Newslinks for Friday 30th May 2025

Attorney General makes Nazi jibe at opponents of the ECHR

“Sir Keir Starmer’s chief legal officer has likened attempts by the Tories and Reform to pull Britain out of international courts to 1930s Nazi Germany. Lord Hermer, the attorney-general, said Britain “must be ready to reform” international agreements such as the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) so that they retain “democratic legitimacy”. But he categorised Kemi Badenoch’s policy to “disengage” from the ECHR and other international bodies if they no longer serve British interests as a “pick and mix” approach similar to that pursued by Nazi Germany to ensure the power of the state trumped the law. Reform’s policy at the last election was to leave the ECHR and the “foreign” court in Strasbourg.” – The Times

Badenoch denounces Starmer and Farage over welfare spending

“Kemi Badenoch has blasted Nigel Farage and Keir Starmer for being in a ‘race to the bottom’ over welfare handouts. In a feisty attack on the Reform and Labour leaders, Mrs Badenoch said the pair believed in getting taxpayers to fund ‘unlimited child support for others’ by scrapping the two-child benefit cap. Writing in the Mail, the Tory leader branded the benefit unfair and unsustainable, because welfare ‘traps people’ and ‘drives up costs for everyone’. Instead, she said the Conservatives were now the ‘only serious party of sound money’ and warned that Britain ‘can’t afford the fantasy economics of Starmer and Farage’, who ‘treat economics like a branch of showbiz’. Mrs Badenoch’s intervention came after Mr Farage this week pledged a spending splurge of up to £85 billion – including generous benefit increases.” – Daily Mail

• Farage and the perils of peaking too soon – Robert Shrimsley, Financial Times

>Today: Ben Cope on Comment: Conservatives won’t beat Reform UK with facts, it’s feelings that matter

Badenoch: Conservatives reject fantasy economics

“After years of economic shocks – Covid, war, inflation – Britain can’t afford the fantasy economics of Starmer and Farage. We need a proper plan for economic growth, underpinned by our principles. A plan built around robust private enterprise – because Conservatives understand that it’s not government that creates growth, it’s business. Conservatives believe in lower taxes – not just as a slogan, but as a moral choice. We get that your money belongs to you, and every penny the Government takes should be justified. We believe that a smaller, smarter state allows individuals and communities to flourish.” – Kemi Badenoch, Daily Mail

Further hint from Starmer of two-child benefit cap concession

“Sir Keir Starmer has given his strongest hint yet that he will concede ground on the two-child benefit cap as he said he was “determined to drive down child poverty”. The prime minister refused to commit to scrapping the cap, which limits the claiming of certain benefits for the third child onwards, but said the government was “looking at all options” as he faced a rebellion from his back benches over welfare plans.” – The Times

• Portraying Reform as Thatcherites may backfire for Keir – Leader, Daily Telegraph
• The threat to Starmer may come from the Left – Paul Goodman, Daily Telegraph
• Starmer is running scared – Julia Hartley-Brewer, The Sun
• Labour must be bolder to see off the threat – Leader, The Guardian
• British politics has fundamentally changed and there’s one question on everyone’s minds – Paul Baldwin, Daily Express
• A surge in claims for pension credit could exceed Winter Fuel welfare savings – Financial Times

>Yesterday: Columnist Callum Price: Starmer claims to take tough decisions but folding so soon will ruin him and the public finances

Jenrick confronts fare dodgers

“Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick has said he hopes his video confronting fare evaders on the London Underground will “shame people into action”. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live’s Matt Chorley, Jenrick said activities such as fare dodging along with graffiti and playing music on public transport were “chipping away at society”. Asked if his party’s policy of austerity was a contributing factor, Jenrick said he believed in being “honest about the mistakes of the last Conservative government”. Responding to Jenrick’s video, Transport for London (TfL) said fare evasion was “unacceptable” and that it was expanding its team of investigators to “target the most prolific fare evaders.” – BBC

• We must have zero tolerance for wrongdoing – Leader, Daily Telegraph
• Jenrick ‘threatened with knife by Tube fare dodger’ – The Times

>Yesterday: Video: ‘It’s all chipping away at society.’ Jenrick confronts Tube fare-dodgers

Jenrick: My morning at Stratford station encapsulated Broken Britain

“Britain is broken. Law-breaking is rife. Graffiti is everywhere. Many of our high streets are now a mix of charity stores, vape shops, and fake American candy stores. There is a collapse of basic standards in public spaces – hop on the bus and you’re likely to be greeted with terrible music from someone else, stubbornly refusing to wear headphones. It’s a total mess…That’s why last Saturday I went to Stratford station – one of the worst hotspots for fare dodging – to try and shame London’s do-nothing mayor, Sadiq Khan, into action.” – Robert Jenrick, Daily Telegraph

Reeves “plans red wall spending plurge to counter Reform UK”

“Rachel Reeves is preparing to tear up Treasury spending rules and announce a multibillion-pound investment package in the north and Midlands to combat the threat of Reform. The chancellor will use the government’s spending review next month to reprioritise spending from the southeast to the red wall seats that Labour won at the last election, but are now under threat from Nigel Farage’s party. It could mean the announcement of tens of billions of pounds of investment in road, rail and green energy projects, offsetting probable cuts in day-to-day government spending.” – The Times

