There have been so many stories in the press that two Home Office Ministers as well as the Home Secretary had to be moved out of the department because they had failed that I assume this is coming from sources close to the PM. We are told they had not implemented one of the most popular and memorable promises of the Labour Manifesto, to smash the gangs, and had not made rapid progress with the rape gangs either. We also learn that the Environment Secretary had not done a good job on farming, as we can all see, so he had to be moved. The Farming Minister under him was sacked.
I can understand the decision to sack the Farming Minister as the government has angered the farmers so much that many farms are closing and there are regular protests. However, the Farming Minister was mainly so unpopular thanks to the tax policy of the PM and Chancellor, which remains unaltered. It is difficult to see what the Environment Secretary has to offer in his new role as he clearly lost any battle over farms policy and taxes in Cabinet. He now has to try to rescue the government’s housebuilding target at his new Housing and Local Government post. The government fell way behind the target of 300,000 new homes a year in their first year under Angela Rayner, and it looks as if they will get nowhere near the target in their second year either. What does the new Secretary of State have to offer to change that? He will need better relations with the Chancellor than he seemed to have at Environment/Agriculture.
The changes at the Home Office are even odder. The three senior Ministers who failed there to smash the gangs or handle crime and rape gang issues well have all been moved to new important posts. The Home Secretary has moved to Foreign Secretary. She had spent seven years as Shadow Home Secretary, chaired Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee and had Cabinet level experience in the previous Labour government. So how come a clever well educated woman with so much Home Office experience was unable to smash the gangs? How come the Prime Minister was unable to help and mentor her in a role she knew so well? Why should she be better at Foreign secretary where her experience is much more limited? The Foreign Secretary needs to work closely with the PM, especially this one who gives so much time to foreign affairs. Clearly some distrust has built up in the relationship with the PM as she failed to deliver on key Manifesto and government targets. That will not help as the new Foreign Secretary seeks to build up a contacts book with the US and our other leading allies.
Angela Eagle, fresh from failing to sort out immigration with the Home Secretary, is made Farming Minister. This is bizarre. Surely agriculture deep in protest deserves someone the PM supports and rates, and someone who knows how to right the wrongs this government has visited on farmers. I doubt Angela Eagle will even try to get changes to IHT and business taxes. Diana Johnson, also removed from the Home Office gets a key job promoting growth and jobs in the new enhanced DWP and skills or Growth department. That’s a big change from trying to police the UK and its borders. What does she know and what can she contribute to that? Is she damaged by the sense of failure hanging over her Home Office service?
None of this is good personnel management. Government is bad at talent mapping, bad at selecting the right Ministers, then bad at backing and mentoring them as they take up their roles. Some of these Ministerial changes look set up to fail. I will write more about Ministers jobs and how good ones can get changes through Whitehall in later pieces.
September 8, 2025
Good morning.
Yes, perhaps the problem is elsewhere ?
September 8, 2025
This just exemplifies the com0leye lack of talent in the labour party. There are few if any fresh faces, just the tired old failures swapping hats. The choices for Home Secretary is sticking two fingers up to the electorate and having Pixie in the post when she posts with a Refugees Welcome sign is bizzare.
Every minister to date has been a failure and we can expect mare of the same
September 8, 2025
It seems that if one identical twin is gay the chance of the other one being so is circa 52% and more like 22% for just siblings of one. Nature or nurture? But then nurture here was probably rather similar as well as the genes. Her identical sister also an MP Maria (not seen so much) is not gay.
Interestingly several studies have shown, that each older brother increases a male child’s naturally occurring odds of having a homosexual orientation by 28–48%. However, the numbers of older sisters, younger brothers, and younger sisters has no effect on these odds. Prob. something to do with the effect of the mothers having had changes (perhaps to their immune systems) for having carried earlier brothers it is thought.
September 8, 2025
Sorry to say the objective if the ‘re-shuffle’ is being missed; Starmer thinks he’s bought himself another year in office, competence of the individual placements is irrelevant. They are all unsuited, but they get a year to confirm it.
I’m not much of a supporter of Richard North, but his piece on Ms Mahmood in the Conservative Woman is a warning to be considered.
The deliberate damage to our nation continues, it’s just been accelerated.
September 8, 2025
@Peter Wood – yup, all going to plan. As intended from the ‘get go’
September 8, 2025
Over the weekend 890 people -yes 890!- were arrested at a protest over the banning of Palestine Action. So the policy of addressing dissent by heavy policing continues.
