Newslinks for Thursday the 9th October 2025

Badenoch gives Tories a ‘blue print for Britian’, a pledge to abolish stamp duty, and a morale boost

“Kemi Badenoch vowed to abolish stamp duty as she took the fight to Labour and Reform on the economy. The Tory leader electrified her party’s annual conference in Manchester by announcing plans on Wednesday for an audacious £9 billion tax cut funded by a crackdown on welfare and waste. She told cheering delegates that abolition of the hated tax would restore the Tories’ reputation as the party of home ownership, and help trigger an economic and social renaissance. In a bullish speech that belied her party’s stuttering fortunes, Mrs Badenoch vowed to reverse the country’s ‘stagnation’ under Labour, declaring that she would ‘save Britain from that fate’. Her performance appeared to have silenced her internal critics and calmed the fevered speculation around her own leadership. One shadow cabinet plotter said the ‘impressive’ speech had ‘bought her some time – maybe more’.” – Daily Mail

• Kemi Badenoch makes £9bn promise to end ‘bad tax’ of stamp duty – The Times
• Kemi Badenoch vows to scrap ‘Britain’s worst tax’ to unleash home ownership dream – Daily Express
• Kemi Badenoch pledges to scrap stamp duty on property – FT
• Badenoch silences the Tory plotters as her ‘bold’ plan to abolish stamp duty is hailed by Kirstie Allsopp and economists after barnstorming conference speech – Daily Mail
• Badenoch pledges to scrap stamp duty – Daily Telegraph
• Stamp it out. Tories will axe stamp duty & slash bills by £165 for every family, Kemi says as she unveils blueprint for Britain – The Sun
• Kemi Badenoch pledges to abolish stamp duty – City AM
• Badenoch challenges Reeves to cut stamp duty in the Budget – The i
• Badenoch tears apart Mahmood with hilarious one word speech quip – Daily Express
• ‘Never wrestle with a pig’: Kemi Badenoch launches farmyard attack on Nigel Farage as she warns Tories must fight clever against Reform – Daily Mail
• Kemi Badenoch stamps her authority and gets the crowd on its feet – The Times
• Why Kemi Badenoch is right to scrap stamp duty – Daily Telegraph
• Badenoch sets out her vision to redefine Tory party – but few are listening – Guardian

Comment

• She needed to give a belter of a speech – and she did. When she made her final announcement everyone went nuts! – Quentin Letts, Daily Mail
• I was in the room when Kemi Badenoch saved her leadership with massive tax pledge – Martyn Brown, Daily Express
• Kemi Badenoch did her duty well —    but were voters still listening? – Patrick Maguire, The Times
• Kemi’s speech was good. But is anyone listening? – Madeline Grant, Spectator
• The Tories are finally listening to young people like me again so I’ve quit Reform, Sophie Corcoran, Daily Mail
• Mummy is moving to where the voters really are – Tim Stanley, Daily Telegraph
• In one instant Kemi Badenoch transformed everything – and might just have changed the course of political history – Dan Hodges,  Daily Mail
• (From Archive) Want to grow the economy without boosting inflation? Start with stamp duty – Alex Morton, CapX

Tory leader brands Starmer’s behaviour over China spy case ‘squalid’ as others join in criticism

“Sir Keir Starmer’s former top civil servant has challenged the official explanation as to why a prosecution of alleged Chinese spies collapsed. The Prime Minister insisted on Tuesday that the Government was unable to state that China had been a national security threat at the time of the arrest of two alleged spies in 2023. The UK’s most senior prosecutor has said Labour’s failure to provide such evidence led the Crown Prosecution Service to abandon the case. However, in a rare public intervention, Simon Case, who served as cabinet secretary under Sir Keir and Rishi Sunak, his predecessor, questioned this explanation. He said intelligence agencies had publicly described China as a threat for years, suggesting there was enough evidence to go ahead with the trial. Lord Case told The Telegraph: “Going back over years, we have had heads of our intelligence agencies describing in public the threat that China poses to our national and economic security interests.” Three former Tory Cabinet ministers, a former chief prosecutor, a former head of MI6 and the Government’s counter-terror watchdog also questioned Sir Keir’s account of the events that led up to the collapse of the case.” – Daily Telegraph

• Former head of MI6: Starmer is damaged by spy trial row – China is a threat to UK – The i
• All the evidence that China is a threat to national security – Daily Telegraph
• ‘Political decision’ Labour’s China spy trial explanation is total rubbish, slams former security minister Tom Tugendhat – The Sun
• Former CPS top lawyer: China spy case ‘does not add up’ – City AM

Comment

• This is the scandal that could bring down Keir Starmer – Allister Heath, Daily Telegraph

Starmer insists Digital ID will be a success, despite growing backlash, even in his own ranks

“Digital ID cards have the potential to be a “massive success” and can help people with their everyday lives by making it easier to access public services, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The prime minister has pledged to make digital ID cards mandatory for employment by 2029 but on Wednesday highlighted their potential benefits for other uses on a voluntary basis such as getting children into school or applying for a mortgage. Speaking on a visit to Mumbai, Starmer said: “There is a case to be made about the benefits for voluntary ID into other areas, and obviously we need to make that case. I think it’s a really important discussion for us to have. So on the one hand, it’s mandatory for work, but I actually think it would be a good passport.” One benefit touted by Starmer was making the process easier for parents to get their children into school, which involved the submission of paperwork proving identity and address.” – The Times

• Digital ID used for tax under Starmer plot to expand technology – Daily Telegraph
• Keir Starmer to look at India’s digital ID system during visit to Mumbai – Guardian
• Starmer seeks digital ID tips from India’s controversial scheme – The i
• Keir Starmer says Digital IDs will help ‘get your kids to school’ – Daily Express

Terrorist who attacked Jews outside a synagogue claimed it he was killing in the name of ISIS

“The Manchester synagogue terrorist phoned 999 pledging allegiance to the so-called Islamic State, it has emerged. Jihad al-Shamie, 35, told a police operator he was responsible for the attack on the Heaton Park synagogue last Thursday morning. Shamie made the call shortly after driving his car into worshippers at the synagogue gates and then stabbing at least two people. He was shot dead by police shortly afterwards while wearing a fake suicide bomber vest. Although Shamie claimed to have acted on behalf of Islamic State, it has been reported that MI5 have been unable to establish any links between him and the terror group or other proscribed organisations, prompting suspicions that he may have been a “lone wolf” who carried out the atrocity on his own.” – The Times

• Manchester terrorist called 999 during synagogue attack and told operator: ‘I have killed two Jews in name of ISIS’ – as it emerges killer had three wives – Daily Mail
• Manchester synagogue terrorist pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 999 call – Guardian

Meanwhile…. Court hears of Islamist plot to ‘shoot Jews’ across the North West of England

“Two alleged Islamic State-inspired terrorists plotted to massacre Jews in the north-west of England, a court has heard. Walid Saadaoui, 38, and 52-year-old Amar Hussein planned to “kill as many members of the Jewish community as they could” with assault rifles similar to those used in the 2015 Paris terror attacks, Preston Crown Court was told. Jurors heard that the pair hoped to become “martyrs” after causing “untold harm” by planning “mass fatalities”. Prosecutors said the two men had planned to smuggle six firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition into the country before they were arrested by counter-terror officers in May last year. Mr Saadaoui’s brother Bilel, 36, also from Wigan, is accused of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism. All three deny the charges.” – Daily Telegraph

• Men hatched terror plot to ‘kill as many Jewish people as they could’ jury hears – Guardian
• Police officer tells Southport inquiry many young men are viewing extremist material online amid fears there could be another attack – Daily Mail

Spare me jail for the sake of my son, pleads NHS scammer

“A woman who tried to scam £3 million from the NHS and who lives with a convicted paedophile has asked a judge to spare her a jail sentence as her young son is home-schooled. Kae Burnell-Chambers had claimed that she was left severely disabled after receiving negligent treatment at a hospital in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. In a medical negligence claim, Burnell-Chambers said the treatment had left her requiring a stick to walk as well as significant levels of care and equipment, including a mobility scooter, wheelchair and single-level accommodation. However, social media video posts that subsequently emerged showed Burnell-Chambers walking unaided, dancing and taking part in body-painting competitions in the UK and abroad.” – The Times

Flags on cows, now! As elsewhere council hires workers to pull them down

“Two farmers have painted the St George’s Cross on their herd of cows. Ed Bunning, 30, and Sarah Mottershead, 26, sprayed the England flag on their cattle at their farm near Bridgnorth, Shropshire, to raise awareness of the difficulties farmers are facing. Motorists driving past their fields in the village of Quatt now regularly stop to take pictures of the Scottish beef cows. Union flags and St George’s crosses have been raised across the UK as part of Operation Raise the Colours, a grassroots campaign to encourage national pride.” – Daily Telegraph

• Council hires staff to tear down UK and England flags in huge crackdown in major city – Daily Express

News in Brief

• We need a Great Reform Bill: time to start writing it – Lee Rotherham, CapX
• Romanticising the NHS helps no one – Ben Sixsmith, The Critic
• The problem with Lenny Henry’s demand for reparations – Patrick West, Spectator
• How posers conquered politics Instagram has flattered us into inanity – Poppy Sowerby, Unherd