Mailwatch(ed) Forum

I seem to recall that Dan Jarvis was being talked of as a possible next Labour leadera few years ago, but he wasn’t interested as he has a young family. Not sure he’s interested now.

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Thu Feb 19, 2026 10:51 pm Classic clever man here, the editor of the Yorkshire Post.

Labour's last chance: hokey-cokey politics is suspending the nation in an hallucinogenic purgatory of faux progress ... but one man could save this Government

It's paywalled so I don't find out (alas) who this saviour is. From the opening my guess is that its Dan Jarvis, Who's certainly got the backstory, but he's not yet even been in the Cabinet.

Dan Jarvis has been Minister of State for Security since the election and was the Shadow from 2023. No idea if that's who the Yorkshire Post have in mind, or if he's up for it, but a former Para officer would bring some useful experience in these volatile times.

Another “surprise boost to Reeves” day, I see, as the girly whirls from accounts collects lots of Capital Gains Tax in January.

There are of course months when things do worse than predicted. So perhaps the lesson might be that we don’t build narratives on single data points all the time. Particularly given the bias against her, which means that virtually every stat is a political crisis.

UK posts largest ever budget surplus of £30.4bn in January

Or, as surely as night follows day, "she lied in the last budget and increased taxes to punish people rather than balance the books".

Either that or “here’s a bloke in <insert random town> who says business has never been worse”

PMIs modestly up, borrowing costs modestly down. This won’t turn the May elections into “Morning In America”, but it helps Starmer that he and Reeves come as a pair. I don’t think anyone else could tread the line Reeves is doing with spending and borrowing.

The Guardian has a story on Josh Simons which isn't good.

The Weeping Angel wrote: ↑Fri Feb 20, 2026 11:04 am The Guardian has a story on Josh Simons which isn't good.

Journalists uncritically support other journalists shock...

Also - tankies support other tankies.

It's genuinely not a very good thing he's done.

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Fri Feb 20, 2026 1:08 pm It's genuinely not a very good thing he's done.

No, it isn't. Why the hell didn't Labour Together just say it was an honest mistake, the Electoral Commission fined us, and we're sorry.

Probably thought they were being clever doing this.

I see "Get Romeo" is in full swing. Per The Telegraph and GB News, she made staff join a "non-binary book club". Which sounds a bit like a book club. This horrorshow was apparently not important enough to report when she was (for 7 years) a Permanent Secretary under the Tories.

Rachel rocking on the Laffer curve

A surge in capital gains tax, employers' National Insurance contributions and a boost in income tax receipts helped buoy the government's finances last month.

An uptick in tax receipts, which far outstripped spending, created a £30.4bn surplus in January.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said it was the highest surplus in any month since records began in 1993, without adjusting for inflation, and nearly double last January's £15.4bn figure.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c93w4egd3gzo

Yesterday the I did a full page attack job on Reeves because she's not been in the public eye much lately. Apparently this is a bad thing.

Even though the article said that the news and political agenda had been dominated by issues she had nothing to do with.

Claims to be non-partisan, but is owned by the Daily Mail...

It's becoming a slightly classier version of Metro.

Andy McDandy wrote: ↑Sat Feb 21, 2026 8:56 am Yesterday the I did a full page attack job on Reeves because she's not been in the public eye much lately. Apparently this is a bad thing.

Even though the article said that the news and political agenda had been dominated by issues she had nothing to do with.

This stuff must be prepared in advance. I think that they anticipated some bad economic figures that they didn't actually get. Not the first time "Get Reeves" has tried this.

Some interesting background on Antonia Romeo here.

https://www.politicshome.com/news/artic ... -romeo-row

I may owe her an apology. Simon McDonald, who went on Channel 4 News to attack her (though not in so many words of course, he's a clever ex-civil servant) is massively contradicted by Dave Penman, of the senior civil servants union, the FDA. McDonald seems to have, in clever fashion, stopped saying anything on the subject now.

Politics Home seems to have worked a bit harder than the Guardian to find people who rate her, and do so on the record. These include 2 (sane) Tory ministers, Alex Chalk and Robert Buckland, and the relatively sane Brandon Lewis, who is generous enough to give her credit for resolving the barristers strike he faced.

Some of these people know more about Government than James Ball, I reckon.

Of course Jimmy Ball knows better, he's a journalist and he went to Oxford, innit?

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Sat Feb 21, 2026 4:50 pm Some interesting background on Antonia Romeo here.

https://www.politicshome.com/news/artic ... -romeo-row

I may owe her an apology. Simon McDonald, who went on Channel 4 News to attack her (though not in so many words of course, he's a clever ex-civil servant) is massively contradicted by Dave Penman, of the senior civil servants union, the FDA. McDonald seems to have, in clever fashion, stopped saying anything on the subject now.

Politics Home seems to have worked a bit harder than the Guardian to find people who rate her, and do so on the record. These include 2 (sane) Tory ministers, Alex Chalk and Robert Buckland, and the relatively sane Brandon Lewis, who is generous enough to give her credit for resolving the barristers strike he faced.

Some of these people know more about Government than James Ball, I reckon.

In fairness to Ball, he points out that whilst having never met her civil servants, he knows and rates weren't impressed by her.

Malcolm Armsteen wrote: ↑Sat Feb 21, 2026 5:51 pm Of course Jimmy Ball knows better, he's a journalist and he went to Oxford, innit?
Screenshot 2026-02-21 at 5.49.54 pm.png

Fucking hell it's Ollie Reeder.

Oh no.