Jenrick dismisses suggestions within Reform that he should join Farage’s party for a top job
“Nigel Farage should secure the defection of Robert Jenrick from the Conservative Party and consider appointing him as his shadow chancellor, senior Reform UK figures have suggested. Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, was said by Tories colleagues to be “down” after a resurgence in Kemi Badenoch’s leadership. He lost the leadership contest to her last November and the Tory leader is seen by colleagues to have performed well in recent months. A senior Reform source said: “It’s not going to happen soon. But the best thing for Robert, and for Nigel, would be if they joined forces sometime between now and the next election. Robert clearly wants to, and he’d put himself in a strong position to go to the Treasury as chancellor if he did.” Jenrick told Times Radio: “My leader Kemi Badenoch said there won’t be a deal. Nigel Farage has said there won’t be a deal. So there won’t be a deal.” – The Times
- I’m not going anywhere, says Robert Jenrick as he snubs Reform move – Daily Mail
- Could Reform and the Tories join forces before the election? – The Times
- Deal or no deal. Farage furiously denies he is plotting election deal with the Tories – The Sun
- Nigel Farage aide fronted Tony Bloom’s £600m betting syndicate, court told – Times
Comment
- Will Robert Jenrick join Reform? – James Heale, Spectator
- Reform-Tory pact would be disastrous for the Right – Henry Hill, Unherd
Today
Badenoch piles pressure on Reeves over Budget and accuses her of living in “la la land”
“Rachel Reeves has been accused of being in “la la land” as the Budget chaos heaped more pressure on the Chancellor. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch launched a blistering personal attack on Ms Reeves after she was accused of misleading the public over tax hikes. The heated Commons exchange came a full seven days after taxes went up by £26 billion as welfare spending went up by £16 billion. Ms Badenoch brought up previous claims of plagiarism in a book Ms Reeves wrote and inaccuracies in her CV in the blistering exchange with Sir Keir Starmer. She hit out: “We now know the black hole was fake, her book was fake, her CV was fake, even her chess claims are made up.” – The Sun
- Stealth tax raid hits incentives to work, save and even stay in the UK, warns Budget watchdog – Daily Mail
- OBR leaders attack Reeves again for misleading public before Budget – The i
- Budget hit. Exact salary that workers will lose out the most on due to Budget tax raids – The Sun
- Reeves’s stealth tax on savers risks killing off pensioner vote for good – The i
- Two Tier tax. Workers could be hit with another tax raid due to Rachel Reeves’ brutal Budget – The Sun
- Deceitful Reeves is utterly deluded – and it’s left 1 very important group fuming – Daily Express
- Pubs face financial ruin after Rachel Reeves’ Budget stealth tax raid: Landlords hike pint prices, reduce opening hours and axe staff in desperate bid to save their boozers – Daily Mail
- Reeves Gambit. Reeves’ junior chess champ claim called into question by ex whizz who says she actually finished ‘26th out of 34′ – The Sun
Editorial
- Reeves may have survived disaster Budget but it has destroyed public’s faith in Labour – The Sun
Comment
- Rachel Reeves’ fatal mix of incompetence and mendacity makes her unfit to be Chancellor. It’s time for her to put country first and resign – Stephen Glover, Daily Mail
- Reeves on the ropes as Kemi bounces like a boxer on her toes to land big shots – Tim Stanley, Daily Telegraph
- Kemi’s confidence has grown… she looks much happier than the grey spud opposite her – Quentin Letts, Daily Mail
- Kemi Badenoch is enjoying herself – Isabel Hardman, Spectator
- Labour’s blatantly unfair benefits splurge will tear this country apart- Michael Deacon, Daily Telegraph
- We need the OBR more than ever – Joseph Dinnage, CapX
- Our economic problems are bigger than we think – Chris Bayliss, The Critic
- Labour is now the party of welfare, not work – Michael Simmons, Spectator
Labour MP’s suspension by Starmer after voting against family farm tax angers ‘rural reds’
A Labour MP has been suspended from the party after voting against the Chancellor’s family farm tax. Markus Campbell-Savours, the MP for Penrith and Solway, lost the whip after he rebelled against Rachel Reeves’s plans to end the inheritance tax exemption on farms worth more than £1m. He was the only Labour MP to vote against the proposals in the Chancellor’s Finance Bill on Tuesday night, but more than 30 of his party colleagues abstained. In the debate, Mr Campbell-Savours said: “There remain deep concerns about the proposed changes to agricultural property relief (APR). Changes which leave many, not least elderly farmers, yet to make arrangements to transfer assets, devastated at the impact on their family farms.” Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader, wrote on X: ‘Rattled Keir Starmer is suspending his MPs again. This time for standing up for farmers…says everything about his priorities. Last year he suspended 7 MPs for opposing the two-child benefit cap, and we all know how that ended.’” – Daily Telegraph
- ‘Rural Reds’ are plotting to oust ‘arrogant’ Rachel Reeves: Labour MPs rebel over farm tax – Daily Mail
- Desperate ‘Rural Red’ Labour MPs vow to ‘get Reeves out before Christmas’ – Daily Express
Government wants face recognition cameras for every city, town and village
“Police could be given access to Britain’s passport database to catch criminals under an expansion of facial recognition technology that could be deployed in every city, town and village. Labour is proposing that police be allowed to compare photos of crime suspects from CCTV, doorbells and dashcams against facial images on government databases, including the passports of 45 million Britons, and immigration records. The plans are part of a Home Office consultation launched on Thursday to establish a legal framework for all police forces to use facial recognition technology to catch wanted criminals and crime suspects. The proposals come alongside a drive for police to roll out “live” facial recognition cameras that scan for wanted suspects in crime hotspots across England and Wales. Other public bodies, beyond police, and private companies, such as retailers, could be allowed to use facial recognition technology under the new legal framework.” – Daily Telegraph
- Keir Starmer to ‘turn UK into an open prison’ with facial recognition matched to passports – Daily Express
News in Brief
- A grim parody of remembrance – Laurie Wastell, The Critic
- Trump’s lawless narco-war – Brandan Buck, Unherd
- Labour’s plan to unite the left – Tim Shipman, Spectator
- North Sea oil is being killed by uncertainty – Sanjoy Sen, CapX
