Latest news with #PlanetNormal
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mel Stride: Reform is not offering the public a realistic economic deal
' There is a deep, dangerous fiscal irresponsibility at the heart of the offer that Reform has' On the latest Planet Normal podcast, which you can listen to using the audio player below, columnists Liam Halligan and Allison Pearson speak to Mel Stride, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, who warns of growing economic threats from both the Left and the populist Right. Speaking ahead of his speech today, Mr Stride outlines where he sees the fiscal threat from Reform and why he doesn't believe they will be effective. 'It appears that they are whatever kind of party they think will appeal to what people want to hear in different parts of the country and across the political spectrum. This is a party that, on the one hand, likes to talk about lowering taxes, and on the other hand wants to increase welfare spending, with the abolition of the two child benefit cap.' 'These tax cuts are there right across the board and where they can apparently find the money very quickly, but none of it is realistic.' In regards to Labour, Mr Stride lays out where he believes they have caused economic damage; ' The reality is this government's economic policy, which has included putting up National Insurance on employers, that cost has been passed on by way of higher prices has also fuelled inflation. 'It has also had a devastating consequence on the servicing costs of our national debt. We are now spending, on servicing costs on our national debt alone, about a hundred billion pounds, which is twice what we spend on defence. Those kinds of levels of spending and pressure on the public finances can be laid very squarely at the door of Rachel Reeves.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Andrew Griffith: We need a UK DOGE to cut government spending
'We do need a scythe like exercise to push back on some of this level of regulation' On the latest Planet Normal podcast, which you can listen to using the audio player above, columnists Liam Halligan and Allison Pearson speak to Andrew Griffith, Shadow Business and Trade Secretary, about the economic outlook for the UK following Labour's recent economic policy announcements, and whether the country would benefit from a DOGE, Elon Musk's cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency. The Conservative MP for Arundel and South Downs says 'my old fashioned view is the job of every minister in their department is to deliver value for money and spend money wisely as if it's your own,' but did go on to say 'whether you institutionalise it as DOGE or have a separate unit in the cabinet office, I would certainly, on day one, have a very ambitious program of restoring lines of demographic accountability.' Griffith, who has previously worked as CFO and COO for Sky, believes we have too many regulators, which stymies new business, 'The clock speed of the UK economy is just painful. We all know it takes so long to build infrastructure projects. It takes a long time to get clearance for a business merger. I want a new generation of entrepreneurs.' 'They have got smart ideas and they are ambitious. Many of them are leaving and going to other countries overseas. A little bit of movement is not a bad thing, but when people feel they are pushed out because of crime, the cost of living, housing or just facing a higher-margin tax rate, if they succeed, that is something I think should upset everybody.' 'When these people leave [the county] everybody is poorer. The people who stay behind have to pay either more tax or there is just less money to go round for our public services. Planet Normal, a weekly Telegraph podcast featuring news and views from beyond the bubble. Listen on the audio player above or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your preferred podcast app. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'It's very hard to point to a single concession that Trump has forced Putin to make'
'The shocking part of what's happened over the last couple of weeks is that apparently Trump and Washington are willing to sign off on essentially redrawing international borders at the demands of Vladimir Putin... But I don't think Trump is a Russian agent. I think that's completely childish and stupid' On the latest Planet Normal podcast, which you can listen to using the audio player above, columnists Liam Halligan and Allison Pearson discuss the war in Ukraine with historian and author Owen Matthews as negotiations for peace continue. The author of Overreach: The Inside Story of Putin's war on Ukraine sees the war between Ukraine and Russia at a stalemate but also at a 'grim moment', 'The Russians have been attacking and advancing, and Ukrainians have been pushed back in certain places.' He added, 'There's a sense that the Ukrainians are exhausted. They haven't got enough men. They haven't got enough ammunition' Without continuing support from the US Owen says the burden will fall to closer allies, 'There is no way for Ukraine to make any major military advances without a full commitment of the West.' Asked to assess the chances of a ceasefire in the coming weeks, Owen concludes ' I think actually, yes, given what we know. It's an extraordinary sort of piece of geopolitical luck that suddenly, for internal American reasons, the US administration suddenly sort of landed in his [Putin's] lap. It's turned his way. The world has turned his way. Planet Normal, a weekly Telegraph podcast featuring news and views from beyond the bubble. Listen on the audio player above or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your preferred podcast app. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
