Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Welsh Labour MP predicts “we are absolutely doomed”.
The greatest interest though is the view of anonymous Labour MPs as to the way that the Welsh Labour Government has become its own worst enemy. The reference of course, is to the rather bizarre electoral system designed to give maximum control to poltical party bosses and imposed on us without proper consultation, which with the rise of Reform, takes the next Senedd election into uncharted territory,
Welsh Labour's prospects are summed up by one Welsh Labour MP, who is quoted as saying: “You say ‘Welsh Labour’ and people just go. I’ve got a lot of time for Eluned Morgan. If anybody can do it, she can. But is it an insurmountable task?”:
Some in Welsh Labour feel they have been ignored in recent years, not just by the UK government but by their own party at a UK level, with Scottish Labour getting more attention. A key factor is that the former has been more successful, having won every Assembly and Senedd election since 1999, but the aggrieved also say the latter has been seen as the “sexier” of the two autonomous units of UK Labour.
Welsh representatives now warn that the UK Labour leadership is heading for a rude awakening at the next Senedd elections on 7 May 2026. Recent polls show Labour level with – or even slightly behind – Plaid Cymru, which currently has 12 Senedd members (MSs), compared to 30 Labour and 16 Tories. Labour is also level with Reform UK, which has no MSs and just three councillors in Wales; support for the Conservatives has collapsed.
“We’re 18 months away from Senedd elections. We’ve got a Labour government elected now, which we are working with far more effectively than we were able to with the previous Conservative government. That’s beginning to make a big difference,” says Mick Antoniw, Labour MS for Pontypridd.
“Of course, the other side of that is a lot of media attention where you’ve had issues around the winter fuel allowance, the farming inheritance issue and so on. Politics is incredibly volatile.”
Getting the most electorally difficult policies out of the way early in a UK Labour government’s term is unfortunate timing for the party in devolved assemblies, where elections are being held mid-term from a Westminster perspective. The two big controversies around winter fuel payments and inheritance tax paid by farmers are particularly challenging in Wales, where there is an older population and a strong farming sector.
Running on a “change” platform would be tough in Wales, where Labour has always governed, one of Welsh Labour’s new MPs points out. Instead, the message to Welsh voters in 2026 will be that “having a Labour government at both ends of the M4 is important”.
The rows between devolved administrations and the UK government have been fierce in recent years. “Surely it’s better for Welsh Labour to suck up to the UK than have the governments clashing,” the MP says. “That’s why it’s so important we deliver. It’s all about delivery.”
Others worry that double incumbency will see the international trend of voters punishing incumbents hit Labour hard in Wales. “People are feeling very let down by Keir,” says the first anonymous Welsh Labour MP, adding: “Welsh Labour is a complete shitshow.”
“It’s like Brexit all over again, isn’t it? Kicking back against the system,” they continue. “The Reform thing is real. We need to seriously, seriously, wake up to it.” The MP predicts that in areas like Llanelli, where Reform came just 1,500 votes behind Labour in July, “we are absolutely doomed”.
If the Welsh Government can't convince their own MPs then what chance do they have with the electorate.
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
How accountable is the House of Lords?
The paper says that one in 10 members have been hired to give political or policy advice, according to their own declarations, and others do paid work for companies that could conflict with their role as legislators:
The findings expose weaknesses in the Lords code of conduct and raise questions about whether the rules on lobbying and paid employment should be tightened in line with restrictions signed up to by MPs.
The investigation sheds new light on the extent to which money flows into politics from those who hold peerages or go on to secure them, with more than £100m given to the three main parties over the last two decades, much of it by a small group of influential super-donors.
Many members of the Lords make a valuable contribution to its main purpose of refining and scrutinising legislation. But their numbers have ballooned to 835 after a succession of prime ministers packed the house with donors and party loyalists. Labour has promised some changes, but there are calls for more ambitious reforms to an institution Keir Starmer has previously described as “indefensible”.
Darren Hughes, the chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, said: “The Lords should not be a political gated community filled with party donors, as well as friends and supporters of various prime ministers. These revelations again underscore the urgent need for Lords reform so there is far greater transparency and accountability to guard against conflicts of interest, which risk further corroding the public’s already rock-bottom trust in politics.”
