Michael Gove's Spectator could Reform its allegiance
In the past 12 months the Conservatives have lost power, lost a leader, lost their way and now, it seems, they may lose their organ. The Spectator has usually been a bastion of support for the Tories but, with the right wing in flux, it seems even that endorsement may be up in the air. 'We're giving house room to Reform,' the new editor Michael Gove told Andrew Neil on Times Radio, as he weighs up his options. Gove says that both Farage's upstarts and Badenoch's bedraggled band will be held to account by the magazine until either has shown they can be an 'effective governing force'. Neil was sceptical of this impartiality, pointing out that the editor now takes the Tory whip in the Lords, but apparently this isn't enough to tame the Govester. 'The whip in the House of Lords,' Gove said, 'is a whip so gentle that it doesn't even count as BDSM.'
Spooky coincidence
It's Pride month and everyone is getting into the spirit, including our spies. Sir Richard Moore, the head of MI6, announced on Tuesday that his organisation would be flying the Pride flag from its base in Vauxhall Cross. Moore tweeted that this showed that 'sexual orientation is no bar to you working and thriving' in our secret service. A praiseworthy message — although it probably would not have come as much of a shock to Guy Burgess and Anthony Blunt.
No ifs, no butts
The students of Eton are lucky in their provost. The journalist, museum chief and fashion honcho Sir Nicholas Coleridge, who now holds that post, told the Radio Oldie podcast that he goes for walks across the college grounds on a daily basis to get his 10,000 steps in. On any other campus, this would mean seeing all sorts of rule-breaking, but he does his bit to ensure the integrity of the college is upheld. 'If I saw someone smoking out of a window,' he said, 'I just wouldn't look too hard.'
Bigger news still: Coleridge says that Eton is admitting women, though only at reunions for very old boys. 'They're allowed to bring their wives when they're 78,' he said, 'so they can drive them home afterwards.' Perhaps future generations of old boys will be a little more egalitarian, although one would have thought that this particular group of alumni could afford a cab.
Presidential seal
A good review can do wonders for a restaurant but sometimes a bad review is even better. The former editor of Vanity Fair, Graydon Carter, is also a restaurateur and owns the Waverly Inn in New York's Greenwich Village — which, despite being a great success, hasn't been to every Manhattanite's taste. One bad review has ended up at the top of the menu. It reads 'Worst food in the city', a quote attributed to one Donald Trump. Carter tells the River Cafe podcast Table 4: 'That hasn't hurt business.'
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Daily Mail
8 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Show us your BritCard: Minister confirms Government looking at introducing ID app in illegal immigration crackdown
The Government is 'absolutely' looking at the idea of introducing a BritCard ID app as it seeks to tackle illegal immigration. a Cabinet minister confirmed today. Environment Secretary Steve Reed said that ministers 'know we need to look at all the actions we can take' to reduce the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats. The phone app would display a person's right to live, work and rent in the UK on a smartphone. And as well as blocking illegal immigrants from working, supporters say it would also tackle benefit fraud through links to government records. It has already received support from several cabinet ministers, including cabinet office minister Pat McFadden and technology secretary Peter Kyle. And today Mr Reed told Times Radio on Friday morning, Mr Reed said: 'It's absolutely something that we are looking at, and that we should be looking at.' He added: 'We know we need to look at all the actions we can take to stop the levels of illegal migration that we were seeing particularly under the last government. 'We have to stop the number of people that we've seen who don't have a right to come here.' Environment Secretary Steve Reed said that ministers 'know we need to look at all the actions we can take' to reduce the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats. Asked whether he thought digital IDs should be mandatory, Mr Reed told the same station: 'There's a discussion going on and I'm happy to take part in that discussion as well. Advocates think the scheme will send the message that Britain is not 'a soft touch' on illegal migration and will decrease the 'pull' factor, which many European countries blame for the ongoing small boats crisis. Britain remains the only European nation without an ID card system, with Tony Blair 's famous attempt to introduce one collapsing in 2011, after the coalition government pulled the plug on it. It is also hoped the app can tie a number of different services together, including ordering passports, displaying driving licences and national insurance numbers, and offering NHS services. Labour