“The UK education secretary has written to university vice-chancellors asking them to act “swiftly and decisively” to stamp out “implicit or explicit” threats to Jewish students following reports that some pro-Palestinian groups have expressed support for Hamas. “We have seen evidence of a number of student societies that support Palestinians sending out inflammatory messages that show support for Hamas, which is, as you know, a proscribed terrorist organisation,” Gillian Keegan wrote in a letter seen by the Financial Times. She calls on university leaders to use the government’s anti-terrorist “Prevent” system to deal with any suspected incidents of support for terrorism, including keeping a particular eye out for any invitations issued to speakers on the subject that may provide a “platform for illegal speech”.” – FT
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>Today: ToryDiary: Vox pop in Golders Green: ‘I’m not worried about anti-semitism in the Labour Party any more.’
“Anti-Israeli chants and flag-waving could result in police action, the Home Secretary has warned. Suella Braverman told chiefs that “context is crucial” when policing pro-Palestine demonstrations. She warned normally legal actions “may not be legitimate… when intended to glorify acts of terrorism”. Hamas is a proscribed terror group in the UK, meaning any show of support is illegal…. That is punishable by a fine of up to £2,500. Ms Braverman also urged cops to monitor online offending… A Pro-Palestine supporter swapped the Palestine flag for the existing Israel one above Sheffield City Council’s Town Hall on Tuesday. The protester scaled the building and replaced the Israeli banner, throwing it from the roof after stringing up Palestine’s green, red and white flag.” – The Sun
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>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Hamas are terrorists, and the BBC has no excuse for refusing to call them so
“James Cleverly has touched down in Israel to show solidarity with the country as it suffers almost unprecedented levels of terrorist attacks from the Palestinian Hamas group. With Israel’s defence forces counter-attacking in Gaza City, the arrival of Mr Cleverly, the first major Western politician to come to Israel since the attacks were launched over the weekend, provides a strong sign of support for Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. It follows concerns being raised about Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy attending a Labour Friends of Palestine event at his party conference in Liverpool last night. However, Mr Lammy has echoed Mr Cleverly’s condemnation of Hamas terrorists and supported Israel’s right to self-defence.” – Daily Express
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>Today: Garvan Walshe’s column: Now Israel needs a strong government of national unity. And moderate Arabs need to project an alternative to Hamas.
>Yesterday:
“Convicted rapists and burglars will be temporarily spared jail from next week after judges were told that prisons are full. Crown court judges have been ordered to delay sentencing hearings, The Times has learnt, as the prison population has reached bursting point. Lord Justice Edis, the senior presiding judge for England and Wales, has ordered that sentencing of convicted criminals who are currently on bail should be delayed from Monday. The Times also understands, from crown court judges who have been issued with the guidance, that as soon as next week some prisoners will also be released early under proposals from justice ministers.” – The Times
“Police officers are to vote on whether they should be given the right to strike. Thousands of police officers in England and Wales will be balloted on whether they seek to have industrial rights. Currently police officers do not have the right to strike because they are not technically employees, they are servants of the Crown. The Police Act 1919 prohibited police from joining a trade union that could take strike action. Now the Police Federation of England and Wales is asking its 145,000 members, which represent ranks from constable to chief inspector, whether they should get the same industrial rights as other public sector workers.” – Daily Mail
“Disposable vapes could be banned within months under plans published today. A new crackdown on youth smoking will include proposals for a total ban on the throwaway devices, amid fears they risk hooking a new generation of youngsters on nicotine. The idea is part of a wider plan to eliminate smoking in the long term. Rishi Sunak will today press ahead with a consultation on a radical proposal to phase out smoking by raising the legal age for buying cigarettes by one year, every year. Anyone born after 2008 would never legally be able to buy a cigarette. Whitehall sources said the plan, unveiled by the Prime Minister at the Tory Party Conference last week, is likely to be included in next month’s King’s Speech.Today’s consultation also includes wide-ranging proposals to clamp down on the use of vapes among children.” – Daily Mail
“Health leaders have rubbished Keir Starmer’s claim Labour could clear NHS waiting lists in one term without a substantial rise in funding. The Labour leader said it is his ‘ambition’ to eradicate record waits, which currently stand at 7.7million after soaring during the pandemic. But union chiefs and NHS bosses have suggested the claims are implausible, given the Shadow Health Secretary’s pledge to focus on reform rather than investment. Speaking at the party’s annual conference in Liverpool yesterday, Wes Streeting said a Labour government would ‘turn the NHS on its head’. He reiterated his pledge of £1.1billion to help reduce the NHS backlog by asking doctors and nurses to work overtime in the evenings and at weekends, paid for by abolishing the non-dom tax status.” – Daily Mail
Sketch:
“Sir Keir Starmer has said he will ignore the protests of local residents standing in the way of Labour’s pledge to build 1.5 million new homes, declaring himself to be a “yimby”. Starmer used his conference speech on Tuesday to promise that, in government, the party would “bulldoze” through the “restricted” planning system. He has now indicated that this would include overriding the objections of local residents and even Labour MPs. “I’m going to be clear — we are going to have to do things which previous governments haven’t done because otherwise we’ll end up where we are now, which is talking about housing,” he told the BBC. “This has been the story of the last 13 years, but not actually getting very much done.”” – The Times
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>Today:
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Starmer’s speech. Confident, statesmanlike – and pitched squarely at Conservative voters.
“Anna Soubry, the former Conservative business minister, has announced she will be voting for Labour at the next general election. The former MP, now a criminal barrister, said on social media that she will be voting for Keir Starmer. On Wednesday, she wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “I will be voting #Labour. “With @Keir_Starmer as leader they have the values and competence to deliver the change our country desperately needs.” Soubry also posted a cutting of a newspaper article on Starmer’s speech on Tuesday at the Labour party conference in Liverpool. She quit the Tories in February 2019 in protest at the then-prime minister Theresa May’s handling of Brexit and helped found the Independent Group for Change, later Change UK, along with a handful of other MPs, including seven from Labour.” – The Guardian
“There’s plenty for critics to pick at with Starmer’s Labour. He is much criticised for shifting his position on issues, not least on Brexit — barely mentioned this week. The barnstorming speech of his shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves will disappoint those who want higher spending. A dissection of policies will throw up numerous questions. Dire public finances will severely limit the ambition on infrastructure and investment. In truth we won’t know the true nature of an incoming government till we see it. But perhaps the most interesting aspect was Starmer’s attempt to fit his own persona to the mood of the country.” – FT
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