POLITICS CORNER

[Stanley]

See THIS for some good news for Labour....
Lucy Powell has been elected as Labour's new deputy leader after a race triggered by Angela Rayner's resignation last month. The Manchester Central MP defeated Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson by promising to give grassroots members a louder voice and push for a "course correction" in government. She was sacked from the cabinet in September and drew support from members who are dissatisfied with the direction of the government under Sir Keir Starmer's leadership. Powell took 87,407 votes, nearly 14,000 votes ahead of Phillipson, on a turnout of 16.6%. During her victory speech she said the party needed to be "bolder" and promised to be a "champion for our Labour values". She said she would "help Keir and our government to succeed" but said the party "must change how we are doing things to turn things around". Powell said she would use her role to "bring voices" who believe the government is not being bold enough "to the heart of our party". "I'll be a champion for our Labour values and boldness in everything we do, and I know that you Keir, as our leader, want that - and I will be your ally in that fight," she said. Powell also singled out Reform UK, saying it "starts with us wrestling back the political megaphone and setting the agenda more strongly, because let's be honest we've let [Nigel] Farage and his ilk run away with it". She said the party could not win support by "trying to 'out-Reform' Reform".
She is just what the Leadership of the Party needed. Starmer will put a brave face on it but He may very well find that the writing is on the wall!

[Stanley]

See THIS update on Venezuela.
1 hour ago
US President Donald Trump wants to turn Venezuela into a "colony" of the US, Venezuela's attorney general has told BBC's Newshour. Tarek William Saab said on Sunday that calls for a regime change in Venezuela were a front to seize his country's natural resources, including reserves of gold, oil and copper. A close ally of Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro, Saab said there was "no doubt" the US was trying to overthrow the Venezuelan government, adding that it was the latest in a long line of "failed" operations. The US is among many nations that do not recognise Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate leader, after the last election in 2024 was widely dismissed as neither free nor fair. Trump has also repeatedly raised the possibility of what he called "land action" in Venezuela, and said last week that the US is "looking at land now" after getting "the sea very well under control". At least 43 people have been killed in strikes on alleged drug vessels off the coast of South America, which Trump's administration began authorising in early September as part of a purported war on drug traffickers. US Congress members on both sides of the political aisle have raised concerns over the legality of the strikes and the president's authority to order them. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters on Sunday that future land strikes were a "real possibility", and that Trump told him he plans to brief members of Congress on future military operations when he gets back from Asia. When asked about the possibility of a land invasion of Venezuela, Saab told the BBC that "it shouldn't happen, but we are prepared".
Trump does all he can to massage a spurious reputation as a peacemaker but at the same time makes war=like statements about sovereign countries he doesn't like.

[Whyperion]

Problem is Venezuela (or Shell West as it has been called) has no friends with strong powers - Russia is tied up and wont Split out,China maybe , best if it can cut a deal with India for defence for trade (or could the EU actually give it , govt dodgy or not) some protection ?

[Stanley]

See THIS piece by Chris Mason.....
4 hours ago
The government confronts a cluster of catastrophes on the very topic that is arguably the most visible state failure they are trying to deal with: small boat crossings. The numbers of migrants arriving on small boats is big and the knock-on consequences of those arrivals are bigger: the costs, the hotels, the public anguish. The accidental release of one of the most high profile prisoners jailed this year left jaws on the floor at Westminster just as it did around the country. Hadush Kebatu was sentenced last month for sexually assaulting a 14 year old girl and a woman in July in Epping in Essex, where he had been living in an asylum hotel since arriving in the UK on a small boat. His arrest led to a series of protests in the area, which spread to other hotels around the country housing asylum seekers. In other words, he personified the scale of the issue and the depth and breadth of the anger provoked by it – and yet he was let out of prison by accident. How on earth did that possibly happen? Have a listen to the conversation I had with His Majesty's Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, in which I asked him exactly this, on BBC Newscast. And, on top of this, a report by MPs has concluded the Home Office has "squandered" billions of pounds of taxpayers' money on asylum accommodation. There is a recurring theme here. I have reported from Westminster for more than 20 years. Not long after I first arrived, the then Home Secretary, Labour's John Reid, repeated a line he had heard from one of his then department's senior officials – that parts of the Home Office were "not fit for purpose."

