For someone so effusive about the law, Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to accept sizeable donations from Just Stop Oil backer Dale Vince shows remarkably skewed judgment.
After all, this is a man whose fortune has helped the eco zealots wreak misery around the country through anti-social behaviour and wanton acts of vandalism.
Right-thinking people may feel Sir Keir should return the money, but by repeatedly attempting to block legislation designed to crack down on the protesters’ antics, he’s already shown where his sympathies lie.
Meanwhile, Labour’s reported plan to halt all new North Sea oil and gas developments demonstrates just how aligned he is to Just Stop Oil’s crazed – not to say financially ruinous – demands.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be altogether surprised by all this. Whether it’s supporting strikers or taking the knee for Black Lives Matter, Sir Keir will jump on any protest bandwagon going – just so long as it causes trouble for the Government.
Sir Keir is forever telling us that Labour has moved on from the loony tunes days of Jeremy Corbyn and is serious about governing. But by siding with a man so inextricably yoked to the eco wreckers and their crackpot ideas, he’s proved that to be utter nonsense.
No interest in savers
Self-reliance, prudence and thrift: Are these not the values which capture the very essence of Conservatism?
If so, someone may need to remind Jeremy Hunt, whose decision to slash the tax threshold on share dividends and capital gains tax has effectively turned that philosophy on its head.
New rules mean hundreds of thousands of modest strivers are facing shock tax bills on investments they sensibly made in shares and property in order to provide for their retirement.
And since many of those affected won’t be used to submitting a tax return, some will end up being hit with punitive fines by HMRC, compounding their misery further.
Coming from Labour, these assaults would be bad enough. But for a Conservative chancellor to perform such a stealthy raid on hard-earned nest eggs is truly shameful.
Those who scrimp and save are not just the backbone of our economy – they also tend to be traditional Tory voters.
Rather than trying to conjure up ever more inventive ways to grab their money, Mr Hunt should urgently be trying to reduce their tax bills before the election. Otherwise he may just find them deserting his party in droves.
Justice for Joanna
Robert Brown brutally bludgeoned his wife Joanna Simpson to death with a claw hammer within earshot of their two young children days after he had dug a grave.
Yet far from spending his life behind bars, the former airline pilot could walk free in November having served just half of his 26-year sentence.
After the Mail recently issued a plea on behalf of Joanna’s mother Diana Parkes, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has now promised to pass urgent reforms which will block Brown’s release.
That decision is of course enormously welcome. But how on earth could this cold, remorseless monster ever have been eligible for release in the first place?
As the country prepares for yet more rail strikes tomorrow, the financial repercussions of the union barons’ selfish intransigence is laid bare. According to analysis, walkouts have cost the rail industry more than £900million over the past year. Well-remunerated train drivers won’t care – for them, more strikes mean more time basking in the half-term sunshine. But for millions of hard-working commuters, it’s another week of abject misery.
