News Round-Up

• “Starmer rules out votes for EU citizens in pledge U-turn” – Keir Starmer has ruled out giving votes to EU citizens, despite previously demanding “full voting rights for EU nationals”, reports the Telegraph.
• “Starmer woos Middle England saying he has ‘changed Labour permanently’” – Keir Starmer has vowed that Labour can be trusted with the U.K.’s “money, borders and security” at the next election, according to the Mail.
• “Keir Starmer’s tax on private school fees is a sordid strategy” – Keir Starmer’s tax raid on private school’s is a sordid strategy to throw red meat to Corbynistas – and proves he’s still a class warrior at heart, says Dominic Lawson in the Mail.
• “Rishi Sunak faces struggle to get bitter MPs up for the fight” – The challenge for the Prime Minister now is how to maintain discipline as Tory MPs fight for their futures, write Steven Swinford and Matt Dathan in the Times.
• “Leaked email blames Tory MPs for poor start to election campaign” – A leaked memo from Tory HQ reveals that Conservative ministers and MPs have failed to “get behind” campaigning and are refusing to knock on doors, according to the Times.
• “Tory minister accused of giving up after jetting off to Greece on holiday” – Northern Ireland Minister Steve Baker has been accused of giving up after jetting off to Greece instead of campaigning in his marginal constituency, says the Mirror.
• “Rising from the ashes” – After weekends of antisemitic demonstrations in London, Jews and their allies finally stood their ground at the Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley, writes Peter Harris in the New Conservative.
• “The myth of Saint Corbyn” – Hamas’s pogrom on October 7th should have shattered Jeremy Corbyn’s phoney moral authority for good, writes Tom Slater in Spiked.
• “The NY Times on the treaty failure, with my comments” – On Substack, Dr. Meryl Nass rips into Apoorva Mandavilli’s recent NY Times article covering the failed WHO treaty negotiations.
• “Confessions of a New Zealand surgeon” – New Zealand surgeon Dr. William Makis has been left seething with anger and feeling betrayed after suffering severe side effects from being coerced into receiving the COVID-19 vaccination.
• “More than 140 hospitals to bring in Martha’s Rule” – Martha’s Rule, the patient safety initiative allowing those in declining health to seek urgent second opinions about their care, is to be rolled out in 143 hospitals in England, according to Sky News.
• “‘Crime State Nexus’ project to stop Albanian criminal bosses in U.K.” – A secret U.K. operation has been launched to bring down Albanian gangsters and their criminal empires, reports the Mail.
• “Sheffield street fight: police make 25 arrests after Woodbourn Road disorder” – Police have arrested 25 people on suspicion of violent disorder offences after a large-scale fight in Sheffield, says the BBC, although details are suspiciously scant.
• “Struggling councils ‘sit on artworks worth millions with only a third on display’” – The Telegraph reports that bankrupt local authorities have been growing their art collections for the past four years, all while cutting back on public services.
• “Distinctive British television is at risk of disappearing” – ITV warns that broadcasters risk being forced to abandon “niche” British TV shows such as Mr. Bates vs The Post Office due to budget constraints amid a production downturn, according to the Telegraph.
• “Get at ’em!” – On Substack, Paul Sutton launches a satirical rant in support of the reinstatement of National Service.
• “Britain’s class ceiling barely has a crack in it” – A job advert that lumped working class people in with criminals underscores the entrenched nature of Britain’s class system, writes Lucy Burton in the Telegraph.
• “In praise of the pub” – The great British boozer is at the beating heart of our politics and culture, says Neil Davenport in Spiked.
• “German officer who ‘threw CDs over wall for Russians’ jailed for spying” – A former German military officer, accused of throwing CDs containing official secrets over a wall into the Russian consulate, has been convicted of spying, reports the Telegraph.
• “E-bike battery fires up 70% in 2023” – Fire crews responded to 70% more electric bike fires across the country in 2023 than the previous year, reveals the Telegraph.
• “Activists dress as rabbits in protest against solar farm” – Campaigners opposed to a large solar farm near the site that inspired Watership Down have dressed up as rabbits to protest against the development, says the Telegraph.
• “Aberdeen oil jobs at risk as energy industry warns of ‘apocalyptic’ outlook” – The U.K.’s energy sector is facing an “apocalyptic scenario” with firms considering quitting the country because of high taxes and the threat of banning new oil and gas drilling, reports the Times.
• “How the climate establishment went to war over Net Zero jargon” – In the Telegraph, Jonathan Leake discusses the ongoing debate about simplifying the language we use to talk about climate change.
• “NHS trust sparks backlash over internal trans guidance policy” – An NHS trust is under fire for its internal transgender guidance policy, which campaigners warn forces staff to “comply or face consequences”, says the Mail.
• “Holland & Barrett slammed over ‘menopause almond’ chocolate bar that is ‘insulting’ to women” – Holland & Barrett has sparked outrage over its “insulting” chocolate bar, described as containing “menopause almonds”, reports LBC.
• “Gender and Josef K.” – In the wake of a tribunal finding discrimination against Roz Adams, a former employee of Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre, due to her gender-critical views, Jean Hatchet reflects in the Critic on what it feels like to be accused of imaginary crimes.
• “Nigeria’s First Lady slams influence of U.S. stars after Meghan’s visit” – The First Lady of Nigeria has warned the country’s women not to “lose who they are” in a speech given shortly after Meghan Markle’s visit, where she also slammed the “nakedness” of U.S. celebrities, reports the Mail.
• “Mark Zuckerberg faces shareholder protest over child safety” – Mark Zuckerberg is facing a shareholder revolt over Facebook and Instagram’s approach to child safety, says the Telegraph.
• “The Silicon Valley geeks could destroy Hollywood” – AI’s rise spells disaster for our culture, warns Andrew Orlowski in the Telegraph.
• “‘China’s Kim Kardashian’ banned from social media” – An influencer dubbed ‘China’s Kim Kardashian’ has been banned from Chinese social media for bragging about his wealth, reports the Mail. 
• “WHO Director-General admits defeat on the WHO Pandemic Agreement” – WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirms that after more than two years of negotiations, Member States have failed to come up with a final draft of the Pandemic Preparedness Treaty.

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