'It's very hard to point to a single concession that Trump has forced Putin to make'
'The shocking part of what's happened over the last couple of weeks is that apparently Trump and Washington are willing to sign off on essentially redrawing international borders at the demands of Vladimir Putin... But I don't think Trump is a Russian agent. I think that's completely childish and stupid' On the latest Planet Normal podcast, which you can listen to using the audio player above, columnists Liam Halligan and Allison Pearson discuss the war in Ukraine with historian and author Owen Matthews as negotiations for peace continue. The author of Overreach: The Inside Story of Putin's war on Ukraine sees the war between Ukraine and Russia at a stalemate but also at a 'grim moment', 'The Russians have been attacking and advancing, and Ukrainians have been pushed back in certain places.' He added, 'There's a sense that the Ukrainians are exhausted. They haven't got enough men. They haven't got enough ammunition' Without continuing support from the US Owen says the burden will fall to closer allies, 'There is no way for Ukraine to make any major military advances without a full commitment of the West.' Asked to assess the chances of a ceasefire in the coming weeks, Owen concludes ' I think actually, yes, given what we know. It's an extraordinary sort of piece of geopolitical luck that suddenly, for internal American reasons, the US administration suddenly sort of landed in his [Putin's] lap. It's turned his way. The world has turned his way.
Telegraph
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Badenoch: I fear Labour will erode free speech with blasphemy laws
Kemi Badenoch has warned that Labour is a threat to free speech in Britain after some of the party's MPs backed blasphemy laws. In an interview with The Telegraph, the Tory leader hit out at an 'authoritarian' streak in the governing party that she said was placing freedom of expression 'under threat'. It comes as Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, plans to introduce a new definition of Islamophobia, which critics have warned could amount to a de facto blasphemy law. Last year, a Labour backbencher also used Prime Minister's Questions to propose a law banning the 'desecration' of religious texts and prophets. Mrs Badenoch told The Telegraph's Planet Normal podcast: 'I don't think Labour understands the importance of free speech, how it is a core British value. 'When you look at some of the rhetoric that we hear from Labour MPs, a lot of authoritarian stuff. We have Labour MPs talking about blasphemy laws. 'That's not free speech. They haven't brought it in yet, but we need to be very vigilant that we do not allow the erosion of core principles like freedom of speech in the UK.' Mrs Badenoch said she disagreed with JD Vance, the US vice-president, who said that free speech was 'disappearing' in the UK, but warned it was 'under threat'. Ms Rayner is overseeing plans to introduce a formal definition of Islamophobia to combat anti-Muslim hatred. She has set up a five-person working group, led by Dominic Grieve, the former Tory attorney general, to come up with 'appropriate and sensitive language'. While in opposition, Labour said it would adopt a controversial definition of Islamophobia that was drawn up in 2018 by an all-party parliamentary group. Critics warned that definition was open to such wide interpretation that it would act as a de facto blasphemy law and stifle criticism of Islam as a religion. Last November, Tahir Ali, a Labour MP, urged Sir Keir to act to 'prohibit the desecration of all religious texts and the prophets of the Abrahamic religions'. In his response, at Prime Minister's Questions, the Prime Minister did not directly reject the demand, simply replying that 'desecration is awful and should be condemned'. The exchange prompted accusations that Labour was planning to introduce blasphemy laws, which ministers were subsequently forced to deny. 'Extreme activists took root' In the interview, Mrs Badenoch also admitted that the Tories 'ended up just allowing extreme activists to take root' by looking the other way on gender ideology. Asked about last week's Supreme Court ruling, she said that the party had been initially too dismissive of women's concerns as a 'niche issue'. 'One of the lessons that my party has now learnt is that sometimes just because everybody agrees on something doesn't mean it's right, and that sometimes you have to pay attention to things that don't look like big issues,' she said. 'This stuff was allowed to seed for a very long time because many people thought, 'well, you know, we don't talk about this. We talk about the economy. Just ignore it – this is a niche issue'. And also believing that this was how you showed support for people who were LGBT.' Mrs Badenoch said that approach had led the Tories to forget their principles, including standing up for basic freedoms. 'By not looking at the principles and just going along with what many people have been saying, initially we ended up just allowing extreme activists to take root,' she added.
