Joe Pike Profile picture
Sep 20, 2020 17 tweets 13 min read Read on X
Labour leader @Keir_Starmer is now live on @RidgeOnSunday. Tell @SophyRidgeSky:

-Supports fines for people breaking self-isolation rules.
-COVID testing 'is barely serviceable' and 'a major problem'.
-Reporting neighbours to police 'depends on the circumstances'.

#Ridge
.@Keir_Starmer to @SophyRidgeSky:

-Govt has 'lost control of testing' so unsure where the virus is.
-PM should apologise.
-PM should restart daily briefings.
-Children should be prioritised for tests.

#Ridge
.@Keir_Starmer to @SophyRidgeSky:

-'I cannot believe we did not scenario plan' for kids returning to school and getting ill.
-Big difference between him at Corbyn: need to listen to those who didn't vote Labour or never have.

#Ridge
.@Keir_Starmer on #Brexit:

-If PM fails to get a Brexit trade deal, 'he owns that failure'.
-PM ran in election saying he had oven ready deal. Suggests he may have miss-sold the deal to the country.

#Ridge
.@Keir_Starmer on #Brexit, getting into power and the union:

-'The leave / remain argument is over'.
-Clear he wants to win: 'I didn't come into politics to be in opposition'.
-#indyref2 would be divisive. SNP should be focussing on COVID.
-Needs to be a COBR meeting.

#Brexit
.@Keir_Starmer dodging question of whether pro-indy majority in 2021 Holyrood elections would mean #indyref2.

-Says he is a vegetarian for environmental reasons: it's 'not the right thing for the body and the planet'.
-He misses bacon sandwiches and chicken curry.

#Ridge
Health Secretary @MattHancock now live on @RidgeOnSunday:

-'I don't want to see more restrictive measures' but people need to follow rules.
-Are people following the rules? 'People have got more relaxed over the Summer'.
-'Yes of course' I'm worried about the data.

#Ridge
On grouse-shooting exemption @MattHancock tells @SophyRidgeSky:

-'A number of sports fit within rules of six because of the distance' like with organised football and cricket.
-'Sports broadly are important and best done within COVID-secure' guidelines.

#Ridge
On possible 2 week 'circuit break' and London restrictions, @MattHancock tells @SophyRidgeSky:

-We've 'increasingly relied on local approach... local lockdowns are necessary'.
-Teams from DHSC and Mayor of London's office are meeting today.

#Ridge
On testing @MattHancock tells @SophyRidgeSky:

-'Capacity is at record levels': 250K/day.
-'We suddenly got a spike of people who don't have symptoms coming forward for a test'.
-In last 2 days 'we have seen thankfully the demand coming down again'.

#Ridge
On testing @MattHancock also tells @SophyRidgeSky:

-'Now demand is above capacity it's important we prioritise people with symptoms'.
-Refuses to apologise for testing problems, as requested by @Keir_Starmer earlier on #Ridge.
On care homes @MattHancock tells @SophyRidgeSky:

-Are we about to make the same mistakes again? 'No.'
-100K tests/day are sent to social care.
-People going in care homes must be isolated if they test positive.
-'We have isolation facilities outside care homes.'

#Ridge
On whether @MattHancock has the stamina for the job:

'Yes. Personally I feel incredibly motivated to do the right thing.'

#Ridge | @SophyRidgeSky
Unite union leader Len McCluskey now live on @RidgeOnSunday:

-'Deeply worried' about COVID impact on job losses. 'The clock is ticking'.
-'Our workers will be having sleepless nights' unlike their counterparts in European countries where furlough scheme extended.

#Ridge
Len McCluskey has written to the PM for a meeting.

Has PM replied? 'Not yet'.

Argues Chancellor @RishiSunak needs to introduce sector packages for aviation, automotive, hospitality.

#Ridge
McCluskey on @Keir_Starmer:

His 'new leadership' slogan is 'a bit meaningless'.

'I do support Keir.... He is competent' especially at PMQs.

'He is doing OK... He needs to move on in terms of policies and vision.'

#Ridge
McCluskey says @Keir_Starmer 'needs to listen to the left... without the left Keir will I'm afraid sail the ship on to the rocks.'

He 'will be our PM' if he sticks to Corbyn's policies. If not? 'He'll be in trouble'.

