YouGov just asked me "if there were a general election tomorrow which way would you vote" and I felt sad that the question machine had been working towards this moment all its life and then didn't have the sentience to know it had finally made it.
It's worth remembering that Keir Starmer was rushed by someone "onstage at Labour Party conference" last year. Expecting him to be in the middle of a crowd, however gentle we think Arsenal fans are, is totally stupid.
🚨 NEW: Nigel Farage says he has no problem with Keir Starmer being gifted a corporate hospitality box by Arsenal
"Of course he can’t sit in the middle of the crowd. It is literally impossible for someone who is Prime Minister… Some things we have to accept"
[
@joepike
]
Every week there will be a different call on Labour to repeal/restore and each cause will be worthy. However, the economy is in a terrible state and Labour can't simply rack up spending commitments. Not everything can be fixed that needs to be fixed. It's going to be difficult.
@rcolvile
@thhamilton
Another chance to tell my story of talking to my friend from No10 (civil servant) night before 2015 election and he had been checking in with Westminster Council whether it counted as a temporary construction or would require full planning permission to put it in the No10 garden.
I sincerely hope a House of Commons civil servant leaves a note on Rees Mogg's desk saying “Sorry you were out when I visited. I look forward to never seeing you in the office again".
We have been saying to clients that only a really seismic mistake could change the course of the General Election. We were assuming, when we said that, it applied to the Labour Party.
I've known
@lukeakehurst
for over 30 years. He's worked harder for the Labour Party, voluntarily behind the scenes doing whatever is necessary, than just about anyone. When they write the history of Labour's return from its madness he will figure greatly. He deserves this.
Everyone here is yelling at the TV to actually let us watch the declarations rather than the ongoing banality of talking heads. At some point we can hope a producer of at least one of the shows might check in here and make a decision to change.
Farewell to the worst post-war Government. A dreadful procession of destructive economics, diabolical policy and disgraceful behaviour. Go and never come back in that venal, shameless form.
Labour is planning a secretive event with Keir Starmer and a “special guest” in Essex on Thursday.
I’m told it’s been long in the planning.
Sources suggest it’s viewed as a key pre-manifesto moment, with Starmer to flesh out his five missions and launch a 1997-style pledge
@thhamilton
Amazing. The criminal justice system would be "interesting" if parents were prosecuted for their children's crimes, never mind adult children.
I was lucky enough to be in DWP when Stephen was Minister of State in the last Labour Government. He's a very good Minister and a pleasure to work for. Congratulations.
Gove was an excellent, reforming Secretary of State. He was well liked by the Civil Service because he was very effective and very personable. He spoke last night very warnly about my late friend, Chris Martin who regarded him highly. (Chris would have hated Brexit though!).
In Mid Sussex, IPSOS puts Labour second in its MRP poll, a consistent pattern in all these large scale polls. The Lib Dems are going to keep the Conservatives in this seat by wrongly claiming they are in second and splitting the tactical vote
@RowntreeLabour
This shows that Rachel, and Labour, are not going to be trapped by silly Conservative announcements. Also shows confidence that she/they will actually have to manage the finances and to do so properly. It's absolutely right to wait until the autumn for a budget.
We need to ask ourselves how either of the main parties would cope with the challenges the
@Conservatives
have dealt with in the past 14 years:
* An inherited financial crisis
* A pandemic
* Brexit
* War in Ukraine
All evidence shows
@UKLabour
would have handled it all badly
When Corbyn finally left the Labour leadership, I stopped following lots of his follower/advisor accounts as what they thought didn't matter any more. It's now cathartic and an emotional relief to do the same with the right of the Conservative Party.
I don't understand why more wasn't said in the campaign about the fact that Reform would take from Labour too. Labour has a structural problem - becoming an urban/graduate party - it needs to be able to listen to and speak to, those that have given up and gone to Reform.
This is a very weird take.
If it’s NOT in the manifesto, she assumes Labour will do it??
They haven’t said there’ll be Capital Gains tax on your primary residence. Ever.
But they haven’t explicitly said they won’t. Therefore they will….🤷♀️
Tories do my head in! 🤯
I heard
@JimfromOldham
talking about the complexity of bidding for pots from central Govn't. The more distance I have from my Treasury days the more I'm certain that the mania for approvals creates huge costs. Should be a conscious shift instead to much stronger ex-post powers.