Over the coming weeks, the Guardian will publish the Lords debate, a months-long investigation that has involved undercover reporting, and extensive analysis of parliamentary records, political donations and official documents.
It will reveal details of how:
* Nearly 100 members of the Lords are paid to give political or policy advice by commercial firms.
* A Labour peer offered access to ministers during discussions to sponsor an event in parliament.
* A former minister has earned millions of pounds since entering the Lords by working for 30 companies.
* Multiple peers are being paid by foreign governments including repressive regimes.
* More than £1 in every £14 donated to political parties since 2001 came from those who have sat as peers in the last parliament.
As the Guardian points out, ministers are in the process of removing the remaining 92 hereditary peers, amid opposition from many Conservative lords. However, further changes promised in the Labour manifesto – including an age limit of 80, reforming the appointments process, setting minimum levels of attendance, and a consultation on replacing the chamber – are yet to take shape and there are fears they will be kicked into the long grass.
More importantly, none of the proposed changes would tighten the rules on lobbying and paid employment. It is about time that government got to grips with reforming this overlarge retirement home for politicians, or better still replace it with an elected second house.
Monday, February 24, 2025
Karma and a leading Tory
The paper says that in a biography on his website, Mr Jenrick claims to have been "the joint youngest Cabinet Minister since the Second World War, tied with Harold Wilson and William Hague" when he was made Housing Secretary in 2019, but he was 37 at the time he was elevated to the cabinet, while Wilson and Hague were 31 and 34 respectively when reaching Cabinet minister status:
Mr Jenrick's lengthy LinkedIn bio runs to over 300 words, including grandiose statements about his "formative years" being "defined by fundamental conservative values".
In recent days he's attacked Labour politicians including Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds for correcting errors on their CV.
Mr Jenrick said on Twitter : "In the real world, if you lie about your CV you resign"
A source close to Mr Jenrick said the error had now been corrected.
A Labour Spokesperson said: “Honest Bob Jenrick has a lot to say about other people but now he’s been caught red handed telling porky pies about his own career.
“It’s an open secret that Jenrick is on manouevres given calamity Kemi Badenoch ’s bungling leadership, but watching him trying to pass off a Labour Prime Minister’s achievement as his own is a boast too far.
“The shadow justice role requires integrity.
“No one should take a thing that Honest Bob says seriously.”
Oops. Karma strikes again.
Sunday, February 23, 2025
Can Starmer halt the rise of Reform?
Nevertheless, Labour appear to think that the Prime Minister is their secret weapon in getting the truth out about Reform for, as the Independent reports elsewhere, Starmer is poised to take the fight directly to the insurgent right-wing party, arguing its policies are “alien” to the needs of working people.
The paper says that the PM will use the Scottish Labour Conference in Glasgow today to challenge the gathered MSPs, MPs and activists to “show a path to the future”, warning that if his party does not then “others will fill that void”:
Sir Keir Starmer will condemn the "dangerous right-wing politics" of Reform UK and insist that Nigel Farage's party are "not the answer for Britain".
In a sign of growing fears in Downing Street at Reform’s surge in the polls, the prime minister will take the fight directly to the insurgent right-wing party, arguing its policies are “alien” to the needs of working people.
Mr Farage’s party topped Labour in Techne’s weekly tracker poll for The Independent for the first time last week, with 26 per cent of the popular vote, and is on course to win its first seats at Holyrood in next May’s Scottish elections.
And, addressing the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow on Sunday, Sir Keir will challenge gathered MSPs, MPs and activists to “show a path to the future”, warning that if his party does not then “others will fill that void”.
The PM will say that, with their "dangerous right-wing politics", Reform "will say they are the ones who can tilt politics towards the interests of working people".
But he will insist that "their proposals do precisely the opposite", adding that Labour has "to be ready for this test, ready to point out that beneath the bluster, the alternative they offer is alien to working people".
Hitting out at Mr Farage’s party, which won five seats in last year's general election, the Sir Keir will say: "You want to know what Farage and Reform are doing, on their rare visits to Parliament?
"They're voting against our employment right bill. They talk the language of workers' rights online and on doorsteps, but they want to charge people to use the NHS.
