“Badenoch has made Priti Patel shadow foreign secretary in a stunning comeback for the former Cabinet minister, while Mel Stride becomes shadow chancellor. She also tonight named her defeated rival Robert Jenrick, who she beat in the final round of the Conservative leadership contest, as shadow justice secretary. An ally of Mr Jenrick said: ‘Rob thinks the party needs to come together and take the fight to Labour. Unity could not be more important. He’s eager to expose Labour’s dreadful record on law and order.’ … Badenoch’s task is made trickier by having a paltry 121 Tory MPs to draw on – and big beasts announcing that they will not serve on the front bench.” – Daily Mail
Comment:
>Yesterday:
“A former minister who endorsed the sale of The Telegraph to an Abu Dhabi-backed fund has been given a key shadow cabinet role by Kemi Badenoch. Lord Johnson of Lainston has been made joint chairman of the Conservative Party a year after he said MPs should not be “sentimental” about who owned “so-called treasured assets” such as The Telegraph. At the time, his comments were slapped down by Number 10, which said Rishi Sunak had made it clear that a free press was vital for democracy and did not share the peer’s views. Lucy Frazer, then the culture secretary, was in the process of blocking the sale of the Telegraph Media Group to RedBird IMI, which received its financial backing from Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.” – Daily Telegraph
>Today: ToryDiary: If the new-look Conservative Party wants the best from their back-up team, give them a break
>Yesterday: Wilfred Aspinall in Comment: Local Conservatives must promote inwards investment
“The soaring bill for health and disability benefits will wipe out the Treasury’s £25billion national insurance raid by 2030. The government’s watchdog has forecast an eye-watering increase in handouts by the end of the decade to more than £100billion a year. The level is due to increase from £64.7billion in 2023-24 to £74.9billion this year, and £100.7billion in 2029-30, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). It warned that this estimate was ‘uncertain’ because of the complex factors involved – meaning it could end up being even higher. Such a surge would effectively eat up the extra revenue from hiking employer NICs, which brings in roughly £25billion a year – not accounting for the costs of offsetting the impact on the public sector.” – Daily Mail
More:
Comment:
>Yesterday:
“Furious farmers are ready to “go militant” over Rachel Reeves’ new tractor tax, the National Farmers Union boss has warned. Tom Bradshaw insisted British farms are in real jeopardy from the Government’s 20 per cent tax on properties over £1 million. He slammed Treasury figures as “wildly off” , saying nearly two-thirds of farms will be hit by the inheritance tax raid – far more than the 27 per cent claimed. The NFU chief’s warning came right after a heated meeting with Environment Secretary Steve Reed earlier this morning. The Cabinet Minister had hoped the talks would ease tensions and reassure farms about their concerns… The Chancellor yesterday doubled down on her claim that only a “very small number” of farms will be hit by her changes.” – The Sun
Comment:
Editorial:
“Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of breaking his promise on university tuition fees after the Government announced that it would raise them for the first time in eight years. Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, revealed on Monday that tuition fees in England would rise in line with inflation from September 2025. It will mean the annual price of a degree will increase from the current £9,250 to £9,535 from next year. The move follows growing concerns that many universities are facing financial crisis, with 40 per cent of English universities expecting to slump into a deficit this year. The Conservatives accused Sir Keir of rowing back on pledges after he had promised to scrap tuition fees altogether in 2020.” – Daily Telegraph
Editorial:
>Today: David Willetts’ column: Labour are right to increase tuition fees, and it won’t increase ‘student debt’
“Lindsay Hoyle slammed the Government for the second time in a week this afternoon, after planned changes to tuition fees were revealed to the media before MPs. Plans to raise the cost of university education for the first time in seven years were reported in the press this lunchtime, in a breach of House of Commons rules. Ministerial guidance states that MPs must be informed of major policy changes first when the House is sitting. Taking to his feat ahead of the Education Secretary’s announcement this afternoon, the Speaker once again laid into the government for disrespecting MPs. Sir Lindsay demanded a full leak inquiry into why the media knew about the planned hike earlier today, giving Bridget Phillipson the benefit of the doubt that she did not sanction the media briefing.” – Daily Express
Bridget knows just what working class kids want: to pay more for uni – Tom Peck, The Times
“Ministers are in exploratory conversations with local government about bringing accommodation for asylum seekers back under direct public control after criticism of the profits made by outsourcing companies. The Home Office has been talking to council leaders about how a locally run system might work were it to exercise break clauses in existing asylum contracts, according to people familiar with the conversations. The Financial Times reported last week that ministers have been “shocked” by the profits made by outsourcers Serco, Mears and Clearsprings since they were awarded contracts to operate accommodation for asylum seekers five years ago. As a result they are exploring the possibility of exercising break clauses in 2026.” – FT
Comment:
“Migrants from Iran, Afghanistan, and Syria could have their asylum applications fast-tracked, it has emerged. Some 118,882 people are currently waiting for their asylum claims to be processed, according to latest Home Office figures. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper admitted she wants to speed up tens of thousands of asylum decisions, claiming it will reduce the burden on taxpayers. The Home Office is building a system to fast-track such applications, Ms Cooper revealed. However, it is highly unlikely any migrant from countries such as Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, and Eritrea will be deported because it would breach human rights laws.” – Daily Express
>Yesterday: Festus Akinbusoye in Comment: If we want safer streets, we must first have safer homes
“The UK should take charge of future Europe-wide investigations into people-smuggling gangs as it seeks a new security deal with EU countries, Keir Starmer said on Monday. The prime minister has also indicated that EU leaders have shown an interest in giving the UK access to a key intelligence database used to identify people seeking asylum. His comments, made at an Interpol annual general assembly in Glasgow, come days before he meets EU leaders including the Italian PM, Giorgia Meloni, to discuss future cooperation. Emphasising his “personal mission to smash the people-smuggling gangs”, Starmer told journalists that he planned to improve on previous negotiations with European partners.” – The Guardian
More:
Comment:
“Donald Trump declared the election “ours to lose” last night as America prepared to go to the polls in the tightest race in more than two decades. Kamala Harris had a wafer-thin poll lead on the eve of voting as she hammered the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania yesterday. But in reality the numbers were well within the margin of error, with Mr Trump insisting he is on the eve of an historic comeback… He also vowed a 25 per cent tariff on all goods from Mexico on his first day in office should he win tonight. Both teams last night claimed they were “feeling good” about their numbers after an unprecedented 78 million voters had already gone to the polls early.” – The Sun
>Today: Lord Ashcroft in Comment: After months of this US campaign we may still not know who’s won but we might know, now, why they have