The government does not pause to consider the wisdom of its policy. Maybe pressure from lobbies shape policy rather than concerns about the suppression of free speech.
The police were heavily outnumbered earlier in the protest and waited until most had drifted away to pick off easier targets for arrest.
The policy seems to be working. I can’t really say ‘I predict a riot’ like the popular beat combo. The English are just not very good at protests.
Something for the new Home Secretary to ponder.
September 8, 2025
Supporting a Terrorist Group is a crime.
September 8, 2025
New Banksy mural appears at Royal Courts of Justice. A brilliant picture better than a thousand words? If you don’t see it in news, google it.
September 8, 2025
Anyone who thinks the speech by the brave, spot on and excellent Saeem was given “A platform for cranks (antivax conspiracy theorist Dr Aseem Malhotra). Is deluded.
Antivax is an idiotic description anyway like being anti-drugs or anti- operations. Some vaccines, drugs and operations do more harm than good and some more good than harm. I am for the later and against the former. Is not everyone sensible? If anything the position is even worse than Malhotra described! Covid Vaccines as is now very clear indeed (see the figure from Japan) are in the former group Mr North!
September 9, 2025
So the state sector take circs 20 sick days a year on average. I think I over 43 years of working have taken fewer than 1/2 a day per year. But then I have a civil service friend who even when she started some 40 years back was told you get X days holidays, the bank holidays and up to four weeks sick days before any investigation action is taken.
As if these were just more extra holidays! Now they have their “Working” at home days too! 20% of workers living largely of the backs of the other 80%!
September 9, 2025
I note that this year free covid jabs are only for those over 75 or with particular vulnerabilities. Presumably the result of a careful risk/benefit analysis, including the costs to the state of protracted NHS care and pensions.
September 8, 2025
I hate Labour (the politics NOT the people) but Ms Mahmood looks hopeful (as an opposition leader and not to do so much damage as leader in power). She’s intelligent and well educated, some good professional experience (and the daughter of hard-working people so i doubt she’s hard socialist), religious morals (and pro Christianity even though she’s a muslim), and socially Conservative.
September 15, 2025
Her ”Faith” comes first and foremost, why is she in govt at all?
September 8, 2025
Change seats when the music stops is cynically Starmer buying time to try to placate the public critics, and at the same time be able to point the finger at claimed failure.
At least we have not heard of any being helped to leap off balconies like happens pretty regularly in Russia.
September 8, 2025
Indeed Mark. Who was the one who signed off the manifesto? Who placed people in cabinet roles? Who set the tone on sleazy expense funding? Who preached on “smash the gangs” during campaigning?
If the team isn’t performing the manage goes. If a Company fails to hit targets the CEO goes. How long before backbenchers turn on Starmer?
September 8, 2025
Far more sense is coming from some of the Trade Union leaders than from Two Tier, Free Gear, Rarely Here Kier, Ed Zealot Miliband, Rachael let’s kill any growth Reeves, Daft as a brush race baiter Lammy or Harriet Harman whose appallingly misguided equality bill has bankrupted Birmingham and many other businesses etc.
This by having judges (who will have done none of these jobs) decide pay rates for so called jobs of “equal value” something that clearly the market and supply and demand should do!
September 8, 2025
As home secretary, Shabana Mahmood will face enormous challenges – says the Guardian – indeed 1000 boat people plus arrive on her first day so she is going to have some meetings it seems. Some advice dear you need a real deterrent not endless incentives for them to leave France. I would have thought this was blindingly obvious but not it seems to our daft Labour Ministers.
Striking Tube drivers demand 75% discount on train journeys nationwide
Underground workers want extra travel perk as they bring London to a standstill.
in the Telegraph.
Well at 25% of the fare is about the right rates for everyone were it run efficiently. London to Manchester single is often over £100. Even at £25 if you have 2 people or more a car is far cheaper, more convenient, goes door to door, more flexible, more comfortable, cleaner, no end taxi costs…
Trains make little sense economic for most journeys in the UK – when we have self driving cars and taxis even less so. Trains with no drivers would be a good start, far easier than computer driven cars!
September 8, 2025
Do they pay tax on this as a benefit in kind? It seems Bishop and Gov. MInisters do not for their free houses!
September 8, 2025
They want to reduce ‘working’ hours from 35 to 32, and claim TFL profit can afford it.