"They are not the answer people are looking for. That is not the answer for Britain. And it will never be the answer for Scotland."
Labour has increasingly been attempting to take the fight to Reform, amid fears the party is riding a wave of discontent at Sir Keir’s government and could unseat scores of his MPs at the next general election.
Sir Keir also privately wrote to his cabinet to warn of the threat of Reform, according to reports, telling his top team that “if governments are not changing the system in favour of working people, then voters will find someone else who does”.
Left-wingers have condemned the party’s attempts to apparently “outdo” Mr Farage, publishing videos of illegal working raids and deportation flights while highlighting its record on deportations using Reform-style posters.~
Veteran Labour MP and former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott has accused Sir Keir of turning Labour into “Reform-lite”.
Of course we've been down this road before. Many voters' views of politics are based on their gut instincts rather than facts. In a lot of cases they have a distorted view of what those facts are, especially on immigration, and won't take correction. I know, I've tried.
By all means set out the situation as it really is, and keep repeating it ad nauseum until some of it sinks in, but the real path to disarming Farage and his fellow travellers lies in fixing the country. That means getting the economy, the health service, education, public transport and basic infrastructure working as it is meant to. It also means not penalising groups of people who are needed to be part of that anti-Reform coalition through measures like abolishing the winter fuel allowance.
We need proper investment in our public services, and we need it now, not at some nebulous time in the future when economic growth is deemed sufficient. It is time for deeds not words. The stakes couldn't be higher.
Saturday, February 22, 2025
Labour Minister under investigation
The paper says that the Solicitors Regulation Authority said on Friday it would look into allegations that Reynolds had incorrectly claimed to have worked as a solicitor even though he did not finish his legal training:
The confirmation comes after the website Guido Fawkes revealed Reynolds had not qualified, despite his LinkedIn profile listing one of his previous jobs as “solicitor”.
The SRA wrote to Reynolds in January after becoming aware of the error on his LinkedIn profile but decided not to take further action after it was corrected.
On Friday, however, a spokesperson for the regulator said: “We looked at that issue at the time we became aware of it and contacted Mr Reynolds about the profiles. The materials were corrected, and we closed the matter with no further action based on all the evidence we had at the time.
“However, we’ve now become aware of further information, so we will look at this.”
The spokesperson would not say why the regulator had changed its position since Wednesday.
The decision came after Robert Jenrick wrote to the SRA demanding a new inquiry. The shadow justice secretary earlier this week accused Reynolds of “criminal conduct” and called on the prime minister, Keir Starmer, to sack him.
Reynolds is the second Minister to be accused of having incorrect information on his Linkedin profile. Chancellor, Rachel Reeves has also had to correct her profile after it said she had been an economist at the bank HBOS when she actually worked in retail banking. It isnt a good look.
Friday, February 21, 2025
Orgies, fights and ‘KGB agents’ in brothels
The paper says that the book covers orgies, Matt Hancock’s abrupt departure to the I’m a Celebrity... jungle, a Tory MP becoming stuck in a brothel, and the various misconduct scandals that engulfed members of Rishi Sunak’s government:
Hart recalls that, just one month into the job, an MP elected in 2019 called him at 2.45am to report that he was in a brothel with a woman he suspected was a Russian agent.
Hart recounts the MP telling him: “I met a woman as I left the Carlton Club who offered me a drink, but I now think she is a KGB agent. She wants £500 and has left me in a room with 12 naked women and a CCTV.”
After discussing the issue with a special adviser, Hart sent the MP a taxi to return him to his hotel, before receiving a second call at 4.10am in which he was told that the taxi driver was an “Afghan agent” who had asked for £3,000 for a sex act.
In his diaries, Hart says Rishi Sunak appointed a minister to his cabinet during a reshuffle despite saying: “Let’s all agree about one thing. She is f***ing useless but we can’t get rid of her.”
He also criticises the minister for failing to appreciate her new role, writing: “[She] is less grateful than her promotion deserves and more entitled than professionals should be when selected by the PM for high office.”
Hart does not disclose the name of the minister, but only three women were promoted to the cabinet or given enhanced briefs during the February reshuffle.
