Absolutely Not The Daily Troll-o-Graph

For once, the PM has said something in tune with the average Briton – and those who are supposedly on his side are punishing him for it Michael Deacon Daily Telegraph  14 May 2025  Link Congratulations to the British Left. This week they’ve achieved something extraordinary. Something that I’d hitherto assumed to be impossible. They’ve made Sir Keir Starmer look good. Not on purpose, admittedly. It’s been completely by accident. None the less, they’ve managed it. Because, thanks to their utterly unhinged reaction to his speech about immigration, the Prime Minister now seems like a beacon of common sense, in comparison. Ever since Monday morning, any number of Left-wing politicians (including some from Sir Keir’s own Labour party) have been denouncing his rhetoric as “divisive”, and even “dangerous”. This is daft enough. What’s downright bonkers, however, is that some of them have, in all seriousness, been likening it to Enoch Powell’s “Rivers of Blood”. John McDonnell, Jeremy C...

 The PM’s plan to cut immigration rings even more hollow than those of his predecessors. 12th May 2025 Spiked Link No other issue divides the political class from the electorate quite like immigration. For ordinary voters, the mass migration of recent decades – both legal and illegal – is the most direct expression of their powerlessness over politics. Politicians routinely promise to slash migration numbers – and then routinely do the opposite. In a major speech earlier today, UK prime minister Keir Starmer promised a ‘clean break’ from these past failures, and to ‘finally take back control of our borders and close the book on a squalid chapter for our politics, our economy and our country’. He warned that Britain is in danger of becoming an ‘island of strangers’ unless more radical action is taken to bring down arrivals and boost integration. But does anyone, anywhere, actually believe him? There is an undeniable shamelessness to Starmer’s intervention. As he unveiled the Labour ...

Former Tory MP who lost his Somerset seat last year is reportedly ‘agonising’ over possible switch Daily Telegraph  Link 11 May 2025  Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg would win back his seat in the Commons if he defected to Reform UK, analysis suggests. The former Tory Cabinet minister and ardent Brexiteer is said to be “agonising” over a possible switch to Nigel Farage’s party to help him stage a parliamentary comeback. Sir Jacob, who lost his Somerset seat in last year’s Labour landslide, has previously said he is “very strongly” considering standing again at the next general election in 2029. But reports suggest he could secure his return sooner with a commanding majority of more than 20,000 if he jumps ship to Reform. The former Tory MP is said to be torn over what to do in the event of a by-election to replace his successor, Labour’s Dan Norris, who was arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences. However, he appeared to rule out a defection to Reform when asked about the pro...

A flurry of UK trade deals has made the cost of reversing Brexit too high to contemplate 08 May 2025  Daily Telegraph  Link The EU has missed its chance to draw Britain back into its close commercial and regulatory orbit. Brussels pitched its demands too high. Each British trade deal with another country or bloc closes the window further on a return to the EU single market and customs union. The agreements with India and the US follow rapidly on Britain’s accession to the East Asia-Latin America trade pact (CPTPP). A deal with the Gulf states is coming soon. These are large parts of the world economy. The magnetic pull of the EU can no longer compete with this greater force. All of the accumulating deals would have to be repudiated if Britain were ever again subsumed into the EU’s trading machinery as a satellite – i.e. a de facto EU member without voting rights. To do so would have exorbitant geopolitical consequences and costs. It is safe to say that the Rejoiner dream enter...

These are the sectors expected to be most affected by the agreement Daily Telegraph Link As much as Jonathan Reynolds’ opponents will hate to admit, it has been a positive week for the Business and Trade Secretary. But it is only Thursday. The ink on Britain’s landmark post-Brexit trade deal with India had hardly dried before the news broke that an agreement with the US was imminent. Writing on Truth Social overnight, Donald Trump said it was a “great honour” to have the UK be the first trade deal signed with the United States, claiming it will be “full and comprehensive”. The devil will, however, be in the detail. And notably, UK officials are already seeking to temper expectations. Rather than serving as a full-blown trade pact, some observers suggest the announcement may only include a “head of terms” outline, setting out the broad perimeters of the deal while negotiations continue. Even so, the initial framework will be significant. Here are the sectors likely to be most affected. ...

From Keir Starmer downwards, the Labour Party cannot hide its contempt for the victims of grooming gangs. Spiked 06/05/25 Link It must surely rank as one of the least sincere apologies of all time. Lucy Powell, the embattled leader of the House of Commons, has claimed that her recent remarks dismissing concern about the grooming-gangs scandal as a ‘dogwhistle’ do not really ‘reflect her views on the issue’. UK prime minister Keir Starmer has accepted her apology and has resisted the growing calls for her sacking. The trouble is, we all know full well that Powell’s outburst last week reflected her views perfectly. And they certainly reflected the views of her party. On BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions, she struggled to hide her dripping contempt for those who are angry about the rape gangs. When the issue was raised by Reform-supporting journalist Tim Montgomerie, she immediately tried to shout him down. ‘Oh, we want to blow that little trumpet now, do we? Let’s get that dogwhistle out, shal...

Jonathan Hinder urges PM to commit to migration freeze before it is too late 04 May 2025 Daily Telegraph  Link Sir Keir Starmer’s “hyper-liberal” Labour Party is ignoring working-class concerns about immigration, one of its leading Red Wall MPs has said. Jonathan Hinder said the issue was an “existential threat” for the Labour Party after Reform UK’s historic triumph at last week’s local elections. The MP for Pendle and Clitheroe suggested Sir Keir should commit to effectively freezing migration by the end of the parliament through a “one in, one out” system. Writing for The Telegraph, Mr Hinder, a leading MP in the socially conservative Blue Labour caucus, warned Sir Keir that it was “now or never” for him to convince traditional backers. He said: “The voters know instinctively what the Left often refuses to acknowledge – immigration is fundamentally an economic issue as much as it is anything else, and working class people are generally the losers. “Imagine for a moment, hard as ...