The public have had enough of ticket prices rising for a reducing service, they want to see prices reduced, incentives to travel, service improvement…etc
September 8, 2025
@PeteB – and who as CEO of UK.plc sat at the head of the collective responsibility Cabinet and sanctioned the lack of actions. Then how come over 50% of this Parliament, his backbenchers, have approved every move.
The condoning and the activation of personal fiefdoms from the get-go, or it could be reasoned while campaigning has brought Parliament, its MP’s in to disrepute. Now even tax evasion/miss-steps is an acceptable practice by our members of parliament, who want to direct laws on the rest of us
September 8, 2025
Morning Sir John,
It is a mess but, there is no logical reason to suppose that this new crew will be any better than the previous group.
I heard it mooted, that bringing in outside talent to take over the more specialist roles may be the answer.
For example, someone who is a respected and a well known advocate of farming, such as Jeremy Clarkson or Adam Hanson, could bring expertise and raise the profile of farming if they were brought in to fulfil the role of farming minister. Give that person a peerage so they could sit in cabinet and away they go.
We moan about a lack of ability in our Chancellor, so why not bring in someone from outside of politics to fulfil that role? For example, our host.
Many people moan about politicians having multiple jobs but, by definition, any minister has more than one job so, can you really argue that a minister or cabinet member can give sufficient attention to their constituency?
We have many people in this country with a wealth of specialised knowledge and I think, for the good of our nation, we should harness it and use it to build Britain back up.
Reply Elected officials have to make the decisions.The Chancellor has to be in the Commons to sell a budget to MPs .Outside talent and expertise can be and should be accessed by making good people senior advisers as Thatcher did on the economy.
September 8, 2025
Cliff,
Re your last paragraph, Reform are intent on it.
September 8, 2025
Agricola,
Yes, it makes sense to use all the talents and I do feel that, in times of crisis, such as now, we need to adopt a more pragmatic approach to finding solutions. I don’t support maintaining the status quo, just because something has always been done in a certain way. Radical times, need radical solutions, in my humble opinion.
Reply We vote to choose our MPs. They need to make decisions and can select the best advice and staff to achieve their aims. The MP adviser model worked fine for most of Margaret Thatcher’s time in office. Bringing in senior Cabinet Ministers to the Lords is difficult as it is the MP s they need to keep on side. Lords junior Ministers with special skills are fine, working for elected Cabinet members.
September 8, 2025
reply reply
The problem is John so few MP’s now have any business, commercial, financial, management experience at all, due to the Party machine selection processes. most are talkers and theorists.
September 8, 2025
So choose other people.
September 8, 2025
@Reply – Sir John isn’t that what we expect, the manager, the Minister gets the advice from those that really know, then assess the direction before submitting to Cabinet and the Parliament to arrive at a consensus, even if it political. They get to own(Minister, Government,Parliament) the direction taken.
Sub-contracting things with out over-site has become a problem. Using think-tanks that have no practical experience is a problem.
Then as an aside, but related: There is some suggestion that AI could provide answers, then we learn the ‘Blob’ those in fear of their jobs, are resisting. Their resistance is said to come from the fact that Microsoft who has the contract for the States AI has stated that since the inception of AI their energy consumption has increased by 25%. The ‘Blobs’ story is that is bad for the environment more than it is for their jobs. However, we all know the UK is not allowed energy, the Government and Parliament has kept it artificially high to deter its use
September 8, 2025
To reply:- “ by making good people senior advisers” This shower and indeed the last chose rather appalling ill qualified advisors – we have a pleasant enough but totally deluded classics graduate as head of the climate change committee.
Then we have Chris Stark is a sort of law graduate who claims to be a climate policy expert and public official, who specialises in the interplay between climate change policy and business. In July 2024, he was announced as the head of a new “Mission Control centre for clean energy”.
Nothing dirty about CO2 plant, tree and crop food Mr Stark but perhaps you have not notices. Nothing particularly clean about making “renewable” collection equipment either. But what sensible engineer or physicist would want to drive forwards the mad zealot agenda of Ed Miliband as they would know after say 30 mins of thinking that his agenda was vastly expensive, unreliable and insane economic, defensive and energy suicide.
September 8, 2025
@Lifelogic – political ‘think-tank’ talking heads with no experience as advisors? You just have to laugh, the alternative is crying….
September 8, 2025
Indeed like appointing innumerate John Major as Chancellor or indeed anything. Or David Lammy with his brilliance on Mastermind! Or all the current cabinet and most of the shadow one!
