Fascinating development

Keir Starmer on @LBC says “having checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland is not the way forward”

Appears to be a boost for Boris Johnson, giving him cover from Labour to challenge EU approach to Protocol
I asked a Labour source whether Labour supported the NI protocol when it was agreed in December

They sidestepped the q and said the vote in December was the Free Trade Agreement not the protocol

That’s true about late Dec vote but….
Here is then Labour shadow cabinet office minister Rachel Reeves on Dec 10 backing the Northern Ireland protocol ….

AND

Asking about checks - giving the impression they were aware backing the protocol means backing checks

But now Starmer is walking back from that…?
Keir Starmer’s statement *seems* to suggest no checks are possible on GB to NI transit

There have long been some SPS checks for instance, so that’s undoing the pre Jan 1 position

And appears to go further than Boris Johnson
It raises another interesting q about Labour tactics.

It’s part of a pattern, which Labour figures raise with me, of attacking the opposition then backing the core decision

I wonder whether that’s what we will get later on Covid delay too
Yesterday Shad Cabinet’s Emily Thornberry told Trevor Phillips on Sky that the government should align with EU rules on agriculture. That would remove so-called SPS checks on things like chilled meats. Tho not on all goods.

Perhaps this is what Starmer was reaching for?

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More from @SamCoatesSky

10 Jun
Health Secretary Matt Hancock starts his committee hearing being asking to rebut point by point the allegations made by Dominic Cummings.

He says he was never advised, as Cummings said, people didn't get the Covid treatment they needed and is very proud of how the NHS responded
Hancock denies blaming others for PPE shortages. "That's not a fair recollection" he said.

He said gvt had to remove a "piece of bureaucracy" from the Treasury that put a limit on the price that could be paid for PPE ... but has always recognised it was a team effort.
Did Hancock tell PM in March people would be tested before returning to care homes?

Hancock: "We set out a policy to give people tests" "when tests were available" then "I set about building" that capacity.

But he also said:
Read 6 tweets
15 May
Latest Opinium poll spells post election trouble for Labour

* Voting intention shows 13 point Tory lead
* Con 44% vs Lab 31%
* Johnson has 17 point lead over Starmer as best prime minister
* A third (33%) of 2019 Labour voters want Starmer to resign

/
NB polls post election often amplify the result as a consequence of the coverage
When voters are asked who would be best as prime minister it’s 40% Johnson vs 23% Starmer.

This is both a boost for Johnson (up 8 points) and a drop for Starmer (down 6 points).
Read 4 tweets
8 May
NEW

Blame game inside Labour escalating tonight 🔥

There's a fight over whether Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner should get the blame for elections as formal campaign head - or whether it should be Keir Starmer

Cont
Critics are suggesting Rayner should take the blame for Labour losses.

But other Labour sources defend her:

"Trying to blame Angela for the failures of this campaign which were entirely run by Keir's office, and Keir has himself said he will take responsibility for....
.... is as absurd as it is ridiculous.

Lab source cont: "(Sacking her would mean) sacrificing a working class female care worker because some North Londoner focus groupers can't connect with the North. Everybody knows his office ran the campaign".
Read 4 tweets
6 May
Polls have closed

Signs of Labour recriminations evident in anticipation of difficult results

As ballots are counted in Hartlepool, one question being asked internally is: was it wise of Labour to chose to hold the Hartlepool by-election on Super Thursday and dominate?

1/
2/ Remember political parties have a fair degree of control over when to hold a by-election caused by the departure of one of their own.

Holding Hartlepool today was Labour’s choice

Here’s the Institute for Government Cath Haddon on how Labour “could have taken a bit longer”
3/ Why might you have wanted to hold Hartlepool another time?

The main reason wd be to avoid it on the same day as the Tees Valley Metro Mayor vote.

Labour folk expect Tory Ben Houchen to be re-elected meaning his voters - also Tories - would already be out in force
Read 12 tweets
23 Mar
NEW: Matt Hancock sounds like he’s been upsetting Tory MPs again

Here leaked is the letter to MPs about the One-Year Coronavirus Act Review
Matt Hancock’s letter contains a contentious claim

That without the continuation of the Coronavirus Act the furlough act “would fall automatically”

🧐
But MPs tell me this isn’t true

They had it confirmed BOTH by Treasury officials AND by the Commons Library staff that this isn’t the case, and the furlough support isn’t contingent on this week’s vote

🙄
Read 4 tweets
3 Mar
It wont get the attention it deserves but Rishi Sunak's biggest giveaway over the next couple of years is the "Super Deduction"

It's costing a whopping £27 BILLION pounds
Yet despite the £27 billion price tag, the Office for Budget Responsibility has big questions.

Rather than boosting growth overall, "it provides companies with a very strong incentive to bring forward investment from future
periods"
The scale of spending - most of which takes place in 2021 and 2022 - may rise. And the benefits may be lower than predicted.

"We have applied a ‘very high’ uncertainty rating to the behavioural element and the overall costing", says the OBR
Read 7 tweets

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