“The head of the fiscal watchdog was forced out on Monday as the Chancellor battled to save her political career. Richard Hughes, the chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), resigned amid a fiasco that saw his organisation leak the Budget and Rachel Reeves accused of misrepresenting its forecasts. The resignation means Mr Hughes will no longer appear before MPs on the Treasury committee on Tuesday, sparing Ms Reeves further criticism when she is already under pressure to resign. There have been mounting calls from political opponents for the Chancellor to step down, with Sir Keir Starmer holding a hastily organised press conference on Monday morning to defend her and the Budget. The Chancellor has been accused of misleading the public in the run-up to the Budget over the size of the fiscal shortfall facing the country. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, claimed that Mr Hughes’s departure was “retribution” and that Ms Reeves was using him as a “human shield”. “The truth is this is happening because the OBR has released statements criticising the Chancellor, telling people that she misled the public, that they had given her different forecasts, and she went out there telling people that there was a black hole which did not exist.” – Daily Telegraph
Editorial
Comment
Today
Yesterday
“Nigel Farage has urged voters not to trust Kemi Badenoch as he launches his most significant attack on the Tories to date. Writing for The Telegraph, the Reform UK leader turns his attention to the Conservative leader following a week in which she won plaudits for her response to the Budget. However, Mr Farage said the public should not forget that her party oversaw tax rises, spiralling welfare spending and net zero carbon emission rules. He warns: “Do not allow the failed party of the past to reinvent themselves as the supposed solution to the problems that they created in the first place.” Reform has been dismissive of the low-polling Tories, with Mr Farage previously describing the party as “finished” as a major force in British politics. But his decision to go on the attack will be seen by some observers as a sign that he is beginning to take Mrs Badenoch more seriously. It follows what is widely regarded to have been her best week in charge of the party as her fiery response to the Budget propelled her on to the front pages.” – Daily Telegraph
Comment
“Courts cannot cling on to jury trials for the sake of tradition, David Lammy has said…the Justice Secretary told critics of his plans to scrap thousands of jury trials that the only way to avoid the “total collapse” of trust in the justice system was “bold and meaningful change”. He cited the Magna Carta, sealed in 1215, as justification because it not only laid the groundwork for jury trials 800 years ago but also “crucially” pledged that no one should be denied justice through delays. Mr Lammy said: “When a victim waits years for a trial, when the courts are so backed up that criminals fear no punishment, when an innocent person sits under a cloud of accusation – justice is denied. “Magna Carta was a protest against state failure. If its authors saw the delays in our courts today, they would not urge us to cling rigidly to tradition. They would demand action.” Under radical plans, leaked last week, Mr Lammy proposed a new Canadian-style tier of judge-only courts to hear cases likely to attract sentences of up to five years.” – Daily Telegraph
Comment
Yesterday
There’s no justice in the Government’s verdict on trial by jury and we need their case thrown out
“ A Labour MP and former minister has been sentenced to two years in prison in Bangladesh after she was found guilty of corruption charges. Tulip Siddiq, the former anti-corruption minister, was tried in absentia over allegations that she used her influence to obtain plots of land in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone from her aunt Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted as prime minister last year. Siddiq, 43, who denies all wrongdoing, said after the sentencing: “This whole process has been flawed and farcical from the beginning to the end. The outcome of this kangaroo court is as predictable as it is unjustified. “I hope this so-called ‘verdict’ will be treated with the contempt it deserves. My focus has always been my constituents in Hampstead & Highgate and I refuse to be distracted by the dirty politics of Bangladesh.” – The Times
“Members of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s left-wing party have decided neither of them will be allowed to be leader, after its inaugural conference was beset by chaos and division. The party decided to keep its interim name of Your Party, after members chose it from a shortlist including Our Party, For The Many and Popular Alliance. Corbyn, who had pushed for a traditional “single leader” model, suffered a defeat after activists instead voted for “collective leadership” by a margin of 51.6 per cent to 48.4 per cent. This will mean there is a 26-person central executive committee elected next year, which will then appoint a smaller officers’ group composed of a chair, deputy chair and spokesman, none of whom will be allowed to be MPs.” – The Times
Comment
“Junior doctors will go on strike for the third time this year, in the run-up to Christmas. The strike by resident doctors, as they are now known, will run from 7am on December 17 until 7am on December 22. The walkout will be their third this year in a dispute with the government over the number of available jobs and training opportunities, and their pay. The latest round of industrial action is slated to take place in the middle of what is predicted to be a difficult period for the NHS over the winter, as the service grapples with higher levels of respiratory disease. Hospital bosses have called the move “inflammatory” and “unfair” to NHS staff and patients. Some called it a “devastating blow” to a health service already struggling under the weight of winter pressures.” – The Times