Together, a think tank run by Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, from 2017 to 2020, has collated plans for the card and sent them to Downing Street. They include a requirement to 'show' the ID when renting a property or starting a new job, with the system automatically checking their right to work or rent against government records. Existing documents to check identity can be easily forged, potentially deceiving landlords or prospective employers. A mock up of the app, seen in the plans, shows a screen with an individuals' face and name on it, as well as his right to work and rent statuses, driving licence, and options to share identity or age. The report, published on Friday, urges the Prime Minister to make digital identity a 'top prime ministerial priority' and commence a 'fundamental transformation in the way British citizens interact with the government'. It points to a poll which suggests 80 per cent of the public back the implementation of digital right-to-work credentials, with just under one in three believing it would act as a deterrent against people entering the country illegally. The report said that those who did not want to have a digital ID card on their phone would be allowed to carry a physical one instead. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has placed herself in opposition to some of her colleagues, including many from the 'Red Wall' wave of Labour MPs, with Home Office sources describing her position as 'nuanced'. Sir Keir Starmer has admitted the public has 'every right to be angry' about the issue after more than a thousand migrants made the journey in a single day for the first time this year. Home Office data showed 1,194 migrants arrived in 18 boats on Saturday. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper , pictured in May, has placed herself in opposition to some of her colleagues, including many from the 'Red Wall' wave of Labour MPs But Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described Sir Keir's words as 'rubbish', claiming that even Defence Secretary John Healey had acknowledged ministers had 'lost control' of the borders. Saturday's figures were the first time daily crossings topped a thousand in 2025, and prompted Mr Healey to claim Britain had 'lost control' over the last five years, implicating the former Tory government. Writing on social media site X on Monday, the Prime Minister said: 'You have every right to be angry about small boat crossings. 'I'm angry too. We are ramping up our efforts to smash the people smuggling gangs at source.' He claimed hundreds of boats and engines had been 'seized', raids on illegal working were up, and 'almost 30,000 people' had been returned. But Mrs Badenoch hit back, responding: 'Rubbish! Even the Defence Secretary admits the govt has 'lost control' of our borders.' Small boat arrivals are 'up 95% from this point in 2023', she said, and claimed ministers had 'scrapped the only viable deterrent': the previous Conservative government's Rwanda plan. Sir Keir had earlier insisted the Rwanda plan 'didn't deter anybody', after his decision to scrap it was highlighted while he visited Glasgow for a major defence announcement. He added: 'I'm not up for gimmicks. I'm up for the hard work of working with partners, enhancing the powers that law enforcement have, in my determination to take down the gangs that are running this vile trade.' Saturday's crossings brought the provisional annual total so far of migrants who have made the journey to 14,811. This is 42 per cent higher than the same point last year (10,448) and 95% up from the same point in 2023 (7,610). It is still lower than the highest daily total of 1,305 arrivals since data began in 2018, which was recorded on September 3, 2022.
BBC News
13 minutes ago
- BBC News
Trump and Musk quarrel, wetin we know
Di quarrel between US President Donald Trump and im former adviser Elon Musk explode for public, to di point wia dem dey insult each oda, dis na afta di tech billionaire criticise one of Trump key domestic policies. Di two billionaires quarrel reach anoda level throughout Thursday, dem criticise each oda for di social media sites wey dem own, wey suggest bitter conclusion to dia unlikely alliance. Di day start wen Trump say im bin dey "disappointed" wit Musk criticisms of im administration centrepiece tax and spending bill, suggesting say dis fit be di end of dia "great relationship". Musk den accuse Trump of "ingratitude", im add say: "Without me, Trump for lose di election". After hours of gbas- gbos, Trump downplay di situation. "Oh it's okay," im tell news site Politico. "E dey go very well, never done better." Im aides bin schedule a phone call wit Musk for Friday, di same news site report am. Musk also appear to believe say im need to patch tins up. Late on Thursday, in response to post by Bill Ackman, one prominent Trump backer, wey suggest say di pair need to make peace, im write: "You no dey wrong" Di breaking point for di relationship between di president and im one-time ally come afta weeks wia Musk dey lobby against Trump "big, beautiful" spending