News Round-Up

• “Joe Biden pushed U.K. to surrender Chagos Islands” – Joe Biden pushed the U.K. into giving up the Chagos Islands over concerns the U.S. would lose control of an important air base, reports the Express.
• “James Cleverly roars into the lead for the Tory leadership” – The former Home and Foreign Secretary has soared from third place to first in the Tory leadership race, says the Mail.
• “‘If James Cleverly wins the Tory leadership contest, I’m off to Reform’” – If the new Conservative leader ends up being James Cleverly, the Conservatives will have signed their own death warrant, writes Allison Pearson in the Telegraph.
• “Kemi is still in with every chance” – Cleverly is now the frontrunner in the Tory leadership election – but the Right could still unite around Badenoch, says Camilla Tominey in the Telegraph.
• “The leaked Whatsapp messages that show Tory activists’ dismay at leadership contenders” – Leaked messages show Tory activists are less than impressed with the talent pool in the leadership race, according to the Telegraph.
• “The Quangocracy now governs Britain – it’s time Westminster took back control” – Since Tony Blair’s election, successive prime ministers have transferred power to unaccountable bureaucrats and quangocrats, writes Philip Johnston in the Telegraph.
• “Labour minister referred to sleaze watchdog over friend’s private school tax raid report” – A Labour minister is under scrutiny for hiding a 20-year friendship with the author of the report that sparked the Government’s private school tax raid, reports the Telegraph.
• “Labour’s plan to punish the rich is about to drive Britain into the ground” – The Government is in for a harsh lesson in real world economics, says Matthew Lynn in the Telegraph.
• “‘Starmer is a politician who has no political talent’” – Rosie Duffield quit Labour with a stinging attack on the PM, but the now-independent MP says an “abusive boys’ club” surrounding Sir Keir drove her out, writes Suzanne Moore in the Telegraph.
• “The fight for civilisation is only just beginning” – The West failed the moral test of October 7th. We must never fail like this again, says Brendan O’Neill in Spiked.
• “Another EU country demands opt-out for asylum rules” – Hungary has joined the Netherlands in seeking an opt-out from EU rules on asylum, reports the Mail.
• “The EU can’t stop Denmark’s migrant crackdown” – In the Spectator, James Lewisohn discusses Denmark’s zero net-migration target.
• “There’s a low-carbon energy technology that actually works. But we won’t use it” – Britain is becoming a case study in the consequences of shamefully wasting nuclear know-how, says Ben Wright in the Telegraph.
• “‘The more Ed Siliband talks about climate change, the less I believe in it’” – The day will come when the Energy Secretary announces that the chief cause of global warming is pixies, writes Tim Stanley in the Telegraph.
• “Ordering water firms to cut bills is a mistake” – If we want clean rivers, we are at some stage going to have to bite the bullet and pay for the renewal of the sewage system, says Ross Clark in the Spectator.
• “How the EU passed a brave new law to protect our planet’s forests, only to realise that it is a logistical and bureaucratic nightmare that nobody wants” – Nobody thinks the EU’s Deforestation Regulation is a good idea any longer, writes Eugyppius on Substack.
• “Yousaf under fire for blasting officials in Covid WhatsApps” – It transpires that hapless Humza Yousaf and one-time national clinical director Jason Leitch turned on their own officials in Covid message exchanges, says Steerpike in the Spectator.
• “Long before Covid scandals, investigative journalists revealed pharma corruption in university research and federal agencies” – Investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson reminds the public in her new book that medical experts and institutions have been exposed for decades of malfeasance, even if today’s reporters want to forget, writes Paul D. Thacker on his Substack.
• “Royal College of Psychiatrists cuts ties with Stonewall over transgender issues” – The Royal College of Psychiatrists’ President has told its members that it will not be renewing its membership with Stonewall, according to the Telegraph.
• “64 violent far-Left activists arrested in Paris protesting ‘anti-trans’ book” – The media have been silent about multiple attacks targeting French essayists who criticise transgender ideology, says Hélène de Lauzun in the European Conservative.
• “Over 5,000 US children have undergone transgender surgeries” – U.S. insurance data reveals a vast gender transition industry and undermines activists’ claims that such surgeries for minors are rare, writes Laurel Duggan in UnHerd.
• “Why we drink” – On Substack, Dr. David McGrogan discusses the political philosophy of alcohol.
• “Kamala Harris’s anti-Trump messaging is no longer working” – Even if Harris is able to drift into office on the raft of some vague “new way forward”, a refusal to confront the political sources of public discontent could set the stage for another populist reckoning, warns Fred Bauer in UnHerd.
• “A Trojan Horse of epic proportions” – Prop One – a proposed amendment to New York’s constitution – is a Trojan Horse that will destroy parental rights, female spaces and open the door for non-citizens to claim benefits and voting rights, says Bobbie Anne Cox on her Substack.
• “‘It would be a gift by the Jewish state to humanity’” – When asked if he backs Israel’s strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Canadian opposition leader Pierre Poilievre doesn’t mince words: a resounding yes!

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