Iain Anderson, the founder of the public relations from Cicero, said he was switching to Labour also in part because of the Conservatives’ plan to stoke a culture war against vulnerable groups.
Mr Anderson, who was named the government’s “LGBT business champion” in 2021, told the Financial Times the Tories were “not the party it used to be”, adding: “I can’t defend it.”
Leading businessman quits Tories after 40 years over anti-business approach [MSN/The Independent]
What have the Tories fucked up now?
Tory ministers accused of five-star lifestyle and using public money “like a cash machine”
The Guardian is reporting that Labour plans to release a dossier tomorrow that will show that the Tories have been treating the public like their own personal cash machine. They have, it is reported, been living it up with luxury travel and five-star hotels.
Meanwhile, the rest of us are worrying about how we will pay for food and heating.
Tory deputy chairman, Lee Anderson, says that nobody has ever committed a crime after being executed
The new deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, Lee Anderson, has said he would support the return of the death penalty.
In an interview with the Spectator before he was appointed to the role, he argued “nobody has ever committed a crime after being executed”.
Lee Anderson: New Tory deputy chairman would support return of death penalty, BBC News
Will Russia’s Economy Really Outperform the UK in 2023?
Starmer says Sunak is leading a party “addicted to sleaze and scandal” (The Independent)
Keir Starmer accused Rishi Sunak of leading a party that has an “addiction to sleaze and scandal.”
The Labour leader made the comments during a heated PMQs session on Wednesday, 1 February.
He said the economy was “shrinking faster” than Mr Sunak’s leadership and the justice system lets “murderers walk the streets.”
Sir Starmer also raised questions on his handling of former Tory party chairman Nadhim Zahawi’s tax affairs.
The prime minister accused Sir Starmer of taking the side of “extremist protesters and union bosses.”
Starmer says Sunak is leading a party “addicted to sleaze and scandal”, The Independent, YouTube
UK strikes: half a million workers demand “fair pay” (Channel 4 News)
Up to half a million striking workers made today the biggest mass action in the UK since 2011.
With teachers joining picket lines, working parents across England, Wales and Scotland had to make alternative arrangements as many schools and colleges closed to most or all pupils.
Thousands marched in London, where the head of the TUC called on the Prime Minister to “get round the table and deliver on public sector pay”.
As well as teachers, also on strike today were around 70,000 University staff from the UCU, some 100,000 civil servants from over 120 government departments and thousands of train workers from RMT unions, as well as some London bus services.
UK strikes: half a million workers demand “fair pay”, Channel 4 News, YouTube
Is Sunak still collecting Russia-related blood money?
In March of 2022, The Guardian reported that Sunak’s wife was profiting from Russian money. Are they still collecting Russian blood money?
The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is under mounting pressure over accusations that his wife, Akshata Murthy, is collecting “bloody money” in dividends from a family company that has refused to pull out of Russia, despite Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats are calling on Sunak to answer “very serious questions” over Murthy’s estimated $900m (£690m) stake in the IT services and consultancy company Infosys.
Sunak under pressure over wife’s Russia-related ‘blood money’ dividends, The Guardian)
The Tories are STILL Losing: Why Sunak Can’t Fix It [TLDR News]
The UK economy will shrink and perform worse than Russia’s IMF says
The UK economy will shrink and perform worse than other advanced economies, including Russia, as the cost of living continues to hit households, the International Monetary Fund has said.
UK expected to be only major economy to shrink in 2023 – IMF, BBC
BBC is reporting that the UK economy is the worst of any advanced economy. Is rock bottom the Tory legacy? Is this failure of leadership the “Brexit dividend”? Either way, it stinks.
What 12 years of Conservative rule has done to the NHS
This one comes from Mastodon.
This is what 12 years of Conservative rule has done to the NHS. It’s utterly tragic.
Bremain in Spain
