News Round-Up

• “Who won tonight’s debate?” – Both leaders survived the latest election debate – but searching questions were put to both by the Sun’s Harry Cole, especially the Labour leader about his credibility, writes Janet Daley in the Telegraph.
• “Tories beg for more money as ‘union barons and champagne socialists’ boost Labour coffers” – Tory activists have been asked to “close the gap” in campaign funding as Keir Starmer’s party secures major donations, reports the Telegraph.
• “Keir Starmer to appoint dozens of peers within weeks of taking office” – Keir Starmer will appoint dozens of new peers in an attempt to push through his policies, says the Telegraph.
• “Keir Starmer is about to suck the last remaining joy out Britain” – Britain will soon become a paternalist’s paradise, where egalitarianism and bureaucracy reign supreme, warns Tim Stanley in the Telegraph.
• “The ‘conspiracy of silence’ behind Labour’s secret plan for a wealth tax raid” – Perhaps the most notable part of the Labour manifesto was what it did not say, writes Melissa Lawford in the Telegraph.
• “Farage goes on the attack after Ukraine criticism” – Following Boris Johnson’s condemnation of Farage’s Russia remarks, the Reform leader’s tone has changed, writes James Heale in the Spectator.
• “Nigel Farage’s Ukraine comments aren’t ‘disgraceful’” – Farage’s critics’ fulminations over his latest comments only reinforce the impression of a condescending political class that brooks no dissent, says Noah Carl in UnHerd.
• “Farage’s views on Putin aren’t just wrong, they’re weird” – The Reform leader has urged us not to “poke the Russian bear with a stick”, but what is one supposed to do when the bear advances unpoked? asks Charles Moore in the Telegraph.
• “People who vote Reform will get the opposite of what they want” – Labour will hike taxes, open our borders and undermine our sovereignty. We must not let them ruin Britain, writes Nick Timothy in the Telegraph.
• “Election Selection: II” – On Substack, Jack Watson provides a brief summary of the Conservatives’ manifesto.
• “How tactical voting will influence the election” – Several websites appear to be encouraging people to vote across party lines in key constituencies to “stop the Tories”. So, are the Conservatives heading for a 1997 moment? asks Tom Calver in the Times.
• “Netanyahu says war in Gaza is winding down but warns of conflict with Hezbollah” – In a rare TV interview, Benjamin Netanyahu says that the IDF will soon be able to redeploy troops to the northern border with Lebanon, according to the NY Times.
• “Doctors union ‘a vehicle for antisemitism’ warn religious leaders” – At the British Medical Association’s annual meeting, members shouted “shame” as a female medic told delegates she was a “practicing Jew”, reports the Mail.
• “Deadly quiet” – On Substack, Justin Smith discusses the wall of silence surrounding excess deaths.
• “Human rights were violated during Covid” – Many Australians got vaccinated to avoid losing their jobs or being separated from loved ones. Those who refused lost everything but their integrity, writes Rebekah Barnett on her Substack.
• “The great lockdown swindle” – A credible case could be made to say that some vested interest groups wanted to see a terrible overreaction to Covid, provided it was accompanied by enough money printing, says Alex Kriel on Substack.
• “The Pfizer/White House files” – On X, Alex Berenson discusses the fallout from leaked documents exposing Pfizer and Biden administration officials colluding with Twitter to silence Covid vaccine critics.
• “Standing on the corner” – The FDA seemingly allowed activists, Big Pharma and the Government to expose healthy individuals to an untested vaccine, say Prof. Carl Heneghan and Dr. Tom Jefferson on Substack.
• “Elderly patient forced to urinate in the corridor in NHS care crisis” – The Mail documents the moment an undercover reporter was moved to tears inside an A&E unit after an elderly man was forced to urinate in a bottle in full view of staff and other patients. 
• “Met Police ‘leaked names of betting-scandal Tories’” – Scotland Yard has been accused of leaking the identities of the Tories implicated in the General Election betting scandal, reports the Telegraph.