• Reeves is ready to spend where Boris Johnson planned – Patrick Maguire, The Times
• Labour’s £4.8 billion of welfare savings would have a worse effect on vulnerable people than the cost of living crisis, says the Health Foundation – The Times
• The prime minister is allowing his fear of Reform UK’s appeal in the red wall to throw him off course – Leader, The Times
• Budget cuts threaten UK soft power, warns government adviser – Financial Times

China welcomes Chago deal

“Sir Keir Starmer is facing furious demands to apologise for ‘peddling lies’ over his Chagos Islands deal – after China hailed the PM’s surrender of the territory. After he signed the agreement to hand over sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius last week, Sir Keir claimed that Russia, China, Iran were opposed to the deal. By comparison, the PM said the UK’s allies – such as the US – were in favour of the agreement as, he argued, it boosted Britain’s national security. The Tories and Reform UK, who are both opposed to the deal, reacted with fury to Sir Keir’s claims as the PM bracketed them together with Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran. He is now facing calls to retract his remarks after China was revealed to have offered its ‘massive congratulations’ to Mauritius for securing the sovereignty agreement. According to the Guido Fawkes blog, Mauritius newspaper Le Mauricien reported on comments by the Chinese ambassador to the African country.” – Daily Mail

Reform UK to accept Bitcoin donations, says Farage

“Reform UK will accept donations in the form of Bitcoin, Nigel Farage has announced, becoming the first British party to do so. Speaking at a cryptocurrency conference in Las Vegas on Thursday, the party’s leader held up a draft of a “Crypto Assets and Digital Finance Bill” that he said he would pass if he was elected prime minister. “Let’s recognise that crypto, Bitcoin, digital assets are here to stay”, he said, telling the audience Reform would launch a “crypto revolution” in the UK.” – BBC

• Farage says Sarwar is ‘obsessed’ by race as Hamilton byelection row escalates – The Guardian

More than 80,000 civil service jobs should be scrapped to save taxpayers £5bn a year, urges report

“More than 80,000 civil service jobs should be scrapped to save taxpayers £5billion a year, a report has urged. The efficiency plan – backed by former top mandarins – includes slashing communications staff by 70 per cent and halving the HR departments.Whitehall’s headcount has ballooned from 380,000 to 514,000 since just 2016 – costing around £25billion in salaries and pensions. Experts say this has only slowed government output by creating needless bureaucracy rather than investing in frontline services. Analysis by Policy Exchange found identical jobs are being done sometimes two pay bands higher than they were 30 years ago.” – The Sun

• Reform UK pledges cuts as £27m civil service diversity spend revealed – The Times
• Labour must ignore the protests of their union pals and cut Whitehall back down to size – Leader, The Sun

UK prepares to sign ‘values-free’ £1.6bn trade deal with Gulf states

“The UK is on the brink of signing a £1.6bn trade agreement with Gulf states, amid warnings from rights groups that the deal makes no concrete provisions on human rights, modern slavery or the environment. The deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council – which includes the countries Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – is within touching distance, making it a fourth trading agreement by Keir Starmer after pacts were struck with the US, India and the EU.” – The Guardian

Other political news

• MSPs back tobacco ban plan for ‘smoke free generation’ – BBC
• Musk leaves White House after 130 days of drama – The Sun
• Andrew Tate will return to UK to face rape charges – The Times
• Final salary pensions at risk from Labour tax raid – Daily Telegraph
• Reeves outlines plan for £25bn pension ‘megafunds’ – BBC
• Prevent ‘could be breaching UK equality laws’ over treatment of autistic people – The Guardian
• NHS offers ‘revolutionary’ blood test for cancer in world first – The Times
• Bank of England governor urges UK government to seek closer trade ties with EU – Financial Times
• Police drop rape case against ex-MP Crispin Blunt – BBC
• Reform UK accuses Labour of legalising theft as it wades into AI row – The Times
• Social housing complaints soar as watchdog warns of ‘simmering anger’ – BBC
• Mandelson is the best choice to handle Trump, says Gove – The Times
• University places for science and engineering fail to keep pace with UK demand – Financial Times

Frost: Here is a programme change

“Those core jobs include controlling the borders and reducing migration to zero. Cracking down on real crime. Putting in place an assertive integration programme to foster loyalty to Britain – a daunting task, but one which must be taken on. Scrapping most of the Equality Act and bringing in a proper Freedom of Speech Act. Re-establishing credible armed forces. Putting in place a proper national resilience programme covering trade policy, energy, core economic capacity, and connectivity.” – David Frost, Daily Telegraph

Hill: There should be no such thing as a drought in modern Britain

“The basic problem is that local government is the worst place possible to vest authority for planning. Councillors answer to the angriest and most energetic third, on average, of local voters, and have no incentive to take national need into account when making their decisions. Whatever one’s views on housing, it makes no sense to administer essential infrastructure – reservoirs, power plants, pylons, railways, you name it – like some latter-day Holy Roman Empire, with companies forced to buy off petty margraves and bishoprics along their entire route.” – Henry Hill, Daily Telegraph

• Drinking water shortage in decade without new reservoirs, minister says – BBC
• Row over infrastructure pot spending at council – BBC

News in brief

• Senior Tories plan candidate overhaul – James Heale, The Spectator
• Robert Jenrick’s TfL video is more than an online stunt – Henry Hill, Unherd
• Reform’s fantasy economics gives the Tories a lifeline – Oliver Dean, CapX
• Badenoch is in a hole and she keeps digging – Rachel Cunliffe, New Statesman
• The West’s lies about Israel are falling apart – Brendan O’Neill, Spiked Online