September 8, 2025
The most notable feature of the re-shuffle, was who wasn’t ‘shuffled’. Red Ed is still sat there pushing costly Net Zero policies that clearly don’t work and that are increasingly less popular. But I guess there is a touch of the Eliot Ness about him – he’s an Untouchable…
September 8, 2025
Ed Miliband is a huge danger to the UK economy, its defence, its ability to compete… so is the man a mad climate alarmist religious zealot, is he on the make, or does he actually want to damage the UK? Are there any other possibilities? Energy costs of 3 to 4 times those of the US, China…so how are we to compete exactly in so many industries? Vast taxation levels and endless mad red tape too!
September 8, 2025
As is Bridget Phillipson, but trimmed of the skills brief, so now fully able to concentrate on schools and reversing the generally good progress made from 2010 – 24
September 8, 2025
VAT on private school fees is the complete reverse of what is needed which is tax breaks to encourage more to fund their children’s education! It will raise no net tax and damage education hugely too. Moronic politics of envy!
September 8, 2025
Sir John…a small edit to your assertion. The Chancellor has to be in the Commons to sell a budget to her sheeplike, incompetent MPs.
September 9, 2025
Is there anything to prevent MPs from hearing a Chancellor speaking in the Lords, as they do for the King’s speech? I don’t recall interventions other than baying from the benches during budget speeches.
Reply The Commons has full control over financial matters. You couldn’t set out a budget in the Lords and are banned from moving a Finance Bill
September 8, 2025
I don’t quite agree with this and the two previous blogs. Within the limitations of who he has to work with (Labour M.P.s) and overlooking his Truss style failure to include anybody other than his political allies in his Cabinet (he is not going to survive until the next general election anyhow), I think he has rather fine tuned his government so as to marginally improve its performance. In particular he seems to be doing his utmost to get a supporter instead of an opponent as deputy Labour leader as I suspect he will rally support for Lammy for that role as the most electable of his yes men.
September 8, 2025
I have pointed out a few times over the past decade that mass migration of millions of unemployed or low tax paying individuals will bankrupt the country.
The explanation is very simple. Millions of migrants claim £12k a year in financial benefits and £12k a year in housing benefits. As the average tax payer pays £6k a year it means each unemployed or low wage migrant takes 4 average tax payers out the system.
I also pointed out this form of economic problem creates a very slow death by debt, resembles a crucifixion, and the only alternative of mass deportation, resembles being tied to and shot by a cannon.
This is why both the Labour and Conservative Party is about to be assigned to a dustbin.
September 8, 2025
Well said. They have been importing poverty for several decades now and wonder why the country is getting poorer whilst the Globalist Corporations who support mass immigration of cheap foreign labour are getting richer.
It’s the classic capitalise the profits (for the Corporations) and socialise the costs (for the existing taxpayers) in action ….. courtesy of the WEF and delivered by their puppeticians.
September 8, 2025
@ javelin – you do not overlook that diversity is our strength and that any budgetary shortfalls can be met by more taxing of the rich?
September 8, 2025
“mass migration of millions of unemployed or low tax paying individuals will bankrupt the country”
And they have other back ups to do this too. Vast over taxation, the workers rights bill, mad employment laws, vast reams of red tape, high benefits that deter working, net zero lunacy, the net harm Covid vaccines and lockdowns a mere 400 billion and they are still jabbing some!
September 8, 2025
We’ve basically just witnessed a governmental game of Musical Chairs. That’s all; the kiddies have a new chair and will sit there, achieving nothing, until Two-Tier is forced to start the game again due to the next crisis – governmental or the consequence of individual “indiscretions.”
September 8, 2025
Last night there was a total eclipse of the moon. This was visible across Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia – but particularly China, where the lunar apparition appeared blood-red.
The Chinese revere the moon, they celebrate the Lunar New Year (the Spring Festival) as part of their traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture.
A blood-red lunar eclipse will be regarded as a bad omen by China and the Chinese diaspora. Coming so soon after the 80 year celebration of the defeat of the Japanese in WW2 – attended by dictators from Russia and N Korea with much blood on their hands – this will reinforce their superstitious persuasion.
September 8, 2025
We have enough mad superstitions here:- the war on CO2 plant food, the idea that worker rights helps workers, and tenants rights help tenants, the vastly high taxes help growth, the increasing employers NI does not hit working people…
I remember once sitting in the wrong seat on an aircraft with my children as the superstitious nutters had removed all the seats numbered 13 and so my counting failed! Just got them all organised but we then had to all move! And them explain to the children how mad some people and companies are!