• “Starmer attended private school on Saturdays” – Starmer, who has repeatedly claimed his background was “working class”, actually attended a private music school on Saturdays, according to Guido Fawkes.
• “Migrants in France ‘waiting for Labour Government’” – Migrants in northern France say they are waiting for a Labour Government before crossing the Channel after Keir Starmer pledged to scrap the Rwanda scheme, reports the Telegraph.
• “Record number of migrants cross Channel in first six months of year” – The number of migrants arriving in the U.K. after crossing the Channel has hit a new record for the first six months of a calendar year, says the Standard.
• “U.K. technocrats sharpen the knives of manipulation” – In every sphere of daily life, our thoughts and actions are being manipulated by state technocrats for our supposed benefit, writes Gary Sidley for the Brownstone Institute.
• “Toby Young on Speak Free with Simon O’Connor” – On Reality Check Radio, Toby Young joins Simon O’Connor for a discussion on free speech in the U.K. and New Zealand and the challenges we’re facing.
• “The pervasive belief in the eternal progress of mankind has been a crucial, driving element of Western liberalism for generations. It is starting to break down” – Millions of people support policies that make their lives objectively worse, while parties responsible for these policies appear utterly immune to their own failures, says Eugyppius on Substack.
• “Le Pen’s party promises to ban mobiles in schools and end inheritance tax for middle classes” – Jordan Bardella pledged to ban phones in all French schools and drop inheritance tax on the lower-middle classes in the manifesto launch of his National Rally party, reports the Telegraph.
• “The UN: We must all work to eradicate (hate speech) completely” – On Substack, Dr. Robert W. Malone takes aim at the UN’s global plan to eradicate free speech.
• “Why can’t Carla Denyer practise what she preaches?” – Not even the co-leader of the Green Party is prepared to sacrifice her living standards to reduce emissions, says Fraser Myers in Spiked.
• “Judicial activism will not solve climate change” – A landmark Supreme Court ruling has empowered misguided eco-zealots, writes Andy Mayer in CapX.
• “Labour will ban conversion therapy despite ‘test case’ fears” – Labour will ban conversion therapy if it wins the election, despite warnings from Hilary Cass and others that it may stop parents and therapists talking to children about gender identity issues, reports the Times.
• “Keir Starmer will not allow ‘gender ideology’ to be taught in schools” – Keir Starmer has over-ruled the Shadow Education Secretary and promised Labour will not allow gender ideology to be taught in schools, according to the National.
• “Labour offers to meet J.K. Rowling amid transgender row” – Labour will meet with J.K. Rowling in a bid to offer her “assurances” over the protection of women-only spaces, reports the Herald.
• “Labour has chosen trans extremists over J.K. Rowling” – It is foolish for Starmer to believe trans activists can ever be satisfied. We should prepare for his Government to be railroaded by fanatics, warns Julie Bindel in the Telegraph.
• “What does Labour really think about gender issues?” – In the Times, Max Kendix gives a brief history of Labour’s views on women and trans rights – and how they have evolved.
• “Sue Barker: trans women should not compete against biological females” – Wimbledon and BBC legend Sue Barker has backed calls for a ban on males identifying as women competing against females in sport, reports the Mail. 
• “Labour’s dreadful gender recognition reforms” – If Labour gets its way, someone will be able to change their legal sex without making any changes whatsoever to the way they live their lives, warns Debbie Hayton in the Spectator.
• “Meet Pierre Poilievre, Canada’s anti-Trudeau” – Pierre Poilievre’s insular communications strategy is a necessary defense against Canada’s anti-American psychosis, says Sam Forster in the Spectator.
• “‘Guys, I might still be Prime Minister this summer’” – Rishi Sunak is added to the ‘Ex Prime Minister’s’ WhatsApp group chat. Worth watching to the end.

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