[Whyperion]

A lot of the money on Accommodation has been spent buying places that have never been used.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC update on immigrant accommodation.
Concerns have been raised about "community cohesion" after it emerged that a military base in Inverness has been earmarked to temporarily house about 300 asylum seekers. BBC News understands that Cameron Barracks and an East Sussex army training camp will be used to house a total of about 900 men by the end of the month. Both the Scottish government and three senior Highland councillors have highlighted concerns about the plans to the Home Office. In a joint statement, the councillors said: "Our main concern is the impact this proposal will have on community cohesion given the scale of the proposals as they currently stand." "Inverness is a relatively small community but the potential impact locally and across the wider Highlands appears not to have been taken into consideration by the UK government," they added. Scotland's Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the Scottish government had urged the Home Office to work closely with Highland Council. A UK government minister said the move would allow them to close asylum hotels at a faster rate.
I wonder, does the Home Office work 'closely' with anyone, let alone a council in the Highlands.....

[Whyperion]

I would suggest greeting the men every morning at 7am with a massed band of pipes and drums in full Highland Kit ( or perhaps the Lone Piper that is always busking in the High Street in Inverness ). Perhaps run up an "Asslymn Seeker Tartan" they could wear as Kilt or Tie (whatever happened to the Bay City Roller's tartan trim on flared white trousers and T Shirt sleeve edgings ?)
There was a suggestion of other integration was to take part in volunteer activities - some do - I suggest for East Sussex joining the Bell Ringers at the local churches

[Stanley]

see THIS BBC report of the Home Secretary's assessment of the Home Office.
Shabana Mahmood acknowledged that the department, which she was put in charge of last month, had "a range of problems" including procuring contracts and holding on to senior staff but said that she was "determined to deliver". Mahmood was talking to the BBC while overseeing a police operation on a high street in south London aimed at tackling migrants working illegally in the UK. She said a crackdown was "starting to work" adding that 8,232 people had been arrested for illegal working over the past year, a rise of 63%. The department is facing a plethora of challenges, including the housing of asylum seekers in hotels. Mahmood said the Home Office "obviously deals with emergency and crises issues on a regular basis, and I think over a long period of time has been found not to be able to rise to the scale of the challenge of those crises and those emergencies". On the issue of illegal working, the home secretary said: "It is clear that the enforcement of our rules has been lacking - and wasn't good enough or strong enough under the last government… The law hasn't kept pace with the changes to the ways in which people get work." She added: "The numbers are still not where I want them to be. I want to go further and faster, but I think we've made progress, and the numbers at the moment are going in the right direction.
The Lady seems to have a clear assessment of the problems and must be given a chance to address them. We will never see any improvement if the Home Secretary is under constant attack.

[Whyperion]

Seven Years after a UN representitive visited Jaywick, in Tendring Council area (Clacton in real money) , named as most deprived place in England for 2025.

More representative though is this discussion point

Local authorities with the highest proportion of neighbourhoods in the most deprived category

Middlesbrough is top with 50% of its neighbourhoods being highly deprived,
Birmingham on 42.8%
Hartlepool on 42.1%
Hull on 41.7%
Manchester on 40.7%
Blackpool on 40.4%,
Knowsley and Burnley each on 40%
Blackburn with Darwen on 37.4%
Oldham on 37.3%

Those figures may seem surprising , Pendle doesnt make that top 10 nor does Burnley though areas of Burnley make the individual top 10 placement.

To me the biggest driver of "deprivation" appears to be access to reasonably good permanent employment. But there is also some underlying quirks of defining deprivation that dont really fully reflect HOW to improve peoples lives - higher house prices wont help if you cannot afford them, and people from the areas who , say, gain an education, tend to move out to elsewhere. I suppose in any list of 323 someone has to come top (or bottom)

[Stanley]

I can't think of anything in domestic policies that could overshadow the Fall of the House of Mountbatten.

[Stanley]

See THIS report about the new Left Wing Party.....
Zarah Sultana has said her new left-wing political party founded with Jeremy Corbyn is aiming at "running" the government despite high-profile splits emerging in the movement. The Coventry South MP left the Labour Party in July to form a new group, operating under the temporary name Your Party, which she said was a "40-year project" and not a protest. Her comments follow a difficult start for the party - which has attracted hundreds of thousands of sign-ups - but has been dominated by rows over leadership, finances and even its name. Speaking to BBC's Political Thinking with Nick Robinson, the MP said she wanted to "change people's lives for the better", which requires "winning state power".
Little birds in their nests should agree.... Hands up those who think this has any chance of success....

[Whyperion]

Nope. Reform will Deliver Sound Money First and tax cuts when they can be afforded.