Why do economists so often assume people are rational given all the vast evidence to the contrary? Many think they are off to heaven and even waste time and money buying millions of lottery tickets every day!
September 8, 2025
You ned to find out the meaning of the word ‘dictator’.
September 8, 2025
Indeed but worse still as we know they need translators, lawyers, extra access to medical services… and on average they commit more crimes with all the many costs of that – police, more lawyers, prisons, social workers, criminal injuries compensation… Then their relatives etc. come too.
September 8, 2025
The phrase that keeps coming to mind when looking at the Labour Party and this latest move around is, ‘you can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig’. Starmer is fixated with Marxist ideology, which has lit the path the other ministers follow. Ed Miliband is a fellow ideologue in the pursuit of ever more Left policy and explains why he was left untouched by the latest manoeuvres. The shuffling of the incompetents will not make them suddenly become competent or effective. What we will now see is more chaos and more public push back against an unpopular administration that is progressing very damaging policies that few people support.
It will not end well.
September 8, 2025
Perhaps given we have a prime minister “who gives so much time to foreign affairs.” he wishes to be his own Foreign Secretary so only needs a place holder in that office, the more ineffectual the better?
It was one of the oddest reshuffles ever, especially as all were recent appointments, unnecessarily large in scale, with ill-suited job swaps between incumbents, failure rewarded and little fresh talent introduced. And incomplete as more shuffling is in prospect when Chancellor Reeves goes.
September 8, 2025
The Farming Industry, an industry, as that is what it is has to be sacrificed to feel the ‘Black Hole’ that is growing by the day. This will then release ‘good’ productive farm land to housing and and to home expensive cost out of control imported green energy products. After all the Country doesn’t need food, self reliance and resilience. This continues the Uni-party Government supported by Parliament policy of the off-shoring of everything that would have saved the Country money. The added bonus is the seeding up of the destruction of a well integrated coherent society that is/was working in unison for the mutual benefit of all.
Parliament, Government and the ‘talking heads in general should take a look at the ‘World’ and reflect on how our competitor Nations are thriving, growing in wealth and advancing to a future.
September 8, 2025
The best thing that can be said about Starmer’s weekend re-shuffle was that it rather deftly diverted attention from the Reform limited company’s Birmingham conference. Farage was forced to bring forward his keynote speech to the Friday, in a laughable attempt to avoid being overshadowed by the cabinet reshuffle
The Reform conference was badly attended, with security at the doors refusing entry to large numbers of protesters. Those who managed to get in were treated to a loud and bizarre song by Andrea Jenkins as she strode onto the stage to open the proceedings with her arms outstretched
Lucy Connolly, recently released from a prison sentence for inciting racial hatred, was introduced on stage by the Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson as “Britain’s favourite political prisoner”
The star of the show was the anti-vax Dr Aseem Malhotra, who in a nearly one-hour speech advised the conference that King Charles’ cancer was caused by the Covid vaccine. Oh dear….
The conference ended with senior Reform members standing awkwardly on the conference stage singing the national anthem – many of whom clearly could not remember the words.
September 8, 2025
You evidently didn’t listen to what Dr Malhotra said, SG. His speech lasted 18 mins, not ‘nearly one hour’. He did not say what you make out, as you’d know even if you’d just read your favourite rag: ‘Aseem Malhotra claimed ’eminent oncologist’ said jab was ‘significant factor in the cancer of members of royal family.’ ‘ Guardian 6/9/2025
Malhotra’s actual words: “One of Britain’s most eminent oncologists, Professor Angus Dalgleish, said to me to share with you today that he thinks it’s highly likely that the Covid vaccines have been a significant factor in the cancers in the royal family.”
If you’d troubled to listen to his conference speech, SG, you would have heard a withering indictment of the drug companies and the corporate funding of the regulator. He called out MRNA gene therapy as the most lucrative product in medical history. Is that why you’re upset to hear the truth about it? Or do you simply prefer to smear Malhotra as ‘anti-vax’ because that’s all you’ve seen on your favourite social media.
September 9, 2025
You’re sounding desperate Mr Gold. All the MSM, even Fraser Nelson, acknowledged that the Reform Conference was very well organised, presented and attended by thousands of “ordinary” people … as well as business representatives and a clean sweep of the media.
