ANDREW PIERCE: High-level Tory talks for King of the North?
You might have thought so-called King of the North Andy Burnham, who infuriated many Labour MPs by grandstanding at their party conference last week, would take a back seat now that the Tory conference is under way in Manchester.
Not a bit of it. The Mayor of Greater Manchester has had a Zoom call on ‘levelling up’ with Housing Secretary Michael Gove.
Burnham is also going to speak tomorrow at a Tory conference fringe event organised by Transport for the North.
You might have thought so-called King of the North Andy Burnham, who infuriated many Labour MPs by grandstanding at their party conference last week, would take a back seat now that the Tory conference is under way in Manchester
And I hear he has invited Gove, whose official title is Housing and Levelling Up Secretary, to a meeting at his Mayoral office tomorrow. Gove has agreed to go.
The Labour leadership will not like it. In his speech last week, Sir Keir Starmer joked about Boris and the fuel crisis. ‘Level up? He can’t even fill up.’
But the Labour leader is actually so worried about the Tory’s ‘levelling up’ plans (designed to boost the Red Wall constituencies the Tories captured at the last election) that Labour MPs have been told by their Whips not to criticise the policy.
And shadow ministers have even been instructed not to use the phrase ‘levelling up’.
Andy Burnham clearly didn’t get the memo.
Lords tear hear out over wigs
A revolt is brewing in the House of Lords over the move after 300 years to abolish full uniform and horsehair wigs for parliamentary clerks.
The decision was revealed last week in a written parliamentary answer by Senior Deputy Speaker Lord Gardiner.
Traditional attire will now be worn only for ceremonial occasions — a ruling taken without the consent of peers.
It follows a similar move by John Bercow in 2017, when he was Speaker of the Commons, to scrap wigs for clerks in the Commons.
But it has all gone down badly in the Upper House. Lord Cormack is not happy. ‘I am a democrat. I deeply regret the way this was decided.’
No nonsense Tory MP Lee Anderson is in no doubt what to do about the foolish and reckless Insulate Britain activists.
‘The police should adopt a zero-tolerance approach, and as soon as one of these morons steps foot on the motorway they should be carted off in an electric police van and locked up in a fully insulated cell.’
Now why didn’t Home Secretary Priti Patel think of that?
Reminded on Radio 4 that many Labour MPs thought he should have been Labour leader, Alan Johnson, who rose through the ranks to be Home Secretary, replied: ‘I would have been terrible at it, had I done it.’
An admirable admission — and a sentiment that never stopped others in recent years.
Reminded on Radio 4 that many Labour MPs thought he should have been Labour leader, Alan Johnson, who rose through the ranks to be Home Secretary, replied: ‘I would have been terrible at it, had I done it’
Gushing praise for Sir Keir Starmer’s conference speech from Phil Collins — not the rock drummer but a former speech writer for Tony Blair.
‘The Labour conference applauded being tough on crime, NATO and patriotism, and gave a visceral cheer to Labour’s time in office …this was quite a moment.
‘Coverage of Starmer’s speech puts him in a much better place than he was before. Only a small job, but a job done.’
No wonder Collins was a fan. He had a hand in writing it.
DOMINIC GOES FOR THE DAME
Dame Cressida Dick’s Met Police refused to bow to pressure to investigate Dominic Cummings over his Durham lockdown transgressions.
That hasn’t stopped Boris Johnson’s former policy chief wading into the row over whether she should keep her job after the Sarah Everard scandal.
He tweeted: ‘Awful decision for PM to keep Dick — never challenge the permanent bureaucracy is the No 10 rule now.
‘Met leadership performance on this & so much else has been a disaster & WILL CONTINUE TO BE unless huge management changes.’
There’s gratitude for you!
Dame Cressida Dick’s Met Police refused to bow to pressure to investigate Dominic Cummings over his Durham lockdown transgressions
That hasn’t stopped Boris Johnson’s former policy chief wading into the row over whether she should keep her job after the Sarah Everard scandal
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