Kemi Badenoch, now the Tory leader, was handed business brief on top of her role as international trade secretary, while Michelle Donelan was promoted to become science and technology secretary.
Lucy Frazer was promoted to culture secretary, having previously been housing minister.
Hart recounts being told that in February 2023, while at dinner at the Hurlingham Club, a senior married MP got “a bit fruity” with a journalist and suggested that her “dress would look better discarded on my bedroom floor”.
When Hart informed Boris Johnson that Harriet Harman was to publish her privileges committee report, which would recommend he be subject to a 20-day suspension, the former PM asked if there was a way to “kill off the report or at least vote it down”, the book claims.
“In any normal circumstances, a former PM asking for special treatment would be a big deal, but this being Boris, it doesn’t surprise me at all,” writes Hart. “Worryingly, it doesn’t even annoy me that much either.”
Upon being reminded that it was he himself who had set up this process and accepted Harman as its chair, Johnson replied: “But I was in India and I wasn’t concentrating. I left it all to the whips.”
Hart reports that, on Halloween 2023, a special adviser went to an orgy and another employee dressed up as prolific paedophile Jimmy Savile.
“Among today’s HR joys is the report that a departmental Spad went to an orgy over the weekend and ended up taking a crap on another person’s head,” he writes.
“To make matters worse, in a separate incident a House employee went to a party dressed as Jimmy Savile and ended up having sex with a blow-up doll, for which he has been subsequently dismissed. Just another day at the office, I guess.”
The Welsh Assembly was a tea party in comparison to that lot.
Thursday, February 20, 2025
Senior Tory scores own goal
The paper says that, in what appears to have been an attempt to dig up information on Labour’s record, the shadow paymaster general used a written parliamentary question to ask how many new prison places were built under the previous Labour administration, between May 1997 and May 2010, and the previous Tory administration, between May 2010 and July 2024.
Unfortunately for him, the response from justice minister Sir Nicholas Dakin revealed that the Tories increased the capacity of the prison estate by just 455 spaces in their fourteen years in power - fewer spaces than the current government has created in its seven months in office:
The previous Labour government boosted space by 27,830 new prison places, the data shows.
A further written question asked by Mr Holden also revealed that between 2010 and 2024, the Tories closed the doors of more than 7,500 prison cells.
However, when he pressed for further information from the House of Commons library, separate data showed that between 1997 and 2010 - under the previous Labour government - the number of prisoners in double bunked cells had increased by more than 9,000. And between 1999 and 2010, those placed in overcrowded accommodation increased by around 7,000.
Oops!
Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Rising bills highlight Labour's first major misstep
The paper says that Whitehall sources have indicated that they expect bills in most UK regions to increase by around £9 a month over next three months, hitting Labour’s pledge to curb the cost of living:
Forecasts of exactly how much rates will rise again in April vary, but most key analysts agree they will be increasing. Large energy firms such as British Gas, E.On and EDF predict the price cap will increase by between five and seven per cent.
Experts say increased volatility in the global gas market is a key source of the rises. The transit deal that allowed gas to flow to Europe from Russia via Ukraine recently ended, adding more uncertainty.
Meanwhile, the lack of gas storage in Britain and Europe is also adding to the issue at a time when cold weather has greatly increased demand in recent months.
Mr Miliband, the energy secretary, has now written an urgent letter to Ofgem, asking the regulator to move faster to protect consumers against coming price rises. Writing to chief executive Jonathan Brearley, he said there are steps Ofgem could take to combat the “rollercoaster” of global gas markets.
“In recent months we have seen once again the dangers for our country of being exposed to fossil fuel markets controlled by petrostates and dictators,” he wrote, adding that the UK is “highly exposed to these global gas markets.”
“Once again, the British people and British businesses will face the consequences of fossil fuel markets we do not control,” he said.
Labour's problem though goes deeper than worries about the country's lack of gas storage and dependence on fossil fuels. Another price increase will serve to rmeind voters once again about their misjudgement in abolishing the winter fuel allowance for most pensioners.
