We believe in freedom Free press. Free speech. Free markets. If you share these values, join us today. Enjoy four months’ free access to The Telegraph. Cancel at any time. |  | Allister Heath Sunday Telegraph Editor | The Labour Party has just delivered its latest masterclass on how to lose friends and alienate voters. It was, once again, a brilliant exercise in self-subversion that could have been devised to persuade the electorate that the Government simply doesn’t care what it thinks.
First we had Angela Rayner, the Left’s great hope, saving £40,000 in stamp duty on her new seaside flat after telling tax authorities it was her main home; and now we have the Home Office winning its case to keep the Epping migrant hotel open, having effectively argued that asylum seekers’ rights are more important than the concerns of local people.
So much for Sir Keir Starmer’s looming reset and mini-reshuffle this week: almost nobody will notice, and the few who do will be left unmoved.
Epping and Rayner, by contrast, will have mass cut-through. These stories will further entrench the public’s perception that this is a “Do as I say, not as I do” government, which is probably the worst thing that can happen to any political party in a non-deferential society.
Labour believes in eye-wateringly high taxes for hoi polloi, but not for itself; it claims that it wants to end the use of hotels for illegal migrants, but is using taxpayer money in its legal fights to over-ride (otherwise sacrosanct) planning considerations to force its asylum hotels onto unwilling communities.
Both cases are linked by a common thread: hypocrisy, incompetence and an elitist, anti-popular attitude that will lead, in time, to electoral oblivion. Even before the judge delivered his ruling on Epping, a poll this week put Labour at just 18pc, compared with 34pc for Reform.
We should all support home ownership and aspiration, and nobody should pay more tax than they legally have to. But Rayner is Deputy Prime Minister in a Government that believes in taxing property ever more heavily and in waging war on second home owners.
The Government’s central philosophy appears to be that paying tax is an inherently moral act, the secular equivalent of doing God’s work, the foundation of justice, compassion and security. How then can we take seriously the fact that one of its central figures seems to prefer living the Thatcherite dream? Or that she is supposedly a socialist? It’s toxic.
The Epping “victory” will prove to be an even greater disaster for this Government. Whatever it may claim in its desperate quest to stem its collapse, Labour remains ideologically wedded to a maximalist, universalist conception of human rights that is fast losing support both in the UK and across Europe.
In its hearts of hearts, Labour – or at least the Starmer/Hermer dominant strand – believes that international law and global agreements trump everything else, that the “anywheres” (to use David Goodhart’s terminology) self-evidently possess the moral high ground and that the “somewheres” are irritating, whining reactionaries.
It believes that there should be no limit to the UK’s generosity or role as global welfare state of first resort; we are talking about “rights”, after all, not nice-to-haves. By definition, this means that the needs, interests and especially opinions of British citizens are less important than implementing the human rights orthodoxy.
All in all, a disastrous week for the Government.
But here is some good news, dear readers: Starting next week, I’ll be writing a new weekly politics newsletter covering the chaos in Westminster, Britain's fragile political economy and our uncertain place in the world. You can sign up to my exclusive email here and watch out for it in your inbox next Saturday.
