Andies seem to be as gullible, docile and brainwashed as the Moonies. For the country’s sake, let’s hope they snap out of it Daily Telegraph 28/06/26 Memories were stirred last week of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the Korean Christian convert who claimed to be the Messiah. The cult around him appears something of a template for that around Andy Burnham, who unless fate takes an interesting turn will soon become our prime minister. When Mr Burnham’s media operation (all cults need one) ensured he was photographed at Westminster taking a selfie with legions of Labour MPs behind him , it reminded one of the mass weddings Mr Moon would conduct for his besotted Moonies. The mindless, other-worldly grins on the faces behind Mr Burnham suggested a marriage that the cultists – let us call them “Andies” – must also hope will be made in heaven. But then, if suddenly you thought that you might not after all be facing certain long-term unemployment, you would look happy, too. The Saviour was...
Badenoch touches a nerve in the Commons Telegraph Front Bencher 25/06/26 It’s hard to know where to begin with Bridget Phillipson’s response to Kemi Badenoch’s PMQs barb. The Leader of the Opposition described the Education Secretary as a “spiteful class warrior”, prompting outcry from the perpetually-outraged Left and an intervention from the Speaker. How else to describe a minister who imposed VAT on private school fees midway through the academic year, guaranteeing maximum disruption to pupils, leaving schools little time to adapt, and almost certainly raising less in net revenue than anticipated? Perhaps Badenoch touched a nerve. Since Labour took office, over 100 independent schools have closed. Universities are on the brink of a funding crisis, while nurseries are grappling with the reality of an expanded “free” childcare offer rolled out with little consideration for how it would be paid. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act is stripping academies of their freedoms and disco...