Half time (I’m winning 😉)
Recorded this last night…

Quite the piece from Tim Leunig on Labour’s private school VAT plan 👀

Please follow Andrea #FBPE

I’m re-upping this not only because it shows how perceptive I am (natch) but recent events have only confirmed my point. Starmer is now looking to utterly crush the Conservatives. spectator.co.uk/article/starme…

5 infant deaths from whooping cough in a three month period. This is a tragedy. Vaccination against whooping cough is incredibly safe and effective.

NEWS
'Patients at risk of death over England's drug shortages, pharmacists warn'

Real Tory policy?

Steal what they can - dodgy Tory contracts
Trash what they can - see rivers report today
Abuse who they can - welfare bill
Kill who they can - see above theguardian.com/society/articl…

Rishi Sunak’s ‘The plan is working’ spiel isn’t working

Rachel Reeves took the fight to Sunak's economic optimism today by accusing ministers of “gaslighting” — my latest for Politics.co.uk is on why that looks like an effective attack 👇
politics.co.uk/politicslunch/…

'I had to drive for hours to find the cystic fibrosis pills I need to live' - another serious medicine shortage hits the UK with 8k people reliant on the drug.

Details: thetimes.co.uk/article/22a803…

The country our government is planning to forcibly transfer asylum seekers to has just been accused of bombing a refugee camp by our closest allies. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

'The Tories have been slapped, walloped, pummelled.'

Amid the Conservatives' showing in the local elections, @MattFrei stresses that the 'game is up' for Rishi Sunak and that he's merely 'clinging on' now so the history books show he lasted two years as Prime Minister.

🚨🚨 URGENT: SUPPORT NEEDED NOW. Police vans and unmarked vans making movements at Lunar House, Croydon. We expect a detention any minute, WE NEED NUMBERS ASAP 🚨

40 Wellesley Rd, Croydon CR9 2BY

Worth a read. And worth asking why this is happening - deliberate policy choices
or incompetence?

Exclusive: The Home Office is losing track of asylum seekers because of “rampant” errors and admin issues leaving officials without their addresses and contact details

'They don't know what they are doing, it's all cruelty and pretence,' said one official
inews.co.uk/news/politics/…

...Let's keep an eye on the data, but its feels premature at this stage to conclude any spillover to Ireland from the UK government's Rwanda policy & Ireland's experience in terms of asylum seeking flows in recent years has not been (so far) out of line with Europe's.

ENDS

This morning I was absolutely delighted to welcome Dr Daniel Poulter MP to The Labour Party.

Dan knows that a Labour government led by ⁦Keir Starmer⁩ will focus on preventative care, child health and the social causes of poor health.

Vote Labour on 2nd May 🌹 theguardian.com/politics/2024/…

Rishi Sunak wants to ban our GPs from being able to sign us off when we're sick! Sign the petition now and demand these dangerous new plans are dropped. 38d.gs/ie_a

Have now seen the govt briefing on how this is “fully funded”. It’s a joke.
Asserts defence spending of 2.3% of GDP was the baseline ie so only need to find .14% GDP extra by 28/29. In real world even delivering that baseline will require even deeper cuts to other department.

Rwanda scheme ‘isn’t going to be a disincentive’, says migrants’ rights campaigner
channel4.com/news/rwanda-sc…

No need for that language!!