[Stanley]

See this for the latest moves to disgrace Andrew Mountbatten....
The government is "working to remove" Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's last honorary military title at the King’s request, the defence secretary has said. John Healey said King Charles had "indicated that's what he wishes". Andrew, who was stripped of his title as a prince on Thursday, retained his rank as a Vice Admiral in the Royal Navy after giving up his other military positions in 2022. Healey told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: "This is a move that's right, it's a move the King has indicated we should take and we're working on that at the moment."

[Stanley]

See THIS revelation from Kemi Badenoch about the state of the Party after its biggest defeat..
Kemi Badenoch said the Conservative Party nearly ran out of money when she took over as leader, following their worst-ever election defeat. Badenoch said she inherited a party facing internal problems, with donors considering pulling funding after the loss of 250 seats in last year's general election - the worst result in Conservative history. Speaking to the BBC's Newscast to mark her first year as Conservative Party leader, Badenoch said she spent her first months "working furiously behind the scenes", leading to some thinking her team "were not doing anything". But Badenoch defended her position arguing: "Without money, a party can't survive."

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report of Rachel Reeves' speech yesterday....
Updated 2 hours ago
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said she will make "necessary choices" in the Budget after the "world has thrown more challenges our way". In an unusual pre-Budget speech in Downing Street, Reeves did not rule out a U-turn on Labour's general election manifesto pledge not to hike income tax, VAT or National Insurance. When journalists explicitly asked if the government was set to break that pledge she did not answer directly but said she was "setting the context for the Budget". Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the speech was "one long waffle bomb" which had left business leaders "none the wiser". She added that the chancellor "does not need to put up taxes", and should copy Conservative policies like scrapping stamp duty to "stimulate" the economy. Reeves pledged to come up with a "Budget for growth with fairness at its heart" aimed at bringing down NHS waiting lists, the national debt and the cost of living. The chancellor said she would do what was "necessary to protect families from high inflation and interest rates, to protect our public services from a return to austerity" and ensure the economy is "secure with debt under control". She added that "we will all have to contribute to that effort". "Each of us must do our bit for the security of our country and the brightness of its future." The chancellor's speech appears to have removed any doubt over whether taxes will rise in the Budget.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report.....
6 hours ago
Last week, after a migrant sex offender was mistakenly released from prison, Justice Secretary David Lammy said he was implementing the "strongest release checks that have ever been in place". However, since then, details have emerged of two more prisoners being wrongly let out. It is always perilous for a government when it clearly lacks grip on an issue voters would reasonably expect it to be in control of. The stand out example of this in recent years has been the arrival of migrants on small boats. From Rishi Sunak's promise to "stop the boats" to Sir Keir Starmer's promise to "smash the gangs" both have been found wanting and the problem remains huge. Now the government confronts another example: a justice system that is palpably, transparently and repeatedly failing – and where measures designed to address the issue of letting prisoners out by accident aren't working. According to government figures published in July, 262 prisoners were released in error in the year to March of this year - a 128% increase on 115 in the previous 12 months. In other words, it has been a problem for some time, and it is getting worse.

[Stanley]

See this report.....
Labour should stick to its manifesto pledge not to raise key taxes, the party's new deputy leader Lucy Powell has said. Ahead of last year's general election, Labour promised not to increase taxes on "working people", including National Insurance, Income Tax and VAT. Asked whether it would be acceptable to break this promise, Powell told Matt Chorley on BBC 5 Live: "We should be following through on our manifesto, of course. There's no question about that." The "context" for this Budget was "particularly difficult", a statement from Powell's team read following the interview, adding that she would continue to support the chancellor and the PM on these issues.
I don't suppose i will bother the lady unduly if I say I disagree with her.
It seems to me that if circumstances have changed two years after you wrote your manifesto, it makes sense to adjust policy to suit.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on more problems with 'Your Party' funds..... Not very impressive...
Jeremy Corbyn's new left-wing party is in a stand-off over £800,000 held by Zarah Sultana, who is meant to be founding the party with him. The funds are from the initial wave of donations when the movement, currently operating under the name Your Party, was announced in July. While Your Party was being formally registered, the money was collected by MoU Operations Ltd - which is now run by Sultana. Senior figures have accused her of withholding the funds despite publicly agreeing to transfer the money. A spokesperson for Sultana said she "is in the process of transferring all funds and data" but was conducting "essential due diligence as part of this process".
It ain't easy!