Sunak’s New Year message. Tax cuts are coming.
“Rishi Sunak has given the strongest signal yet that more tax cuts are on the way as he set out his election stall with a pledge to “build a brighter future for everyone”. Inflation is falling and cuts to National Insurance will come in this Saturday, saving the average worker £450 a year, but the Prime Minister promised: “We’re not stopping there.” The New Year will kick off a frenetic period of campaigning, with Mr Sunak planning to travel the country and make at least one regional visit every week until polling day, starting in the East Midlands on Thursday. Despite feverish speculation about a spring election, the Prime Minister has told friends he has not yet made up his mind. Favourite options include October 31 for an autumn vote but Tories are not counting out a snap election on May 2.” – Sunday Express
- Prime Minister out and about campaigning – Sun on Sunday
- Plan to wrong foot Labor own borrowing – Sunday Telegraph
- Don’t rule out a surprise Conservative win – Luke Tryl, Sunday Telegraph
- Sunak: good on data, bad on symbolism – Charlotte Ivers, Sunday Times
- What an early Budget could mean for your finances – David Smith, Sunday Times
- Sunak must deliver an optimistic message – Sun on Sunday Editorial
- He must take the fight to labour – Sunday Telegraph Editorial
- Sunak’s New Year resolution should be to fix public services – Sunday Times Editorial
- “The presiding story is one of abiding resilience among the major advanced economies. It may not be much to celebrate, but nor is it the picture of outright catastrophe regularly portrayed across much of the media.” – Jeremy Warner, Sunday Telegraph
How seriously did the Prime Minister mull bringing back Cummings?
“Had the prime minister made a different choice at a meeting in July, the Tory campaign might have looked very different. That month, in utmost secrecy, Dominic Cummings, the former campaign director of Vote Leave and architect of Boris Johnson’s election victory in 2019, travelled to North Yorkshire to see Sunak. It was an audience hidden even from several members of the PM’s inner circle. Over dinner, Sunak contemplated bringing the most controversial political aide of his generation in Downing Street back into the Conservative Party machine and sought his advice on how to win a general election.” – Sunday Times
- Focaldata poll puts Starmer ahead of Sunak – Sunday Times
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/keir-starmer-rishi-sunak-polls-popularity-general-election-5bbcrnxnr
Starmer’s New Year message. Here are my five priorities.
“Sir Keir Starmer listed five key pledges in a New Year message, launching his bid to win power in 2024. He said: “This year, in Britain, the power to shape the future of our country will rest in your hands.” Insisting he is ready to serve as prime minister, he said: “In the Labour Party we’ve been building to this for four years.” The Labour leader’s “plan that can move our country forward” includes: Ending the cost-of-living crisis, Taking back our streets, Getting the NHS back on its feet, Cheaper energy bills, More opportunities for children. Starmer’s speech put particular emphasis on the struggle between Israel and terror group Hamas, following criticism of his refusal to support a permanent ceasefire.” – Observer
- Labour promises no Starmer resignation honours list – Observer
- Holden claims Starmer’s £28 billion green fund would mean the equivalent of an annual £2,200 hike in income tax – Mail on Sunday
- Our plan to deal with the boats – Yvette Cooper, Sunday Express
- Khan’s dystopian ULEZ nightmare – Susan Hall, Sunday Express
- LibDems call for crackdown on vandalism – Mail on Sunday
- Will 2024 be even worse for the SNP? – Evan McColm, Mail on Sunday
Latest Labour and LibDem attempt to oust Townsend
“A Tory police tsar claims transgender activists and Left-wing rivals are trying to oust her over her anti-woke views on sex and gender. Surrey Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend survived a vote of no confidence after she criticised pro-trans lobby group Stonewall. The latest attack is from Liberal Democrat and Labour councillors in Surrey Heath, who passed a motion of no confidence in Ms Townsend. They will write to the Home Secretary calling for her position to be axed. They add that she has abused her status to ‘promote Right-wing culture war talking points’. Councillor Kel Finan-Cooke, an activist for the ‘LGBTQI+ Community’, accused Ms Townsend of ‘misusing her platform to campaign against the trans community’. Last night Ms Townsend accused councillors of attacking her over her ‘public views on the need to protect women and children from the harm that male predators pose.” – Mail on Sunday
Other political news:
Danny Forston: Welcome to the year of deepfake elections
“If Trump does win the nomination, America is so divided that it will almost certainly be a tight race again. This means the election could be decided in five key swing states — Arizona, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania — where Biden and Trump were separated by a combined 50,000 votes in 2020.“We know where the votes are. We know what states they’re in. We know what towns they are. In fact, we probably even know what people they are,” Farid says. “You don’t think we can hyper-target them on social media?” Bad actors will have access to a range of apps that can turn a text prompt into a realistic image, or can reliably clone one’s voice with a few seconds of audio. These can become an acute issue if social media doesn’t have the capacity to stop them being disseminated. That, campaigners say, is the problem.” – Sunday Times
- My fear of deep fakes and hoaxes – Lee Anderson, Sunday Times
- Why is Cameron rattling his sabre over Iran? – Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday
- Delors was the father of Brexit – Daniel Hannan, Sunday Telegraph
- My ten New Year resolutions to finally Get Brexit Done – David Jones, Mail on Sunday
- Cleverly’s joke is a safer target than what really hurts, frightens and kills women – Kathleen Stock, Sunday Times
- War in a decade will be barely recognisable – Andrew Murrison, Sunday Express
- The right to free speech is a public good like clean air and water – Arif Ahmed, Mail on Sunday
- The marbles weren’t stolen and Greece is exploiting our weakness – Jonathan Sumption, Sunday Times
- Biden won’t run – Janet Daley, Sunday Telegraph
- Forecasts are useless – Dominic Lawson, Sunday Times
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