Oasis are going to play gigs in Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin next year - with tickets going on sale on Saturday
For more on this and other news visit
NEW: Mel Stride out of the Tory leadership race.
Results of latest MP ballot are
Robert Jenrick - 33
Kemi Badenoch - 28
Mel Stride - 16
Tom Tugendhat - 21
James Cleverly - 21
@jillongovt
@hmtreasury
@PJTheEconomist
@UKandEU
@KingsCollegeLon
I have an idle objective for government that there should be far fewer accountants at the end of Labour's first term as measured by SIC code. The easier that tax becomes for business the less relevant their services should be. They are, in themselves, a tax on business.
@stianwestlake
As both of our HMT experience will attest - all advocates think that some expensive "economic analysis" is going to be the killer document. It never ever is. See also saying "market failure" over and over again. Or "an invest to save measure." It might just be a good thing.
I’ve written to
@Keir_Starmer
to request he pays for the criminal damage the Just Stop Oil attacks on the Energy Security Department caused this morning
As the political wing of Just Stop Oil, it is the Labour Party not the taxpayer that should be paying the bill
And to add to this amazing story, he has known for over a week since the first person caught that this was very problematic, yet he still fronted it up and went into work hoping they wouldn't catch him.
Another development: me and
@bbclaurak
can now reveal that the Conservative Party’s Director of Campaigning Tony Lee, is also being looked into by the Gambling Commission over an alleged bet relating to the timing of the general election.
@LauraSRobinson
@thhamilton
Yes, as discussed here recently, parties don't "reflect" in a long period leadership campaign. They either get it or they don't and 3 more months doesn't suddenly bring epiphany.
@LukeTryl
I disagree. There is no need for a long leadership campaign and none of the positives you mention ever actually happen. Labour did this and there isn't a proper debate or any soul searching. The selectorate is what it is. It's a long waste of everyone's time. Get it done by Sept.
We need someone rattling through the results as they come in, tell us when there is a significant result, tell us when something is out of step with the exit poll. It feels like the presenters are not on top of the detail of the importance of constituency results.
I’m announcing my decision to stand down as Cardiff West MP after 23 years - thank you to local Labour members and constituents for your friendship and support
Central Government is so obsessed with choosing the project/ensuring it's going to the "right thing" that the time and staffing cost to bid is ludicrously burdensome. Waste can be in process too. Much looser controls over grants, much stronger enforcement on audit.
I would hope that someone is drawing up extensive proposals on state funding because there's no way the current system can hold up if everyone is going to end up being investigated for raising money for political parties.
A global reminder of the fragility of the online network isn't particularly welcome, but the complacency in which we have interlinked everything has been shown by "one" company's (potentially) ability to bring the whole infrastructure down.
Finally got to see my pal Horace play with Darts and it was absolutely joyous. One of those bands I remember from watching Top of the Pops as a kid and they are still playing and enjoying every minute. Here’s Horace
Danny is absolutely right here. Waheed Alli is justifiably highly regarded as an advisor and is also a member of the Legislature. In a political system that relies on donations, the idea he would be better off not supporting financially is nuts.
The issue of Waheed Alli is an interesting one. He is undeniably an important player in Labour as a political leader. He has been for decades. Naturally when he made money he also donated. But no fair review of his political career would say he was only an insider because he gave
I think the mistake in this, and the mistake successive Conservatives have made, is that the unity has to be in the centre, not on the right. Chasing Reform is the wrong direction.
Given our data shows ~80% of Reform voters voted Conservative in 2019 it's pretty clear there is zero path back to power for the Tories without uniting the right. It's just basic maths.
He's back... with a vengeance.
Feathers McGraw returns in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, a brand new film premiering on
@BBC
in the UK and
@netflix
globally this winter.
There is obviously no way that Rishi Sunak will be PM after the election because his party will remove him as leader whatever happens. It was already inevitable before he called it. Who would "actually" be PM if the Conservatives win is a question that should be asked.
Frances Moore is one of the greatest people I've worked with - smart, focused, strategic, able to get the best out of people, a fantastic leader and great company. She navigated the relationships in the recorded music industry with consummate skill and it will miss her.
IFPI has announced today that Frances Moore, the organisation's longest-serving leader, will retire from her position as Chief Executive Officer at the end of 2023