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Labour under friendly fire over migration and asylum policy
The paper says that the group, in a joint statement, singled out the Home Office’s decision, revealed last week, to refuse citizenship to anyone who arrives in the UK via “a dangerous journey” such as a small boat over the Channel:
The statement also criticised ministers for highlighting the number of people being deported from the UK, with a Home Office publicity blitz last week using footage and images showing people being removed on planes.
The statement, coordinated by the Labour Campaign for Free Movement and the left-leaning Labour group Momentum, has been signed by seven MPs – Nadia Whittome, Diane Abbott, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Clive Lewis, Jon Trickett, Brian Leishman and Steve Witherden – as well as four ex-Labour MPs who now sit as independents, and four of the party’s peers.
It read: “Last week the government has published videos of deportations, restated its intention to criminalise people arriving irregularly, and banned them from ever becoming British citizens.
“These measures mimic the performative cruelty of the failed Tory governments rejected by voters last July. They also breach Britain’s international obligations to respect the right to claim asylum and guarantee safe routes.
“Far from being a drain on this country, migrants from all over the world enrich our society in every sense. Anti-migrant politics will not build a single house, staff a single hospital or raise anyone’s wages. Instead, by echoing its rhetoric, the government is simply fuelling the rise of Reform UK.
“We urge Labour’s leaders to recognise that Labour’s only route to victory is to deliver for the vast majority of people. We need to reverse austerity, address the climate crisis, take on the water and energy companies ripping us off, and foster a politics of working-class solidarity.”
Ministers have faced previous warnings from within the party and its backers that attempts to try to limit the threat from Reform by talking and acting toughly on migration could backfire.
This month Labour launched a series of adverts with Reform-style branding and messaging about how many people the government had deported, including a series from a group called UK Migration Updates.
On Sunday, Christina McAnea, the general secretary of Unison, and nine Church of England bishops were among 148 signatories of a letter saying that the plan to deprive almost all asylum seekers of citizenship would “breed division and distrust” and could fuel attacks on migrant hotels.
The letter asked Cooper to “urgently reconsider the decision to effectively ban tens of thousands of refugees from ever becoming British citizens”.
The brothers and sisters are starting to get restless.
Monday, February 17, 2025
The doubting Tories
The paper says that some MPs are complaining that their fledgling leader is raising the wrong topics and picking unconvincing lines of attack against the prime minister at PMQs, which is her most prominent opportunity to make the political weather, while others have been concerned about the level of support for her from colleagues during the exchanges:
While most MPs are sympathetic to Badenoch, who is less than four months into the job, some MPs and frontbenchers want to see her bolster her advisory team with Tory figures seasoned in the difficult task of landing political blows.
One former cabinet minister said there had been complaints among MPs that Badenoch kept avoiding obvious attacks on Starmer’s handling of the economy, instead opting for “Westminster village-orientated” topics that she persevered with for too long. “People are putting on a brave face at the moment, but the comment I’ve heard more often than any other is that she keeps picking the wrong subjects,” they said. “There are some big things going on that could really resonate – like the economy.”
An MP who shared the concerns said: “We have people who have been involved in PMQs prep for a long time and I hope she’s got some continuity there, because it’s important we get it right. It doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll be perfect, but she needs experience behind her. You need wise heads who know what they’re doing.”
The discontent surfaced after this week’s outing, in which Badenoch confronted Starmer over an attempt by a family from Gaza to use a Ukrainian resettlement scheme to come to the UK, as well as the appointment of a new borders inspector who lives in Finland.
However, Starmer responded by stating that the government was already reviewing the findings of the case of the Gazan family, while the borders inspector had been appointed by the last government – and had now been instructed to work from the UK.
Sympathetic Tory MPs said that the complaints over Badenoch’s approach were simply evidence of how hard it was to make an impression as opposition leader and pleaded for colleagues to give her time. “No one’s going to be a rock star immediately,” said one frontbencher. “It’s going to be incredibly difficult and she’s got to grow into the job. If it does seem clunky, she’s got four years to get this right. Having said that, Starmer is unbelievably crap.”
The paper adds that Tory figures are concerned about what could happen should the Conservatives suffer a poor set of local elections in May, as expected, with MPs saying that any discussion about replacing another leader would make them look absurd and must be avoided.
All in all. it's a right mess they've got themselves into.