#Ridge | @SophyRidgeSky

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More from @joepike

Aug 15, 2023
EXCL: Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter received thousands of pounds via a family company for charity appearances.

My @BBCNewsnight story:

bbc.in/3OUmXEz
In 2021-22 Hannah Ingram-Moore helped judge the 'Virgin Media O2 Captain Tom Foundation Connector Awards'.

-The name of the awards included the name of the charity (The Captain Tom Foundation)
-The charity’s logo appeared on the plaques
-Hannah Ingram-Moore gave every appearance that she was representing the charity
-At the time she was its interim CEO on an £85,000 salary

Yet her appearance fee was paid not to the charity but to Maytrix Group, a company owned by Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin.


BBC Newsnight understands this payment to Mrs Ingram-Moore has been part of an investigation by her late father's own charity for 9 months.

This is because she did not seek approval from the board of trustees before entering into the commercial arrangement with Virgin Media O2.

The charity trustees have told us:
Read 6 tweets
Mar 2, 2023
EXCL: Sue Gray has been appointed chief of staff to Labour leader Keir Starmer.

As a senior civil servant, the job offer will be subject to ACOBA process before formal confirmation.

Major coup for the Labour leader and part of an effort to prove the party is preparing for govt. Image
Conservative MPs seem largely furious:

@NadineDorries - "The Gray report was a stitch up"

@cmackinlay - "Does this smell right?"

@JamesDuddridge - "that explains a lot. We can now see which Party was investigated #partygate."
.@RishiSunak could decide to block the appointment. The signs so far aren't positive for Ms Gray:

“This doesn’t smell right at all. Serious questions need to be asked about how this has come about.” - senior government source
Read 7 tweets
Sep 6, 2022
Boris Johnson & Liz Truss are now heading to Balmoral to meet the Queen.

Lord Salisbury likened the castle to Siberia.

Tony Blair said his weekends there were "a vivid combination of the intriguing, the surreal and the utterly freaky".

🧵A thread on PMs visiting Royal Deeside:
PM visits to the private castle date back to Queen Victoria's reign.

They typically take place over a weekend in early September.

The estate was bought by Prince Albert for his wife in 1852, and features monuments to Victoria's consort, children and her close friend John Brown.
Disraeli complained "carrying on the government of the country 600 miles from the metropolis doubles the labour".

Thatcher regarded her trips as purgatory.

In contrast Cameron recalls the "bliss" of leaving his close protection team behind as he walked the hills with his wife.
Read 12 tweets
Sep 4, 2022
Meeting a Queen, making a speech, appointing a cabinet and writing top secret letters to nuclear submarine commanders.

My guide to the PM’s first weeks in office with @LouisDegenhardt & @AgnesChambre:
BREAK: Liz Truss elected new Conservative leader. She will be appointed PM tomorrow.

Total voters: 172,437

Sunak - 60,399
Truss - 81,326
Truss: "It's an honour". Thanks the party, Sunak and pays tribute to Boris Johnson:

"You are admired from Kiev to Carlisle", she says. Awkward pause then applause.

Truss - 57%
Sunak - 43%
Read 5 tweets
Sep 4, 2022
.@NicolaSturgeon tells @SophyRidgeSky the SNP "can be better" and has "lessons to learn" on sexual harassment after Patrick Grady case.

Nods to Salmond as proof she doesn't sweep allegations under the carpet.

#Ridge
David Davis says broad top team is necessary for Tory unity:
"Greatest mistake BJ made... was creating a cabinet of loyalists. It wasn't a meritocratic cabinet."

"Slightly worried" Truss will make same mistake.

#Ridge
Davis argues next PM has a "ninety something percent probability" of leading the Tories into the next election.

But he thinks an early general election is unlikely.

#Ridge
Read 7 tweets
Apr 11, 2022
BREAKING: Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan, 48, has been found guilty at Southwark Crown Court of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy at a house in Staffordshire in 2008.
By-election now expected in Wakefield, a marginal ‘red wall’ seat.

Tories won it from Labour’s @MaryCreagh_ in 2019 with a majority of 3,358.
NEW: Labour call for convicted sex offender Imran Ahmad Khan to resign as MP for Wakefield.

“Imran Ahmad Khan should immediately resign so a by-election can take place and the people of Wakefield can get the representation they deserve.”
Read 4 tweets

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