Absolutely Not The Daily Troll-o-Graph

The Foreign Secretary asks if the Tory leader would be equally dismissive of MPs from her own party banned from China Daily Telegraph  Link David Lammy has attacked Kemi Badenoch over “cheerleading” for Israel, after it denied entry to two Labour MPs. Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed were deported on Saturday, after the Israeli immigration ministry said they planned to spread “anti-Israel hatred”. The decision was labelled “unacceptable” by Mr Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, who said he had raised it with his Israeli counterparts. But Mrs Badenoch defended Israel’s right to deny the MPs entry in an interview on Sunday and said that she had not been surprised. The Conservative leader told Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “I think that every country should be able to control its borders, and that’s what Israel is doing, as far as I understand. “They gave reasons why they didn’t believe that those people should come in based on their laws. And it’s really important that we respec...

One day, politics students will study this farrago as an object lesson in self-defeating policymaking Daily Telegraph  Link We always suspected that Labour’s VAT raid on private schools was motivated by spite. One term in and the vindictiveness of this tax grab is now plain to see. Contrary to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson’s claim that it is all about levelling the playing field, the policy has been exposed for what it really is: an ideologically driven assault on aspiration. And before the left leaps on my privately educated past – I speak as the mother of three children, one of whom attends a state school. This week, we learned two facts that confirm slapping a 20 per cent levy on school fees was not done with children’s best interests at heart. The High Court learned that the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, forged ahead with the plan despite being warned by her own civil servants that it would harm poorer families. As Lord Pannick, the KC representing private schools suing t...

Savers race to use up deposit limits ahead of Chancellor’s changes Daily Telegraph  03 April 2025  Link Cash Isas will be reformed to encourage savers to invest their money instead, Rachel Reeves has confirmed for the first time. Speaking to the Commons’ treasury committee yesterday, the Chancellor said that “reform would be worthwhile” when asked about rumours she is planning to cut the amount people can deposit into cash Isas each year. It comes as data shared with The Telegraph showed savers were racing to fill up their Isas ahead of the changes. The timeline for plans to take effect remains unclear, with the Chancellor adding that the Government “did not want to rush it”. Ms Reeves told the committee: “We want to make sure that we understand people’s needs, but I do think that reform would be worthwhile and that’s what we’re looking at at the moment.” Previous reports suggested she would cut the annual limit from £20,000 to £4,000 – though existing cash Isa savings are not...

 The Netflix series has been turned into establishment propaganda. Spiked 2nd April 2025 Link My last column for spiked touched on the political class’s excitement over Netflix propaganda – sorry, drama series – Adolescence. It was all of two weeks ago. And I must confess, as I hit send on the usual sorry collection of vitriol, polemic and scorn, my main concern was that by the time the digital presses had rolled, it would be obsolete. Such a pathetic little squall must surely blow itself out overnight? But no. Instead, the humiliating spectacle of watching Keir Starmer, prime minister of the once and future greatest country in the world, allow a television drama to put a ring through his attention and lead him around like a pet porker is still ongoing. One might almost wonder if a crackdown on social media – which the show heavily implies is long overdue – isn’t something he’s quite keen to do anyway. Alongside the ubiquitous demands for more social-media censorship, moves are now...

Sir Keir Starmer’s confusion of the causes of the crossings will lead him to repeat the errors of the Conservatives Daily Telegraph  Link Sir Keir Starmer has evidently taken a shine to Lancaster House, the imposing mansion in London’s St James’s district. It has hosted two Government summits in short order, its lavish interiors offering a distraction from the paucity of the achievements. It is so ornate that Queen Victoria remarked to the owner on visiting: “I have come from my House to your Palace.” A few weeks ago it provided the backdrop for the Prime Minister’s efforts to cobble together a “coalition of the willing” to send peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, an initiative that has foundered on the rocks of Russian intransigence. On Monday, Sir Keir was back to launch a 40-nation summit aimed at curbing illegal immigration. A more incongruous setting for talks about how to deal with the flow of people from Africa and Asia desperately seeking a new life in Europe is hard to imagine...

Ballooning welfare bill outpaces other developed nations despite Labour’s reforms 31 March 2025  Daily Telegraph  Link Britain has seen the fastest rise in people claiming health and disability benefits in the rich world, analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) shows. The share of Britain’s working-age population claiming welfare because of sickness or disability rose by more than a quarter between 2019 and 2023. This follows official projections that indicate Labour’s reforms will not be enough to reverse a post-lockdown surge. The increase in claims has been much faster than in other developed nations, including Denmark and France, where overall government spending is much higher. The cost of those claims has surged even faster, with official data showing the cost of these benefits has climbed 50pc from £37bn just before the pandemic to £56.9bn in the current financial year. Health-related benefits now account for 40pc of all spending on working-age welfare, up fr...