Aseem Malhotra is not an “anti-vaxxer” he is a Cardiac Specialist. He was reporting the findings of Prof Angus Dalgleish, Cancer Specialist and various other major studies (from Japan and the Czech Republic to name just two) which have found a very close connection between repeated mRNA jabs and a significant increase in aggressive cancers … and he was reporting Prof Dalgleish’s professional, expert opinion that the jabs may be implicated in recent cases of cancer within the Royal Family.
Presumably you would prefer that people (Royal or otherwise) were not being put at increased risk of developing cancer and would support the idea of Evidence-Based Medicine – above Medicine For Profits courtesy of Big Pharma and its legions of paid “public sector” Scientists?
If you can’t “question the science” there IS no science.
September 8, 2025
As for ” I will write more about Ministers jobs…”, years ago you wrote an illuminating diary piece defining ministerial jobs at various levels, showing how junior ministers supported their Cabinet chiefs and those chiefs provided strategic direction. If it does not cut across what you now intend, others might appreciate the link – http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2013/10/09/ministerial-jobs/
September 8, 2025
For once the BBC summed it up well: the PM has clearly decided that he has all the right people in his Cabinet, but just in the wrong jobs. The responsibility for the failures lies firmly with the PM, however. They had 14 years in opposition. He was leader for 5 of them; yet they came to power with not the first idea of what they wanted to do. There was no plan. The Ming Vase was a chimera.
September 8, 2025
All the right people, but not necessarily in the right jobs? 🙂
September 8, 2025
‘all the right people’ gave me a laugh out loud moment! Thank you!
September 9, 2025
I suppose like Eric Morecombe he gave us a comedy Preview.
September 8, 2025
Ed.
What have you done with my contribution. Published in second llace at or by 06.00 hrs. Now disapeared. Why.
Reply Because it broke the rules on postings as you well know.
September 8, 2025
I most certainly do not know, explain yourself. I am tiring of your petty prejudices. You are becoming too much like most other politicians.
Reply I am an independent commentator. I do not publish probably false allegations about people and parties . If you do not like my blog you do not have to read it.
September 8, 2025
You’re not alone. Two days I’ve tried to point out the unsuitability of the person chosen as the latest Home secretary. Twice it’s been blocked. (could be three times if this one doesn’t get through)
September 8, 2025
400 Labour MPs and 100 paid executive jobs. That means 300 dissatisfied MPs. The new intake last year would have just been pleased to be there but now they will be getting ambitious.
Sir Two Tier has kept the various factions aligned by not sacking any of the faction leaders but is there such a paucity of talent that none of the the 300 MPs deserved a crack?
Student politics where the leader only listens to his friends.
September 8, 2025
and only his friends listen?
September 8, 2025
Who can manage the repair? Well, obviously it won’t be the puppets who call themselves ministers. Swapping jobs is not going to make any difference when there is no wish to stop the invasion or to stop sabotaging the economy with Net Zero. It just buys time. Neither will it be the Civil Service. For example, it was Gus O’Donnell who, when Cabinet Secretary, said in 2011: “When I was at the Treasury I argued for the most open door possible to immigration … I think it’s my job to maximise global welfare not national welfare”. We are left wondering what awful tragedy will have to occur before any action is taken to stop the invasion. Regarding the DESNZ Net Zero project, Professor Gordon Hughes of the Renewable Energy Foundation has calculated the total cost of renewable electricity subsidies since 2002 at £220bn (£8000/household). The current subsidy is £25.8bn/year and amounts to 40% of the cost of electricity. The weighted average price for operating fixed offshore wind CfDs is double the average wholesale electricity price.
September 8, 2025
Thank you, Sir John, for letting us who is now in which deckchair on the Titanic.
I’m more interested in what will come after the inevitable shipwreck of this government. Also, I’m interested in which former Conservatives will join its successor.
September 8, 2025
That’s not an iceberg – its an opportunity!
September 8, 2025
The PM is not a leader & never will be he is guided by the framework around him
He has no political instinct & is unable to spot talent progress will be very difficult
The conservatives have many natural leaders but are unable to appoint one
Nigel Farage is a natural leader which makes him very dangerous politically
I agree with John the reshuffle makes no sense for the progress of our country
but in the mind of an insecure PM it makes perfect sense
September 8, 2025
JP,
I think the purpose of the reshuffle and Rayner resigning, was purely to distract the media away from the Reform Conference, which would have had wall to wall coverage had there not been a news worthy event along side it.
