackney and an apparent stabbing triggered panic in Brighton, reports the Mail.
• “Energy bills to rise by £75 to cover debts of struggling households” – Household energy bills will increase by at least £75 a year to subsidise unpaid debts from customers who default on payments to their suppliers, reveals the Telegraph.
• “Climate anxiety? Get a life!” – The BBC’s promotion of “climate anxiety” in response to a routine heatwave is scaremongering dressed up as public health concern, says Not a Lot of People Know That.
• “‘Bullying’ and ‘overbearing’ behaviour behind abrupt BP chairman removal” – BP’s chairman was removed immediately over allegations of bullying and overbearing conduct, though the company declines to comment on whether such behaviour was formally part of the reason for his dismissal, according to BBC News.
• “BP takes £4 billion hit after ousting its chairman” – Almost £4 billion was wiped off BP’s market value after the company removed its chairman, reveals the Times.
• “Scientists ditched a scary climate scenario – what now?” – The decision by scientists to abandon a widely-used worst-case global warming outlook raises serious questions about whether some climate risks have been overstated, says the New York Times, which has finally decided to report on this story.
• “Buffaloed: why a climate expert got attacked for debunking apocalyptic weather claims” – Roger Pielke Jr.’s research showing that rising extreme-weather costs are driven by development rather than a climate apocalypse made him the target of high-level attacks, reveals Climate Change Dispatch.
• “Ferrari’s new $640,000 electric car already a massive fail – and looks just like a $30,000 Nissan: ‘monstrosity’” – Critics are savaging Ferrari’s flagship electric vehicle, comparing its design to far cheaper rivals and mocking the brand’s use of artificial sound technology to replicate the iconic engine growl, according to the New York Post.
• “Ofgem should tell it straight: electricity prices are set to stay high for years” – The energy regulator should publish clear multi-year forecasts and transparent breakdowns of electricity pricing rather than leaving consumers in the dark about a prolonged cost burden, writes Nils Pratley in the Guardian.
• “Scientists predict global populations could be halved by 2,064” – Earth’s population of 8.3 billion could crash by half within the next 40 years, experts warn, reports the Mail.
• “People earn less after seeing government job coaches” – A new study finds that stressed, depressed and anxious workers actually end up earning less after spending time with government employment coaches, says the Telegraph.
• “Andrew ‘boosted trade envoy expenses after commissioning own review’” – Prince Andrew’s running costs grew so large during his time as special representative for international trade and investment that he earned the nickname “Air Miles Andy”, according to the Mail.
• “Squadrons of pigs: bonfire of the universities” – In the London Review of Books, Stefan Collini argues that Britain’s universities are afflicted by systemic and deep-rooted failures that no amount of piecemeal tinkering can fix.
• “Piers Morgan hits back in row over role in Arsenal title celebrations” – Piers Morgan has defended his decision to join Arsenal players on the pitch during their title celebrations in spite of calling for the manager to be sacked in 2022, reports the Telegraph.
• “I cannot say what I really think: I would harm Ferrari. We risk the destruction of a legend. So sorry. Take the Prancing Horse off. At least the Chinese won’t copy this car” – Former Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo tears the new electric Ferrari a new one.

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