Politics

Sally Jones was a waste of space. The principal purpose of the former British punk rocker turned Islamic extremist was to titillate the British tabloids, who dubbed her the ‘White Widow’ and gleefully reported her juvenile threats to bring death and destruction to the streets of her native London. She did no such thing before she was apparently killed in a drone strike in June. And where’s the evidence of the role attributed her by the international Counter Extremism Project, who declared that Jones ‘was responsible for training all European female recruits in tactics including suicide missions’? Perhaps she didn’t have time as she was too busy threatening to behead infidels

No deal is better than a bad deal – and it’s also better than a Corbyn government, says the Daily Telegraph in its editorial this morning, in which the paper says that if Labour oust the Tories, Britain would ‘become an inward-looking, statist, high-taxing country that would scare away international investors’. The ‘historic opportunity’ gifted by Britain’s departure from the EU would ‘be rendered nugatory’ under Corbyn, whose plan for government is a ‘recipe for impoverishing the nation’. The claims of the Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, that PFI contracts can be binned with equanimity are for the birds’, the paper says. And for all Labour’s claims that the railways would

Ever since Labour won over young voters at the last election, the Conservatives have been trying to work out how to do the same. Tory MPs have scrambled around for ideas. Various suggestions have been mooted, ranging from a Tory Glastonbury and a Tory Momentum to lowering taxes for young voters, scrapping historic student debt and drastically reforming tuition fees. With Jeremy Corbyn promising to abolish university fees, the debate surrounding higher education funding has become particularly toxic. Many younger voters feel that tuition fees are very unjust. What started as £1k a year has grown to £9,250 and the above-inflation interest rate only adds to the sense of unfairness.

For George Osborne, it was the 5:2 diet that was credited for sculpting his political ambitions. His decision to shed the pounds was taken as a sign by the commentariat that he had serious leadership ambitions. So, Mr S was curious to hear that Labour’s Tom Watson is now on a mission to lose weight. Writing in his newsletter, Labour’s deputy leader says he is on a diet – or a ‘lifestyle change’, if you’d prefer: ‘Did I tell you I’m on a diet? I know you’re not supposed to call them that anymore, to be on message they have to be a ‘lifestyle change. Using rudimentary ‘nudge theory’ every time

John McDonnell – Parliament can stop ‘no deal’ Brexit As the next round of Brexit negotiations approaches, the possibility of a no deal outcome has been the dominant topic of discussion today. Warning of dire consequences for the UK economy, the Shadow Chancellor has told Andrew Marr that MPs can force the government to avoid a potential ‘no deal’ scenario by amending upcoming legislation: AM: What happens to the British economy if there is no deal? JM: I’m not willing to countenance that. It’s not a realistic option. It’s not going to happen. I don’t think there’s a majority in Parliament for no deal. I think, on a cross party

Nick Clegg has an ingenious solution to the Brexit problem. He wants Parliament to throw out Brexit and then get the Netherlands Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, and Sir John Major to negotiate how the United Kingdom can be recaptured and bound inside the ‘concentric circles’ which he sees as the future of the EU. I call this the Royal Dutch Shell solution to our national destiny. Certainly, if, as Mr Clegg implies, we are not fit to rule ourselves, it would be preferable to be, like Shell, headquartered in The Hague rather than in Brussels. The idea appeals to Mr Clegg because, with a mother who carries the magnificent name