bill, wey US House bin pass last month and dem dey wait for Senate vote. Shortly afta im leave di Department of Goment Efficiency (Doge) afta 129 days on di job, Musk call di bill "disgusting abomination" and im post for X say: "Shame on those wey vote for am: you know you do wrong." Im argue say di bill will irresponsibly add to US national debt, and im encourage im followers to phone dia representatives to express opposition to di spending plan. Speaking to reporters during one news conference wit German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday, Trump defend di bill and say: "I dey very disappointed becos Elon know di inner workings of dis bill pass almost anybody wey dey siddon hia. All of a sudden im get problem wit am." Im go on to suggest say Musk bin dey vex about di removal of subsidies and mandates for electric vehicles, which fit affect im Tesla business. Musk deny say dat na di case and im write say: "Keep di EV/solar incentive cuts for di bill, even though e no touch oil & gas subsidies (very unfair!!), but ditch di MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK for di bill." "Pork" na wetin dem dey use for US politics to describe wasteful government spending, particularly on tins wey dey meant to curry favour wit particular groups or local areas. Di partnership between di two men start wen Musk bin endorse Trump last July afta di assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. Di Tesla boss reportedly pour in $290m (£213m) into getting Trump back into di White House. Wit all di many posts on X afta Thursday news conference, Musk bin take credit for di Republican victory for last November election, e write say: "Without me, Trump for lose di election, Dems go control di House and di Republicans go be 51-49 for Senate." "Such ingratitude," im add. Musk go on to post a poll, im asking im followers: "time don reach to create a new political party for America wey actually represents di 80% wey dey middle?" Ova di course of di day, Musk go on to repost one tweet wey call for Trump to resign, im argue say im global tariff plan go trigger a US recession, and to suggest without evidence say Trump appear for di unreleased files wey dey related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein bin chop arrest for July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking and die by suicide while im bin dey await trial. Dat time Trump na president. Im say im bin know Epstein "like everybody know am for Palm Beach" but im bin "fall out wit am a long time ago". Di White House condemn Musk allegation, press secretary Karoline Leavitt tok inside one statement say: "Dis na an unfortunate episode from Elon, wey no dey happy wit di One Big Beautiful Bill becos e no include di policies wey im want." For im Truth Social network, Trump claim say Musk "just go CRAZY" and im go on to post: "The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, na to terminate Elon Gomental Subsidies and Contracts. I bin surprise say Biden no do am!" Musk companies, including Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink get direct contacts wit di US goment and, like many oda businesses, also benefit from subsidies and tax breaks. In response, Musk say SpaceX "go begin to decommission dia Dragon spacecraft immediately". Di craft dey used to carry pipo and supplies go di International Space Station. Telsa stock drop by 14% within hours wen di public know about di quarrel. According to the most recent analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, di spending bill working its way through Congress go increase US national debt by $2.4tn ova 10 years and leave nearly 11 million pipo without goment-backed health insurance. Di White House disputes those figures, dem say dem no be dem dey account for revenues brought in by increased tariffs. Musk bin dey in charge of di radical slashing goment spending for Doge, Musk initiate mass sackings and wholesale elimination of departments such as di US Agency for International Development (USAID). Doge claim say dem save $180bn, although dat number pipo dey dispute am, and e dey well short of Musk initial aim to cut spending by up to $2tn.
The Independent
23 minutes ago
- The Independent
Richard Tice says Reform should ‘discuss' burqa ban after party chair quits
Reform 's deputy leader, Richard Tice, is advocating for a national debate on banning burqas in Britain, despite it not being the party's official policy. The call for a debate follows the resignation of Reform's chairman, Zia Yusuf, who deemed the proposal to ban burqas as "dumb." Sarah Pochin, Reform's new MP for Runcorn and Helsby, raised the issue during PMQs, urging the government to consider a ban on burqas for public safety reasons, similar to some European countries. Prime Minister Keir Starmer rejected the call, and a Reform spokesman clarified that banning burqas was not party policy, leading to criticism from the far-right. Nigel Farage said he supported a broader debate on face coverings in public, while Mr Tice denied the party was in chaos and praised the work of the outgoing chairman.
