“Rishi Sunak condemned far-Right “thugs” and “Hamas sympathisers” after a day of violence in the capital saw more than 100 arrests. The Prime Minister said far-Right hooligans clashing with police, and pro-Hamas regalia witnessed during the National March for Palestine, had disrespected the military and Britain’s fallen on Armistice Day. He will meet Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, to seek assurances that evidence of anti-Semitic hate crimes will be followed up as robustly as far-Right were dealt with. In the biggest pro-Palestinian march to date, hundreds of thousands of people made their way from Marble Arch to the US embassy…At the same time, far-Right protesters threw missiles and clashed with police in Whitehall…” – The Sunday Telegraph
Editorials and Comment:
“There are many theories as to why Braverman seems willing to risk the wrath of the PM and an increasing number of outraged backbenchers. A government source suggested that Braverman had agreed to the provocative Times article in an attempt to move the news agenda on from the tent row. However, they added that while the Home Office team had anticipated some criticism, the scale of the opprobrium had taken them by surprise. However, others believe that Braverman is looking for a way out of government. One said that doing so would allow her to escape the backlash that will follow if the government’s immigration plans unravel. That could happen as soon as Wednesday, when the Supreme Court rules on…the Rwanda plan…” – The Sunday Times
Comment:
>Today:
“Only one in three young people knows that Remembrance Day commemorates the First World War Armistice…revealed… a new poll. The Ipsos survey found that only 33 per cent of millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, and those who are part of Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012, know which event is remembered on Nov 11… Lord Roberts, a historian and Tory peer, said that the results were a “damning indictment of history teaching in our schools”… Lord Roberts added that he believed this lack of knowledge was one of the reasons why hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters were marching in London…“If they don’t know what Remembrance Day is, it explains their ignorance of Middle Eastern issues,” he said.” – The Sunday Telegraph
“Rishi Sunak’s pledge to slash NHS waiting lists has effectively been downgraded, the Observer has been told, amid an increase in the number of patients in England waiting longer than 18 months for treatment. Hospital leaders are warning that morale is low, staff absences are high, and funds for new equipment and repairs are having to be raided ahead of winter. They have now been told to prioritise controlling costs in favour of some of the extra work being done towards the prime minister’s pledge to bring down waits. The news comes as the latest data reveals that one key waiting time target is heading in the wrong direction. The number of people waiting more than 18 months for treatment climbed back above 10,000 in September…” – The Observer
“Rishi Sunak has received a rare piece of good news as he is expected to hit the target to halve the inflation by the end of the year. It is set to drop to its lowest level in two years, figures released next week are expected to show. The rate is expected to have fallen to 4.8 per cent in the year to October from 6.7 per cent in September. Government sources said it was “positive news” but “the fight is not over” as they need to get inflation down to its 2 per cent target as soon as possible. “Inflation is the worst possible tax on our economy and it is particularly bad for people on low incomes and fixed incomes,” Harriett Baldwin, chair of the Treasury Committee, said… However… voters in his own seat think they are paying too much tax ahead of a crucial Autumn Statement.” – The Sun on Sunday
“Sir Keir Starmer is on course to win more seats than Tony Blair did in his landslide victory in 1997 despite his party being riven with divisions over whether to back a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Labour would win the keys to Downing Street with a 212-seat majority if the general election were held tomorrow, according to a 12,128-person MRP poll conducted by Survation…The poll, based on the new seat boundaries that take effect at the next election, is the first to be conducted since the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7… Despite fears that Starmer’s refusal to call for a ceasefire risks a repeat of the 2005 election, the poll recoded Labour’s national support at 46 per cent – 17 points ahead of the Conservatives on 29 per cent.” – The Sunday Times
“Nigel Farage is to launch a legal battle with NatWest over the closure of his accounts at its private bank subsidiary Coutts. The debanking scandal ultimately led to the resignation of Alison Rose, the chief executive of NatWest, in July and the departure of Peter Flavel, the chief executive of Coutts, soon after. The former leader of Ukip…said he is instructing lawyers to take action against NatWest, with the aim of turning it into a class action. An independent review into the decision to close Farage’s accounts found that although there were “serious failings” in NatWest’s treatment of [him], the decision was lawful. Farage responded by calling the report a “whitewash”. On Friday, the board of NatWest said that it had scrapped £7.6m in potential payouts to Rose.” – The Observer