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You’re either in front of Guido, or you are behind…
For a man who’s a repeat loser, Jolyon Maugham never seems to get used to it. Still sore from losing the case against the Institute of Economic Affairs, The Good Law Project has now issued a formal complaint against the Charity Commission over the “handling of the radical rightwing think-tank.” Christopher Snowdon of the IEA came out swinging…
It’s quite simple, Jolyon. The Commission doesn’t need to carry out a new investigation every time someone makes the same baseless complaint about the IEA. It has heard it all before and rejected it.
— Christopher Snowdon 🇺🇦 (@cjsnowdon) May 16, 2024
The fox-beater came back with an empty accusation – that Snowdon was a “repeat offender“. To which Snowdon egged him on…
What offence have I repeatedly committed? Careful now.
— Christopher Snowdon 🇺🇦 (@cjsnowdon) May 17, 2024
True to form, Jolyon couldn’t come up with any actual evidence against Snowdon. Meanwhile, The (Not Very) Good Law Project have filed a complaint to the Charity Commission against GambleAware for allegedly “promoting” gambling. As Snowdon noted, this looks like “a dash for cash from anti-gambling groups trying to knock out a competitor.” Follow the money…
One of Labour’s six “first steps” pledges is defined on their website as: “Cut NHS waiting times with 40,000 more evening and weekend appointments each week, paid for by cracking down on tax avoidance and non-doms.” A pledge for a defined number of more appointments seems simple enough. The only problem? The Shadow Cabinet seem to have no idea what their pledge actually means…
In Starmer’s speech yesterday he actually said that there would be “40,000 operations and appointments, every single week…“. To add operations is a significant change – Starmer reiterated it to BBC News afterwards. Wes Streeting, at the same event, said that there would be 40,000 extra appointments only. Steve Reed later that day on GB News said the same thing: that the pledge related to extra appointments (though he is prone to misspeaking). Pat McFadden has today said that there will be “40,000 new appointments and treatments every week“. From these interviews voters have no idea if operations count as a “treatment”, or if operations will even rise as part of this pledge, which Starmer says they will, and Streeting (along with Labour’s own website) says they won’t. Guido has asked Labour to clarify their own pledge. Vagueness is an inflationary tool for political promises…
Some aspects of Labour’s “six pledges” launch have gone more smoothly than others. The shadow cabinet shot off from the Essex launch yesterday to local areas across the country to tout Labour’s pledge card – Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting was due to appear at Worksop Town Football Club at 3:30 p.m. for a self-congratulatory event with local Labour fans. In the end Wes’ visit was all bark, no bite…
Coincidentally, a protest had been planned by aggrieved Worksop citizens calling for justice after Labour councillor and ex-Worksop mayor Maria Charlesworth’s chinese fighter dog had gone on a killing rampage, dispatching an elderly pensioner’s innocent cocker spaniel. It took days for Charlesworth to issue an apology – now local MP Brendan Clarke-Smith has met with the owner victims and is pledging to pursue “every avenue open” for justice. Local residents staged a protest against Charlesworth with banners saying “It could’ve been a child” and “No more bites, resign tonight“. A protest which just happened to be planned for the exact same time and location as Streeting’s event…
Labour decided not to go ahead with the Worksop event and sent a hasty cancellation to local members “due to unforeseen circumstances“. Wes and the pledge bus had to trudge to nearby Amber Valley instead. With his tail between his legs…
This is taking place with immediate effect. Plaid Cymru Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth says:
“I am proud of the way in which the Agreement demonstrated a new way of doing politics which focused on areas of policy which impact people’s everyday lives…Plaid Cymru will move onwards with a clear and continued commitment to scrutinising Labour’s record, and with a renewed determination to put forward bold ideas which match the people of Wales’s ambitions for our country.”
His statement outlines Plaid’s concerns over:
The Tories are circling with a no-confidence vote. Labour hold 30 seats in a 60-seat Senedd. How will Blythyn vote?
Read Rhun’s full statement below:
The case for the Welsh 20 miles per hour speed limit has neither been strong nor a vote winner. Many Welsh are not struck with fear and loathing at the idea of metal death traps hurtling down the country roads at 30mph rather than 20mph. Nor were they convinced that the scheme would more efficiently protect Wales’ green and pleasant lands from the pollution caused by cars pumping fumes into the air. Now the first monitor of scheme has found there is no difference in air quality…
Air quality sensors were deployed in four locations both inside and out of the 20mph zones to detect levels of deathly nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter. It found that there was little difference in particulate matter, and nitrogen dioxide was actually higher in the 20mph zones than outside them. At 50% of Welsh locations, air quality worsened as a result of 20mph zones…
Natasha Asghar MS, Shadow Transport Minister, said:
“This blows a huge hole in the argument that lower speed limits will improve air quality. With two locations helping air quality and two hindering air quality, I don’t believe that the data can accurately ascertain whether lower speed limits are making a difference to overall air quality.”
Time to pump the brakes on this one…
