Keir Starmer: Policies that inhibit growth will be in the ‘no column’ September 17, 2024 “If it promotes economic growth, it’s in the Yes column — if it is inhibiting growth, it’s in the No column,” he reportedly said.
Sanctimonious Starmer falls short of his own standards September 17, 2024 As Keir Starmer faces questions over a £5,000 donation towards his wife’s wardrobe, the Prime Minister is finding out that decency in public life isn’t an automatic function of not being a Tory, writes Alys Denby When Victoria Starmer entered Downing Street for the first time wearing a Me+Em dress in Labour rose red, the [...]
Who’d be ambassador to President Trump? September 9, 2024 Peter Mandelson and David Miliband are rumoured to be in the frame for British ambassador to Washington, but only if Kamala Harris wins. That’s a mistake. A Trump victory would demand a diplomatic heavyweight, says Eliot Wilson By the beginning of next year, Dame Karen Pierce will have served as British ambassador to the United [...]
Keir Starmer doubles down on ‘unpopular’ decision to restrict winter fuel payments September 8, 2024 "Every Labour MP was elected in on the same mandate as I was, which was to deliver the change that we need for the country," Starmer said.
The Notebook: How I (almost) managed to get the 1p coin scrapped September 2, 2024 Former Treasury comms chief James Chapman reminisces on the time he (almost) managed to scrap the penny - and why we should persist now.
Starmer’s illiberal smoking restrictions are just the start August 29, 2024 Freedom cannot be entirely indexed to smoking, but an administration’s approach to tackling it says a lot about how they plan to govern, says Joseph Dinnage Imagine you and your colleagues have just finished a day of graft on the trading floor and you’re all looking to relax. What to do? You all rightly decide [...]
Starmer can’t keep blaming everything on the Tories August 29, 2024 Starmer will soon find out that he can’t keep piously contrasting himself with the previous government while snatching benefits from pensioners, promoting party donors and paying off his pals in the trade unions, says William Atkinson The most important number for Keir Starmer’s government isn’t 411 seats he won, the £22bn black hole that Rachel [...]
Nick Faldo on Trump friendship, British Masters and Ryder Cup predictions August 28, 2024 Britain’s most successful modern-day golfer Sir Nick Faldo on hosting the British Masters this week, the race for Ryder Cup places and his long-standing friendship with former US president Donald Trump. Sir Nick Faldo may be closer than most to the Oval Office but is looking forward to Europe beginning their Ryder Cup quest to [...]
Starmer’s civil service cronies set a dangerous precedent August 28, 2024 In appointing donors, yes-men and activists to senior roles, the Labour leader is undermining a cornerstone of our democracy: civil service impartiality, says James Price After years and years of criticising the Tories, Labour were meant to be different. We were told that they would be a breath of fresh air, restoring rectitude and ethical [...]
Labour’s miserable mood music comes with its own risks August 27, 2024 The last time a Labour government replaced an unpopular Tory administration it did so to the sound of Things Can Only Get Better, by D:Ream. Now, 27 years later, Keir Starmer is changing the tune with a warning that “things are going to get worse.” This stark contrast will be set out in a speech [...]