Did Sir Keir think of this himself? Who knows.
September 8, 2025
With a Computer, you say, Garbage in, Garbage out! That sums up the reshuffle. Ministers who have not performed are moved sideways to fail at another job.
The PM has no charisma, no enthusiasm, no curiosity, and no vision and the reshuffle shows how weak he is.
Promoted far beyond his ability and surrounded by second and third-rate Ministers and advisers, he does not listen to people who challenge him. It is an old saying, but still very true. If we promote people who have little or no talent, we become a government of pygmies. If we promote people with more talent and ability than we have, we become a government of giants! But to promote people better than yourself takes a leader who is confident that their talent will then reflect well on him/her.
September 8, 2025
Elsewhere, it is reported that when Sir Keir asked Mr Miliband to leave his job as Energy Secretary– he refused.
“This appears to have been the one part of the reshuffle that didn’t quite go Starmer’s way,” said ITV political editor Robert Peston, who first reported the claims.
Good comment.. ‘Fancy being outmanoeuvred by Wallace and Gromit man’
September 8, 2025
The new Home Secretary is hosting five eyes today. Talk about terrible timing. Sir Two Tier could have performed his reshuffle this week rather than last.
Time spent thinking might have cleared his mind about the old guard too
September 8, 2025
It’s reported that the PM “asked” Miliband if he would move to the Housing brief vacated by Angela Rayner to which the answer was a resounding “No”. Weakness is obviously the PM’s strong point.
September 8, 2025
With the wrong philosophy, the wrong policies, the wrong personnel are a mere footnote.
September 8, 2025
Why has the justified resignation of Angela Rayner provoked so much reaction from Starmer? Before her departure there was no indication of dissatisfaction with so many members of his team at all? And remember this is the team he selected in July 2024 just 13 months ago! It all smacks of panic no doubt caused by Reform’s polling data and the imminent resurgent left wing party being formed by Jeremy Corbyn. This shows how detached Starmer is from his own party and more importantly tge people of this country.
September 8, 2025
(as at 4:30pm the government website have failed to produce any figures, perhaps due to the change of management at the home-office) ….criminals were illicitly shipped, into the UK yesterday on the 7th September from France…
September 8, 2025
65 …they reported 65 as at 4:45pm
September 8, 2025
Clued up and well briefed… The Defence secretary, John Healey, has said on television that if we left the European Convention on Human Rights, we would be the only nation in Nato to be outside it!…
Reply Indeed, news that the US is under ECHR!
September 8, 2025
Dear Sir John,
Perhaps you make unwarranted assumptions about the aims of government policy. For a wide variety of reasons and motivations, there are plenty of people in and around government for whom “traditional” farms and “traditional” pubs cannot disappear fast enough. Same for private house landlords.
Beyond the liberal/left instincts of a good human rights lawyer and administrator, Sir Keir Starmer does not seem to have ideas of his own and merely uses his skill to advocate and enforce tare he policies of others.
By almost any test, the Home Office has continued to be hopeless on immigration over the past year. But the underlying aim was probably only to enjoy the natural decline in agreed immigration and to sanitize the now merely “irregular” trade.
Critics of the 20 per cent tax on private school fees claim that it has backfired because quite a few junior schools have closed. Yet Wikipedia reports that Rachel Reeves has long campaigned to close private schools so the Chancellor may regard this as a great success.
September 9, 2025
It is easier to understand if you accept that the aims of Starmer’s Gang are not constructive, not pro-UK, but destructive and motivated by hate. They are happily destroying, elminating or changing what they hate most about UK: changing the people, destroying private enterprise, confiscating private property, destroying private education and through the Reset with the EU, transferring, according to Briefings for Britain, sovereignty back to the EU. And, no the voters will not be asked this time; Mandelson’s advice will be heeded this time. It is to be rejoin by stealth through the back door.
In more polite times we used to talk about the politics of envy. It is no longer envy. It is hatred, deep visceral hatred of Britain, its history and its people. Don’t forget Starmer confessed to being a Trotskyite. He remains a Trotskyite. Reeves remains an adoring fan of Red Ellen Wilkinson, a founder of the Communist Party of Britain. Starmer’s Gang want to see Britain crushed and reduced to a province of the EU to be stamped on, abused and plundered – if there will be anything left to plunder. Serve it right. That is their attitude.