[Tubby Isaacs]

Top Education story is belatedly about the SEND, or at least one aspect of it (inclusion areas for neurodiverse). It does refer to the money the Government is spending, but still strikes me as fairly muted coverage of a massive policy that seems to be broadly what the paper has wanted to happen.

I guess sorting out SEND will soon be added to all the other things I routinely list when I make this point, things that mattered massively till Keir Starmer actually did something about them.

[RedSparrows]

Top Education story is belatedly about the SEND, or at least one aspect of it (inclusion areas for neurodiverse). It does refer to the money the Government is spending, but still strikes me as fairly muted coverage of a massive policy that seems to be broadly what the paper has wanted to happen.

I guess sorting out SEND will soon be added to all the other things I routinely list when I make this point, things that mattered massively till Keir Starmer actually did something about them.

Do you have that list to hand?

I'm not a big Starmer fan, frankly, but equally I'm deeply sceptical about the vibes-and-betrayal frenzy that is a lot of anti-Starmer sentiment. It speaks of something really ugly, even as I am fundamentally sympathetic with a negative reaction to our malaise - I just don't think this is the right one.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Recognizing Palestine, abolishing the two child limit, workers rights, renters rights, renewable energy, insulating houses where poorer people live, basically everything the government does that these people have supported becomes unimportant the moment it happens.

In other news, I see the Guardian haven't given up on forcing Starmer out. This is now the top story.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... cto-deputy

Furious female Labour MPs urge Starmer to make a woman his de facto deputy
Harriet Harman leads calls for an appointment that would ‘turbocharge’ a ‘complete culture change’ at No 10

Or, when you read the story, Harriet Harman says a woman should be Deputy PM, on the absurd grounds that this is necessary to "turbocharge" the work on violence against women and girls. The Home Secretary with overall responsibility for this issue is a woman (Shabana Mahmood). So is the Minister directly responsible (Jess Phillips). So is the Education Secretary, who has already said she wants it embedded in the curriculum (Bridget Philipson). As is the Chancellor, who'd oversee funding it (Rachel Reeves). This isn't the girlies being put in charge of photocopying for window dressing. This is women ministers with decision making the decisions that affect it.


There's already a Deputy PM- David Lammy. If Harriet Harman wants to accuse him of being a block on tackling the issue, she should say so. Harman's last significant contribution to Labour was in 2015, where she decided to position Labour as very austere, with dreadful appointments like Chris Leslie as Shadow Chancellor. Corbyn duly romped home as leader in opposition to this stuff. She's now a podcaster. And I'm not sure she's particularly furious.

Others mentioned are Alison McGovern who has said something much more general. and Natalie Fleet who wants an inquiry into Fayed's abuse.

And this is written up as a massive backlash calling for a female deputy PM, rather than the words of Harriet Harman?

[Tubby Isaacs]

Here's the blog headline.

No 10 ducks questions about whether Doyle controversy could result in his peerage being removed

Slippery so and sos!

Or perhaps governments having the right to eject people from the legislature might be something they'd be a bit careful about? It's a thought, isn't it?

Like Mandelson, I think there's a chance that Doyle will walk anyway for the sake of the team.

FWIW, straight talking Kemi's spokesperson also "ducked" the question. Seems there are people in the Tory Party who can at least see there might be an issue here. Quite amusing that Kemi couldn't follow her habitual bluster up, mind.

[Youngian]

"with links to.." doesn't really cut it

[Tubby Isaacs]

11 MPs going to resign their seats? MPs like Jimmy Hill.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Here's someone else with too much time on their hands.

Union chief calls for Angela Rayner to replace Keir Starmer or risk Labour defeat to Reform UK
Exclusive: TSSA general secretary wants Rayner to take over after Gorton byelection which she expects party to lose

Any problems with Angela Rayner that opponents might exploit? Things like having an active tax dispute with HMRC, anything like that? So if they decide she's culpable and has to pay a fine, just like Zahawi, she nonetheless goes straight in as leader, does she?

[Tubby Isaacs]

I was thinking about the Winter Fuel Payment, and this came up.

Responding to the government decision to largely reverse the cut in winter fuel payments, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Common sense has finally prevailed as the winter fuel cut is reversed for most pensioners. Whilst this is an important step forward, questions will be asked about how this disastrous decision was made in the first place, the damage may not easily be reversed. “Leadership is about choices and the choice to pit workers against pensioners was simply wrong.

“Instead of what seems to be a never-ending cycle of cuts, Labour needs to revisit the fiscal rules and bite the bullet on a wealth tax. Britain is the sixth richest economy in the world, the idea that we would be picking the pockets of our pensioners was unnecessary and unforgivable.”

This is such unadulterated bullshit. I can't believe that someone this dishonest or stupid is in a position of power.

Big increases in tax and borrowing don't even "seem" to be a never-ending cycle of cuts. The Fiscal Rules were revisited. What does she think they should be? Britain isn't anything like the sixth richest economy, unless you think India is the fifth. Does she even understand per capita?

The only logic of this "setting x against y" is that every item goes up every year. No sense of the context of the Triple Lock either.

And "wealth tax", which she's doubtless spent several times already.

Still "common sense". Always a giveaway. She's fighting hard for Birmingham bin workers, as is her job. Does she fancy running their current wage past the "common sense" public? Is that her setting workers against spending on eg elderly care? I think we should be told.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I thought Age UK were pretty ridiculous over the Winter Fuel Payment. I see they're not happy about WASPI either.

"It seems that the Government's main argument against compensation is that it would cost too much, because so many women were impacted. We think it's very unfortunate that, in effect, it's the sheer scale of this injustice that means compensation cannot be offered, with there being no real dispute about things having gone quite badly wrong for significant numbers of older women. Looking forward, it's imperative that nothing like this ever happens again, with the responsibility resting with Government to ensure that much improved processes and safeguards are firmly in place."

There's lots of dispute that things went "quite badly wrong for significant numbers of older women" as a result of Government failure. And there's quite a lot of dispute that the appropriate remedy for that is to give the entire cohort thousands of pounds each, as WASPI wanted.

[Dalem Lake]

I'm still annoyed with the U-turn on WFA but what's done is done, though I'll be livid if they hand the WASPI lot a penny in compo. Expect thousands of pounds because you didn't bother paying attention to when your actual retirement age is? Get out of here. I know I can't get the pension until I'm 68, which is still another 24 years away if I last even that long.

[Tubby Isaacs]

There's a case for some limited compensation for Osborne speeding the changes up (the same media who went apeshit at Labour didn't say anything).

But yeah, the idea nobody knew is nonsense. It's a policy change. Just like the triple lock. Sometimes these benefit you, sometimes they don't.

[mattomac]

My mum and her friend knew, it’s the one thing she actually agrees with the government these days to be fair.

[Tubby Isaacs]

High Court has says ban on Palestine Action is unlawful.

This might help the Government out a bit.

[mattomac]

Interestingly looking at the decision its where my position fit.

The acts of criminal damage should lead to criminal prosecution but then it shouldn't be a wider issue to protest under the banner of that group, however saying that you don't need a group to campaign against the Israeli governments atrocities against the Palestanian people.

[Tubby Isaacs]

A prominent Guardian article on the SEND proposals. Must be all about the lives that could be improved, right?

Wrong.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ts-markets

Reeves urged to reassure MPs over public finances amid £6bn-a-year Send costs

Hang on, concern about how something can be paid for is now a major thing? How does the paper square that with being Zack's Comic? Where are the "Concerns Zack has spent the Wealth Tax money 10 times" articles?

Of course, I do think how you pay for stuff is important. Just a hunch here, but Reeves will address that when she does a budget. Like Chancellors do every year. Is the fact she hasn't done that within a week of the proposals being published a massive concern?

I can see what's going to happen. There will be some trimming as a result of difficult economic decisions, or perhaps some money will come from existing budgets. And we'll then get loads of "Labour sell out SEND" and "Reeves doesn't understand Labour values" and "Why does Labour prefer shitting on SEND to taxing billionaires" stories. Or perhaps (my personal favourite) "why tinkering at the edges is bad".

Rince and repeat.

[Andy McDandy]

Seems you can cook up a political scandal out of nothing much, just a few unreturned phone calls and a lapse in reading comprehension by a journalist.

[Boiler]

These days I view political journalists as mere gossip columnists.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Seems you can cook up a political scandal out of nothing much, just a few unreturned phone calls and a lapse in reading comprehension by a journalist.

And the government spokesman not giving you the argument you want when you want. "Starmer spokesman ducks question".

[Tubby Isaacs]

More of that outReforming Reform.

Reeves appoints higher pay advocate to fight skills shortages as chief economic adviser
Labour market expert Prof Brian Bell has called for better pay and conditions in key sectors, particularly social care

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... ocial-care

Heather Stewart is the author of this. She's mostly been fair to the Government. She notes also that

Labour is establishing a new negotiating body for social care, which aims to agree a fair pay agreement that will become the statutory minimum across the sector. But it is not due to come into force until 2028, and sector experts have said the £500m set aside to pay for it will not be sufficient

Doubtless this could have come in a bit quicker, but it's positive. In the meantime the minimum wage has been raised by well above inflation.

Improving carer wages sounds like a better priority than cancelling student debt across the board, but that's just me.

[Boiler]

I see Reform took a seat on Peterborough council yesterday in the Fletton and Woodston ward, following the death of Labour's Nick Thulbourn (whom I went to school with).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy8dd2qe8go

Labour ended up fourth: the Greens came second, just 36 votes behind.