Angela Rayner faces sleaze inquiry over tax dodge ➤
Home Office wins fight to keep Epping migrant hotel open ➤ | | Annabel Denham As the country deteriorates, useless technocratic elites are fighting battles on three fronts Continue reading ➤ Katja Hoyer This is what depopulation looks like: my home town stands as a warning to the West Continue reading ➤ Stephen Pollard Britain is no longer an ally of Israel Continue reading ➤ Rowan Pelling Skeletons deserve to rest in peace, not be turned into gothic accessories Continue reading ➤ Allister Heath Panic in the markets will force Starmer into an early election Continue reading ➤ David Frost Labour’s wealth tax isn’t just economically ruinous, it’s a moral disgrace Continue reading ➤ Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Trump can bully the Fed but he can’t bully the bond markets Continue reading ➤ | Sharpen your talking points Explore incisive opinion from Britain’s leading comment writers Enjoy four months’ free access to The Telegraph. Cancel at any time. | | 1. Idea stage: Demilitarised buffer zone 20km either side of frozen front line
2. Highly likely: Ukrainian soldiers first line of defence against future Russian invasion
3. Highly likely: US to provide intelligence to Ukraine and to peacekeeping mission
4. In negotiation: Nato or US to be given command of peacekeeping mission
| | Western allies have been in furious negotiations behind closed doors about a long-term peace plan for Ukraine. Through multiple briefings with security officials, The Telegraph has been able to piece together the most comprehensive version yet of the plan. And it includes an offer of American private military contractors on the ground. Continue reading ➤ | |  | | University courses can saddle graduates with around £50,000 of debt – and given Labour’s increase in tuition fees coming in from September, this burden could rise further. Apprenticeships – combining paid work with off-the-job classroom-based training – are increasingly popular among young people. Use our tool to find the best-paying apprenticeships by sector that could help you dodge the debt. Continue reading ➤ | | | Losing weight doesn’t necessarily equate to looking more toned or feeling fitter. Of the weight we shed when we eat less and move more, 20 to 40 per cent will be muscle mass. Whether you’re using weight-loss drugs or doing it the hard way, here’s how to drop the kilos while maintaining muscle mass. Continue reading ➤ | | | I went to meet Barry Davies at his house in Barnes, an elegant and secluded three-storey home in an area full of media personalities, including Gary Lineker, who lives just around the corner, writes Oliver Brown. The much-loved former commentator was wary of straying into politics during more than 50 years at BBC. That has changed since he retired, with Davies opining on why national service should be brought back, and whether we are leaving behind our love of Englishness. Now 87, Davies also opens up on the challenges of retirement and losing his sense of self since hanging up the microphone. Continue reading ➤ | | | This quintessentially English region delivers plenty of rolling hills, honey-coloured high streets and delightful thatched cottages, but also suffers from high prices and an abundance of tourists. So where else can you have a “Cotswoldsy” experience without the accompanying costs and crowds? Natalie Paris rates the best options to explore Continue reading ➤ Below are two more articles that I hope will brighten your weekend: - Walk into any bedding shop or look online for a pillow and the choices are endless. Whether you’re a back, side or front sleeper, this is how to choose a pillow that won’t wreck your slumber.
- The margarita may be one of the world’s favourite cocktails, but do you know what surprising ingredient improves it even more? Find out here.
| Andrew Baker’s Saturday Quiz |
Gather round for the latest instalment of my Saturday quiz.
You can find the answers at the end of the newsletter. - The celebrated landscape architect “Capability” Brown, who created at least 170 British parks, was born on this date in 1716. What was his real first name?
- Which cartoonist created Charlie Brown, his dog Snoopy and their friends?
- Had the 1745 Jacobite rising led by “Bonnie Prince Charlie” succeeded, who would have sat on the throne?
- Ann Bonny and Mary Read were both notorious in which walk of life?
- Which glamorous star plays opposite Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1946 film Notorious?
| Get full access Unlock Britain’s best news app and our award-winning website Enjoy four months’ free access to The Telegraph. Cancel at any time. | Back to school Batch cooks and make-ahead breakfasts | Diana Henry's chilli beef mac and cheese |  | Eleanor Steafel Feature writer and recipe columnist | I hate to wish the final few days of summer away (and sincerely hope you are spending your weekend eating fish and chips and ice cream) but as normal life resumes next week, I thought a reminder of some delicious batch cooks and bakes might be useful.
Diana Henry’s approach sounds typically helpful. She cooks a batch of simple mince with tinned tomatoes and beef stock and turns it into various different things, like keema with plenty of ginger, cumin and frozen peas, or a chilli beef mac and cheese, which is sure to go down well with everyone.
| Pulled chipotle chicken with pink pickled onions | Gizzi Erskine’s recipe for pulled chipotle chicken would be a great weekend cooking project, particularly if you make enough to have leftovers. Or if it’s ideas for quick dinners you need ahead of next week, this tinned sardine pasta is lovely and ready in minutes.
| Toasted coconut and orange granola | I’m determined to get ahead with breakfasts this season, so a batch of my toasted coconut and orange granola is on the cards. And flapjacks count as breakfast, don’t they? These have dried apricots and lots of seeds in them so they must do.
Eleanor writes a weekly Recipes newsletter every Friday. Sign up here. | | Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor
P.S. Please send me your thoughts on this newsletter. You can email me here. | Quiz answers: - Lancelot
- Charles M. Schulz
- His father James
- Pirates
- Ingrid Bergman
| |
.jpg)
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=icon}
-min.jpg)
-min.jpg )
.jpg )
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg )
.png )
.png )
.png )
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire