OBR Chief quits over Budget leak, as Badenoch turns up pressure on Reeves to go too
“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
- Did Rachel Reeves lie — and will she resign? – The Times
- Lying Rachel finds her ‘fall guy’: OBR chief who exposed Chancellor’s lies quits over shambolic leak of Budget – but he’s just being made a scapegoat to save her skin, insist Tories – Daily Mail
- OBR says inadvertent budget leak is ‘worst failure’ in its 15-year history – Guardian
- OBR chief quits over Budget leak – The i
- Head of UK fiscal watchdog quits after Budget leak – FT
- OBR chair quits after inquiry into early release of budget document – Guardian
- Rachel Reeves accused of trying to ‘manipulate’ the bond markets after wild swings ahead of Budget – Daily Mail
- How Britain’s ‘fiercely independent’ fiscal watchdog came undone – FT
- Britain’s Budget betrayal: Sir Keir Starmer vows to curb handouts…just days after £16billion welfare spending boost – Daily Mail
- Labour Spending Chaos. Fury as Starmer refuses to say spending on Benefits Street Britain will be cut at all by the next election – The Sun
- Starmer eyes mental health welfare cuts after ‘Benefits Street’ Budget criticism – The i
- Voters’ verdict: Tax hikes breach manifesto and Reeves should resign – City AM
Editorial
- This Budget and OBR train wreck cannot simply be allowed to pass – Daily Telegraph
- The end of Reeves’ time as Chancellor is surely now inevitable after Starmer’s lame defence of her Budget – The Sun
Comment
- ‘It’s horse****. Keir’s lashed himself to Rachel’s lies. She’s radioactive.’ Excoriating verdict of Labour insiders in Budget backlash behind closed doors… and why it’ll end the PM – Dan Hodges, Daily Mail
- Scapegoating the OBR can’t save Rachel Reeves – Jeremy Warner, Daily Telegraph
- Here’s proof Reeves DID mislead the markets – and it’s ordinary savers who have paid the price – Alex Brummer, Daily Mail
- Let me count the ways in which Labour isn’t working – Stephen Bush, FT
- More than two-thirds of Brits say Rachel Reeves has broken Labour’s pledge not to raise taxes on working people – and half of voters want her gone as Chancellor – Daily Mail
- I was there when Starmer tried to defend Reeves over Budget ‘lies’ – Martyn Brown, Daily Express
- The mouth drops open, the double chin triples – Keir knows he’s in trouble – Tim Stanley, Daily Telegraph
- Rachel Reeves lied, but ultimately the buck stops with ‘Surkeir’ Starmer. This gruesome twosome can’t postpone their day of reckoning for ever… Richard Littlejohn, Daily Mail
- Starmer and Reeves are running out of road – Andrew Lilico, CapX
- Keir Starmer’s Budget defence has surely doomed Reeves – Madeline Grant, Spectator
- Starmer has little choice but to bind himself closer to his chancellor – Jessica Elgot, Guardian
- This potty-mouthed tax addict just sank Rachel Reeves – now he’s gunning for pensioners – Harvey Jones, Daily Express
Today
Yesterday
Three former Tory MPs defect to Reform, as Farage launches attack on Badenoch and a party he claimed was already dead
“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
- Three former Conservative MPs defect to Reform UK – The Times
- Reform civil war as council leader quits over £190m re-opening of Red Wall airport– The i
- Attorney general urges Nigel Farage to apologise over alleged racism and antisemitism – Guardian
Comment
Lammy claims speed of justice trumps tradition as he looks to axe trial by jury
“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
- Lammy lambasts ‘courts emergency’ as he prepares to face MPs over plans to slash jury trials – Guardian
- Juries Out. Axing jury trials will help victims, insists David Lammy as he unveils radical reforms to tackle crippling court backlog – The Sun
Comment
- Swift justice is in our legal DNA. We lose it at our peril – David Lammy, Daily Telegraph
- I stand on the side of victims, not traditions… we need to reform our courts to deliver justice faster – David Lammy, The Sun
Yesterday
There’s no justice in the Government’s verdict on trial by jury and we need their case thrown out
Former Labour Minister is jailed for two years ‘in absentia’ for fraud she denies
“ 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
- The facts about Tulip Siddiq’s corruption trial after she is given jail sentence – The i
Chaos and splits as Jeremy Corbyn’s party rejects him as leader
“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
- Your Party’s implosion almost makes me feel sorry for Corbyn – Stephen Pollard, Spectator
- It’s terrifying how many people take the Corbynista clowns seriously – Suzanne Moore, Daily Telegraph
- Your Party is no friend of the working class – David Littlefair, Unherd
Junior doctors to go on strike, for third time this year, in busy run up Christmas
“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
- The strike-mare before Christmas: Doctors union throws NHS into chaos after announcing another five day walkout – Daily Mail
News in brief
- Labour: a party of nostalgics – Sebastien Milbank, The Critic
- Nimby Watch: Nimbys hate your children – James Ball, CapX
- Why the Great Reset failed Technocrats are getting stupider – Mary Harrington, Unherd
- Dublin is quietly becoming a Jew-free city – Rory Hanrahan, Spectator
